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Before GRIN closed down (From-GRIN-to-grim-GRIN-officially-shuts-down-ex-members-form-Outbreak-Studios/pg/49/aid/133797), it was said (qjnet/nintendo-ds/square-enix-owed-grin-new-final-fantasy-was-in-the-works.html) that it had a project in the works called “Fortress”. This game was supposed to be a Final Fantasy title which takes off after the events of Final

[This is a guest post by Neal Goldfarb.]

While the Linguistic Society of America was holding its annual meeting last weekend in Baltimore, the nation’s law professors assembled in New Orleans for the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools. We know that some of the linguists talked about law; did any of law professors talk about linguistics?

There were certainly issues at the AALS meetings about which linguists might have had interesting things to say. At the session on Law and Interpretation, the topic was “Interdisciplinary Interpretation.” According to the program, “The panel brings together experts from a range of disciplines—psychology, economics, and political science—to provide insight and discussion about what each of those fields specifically, and the interdisciplinary approach more broadly, can bring to legal interpretation.” Economics, but not linguistics?

Meanwhile, the session on Constitutional Law dealt with the distinction between interpretation and construction, an issue that is most strongly associated these days with Larry Solum. (Solum operates Legal Theory Blog, and is not to be confused with Larry Solan.)

Solum describes interpretation as “the activity of determining the linguistic meaning (or semantic content) of a legal text” and construction as “the activity of translating the semantic content of a legal text into legal rules.” He says, “We interpret the meaning of a text, and then we construct legal rules to help us apply the text to concrete fact situations.” (Link.) And this: “The correctness of an interpretation depends on linguistic facts (about patterns of usage) and contextual facts (about the circumstances of utterance)”

Judging by his use of expressions like “semantic content” and “patterns of usage,” Solum seems to be aware of—and open to—ideas from linguistics. And that impression is reinforced by this passage from his book-length paper, Semantic Originalism:

Making the semantic turn in the theory of constitutional meaning will require an excursus beyond the disciplinary boundaries of the academic study of law (as practiced in the law schools and departments of political science) and into territory within the domain of the philosophy of language and linguistics. The fundamental premise of the move beyond law is that constitutional semantics can only be sensibly understood as applied philosophy of language (or applied linguistic theory).

Solum’s work has gotten a lot of attention from legal academics, and I think that a big reason for that is his language-centric focus. For instance, here’s Tulane law professor Stephen Griffin at Balkinization:

Solum’s long article may prove to be a turning point, although I suspect he faces many hurdles in winning acceptance for his central contention that the foundations of originalism are firmly rooted in a semantic, factual, and non-normative account of the meaning of the Constitution.…

In the dance of arguments on originalism, Solum is right to point out that the debate has been almost entirely normative…. Solum’s theory, in my view only hinted at in work by other scholars (and thus quite original), changes the focus to how meaning is determined as a fact.

One aspect of Solum’s work that as far as I know hasn’t been discussed—but should be—is his assumption that there is a clear dividing line between semantics and pragmatics. Solum accepts the mainstream view that there is such a thing as a strictly linguistic meaning that is distinct from the message that the speaker intends to communicate. But that distinction has come under attack from several directions in recent years, and it would be interesting to work out how Solum’s arguments would have to be changed to accommodate a different approach to semantics.

[This is a guest post by Neal Goldfarb.]

That’s the title of a recent book by science fiction writer John Scalzi (hardcover 2008, paperback 2010). The subtitle — A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 — refers to the fact that the book is a selection of essays from Scalzi’s blog Whatever, which he’s been writing since 1998, on a wide range of topics, including current affairs, politics, entertainment, parenting, and some goofy stuff. Every so often Scalzi responds to some of the voluminous hate mail his opinionated essays provoke, by critiquing the form and content of the mail (hence the title of this book). (Hat tip to Elizabeth Daingerfield Zwicky.)

A recent entry was graced by that icon of popular culture Homer Simpson, voicing his famous interjection:

Some Language Log postings on d’oh here, here, here, and here.

(Also from Scalzi, the 2007 book You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing, which is not a manual on writing style, but a book of essays mostly about the practical details of a writer’s life.)

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Bugatti, Luxury

There are frightening bills, horrific bills, and Bugatti Veyron bills. The legendarily expensive to buy, it seems that the Veyron is equally expensive to keep running, with some pegging yearly running costs at $300,000. It’s so expensive, in fact, that Autocar says there’s an owner who trailers his car to a particular driving route, then follows behind in a private jet.

Let’s just take the tires, for example: in the U.S., the Michelin Pilot Sport 2s fashioned with the Veyron’s unique compound cost about $30,000; in the UK they’re £23,500 ($38,216 U.S.). Bugatti recommends you change them every 4,000 kilometers, or 2,500 miles, and at every ten thousand miles the company recommends changing the wheels and tires, which runs north of $50,000.

In between those wheel changes will be things like routine maintenance, with a major annual service setting you back about $20,000. None of this is particularly unexpected so long as you remember the Veyron is more a roadgoing Space Shuttle than a car. And we won’t even begin to talk about how expensive pelican insurance has become…

[Source: Autocar]

Bugatti Veyron operating costs so expensive, it’s cheaper to use a private jet? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Technology, Beijing Motor Show

The 2010 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show is over, and so we’re looking back with some of the vehicular highlights from the floor, and the sidewalk, and the parking lot, too. The rides on hand ran the gamut from a late ’40s Chevy Truck that had been gutted and filled with speakers, to the gorgeous matte Lexus above. There were also bikes, like the Brammo, and we even snagged a picture of the Gran Turismo 5 display, just in case you needed proof that the game does indeed exist in some shape or form, even if it’s not due in stores until the year 2037. It’s all in the gallery below.

The Cars (and bikes) of CES 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gutes Design ist innovativ. (good design is innovative)
Gutes Design macht ein Produkt brauchbar. (good design makes a product useful)
Gutes Design ist ästhetisches Design. (good design is aesthetic)
Gutes Design macht ein Produkt verständlich. (good design makes a product understandable)
Gutes Design ist ehrlich. (good design is honest)
Gutes Design ist unaufdringlich. (good design is unobtrusive)
Gutes Design ist langlebig. (gesign is long-lasting)
Gutes Design ist konsequent bis ins letzte Detail. (good design is consistent in every detail)
Gutes Design ist umweltfreundlich. (good design is environmentally friendly)
Gutes Design ist sowenig Design wie möglich. (good design is as little design as possible)

ten principles to “good design” of great german industrial designer, dieter rams.
many of dieter rams’ designs have found a permanent home at several museums around the world including moma in new york. for nearly 30 years deiter rams served as head of design for braun a.g. until his retirement in 1998. he continues to be a legend in design circles, he currently has a major retrospective of his work at design museum in london until march 2010.

every object, intentional or not, speaks to who put it there.

objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and the people who design them. it is about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential product designers including chris bangle, erwan & ronan bouroullec, anthony dunne, dan formosa, fiona raby, karim rashid, amber shonts, marc newson, jonathan ive, naoto fukasawa, and dieter rams.

fascinating documentary by gary hustwit whom is known for a famous film, titled helvetica. this time he makes us look around and see how design impacts our lives as every day we are surrounded by design which most people take for granted. in fact, there is a story embed in every object.

	acting
	actors/casting
	story
	music/sound effect
	direction/composition
	overall

movie: objectified | director: gary hustwit | release: 2009

This is a new feature. Meditations are a form of expression, an exploration of a subject using introspection. They fall outside of the domains of philosophy and science. This first meditation is on meditations themselves. Their purpose is to use introspection to investigate a subject in contrast to the rigorous methods used in science and philosophy. They have no authority and any conclusions drawn are at the best speculation. Responses are welcome.

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Disclaimer

The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog.

Sometimes, having the team all geared up in-game is not enough, which is why DC Direct has another set of video game toys underway. According to the manufacturer’s previews order, Dragon Age: Origins is about to get

Another day, another story about some cheap, plastic Wii motion control accessory finding an application outside of gaming. In this case, it’s the balance board, and not only is this device helping stroke victims recover, it’s saving them money, too.

In fact, doctors at the University of Melbourne found that the balance board, normally used for pseudo Yoga or navigating Mii’s down a virtual ski slope, was so sensitive it could very well replace traditional laboratory-grade “force platforms” doctors use to assess a patient’s balance.

When doctors disassembled the board, they found the accelerometers and strain gauges to be of “excellent” quality. “I was shocked given the price: it was an extremely impressive strain gauge set-up,” said lead researcher Ross Clark, in an interview with New Scientist.

Even better, Clark’s team has already published a paper that verifies the Wii balance board is “clinically comparable” to the nearly $18,000 lab force platform. That’s great news for many smaller physio clinics that would otherwise be unable to afford the traditional rig. [New Scientist]