(please excuse junky styles)
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De la démocratie en Singapore
Economist Bryan Caplan is author of the best contemporary critique of democracy and democraticness (previously), and therefore the person I’d most like to visit Singapore and share his thoughts. He recently took a trip to this quasi-democracy lauded for both its pro-growth policies and its strong, competent government (and criticized for its repression and its draconian penal code). The trip to what is in some ways an economist’s utopia allowed Caplan to think about the implications of his own writings, and the validity of Churchill’s dictum on democracy. Here’s what he had to say: [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by grobstein
at 4:38 PM on January 19, 2009
(18 comments)- Luna City Arcade
Luna City Arcade
is Peter Hirschberg‘s home / barn video arcade, with about 60 vintage machines all set up to eat quarters. WaPo story about Peter’s dream. You can come around to Peter’s Virginia home for Game Day every couple months.posted to MetaFilter by grobstein
at 2:37 PM on January 16, 2009
(35 comments)- More than meets the eye
The Domestic Transformer:
sliding walls and yellow light, a local architect’s solution to the problem of scant living-space in Hong Kong.
posted to MetaFilter by grobstein
at 1:59 PM on January 15, 2009
(31 comments)- Billionaires have more sons
Billionaires have more grandchildren through their sons than through their daughters, because the status advantage is more reproductively valuable to the sons. Therefore, it would be adaptive for the mothers of their children to bear more sons than daughters. But surely that can’t be; mothers can’t control the sex of their children. Oh but so it is: billionaires have 60% male children.
posted to MetaFilter by grobstein
at 4:21 PM on January 17, 2009
(69 comments)Bonus: ambient sound toys.
More Flash ambient sound toys, please!After reading this wonderful MeFi post, I immediately loaded up the Buddha Machine Wall on PS3 browser and set it to play in the background in my livingroom.
What are some other similar toys that I can run on my PS3 and that will play ambient sounds in the background with little intervention? (Bonus points if you can come over and play with them occasionally, like changing up the loops on the Buddha Machine Wall.) The PS3 browser supports Flash, so any Flash apps that do this are good answers.
posted by grobstein to media & arts (9 comments total)
- Luna City Arcade