Edmond Dantes on Death

"According as we have lived, death is either a friend who rocks as gently as a nurse, or an enemy who violently tears the soul from the body." - Alexandre Dumas in The Count of Monte Cristo

Incentive for the Worse

The US government is taking many measures to thwart the usage of carbon-based fuel. Unfortunately, some of these measures have unintended detrimental side-effects. In this Bloomberg article, one such measure with unintended counter-productive effects is elaborated on.

What A Theme

I do not know about the cinematography (contrary to the opinion of some "experts", I thought it was ok) but the theme of the Watchmen movie blew me away. I guess the credit goes to Alan Moore - writer of the comic book series on which the movie was based on. I believe that this has got to be one of the most intelligent movies of all time.

Is it moral to sacrifice the lives of a mostly innocent few for the lives of the majority? If you missed it, this is the dilemma that is at the heart of the story. It is a theme which has been deliberated on by the greatest philosophical minds in history (read on utilitarianism, teleological ethics, and deontological ethics) and I've never seen it portrayed in a movie with such force.

Apart from the main theme, my philosophical side was stirred by a rather subtle exchange between Adrian Veidt and Dr. Manhattan. "But you said you've regained interest in the human life," said Adrian. Dr. Manhattan replied, "yes, I have. I think perhaps I'll create some."

Isn't it possible that, contrary to what monotheists think, there is not just one "God"? Isn't it possible that there could be many of them and that they are of different ranks?

For Aspiring Athletes

If you are an aspiring athlete, then you might want to read this and this. All that glitter may not be gold afterall. . .

What The World Runs On

For the benefit of those who are not aware, the charts below show the share of each of the world's electricity source.

*Source: www.iea.org

According to this article, the world's dependence on coal for electricity production will not abate anytime soon.

Useless Stuff of The Month

I'm fond of surfing the net for random things that might interest me. While browsing through one of my regular sites, I came across this grappling hook! How about that?!

One Trillion

Can you imagine what one trillion dollars looks like? Well, here it is!

On The Won't-Be-Remembered Silver Medalist

Do you still remember John McCain? You might want to read my post about him on my other blog. Apparently, he's not all that bad!

Gasoline and Oil Prices

Are gasoline and oil prices strongly correlated? According to this article - not as strongly as many think.