Insanity from Space

I came across some interesting imagery on my daily treck through the interweb today.

We don't need no water let the motha-***** burn...
Sun Go Boom
Sun Going Boom

Thank you Earth Observatory for providing the fodor for this update.

New discussion board

Hey all. I figured since we have a tendency to get into discussions quite a bit, a message board might be a better forum than the "Shout Out" box after each post.

The board is at: http://daguys.proboards24.com/

Feel free to link to this after any of your posts. I will add it to my template so the link is automatically available.

You don't have to register to view or post, but it would be helpful to know who you are :)

See you there :)

Birthday

I am 23 today. Bow down before me, or at least leave me a nice message :)

Double-plus Goodread

I just finished reading 1984 today. Doubleplusgood book. Orwell is (was) a very smart man. I like how he managed to predict the cold war stalemate, and specifically nuclear arms proliferation--all before the book was published in 1949.

One of the major sources of conflict in the book is the dichotomy between two differing views of human nature. On one hand, you have "The Blank Slate." Put simply, this is the philosophy that contends that all humans are infinitely malleable; that who they are is entirely a product of their environment. This view is the one held by religious groups (stemming from a belief in the soul) and by the far left--generally borderline socialist and beyond, including many college students (stemming from the belief that culture is its own self contained entity). Due to the extremist movements of the 60s and 70s, this view is the one that is engrained in our culture and has had a profound effect on our public policy.

On the other hand, you have the sociobiologists. They purport that much of what makes up human nature is defined, at least in part, by genes. The characteristics that are at least partially heritable include: intelligence, propensity for violence, liberalism/conservatism, and several others. This view is held by many in the psychological and cognitive science fields, at least by those who don't fall under the liberal extremist category. It is also, interestingly, a view held somewhat instinctively by much of the population, even though they pay lip-service to the Blank Slate. Idiomatic expressions such as "He's a bad egg" and "Winners are born, not made" attest to this belief. (To get a detailed description of these two views and a defense of cognitive science, check out The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker.)

Now, in 1984, these two are set against each other. The Party believes that "human nature is infinitely malleable" and use this to control not only the actions but the thoughts of its citizens. The Party believes that "whoever controls the present controls the past; and whoever controls the past controls the future." Truth exists only in the mind, so if they control the mind, they control everything and will then be endowed with absolute power. The lead character, Winston, believes there is such a thing as absolute truth and that, some day, the proles--the unwashed masses--will rise up against their oppressors and once again be free. The Party is not completely naive, and realizes that maintaining absolute power over an entire nation of hundreds of millions of people will not occur through a simple "socialization." Torture, fear, and intimidation are necessary tools to keep the lower castes from revolting.

Now here is the question I pose to you:

First, ask yourself where you stand on the issue of the Blank Slate vs. sociobiology. Now, envision a 1984-like society and try to imagine the outcome. If the Blank Slate is correct, the population, in theory, should be able to be socialized into accepting complete domination by an all-encompassing power--they would never revolt. However, if sociobiology is correct, and all human beings inherently want to have "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," then given enough time, all oppressed peoples will eventually overthrow their oppressors. Based on your own experiences and perception of human nature, where do you fall on these issues? What conflicts (if any) arise from these beliefs? How do you justify them?

Baking and Poetry

Red, Ripe and Round
Quite Sweet and Tasty
Delicious inside
A cinnamon Pastry

Put in the Oven
Bake at 350
Wait 15 minutes
Don't go too swiftly

When golden brown
Remove from the oven
And that's how you make
My rhymed Apple Muffins.

A Brief Poem

To verb a noun
Is a beautiful sound,
But to noun a verb
Is simply superb.

One of the most interesting things to watch...

Right now I'm watching some program about cartoons on VH1. Don't even get me started on the stupidity of having show about cartoons on a MUSIC station. Stupid TV execs. Anyhoo, on this program, they had a brief blurb on the Simpsons--the original prime-time cartoon that wasn't just for kids anymore. Just like Frosted Flakes. Mmm...Frosted Flakes... Ahem. During this blurb, they interviewed Hank Azaria, who is quite possibly one of the most amazing voice actors ever. In this interview he recapped almost every single one of his major characters on the show. He seamlessly transitioned between Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Snake, Comic-Book Guy, and many more. Now it is difficult to describe the emotions one experiences while watching this impressive display of vocal acrobatics, but it is quite powerful. Perhaps this is more an indication of my character than of any over-arching quality of human nature, but one comes to develop a deep and real relationship with these characters. Homer, Bart, Maggie, Lisa, Marge, these are all real people within the confines of my mind. They can inspire, disappoint, confuse, entertain, provide all of the qualities of a real human relationship. I often share anecdotes from the Simpsons as if I experienced them first hand. Now, when you view the voice actor recreating these characters in front your very eyes, your mind gets caught in a very delicate situation: since you see all of these characters coming out of one mouth, either the characters are not real, or the voice actor is host to the whole lot of them. Now, we have established that the ink & paper are as real as the flesh & blood. Therefore, they share an equal portion of the knowledge base with which we measure other members of the human race. Consequently, the first choice is not an option. It has too much potential to upset your entire personal belief structure about human nature. This is the subtle step that moves the characters out of the silver screen and into the 3-D world. To sum up the emotional translation, it is akin to the experience giving birth. A new life is brought into the world and, as with all newborns, leaves its indelible mark on the world.

Keep in mind, that during the Renaissance, the great artists of the day created art for a living. They were every bit as commercial as today's creators of film, TV, music, and other forms of art. Only time will tell which of these ventures will be taught to the eager young minds of our great-great-grandchildren. I hope to god that they never hear of Jerry Bruckheimer.

On an interesting side note, when I ran spell check on this post, the suggested spelling for "Bruckheimer" was "brokenhearted." This is a very smart blog.

Elections are only about 16 months away. Vote Dean

I'm done with school on Thursday. Forever. And I don't really care. I feel like I should care, but I don't. It'll be nice to not have homework anymore, but I'll also be working more than twice the hours I am now, so it kind of balances out. Just like getting my B.S., working on my M.S. has been very anticlimactic. You put in a ton of time and effort, and all you have to show for it in the end is a piece of paper.

To be fair, this piece of paper provides a much larger income than most other pieces of paper, but in the end it is just another piece of paper. It doesn't mean I am any smarter. It doesn't mean I am better qualified. It might mean I am slightly more attractive, but that could just be my imagination.

Why did I spend these past 18 years working towards this? Hopefully not just so I can make enough money to afford to put my kids through it too. (It's okay to read that last sentence again. I know it's poorly worded.) I am reminded all too often, by my own experience and what I have witnessed, that a degree gives very minimal indication of one's education and abilities and provides even less preparation for the future. The vast majority of what I do at work, I learned at work or on my own time. School provided me some opportunity to hone these skills, but in aggregate the five years of college didn't amount to much. Although, I could tell you in FAR too much detail exactly what happens to an atom if you ram a photon into it. Fascinating, huh?

I guess it comes down to this. What I want out of life is to learn. And I want somebody to pay me for it (or at least I want to have enough money where I don't need to be paid). And I don't want to have people checking on my progress along the way with tests, homework, or status reports. Some of my favorite moments in recent history have been at Starbucks with a coffee in one hand and a book on linguistics in the other (check out "The Language Instinct" by Steven Pinker. v.g.). I've learned a lot about linguistics without having been "taught" anything. Most of the stuff I find most interesting or useful I taught myself. Computer programming, linguistics, German, and soon, hopefully, Old English.

The only problem with this method of learning is that people in the real world demand some sort of proof that you know what you say you know, which brings me back to that silly piece of paper. It's a horrible quantifier of what one knows. I've seen people get Physics degrees when they couldn't physics their way out of a box on the physicingest day of their life! But, I digress...

I just hope the stock market keeps going up so I don't have to work for anybody or go to school for anybody anymore.

I've always wanted to punch a kangaroo in the face.

Is there something wrong with me?

This is the result of a alphabet game between me and Joey:

All by carrying deer-droppings, Ezekial forced Gertrude, his indignant jappy knight, laughing my nuts off. Please quilt Rasputin's socks under vineyards while xenophones yodle "Zode-uh-ley-hee-hoo!!!"

It's far too late to be creative, but that never stopped us from trying.

Well, this is my first update in a very long time. Sometimes my laziness even amazes me. So, in an effort to make up for my lackadaisical attitude, I am throwing these 32-bit Unicode characters in your face at a breathtaking 54Mbps. Yes, that's right, I have joined the ranks of technophiles and computer geeks the world over. I am the proud owner of a 802.11g (draft) wireless network. Now I can be productive and lazy at the same time! I think my world is now complete :). I am typing this while watching Drew Carey reruns and sitting on the couch.

I only hope cancer research is progressing as rapidly as wireless technology is. I certainly hope I won't be a part of a lawsuit against wireless companies 50 years down the road about how "I didn't know the harmful effects of wireless networking!"

I'll be sure to let you know if they find any tumors in my leg.

Courage is not fighting a battle you cannot lose; it is fighting a battle you cannot win, because it is right.

The terms 'courage' and 'hero' have been used a lot over the past decade that I have been aware of a world outside of own limited experience. So much so that the meaning and depth of the words have passed out of knowledge. What is courage? Who are these heros? What distinguishes them from the rest of us who, while not cowardly, are not courageous; while not villians, are certainly not heroes? This is explored in many works of literature, both academic and popular with the victors exalted to myth and legend.

It would seem that most people ascribe to the Star Wars-esque version of heroism. Han Solo flies into battle--guns blazing--both he and the audience secure in his safety and victory since good always triumphs over evil. One can substitute the protagonist from virtually any mainstream film or novel and see the same basic structure. It stems from the western Christian ethic in which the meek shall inherit the earth. We can stride confidently into adversity because we know have divine approval and protection. Our self-righteousness gives us hope, but this is not the stuff courage is made of. How much character does it take to peform a task that cannot fail? We all face this kind of adversity every day, simply walking out the door. We are not heroes simply for the fact that even in our acts of philanthropy we have little to lose and everything to gain. Who among us has not felt a certain amount of pride and self-satisfaction when helping another human being in need? Notice that this is not cowardly or villianous, even though it is not courageous. These acts of benevolence are certainly admirable and show a certain strength of character and conviction that should be encouraged and practiced often.

However, even though their work is dangerous and often thankless, a police officer is not, by definition, a hero; a firefighter is not, by definition, a hero; a soldier is not, by definition, a hero. They may put themselves in positions of higher risk in the interest of protecting the public, but they have a very reasonable expectation of returning home at the end of the day. Courage is when a mother throws herself into traffic to save her wayward child. A hero is a firefighter who runs up the stairs of a building on the verge of collapse while those possessed with the will of self-preservation clamber over each other to escape.

Ultimately, being a hero is not a job one applies for. It is forged out of the actions one takes when all hope is lost. One can give up and accept fate, or face failure head-on and stand up for what one believes in until the last breath is drawn.

It's been a LONG time since I updated, so here goes.

I had an ingenious idea the other day, and to share my marketing prowess, here goes:

I had an idea for a restaurant--a themed restaurant. I would call it "Jesus' Fish 'n' Chips." We would obviously specialize in bottomless baskets of fish and bread, but we would have numerous other items as well. One appetizer would be the "Corpus Christi"--a light dish consisting of cheese & crackers. Comes with a free pitcher of Sacramental Wine. I'm tossing around a few other ideas as well. A "Capenter's Special," "Messiah Au Gratin," "Jeebus Cordon Bleu."

I welcome any suggestions. :)

Of all the things I've known or seen
There's nothing as wonderful as my Jo-Bean
When watching a movie she'll fall fast asleep
And in the silence my hand slowly creeps
Up to her head and pulls her hair 'hind her ear
"It's time for bed, my JoJo, my dear."
She kisses me softly and says, "Good Night."
I lock the door, then turn out the lights.
As I return I hear her breath softly,
She's probably dreaming of Starbucks Brand Coffee.
While caffeine creations dance about in her head
I curl up beside her, in our warm bed.
I think to myself how lucky I've been
To've found my one and my only, my darling Jo-Bean.


-- dedicated to my girlfriend, JoAnn*

* She just created her page, and hasn't put anything on it yet. :)

Friday Five:

1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?
I oscillate between novels and nonfiction. Novels, currently.

2. What is your favorite novel?
Favorite novel would have to be The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Robert Frost

4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?
I want to read more classic American literature (Catcher in the Rye, etc.) I also want to read a lot of books on mideval culture & history, and anything I can find on linguistics. I have a bookshelf full of this stuff waiting to be read.

5. What are you currently reading?
I am curently reading In The Hand of Dante, by Nick Tosches as well as rereading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain.

Kids say the cutest things.

Last night I took my niece out for a walk. While out, I paused to show her the stars.

"That one is Orion. See, those three stars are his belt, then his legs are below there. And above, you can see the stars that make his bow," I explained.

"Cool," she acknowledged.

I continued to point out more constellations. "That one is Cassiopia. It's shaped like a 'W'. Then, there is the Big Dipper, and right above us, way up there, is the Little Dipper. That bright star on the handle is the North Star. A long time ago sailors would use that star to navigate the seas at night."

She continued to stare up at the stars, her eyes twinkling back at them in awe. With her gaze still fixed upon the heavens, she asked me, "Uncle J, I don't understand. How do they all stay up there like that?"

"Well, all those little dots are big burning balls of gas, kind of like the sun. Some of them are even giant galaxies--full of billions and billions of stars. They are just really, really far away and that's why they look so small."

She looks at me and hesitates. "Yes, I understand all that. What I don't understand is why, when all the data seems to point to an expanding universe, some scientists still believe we are heading toward a Big Crunch. Wouldn't the red-shift data from the Hubble Telescope preclude that possibility?"

...


Kids say the cutest things.

My mom pointed out to me yesterday, that I need to add a couple more identities to the list from my last post. I am, indeed, also a son and a brother. To leave these out would be akin to saying water is not wet, for my family has done more to shape who I am than any other influence in my life. So, I offer my humble apologies for neglecting them yesterday.

Here is a short list of what my family has taught me over the years:

Dad: He taught me that providing for a family is much, much more than what you have in the bank (although having enough money can make it much easier to provide everything else).

Mom: She has taught me virtually everything I know about parenting. I won't be using this knowledge for many years, but when that time comes I know I will be very well prepared. I also know she'll be there for me for the times when I missed a lesson :-)

Nick: He provided me the opportunity to perfect my left hook :-). But, in all seriousness, I was an atrocious older brother. I specialized in emotional abuse instead of the more garden-variety beatings that make up most sibling rivalries. And for that, I am truly sorry. But, looking back on it now, I learned how fragile the ego can be--both mine and his. I would attack him to sustain my delusions of being an infallible genius, something I still have to work on at times... But, more importantly, I learned how strong the human spirit can be. In spite of all this torture, and many other difficulties in his life, he has grown up to be a mature, responsible, well-adjusted young adult with every indication of success ahead of him. The saying goes, "You can't keep a good man down," and Nick is one of the best. Way to go Nick, I'm proud of you :-)

Kory: He is about the best little (little) brother a guy could ask for. His greatest lesson to me is the joys of being a kid. When we're together I can be an 11-year-old and not feel guilty about it. (What does a stupid pirate say? "Sssss" :-P) Laughing at fart jokes and crashing airplanes are all in the course of a normal day, and it's a very refreshing escape from the drudgery that can sometimes be school and work. I'll give him a good tickling when I see him this weekend to show him I appreciate it, so you better watch out, Tinker :-D.

This is only a very short summary of how my family has influenced who I am today. It would take a volume on the order of "War and Peace" to write the complete version. (See, Ma? I didn't forget you guys!)

Welcome to my inaugural blog. Since I don't have much else to share, I will start with a brief introduction. I am an engineer. I am a student. I am a boyfriend. I am often lazy. Not necessarily in that order, and usually I am many of these at once.

I am getting my Master's Degree in Physics because it's convenient and will get me out of school the fastest and into the working world soonest. Then, hopefully, I will make my fortune and move out of the real world and into my own fantasy world, which I am creating as we speak.

I hope to build my own "Rivendell." Find a nice secluded plot of land in the middle of nowhere and build a home worthy of mother nature. There I will read, write, commune with the animals (No, not that. I'm not from New Hampshire...).

Most of all though, I hope to travel. The world is a beautiful place and life is too short to only stare at one small piece. It would be like trying to divine the structure of a patchwork quilt by looking at one thread in the corner--the very definition of futility. Travel is a humbling experience. Every trip forces you to take those truths that you thought were self-evident and reexamine them in the context of the cultures you encounter. Some are reinforced, but most are dashed to pieces, leaving you with a simpler and greater view of terra than you had before.

As I promised to keep this brief, I will write more as the will posesses me.