Seattle IIII

 

May 8, 2008 to May 14, 2008 with Alice for the wedding of  Miriam and David 

Visited Seattle, Washington and Federal Way, Washington

(Original post, backup link)

Something in the Air

I recently wrote an article about the platypus species being the most primitive of all mammals. Funny that only a couple months later there is now a news story about this vary same thing. The news story is originally from Livescience.com here. There is new interesting information about the fact that although the platypus has the X and Y chromosomes, these are not the sex chromosomes for the platypus. Instead, the platypus has about 10 other chromosomes for that purpose. Strange animal, this platypus

It's Starting Again

Something is stirring in Silicon Valley again. I drive around and still see a lot of empty commercial lots in the industrial area where I work. Even still, larger new buildings are being built around me. Even weirder, the lunch crowd is becoming larger. I've been noticing this slow change over the past 6 months or so. Where lines at the local Togos and Subway used to be easy to get through, they are now extending well out the shop door. More people are starting to work in the area. The job market looks like it's starting to pick up.

The old days of semi-conductor giants springing up over night are gone. The new industries of the valley are Biotech and Solar. Solar is starting to take off so fast that a new nickname for the valley might end up being Solar Valley. Biotech is growing rapidly too. It's contribution is a little more dispersed thoughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Either way, you cannot throw a rock without hitting someone that is currently working in either of those fields.

Another thing I've noticed is that the Ward Cleavers are back. These are the slightly older guys that wear slacks and shirts that make them look like they just stepped out of a Leave It To Beaver episode. I guess they think they are dressing up. Or maybe their wives are picking out their clothes thinking that the old rules from the 50's still apply. Either way, they are filling the lunch lines with their open discussions of confidential information about their new jobs.

Late last year, I overhead this one group of younger guys. They were not the Ward Cleavers, but they were dressed up a bit in the way that younger guys dress up (all name brand clothes, but not well coordinated). Anyway, they were going into very exact detail about the technology of their start-up Biotech company. Let's just say I understood what they were talking about. I heard so much that the only piece of information I needed to make the information useful would've been their company name. I tried and failed to catch a glimpse of their door badges. I think they figured out I was eavesdropping at that point, so they smartened up. They really shouldn't have been talking about the proprietary matters in line at a sandwich shop in the first place.

The lull in the crowds and traffic was nice while it lasted. It looks like we have another boom cycle getting ready to take off and soon as the economy turns more favorable.

It's about me

It is easy to think one’s life has not measured up to the expectations one’s own heart and mind. Accomplishments made diminished are held low. Even the proud braggart is ultimately over compensating for feelings of inadequacy. Yet each person must face the truth that we are here for a reason. Accomplishment is not measured by comparison to others, but on the merit of the deeds and thoughts of the inner person. Each person must admit to themselves that they are worthy; worthy of love, joy, and peace; worthy of that which we earn. In this, life is a calm excitement. It is the excitation of living in which having a calm spirit brings success.

We are blessed with our time here on Earth. This blessing is a chance to us. But extension, our responsibility here is for our self. We earn more than each of us can possible know in one life. Many lives must be experienced to gain the full value of our being. We reside beyond existence, yet held in stasis within this world, within this Universe. It is more than what we can see, but much less than our lifespark. The universe cannot be held equal to the value of my life, or the lives of any other. Yet, somehow we are all contained within its ether.

It’s about me. Each of use can say this for our self. It is about me. This world is not so random. It is intertwined, full of incidents, but never accidents. The world revolves around me. At the same time it revolves around each of us equally. Our paths lead one place; that which is beyond the infinite. In this, the minor day to day living, the rut, and the daily grind are nothing less than us inching towards our ultimate destination.

Even though each of us is on our own journey, we are collectively moving together. Each of us a cell in the greater organism; a piece of the whole that so much greater than what we can possibly see. It’s not our need to know full extent of things. Knowing would hinder and distract too much. We must focus upon the task laid before us. Life; its purpose is to live. Me; this is my purpose, to live my life. Is it really so simple? The answer to that is up to me.

Thank you to the Cosmic Consciousness for the time and worlds in which to speak. Enjoy.

Nice Weekend, Nice, Three Days a week

I know I talk about my weekends more often than any other day. I may have mentioned before that to me there's like three days a week. Monday through Thursday is just one blur that counts as a single day. Friday is Friday. And the Weekend, which consists of Saturday and Sunday.

This weekend, Allie and I had a nice relaxing afternoon. We like to head up to Burlingame's downtown area on nice weekend days, though this weekend I think we actually ...you know what, I can't even remember now. Man oh man. I believe we did go to Burlingame last weekend, which is why I think my memory is confused. Oh well.

On Friday, we had dinner with her folks. Her mom cooked yet another tasty Chinese dinner. We had to leave around nine to catch an independent film called The Visitor. I enjoyed the movie and was rather impressed with the quality. Sunday night we watched Lars and the Real Girl, which blows the lid on the Real Doll website that both revolts and entices, often OCT. It was another good movie, though it didn't surprize me. The one similarity between the films is they both had a lack of closure to varying degrees, while still having good endings.

It was a relaxing weekend. In fact, it was another weekend we didn't do nearly all we should have around the house. ::sigh:: There's always a plan, but when the weather turns nice, Spring Fever onsets.

GenPets, what are they?

Someone just sent me a link for this new product that is due on the shelves very soon! It's call Genpets.




So, I wonder if they are editable? If so, you can donate them to a local food bank after they die and get a tax write-off for their amortized value.

Works of Art (Part 2 of 2)

To continue on from my previous discussion, I had two other surviving shoe polish on card stock paper works from my time spent bored working in a mall shoe store when I was a kid. This one can have a multitude of meanings. The title Faeryland Coitus only reflects one interpretation. I believe I did this one as contrast to my shear boredom. I created excitement from nothingness. There are many objects in the painting (or should I call it a polishing?). In some views, it could be seen as a lot of different fairies doing naughty things. From another perspective, it could be a hands smashing something between them as they clap together. It could also be two figures engaged in acts of carnal lust with tornado like movement. It ultimately represents my desire to be freed from my imprisonment.

The long evenings would wear on. So much so, it felt like I could turn to dust and melt away into the wind.This is what my last surviving work depicts. This is why this work is titled Blown. Here I am a disappearing face that is dissolving, even as I grin outwardly. The image could also been seen as my acceptance of futility, like the rock battered by ocean tides. The colors show my despair and anguish. Are there other figures in the background mocking me? Is that my blood polluting a body of water?

Of course, I've not touched this medium since that time. It represents a very specific period in my life in a form of expressed that was based directly on the experience itself. It would be like a gardener making works of art out of garden tools instead of the flower arraignments or garden features. I couldn't make works out of the shoes themselves, so I used the next best medium available. For me, this is how art is. Something that represents a moment in time, but not only that, it is also derived directly from that moment, created to record the moment from the very material that makes the moment what it is. These moments are somewhat spaced out in my life. It's just when something strikes me a certain way; that's when this part of my nature materializes.

Works of Art (1 of 2)

I once worked at a shoe store in some mall. It was a small store. Most of the time, I was the only person. This was around the time when I was about 17 or so, and likely sometime during the period following the start of the Persian Gulf War. The day the war started, the malls where empty. Attendance at the mall never really recovered while I worked there, even after the war's end. I had many long hours to do nothing. I was supposed to look busy to make it seem as though there was always activity within the little store, but there was no one in the mall for which I could look busy.

Being 17 and being stuck, I began to explore my limited surroundings. For whatever reason, I started playing with the shoe polish. I don't know how or why I got started with this. In secret, I started making miniature paintings with the shoe polish. I still have three of those works. I don't consider them half bad for what they are: shoe polish on card stock paper. I may be the only person in history to explore this medium. Here is one those surviving works.

This one is Girl catching up. It depicts one girl running after another that is impatiently waiting. The color represents the angst between the two and perhaps a bit more. In modern terms, one might call them frienemies. The inspiration may have been some of the girls that frequented the mall.

I may display the other surviving works soon.

Identification of years

How many people actually know that there is no year zero on the common Western (Gregorian) calendar. This creates logical problems that are hard to deal with in the lay population. Most people assume an understanding and use of zero. I would even catch myself thinking in terms of having a year zero had I not known a little more about our calendar than the average bear. Bottom line, on our calendar, the year 1 BC is followed by 1 AD.

Just as there is no year zero, there is not zero century. Our 21st Century is 2001 to 2100. The last year of the 21st Century is 2100, not the first year. That's fairly counter-intuitive. This does force me to think when I talk about periods in the 16th through 19th Centuries. It is very easy to think that 18th Century is the same as the 1800's.

So, there is no year zero, no matter how confusing that ends up being. Until we choose another calendar system, this will be a contentious issue.

Another point to discuss is how to identify years. The most common method for years counting backward is B.C., and A.D. for our current era (years that count forward). These two abbreviations refer a previously accepted date for the birth of Jesus Christ. It is now commonly agreed that if Jesus Christ did exist, his birth was more likely between the period of 8 and 4B.C. This means the start year of our calendar is pretty arbitrary, as it is not associated with any particular event. Yet, we still use terms that directly reference Jesus' birth. Alternative terms that have been proposed are BCE (Before our Common Era) and CE (our Common Era). This turns the arbitrary date away from being Christian centric, but in a way, it still attempts to enforce that old world calendar on others. I see BCE/CE used more frequently these days, but I do not believe it will ever become the norm.

To accept the arbitrary nature of our calendar and to establish some Information Age standard, those Europeans have come up with a supposed standard ISO-8601. This document is meant to be an international standard, but isn't really in common use. The problem with ISO-8601 is that is renumbers the years that count backwards. 1BC becomes 0000 and 2BC becomes -0001. Unless every history book ever written is updated to this new attempt to renumber the years, I doubt ISO-8601 will ever be in common use by anyone other than software programmers.

Month of buzyness

It's kinda funny that "business" cannot be used to describe busy-ness anymore, and that's where the word comes from. Oh, any way does that U sound like a long E?

Anyway, yes, I've had a moth of busy-ness. In-laws were visiting town from out of the country (Hong Kong/Austrilia). Not to mention, it is tax season. Also, I've been busy with work, and my technical blog over here. Also, fitting time in for friends when I can.

Drug Pushers

I used to be in favor of allowing drug companies the right to directly advertise their products to consumers. However, the more time that goes by, the more I realize the misguided ideology of this line of thinking. History now bares witness to the facts that reveal several truths about this matter.

Pharmaceutical companies do not do nearly the research that they need to in order to determine the effectiveness of their drugs before they start selling them to customers. Also, when such research is not favorable, they delay the release of the information to the public in order to drive more sales. The most recent example of this is Vytorin (and its component Zetia). These drugs were proven to reduce bad cholesterol. However, a dangerous assumption was made that this inherently also reduced the risk of heart attacks. The fact is that the drug does not reduce the risk of heart attacks. The drug companies of Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. marketed this nearly useless drug for two years after they knew it did not work for the purpose it was intended, according to AP in their article.

Pharmaceutical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing campaigns. This is taking money way from research and development. In my opinion, it is also likely the major reason that drug costs are raising drastically since the band on drug advertisements was lifted.

Advertising drugs directly to the public encourages self-diagnosis. People are trying to be their own doctors. Advertising, along with the establishment of the Internet has given hypochondriacism new life and even legitimacy. Self-diagnosis is very dangerous.

Given these reasons, I am now in favor of re-establishing the restrictions on advertising for proscription drugs. This will help reduce the chances that corporate greed will take advantage of Americans. It will help reduce the cost of drugs. It will help provide for more R&D funding into new treatments. And, it will help reduce dangerous hypochondriacism and self-diagnosis.

Life Confuses Me.

My simple statement about me: "Life confuses me and I'm comfortable with that confusion."

I don't need to have beliefs about things I don't know or can't confirm. I tend to develop notions, but I generally understand that these are just ideas that should not be taken as more than that. So, yeah, there is a lot about this world I don't understand; and I don't need to understand them to live my life.

The Earth is Flat and the Heaven supported above us?

There is a misconception that the bible states the world is a sphere.  There is no evidence for this misconception.  However, some interpret Isiah 40:22 to mean the bible says the Earth is a sphere, but that scripture does not say this.  In fact, that scripture makes other false statements about the nature of our world and the Universe.

From the King James Version:

"It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:"

First, a circle is not a sphere.  Second, it makes reference to the heavens as being a curtain stretched over the Earth as a tent.  This is actually in line with the beliefs at the time.  The surface of the Earth was viewed as flat, and the heavens were assumed to be stretched out over it, like a bowl turned over being placed on top a support, or like a tent covering. Many scriptures refer to the heavens in this manner. Check out Genesis 1:8, 2:4, 11:4, 28:12, just for starters.

In fact, some translations of the first creation account in Genesis 1:8 describes god as calling into existence the firmament of the heaven.  A firmament is a support or pillar.  To extend the simile of Isiah 40:22, it is the tent pole upon which heaven is held up above the Earth.  This is intended as literal, not poetic.  This was the literal belief about the nature of heaven used throughout the Bible's Old Testament.  It is a holdover from Egyptian mythology which stated that a large mountain was arisen from the sea to support the heaven.^[1]

To further the bowl reference, this word firmament is an interesting derivative.  In the Hebrew, the word used for firmament is raqiya which means an extended solid surface or flat expanse.  Raqiya is derived from the Hebrew word raqa, which means beaten out or to spread material by beating, hammering, or stamping.  This is a reference to the process of making a metal bowl by hammering metal flat.  Thus in Job 37:18 we read about Elihu asking Job "Can you beat out [raqa] the vault of the skies, as he does, hard as a mirror of cast metal." (From the Kings James Version: "Hast thou with him spread out the sky which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass?")  Additionally, Job 22:14 makes reference to the "vault of heaven", sometimes translated as "vault of the sky" or "arch of heaven" in the context of discussing where god resides.^{[2][3][4][4 backup link]}

To get back to the idea of the Earth being flat, many scriptures make references to the Earth being built upon a foundation. Note Job 38:4, Zechariah 12:1, Hebrews 1:10, Revelations 13:8 and Revelations 17:8.  The Earth is also described as being fixed in place in scriptures such as 1 Chronicles 16:30.

All of these promote the idea that the ancients had false concepts about the nature of Earth being flat and heaven being placed over the Earth and supported somehow so that is does not fall.  It shows that the writers of the bible showed an acceptance and believed in these false concepts.

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Though not used as a resource for this article, I also recommend reading The Three-Story Universe (backup link).

Evolution of Mammal Traits

Sometimes I am just fascinated by how mammals became, well, mammals. It is wild to think that the incredible variety of mammals we see today, from the smallest mouse to the biggest whale, all came from just a handful of ancient species. And a lot of what makes us mammals is not what people typically image.

Take our hearing, for instance. Most people do not realize its unique composition. We have three tiny bones in our inner ear, the malleus, incus, and stapes, that work together to give us our amazing hearing. The first two actually evolved from bones that other animals use for their jaws! This is a huge difference from most other animals. And, of course, there is the one thing everyone knows: we feed our young milk. This is such a complex process that it is no wonder some people find it easier to believe we were just "made" this way. But the evidence for evolution is out there, and it is not all in the fossil record.

A Living Look at Evolution

The platypus is probably the most primitive mammal alive today, and it shows us a lot. It still lays eggs, a very reptilian trait. But, it also feeds its young a kind of milk, though not from nipples. Instead, it secretes a milk-like substance from a hairy patch on its belly. This secretion does not just feed the babies; it also has antibacterial properties that might help protect the egg and the young after they hatch.

From there, we can look at the echidna. This little guy represents a step toward marsupials. It lays eggs too, but it places them into a pouch on its body. This must be what a primitive marsupial looked like before egg-laying was replaced with embryo birth.

Marsupials have their own unique advantages. Because their young leave the womb so early, there are fewer complications from the mother's immune system attacking the embryo.

But then you have us, placental mammals. The placenta is a complete game-changer. It allows the fetus to develop for much longer and in a more protected environment inside the mother. The fact that placental mammals are now the most dominant form of mammals shows this is an advantageous trait.

Even with all our advanced development, mammals have not been around for very long. We have far fewer varieties of species than reptiles, for example. Given how far we have come, I am excited to see what future classes of animals will evolve on our planet.

The most useful website

I serve you, oh great hypnotoad.



I will tell everyone about your new episodes of Futurama. All are ordered to watch them on Comedy Central and to buy the DVD.