Seems a strange thing to put in Taipei, and I can't exactly explain why. Seems too pretentious for them. However, I've always been fascinated with tall buildings. I think I was brainwashed with pictures of the CN tower when I was a kid.

Taipei 101, Taipei

"On January 22, 1879 -- the legendary "Day of the Zulu," when more than twenty thousand Zulu warriors nearly wiped out the forces of the invading British army -- even the sun was on the side of the Zulu Nation. A partial solar eclipse during the battle obscured the view of the redcoats, making it difficult for them to see the attacking Zulu warriors. But the Zulu triumph on that day was no freak victory: it came about through a combination of superior battle strategy and fierce weapons, aided by potent traditional medicine.
...
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Of course, the Zulu might never have vanquished the British at Isandlwana without the help of traditional Zulu medicines. Some scholars have suggested that Zulu pharmacopoeia provided more of a psychological boost than any real physiological effect. But recent scientific studies show that the medicines contained some very potent drugs. For example, warriors were given a cannabis (marijuana)-based snuff to take during battle. Analysis of the snuff has revealed that it contained extremely high levels of THC, a powerful hallucinogen, and yet no detectable levels of the chemicals that cause the sedative effects of marijuana.

Also in the Zulu war medicine chest: the bulb of a flower in the Amaryllis family, called Boophane disticha, or the Bushman Poison Bulb. Studies have shown that the bulb -- which was also used by southern Africans to help mummify bodies -- contains buphanidrine, an alkaloid, like codeine and morphine (although it is not related to them) with hallucinogenic and pain-killing properties. According to botanist Ben-Erik van Wyk of Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa, the dosage of buphanidrine necessary to reduce pain is very close to the toxic dose, "but in a very experienced traditional healer's hands it should be safe. They usually assess the strength of a bulb by testing it on themselves."

In addition, warriors sometimes ingested a hallucinogenic mushroom containing a toxin called muscimol. The chemical, present in fly agaric -- a mushroom that can attract and kill flies -- is said to induce a state of expanded perception in those who ingest it. Warriors who consumed those mushrooms, researchers speculate, might have been utterly without fear, believing themselves impervious to British bullets. "

I saw this last night. Fuck amsterdam, go to africa and become a zulu warrior.

Day of the zulu

] A controversial IVF technique could see babies
] being born with three parents, scientists have suggested.
]
] Experts in China say they have created embryos using eggs
] from two women and sperm from one man...

Marie, should this be legal or not?

BBC NEWS | Health | Foetus with three parents created

"The average age of the world's greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into bondage."

Alexander Tyler - 1787

(Actually, I think the present dependence is part of an 80 year cycle rather then a 200 year cycle, but we'll see...)

[IP] A forecast of the future of the US?

] "I don't want to be the guy that creates any kind of
] chilling effect on research," Jacobs said.

SunnComm CEO realizes that mean people suck.

The Daily Princetonian - Threat of lawsuit passes for student

This is whack. Anti-American propaganda from North Korea. Worse then junior high schooler's rap. Entertaining regardless...

Fucking USA

Go Elonka:)

STLtoday - News - Story

Google is broken. This is kind of fun...

Slashdot | What's Wacky with Google?

] The records show that in 2000, 49 children were named
] Canon, followed by 11 Bentleys, five Jaguars and a Xerox.
]
] There is also a Gouda and a Bologna, who are named after
] the cheese and the sausage rather than the places.
]
] Foreign brands are regarded as increasingly chic: Chanel
] is popular among doting mothers, and several boys have
] been named after a Japanese family car called Camry.

NEWS.com.au | Branded anything but Unique (September 29, 2003)

I very interesting article on using editing techniques to speed up the WPM of audio recordings without loosing tonality. Its like speed reading a lecture. I wish NPR preprocessed all their audio programming this way.

Now Hear This, Quickly