December 31, 2010

That’s Us
America in Decline: Why Germans Think We're Insane
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Esoterica
How to name a dinosaur
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December 30, 2010

Idea
I had this great idea. Well, at first it was the seed of an idea. Seeing that customer service is not really very sexy for a real AI to do, I was looking for something new. Then I saw how Twitter was in the news, being valued at $3.7 billion dollars, and having just raised $200 million in funding, and it hit me: something that could make sense of all those tweets going around. And my brother was totally on board with this, and we came up with the idea of something that would be like a user’s personal trending topics. Something that could tell you about things that is pertinent to what you’re doing, to help you wade through all the crap going around. Now, that’s sexy.
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December 29, 2010

Video Day #1
This Video Will Blow Your Mind (Probably)
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Video Day #2
Helen Mirren on Hollywood
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December 28, 2010

This Is Pretty Cool
Found on them interpipes.

Click on pic for a marginally larger version.
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December 27, 2010

Quote
True and genuine worship is when man, through his spirit attains to friendship and intimacy with God. True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible.

– William Barclay
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December 26, 2010

Yeah, Baby!
NCBI ROFL: Top 10 most popular posts of the year!
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Retro
The 1970s Computer Graphics Video That Inspired Tron
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December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!
Some reflections on the year, I guess. It has been a full one. Not everything happened that I wanted to, but really, when has that ever come to pass, our expectations? I have gone through the whole spectrum of emotion, from drunken delight to exquisite pain. I have had times with practically nothing to do, and hours that I thought I would lose my mind, with so much going on simultaneously. Perhaps not like the year before, where I had my picture on the front page of the New York Times, and got something, finally, to work in my AI project, but the year has definitely had rewards of its own. Let us say we will not regret this one, now as it comes to a close.

I feel as if I am hitting a sort of second wind, in terms of life. Almost to understand again the joys of youth, but definitely a different sort of sweetness. For my taste buds are not as they were when all they could distinguish was between the taste of chocolate and french fries, but have learned to understand something of subtlety. But like childhood, my eyes are wide with discovering the world again. Though different eyes, those that look farther up than what they had thought before could be possible. I will not examine just why just now, for perhaps that is better done with hindsight. But to enjoy this ride, however far it may take me. Booyah!

And then there is a thought, which is appropriate for this day of our Savior. In one sense, this life is just a video game. As far as we know, that’s all there is of existence at all. But that’s not what I believe. Just as with the video games that we know, at some point the game is over and we go back to real life. And the thing that makes this analogy relevant is that someone was born, way back when, who tried to tell us that about this life, that it’s really just a game... and he tried to tell us how to play, and that one day the game will be over, and we’ll get to something realer. Yeah, I think you know who I’m talking about. Just to wish him a happy birthday.

In which I expect much, and see what I may do to make it come to pass.
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December 24, 2010

Papercraft
Hunter Stabler dot com — amazing stuff
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AI Stuff
New Psychology Theory Enables Computers to Mimic Human Creativity
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December 23, 2010

Lincoln Center
Just happened to be there a little while ago.

Click on pic for larger version.
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December 22, 2010

Neat
Typewriter art
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Next Level Stuff
10 Works of Literature That Were Really Hard to Write
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December 21, 2010

quiet
it is quiet, like time had stopped
this traveler happened upon the moment
at the source, is it forever beginning
at the heart of the light, the endless sees
nowhere in the dark did darkness know
the strings do not play vacant of logic
musics to rend stars from night
to dream outside the doors of death
where the quiet seizes the very breath
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December 20, 2010

Really
Lori Nix's Stunning, Tiny Dioramas Depict an Abandoned World
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May Be Old
Top 50 Programming Quotes of All Time
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December 19, 2010

Random Awesomeness 5

Click on pic for larger version.
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December 18, 2010

Quote
Faith is indeed the energy of our whole nature directed to the highest form of being. Faith gives stability to our view of the universe... By faith we are convinced that our impressions of things without are not dreams or delusions, but for us true representations of our environment. By faith we are convinced that the signs of permanence, order, progress, which we observe in nature are true. By faith we are convinced that fellowship is possible with our fellow-men and with God.

– Brooke Foss Westcott
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December 17, 2010

Science!
X Particle Explains Dark Matter and Antimatter at the Same Time
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You Too?
Ever feel like this is the way it is?
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December 16, 2010

Developments
Couple new exciting developments: one of my poems is getting published! In the online magazine Ascent Aspirations, a Canadian literary magazine. I’ve submitted several poems to them, actually, and this will be the first they liked enough to expose. No money, of course, but that’s poetry. And the other thing is that I have received my new iPad! The minimal model, it was on sale (refurbished), and I got my brother to order it before the sale ended. So I pay less than half for it — good deal. Other than that, next week and the week after I have a staycation from the day job. The Project goes well, keeping on keeping on. And that’s about it.
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December 15, 2010

Optimization
Next generation of algorithms inspired by problem-solving ants
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Manifesto
Progressive church view on homosexuality
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December 14, 2010

Captain America on Wikileaks

Click on pic for a version you can read.
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December 13, 2010

songs
all the songs are true
the motion of the light
as the brightness enters
now the world to catch up
for i live in the future
where i touch the horizon
and breathe in darkness
and in my calculations
will i exhale the light
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December 12, 2010

Better One
Welcome to Tagxedo, tag cloud with styles
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Wikileaks
Meet the Most Dangerous Man in Cyberspace
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December 11, 2010

Believe
I feel as if on the precipice of a dream. Or rather, the dream come true, just about to. Now, if you didn’t know, I have a Twitter account, crowfeather like my Facebook user. And I write there sometimes when I want to write something just to get it down, recorded somewhere. Last night, I tweeted, “I wonder when I crossed the threshold.” Because it is as if I find myself on the other side, that it all is coming together, all the things I’ve worked at, in both my personal and professional lives (actually, I have 2 professional lives). That I pushed hard, and it is downhill from here, and that is a curious thing, for someone who is used to shoulder the heavy load toward the summit. I wonder what all of this means.

In other news, I got a proof of this year’s silver American Eagle coin, the bullion coin which is an ounce of 0.999 fine silver. It was about the same price as the 2008 coin, in the condition of PF 70, which means it’s flawless. (They didn’t make a 2009 proof coin of that type, FYI.) As far as coins go, I put in a bid at a January auction for ancient coin. It’s for a collector’s standard, a greek issue with Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse, estimated at $250, and I put that the bid (to be made on my behalf) can be raised 20% from that. For that type of coin (it’s one of those that’s pricey because of its popularity), that’s a really good price. It has marks that people of old put in to test that it was solid silver. An unmarked version (in good condition) will go for $750+. And so it goes.

What else? At this time, I’m pretty good about this year being over. I feel I’ve gotten a lot done this past year. Got a lot of work done, danced with a Russian model, traveled to places I’d never been before, paid my hefty taxes. I have faith that carries me through, I find. Like I said, I’ve crossed some cosmic threshold, and I’m finding that things are coming together, like I never imagined, really, would be possible. I guess I should be saving for taxes in the year to come, but something tells me I don’t have to worry about money so much. I am blessed. If I find any hint of complaining on my mind, I throw my (mental) body on that kind of grenade. I have nothing that I should complain about. All I need is some patience, and if nothing else, that is the lesson to learn. Yeah baby. Life.

In which I believe, and there is nothing that can shake it.
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December 10, 2010

Hm...
The Anthropic Principle in practical use?
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Seriously Cool Website
Scroll down on this stuff, yo: trust me
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December 9, 2010

Cracked Me Up
Found on the interpipes somewhere.

Click on pic for a bit of a larger version.
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December 8, 2010

Way, Way Back
Have we found the universe that existed before the Big Bang?
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No Way (Way?)
How to create temperatures below absolute zero
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December 7, 2010

Quote
Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.

– John Henry Cardinal Newman
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December 6, 2010

Da Simpsons
The 14 most awesome fake products from The Simpsons
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Snooze?
Computer identifies the most boring day in history
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December 5, 2010

From the Air
I forget which city this is. From the summer Asia trip.

Click on pic for larger version.
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December 4, 2010

lift
strange is the meaning in the ordinary
we craft such hope from the dust of our dreams, and glue
whatever sticks between the forgetting and forgetting
island to island we travel without desire...
there is a light we have all dreamed of
as we gaze up, reaching farther out than our possible
the darkness God called night, touched by magic
to understand: life is what the light sees in me
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December 3, 2010

As It Is About to Leave Us Again
Solving The McRib Mystery: McDonald's Employees Tell Us What's In The Seasonal Sandwich
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Science!
How the universe evolved from a liquid
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December 2, 2010

The Dream
Right now I feel as if the major part of the Project is figured out, in my head and as much as I’ve written down, and it now behooves me to work out the details as to how this is exactly going to work in the coding of it. This is the best so far of how complete I’ve felt that this has been worked out. But as the day job is sure to extend into next year, I feel no hurry in trying to get everything nailed down and in place. I have a 2 week staycation scheduled at the end of the year, of which 5 days will be spent in Havertown. So this is my current focus right now, just to work everything out, see if (once again) I’ve missed something, get this thing up and running: a general solution, if limited in functionality. The dream goes on....
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December 1, 2010

Tis the Season
As we are all probably shipping something: Which shipping company is kindest to your packages
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Funny
Amazon review gone very very wrong
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