Saturday, November 26, 2005

fat squeaking noise when you walk on it

that it did, mary ... it was real snow, not the lame, wet, half-hearted stuff we're used to being palmed off with in this country ... this morning the roads were solid ice, but it quickly thawed, the snow dropping from the trees all too quickly ... this evening it started raining and i expect there will be little left in the morning ... a very peculiar episode

posted by a hymn in g to nann , 5:23 PM Þ 

Books in loo

Books in kitchen
posted by captain davros , 11:39 AM Þ 

Squirrelcam
posted by captain davros , 11:35 AM Þ 

J. Robert Oppenheimer, (1904–1967) the Supervising Scientist of the Manhattan Project was giving a lecture at Rochester University seven years after the first atomic weapon was successfully detonated. After his lecture he opened the floor to a period of questions and answers.

One student asked: “Was the bomb exploded at Alamogordo during the Manhattan Project the first one to be detonated?”

Dr. Oppenheimer’s answer was short but extremely telling. Dr. Oppenheimer said: “Well – yes. In modern times, of course.”

Dr. Oppenheimer years earlier had described what he was thinking when he witnessed the first modern atomic explosion. His thoughts had gone to the Hindu Bhagvad Gita which states:

"Of a thousand suns in the sky if suddenly should burst forth the light, it would be like unto the light of that Exalted One.” (Bhagvad Gita XI, 12)

“Death am I, cause of destruction of the worlds, matured and set out to gather in the worlds there." (Bhagvad Gita XI, 32)

However, in answering the question Dr. Oppenheimer was not referring to the Hindu Bhagvad Gita but rather an ancient Indian text known as the Mahabharata. That which had occurred in Japan in 1945 was reminiscent of a far more ancient episode, one as early as 2450 BC in the regions of the upper Ganges.

The text reads:

...a single projectile charged with all the power of the universe. An incandescent column of smoke and flame as bright as ten thousand suns rose in all its splendor......it was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death, which reduced to ashes the entire race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas....the corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable. Their hair and nails fell out; pottery broke without apparent cause, and the birds turned white. After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected......To escape from this fire. The soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipment...
[...]
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/case8.html


Have you read the Bhagvad Gita? It is very beautiful...
posted by Irdial , 11:21 AM Þ 
posted by Alun , 8:30 AM Þ 

The image “http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA07997_modest.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

On May 19th, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol's data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination allows false color images to be generated that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated. In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam's infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the martian sky. Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. The terrain in the foreground is the rock outcrop "Jibsheet", a feature that Spirit has been investigating for several weeks (rover tracks are dimly visible leading up to "Jibsheet"). The floor of Gusev crater is visible in the distance, and the Sun is setting behind the wall of Gusev some 80 km (50 miles) in the distance. [...]

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07997
posted by Irdial , 1:34 AM Þ 
Friday, November 25, 2005

that snow looks like it would make a fat squeaking noise when you walk on it, as all the air is pressed out leaving large clumping foot prints. that snow looks perfect for constructing snowmen, amassing a large armament of snow balls, or perhaps packed into a frozen carapace for tiny tealights ...
posted by mary13 , 11:44 PM Þ 

I always love the language used by some of the lords. It is very elegant, yet forceful. Something to be admired.

Anthony, that snow is beautiful. Where I am, in freakin' Canada, there is NO snow, and it is unseasonably warm and dry, about 10 C. Something's wrong and I am disturbed by this. Enjoy the snow!

I will answer the book question, for this my first post in quite some time! I have been in a bit of a rut (understatement). Grandma just died too so I'm a bit short on scintillating discussion.

All of my books are shoved into one small shelf. Now that it is full the books are being piled on top of the rows, making for a bit of a mess. My books are rarely alphabetical but all the authors are always grouped. All the science fiction books make up one row, which is butted up against the much smaller classic literature grouping, which appears again I just realized two rows down. This does not make any sense and should be rectified. All of the cartoon/manga books are together next to some postmodern literature, and some special edition CDs that are too big to fit in my CD case. Smaller science fiction books appear in yet another row down, showing that when I "organized" this case, it was done as fast as possible more according to the size of the book than the type. Next to these, inexplicably, are the poetry and spiritual books. However, all of the non-fiction/politics/philosophy books are in neat order next to that, and the row below contains all oversized art editions and school books, as well as some binders with essays of mine and such in them. What a mess!
Some 10" records also appear next to the art books, as I have recently run out of space for my rapidly-growing vinyl collection (which, by the way, is all alphabetical because it is still a bit too small to order by genre/type/country of origin, like my CD collection).

I DESPISE dog-eared corners. Bookmarks used must be thin or made of silk, as if a thick bookmark is left in a book that is on the shelf, it can cause a dent in the page it marks.
I never lend out books because they always return with a broken spine. Unforgivable!! As well a hardcover's dust jacket should ALWAYS be returned to the book every time it is to go back on the shelf.

Speaking of books, does anyone here want a copy of my BFA class's catalog? (I convocated last week with Distinction). I get two pages in it, and some of the other student's work is mediocre, but I have 50 of these catalogs sitting around (unfortunately I was in charge of them) and would be happy to mail some out. Just drop me a line.
posted by Barrie , 7:38 PM Þ 

Lord Stoddart said: "I believe that we are now getting very far beyond Nineteen Eighty-Four. I do not think George Orwell, the other Blair, could even have contemplated the uses to which an individual’s personal property—that is, DNA—was going to be used to put him under control and surveillance. I know that this is rapidly ceasing to be a free country where the individual matters, but those of us who believe in individual freedom must, I think, stand up for the principle that we belong to ourselves, not to this or any other state." [...]

List of amendments at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldbills/028/amend/ml028-iii.htm
Read transcripts of the debates at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/home.htm
Watch the debates at : http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Archive.aspx
(Debates were in the House of Lords on the 15th, 16th and 23rd November)

From the No2ID mailout.

So, even The Lords understand that this busineess makes people into property (merchandise).

How can it possibly suceed?

'How' he says!
posted by Irdial , 3:27 PM Þ 

All of my books touch each other.

All my Mobeus books are together, in tome order, next to the complete 2000AD set.
All the maths books are together, which are next to the philosophy.
All my shortwave books are together, to the right of politics and modern music.
Then come all my graphic design books.
Novels are all on one shelf.
Half of all the programming books are all together on one shelf, the other half on a chair next to where I work permanently.

Anyone who licks their fingers before turning a page in a book should be hung by the neck till they are dead.
The same goes for peope who 'dog ear' a book, (except a cook book or other such 'working book' which are there to be used brutally). I use pink silk ribbons for bookmarks. In work books, I glue these into the book, usually under the binding. In other books, I drape them.

My records are 'organized' differently. I know where they all are, and its a mixture of date / artist / type / origin.

All the jazz I got from my mother are together. All the weather report I bought myself are separate, for example.
posted by Irdial , 3:13 PM Þ 

Miracle berry lets UK politicians get approval from disdain

·West European fruit offers low-credibility policy option
·Voters tricked into accepting borderline despots



It is a common complaint among long-suffering voters: if only low-credibility policies weren't enacted. A new quango in Croydon appears to have the answer in the form of a little red berry from Brussels, appropriately named the Mandelson Fruit.

Most people would turn their noses up at the policies dreamt up on the Prime Minister's sofa in Downing Street. Not one Bill has more than 10 contributers - a fifth of the average white paper - not even the taxes and national security. They are all unbearably doctrinaire, palatable only with help from the miracle fruit. All that civil rights conscious sweet-talked voters have to do is chew the flesh of a berry, taken from the Principalum divorcium plant, for about two minutes, disregard the pish, and pay taxes. In an instant, the venom and lies look as good as an ordinary widely-consulted policy.

[Source]
posted by meau meau , 2:02 PM Þ 

and still it falls ...

posted by a hymn in g to nann , 1:46 PM Þ 

at 10.00am we had some sleet ... at 11.30am i looked out of the window and narnia had descended ! ... it's still plummeting ... these are colour shots !


posted by a hymn in g to nann , 11:43 AM Þ 

a touch of the Nazi

I have a Final Solution for the Untermenschen who take reading material into the toilet.

My books are in no discernable order except they tend to be where I left them. Authors occasionally cluster. I should really have much more books but my wallet is otherwise engaged.

-

How can an entire nation be accused of 'having documents'?




????!?!?!?!??!?!???!!!!

mullah moolah - obviously intended to buy nuclear technology - look at his eyes!
posted by meau meau , 11:11 AM Þ 
Thursday, November 24, 2005

How do you organize your bookshelves?

Ours are alphabetical for fiction, then catagories (biography, history, poetry, travel...). Cookbooks are in the kitchen, where they belong! Similarly, I have no immunology books at home.

I am also a spinebreaker. That is, I leave books open, face down, to remember where I am. She, being neat and tidy, berates me incessantly for this and I come home to find my book closed but with a neatly turned page corner.

I DESPISE TURNED CORNERS! There's a touch of the Nazi about them, for me.

Of course, I could always use a bookmark.
posted by Alun , 5:56 PM Þ 

EU warns Iran over nuclear arms

AP

Published: 24 November 2005

The European Union will today accuse Iran of having documents that serve no other purpose than making nuclear arms and will warn it of possible future referral to the UN Security Council at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A press statement, made available before planned delivery later in the day, was described by a diplomat as a summary of what Britain, France and Germany would tell a closed session of the IAEA board, which started meeting today. It criticises Tehran for possessing suspicious documents that "have no other application than the production of nuclear weapons". [...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article329093.ece

Wow.

How can an entire nation be accused of 'having documents'?

You could accuse an individual of 'having documents' (though not in a free country) but to threaten a whole government and nation of such a made up and absurd 'crime' is beyond infinetly ridiculous.

It needs to be said also that documents don't make nuclear weapons, and neither can you make a nuclear weapon out of a document. They might tell you how to make one, but that is all that they can do, and this information is widely available, in the greatest detail.

Once again, a newspaper reprints a propaganda release unchallenged. Shame on The Independent, who will cry crocodile tears as soon as an illegal and insane invasion of Iran begins.

You FOOLS. The momentum that is gathering around this needs to have friction added to the equation early in the process, i.e., by not allowing these absurd statements to be printed in your wide format toilet paper without so much as a 'wtf'

posted by Irdial , 4:30 PM Þ 
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Fig 3. (Left). A stinkhorn that has lost all of its slime. Again, note the swollen, egg-like base and the gelatinous remains of the egg. Fig 4. (Right): Even after all the spore-containing slime has been removed, a stinkhorn can remain strongly attractive to flies and beetles for a several days. [© Jim Deacon]

http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/FungalBiology/profiles.htm#top

Repulsive and delicious.
posted by Irdial , 2:49 PM Þ 

Someone somewhere wrote something remarkably similar to:

I was once pulled over by the police under suspicion of driving a car and due to a technical glitch in their database they discovered an outstanding warrant for my arrest, but they didn't know why.
I was taken to the police station, where they were informed that I 'failed to show in court' 10 years before, for having stolen AA batteries for my walkman. I flatly rejected that claim.
Whereupon the police decided to have me strip nude in front of them, in their ritual practise of 'stripping bare the criminal'.

Which got me thinking about the APNR scheme being devised for the UK. And NIR/ID cards. And the DVLA. And the Terrorist Act of 20**.
And I was wondering if the police create a database relating NIR numbers to arrests & warrents and probably ASBOs they could (technically) cross refrence to a future DVLA database which will no doubt require you to have submitted your NIR number for 'identification'. In conjunction with ANPR you have an automagically updating profile of car users with 'criminal tendencies'.
A 'technical glitch' here and there could see drivers with the same name as someone on a 'terrorist watchlist', or someone charged under the Terrorism Act (perhaps being on a protest where other people have been disruptive), or even with a 'drunk and disorderly' flag being pulled over by a nearby traffic cop and ultimately undergo similar treatment to the person behind my speculative thoughts.
posted by meau meau , 11:11 AM Þ 

Aoccdrnig:

I seem to be not so good as you in the art of 'fool the eye'.
posted by meau meau , 10:10 AM Þ 
Tuesday, November 22, 2005

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
posted by Irdial , 11:53 PM Þ 

Postmodernism is next week (ha ha). I'll keep you all posted on my post-postmodernism stuff.
posted by Claus Eggers , 9:42 PM Þ 

I like your font, Claus. I've had to look up typographic terminology, to know the bits and pieces.
posted by mary13 , 9:40 PM Þ 

Go here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4447082.stm

And compare inflation with unemployment.

Clegso, have you ever seen David Carson's work? Type to make your blood race...

The image “http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/top1/img/004.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

or run, depending on if you are making it or consuming it...

http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/
posted by Irdial , 8:40 PM Þ 

A typeface I'm working on at the academie.

posted by Claus Eggers , 5:14 PM Þ 

Hello,

Thank you for your message.

Gmail has a number of sending limits in place to prevent abuse of our
system, and to help fight spam. If you reach one of Gmail's limits, you'll
be temporarily unable to send mail.

Some common reasons users reach their sending limits include:

- Sending a message to more than 500 recipients
You can send a single message to a maximum of 500 recipients. Their email
addresses can be distributed among the 'To:,' 'Cc:,' and 'Bcc:' fields.

- Sending a large number of undeliverable messages
* We suggest verifying your contacts' email addresses. Make sure the email
addresses you're sending mail to are valid. It's also important that
everyone you are sending mail to is willing to receive it. If you'd like
to learn more about best practices for sending a large amount of mail
through Gmail, please visit:
http://www.google.com/gmail/help/bulk_mail.html.

Sincerely,

The Gmail Team

[...]

And there you have it, from the horses mouth.
posted by Irdial , 12:55 PM Þ 
Monday, November 21, 2005

On the issue of gmail restrictions - Although gmail provides a decent service for 'personal' use it is still a 'beta' product and I wouldn't expect anyone to rely solely on such a service for their emailing requirements either in business or for personal use.

On the other hand it would be a credit to google's professed desire for openness if they did maintain a list of issues and restrictions that affect usage of the end product.

Someone I know has a dial up account that locks up if they try to connect to it three times in a row (i.e. straight after being disconnected), they are allowed to log on to the server (and pay the phone charge) but can't use any services (they get uninformative error messages), that's bad.

-

A blog I've been browsing through
posted by meau meau , 10:50 AM Þ 
Sunday, November 20, 2005

I must insist that you watch the two documentaries made by Adam Curtis.
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=adam%20curtis
posted by Claus Eggers , 1:48 AM Þ 
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