Bag of Hammers

Hiatus and food for thought

2011-08-17T09:08:00.000+09:00

Graduate school is about to begin, limiting the time I will have to spend on updating old ironsides here. I'll get to it when I may. In the interim, consider this:

Finite infinity:
A theoretical supernova will emit an infinite number of light rays upon its detonation, yet those light rays will reach a finite portion of the universe.

Japan, the West, and Videogames

2011-07-27T04:42:00.002+09:00

For roughly 5 years now, the Japanese gaming industry has been experiencing a decline in its overall share of the video games industry worldwide. Numerous developers, creators, and directors have weighed in on this trend, including Tomonobu Itagaki who laid the blame on Japan's 'humorlessness.'

Bear in mind that the most iconic stars of the video game universe are still predominantly Japanese: Mario, Link, Sonic to name a few. But the last decade has seen a seismic shift in the buying patterns of consumers all over the globe. At the turn of the century, the pattern of demand was inverted, with Japanese games being highly demanded in the west, while western efforts, or gaika, went largely ignored in Japan. But much is being made today of Japan's shrinking presence in western consumption habits, even as the video game industry as a whole grows exponentially. And, while Mr. Itagaki is entitled to his opinion, it seems to me Japan has always been a niche market in the west.

Read more »

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-27T02:34:00.000+09:00

This is truly shocking. Despite fully supporting a rehabilitation-focused reset of the American prison system, my monocle almost fell out when I read this article. And yet, all statistics indicate that the system works, at least better than in America.
Radiation 'weather' in Germany. Via Infosthetics.
A surprisingly poignant obituary for Amy Winehouse by Russell Brand.
It's looking increasingly grim for the American economy.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-26T03:54:00.000+09:00

Understanding Breivik, both as an individual as well as a member of a resurgent radical right that is growing in Europe.
Such beautiful presentation of such meaningless data. This one too.
Electron microscopic fine art of food. Via The Awesomer.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-25T04:58:00.000+09:00

A conservative changes sides.
US debt visualized. Via Gawker.
Dense essay on how we under-expect our own extinction. Via Marginal Revolution.
Emotional x-ray specs.
I wish I had thought of this blog first. Up there with Kim Jong Il looking at things.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-23T04:05:00.000+09:00

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-22T06:56:00.000+09:00

Datadatadata
The Killing Fields, revisited.
An economist on the recovery. He's not very happy. Via The Browser.
Funny...and funny.
Clever stuff about energy. Via Marginal Revolution.
Extremely persuasive critique of geekdom. Via...uh...Facebook...I guess.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-21T03:33:00.000+09:00

Our government is in shambles...but thankfully (?) we're not alone.
Panoramas from New York at the turn of the century. Via The Browser
Entertaining hatchet-job on Thomas Kinkade. Also via The Browser.
Unexploded bombs still litter Germany. Via Marginal Revolution.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-19T01:32:00.000+09:00

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-18T00:21:00.000+09:00

Pink and Blue as gendered colors is more recent than you think.
We all know it's bad. Still, the graph manages to shock. Via The Browser.
Bill Maher not pulling any punches.
Beautiful animation of one soccer player's recounting of New York's 1977 black out and attendant riots. Via Gizmodo.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-16T22:10:00.000+09:00

The future of photography? They're going to need to be a little more intentioned I daresay.
Simple, beautiful post on the act of dying. Via The Browser.
Heaven help us. If we're continuing to kick this ball down the road, I'm afraid the end to the Recession is not even in sight. Via Marginal Revolution.
Nationalism as the most powerful force in the world.
Amazing, Goldsworthy-esque art. Via The Awesomer.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-16T00:20:00.000+09:00

Philosophy prioritized by usefulness. Via The Browser.
Things are heating up. Via Marginal Revolution.
Gender imbalances in foreign policy.
Mostly German volunteers but beautiful nonetheless. Via Infosthetics.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-14T23:37:00.000+09:00

Weird writing habits of famous authors.
The International Community is dragging its feet for food aid to North Korea.
Star Trek, here we come. Via Marginal Revolution.
Our innate cooperativeness. Via The Browser.

War

2011-07-14T03:48:00.001+09:00

In Barbara Ehrenreich's new introduction to her book, Blood Rites, she hints at a comprehensive understanding of human social organization based on the technologies we use for war. This piqued our interest here at BofHam so we decided to dig a little deeper by applying this theory to some case studies. What did we find? A sexy framework for social organization but, as with anything relating to human society and development, a few too many variables that we can't control. But sexy! We love us some sexy.

Read more »

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-14T02:42:00.000+09:00

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-13T06:51:00.000+09:00

I can't imagine it will do much but surprising nonetheless.
US-China relations taking a hit.
Great infographic about how to use which type of sunscreen depending on your skin tone.
Fantastic essay by Barbara Ehrenreich on the future of war with a subtle but convincing undercurrent of war, itself, as the catalyst for our evolving social structures. Via The Browser.
Our Earth continues to terrify and amaze.
...To say nothing of our universe...

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-11T22:08:00.000+09:00

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-11T09:30:00.000+09:00

Fantastic article about the history of secretive Korean diplomacy.
We are never safe on the internet. Via Infosthetics.
Insight on Murdoch's nightmare. Via The Browser.
Also from The Browser, a damning critique of America's economic situation.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-09T03:17:00.000+09:00

NKEconWatch on North Korea's housing initiatives. The degree of attention this blog lavishes on the details is astounding.
More people voting with their feet. Times must be getting tough in the Hermit Kingdom.
North Korea's entrepreneurship abroad.
Beautiful, interactive infographic charting population movement around the world. (Although their data shows no movement from North to South Korea.) Via Infosthetics.
The Year of Wonders. Via The Browser.

Moving

2011-07-04T16:59:00.002+09:00

Time to return from whence we came. There will be a short hiatus in your regularly scheduled programming. Please check back in around July 7th.

Love,
BofHam

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-01T16:23:00.000+09:00

Funny organizational charts. Makes me shudder at the memory of having to make these for my old employer. Nowhere is a company's self-deception more apparent than in their organizational charts.
Propaganda art is hilarious. (Am I the only one who thinks so?)
The circus of Russian politics.
Google famously subscribes to it's "Don't be evil" mantra of its founder. Where do our morals lie though, when it comes to a trade-off between privacy and evil?
Painting with salt. Via The Awesomer.
An excellent article describing the inescapable corruption that accompanies even the most well-intentioned designs. Similar stuff to our previous link to over-counting graves. Whiiiiiiiich...I can't find. I think I should probably rethink my organization here.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-07-01T13:39:00.003+09:00

Falling RD in the pharma sector. Via Marginal Revolution.
Sexy revolutionary activity in North Korea. Via Gawker.
Scary portents of further famine in North Korea.
Here's hoping this never leaves the internet. It is too powerful, too right, too important to be consigned to a $12.95 book.
Here's one way to spice up baseball. Via The Awesomer.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-06-29T17:48:00.000+09:00

Sad infographic about the state of the rhino. Although, it must be said, also not very clear. The static version (found here) is no better. Why they're overlaying dark gray on light is beyond me. But still...stupid urban legend-driven prices for rhino horn are nothing short of tragic.
Great summary of China's foreign policy and prospects. Via The Browser.
Oy. Via Marginal Revolution.
Daily Show making fun of itself.
An extremely compelling argument to send a man to Mars. I mean extremely compelling. Seriously.
Beautiful ad for Nokia from all over the interwebs today.
Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

The Tyler Cowen

2011-06-28T19:36:00.000+09:00

Good history of coffee and its effects. Via Gizmodo.
Where HAVE all the girls gone?
Interesting read from one of the fathers of a Gizmodo editor of all people. Goes to show that any life is interesting. (Or maybe...that our fathers had way more interesting lives than us.)

The Tyler Cowen

2011-06-27T17:25:00.000+09:00

Two wildly different but interesting articles on North Korea, both from 38 North. The first is written like a travelogue and features an impossibly articulate Bangladeshi interlocutor. The second is a drier academic tract on NGO collaboration between the US and the DPRK.
More on BitCoin.