.
Sometimes taste is all in the mouth as can be seen by the Beach Boys’ wardrobe in the attached clip. However, the real message is the title: Good Vibrations.
“Originally composed during the Pet Sounds sessions with original lyrics by Tony Asher, Wilson recorded the song in sections at different studios in order to capture the sound he heard in his head.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Vibrations
That is what happens when trying to capture those explicit sounds in the head. Sometimes the vibrations just make us dizzy. Trying to capture the good ones frequently makes me lightheaded because it is so difficult to get beyond the clutter. Great ideas are like that. They are surrounded by a large confusing cacophony of bewilderment. It is this disorientation and muddling through it that ultimately brings clarity and results in the good vibrations.
Going directly to the heart of the matter is not always the best way to do things when seeking enlightenment. The road less taken and avoiding the well known shortcuts eventually gets me to my destination, not as quickly or directly but in most cases more captivatingly. When driving from here to there I try to avoid going the same route time after time. Been there, done that. I prefer to see something that will give me an exposure to what I have not experienced yet or even lately.
DakotaDawg is the same way. She will pull at the leash to discover a new scent or someone different that is visiting her regular haunts and is enthusiastic to go to new places as she is checking everything out along the way. DakotaDawg invariably wants to experience good vibrations. Passage of time is not an essential dimension to my dawg. She is more curious and willing to do whatever time it takes to find out what she wants to know. DakotaDawg is far less concerned whether I think she has investigated that bush more than long enough. I have no idea what components of the different features of that bush she is so inquisitive about. She will continue probing until either she is satisfied or I get frustrated. Usually when this happens she will look up at me as if to ask: “What is your problem?”
I have figured out though the problem is that we are all in way too much of a hurry. We are impatient people who have become impatient with people, children and dawgs that seem to take too long to either discern the obvious or figure out those not so salient facts. It is certainly more fun having the patience to look thoroughly for the answer and help others in their quest.
I never fully got the answer to why the sky is blue. One thing is certain though and that part of the answer is that I can see.
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&rlz=1R2TSNA_enUS351&q=%22why+is+the+sky+blue%22&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai = "Why is the sky blue?" - About 95,700 results (0.18 seconds). Now if I just had the time and patience.
Maybe I will just read a few; it just might take less time to think of it in different terms: "Why isn't the sky red?" Checking Google it looks like reading those 29 results could give me the same answer in a lot less time. Apparently far fewer people are interested in that. Is it just because it rarely happens?
"Why isn't the sky blue?" yields only one additional result. Is it because far too many think of such an obvious answer? It is night. Maybe it isn’t… we could still be in the dark.
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 10/14/2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Year You were Born.
.
http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/ - What happened in the year I was born? If you want to know then follow the link as I did… less typing so thanx for that at least.
A bunch of pretty useless information but here I go:
"In 1949, the world was a different place.
There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo. Or Forum.ih8mud, for that matter.
In 1949, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Samson and Delilah. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.
Remember, that was before there were DVDs. Heck, even before there was VHS. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.
Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to All the King's Men. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to The Bicycle Thief. The top actor was Broderick Crawford for his role as Willie Stark in All the King's Men. The top actress was Olivia de Havilland for her role as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress. The best director? Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives.
In the year 1949, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time wasThe Egyptian by Mika Waltari. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it?
In 1949... UN sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947. The first Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retires. The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., creating the NATO defense alliance. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is founded. The last U.S. troops withdraw from South Korea. The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, code named "Joe 1." Its design imitates the American plutonium bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The People's Republic of China is officially proclaimed.
That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.
The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to William Faulkner. The Nobel Peace prize went to The Lord Boyd-Orr. The Nobel prize for physics went to Hideki Yukawa from Japan for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?
The 1940s were indeed a special decade. World War II continued, affecting people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The post war world encouraged decolonization, new states and governments emerged, while others declared independence, often not without bloodshed. The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published, picturing a totalitarian Big Brother regime controllings its citizens. The NATO gets established. Iceland declares independence Denmark. Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party is victorious in the Chinese Civil War. Mathematics sees the invention of cryptography. Ballistic missiles are created.
Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15?The Pink Panther. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?
In 1949, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song A Little Bird Told Me by Evelyn Knight topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.
A little bird told me that you love me
And I believe that you do
This little bird told me I was fallin'
Fallin' for no one but you
...
There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.
When you were 9, the movie The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad was playing.
Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1949. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? Atomic Clocks. Radiocarbon Dating.
She did her triple somersault and when she hit the ground
She winked at the audience and then she turned around
She had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine
Said, Phoenix, Arizona 1949
...
That's from the song Little Egypt by Elvis Presley.
In 1949, a new character entered the world of comic books: Claude Cat. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1949, Lionel Richie was born. And Tom Waits. Whoopi Goldberg, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2010.
The world is a different place.
What path have you taken?"
© 10.05.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/ - What happened in the year I was born? If you want to know then follow the link as I did… less typing so thanx for that at least.
A bunch of pretty useless information but here I go:
"In 1949, the world was a different place.
There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo. Or Forum.ih8mud, for that matter.
In 1949, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Samson and Delilah. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.
Remember, that was before there were DVDs. Heck, even before there was VHS. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.
Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to All the King's Men. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to The Bicycle Thief. The top actor was Broderick Crawford for his role as Willie Stark in All the King's Men. The top actress was Olivia de Havilland for her role as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress. The best director? Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives.
In the year 1949, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time wasThe Egyptian by Mika Waltari. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it?
In 1949... UN sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947. The first Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retires. The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., creating the NATO defense alliance. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is founded. The last U.S. troops withdraw from South Korea. The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, code named "Joe 1." Its design imitates the American plutonium bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The People's Republic of China is officially proclaimed.
That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.
The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to William Faulkner. The Nobel Peace prize went to The Lord Boyd-Orr. The Nobel prize for physics went to Hideki Yukawa from Japan for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?
The 1940s were indeed a special decade. World War II continued, affecting people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The post war world encouraged decolonization, new states and governments emerged, while others declared independence, often not without bloodshed. The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published, picturing a totalitarian Big Brother regime controllings its citizens. The NATO gets established. Iceland declares independence Denmark. Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party is victorious in the Chinese Civil War. Mathematics sees the invention of cryptography. Ballistic missiles are created.
Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15?The Pink Panther. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?
In 1949, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song A Little Bird Told Me by Evelyn Knight topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.
A little bird told me that you love me
And I believe that you do
This little bird told me I was fallin'
Fallin' for no one but you
...
There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.
When you were 9, the movie The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad was playing.
Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1949. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? Atomic Clocks. Radiocarbon Dating.
She did her triple somersault and when she hit the ground
She winked at the audience and then she turned around
She had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine
Said, Phoenix, Arizona 1949
...
That's from the song Little Egypt by Elvis Presley.
In 1949, a new character entered the world of comic books: Claude Cat. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1949, Lionel Richie was born. And Tom Waits. Whoopi Goldberg, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2010.
The world is a different place.
What path have you taken?"
© 10.05.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Monday, October 11, 2010
Today or Tomorrow…
Yuppers finally I am going to start a part time job. Tomorrow.
I am very happy today and tomorrow is a brand new day.
Once it is tomorrow it will be today but that is tomorrow.
© 10.11.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Too Much Lennon?
.
Imagine
“John is dead”
This didn’t happen because somebody played a record backwards. A tragic act of insanity immortalized an immortal.
Today would have been Lennon’s seventieth birthday if he had been sent home (as my dad advocated) and if he managed to live this long. Dad did not like Lennon because he was paying attention to a lot of the wrong things. Dad should have listened to the music instead of trying to get every one to dance to his.
Happy Birthday John from one Libra to another.
There is a 504 video playlist on YouTube that I am not going to listen to... Imagine it might be just too much Lennon.
© 10.05.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Imagine
“John is dead”
This didn’t happen because somebody played a record backwards. A tragic act of insanity immortalized an immortal.
Today would have been Lennon’s seventieth birthday if he had been sent home (as my dad advocated) and if he managed to live this long. Dad did not like Lennon because he was paying attention to a lot of the wrong things. Dad should have listened to the music instead of trying to get every one to dance to his.
Happy Birthday John from one Libra to another.
There is a 504 video playlist on YouTube that I am not going to listen to... Imagine it might be just too much Lennon.
© 10.05.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Friday, October 8, 2010
Half my brain is inside my computer… er, smartphone.
.
I was thinking and even posting about the topic du jour for a long time. Obviously, I was and am not the only one. “Scott Adams, the author and creator of the comic strip Dilbert, last year argued in an essay that smart phones represent a kind of “exobrain” that augments our regular brain, giving us the ability to store and retrieve mountains of information and to perform tasks like navigating unfamiliar terrain.” Newsweek - http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/03/how-android-is-transforming-mobile-computing.html - “Android Invasion” - an accurate mass media ‘fluff’ assessment of the situation worth reading IMHO.
Seriously there is a war going on out there in case one hasn’t noticed. It is for that half of our brains that are ‘exo’ and the operating system that they depend on. Microsoft is not winning this one but is trying to get at least its pawns engaged in the battle. Apple and Google have fully engaged and are challenging all comers. Apple laid out the ground rules as far as what the OS’s should do but Google is gaining ground by asking everybody to kick in their fair share in an open-source attempt to dethrone the king. Is life so cruel that Jobs and Apple have again screwed the pooch with their proprietary attitude toward hardware and software? It appears that this could well be the case.
The MegaManufacturers of the electronic marketplace are making sure that the ship does not sail without them. They have become ‘Androidlike’ in their adoption of the only viable competitor to the Apple juggernaut. Do not expect them to sit on the seesaw and not control which end is up or how fast it rises. It is gang mentality. With enough advertising dollars and just raw numbers they will overpower the innovator. Count on it. This does not mean that what is best or best for the consumer will win out. I am hitting my head against the wall as I anticipate another Apple error. Maybe their engineers can come up with another brainstorm that we will have something else absolutely fantabulous. Or, the copycats will give us something that in some lesser form. It may be only what can be imagined by someone not so much innovating as emulating.
I often wonder what would have happened if Apple did not join forces with AT&T and sold their product to anyone to be used on any network it was compatible. AT&T seemed to benefit from the deal but what did Apple get out of it? What if Jobs and his people decided that they would dream the dream and hold the patents and let others like Motorola, Samsung, LG and HTC do all the heavy lifting. I have tired of Apple’s lack of foresight in this and it has left us all with less than Apple could deliver if they didn’t have the policy of having to make and market all of their own innovations.
The market is full of innovators and the inevitable impersonators who often surpass the mental giants by sheer will and numbers. This does not mean the imatators are not providing something to the masses. Is it as good as the original? In this case it may end up being better. It will take time for us to determine if that is the case but what if the inventor gave up trying to keep this from happening and just moved on to the next announcement of wonderful new things to be?
The whole thing reminds me of when I was a kid and I wanted a Mickey Mantle autographed WilsonTM baseball glove from Santa (who I knew was Mom and Dad). I kept begging and the only thing that would shut me up would have been a genuine WilsonTM Mickey Mantle autographed baseball mitt under the tree and then on my left hand. My older brother and I searched high and low for where Santa was hiding the presents we knew would show up under the tree. After risking our lives in every recess in the garage my brother and figured out Santa hid the presents in the attic. I got the attic access open in my sister’s closet and it was dark up there. But, based on the initial inspection there was my mitt!
Bobby Riley and I celebrated for a full week until the magical day came. I hardly slept. I ran downstairs and straight to the appropriate shaped present and ripped it open. There in my hands was a Genuine Winton baseball glove that was made in of all places, Japan. The logo looked just about exactly like Wilson’s. It had the same red thread script embroidered on the black background on the label on the wrist strap. Mickey Mantle had not autographed it even though all the writing was in English... not one Japanese character on it. The mitt probably was as well made and just as functional as the WilsonTM. The problem was that it was not a WilsonTM. I was crushed.
WilsonTM eventually sued because the Japanese manufacturer did such a good job of copying their original mitt designs and their logo. Applied black ink obscured the Made in Japan threads on the label before the glove ever left the house. Bobby Riley and I knew. It was not long before the label was removed. Young boys inspect baseball gloves more meticulously than Inspector #6. This travesty was worse than having a ZuneTM instead of an iPodTM.
Perhaps it is better to have an AndroidTM phone than an iPhoneTM. It is going to take a lot of argument to convince me of that even if it might be fact. Lots of manufacturers and cell phone network providers are trying to convince the public that AndroidTM is better than AppleTM.
Me, I would rather have my Genuine Wilson Mickey Mantle autographed center fielder’s glove instead of the four fingered cheaper Bobby Richardson autographed Wilson without an embroidered wrist strap label that replaced the Winton that was ‘lost’. Bobby Richardson’s glove didn’t see a second season. It really didn’t matter; I was a catcher. From the same article: "... by 2014 Android will have 25 percent market share in smart phones, more than double Apple’s 11 percent share, according to high-tech researcher IDC." Maybe that isn't such bad news for Apple since it is the only manufacturer of a smart phone with an Apple OS while there are at least five Android phone manufacturers in 2010 already. According to some industry pundits "Recent announcements are sketching a slight shift away from the Android platform" http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Google-Android-Mobile-OS,news-6642.html.
Maybe Apple is not in such dire straights. Google found 158,000 results for the search - number of Apple iPhone OS patent lawsuits. At least the courts and lawyers will be busy.
Apple wants to play with the big boys and make the rules. The deal is they have shown they are players but the rules were set long ago. No amount of jousting with windmills is going to change them. Maybe they can just make the Winton glove disappear.
It is going to be a long uphill battle. DOH. What does it really matter though; I am still nothing but an old catcher. Microsoft, Apple and Oracle are all suing phone manufacturers or Google directly over Android.
Gang tactics.
© 10.08.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
I was thinking and even posting about the topic du jour for a long time. Obviously, I was and am not the only one. “Scott Adams, the author and creator of the comic strip Dilbert, last year argued in an essay that smart phones represent a kind of “exobrain” that augments our regular brain, giving us the ability to store and retrieve mountains of information and to perform tasks like navigating unfamiliar terrain.” Newsweek - http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/03/how-android-is-transforming-mobile-computing.html - “Android Invasion” - an accurate mass media ‘fluff’ assessment of the situation worth reading IMHO.
Seriously there is a war going on out there in case one hasn’t noticed. It is for that half of our brains that are ‘exo’ and the operating system that they depend on. Microsoft is not winning this one but is trying to get at least its pawns engaged in the battle. Apple and Google have fully engaged and are challenging all comers. Apple laid out the ground rules as far as what the OS’s should do but Google is gaining ground by asking everybody to kick in their fair share in an open-source attempt to dethrone the king. Is life so cruel that Jobs and Apple have again screwed the pooch with their proprietary attitude toward hardware and software? It appears that this could well be the case.
The MegaManufacturers of the electronic marketplace are making sure that the ship does not sail without them. They have become ‘Androidlike’ in their adoption of the only viable competitor to the Apple juggernaut. Do not expect them to sit on the seesaw and not control which end is up or how fast it rises. It is gang mentality. With enough advertising dollars and just raw numbers they will overpower the innovator. Count on it. This does not mean that what is best or best for the consumer will win out. I am hitting my head against the wall as I anticipate another Apple error. Maybe their engineers can come up with another brainstorm that we will have something else absolutely fantabulous. Or, the copycats will give us something that in some lesser form. It may be only what can be imagined by someone not so much innovating as emulating.
I often wonder what would have happened if Apple did not join forces with AT&T and sold their product to anyone to be used on any network it was compatible. AT&T seemed to benefit from the deal but what did Apple get out of it? What if Jobs and his people decided that they would dream the dream and hold the patents and let others like Motorola, Samsung, LG and HTC do all the heavy lifting. I have tired of Apple’s lack of foresight in this and it has left us all with less than Apple could deliver if they didn’t have the policy of having to make and market all of their own innovations.
The market is full of innovators and the inevitable impersonators who often surpass the mental giants by sheer will and numbers. This does not mean the imatators are not providing something to the masses. Is it as good as the original? In this case it may end up being better. It will take time for us to determine if that is the case but what if the inventor gave up trying to keep this from happening and just moved on to the next announcement of wonderful new things to be?
The whole thing reminds me of when I was a kid and I wanted a Mickey Mantle autographed WilsonTM baseball glove from Santa (who I knew was Mom and Dad). I kept begging and the only thing that would shut me up would have been a genuine WilsonTM Mickey Mantle autographed baseball mitt under the tree and then on my left hand. My older brother and I searched high and low for where Santa was hiding the presents we knew would show up under the tree. After risking our lives in every recess in the garage my brother and figured out Santa hid the presents in the attic. I got the attic access open in my sister’s closet and it was dark up there. But, based on the initial inspection there was my mitt!
Bobby Riley and I celebrated for a full week until the magical day came. I hardly slept. I ran downstairs and straight to the appropriate shaped present and ripped it open. There in my hands was a Genuine Winton baseball glove that was made in of all places, Japan. The logo looked just about exactly like Wilson’s. It had the same red thread script embroidered on the black background on the label on the wrist strap. Mickey Mantle had not autographed it even though all the writing was in English... not one Japanese character on it. The mitt probably was as well made and just as functional as the WilsonTM. The problem was that it was not a WilsonTM. I was crushed.
WilsonTM eventually sued because the Japanese manufacturer did such a good job of copying their original mitt designs and their logo. Applied black ink obscured the Made in Japan threads on the label before the glove ever left the house. Bobby Riley and I knew. It was not long before the label was removed. Young boys inspect baseball gloves more meticulously than Inspector #6. This travesty was worse than having a ZuneTM instead of an iPodTM.
Perhaps it is better to have an AndroidTM phone than an iPhoneTM. It is going to take a lot of argument to convince me of that even if it might be fact. Lots of manufacturers and cell phone network providers are trying to convince the public that AndroidTM is better than AppleTM.
Me, I would rather have my Genuine Wilson Mickey Mantle autographed center fielder’s glove instead of the four fingered cheaper Bobby Richardson autographed Wilson without an embroidered wrist strap label that replaced the Winton that was ‘lost’. Bobby Richardson’s glove didn’t see a second season. It really didn’t matter; I was a catcher. From the same article: "... by 2014 Android will have 25 percent market share in smart phones, more than double Apple’s 11 percent share, according to high-tech researcher IDC." Maybe that isn't such bad news for Apple since it is the only manufacturer of a smart phone with an Apple OS while there are at least five Android phone manufacturers in 2010 already. According to some industry pundits "Recent announcements are sketching a slight shift away from the Android platform" http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Google-Android-Mobile-OS,news-6642.html.
Maybe Apple is not in such dire straights. Google found 158,000 results for the search - number of Apple iPhone OS patent lawsuits. At least the courts and lawyers will be busy.
Apple wants to play with the big boys and make the rules. The deal is they have shown they are players but the rules were set long ago. No amount of jousting with windmills is going to change them. Maybe they can just make the Winton glove disappear.
It is going to be a long uphill battle. DOH. What does it really matter though; I am still nothing but an old catcher. Microsoft, Apple and Oracle are all suing phone manufacturers or Google directly over Android.
Gang tactics.
© 10.08.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Vacation – Too much Go Go’s?
Having a major flashback I remembered an old birthday where I was taken to a Go Go’s concert and ‘sat’ in the first couple of rows. The concert was so amazing I stood on my seat after the first song started until the concert was over. It was necessary to stand on the seat just to see the stage.
Too much Go Go’s? I don’t think so; I am going to stand on my seat. I still love the Go Go’s! Too much vacation? NEVER!
© 10.07.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Monday, October 4, 2010
Trash Talking… Too much energy?
.
Our garbage is really black gold. It is time to think about thermal depolymerization and other technologies that might start shifting the balance of the energy equation.
We should stop burying twelve billion tons worth of solid waste a year in this country and start converting more of it into fuel. This is happening already but on a very small scale. I wonder why some stimulus money was not put toward technologies like this instead of some of the places it really did or didn’t go.
I was a little bit baffled by the term “Thermal Depolymerization” when I first came across it but again it was Google to the rescue: “Thermal Depolymerization (TDP) is a depolymerization process using hydrous pyrolysis for the reduction of complex organic materials (usually waste products of various sorts, often known as biomass and plastic) into light crude oil. It mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels. Under pressure and heat, long chain polymers of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon decompose into short-chain petroleum hydrocarbons with a maximum length of around 18 carbons.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization
Basically, TDP is converting anything containing carbon into exploitable energy - sewerage sludge into light oil or even agricultural waste into energy… turning chicken doo-doo into chicken salad. This is not growing corn or other vegetable matter for conversion and having to utilize energy in the production. This is the actual transformation of food production wastes directly into needed energy components. It is happening in Carthage, Missouri where they take waste from a turkey processing plant and digest it to produce fuel oil.
Six billion tons of agricultural waste produced annually in this country could be turned into more than four billion barrels of oil (the same amount the United States imports yearly). Someone missed the memo.
The Rumpelstiltskinian stratagem that underpins TDP is to harvest carbon that abundantly exists, that we have already used and seem to have no further use for except disposal. Admittedly not a brand new idea since green advocates have turned plant, human and animal wastes into methane and other fuels for years in lower tech Mother Earth News or Popular Science kinds of ways. However, this more universal and global thinking of turning sewerage treatment plants and landfills into resources instead of a money pits is going in the right direction. Recyclable carbon is the vast majority of all the solid waste we bury instead of use. We must take advantage of the fact that it as part of a renewable energy cycle. We can mine what we are throwing away instead of burying mountains of it in suburbia or dumping it into the ocean. More effort should go to recycling non-carbon based waste.
Not everything about TDP plants or conversion stations is perfect. There is much criticism of start up and operating costs in the press regarding new and previous attempts. At least these people are coming up with new ideas that need to be investigated. Waste not, want not.
Let’s start being proactive about our garbage and thinking of it as a resource instead of transshipping it out in the country and paying for its disposal. There is getting to be too much trash to keep trying to hide the problem.
Private enterprise may force our government to do something once processing trash is profitable enough. Until that happens I don’t expect my elected representatives to do much more than try to figure out how to get reelected.
Coming down off my garbage mountain soapbox.
© 10.04.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Our garbage is really black gold. It is time to think about thermal depolymerization and other technologies that might start shifting the balance of the energy equation.
We should stop burying twelve billion tons worth of solid waste a year in this country and start converting more of it into fuel. This is happening already but on a very small scale. I wonder why some stimulus money was not put toward technologies like this instead of some of the places it really did or didn’t go.
I was a little bit baffled by the term “Thermal Depolymerization” when I first came across it but again it was Google to the rescue: “Thermal Depolymerization (TDP) is a depolymerization process using hydrous pyrolysis for the reduction of complex organic materials (usually waste products of various sorts, often known as biomass and plastic) into light crude oil. It mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels. Under pressure and heat, long chain polymers of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon decompose into short-chain petroleum hydrocarbons with a maximum length of around 18 carbons.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization
Basically, TDP is converting anything containing carbon into exploitable energy - sewerage sludge into light oil or even agricultural waste into energy… turning chicken doo-doo into chicken salad. This is not growing corn or other vegetable matter for conversion and having to utilize energy in the production. This is the actual transformation of food production wastes directly into needed energy components. It is happening in Carthage, Missouri where they take waste from a turkey processing plant and digest it to produce fuel oil.
Six billion tons of agricultural waste produced annually in this country could be turned into more than four billion barrels of oil (the same amount the United States imports yearly). Someone missed the memo.
The Rumpelstiltskinian stratagem that underpins TDP is to harvest carbon that abundantly exists, that we have already used and seem to have no further use for except disposal. Admittedly not a brand new idea since green advocates have turned plant, human and animal wastes into methane and other fuels for years in lower tech Mother Earth News or Popular Science kinds of ways. However, this more universal and global thinking of turning sewerage treatment plants and landfills into resources instead of a money pits is going in the right direction. Recyclable carbon is the vast majority of all the solid waste we bury instead of use. We must take advantage of the fact that it as part of a renewable energy cycle. We can mine what we are throwing away instead of burying mountains of it in suburbia or dumping it into the ocean. More effort should go to recycling non-carbon based waste.
Not everything about TDP plants or conversion stations is perfect. There is much criticism of start up and operating costs in the press regarding new and previous attempts. At least these people are coming up with new ideas that need to be investigated. Waste not, want not.
Let’s start being proactive about our garbage and thinking of it as a resource instead of transshipping it out in the country and paying for its disposal. There is getting to be too much trash to keep trying to hide the problem.
Private enterprise may force our government to do something once processing trash is profitable enough. Until that happens I don’t expect my elected representatives to do much more than try to figure out how to get reelected.
Coming down off my garbage mountain soapbox.
© 10.04.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sacred Science… moving on.
.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8110425983571346444# :
Nikola Tesla You're a Man Out of Time - 05:57 - 4 years ago
Original music video honoring Nikola Tesla by Paul and Stephen Hone. Paul Hone: "The Great Forgotten Serbian/American Scientist who invented the polyphase AC electric current we all use today as well as the underlying principles behind radio, radio control, computers, satellites, microwaves, beam weapons, nuclear fusion and more. (His nephew was an incredible inventor too! But that is a story for another day.) This is an attempt to help people get a heads up on "WHO" this Amazing Man was, on some of what he did Do, and on how he was Destroyed!"
The URL above is another, the same as the first embedded video. It all has to do with Sacred Science and the Almighty Dollar and not a conspiracy theory. I am going to move tomorrow into another dimension and start trying to remember why I am writing this blog. I won’t be back to prod with Tesla for a while.
"He used high frequency electricity... In an unparalleled eight years of invention, between 1890 and 1898, Telsa left Alternating Current right behind. To him it was accomplished, of no further interest. He opened a new door labeled High Frequency and he changed the world a second, third and fourth time... Tesla never tried to develop the lighting idea commercially although he did go as far as to illuminate his laboratory with this forerunner of today's fluorescent lighting..." The video gets somewhat off point toward the end but after all it is a BBC presentation from a while back.
Tesla abhorred profiteering from something that was for the good of humanity. After the loss of his laboratory when all of his notes and equipment was lost Tesla spent the most of his remaining years trying to transmit messages and power without wires. I want read his unpublished notebook: Colorado Springs Notes – 1899 – 1900. Five months have been transcribed and are available on http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/tesla/coloradonotes/coloradonotes.htm . Of course for the profiteers there is always Amazon.
For the Conspiracy Theorists:
That is all for now.
© 10.03.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8110425983571346444# :
Nikola Tesla You're a Man Out of Time - 05:57 - 4 years ago
Original music video honoring Nikola Tesla by Paul and Stephen Hone. Paul Hone: "The Great Forgotten Serbian/American Scientist who invented the polyphase AC electric current we all use today as well as the underlying principles behind radio, radio control, computers, satellites, microwaves, beam weapons, nuclear fusion and more. (His nephew was an incredible inventor too! But that is a story for another day.) This is an attempt to help people get a heads up on "WHO" this Amazing Man was, on some of what he did Do, and on how he was Destroyed!"
The URL above is another, the same as the first embedded video. It all has to do with Sacred Science and the Almighty Dollar and not a conspiracy theory. I am going to move tomorrow into another dimension and start trying to remember why I am writing this blog. I won’t be back to prod with Tesla for a while.
"He used high frequency electricity... In an unparalleled eight years of invention, between 1890 and 1898, Telsa left Alternating Current right behind. To him it was accomplished, of no further interest. He opened a new door labeled High Frequency and he changed the world a second, third and fourth time... Tesla never tried to develop the lighting idea commercially although he did go as far as to illuminate his laboratory with this forerunner of today's fluorescent lighting..." The video gets somewhat off point toward the end but after all it is a BBC presentation from a while back.
Tesla abhorred profiteering from something that was for the good of humanity. After the loss of his laboratory when all of his notes and equipment was lost Tesla spent the most of his remaining years trying to transmit messages and power without wires. I want read his unpublished notebook: Colorado Springs Notes – 1899 – 1900. Five months have been transcribed and are available on http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/tesla/coloradonotes/coloradonotes.htm . Of course for the profiteers there is always Amazon.
For the Conspiracy Theorists:
That is all for now.
© 10.03.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Too much Tesla?
.
I have been more than fascinated with this man with such a unique mind and vision of the future we are yet to see. Wireless transmission and ‘free energy’ were but a few of the ground breaking ideas Tesla experimented with in addition to the advances in electricity we depend on every single day including Alternating Current.
I bumped into a rather strange duck on Google. So what else is new? This fellow (MattBlytheTheOne) who did a video of Tesla's Little Secret which included what he thought Tesla was really up to and had discovered. I am not so sure the author of the following video does not quack like a duck but he pointed to one possibility of the huge Tesla coils that Tesla built in New York and in Colorado Springs were really Capacity/Receivers capable of generating 50 volts of electricity per foot of height from radiant energy.
In this day of advances in solar energy research and advances the idea of a Tesla antenna receiver capable of achieving the same thing without solar cells is intriguing. Is this even possible? Certainly Tesla thought so and the text of his “My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla; Chapter 6—The Magnifying Transmitter” (http://lucidcafe.com/library/96jul/teslaauto06.html) Tesla elaborates on the idea if you can wade through the verbiage.
I am going to spend the time that I would normally be writing today to review more on the subject. I am going to view the embedded Youtube videos.
“Making The Magnifying Transmitter (Modified Tesla Coil)” deals with building a Tesla Coil with the original concept of transmission of electricity wirelessly. We need to think about the whole energy thing in a “hat goes around comes around” frame of mind. The 5:33 clip here:
And the “Tesla The Race to Zero Point Free Energy” 1:49:39 clip following that shows promise and has a recording of Tesla where he talks of “The Cosmic Energy” (we may only have until 2025 to complete this assignment). It is an excellent primer of the issues and history surrounding generation and transmission of energy and how our economic model has held us back. This is what I am talking about baby!
Many people besides Tesla have been thinking about the random presence of energy in our world that could be captured, converted and utilized. I keep bumping into alienscientist who seems to be a well educated conspiracy theorist (not that he may not be too wigged out to see reality in 111 seconds). Watching some of his videos is enlightening as well as entertaining but sometimes the comments he receives also add to my understanding of some of the concepts like an infinite battery and how it might work. I recommend reading the comments under his video that follows (embedded) and with comments at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcCLIwlbhLc .
There is much still to know unless we are too wigged out to recognize that fact. I am going to have to fully investigate Viktor Schauberger 1885-1958 and his vortex theories. If you can think of Chernetski.
© 10.02.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
I have been more than fascinated with this man with such a unique mind and vision of the future we are yet to see. Wireless transmission and ‘free energy’ were but a few of the ground breaking ideas Tesla experimented with in addition to the advances in electricity we depend on every single day including Alternating Current.
I bumped into a rather strange duck on Google. So what else is new? This fellow (MattBlytheTheOne) who did a video of Tesla's Little Secret which included what he thought Tesla was really up to and had discovered. I am not so sure the author of the following video does not quack like a duck but he pointed to one possibility of the huge Tesla coils that Tesla built in New York and in Colorado Springs were really Capacity/Receivers capable of generating 50 volts of electricity per foot of height from radiant energy.
In this day of advances in solar energy research and advances the idea of a Tesla antenna receiver capable of achieving the same thing without solar cells is intriguing. Is this even possible? Certainly Tesla thought so and the text of his “My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla; Chapter 6—The Magnifying Transmitter” (http://lucidcafe.com/library/96jul/teslaauto06.html) Tesla elaborates on the idea if you can wade through the verbiage.
I am going to spend the time that I would normally be writing today to review more on the subject. I am going to view the embedded Youtube videos.
“Making The Magnifying Transmitter (Modified Tesla Coil)” deals with building a Tesla Coil with the original concept of transmission of electricity wirelessly. We need to think about the whole energy thing in a “hat goes around comes around” frame of mind. The 5:33 clip here:
And the “Tesla The Race to Zero Point Free Energy” 1:49:39 clip following that shows promise and has a recording of Tesla where he talks of “The Cosmic Energy” (we may only have until 2025 to complete this assignment). It is an excellent primer of the issues and history surrounding generation and transmission of energy and how our economic model has held us back. This is what I am talking about baby!
Many people besides Tesla have been thinking about the random presence of energy in our world that could be captured, converted and utilized. I keep bumping into alienscientist who seems to be a well educated conspiracy theorist (not that he may not be too wigged out to see reality in 111 seconds). Watching some of his videos is enlightening as well as entertaining but sometimes the comments he receives also add to my understanding of some of the concepts like an infinite battery and how it might work. I recommend reading the comments under his video that follows (embedded) and with comments at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcCLIwlbhLc .
There is much still to know unless we are too wigged out to recognize that fact. I am going to have to fully investigate Viktor Schauberger 1885-1958 and his vortex theories. If you can think of Chernetski.
© 10.02.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Clarity
.
“By the time I recognized this moment; this moment will be gone.” Maybe not but that does not seem to bring clarity.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clarity -
clar•i•ty /ˈklærɪti/ [klar-i-tee]
–noun
1. clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
2. the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity: the clarity of pure water…
—Synonyms
1. intelligibility, exactness, simplicity.
I beg to differ. Intelligibility and exactness are functions of clarity. They do not imply or can be replaced by simplicity since simplicity can be even as unclear as something complex or convoluted. Granted something of simplicity may have intelligibility and be exact but it still can remain incomprehensible (like this argument). I strive for clarity though often fall short of the mark.
Poetry, prose and songwriting have the unique characteristic of having remarkable clarity while often far from transparent. It is up to the poet, author or songwriter to make the intention and meaning of a piece discernable; it remains the responsibility of the one processing the information to define that in the unique way it applies to them. When they have achieved that then they have reached a clarity that may remain clear only to them.
Many original thinkers intentionally obfuscate to obtain clarity. This appears counterintuitive but this tactic works quite well. Obfuscation normally leads to initial confusion but inevitably the consequence is clarity. Baffling, befuddling and bewildering an audience or our peers is a sure way to insure that they get the point if they are not lost in the process. If camouflaging the intent or the message is successful then when the intent is finally revealed it is most clearly understood and remembered. Mentors and teachers utilize this technique frequently to drive home a point.
Simple things simply do not seem as important as more complicated things. It is as simple as that.
What is my point? Usually it is something very simple but it often takes the Devil’s Advocate to reveal that.
Is that clear‽
© 09.30.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
“By the time I recognized this moment; this moment will be gone.” Maybe not but that does not seem to bring clarity.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clarity -
clar•i•ty /ˈklærɪti/ [klar-i-tee]
–noun
1. clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
2. the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity: the clarity of pure water…
—Synonyms
1. intelligibility, exactness, simplicity.
I beg to differ. Intelligibility and exactness are functions of clarity. They do not imply or can be replaced by simplicity since simplicity can be even as unclear as something complex or convoluted. Granted something of simplicity may have intelligibility and be exact but it still can remain incomprehensible (like this argument). I strive for clarity though often fall short of the mark.
Poetry, prose and songwriting have the unique characteristic of having remarkable clarity while often far from transparent. It is up to the poet, author or songwriter to make the intention and meaning of a piece discernable; it remains the responsibility of the one processing the information to define that in the unique way it applies to them. When they have achieved that then they have reached a clarity that may remain clear only to them.
Many original thinkers intentionally obfuscate to obtain clarity. This appears counterintuitive but this tactic works quite well. Obfuscation normally leads to initial confusion but inevitably the consequence is clarity. Baffling, befuddling and bewildering an audience or our peers is a sure way to insure that they get the point if they are not lost in the process. If camouflaging the intent or the message is successful then when the intent is finally revealed it is most clearly understood and remembered. Mentors and teachers utilize this technique frequently to drive home a point.
Simple things simply do not seem as important as more complicated things. It is as simple as that.
What is my point? Usually it is something very simple but it often takes the Devil’s Advocate to reveal that.
Is that clear‽
© 09.30.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Behavioral Cusp
This is an interesting theory I just bumped into wandering through the affiliated links of a Google Search. Since I am on this road I may as well see where it leads.
“A behavioral cusp is any behavior change that brings an organism's behavior into contact with new contingencies that have far-reaching consequences… A behavioral cusp is a special type of behavior change because it provides the learner with opportunities to access (1) new reinforcers, (2) new contingencies (3) new environments, (4) new related behaviors (generativeness …), (5) competition with archaic or problem behaviors, and it (6) impacts the people around the learner, and (7) these people agree to the behavior change and support its development after the intervention is removed. The concept has far reaching implication for every individual, and for the field of developmental psychology, because it provides a behavioral alternative to the concept of maturation and change due to the simple passage of time, such as developmental milestones. The cusp is a behavior change that presents special features when compared to other behavior changes.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_Cusp
This Wiki description sounds like a bit or at least several bytes of gobbledygook except the part explaining the behavioral cusp is somehow in and of itself a specific behavior change (a behavior out of the ordinary?) that introduces new contingencies that have subsequent far-reaching consequences on future behavior. I am less interested in what these cusps are than I am in the fact that they are Ah-Ha or DOH moments; some conscious, others unconscious. The entire balance of the definition seems rather obvious and even redundant in that we are dealing with a cusp (synonyms: acme, apogee, climax, crest, crown, culmination, cusp , greatest, height, max, maximum, meridian, most*, ne plus ultra, peak, pinnacle, point, roof, spire, sublimity, summit, tip, tops, up there, vertex or zenith - ( http://thesaurus.com/browse/cusp ) and not a nadir. I do not choose to deal with the specificity of the developmental psychology side of this phenomenon.
Bringing this back to earth: behavioral cusps occurred when I disobeyed my father and was caught rather than when I disobeyed him and did not get caught which was always quite an apogee in its own right. Getting away with something was exhilarating beyond belief and lead to repetition; hopefully, not to the extent that I was caught but enough to feel a smug satisfaction that it could be done. For long stretches of my adolescent life it simply was not possible to pull one over on the old man. He gave me the first real life description of been there, done that; or his sister Gladys did because it was her that set things straight.
I am guessing that neither Herm nor Gladys were the perfect children and frequently tried to get away with things. From what Gladys said they were not always successful. Since the apple does not fall far from the tree the Behavioral Cusp that I experienced was that eventually luck runs out.
In many ways this was life changing for me because I found the only successful Behavioral Cusp was to move out of the house. The thought was not entirely mine and dad changing the locks insured that the new reinforcers, enforcers, contingencies or environment would not be ones he provided. I was left to find my own way.
I am still looking.
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/29/2010
“A behavioral cusp is any behavior change that brings an organism's behavior into contact with new contingencies that have far-reaching consequences… A behavioral cusp is a special type of behavior change because it provides the learner with opportunities to access (1) new reinforcers, (2) new contingencies (3) new environments, (4) new related behaviors (generativeness …), (5) competition with archaic or problem behaviors, and it (6) impacts the people around the learner, and (7) these people agree to the behavior change and support its development after the intervention is removed. The concept has far reaching implication for every individual, and for the field of developmental psychology, because it provides a behavioral alternative to the concept of maturation and change due to the simple passage of time, such as developmental milestones. The cusp is a behavior change that presents special features when compared to other behavior changes.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_Cusp
This Wiki description sounds like a bit or at least several bytes of gobbledygook except the part explaining the behavioral cusp is somehow in and of itself a specific behavior change (a behavior out of the ordinary?) that introduces new contingencies that have subsequent far-reaching consequences on future behavior. I am less interested in what these cusps are than I am in the fact that they are Ah-Ha or DOH moments; some conscious, others unconscious. The entire balance of the definition seems rather obvious and even redundant in that we are dealing with a cusp (synonyms: acme, apogee, climax, crest, crown, culmination, cusp , greatest, height, max, maximum, meridian, most*, ne plus ultra, peak, pinnacle, point, roof, spire, sublimity, summit, tip, tops, up there, vertex or zenith - ( http://thesaurus.com/browse/cusp ) and not a nadir. I do not choose to deal with the specificity of the developmental psychology side of this phenomenon.
Bringing this back to earth: behavioral cusps occurred when I disobeyed my father and was caught rather than when I disobeyed him and did not get caught which was always quite an apogee in its own right. Getting away with something was exhilarating beyond belief and lead to repetition; hopefully, not to the extent that I was caught but enough to feel a smug satisfaction that it could be done. For long stretches of my adolescent life it simply was not possible to pull one over on the old man. He gave me the first real life description of been there, done that; or his sister Gladys did because it was her that set things straight.
I am guessing that neither Herm nor Gladys were the perfect children and frequently tried to get away with things. From what Gladys said they were not always successful. Since the apple does not fall far from the tree the Behavioral Cusp that I experienced was that eventually luck runs out.
In many ways this was life changing for me because I found the only successful Behavioral Cusp was to move out of the house. The thought was not entirely mine and dad changing the locks insured that the new reinforcers, enforcers, contingencies or environment would not be ones he provided. I was left to find my own way.
I am still looking.
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/29/2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Chaos Theory and the Butterfly Effect?
.
How did we get here? The power to be unpredictable; “there is a strange and unexpected relationship between order and chaos…” a direct quote from a BBC series “The Secret Life of Chaos” begs the question is it mathematically plausible? Patterns that remain hidden from most of us are obvious to a select few is the premise of today’s blog.
I now have to add a new book to review and internalize: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Turing spent a great deal of time immersed in the enigma of Bletchley Park during WWII. Other scientists that followed had discoveries that complemented theories of Turing a genius who saw patterns when others saw none.
Morphogenesis – from the same to different; a self organization: how and why? It happens in life as it forms from a single cell and it is happening constantly all around us. A definition of morphogenesis gives us clues: n. Formation of the structure of an organism or part; differentiation and growth of tissues and organs during development. Is there really a simple mathematical basis for this living process? Is there some morphogenic rule that dominates and governs the formation of all organisms and systems? From the few, many.
Further investigation is required:
Alan Turing seems in many ways like Nikola Tesla; neither man completely understood all of what they proposed or investigated but each seemed to have an innate understanding that escapes detection or in fact is not understood. Great thinkers have the talent for discovery that goes beyond simple insight. They see the patterns or deeper relationships that govern things. These relationships are the why and the what of the way things are. To these savants what appears complicated is quite simple; they are hypersensitive to the complex interconnectivity of things.
Turing and Tesla experienced tragedy and disasters that ended their contributions to science. If circumstances had been different for both it is possible that our understanding might be closer to what we still seek. Structures, shapes and systems out of a morphogenic self organization of the seemingly unrelated are the basis of a predictability of science and creation we search for but still not have fully discovered. Although man has stumbled and been slowed down by setbacks like these and an over reliance on other specific theories as universal it will not stop the progress toward answers and resolutions.
With mathematics we expect and demand predictability. From 3 of 6 “The Secret Life of Chaos”: “a system that is completely described by mathematical equations is more than capable of being unpredictable without any outside interference whatsoever.” Although this might be thought to throw a monkey wrench into the works, if the theory is correct, it helps explain rogue waves and other anomalies that have no apparent rhyme or reason. It is possibly due to the fact that what we think was completely described by mathematical formulas had a few things missing from the calculations. Possibly “The Butterfly Effect” is a concrete fact that affects systems to give such ‘random’ unexpected results.
“The butterfly effect is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. Although this may appear to be an esoteric and unusual behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position. The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with "what if" cases where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect)
There is a hitch in the giddy up of the progression of this BBC presentation and to go further along it is necessary to switch over to the “3 of 7” progression (instead of the “3 of 6”) of the links at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTs0yYKXZI&NR=1 (ad infinitum).
Order and chaos are so deeply intertwined that it is almost beyond our comprehension; to the point that chaos is the true natural relationship of things instead of ordered patterns. We need to stop trying to concentrate on the few patterns that we see reflected in our interpretation and measurement of things as the “be all end all”. Life is one huge feedback loop, a picture within a picture within a picture as small changes are radically amplified to demonstrate the ‘Butterfly Effect’ so the seeming chaos that emerges is not really chaos at all. It is the natural order of things. Because of morphology and self organization the chaos that emerges transmutes into the patterns we eventually observe. The patterns and the chaos are really the same thing differentiated only by where they lay on the continuum of the spectrum where they are. It is our understanding of the process of how this happens and why that it limited. Is it possible to give up the idea that opposites attract because they are different and instead adopt the possibility that opposites attract because they are on in the same?
We still try to oversimplify things into a two dimensional world or continuum when our existence and the world are multidimensional and far more complicated than only two, three or even four or more. Life is not a compilation of straight lines, circles or regular known shapes. There is a mathematical principle that underpins this (as much as we can identify it) - the simplicity of things: the Principle of Self Similarity. We have moved beyond the ancient Greeks and no longer believe the entire universe is composed of earth, air, fire or water. It took Aristotle, a philosopher to add a fifth element Aether. It took science to dispel these theories dating to the Babylonians only about 38 centuries to narrow it down to only one; we now believe that all things are composed of energy.
I am certain this is only a part of the puzzle as Newtonian Physics is only a small part of the whole. Like Newtonian Physics which was adequate as a part of the solution but not the complete one, what we know is only fractal. As a child I spent hours wondering if we (humans and our systems) were but electrons in some larger system, a small parasite on a larger animal. Infinity and our known world are all elements in a “Mandlebrot set”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set - “When computed and graphed on the complex plane the Mandelbrot set is seen to have an elaborate boundary which, being a fractal, does not simplify at any given magnification.”
From the simple to the complicated without any conscious thought; morphogenic self organization of the seemingly unrelated pieces parts smaller than atoms to conscious thought - this is quite an achievement. It is an evolution just because that it is what happens regardless, at least in our universe as we know it.
It amazes me how much a Mendlebrot Set fractal graphic representation looks like anything from a DNA molecule to a black hole.
© 09.27.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
How did we get here? The power to be unpredictable; “there is a strange and unexpected relationship between order and chaos…” a direct quote from a BBC series “The Secret Life of Chaos” begs the question is it mathematically plausible? Patterns that remain hidden from most of us are obvious to a select few is the premise of today’s blog.
I now have to add a new book to review and internalize: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Turing spent a great deal of time immersed in the enigma of Bletchley Park during WWII. Other scientists that followed had discoveries that complemented theories of Turing a genius who saw patterns when others saw none.
Morphogenesis – from the same to different; a self organization: how and why? It happens in life as it forms from a single cell and it is happening constantly all around us. A definition of morphogenesis gives us clues: n. Formation of the structure of an organism or part; differentiation and growth of tissues and organs during development. Is there really a simple mathematical basis for this living process? Is there some morphogenic rule that dominates and governs the formation of all organisms and systems? From the few, many.
Further investigation is required:
The Secret Life of Chaos (Part 2/6) –
Alan Turing seems in many ways like Nikola Tesla; neither man completely understood all of what they proposed or investigated but each seemed to have an innate understanding that escapes detection or in fact is not understood. Great thinkers have the talent for discovery that goes beyond simple insight. They see the patterns or deeper relationships that govern things. These relationships are the why and the what of the way things are. To these savants what appears complicated is quite simple; they are hypersensitive to the complex interconnectivity of things.
Turing and Tesla experienced tragedy and disasters that ended their contributions to science. If circumstances had been different for both it is possible that our understanding might be closer to what we still seek. Structures, shapes and systems out of a morphogenic self organization of the seemingly unrelated are the basis of a predictability of science and creation we search for but still not have fully discovered. Although man has stumbled and been slowed down by setbacks like these and an over reliance on other specific theories as universal it will not stop the progress toward answers and resolutions.
With mathematics we expect and demand predictability. From 3 of 6 “The Secret Life of Chaos”: “a system that is completely described by mathematical equations is more than capable of being unpredictable without any outside interference whatsoever.” Although this might be thought to throw a monkey wrench into the works, if the theory is correct, it helps explain rogue waves and other anomalies that have no apparent rhyme or reason. It is possibly due to the fact that what we think was completely described by mathematical formulas had a few things missing from the calculations. Possibly “The Butterfly Effect” is a concrete fact that affects systems to give such ‘random’ unexpected results.
“The butterfly effect is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. Although this may appear to be an esoteric and unusual behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position. The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with "what if" cases where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect)
There is a hitch in the giddy up of the progression of this BBC presentation and to go further along it is necessary to switch over to the “3 of 7” progression (instead of the “3 of 6”) of the links at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTs0yYKXZI&NR=1 (ad infinitum).
Order and chaos are so deeply intertwined that it is almost beyond our comprehension; to the point that chaos is the true natural relationship of things instead of ordered patterns. We need to stop trying to concentrate on the few patterns that we see reflected in our interpretation and measurement of things as the “be all end all”. Life is one huge feedback loop, a picture within a picture within a picture as small changes are radically amplified to demonstrate the ‘Butterfly Effect’ so the seeming chaos that emerges is not really chaos at all. It is the natural order of things. Because of morphology and self organization the chaos that emerges transmutes into the patterns we eventually observe. The patterns and the chaos are really the same thing differentiated only by where they lay on the continuum of the spectrum where they are. It is our understanding of the process of how this happens and why that it limited. Is it possible to give up the idea that opposites attract because they are different and instead adopt the possibility that opposites attract because they are on in the same?
We still try to oversimplify things into a two dimensional world or continuum when our existence and the world are multidimensional and far more complicated than only two, three or even four or more. Life is not a compilation of straight lines, circles or regular known shapes. There is a mathematical principle that underpins this (as much as we can identify it) - the simplicity of things: the Principle of Self Similarity. We have moved beyond the ancient Greeks and no longer believe the entire universe is composed of earth, air, fire or water. It took Aristotle, a philosopher to add a fifth element Aether. It took science to dispel these theories dating to the Babylonians only about 38 centuries to narrow it down to only one; we now believe that all things are composed of energy.
I am certain this is only a part of the puzzle as Newtonian Physics is only a small part of the whole. Like Newtonian Physics which was adequate as a part of the solution but not the complete one, what we know is only fractal. As a child I spent hours wondering if we (humans and our systems) were but electrons in some larger system, a small parasite on a larger animal. Infinity and our known world are all elements in a “Mandlebrot set”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set - “When computed and graphed on the complex plane the Mandelbrot set is seen to have an elaborate boundary which, being a fractal, does not simplify at any given magnification.”
From the simple to the complicated without any conscious thought; morphogenic self organization of the seemingly unrelated pieces parts smaller than atoms to conscious thought - this is quite an achievement. It is an evolution just because that it is what happens regardless, at least in our universe as we know it.
It amazes me how much a Mendlebrot Set fractal graphic representation looks like anything from a DNA molecule to a black hole.
Mandlebrot Set Zoom
© 09.27.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Oligarchy, Subservience or Revolt?
.
There should be more options. Sometime rulers and ruled have not a clue of the inequity of this type of system that continues to emerge. Oligarchy is cliquish and fosters abuse of power.
Eccentricity is not welcomed in an oligarchy and although it is necessary for any system to flourish, it is treated like a parasite bacteria set to devastate the organism. Pushing those out that do not toe the line weakens the fabric of an entire organization as it continues to strengthen the cliques in power.
“To adhere to rules or doctrines conscientiously; conform” (American Heritage) is one definition of toe the line. It is the conformity that is demanded by oligarchy. It is not the conscientious part of it that is required or even wanted. It is far easier to force conformity on the unconscious. When one walks in a fog it is hard to know if one’s head is in the clouds.
Diversity is the key to strength. When any system loses its diversity it begins to ebb. As the gene pool gets homogenized small dilemmas are magnified to a point they become overwhelming. An insurmountable crisis will eventually arise and the medicine to cure the patient may become so poisonous that its use is inadvisable.
Multidimensionalism may be the cure rather than subservience or even revolt since it is not the usual that fascinates or leads to the exceptional.
I recommend watching a full compliment of Dali interviews starting with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTWDNii87k - Arena - Salvador Dali (1 of 7)… It will take some time. I suspect The History of Chaos Theory is hidden in there somewhere.
© 09.25.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
There should be more options. Sometime rulers and ruled have not a clue of the inequity of this type of system that continues to emerge. Oligarchy is cliquish and fosters abuse of power.
Eccentricity is not welcomed in an oligarchy and although it is necessary for any system to flourish, it is treated like a parasite bacteria set to devastate the organism. Pushing those out that do not toe the line weakens the fabric of an entire organization as it continues to strengthen the cliques in power.
“To adhere to rules or doctrines conscientiously; conform” (American Heritage) is one definition of toe the line. It is the conformity that is demanded by oligarchy. It is not the conscientious part of it that is required or even wanted. It is far easier to force conformity on the unconscious. When one walks in a fog it is hard to know if one’s head is in the clouds.
Diversity is the key to strength. When any system loses its diversity it begins to ebb. As the gene pool gets homogenized small dilemmas are magnified to a point they become overwhelming. An insurmountable crisis will eventually arise and the medicine to cure the patient may become so poisonous that its use is inadvisable.
Multidimensionalism may be the cure rather than subservience or even revolt since it is not the usual that fascinates or leads to the exceptional.
I recommend watching a full compliment of Dali interviews starting with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTWDNii87k - Arena - Salvador Dali (1 of 7)… It will take some time. I suspect The History of Chaos Theory is hidden in there somewhere.
© 09.25.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Who knew?
.
There are so many things I know so little about that I am constantly in awe of my own inadequate education. For today the case in point is ‘dried toad”.
Google only found 9,370 different web pages with that exact text on it (“dried toad”). When suspend is added the number decreases to only 451, many of which are replications or even parodies of each another.
When you take the word saint out of the equation there are only 94 results left. Apparently, dried toad was extremely popular with saints. If witches are removed from the search results 72 results and then removing any URL with the word devil leaves only 65 things I likely did not know about dried toad. If more than one toad is involved and the s is added to the search parameters then there are only 34 things left to peruse, so this could be a short post.
Oh so wrong, Obi Wan. I am driving around the block to park across the street.
It does not seem at all unusual that first on the list is a Google Book: A history of magic and experimental science By Lynn Thorndike. I went right to the first search parameter on a find on this page search for suspend. It was not what I was looking for because it was something else suspended besides dried toads.
The second result was: Legal Weed
Legal Bud
Legal Ways To Get High - Bufo Alvarius ... which also did not address dried toads suspended. I decided to enter neck into the search to see if I could find what I was looking for. That most certainly would be information on hanging dried toads from cords, ribbons or chains but to what end. I thought I had knowledge of people hanging dried toads around their necks to prevent or cure the Bubonic Plague. I am not expecting the Black Plague to come to a neighborhood near me soon but since I could find no reference to hanging dried toads around the neck in Wikipedia this could possibly be an opportunity to add something critical to the understanding of the medieval curse, cures and prevention. I could yell SCORE when my information was added to the impressive data base of knowledge that is Wiki.
I decided to add Wiki to the search line to see if there were any instances of dangling amphibians there that were not associated with saints, witches or devils. Off we go.
I am excited to report that all references in Wiki are related to the Chinese medicine. When this small group of Asians are excluded there is but one result left – http://nursemyra.wordpress.com/page/24/?pages-list – somebody else’s blog for “gimcrack hospital (PG) - Where the Nurses are Pretty and the Doctors are Pissed” which appears to be owned by an individual more warped than even I am.
From first impressions there is a lot of nudity and spanking for a PG site. The blog seems to be run by “nursemyra” who has some quirky thoughts, likes and dislikes. This might be further around the block then I had intended to go but it is where I have arrived even though I am more than a little disappointed that the incidence of appearance of "dried toads", suspend, Wiki and minus the words saint, witch, devil, Chinese do not appear on the limited number of WordPress pages the blog is permitted to display at one time. Toad definitely does not appear unless it is couched somewhere deep on another page amid the illustrations that are quite graphically enlightening.
At first I mistakenly thought nursemyra had tired of the entire blogging experience since the post Google pointed to was from November 18, 2009. I went straight to the heart of the matter and I am pleased to announce that nursemyra posted as recently as today, which is: ‘t shirt friday’. Although nursemyra has posted on her blog since February 2007 she seems to have a slight intermittent aversion to capital letters. I know in my heart that I do not want to search all of her blog posts for the occurrence of ‘dried toad’. That would be more like a drive around the country than the block. Since nursemyra does not have a FaceBook link on her page I will have to leave it up to others to like her in that way and not the ones she seems most curious about. However, nursemyra has several comments on today’s post so she does have something my blog is seriously lacking.
The thing that is difficult for me and obviously others is the fact that I almost frequently forget the original objective in many of my journeys. I decided to start all over and searched for “hanging dried toads” because I thought there would be few instances of dried toads being given the death sentence; after all, they were already dead. Google - No results found for "hanging dried toads". Dried toads around the neck without the quotes yielded a big score: About 396,000 results (0.31 seconds). The first hit was precisely what I had been searching for: Plague, arsenic, and a dried toad : The Lancet by EB Gilman – 2009 - "In the absence of any verifiable cause of the disease, much less any cure, the rival camps of Galenic and Paracelcian (“Empiric” or “Chemical”) physicians were moved to rancorous debates in print, divided as they were between the traditional view that the physician's task was to heal by correcting an imbalance in the bodies humors, and the radical new philosophy that advocated more aggressive interventions, such as the ingestion of metallic salts. Unsurprisingly, money bought the best (available) medical care. A good living was to be had if a rich patient could be persuaded to dose himself with a rare and potent remedy—“potable gold” was one—that could be had for a price. Elite “licensed” physicians of either school cast aspersions on the motives of their nearest down-market competitors, the barber-surgeons and apothecaries. They also warned against the quacks who hawked their nostrums in the open air, and they had nothing but scorn for the flood of cheap broadsheets offering recipes for sure-fire elixirs concocted from common household ingredients.
The lists of potions to be found in these publications are as bizarre as they are lengthy. They include the smoke of fragrant woods, vinegar-based air fresheners, floral pomanders, various pills and purges, unguents, poultices, concoctions of roots, seeds, leaves, spices, and much else, usually steeped in water or wine, and with a dash of sugar and lemon juice. Alternatively, one could hang a large dried toad around one's neck, since it was thought that as a poisonous creature, even in death, the toad would draw the noxious vapours out of the patient's breast and into its desiccated body."
The potable gold I was looking for was right under my nose. Now the huge question remains do I park the car? I was relatively certain people hung dried toads around their necks either as a cure for Bubonic Plague. I might have to find additional sources to buoy my contention if anyone might even care. After that I can post my findings in Wikipedia and make a contribution to the education and knowledge base of man.
And the point is?
Who knew if one put the right question before Google he could find the answer he was looking for? Or, when you put the wrong question out there it is not surprising to end up with more questions than answers with the net result of much wasted time. Even so, look at what I learned today . . . nursemyra has many more posts than I do and I am less interested in her subject matter than my lack of focus. Although, the letter from Harpo Marx to TS Elliot showed great promise and Harpo thinks a lot like I do; it must be time for my dose of potable gold.
© 09.23.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
There are so many things I know so little about that I am constantly in awe of my own inadequate education. For today the case in point is ‘dried toad”.
Google only found 9,370 different web pages with that exact text on it (“dried toad”). When suspend is added the number decreases to only 451, many of which are replications or even parodies of each another.
When you take the word saint out of the equation there are only 94 results left. Apparently, dried toad was extremely popular with saints. If witches are removed from the search results 72 results and then removing any URL with the word devil leaves only 65 things I likely did not know about dried toad. If more than one toad is involved and the s is added to the search parameters then there are only 34 things left to peruse, so this could be a short post.
Oh so wrong, Obi Wan. I am driving around the block to park across the street.
It does not seem at all unusual that first on the list is a Google Book: A history of magic and experimental science By Lynn Thorndike. I went right to the first search parameter on a find on this page search for suspend. It was not what I was looking for because it was something else suspended besides dried toads.
The second result was: Legal Weed
Legal Bud
Legal Ways To Get High - Bufo Alvarius ... which also did not address dried toads suspended. I decided to enter neck into the search to see if I could find what I was looking for. That most certainly would be information on hanging dried toads from cords, ribbons or chains but to what end. I thought I had knowledge of people hanging dried toads around their necks to prevent or cure the Bubonic Plague. I am not expecting the Black Plague to come to a neighborhood near me soon but since I could find no reference to hanging dried toads around the neck in Wikipedia this could possibly be an opportunity to add something critical to the understanding of the medieval curse, cures and prevention. I could yell SCORE when my information was added to the impressive data base of knowledge that is Wiki.
I decided to add Wiki to the search line to see if there were any instances of dangling amphibians there that were not associated with saints, witches or devils. Off we go.
I am excited to report that all references in Wiki are related to the Chinese medicine. When this small group of Asians are excluded there is but one result left – http://nursemyra.wordpress.com/page/24/?pages-list – somebody else’s blog for “gimcrack hospital (PG) - Where the Nurses are Pretty and the Doctors are Pissed” which appears to be owned by an individual more warped than even I am.
From first impressions there is a lot of nudity and spanking for a PG site. The blog seems to be run by “nursemyra” who has some quirky thoughts, likes and dislikes. This might be further around the block then I had intended to go but it is where I have arrived even though I am more than a little disappointed that the incidence of appearance of "dried toads", suspend, Wiki and minus the words saint, witch, devil, Chinese do not appear on the limited number of WordPress pages the blog is permitted to display at one time. Toad definitely does not appear unless it is couched somewhere deep on another page amid the illustrations that are quite graphically enlightening.
At first I mistakenly thought nursemyra had tired of the entire blogging experience since the post Google pointed to was from November 18, 2009. I went straight to the heart of the matter and I am pleased to announce that nursemyra posted as recently as today, which is: ‘t shirt friday’. Although nursemyra has posted on her blog since February 2007 she seems to have a slight intermittent aversion to capital letters. I know in my heart that I do not want to search all of her blog posts for the occurrence of ‘dried toad’. That would be more like a drive around the country than the block. Since nursemyra does not have a FaceBook link on her page I will have to leave it up to others to like her in that way and not the ones she seems most curious about. However, nursemyra has several comments on today’s post so she does have something my blog is seriously lacking.
The thing that is difficult for me and obviously others is the fact that I almost frequently forget the original objective in many of my journeys. I decided to start all over and searched for “hanging dried toads” because I thought there would be few instances of dried toads being given the death sentence; after all, they were already dead. Google - No results found for "hanging dried toads". Dried toads around the neck without the quotes yielded a big score: About 396,000 results (0.31 seconds). The first hit was precisely what I had been searching for: Plague, arsenic, and a dried toad : The Lancet by EB Gilman – 2009 - "In the absence of any verifiable cause of the disease, much less any cure, the rival camps of Galenic and Paracelcian (“Empiric” or “Chemical”) physicians were moved to rancorous debates in print, divided as they were between the traditional view that the physician's task was to heal by correcting an imbalance in the bodies humors, and the radical new philosophy that advocated more aggressive interventions, such as the ingestion of metallic salts. Unsurprisingly, money bought the best (available) medical care. A good living was to be had if a rich patient could be persuaded to dose himself with a rare and potent remedy—“potable gold” was one—that could be had for a price. Elite “licensed” physicians of either school cast aspersions on the motives of their nearest down-market competitors, the barber-surgeons and apothecaries. They also warned against the quacks who hawked their nostrums in the open air, and they had nothing but scorn for the flood of cheap broadsheets offering recipes for sure-fire elixirs concocted from common household ingredients.
The lists of potions to be found in these publications are as bizarre as they are lengthy. They include the smoke of fragrant woods, vinegar-based air fresheners, floral pomanders, various pills and purges, unguents, poultices, concoctions of roots, seeds, leaves, spices, and much else, usually steeped in water or wine, and with a dash of sugar and lemon juice. Alternatively, one could hang a large dried toad around one's neck, since it was thought that as a poisonous creature, even in death, the toad would draw the noxious vapours out of the patient's breast and into its desiccated body."
The potable gold I was looking for was right under my nose. Now the huge question remains do I park the car? I was relatively certain people hung dried toads around their necks either as a cure for Bubonic Plague. I might have to find additional sources to buoy my contention if anyone might even care. After that I can post my findings in Wikipedia and make a contribution to the education and knowledge base of man.
And the point is?
Who knew if one put the right question before Google he could find the answer he was looking for? Or, when you put the wrong question out there it is not surprising to end up with more questions than answers with the net result of much wasted time. Even so, look at what I learned today . . . nursemyra has many more posts than I do and I am less interested in her subject matter than my lack of focus. Although, the letter from Harpo Marx to TS Elliot showed great promise and Harpo thinks a lot like I do; it must be time for my dose of potable gold.
© 09.23.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Toad Swallowing.
This apparently should only be attempted by professionals so:
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
In an attempt to make this clearer to myself I will continue to investigate this fine expression because it obviously has more than one meaning and likely came from different places. Popular usage implies that people several meanings that seem to fall on different ends of the continuum.
Elegantly Urban sums it up as: “To swallow a toad basically means that if there's something you need to do that you're not so keen on doing, get it over and done with at the start of the day so that it's not hanging over you.”
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2010/05/21/how-britain-can-stop-eating-toads/ describes it as: “Toad swallowing is a delicate art; one must not only get the horrible thing down without gagging, but one must also smile and look imperturbably calm while doing so, as if swallowing a live toad were no more challenging or unpleasant than a light canapé. “
Not that I could put a lot of stock in something called the uncyclopedia - but for what it is worth:
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Cane_Toad#Swallowing –
“ SWALLOWING
A cane toad swallower doing what he loves best.
Another sport that is popular in Queensland and includes cane toads is cane toad swallowing. This game includes any given number of people, whose aim is to swallow as many live cane toads as they possibly can. The person who swallows the most cane toads wins the game. Unfortunately, people can suffer symptoms after competing in cane toad swallowing, which may include vomiting or urinating poison or croaking sounds in the intestines.
According to the Guinness World Records, the person who swallowed the most cane toads is Mr Kane Towedman, who swallowed 248 toads. Soon after finishing, he spewed them all out onto the spectators.
There was also a game based on this one called stingray swallowing, which was banned from being played after the death of Steve Irwin.”
The Art of Toad Swallowing was not much help since the author was dealing with dieting and a diet of toads might be more than the dieter bargained for:
http://bufodieter.wordpress.com/
sarcastic pratchett fan describes toad swallowing… “Toads are poisonous enough to kill you if you eat them - giving rise to the medieval entertainment 'toad swallowing'.” I went down this road since I thought it sounded plausible as the origin of the term but found naught related to medieval entertainment involving ‘toad swallowing’.
Larry G said...
"toad swallowing" is simply a graphic phrase intended to convey the idea that in order for pragmatic solutions to be accepted - both sides must be willing to stop drawing lines in the sand and swallow something they really don't agree with.”
Found this at http://www.mansioningles.com/recursos146.htm -
“TOAD EATER. A poor female relation, and humble companion, or reduced gentlewoman, in a great family, the standing butt, on whom all kinds of practical jokes are played off, and all ill humours vented. This appellation is derived from a mountebank’s servant, on whom all experiments used to be made in public by the doctor, his master; among which was the eating of toads, formerly supposed poisonous. Swallowing toads is here figuratively meant for swallowing or putting up with insults, as disagreeable to a person of feeling as toads to the stomach.”
Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue T 257
“TOAD EATER. A poor female relation, and humble companion, or reduced gentlewoman, in a great family, the standing butt, on whom all kinds of practical jokes are played off, and all ill humours vented. This appellation is derived from a mountebank's servant, on whom all experiments used to be made in public by the doctor, his master; among which was the eating of toads, formerly supposed poisonous.
Swallowing toads is here figuratively meant for swallowing or putting up with insults, as disagreeable to a person of feeling as toads to the stomach.”
Somebody is quoting somebody without giving credit. Obviously this phrase can mean more than swallowing your pride although that was the inferred meaning when I first came across it.
I think I am going to go visit my imaginary friends and swallow a few toads. After all, there are things that are more disagreeable.
© 09.23.2010 steven d philbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Waiting for the Interwebs and Finding Something Nice to Say.
.
While waiting on the interwebs I was thinking about finding something nice to say when I decided what could be easier? Invoking my addiction I Googled "something nice to say" and came up with only about 8,660,000 results in 0.61 seconds. Since I did not want to spend my entire life reading all of the suggestions for the exact quote or a different approach, I decided to focus on only the second suggestion: http://complimentday.com/index.htm.
From the home page I navigated to the link for Not sure what to say? http://complimentday.com/ComplimentsPage.htm - Give these a try
“Not sure what to say? Here are a few compliments to chose from. Try adding a specific example to custom design it for the compliment receiver. Notice that all these compliments start with the same word. It's a gentle reminder that compliment giving is about others.”
“You...
...have a great way with words.
...are a terrific leader.
...make working on a project a joy.
...are very creative.
...are a good provider.
...are fun to be with.
...have a great reputation.
...are cleaver.
...make a house feel like a home.
...have a good eye for decorating.
...are a good driver.
...can do anything you set your mind to.
...are capable of accomplishing whatever you believe.
...are a good listener.
...are very cheerful.
...warm my heart.
...sing like an angel.
...are very handsome/beautiful.
...are important to me.
...have a terrific outlook on life.
...are very intelligent.
...are kind.
...are a good role model.
...are very alert.
...are funny.
...always motivate me.
...are unique.
...are very strong.
...are a picture of good health.
...are courageous.
...are very loving.
...bring out the best in me.
...make me want to be a better person.
...make me smile.
...are a wonderful cook.
...make hot dogs taste like a gourmet meal.
...are a wonderful caregiver.
...make me feel special.
...make me feel I can do anything.
...are fun to be with.
...are the wind beneath my wings.
...are the light of my life.”
Granted some of the canned ones sounded more like spam and would make people gag but what could the harm be? I am sure I know if my limited readership does not.
It really is in how and when flattering remarks are given that is paramount. I don’t think it would be appropriate to tell a French Chef that he/she makes hot dogs taste like a gourmet meal. Not only would the sincerity of the compliment be questioned but hopefully the appellation would not fit any occasion that might apply to a French Chef. Therein lies the crux of the problem: compliments often sound or are disingenuous.
Finding nice things to say can be very difficult for people not just because sometimes it seems impossible to find the right thing to say but also because frequently the compliment is not warranted or the right thing to say would be better left unsaid. Circumstances like these require a special tact I just don’t possess and, despite my mother being a huge proponent of the “If you can’t find something nice to say…” school of thinking I could never just sit mute when something begged to be pointed out or addressed. These instances can normally be covered by use of an extended allegorical metaphor… kind of a baffle them with bullshit offensive strategy that is couched enough not to appear as offensive as it is and is euphemistic in nature.
It takes real talent to disguise something as a compliment when really it is not. Often what was said is far beyond the comprehension of the person it is said about. For those who fall at the lower end of the bell shaped curve this is all about you. Sometimes an ah-ha moment can clear away the fog. This is usually what is desired by the person issuing the criticism.
It is not necessary to make some long extended allegorical metaphor to disguise a criticism. If the next time someone has an extended belch at the table or some cat or dawg rolphs up something huge and nasty on the rug it might be duty to clarify that “Nice One!” may not be praise for prowess.
© 09.22.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
While waiting on the interwebs I was thinking about finding something nice to say when I decided what could be easier? Invoking my addiction I Googled "something nice to say" and came up with only about 8,660,000 results in 0.61 seconds. Since I did not want to spend my entire life reading all of the suggestions for the exact quote or a different approach, I decided to focus on only the second suggestion: http://complimentday.com/index.htm.
From the home page I navigated to the link for Not sure what to say? http://complimentday.com/ComplimentsPage.htm - Give these a try
“Not sure what to say? Here are a few compliments to chose from. Try adding a specific example to custom design it for the compliment receiver. Notice that all these compliments start with the same word. It's a gentle reminder that compliment giving is about others.”
“You...
...have a great way with words.
...are a terrific leader.
...make working on a project a joy.
...are very creative.
...are a good provider.
...are fun to be with.
...have a great reputation.
...are cleaver.
...make a house feel like a home.
...have a good eye for decorating.
...are a good driver.
...can do anything you set your mind to.
...are capable of accomplishing whatever you believe.
...are a good listener.
...are very cheerful.
...warm my heart.
...sing like an angel.
...are very handsome/beautiful.
...are important to me.
...have a terrific outlook on life.
...are very intelligent.
...are kind.
...are a good role model.
...are very alert.
...are funny.
...always motivate me.
...are unique.
...are very strong.
...are a picture of good health.
...are courageous.
...are very loving.
...bring out the best in me.
...make me want to be a better person.
...make me smile.
...are a wonderful cook.
...make hot dogs taste like a gourmet meal.
...are a wonderful caregiver.
...make me feel special.
...make me feel I can do anything.
...are fun to be with.
...are the wind beneath my wings.
...are the light of my life.”
Granted some of the canned ones sounded more like spam and would make people gag but what could the harm be? I am sure I know if my limited readership does not.
It really is in how and when flattering remarks are given that is paramount. I don’t think it would be appropriate to tell a French Chef that he/she makes hot dogs taste like a gourmet meal. Not only would the sincerity of the compliment be questioned but hopefully the appellation would not fit any occasion that might apply to a French Chef. Therein lies the crux of the problem: compliments often sound or are disingenuous.
Finding nice things to say can be very difficult for people not just because sometimes it seems impossible to find the right thing to say but also because frequently the compliment is not warranted or the right thing to say would be better left unsaid. Circumstances like these require a special tact I just don’t possess and, despite my mother being a huge proponent of the “If you can’t find something nice to say…” school of thinking I could never just sit mute when something begged to be pointed out or addressed. These instances can normally be covered by use of an extended allegorical metaphor… kind of a baffle them with bullshit offensive strategy that is couched enough not to appear as offensive as it is and is euphemistic in nature.
It takes real talent to disguise something as a compliment when really it is not. Often what was said is far beyond the comprehension of the person it is said about. For those who fall at the lower end of the bell shaped curve this is all about you. Sometimes an ah-ha moment can clear away the fog. This is usually what is desired by the person issuing the criticism.
It is not necessary to make some long extended allegorical metaphor to disguise a criticism. If the next time someone has an extended belch at the table or some cat or dawg rolphs up something huge and nasty on the rug it might be duty to clarify that “Nice One!” may not be praise for prowess.
© 09.22.2010 stevendphilbrick SR+ DakotaDawg
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Indian Summer – the Beginning of Creativity.
.
Imagine a 51:28 video… do we have the time (in more than one way)… in case no, then it is about a six day global challenge to promote creative thinking by adding value to a pack of Post It Notes. Can creativity and innovation be taught through entrepreneurship? You have to stimulate the imagination. More details in the video but that pretty much covers the idea behind it.
Imagine
We all need a little more imagine. Imagine John Lennon live at Madison Square Garden.
Sometimes the best ideas come in Indian Summer.
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/21/2010
Imagine a 51:28 video… do we have the time (in more than one way)… in case no, then it is about a six day global challenge to promote creative thinking by adding value to a pack of Post It Notes. Can creativity and innovation be taught through entrepreneurship? You have to stimulate the imagination. More details in the video but that pretty much covers the idea behind it.
Imagine
We all need a little more imagine. Imagine John Lennon live at Madison Square Garden.
Sometimes the best ideas come in Indian Summer.
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/21/2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dissonance is not all we hear...
Sometime it is even worse with the earphones on. Most especially when there is one particular grey cat that chews on all types of electrical cords. I am patiently for him to turn into a cartoon cat. His taste for copper and rubber can not be sated and far too many cords are patched with electrical tape.
Evanescence - To disappear or vanish into a mist.
In the vein and in view of metaphor I came across more than just a word or a definition. I was thinking about October and I have been attempting to keep the neural netwok from running is such small circles in an effort to embrace the greater good.
But when thinking of one thing many others become apparent and more important. This must happen to keep us from drowning in dissonance.
A dissonant mind is difficult to have and to live with but it is that dissonat mind that brings the music to the party. Can you hear the screaming?
Lot's of shaking still to be done now is certainly not the time to vanish into the vapor. Are you listening or is all you hear the dissonance?
Too much Björk?
© stevendphilbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/20/2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Medium is the message.
.
Today I spent a little time with a medium I did not know as well as I should. I would say that my knowledge quotient is at best rare medium rare on something I ought to know well. And, this is all about a rare medium.
Things are habitually not as they seem. Today was a not so exceptional case of that, other than I acknowledged and saw beyond what was said. I heard one thing. Deep in my mind I knew that those so needed for their advice also had needs. I did what little I could for someone that means so much to so many.
I know not nearly as well as I should this medium that is so rare. I also know so little of all the other things. But, I do know that nature is curative. Given time nature will mend many of those problems that I cannot begin to fathom and even some that I feel most intimate with.
I will be planting a maple in the right place and hopefully at the precisely correct time. We shall watch that tree grow into something that might seem out of place. It is exactly where it was supposed to be even though the seed was floating blindly in a river far from home.
Let’s get on with it. DakotaDawg wants to help too but right now she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Terrible Triplets or one of her other mortal canine enemies. I think I will take her for another walk because I failed lately to take note of what was in bloom or much else beyond the small little world of one with concentrated tunnel vision. Maybe we can meet a new dog friend for her.
For me today, as always, I must not fail to remember that the Medium is the message. What’s lost will be found again.
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/19/2010
Just for today since the message was preempted… if you know what day it is (if not there is always Google)… ARRRR!
Today I spent a little time with a medium I did not know as well as I should. I would say that my knowledge quotient is at best rare medium rare on something I ought to know well. And, this is all about a rare medium.
Things are habitually not as they seem. Today was a not so exceptional case of that, other than I acknowledged and saw beyond what was said. I heard one thing. Deep in my mind I knew that those so needed for their advice also had needs. I did what little I could for someone that means so much to so many.
I know not nearly as well as I should this medium that is so rare. I also know so little of all the other things. But, I do know that nature is curative. Given time nature will mend many of those problems that I cannot begin to fathom and even some that I feel most intimate with.
I will be planting a maple in the right place and hopefully at the precisely correct time. We shall watch that tree grow into something that might seem out of place. It is exactly where it was supposed to be even though the seed was floating blindly in a river far from home.
Let’s get on with it. DakotaDawg wants to help too but right now she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Terrible Triplets or one of her other mortal canine enemies. I think I will take her for another walk because I failed lately to take note of what was in bloom or much else beyond the small little world of one with concentrated tunnel vision. Maybe we can meet a new dog friend for her.
For me today, as always, I must not fail to remember that the Medium is the message. What’s lost will be found again.
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/19/2010
Just for today since the message was preempted… if you know what day it is (if not there is always Google)… ARRRR!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
What is a Metaphor?
Have you ever noticed that the Klingons are all speaking unix?
"Grep ls awk chmod."
"Mknod ksh tar imap."
"Wall fsck yacc!"
"The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.
This alone cannot be imparted by another;
it is the mark of genius,
for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblance."
Aristotle
DakotaDawg can sing too especially when she is happy.
What is a Metaphor?
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/18/2010
"Grep ls awk chmod."
"Mknod ksh tar imap."
"Wall fsck yacc!"
"The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.
This alone cannot be imparted by another;
it is the mark of genius,
for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblance."
Aristotle
Co-Writer Bruce Hornsby's take on it:
Co-Writer Don Henley's take on it:
Jackson Browne - Bonnie Raitt - Bruce Hornsby - David Lindley and Shawn Colvin's take on it:
'Must See' originally published Music Video:
Don Henley "The End of the Innocence"
©1989 Geffen Records Music Video
DakotaDawg can sing too especially when she is happy.
What is a Metaphor?
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/18/2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Path Less Travelled.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, 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
This is more what I thought I had in mind yesterday when I first went looking to find the path less travelled. I didn’t realize I was in such esteemed company when I went down my journey of discovery that led not at all where I wanted to go. Many others have investigated and commented on the Road Not Taken, even MacGyver.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Road Not Taken may refer to:
• "The Road Not Taken", a poem by Robert Frost
• The Road Not Taken, an album by country music group Shenandoah
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of Stargate SG-1
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of MacGyver, season 2
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of Fringe, season 1
• "The Road Not Taken", a short story by Harry Turtledove
• "The Road Not Taken", a song by Bruce Hornsby
Was it really regret or dismay that Frost wrote about in his poem as he wondered what would have been the result of choosing the first path originally? Or, since he appears well satisfied with his selection when presented with a similar predicament later in life, was the fact that he would never have the same opportunity again what led him to pick the road less travelled even though it was a different one then the one he initially encountered?
How different might it have been if originally he followed the one that “bent in the undergrowth”? In both instances he is selecting one out of two. I rather am looking to find the intersection of three or possibly more options.
I continue thinking about looking for or finding a path, a route with several junctions at each intersection. For me this is a conscious decision to search for a different track entirely instead of which way or what to select when I encounter a couple of choices. I am far less concerned about what to do when presented with a need to make a decision between Door 1 or Door 2 than finding what alternatives I might consider that will present the most choices to find new ways.
As I look for the path to make a decision, it is the journey toward the juncture instead of the intersection itself and which way to go that affects me more… if that makes any sense.
I never have suffered from lack of options. Through life they have come at me like the stars when going to warp speed. Unlike the Millennium Falcon entering hyperspace I have not had the chance to leave my past behind me as I gained momentum. Options and opportunities bombard me daily. A good strategy should involve a path where the number of choices could be diminished and there was some rational reason for encountering them instead of just blindly reacting to those presented.
Not to mix metaphors but a road less traveled just might be the answer. DakotaDawg does not care which path I choose as long as she has opportunity to see who else has been there before. If it eventually leads home she is happy.
Sometimes it is better without all the words and thinking –
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/16/2010
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, 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
This is more what I thought I had in mind yesterday when I first went looking to find the path less travelled. I didn’t realize I was in such esteemed company when I went down my journey of discovery that led not at all where I wanted to go. Many others have investigated and commented on the Road Not Taken, even MacGyver.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Road Not Taken may refer to:
• "The Road Not Taken", a poem by Robert Frost
• The Road Not Taken, an album by country music group Shenandoah
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of Stargate SG-1
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of MacGyver, season 2
• "The Road Not Taken", an episode of Fringe, season 1
• "The Road Not Taken", a short story by Harry Turtledove
• "The Road Not Taken", a song by Bruce Hornsby
Was it really regret or dismay that Frost wrote about in his poem as he wondered what would have been the result of choosing the first path originally? Or, since he appears well satisfied with his selection when presented with a similar predicament later in life, was the fact that he would never have the same opportunity again what led him to pick the road less travelled even though it was a different one then the one he initially encountered?
How different might it have been if originally he followed the one that “bent in the undergrowth”? In both instances he is selecting one out of two. I rather am looking to find the intersection of three or possibly more options.
I continue thinking about looking for or finding a path, a route with several junctions at each intersection. For me this is a conscious decision to search for a different track entirely instead of which way or what to select when I encounter a couple of choices. I am far less concerned about what to do when presented with a need to make a decision between Door 1 or Door 2 than finding what alternatives I might consider that will present the most choices to find new ways.
As I look for the path to make a decision, it is the journey toward the juncture instead of the intersection itself and which way to go that affects me more… if that makes any sense.
I never have suffered from lack of options. Through life they have come at me like the stars when going to warp speed. Unlike the Millennium Falcon entering hyperspace I have not had the chance to leave my past behind me as I gained momentum. Options and opportunities bombard me daily. A good strategy should involve a path where the number of choices could be diminished and there was some rational reason for encountering them instead of just blindly reacting to those presented.
Not to mix metaphors but a road less traveled just might be the answer. DakotaDawg does not care which path I choose as long as she has opportunity to see who else has been there before. If it eventually leads home she is happy.
Sometimes it is better without all the words and thinking –
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/16/2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)