Qiu Jin was a seminal leader in both the revolutionary movement and the struggle
for women’s emancipation.
My personal glimpse into the first half of the 21st Century for some yet to be known future
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Autumn-Gem film
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday Two: Robots and Bacteria
Tuesday Two
In robot news, Josh Lowensohn explores the Rovio, a $250 robot that acts like an internet controlled telepresence guard dog. Let's hope they never hook this thing up to Skynet. Terminator's primitive cousin has been born!On the biotech front, the cleverly named Institute of Food Research made an announcement about genetically engineered bacteria that does what it is told to do just by eating a rare sugar called xylan. Sounds just tasty. I'll have two!
Epoch-Fail!
Tesla Motors has been trying to give themselves a lot of press. Their desperation lead them to submit a couple of cars to the British show Top Gear. Bad move! Well, let's be honest, an electric "sports" car that only has peak performance for a 100 mile radius before needing a 2 to ..umm 16 hour recharge? Well, Top Gear's review may not have been 100% fair, but they make some very important points. Here's the video.Sunday, September 27, 2009
Possible types of Alien Lifeforms (Part 3: Arsenic Life)
Phosphorous is not particularly abundant on Earth. Yet Terran life needs the element. A similar element that could replace phosphorous is arsenic. Of course, arsenic is poisonous to us. This is because it is so similar to phosphorous. It may be possible that life could have evolved on other worlds to use arsenic instead of phosphorous. This is because arsenic can do everything that phosphorous does (in the way of structural bonding and energy storage). It could also be used to drive metabolism. On such a world, phosphorous would be the poison because it would interfere with those functions, much as arsenic interferes with the functions of phosphorous in life on Earth.
Is it possible for lifeforms to be poisonous to each other because of their basic chemistry? Would it be dangerous for arsenic based lifeforms and phosphorous-based lifeforms to simply touch each other or even to life in the same space?
References: “Are Aliens Among Us?” by Paul Davies, Scientific American December 2007
Related articles
- Video: What Would Trees Look Like On Other Planets?
- Predictions of Evolution of Alien Life
- Communicaion with Alien Civilizations
- Odds of Humaniods Evolving again
- Part 5: Blue Plants
- Part 4: Silicon Life
- Part 3: Arsenic Life
- Part 2: Exotic Amino Acids
- Part 1: Mirror Life
Saturday, September 26, 2009
FOX "News" magically turns Republican into Democrats
Hello, can anyone say Nineteen Eighty-Four
or Wag the Dog?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Toebzilla
He does look to us for approval, though its more a matter of watching us to see what he can get away with. Right now, he's sleeping on our couch on top of a quilted blanket which he has adopted as he bed. He did try to take this liberty without my permission, so I made him get off the couch and wait for permission to hop back on. Now that he's sleeping, he's not terrorizing anything.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday Two: Snap Cracke Pop
Word First
Welcome to the first day of Fall 2009. I have something called Tuesday Two on a professional technical website that I maintain. I will be reposted some of those here from time to time. These will include brief showcases of two noteworthy inventions (maybe more sometimes, maybe less). In addition, I may also highlight an epic fail invention. Hmm, I don't know about that word epic fail. It's too much en vogue right now and will likely not be used in a couple years. Let me make up my own derivative.I will sometimes highlight an epoch-fail invention. That's likely a safe term that won't get over used by the likes of G4 and other "we are cool gadget geeks" media outlets. Epoch-fail also out-does the term epic fail because even an epic is only a short period when compared to geologic time frame of an epoch. Epoch-fail inventions will be (in my opinion, as always) failures that can be registered in terms of how long the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, or when we last had a comet (or was it an asteroid, or huge broken-down alien space ship) smack into the Yucatan Peninsula.
Also, it should be noted that by "invention", I also mean innovation, device, gadget, idea or any other unique real world or conceptual imagining. Normally, I will stick to recent news, but don't be surprized if I honor the axle or deride the idea that UFO's helped Egyptians build the Pyramids.
Tuesday Two
Kindle gets nod for living up to the hype. Recent study shows that it is indeed more environmentally friendly than paper books. This, combined with its new lower price should turn some green heads and open their pocket books.Do dogs go to heaven? Regardless to one's beliefs, there is now a service available to take care of pets left behind once the Rapture happens. It's billed as,"The next best thing to pet salvation in a Post Rapture World"
Epoch-Fail
- This week's first Epoch-Fail award goes to the beloved iPhone 3GS, based on reports from France that suggest it is exploding and cracking without warning. Yikes!
- A second Epoch-Fail award goes to those who have been trying to link the good ol' meat and potatoes diet with bad things. Recent studies have not shown a link between meat and dairy products with breast cancer in women.
- Yet a third Epoch-Fail award goes to Bank of America for not cashing the check of a man who was born with no arms because he was unable to provide a thumb print.
- This week's final Epoch-Fail award again goes to Apple, but this one is directly granted to Steve Jobs for his alleged lie to the New York Times about why the new iPod Touch doesn't have a camera.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Addition of poetry
I don't know if I'm going to completely shutdown the other site or just leave it up for reference.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Santa Clara Forty-Niners
Sorry City of San Francisco. The real engine of the San Francisco Bay Area (Silicon Valley) is getting the prized possession that you took for granted for so long. The 49ers will be moving to the metropolitan area of the nation's 10th largest city (San Jose).
The 49ers will play their games in the heart of their fan base! Only 8% of session ticket holders currently live in San Francisco. It has been suggested that the majority of the 49er's session ticket holders are actually from Silicon Valley, including support from corporations.
Should their name be changed to Santa Clara 49ers, or even Silicon Valley Chips? I'm inclined to say no. I suggest they change their name to San Francisco Bay 49ers. This way they can continue the 49er traditions. Also, they can be said to represent the whole area while still sporting their famous SF logo.
It is my hope that the measure for public approval of the new 49er stadium will be on our ballots in 2010, and that the stadium can be completed for the 2014 session.
One of the bonuses to having a new, well designed stadium is that it will be a likely candidate to host the Super Bowl! If they finish the stadium soon enough, Santa Clara city may be the host city for the Super Bowl before 2020! Even the City of San Francisco will benefit from that, despite their own laziness.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Drake Equation
These elements are:
- Average rate of star formation in our galaxy (R*)
- Fraction of those stars that have planets (fp)
- Average number of planets that potentially support life per star that has planets (ne)
- Fraction of those planets that actually develop life at some point (fl)
- Fraction of those planets that then develops intelligent life (fi)
- Fraction of those civilizations that develop technology that can and does send detectable signals of their existence into space (fc)
- And, the length of time such civilizations remain detectable via their transmissions (L)
The formula this looks something like N = R* x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L.
Here's an example of how to use the formula based on estimates of values for its variables.
- R* = 10/year (10 stars formed per year, on the average over the life of the galaxy)
- fp = 0.5 (half of all stars formed will have planets)
- ne = 2 (stars with planets will have 2 planets capable of supporting life)
- fl = 1 (100% of these planets will develop life)
- fi = 0.01 (1% of which will be intelligent life)
- fc = 0.01 (1% of which will be able to communicate)
- L = 10,000 years (which will last 10,000 years)
Drake's values give N= 10 × 0.5 × 2 × 1 × 0.01 × 0.01 × 10,000 = 10 civilizations with which there is possibility for us to currently communicate. This can be useful to provide rough guests as to the chances of how successful we can expect to be in our hunt for E.T.'s with programs like SETI. SETI has a lot of equipment pointed into space looking for signals.
However, the formula is so full of guests, it may not have any value at all. In fact, even the elements of the formula are themselves guests. For example, one might question why star formation rate has any impact on how many planets may form with life. Also, given more modern understandings of our galaxy, such as the Rare Earth Hypothesis, many other factors may be more important that those used the Drake Equation. Additionally, there is a problem that many stars have been discovered to have Hot Jupiters, which would destroy any terrestrial worlds, thus preventing the opportunity for life to develop in that star system. Even worse, the question is raised about our own arrogance in the assumption that all life would resemble us enough to communicate in the same forms as we do.
It appears now that the Drake Equation is actually pseudo-science. It is not based on any hypothesis. It is nothing more than a series of guests. It does not produce anything that is testable. In fact, it's author, Dr. Frank Drake, didn't originally intend for this formula to be used in the way that is has been. It was meant to be an organizational tool for the discussion about intelligent life in the Universe specifically for a gathering called The Green Bank Meeting in 1960, so named for its location at the Green Bank Telescope.
Right now, it seems the best way to know how common life is in our galaxy is to explore it. The Drake Equation is more of a mathematical toy than an actual useful formula.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
California Nature (minor tweak)
Impelling me to climb your cloven heights,
And romp carelessly,
as aureate poppy fields beckon.
Sun-kissed waters bounce along your shoreline.
They entice me to surf the crashing calm waves.
Canopy-enveloped valleys thrive with floral scents
That draw my ingression, but I forestall.
Instead I caper like Racetrack Playa’s sailing stones,
Which tickle your basin by some unseen will.
I endeavor to hike your proud hills,
And find places to gaze lostly into lakes full with sky.
Vineyard nectar overflows like sweet sweat,
To spur my soul’s arousal as I partake.
Your boundless attributes gratify my wanderlust,
And allure me to appease your nature.
Friday, September 11, 2009
"In the Hopper"
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Possible type of Alien Lifeforms (Part 2: Exotic Amino Acids)
For the most part, life on Earth uses the same set of nucleotides (amino acids) to form the basis of their DNA. In all, almost all known life uses 20 particular amino acids. These are often classified by their bases as A (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine) and T (thymine). These are the basic building blocks of DNA. They are also used to build proteins. Of course, from a certain point of view, DNA is just a really long protein.
How DNA uses these amino acids is described by Paul Davies in his article Are Aliens among Us? published in Scientific American, Dec 2007. He states, "The genetic code is based on triplets of nucleotides, with different triplets spelling out the names of different amino acids. The sequence of triples in a gene dictates the sequence of amino acids that must be strung together to build a particular protein."
Alien lifeforms may use exotic amino acids that are far different than the ones used by life on Earth. It is possible that the set of amino acids we use may not even appear on other worlds. Evidence by scientific study suggests that there are many other forms of amino acids that may be useful (or at least available) for other types of life. Evidence of exotic amino acids on other worlds has come from meteorites. Also, others have been synthesized in the lab.
Other lifeforms from other worlds may be completely different from us while still using the same basic DNA structure we use. A question remains, would life formed by exotic amino acids be all that much different than Terran life in appearance? Would the exotic amino acids lead life to evolve along completely different paths that we as yet have not conceived?
Reference: “Are Aliens Among Us?” by Paul Davies, Scientific American December 2007
Related articles
- Video: What Would Trees Look Like On Other Planets?
- Predictions of Evolution of Alien Life
- Communicaion with Alien Civilizations
- Odds of Humaniods Evolving again
- Part 5: Blue Plants
- Part 4: Silicon Life
- Part 3: Arsenic Life
- Part 2: Exotic Amino Acids
- Part 1: Mirror Life
Saturday, August 29, 2009
What are the odds of Humaniods evolving again?
The major problem with this is that life goes through a great number of changes as it evolves over time. At each point, a very specific set of criteria sets the stage for what is eventual deemed successful adaption and what comes to the end of the line. Given what little we know right now, it seems unlikely that changes at each step will follow the same path twice in different ecosystems and different worlds.
Sure, we do have convergent evolution, where multiple species evolve the same abilities in separate epochs and ecosystems. But is human-level intelligence something that will happen naturally again? Is having two legs, two arm, a face, etc, something that happens naturally as a matter functionality? Could there be intelligence as advanced as ours, but in a completely different form?
We don't know anything concrete regarding evolution of life on the cosmic scale. For years it was assumed that the form of our Solar System was common, and that is what makes life elsewhere likely. We exist; there's nothing special about us; therefore life like us exists elsewhere. This is a bit silly since we have no data to support that. In fact, when we started finding planets in other star systems, the Solar System model proved to be quite unusual.
Maybe our understanding of evolution is still incomplete at the cosmic scale. Maybe traits we see in Terran life are common on other worlds simply because these adaptions are the most successful in general, regardless of specific ecosystems that may exist. Before people start declaring this or that is unlikely, let's collect data and find out.
Start sending probes to other star systems and poke about. The probes will take a long time to get where they're going, but so what. Unless we humans kill ourselves off (or nature does it for us), our posterity should be around to receive the results of our efforts, so that they can figure this out with actual evidence, instead of relying on unscientific guesses (see Drake's Equation).
Related articles
- Video: What Would Trees Look Like On Other Planets?
- Predictions of Evolution of Alien Life
- Communicaion with Alien Civilizations
- Odds of Humaniods Evolving again
- Part 5: Blue Plants
- Part 4: Silicon Life
- Part 3: Arsenic Life
- Part 2: Exotic Amino Acids
- Part 1: Mirror Life
Possible types of Alien Lifeforms (Part 1: Mirror Life)
On Earth, life uses what is called right-handed DNA. Right-handed DNA uses left-handed amino acids, sometimes described as homochiral. The fact that all lifeforms on Earth use Right-handed DNA suggests that all life here is descendant from a common group of ancestors.
Why does the difference matter? If single cell members of mirror life (with left-handed DNA) are placed in a nutrient broth consisting of only left-handed amino acids, the lifeforms will not be able to thrive. The same is true of the reverse.
Mirror life is a type of lifeform that uses the same type of DNA structure, but where the DNA is left-handed. This type of life, in turn, used right-handed amino acids.
The possibly that life on other worlds may be mirror life is very exciting. If found, it would lend tremendous evidence that life is possible in other forms as well.
----
Reference: "Are Aliens Among Us?" by Paul Davies, Scientific American December 2007
Related articles
- Video: What Would Trees Look Like On Other Planets?
- Predictions of Evolution of Alien Life
- Communicaion with Alien Civilizations
- Odds of Humaniods Evolving again
- Part 5: Blue Plants
- Part 4: Silicon Life
- Part 3: Arsenic Life
- Part 2: Exotic Amino Acids
- Part 1: Mirror Life
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
"Mommy, what's a keyboard"
Predictive text input is where a person enters there first couple of letters and then is presented with a word or list of words that most likely match the author’s intent. The author keeps typing until the correct word appears, then accepts the entry. On a cell phone number pad, each number represents 3 or 4 letters. Predictive test input can quickly find the desired word, often with the push of only a couple of numbers. In addition, more sophisticated systems will learn which words are most commonly used by the author and present those as first choices to the author.
With predictive text input, a person can drastically increase their typing capabilities. I’ve seen individuals text with cell phones numeric pads faster than what is even possible on a smartphone QWERTY keyboard. In fact, I would suggest that average wpm speeds of numeric pad texters with predictive text input even exceeds that of experienced typists on traditional full size keyboard devices. That’s not hyperbole, and I’m not kidding. The QWERTY keyboard’s current Golden Age will be over soon enough.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Road Trip, Santa Barbara
I guess we'd just suffer with this horrible weather in the Los Padres National Forest.
Or this unbearable sunshine in the San Luis Obispo Downtown.
Don't get me started about lovely Pismo Beach!
Actually, Santa Barbara itself had a little off-cast in the mornings. Oh, the horror of it all.
Friday, August 07, 2009
SoCal Road Trip
August 7, 2009 to August 10, 2009 with Alice, visited San Luis Obispo, California, Santa Barbara, California, Pismo Beach, California, Lake Cachuma and Santa Barbara Zoo. (Original post/backup link)
Sunday, August 02, 2009
SolidWorks Press and Blogger Event 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Cool July
is feeling more like spring. The weather has been mild like this since
early spring. It's a little odd, though nice to not have the usual summertime
heat wave that plagues us in most years here in Silicon Valley. It makes me
a bit concerned that the falling fall and winter may be particularly wet.
I don't mind the rain so much...just concerns about all the hazards that
come from too much of it. At least we'll not bake in the sweltering heating.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Early one morning
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Staycation is now an official word (kinda)
Allie and I took a short vacation on Thursday and Friday to the Monterey Peninsula. I had originally wanted to take a road trip to Santa Barbara, but that seemed a bit too far for the limited time available to us. By comparison, a trip to Monterey can be called a staycation.
We hit up some of the same old places, like Cannery Row. We also explored something new to both of us; Carmel Valley, with its several wineries.
We stayed overnight at Green Gables Inn in Pacific Grove. This place was once made nationally famous with one of the commercials where Visa brags about being accepted at a place that did not accept American Express. As far as I noticed, they still do not accept American Express, but they do take Discover. I used my MasterCard.
Green Gables Inn just started up a new website where they can take online reservations. It is promoted as a quaint Bed and Breakfast. However, it is kind of a hotel with suites (self styled "boutique hotel"). Some of the rooms are in the main Victorian home, but there are also separate suites in a second slightly more modern building. The suites have old charm (so called "Victorian"). The building is very old, so some modern considerations are not addressed, such as sound dampening between rooms. However, it does have modern amenities too, such as a large romantic bathtub with jets. The location doesn't get much better. The view of Monterey Bay is awesome. It is within walking distance of both Cannery Row and Lover's Point. The staff is very friendly and will make you feel like you are at home. Overall, the experience is very pleasant.
We did lunch on Friday at the Fishhopper on Cannery Row. I asked for a table over the water. They sat us right at the very edge of the dinning room that jets out into the bay. It was like our own personal sea life zoo. We had fun spotting seals lounging on nearby rocks. Then, as a special treat, the sea otters starting show up in the kelp forest. I spotted 5 of them. I believe that is the most I've ever seen at one time. There was a squadron of pelicans that zoomed by skimming across the surface of the water, also the usual gulls chilling out. The only fish we saw in the ocean was actually fulfilling the role of meal for one of the sea otters.
Though I'm from Monterey County, I've not travelled every road. One area I've not explored before is Carmel Valley. A 20 minute short drive from Carmel-by-the-sea, it might as well be a world away. It is in the middle of rolling and lush hills. Several wineries can be found along this route, allowing one to make a day of wine tasting. It isn't over commercialized or crowed like Napa Valley has become. It is very quiet and laid back. We only spent Friday afternoon there. Northern Monterey Country actually has quite a diversity of wineries and might be worth a dedicated wine tasting trip one of these days.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Monterey Excursion
June 9, 2009 to June 10, 2009 with Alice. Visited Monterey, California, Pacific Grove, California, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Green Gables Inn, A Four Sisters Inn (301 Ocean View Boulevard, Pacific Grove, CA), Cannery Row and 17-Mile Drive. (Original post/backup link).
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Super Dog
...
Ok, it's now 15 minutes later. He's into his chew-toys right now and I'm watching TV. Hmm, should I be tweeting this entry instead of blogging it?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
ATTN: Vulcan has been destroyed!
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Grieving family faces more trama
Now, I do sympathize with the family for their lose. However, the photographs taken by the CHP are a matter of public record. The CHP actually doesn't have any right to hide those photos from any citizen who requests them. Nor can the law prevent their unlimited disclosure. We live in a free society where the government cannot be allowed to keep information from the public (except for matters of National Security). There are pluses and minus to this, but if we wish to keep our society free, we must prevent the government from hiding any information.
Additionally, this is not a matter of privacy at all. The woman died in an auto accident, which is a public incident. Privacy does not hold any priority in public events. First, I (and every citizen) have the right to photograph anything I wish in public (again, except or matters of National Security). The CHP actually had a responsibility to photograph the accident scene. They actually would've been negligent in their jobs had they not.
So, although privacy is an important right, it is a right that is limited to private acts. With the exception of creative works (protected by copyright), any public incident is a matter that is in the realm of public domain. Side note, in the course of an investigation, any record of evidence collected (photographs of the scene, written reports, etc) by the CHP or any public service is public record.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Bible Self-invalidation
The problem with this is that the bible's god does lie, and these lies are actually recorded in the bible. This would be irony if it wasn't unexpected. Isn't that ironic?
Several scriptures specifically say that their god either lied himself or caused others to lie, including 1 Kings 22:23, 2 Chronicles 18:22, Jeremiah 4:10, Jeremiah 20:7, Ezekiel 14:9 and 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. To reconcile this contradiction, believers in the bible will often just excuse it off with a comment like, "God cannot lie, but is able to cause others to either lie or tell a lie." Not only does this not explain the discrepancies where their god is actually said to lie, but it is completely illogical to make this distinction. Their god is said to speak to believers through prophets. If his prophets lie because of his inspiration, that is no different than himself telling the lie.
I don't point all this out to show that the bible is flawed. Its flawed nature is fact. It doesn't need to be pointed out unless someone starts trying to argue that it is some sort of perfect holy book. I point out the flaws to show that the bible cannot be used as justification for beliefs in gods. The god of the bible is just an idea that is used for agendas of individuals or groups of people. That god doesn't really exist; at least not in the way bible believers think.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
My Girl, the new Ride
From Junya's Photos of Matt's car |
Here's me enjoying my girl on 280 this last January. Some of us G8 and GTO owners got together for a ride from Downtown Campbell to Alice's Restaurant up in the mountains. It's been a long time since I've had a V8, and this is the most powerful car I've every had. She's a lot of fun. It's just too bad I don't have more excuses to driver her.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Leave It!
Now, I know the command "Leave It!" is in vogue right now (thanks to the likes of Cesar Millan), and the the lady was simply addressing her dog with a command to which it was familiar, but I was actually offended for a second at being referred to as an "it". It was a little disconcerting even though ultimately her command had nothing to do with me as a person. I'm not one to be offended easily. When I realized I was mildly offended, a couple seconds later, I was rather amused at myself.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Got a Rat Terrier Name "Toebzilla"
On April 16, 2009 with Alice in Santa Clara, CA, we added Toby to our family. (Original post/backup link)
Leveraging their online community (Pontiac?)
Anyway, back to the point. In the magazine is another article called Car Camaraderie about how online forums are bringing Pontiac drivers together. They did a whole article about online resources being utilized by Pontiac owners. As far as I know, none of these resources are directly related to GM. The writer of the Pontiac article understands the Pontiac’s online community well enough to mention the most popular sites for each of their models. This is just one article in one magazine that doesn’t have public distribution. It’s a start for them, though. Sure, OnStar has been online based for awhile now, but that is a paid service. The act of actually profiling users on several of the forums (even mentioning their user names) is something that is not that common yet. Like many other old-school companies, they are starting to understand the Information Age, finally.
The Pontiac G8 community site that was mentioned was G8board.com, of which I am a fairly active user.
Monday, April 13, 2009
New doggie member of the family soon
So, there will be hours and hours of time invested in a new member of the family. We both grew up with pets, but this is our first pet together. We are excited. We are going to be putting a lot of effort into preparing for him. Even though we haven't seen our little Rattie in a few weeks, we've already named him. Per my usual, I will likely come up with an alias for him on the blog. I'll post some pictures once he's settled in to his new home in a couple of weeks.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Birthday bash
It was my fortunate luck to have my BBQ scheduled (by my wife) on the first non-rainy weekend in months (scheduled over a month in advance). The day was gorgeous, with barely the slightest hint of tiny white puffy clouds once in awhile. As the day approached, we discovered this was going to be a great weather day. Knowing it was going to be the first good weather weekend in a long time, I got up early to claim the ideal BBQ spot at the park.
At about 11:30AM, friends and family started to trickle in. It was funny that the only people to actually show up at the start time was Allie's co-workers and friends. "MY" friends didn't start showing up till about 12:30PM (as I expected anyway). Overall, about 20 people showed up.
Over the week leading up to the BBQ, I asked Allie if we had everything we needed for BBQ'ing, including all necessary utensils. In particular, I was concerned about us having the grill brush. She assured me that we did indeed have everything. Well, at about 12:30PM, I started to get the BBQ started. Coals - check. Lighter - check. Lighter fluid - check. Kindling - check. BBQ fork - check. BBQ spatula - check. BBQ grill brush - ???. Again, BBQ grill brush - ??? No brush! OMG! So, here I am at my birthday party having to go out to buy the tool. I head to the local Safeway. No luck. Fortunately, we have a Home Depot kinda close by. They had plenty of choices. After getting back to the BBQ (after like 20 minutes or so), I found more people showed up. Good. "I can get help with the BBQ'ing," I commented to myself.
Once we got the BBQ'ing going, it soon became apparent that Allie had marinated the chicken to perfection. They where a big hit. We had planned to BBQ without BBQ sauce, so this was a welcomed surprize into this brave new world.
Another hit was the large size Blizzard ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. The whole thing was gone in minutes. Of course, even though my birthday (which was earlier in the month) was only the excuse to get everyone together, everyone felt inclined to surround me and single "Happy Birthday". Dear lord!
My only real complaint is that I literally spend 12 hours in the Sun, without so much as a freckle to show for it. Normally, I would have tanned and reddened significantly. However, on this day, I used some SPF 70 stuff that Allie had on hand. I only applied it once early in the morning. I was as white as ever at the end of the day. I've never seen that before. I'm a little bummed about that. Here I am having a great time and I have no sunburn to show for it. ;-)
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Expert's Prediction about Italian Earthquake
From my memory, there seems to be a series of solo scientist that are able to score one accurate earthquake prediction. Sometimes, they kinda get a second prediction right too. However, I've never seen these scientist able to continue their predictions accurately in a way that can usually save lives. Gioacchino Giuliani feels like he could've saved lives if the authorities listened to him. The problem is that even if his method proves to be repeatable, this is the first successful prediction he has made, at least that I've heard about. First time for anything is an occurrence; second time a coincidence; the third time is a pattern. For him to be recognized, he's got to get it right three times in a way that is repeatable by others and useful to authorities.
The difficulty with this is that earthquakes happen very infrequently in any one location. The factors that lead up to earthquakes vary from region to region and even quake to quake. What may be an indicator for an earthquake in one location may not work in another location.
In my opinion, I do think the authorities owe the expert an apology for violating his freedoms. However, it is understandable as to why they ignored him. There's a lot of crackpots out there making predictions all the time. The authorities have no idea who to listen to until some method (not a particular person) provides to be successful repeatably.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Back to life
There's a few of stories I'll be writing about soon, including some cool about additions to my life.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
I actually have a Bestseller, of sorts
I actually have five listings currently on Amazon.com for the Kindle. I'm not making any substantial money. In fact, as of right now, I've not earned enough to even quality to receive any payment. Hopefully soon I'll earn my first $10. Joy. At this rate, I'm earning roughly 16¢ an hour (that's $0.16 for those who've never seen the cent ¢ symbol before) for the time it took me to make those books.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Featured in Pontiac Performance Magazine
With Alice, a profile feature article was written about me and my 2009 Pontiac G8 GT in the Spring edition of Pontiac Performance Magazine. (Original post/backup link)
Monday, March 09, 2009
Birthday thang
Well, this year my excuses start up again! It will be a little late in the month; Allie and I are having a BBQ at the park outside our house. The invited group is an eclectic mix twenty, thirty and forty-somethings (and some of their kids). Damn, I'm actually having a gathering where it is a given that the kids are invited. Back in the day, this would've been a question not even touched. I must be getting older. And here I am with no kids of my own. Of course, OPC are a lot of fun, mostly cuz they left when their parents do.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the party!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Cell phones and illegal telemarketer calls
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is not the "Do Not Call" list. You do not need to submit your cell number to the "Do Not Call" list to have protection. "Do Not Call" list is legit, of course, that that is mostly for landlines, not cell phones.
The is an urban legend going right now right now online that is trying to scare people into submitting their cell numbers to a scam website. If you receive that email, do not go to the email's link. Do not forward that email on. It is an attempt to steal information.
The FCC wants anyone who has received a telemarketer call on their cell to report it to them here: http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Staycation
Friday, February 13, 2009
Geekfest, FL
I'm glad to be back and now rested up just in time for V-day weekend. My wife and I missed each other. Perfect timing to reconnect.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
SolidWorks World 2009
From Feb 7 to Feb 12 2009, attended SolidWorks World 2009 as Press at Disney's Swan and Dolphin Hotel. (Original post/backup link)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Jessica Alba proves she's smarter than Bill O'Riley and TMZ
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Basic info on Documentary Hypothesis (origin of Torah)
Documentary Hypothesis (also known as JEDP) proposes that the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, known collectively as the Torah or Pentateuch) represent a combination of documents from originally independent sources.
Development of the hypothesis arise from attempts to reconcile inconsistencies in the ancient texts of the Torah. According to the influential version of the hypothesis formulated by Julius Wellhausen (1844–1918), there were four main sources, and one final redaction. These sources and the approximate dates of their composition were:
- J, or Jahwist, source; written c. 950 BC in the southern kingdom of Judah. (The name Yahweh begins with a J in Wellhausen's native German.) The writings where likely based on early oral and written sources, maybe even original from cultures outside of Israel.
- E, or Elohist, source; written c. 850 BCE in the northern kingdom of Israel. J and E may have been combined at some point after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE.
- D, or Deuteronomist, source; written c. 621 BCE in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform. P, or Priestly, source; written c. 450 BCE by Aaronid priests.
- R, or Redactor, source; written c. 400 BCE by the last editor(s) who combed the what was available from the previous sources to combine them in to the final Pentateuch. This editor may have been Ezra.
According to Wellhausen, the four sources present a picture of Israel's religious history, which he saw as one of ever-increasing centralization and priestly power. In effect, this exposes a de facto conspiracy by the individuals in the various eras to shape the documents to suit their contemporaneous needs.
Although rejected by most Judaism and Christian faiths (for fairly obvious reasons), modern forms of Wellhausen's original hypothesis have become the dominant scholarly view on the origin of the Pentateuch. Most contemporary Bible experts accept some form of the Documentary Hypothesis, and scholars continue to draw on Wellhausen's terminology and insights. In the area of New Testament scholarship, proposed solutions to the synoptic problem often bear a strong resemblance to the Documentary Hypothesis.
References:
Monday, January 19, 2009
Hawaii Episode of No Reservations
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Meeting of G8 and GTO owners last weekend
- Bring walky-talkies
- check out the route prior to the tour
- pick a spot closer to freeway to meet before a tour
- Fun drive√
- Cool people√
- great final destination√
- calling a day ahead for a reservation at the rest'rant√
- set up the date far enough ahead to get a good showing√
- and finally, have great weather!√
Here's the link to the online photo albums available so far:
Here's a quick video of almost everyone that came:
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Back in my day
It's weird now to discuss a time before the Internet. Sure, it kinda existed before 1994, but not in any way that is meaningful to us today. What makes this kinda ironic is that my generation is one of those generations that is going to be able to talk about how things used to be. Not in some silly way like "candy used to cost 5 cents", but in a real paradigm shift sort, like those old-timers that used to talk about the horse and buggy in times before cars. From those old-timers we get the stereotypical story of having to "walk 10 miles in the snow to school up hill both ways." What will my tale be for my grandkids? I imagine it would be something like like "Back in my day, we didn't have the Internet. I used to have to drive in a car in bumper to bumper traffic to get to a building called a library in order to use my library card just read a book." I'm sure the question from my posterity will be, "What's a car, grampa?"
Monday, December 15, 2008
Death penalty reconsidered in Mexico
Coahuila lawmakers last week sent a bill to Mexico's Congress to change the constitution to allow the death penalty for kidnappers who kill their captives. -MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters)
The moral high ground that Mexico once prided for themself is not being reconsidered. Mexico has chided the U.S. for our policy regarding the death penalty. Now that they are actually dealing with the problems they've fostered for so long. Now, they realize the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and the lack thereof is an open invitation for criminal activity of heinous acts.