News I want to hear!

JJ Abrams to reboot Star Wars.

Mac discoveries

My mom has the nasty habit of assuming something is broken if it doesn't work precisely every time. This is a ridiculous benchmark, especially for computing. She also has the nasty habit of tweaking things minutely so as they don't work anymore.

She sits on the couch, with the computer around 2 meters away from her eyes, straining to see the 12 point font. I, in order to maintain my uber mac guru status, feel imperative to increase the font size. A couple of command +'s later, and voila. No more straining.

Sorry to take up two paragraphs to illustrate my point, but the Mac is a computer that will frustrate you, and surprise you simultaneously. There are thousands of shortcuts to make life easier, tweaks to increase productivity. The machine will never be fully discovered or completely mastered.

It's an unwieldy animal that has wild tendencies to obscure it's processes just when you think you figured it out. I have experimented, read macrumors.com for hours, and I'm still a novice. Better than my mother. I will try to update regularly with freeware, shortcuts, and fun Apple posts.

Island Operations

In the course of human events, it becomes necessary to.... um... you know... well everyone does it, and it requires tissue paper. (Although, I guess tissue is optional) I was in what could be considered a situation as such, a neighborhood wal-mart marketplace.

Normally I would go as far to say that this type of operation would require my home base. However, again necessity comes in many forms. In this case it came in the form of Chinese buffet two hours earlier. Regardless, I attempted my luck with a public restroom. (If 4 years of microbiology has taught anything, it's that microbial transfer via one bottom to another is gross to think about, yet not going to kill you.)

I walk slowly through the outer door, thinking to myself: "when this was bathroom last cleaned, and by whom." The dude I just passed with a blue Wally World shirt on that smiled. I wouldn't want him to clean anything! (4 years dude) Beyond the obvious misgivings, the restroom is small, with a single stall equipped for this style of operation. I acquaint myself with the latch closing the stall door, and appropriately fashion it shut.

Problem 1 arises: the door doesn't fully lock, or shut properly. It leaves a space sufficient enough to peek an eye through and peer upon unsuspecting partyers.

Problem 2: the apparatus of operation is positioned as such to be both clearly visible from the door, and at the immediate epicenter of the stall. So that a human would be unable to lodge against the door to bar intruders, and simultaneously away from all walls and points of leverage.

This "island" of operation permits a man to do business, and yet not defend himself from nature. Curiosity.

Question

When did Pelosi water board?

IDA to take over world: one evolution skeptic at a time.

As of this posting, the buildings are still standing. People are still breathing oxygen, and I am perfectly capable of going to a Chinese restaurant (definite sign of the apocalypse if not on that one).

Ida, what they (scientists) are calling a nearly 50 million year old "bridge" animal from primates to humans. What is exciting about this unveiling, and what most people are missing? This find doesn't make a difference.

To science, and boldly going where no one has gone? Yes, it's exciting. However Darwin died in 1882, and the same fundamental debate has been going on. Basically: Religion vs Science. I'm not going to divulge into this argument. I will say that this fossil will be forgotten in most peoples mind in two weeks, and those on the non-scientific side haven't even heard of Ida. Which is fine.

The people in search of that illusive thing we call reality, and history. They know that every biological discovery since Darwin's Origin of Species makes sense in light of that. To them, Ida is simply one more piece of the hardest puzzle ever. To those who don't believe in evolution, it's just a bunch of rocks.

This is public discourse. "You're burning in hell!". "You're an ignoramus!". Nothing will change because as a society people insist whoever wins an election is truth. Truth is completely independent of public discourse. We could have a 100 year debate over whether Donkey Kong was indeed a real ape. That doesn't make Donkey Kong any more than the greatest imaginary video game character ever.

I realize that people will want creationism, intelligent design, or other alternatives to be taught right beside evolution in school. I'm fine with that, as it doesn't make Donkey Kong a real ape. I'm safe to say that not all in science has foundations (as I'd love to see String Theory come crashing down). I will fully admit that evolution may indeed be an imaginary ape. Keep an open mind.

Recommended reading: "Cells, Gels, and the Engines of Life" by Gerald Pollack.

Remarkable

In an attempt to differentiate this blog from other blogs, the continuing use of innovative and sometimes unusual postings will become more and more prevalent. I hope that this blog will slowly accumulate more followers (any), and will evolve into a fun interactive blog of meandering information. Do not be surprised if you find an original short story (fiction), or narrative of something that happened in my random encounters. Overall I hope that at least one person will find enjoyment beyond myself.

1st posting!

Welcome all.

I will attempt to contribute to this blog heavily in the coming days. Now, I can tell you that this will be a general stress relief and connection to the outside world. Refraining from sticky issues, I want this blog to be a mode of expressing my thoughts on what I'm into. You'll learn more as I go.

Welcome again.