Humanity in the midst of horror

I can't embed it, but this video of a 90-year-old WWII veteran recounting an experience from his time shortly after the D-day invasion is both incredible and a wonderful example of the power of our shared human values in the face of despair and loss. Please take a moment to give it a look; you won't regret it.

Oh, please note that the video will start playing when the page has loaded. Completely SFW, but it might start up a tad loud...

Thought for the day...

"The spacecraft was a long way from home.

I thought it would be a good idea, just after Saturn, to have them take one last glance homeward. From Saturn, the Earth would appear too small for Voyager to make out any detail. Our planet would be just a point of light, a lonely pixel hardly distinguishable from the other points of light Voyager would see: nearby planets, far off suns. But precisely because of the obscurity of our world thus revealed, such a picture might be worth having.

It had been well understood by the scientists and philosophers of classical antiquity that the Earth was a mere point in a vast, encompassing cosmos—but no one had ever seen it as such. Here was our first chance, and perhaps also our last for decades to come.

So, here they are: a mosaic of squares laid down on top of the planets in a background smattering of more distant stars. Because of the reflection of sunlight off the spacecraft, the Earth seems to be sitting in a beam of light, as if there were some special significance to this small world; but it's just an accident of geometry and optics. There is no sign of humans in this picture: not our reworking of the Earth's surface; not our machines; not ourselves. From this vantage point, our obsession with nationalisms is nowhere in evidence. We are too small. On the scale of worlds, humans are inconsequential: a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump of rock and metal.

Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you've ever heard of, every human being who ever was lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings; thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines; every hunter and forager; every hero and coward; every creator and destroyer of civilizations; every king and peasant, every young couple in love; every mother and father; hopeful child; inventor and explorer; every teacher of morals; every corrupt politician; every supreme leader; every superstar; every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.

Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings; how eager they are to kill one another; how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity—in all this vastness—there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known.

The pale blue dot."

An excerpt from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. He's referring to a photo of the same name, Pale Blue Dot (a portion of which is posted above), taken by Voyager I on February 14, 1990.

via Gizmodo

Batman!

Someone in my twitter feed (wish I could remember who!) posted a link to this Batman! comic generator. It contains one scene from a classic (judging by the artwork) Batman! comic and allows users to enter dialogue for Batman and Robin and then generates the scene with the user entered dialogue. Hilarity ensues. Of course, I couldn't resist creating several and posting them here for the benefit of posterity. First, the obvious:

TED

Technology. Entertainment. Design. Those are the words/concepts that comprise the acronym TED. From philosophers to activists, from actors to politicians, from Nobel laureates to great chefs, TED conferences bring together and present some of the world's most amazing people. TEDGlobal 2009 is currently underway in Britain and some of the talks should be online within the next few days (including what's sure to be an amusing/informative one by Stephen Fry), but you can always find something interesting or entertaining in the TED archives of past conferences. Case in point: the video embedded below of a charming humorous anecdote related at TED 2008 by the incomparable John Hodgman.

Memorial Day 2009

For citizens of the United States of America, today is the day we set aside specifically to remember the men and women who have throughout our history fought and died to earn and preserve the freedoms we enjoy today. May their courage and bravery never be forgotten and may all of us strive to be worthy of the heavy price with which our liberty has been purchased.


Graphic is by Cox and Forkum

VIP/Loyalty Card Overload?

I've got perhaps a dozen or so of those loyalty program or membership cards that retail establishments give out. Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Office Depot, Best Buy, Jos. A. Banks, Brooks Brothers, Dick's Sporting Goods....the list goes on. And if I want the discounts or perks that go along with those programs, I need to present the cards whenever I make a purchase. That means, of course, that I've got to either carry them all with me OR remember to put the relevant card in my wallet before leaving. The first option leaves me with either a bulging wallet or an overloaded keyring and the second often leaves me without the discount (as I'll likely forget to take along the card). ARGH! What to do?

Lifehacker to the rescue! KeyRingThing provides a free web-based service whereby you can enter up to six of your membership/barcode numbers and it will allow you to download and print out ONE card with all of them on it. You can use that card just as it is, take it to your local Kinko's and have it laminated or for about $3, KeyRingThing will mail you a higher quality plastic credit-card-sized version. You could conceivably reduce 12 loyalty cards to 2 thus saving a great deal of wallet space (no version for keyrings, but you would ostensibly be removing 12 from your keyring and saving space there).

The website also provides a means of downloading the generated barcode for each program as an image to a cell or smartphone. That means that you should be able to simply use the image on your phone screen as you would the card so you wouldn't have to carry the card at all!

I think that's an even better option. I always carry my cellphone, so I would always have my loyalty/membership info with me. In fact, someone else thought of this as well:

CardStar (via Crave) is an application for the iPhone that allows you to enter the membership/barcode numbers of all of your cards and it will generate bar code images that can then be used in place of the cards. You can select from dozens of pre-loaded merchants and the company logo will appear as part of the display. If your merchant/company doesn't appear it's not a problem; you can simply enter the name and store the data under that. The app also provides a means of "fine-tuning" the displayed barcode image to ensure that the code displayed matches the one on the original card (as there are several different encoding methods actually in use). Normally the app sells for $0.99, but right now it's free at the iTunes store, so hurry out and download it if you're an iPhone user. Unfortunately, there currently isn't a version for Blackberry or any other smartphone, but the company is working on one so keep checking their website if you're interested.

I've downloaded this app and have entered several of my card numbers in it, but haven't yet had a chance to test it out so I've no idea how readable the image is to barcode scanners. It looks pretty clear to me on my screen, but those scanners can often seem pretty particular as to their requirements. I'll try to remember to post a follow-up after I've tried it out.

The Amazing Dr. Howser?

I've always enjoyed watching close-up and card magic tricks. I've found a couple of interesting sites on the web, but videos (either on YouTube or elsewhere) remain a good resource for tips and tricks by both professional and amateur magicians. It's always interesting to watch someone perform a trick and then try to figure out how they might have done it.

To wit, witness the video below of Neil Patrick Harris (who's apparently an accomplished amateur) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

It seems to me that Harris must be employing a card force, but exactly how does he do it? He fans the deck beforehand so he doesn't have a deck comprised of Aces. Is he taking from the bottom or top to give to Fallon? It's not obvious, but I don't see any other possibility.

This, to me, is the real fun in watching magic: driving yourself nuts trying to figure out how it's done!

Mmmm......bacon?

What is it with bacon?

I mean, I seem to be seeing bacon-flavored this and bacon-flavored that all over the place lately. From bacon-flavored salt and mayo, to chocolate, to jellybeans, and now...

Vodka

Yes, bacon-flavored vodka, incredible as that may seem. Here's the description from the website:

Bakon Vodka is a superior quality potato vodka with a savory bacon flavor. It’s clean, crisp, and delicious. This is the only vodka you’ll ever want to use to make a Bloody Mary, and it's a complementary element of both sweet and savory drinks.

They have a section with recipes that includes that Bloody Mary (that doesn't sound too bad) as well as a couple of other drinks and a bacon-vodka marinade for steak (which actually sounds pretty tasty).

I imagine most of us are familiar with citrus and other fruit-infused vodkas as well as some other flavors (like vanilla, or sweet tea), but bacon just strikes me as an odd pairing for vodka (interesting recipes notwithstanding). I mean, look at this other little marketing tidbit from the website:

No tinge or burn on the tongue, no obnoxious smoky or chemical flavors, just a clean refreshing potato vodka with delicious savory bacon flavor.

Pure. Refreshing. Bacon.

Refreshing? Bacon? While bacon may be many things (mmmmmm), I don't usually think of "refreshing" as an adjective that applies to the cured and crispy-fried belly meat and fat of a dead animal...

I love crispy-fried bacon with breakfast (occasionally...got to watch the fat!), I enjoy bacony Bac-Os on salads (they make very bite better!), I've tried the bacon-flavored chocolate (not bad) and I think the bacon salt and mayo are probably pretty good too. But I'm going to draw the line at bacon-flavored vodka.

YOUR handwriting on the wall!

Have you ever seen a font that looks like someone's handwriting? How about one that looks like yours? Via Lifehacker, I found a tool that allows you to create a font from your own handwriting. Oh, and it's free. How cool is that?!

You need to have access to a scanner (obviously), but the process is quite simple. Download a handwriting sample template from their site. Complete and scan to a jpeg image. Upload the scanned image and voila! - font created! You can then download the font and install it. Takes all of about 10 minutes. The site will create a True-Type font that can be used on either Windows, Mac, or Linux computers.

Here's a sample of the font I created from my own handwriting:

It's a little pixelated 'cause I don't gotz no mad photoshop skillz, but you get the general idea.

Cool and free*: a winning combination!

HT: Lifehacker

* Free for the time being...they're planning on beginning to charge when they've hit the 250k mark on free fonts, so get yours while the getting is good!

Where the hell is Matt?

I noticed this on Hemant's site in July of last year, but somehow never got around to posting about it.

Matt Harding is a young man with a perhaps odd, but nevertheless amazing story. He traveled the world videotaping himself dancing.

I know, it sounds kind of freaky. But the reality is far from it. He didn't just stand in front of a camera and dance (although that's what he actually did on his first trip around Asia), he invited locals to dance with him. And the results are simply amazing.



If you can make it through that video without getting a little emotional, there's something wrong with you. As members of the species homo sapiens, we share a commonality greater than all of our differences. Laughter, art, music, and dance are a few of the ways we express this commonality and Matt's projects highlight all of these in a particularly compelling manner.

I found three "locations" (in this particular video) especially interesting:

Solomon Islands: because the children dancing with him appear to be enjoying themselves so much and Matt is apparently laughing too hard to continue dancing.

DMZ, N. Korea: because Matt is dancing alone in front of a motionless, expressionless N. Korean guard. Kind of says it all...

Gurgaon, India: Music and dance as a universal language. Beautiful.

There are more videos and stories both from Matt and some of the other dancers available at Matt's website. This is a unique story, but it deals with a part of human nature that we all share...

Always trust Google maps!

Google Maps result for driving directions from Seattle, WA to Honolulu, HI:

2,804 mi – about 14 days 6 hours

Seattle, WA‎
1. Head northeast on Broad St toward Taylor Ave N
About 1 min - 0.5 mi
2. Turn left at Westlake Ave N
About 4 mins - 1.6 mi
3. Turn right at 4th Ave N
go 489 ft
4. Continue on Fremont Bridge
go 0.2 mi
5. Turn right at N 34th St
About 1 min - 0.3 mi
6. Turn right at Stone Way N
go 128 ft
7. Turn left at N Northlake Way
About 1 min - 0.2 mi
8. Kayak across the Pacific Ocean
Entering Hawaii
About 14 days 5 hours - 2,756 mi
9. Slight right at Turtle Bay Hilton
go 0.1 mi
10. Turn left at Kuilima Dr
About 2 mins - 0.5 mi
11. Turn right at HI-83
About 19 mins - 10.5 mi
12. Continue on Joseph P Leong Hwy
About 3 mins - 1.9 mi
13. Slight right at HI-99/N Kamehameha Hwy
Continue to follow N Kamehameha Hwy
About 14 mins - 8.6 mi
14. Merge onto I-H2 S via the ramp to Honolulu
About 9 mins - 8.2 mi
15. Merge onto I-H1 E
About 5 mins - 4.5 mi
16. Take exit 13B to merge onto I-H201 E
About 6 mins - 4.7 mi
17. Continue on I-H1 E
About 6 mins - 5.2 mi
18. Take exit 25A for King St
go 0.2 mi
19. Turn right at Waialae Ave
go 98 ft
20. Continue on S King St
About 1 min - 0.2 mi
21. Continue on S Beretania St
go 20 ft

Honolulu, HI‎

HT: The Agitator

All I Want For Xmas Is My Two Front Tenori-On

I wish I had seen these in time for Xmas. As the title implies, I think the "Tenori-On" sounds pretty cool...

What type is this blog?

Interesting...an algorithm that "analyzes" blog content and "categorizes" blog type. Here's what it came up with for this site:

INTP - The Thinkers

The logical and analytical type. They are especially attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications.

They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come across as arrogant, impatient and insensitive to people that need some time to understand what they are talking about.

That is so me!! It's just like my horoscope!

HT: Andrew Sullivan

Do Not Eat!!

During my final year of undergraduate studies I worked as an assistant in UNCG's Financial Aid Office. At some point during that year, the office received a couple of new computers and I was placed in charge of unpacking and setting them up. As I opened one of the packages, a tiny white envelope fell to the ground. As I picked it up, I noticed bold lettering on the side: DO NOT EAT.

Of course this is probably good advice given that those little envelopes, ubiquitous to electronics packaging, contain some sort of dessicant and are likely not the sort of things humans should consume. Still, it made me wonder what kind of person is going to look at this envelope, packed in with a computer keyboard, and think, "Hey, that looks like a tasty snack!" I was so amused at the notion that I used up an entire pad of Post-It notes, writing "DO NOT EAT" on every one and sticking them to various objects in the office (desks, chairs, filing cabinets, clocks, etc). After all, if people were going around munching on strange paper containers found in electronics packaging, then they might very well start snacking on office equipment next! These people needed to be warned!

The other evening while watching television, I saw an advertisement for Guitar Hero in which an animated band plays a rock-and-roll anthem while standing on the roof and hood of a wildly speeding automobile. I'm not sure I understood the connection between the game and the image, but at any rate at the bottom of the television screen was displayed the disclaimer, "Do Not Attempt".

WTF? No, seriously...WTF?? Are there really individuals out there too stupid to realize what might happen to them if they attempt to stand on the hood of a car careening madly down the street? And if so, should we really care what might become of them? Isn't this the sort of defect that natural selection is so good at weeding out of the population and aren't we doing ourselves some sort of disservice by stepping in and preventing nature from doing its part to preserve the overall fitness of the species?

Deep breath....okay, I realize that companies that put these disclaimers on their products/advertisements are doing so out of an understandable desire to protect themselves and their shareholders from lawsuits. But therein lies the problem: what sort of jury awards damages to idiots who injured themselves while performing some stunt they saw in a cartoon or who ate an unidentifiable substance that came in an envelope that fell out of a box? I suppose the answer is: a jury comprised of the same sort of idiots.

One of the baseline assumptions of a modern democratic society is or should be that citizens are rational adults; free moral agents who are responsible for their own actions. Obviously where an individual or a group of individuals are coerced or deceived into acting against their own best interests, those responsible for the coercion or deception should be held accountable, but it seems to me that among rational, free moral agents there should be an assumption of a commonly-held grip on reality. In other words, that we all have at least a rudimentary understanding of how the world works: ice is slippery, hot liquids can burn, not everything can be eaten safely, what goes up must come down, falling can be dangerous, etc, etc. For indeed, how could a society function without such a common reality?

But what of individuals who apparently lack this level of understanding?

In the days before advanced medical technology and unscrupulous ambulance-chasing attorneys these unfortunate persons would have served as examples to the rest of us and a chance for humanity to raise its collective I.Q. Today however, they reap millions of dollars from lawsuits because they burned themselves with hot coffee while the rest of us pay higher taxes and inflated prices on goods and services to compensate them for their stupidity.

Wait a minute...um...who is the stupid one again? I think I'll go and try to shave with the paper shredder...after all, there's no sign on it that says I can't!

Image credit: Saint Gasoline

God deals drugs...news at 11:00

Too funny!

God accused of selling cocaine.

Police said a man named God was arrested near a Tampa church for selling cocaine.

Authorities began investigating God Lucky Howard in April, and he was arrested on Saturday. Police said he sold the cocaine to undercover detectives in his neighborhood. When officers searched his home, they reported finding 22 grams more of cocaine and a scale.

Jail records show Howard was charged with several counts of drug possession and distribution, which include increased charges for being within 1,000 feet of a church, a school and public housing.

He was being held on a bond of $86,500.

Via MSNBC

Where have I been?

Not here, that's for sure. But I have been having some interesting interactions around the blogosphere:

A discussion with philosopher Victor Reppert on moral issues involved in teaching the doctrine of hell to children.

A discussion with philosopher/scientist Massimo Pigliucci on the difference between libertarians and those who claim libertarian ideals and yet look for every opportunity to suckle at the government teat.

I would say that this is a great example of the positive ability of the internet (and the blogosphere in particular) to allow interactions between all sorts of individuals in ways that were simply not possible before. Both of these gentleman are distinguished academics with lists of scholarly published works. One certainly might interact with them through the particular universities at which they teach, but absent that it's most unlikely that someone removed from that arena would likely have the opportunity to do so.

It gives me great hope for the future of our collective intellectual life that thinkers like Drs. Reppert and Pigliucci have blogs and are willing to take comments and hold discussions with interested individuals. It sort of puts me in mind of the old "Penny University" coffeehouses in London during the eighteenth century. Except instead of a round table and a penny cup of coffee, we have computer terminals over the internet in every country in the world and a cup of home-brew (or perhaps Starbucks). But the net effect is the same: people from diverse backgrounds and cultures are interacting; meeting one another and exchanging ideas. Even if the conversation isn't always polite, it's often stimulating. And as in London where individuals often left these "Penny Universities" smarter or better informed than when they arrived (or so thought Montesquieu), the same hopefully might be said of our newer, technologically-enhanced version.

Amusing Diversion...

Who would win in a battle between God and Muhammad? Between Buddha and Jesus? Well, now you can find out! Try out Faith Fighter and you get to choose your deity and duke it out with other contenders for the title of Supreme Being!

HT: Pharyngula

If you haven't yet finished your xmas shopping...

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

-Oren Arnold

HT: Unscrewing the Inscrutable

But of course I always knew...

HT: Atheist Jew

Do Want!

I think I shall add this to my xmas list...

HT: Alex Ross