Faith and Crisis

Faith. It's a tricky thing.

Not to be confused with blind faith, or faith in something one has no way of discerning the truth of, Oxford describes faith as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Many people confuse this with religion itself, or else trusting that even though you have no reason to think things will be better, they will. But faith itself is not as specific. Faith only requires that you entrust your belief into that which you feel is worthy.

To have faith, true faith, one must have something to believe in, and a reason to believe in that something. One must be led to a point where their rational mind and their heart together accept the validity of some truth. One then gains faith in that truth. One Believes. One dares to think that such a thing is possible, and we then say they have faith.

Not everyone has faith in the same things. Some people have faith in a particular person. Some have faith in a greater Being, a Fashioner of the rules of creation. Others have faith in their own abilities. Regardless of the object of faith, they indeed put their confidence, their trust, and more often than not, their love into their faith. Their faith sustains them when nothing else will. They trust in not only this object, but they come to trust the faith itself; it becomes a quality almost tangible to the person who has it.

Closely linked with faith are two core character qualities, steadfastness, and patience. Without them, it is very easy to loose faith, and many often do. A crisis of faith occurs when one begins to question either their faith in the object in which they have decided to enshrine their trust, or in the motives, abilities, or nature of the object itself. One begins to question whether they have put their faith in this object wisely. Sometimes they question whether the person they have put their faith in truly has their best interests at heart. Others question their own motives, or their ability to get something done. For those who have put their faith in a greater Being, this may pose a unique challenge, as the very nature of such a Being would put it outside the understanding or ability of study of any human, and the person may loose faith in either the will of that Being caring about them, or else in It’s power to impact the persons life, often leading to questioning the very nature of that Being.

As there is so often a love that comes with faith, so often too is there a pain that comes with a crisis in that faith. To suddenly (or even gradually) become unsure of what was once a solid foundation for the world in which one lives is more than unsettling, it can disrupt the entire course of a person’s life. A person will question themselves if they question their faith, they may wonder if it means they are not trusting, or if they are not a good person. They may not like the answers they come up with, frustrating them all the more. Sometimes, a person will embark on a personal journey to find answers to their questions. Often a person will become afraid to find answers to their questions, for fear of what they might find. Many times, the courage of a person can be measured in how they handle their crisis.

This is why steadfastness and patience are so closely linked to faith. If one has the strength, they will seek out the answers to their questions. For those who have faith in another, they sometimes learn that if they are patient with that person, their faith is rewarded. For those who lack faith in themselves, they may find something deep within themselves they never knew was there. There is often a process of give and take in both of these. Give patience, or determination, or discipline, and find that your faith is strengthened by these things.

For those who have faith in a greater Being, again, the challenge can be unique, but so can the rewards. The person who questions their faith and decides to pray about it may find their lack of faith was caused by a lack in prayer, and so they discover their faith has ways built into it to strengthen itself, if one is willing to take on the discipline. This discipline in turn becomes its own reward, something the person might never have gained otherwise. And so we find that strength of character breeds a steadfastness, if one is willing to be patient.

There are times when, upon examination of their crisis of faith, a person determines they were simply too impatient. They were asking for something, but not waiting for the results, or perhaps they were unwilling to take the necessary steps to help them succeed in their request. There are times when a person will decide they have acted like a petulant child, and become embarrassed at their actions, and determined to be more open minded or patient in the future. There are other times when a person is not able or willing to find the solution before them, and they will become frustrated. Without the patience to find this answer or the steadfastness to believe the answer may indeed be there, they will let go of their faith. Sometimes this process is quiet, at other times, it is an event that makes national headlines.

It would be impossible to count the number of people in this world that have faith in something, but the human psyche seems to have a natural tendency towards seeking out something to put one’s faith into. It is not hard to imagine that almost every person, at some point in their lives, goes through at least one massive crisis of faith. If this is a loved one, you may not know it, as faith is such a personal thing. But often times this person will need an open ear, someone to help them speak aloud their frustrations, or else help investigate their questions. Sometimes they will just need someone to hold them as they cry. Love, and faith in loved ones, is a salve sought by many. When we find that someone close to us can be trusted with our fears, faith can be renewed, whether in finding faith in the one who is there for you, or in being lent the strength and the patience to solve a personal crisis of faith, or both.

Perhaps then three things are closely interwoven with faith. Patience, steadfastness, and true friendship. If one is going to have “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”, and so many people seek just such a thing to have faith in, the ties of friendship may be strengthened by finding one with whom they can share your faith. These ties help strengthen one’s faith in others, in themselves, and possibly even in faith itself. To loose faith is unnerving, to find it again is a relief. To trust in one’s self, to trust in a greater Being, to trust in others, is not something easily done. Perhaps that is why we seek out faith. With so many things that have the ability to betray our trust, to have something we can put our faith wholeheartedly into is not merely a comfort and a relief, it is a means of testing and refining our own characters. And what is life but a process of continual growth?

Faith can sustain us, if we sustain faith. If we abandon ourselves, we abandon our faith as well, for our faith is a part of us. If one has faith in something, they find it gives them what they feel is a clear path of right action and a better way to live. If one has faith in a greater Being, they may try to heed the will of that Being. If one has faith in themselves, they may find the best way of life is to better themselves. Neglecting these actions have consequences, and of course, so do forging the discipline to continue them.

When a person who is the object of one’s faith has proven themselves unworthy of that faith, the difficulty of reconciliation is dependent on how closely one is tied to that person. In a friendship, friends sometimes feel it is best to move on, or at least see less of each other. In a relationship or a marriage, however, this becomes exceedingly difficult, especially if there are children. Sometimes a person will be driven to fight harder to save their faith in that person’s qualities, to the point of helping that person find faith within themselves. Other times it is discovered the couple does not have faith in the same things, or that one has no faith at all, or that one is unwilling to change and take on the discipline necessary for growth. Sometimes an impassible rift is formed, other times, people unhappily try to work and live around their situation. In both cases of shattered faith, it is not so easily sought again.

But human tendency towards faith is strong. To humans, faith is an attractive quality. Confidence springs out of faith. And one who lacks confidence often feels it’s lack, and is drawn towards one with faith. In this way are people tossed together in the chaos of the world, even as the atoms of a star in the nuclear furnace of it’s core are sometimes ripped apart, only to be fused again.

A crisis in faith can turn turn a life upside-down. It can be the process of destruction that leads to the process of creation, or if mastered, it can lead to plentiful rewards in one’s relationship with the object of their faith. But in such a chaotic universe, where the least likely scenario would seem to be a bond of any kind, let alone a bond of faith, our attraction towards the tendencies of faith will not be denied for long.

And so, even as the bonds of the world forge stardust into planets, our faith attracts us. Even as rock is forged into diamonds in the pressures of the earth, our tests of faith strengthen and perfect us. And we become the better for it. For in the end, when we put our faith in something, we do not do it for the object of our faith, we do it for ourselves. We do it because we have a need to put our faith in something we can believe in. We have a need to constantly better ourselves. If we ignore that need, it does not stay silent. It gnaws at us, questions us, gets us off our couches and away from our distractions and makes us question ourselves until we arrive at a conclusion.

It is not easy to have faith. Although most people have faith in someone or something, there are indeed times when that faith is lost. In these times, how a person handles their crisis of faith determines who they are, what they are, and what they have faith in. Sometimes they surprise themselves with the answer.

One of those mornings...

It's been one of those mornings where nothing seems to go quite right for me.

I thought I'd start off the day with a little video gaming. Opened up starcraft II, thought I'd play some games now that I'm no longer in Practice league as of a few days ago... whats this? The next five games decide what league I'll start in? Okay, sure, I can win a few of these, I was doing so well before...

Four losses later due to stupid mistakes, I figure I'll take a break and check my phone. Oh, my wife called. Awesome. Only she's having some troubles she needs to talk about. Cool. Cando. ...Ummm, this conversation doesn't go so well over the phone, and we decide to postpone it. Poor girl is even more frustrated now, it seems. *sigh*.

She reminds me it's thursday. I've been trying to keep a routine of working out mondays and thursdays. Which reminds me, I think I'll prepare some podcasts to watch on my while I work out. They don't seem to be updating automatically with this app I'm trying. Lets try downloading an app that will sync wirelessly with my itunes so I can get everything that way. ...Oh, its in two parts, the wireless doesn't work without more configuration I dont have time for. well lets sync up my podcasts... NO NOT EVERY UNWATCHED PODCAST I HAVE. Okay there's no cancel option, let's quit the sync and exit the program. To avoid any data corruption, lets eject the phone from the OS before unplugging it. Want to be safe after all.

......AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd everything from my SD card seems to be missing on my phone.

Friggin awesome. Guess whose running late for work after all this?

>:-( <

Magic Track-pad devices, Apple and Google TV, and subscriptions

This is really going to change the way you watch TV, Movies, News, Sports... anything you do.

about 19 minutes in of the enclosed link, they talk about the apple magic trackpad. This can really start to shift "TV" to something actually useful to us. We've already got devices we can carry our screens with us, we can download our content, heck, we can watch it in the shower! But we want to use our home TV sets the way we want to use them. This video talks about how this makes the experience more... tactile. Remotes may soon be a thing of the past. Its time we get our subscribed content the way we want it. Apple and Google are soon unveiling the way they will help make this possible.

I'm running off to work right now, hopefully I'll be able to write more about it soon.

Seattle, home of cold weather, Space Needles, Twi-freaks, the EMP, Mt. Raineer and St. Helens, Pikes Place Dockside market... and much, much more.

So I've returned from a land of Snow and wonder, of harbor and cloud cover, of techno-lust and healthy living, back to the scorching desert I call home.

Seattle was wonderful. Give a parched throat water and it will love you forever, and so Seattle quenched many a thirst. Albeit the home of Microsoft, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience that was the north-westernmost state in the US.

We spent a two day journey through northern Arizona, staying just outside of Salt Lake City the first night, then blasted through Idaho to Oregon and thence to Washington. I gotta say, that's a beautiful drive. The landscapes were amazing, from rolling hills to misty forests. Stopping for Gas just inside Oregon was interesting... apparently it's mandatory in the state for people to pump your gas for you. Who knew? The only downfall was when you wanted to squeegee bugs off your windshield and felt awkward grabbing the squeegee while there is someone standing next to it, whose job it is to do stuff for you and you don't really want to ask them to do it. *shrug* Other than that, it was a friendly place.

Then of course, you drive into Washington, and all thoughts leave your head once you get up the mountains. The low clouds playing mists playing upon the hills and trees, the rain in the distance, and the waterfalls off the mountains are a sight to behold. And that was before you even get into the bay!

In Seattle we started the day at Pike's place market, a cultural experience like none other. Rather than "mallify" itself, Seattle's market 50 years ago decided to upgrade while keeping the atmosphere of small vendors alive. It's a Bazaar unlike anything else you'll find in the states, with the freshest produce, fish Literally flying past your head, and gorgeous bouquets of flowers at ridiculously low prices (Something Rachel TRULY enjoyed). But up on the mountain, the taste of the local produce is incredible, not to mention the SEAFOOD! The crab and the halibut there are to die for.

The next thing to do in Seattle is, of course, the Space Needle. EVERYONE's gotta see the space needle! =) It gives a great view of the city, and "when the mountain is out", (AKA, when the clouds HAPPEN to vanish for a while), you have a gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier. But first we thought we'd see what Mt. Rainier may one day become, and went to see Mt. Saint Helens.

For those of you who have never experienced a Volcano.

We drove past the Grand Canyon on the way up. We opted not to see it this time because we had other things on our minds. ...After experiencing Mt. Saint Helen's, I don't feel I missed much.

The Devastation of the mountainside is inexplicable, Awe-inspiring, tragic, and immensely beautiful. There are no words to describe how fragile you feel looking down on the remnants of a valley that wasn't as it is a mere forty years ago.

So we thought we'd see something similar to the wonder that was Mt. Saint Helen's before the blast, and we went up Mt. Rainier the next day.

...And if you've never seen a torrential waterfall from a melting glacier, no video you see will ever do the experience justice. ICE COLD WATER. FROM SNOW! IN JULY!!! (It's 110 degrees in Chandler Today).

After a day of hiking, we went back to the city and experienced things like the First Starbucks, Ye Old Curiosity shop/museum (complete with mummies), Twilight fandom everywhere (Yes, Twi-freaks, we saw Forks, and no, the Vampires do not sparkle... Though I'm sure there are some I didn't see in the built-over Seattle under-city) ;-) and of course, one thing I'll give Paul Allen Much Due Credit for, the EMP, or the Experience Music Project, with built in Sci-Fi Museum.

Dad... you gotta see this place.

For all you Music Fans, just over Half the EMP is dedicated to some great moments in Rock and Roll, most notable of course Seattle's own Jimi Hendrix. Some of the Original Les Paul and Gibson guitars reside there... it's a bit of history like none other.

Then of course, there's the Sci-Fi Museum, which I almost couldn't leave. From the Original Death Star to the suit from the Rocketeer, From the original weapon in Aliens to a tribute to Ursela K. LeGuin, and monuments to old comics, literature, and Authors/writers/producers/directors who changed culture forever, even the timeline keeps you in awe and wonder. Sadly, we did not bring the Camera into the EMP, but I encourage everyone to go.

We also spent a wonderful day with Rachel's great uncle Dale and his wife Vita. Two of the most wonderful people I've ever had the privilege to meet. I feel I could talk to them for hours on end. Dale showed us around Olympia, The Capitol of Washington and one of the coolest little city-towns, absolutely beautiful area.

Eventually, of course, we had to come home, so we thought we'd take the coastal route. Portland was actually a great place for us to see, we liked it immediately. The Oregon coast is so Diverse, though, that at any given moment you'd see Ocean, forests, sand dunes, plains, and mountain all in one glance. It's bizarre and Wicked cool. (Also wicked windy this time of year!) We passed through one town during the local Kite Festival. that was fun.

Less fun was the northernmost tip of the Coastal 1 Route once you get into Cali. If you're ever tempted to take it... DON'T. STAY ON THE 101 THROUGH THE REDWOODS. (which are SO beautiful!) Don't get me wrong, once you get to the coast it's beautiful, but that 20 mile trek down the mountain is something carved by no sane mind. And the coast itself is windy enough that you may just turn a curve and smash into a random car, forest, or even a pack of cattle. ...yes, cows. On the edge of the road, up a cliff, on the beach, with nothing between you and them. you heard me correctly.

Once we got into San Francisco, we got to Navigate their WONDERFUL traffic. A few hours later, we stopped in San Mateo for the night. *sigh*. Thence out of SF and a long drive to the outskirts of LA, around LA to the 10 and back out to the desert from whence we came late last night.

And now its time to play catch up. Laundry needs doing, oh, and my Monitor finally died. I'm Currently using the one for Rachel's old computer. I'm hoping Fry's can give me a copy of my Receipt, because I don't have it anymore, nor the box or anything. They usually keep those print-outs on record though I imagine, though I'm not sure for how long. I believe I've had the monitor just over a year, and though LG has a 3 year warranty, that won't do much good without proof.

Anywhoo. So Yes, Seattle is a wonderful place, and very, VERY tempting for a Cali boy turned desert rat like myself. See for yourselves one day... Just hope you like cold, wet weather... ;-)

Contentment and Ambition

I've decided it takes a certain amount of dissatisfaction to be truly ambitious regarding... well, anything, really.  What is ambition if not being driven to make some sort of a change?  Hence, I've realized I'm not a truly ambitious person simply because I'm fairly content with my position.

Though I don't work as a teacher (something I really want to do), I still help people.  Day in and day out.  My job is technical support, and I'm very comfortable with what I do.  Furthermore, I'm good at it.  I have the people skills to do well and the technical know-how to keep my customers informed.  Sure, my job doesn't pay as well as some other jobs in my field, but it pays.  I'm able to bring home a paycheck at the end of the day, and I've helped people get connected to the world.  The job brings me satisfaction.

Then there are those in my job who decide they must move on.  They must move higher up, or they must move to another line of work.  I see these people at work, and they are not satisfied.  They don't feel they are being paid enough, or they don't like dealing with people day in and day out.  Every personality has a different take on the job.  And for those who are always trying to climb to the top... I imagine it's just never enough.

...The more I look at it, the more satisfied I am with who and where I am.  I have a good job, a loving wife, and a great life.  No, I don't want to stay in my current job forever... I don't even want to stay in Arizona forever... but I have it good nonetheless.  I suppose that's why I'm not truly ambitious.

Just some thoughts.  That was all.

Chromium OS

If I'm reading this developer's calendar correctly, the Code for the Google Chromium OS should be completed by tomorrow!

http://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/developers/calendar

I SERIOUSLY want a netbook running this Operating system. Without the need to programs on the computer, but rather using apps, all the docs and everything regarding the service will all be on the net. Personally, I think this is going to completely change the way people look at computers and devices, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I know the OS itself isn't suppossed to be RELEASED and available for sale until the 2nd half of this year, But I've been waiting since I heard about the project.

Here's what I want to make: A fusion.

Here's what I want to make.

Not a website.  Not a database.  Not a Portal or a social network.  A fusion.

Something that seamlessly integrates who and where you are on the internet.

Something that knows if you are on your smart phone, or at your desktop, or in your email.  Something that knows if you're visiting a guest computer, or at your home.

Something that will notify other "friend" users if you are available currently via twitter, or phone, or email when they check on their phones, twitter, email, or webTV.

Something where they can initiate a video chat... a text message... a voice message that you read as text. 

Something that knows if you're at work, it needs to send you a text message instead of call you.

Something that will tell you if you have a video message waiting for you somewhere if your phone can't play it.

Something that will let others link you to what they have discovered, or to their photos or playlists or RSS Feeds in a simple manner.

Something that can use your phone's GPS if you wish to make the whole thing automatically seamless

Something that will never use GPS if you don't.

Something that will let anyone leave you a message if you're in the shower.

In short... I want to fuse the web into something functional.

...Now... Any coders out there with any good ideas?

I seem to be obsessed with this idea of electromagnetic waves...

I was studying a chart on Electromagnetic radiation (found here) - Another thought struck me.

What if we're going about fusion all wrong?

According to E=mc^2, The amount of mass is the energy Divided by speed of light * speed of light. (or m=e/c^2). In a very, VERY watered down layman's terms, this tells me that when you pump an electromagnetic wave to the square of the speed of light, it becomes mass.

Why?

According to the chart, a electromagnetic field runs counter to the wavelength of the actual photon's wavelength. Therefore, it makes sense to me that when both the wavelength of the field and the wavelength of the photon are brought to link to one another, thereby creating mass. After all, what is a quark but an electromagnetic field of a specific wavelength... IE, c^2?

Hypothesis 4 - When electromagnetic fields match nearby electromagnetic waves at the speed of light by the speed of light, wavelengths of photons 'stabelize' upon themselves with magnetic fields, causing them to fold into mass.

This just all seems to me to be logical...

This just all seems to me to be logical.  While imaginative, the "issues" with quantum theory are due only to the lack of insight on the part of those who take issue.  I am not upholding quantum physics to be true, quite the opposite:  I am saying it is accurate in some respects, but incomplete.  One will notice that The only 'issues' people run into with quantum physics is insisting that particles are indeed something solid and unchangeable, and quarks don't seem to work that way.  ...Is this really so hard to imagine?

Hypothesis 3: An atom is a semi-static wave function.

Hypothesis 3:  An atom in an interferometer is running through the device as a wavefunction.  When applying another wavefunction, the structure of the wavefunction can be determined on either side at half the value, as the wave is still in motion.  Therefore, "particles" are nothing more than the way we observe the wavefunction of all things... atoms are merely waves of dark energy contained to a semi-static state, where they interact within their own atom more easily and readily than within the wavefunction of another, until forced to do otherwise (such as in the event of electrons moving through a cable). 


An aside:
In answer to the issues of Schrodinger's theory: (I.E. - The stick a cat in a box with a radioactive-isotope-triggered-poison-machine experiment)

1 - Why is it that we never see superpositions of such macroscopically distinguishable states (such as cats being dead and alive at the same time) and instruments both recording and not recording signals?) After all, we do see the effects of such superposition in the interferometer when the porthole is closed, and of course in the two-slit experiment, but there the states involved were microscopic ones involving individual atoms.

A:  - Atoms are quarks and by their very nature, 'semi-static' wave functions.  Though they can be predicted, their state does fluctuate in relation to the wavefunctions around it.  However, a macroscopic object will constantly be surrounded by other wavefunctions, and therefore, stable.  Schrodinger cat will die, will die once, and it will be irrelevant whether or not this consciously observed.

2 - Even if there was a way of getting Schrodinger cat states out of the way before we look, is there not still further wavefunction collapse necessary to remove all the remaining possible options bar the one we actually end up observing?  Thus, Schrodinger's cat could be dead, alive, or both.  Removing the both option still does not tell us how one of the other two possibilities is discarded when we open the box.

A:  - The cat was never in two states at once.  Again, a macroscopic object will constantly be surrounded by other wavefunctions, and therefore, stable, unlike it's atomic counterpart.  Again, Schrodinger cat will die, will die once, and it will be irrelevant whether or not this consciously observed.

Hypotheses: Neither a photon nor an electron is truly a particle.

I would like to do experiments based on the following 2 hypotheses. 

Hypothesis 1:

A photon is NOT a particle.  Albeit a photon acts entirely like a particle when bouncing off an electron, in reality it is merely the dark energy that forms the quark moving in a specific wave interacting with the dark energy "folded" within the electron that causes it to bounce away.  This in no way negates the effect of the two slit experiment, except for the fact that the photon was never truly a particle to begin with, merely a direction of energy; but changes the understanding of the effects of Compton Scattering.  

Given:  The empty space of a quark is composed primarily of dark energy.

Hypothesis 2: 

An electron is not truly a particle:  It is a 'magnetospheric' effect around the quarks composing a proton and a neutron, and a moving radical electron is, in reality, dark energy in motion as a wave... hence the inability to capture its current location, (a phenomenon which in part led to the theory of quantum physics.)

Steal this comic

Yes, another XKCD... but seriously, DRM is broken and does need to be changed.

is it bad if this happened to me a couple of weeks ago?

http://xkcd.com/309/

A random thought on the electromagnetic spectrum...

In our world of visible physics, in areas where matter is clustered, as is the case in our world, and that matter crashes into matter, a chain reaction occurs, known as a "wave".  External factors eventually slow that wave down, and it usually stops when it either runs out of energy, or hits something that can absorb the wave and transfer the energy, but the energy is merely shifted to another kind of energy, the energy does not go away.  Still, for as long as matter is similarly clustered, the energy of the wave can travel.

Therefore, it is only conceivable that electromagnetic waves function in the same principle... only with some kind of "matter" we cannot see.  In the quark of any given proton of an atom, Empty space accounts for 80 percent of the energy (mass) in the quark of a proton.  Scientists are scrambling with projects such as the Large Ion Collider or the Large Hadron Collider to understand this energy, but it seems as though this can be best described as "Dark" energy, the energy that we now know makes up 70 percent of all energy in the universe.  It is measurable in the empty space of an atom, but where atoms are not visible, we are at a loss to see them.

However, it seems feasible that if a wave can travel, there must be someTHING it is traveling through.  Does it not only stand to reason that matter, which we know to be naught but bound energy, is really a bound form of this dark energy bound within quarks within sub-atomic particles to fashion our known universe?

it seems to me then that Electromagnetic waves are merely waves of energy not bound within the atom, but waves of energy crashing upon themselves, free to traverse the wilds of the dark energy in our universe.  After all, it was just this week it was discovered the effects of gravetomagnetic waves were shown to be no less than one hundred million trillion times larger than Einstein's General Relativity predicts (cite source below).  What else are we missing that we don't even know about?

http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-First-Test-That-Proves-General-Theory-of-Relativity-Wrong-20259.shtml

Input, anyone?  Your thoughts?

Okay I lied.

Okay I lied, NOT the last one.  But ANY OF WHO WHO HAVE EVER MET ME will understand why...

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/blagofaire.png

One more for ya...

Because, lets face it... we've all been here.

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png

Ever had this happen to you?

I have.  =D




http://xkcd.com/228/

Just for Clarification...

Yaaaaaay! Play another one!

hehe, this is really cool.

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/25/robothespian-chuck-e-cheese-entertainment-comes-home/

RoboThespian: Chuck E. Cheese entertainment comes home

posted Feb 25th 2010 9:07am by Mike Szczys
filed under: robots hacks

Remember your eighth birthday party when the animatronic band at Chuck E. Cheese sang happy birthday just for you? Now you can enjoy this any day of the year with RoboThespian. The complete animatronic platform has been modeled in Blender 3D. Animating the robot is as easy as producing an animation from its digital model. Lip syncing is generated automatically, with the handles to the right of the model's head controlling facial expression.

HAHAHA I <3 XKCD

http://xkcd.com/77/

I <3 XKCD

Peru Poison Frog Reveals the Secret of Monogamy

Wow, really?  The One monogamous creature we can find (besides whatever percentage of ourselves) is... a poison tree frog.

(Take from the following)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8524000/8524558.stm

When the researchers moved tadpoles from both species into different sized pools, they found that the tadpoles grew quickly in the larger pools, which contain more nutrients, but could not survive alone in smaller ones.

That strongly suggests that variable poison frogs don't need to stick together, as their tadpoles can survive in larger pools without feeding from their mothers.

Mimic poison frogs have been forced to take a different path, however.

Their tadpoles cannot survive without the care of both their father and mother, as there is too little natural food in their smaller pools.

Fatherly protection

So the adult frogs stick together.

First off, I really want to know... who thought of testing creatures for Monogamy?  Second, The results are VERY interesting.  The more need there is for a unified family environment, and the harder the struggle to keep that family close, more likely the monogamy is for these frogs.  If this truly is a parallel with humans, that's something to consider.

Again, what a Bizarre planet.

OW!

Cavities and Gummi Bears DO NOT MIX.

Time to make a dentist appointment.

Omg I just got the best movie Idea EVER.

Okay, I just got the best movie idea EVER.  You know all those old "inspirational teacher" movies from the 80's and 90's?  Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, Dangerous Minds, Etc... Make one of those, only instead of Inner City kids, use REDNECK KIDS.

I would pay VERY, VERY good money to see this film. =))

ALL DONE!!!!

ALL my feeds are setup, EXACTLY the way I want them!  I'm such a happy guy!  =D  <(_<) <(__)> (>_)> *Is doing the happy dance*

Granted, twitter still does links to the things I say, but I can live with that for now if my followers can.  =)

If any of you want to know what I did, or how I did it, msg me.

(YAAAAY!)

The Ring is MINE =)

You know you're a complete geek when you see this and all you can think to yourself is... "The Ring is Mine!" =p

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/spoon.jpg?w=500&h=374

Untitled

Okay... one last test and hopefully twitter won't corrupt my facebook, but will still have the post itself.  =)  I think I'm going to enjoy this new service... =D

Posted via email from phoenix919's posterous

This world is Bizarre... THE BLOG!

Alright everyone. After my last post, I did decide it was time to finally post all the strange news stories I find in a separate blog. I will still be feeding it to facebook once I can get home to configure it, but you can link to it if you like your day leaving you scratching your head. =)


http://thisworldisbizarre.blogspot.com/

In other extraordinarily bizzare news: Professor who killed 3 collegues wants to know if she still is employed.

In other extraordinarily bizzare news: Professor who killed 3 collegues wants to know if she still is employed.

No, I'm not kidding.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100219/ap_on_re_us/us_ala_university_shooting

...I think I'll start a "This world is Bizzare" blog and move all this stuff over there.

Politicians getting dumber: One slams presidential telepropter WHILE USING TELEPROMPTERS

Politician slams presidential telepropter in front of teleprompter.


Dear Politicians: Quit getting dumber. Love, me.

http://digg.com/politics/Rubio_Slams_Obama_s_Teleprompter_While_In_Front_Of_Telemprom

In a brilliant move by Family Guy Execs...

Nice forecasting of possible responses family guy.

http://digg.com/d31JFxO

Micro-dactyl!

This is way rad

http://digg.com/d31J01a

Makes a lot more sense where the legend of dragons comes from, however.

http://www.itsnature.org/trees/reptiles-trees/flying-dragon/

Cheney admits to war crimes

Now if only someone would do something about it...

http://digg.com/d31IuM6

Man threatens to kill mom over World of Warcraft

...

http://digg.com/people/Man_threatens_to_kill_mom_over_World_of_Warcraft

Google buzz

Gonna Try Google Buzz, as I can't actively check Facebook at work. Read a couple Buzz-kill articles, but this might work for me. Use your Gmail, click on the new "Buzz" link on the left if you see it. Add me - phoenix919@gmail.com

An Open Letter to Bill O'Reilly

Dear "Papa Bear" Bill O'Reilly,

I have been watching your recent interview with Jon Stewart, and although I normally find myself amused at the banter between the two of you, this time I am merely disappointed.

Perhaps I should explain.

I am thirty years old, live in Phoenix Arizona, and am a political moderate. I work in I.T. and have been married now for six months to a beautiful new wife who is a High School Teacher. Both my wife and I are a part of working class America. I work out every day, I've never once used any kind of recreational drug, and consider myself an religious man. I love America, love my family, and love to laugh. I am fairly intelligent, well-informed, and consider myself well-balanced. Basically, I'm the every politician needs to sway if they want the swing vote.

And much like your friend Dennis Miller, I watch the Daily show.

I've been watching it since I was a college student. Mainly because I love a good joke, especially when it's based on the truth. Anyone can watch "The Onion" for fake news, but why bother when the real news is so much more amusing to make fun of? However, I'm no longer a college student. My wife's students were born when I was in High School. Like so many my age, I no longer stay up late as I work at 5am, but my generation was educated when the internet became a reality in the 90s, so I know how to work a computer and Tivo. I watch shows online or at home on my own schedule. And I choose to keep watching the Daily Show of all things because I consider the news and the political circus so ridiculous, I can enjoy the show's wit.

Obviously, your producers, if not you yourself, have come to understand that those who grew up watching "America's finest fake news" are the new bulk of America's swinging voters, viewers, and consumers who truly consider what others have to say. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be bothered to have him on as a guest in the first place, let alone one who needs any kind of analysis. And I noticed this time, your show didn't play out the same as it has in the past. You had an analyst on your show to discuss Stewart's Body language. That tells me it's now important to you and your viewers, and possibly your producers, to understand what it is that makes my demographic watch a charismatic comedian such as Jon.

You also played a clip from his show during the broadcast of your interview. In this clip, Stewart discusses his recent (and in my opinion, valid) criticisms of the President before the recent GOP dinner, headlined "Obama loses Stewart" as a backer. His joke: "And with Stewart, so goes... a small but somehow demographically important percentage of the population". As per usual, I see the wit in the joke. After all, you yourself might not have him on your show if he didn't have the following he does.

So to hear you dismiss me in a demographic of people you call "stoned slackers" is very much a slap in the face. It's not the first time you've said it, you said much the same six years ago when Stewart was on your show. Perhaps because I was in college back then, it didn't bother me as much. Many of my friends then were indeed exactly what you said. But people who watch the Daily Show are no longer just teenagers and college students and "Stoned Slackers" anymore. And you seem to know it, or he wouldn't be on your show. They're intelligent people like myself who People whose opinions can be swayed by a reasonable argument.

I'd appreciate it if you could imagine for a minute that anyone who chooses to listen to someone other than yourself might also be the same people who watch your show. I'm certain you wouldn't call your own viewers "stoned slackers" on purpose, but you did. There is a crossover. You proved that by having Dennis Miller on your show. And if you want people to continue to watch your show, you may want to respect they get their information from multiple sources. It's a similar lack of respect and lack of acknowledgment to the issues of our generation that turned our hands to vote Obama into Office, however much we might have respected John McCain in the past.

Finally, This is an Open Letter. I will be sending a copy to The Daily Show and, of course, this will be on the Blogosphere. I wonder if one of you will acknowledge it on your show?

Sincerely,

Cody Langness,
Phoenix, Arizona.

I still love this comic

A tip... Don't set your wireless router in line of sight of your microwave. ...No, really.

http://xkcd.com/654/

waiting for this to be perfected

Can't wait

http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2010/020210-10-coolest-google-labs-experiments-colbin.html?ts#slide5

Avatar becomes first ever 2 billiion dollar movie

NICE

http://digg.com/movies/Avatar_Becomes_the_First_Ever_2_Billion_Dollar_Movie

ABSOLUTELY... BIZARRE... STORY...

http://digg.com/d31GiQS

Brilliant

http://i.imgur.com/pz77X.jpg

Brilliant!

it begins

Okay. here comes the new headset system. apparantly it also means I need to permanently have this little buzz of static in my ear. ...this isn't going to be fun.

It is time

My work is finally making the transition to a telephone system where our phones will no longer ring... we'll simply hear a "beep" in our headset and be on the line.

.....lovely. That's what I always wanted. ...Guess that means the mute button will be my friend now in case I'm taking that sip of water. They've been talking about this change for a while and now it's time... for us to drive ourselves nuts.

Phoebe Prince, 15, Commits Suicide After Onslaught of Cyber-Bullying From Fellow Students

http://digg.com/d31Gxfn

"...It was an especially tragic ending for the Prince family. Anne O'Brien Prince and Jeremy Prince had moved from County Clare to Massachusetts with their five kids last year. In Phoebe's death notice, they said they moved in part so "Phoebe could experience America.''

America, it seems, did not give her a very kind welcome."

--------

Maybe I'll want my kids someday to experience something other than America. This certainly isn't heartening...

OOh, shiny.

Not sure how I feel about this yet. Looks cool, But I still need to try an Ipod touch first. I've always kind of wanted something like this... still...

http://www.apple.com/

(Ipad? really?)

This is scary.

1/3rd of Women in US Military Raped

http://digg.com/d31GnxY

This is really scary. "In 2003, a survey of female veterans found that 30 percent said they were raped in the military. A 2004 study of veterans who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while serving."

Disgusting.

See the original image at dailymail.co.uk School decides only poor kids get field trips, others don't.

School decides only poor kids get field trips, others don't.

http://digg.com/d31GyYz

Virus amusement XKCD

http://digg.com/d31Gtj3

I am amused

D&D Still ruled as "Gang-Promoting" in Prison. ...HUH?

Wait a minute... let me see if I've got this right... You're worried about Dungeons and Dragons causing Gang related behavior for people... IN PRISON. ...Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

http://www.fark.com/cgi/go.pl?i=4968600&l=http://www.wkowtv.com/global/story.asp%3Fs%3D11876814

SoCal Schools Ban Dictionary???????

Okay... I understand the need for censorship. And I understand that ignorance can be a drive for some strange and bizzare things in our world. I accept that.


But WHAT... THE... FRAK...

BANNING A DICTIONARY FROM SCHOOLS is going just a LITTLE too far... don't you think?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/25/oral-sex-dictionary-ban-us-schools?DSF

Elder Scrolls MMORPG

OH...My...GOD...

So, apparantly, Elder scrolls is working on it's own MMO. ...NOW WHAT AM I GONNA DO??? I've been waiting so long for Star Wars: TOR, if they come out at the same time, I'm gonna be a very, VERY torn individual.


http://www.swtorstrategies.com/2010/01/rumor-elder-scrolls-mmo.html

Picture driven computing... bye bye code classes?

http://digg.com/d31GAMK

This is insane.

...Suppose, for instance, that a Python programmer wants to write a script that automatically sends a message to her cell phone when the bus she takes to work rounds a particular corner. If the transportation authority maintains a web site that depicts the bus’s progress as a moving pin on a Google map, the programmer can specify that the message should be sent when the pin enters a particular map region. Instead of using arcane terminology to describe the pin, or specifying the geographical coordinates of the map region’s boundaries, the programmer can simply plug screen shots into the script: when this (the pin) gets here (the corner), send me a text.

“When I saw that, I thought, ‘Oh my God, you can do that?’” says Allen Cypher, a researcher at IBM’s Almaden Research Center who specializes in human-computer interactions. “I certainly never thought that you could do anything like that. Not only do they do it; they do it well. It’s already practical. I want to use it right away to do things I couldn’t do before.”

http://digg.com/d31GAMK

How to make a "Working" Phazer Weapon... And so it begins.

It begins...

http://digg.com/d31G3R4

TERRORIST TWITTER

THIS guy was arrested for joking he would blow up Robin Hood Airport. ...Wait, there's a Robin Hood airport? HOW did I not know about this?

Anyway, I wonder if I could get arrested for saying I'm going to fill The Washington Memorial with super-intense Helium and let it float into the sun on facebook. Let's find out... (Sarcmarc!)


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7016266/Man-arrested-under-Terrorism-Act-for-Doncaster-airport-Twitter-joke.html

Terrible Idea! (Sarcmarc!) =p

interesting

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6995354/Sarcasm-punctuation-mark-aims-to-put-an-end-to-email-confusion.html

Lets not lie... who else has a weekend like this?

Lets not lie... who else has a weekend like this?

http://drawingboard.smackjeeves.com/comics/626704/weekend-will-wind/

Mistaken Identity

Awesome case of mistaken Identity

http://digg.com/d31FfvI

(I <3 U Facebook)

Sheep Births Human-Faced Lamb???

Our world is a very, VERY bizarre place.

http://digg.com/pets_animals/Sheep_gives_birth_to_human_faced_lamb


...VERY bizarre.

THANK YOU FACEBOOK

THANK YOU FACEBOOK FOR FINALLY INCLUDING THE 'REPLY TO' FEATURE IN E-MAIL.

Google Earth Found El Dorado

NICE.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6982391.ece

Awesome!

Ikea hack FTW!

http://digg.com/d31F1RL

=)

Double Atomic Bomb Survivor dies in Japan

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34722073/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

Very sad... this man is a definitely a storyteller for generations.

I was very interested to note that James Cameron, Directer of Avatar and Titanic, visited him a month before he died, considering a movie based on the story he actually lived.

What must it be like to talk to such a man?

intriguing

Intriguing... some stats from the last 10 years

http://digg.com/d31ETv9