Ouch

Somehow, and I can't for the life of me figure out how, I've apparently cracked a rib.

Ouch.

I suppose I should use the correct term and say fractured a rib. But then again, this is self diagnosis. I feel fine otherwise, but I've got a dull pain in my left side, about mid way up the rib cage. Feel fine, that is, until I laugh, cough, hiccup (oh, God, that hurt), or breath deeply.

Oh, or try to lay on either side. Especially on the left.

According to the best information I can find, there's nothing to be done and without other symptoms it looks pretty clearly that yes, it is a cracked rib.

Ask the Medical Expert on Cracked Ribs

Unfortunately, I don't have a good story to go with the injury. No kick boxing, no rock climbing accident, no rough sex (although I think that's what I'm going to start telling people).

Ah, I have it. I was injured during an unfortunate bout of interpretive dance.

medical, humor

Ray Kurzweil's Full of Shit

OK, I get that Mr Kurzweil is smart and rich. But I also think it's clear that he's also a kook.

Ray Kurzweil deciphers a brave new world | Newsmakers | CNET News.com: "I'm quite aggressive in reprogramming my biochemistry. I take over 200 supplements a day. The thing that's unique about our program is that it's what we call aggressive supplementation. We're not programmed to stick around as long as I am. We need to reprogram our biochemistry, to reprogram our disease processes, processes that result in cancer, and various aging processes. My own personal program is detailed in the book."


And it's also clear that he doesn't get what Vernor Vinge is talking about in the Singularity. The Singularity is not "the geek rapture." It is the point where we can no longer predict that happens next. It's technology accelerating to virtually infinite power. We don't know if it mean the end of life as we know it (or just the end of life, period), or if it means cool, god-like, superhero powers for everyone. But then again, Mr. Kurzweil is interested in selling books. "My own personal program is detailed in the book."

But I'm pretty sure that taking vitamins won't help much. So keep munching your Flintstone chewables, Mr. Kurzweil. I wish you luck in your quest to live forever, I really do. But to live forever as a machine means to leave being human behind. We humans are big, messy and and unpredictable. Our thoughts and minds are made up of not just the things that happen to us, but the bio-chemical soup of our own bodies. You take my mind and record it into a machine and it's not me.

Do I want to live a long time? Hell yes. I want a very long life in a healthy body. I do not want an infinite existence as a running application staring out through digital cameras.

My own personal program is detailed in the blog.

science, kurzweil, shit

Remake, Rework, Reimagine. It's still a flop.

One of my favorite TV shows from my teenage years was "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". It was funny and scary at the same time. And Darren McGavin was perfect as Karl Kolchak.

And so, with all cherished childhood memories, someone it out to destroy them. I've seen the previews for the remake and it's so far off the mark that it has passed from bad, to funny, then on past that to just plain pathetic.

CNN.com - The new 'Night Stalker' -- and friend - Sep 29, 2005

TV

The Feel Good Movie Of The Year!

Two thumbs way up! Shining

Finally, there's a trailer that doesn't give the movie away.

Thanks Metafilter!

humor

And this is why they don't let me fly fighter jets.

Wow, never realized that I shared this with only 1/6th the population. Photic sneeze reflex

I thought everybody did this. It's really pronounced with me. When I step outside on a bright, sunny day, I sneeze, powerfully, at least twice.

But this still doesn't explain where I got X-Ray vision.

science

Those Funny Old Newsreels. Not So Funny This Time.

Today William Gibsonpointed to this short film on despotism.

When I started it up it looked like it would be another funny, dated educational film. After watching it, I'm not laughing. Watch it now. I'll wait.

From my perspective it's a clear, well thought out lecture on the dangers and possibilities of loss of democracy. I also noted that some of the comments on the Internet Archive page labeled it as Marxist propaganda. That's another sign to me that the content is accurate and all the more frightening.

As I've mentioned recently, I've been watching HBO's Rome and thinking about all things Roman. The Romans lost their republic and gained, for a while, an empire. But they paid for it in blood. They gave up their freedom for protection and entertainment. The Roman republic had their own Osama Ben Laden, too. He was called Vercongetorix. And the fight against him allowed Julius Caesar to seize power (lot of good it did him).

So, let's look at the factors. How concentrated is the media and information about the current war? How concentrated is wealth and respect? How free and open is education?

I remain hopeful for the world, for the United States, but I am also deeply concerned. Can our freedom and democracy be lost? Certainly. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

politics

Beware of geeks bearing billions.

Palm CEO Ed Colligan is trying hard to smile, but it's clear he knows he just sold his soul, if not his company, to the devil. Oh, I understand why he's abandoned his own operating system and run to the open, protective arms of Microsoft. He's scared silly of RIM and that ubiquitous brick-sized device you see attached to business travelers in airports, the Blackberry.

And the funny part? Blackkberries suck. They're huge, unwieldy, very difficult to use, and, well, ugly. So Palm has responded by making the Treo, bigger, uglier, and in an effort to make it really difficult to use, adopted the PocketPC OS. Great move.

I used to be a Palm fanatic. I carried one with me everywhere for quiet some time. And I'm in the "productivity" industry, so I know lots of Palm, Blackberry, and PocketPC users (and more than a few Newton holdouts). And you know the most common trend is? Many of us have simply stopped using them.

Why? Well, there are multiple reasons. Number one is that most of us carry our contacts in our cell phones. Frankly, that's most of what we need. And many, like myself, prefer our phones to be small and easy to use. I no longer need to feel like I'm strapping a calculator to my body. And most of us now have small, light laptops that we have with us most of the time. So why do I need a PDA? If I'm at home, the office, or traveling for business I have a laptop, which is better than a PDA. All other times I have a small, easy-to-use phone with all my contacts and my schedule.

Yes, some business users are enamored with their Blackberries, but if you look at the numbers, it's actually very few people - right around a million users in the US.

And my old Palm sits in it's cradle on my desk. Every once and a while I sync it up to my computer. But I don't take it out of it's cradle. Soon, it will move to the desk drawer of abandon gadgets.

What should have Palm CEO Ed Colligan done? Innovate. Do something bold, exciting, really terrific. Break out of the pack. But that's not going to happen now that he's joined the Borg.

So long, Palm.

Computers and Internet

You Should Know Dick

Doc Serls pointed me to this talk by Dick Hardt about Identity 2.0.

Great talk. "Simple and open wins."

Well, sometimes. Sometimes evil idiots win. For example, the evil idiots really want to monitor everything I do and control my behavior. I, of course, do not want them to know anything about me.

I am not so optimistic about verified identity. I hope people like Mr. Hardt has their way. Better for everyone. Except for the evil idiots.

Which reminds me of a book I've been meaning to recommend to you, dear reader. Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do : The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country. It's out of print, so get your hand on a used copy.

Computers and Internet, identity