Night Panther

Thinking of Change

2006-06-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about changing my blog over to wordpress.com. I'm not sure that Blogger's shortcomings are enough, but I'm seeing if the grass is greener.
http://npanth.wordpress.com/

Sunday Mirror

2006-06-11T09:20:00.000-04:00

Peony

2006-06-09T19:40:00.000-04:00

With a little cobweb... still haven't found the critter that made it.

Research

2006-06-09T12:39:00.000-04:00

What's sex without pleasure? Here are some articles to, ah, bone up on technique. I want to have my best moves next time I get a chance.
I can't believe female sexuality has only been studied a couple times... you'd think that would be a popular field of study. I'm interested :)
Dr. Grafenberg was the first Western man to officially find the "G-SPOT", which we promptly named after HIM(?)
Here's to finding a unicorn next time out.
@}--[---

Glee Magazine - G-Spot
Article - Liberated Christian
GoodVibes

Short Story Idea 3

2006-06-08T18:43:00.000-04:00

So, now I have viro-bots and the general story idea. Now, I need to figure out who my scientist is. So far:

-I think he has a background in medicine, but more on the research side
-PHD in… not something made-up or “futurey”. Maybe Molecular Biology?
-He’s a bit of an under achiever, brilliant, but unfocused.
-He broke his arm as a child, which inspired him to become a doctor. Before completing his degree, he turned to research.
-Married? Single? He’s a loner, immersed in his research, obsessed with the minutia of his theories. It doesn’t matter if he’s married, he would ignore them anyway, single or divorced, then.

The diary would be in the form of a video or audio commentary… the written story would have to be a transcript of that commentary. The voice should be conversational. Informal language, but not colloquial.
He’s a technical guy. He thinks in terms of ratios, correlation and causation. He’s writing a fractal operating system delivered by cell sized messengers. He has a meticulous, but chaotic personality. He may be subject to mood swings. He’s a patient person, who always wants to discover the source of a problem. That is the trait that will keep him investigating until it’s too late to change the outcome.

He has to be infected with virobots, but unaware of what the consequences will be. It’s important that he realize what’s happening slowly over the course of the story. The trigger for the accident will be an interaction between his old broken arm and something he’s working on. An unanticipated interaction. Two harmless ingredients combine to form something new, different. It’s a good mechanism for flashbacks and technical explanations.

I still need to come up with a purpose for the virobots. The scientist (leave him unnamed?) has to have a plausible reason for either injecting himself, or…… I don’t know, slipping in a puddle of the stuff. Think about this later.

Stabling

2006-06-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

More Short Story Ideas

2006-06-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

First post

I have a scientist that through accident or intention, injects himself with a nano technology that he has been developing.

I’ve been thinking about the nature of this nano technology. What will the nature of nano technology be? I think it will take the form of a viral carrier with a stem cell payload. The bots would “infect” the host. Instead of creating symptoms like a normal virus, this one is programmed to replicate itself, and manufacture new building blocks for the nano bots. (I need a new name for them, pretty sure people will confuse nanobots with other stories) The stem cells are tailor made to combat a specific problem. The virus controls the growth and development of the new cells. They could even gather together in a tumor-like structure to make manufacturing more efficient. This “tumor” can provide hormones or drugs to treat a specific disease. In the case of a broken bone, the virus would direct the manufacturing cells towards the area, then begin building lattices of progressively stronger materials. This would first pull the bones together, then knit them up. Supposedly, the technology would come with some kind of sunset, disbanding the whole operation when some criteria are met.

The nature of this story isn’t so much the benefits of viral medicine. This would be an established branch of medicine in the time of the story. What our scientist is experimenting with is applying cooperative, goal seeking qualities to the nanobots. Instead of following a simple viral program, he is trying to apply artificial intelligence to the collective mass of viro-bots(?!) Perhaps he could be experimenting with some kind of fractal OS system. Where the program (intelligence) progresses in complexity as the density of viro-bots increases. Each bot brings a representative piece of information to the whole. Combining that information with other existing bots adds another level of complexity to the entire program. Now, I need to think about this scientist guy for a while.

Still no name for this thing, driving me nuts "short story" "short story" :(

Horses

2006-06-07T12:29:00.000-04:00

Frankly Franklin

2006-06-06T19:44:00.000-04:00

If you would make a friend, let him do you a favor.
- Benjamin Franklin

Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.
- Benjamin Franklin

He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.
- Benjamin Franklin

Life in Solitary

2006-06-06T12:10:00.000-04:00

I’ve been thinking about cognition all day. How does something as big as the human mind fit into such a compact physical form? We really do seem to be squashed into a tiny cell sometimes. Our minds encompass so much more than we can describe through language or physicality. So, I’ve come to this idea that we’re all in some kind of prison. Take Godel, Escher, Bach, String Theory, Escape from NY, Hindu Mysticism; mix well, and there you go… Our true form is some kind of energy, or spirit, or WHATEVER… doesn’t matter… What matters is that we’re stuck here, in these inarticulate bodies, grunting at each other across the cellblock. We can’t even rattle the cage to get a guard’s attention… unless you believe in ESP or transference. How do I explain the rest of this little theory to you? It’s not so easy to put into words. Kurt Russell reads the Bhagavad Ghita upside down in a time machine? Sounds crazy when I write it down, but it’s all in my mind, anyway ;)

That’s the point, I suppose. We can never express our true natures because of the limitations of language, science, art, and all the other contrivances we invent to express our true natures. The circumstance that made me think of all these things at once is a solitary experience, indescribable to an outsider, like you :)

Bunny Test

2006-06-06T06:44:00.000-04:00

which happy bunny are you?

you are the "you suck, and that's sad" happy bunny. your truthful, but can be a bit brutal.

Take this quiz!

Quizilla |Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Flowers in my yard

2006-06-05T20:33:00.000-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jheaney1/sets/

Xena and Gabrielle

2006-06-05T10:49:00.000-04:00

http://www.warriorprincess.com/

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/hst_xena_20060410.html

In 2003, a 10th planet was discovered in our Solar System. It was unveiled in 2005 as 2003UB313, nicknamed Xena, after the TV show. After a moon was discovered, they nicknamed it… you guessed it, Gabrielle. This discovery brings up a question that has been lingering for decades over the designation of Pluto and the other bodies at the very edge of our Solar System. Pluto acts a lot like a comet, but to humans, it’s been a planet for over 50 years. Now that we have a 10th “planet” trying to join the club, where do we draw the line? I think Pluto and Xena are part of the Kuiper belt, just large rocks floating around at the edge of our yard. It's just what I think, doesn't hold much weight in the astronomical community. Planet, Comet, makes no nevermind to me… but they’re still comets ;)
Today, the Senate will debate an amendment to the Constitution banning same sex marriage. In honor of the occasion, with tongue in cheek, I share this parody with you...

My friends, I’m sure you will join me in denouncing the astronomical community for adding a new citizen to our already overcrowded Solar System. This is an obvious ploy by the interplanetary astronomical community to instill DEVIANT lifestyle choices in our youngest children! When I show my daughter Neptune, and she asks me “What’s past that, daddy?” All I can say is “Sea monsters and Kraken, my dear.” And when she goes to school, there it is again. Pluto and Charon; Xena and Gabrielle, flouting their Kuiper Belt lifestyles in front of our children! This will inevitably lead to a general acceptance of the Kuiper Belt Lifestyle, and the clear degradation of what it means to be a moral planet in our Solar System! What’s next, will Uranus and Neptune tilt their orbits 40 degrees and declare themselves free of their moons? Abandon your children for a comet’s life! That’s what will happen! And what will our children learn from this deviant experiment in planethood? That any little bit of rock flying any which way can be called a planet as long as the Planetary Illuminati call it one. I say, DOWN with astronomical Elitism. Astronomer Activism has been a problem ever since The Mars Canal denyers. The line has to be drawn here. Having already accepted one Kuiper Belt Dilettante, we should forcefully deny admittance to this new upstart. Xena and Gabrielle should stay where they are, on the fringes of our consciousness. They can’t bother anyone, as long as we ignore them. In fact, I think we should change our Constitution to say so!
Tags: Pluto, Xena, Gabrielle, Kuiper Belt, Senate, Gay Marriage

Ode to the Maaz

2006-06-05T08:34:00.000-04:00

When I was in high school, my best friend’s step mother drove a 6 speed, twin turbo, V8, two door Masserati. It lingered on the edge of our grasp for 2 long years. Finally, when I was a senior, The back window popped out while she was going down the Atlantic City parkway. You can only fix that in Philadelphia. So, she drove back, dropped it off at the shop, and went to Atlantic City in the Jag. Not before giving us a half hour lecture about our future conduct when we picked up the car. “Honestly, We know how important your leather and Walnut trimmed interior, 300HP, FLAME RED MOONROOF ROCKET SHIP…. Er, that is to say… we wouldn’t do anything to your car… straight home, no problem.”
It’s really an experience to ride in an exotic sports car. Most of the cars you and I are likely to drive in our lifetimes are just a series of compromises between price, performance, and a bunch of corporate decisions. Even a sport Mustang or Camaro has felt the pinch. A Masserati is something else entirely. It has almost no compromises. It’s a tiger with a haircut. Torque and Horsepower aren’t just merging into heavy traffic. They’re firm hands that grasp you and pull you a few inches off the ground. Each progression through the gears is a smooth hop forward and up. The back squats at first, lifts the car, and then floats back down in the next gear change. The turbos are crescendos in the hop. It’s the feeling of compressed physical memory. It’s the blind curve on a water slide.
Of course it cost a small fortune and was put together like a cheap suit. When was the last time you heard of a back window just “popping out” on the highway?
I’m convinced to this day that it was worth every penny. Metaphors and descriptions are almost meaningless. It’s a physical memory. It’s something that I highly recommend at least once.

OSTH - Fossil and Rock Hunting

2006-06-05T08:13:00.000-04:00

OSTH – Fossils

This is part of the Open Source Treasure Hunt

Hemlock Visitor brochure and permit
Mapquest Hemlock, NY
History of Canadice
1904 Map of Hemlock
Canadice Trail Guide

I would like to discuss some of the geology that exists in the Hemlock/Canadice Lake region near Rochester. These lakes, like all the Finger Lakes were created during the last Ice Age. As the Ice sheet advanced over the area, it gouged out the softer soil between the ridges, creating the bowls that the lakes sit in now. You’ll have to look in Pennsylvania for the missing soil. The Iroquois believe that the lakes were gouged out by the fingers of a deity.

This unique creation process has created some excellent opportunities for fossil and rock hunting. As you can see in this picture, there is a significant runoff in the spring. This area loses bridges to runoff every few years. This runoff has the effect of cutting deep channels into the surrounding hills, continuously cutting into new strata in the hills. There are many smooth rocks for collectors in the creek bed, with fossils mixed in. The hills have several fossil bearing strata that feed into the creek bed. So far, I’ve found minor fossils all over the road and creek beds. I’m not proficient in identifying fossils, but everything so far has been of the shellfish variety. You don’t have to go very far from the lake to see what’s up in the hills. There’s a good layer of quartz up there, somewhere. I think it will take a couple more trips before I find a really good example, but I’m expecting a good find eventually. The streams act as concentrators for the geology up on the hill. Instead of climbing every creek bed to see what’s up there, you can scout at the mouth of the stream, and then decide if climbing that steep hill is worth it.

Each lake has dozens of channels feeding down the hills. Since the majority of the creeks are seasonal, it is very safe to explore them in summer, fall and winter. The hills are very steep, so bring good hiking boots and BUG REPELLENT. By the time July hits, the place looks like an OFF! commercial.

Tags: OSTH, Fossils, Rock Hunting, Hemlock Lake, Canadice Lake

OSTH - September 1779

2006-06-04T21:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve noticed a bunch of traffic coming through for this information, so I’ll finally clean it up. The Open source Treasure Hunt is just that. I’ve done this research on what I consider an excellent site for exploration. I would like to continue to fish, hike, explore here for years to come. As long as we respect the same rules that the Geo Cachers do, we’ll be fine. PLEASE do not dig up jogging trails, no matter how good that signal is....

The Hemlock and Canadice lakes are owned by the city of Rochester, NY, and used as a source of drinking water. The city owns 7100 acres surrounding the lakes, and allows access with a free permit. Here are the links you need to gain access to the property. If you can't get a permit, don't worry, there is a 24/7 self serve kiosk where you can get permits. It's right at the North end of Hemlock Lake. Sya hello to the giant Porta-potty when you go ;)

Hemlock Visitor brochure and permit
Mapquest Hemlock, NY
History of Canadice
1904 Map of Hemlock
Canadice Trail Guide

OSTH - Sullivan

A hand drawn map made by a member of General Sullivan's army. It shows the path that they took through the area during a campaign against the Seneca Tribe. Haunyauga is called Honeoye today. Conyeadice, is Canadice.

There's a local legend about a treasure in Gold and Silver Excerpt: Persistent of the sparsely settled hills is the belief in buried treasure, hidden it is alleged, by General Sullivan's officers, while crossing the narrow ridge northwest of the lake as a precautionary measure against being captured by the Indians. Sporadic fits of digging extended over a period of a century and a half have yeilded nothing, however, in the way of silver and gold .Source Article (wemett)

Here are some links to writings and letters by General Sullivan. The 1779 Sullivan Campaign emerged as one of the larger of the Continental Army's offensives during the American Revolution, yet remains relatively unknown. It was an act of reprisal to break the Iroquois Confederation, a Native American political and military alliance that included the Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, 0neida, and Tuscarora tribes. The Iroquois, with the exception of the Oneida and Tuscarora, openly sided with Great Britain to protect their homelands.
Revolutionary War Letters
Profile by FReeper

I took a 1904 Topo map of the area, and combined it with the hand drawn map above. Sullivan forded Hemlock Lake right at the north end. Evidence of the bridge he built has been found there. It makes sense that he would follow Canadice outlet until it merges with Hemlock outlet. There is a parking lot right at the Canadice outlet on Purcell Road.
I know that the hand drawn map shows Sullivan "crossing the T" on Canadice Lake, but having fished that lake for some years, I think they followed the Canadice outlet until it met up with the Hemlock outlet. That area is just too rugged to follow any other path, and still arrive at the North end of Conesus on the next day. Remember, Sullivan was moving 2,000 men and at least a few canons. I think they would have gone after the Indian settlement on the outlet, but sent scouts to the nearest promontory. That high spots in the area command views of both Canadice and Hemlock lakes. Sullivan could engage the village while his scouts watched for any Iroquois of British reinforcements. Most of this is pure speculation on my part, anyway. My feeling is that most of the searching has been NW of HEMLOCK lake, not Canadice. This promontory is out of the way, so it's unlikely that anything buried there would be found by natives walking on the Indian path hundreds of feet below. So, if Sullivan was concerned enough about being attacked that he buried part of his plunder, why not on the "nose of Bald Hill". It's easy to find when you come back for it years later. (Sullivan didn't return to NY as far as I can tell).I'll take some pictures of the area next time I'm down there. I think that the best time to take pictures will be this winter when all the leaves are off the trees.

General Sullivan’s Correspondence related to his transit of the Hemlock and Canadice Lakes. I’m emphasizing quotes that may lead to interesting places to explore and use a metal detector. Sullivan's Letter In this letter, the general is reporting to congress on the battle of Newtown. Sullivan’s army defeated an Iroquois force. The warriors who had been in the action were equally averse to the proposal, and would think of nothing but flight, and removal of their families; that they kept runners on every mountain to observe the movements of our army, who reported early in the day on which we arrived, that our advance was very rapid; upon which all those who had not been before sent off, fled with precipitation, leaving her [lone old woman in village] without any possible means of escape. During August and September, 1779, the Iroquois of Central New York were fleeing for their lives in front of Sullivan’s force. His mission was to de-stabilize Iroquois settlements in PA and NY. Since Sullivan was burning their crops and villages, they certainly would have seen to necessities first, luxuries second. Sullivan was in a big hurry, he was two months behind schedule, and had to complete his campaign in NY before the weather turned.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/1998/sullivan.html This page describes Sullivan’s campaign in New York, 1779The army finally left Tioga August 26, at least two months behind schedule. Hand's light troops were out front, guided by a company of Virginia riflemen. Clinton took the rear and the other two brigades either flank, guarding the baggage train in a box like formation. Flanking parties were sent out. Their efficiency impressed even the British. John Butler wrote Fort Niagara informing them that they were "misinformed" about the composition of the force. It was not untrained militia, but "the best of the Continental Troops commanded by the most active of the Rebel Generals."27 Significantly outnumbered, Butler planned to ambush Sullivan's force and demoralize them before they got too deep into Iroquois territory. All was not well in Sullivan's army. The columns lumbering pace put them behind schedule. The artillery often bogged down, frequently overturning, creating a major headache for the troops
TIMELINE:August 29: Battle of Newtown
September 5: Took village of Kendaia along the west shore of Seneca Lake. At this point in the campaign, Sullivan is moving at about 11 miles per day
September 10: Sullivan reaches Canandaigua
September 11: Sullivan reaches Honeoye
September 13: Boyd’s scouting force is nearly wiped out by an ambush, Boyd is missing
September 14: Army enters Genesee: They found Genesee deserted, but in the town's center, they found the mutilated bodies of Boyd and one of his men. "It appeared that they had whiped them in a most cruel manner, pulled out Mr. Boid's nails, cut off his nose, plucked out one of his eyes, cut out his tongue, stabbed him with spears in sundry places, & inflicted other tortures which decency will not permit me to mention; lastly cut off his head & left his body on the ground."47 The barbarity outraged the men, who set about destroying the town "with great cheerfulness."48 Genesee was a huge town and required nearly two days to raze. Crops were gathered into the huts before they were set on fire. Stores that could not be burned were hurriedly dumped into the river.49

Sullivan turned back at this point
September 17: Sullivan reaches Honeoye. At this point, Sullivan exited my target area. His campaign wasn’t over, though. He continued to the East. The campaign can be seen in some ways as a prototype for Sherman’s March to the sea 80 years later. The operation's success resulted from a combination of careful planning and luck. The weather cooperated. Sullivan was aided by seasoned officers, who led a well-trained, disciplined army. They adapted their tactics to operating a large force in the wilderness. It was an unusual campaign, in that it was waging total war against an entire people, not just an enemy army .I’m trying to imagine what it would be like for the Iroquois in Sullivan’s path. After the battle of Newtown, the news must have spread like wildfire up the Chemung River. This river is a gateway to my research area. Sullivan’s army was in my target area 9/11 to 9/17, 1779. They were moving East-West 9/11-9/14, spent 9/15 and 9/16 at Cuylerville, then moved West-East on 9/17. There are reports from members of the army that the West-East trip took 2 days instead of 1. Sullivan would then have arrived at Honeoye on 9/18. If their best speed was 11 miles/day in the Chemung Valley, then their progress would be somewhat slower in the rugged terrain of my target area.

Is making an attempt to recover General Sullivan’s treasure rational… or even reasonable? General Sullivan’s army was in this area for several days. That’s 5000 troops, hundreds of Iroquois all moving franticly into and out of the area. Sullivan won his greatest victory just two weeks earlier. His army was moving up to 10 miles per day. Up the Chemung river valley. Burning every native village they came across. The effect must have been to drive the entire population up the river valley in confusion. When they reached the western Finger Lakes, they had the choice of several routes. Each Finger Lake had North-south paths that were well developed and traveled by the Iroquois. Sullivan pushed them to the West, also. The westward part of the campaign ended in Cuylerville, just three valleys to the west of Canadice. That’s the place where Boyd died. I think this is significant. Sullivan didn’t turn back because of the torture and grizzly killing of his best scout. He had planned to turn back when he reached Genesee. It’s the first time he suffered this kind of defeat, though. It was a personal blow. Boyd was a trusted scout, commanding the most important sweeping units. They were used to scout ambushes ahead of the main army. This is really the only passage I’ve found related to the treasure: Persistent of the sparsely settled hills is the belief in buried treasure, hidden it is alleged, by General Sullivan's officers, while crossing the narrow ridge northwest of the lake as a precautionary measure against being captured by the Indians. Sporadic fits of digging extended over a period of a century and a half have yielded nothing, however, in the way of silver and gold.Source Page
Looking at the different parts of the passage, I’ve confirmed several things from other sources.- Sullivan was constantly aware of ambushes. His British and Iroquois counterparts had attacked him before. An ambush discovered by Boyd led to the Battle of Newtown, his greatest success. Now, an ambush had led to his greatest loss, the barbaric death of Boyd. Now that he was turning back, I think he would have wanted to travel as light as possible. Especially now that his best ambush scout was dead.- Sullivan was also constantly concerned about supplies during this part of the campaign. To Sullivan, I think the plunder his army was gathering was less important than the food. Genesee was a bonanza for Sullivan. He plundered corn, beans, all manner of foodstuffs. Now if one packhorse was carrying two chests of native trinkets instead of two bushels of corn, I think Sullivan would definitely leave the chests behind.- Sullivan was also very concerned about how quickly his army could move. Every time he stopped for more than a day, he left behind wounded soldiers and canon. He knew that he would be meeting up with 40 wounded and several canons (incl. 1 Howitzer) that he had left at the town of Honeoye. As he moved Eastward across the North end of Canadice Lake, he would have wanted to lighten himself as much as possible before entering Honeoye.

The real treasure may not have been buried by Sullivan after all:- As Sullivan pushed the wave of natives and British before him, they may have buried the important things that they couldn’t lose, but couldn’t carry. These things may be near the old native villages.- The speed with which the Continentals over ran the area is remarkable. There are contemporary reports of fully cooked meals in empty houses. Several people were left behind and questioned by Sullivan’s advancing army.- There are also contemporary reports that the natives knew Sullivan’s position and progress. They posted scouts on high points between the lakes.- So a controlled panic might be descriptive of the mood in the Hemlock/Canadice villages. They knew that they had to leave to the West. After having 1 or 2 days to prepare for flight, several native caches may exist in the hills overlooking village sites.

Tags: OSTH, Canadice and Hemlock, Metal Detecting, Rochester, Hemlock Lake, Canadice Lake

Short Story Idea

2006-06-04T19:39:00.000-04:00

I’m thinking about a subject for a short story. I would like to tell it in the first person, assuming the identity of a fictional scientist. He develops a nano technology that promises to heal wounds, increase life spans, etc. At some point, either purposefully or accidentally, he is exposed to the “nanobots” At first, he experiences all of the benefits of this new technology. As time passes, he begins to understand that the development of this technology within him will eventually supplant his own mind.

The story is written in the form of a diary, like Flowers for Algernon, but with no arc. The character describes the complete failure of independent cognition. At the end of the story, the diary is being written by the new artificial intelligence which now animates our fictional scientist. I still can’t think of a name for the story… Symbols from Daniel Keyes’ story keep floating through my head. Maybe I should be reading something more technical.

Henrietta Fire District

2006-06-04T16:49:00.000-04:00

http://www.henriettafire.info/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jheaney1/sets/72157594155378626/

Buttercup

2006-06-04T15:19:00.000-04:00

It's not what you think

2006-06-04T09:53:00.000-04:00

Subliminal Advertising

I was on a bus a couple years ago. There was a FedEX truck in the lane next to me. Not much of a view, but all I had to look at. FedEX uses a subtle form of subliminal advertising that’s built right into their logo. Between the E and the X, an arrow is formed. It’s a simple sign, and not necessarily devious. It just is. A group of psychologists at Federal Express developed a new logo that conveyed the impression of movement to anyone who looked at it. It suits a company that prides itself by being on time. I wonder if there are unintended consequences for their experiment. Do you think FedEX trucks get more speeding tickets than UPS trucks? UPS after all, has developed an image of classic dependability. Rounded trucks, safe colors. Father knows best how to get your package to Seattle.

I find myself “falling asleep” at times, not paying attention to the subtle clues that are all around me. I’m too tall to be really swayed by kid cereals. All I see in the cereal isle are Special Ks and Bran muffin cereals. My back hurts when I bend over to look at the Sugar Barons. Don’t hide down there! Come into the light, Count Chocula!

We all have our own subliminal advertising that we try out on each other. She blinks rapidly at me, I smile more at her. The way she walks away is supposed to tell me if I should follow. I’m still working out how to recognize that one.

The point isn’t so much that you should be paranoid about subliminal messages. It’s more that you should be aware that those messages represent a large part of what we see every day. Those messages vary in power and intent just as the people who make them do. For the more insidious ones, it’s a real pleasure to recognize them. Nothing diffuses manipulation like knowledge.

RTFM

Tags: RTFM, Subliminal Advertising

I met her once

2006-06-03T15:55:00.000-04:00

I met her once at a dance, but I got in trouble for pulling her hair.
I met her once in social studies, but teachers don’t date 3rd graders.
I met her once on a blind date, but we had nothing in common.
I met her once on the 4 th floor of Kendrick Hall, but she was going out with my best friend.
I met her once at a party, but it was the wrong music.
I met her once when she was depressed, but she got back together with her ex boyfriend.
I met her once when we hugged after graduation, but I didn't know it at the time.
I met her once on a third date, but I ran out of gas before I picked her up.
I met her once at my reunion, but she wasn’t interested.
I met her once in front of an Atlanta Bread Company, but my blind date showed up before I could get her number.
I hope I meet her again.

Macro-chess-pan

2006-06-02T20:44:00.000-04:00

Macro-chess-pan
Originally uploaded by npanth.

My first attempt at a Macro Panoramic shot. 4 Shots manually stitched together.

DHS Cuts NYC Security Funds

2006-06-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

CNN Coverage
DHS Announcement

DHS is cutting $85 million from New York City's security grant next year. DHS was quick to point out that New York City is the largest recipient in this year’s round of Security Grants. These are the famous grants that went for traffic cones and swimming pools. That’s the key reason why New York and Washington are being stiffed by DHS.
To avoid future “creative applications” of the Security Grants, DHS is now targeting grants at municipalities under two criteria:

-Security need. New York and Washington have unique security needs that don’t require some “list” to describe. Despite what I’ve heard, NYC and DC are the front lines of the War on Terror. These are the two cities where the battles will be fought, and victory decided. Any shortfall of support is tantamount to cutting off Patton’s supplies in 1944.

-Efficient use of resources. This is where DHS is putting the screws to NYC and DC. I’ve been to both cities… there’s nothing efficient about either place. Little wonder, then, that money winds up flushed down the WC, low flow, eco-friendly WCs.

To me, New York’s need outweighs any consideration of efficiency. Washington’s need is just as dire. There is still a building there that was untouched, but part of the original scheme. I put this to you. It’s better to let 10 murderers go free, rather than convict one innocent man. Isn’t it better then to waste 6 figures on traffic cones than let one fireman die because they were over budget?

Tags: DHS, Security Grant

Horse Sense

2006-06-01T20:05:00.000-04:00

Signals

2006-06-01T19:26:00.000-04:00

Twitch's Fortress of Solitude
I’m not a subtle guy. I’m too obtuse to be subtle. It’s not that I’m stupid, necessarily; I just have trouble reading even the simplest signals that women send me. I get the obvious ones; I’m not deaf, just obtuse. I know what kind of woman I’m looking for. She’s a nurturing person. It sounds cliché, but she’s not a cliché. That nurturing takes the form of acceptance, not mothering. In my experience, acceptance, Poly-egoism, is the product of a subtle mind. Hence, my problem.
It’s frustrating. I can be subtle at times, too subtle. Most of the women I approach after admiring from afar profess complete ignorance. Then they shrink away in that familiar way. Or, just wish me out of existence. It’s not hard; I’m not a stalker or a weirdo. I go away because, what’s the point? I talked to them in the first place because I wanted… to be wanted, that’s all.
Maybe the personality archetype that I’ve chosen as my perfect counterpart isn’t that at all. As i think back on the women i’ve been irresistibly drawn to, they’re pretty similar to each other. Smart, intellectual, committed to something. In the 80’s they were deadheads, flowing, flowery skirts, long hair, an easy smile, and a light incense. Now, Now is no different from then, really. They’ve grown up, along with me, I suppose, but they’re easy to spot. They stand out in a crowd, they’re special. They’re just not interested in a dry-witted tinkerer. I’m an anachronism, prone to the grand gesture, and that’s scary to a lot of people. The irony is that I’m not a scary guy. It took me 3 weeks and 20 pictures to convince the lady at the office that “Smush the Puddy” didn’t mean Smash the Cat. I can’t even share my cat baby talk with an office co worker without being misunderstood. … and she likes me. So, if you see a clumsy gorilla walking up to you in a bar, don’t be too hasty next time. He might just be obtuse in more than one way.

Charlotte Beach, Lake Ontario

2006-06-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

Tags: Lake Ontario, Charlotte

Compassionate Governance

2006-05-31T13:12:00.000-04:00

Abraham Lincoln Died with a Confederate bill in his pocket. The president who led us through the most divisive time in our country’s history had a symbol of reconciliation with him. Lincoln had planned for a peaceful Reconstruction. He had already laid plans for rebuilding the south. Reconstruction was to be an extension of the peace that Grant made at Appomattox. A Marshal Plan for the South, if you will. Imagine our country if Lincoln had lived to see that benevolent rebuilding started. Instead, our policy was one of retribution and subjugation. The case can be made that organizations like the KKK had a virulent support because of the nature of Reconstruction. We’re still living with the consequences of that period today. Racism and resentment are part and parcel of our everyday lives.
Lincoln understood that punishing the South would only be punishing the US. There is no punishing one state without belittling the entire nation. How many times has this theme played itself out before our eyes? Even the leaders of that time had plenty of precedent showing that vengeance is no substitute for compassionate governance. What purpose does it serve to learn the lessons of history, if they are ignored? We’ve had numerous examples of that forgotten lesson in the 20th century, from Spain, Japan, Italy, and Germany. Which country even aspires to the ideal of a compassionate government? Rugged individualism has become the catch phrase for government disinterest. I don’t think that our government passes the test of compassion posed by that Confederate bill.

Tags: Abraham Lincoln - Reconstruction

What is your favorite Sound?

2006-05-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

I’ve thought about this, on and off, for most of my life. I love that roar that shakes your bones and rattles your head. It’s the sound that the Space Shuttle makes when it lifts off. It’s the sound that volcanoes make when they erupt. As one survivor of Mt St Helens described it “… like a thousand locomotives going 90 miles an hour on square wheels.” After I got to upstate NY, I eventually made my way out to Niagara Falls. I still go there every now and then. Falling water ionizes the air around it. This ionization can create a mild euphoria in humans. Sounds like the perfect place to go on a honeymoon, eh? Ok, only if you’re Lois Lane…
I don’t go to Niagara Falls just to see the wonder. I go there to hear it and feel it. It’s one of those places where the geology dominates all the surrounding area. For every wax figure that goes up on the strip, a million gallons of the Great Lakes drain down the canyon.
It’s an illusion, though. The power plants feed just enough water over the falls to make them look pretty. What we see today is only half the volume that Nature would normally provide. I still love it, though. I like standing right at the edge on the Canadian side and watching the water go over the edge. There’s a continuous nature of that spot that defeats my eyes. I wind up following it back and forth, eventually losing track of any particular spot on the edge. At this point, my sight just slides around the bowl, back and forth, not watching anything at all. That’s when the noisy tourists don’t bother me anymore, and all I can hear is that rushing water. It shakes under my feet and I have to hold onto the rail. Someone inevitably nudges me hard enough to break the spell, and that’s it. There aren’t many places where you can truly linger next to the falls.
Another place I like very much is on the tour behind the falls. Ever since humans discovered the falls, they’ve been carving tunnels behind it. Today, there is a warren of tunnels back there. Some of them end behind the falls, so you can stand just arm’s length from the rushing water. It’s a unique place, and a powerful way to feel the weight of the falls all around you. So, I like the sound of roaring water, and I’m interested in geology. Niagara Falls is a perfect place for me.
Tags: Niagara Falls

In this Corner...

2006-05-30T12:42:00.000-04:00

What price is too high? Which constitutional mandates are sacrosanct? It’s a question that Congress is wrestling with today as they hold hearings to determine the constitutionality of Justice Department searches of congressional offices last week. Rep Jefferson had $90,000 in cold cash in his freezer when the Gmen knocked on his office door. For anyone else… you, me, Alberto Gonzalez, it would have been by the book. They had a warrant; they had their ducks in a row. This search targeted a Legislative Branch office, though. That makes all the difference. No one is trying to get Mr. Jefferson’s money back for him. That crime has already been committed.

What’s at stake here is the boundaries between the Executive and Legislative Branches of our government. I don’t think this constitutes a crisis yet, but it is a disturbing extension of power by the Executive branch. I think they were counting on a general distaste for Congress, a Democratic target, and general malaise to let it slide. Searching Mr. Jefferson’s offices served several purposes.

The Justice Department could complete the investigation that began with Jefferson accepting the $90,000 on camera. The raid had to come before the summer. Otherwise, as days pass, it becomes more of a political tactic than an undercover operation. Besides, I’m sure every cop in the world dreams of that Law & Order moment when they throw open the freezer door and see row after row of chilly Franklins staring back.

The executive branch could test the new boundaries between themselves and the Legislative branch. Power isn’t granted in Washington, it’s carved out by the participants. Mr. Bush has been discussing the war time powers of the Executive for several years now. His position has been that the War on Terror grants him greater power to intervene in the other two branches of government. Bending, indeed breaking, long standing customs concerning Justice Intrusion into Congress will carve out more precedent for the Executive. It is the concrete action to match the president’s rhetoric. Congress has proven to be quite a pliable opponent on larger issues of oversight and nominations. The Justice Department didn’t expect any problems over one more issue.

Congress should not over react to this incident, nor should they settle for less than real measures that keep this from happening again. I believe in Separation of powers. History is replete with civilizations that neglected balance in favor of security or power.

Tags: congress, Jefferson, Justice+Department, Executive+Branch

Happy Memorial Day

2006-05-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

Amber May-06 Pannus Update

2006-05-29T08:20:00.000-04:00

Amber May-06 Pannus Update
Originally uploaded by npanth.

Comparing this photo to previous photos... The lessions seem to be retaining their shape, just changing in density. Her Left eye is definately less affected than her right. It seems like the angle and flash intensity has alot to do with how the lessions show up in the final photo.

It's really hard to get the same angle and intensity every month. It's even harder to analyze the lession changes when the reflection isn't consistent. I think I'm going to have to find some other technique of taking these pictures. Maybe a bright light instead of a flash?

Lollypop Farm

2006-05-28T18:48:00.000-04:00

Lollypop Farm
Lollypop – Available Animals

I volunteer at the county shelter every Sunday. I take pictures of small animals and cats for their website. I don’t take dog pictures because I’m the only photographer there on Sundays. Some of the animals are available for adoption, most of them are strays. My “work” is tied to the seasons. It crackles in the spring, sleeps in the winter. Summer is all about being cool, baby. Fall, well, Fall is the end of times. Quiet desperation.

I know the reality of the place. I’ve deleted pictures off my CF card because that cat will never go up front. I don’t go there with some macabre death wish; those are the things that eat at me. I go there because that gray long hair let me pet her kitten today; that little kitten that looks oh so much like my cat. To me, the shelter simply is. There is no discounting the bad, nor is there any belittling the good. In the course of a day, I see almost every aspect of the stray and adoption process. I find at least one animal I want to take home every week, too.

I start in the Small Animal room. Varmints. Guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, snakes, turtles, cockatiels, parrots, etc. etc. etc. I took a picture of a pigeon once. Honest. Some lady called in a stray… street pigeon, beady red eyes and all. Almost anything goes in the Small Animal room. Ferrets are great. I like the uncle association I have there. I get to play with these unique little critters, but don’t have to take them home.

Next is the cat room, my favorite. 60 cages, with volunteers on one side and adopters on the other. Yeah, they’re in jail, but they get constant attention from friendly people, and they’re up for adoption. I get to see how the purple haired girl’s tats are coming along, canoodle with the cats. It’s a happy place; things are looking up for the inmates. Good behavior gets you time in the cat room. It’s all Salvador Dali to us, but it’s heaven for a cat. Someone even thought up bookshelves right next to the door, to ambush unwary photographers.

Now, it’s on to cat holding and the Mary Ellen Feline Room. CH1(stray), CH2(adoption overflow), MEF(sick), these are all cramp rooms. Tight quarters to take pictures in. There are rows of stainless steel cages built into the wall. Most of them have sticky doors. I wind up rattling more than one cage every week trying to get a door open. The cats reach out as I go by. Gimme a smoke, copper. There are two kinds of cats in Cat holding. The door dasher and the badger down a hole. Eyes are a universal marker for cats. They judge your mood based on how wide your eyes are. I try to approach cats with slit eyes. Then I stick this giant camera lens in their face and take a flash picture. I’m usually pretty popular in CH until I start taking pictures. For the strays, getting a mug shot is the best way to get back home, so I persevere.

The adoption overflow cats still have an uncertain future. If adoptions keep pace with entries, things are fine. Sometimes, CH2 overflows into cages in the hallway, and the hallway after that, and the garage, and the bam. This year hasn’t been too bad; there are no cages full of kittens out there. I like it when I don’t have too many pictures to take in the back. 28 new cats in two days this week, a slow day.

Then I go back to the office and drop off my CF card. If the weather’s good, Amber’s waiting in the car. She gives me a sniffing that would get a restraining order from anyone else, and off we go. We go on the Farm walk and make fun of the Emus. I found this picture in the way back, behind the “ify” horses. Anyone who’s studied the Holocaust will recognize what it is. Still, the shelter isn’t a place of evil. When I go there, I do only good, I provide only comfort, and I take away only happiness.

Technorati: Animal Shelter, cat

A Simple Place

2006-05-28T09:37:00.000-04:00

I have places that I go when I'm in a particular photographic mood. Lake Ontario always inspires simplistic photos for me. Something about the sky and water dominating every view is compelling to me. There’s no overt complexity like there is in a city. Manhattan, any city really, makes me take fairly complicated pictures. I’m always trying to cram something else into the frame. When I go to the lake, I always want to take something out of the frame.

Phineas Gage

2006-05-27T12:41:00.000-04:00

Phineas Gage - Wikipedia
I wulod lkie to tlel you the sorty of Phineas Gage and prheaps sohw you smotiheng auobt the way hmanus tnihk. Pnihaes Ggae wrkeod on the rliaraod. He pclaed dnymatie in hleos dirleld itno rcoks. He dorve the dnyaimte itno the hloes wtih a sveen foot lnog mteal ploe. Pneaihs dndi’t mkae mcuh mneoy, but msot ploepe csnodeierd him an hnoset man. He dndi’t dnirk, he ddni’t sokme, and he pvriedod as wlel as he culod for his fmaily. Bsaiclaly, we wluod hvae no rsaoen to rmeembr Pnaeihs eecxpt for the enetvs of one feutafl day.

Pnaheis wnet to wrok taht day, jsut lkie any oehtr. He tmaped dmnyitae lkie awylas, but tihs day, one of the crgehas eolpdxed wehn he dovre it hmoe. Taht seevn foot ploe soht out of the hloe and tguorh his haed. Pnaeihs neevr lsot cnessoicnooss. He sytead akwae drniug the wlhoe tmie taht his cw-okreors cierard him to the dcootr. Not olny taht, but he smeeed nmroal wehn polepe tklaed to him the nxet day.

Now, hree is the qseutoisn taht steinstcsis hvae been akinsg eevr scnie. Bfreoe the adccneit, Pnaehis was jsut athenor rliaraod wkroer. Atfer taht day, Paehnis was a mcuh defrnfeit posren. He seatrtd dnknirg… bcemae the twon dnurk in fcat. He qiut his job, dvoreicd his wfie, lfet his kdis, and senpt the rset of his lfie in the gtuetr. He eevn mdae areancppaes for PT Bnruam’s faerk sohw.

Did Pnheias cghnae his wlohe lfie bcaeuse of the dmagae dnoe to his barin? Or, did his colse bsurh wtih dateh sned him itno some knid of mdnases? It’s hrad to tlel, the biarn desno’t awlyas racet in pdeictbalre wyas. Bmnipug itno a door can trun itno a bad irnujy, wihle hvanig a seevn foot ploe go trhuogh yuor haed mhgit jsut bnirg on a mldifie csriis.

If yuv’oe fnhsied tihs sorty, tehn yuo konw how yuor biarn can tcirk you semtomies.

Good grief, Word is annoying when I try stuff like this :(

Phineas Gage

Eaglesmere

2006-05-26T18:14:00.000-04:00

My hands are still sore from carrying the canoe down from the house. I have to sit here for a minute anyway. A deep breath. The sun’s just coming over the trees. Everything’s quiet except for that angry blue jay. He followed me all the way down the hill, hopping from one fir tree to the next.. There’s no going up and down that hill twice, so I carried all of it in one trip. There’s a trail of stuff going back up the hill, but only about a quarter of the way. So, I’m ahead of the game. Now, if only my hands would start working again. Look at that lake. I’m at the bottom of a giant heart that won’t start beating for another hour.

After I’d settled a bit, I gathered up my belongings and piled it all in the canoe. Stepped in… and did a face plant right into the gravel next to the canoe. I pondered my misfortune just long enough for the canoe to start drifting towards the middle of the lake. 10 soggy minutes later, I had everything back by the dock, ready for another try. I managed to stay upright this time, but being soaked to the bone took most of the pleasure out of that feat. I was eager to get fishing, so I took out my grandfather’s rod. Green fiberglass with metal ferrules. I rubbed the metal against my nose like he had told me to. As I turned to put the two pieces together, the tip section slipped out of my wet hand. I was fast enough to get my paddle under it, but that only let the tip linger one moment longer. When I bobbed back to the surface, I realized that I’d tried a little too hard. 15 soggy minutes later, I had everything that was left piled up in the canoe, ready for one more attempt. Somehow, I had the bottom of grandpa’s rod, and the top half of my rod. It only cracked a little when I jammed them together. The Blue Jay just looked at me now. He knew better. 20 minutes without catastrophe had me feeling pretty good, so I decided to try some fishing. The only lure left to me was a silver KastMaster that had embedded itself into my thigh during the last dunk. Maybe the most beautiful thing of the day happened next. The lure hit the water and seemingly just kept going. Taken just as it broke the surface, the fight was on! I pulled, and something BIG pulled back. I pulled harder… and my rod snapped right into my forehead. My rage was ignored by the fir trees. Reeling in a fish with half a rod wasn’t half as strange as seeing that fiberglass narwhal staring back at me. He came into the boat with the top half of my rod so far down his gullet that I could have held him up like a Popsicle. That didn’t help much, as I learned that some fish do indeed have sharp teeth. Sucking my thumb in the middle of a lake didn’t diminish my glee as my quarry flopped around on the bottom of the canoe.
I’d never heard of Pickerel Piccada, but Mrs. Klotz assured me that no finer end could befall my trophy. Tasted a little like lawn clippings, but there was something sweet there, too.

Derailing Amtrak

2006-05-26T06:42:00.000-04:00

Larry Mineta. Feb 14, 2005 on Amtrak's budget
AP Story, 5-26-06

Mr. Mineta argues in his speech that Amtrak isn’t in need of more money; they’re in need of better organization. I think he's half right. Amtrak was never intended to be a profit center for the government. Amtrak supports the essential infrastructure of our country.

I hate to compare the US to the rest of the world… because we don’t always look too good when I do it. We do have our moments, but when it comes to issues like state supported transportation, we’re not too high up on the list. Eurail is the authority that controls rail travel in Europe. Now, these countries, which have been squabbling with each other forever, can get together to support an inexpensive rail system that covers the entire continent. What exactly is the problem here in the land of the free?

Why do we want to torpedo Amtrak? Mineta says that budget cuts are just a wake up call to Amtrak, a way to force constructive reorganization. They can do that without cutting the budget. Amtrak is a malleable organization, overseen by Congress… shouldn’t be too tough to rearrange things to their liking.

The issue of Amtrak’s financing is rather complicated, but the fundamental idea of reliable, available transportation in the US is not. Cutting Amtrak’s budget by 1/3 won’t balance the budget; it will only close down a third of Amtrak services. Since Amtrak already runs at a deficit, that 33% budget cut will just push them off the ledge towards collapse. When Amtrak does fail, which crony do you think will get the sweet deal at the fire sale?

Expended Energy

2006-05-25T17:04:00.000-04:00

Sol, False Color Image

Add up the vocal energy expended during an average human lifetime… All the laughing, talking, crying, and nuance of our lives couldn’t even make a cup of water boil. We can make blood boil, though.

Words have a force that’s not encompassed by science. Their subtlety propels them beyond the mere cadence of a wave. Yet, that wave is beautiful, too. It confers beauty back on us when we understand it.

A Seamless Universe

2006-05-25T15:51:00.000-04:00

Thought Experiments are ways for us to imagine things that we can never see. It’s a special property of humans that we can deduce a truth without actually having to stand in front of something. Einstein proved that gravity effects light using a thought experiment. Bell opened up a big can of worms with another thought experiment. Here’s a quick tour of Bell’s theorem…

Imagine we’re a photon, a little piece of light. We’re floating around, there’s not too much going on. There’s another photon next to us. Now imagine that we’re spinning clockwise. Our partner is spinning counter clockwise. So, we’re floating around, spinning with our partner, and everything’s good. The other photon decides to zip over to the other side of the Universe. It’s our thought experiment; we can do whatever we want. Now, we’re lonely on our side of the dance floor, and our erstwhile partner is all the way over there. We’re both still spinning, though. Just to spite that other photon, we decide to reverse our spin… now.

Even though that other photon is on the other side of the Universe, it knows instantly that we changed the direction of our spin. There’s no fooling the other photon.

The problem that this poses is that the Universal speed limit is supposed to be the speed of light. Nothing goes faster than that. So, how can that other photon, on the other side of the Universe, change its spin instantly? It does, though. The concept has been proven many times since Bell postulated his theorem. Now what? How do we reconcile this?

Well, there are two ideas. Either there is something that can go faster than the speed of light… or the Universe is connected in a new and interesting way. This new way is called a Seamless Whole. Think Yoda lifting the X-Wing out of the swamp. No kidding! Life isn’t quite like the movies; I still have to replace the batteries in my remote control. There is good evidence that the universe does have some kind of… of… Force connecting everything together. That idea works better than getting a Mulligan from the Universe on that speed limit thing.

relativity, photon, bell theorum

Mirror Mirror

2006-05-24T16:45:00.000-04:00

Seems to me that society has a way of reflecting itself. In the infinite mirror of our lives, we can be confronted by almost anything. Does the flower holder help on those long stake-outs? We’re just imitating ourselves, of course. Society is made up of countless MEs and YOUs. Does the dashcam have little bunnies and flowers on it? Societies, like people, exist in all varieties and hues imaginable. They make themselves suitable to their citizens because… that’s the way we are. Should I buy a Crown Vic to balance out the Universe?

If you live in Ithaca, you understand.
Ithaca police

Perception

2006-05-23T17:36:00.000-04:00

Relativity is based on the idea that your perspective determines your reality. Here’s what I mean. When you look at this background, it’s black. I’m sorry, I like the way it looks. If you had a red tailed hawk sitting on your shoulder, she wouldn’t see a black screen. She’d see a bunch of dots, big dots. To her, the screen looks like a bubblegum cartoon.

Now imagine you have a hamster on the other shoulder. Besides the obvious problems, that little fellow wouldn’t even see details on the screen, just a dark blob. Now, we’ve imagined three realities for my blog. Relativity comes in by postulating that all three realities exist. Not too tough to swallow, eh? Here’s the chunky part. All three realities exist simultaneously, overlapping with each other, but being completely separate at the same time. Essentially, when I take your hand, we’re just pushing our realities together. When we release each other, we could spin to the ends of the Universe. It’s all possible, just depends on your prespective.

Relativity imagines the impossible because, somewhere in this Infinite Universe, it happens all the time.
perception relativity

What Mercy

2006-05-23T11:57:00.000-04:00

Please don’t be too critical, I’m just trying out diminishing pentameter…

What mercy is left to us in this life but that which we share with each other?
The tenor of our lives is to take what we can, and leave the rest.
I’m not the shallow, vapid stranger you may suppose.
Hidden inside this shell is a gentle man.
What would convince?
Mercy

Gambling with Principles

2006-05-22T16:46:00.000-04:00

I have another analogy for the Uncertainty Principle.

Imagine yourself at a Roulette wheel. It’s spinning, and the marble has just been cast. Right now, the wheel is like an atom with an electron spinning around it. As the marble is cast, there are 38 different states that it can end up in. We can’t know where the Electron (marble) will be until we measure it (falls into a pocket). Once we’ve measured the marble, it is fixed in that state, or known, until we measure it again.

Now here's the part where it all goes off the tracks. While the marble is in motion, until we collapse the wave, and measure the marble, all 38 states both exist, and do not exist. The marble is both in all the slots, and in none of the slots, at the same time.

That bit of wisdom cost me about $200.

Still want to hear about my Super Secret Sure Fire Roulette system? :)

Principles

2006-05-22T12:08:00.000-04:00

The Principle of Uncertainty is an important concept. Your kids’ Xbox might run on it. Quantum Computing relies on this principle, and it goes something like this:

..Before you read this page, I put two dots at the beginning of the sentence, then I deleted them, then I put them back. The two dots were in a state of flux, existing, then not existing. Then I saved my document and “Sampled” the dots. That stuck them there for good. As the reader, the dots just Exist, but you can tell that they were deleted because I just told you.

The same thing happens when we measure an electron spinning around its nucleus. We can’t know where the electron is until we measure it. Once we measure it, that position is carved in stone, until we measure it again. In the wild world of Quantum Mechanics, the Electron both exists AND does not exist until we measure it.

That’s important. A photon in a Quantum Computer knows where it is (presumably) but we have no idea. We can chart what state the photon is in as a percentage, guessing where it’s going to land. (No tangent into roulette and my super secret sure fire system. :) Instead of having two choices for a bit, 0 and 1, we now have this percentage value for the position of the photon. When we measure the position of the photon, we set the values for all those percentages stored in the computer. It’s called “Collapsing the Wave”. That photon is surfing some pretty heavy info while you type up that email. In the end, you get a computer with the potential to store information in a whole new way. Instead of describing a grey dot on the screen with 8 bits of data, we’ll be able to do it with one… Sounds small, and it is, but it will make a big difference in everything from super computers to your kids’ Xbox.

Wissahickon Creek

2006-05-21T17:09:00.000-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jheaney1/sets/

Is it better to shoot photos with the Crop in mind? I used to shoot for the crop when I had a film camera. When I found a subject, I would start a zoom series, trying to take every aspect of the subject. As you zoom, your picture tends to “flatten out”. The picture that’s cropped out of a wide angle picture is different from the one that’s taken zoomed in. Now that I have a digital SLR, I’ve found that I don’t crop the images I take anymore. As I’m shooting, that magic little window tells me if I’ve got a good composition or not. Well, a good composition for me, at least. Here, I think I’d crop out the land at the top of the picture, free up the trees in the water reflection. What do you think?

Who Catches Who?

2006-05-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

Amber is my dog. I like to say “She’s half blind, she has bad hips. At least she’s still good in the middle.” I tell you, it’s hard for a new dog owner to hang onto a blind, lame, incontinent dog. The cat just about clung to the ceiling every time that collar jingled, too. Her name is Twitch after all.

A sweet personality really goes a long way, and Amber’s been here for almost a year now. In this entire world, there’s one creature that thinks I’m the greatest. The excitement never gets old; she never gets bored seeing me. The cat has found a new writ of courage, too. I reached out to that darn cat for almost nine years. After building ramps and catering meals, I had almost given up. The dog sparked something, though. I have a lap cat all of a sudden. She actually bugs me for attention, now.

So, both my pets are doing great. And my new designer carpet? Turns out that spotted rag covers up hard wood floors. Who knew?

PS in case you're curious, the cat is "Wuddle Puddy" and the dog is "Fuzzy Bunny!"

You to Me

2006-05-20T11:19:00.000-04:00

Ever get the feeling that if anyone took notice of you, they’d find something completely surprising? That we’re all fascinating people. We all make our own deal with the Universe. We all play out a stream of consciousness that’s unique, if not always in perfect harmony with those around us. There has to be some sympathetic vibration out there. I’m not a discordant tone, an angry note. I hum to the same tunes you do. So, why do I hardly ever hear the music?

Stephen Colbert

2006-05-20T09:41:00.000-04:00

I'm a fan of the Colbert Report. I like that kind of political humor. Stephen Colbert has gotten alot of press lately. He roasted the president. He parodies right wing talking heads, and gets biting at times. The "unofficial" fansite is run by Comedy Central, and has no working contact information. So, to assuage myself, I'll post my little advertising upgrade here. They have an ad for CDW on the site, but I don't really like the byline. Check out their's here. Don't you think this would work better?

My good friend Stephen called me on his private line the other night to ask a favor. Now, I can’t deny Stephen anything since the war, when he saved my life. Stephen’s printer stopped printing the TRUTH! It had obviously been tampered with. He was forced to dispose of it by returning it to its evil masters, the ACLU. To save on the postage, he threw it out his car while driving past their offices. He needed me to procure a replacement. One that wouldn’t let him down. Now, who would I turn to but CDW? They understand Quality and Service.

Haiku

2006-05-19T19:29:00.000-04:00

I’ve been reading some of the rules for English Haiku. A rule in Haiku is a bit of an oxymoron. My sense of the short verse is to let your mind roam, and describe the place where it lands.
In diminishing pentameter, and, perhaps, increasing profundity, here is some Haiku para tu

5-7-5
A rush of feeling.
Smitten by an age old love.
I feel once again.

3-5-3
Broken Oak
Shorn of your essence
Fallen leaves

1-3-1
Life
Loving Her
Death

After thinking about it for a bit, I think I agree with the author that 3-5-3 is a good length for english Haiku. It seems like that is the best pentameter for me... balances stupidity with dilitance just right :)

Behold

2006-05-19T17:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jheaney1/sets/

Fishfinder and GPS

2006-05-19T08:16:00.000-04:00

Fishfinder sat on her perch and hummed happily. “Ah, look at the dots there. Is that a fish?”
GPS turned on his mount. “What’s that? I don’t see anything but that waypoint up ahead.”
“The fish silly, right down there.”
“Down?”
Fishfinder laughed “Of course, Down, what else is there?”
“I don’t understand this ‘Down’ of yours, there’s only Up.”
“Oop? Are there fish there?”
“Up, and no there aren’t any fish. I can’t see what's up there, but I can hear them.”
“How do you know they aren’t fish?”
“Because I don’t know what fish are.”
“Fish are little black dots that make Fisherman push my buttons.”
“Those are waypoints. Fisherman pushes my buttons to make them.”
“Those are different dots. When Boat passes over something, I make the dots.”
GPS looked up “I am only under the sounds.”

Fishfinder pondered this for a moment. “So, fisherman pushes your buttons to make the waypoints, boat passes over something, and I make fish.”
GPS beeped happily “yes, I think you have it! What would Fisherman do without us? Without me, there are no waypoints. Without Boat, there’s nothing to pass over. Without you, there’d be no fish for Fisherman.”
Boat rumbled ominously “Fisherman is pounding my deck in frustration. Stop beeping and get back to work or I’ll put Battery to sleep again.”

Strawberry Fields

2006-05-18T21:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, things were tough in Mudville this winter. My Strawberry patch has been a project of almost 3 years. Everything looked like it would be for nothing this day back in February. The water never actually covered the plants, but they got pretty straggly, as you can see. I’ve worried about them from time to time, but I try to maintain a loose contract with the plants. I’ll kill the grass, pull some weeds from time to time, but you have to be of sturdy stock to thrive in my backyard. I was very happy with the strawberries last summer. From just 5 plants, they spread out like a web to eventually colonize 30 spots. I don’t remember buying a raspberry bush, but there it was. I put a berry cage around it until the dog ran the whole thing under. She twisted the knife by digging a big hole right on the spot.

I decided that no one could have predicted the topping of the levees, and that the dog attack should fall under the Godzilla clause. Therefore, my plants, ahem, THE plants, would now rely on local development grants (dandelions) to oversee the recovery effort.
Because of my brilliant management, the strawberries have now fully recovered from the winter’s tests… stronger and more vibrant than ever, I’m expecting my bumper crop to benefit construction and shipping (birds), who will in turn provide a product (poop) to the original stakeholder (me)
As you can see the end result matches closely with the effort expended.

I originally planted the strawberries because I couldn’t stand supporting a bird feeder anymore. Sure, it was nice to have several different birds camping outside my window. When they started cracking the nuts open on my gutter, and dive bombing the dog, I decided to cancel their lease. I felt bad about depriving the birds, except Morning Doves, I’ve developed a special hatred for them. The strawberry patch has been a great success. There are birds hanging around, day and night. Now that things are looking up, I’m looking to expand the patch with a couple Blueberry plants. I saw that on HGTV… I hang out at Home Depot sometimes, too. What’s it to ‘ya?!

Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

2006-05-18T18:18:00.000-04:00

CNN Coverage

Merck announced today that they have received an endorsement by the FDA’s outside advisory panel. The endorsement is for a new drug that can partially vaccinate against the virus that causes Cervical Cancer. This is remarkable news. It’s both a small step, and a very large one.

Controlling any kind of cancer is leap forward. Even though this vaccine is very specific in what it can prevent, it is still a beacon of hope for millions. As generations of young girls start to receive this vaccine, the incidence of HPV 16 and 18 will begin to drop. The base risk of contracting HPV will eventually be reduced to the point of extinction. And that’s forever, baby.

It’s a small step because, in a sense, we’ve been fighting this battle for eons. Bacteria is (relatively) easy to kill. Squirt something on it, cook it, there are a million ways to skin those little devils. Viruses on the other hand, use our own bodies against us. The body’s only defense is to carpet bomb the area, killing good cells as well as bad, until things get back to normal. Viruses mimic our own cells’ instructions so convincingly that we will happily consume ourselves to accommodate the virus. Merck’s claim that another virus is controllable is indeed good news. I hope that we can all look forward to increasing good news about disease prevention.

My To Do List

2006-05-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

Walk in the light, for you will surely trip in the dark.
Watch your pennies at your own expense.
Sounding Wise and being Wise are one and the same when your opponent is neither.
Dressing for Success is only successful when you are Successful.
A picture is worth one word to a man who can’t read.
Watch where your feet land, it may not be land after all.
Jazz is only sublime for those who can listen.

Ian's Story

2006-05-18T07:09:00.000-04:00

Ian Heap turned to me one day. “Tell me a story, James.”
This is the story I told him.
It was the summer of 1881. Ian and I were an intrepid pair. Recently graduated from university, we had received our first appointment as assistants to Dr. Straw. As Professor Emeritus at the National Academy of Science, he would hold great sway over our futures. I had begun to despair that we would ever reach beyond the simple title of “assistant”. Doctor Straw carried himself with a Victorian grace. Unfortunately, his scientific views remained in the Victorian Age, while Ian and I were, of course, modern thinkers. One afternoon, as the three of us sat reading the latest dispatches; Dr. Straw tore his spectacles from his eyes. His agitation was infectious, and drew our attention to him immediately.
“I’ve come upon an interesting story in the Herald. Come chaps, see what I have here.”
The story concerned a series of ships which had mysteriously sunk off the Eastern Coast of Florida. This was no simple coincidence, nor something that might transpire through happenstance. Yet nothing in the scant wreckage had yielded the slightest clue as to the fate of either crew or cargo.
“Pirates would steal the crew and cargo, and then sink the ship.”
“It’s been 60 years since Barbary ships plied those waters”
“There are still places in Florida that would easily conceal a fleet of ships.”
Dr. Straw shook his spectacles at us. “Enough. No doubt you’ll have your flying machines abducting these poor souls next. There is nothing for it but to send a team from the academy to investigate this quandary.”

We were chosen, of course. Dr. Straw had no intention of spending that long summer alone with the two of us. We set out that very night. Trains, carriages, and finally horses brought us to a squalid dock in a fetid jungle. The dock master’s stained teeth flashed at us in a most insincere manner. Rather than offending, I looked forward to leaving the close confines of the primeval for the open expanses of the Atlantic. Our launch had been specially hired by the Academy. Sleek and fast, it strained at the mooring ropes. Equipped with new steam engines, our launch could outpace most vessels at sea.
I’m sure the journey from Miami had been easier than our trek though the swamp gasses and bogs. We had chosen this location specifically because of its isolation. Any ship leaving Miami would pass by this very spot. Intercepting and following these ships should be simple for a pair such as Ian and me. Besides, the Academy had supplied their most experienced captain as complement to this fine ship. Our captain, whose name was McCoy, emerged from below decks. A barrel chested man in a dark pea coat, his face was almost completely obscured by a seafarer’s beard. His eyes burned at me from under his cap.
“So, ‘yer the two scientists?... Stow ‘yer gear, we’re gone with the tide. Won’t be nothing but a pram at this dock in an hour.”

The Atlantic was everything I had dreamt of while in the jungle. I lingered above deck long into the night, watching the coastline recede. A sudden squall passed over the ship sometime in the dark morning and I decided to retire for the night.
I dreamt of sea monsters. A Kraken pursued me endlessly until I woke, sweating on the floor. Another shock passed through the keel as I stumbled to my feet. Ian burst through the now canted and swinging door.
“We’re under attack!” as the ship shook violently once again.
I spun awkwardly towards the porthole. An angry green jet of water greeted me.
Hand in hand, Ian and I struggled through the rising water until we reached the captain’s quarters. McCoy was nowhere to be seen. Turning to our own survival, Ian and I struggled back through the knee deep water. Standing on the wall that I had passed my hand over just a few hours before, we struggled towards the main hatch. Crawling out the hatch, we realized why the boat was on its side. We were in no danger of sinking, yet some new, unknown danger stood before us. As I looked higher and higher, I saw nothing but a continuous round chamber stretching over our heads. Even as we watched, water drained down a hole at the bottom of the chamber. As the water’s support receded, our ship shifted once again. We were thrown from the deck into the maelstrom of the drain. Thrust together, and then drawn apart, we swirled downwards. That angry green water gave Ian’s face a ghostly cast. Just as I was reaching the limit of my strength, we landed heavily on a hard, flat surface. Water continued to drain through slots in the floor, but we had been strained as efficiently as one would drain potatoes. A torrent of water continued to come from a hole in the wall, but Ian and I were now able to crawl from under it. We stood in another large chamber whose exact dimensions were difficult to determine. Only one dim light outlined the border of the chamber. As we moved closer, we realized that the light was indeed an exit to another, larger chamber. How much larger we found out as we reached the opening. Before us stood a chamber that I still have difficulty describing adequately. A large section of our own Washington could easily find a home inside this dome. Small ledges dotted the walls. I could easily imagine other unfortunate souls standing on those ledges, wondering much the same things that Ian and I were. There was no way of telling whether the sun was shining or not. Indeed, whether the entire outside world had come to a standstill.

At this point, Ian realized that he was late for a meeting. We never did have a chance to finish the story. I can assure you that McCoy did indeed survive to regale his comrades with tales of far flung technologies and peaceful… Atlantians. Yes, I was trying to put together an Atlantis story. I’m sure I’ll be haunted by Jules Verne’s ghost this night :)

Table Soccer, Not Foosball

2006-05-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

Gather round young ones, and hear tales of an old Foosballer. In my prime, there was a shot named after me. A broken goal backstop testified to my power. A dozen broken figures hung from my neck like so many plastic ears. Fear me! Hear me!

I was a fair foosballer in my day. I only played Defense, never offense. I’ve just never been comfortable with 5 and 3. My favorite version of the game was Goalie wars. Turn all of the offensive players up, and beat on each other from the defensive positions. Between two good defenders, the ball can fly right off the table. Luckily, Goalie Wars is a niche competition in Foosball, so there usually aren’t many spectators around to get hit.

The foosball table in college was under my care. Solemnly at the beginning of each year, I was handed the cleaning supplies with the strictest instruction never to use them. You see, a Foosball playing surface does not achieve its true grit or “play” until it has had a funnel’s worth of beer left on it overnight. I came to the belief that pizza cheese had its role in the “play”. Balancing sticky beer with greasy cheese is a maintenance nightmare. We had the good fortune to have parties with just the right balance of alcohol and grease to compliment our playing style.

That guy who threw an empty keg at a fire truck once would apologize for scoring a “dirty” goal. Yes, we were foosball gentlemen, Table Soccer snobs, if you will. As our art advanced, the simple rules of the bar no longer sufficed. Respect was earned only after a long tenure as a contender. Foosball was tiered as an informal king of the hill. There was always a senior with more power or guile than anyone else who would capture the table from the party guests. A casual game could turn into a year’s waiting grudge match anytime before the funnel of beer was spilled over the playing field. If the match was between true Titans, towels were quickly stolen from any unlocked rooms. Amid choruses of “Squeegee!”, we’d wipe up… making sure not to disturb the vital buildup underneath.

My greatest controversy as Foosball custodian came when a brother spilled a bottle of vodka onto the table. I decided that the “play” had been irrevocably altered, for the worse. The only solution I saw before me was to start over. The brothers nervously gathered from time to time over the next two days as I cleaned and re-leveled the playing surface, replaced all the broken parts, and resealed all of the playing rods. The unveiling was a tense moment. My pride gleamed as the table shone under my new “stadium lighting”. X-Mass lights stuck into the ceiling. My little men shone with their four-way shadows as one after another, the brothers leaned on the corners and spun the bars.

“Sounds different” as the ball hit the playing field for the first time. Then he tried to trap the ball. He clamped down on the ball, intending to press it into the playing field. Zzzzzip. It shot out from under his player, flying off the table into the gathered crowd. Luckily, it hit in a very funny place, so no one blamed me but the victim. He wasn’t in any shape to do anything, so I turned my attention back to the table. “Obviously, the table is far too dangerous to be left in its current condition. Just look at Mike crawling around on the floor there.” We realized that either blood or beer would spill that night, so we each gave a small measure of suds to the cause. As the days passed, we were once again able to play Goalie Wars without safety glasses, and the rhythm of wet/dry cycles resumed. So important for a good “play”

Lenore

2006-05-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Sleep my dear; dream while I watch your face. The comfort of these years is a treasure to me. I am not the person you think. A devil, a witch, that is what I am. I would break your heart if you were awake. Instead, I’ll break mine over your sleeping form. This night, I betrayed your love. I’ve come fresh from my lover’s den. I feel older than I did an hour ago. The ache in my back is still fresh. That vision I saw last night, I still see it when I close my eyes. The gallery was dimly lit. It was almost closing time. I only saw a silhouette at first, briefly lit by each painting. I followed through two rooms before rushing ahead. A face, what face could match that shadowy perfection? And then I saw it revealed beside an oil painting. The bumps on the canvas mirrored my own as our eyes met. We gasped, surprised by this sudden encounter. I turned, ashamed, then looked back. We passed close. I paused to gather myself, then turned to follow. That perfect form stood for another silhouette at the exit. Just for a moment, then gone. I rushed to the door, eager to see my lover in the full light. Yes, dear, I knew from that moment in front of the painting. I only thought of you once, when we were quietly talking over a drink. What conversation is required before a tryst? Why, the same things we talk of everyday, dear. I marveled as we talked of the weather and I marveled at those blue eyes. I held that hand as tightly as I’ve ever held yours, tighter perhaps. We stumbled as we left, trying to press ourselves closer together. We laughed at the motel manager’s scandalous glances. Mr. and Mrs. Smith would like a room for the night, please. In the room, we embraced, free at last. What can I tell you now? I won’t lie and say it meant nothing. It’s been everything to me. You’ll never know, but I’ll always see blue eyes in your brown. What name can I put to this transplanted passion? We were and are strangers. But, I’ll paint that stranger’s face on you for the rest of my life. I’m sorry, dear. I’ve lost everything tonight. I won’t lose you, too. So, I’ll imagine a forgiving look on your painted face. What monster would tell this lie for a lifetime? I will see, and you will too, my dear.

Covered Bridge, Wissahickon Creek

2006-05-17T07:04:00.000-04:00

Future’s so bright…

2006-05-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

Robert Oppenheimer quoted from the Bhagavad Gita when he first saw the atomic bomb. He was afraid of the power he had created. There was a heated discussion before the test about the reactivity of the gasses in our atmosphere. Some were afraid that the bomb would ignite the atmosphere, killing everything on the planet. That was the assessed risk that Oppenheimer took when they tested the first bomb in the desert. Science had little idea what this new weapon was capable of. The truth was unveiled a few weeks later in Japan.

What silent agonies have been endured in the name this branch of science?
What elemental secrets of the universe have been laid bare by this branch of science?

Converting an atom into energy is the greatest, and simplest, expression of physics we know of. Oppenheimer said that the notion for the bomb was so simple, it was perfect. He called it “technically sweet”. Take a ball of Uranium and surround it with a sphere of high explosives. Detonate the explosives at once, crushing the ball of Uranium equally from all directions. The pressure and physics of this situation converts some of the Uranium into energy. That energy constitutes the bomb’s blast wave. The unused and converted Uranium vaporizes so that it clings to any surface it touches. It’s a simple idea that horrifies and fascinates at the same time.

The United States is planning to restart nuclear testing this year. Nevada will once again feel the heat of an artificial sun. Now is a good time to re-evaluate the reasons that we, as a people, decided to stop nuclear weapons testing. We have already backed out of our strategic agreements with Russia concerning nuclear weapons research. What purpose does SDI serve? What purpose does renewed testing serve? Does the United State need to rattle the nuclear saber in 2006?

We have no enemies that need a reminder of our nuclear might. We should not test the nuclear bunker-buster. What seems like a simple idea can have far reaching, and unknown consequences. In the current political atmosphere, what effect will this bomb have?

The Night Panther

2006-05-16T18:29:00.000-04:00

I’ve been given several nicknames over the years… mostly in college. To some folks I’ll always be Teeny or Tiny. The most memorable nickname for me is the one I gave myself.

My fraternity was a messy place. They made the mistake of electing a slacker like me the house manager. I still have an involuntary response every time I walk into a recycling center. The smell of stale dried up beer flows through my nostrils like a typhoon. It leaves a vision of tacky, indestructible, orange couches scattered across a black tile floor, holding up a white cinder block wall. It’s my fraternity. It’s Sunday afternoon. It’s winter. The kegs are coldly banging around on the porch, screaming their empty frustration. The Bengals are losing, and we’re reduced to stealing beer from a converted soda machine.

The Beer machine had a high voltage mechanism just inside the can release, so we literally fished for a buzz sometimes. Luckily on this afternoon, the house manager had a key. I’ll admit that I almost let a pledge go after one the old fashioned way, but compassion, and thirst, proved to be too powerful. Besides, there are things that have to be done by the House Manager. My marketing scheme for the beer machine was rather limited. To keep prices down, most of the inventory came from the breakage section of the beer distributor. One experience that exists as antithesis of wine tasting is swilling a can of Milwaukee’s Best that’s been doused in Piel’s. Hence my affinity for that squalid, sticky bouquet that let me watch the Bengals in peace.

As the third quarter ended, I decided that holding the cap at two hours was enough courage for one day, and headed for the bathroom. Short journeys like that had a way of getting long in those days. Someone blocked the way to the bathroom with a couch. My friend encouraged me “Hey, you should get the House Manager to move that!” Ha, Ha. Get me another beer, pledge.

Divesting myself of all that Old Swill gave me a head rush. I eyed the couch with quite a bit of drunken enthusiasm. Days like that, rash action trumps calculated judgment every time. I jumped over the couch, yelling” Attack of the Night Panther!” Then I fell flat on my face, crushing a can of beer. I looked up to see the Bengals quarterback getting sacked. We groaned in unison, then levered ourselves up off the ground. We’d both been branded, but only I knew it. It was written all over my chest in cold beer. It rang in my ears as my friends burst out laughing. I was, I am, I will always be, THE NIGHT PANTHER!

The Mobius Joint

2006-05-16T08:41:00.000-04:00

Ach, my knee is as big as a cantaloupe. We’re old adversaries. I picked up my puppet head on June 2^nd, 1984, at 7:05PM. Yup, summer was just starting. I spent the summer limping around until September, when I did it again. A few weeks later, I was getting an operation to fix all that had gone wrong down there. It turned out to be a bad injury for the day. I managed to whack my kneecap like a pro on the first try. Well, the second try, at least.

Now, by the time we’re pushing 40, most people have some out of warranty parts. This is mine. My knee has let slip a couple not-so-subtle clues over the years. It’s not the ache, it’s the humidity. Yup, I could tell when it was going to rain.

I can’t even count on my lumpy appendage for meteorological aid, anymore. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have shown up at my 20^th reunion soaking wet. I got caught in the rain. So, there I was, standing in front of my friends from 20 years ago, looking like a drowned hamster. Of course, my zipper dried out last, so I got to stand like a vagrant, making a point of drinking nothing but Diet Pepsi.

My injury happened 22 years ago. Longer than I’ve been out of high school. It seemed so catastrophic back than. It seems… It just IS, now. I’m used to having one tire with less air in it all the time. Going down stairs is harder than going up stairs. It doesn’t sound like it should work like that… but it does. A bad knee is the antithesis of logic. Sometimes I feel like the doctor installed a little dinosaur brain down there as a practical joke. It hurts when it has no reason to, and annoys me endlessly. My knee has held, though. I can think of at least a dozen times that I’ve stressed that wobbly goblin way past the point of 1984. I’m still within 10 degrees of vertical, and happy to be holding the line.

I Hated Baseball

2006-05-15T19:35:00.000-04:00

I hated Baseball. What betrayal cuts deeper than greed? So, for 12 years, I left that chewed wad in the dugout. Can you blame me? Swallowing a chaw is easier than the news that’s plagued Baseball since I started hating it. When I loved Baseball, steroids got rid of a bad case of Poison Ivy.

When I loved Baseball, my father’s company had Phillies Season tickets… 15^th row, behind Home plate. Every broker in the firm got to see 5 or 6 businessman’s specials every year. I saw the Bull hit a home run. I saw Mike Schmidt run out onto the field in a rainbow afro. I saw Steve Carlton pitch.
Philly baseball was a fast game. The Vet wasn’t a forgiving place for an aggressive third baseman. A hard liner could go in any direction if it hit a joint in the rug, or the infield boundary. Schmidt needed a fast wit as well as a fast arm to get into the Hall.
What does Barry need? A better lawyer.

Something strange happened to me the other day that’s got me rethinking my lifetime ban on baseball. I was taking some pictures of my old high school playing fields. The Germantown Friends Tigers were playing the High School of the New Church. My 20^th reunion had the nostalgia flowing freely in me, so I decided to watch a couple pitches. Perching on the first base line, I started taking pictures. Now, I loved photography after I started hating Baseball. That casual rhythm passing by a sunny afternoon bewitched me again. I’ll be there this summer, not for the stars, not even for the pretzels… I’ll be there for the baseball.

Rachel

2006-05-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

Ah, what trick is this? I saw you at the reunion, and this phrase caressed my thoughts.” What sweet breath of spring brought this blossom to rest at this unworthy Troll’s feet?” What came out was “Wh.. uh, Hi Rachel, how have you been?” A crush? Man, I’m sorry I stared, please forgive me, I’m not used to the fickle power of infatuation. I promise to file you away with all the other surprising things I saw this weekend. You have fluttered one heart this night :)

The Filter of Reason

2006-05-11T09:49:00.000-04:00

Human society is nothing but an artificial construct imposed on us humble apes by our fellow inmates. Being a good human has a lot less to do with how dedicated I am at work than how dedicated I am to myself. It sounds Narcissistic, but it isn’t. I’ve always wondered at the Zen masters’ assertion that we should look at the world like a blank mirror. Being a good human isn’t about shuffling papers or fixing computers. It’s more about using the best part of our brains. The Cortex is the crowning achievement of Evolution. Or God gave it to us, if that’s easier to swallow. It allows us to perceive the world through the filter of reason.

We have all the brain parts going back to the beginning. We breathe through the same mental mechanism as a dog or a cat. What’s different with us is that we’re capable of “higher reason”. We don’t use it too much. Maybe we will when we evolve the super cortex. Stands to reason that, left unchecked, we would eventually evolve something beyond the pre-frontal cortex. Or God will give it to us in a ROM upgrade, if that’s easier to swallow.
Most people I meet don’t look at the world through their Cortex. I see it the most when I’m driving. I’m sure you’ve experienced it, too.

You’re turning onto a street, and there’s a car far away, coming towards you. You start you’re turn, and the other driver stands on the gas and the horn at the same time. I’ve seen the same response from a fish eyeing a lure. Once the lure starts to move, an aggressive response is triggered in the fish. It lunges towards the target, sometimes involuntarily. It’s wired into the fish’s brain to strike targets that act a certain way.

You’re speeding down a road. Somehow, the person behind you still wants to go faster. Tailgating is a strange phenomenon. It doesn’t matter how fast you go, they will still tailgate. It’s not about speed; it’s about the tailgater’s aggression.

If you asked each person in a calm moment, they would certainly say that tailgating and aggressive driving are dangerous. They still do it, though. I contend that they’re being lazy when they drive… not using the advanced part of their brain. The “old” brain, the part we share with other animals, reacts aggressively to most situations. That’s how a fish or a dog gets fed. I get fed by the supermarket. No reason to practice hunting on some unsuspecting motorist.
What part of your brain do you use the most?

Stock Picks

2006-05-09T17:17:00.000-04:00

Pacific Ethanol's price chart for the last 30 days

Robbing Athena to pay Dionysius
I have a stock trading theory that I think should work. Perhaps it’s over simplified, but I’m unable to describe it in the correct trading terms.
There are some trends in our society that are inevitable. We can all see that some things will be issues over the next 3-5 years. I think oil will be at $100/barrel within 5 years.
I think this oil crisis is going finally spur some investment in alternative energy. The administration doesn’t seem to have a direction, but there is some investing going on all the same. Bill Gates’ personal investment firm just put him into Pacific Ethanol. I’m willing to go along with that call. I looked around at the trade association PEIX belongs to. They’re environmental evangelists by and large. They are mainstream corporations run by people that really believe in what they’re doing. What could be better? I mock bought PEIX April 13, at $16/share. PEIX closed at $39 today. I think the sector is still a good buy. They’re in a growing market that’s (slowly) getting attention because of public pressure. The Bush administration has been burned several times in the last year. They have only been able to deliver rhetoric concerning alternative fuels and bio energy. As gas prices go up, pressure will mount for something more substantive. I think the government will finally get into the alternative fuel business in a big(ger) way this year. That will bring the market microscope back onto this sector, and there should be a couple of hot stocks emerging over the summer. The RFA is a good place to start browsing the industry.
I mock bought gold at $602 back in April. Today it traded over $700 for the first time. I don’t think gold is a sure thing, though. If the Democrats take over, they will favor a stronger Dollar. Along with upward pressure from oil prices, etc. a stronger Dollar will do what to gold? Buying at $600 seems like the last entry point. Now I’m just waiting until it tops out, or starts getting too volatile.
Pastperformancedoesnotindicatefuturegrowth:)

Funding NASA

2006-05-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

NASA HomePage

Flight is a primordial desire for all humans. Intrinsically denied to us, we’ve watched the skies. Until 200 years ago, we were almost completely Earth-bound. It’s just in the past couple of generations that we’ve been able to get out there and see what birds have known for millennia. We’ve surpassed the bounds of our planet and reached out into space. They’ve been tenuous adventures, but everyone agrees that we’ve passed a major milestone in the development of Humankind.
So, why does the Bush administration continue to support space research in rhetoric, but shortchange the agency’s funding? NASA has been caught at a crossroads for almost a decade. We realize the need to transition to a new launch vehicle. You can’t PM the shuttle, because it’s still spinning LPs. Being obsolete earns you an honored place in the Smithsonian, not an active schedule on the launch pad. There’s been great fanfares over the new launch vehicle program. Al Gore stood in front of an impressive entry. George Bush gave some interesting speeches about Mars. When it comes time to write the checks, every pen has run out of ink. NASA has done remarkably well with the limited funding they get. Smaller, Cheaper, Faster has been a success. A lot of good science has come out of the probes we’re launching. The probe strategy comes at the expense of Human flight missions. The shuttle’s maintenance costs are spiraling upwards while research and development of a viable replacement languishes.
The first new vehicle in 25 years to breach the boundary of space was a private venture. It took the combined genius and wealth of Burt Rutan and Paul Allen to do it. They’ve accomplished remarkable things, and I’m sure they’ll continue in the future. There is a commitment from the government, though, that is far past due. Trying to run NASA, a research agency, like a corporation, has just led to a failing agency. Congress complains about inefficiencies in NASA, but refuses to fund the agency at a level that would allow it to function properly.
I would like to ask all members of Congress to fully fund NASA. They explore the fundamental secrets of our Universe. No other society in history has had the ability to push the boundaries of human experience like the USA. We should be encouraging that kind of exploration.

The Disaster Ploy

2006-05-07T10:16:00.000-04:00

The Disaster Ploy
I find it ironic that the conservatives are fighting the mid term elections with the disaster defense.  I’ve heard so many of them tell the camera that a Democratic majority in Congress will lead to nothing but endless investigations.  All that investigating will leave little time for governing.  The government will come to a standstill while everyone responds to the endless subpoenas.
The Disaster ploy is ironic because this Congress HAS been a disaster.  We have to go back to the Johnson administration to find a Congress that has spent less time governing.  They lobby, they make deals, but they don’t govern.  With so little on the record, it’s very hard to find out exactly what has been going on in the last couple years.  It will take some investigating to find out what’s wrong, and what needs to be fixed.  Besides, when there’s so much corruption smoke out there, there have to be some fires that need to be put out.  Yes, Democrats have the same corruption problem.  Re-electing the same conservative majority won’t go one inch towards fixing anything, though.  So, I’m voting for the crusaders this fall.  In 2006, that’s the Democrats.
No matter where the House goes, no matter where the Senate and presidency go in ’08, I find it intolerable that the Neo-Cons have had a decade to mess up our country.  How many more mistakes do they have to make before we vote them back into the mega-churches and Dubai Condos?

Eric Massa 2006

2006-05-06T13:33:00.000-04:00

Eric Massa 2006
The Fighting Dems
I live in a Republican bastion inside one of the most liberal states in the union. I tell you, it’s tough sometimes. Just about everyone who represents this lib… is a conservative. I didn’t realize this when I moved here. I emailed Louise to let her know where I was hanging my hat. She wrote back saying that she wasn’t my rep?! Randy Kuhl is my rep?! He’s a neo-con… A lock-step conservative in the Bushiest sense.
So, I’ve been forwarding my emails to my new rep with little success. I don’t feel connected with Mr. Kuhl like I did with Louise. It might help if he ever replied to any email of mine… even the positive ones. So, what’s a voter to do? Dump this rotten tomato, and pick a new candidate. Man, I’m the luckiest liberal in the state. Eric Massa is a Democratic candidate for Congress in my district. He’s one of the Fighting Dems. 73 vets who have chosen to run as Democratic candidates all across the country. Vets from every living war are standing up for the principles of compassion and fair governance.
Running against entrenched Republican incumbents isn’t easy in our gerrymandered system. These guys seem to have the will to see it through. Eric strikes me as an intelligent, angry man. I share many of his views. We’re both very upset by what we see happening in Washington, but see the sense of fixing those problems with intelligent measures. By the map above, you might see what kind of hill Eric has to climb to be elected in this district. The 29th district was established as a conservative district, relatively safe from intrusion from Democrats. Until 2006, that is. Randy Kuhl has some Abramoff wafting about his wallet. Even if there’s no fire with that smoke, Kuhl doesn’t represent my beliefs in Washington, Eric Massa does.

Eliot Spitzer 2006

2006-05-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

Eliot Spitzer 2006
“All politics are local” is one of my favorites. So, as I look a little closer to home, I see several interesting races for the Democrats. 2006 promises to be a powerful year for democrats, much as 1994 was a powerful year for the Republicans.
Eliot Spitzer is well known in New York State for volume. The quality of his work depends on your point of view. He’s gone after cigarette manufacturers, Wall Street firms, banks. As New York Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer has investigated and prosecuted some of the largest business interests that deal with New Yorkers. This has obviously upset some of the business oriented conservatives. In the past few years, with the domination of national politics by the Neo-Cons, Spitzer’s run for Governor would be much tougher. 2006, however, isn’t a normal year. In 1994, the greedy, ineffectual Democrats were driven out of office by the sleek, well-oiled, conservatives and their sound machine. The sound machine is still there, but the sleek, well-oiled machine? Insert your own joke.
Normally, this just gives us a “better of two evils” kind of choice. Not to worry! Spitzer is one of those rare politicians who haven’t lost the idealistic zeal that we would bring to government, if we ruled for a day. Let’s get the most out of this situation. We have a declining incumbent and a vibrant candidate…. Electing Eliot should be the duty of concerned New Yorkers. I’m not satisfied with the state of affairs in New York State. Eliot Spitzer has proven that he will pursue principles that he clearly spells out. That should be enough for New Yorkers. Better than we’ve had in quite a while.

Retooling FEMA

2006-05-04T19:01:00.000-04:00

There’s a new proposal floating around in congress.  More than a few people are saying it.  FEMA should be disbanded, and replaced by a new agency.  That new agency would be structured differently than the current agency, but would have much the same responsibilities.  The idea of founding a new agency to deal with the same emergencies poses some fundamental questions.  What is the role of government in our lives?  I’ve heard arguments between different ideologies, but I think there are some things that most… enough… people can agree on.

Agencies like FEMA are essential for our country.  There are certain basic needs that have to be met for our citizens.  Those needs are provided by government.  We formed this government to provide us with services that we couldn’t provide for ourselves.  FEMA had all those things… trailers, helicopters, workers, boats, money.  It didn’t do a bit of good for the folks in the Gulf Coast.  The problem isn’t the organization; it’s the people running that organization.  Changing the name, creating a new agency; all these things are cosmetic.  The same people will be nominating the leaders of the new agency.

We’ve been asking for this, by the way.  For 12 years, we’ve supported Republicans in enacting their agenda.  Rush has been shouting it on the radio for a decade.  “Rely on yourselves people!”  “America is the nation of self-sufficiency and rugged individualism!”  Go ahead and complain about the lack of response from our government during these emergencies.  It stunk.  Remember that anger when it comes time to flip the lever.  This issue, by itself, should be enough to switch a vote.  Yeah, Liberals like government.  We like FEMA.  We like it when government helps people in trouble.  I’m happy when my government does good deeds.

Alternative Energy

2006-05-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

What are we to do now that energy costs are going through the roof?  What if we’re too lazy or poor to do anything heroic?  I lack the Green (backs) and Grey (matter) to put up a full blown solar array.
Well, there are a couple things you can get at the supermarket or home improvement store that can get you that environmental badge.  Might help with the gas-guzzler guilt.
Light bulbs… Live in the dark.  You parents kept telling you to turn out the lights… now you don’t have to!  Compact Fluorescents aren’t the dim little fireflies they used to be.  15-25 watts worth of CF light covers you as well as that Halogen, but at 10% of the power.
Energy Star.gov
Pass on the Gas.  Most every car is designed to run on the 87 octane gasoline.  There are some exceptions, but unless you’re tooling around in a Jag, you can drop down to the 87 without any problems.  Most of the knock in tuned engines comes from additives put in the gas to reduce emissions.  Nothing you can do about that.  I’m guessing most people figured this out when gas hit $2.50 per gallon.
Hot air.  Keep your tires inflated.  This one’s tough for the lazy environmentalist.  Getting out to pump gas doesn’t seem nearly as involved as going all the way over to the pump, PAYING?! for air.  Well, here’s your answer.  Get a portable compressor.  Don’t laugh.  I got one about 10 years ago, and it is super handy.  Perfect for the knight in shining armor kit.
Home Depot Tire Inflator
Change your screens.  Not just for drug addicts, anymore.  I took a look at the filter in my furnace last fall.  Looked like an anti-smoking poster.  Finding a replacement wasn’t as easy as you might think, though.  3 days later, I finally found a nice lady at an HVAC company who was willing to order one for me.  Point is, replacement screens for your furnace are important, and not necessarily easy to find.  Might be a good summer project.  Hey, if it keeps you from getting one cold next year, money well spent.  Oh, it lets your furnace breathe easier, so you save some money as well.
Look for “Brick in the Toilet” and other fun tricks when the water crisis hits in a couple years.

The Emperor’s Clothes

2006-05-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

CNN Coverage

I find it funny that CNN is treating Stephen Colbert’s roast of the president as some kind of rude expose.  Since when is it taboo to tell a politician exactly what you think?  Does the formal attire somehow change the rules?  George Bush has no shortage of opportunities to hang out with his buddies.  No ranting liberals there.  He can play at the colonial land baron all he wants.
I was listening to the crowd as Stephen spoke.  There were just as many gasps as laughs.  I’m looking forward to the Fox spin on this.  “How dare he take a jovial, informal event, and politicize it.”  “This has never been done in the history of this event.”
Don’t try to tell me that the good old days had some kind of demeanor that’s lacking today.  Back in colonial days, they tar and feathered politicians they didn’t like.  It’s a cliché now, but it’s pretty gruesome.  They dragged the poor victim out into the street and stripped him naked.  A bucket of hot tar or molasses was poured over his head.  After that had scalded him for a while, they rolled him in whatever was handy.  Horse manure was a real favorite.  Makes the feathers stick better.  Then you drive him down the main street whipping him.  If George wants to play the colonial aristocrat, we, as the rabble, can surely accommodate him.  Thankfully, we’ve advanced quite a bit since colonial times.
We drag our victim out into the blogosphere and pour scalding flames all over his inbox.  Then we roll him around in a couple expletives.  Lastly, we roast him at an official event.
Thank You Stephen Colbert.

Hey George Bush!

2006-04-30T09:09:00.000-04:00

www.thankyoustephencolbert.org
I saw you at the White House Correspondent’s dinner the other night. That was funny. The deeper it cuts, the funnier it is. Takes a tough guy to sit there and take that. You haven’t been too willing to take criticism over the past couple years. I’m glad you’re getting out there more, taking a couple knocks. Giving a couple knocks, too. Here’s to more “plo-fliber-ation” of talkback from the White House. I remember the criticism you took on the “war tour” a couple months ago, too. Proving that you can take criticism is good, but it’s only part of the job description for President. We’re criticizing you about Oil, Corruption, and many other things. It’s time for the next step, I think. You’ve proved that you can hear it, now we need you to listen.

A pleasure to eat you

2006-04-30T08:31:00.000-04:00

Hey Discoverboating.com!
That commercial you keep showing on CNN… the one where all these happy boaters wave to each other and smile as they glide effortlessly past? What kind of malarkey is that? Heck, once, I was crowded out of the channel onto a sand bar by a Sheriff’s boat! The only friendly boater is one that’s anchored in a cove passed out drunk. The rest of them act like the fish they’re trying to catch… greedy, insecure, and mean. You’d be better off showing 30 seconds of fish feeding if you want to really show people what boating’s like.

Flight 93

2006-04-28T07:06:00.000-04:00

Movie Homepage
“United 93” opens in theatres today.  There’s another movie about the Twin Towers coming out this fall.  Scottage asked me if I’d like to go tonight.  No, thanks.  I’m not against the movie.  It doesn’t outrage or frighten me.  I’m comfortable with the way I feel about 9/11.  For now at least, I don’t need to spark discussion or provoke thought about 9/11.
I remember one thing more than any other about 9/11.  After the second plane hit, I got into my truck and drove to 7-11.  I sat in my parking spot and stared at the brick wall in front of me.  The next thing I remember was pounding the steering wheel with all my strength.  I was a little surprised that it wasn’t breaking.  That’s what I wanted to do.  I slumped down crying.  That’s when a guy came up to me and said that everything would be ok.  He was wrong, but it was a nice sentiment.
It’s a common human response.  We represent events as single images.  That’s the image that pops up for us when we remember an event.  My disappointment that the steering wheel wasn’t crumbling under my assault broke the spell for me.  So, I remember it.  9/11 evokes other images for me.  After I work through some of those, I’ll go see the movie.  For now, I’m comfortable with progressing at my own pace.

An Oily Stain

2006-04-27T20:05:00.000-04:00

Exxon made 8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2006. Their stock fell today, because investors expected them to make 9.25 billion. Exxon’s retiring CEO will take home about 400 million worth of bonuses. Lots of money floating around, all of it seems to be sticking to those oily fingers. So, what’s an oil exec to do? Bring out the pundits! They can spin anything. Hey, they might even get some free drilling concessions out of this whole deal… it’s happened before. They’re already eyeing the Florida Straits. Right now, the straits are drilled by Chinese and Indian companies. US companies have trouble getting into the area because that would mean doing business with Cuba.
It’s a tricky dilemma. On the one hand, opening up a relationship with Cuba is anathema to any good conservative. On the other hand, denying the wishes of big oil? I don’t see that happening. A true Catch-22 if ever there was one. It should be interesting to see which of these two choices they go with. I think the whole discussion of drilling in the Fla Straits will disappear until after the midterm elections. Meanwhile, the pundits unleashed by the mother ship have been lighting up the airwaves defending their masters. They’re starting to sound like Cigarette manufacturers. Maybe we are addicted to oil after all. :)
Defending Oil Profits - CNN
Today brings a new analogy. “Exxon’s profits are much lower than other companies… it just looks large because Exxon is a large company.” In other words, if Mr. Exxon was running a 7-11, he’d have trouble feeding his family.
Yeah, on planet Klatu, where a slurpy costs $1,500
It doesn’t make sense. Even if Exxon’s profits are relatively smaller than other companies, it just means that Exxon is too big. When a company gets so large that a bad quarter is still the 5th largest profit in history, something has become unbalanced. Remember, capitalism only works when there is “free” competition between companies. What benefit does a cartel of monopolies like ExxonMobil offer an individual like me, or you?

New, Improved! With more FEMA!

2006-04-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

Alright, everything they said about creating a new emergency agency made sense. The new director should have direct access to the president when there’s a national emergency… FEMA should still be under the DHS. I’m not as keen on this one, but it’s not too bad. 10 regional offices responsible for regional disaster relief. I like this one… not as many trailers sitting around.
The first thing I thought was that they were just Firestoning the whole thing. Remember all the hub bub from a couple years ago? People driving their SUVs were crashing because they didn’t fill up their tires with enough pressure. Everyone blamed Firestone, with some merit. Lack of maintenance on the owner’s part doesn’t completely cover up a design and manufacturing flaw. Anyway, Bridgestone, parent of Firestone, just changed the brand name of most of their tires. Hey, it won’t explode if it says Dayton on the side, will it? It worked, now Firestone is starting to advertise again after a 5 year hiatus. Do you think 5 years was an arbitrary requiem to greed? Or a suitable time out of the spotlight? Ford still uses Goodyears last time I checked. I suppose Ford will quietly switch back… as Henry reportedly told his good buddy Harvey “I’ll take any tire as long as it’s round and cheap, and it doesn’t even have to be round.” If you’re familiar with the quote, yes, I misquoted it for dramatic effect.
So, what does this all have to do with FEMA being dissolved? How many ways are there to prepare for, and deal with, disasters? No matter what you call it, it will still be FEMA. NEMA (national Emergency Management Agency?) might be a good name. The responsibility will still be the same. After they’re done renaming the agency, I hope they pay some attention to where the rubber meets the road.

E=MC2

2006-04-26T21:35:00.000-04:00

I’ve been thinking about plasma, and matter, and energy. SO, what does this equation mean to me? Everyone’s familiar with E=MC2 when it comes to big things like nuclear weapons. A small amount of matter turns into an enormous amount of energy.
The same thing applies to everyday life… it’s just not as obvious. Unlike Uranium or Plutonium, everyday objects want to stay in their current state. An apple is too stable to really make energy out of. If you could, though, there’s enough matter there to create a ton of energy.
Think of the light spectrum. Light at the upper end, reds, etc, are more energetic than the colors at the bottom of the spectrum, blues for instance. As you go lower in the spectrum, the waves become less and less energetic.
In Einstein’s equation, energy and matter are interchangeable. At one point, energy should coalesce into matter. E=MC2 represents the boiling point between matter and energy. Not only the explosive release of energy in a bomb, but also the slow transition from matter to energy and back again. Plasma, like you see in a plasma ball, is something between energy and matter. Plasma glows because the atoms in the ball are constantly losing, then gaining back, electrons. The glow is the energy released. Imagine seeing that out in the universe. What a marvelous thing to see! Sunlight streams from a star, then, coalesces into a dust cloud.

Flowers for Chernobyl

2006-04-25T20:08:00.000-04:00

Advocacy site

It’s a cruel joke that flowers grow in abandoned gardens all over town next to reactor 4. Everything looks normal, but the very air is deadly. If you live there, chances are your life is irrevocably shortened.
The accident at Chernobyl is an indictment of…? You decide.
-The pumps that move coolant back and forth in the reactor were powered by the electricity produced by the reactor. When the reactor failed, the power for the pumps also failed. This accelerated the failure; made it inevitable. It was a serious design flaw that’s not allowed in western reactors.
- A test of the coolant system had resulted in an imbalance between the cooling tanks in the reactor. The day shift postponed a scheduled test of the pumps. The night crew wanted to get the test done to put a feather in their caps. When the pumps were turned off, the coolant imbalance made the reactor heat up. Ambition made people cut corners in safety.
- The accident became a unique event when the night crew disregarded protocol and safety rules by pulling all but 6 control rods from the reactor. That’s the point where the reaction got out of control. Everything blew up a little while later. Poor training? The Soviet system was replete with technicians pushed into positions of great responsibility, but little prestige. A good recipe for poorly motivated workers.
So, who do you pin the responsibility on? Everyone and no one, I think. Chernobyl was caused by human nature, as much as anything specific. The designer needed to fix a technical problem, and chose the simplest solution. The technicians had plenty of meltdown close calls before it finally happened for real.
Like so many of us who are responsible for less important things...
We get away with it, until we don’t.
How close did you come to rear-ending that car last week?

My Senate Speech

2006-04-23T15:30:00.000-04:00

Given the opportunity to speak before the Senate, what would you say? Say one of your state’s Senators ceded you 5 minutes of debate time to speak on any topic you like. Pretending that I was there, this is how I regaled the dog for 5 minutes.

The vision of our country’s creation is in stark defiance of all human history. As Washington wrote, and speaks to you every year, our nation is an experiment worth taking. As citizens, you and I share a common bond of Nation. Patriotism alone doesn’t describe this bond. We defend against the tyranny of history, and the greed of Man. Washington’s legacy is written in the very air we breathe in this chamber. The notion that free citizens can govern themselves to the benefit of all lies at the heart of our Republic. What benefit have you brought to that vision? How have you fulfilled Washington’s vision of a nation united North, South, Atlantic, and Western? What words would inspire you to see through a new grant of governance to us all? I have only a single voice, but I raise it here, before you all.
Desist from rhetoric, fulfill your charter, and represent your fellow citizens who depend on you for so much. Whether we avoid the fate of the ancient republics depends entirely on you. This trust in our future has been granted to you. Don’t screw it up.

Your Momma, Usama

2006-04-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

AlJazeera.net transcript

Hey Bin Laden! What’s that drivel you’re spouting this time? You’re no better than Bush. He lies and distorts the truth to manipulate us. Sounds like what I just read from you. Don’t try to be reasonable with me; you’re not very good at it. Those “subtle” little cues about “the oppressor” don’t make me feel pity for you. That’s life. No one in the world can say they aren’t bound by larger forces. Yes, my government has done questionable things in the past and present. So have you. Don’t moralize with me, we’re both too dirty. Making threats won’t make us go away. You just don’t understand how America works. We would have gone along with something reasonable in 2000. Now, you’re just a butcher. Your days of pontificating to the American people are over. Now, every statement is a threat. You may attack us in the next couple months; you may even influence the outcome of the November elections. You still won’t win in the end. The reason is simple. The people you claim to represent are decent, just as we are here in the USA. Someday, we will reclaim the promise of our creation and cast off the burden that you and Bush represent. I look forward to that time. I don’t think, you will live to see it, but I wish fervently that you could. My wish is that you look out onto a peaceful world from a glass cage. Rot in your cave, Bin Laden.

Truth for Oil

2006-04-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

As truth is my muse, those oil pundits make me mad.  Now, I’ve heard two different ones complain about environmental regulations putting an effective moratorium on Refinery building.  Truth is this.  We need refined petroleum products.  We need a clean environment.  We require fuel for our society to prosper.  We require healthy citizens for our society to prosper.  This is the fundamental conflict that oil executives pose whenever they discuss supply and demand… profits, too.  Well, here’s another truth.  Oil companies built the Alaska Pipeline.  One of the largest engineering projects in the world up to that point.  It’s hard to describe the expanses, complexity, and environmental regulations, in play on the pipeline.  It cost billions to build and stretches across an area that is hard to appreciate on most map projections.
Shell oil is capable of investing 5 billion dollars building the Troll offshore oil platform.  That investment has repaid them with current orders worth 120 Billion dollars.  What profit margin could an oil company expect to reap from new refineries?  Probably not much.  It’s true that Environmental issues make new refineries expensive to build.  Every company has cost centers that don’t generate as much profit as others.  Since oil companies own the entire process, from extraction to retail sales, consider refineries a cost center.  Say one new refinery cost $20 Billion dollars to build.  Exxon made more than $36 billion last year.  So, the investment of 8 months’ profit would be required to build our imaginary refinery, or pay for all the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew.  I don’t care how stringent the environmental regulations are, there are still a couple bucks left over to build new refineries.  What possible difference could it make to Exxon’s bottom line?  They’d amortize the construction over 50 years, and they’d be in line for heavy funding from the government.  Even biting the entire thing off in one fiscal year wouldn’t be too bad.  Telling the shareholders that you just made a $16 billion dollar profit last year won’t get any CEO fired.  It would still pay for that crazy retirement package.  It would even pay for some much needed research and development in new energy production.
That’s another thing that really upsets me about our current oil situation.  No matter how legitimate the causes, I’m paying through the nose for gas.  That profit, that dazzling wealth, won’t go one inch towards making a transition towards a new energy source.  Instead, money is lining pockets on an unprecedented scale.  Once we are forced to change from an oil standard to, say, a Hydrogen standard, I’ll STILL be paying through the nose to fill up.  It will just be a new excuse.  Instead of investing these record profits.  Instead of investing a small percentage of these record profits, oil companies will rely on you and me to rework their entire infrastructure to handle Hydrogen.  So, we’ll pay twice, when we shouldn’t have to pay once.

Just do it.doc

2006-04-20T12:49:00.000-04:00

Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Slaughter:

I’m writing because you both represent my best hope for the Democratic Party. I just want to make a complaint to management. I’ve copied in the dnc.org web form.

I’m a liberal. I’ve been waiting a long time for the Democrats to do something, anything. When we hear about the opposition party in another country, England, perhaps, they are a vibrant and vocal group. They “Oppose” the majority party. They stand for the minority. One of the founding principles of the US is that the rights and voice of the minority party will be heard. Majority rules. That’s taken for granted in a Republic. When the other 50% of the people are snubbed at the policy table, though, it is the responsibility of the minority party to demand consideration.

When the Patriot Bill renewal was voted on in the senate, it passed 89-10. All of the democrats complained about the more onerous parts of the law, but then didn’t do anything about it! What is the point of talking about something when you refuse to act on your principals? Most of them grumbled all the way down the aisle to vote in favor of the darn thing. The same thing happens on issue after issue. The Republicans make fun of Democrats for not having any beliefs. They’re right!

At what point does compromise cross the line into collusion? What is the point of voting for a democrat who will simply vote the same way as the Republican? Is that Democrat’s angry words outside the Senate chamber enough for you? It isn’t for me. Russ Feingold is right… Censure, Environment, Budget, Homeland Security, Disaster Preparedness, Foreign Policy, Corruption, Gerrymandering, Corporate Influence, Judicial Intimidation, Trade imbalances, National debt, Fiscal Policy, TAKE YOUR PICK! Just do something. How many more issues do Democrats need to campaign on? How many more issues will fall to the conservatives because it isn’t the “Right Time”?

I write, I talk, I think, I VOTE. I fulfill my end of the bargain every day. What weakness in the Democrats makes them incapable of meeting their obligation?

Thanks
James Heaney

They’re Going to get us

2006-04-18T16:22:00.000-04:00

Just so you don’t get too wrapped up in contrivances of Mankind, here are some natural threats we all face. Today is the 100th Anniversary of the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. These disasters are inevitable, just part of the natural processes of our earth. Some are “transitory”, just a few million years. The volcanoes of Hawaii will eventually become dormant as they move further away from the hot spot that created them. Others are just coming into they’re dangerous phase for us little humans. Here’s a short list.

La Palma
This island was created by a unique kind of explosive volcano most of the island is made up of sandy, loose soil. Columns of hard magma split the island down the middle, making large water traps. Every time the volcano erupts, the water super heats. This puts tremendous stress on the magma columns that actually hold up the island. In 1971, part of the island slid about 4 meters towards the see. La Palma is getting ready to skip the mother of all stones across the Atlantic Ocean. The kerplunk will wash a wave over west chester.

Yellowstone Park has such spectacular geological features because the Earth’s molten core is extra close to the surface, heating all the water in the park. All that land is just a cap for an enormous pool of magma. Every 600,000 years, this crust collapses into the magma, creating an eruption. On a scale that none of us humans have ever witnessed.

San Andreas Fault
Sure, California isn’t going to fall off into the Pacific, but it will be crushed under Idaho. The pacific plate, including San Francisco and Los Angeles is slowly sliding under the North American Plate. In the far future, California will slowly get thinner. The area of the San Andreas Fault is so fractured, that it’s hard to predict which particular crack will slip, causing an earthquake. That slipping and cracking is a constant thing, though. Small earthquakes are common place (geologically). Large Earthquakes are inevitable.

Fire with the Frying Pan

2006-04-12T19:29:00.000-04:00

CNN Coverage
ABC Coverage

Today brings us another instance of a questionable statement from the president.  ABC  broke the story.  Basically, President Bush has been caught in… well, not lies, exactly.  A mis-statement, perhaps?  How many of them can you remember?  Just in the past 12 months?  I used to work with a guy who “stretched the truth”  He looked at the world through anecdotal eyes.  Once something was “true”, everything bent around him to conform to that notion.
I was driving with him for work.  He kept hinting at a relationship with the lady who answered the phones.  “We need to decide what to do with the fish tank when we move.”  “We’re thinking about getting a dog.”  Pretty obvious that he wanted me to think that he and the help desk lady did service calls after hours.  So, I’m curious, because the Help desk lady had told me that she was engaged… not to droopy.  She’s aghast when I ask her about it.  She hounded me for a week after “Say you’re making it up!”  Evidently, droopy wasn’t Help Desk Lady’s squeeze, but her own personal stalker.  We, ah, set him straight the next day.
Bush seems like the same kind of person to me… not the stalker part, just the stretching part.  I know as well as you that they wanted us to believe a bunch of things that haven’t turned out to be “true”

Iraq is a few months away from launching nuclear tipped missiles at Europe

Noone knew that the Levies would be overtopped

Putin is an honorable guy

Saddam Hussein helped the 9/11 terrorists.

Several others

It’s not that the administration is getting caught in bald faced lies every week. They’re getting caught in stupid little lies all the time. They’re lying about things that they know they’ll get caught on, but they don’t care. It’s more important to make the world look right than it is to BE right. Getting Droopy to drop the whole stalker thing took an intervention of Drug-like intensity. Who does the intervention if the President is addicted to stretching the truth?

38

2006-04-10T20:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m 38… had to count it up this morning. 1968. I look at the TV, and the picture’s just better. The topic is the same. Mass protests in the streets, emptying cities into the streets to protest. I heard on that TV that they were all illegal aliens. Sorry, you don’t fill the streets of over 100 cities and towns with illegals. Citizens are genuinely angered by our policies toward immigrants. The same talking head complained that the rage of the far left had spread into the middle. That anger is spreading because there are good reasons for it to spread. It’s not just the tree-huggers that are mad now. The introverted liberal is starting to talk with friends, write on a blog. These small reverberations are swelling out of every city. Well, 100 of them, at least.
We’re seeing a social movement in its infancy. This is the same kind of outrage that led to Ghandi’s independence movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil rights movement. Of course, these two men do not encompass the totality of their causes. They are iconic leaders that embody the best notions of peace and justice. Without a leader, or a group of leaders, the immigration reform movement may wither under the many competing strategies. I hope that a peaceful movement grows out of these demonstrations. The most successful vehicles for social change have always been peaceful. It’s the nature of our society. We’re hungry for peace, fearful of change, and not nearly as bad as you might think we are.

Dear John Gibson

2006-04-08T16:24:00.000-04:00

John, I found myself disagreeing with you on a recent occasion. In the classic style, and over the top, I will now flame you ;)

What Carnival gopher hole did Flock of Seagulls whack Eddy Munster over the head to come up with your gnarled countenance?
What Orwellian nightmare molded your thoughts into your current dali-esque view of the world? (I’ll refrain from anymore “your momma jokes”)
A rat, replete with sensors plugged into its brain, can still winnow its way through the simple maze to that small grain of cheesy truthiness. Tell me I’m wrong.

Only the twisted logic of a dog dragging its butt over a carpet can spew such nonsense as I heard last night. That felony towards civility was inflicted on me by YOU, sir.
I find you deficient in view, breadth, and percipience.
You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch. Tell me I’m Wrong

My ire is nearly spent, so I’ll spare you my denouement. Besides, O’Reilly is on in a little while :)

Gospel of Judas

2006-04-07T12:13:00.000-04:00

I just read  the Gospel of Judas for the first time.  Wow.  It makes a case for one of the most reviled characters in history.  Oh, yeah, get ready for the end of the world, too.
The name Judas evokes so many images for me.  For you, too, I think.  He represents fundamental iconography in our society.  Now he says he didn’t do it.

Judas describes several conversations with Jesus about the creation and end of Humanity.  There is a lot of dense talk about Aeons, angels, Realms and such.  I’ll have to read that part again.  Jesus describes a perfect generation, a fulfillment of Man.  That’s when Saklos’ time of rule will come to an end, and the world will end with it.  Like I said, I have to read it again.
Jesus asks Judas to turn him into the Romans.  That’s the bombshell.  Judas protests, but Jesus convinces him.  Jesus tells Judas that future generations will revile him… until the time before the perfect generation, when Judas’ true role in Jesus’ death will be revealed.

The finding of this gospel is in itself a revelation of Judas’ true role in the crucifixion.

According to this gospel, we’re very close to the end times.  This poses a real problem for the evangelicals.  End times theology is an integral part of their faith.  The gospel of Judas, though?  That would be like letting Cindy Sheehan guest lecture at the mega church.  So far, everyone I’ve asked, who cares, has rejected this testimony out of hand.  I’m curious to see how they feel after reading it a couple times.  I wonder how I’ll feel after reading it a couple times.
I can’t wait ‘til the Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on my door again.

Scooter with Square Wheels

2006-04-06T17:06:00.000-04:00

When Scooter Libby said in court that President Bush authorized the release of Valerie Plame’s CIA identity, I was surprised. I thought it was Rove all the time. This fits a little crookedly, but I’ll run with it until more info comes out.

I don't think it matters which person in the inner circle leaked this. This group moves like a flock. As contentious as congress is, the Executive branch has been pretty organized. Sure, I think they’re making mistakes, but they’re jumping in all together. That kind of solidarity has been rare in recent administrations.

The Administration’s intention WAS to quell Wilson's article.
The Administration’s intention IS to get away with it.

They’re getting hit kind of hard by Scooter Libby’s testimony. If nothing else, it points that media spotlight on this thing. They tried to declassify Valerie Plame’s record. They’re locking the barn door after the horses have run away again. Declassifying the information after the fact isn't a time machine and doesn't make it right.

I remember Bush saying, in very strong terms, that anyone who knowingly leaked Plame’s identity would be fired. Where does this leave us? Even if it turns out to be all above board, Bush is still yanking our chain. It happens time after time. I’m tired of it, because nothing he says is above scrutiny. He stood up in a press conference and said that the insurgents were getting direct aid from Iran. The reporters naturally asked the general standing nearby what proof he had. He had never heard of it.

Ethics

2006-04-06T12:43:00.000-04:00

Hey Tom Delay!  What’s with that thing you said last night about Cynthia Mckinney?  Did I hear that right?  If the House ethics committee doesn’t start an investigation of her, you’ll introduce the idea to them? WHAT?! Pots, Kettles, black…
You may have been high-fiving your staffers, but you’re not going to have nearly as many friends as you did a couple days ago.  The closer the trial gets, the less you’ll have.  I had a ball listening to your tin-plated threats yesterday.  You were like the talk show Santa Claus.  I saw you every hour on the hour.  They didn’t sell the war as hard as you’re trying to sell yourself right now…  Collar starting to feel a little tight?
So, you’re going to make sure that the house is operating under ethical guidelines for the next two months?  Until you leave because you’ve been indicted in Texas?
By the way, that came from an interview you gave to Hannity and Colmes 04-05-06.

I couldn’t believe I heard right.  In a political body like the house, your power is measured by the influence you wield.  Tom’s talking like he just accepted the Majority Leader position again… not tucking his tail between his legs.  That takes chutzpa.  I’ll give him that.  I can laugh at what he says because I know he’ll be in Duke Cunningham’s shoes in a couple years.
He can put the same spin out on TV over and over again.
He can cling to the evangelicals all he wants.
He can give the same Mega-Church speech 100 times.
But,
For every day he’s offended our sense of justice, he’ll spend another playing chess with “Bubba”.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, HAMMER!

2006-04-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

So, Tom “The Hammer” Delay is quitting.
Not only will he not be seeking re-election in 2006.
Not only will he be vacating his congressional seat within two months.
He WILL be moving out of the state!  From Texas to Virginia.
That’s like the Lone Ranger telling Tonto that he wants to Drop out and Tune in.
That’s like Scooby letting Shaggy have the Scooby treats.
That’s like Duke Cunningham Demanding his day in court.
Oh, yeah.  Remember that one?  The Duke-Stir stood in front of the Capitol building demanding a speedy trial, so he could go back to the people’s business.  8 months later, he’s crying in front of a courthouse.  Delay’s announcement had that same ring to it.
Mad, with a nervous twitch.  He knows this is the big one.  He could really go to jail over this.  Being a martyr isn’t nearly as fun as getting away with it.
I guess he still has the diehard neo cons batting for him, right?  Not so much.  Unless they change their tune, most of the neo-con hierarchy is trying to look busy.  I think he’ll get support from the “Religious Right”.  He all but put out the Bat signal asking for help “from his faith”.  Look for a lot more “War on Christianity” stuff coming out this summer.
Not a bad idea, actually.  Delay can rely on a large grassroots organization to move mountains for him.  He’ll need it, too.  They call him “The Hammer” because he’s wielded power in Washington in a Big Stick kind of way.  His friends rally to him because they owe him something, not out of loyalty.  Abermoff looks like the vehicle for those favors.  The Texas State Legislature was the mark.  It was an intricate loop of financing and politics.  Shakespeare had something to say about getting tangled up in one’s own lies.  Now that it’s coming at him from both the financial and political sides, Delay doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.  His best angle may be to play the ultra Neo-Con Religious poster boy.  Until he stands in front of a courthouse crying over a statement.

Jill Carroll Release statement

2006-04-02T08:48:00.000-04:00

Jill Carroll released a statement about her captivity today.

CNN Coverage
FoxNews Coverage
Christian Science Monitor Coverage

I’m glad to see that Jill has addressed all the critics out there. I’m still puzzled over the criticism she’s received. What did she do but get kidnapped? What is there to criticize? I would have read Barney Lyrics to get out that situation. We’ve seen other kidnap victims make similar statements. Many of them are criticized for not… what? “Toughing it Out”? The folks who are so vehement should try seeing the world with a little more compassion. Compassion, after all, was the reason that Jill went to Iraq in the first place.

Jill Carroll

2006-04-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

Wow, Fox News is starting to realize that they don’t like Jill Carroll.
The tenor of Fox’s coverage has been changing since Jill Carroll’s release. At first, they were just quizzical that she was wearing headwear. In Iraq. Being interviewed by an Islamic TV reporter. Receiving a Koran from the Ambassador. What should she wear? A NASCAR T-shirt?

Today, Fox is extending the metaphor. Sure, some of Jill’s statements are parroted propaganda. Fox is whitewashing everything Jill has to say, though. I can only assume that they’ve read some of her articles. Now, her “liberal” views are just part of the terrorist brain-washing campaign. John Gibson is already writing articles about it. He’s speculating about Stockholm syndrome and North Korea style brain washing. Come on John. She still has important things to say. She dedicated herself to the Iraqi People; telling their story. Don’t just dismiss it all as brain washing because she doesn’t agree with US policies in Iraq.

It loosely ties in with the message that Liberals love the terrorists. We’re characterized as weak. None of us can really evaluate terrorism or security policy because we’re “under their spell” to one degree or another.

When Jill Carroll eventually comes out with her book or does an interview, they have the perfect counter message queued up.
The Fox weekend miniskirts seemed aghast that Jill Carroll’s treatment could make her so un-American. Sounded like Pity with a dash of Disgust. I guess they practice on the bum outside their health club.

News Article

Going Batty

2006-03-31T16:42:00.000-05:00

I've had this idea for photographing some bats that live near Canadice Lake. At dusk, I'd hang a cut apple from tree branch. I think they're insect eaters from the little I've seen of them. I think a cut apple would attract insects. My problem has always been that I don't know where the bats are coming from. I've only seen them once, flying over the lake.
Well, I was dragging the dog out of a thorn bush, when I saw a hollow tree. I couldn't see a thing up in there, so I jammed my camera up the hole, and snapped a couple flash shots. I figured I'd find out what was up there when i got back home. Well, lo and behold, there was a bat up there!
Now that I know where some bats roost, I can put the apple close by. Hopefully, that will increase my chances of getting a good shot. We'll see.

The beginning is Moot

2006-03-31T16:36:00.000-05:00

This is a phrase I picked up in college. I had the second best computer in the fraternity. An Apple SE/30. With 5mb RAM, and COLOR monitor, through an add-on card and external monitor.That put me high on the list of guys doing all-nighters for programming classes. My room was a 10X10 single, so things were getting pretty cramped. I had to put in a loft for my bed so I wasn’t rolling over onto someone’s homework. Between homework groupies, I had a smattering other visitors who heard me while I slept.

Anyway, that’s about the time I realized that I must be an intolerable person to sleep with. Hard for me to tell, being asleep and all. I’m told that I snore like a train with square wheels. I mumble about crazy things, too. I haven’t sleep walked or yelled at anyone, but I get animated at times… so I’m told.

One night, Chris Kello was pulling an all-nighter coding some jack in the box… tapping away. He says I was pretty quiet most of the night, but at one point, I sat bolt upright, looked right at him and said “The Beginning is Moot!”. Then I snored away for while till he threw something at me. The next morning, he confronted me with the phrase. I professed ignorance, and I didn’t know what it meant until now. The phrase itself is the meaning.

Scientology

2006-03-30T15:27:00.000-05:00

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about the Church of Scientology. Their Home site seems pretty innocuous.  I did run across one or two notions that I found odd.  Operation Clambake says that the civil veneer is just a front for a sci-fi cult that steals your money.

Tom Cruise is the most visible face of Scientology today.  He has done more in recent year to evangelize and advance L Ron Hubbard’s ideas.  He has done a great deal to deafen me to his ramblings in the past few years, too.  He makes enough money to be eccentric.  IMDB Tom Cruise Bio/Salaries
That’s Neverland kind of money.  I suppose we should be happy that Tom isn’t weirding out little kids.  Oh, yeah, there are some offbeat birth rituals in Scientology, and Tom Jr won’t be able to talk to anyone not approved by Scientologists (IE, Catholic Grandparents), and he’ll have a nanny steeped in the art of the “Audit”
I think the thing I really find annoying about Scientology is that they practice the “Study of Truth” through Science.  Science won’t touch any of their myths.  L Ron Hubbard’s creation myths are so fantastic they defy logic… even when taken as allegory.
I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t make sense to me, no matter how I look at it.

Questions

2006-03-30T06:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a questionnaire that Scott passed on to me.  What were/would/will you do?
Btw, Scott is over at Perspectives of a Nomad

“What were you doing 10 Years Ago?”
That was the first year I was working at the School district.. Got Strepp throat 3 times that year… so I was spending a good part of my time in bed.

“5 Years Ago?”
2001.  Most of that year was pretty good.

“1 Year Ago?”
Same thing I’m doing now?!  sheesh

“Five snacks you enjoy:”
Snackwells crackers, granola bars,

“Five songs I know by heart but wish I didn’t:”
Theme from the Munsters, pretty much all the songs I want to format off my brain are sitcom themes

“Five things I would do with a LOT of money:”
I’ve had this daydream of driving around looking for folks who need new cars.  You know, the single mother, unemployed guy… all driving a piece of junk…  I’d approach them in a parking lot, and buy them a new car.  Just go over to a dealership and let them pick out a new car.

“Five things I would never wear:”
That pink fuzzy alpaca sweater my mom bought for me.

“Five things I should never have worn:”
That pink fuzzy alpaca sweater my mom bought for me.

“Five things I enjoy doing:”
Fishing, Thought Experiments, photography

“Five bad habits:”
Nicotine, Caffeine, aspartame, interrupting people.

Amber27

2006-03-28T21:20:00.000-05:00

Amber27
Originally uploaded by npanth.

I stuff the dog like a turkey with those rawhide twists. Can't help it, she loves them. Well, the cat loves cat treats, too. The minute I pull out a pack of them, though, The dog gives me the look. She's thinking that the big guy isn't doling out the treats. Whine, pout, raise the ears, lie on the ground, get up. Do a slow 360. Rinse, Repeat.

I know cat treats are bad for dogs... but I figure I can get away with it once. I'm not sure, but those two treats could have gone up her nose. They just vanished, so I think she snorted them. If my dog had thumbs, she'd be cutting lines of cat treats while I'm at work.

Double Die

2006-03-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Macro23
Originally uploaded by npanth.

This is what's called a Poorman's Double Die. In 1955, the mint made two errors while pumping out all those pennies. One error messed up the entire date. It looks like 11995555. That's worth a nice vacation for two to one of those sunny places. The double die that I have (several) of is the Poorman's. Just the last 5 is doubled. I can't even make a phone call with the poorman's double die :)

The more things Change...

2006-03-25T16:56:00.000-05:00

Scretary Rusk's Address
I was thinking about the parallels that have been drawn between the Iraq war and the Vietnam War. A lot of people are talking about it… and being shouted down by just as many people. So, I decided to try to find some primary documents from the ‘60s. I ran across this speech given by Secretary Rusk. I took the speech into Word, replaced “South Viet-Nam” with “Iraq”. I replaced “North Viet-Nam” and “Communists” with “Terrorists”. Here are some of the more interesting passages I got. It’s a little eerie, actually. Just change a couple proper names and catch phrases, and it could be given to the Heritage Foundation tomorrow.

"Obviously, the first essential in building a durable peace is to eliminate aggression- by preventing it, if possible, and by repelling it when it occurs or is threatened.”

". . . . But the principal Terrorists states remain publicly committed to what they call 'wars of liberation'-the infiltration of arms and trained men. That is the type of aggression by which Terrorists Terrorists set Out to conquer Iraq. It is an aggression which has become less and less in-direct since the closing months of 1964, when Terrorists began to move an entire division of its regular army into Iraq.”

"Four successive Presidents of the United States, after extended study in consultation with their chief advisers on defense and foreign policy, have concluded that the security of Southeast Asia (ed. Middle East), and of Iraq in particular, is very important to the security of the United States. Those who take a different view are at odds with the men who have borne the highest responsibility for the defense of the United States and the free world since the Second World War.”

"In accordance with our national interest in the security of Iraq, the Government of the United States made commitments…”
"The United States cannot run away from its commitments. If either our adversaries or our friends should begin to doubt that the United States will honor its alliances, the result could be catastrophe.”

Ants

2006-03-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

Not By Math Alone is an article by Justice O'connor about the apathy in our society today. Most people can't articulate the rights granted to us under the Constitution. They don't understand the weight of a document like the Declaration of Independence. They take an ant's eye view of our country. Ants are an interesting analogy for our society. Not in the literal sense. Here’s what I mean.

We let the “queen ants” run everything, while we go about our daily lives. We gather food, improve the mound, and raise the young. We keep our minds as blank as possible, so we can get to the weekend that much faster. George Lucas’ first movie was about a society much like that. We haven’t reached that dystopia yet. The difference is that we are more complex “ants” and can change.

Why are you watching Survivor, when you could be reading the Bible?

Our government was founded as a secular religion. Our founding documents are its bible. These Truths are Self-Evident. …In order to form a more perfect union. I’m a believer. Perhaps because the beliefs that originated our country come from the Enlightenment, not the Iron Age. Even Jefferson makes more sense to me than most religions. The founding concepts of any great thought movement stand the test of time. Do Unto Others as You Would Have Done Unto You. Love Your Brothers (ed. and Sisters)

The trick is to not cling to the concepts that are just rooted in their time. Human rights as we know them today didn’t exist in either the Iron Age or the Enlightenment.
That’s why I believe in Secularianism, if you will. The Constitution is a malleable document. It’s the first holy text in history that can be revised. Heck, they encouraged us to revise it when we saw fit. The ants have never had it so good. Don't screw it up by ignoring it.

Founding Documents