Rice cookers - very good idea

Spurred on by news of theblunderbuss's culinary success, I'm thinking of getting a wok myself for the purpose of stir-frying things. Unfortunately, my stomach and noodles tend to disagree, and Sainsbury's don't sell rice noodles anymore. So I'm also considering the incredibly lazy option of a rice cooker...

Does anyone know of a rice cooker that cooks brown rice well? The reviews of rice cookers on Amazon tend to rave about how well they cook basmati, but I like my rice with bite to it. (And slightly undercooked.) Fully cooked brown rice takes about half an hour in a saucepan, which can be quite irritating if it's combined with something quick like stir-frying.

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

I finished reading Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them last night. It's far more terrifying than, say, Intellectual Impostures was, because the latter isn't quite as dangerous. Academic dishonesty is to be condemned, yes, and it's certainly true that there are people (some of them quite well known and respected in their fields, such as (the late) Jacques Derrida and Jean Baudrillard) who have written books with passages that make almost no sense whatsoever.

But they're not running one of the most powerful countries in the world.

On a much lighter note, this animation is highly amusing. :)

Acquisitions.

I've given into temptation and bought a wok.

I've also acquired a copy of How to Get a PhD by Estelle Phillips, from my last trip to Oxfam. I'm planning to read through it once to see if it's worth me thinking about going into research, but since I'm leaning towards not staying in academia I doubt I'll read it beyond this. So, if anyone in Cambridge would like a copy - it's in very good condition, with the only markings in it being the previous owner's name and the Oxfam price on the front page - please let me know in a comment.

(I also found a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style, but I'm keeping that one. It can live with my copy of Strunk and White. :)