Fat drugs, ecological engineering, Jim Baen’s free library…

• 1 – Britain gets fat-busting drug that cuts weight by a tenth
  Great news! Now your tax contributions can pay towards a way for the chronically overweight (20% of the population, say experts) to shed their excess flab without making any lifestyle changes! Huzzah! Link via NewScientist ShortSharpScience Blog.
  (tags: medicine tax NHS treatment loss weight obesity Rimonabant drug UK)
• 2 – Service Envy: Branding Experience Instead of Stuff
  As always, the people at Worldchanging.com have sensible things to say about changing the planet for the better – this article discusses ways of reducing consumerism using existing cultural paradigms.
  (tags: global society culture resources ecology futurism marketing branding envy service change products)
• 3 – How to Cool a Planet (Maybe)
  In the light of recent climate change evidence, a lot of ‘ecological engineering’ ideas, previously considered the stuff of science fiction, are being dusted off and re-examined. Link via Uncertain Principles.
  (tags: fiction environment futurism technology science engineering ecological warming global change climate)
• 4 – ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY SELECTOR
  Find out which philosophers match your own ethical beliefs most closely. Beware pop-ups! Via Adventures in Ethics and Science.
  (tags: personal ethics quiz test philosophy)
• 5 – Baen Free Library
  The late Jim Baen was a visionary SF publisher, and a great believer in releasing free non-DRM e-versions of books as publicity. Go here to find out why, and pick some up if you fancy it. RIP, Mr. Baen.
  (tags: online Baen Jim scifi SF fantasy fiction science free ebooks library books)
• 6 – New Pain Research Shows Mice Capable Of Empathy
  Interesting stuff. Should add fresh fuel to the animal-testing debate, if nothing else.
  (tags: science testing animal mice research biology psychology consciousness pain neuroscience)
• 7 – Real Sex, Virtual Worlds
  Online sex moves beyond text-based chatroom romps. A Wired News article.
  (tags: erotic gaming reality networks interaction social sex worlds online virtual)
• 8 – Foucault’s Pendulum – Art Inspired by Umberto Eco’s book
  Does what it says on the tin. In case you don’t know, Focault’s Pendulum is a book that makes the Da Vinci Code look like the cheap hack airport novel it really is.
  (tags: illustrations Eco Umberto Pendulum Foucault’s books art)
• 9 – Make sandals from an old car tyre
  Wish I’d spotted this before buying a pair last week…
  (tags: green cheap recycle tyre car sandals make howto)
• 10 – Machining titanium and stainless steel jewelry
  Got piercings? Got machine tools and a lathe? Make your own jewellery, then! (I think I’ll stick to buying mine over the counter, frankly.)
  (tags: jewellery piercing body titanium steel stainless machining howto make)
• 11 – American straw into gold?
  Captain Sterling discusses an entrepreneur called Vinod Khosla and his plans to make cheap fuel from organic farming waste products, and then extrapolates in the classic Sterling fashion…
  (tags: Khosla Vinod US dependency oil ecology automobile cars ethanol straw corn green fuel)
• 12 – Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say
  This story isn’t getting any nicer, is it? Link via SlashDot.
  (tags: US surveillance NSA wiretap spying domestic AT&T)