13saves

2008-01-24T09:13:00.001-08:00

It's funny

Stephen Hawking has called the universe "the ultimate free lunch".

hre's a long quote:

There are something like ten million million million million million million million million million million million million million million (1 with eighty zeroes after it) particles in the region of the universe that we can observe. Where did they all come from? The answer is that, in quantum theory, particles can be created out of energy in the form of particle/antiparticle parts. But that just raises the question of where the energy came from. The answer is that the total energy of the universe is exactly zero. The matter in the universe is made out of positive energy. However, the matter is all attracting itself by gravity. Two pieces of matter that are close to each other have less energy than the same two pieces a long way apart, because you have to expend energy to separate them against the gravitational force that is pulling them together. Thus in a sense, the gravitational field has negative energy. In the case of a universe that is approximately uniform in space, one can show that this negative gravitational energy exactly cancels the positive energy represented by the matter. So the total energy of the universe is zero.

Now twice zero is also zero. Thus the universe can double the amount of positive matter energy and also double the negative gravitational energy without violation of the conservation of energy.

"It is said that there's no such thing as a free lunch. But the universe is the ultimate free lunch."

The Taoists say you can only have dark if you have light. good and bad, tall and short etc. define each other and support each other. I feel that this echoes Hawking's statements.

There's a form of english used by some philosophers that omits any use of the verb "to be". They do this because they believe that "universe" is a verb, not a noun.

I've thought a lot about these, what i believe to be, connected issues. It seems to me that the univese exists solely because it is in flux. that the "virtual particles" that exist in a vacuum are a microscopic version of the true nature of reality. it is only because of the dynamic between positive energy and the negative energy that are kept separate from each other instead of allowing them to cancel out.

that is to say, ulitmately they do cancel out and there is nothing. but if there was nothing there would be nothing. and the nothingness would be without description and in fact, there is nothing but somehow, in the nothingness, there is also 1 and -1. that is the mystery of existence. perhaps that is the nature of god. that which allows the nothingness to be 1 and -1 instead of zero.

it's my version of the anthropic principle and it's still very hard to put in words. in my head it's conceptualized more clearly.

worlds

2007-10-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

following the many worlds/ quantum suicide interpretation: a man is aware of the world where he stays alive. people who die in his world have actually split off into universes where they are still alive. in his universe they die. as the worlds continue to split he becomes more an more alone. as he becomes increasingly old and alone he begins to wonder why he is living so long and others are dying. he continues to live to a ridiculous age. everyone is young around him and he starts to feel invisible. t hen aspects of invisibility begin to take hold. other bizarre change sin the universe begin to manifest themselves. as a 200 year old man in a 80 lifespan universe the universe begins to evolve in bizarre ways since it is affected by this paradox. as the universe continues to get more an more bizarre the line betweeen life and death become more and more blurred. eventually the lines between any two given states (and indeed even between himself and other 0objects in the universe) become more and more blurred and he eventually arrives at a state of undifferenciated existence. this state is the true nature of nirvana or heaven and also the true nature of death.

the nature of time and entropy

2007-08-22T02:20:00.000-07:00

hawking called the universe the ulitmate free lunch. it's as if there was nothing or there was 1 and -1. the nothing still is but also there is 1 and -1. and 2 and -2. electrons and positrons. matter and anti matter.

humans are entropy creating devices, that is we exist by creating entropy. order for our lives is created by causing an increase in entropy for the universe. The line of time can also be viewed as a line of entropy. our metabolism causes us to travel down this line towards greater entropy. this is why the arrow of time points in the direction of entropy.

it's possible that the whole universe, seen as all moments at once may look like nothing. ultimately it is nothing. it is the void. all components added together are zero. slicing it up into time into a line of entropy allows it to be 1 and -1. allows the separation of 1 and -1 from zero.

quantum vacuum fluctuation is the background noise of this separation. there could be nothing with no something. instead there is something out of nothing. there is improbability. there is conciousness and existence.

since nothing can be measured without an observer. perhaps the observer is that which creates 1 and -1 by splitting hte universe through the act of entropy splitting. the creation of moments in time.

What "out there" really is

2007-07-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

It has been said that there is no way to distinguish one electron from another. That is to say, in a Feynman Diagram, 3 electrons that occur as a result of two separate collisions can be correctly viewed as one electron moving forward in time, interacting with another particle as a collision then moving backwards in time to a second collision that causes this electron to begin moving forward in time. It appears to be three electrons but this is purely a matter of how you care to view it (a matter of opinion). There is no way to prove it is not the same electron.

It has also been said that an electron is merely a manifestation of a vibrating "string." This string, should it choose to vibrate in a different way, would then appear to us as a different kind of particle. Can it therefore be said that we could replace the three electrons in the previous paragraph with three different particles? A neutron decays and produces (a proton and) an electron which then annihilates with a positron. Or the positron moves forward in time until it becomes an electron then moves backwards in time until it combines with a proton to produce a neutron.

Since there is no way to really say that the positron, the electron and the neutron are distinct, separate entities - is it wholly outrageous to imagine this on a larger scale? On the largest scale? That, perhaps, in all of the universe there is just one particle? One particle outside of time. With all of infinity at its disposal. Interacting with itself. Carving out the entire universe. A true "God Particle."

In the context of the VR contruct, described in previous posts, is it possible to say that the "out there" I have been referring to is actually just this one particle. This one particle creating your larynx and the computer in front of you and the star millions of light years away and creating the light it sent to you over this vast distance.

Since the particle is capable of moving backwards and forwards in time, unfettered by the limits of time, it has literally "all the time in the universe" to produce this for you. It can not be said to be doing this slowly or quickly since those words describe something that is forced by time to be one or the other.

Since particles can be described also as waves can this particle not also be described as a wave? And since it appears to us as many particles interacting with itself it can also be described as many waveforms interacting with each other. If this is true then perhaps the one particle you are interacting with to create your VR construct can be described as just a very elaborate waveform. A single omnipresent particle producing an eleborate waveform for you to interact with so that you can create [what appears to you to be] a star millions of miles away, a mountain a mile away and a house across the street. Everything around you. Everything that appears to be the wide world you live in is really just a Virtual reality contruct composed of the interaction between your consciousness and an entity producing an extremely complex waveform.

External vs Internal

2007-07-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

The VR contruct is personal to you. It is an immediate product of your interaction with the "out there." It is not the "out there" but it is constructed in conjunction with the "out there."

Consider the light from a distant star. When you "look" at a starry night the distant star that you see is not actually out there. In fact, there's a distinct possibility that the star you are looking at no longer exists. So what is it that you are looking at? It's the light that made it all the way to your eye.

You are looking back in time, in a sense, except that you are not time traveling. The light has traveled through time and distance to get to you. The item you refer to in your mind as 'the star you are looking at' is a product of the external world interacting with your eye. Interacting with you. You created this star with help from the external world.

The external world you perceive directly as your personal Virtual Reality Construct is not "out there." It is representative of "out there" but differs in many ways. One of the demonstrable ways is that it is localized in space and time to yourself whereas the "out there" is not. The star you are seeing may no longer exist; yet for you, it exists as the light it cast off millions of years ago. "Out there" (whatever that means) it is gone but for you it is still real and existing. In this way the dissonance between what you see and what is "out there" can be demonstrated.

Light from a mountain a mile away is the same. Light from the house across the street is the same. Light from your computer screen you are looking at right now is the same. The sound of you typing is the same. The sound of your own voice is the same. This particular difference is much, much more subtle in the everyday items but it is there just the same.

The thought you are thinking right now is not the same.

Political ramifications of the VR contruct

2007-06-24T03:14:00.000-07:00

The amalgamation of the entirety of humanity's VR constructs could be said to constitute humanity's VR constructs-at-large. That seems a simple enough idea.
All of humanity's relationship with reality is contained within this.

This is why shaping opinions and beliefs is so crucially important. When you shape a belief or opinion - especially in the magnitude that mass media provides - you are truly redefining reality since that reality as we know it is ultimately composed of the beliefs and attitues that drive the component nervous systems.

As a not-perfect example. I was having a talk with someone recently about Cheney's attitude that since he has power in the senate - he is not to be considered part of the executive branch. My friend's opinion was that this was bullshit. I said "yes ,but if no one stops him - it is essentially a true statement"

a few further thoughts on the vr construct

2007-06-24T02:57:00.000-07:00

The VR construct described in the previous post can be considered as an extension of the body since it is composed of elements of the nervous system.

When I described the inability to walk through walls...well, let me say, that I would prefer to describe the relationship between VR construct and external force (external reality) as "having rules." One cannot violate the rules during the on the fly contruction of the VR contruct; although, what "having rules" truly means and the limits of these rules are open to debate.

The distinction between VR construct and reality (map and territory) on a day to day basis can sometimes seems arbitrary and could be argued (by someone other than me) to actually be arbitrary but that is a matter of what works for you. They are indeed different (the map is, in fact, demonstrably not the territory) but this thought may lead down the path of true solipsism which i believe is a precursor to sociapathy. sociopathology is bad. Those people you experience are real, I swear. Although THAT is not demonstrable it is better in the vast majority of circumstances for you to behave as if it were true.

The Construct

2007-05-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

Your body is a biological device. One of the functions of the device is to produce and sustain a virtual reality construct that you live within. This construct is a tool that allows you to interact with the external world - but it is not the external world you are looking at right now. It is a virtual reality construct your nervous system has created for you.

Look at something orange (or blue or red or whatever). That orange is not 'out there'. You created it. Your mind received a particle/wave oscillating at a particular frequency and interpreted it as orange and included into your VR construct.

In addition there is no way for you to know if my orange is the same as your orange (the question itself may lack coherent meaning or at least it probably lacks relevance).

Every moment your are creating what appears as reality to you. As a matter of fact, if you weren't creating it, there would be no moment.

It is not entirely accurate to say that you are creating it. You are co-creating it in conjunction with the external force providing input. There is no way for you to determine with 100% certainty what this external force is.

In one way this can be described as solipsism. There is no way for me to determine that any other humans are actually real. I'm not going to go into that here (I would start by elborating on the 'orange' passage above if i did though). I'd rather just point out that I don't indulge in this idea. I am firmly committed to the belief that you are sitting there reading this and thinking 'no, I'm quite real actually.' This, however, is a violation of logic since it is based on very compelling evidence but is ultimate founded on faith. There is no possible way for me to prove it - I just think it works as the most accurate model for me.

The more important aspect of this idea for me is related to the idea of thinking positively. We all know that thinking positively leads to a higher likelihood of positive things happening for you. This becomes a more profound thought to me when I realized that I am actually (co-)creating this whole thing I am looking at and living in.

Sure, I can't walk though walls or leap hundreds of miles because of the strength of the co-creating element ( whatever it is that is outside of me that causes oscillating particles to strike my eye [ that i then interpret as orange]). But I still have tremendous latitude in creating my VR living space.

This idea has caused me to become more observant and active. To increase the richness and detail of my VR construct, my personal reality. Observation is an act of creation.

okay..last story of the night

2006-05-12T05:26:00.000-07:00

lately i've been ignoring my blog and by lately i mean probably a year or two. I've been 'Verbal Blogging' and 'Instant Message Rambling.'

yeah...life story as it matters to you in a sentence, last story of the night happens now:

I had a roommate way back when. How far back? Betweeen 1 and 100 years. Let's call him 'Dustin.' After moving to ___ from ___ (about 3000 miles - put it together) I started a band with a guy that coincidentally had grown up with him. And had been in a band with him and and and and and... And then all his friends were my friends and everybody knew each other from here and there and insanity ensued. Next point...

Dustin had a number of unusual qualities. One that needs to be dealt with at the beginning so that it never comes up again is that he had a _____ so long that he could ______ it. For real, i shit you not. This is not a an embellishment. He rarely left the house. He also was the last person GG Allin ever gave a black eye to.

What he did in the meantime during his senior year at super big deal art school was study minstrel banjo music and build banjos from scratch. Minstrel banjos. These things were made with sticks that he attached to gourds that were dried in the oven. He would play the old time old timey music on them. There was an underground back then too and that was his area of study. Senior year. He did a whole presentation about it. Well documented. There was a live performance component and six hand-made prize banjos . He got an F.

He, of course, complained to the dean. After about 2 seconds of consideration the dean awarded him an A and probably some merit of "achievement like acknowledgability" that might have mattered more than to him than pretty mch nothing at all but I doubt it. Apparently bitching and moaning isn't as useless as the sqeaky wheel never used to...ok you get it, i think.

After graduating he took off on a vacation to the south with his girlfriend and they visited a number of sites that were related to his study. Completely randomly (according to eyewitnesses, but I believe them) they passed a banjo factory in kentucky but otherwise in the middle of nowhere one early evening.

They stopped to check it out. After requesting a tour they were introduced to the owner who was on site and they ended up hanging out with him until the wee hours drinking whiskey and talking shit. 'Dustin' told him the story of his banjophobic 'professor-like entity' and his resulting struggle and, of couse, his love for banjo history.

They crashed out there, got on their way the next morning and that was that.

ok, I kind of forget the timeline but, probably about 2 weeks to 3 months later 'Dustin' got a 'phone' 'call' from a 'person'. He was told the owner of the factory he had visited had died and left the factory to him.

Ok seriously, no shit, this happened.

At first Dustin was against the whole idea. He's not a business man, He'll ruin it; but, he did inherit in the end and runs it to this day. last I heard.

Burning sensation in my throat

2005-09-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last month I met a friend of a friend at a yard sale who offered me a ride in a 6 seater (a cherokee red...man) to burning man. Yes, in the air, directly to the playa. I made an impulsive decision to go for a 7th time. I usually like to go for the whole week to have the whole immersive experience but the plane flight left on friday morning so it was a take it or leave it thing.

Anyway, long story short, I got strep throat the monday before going. The extra few days gave me the opportunity toget to the doctor and get some antibiotics. Had i gone on my normal schedule I would have been F-U-C-K-E-D. Actually, add some more capital FFFF's.

I had never flown in a small plane before. It's like riding in a kite.

I almost decided not to go Thursday night, but Friday morning I changed my mind, which was good overall as I had a pretty good time but the strep and the threat of it getting a lot worse seriously impacted my ability to enjoy it fully. I got to see a lot of great art and hang out with some of my friends up there but strangely I realized that even after several years of going I still had a lot to learn about how to maximize my enjoyment out there...

Elitist Fallout

2005-06-12T22:56:00.000-07:00

That folded leather elitist fallout bore a toll of *hideous proportions*. -- A hundred years down a cobble stone lined well. Dark moldy slick. Distant inky silver reflections confirming it was indeed a well and not a bottomless pit. Misty wraps held you at the bottom while the *vermin* now had the truth you used to hold. The maddening part was that it was still true! The distant echo of the laughter you had for fat moldy losers has travelled back in time to be laughter directed at you. You, the poor pathetic sap who's paycheck has now reached his buyoff point. All the many exciting things, all the free things, all the wild things, all the big mysteries and the plans that were SO going to happen are like a mad man's scratchings against a wall in an abandoned building. Water running down and blurring the text, draining the meaning, but leaving behind the fauvism that once drove it all. Kicked out, stomped and bled to death and worst of all, left stretched out to dessicate so slowly in the hot sun in the middle of a candy (crazy) crowded sidewalk. It wasn't just the exposure, it wasn't just the volume of witnesses to your disgrace, it was how inconvenient you had become to the rest of humanity. You realized the only way to save the world was to remove yourself from it and it was the only way to save yourself from it as well.

I agree bob, and furthermore...

2005-04-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

There's a new Anti-FDA-Sanctioned-Drug radio spot that starts:

"But Dad!"

"We've been over this three times, son"

Really?!?! FUCK! How did I MISS that!

I've been listening to this station for hours and everytime it comes on I miss the beginning of this conversation! I'm gonna go down to that station and smoke some crack in their waiting room until they let me hear the beginning of this argument.

Dammit, start at the beginning!!

2005-03-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

I have to express my strong distaste for a trend that's becoming increasingly popular. TV commercials, shows and radio spots that start as if we missed the first 90 seconds of them or something.

You know, the first word in the commerical will be "so". Newscasts on local 13 start with word "And." Here's an example: Picture the flying logo opening the show, cut to the news anchor with "And today in the capital, President Bush cemented his image as a loveabale dipshit with a...blah blah blah"

There a "popular" (annoyingly frequent) commercial that start out with one character saying "I still don't get it". The other character proceeds to dump inappropriate sauces all of his lunchtime fare to illustrate why AOL is an inescapable necessity. Then the recipient of this wisdom trudges off depondently because his food is ruined. Food he hasn't paid for yet. The inference, of course, is that he's headed to the cashier to pay for it. That's AOL's demographic in a nutshell.

As a side note, I'd like to demand an immediate cease and desist of the use of "Fresh" as a term to describe previously unaired episodes of teen americana.

Thanks for watching.

Your very own barcode! UCA hurray!

2004-10-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Now you can have your very own barcode! Just like a package of twinkies!

Yay!!!

Just laying some solid groundwork for the evolving nighmarish dystopia. It's just going to get better and better folks. Hurray!! Better!!

And don't you just love the way our altruistic press is rampantly touting the unbeleivably good aspects of this system. Boy howdee, we all need one! No more alseep at the wheel press for us! No sir, they've certainly learned their lesson after 9/11. No more blindly tooting the party line horn. No we're constructing-our-news-reports-without-a-shred-of-critical-thought-directly-from-press releases from corporations. That can only lead to good things!

By now you've all heard the Mussolini quote where he says that Fascism should more properly be called Corporatism since it's the merging of corporations with the governing body. Well the press just pretty much is the propaganda arm of this and they are in full force since they're not SHOCKED AND OUTRAGED AT THIS ALARMING NEW DEVELOPMENT!!!!

Crazy am I?

Let's assume for a moment that Mussolini (and others) are right and that Fascism is Corporatism. let's assume that we are moving towards Corporatism in this country. (Halliburton getting major reconstruction contracts and Carlyle Group using James Baker's influence (after appointment by our loving president - the head of our corporatio...government, by the way) to buy out Iraq's debt from Kuwait are just pleasing and fun examples of this. More on the way!

Now, assuming that, let's imagine that there is a plan to expand this corporatio..goverment, oh forget it the United Corporation of American, known from here on as UCA. let's imagine that there is a plan to expand UCA's influence globally. Let's also wildly speculate that they don't necessarily have our best interests at heart. Is that a crazy assumption? They are certainly going to need a stranglehold over the population to keep a globe full of people in line; and even if they didn't, the more control they have over us the better for them. Of course they are going to control us as much as they can, however they can.

Here's a great way to control people! Let's know where they are every second of the day! Let's know what they buy, let's know just about everything about them. And I've even got a way we can make them voluntarily join in!

Monkey hacks voting machine

2004-09-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

In case youo've been living under a rock, Diebold is the company that makes the notoriously unreliable voting machines that nearly EVERY county in the United States that has electronic voting decided for some reason to buy. Guess it wouldn't have anything to do with the company being owned by a republican politician.

Now, apparently even monkeys can falsify the results AND remove the evidence that they did so.

The Worst Time In His Entire Life

2004-09-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, I saw the pixies last night and they were totally fantastic. GEEMEE pointed out that they wee a little fatigued sounding or something to that effect, which is true they were, but they played a lot of great songs and the execution was great. They opened with that "Heaven" song from eraserhead and then did "Wave Of Mutilation" surf version. For an encore they did it again - regular version. It was actually pretty cool, they got away with doing the same song twice.

But the real star of the show was the guy in business attire with the vanilla ice haircut sitting in front of us. Just to help paint a picture, there can be no question but that this guy is voting for Bush. Now we would never have noticed this little basket of sunshine but after the show started his wife turned around to ask us to be quiet. We were alittle suprised but we kept it down for a bit, but you know, it's a rock concert not a movie. We had been drinking so after a few minutes aI'm sure qwe got loud again and about halfway through the third song "haircut" turns around as says "You have got to be kidding me! Keep it down!"

Well that resulted in some very amused looks amongst our group. I wonder how he felt about the guy in the row behind us who kept shouting "You're boring!" at the Pixies.

He started really jamming out and boppin' around in his seat and it made me realized i was grooving out and I started to feel stupid about it, looking at him. After another song or two, people in the audience started standign up, so we all had to and "Precious Hair" just starts going into it big time! Air guitar, air drums, some left and right jabs, townsend-esque arms swinging guitar picking and finishing off the songs with a fist in the air. Oh man, I mean, the Pixies are light on stage prescence, but this guy made the show! They should have had him up on stage, off to the side, and the camera could pan across him now and then to get the audience totally pumped! during an energetic lull. We were SO lucky to have this guy in front of us - out of six to eight thousand people. We got to have him.

Anway they were pretty good. I'm down to pretty good because their rendition of "Gouge Away" was a little lackluster, but at least they played it.

So anyway after the show we were sitting in our seats, talking about how great the show was, when "world's best haircut" turns around and says "How would you know, you were talking through the whole show! I came here to listen to a rock concert and instead I had to listen to your life story! Thanks for the worst time in my entire life!" At this point I felt compelled to congratulate him on having a fantastic life. He followed with "Well worst show ever!" Three later commented that this was just impossible considering the way he was rocking out. Len just kept telling him how awesome he was "Oh man! YOu were great! I could've used a little more air bass, but I shouldn't complain the air guitar and air drums were just fantastic! When are you playing again?!?"

We eventually apologized just to shut him up, which of course didn't work then the peopel around us starting telling him to shut up and I was just looking at him and laughing right in his face this was all so ridiculous. Finally his wife pulled him away and Three commented about how it was sad, he just wanted people to be polite, but in this case, he was just being stupid.

What A Piece Of Crap!

2004-08-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Go here and write some recipe reviews, it's great! If you're looking for inspiration, here's one I wrote:

what a piece of crap!

This recipe sucks! This criminal load of empty calories will have your kids bloated and dateless in no-time. A sure cure to keep your daughter from getting pregnant.

beers bears and bees

2004-08-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ok the Kern river rules. We went just outside of Kernville (some say "coincidence?") and it was fantastic. We were invited by another couple we've only hung out with a couple of times, but who are friends of friends, so it was worth the risk of high weirdness. They have a bunch of friends they like to camp (drink) with.

The river was fantastic and on saturday we stole Perry's air mattress after he passed out (at about 2 in the afternoon) and four of us attempted to ride it down the river. We were mildly successful for about 5 minutes, but we didn't realize that shortly downstream from our camp was a particularly ugly stretch of river. When we hit it we all fell off of the mattress and i was with Mike who managed to get to the side of the river and was attempting to get out. He saw me eyeing up a slightly less vicious little water alleyway and said "you don't want to go down there" and advised me to get over to where he was. So I headed over to him. When I got there he had already been swept off by the current. Followed shortly by me. There were several attempts to halt my downstream travel that ended in "fuck it" type moments where you expected imminent head cracks or worse. As of now I can only remember the last two. At one point there was a very large boulder that everything flowed to the left around. the water was slightly less frenetic there and I managed to hug a boulder next to it. The water pulled me off of that one and I grabbed a slightly smaller rock. This was followed by a smaller one and finally i was holding on to a fist sized stone that was wedged between some other larger rocks (I had to hold on to it and push down on it to keep it wedged in there.) Of course that didn't last long and I went through another washing machine and ended up at the top of a particulary nasty drop that i DID NOT want to go down. Unfortunately (as the brits say) there wasn't much for it. I was wedged at the top of it holding the river back. There was a sizeable sheet of water flowing over my head, as if I was just another rock in the river. i sat there for a bit thinking "well, I can probably stay here for a while, but I'm not going anywhere but down there" so i gave in and took the last plunge. I came out of it surprisingly uninjured. The other guys were all more banged up than me. Turns out, Mike got trapped underneath a rock and figured himself for dead. With the force of the river ther's no way you could expect to get yourself from under the rock - he said he was getting banged around under it for a bit - then got pushed through and it opened on the other side! He went through the falls UNDERNEATH the rocks!

Anyway the next day we got tubes and went upstream from our camp and had an excellent time riding down the river.

We didn't see any bears but there was an excessive bee population. They constantly hovered around and you had no choice but to become comfortable with them or, at least, reasonably so.

USA! USA! USA!

2004-08-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Man, I wish we had a decent health care. That is one of the number one issues if not the number one issue to me. I was listening to a radio show recently where a proponent of health care reform was outlining just how difficult it would be to change the situation around. We'd have to do it in little pieces at a time and every single one would be like pulling teeth. It's just totally enraging.

Listen to this Australian:

AND we don't have a bill of rights either...

Funny that most people consider our democracy to be better than America's in terms of representing the people. Our gun crime rates are WAY lower per head, in fact I think all crime is way lower (probably because we have real welfare, health and education accessable to all). In fact, in many ways, before the neo-liberal reforms of the past few decades Australia was probably only suceeded by war-time britain in representing an ideal socialist state married with real democracy.

...

America is a ghetto compared to Australia. I recently had medical problems, and with no insurance I saw a doctor about 10 times, got xrays, blood tests etc. etc. Didn't hand over a dime, no waiting in line, it just all worked... for free. I don't think you americans understand this. Got my university degree via a government loan which I pay back with no interest once I start earning over a certain threshhold. So it was free too until I get a job with it that earns a reasonable amount. If I never get that job, I don't have to pay it back. And if I can't find a job I get a reasonable set of benefits, straight away none of this 6 months before benefits stuff you americans have. And on top of this our economy is arguably stronger than that of America's.

...

This is why you should vote back in the democrats and get a real healthcare system. Your health, edcuation and welfare systems are the laughing stock of the western world. It was once said if you want to know the essence of a country you should look at how it treats it's poor.

I'm speechless.

Except: "No waiting in line..." oh yeah and one of these: (>_<) !!!

Petroeuro Petrodollar

2004-08-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

So I guess I had heard of this before and it made sense, but somehow crossing a discussion of it today made me say to myself "Why didn't I pay more attention to this idea before?"

In any case, here's the proposed scenario (somewhat simplified):

1. In the beginning, OPEC mandates that only US Dollars can be used to trade for oil.
2. This has hepled to maintain a superior US economy (among other things).
3. Iraq begins to trade Oil for Euros.
4. We bomb the crap out of them.
5. No one ever trades oil for anything but dollars ever again.

This link has a lot of details, plus some great history, but since it's very long, here's a few excerpts:

World trade is now a game in which the US produces dollars and the rest of the world produces things that dollars can buy. The world's interlinked economies no longer trade to capture a comparative advantage; they compete in exports to capture needed dollars to service dollar-denominated foreign debts and to accumulate dollar reserves to sustain the exchange value of their domestic currencies. To prevent speculative and manipulative attacks on their currencies, the world's central banks must acquire and hold dollar reserves in corresponding amounts to their currencies in circulation. The higher the market pressure to devalue a particular currency, the more dollar reserves its central bank must hold. This creates a built-in support for a strong dollar that in turn forces the world's central banks to acquire and hold more dollar reserves, making it stronger. This phenomenon is known as dollar hegemony, which is created by the geopolitically constructed peculiarity that critical commodities, most notably oil, are denominated in dollars. Everyone accepts dollars because dollars can buy oil. The recycling of petro-dollars is the price the US has extracted from oil-producing countries for US tolerance of the oil-exporting cartel since 1973.

In a major challenge to "dollar hegemony," in October 2000 the government of Iraq discontinued using the dollar for its reserves and international transactions, in favor of the euro. The value of the euro relative to the dollar was declining at the time, and commentators predicted that the move would be costly, because of the dollar's use in international oil trade. Between 2001 and February 2003 almost all of Iraq's oil exports were paid for in euros, amounting to approximately $30 billion. Over the same period, the value of the euro relative to the dollar increased by 30%.

Shortly after the Iraqi move, Jordan set in motion a bilateral trade arrangement with Iraq, also transacted in euros. By August 2002 Iran had converted more than half of its foreign exchange reserve fund to euros, and China had begun exchanging some of its reserve fund from dollars to euros. In the same period Russia's Central Bank doubled its euro holdings to 20% of $48 billion. Speaking to a Spanish Finance Ministry conference in 2002, senior Iranian oil official Javad Yarjani remarked that "It is quite possible that as bilateral trade increases between the Middle East and the European Union, it could be feasible to price oil in euros. This would foster further ties between these trading blocs by increasing commercial exchange, and by helping attract much-needed European investment in the Middle East."

It's about time

2004-08-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously,

Stop F'ing around.

Yes this is a short post, but I'm very busy here at work.

This country is insane

2004-08-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Help! Help! The terrorists are everywhere!!!!

Save me Mr. Bush!!! Terror alert red!!!!

Oh my god! Are you a terrorist!?!? Don't come near me! Stay away! What? What's that you're writing? Over there! A terrorist! Get 'em quick! Before he divides in half and takes over the bodies of the other passengers with his body-snatcher terrorist powers!!

Can you beleive the crap the other passengers went through over this shit? If I was on that plane I would follow the reporting passenger out to the parking lot and slap his face. Or at least key his car. Perhaps some harsh words would be more appropriate. Well, I would at least shoot him a dirty look. Man, he'd be sorry then!

Glands and Radium

2004-07-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Did you ever stop to wonder what we might be doing now that people of the future with look back on with incredulity?

Because, one thing is for sure, hindsight is 20/20.

This is insane. And suppositories no less? I feel like I just stuck a lemon up my butt.

____________________________

OK, here's an update. The above comments now have to be altered to say: "Did you ever stop to wonder what people might be doing RIGHT FUCKING NOW that people of the STONE AGE would look on with incredulity?!?!?"

I have no explaination for this, there can BE no explaination for this, except stupidity and most likely greed. According to this page on the same site,

"That these old products continued to be used into the 1950s might be considered mildly curious. What is astounding is that similar, but entirely new, products have continued to be developed in the 1960s and 1980s!"

What the hell is going on here?!?!? I had to read on... (emphasis mine)

In 1985, an importer in Kansas managed to distribute 20,000 Endless Refrigerator/Freezer Deodorizers at U.S. $10 each before the inevitable visit from federal agents. This deodorizer, which is still manufactured today, is made of green plastic into which has been mixed thorium-containing monazite sand (thorium's 10 billion-year half-life is reasonably close to endless). Users are instructed to hang it in the refrigerator where the emitted radiation is said to purify the air by destroying odors.

Another device from Japan is the NAC Plate. Its outward appearance is similar to that of a playing card, but with one important difference: it contains low-grade uranium ore on one side. The plate is intended to be slipped into a package of cigarettes where the radiation "denatures and reduces nicotine, tar, and harmful gas" and that with the NAC plate "you enjoy . . . the golden moments of watching (the) smoke rise slowly" and "with your nerves relieved and refreshed you can get back to work."

Regrettably, this fine product is not available in our country although an importer did contact the Nuclear Regulatory Agency and the Food and Drug Administration about it in 1983. The replies from these agencies suggested that permission to import the NAC plate could probably be obtained, but the matter seems to have been dropped.

The Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Among other altruistic tasks, safeguarding our right to buy idiotic stuff.

Is it ok to repost your comments on your own site?

2004-07-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

It better be....

Why download when you can purchase for $10? This makes lots of fun, fun sense. Hey, next time i need a phone number instead of going to yp.yahoo.com, I'll just knock on my neighbor's door and offer him $10 if he knows it (a $5 finder's fee will also be available if he doesn't know it, but he knows someone who does know it)

actually I'm just bullshitting

I can't read anything online that's more than 5 pages if it's in straight prose form. the sal wise thing was readable because it was in little bite sized email pieces. Kind of like "Cat's Cradle"

(this next part is obviously no longer relevant, but included for, oh I don't know, let's say I've included it just for the hell of it)

I have an extremely short attention span when I've drunk as much coffee as it takes to keep me awake at DIG (where we have no work, but must keep the appearance of busy-ness) man, that takes a lot of effort ...hey wait...this isn't my blog! damn I've just wasted all this typing!!!

(end no longer relevant section)

Bio

2004-07-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Mark Laramee is a fearsome predator in the ponds at Narbeck wetland. The Mark Laramee has large eyes to help them spot prey such as other insects or even tadpoles. The Mark Laramee has a special mouthpart called a labium, which is like an extendible lower jaw that shoots out to hook prey. The beautiful Mark Laramee adults are also predators. It’s fun to sit near a pond on a warm summer day and watch the brightly colored adult Mark Laramee whiz past as they hunt or defend their mating territories.

How could we ever have forgotten.

2004-07-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's not often that you see a family like this. In these uncertain times it's good to see people stand up for what they believe in. Mr. Brain is obviouly a special and committed person, one we can all look to as an example. The Doodys (Doodies? not sure on the spelling here), I'm sure, will be warming bellies and raising profiles all over Wolverhampton.

I count 19 times, how bout you?

This is going to become very common

2004-07-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

You see what's goin on here?

This administration is using the current situation to promote a ultimately fascist agenda. The "patriot" act is just another giant leap down the road towards fascism...oh wait, looks like we're almost there. In 1984 George Orwell describes a future society where a distant war fought in far away land is used as one of the main fulcrums by which rights are limited and society is controlled through fear. I can't believe they can use the same tactic right now so blatantly. Didn't everyone have to read this in high school?

Why do we have cops? We have them because life without them would be short and painful. I understand this; however, that does not mean the cops are the good guys. They are the criminals that are on your side. I say this, obviously talking about the federal government as well. We can all agree that they are all corrupt. power corrupts. It's a given. What upsets me about the current situation is that the american people are letting them ride roughshod all over us. Bush and his administration are ultimately only part of a problem. The problem is that americans no longer stand up for their rights and therefore, perhaps we don't deserve them anymore. Actually the part of Bush and Cheney's administration that is truly awful is the measures they been able to enact that decrease our ability to watch and control them.

I hate Ebay (scammers) AKA "the fast is you dont know me "

2004-07-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Maybe it isn't fair to blame it on Ebay, but I still do. I tried my first transaction on Ebay in 1999. I tried to buy the collected episodes of "Mr. Show" for $45 and never received them. The guy kept saying he was sending them and never did. After a couple of weeks of emails and some bad feedback he finally returned my money to my Ebay account where it sat until a couple of months ago when I bought a couple of T-shirts from Fensler Film.

So like I was saying, Ebay sucks. I bought a couple of things from there in the past few years, but only from people with long transaction histories. I still believe this entitles me to say that it sucks and I'm aware that it's a wildly unpopular opinion. Still, it sucks...for me. Actually, in theory, I think it's great. It's a great idea that comes from a time when great ideas on the internet were vastly a minority; however, it's still a place where people get ripped off. That's actually who I really hate. The scam artists. I've known a few of these types in my time. They should be starved to death while slowly being hacked to pieces. Is that severe? Not severe enough.

What a lying sack of shit this guy is.

Do you know what else pisses me off about this? JS keeps giving him chances to redeem himself. I know he's just trying to get his money back, but c'mon. This guy is just stalling. It's pretty f'ing obvious. But that's no so bad. What really pisses me off is how hard it's going to be to prosecute this guy. I'm not one who's for busting people as a rule. I saw a car chase on TV a few nights ago where the guy got away. I was pretty happy about that. But this guy needs to be caught and the Philly PD won't get off their butts and even knock on his door. Typical.

Reporter unfazed by flies and rampant bullshit.

2004-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this earlier, but it's truth is timeless. Well, relatively timeless. Anyway read down to the "begin digression" part. That's the really good bit.

The future is now

2004-07-21T11:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, by the way, the future is now. Ok, now I know this technology has been around for a long time, but this really is the pong of the future. Smell that? Smells like Norman Spinrad.

This is exacerbated by indications that they are going to announce sometime in the near or distant future that life used to or still does exist on Mars . I'm only think I'm kidding when I write this.

Tired?

2004-07-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hey check this out: http://tired.com. It's a site that consists almost entirely of an email link where you can tell someone how tired you are. You know what I'm tired of? Not being able to see what people are saying they are tired of. This site should take a cue from these guys: http://grouphug.us

Root Canal Expose

2004-05-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Got my first root canal recently. There was a lot of mystery in my mind about what to expect. But now, I can reveal the mysteries and let you know what's in store if you ever need to get one.

Here's the things that hurt:

1. The shot. This should be a good long one that gets lots of Novacaine into your jaw. Unfortuantely this sort of inserting large amounts of fluid into your tissue can be uncomfortable. He may need to rotate the needle around a bit to get the fluid into the channel that connects the roots of your teeth. Sounds fun? It is. You may a second one to get you all the way through the procedure.

2. The drilling. I had a piece of molar missing and at first all he was going to do was drill out the filling and cap the tooth. On the first visit he drilled out the filling and put a temporary crown in, but my tooth was still painful, so on my return visit I told him that it seems I need the root canal that he previous said I probably wouldn't. He was less into the idea than I was, but reluctantly I talked him into it. The second visit's drilling was where the fun started. When they drill down through your tooth eventually the drill bit pops through the cap covering your nerve. If you're anything like me, you'll know this because you'll spasm directly into the air, breaking off the drill bit inside your tooth. If he's a half decent dentist, he'll pretend not to be nervous about that. Then he has to file out the nerve from inside the roots of your teeth. This is an activity that can best be enjoyed by sweating and pretending you are someone else who lives far away. Finally he'll drill a little bit here and there to get out the drill bit that broke off in your tooth. The main thing that sucks about that is sitting still patiently while realizing there is nothing anywhere that actually guarantees he'll be able to get it out.

3. Secondary filing. By now, I am on my third visit in two weeks. It is important to note that a person rapidly builds up a tolerance to Novacaine, which is hopefully backed up by a tolerance to pain. Even if it is, after your shot(s) he will still be required to squirt Novacaine directly into your tooth's canal to try and numb the nerve topically. This hurts a lot more than it seems like it should. There will be deeper thorough filing to make sure all the nerve is removed and it's a testament to the human nervous system that discomfort can still be delivered without the prescence of nerves to deliver it.

In retrospect, I'm really glad I got the root canal done as I no longer need to cover that molar with my tongue each time I drink anything or eat ice cream. Needless to say, I'm eagerly eating lots of sweets and not brushing to hasten my next dental challenge.

umm..not sure what this means

2004-05-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Mark "Geemee Shelter" Laramee says:
http://13saves.blogspot.com/
Mark "Geemee Shelter" Laramee says:
this could become an exception and cut down on all the spam myu friends receive
Mark "Geemee Shelter" Laramee says:
an exception!?!?
Mark "Geemee Shelter" Laramee says:
i meant obsession
Jason "What's all this, then?" Carlin says:
an application exception?!
Mark "Geemee Shelter" Laramee says:
what weird kind of fruedian slip is that?