Carne Asado
11 years ago
Thursday, February 24, 2011
More on Inequality
More on income inequality, this time from Robert Reich. He speaks about this particular issue frequently. I've been a big fan of his ideas for changes to the tax code for years.
A Brief Bit on Inequality
I've been getting more and more frustrated with American politics lately, and this (H/T Erza Klein via DailyKos) particular set of infographics from Mother Jones really helps to drive home one of the issues that really concerns me most: rising inequality.
For example:
For example:
And yet, most people don't get why they don't have any money....
Friday, December 19, 2008
Oh, the Hilarity
One of the most brilliant XKCD's I've seen in a while: flow charts ...explained via flow chart.
Update: Clicky, clicky!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Prepare the Tin Foil!
This is crazy: scientists in Japan have developed a way to read the visual information of what a person is seeing directly from their brains.
Subjects were showing simple 10x10 pixel images, like the ones on the left. The subject's visual corteces were monitored via a fMRI. The resulting images of activity were analyzed by computer, and the images on the bottom were reproduced.
Interestingly, this only took 12 seconds worth of input. That seems like a remarkably small amount to time, to me. Imagine what can be done with this sort of technology once it advances along.
(Hat tip to BoingBoing)
* Update: Nice little summary at Pharyngula.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Rallying Cry
In an effort to help this burgeoning meme along:
The idea of using this is as a Democratic rallying cry is a powerful one. We get the government we pay for: cheap out and we get cheap results. We buy our education, infrastructure, and protection through taxes, and as we can see, the no-taxes world has dreadfully reduced all of these things.
I saw it here first, but then a search for the context came up with this blog post, which seems to be the first one to use it in this way. Alas, I cannot find the original work in which the quote originated. I'd hate to see its use cherry-picked.
“I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.”- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
The idea of using this is as a Democratic rallying cry is a powerful one. We get the government we pay for: cheap out and we get cheap results. We buy our education, infrastructure, and protection through taxes, and as we can see, the no-taxes world has dreadfully reduced all of these things.
I saw it here first, but then a search for the context came up with this blog post, which seems to be the first one to use it in this way. Alas, I cannot find the original work in which the quote originated. I'd hate to see its use cherry-picked.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
More Repair Culture
Kenyan Ironworks (Via Boing Boing)
...interesting to me (probably because it moved and did stuff with fire), was the bicycle-turned-to-bellows that kept the fire going that would heat the metal rods. It’s a fairly simple, yet ingenious contraption that utilizes old materials with a little bit of engineering. The thing runs all day, every day too, so it’s made to last.Great example of ingenuity in an environment where re-use and repair is king.
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Disposable Society
The developing world seems to have one advantage that we may lack: repair culture. The developed world has lost this, as more and more consumables are made to be disposable. Everything we buy is built with a short life-time and minimal durability. It leads us to ask:
Is disposability stifling innovation, or does it help to drive it?
Repair Culture it, by it's very label, a culture in which old items are patched and fixed to their original function, or juri-rigged to create some new and otherwise unthought-of purpose. This culture thrives in most parts of the world where new items are difficult to afford or obtain.
Repair culture was also a major part of the depression-era generation. This generation came of age in a time when resources were scare. This was the time of bread lines and dust bowls. The only way to keep your car going was to fix it. The only way to have a toy was to build your own.
World War Two changed that for the Boomer generation. Productivity soared, incomes rose, and so to did the appetites for more and more consumer goods. All that production had to go some place.
In some ways, the technology industry is to blame for the loss of this repair culture. Continually increasing processing power, miniaturizing and mobilizing. More bells were added, more whistles were inserted, and more features were plied on top. This constant need for the newest, best item caused us to drop the old and replace it with the new.
One of the most prevalent areas where this is true is in home computers. Most users will simply replace their old PC's with a shiny, fast new model. The old PC will be tossed in a closet, only to be thrown out later. Some may be given to a son or daughter who needs one for school. Even that lucky PC will be tossed on the heap soon enough.
Not to say that no one keeps old hardware around. A small number of people keep their old hardware, or even acquire that of others, in order to tinker, repair, or play. These people either refuse to give up there old hardware (like many a word-processor user - and not the users of MS-Word). There are even those of us who like to keep a typewriter around, but more as a object d'art.
Another cause of this lose of repair culture is the rise of the consumer-based economy. Corporations have long needed to continue the increase of their bottom-line and have relied on consumers to continue purchasing newer and better goods. Creating need for the newer edition of a product, before the old one is ready for the junk heap has done wonders for the profit of these companies[1]. This is more of a product of the motive for profit outweighing the motive for conservation and savings. I won't discount what it's done for the standard of living, but I also won't argue that it's a sustainable way to go forward.
But let's return to the subject what this does for innovation. On the one hand disposability drives innovation. The designer can be continually adding to (or removing from, in the case of added efficiencies) older designs, added this feature they felt was missed, or that feature that would really bring the product together. Equally, the designer is often free to throw away whole portions of the earlier design, if not all of it and start from scratch.
Software design provides a good analogy for this, but it can be seen in physical design, as well. Look at all of the design changes in Apple's line of products, or compare a 1995 Volkswagen with a 2008 (or a 2007 with a 2008 for that matter). Well designed software is built through a process of careful forethought and brutal afterthought. Many of the features are designed into a product before code is written, and they are made to work extremely well after it has been put to bits.
The real test of design quality is the second pass of features. A well designed system is has either designed a place for those features of an immediately obvious nature. If not, a good designer doesn't just wedge them in there. The rest of the system is evaluated, dismantled, and rebuilt with the new features in mind. Much of the old system is disposed of during this process.
On the other hand, innovations that allow for flexibility, reusibility, and longevity or overlooked. They are not treated with the same level of necessity that time-to-market or sales volume are. Consumers have also been conditioned to not ask for these features, allowing the disposable culture to continue.
The cassette tape is a good example of an item that had to be designed to be a fixed media. It the magnetic strip that makes up the recording cannot prevent reuse. This led to the development of a little tab on the tab, which if missing made the tape "read-only." One could argue that this was a safety measure to prevent people from recording over their favorite Duran Duran album, but it also dissuaded them from recording over said album when they finally came to their musical senses.
There are a few groups that do advocate the reuse, repair and re-purposing of things. One such group is the people (and readers) of Make Magazine, and many other like-minded forums. Unfortunately, these groups have a thriving repair culture more often due to a desire to be inventive and to tinker with the world around them. It's not an attempt revolutionize the disposable society.
Hopefully the example of these groups will inspire the rest of the culture. Perhaps there is a bit of hope yet.
[1] I would whole-heartedly recommend the BBC documentary series The Century of Self, for more on this subject.
Is disposability stifling innovation, or does it help to drive it?
Repair Culture it, by it's very label, a culture in which old items are patched and fixed to their original function, or juri-rigged to create some new and otherwise unthought-of purpose. This culture thrives in most parts of the world where new items are difficult to afford or obtain.
Repair culture was also a major part of the depression-era generation. This generation came of age in a time when resources were scare. This was the time of bread lines and dust bowls. The only way to keep your car going was to fix it. The only way to have a toy was to build your own.
World War Two changed that for the Boomer generation. Productivity soared, incomes rose, and so to did the appetites for more and more consumer goods. All that production had to go some place.
In some ways, the technology industry is to blame for the loss of this repair culture. Continually increasing processing power, miniaturizing and mobilizing. More bells were added, more whistles were inserted, and more features were plied on top. This constant need for the newest, best item caused us to drop the old and replace it with the new.
One of the most prevalent areas where this is true is in home computers. Most users will simply replace their old PC's with a shiny, fast new model. The old PC will be tossed in a closet, only to be thrown out later. Some may be given to a son or daughter who needs one for school. Even that lucky PC will be tossed on the heap soon enough.
Not to say that no one keeps old hardware around. A small number of people keep their old hardware, or even acquire that of others, in order to tinker, repair, or play. These people either refuse to give up there old hardware (like many a word-processor user - and not the users of MS-Word). There are even those of us who like to keep a typewriter around, but more as a object d'art.
Another cause of this lose of repair culture is the rise of the consumer-based economy. Corporations have long needed to continue the increase of their bottom-line and have relied on consumers to continue purchasing newer and better goods. Creating need for the newer edition of a product, before the old one is ready for the junk heap has done wonders for the profit of these companies[1]. This is more of a product of the motive for profit outweighing the motive for conservation and savings. I won't discount what it's done for the standard of living, but I also won't argue that it's a sustainable way to go forward.
But let's return to the subject what this does for innovation. On the one hand disposability drives innovation. The designer can be continually adding to (or removing from, in the case of added efficiencies) older designs, added this feature they felt was missed, or that feature that would really bring the product together. Equally, the designer is often free to throw away whole portions of the earlier design, if not all of it and start from scratch.
Software design provides a good analogy for this, but it can be seen in physical design, as well. Look at all of the design changes in Apple's line of products, or compare a 1995 Volkswagen with a 2008 (or a 2007 with a 2008 for that matter). Well designed software is built through a process of careful forethought and brutal afterthought. Many of the features are designed into a product before code is written, and they are made to work extremely well after it has been put to bits.
The real test of design quality is the second pass of features. A well designed system is has either designed a place for those features of an immediately obvious nature. If not, a good designer doesn't just wedge them in there. The rest of the system is evaluated, dismantled, and rebuilt with the new features in mind. Much of the old system is disposed of during this process.
On the other hand, innovations that allow for flexibility, reusibility, and longevity or overlooked. They are not treated with the same level of necessity that time-to-market or sales volume are. Consumers have also been conditioned to not ask for these features, allowing the disposable culture to continue.
The cassette tape is a good example of an item that had to be designed to be a fixed media. It the magnetic strip that makes up the recording cannot prevent reuse. This led to the development of a little tab on the tab, which if missing made the tape "read-only." One could argue that this was a safety measure to prevent people from recording over their favorite Duran Duran album, but it also dissuaded them from recording over said album when they finally came to their musical senses.
There are a few groups that do advocate the reuse, repair and re-purposing of things. One such group is the people (and readers) of Make Magazine, and many other like-minded forums. Unfortunately, these groups have a thriving repair culture more often due to a desire to be inventive and to tinker with the world around them. It's not an attempt revolutionize the disposable society.
Hopefully the example of these groups will inspire the rest of the culture. Perhaps there is a bit of hope yet.
[1] I would whole-heartedly recommend the BBC documentary series The Century of Self, for more on this subject.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Fallen off the Keyboard
I've certainly been away for a while[1]. There are several reasons for that, I think. Firstly, I've been reading more of others' content, rather than producing my own. Secondly, I've been enjoying my work more lately. I may not be producing my own content and putting my own ideas out there, but at least I'm producing something of quality[2]. Lastly, I don't spend nearly as much time in coffee shops with my laptop. I blame the girlfriend...she's too damned cute.
I've fallen off the keyboard, alright.
But now to get back to it. Like I said, I've been reading a lot of other people's content. Fortunately, I've reached an equilibrium of sources. My feed reader was waxing and waning in its number of sources, but now it's seems to have stabilized.
Just to list a few of my favorites:
The great thing about reading the above is that that have really stimulated my thinking about politics, science and reason, personal finance and fashion. They all have prompted me to go looking deeper at many of the topics they cover.
They also are rather representative of, in my opinion, what the cream of the crop of blogging should be about - great writing or presentation, with great community involvement. All of the above sites have very active comments sections[3]. Much of the readership issues real challenges to or expand on the topics covered in an individual post.
They've all left me with an aspiration to be on par, in writing and topics, if not readership. This probably means no more writing about not writing is the order of the day.
[1] You know that you're not posting frequently enough when your two most recent posts, many months apart, address this very issue.
[2] That's right, dammit, it think I producing some damn fine quality software. This is one of the few organizations I've worked at where I've been able to work on multiple versions of the same piece of software. It's amazing what you can do when you get to go back and fix all the things you didn't like the first time around.
[3] As opposed to the wonderfully empty comments sections on my blogs.
I've fallen off the keyboard, alright.
But now to get back to it. Like I said, I've been reading a lot of other people's content. Fortunately, I've reached an equilibrium of sources. My feed reader was waxing and waning in its number of sources, but now it's seems to have stabilized.
Just to list a few of my favorites:
- Jon Taplin's Blog - This is a wonderful blog which discusses ideas about Democracy and government. What makes it an enjoyable read is that it does not simply complain about the current administration and it's party, it discusses ideas and solutions for the future. Many of the ideas are exciting as they present not just a patch or a kludge fix, but a real change in the way things would be done.
- NeuroLogica Blog - This blog by Steven Novella, a neurologist, is a very well-written discussion of skepticism, science, and medicine. He presents arguments for various scientific viewpoints (consciousness, evolution, etc) which are frequently argued against by paranormal and supernatural believers. He also argues against various forms of alternative medicine by going through each form's "logic" with an appropriate skeptical look. He presents the proper tools a of a skeptic in an informative and accessible manner. An excellent read all around.
- Get Rich Slowly - An great source of information about personal finance. The author typically sticks with the topics of savings, debt reduction, and simple investing. There are frequent guest posts on additional topics, such as cheap eats, cheap travel, and the Four-Hour Work Week. Recently, he had a post on the rise of Consumerism in the U.S., which drove me off onto a whole new area of exploration.
- TCritic - T-shirt awesomeness. 'Nough said.
The great thing about reading the above is that that have really stimulated my thinking about politics, science and reason, personal finance and fashion. They all have prompted me to go looking deeper at many of the topics they cover.
They also are rather representative of, in my opinion, what the cream of the crop of blogging should be about - great writing or presentation, with great community involvement. All of the above sites have very active comments sections[3]. Much of the readership issues real challenges to or expand on the topics covered in an individual post.
They've all left me with an aspiration to be on par, in writing and topics, if not readership. This probably means no more writing about not writing is the order of the day.
[1] You know that you're not posting frequently enough when your two most recent posts, many months apart, address this very issue.
[2] That's right, dammit, it think I producing some damn fine quality software. This is one of the few organizations I've worked at where I've been able to work on multiple versions of the same piece of software. It's amazing what you can do when you get to go back and fix all the things you didn't like the first time around.
[3] As opposed to the wonderfully empty comments sections on my blogs.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Damn it, I'm slow!
Ok, so I have been reading (honest!), only I'm a bit slow. I've been also doing a little bit (and the operative word in that sentence is "little") bit of writing on the technical side of things.
I'll get there eventually.
I have been spending an inordinate amount of time reading blogs on these sorts of subjects. I'll post up a decent list shortly.
I'll get there eventually.
I have been spending an inordinate amount of time reading blogs on these sorts of subjects. I'll post up a decent list shortly.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
A Return to Essays
For a year now, I've been only writing on my travel blog. Things have returned to the Ordinary, so I plan to return to writing essays on random topics of my interest. Most of my thinking in the past few months has leaned towards the philosophical. I've been reading a lot of Wikipedia entries on various philosophers and theirs ideas in an effort to introduce myself to the field.
I've haven't really done a whole lot of reading on the subject, in terms of the philosophers' works themselves. Wikipedia has been a great tool for giving me a reading list. I would like to start with at least on enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant, and then move into more modern philosophical ideas, including Pragmatists, Logical Positivists, and perhaps some Nietzsche and other Existentialists.
All of this is in an effort to start defining a personal philosophy. I've always had a set of loose ideas under which I operate, but perhaps it's time to start formalisation. This is sort of exercise should, perhaps, be done every decade or so. I'm closing in on my thirtieth birthday, and so I think it is time to reevaluate my values.
Essays may lean much more philosophically as this exploration and formalisation proceeds. Or, as usual, I may just be full of crap.
We'll see.
I've haven't really done a whole lot of reading on the subject, in terms of the philosophers' works themselves. Wikipedia has been a great tool for giving me a reading list. I would like to start with at least on enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant, and then move into more modern philosophical ideas, including Pragmatists, Logical Positivists, and perhaps some Nietzsche and other Existentialists.
All of this is in an effort to start defining a personal philosophy. I've always had a set of loose ideas under which I operate, but perhaps it's time to start formalisation. This is sort of exercise should, perhaps, be done every decade or so. I'm closing in on my thirtieth birthday, and so I think it is time to reevaluate my values.
Essays may lean much more philosophically as this exploration and formalisation proceeds. Or, as usual, I may just be full of crap.
We'll see.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
A Great Opinion on Blogging
John Richards, DJ of the Morning Show, Audio Oasis, and other things on KEXP opened up the KEXP blog with a great blurb about blogging.
Read the whole thing here.
If I hear the word "blog" one more time I'm going to vomit but blogit, I'm going to blogity blog blog right bloggin now! I actually heard a commercial the other day where the guy is saying something like "man, I'm on line blogging all the time and when I need a break...." You can SEE the company president saying to his staff "Now LISTEN, I keep hearing about this wacky blog thing out there and I want to make sure we're hip to that vibe man." Then you can see the people making the commercial rolling their eyes at the copy they have to come up with. I feel for you. Hang in there....the commercial still blows though. Anyway, where was I....or yeah! KEXP Blogga Bloggggggg Bloggidy Blog Blog......Blog.
Read the whole thing here.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Lure of the Eye
For anyone who owns a Mac PowerBook of a more recent incarnation, there is a little white LED on the front, set into the button for opening the laptop screen. This little white light pulses in slow, methodical time when the laptop is sleeping.
It calls.
It is like a siren's song, drawing in the user towards that button.
"Open me," it sings. "I have access to information both interesting and obscure. I can give you knowledge of the world, or entertainments you would only dream of. All you have to do is open the lid."
Wake the Eye, is all it is asking.
It is a vile temptress, a distracter of man, reducing him again to a quivering sieve of information. Like it's sister, Television, that information is fleeting against the brain. It tickles it, teases it, and lulls it into a sense of learning. But the information is fickle. It leaves as easily as it came.
And the user is left hollow. He awakes from the distraction as if from a dream. The information fades back into the Æther from whence it came.
But the Eye sleeps.
It calls.
It is like a siren's song, drawing in the user towards that button.
"Open me," it sings. "I have access to information both interesting and obscure. I can give you knowledge of the world, or entertainments you would only dream of. All you have to do is open the lid."
Wake the Eye, is all it is asking.
It is a vile temptress, a distracter of man, reducing him again to a quivering sieve of information. Like it's sister, Television, that information is fleeting against the brain. It tickles it, teases it, and lulls it into a sense of learning. But the information is fickle. It leaves as easily as it came.
And the user is left hollow. He awakes from the distraction as if from a dream. The information fades back into the Æther from whence it came.
But the Eye sleeps.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Tension Paper
I am a big fan of Lost. I really thought that it was a great show in its first season. It generated a great amount of tension, really did a superb job of drawing the viewer into the characters, and gave one a lot to think about, in terms of where they were going. Well written television, in my opinion.
Which is what lead me to doing a little bit of thinking about why Lost sucks this season.
The last four episodes of the first season were one long, tension-increasing build-up to...something - opening the hatch, showdown with the others, something, anything, sharing a coke with the polar bears, I don't know. What we end up with on the start of the second season was just a rapid deflation of the tension.
So, psychologically, we were kind of left with a sense of "what the fuck just happened here?". The first season actually started out with a surprising amount of tension ("Hey, we just crashed on a deserted island. OMG, we're fucked."). That's what grabbed hold of me, anyway. It's like the first chapter of a NY Times best seller: there's usually a really great first chapter that grabs your attention from page one. If not, you probably wouldn't read the book (this is true of most good books, actually - unless you know the author and know that they're going to get you somewhere really cool).
So this season, they decided to kind of drop the tension and start from scratch of creating a whole new set of tension, while leaving the first seasons set of tensions rather disappointingly unresolved. That's what my whole theory here boils down to: we're all still waiting for season one's tension resolution.
I think that's why I still hold out a little hope for the series. If they can do a good job of getting back to resolving some of those other problems, the show will get back on track. They have enough open ended things. The really should have stuck with closing those, neatly, maybe with a double stich.
Which is what lead me to doing a little bit of thinking about why Lost sucks this season.
The last four episodes of the first season were one long, tension-increasing build-up to...something - opening the hatch, showdown with the others, something, anything, sharing a coke with the polar bears, I don't know. What we end up with on the start of the second season was just a rapid deflation of the tension.
So, psychologically, we were kind of left with a sense of "what the fuck just happened here?". The first season actually started out with a surprising amount of tension ("Hey, we just crashed on a deserted island. OMG, we're fucked."). That's what grabbed hold of me, anyway. It's like the first chapter of a NY Times best seller: there's usually a really great first chapter that grabs your attention from page one. If not, you probably wouldn't read the book (this is true of most good books, actually - unless you know the author and know that they're going to get you somewhere really cool).
So this season, they decided to kind of drop the tension and start from scratch of creating a whole new set of tension, while leaving the first seasons set of tensions rather disappointingly unresolved. That's what my whole theory here boils down to: we're all still waiting for season one's tension resolution.
I think that's why I still hold out a little hope for the series. If they can do a good job of getting back to resolving some of those other problems, the show will get back on track. They have enough open ended things. The really should have stuck with closing those, neatly, maybe with a double stich.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Produce
We are a product of our times. In today's modern times we spend so much of our time wanting more things, needed more money, bigger houses, more, more, more. What happened to the pursuit of intellect, or honor or justice, even? When were they lost?
When one reads about the great men and women of the past, they have one thing in common: most were voracious readers. The devoured knowledge, absorbed it. Look at the likes of Hamilton, Roosevelt, Churchill. These men were great intellects, as well as great leaders.
Are the great men and woman today of equal caliber? I'd say no. Those in power are not the type who have mastered these talents. They all are men of opportunity and staying power. The wait for their reward through years of loyalty, not talent. It's toadyism at it's worst.
The[1] difference between the times probably has everything to do with it. Intellectualism was of great importance. People read more wrote more, self-entertained more, discussed ideas in an open manner. Many of the great men since the Age of Enlightenment were great due to this extensive interest in knowledge.
Then again, are those of us who watch TV and enjoy the entertainments of this modern age merely the plebians, the groundlings, the unwashed masses of the day? What does that do for our significance in the world? There was certainly the fair share of people in the days of greats who were much less intellectually capable.
These were the sorts of people that the masters of the French or Russian revolutions grabbed onto, using the mob mentality to satisfy their own designs. For a more recent example, we can look at the post-9/11 America. Fear of terrorism on such a grand scale was used to railroad some very sketchy legislation through.
How do we combat this use of the mob? Education. Information. Not through the media, but through teachers, parents, and mentors. Given the way that TV seems to affect the brain, we really should start to try and remove it. Or perhaps change it. Due to the rise of Tivo, advertisement driven TV may be on the way out. It'll have to be more subtle, but perhaps that will allow some of the dumbing down of the populace to be removed.
This is more of a rant[2] than I usually go for, but I'm generally bothered by the course of government in the US these days. I think what bothers me more is the general apathy of the populace. We need to become more active in how our country is run, and the best way to do that is through education, information, and open dialogues.
Happily, it's a midterm election year. I think people are starting to get angry enough to enact some change.
[1] Funny how one can get stuck mid-sentence. Actually, this isn't really mid-sentence, is it? It's more of the first word. But it is a word that implies start to anything. The rest of the sentence needs to be formed in the mind before is placed to keyboard. Even in free-writing (and free-writing in my sense of the concept is simply writing about a topic and trying to stay on topic - which I'm obviously not doing) each sentence may only be thought of right after the completion of the last one. Anyway, back to that sentence...
[2] So as you can see, this is much less coherent than usual. Sometimes, you just gotta rant...
When one reads about the great men and women of the past, they have one thing in common: most were voracious readers. The devoured knowledge, absorbed it. Look at the likes of Hamilton, Roosevelt, Churchill. These men were great intellects, as well as great leaders.
Are the great men and woman today of equal caliber? I'd say no. Those in power are not the type who have mastered these talents. They all are men of opportunity and staying power. The wait for their reward through years of loyalty, not talent. It's toadyism at it's worst.
The[1] difference between the times probably has everything to do with it. Intellectualism was of great importance. People read more wrote more, self-entertained more, discussed ideas in an open manner. Many of the great men since the Age of Enlightenment were great due to this extensive interest in knowledge.
Then again, are those of us who watch TV and enjoy the entertainments of this modern age merely the plebians, the groundlings, the unwashed masses of the day? What does that do for our significance in the world? There was certainly the fair share of people in the days of greats who were much less intellectually capable.
These were the sorts of people that the masters of the French or Russian revolutions grabbed onto, using the mob mentality to satisfy their own designs. For a more recent example, we can look at the post-9/11 America. Fear of terrorism on such a grand scale was used to railroad some very sketchy legislation through.
How do we combat this use of the mob? Education. Information. Not through the media, but through teachers, parents, and mentors. Given the way that TV seems to affect the brain, we really should start to try and remove it. Or perhaps change it. Due to the rise of Tivo, advertisement driven TV may be on the way out. It'll have to be more subtle, but perhaps that will allow some of the dumbing down of the populace to be removed.
This is more of a rant[2] than I usually go for, but I'm generally bothered by the course of government in the US these days. I think what bothers me more is the general apathy of the populace. We need to become more active in how our country is run, and the best way to do that is through education, information, and open dialogues.
Happily, it's a midterm election year. I think people are starting to get angry enough to enact some change.
[1] Funny how one can get stuck mid-sentence. Actually, this isn't really mid-sentence, is it? It's more of the first word. But it is a word that implies start to anything. The rest of the sentence needs to be formed in the mind before is placed to keyboard. Even in free-writing (and free-writing in my sense of the concept is simply writing about a topic and trying to stay on topic - which I'm obviously not doing) each sentence may only be thought of right after the completion of the last one. Anyway, back to that sentence...
[2] So as you can see, this is much less coherent than usual. Sometimes, you just gotta rant...
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Short Posts
I've been spending time lately on my travel blog[1]. One thing that I've noticed, even at this early stage of writing, is that there really isn't that much to say on a daily basis. Nothing in my life changes that fast.
So, for the end of 2005, I'd like to leave you with this little, brief, and probably crappy haiku:
1. I feel like I'm becoming a master of the subtle self-plug.
So, for the end of 2005, I'd like to leave you with this little, brief, and probably crappy haiku:
A year is ended
Glasses of champagne are drunk
A year is begun
Glasses of champagne are drunk
A year is begun
Happy New Year.
1. I feel like I'm becoming a master of the subtle self-plug.
Friday, December 16, 2005
On a More Personal Note
Since this blog is particularly dedicated to essay writing, I've started a new blog concerning my entry into vagabondage. The intention of the new blog is to chronicle the activities leading up to and through the act of leaving work and traveling abroad for several months on end.
Does this mean I will stop writing essays? Not a chance. I'll be doing nothing for the month of January but planning, thinking, sleeping, and drinking.
It'll be good times.
Does this mean I will stop writing essays? Not a chance. I'll be doing nothing for the month of January but planning, thinking, sleeping, and drinking.
It'll be good times.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Ballroom Dance, Revisited
A long while ago, I mentioned that I take a ballroom dance class...and enjoy it.
It's true. Really. Damn lot of fun.
The class I take is social ballroom dance through the Ballroom Dance Club at the University. It's a great way to meet people, get to know people, have something in common with them, have an excuse to interact with them.
Taking these lessons has done several things for me. First, I've become remarkably more balanced and lighter on my feet[1]. I walk more on the balls of my feet, rather than on my heels. I feel like I move with a little bit more grace and ease, I feel more comfortable with my step, more sure of where that foot will land.
Friends of mine who have studied martial arts of various sorts say the same thing about their balance and surety of step. They speak of how the are more aware of their physical self. Martial arts also tend to add a grace and beauty of movement to the practitioner. The similarities end there, however. Where ballroom is an dance of graceful seduction (if apply to that end), martial arts is a dance of graceful violence.
The second things that I've really gotten out of the class is a bit more ease with the opposite sex. I've always been a bit awkward in my interactions, unless I become friends with a woman, which in itself is a whole other story.
The class is configured as such: the leads all stand in a line on one side of the gym, the follows on the other. The steps are taught to each side individually, and then the follows are told to find a partner. The pairs dance a for a bit, familiarizing themselves with the move. After a few moments, they are told to switch partners and the follows switch down one partner.
So what does this have to do with me becoming more comfortable with woman? Every semester I dance with forty different woman, some I know, most I don't. I have to make them comfortable with the idea of dance with me, even if it is only going to be for a moment. I doing so, I also have become more comfortable with asking my classmates to dance - there are occasionally open dance periods. It all stems from confidence gained from becoming slightly more skilled at this whole thing.
Granted, I've become a bit of the old man in the group. This is, after all, a University club. Many of the students are undergrads, and, more so, freshman undergrads. I'm older then most by about ten years. Not really an issue, since I'm neither creepy nor obsessive (nor ugly, if I do say so myself).
All in all, it has been a really good experience for me. It's a great skill, although, one that has is harder and harder to find the appropriate social situations in which to use it. It's a great social tool, enhancing interaction, and a remarkable amount of fun.[2]
[1] Now, I'm not using the phrase "light in my loafers," if that's what your thinking. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
[2] As you can see, I'm still really lax on the art of the conclusion. It's as if I start these things with very little idea as to where I'm going. I know that I've had this discussion before, but I'd like to point out that I'm pretty much writing my essays in the same format as I learned in high school. You know the format: an introduction, two to three middling points, and a conclusion. This format is rather tried and true at getting one's point across.
Let's look at this essay a little more critically, through the lens of the high school essay format.
First off, the introduction makes not point at reference what it's going to talk about, other then ballroom dance. No mention of physical movement or opposite-sex interaction. So we're left wonder where the hell is he going?
Secondly, how are these points tied together? Did the art of physical movement affect the author's opposite-sex interactions? It was described as a dance of seduction, if applied correctly. Has the author applied it correctly? If not, the author should supply us with a story of it applied incorrectly, described with great flourish, humor, and self-deprecating commentary. If there is no story, the author certainly hasn't been doing this often enough.
As for that conclusion, holy crap, it's lame.
My advice to the author: don't quit your day job.[3]
[3] Hey, now, I appreciate your criticism, but let's remember, this is just an exercise. I'm just writing about what I know and feel about a particular subject. There isn't necessarily supposed to be too much connecting either part.[4]
[4] Well, look at it this way. Your now having a public dialog with your internal critic. You've just bumped up against the crazy ceiling. I was just telling you what I thought about your writing, but now I think you've slipped into something more along the lines of a crazy nutter.[5]
[5] I was merely responding to your criticism, and here you go responding with name calling. How's that for being the internal critic. Not very constructive, mind you. Not helpful at all.[6]
[6] Bloody crazy nutter, you are.
It's true. Really. Damn lot of fun.
The class I take is social ballroom dance through the Ballroom Dance Club at the University. It's a great way to meet people, get to know people, have something in common with them, have an excuse to interact with them.
Taking these lessons has done several things for me. First, I've become remarkably more balanced and lighter on my feet[1]. I walk more on the balls of my feet, rather than on my heels. I feel like I move with a little bit more grace and ease, I feel more comfortable with my step, more sure of where that foot will land.
Friends of mine who have studied martial arts of various sorts say the same thing about their balance and surety of step. They speak of how the are more aware of their physical self. Martial arts also tend to add a grace and beauty of movement to the practitioner. The similarities end there, however. Where ballroom is an dance of graceful seduction (if apply to that end), martial arts is a dance of graceful violence.
The second things that I've really gotten out of the class is a bit more ease with the opposite sex. I've always been a bit awkward in my interactions, unless I become friends with a woman, which in itself is a whole other story.
The class is configured as such: the leads all stand in a line on one side of the gym, the follows on the other. The steps are taught to each side individually, and then the follows are told to find a partner. The pairs dance a for a bit, familiarizing themselves with the move. After a few moments, they are told to switch partners and the follows switch down one partner.
So what does this have to do with me becoming more comfortable with woman? Every semester I dance with forty different woman, some I know, most I don't. I have to make them comfortable with the idea of dance with me, even if it is only going to be for a moment. I doing so, I also have become more comfortable with asking my classmates to dance - there are occasionally open dance periods. It all stems from confidence gained from becoming slightly more skilled at this whole thing.
Granted, I've become a bit of the old man in the group. This is, after all, a University club. Many of the students are undergrads, and, more so, freshman undergrads. I'm older then most by about ten years. Not really an issue, since I'm neither creepy nor obsessive (nor ugly, if I do say so myself).
All in all, it has been a really good experience for me. It's a great skill, although, one that has is harder and harder to find the appropriate social situations in which to use it. It's a great social tool, enhancing interaction, and a remarkable amount of fun.[2]
[1] Now, I'm not using the phrase "light in my loafers," if that's what your thinking. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
[2] As you can see, I'm still really lax on the art of the conclusion. It's as if I start these things with very little idea as to where I'm going. I know that I've had this discussion before, but I'd like to point out that I'm pretty much writing my essays in the same format as I learned in high school. You know the format: an introduction, two to three middling points, and a conclusion. This format is rather tried and true at getting one's point across.
Let's look at this essay a little more critically, through the lens of the high school essay format.
First off, the introduction makes not point at reference what it's going to talk about, other then ballroom dance. No mention of physical movement or opposite-sex interaction. So we're left wonder where the hell is he going?
Secondly, how are these points tied together? Did the art of physical movement affect the author's opposite-sex interactions? It was described as a dance of seduction, if applied correctly. Has the author applied it correctly? If not, the author should supply us with a story of it applied incorrectly, described with great flourish, humor, and self-deprecating commentary. If there is no story, the author certainly hasn't been doing this often enough.
As for that conclusion, holy crap, it's lame.
My advice to the author: don't quit your day job.[3]
[3] Hey, now, I appreciate your criticism, but let's remember, this is just an exercise. I'm just writing about what I know and feel about a particular subject. There isn't necessarily supposed to be too much connecting either part.[4]
[4] Well, look at it this way. Your now having a public dialog with your internal critic. You've just bumped up against the crazy ceiling. I was just telling you what I thought about your writing, but now I think you've slipped into something more along the lines of a crazy nutter.[5]
[5] I was merely responding to your criticism, and here you go responding with name calling. How's that for being the internal critic. Not very constructive, mind you. Not helpful at all.[6]
[6] Bloody crazy nutter, you are.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Force Feedback
So I posted a little note from my BlackBerry (which, I'm now of the opinion, are the spawn of Satan) the other night. It started me thinking on how easy it is these days to upload real-time information about the inner most thoughts of any human being.
Why does that seem like an incredible waste of technology?
There are some impressive possible uses for the instant access to the journalistic tools. The most obvious one being journalism. Having a journalist in the thick of things and sending in a story, written as it happens is wonderfully powerful. The reader can be connected instantly to the joy, unrest, terror or mundane of the world.
There are two issues with this. The first being the problem of aggregation. Mobile blogging or instant journalism has created an explosion of information and opinions on the events of the day. Collection, assessing and absorbing all of this information becomes an huge task for any one person. Data aggregation is becoming a big focus of development efforts (Google Reader is a good example). Even still, there's a wealth of information that comes in a daily basis.
Does this wealth of information allow us to live our lives in any better fashion? The answer is yes and no. Having access to those pieces of information that directly relate to you in a timely manner is valuable, of course. The problem is that the much of the information isn't directly applicable to one's current affairs. The reader may actually spend more time familiarizing themselves with the news of the day from Joe Blogger[1], reading about Joe's life and spending less time going about their own lives.
Mundane was mentioned early. This is really the second problem with the instant upload of news and information. What is considered news by some is incredibly boring and useless information. When some one blogs about the fact that their friend is in trouble or they had a great time at a concert. All these things may be interesting to four or five people, but, on the whole, generally dull and uninteresting to the rest of mankind.
Which brings me back to my BlackBerry post. I posted that entry about the simple fact that I had a BlackBerry and wanted to write about it. Which really is the most boring, mundane and useless piece of knowledge that I can provide.
[1] Right. So I know that Joe Blogger hasn't actually updated his blog in quite some time. In fact, I just made a wild guess that someone out there actually had created a blog, originally called JoeBlogger for a real sense of anonymity or average Joe quality. It does fit the bill for my point. It's a bunch of small, useless tidbits about a the life some Joe somewhere, telling us all about how his life is going. Is it news? Probably not.
Then again, neither is this.
Why does that seem like an incredible waste of technology?
There are some impressive possible uses for the instant access to the journalistic tools. The most obvious one being journalism. Having a journalist in the thick of things and sending in a story, written as it happens is wonderfully powerful. The reader can be connected instantly to the joy, unrest, terror or mundane of the world.
There are two issues with this. The first being the problem of aggregation. Mobile blogging or instant journalism has created an explosion of information and opinions on the events of the day. Collection, assessing and absorbing all of this information becomes an huge task for any one person. Data aggregation is becoming a big focus of development efforts (Google Reader is a good example). Even still, there's a wealth of information that comes in a daily basis.
Does this wealth of information allow us to live our lives in any better fashion? The answer is yes and no. Having access to those pieces of information that directly relate to you in a timely manner is valuable, of course. The problem is that the much of the information isn't directly applicable to one's current affairs. The reader may actually spend more time familiarizing themselves with the news of the day from Joe Blogger[1], reading about Joe's life and spending less time going about their own lives.
Mundane was mentioned early. This is really the second problem with the instant upload of news and information. What is considered news by some is incredibly boring and useless information. When some one blogs about the fact that their friend is in trouble or they had a great time at a concert. All these things may be interesting to four or five people, but, on the whole, generally dull and uninteresting to the rest of mankind.
Which brings me back to my BlackBerry post. I posted that entry about the simple fact that I had a BlackBerry and wanted to write about it. Which really is the most boring, mundane and useless piece of knowledge that I can provide.
[1] Right. So I know that Joe Blogger hasn't actually updated his blog in quite some time. In fact, I just made a wild guess that someone out there actually had created a blog, originally called JoeBlogger for a real sense of anonymity or average Joe quality. It does fit the bill for my point. It's a bunch of small, useless tidbits about a the life some Joe somewhere, telling us all about how his life is going. Is it news? Probably not.
Then again, neither is this.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Mobility
I've been given a blackberry handset by my work. Interrestingly enough, I find myself already attempting a blog entry.
Here's a question: is too much rapid access to one's personal information?
Perhaps. But, the keyboard is damn slow. More on this in future posts.
Posted from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
Here's a question: is too much rapid access to one's personal information?
Perhaps. But, the keyboard is damn slow. More on this in future posts.
Posted from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Compile Time
I've been spending too much time at work. I don't mean that I've been putting in a lot of hours, I've just been spending too much time there. It's time to move on, spend my time elsewhere.
I've been working on a few ideas. Things are compiling. We are, however, talking about old-school compile times. Punch the cards, submit them to the terminal, and go and get a cup of coffee. It'll be a while before the results come back and we know that we have a working program, or a mess of errors to be debugged and tried all over again.
So it brings me back here. Ideas are great if you start to let them out. They have to be placed on paper (or, in this case, electronic media) and given form. They can be massaged, managed, organized, discredited, scrutinized, honed, and finally given their chance to make it.
I haven't been writing much, since I have been transitioning away from being a grad student. I gave it a shot and found it's not really for me. I found that I really was enjoying the time to be creative, write, read, think. So in this transition, I became stuck in a rut. Work was a concentration for me (which is odd, considering how much I despise my boss). It's become more so lately, as I have been given more responsibility over a particular aspect of the product (which has led to some of the ideas that are, at this moment, compiling).
So part of my scheme is to simple quit. I would like to return to that time of thinking, evaluating. Go walkabout, mentally. Really get back to dreaming.
If I can keep to it, I'll keep writing until that point. I need to tap the rust off the old brain and get back to scheming on paper (err...electronic media).
I've been working on a few ideas. Things are compiling. We are, however, talking about old-school compile times. Punch the cards, submit them to the terminal, and go and get a cup of coffee. It'll be a while before the results come back and we know that we have a working program, or a mess of errors to be debugged and tried all over again.
So it brings me back here. Ideas are great if you start to let them out. They have to be placed on paper (or, in this case, electronic media) and given form. They can be massaged, managed, organized, discredited, scrutinized, honed, and finally given their chance to make it.
I haven't been writing much, since I have been transitioning away from being a grad student. I gave it a shot and found it's not really for me. I found that I really was enjoying the time to be creative, write, read, think. So in this transition, I became stuck in a rut. Work was a concentration for me (which is odd, considering how much I despise my boss). It's become more so lately, as I have been given more responsibility over a particular aspect of the product (which has led to some of the ideas that are, at this moment, compiling).
So part of my scheme is to simple quit. I would like to return to that time of thinking, evaluating. Go walkabout, mentally. Really get back to dreaming.
If I can keep to it, I'll keep writing until that point. I need to tap the rust off the old brain and get back to scheming on paper (err...electronic media).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
