Posts
Skip a year
So I did not blog all of 2010. Facebook takes the place of blogs. The two companies have a rivalry going. Facebook thinks it can replace Google: You will just ask your friends for info. Right. And they will look it up on Google or Wikipedia.
Codes
Geeky note: Do you sometimes see text that does not display correctly, like "&qte" or "�£10"? Do you ever see text that does not flow correctly? It is crazy that after all these years, the codes used for characters are still not standardized. Actually they are but some programs do not follow the standard. The characters you see on your screen are really numbers.
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/html/ascii_table_lookup.htm
They date to the time of teletype machines. The number 65 is shown as "A". Yet the new line code is different on different kinds of computers. On Windows it is 10, 13, meaning "linefeed, carriage return". That means, go down a line, and go back to the beginning of the line. On Macs, they just use 13, and on Unix, they just use 10.
There are several sets of cahracters for the numbers from 128 to 255, but since they differ, in web pages they use special code sequences:
http://www.webmonkey.com/reference/Special_Characters
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/html/ascii_table_lookup.htm
They date to the time of teletype machines. The number 65 is shown as "A". Yet the new line code is different on different kinds of computers. On Windows it is 10, 13, meaning "linefeed, carriage return". That means, go down a line, and go back to the beginning of the line. On Macs, they just use 13, and on Unix, they just use 10.
There are several sets of cahracters for the numbers from 128 to 255, but since they differ, in web pages they use special code sequences:
http://www.webmonkey.com/reference/Special_Characters
Photography
I began photography when I was taking art in 8th grade.It was not part of the course. I just thought it would be nice to compose a picture and be done with it in a fraction of a second. I mostly drew straight reality. Sometimes a friend asks about tips for composition. There are some "rules" but I have my own way of looking at it.
1. Never center the subject. Unless you want to center it. Sometimes the symmetry is the point. But if there is even a little asymmetry, move to that side.
2. The rule of thirds: Make a grid of three sections vertical and three horizontal. Put major lines such as the horizon, on the grid and subject on an intersection. It works, but it can fail if your subject is not objects but large features.
3. My rule: Try to forget where you are. Only see through the viewfinder. You will find your eye moving to one edge. Move the camera until your eye stays in the frame. If you want to see something to the side, the composition is not best. It takes time to get good at this.
I have a pair of pictures taken at the same time that show how delicate all this is. I stood in the same spot, and the pictures are only slightly different, yet one is better.
1. Never center the subject. Unless you want to center it. Sometimes the symmetry is the point. But if there is even a little asymmetry, move to that side.
2. The rule of thirds: Make a grid of three sections vertical and three horizontal. Put major lines such as the horizon, on the grid and subject on an intersection. It works, but it can fail if your subject is not objects but large features.
3. My rule: Try to forget where you are. Only see through the viewfinder. You will find your eye moving to one edge. Move the camera until your eye stays in the frame. If you want to see something to the side, the composition is not best. It takes time to get good at this.
I have a pair of pictures taken at the same time that show how delicate all this is. I stood in the same spot, and the pictures are only slightly different, yet one is better.
A job
I now have a job. I am working retail. I am on the floor at Best Buy. I am quickly becoming the guy to go to with questions, like, "What cable should I use for this?" or "How can I do this?" I like these questions. I would rather help people with small problems than to buy a big expensive item. I do whatever the customer needs, of course.
It is had to believe how shy I was when I was in my teens. Now I go up to people every chance I get. I saw a guy at the park Sunday looking at the map, and I asked him if he knew where he was. He did not. I showed him how to get back to his car.
I was at Dunn's BBQ last week, and a guy had too much to carry to his car. I got up and carried a bag for him. He was surprised. He said, "I know I am in Virginia now!" I don't know what he means. I don't see a lot of that kind of thing, but I am helping people at every chance now. It takes so little to help. Hold a door for someone, offer to lift something, or carry a bag to the car. If someone is having car trouble, offer them a jumpstart, or to call for help for them.
It is had to believe how shy I was when I was in my teens. Now I go up to people every chance I get. I saw a guy at the park Sunday looking at the map, and I asked him if he knew where he was. He did not. I showed him how to get back to his car.
I was at Dunn's BBQ last week, and a guy had too much to carry to his car. I got up and carried a bag for him. He was surprised. He said, "I know I am in Virginia now!" I don't know what he means. I don't see a lot of that kind of thing, but I am helping people at every chance now. It takes so little to help. Hold a door for someone, offer to lift something, or carry a bag to the car. If someone is having car trouble, offer them a jumpstart, or to call for help for them.
Green Light for Green Light, not Blue
I had not replaced my Edison style incandescent light bulbs. The CFL bulbs were too blue, and they can disrupt your sleep cycle. Your melatonin is disrupted by light that is more blue than yellow. Google it.
Then I found a bulb with light the same color as incandescent bulbs. They are made by N-Vision, and sold at Home Depot. In Virginia the CFL bulbs sold at Home Depot are subsidized by the power company. They have 3 colors: Daylight, Bright White, and Soft White. This is misleading.
Science: The color temperature is a number that describes the color of light. It is based on the fact that as things get hotter, they glow, and the peak wavelength gets bluer with higher temperature. An object with no color of its own to distort the radiated light is called a black body radiator.
Normal incandescent bulbs produce light with a color temperature of around 3500° K. That means that a black body at a temperature of 3500° K (That is Celcius degrees but based on absolute zero) would make light with a similar proportion of wavelengths and therefore color.
The N-Vision bulbs are made to produce light at three different color temperatures. The Daylight type is around 5500°K (similar to noon sunlight), and the Soft White is at around 3500°K. The Bright White is around 4200°K.
So now my home is filled with these bulbs, saving lost of energy this summer. That is Green, the common term for ecologically friendly. The light is not green, nor blue, but slightly orange.
Then I found a bulb with light the same color as incandescent bulbs. They are made by N-Vision, and sold at Home Depot. In Virginia the CFL bulbs sold at Home Depot are subsidized by the power company. They have 3 colors: Daylight, Bright White, and Soft White. This is misleading.
Science: The color temperature is a number that describes the color of light. It is based on the fact that as things get hotter, they glow, and the peak wavelength gets bluer with higher temperature. An object with no color of its own to distort the radiated light is called a black body radiator.
Normal incandescent bulbs produce light with a color temperature of around 3500° K. That means that a black body at a temperature of 3500° K (That is Celcius degrees but based on absolute zero) would make light with a similar proportion of wavelengths and therefore color.
The N-Vision bulbs are made to produce light at three different color temperatures. The Daylight type is around 5500°K (similar to noon sunlight), and the Soft White is at around 3500°K. The Bright White is around 4200°K.
So now my home is filled with these bulbs, saving lost of energy this summer. That is Green, the common term for ecologically friendly. The light is not green, nor blue, but slightly orange.
Clouds
The clouds we see are only the visible portion of much larger convection currents. It is like seeing a person's smiling head on the beach. You know there is a body under the sand. With clouds, the part we see is the part that has cooled to below the dew point. The cooling comes when the air rises to a higher altitude, at a lower pressure. The flat bottom to most clouds is that altitude where pressure is reduced, therefore temperature is reduced to the dew point. If the air is below the dew point all the way to the ground, we have fog.
Love
Spoiler alert: If you are a hopeless romantic, or even a hopeful romantic, don't read this. I will expose the biochemical basis of love.
Sometimes you will see stories on popular media that say sex is pleasurable because it causes a release of dopamine in the brain. (That is not quite the right description. The dopamine release is the same as pleasure. It is like saying a building is tall because it has a lot of height.) They are only seeing a part of the story. Orgasm also causes the release of oxytocin (not to be confused with Oxycontin, a brand of time release oxycodone, a powerful pain reliever). Oxytocin is also released with nursing, intercourse, childbirth, and even hugging and touching.
Oxitocin has effects on the brain, causing feelings of trust, generosity, and bonding. In other words, love. The term "making love" is literally true! "Afterglow" may be the effect of oxitocin. If one partner withholds sex as a punishment, that could be very bad for the relationship. It might be better to have more sex.
For lots of technical details, and references, go to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin
or, the June 2008 issue of Scientific American.
Sometimes you will see stories on popular media that say sex is pleasurable because it causes a release of dopamine in the brain. (That is not quite the right description. The dopamine release is the same as pleasure. It is like saying a building is tall because it has a lot of height.) They are only seeing a part of the story. Orgasm also causes the release of oxytocin (not to be confused with Oxycontin, a brand of time release oxycodone, a powerful pain reliever). Oxytocin is also released with nursing, intercourse, childbirth, and even hugging and touching.
Oxitocin has effects on the brain, causing feelings of trust, generosity, and bonding. In other words, love. The term "making love" is literally true! "Afterglow" may be the effect of oxitocin. If one partner withholds sex as a punishment, that could be very bad for the relationship. It might be better to have more sex.
For lots of technical details, and references, go to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin
or, the June 2008 issue of Scientific American.
Leap of faith
Today is Leap day, February 29 of a leap year. That is an odd name for it, since we do not leap over it as we usually do. It should be called "sit day"?
But why do we do it?
The actual length of the year from one vernal equinox to the next is 365.2424 days. If we use 365 days a year, in 100 years we are behind by 24 days. So the seasons creep forward. Spring comes later. It does not come out even.
So every 4 years we add a day. That averages to 365.25 days.
That is close, but not perfect. So we add a new rule: Every century we skip the leap year. So, 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years. That brings the average to 365.24. That is closer.
Every 400 years, (when the century is divisible by 400) we skip skipping the leap year. 2000 was a leap year. That adds in 1 day every 400 years, bringing the average to 356.2425. That is pretty close.
There is a proposal to put in a leap year in the year 4000, but it is not official, and there is little urgency to the idea.
Changes in the Earth's orbit and day length can make these adjustments tricky. About every 18 months, we have a leap second: We add 1 second to keep the stars lined up better.
With all of this, the location of the stars in the sky as the years go by will still drift a lot.
Why is it that the calendar is adjusted for the seasons, but not the stars? To keep Easter near the Vernal Equinox. That is the "faith" part of my title.
Take a look at the extensive article on Wikipedia on this subject. There is much more.
But why do we do it?
The actual length of the year from one vernal equinox to the next is 365.2424 days. If we use 365 days a year, in 100 years we are behind by 24 days. So the seasons creep forward. Spring comes later. It does not come out even.
So every 4 years we add a day. That averages to 365.25 days.
That is close, but not perfect. So we add a new rule: Every century we skip the leap year. So, 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years. That brings the average to 365.24. That is closer.
Every 400 years, (when the century is divisible by 400) we skip skipping the leap year. 2000 was a leap year. That adds in 1 day every 400 years, bringing the average to 356.2425. That is pretty close.
There is a proposal to put in a leap year in the year 4000, but it is not official, and there is little urgency to the idea.
Changes in the Earth's orbit and day length can make these adjustments tricky. About every 18 months, we have a leap second: We add 1 second to keep the stars lined up better.
With all of this, the location of the stars in the sky as the years go by will still drift a lot.
Why is it that the calendar is adjusted for the seasons, but not the stars? To keep Easter near the Vernal Equinox. That is the "faith" part of my title.
Take a look at the extensive article on Wikipedia on this subject. There is much more.
Symantics
I once heard an anecdote about a hotel guest and a porter with a spare key. The porter was at the wrong door with the key, and he said, "a key?". The guest pointed at the correct door and said, "Aquí!". This went on for a while. The point of this silly bilingual pun is that words are simple symbols. They have no meaning except the meaning we assign.
There are many web sites that will tell you that Aspartame (Nutrisweet) is "poison". High fructose corn syrup is also "poison". The meaning most of us have for poison is something that if consumed in sufficient quantities will cause death. Obviously billions of people each day drink these two ingredients. (I mean billions. Think of all the people around the world. It seems like a reasonable guess.) I have never heard of one person dying from either of these.
I think the meaning of poison may be the problem. If a poison is a substance that causes negative health impact, maybe we could agree. There is some evidence that both Aspartame and high fructose corn syrup cause some problems in some people. I don't know a better word, but poison is not right. Toxin may be closer, but it is still synonymous with poison to most people.
So when people try to sound an alarm that things are bad for us, they should avoid poison or toxin and simply say what the effects are. Otherwise most people will ignore them.
There are many web sites that will tell you that Aspartame (Nutrisweet) is "poison". High fructose corn syrup is also "poison". The meaning most of us have for poison is something that if consumed in sufficient quantities will cause death. Obviously billions of people each day drink these two ingredients. (I mean billions. Think of all the people around the world. It seems like a reasonable guess.) I have never heard of one person dying from either of these.
I think the meaning of poison may be the problem. If a poison is a substance that causes negative health impact, maybe we could agree. There is some evidence that both Aspartame and high fructose corn syrup cause some problems in some people. I don't know a better word, but poison is not right. Toxin may be closer, but it is still synonymous with poison to most people.
So when people try to sound an alarm that things are bad for us, they should avoid poison or toxin and simply say what the effects are. Otherwise most people will ignore them.
Image
It looks like the battle of the Hi-def disc is nearly over. Blu-ray is the probable winner.
I always knew it would win. The name is cool. Just imagine your choice: Blu-ray or HD-DVD. You want a new cool technology. HD-DVD is too many letters, hard to say, and sounds like DVD, the old technology. In reality the two are very similar, but the marketing makes the difference.
The same is true for presidential candidates. I suspect Obama will win the Democratic nomination. The choice is between a young articulate black man and an older white woman. I think most people will go for Obama. I does not matter what they say. I don't think people care much about words. They react at a deeper level. That is why the taller candidate usually wins. I suspect the one who talks faster and more clearly may have an advantage too.
The problem is that we are electing a manager, not a host.
I always knew it would win. The name is cool. Just imagine your choice: Blu-ray or HD-DVD. You want a new cool technology. HD-DVD is too many letters, hard to say, and sounds like DVD, the old technology. In reality the two are very similar, but the marketing makes the difference.
The same is true for presidential candidates. I suspect Obama will win the Democratic nomination. The choice is between a young articulate black man and an older white woman. I think most people will go for Obama. I does not matter what they say. I don't think people care much about words. They react at a deeper level. That is why the taller candidate usually wins. I suspect the one who talks faster and more clearly may have an advantage too.
The problem is that we are electing a manager, not a host.
Goodbye 100 Watt Bulbs
The energy bill just passed bans sale of 100W bulbs in 2012. Assuming this is a good idea, why wait?
Is it a good idea? They say that these bulbs save energy, and thereby reduce carbon emissions. Maybe.
If you use a bulb in the winter, the heat produced helps keep your house warm. If your house is heated with oil or gas, things get complicated. If you use fewer watts of electricity, you will have to use more oil to keep the house warm. So far, you might assume we are still equal overall, but in my state 38% of electricity is made by nuclear power, with no carbon emissions. So in the winter, with oil heat, you may be doing the environment a favor by using incandescent lights (if they are used indoors. Outdoor Christmas light displays waste power.)
But...
In the summer, the situation is opposite. If you air conditioner has an EER of 8, it takes 40 Watts of power to remove the heat made by a 100 Watt bulb.
There is also the question of how much of your electricity is made by carbon burning, and how much power is lost in transmission.
It is not as simple as it looks.
Other important things could be done. Set national standards for building codes that mandate a certain level of insulation.
Is it a good idea? They say that these bulbs save energy, and thereby reduce carbon emissions. Maybe.
If you use a bulb in the winter, the heat produced helps keep your house warm. If your house is heated with oil or gas, things get complicated. If you use fewer watts of electricity, you will have to use more oil to keep the house warm. So far, you might assume we are still equal overall, but in my state 38% of electricity is made by nuclear power, with no carbon emissions. So in the winter, with oil heat, you may be doing the environment a favor by using incandescent lights (if they are used indoors. Outdoor Christmas light displays waste power.)
But...
In the summer, the situation is opposite. If you air conditioner has an EER of 8, it takes 40 Watts of power to remove the heat made by a 100 Watt bulb.
There is also the question of how much of your electricity is made by carbon burning, and how much power is lost in transmission.
It is not as simple as it looks.
Other important things could be done. Set national standards for building codes that mandate a certain level of insulation.
Global Warming
It seems to be quite fashionable to say that human-caused rises in greenhouse gases is causing global warming. (obviously there is global warming. The only question is the causes.) Take a look at this link. It is not so certain that we did it. It explains the science very thoroughly, and the conclusions are not too bad.
I am confused by the supposed consensus of scientists who agree with the pessimistic view. But then before Einstein, the Ether was a "scientific fact." (It had to be real, because light was a wave, and a wave had to be waving in some medium. The ether was the medium, but it was massless and undetectable.)
PS: I found out that Junkscience .com is a deceptive, politically conservative site. Read this criticism:
http://skepdic.com/refuge/junkscience.html
It seems like the future is never as bad or good as the predictions. (Where is my flying car?) I bet we will get by.
The total warming since measurements have been attempted is thought to be about 0.6 degrees Centigrade. At least half of the estimated temperature increment occurred before 1950, prior to significant change in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Assuming the unlikely case that all the natural drivers of planetary temperature change ceased to operate at the time of measured atmospheric change then a 30% increment in atmospheric carbon dioxide caused about one-third of one degree temperature increment since and thus provides empirical support for less than one degree increment due to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
I am confused by the supposed consensus of scientists who agree with the pessimistic view. But then before Einstein, the Ether was a "scientific fact." (It had to be real, because light was a wave, and a wave had to be waving in some medium. The ether was the medium, but it was massless and undetectable.)
PS: I found out that Junkscience .com is a deceptive, politically conservative site. Read this criticism:
http://skepdic.com/refuge/junkscience.html
It seems like the future is never as bad or good as the predictions. (Where is my flying car?) I bet we will get by.
Anything for a buck
Anything legal for 6 minutes for a buck. I will take any job for $10 an hour.
The worst part is trying to find something to apply for, and sitting here alone all day. I can't go hang around with people who are working. And I need to study for some certifications. I am almost certifiable, but not in a good way. I am not going "postal" but I am a bit depressed by it all.
The worst part is trying to find something to apply for, and sitting here alone all day. I can't go hang around with people who are working. And I need to study for some certifications. I am almost certifiable, but not in a good way. I am not going "postal" but I am a bit depressed by it all.
Digital
There are some people who do strange things to increase the quality of their sound or picture. There are $300 HDMI cables. Some people use a black marker around the edge of their CD's. They just don't get it. Digital technology is based on numbers, encoded in binary form, on and off. The great thing about binary is that there is no gray area. The signal is above a high threshold, it is a 1. If it is below a low threshold, it is a 0. It is not the same threshold. For example, in the system known as TTL, a 1 is above 2V, and a 0 is below .8V. There is a gap between these, and that prevents errors. So a bit of noise on a signal will not be able to cause a bit to switch.
If you want to test this, you must use scientific methods. People tend to see and hear what they expect. You need to have someone else switch the signal. It would be best if they did not know what you are doing, so they could not be able to inadvertently tip you off.
If you want to test this, you must use scientific methods. People tend to see and hear what they expect. You need to have someone else switch the signal. It would be best if they did not know what you are doing, so they could not be able to inadvertently tip you off.
North vs. South
There is a stereotype that New York City is unfriendly and rude. It is not. It is efficient. There is less idle polite chatter, but people are friendly and helpful. They are also in a hurry. There is a correlation between a city's population and the average walking speed on its sidewalks.
(New York Times, Feb. 29, 1976, p. 46)
I visited New York City last summer, and Columbus, Mississippi last week. I found people friendly in both. I did notice that people seemed more willing to talk in the south. They just seemed less inclined to end a conversation. If you want to talk, they will listen.
(New York Times, Feb. 29, 1976, p. 46)
I visited New York City last summer, and Columbus, Mississippi last week. I found people friendly in both. I did notice that people seemed more willing to talk in the south. They just seemed less inclined to end a conversation. If you want to talk, they will listen.
Web bugs
After all these years, the Internet is still a mess. For example, search for "smoke rings" and you might get several types of results. Some are for the meaning "daydreams" and others are about vortex rings. Some search engines try to help resolve the categories on the side, but the real solution is to have the site label its content with some kind of codes based on the subject. It sounds like a huge, dificult project to create such a subject code, but it already exists: The Dewey Decimal System. Most libraries in the US use it. It is copyrighted by Online Computer Library Center. There are other systems, and it is not important which one is used, but some system could be used to help people classify the information in their sites. In many cases, multiple codes would be used. It can be as simple as a standard tag: . Search engines would use the DDC tag number to split search results to help the user get to the kind of results he is looking for.
Another annoying detail on the web is that the autofill feature of some browsers can't understand some forms. The problem is that the forms do not use consistent names for the form fields. Somebody please standardize this! And allow the autofill to work with the pop-up for State.
Another annoying detail on the web is that the autofill feature of some browsers can't understand some forms. The problem is that the forms do not use consistent names for the form fields. Somebody please standardize this! And allow the autofill to work with the pop-up for State.
Mensa
I still don't have a job, so I went looking for some mental stimulation. I found the Mensa workout, a set of 30 questions to be done in 30 minutes. As usual with Mensa quizes, the math questions were pretty easy, and the word problems are hard. I guess that is just my kind of intelligence, but I really think math is more useful than being able to unscramble letters of a word. The funny thng about it was on the scoring page. It said, "That is a very good score, you would have a good chance of passing the Mensa test." I am happy to hear that, but notice that this is a grammatical error called a comma splice, two sentences are connected by a comma. A semicolon is the correct punctuation, or a period and two separate sentences.
I have never been interested in Mensa because I have met one person who was a member, and she was an insufferable snob about it. I hope I have met many members, but they don't brag about it.
Apparently they get together and play games. You could say that smart people like to play games, but maybe people who like to play games get smart.
I am not talking about video games, even the new IQ booster games like Brain Age. I have heard that users of these games did not improve their scores on other similar games, which suggests that users are not improving their brain function, but just getting good at specific game tasks. So playing Sudoku may not help you in your daily life unless you do it professionally. It might be better to learn Poker.
I don't know if games will make you smarter, but my brain could use some stimulation. I can't watch TV like I did when I was working. At the end of a long day, some mindless entertainment is a good thing. Now I need more. I am looking for a chat room for smart people, or games for smart people.
Trivial Pursuit is not for smart people. It is for Liberal Arts majors. They ask, "What was the name of Earnest Hemingway's favorite cat?" and then in the "science and technology" category, they ask, "What did King Gillette invent?" Can you guess? (What a name. I have heard dogs called Prince, but never a kid named King. Queen Latifah's real name is Dana Elaine Owens.) (Whoopee Goldberg's real name is Karen Johnson. Some people need a stage name.)
Enough. I am going to go for a walk and photograph hairy caterpillars.
I have never been interested in Mensa because I have met one person who was a member, and she was an insufferable snob about it. I hope I have met many members, but they don't brag about it.
Apparently they get together and play games. You could say that smart people like to play games, but maybe people who like to play games get smart.
I am not talking about video games, even the new IQ booster games like Brain Age. I have heard that users of these games did not improve their scores on other similar games, which suggests that users are not improving their brain function, but just getting good at specific game tasks. So playing Sudoku may not help you in your daily life unless you do it professionally. It might be better to learn Poker.
I don't know if games will make you smarter, but my brain could use some stimulation. I can't watch TV like I did when I was working. At the end of a long day, some mindless entertainment is a good thing. Now I need more. I am looking for a chat room for smart people, or games for smart people.
Trivial Pursuit is not for smart people. It is for Liberal Arts majors. They ask, "What was the name of Earnest Hemingway's favorite cat?" and then in the "science and technology" category, they ask, "What did King Gillette invent?" Can you guess? (What a name. I have heard dogs called Prince, but never a kid named King. Queen Latifah's real name is Dana Elaine Owens.) (Whoopee Goldberg's real name is Karen Johnson. Some people need a stage name.)
Enough. I am going to go for a walk and photograph hairy caterpillars.
Mystery Rocks
No, that is not a sentence. I still have no job, so I have no excuse to keep me from getting some exercise. One day I found these odd rocks in the woods, where some gravel had been dumped.
They are roughly conical, but some have a more triangular shape, but one side is rounded. When broken, it is not crystalline, but a fine grain. It looks like quartz, but it can be scratched with a sharp knife. It will burn, but not melt. There is no smell when it burns, but there is a black soot above the flame. See more pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/durvin/sets/72157601824875474/
What are they?
We know better
On about this date, August 24, 79 (not 1979, just 79) the volcano Vesuvius erupted, killing thousands. Pompeii was buried, and the entombed remains preserved in the ash show us the tragic deaths of those people.
We feel sorry for those poor people who could not know what was coming. Now we understand volcanoes and other natural phenomena, so we can avoid such tragedies.
But we don't. Around the world, we have cities built on or near volcanoes. We have New Orleans built at slightly below sea level in a hurricane zone. We have huge cities in California built on huge faults. Mount Ranier looms above Seattle, ready to send lahars (hot mud slides on steroids) into developed areas. We have huge resort areas built on barrier islands. Some of our fastest growing cities are in the desert southwest US, where there is not enough water. (It is a desert. That means not much rain. Is that hard to understand?) We burn fossil fuel at an ever increasing rate worldwide, causing global warming that will melt the icecaps and raise sea level, flooding major cities. (Skeptics: There is no doubt or argument among any scientist that the Earth is warming. The doubt is that humans are causing it. Maybe, maybe not. Do you want to play Russian Roulette?)
When insurance companies get it wrong and get caught with a disaster that they did not expect, they either refuse to pay, or raise our rates. It is their job to expect disasters, and bet on when they will happen. When they lose the bet, they make us pay.
Democratic governments will tell us what we want to hear, and pay for fixing New Orleans, and allow growth in risky places. Their goal is to be elected. The future is not their problem. They treat us like children, and we let them. don't do it. Be responsible for your own life. Check the risk. Does it make sense to take a 30 year mortgage on the Outer Banks (barrier islands in North Carolina) if sea level will cover them in 20 years?
(Train of thought jumps track) People with high risk mortgages are now going bankrupt, and whining that the bank approved the loan, so it is their fault. So, the buyer loses, the bank loses, and the banks holding company loses. The stock holders lose. The pension fund loses. We lose. Idiots!
You don't have to be a genius to see ahead. Just do your own thinking.
We feel sorry for those poor people who could not know what was coming. Now we understand volcanoes and other natural phenomena, so we can avoid such tragedies.
But we don't. Around the world, we have cities built on or near volcanoes. We have New Orleans built at slightly below sea level in a hurricane zone. We have huge cities in California built on huge faults. Mount Ranier looms above Seattle, ready to send lahars (hot mud slides on steroids) into developed areas. We have huge resort areas built on barrier islands. Some of our fastest growing cities are in the desert southwest US, where there is not enough water. (It is a desert. That means not much rain. Is that hard to understand?) We burn fossil fuel at an ever increasing rate worldwide, causing global warming that will melt the icecaps and raise sea level, flooding major cities. (Skeptics: There is no doubt or argument among any scientist that the Earth is warming. The doubt is that humans are causing it. Maybe, maybe not. Do you want to play Russian Roulette?)
When insurance companies get it wrong and get caught with a disaster that they did not expect, they either refuse to pay, or raise our rates. It is their job to expect disasters, and bet on when they will happen. When they lose the bet, they make us pay.
Democratic governments will tell us what we want to hear, and pay for fixing New Orleans, and allow growth in risky places. Their goal is to be elected. The future is not their problem. They treat us like children, and we let them. don't do it. Be responsible for your own life. Check the risk. Does it make sense to take a 30 year mortgage on the Outer Banks (barrier islands in North Carolina) if sea level will cover them in 20 years?
(Train of thought jumps track) People with high risk mortgages are now going bankrupt, and whining that the bank approved the loan, so it is their fault. So, the buyer loses, the bank loses, and the banks holding company loses. The stock holders lose. The pension fund loses. We lose. Idiots!
You don't have to be a genius to see ahead. Just do your own thinking.
Every Day
I know blogs are supposed to be every day, but I go for quality over quantity. You would not want to read what I think about every day. I would, but I don't know anyone like me.
Random item:
Dynamite is not the same as TNT. TNT is trinitrotoluene. (tri-nitro-toluene). Dynamite is Alfred Nobel's invention. It is Fullers Earth with nitroglycerin. Fullers Earth is a kind of diatomaceous earth: the fine silica (silicon dioxide) sand like material composed of the skeletons of diatoms: microscopic plankton that live in the ocean. It can soak up a lot of nitroglycerin, and it makes it pretty stable. Both are really good at blowing stuff up, but they are not the same.
Random item:
Dynamite is not the same as TNT. TNT is trinitrotoluene. (tri-nitro-toluene). Dynamite is Alfred Nobel's invention. It is Fullers Earth with nitroglycerin. Fullers Earth is a kind of diatomaceous earth: the fine silica (silicon dioxide) sand like material composed of the skeletons of diatoms: microscopic plankton that live in the ocean. It can soak up a lot of nitroglycerin, and it makes it pretty stable. Both are really good at blowing stuff up, but they are not the same.
Nothing Personal
I have lost my job. No, that is wrong. I have had my job taken from me. I was the victim of a reduction in force layoff.
Occasionally, employers ask that you be loyal to the company. Don't discuss work with friends at the competition.
Then when they have a layoff, they say, "It is nothing personal." When they take your job, it is very personal.
I was not short of work. I was busy and working overtime every day, doing tech support and helping users. My real problem was my age. Nearly every person laid off was over 50. Now, I could sue, but to get a new job, that might cause trouble.
I feel disconnected, unimportant. I need a purpose, and I need to be around people. I am skilled at database design, but only in FileMaker Pro. I am a good computer systems administrator, but I don't have the certifications. I am working on a nice resumé, but there has to be a job here in Richmond to fit me. What can I do?
If I was an electrician, it would be different. There are lots of electricians, but there are lots of jobs for them. I have special abilities, but they are best suited for my old job.
I can learn any technical subject quickly, but I don't know what I could learn that would do me any good with no experience. I would love to try something new and different, but I need some reasonable pay. Any ideas, folks?
Occasionally, employers ask that you be loyal to the company. Don't discuss work with friends at the competition.
Then when they have a layoff, they say, "It is nothing personal." When they take your job, it is very personal.
I was not short of work. I was busy and working overtime every day, doing tech support and helping users. My real problem was my age. Nearly every person laid off was over 50. Now, I could sue, but to get a new job, that might cause trouble.
I feel disconnected, unimportant. I need a purpose, and I need to be around people. I am skilled at database design, but only in FileMaker Pro. I am a good computer systems administrator, but I don't have the certifications. I am working on a nice resumé, but there has to be a job here in Richmond to fit me. What can I do?
If I was an electrician, it would be different. There are lots of electricians, but there are lots of jobs for them. I have special abilities, but they are best suited for my old job.
I can learn any technical subject quickly, but I don't know what I could learn that would do me any good with no experience. I would love to try something new and different, but I need some reasonable pay. Any ideas, folks?
Rude New York
I just spent a week in New York city: Amazing. The reputation New York has for being full of rude people is wrong. They are efficient. Millions of people, (26,000 per square mile) interact all day, and there is seldom any conflict. People almost collide at every corner, but it is not a problem. People getting off subway trains go around people getting on, but it works. People crossing streets do so at the corner, and they wait for the light, mostly. Cars stop for red lights, and go as soon as it turns green. It is like a giant ant colony, complete with tunnels. We asked for directions, and people helped. One young lady, on the way home to see her dog at lunch, stopped and walked us back to the corner to show us where we should go.
Some professionals were a bit abrupt. There was a line. That is fair.
If I am at a traffic light, and you are in front of me, and the light changes to green, and you don't go, I will honk my horn at you. Here in Richmond, I get nasty looks, as if I am being rude. They are being rude by stopping me, and all the people behind me. People stop in the middle of the road to chat with people. People here seem self-centered, but New Yorkers seem to respect each other. They don't have a lot of fake polite rituals. They just treat you with respect. That is better.
Some professionals were a bit abrupt. There was a line. That is fair.
If I am at a traffic light, and you are in front of me, and the light changes to green, and you don't go, I will honk my horn at you. Here in Richmond, I get nasty looks, as if I am being rude. They are being rude by stopping me, and all the people behind me. People stop in the middle of the road to chat with people. People here seem self-centered, but New Yorkers seem to respect each other. They don't have a lot of fake polite rituals. They just treat you with respect. That is better.
Words
Words are not exact descriptions of ideas. One word can mean many things, and many words can describe an idea. When we hear or read words, they generate a communication of ideas that may not be what the source intended. Our own experience shapes the meaning we derive from the words.
Another Way To Sound Stupid
"When he heard, he literally exploded!"
That must have been messy.
Literally means the words are exactly true. It is not a figure of speech. In this case, he imitated a suicide bomber. It does not mean he was angry.
That must have been messy.
Literally means the words are exactly true. It is not a figure of speech. In this case, he imitated a suicide bomber. It does not mean he was angry.
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