We've Been Wrong About Everything

[ This was a referral from Unholy Rouleur, but through the miracle of Instapaper, I'm a month late. ]

My new hero, Chief (not chef, really Chief) Mario Vittone: We've Been Wrong About Everything.

Thinking about this post, I wanted to say that this video is important but couldn't figure out how to do that without sounding like a prick. Well, the Rouleur has no such worries, so I'll just blurb what he said:

It's Chief Vittone's discussion on how we got everything wrong. He's talking about Coast Guard training at the end, but his broader points deal with theories of knowledge; how we "know" things and why we're very frequently wrong. It may well be the most important thing you read or listen to this summer. If you're actually listening to him, it should change how you think, for the better.

Seriously. No fooling.

One One One One One, One Two One Two

Today's best thing is a line from a Tribe Called Quest song...

"Sometimes I have to cuss just to prove my damn point."

Lab Safety

Worth reading, especially the engineer's report.

Macbeth comics

Kate Beaton, you are my hero: comics on a theme.

Thank you, Mr. Mann.

No further comment.

Ronde preview

Less than a week to the Ronde van Vlaanderen. I was going to say it's like a week until Christmas, but it's more than that - my two favorite bike races are on consecutive weekends. So it's more like, a week before Christmas, with the second and sometimes better second Christmas just a week beyond that.

Anyway.

Apparently I have become the type of nerd that enjoys helmetcam videos; here is Michael Barry and Team Sky in Belgium. Posted and filmed by one of the only Canadians in the ProTour.

Other good helmetcam vids: Levi on Pine Flat Road, and J.A. Flecha in Italy.

Winnipeg

From the blog Winnipeg: Love & Hate.

If you are not from Winnipeg, I challenge you to guess the purpose of those white wooden rails running through the parking lot.

Well, it is technically a commercial.

For that I apologize. But somebody poured more love and finesse into this than it really needed.

Plus, "purple". That is a high-quality joke right there.

The Noises Rest

Never mind today; the best thing I saw all week is this:

"The Noises Rest" from lonelysandwich on Vimeo.

How research saved the Large Blue butterfly

Thanks to this list of the best science blog entries of 2009, today's best thing was the article "How research saved the Large Blue butterfly". Nice job clearly representing a complex and subtle lifecycle. A representative sentence:

In fact, steps taken to deter collectors actually worsened the situation - one fence erected to keep lepidopterists out also excluded grazing animals, leading to overgrown turf and the rapid extinction of the local Large Blues!