Life

freshnews.org I get my tech news through the freshnews aggregator. While not a complete picture of the world, it is enough for me. Those looking for a more extensive time waster, try originalsignal.com. Certainly, using an aggregator implies that someone else is selecting the stories I read and therefore outside forces are impacting my worldview. But isn’t that always true? Are we not inherently enthralled by amusing stimulation? Those concerned about it might look here , here or here . ...

January, 2011. A month of reflection and choices. My world will never be the same. Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world. —Rumi

2010 sucked. Don’t get me wrong. There was a lot good happened in 2010. But as a vintage, it sucked. Big donkey balls. At 2010’s wake, we make New Year’s resolutions in hopes that doing so will wash the taste out of our mouths. It’s what we do. Like paying taxes in April. Creatures of habit, that’s what we are. One of those habits is making resolutions at year’s end. ...

I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that the Avatar rendering cluster required 1 petabyte of storage. However, this slide show of the facilities used for filming the actors opened my eyes. [eye opening slide show] The petabyte is required not just for the finished product. It’s needed to store all the sensor and camera data as well. Okay. I accept that Weta needed 1PB. How does one go about creating a petabyte storage facility? What are the tradeoffs? How much does it cost to build and then to maintain? ...

These are my notes made while looking for an Aikido dojo in the San Francisco Bay’s mid-peninsula region. Specifically the communities in and around Palo Alto, CA. (image: wikimedia.org) [Update 2011-12-20: I have chosen to train at Aikido Center and started attending Zazen and Aikido classes in October 2011.] I won’t get into the ‘why’ I’m looking for an Aikido dojo in this posting. Most of what I would say can be gleaned from Stan Wrobel’s excellent book, Aikido for Self Discovery: Blueprint for an Enlightened Life. I’ve included a short book review. ...

It is with heavy heart that I say farewell to Master Chief Petty Officer Rich Dowdy. He passed Thursday, September 2, 2010 at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Balboa. I married into the family thirteen years ago. The first time I met Rich Dowdy, he gave me the hairy eyeball. Somehow I passed muster, even if I was an old Army soldier. In time, I was accepted into the family. ...

I recently finished Paul Bloom’s intro psych course and thought I’d continue my survey with Jeremy Wolfe’s MIT 9.00: Introduction to Psychology. I’m only two lectures in and already I sense Dr. Wolfe’s class has heavier technical leanings. That’s not a bad thing. To read broadly expands awareness. I tried comparing the syllabi from Yale and MIT. There is some overlap but there is far more unique content than not. At least that’s my impression comparing the two sets of reading assignments. I’ll know more when I finish the balance of the 23 lectures. ...

Truffles (1996 – 2010) Loyal and Gentle Friend “Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all. Forgive what you can, and send me on my path. I will walk on, until you bid me rest.” —Shepherd Book

I’ve stumbled upon a new means of relaxation at Open Yale Courses. It sounds strange that recordings of university lectures are relaxing but I find they are. Paul Bloom’s PSYC 110: Introduction to Psychology is far more interesting than television. I’m currently on lecture ten of twenty. His has an enjoyable speaking style; the hour flies by. A sidebar at the end of Dr. Bloom’s lecture on Freud exemplifies his sense of humor. ...

I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with broadcast and cable news outlets. News outlets have sadly taken distinctly partisan roles in society. I find their content specious at best and makes for very poor commentary. (One notable except is Deutsche Welle.) I recently stumbled upon spiked, which itself has a bias but its bias pleasantly lacks the shrill insanity commonly found nowadays. It’s not news but rather commentary on newsworthy events and trends. Even those articles with which I disagree will often have a point two I hadn’t considered. I find this to be the real value. ...