Thursday, July 22, 2004

Hawking's reversal I'm feeling somewhat compelled to say something about Stephen Hawking's change of heart on the question of information escaping from black holes. You see, I'm one of the people who actually read A Brief History of Time and felt, at the end, that I'd "gotten it," at least at some basic level. Now there is no shame in having bought a book and never having read it. I have shelves full of books I haven't read. But I'm reasonably certain that of the millions who made ABHT a best-seller, most didn't get to the end. It's pretty dense stuff, but absolutely fascinating for some of us. I digress. I wasn't going to say anything about it, until I saw this story at (of all places) MLB.com, the home of Major League Baseball. You see, Hawking bet a US scientist on this question, with the winner getting the encyclopedia of his choice (you know, random if organized information). John Preskill asked for a baseball encyclopedia, and after some dickering, got it. So there you are. It's a weird world we live in. 10:05:38 PM    comment []

BBC Techs to strike? Anyone who's ever craved a somewhat different perspective on the news than is traditionally delivered here in the New World has spent time at the web home of the British Broadcasting Company. Well, that champion of the working class Tony Blair is looking to sell off BBC Technology to the German mega-corp Siemens in September. Its employees are fighting back. Barring a last-minute settlement, their union will be on the picket line for two days starting July 30, and again two weeks later. Privatization hardly ever works out to the benefit of taxpayers or those getting service (often the same people). The workers always wind up with the shaft besides. Let's hope BECTU wins. A couple more links: The Register's piece (not overtly anti-union) BECTU's anti-privatization campaign page 9:34:20 PM    comment []

Buncha shorts today I really ought to be working on my book revisions, so of course I'm here to toss off a few quick notes on a series of subjects. Links and short rants, that sorta thing. Enjoy! 9:12:35 PM    comment []