Pope Randy the First Blogs Again

You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant, called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver of cultural traditions. After entering The Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches our cultural traditions. The discoveries our ancestors have made influence the present. Without forces such as The Hierophant who are able to interpret and communicate traditional lore, each generation would have to begin to learn anew. As a force that is concentrated on our past and our culture, The Hierophant can sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive. His traditional lore can provide a source of inspiration for the creatively inclined, and his knowledge provides an excellent foundation for those who come into their own in the business world.

Image from: Morgan E. Cauthers-Knox.



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That's always bugged me, too

Dividing by zero is verboten. It's "undefined".

So, why doesn't someone get around to defining it?

All of which goes to show why I never got beyond my college intro Calculus course.

And also brings to mind another concept that was hard to get my mind around. What lies at the end of the universe? A friend in high school, forever immortalized in his theory, stated, "it's a wall of dirt clods." Hence the "Keith Carol Dirt Clod Theory."

The above picture brought to you by the Dynamic Einstein picture generator.

humor

Posting from the Dashboard

In my never ending quest to find the easiset way to post, I'm trying the new "Widget" for Mac OS X "Tiger".  

Not bad - I press F12, type a few lines, and there you go.  

Of course, no easy links, no pictures, only BOLD and itallic.


Easy, yes.  Helpful?  We'll see.

And so it begins again . . .

10,000 years ago humanity one it's first and perhaps greatest battle by destroying the vicious and highly intelligent evil, furry elephants. And now, the cycle begins again.

Study: Elephants Might Seek Revenge

What? You thought we were the only evil, intelligent race on this planet?

Save this for the "Famous Quotes from Evil Idiots" File

Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.com: "'Americans depend upon imports to fill the gap,' McGill said. 'No combination of conservation measures, alternative energy sources and technological advances could realistically and economically provide a way to completely replace those imports in the short or medium term.'"

I believe he was twirling the ends of his long mustache and laughing maniacal while saying this.

My Name Up In, er, Pictures!

OK, this is kinda cool:





Spell with Flickr

Another strong argument for the Long Tail

This excellent article, recommended by BoingBoing is a strong argument for the Long Tail, even though it doesn't specifically mention it. Making Light: The life expectancies of books

Think of all those books, in print for the blink of an eye, unavailable, lost, buried. Why? Greed and stupidity. The concept of the Long Tail tells us that every book ever written would be read by someone, if they easily available and inexpensive.

But publishers are greedy and they want things to never expire from copyright. They might be able to squeeze another nickel out of it. And here comes the stupidity part: if copyright periods were reasonable, they could make untold billions. That's right, billions.

Imagine a system where you could go to a site, say Amazon, and order any book, not just those currently in print. For a small fee, say $.99, just like buying a song from iTunes, you could download ANY book ever printed.

How many books have been printed in human history? Now, multiply that times $.99. Over what period? Probably everything ever printed would be purchased every year. I'm betting the turns would be more often than that. Billions and billions.

What's fair for copyright? As an author, I would be happy for my lifetime plus 25 years. That means I would profit from anything I created, and my heirs would too, and the world would profit forever after.

What about corporations? Here's my radical statement for the day: corporations are not people. They are legal shelters and agreements. Fuck 'em.

long tail, copyright, publishing

Just a little problem with my secret lair

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa team sees explosion on Moon

Nope, just a little problem with security on my secret lair.

Damn you, Mr. Bond!

The Holiday Letter - '06 Version

A happy holiday season to you and yours!

The Narrative Instinct

Sometimes you see something, in an unexpected place, some little, passing idea, that makes one more piece of the cosmic puzzle fall into place. Perhaps it will mean nothing to you, but for me, it is a critical piece of understanding both the universe and my own nature.

The New Yorker: FAR FROM NARNIA: "The day we sat down at the Eagle and Child, Pullman told me about a speech he had delivered in May, 2004, at a colloquium on science, literature, and human nature. In the speech, he speculated on the possible origins of this "very clear and strong" sense he has that there is, inherently, "a right shape and a wrong shape" for any given story. Where do these shapes come from, and how can he recognize them with such certainty? Not surprisingly, Pullman rejects the notion that he's receiving direction from some "higher power" when he apprehends that the story he's working on is either whole or broken. His certainty might be a sophisticated form of cultural conditioning, he supposes, or simply the gift of experience. Because Pullman is an admirer of "The Language Instinct," the book by the evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, I suggested that, if linguistic grammar is hardwired, perhaps a grammar of narrative is, too. "I don't think that's implausible, but we just don't know," he said."

If you don't know Pinker, get yourself directly over to your local library, better yet to amazon.com and load up, starting with "How The Mind Works" and yes, "The Language Instinct." Oh, and don't forget, "The Blank Slate," where Pinker postulates that we may also have built in modules for ethics as well, centered on the key concept of fairness.

Do we sense the shape of a tale? Do we know a bad story from a good? Damn straight we do! And I don't believe it's just a matter of conditioning. Humans are story tellers and hunger equally for a good tale. And we know when a story is rightly told. Mr. Pullman does indeed know this, the part of telling a good story, that is. We'll have to leave it to Mr. Pinker to ferret out the actual hardware for making it all work.

Thanks to Hedwig for pointing out this excellent article.

his dark materials, new yorker, steven pinker

Will VideoBlogging Become Mainstream?

Recently I discovered that my TiVO (relegated to the living room TV since it doesn't do High Definition) now offers several web options, including the daily video blog, RocketBoom.

It's completely low end TV, but I'll give you this: Amanda Congdon is the Giada Delaurentis of video blogging.

A little cleavage never hurt an otherwise boring presentation.

video blog, rocketboom, food network, amanda congdon, giada de laurentis

Snoopgate: It's now official - George Bush is a felon.

I'm not shocked, but I'm saddened at the revelation the the President has authorized the illegal spying on US citizens. Such arrogance. All he had to do was get a warrant - they were easily available. But Bush and his crew have decided that as President, he can do anything he pleases.

This is not the case. It is now the duty of Congress to investigate and impeach. The President has by his own admission, broken the law over 30 times. Is this not more serious than lying about sex?

I, personally, am fed up with this administration. It's no longer just about politics and culture. This is about the rule of law, our constitution, and the true separation of powers.

snoopgate, Politics

Something else you don't expect to see on the news

"'Now we're going to get snow penises popping up all over town,' he said."

Not unless you show us some snow boobies, first.

Registration Required - bastards. Try anybody for both ID and password.

See on The Obscure Store

Make friends with a librarian

There are many things and people that many of us don't think much about or value for that matter. Very few know and value the importance of librarians in general and research librarians, more specifically.

Joe Kissel reminded me of this today. Interesting Thing of the Day: Membership Libraries: "And there's something else: reference librarians who are positively itching to help you find information. I always have to avert my eyes when I walk by the reference desk. If I make eye contact, I invariably get this guilt-inducing "why-aren't-you-asking-me-where-to-find-old-periodicals" look, and I just can't bear it."

Even more so in this age of electronic data. Yes, there's lots of information at my fingertips. But is it the right information? Is it authoritative? What am I missing that's not online?

Who knows these things? And even better, who can find out? A librarian

Something to add to my Xmas list.

This is exactly the type of thing I have always wanted.
Celestron SkyScout

How cool is that? Of course, I live in Columbus, Ohio, which has to be one of the cloudiest places on the planet, making the Skyscout next to useless here, but it would be a joy when sitting on the beach at Hatteras on a warm July night.

Just imagine a more universal device. I point it at something and ask, "what is that?"

"The object is a Curta mechanical calculator, circa 1950 and appears to be in near mint condition. The current ebay price for a similar object is $635."

Or "That is an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. You are within striking distance and I strongly recommend that you step back an additional 3 meters."

Damn useful thing to have.

In a word: Yes

IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT -- EVER?

And you've got to admit, that's a difficult thing to do. Especially when you have really tough competitors for the job like Nixon, Andrew Jackson, and yes, Ronald Reagan.

You and Me and P. B. Shelley

Just the other day Hedwig mentioned Ogden Nash and her delight in reading him. I keep his "Verses from 1929 On" on a table in the guest restroom, along with "I Saw Esaw" and a volume of Frances Bacon. She's right. Nash is a delight.

I had lunch with Hedwig yesterday and lent her this volume. And today she's had a burst of creative energy. My Pash for O. Nash. Great fun.

And here's the old man himself, reading one of my favorites. You and Me and P. B. Shelley

A clear statement on the war

Here is a remarkably clear statement on what needs to be done about the Iraq war:

The Forward Newspaper Online: Costly Withdrawal Is the Price To Be Paid for a Foolish War: "For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins."

I highly recommend the entire short article for your reading.

Would it be alright if we spied on you just a little?

You've got to admit, this is some hutzpah.


I got this email today from Progressive (auto insurance).

"Get $50 for participating in a research study.
As a valued Progressive Direct customer, we're inviting you to participate in an innovative research study. The purpose of this study is to help us reduce the cost of car insurance. And you’ll earn $50 just for participating.

How it works:
Let us know you'll participate by visiting us online.
We’ll send you a TripSensor –- a matchbook-sized device that easily plugs in near your vehicle’s steering column. Just plug it in, drive as you normally do, and forget about it. In six months, we’ll ask you to unplug the TripSensor and send it back to us, and we'll send you $50. It's that easy.
The data you provide are for research purposes only, and will not,
under any circumstances, have an effect on your current or future
car insurance rate.
Participate today and earn $50. Just visit us online today."

No, they'd never just this information to effect my current rate. I'm sure they're just interested in my gas milage. Or how fast I'm driving. Or how much. Or how hard I step on the breaks. Or if my seat-belt is fastened (it always is, by-the-way - that one they can have for free).

No thanks. I don't need fifty bucks that bad.

More Proud Papa

Although I knew this was coming, I had forgotten it was today, and when I turned the page in my morning Columbus Dispatch, I was pleased to see a photo of my daughter, Kathleen, and this glowing article.

High-school student using her bass as ticket to travel

There are fewer pure pleasures as seeing your children succeed. She's chosen, for now, the path of the artist. It's a noble and difficult calling, but I couldn't be happier at her choice.