I had never heard of this before hearing it mentioned during the Oscars. Nominated for best actress, supporting actor, and adapted screenplay, this film should have been nominated for best picture. A truly stunning drama about the intersection of the lives of several people living in a small suburb, trying to get what they want out of life. A must-see. 5/5 stars.

A bunch of big-name tech bloggers have recently blogged about how useless the term “Web 2.0″ has become. Here is a nice summary. I would like to ask, “why was this term such a flop?” Was it a flop?

I’m not a marketer, but it sure seems to me that the term had so much marketability that everyone with an innovative Web site used the term to mean whatever they wanted it to mean. The reason it was a flop in my mind is that the term was so vague that both the Web sites and the users could make the phrase mean anything they wanted. What would have been a better term to describe Tim O’Reilly’s original meaning? “Collaborative Web”? “User-powered”? “Open Web”?

Recently I’ve been thinking about gun control laws. A passage from “Thinking Strategically” made me think of gun control as a good thing because a total lack of guns among the law-abiding would mean that burglars would be less likely to have them too. However, A post from another blog I read, Tempus Fugit, reminded me that the right to bear arms is what will allegedly keep America free from the threat of tyranny.

I just stumbled upon an old news item which pushed me more in favor of gun control. In May of last year, a small militia group in Iraq killed a tennis team because they continued to wear shorts after having been warned not to. It’s really stunning to read this true story. A group of people with guns decide that they don’t want anyone to wear shorts, and they decide to enforce their beliefs with violence. I think the threat of this kind of random militia violence is greater than that of a military dictatorship, but I really don’t know for sure. I think we’re stable enough that the army could never be convinced to play a part in a military coup… but things may change in the future. Also, if lunatics want to kill, they will find a way; with or without guns. On the other hand, once guns are banned it would be unlikely that those in power would ever give the right to bear arms back to the people. Especially if power-hungry party-loyalists hold high legislative authority (not naming names). Any thoughts?

I went to the allergist yesterday and got 92 pricks up and down both my arms to test my sensitivity to different types of allergens. The results? I’m allergic to cats… not to milk. Lucky for me I have never eaten a cat… it might have been dangerous! Anyhow… I will see a nutritionist to try to figure out what my problem is with dairy.

This is the closest experience I’ve ever had to reading a textbook for fun. While it’s not a textbook, this book is required reading in many business and economics classes, and covers all the fundamentals of investment strategy. It was surprisingly interesting and obviously quite useful for anyone considering investing (even if you don’t mind handing over control of your money to an advisor). As is the case with most economic concepts, it was also interesting to think of how to apply these techniques to things besides money, such as time and effort. To sum up the entire book in one sentence: invest in a diversified index fund. Want to know why? Read the book. 5/5 stars.

New York Times Magazine has a must-read article about “neo-atheism” and the belief in religion as a naturally occurring phenomenon. I wrote a lengthy research paper in Spring 2006 which covered this very topic, and I read works from nearly everyone cited in this article. The author did an outstanding job of condensing mountains of research into an organized, convincing, and easily-understood piece.

In the hope of enticing you to read, I give you this inspiring quote from religious scientist Justin Barrett:

“Christian theology teaches that people were crafted by God to be in a loving relationship with him and other people,” Barrett wrote in his e-mail message. “Why wouldn’t God, then, design us in such a way as to find belief in divinity quite natural?” Having a scientific explanation for mental phenomena does not mean we should stop believing in them, he wrote. “Suppose science produces a convincing account for why I think my wife loves me — should I then stop believing that she does?”

This is truly amazing. Those cavemen in the Geico ads (the ones offended by the slogan “saving money with Geico.com is so easy, even a caveman could do it”) might get their own TV series according to this AP article!

I know a lot of people are going to shout that advertising is becoming more and more unavoidable, but if the show sucks it will flop. If people watch it, it will stay on the air. I personally think the ads are brilliant but a lot of that is just because I can’t believe that they are stretching the idea to the point where they show the caveman in his therapist’s office. I think the writers will make or break this idea, it has a lot of good potential. Hopefully there will be lots of social commentary and witty irony. I’ll watch it to see how it is.

For Geico, depending on how much they pay, this is a huge marketing win! The thing is… the Geico mascot is the gecko. Is he going to be on the show too? I love the gecko as well as the cavemen. Putting them together on the show wouldn’t really make a lot of sense. I think the moment the show becomes a Geico commercial, people will change the channel. It’s a gamble and I hope Geico plays their cards right and resists the urge to corrupt the show with advertising.

One of the most helpful philosophical works I’ve read is The Enchiridion, by Epictatus. The prevailing theme is that you should not attempt to control that which is out of your control. Poker forces the players to find that line and respect it. The thing to realize is that “the line” is not just determined by your cards, it is also influenced by the actions and tendencies of yourself and the other players. Players have a unique style, and if you can determine that style, you can play them accordingly and “bend” that line.