This is Your Egg. This is Your Egg Being Launched by an Induction Coil Rocket Launcher

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How do people who are really smart (i.e. geeks) with some time on their hands entertain themselves?  Why, they build a do-it-yourself electro-magnet rocket launcher using something called induction coils.  If you care you can read about it here, but take my word for it that they get a lot of bang out of this gizmo.  Don’t believe me? Watch the Youtube video below of them launching an egg.  Keep watching until the end to see how the inside of the egg ends up:

This is Your Brain. This is Your Brain on…

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So Bill Gates sets up a huge non-profit foundation with his wife that is funding some amazing projects around the world.  What has his old partner, Paul Allen done?  Well let’s see. 

Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science
in Seattle are today celebrating the completion of a new digital atlas
of the mouse brain. The achievement will likely lead to a greater
understanding of how the human brain works…

Mice brains and human brains have significant differences, but are
similar enough that a complete "atlas" of the mouse brain is seen by
many scientists to be as important a milestone as the Human Genome
Project, which mapped the DNA sequence.

Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft 30 years ago with Bill
Gates and is one of the world’s richest men, donated $100 million to
create a searchable 3-D digital map called the Allen Brain Atlas. The map is the inaugural project of the Allen Institute for Brain Science…


Allen’s funding helped to assemble a dream team of scientists, who
methodically scanned ultra-thin slices of mouse brain with the aid of
robot helpers. Those scans help to identify how individual genes are
"turned on" in different areas of the brain…

Link to related text and images at Wired News.

You know I’m starting to feel a little better about all the cha-ching I’ve spent on Office and Windows over the entire span of my adult life.  Here’s a sample pic from the atlas:

Mousebrain

Poker Econ or Econ Poker?

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So I’m mowing my lawn on Saturday and is it’s wont to do my brain started wandering off without me.  During its journey it stumbled across an idea that I’m thinking of actually trying to implement.  Here it is in bullet point via the stream-of-conciousness path that my brain took:

  • I wonder why I love playing poker in person, but not online.
  • I miss playing poker.
  • I should put together a poker game.
  • Didn’t those Freakonomics guys say they were going to study the behavior of poker players and weren’t they looking for people who would keep track of how their hands were played? (Yep, it’s called Pokernomics).
  • I wonder if people with different economic outlooks play poker differently?
  • I wonder if liberals play differently from conservatives?
  • I wonder if you could have a poker tournament with special rules that would somehow replicate economic or political situations?
  • I don’t know crap about economic or political theory…maybe I could recruit someone to help me create rules and then see if peoples’ behavior changed.  I think we’d have to run two games: one a control with normal rules and then a second with the changed rules and then track how people play in each. 
  • Is this even feasible?  I mean if someone is a horrible poker player it doesn’t really matter what they’re economic theory is does it?
  • Yep, I need to recruit someone to help me with this.
  • If we can make it work this would be a great fundraiser.  We could donate at least some of the pot to charity, although this might be an economic exercise in and of itself.  People will play awful loose if their stake is a sunk cost.  Maybe we’ll have to come up with another incentive for winning.
  • Wow, the lawn’s done.

After mowing I researched this a little bit and I found a guy who posited the idea of using poker as an analogy in teaching law/economic theory.  I also found a site that has rules for something called Solidarity Poker; in my brief review it looks like it might be an interesting experiment for the liberal (i.e. communist) side of the spectrum, but I’ll have to review further.  I’m thinking this could be a fun thing to do, but I really need to get some help on this.  Maybe Boyd?  Suggestions are welcome.

And if we can’t make it work then screw it, I’ll just put together a good old fashioned game of 7-stud or hold ’em. 

I Like the Local Newspapers’ Blogs, but…

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I’ve been a big fan of the local newspapers’ blogs for a while.  My hometown paper, the Winston-Salem Journal was late to the party but they’ve been launching blogs at a nice clip lately.  The Greensboro News & Record was very early to the blogging scene and they host quite a few good blogs.  On top of that the N&R has also turned some independent bloggers like Dave Hoggard into regular columnists.

But neither of those fine papers has done what the San Francisco Chronicle has done.  To wit, the Chron has turned "intrepid sexblogger/podcaster/author Violet Blue"(from the Boing Boing piece where I found this) into their newest columnnist.  Her beat, as it were, is sexuality and you can read her first column here. 

No offense to Hogg and the other local columnists, but I’m thinking that Violet Blue’s columns are gonna grab more attention than covering the status of the Ice House ever will and I’m wondering if the Piedmont Triad could boast something comparable.  Sure this is Bible-NASCAR-BBQ country, and it’s a given that Ms. Blue has much more raw material for her column in SF than we have here, but we’ve gotta be able to do something a little more risque than Fathers After 40. How about this: a column that explores the intricacies of flirting two pews over, finding alternate uses for BBQ sauce (hate to say it, but the vinegar style might prove problematic) and how to really enjoy watching a bunch of paunchy white guys drive in circles.  Hey, it’s a start.

When Will We Stop Calling Them “Newspapers” and “Broadcasters”?

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Back in May, ’05 I wrote a rather long post about my belief that local news outlets or broadcasters had as much to worry about as newspapers, if not more.  My main reason for believing that they may have more to worry about than newspapers is that if newspapers catch a clue about providing video via their online operations then they would be able to beat the broadcasters at their own game.

My belief is that our media consumption is quickly moving toward pure digital distribution.  Pretty soon the average consumer will be getting all their media via a provider (cable, satellite) who will give them the capability to do everything from watching TV to surfing the web via the same hardware.  Think of a glorified TV with a computer network feeding it so that it essentially is your TV, TIVO, PC and phone combined.  IF newspaper companies have figured out how to do video for their current web operations by that time then they will have an advantage over traditional broadcasters because they already have more reporters, editors and other infrastructure in place to cover the local market. 

I was reminded of this piece when I saw the Online Journalism Review’s interview with washingtonpost.com’s first video journalist.  I really think the Washington Post company is way ahead of the other newspaper organizations in adopting multi-media practices and they’re carving out a great early competitive advantage.  Part of me is tempted to say that since so many newspapers are owned by large media companies that also have broadcast operations they could simply merge the operations, but having witnessed how silo’d many of these media operations are I’m thinking that the different operations (newspaper, broadcast) are going to have to ensure their own independent survival.  That’s another reason I think newspaper’s have the advantage; as they move away from newsprint and towards digital media they can actually reduce their overhead by replacing presses and paper with cheap digital cameras.

Realistically I think what’s going to happen is that all the traditional media silos will disappear and we’ll just have some meld of media providers, and while I think most will be housed in the corporate halls of traditional media companies like Gannett I think you’ll also see some new players that have yet to be born.  It ought to be fun.

The Guys in White Shirts and Riding Bikes Found Me Again

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Last night I was visited by two Mormon missionaries and a volunteer from their local Ward.  This is part of the church’s ongoing campaign to try and win me back, a campaign they’ve been waging since 1976 when my parents got divorced and left the church. 

Back when I was a kid some people from the church would call and offer me and my brother a ride to church.  My mom told me I could go if I wanted but I don’t know many 10 year olds that would a. go to church without their mom, or b. go to church without being physically carried.  So I always respectfully declined the ride.

The Mormons lost track of me in college but once I got married I somehow re-appeared in their database and they started calling on me again.  Usually it’s just a couple of missionaries coming by the house, and because I respect who they are and what they’re doing I invite them in, sit them down, give them a cold drink, tell them my life story and that there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of me coming back to the church, and then end up talking hoops for a while (it’s amazing how many Mormon missionaries played high school basketball).  I also give them an open invitation to stop by if they’re tired or thirsty and we’ll have a cold glass of water or lemonade waiting for them.

Sometimes, like last night, they’ll have another church official call or visit.  I’m also nice to them, but since they’re driving I don’t feel the need to offer an open invitation for a cold drink.  Other than that I have the exact same conversation with them that I have with the missionaries, and it’s amazing how each takes it.  Without exception they don’t try to "sell" me, they just give me their name and welcome me to call if anything ever changes.  I have to respect that.

Now that they know my story I won’t be getting another visit until the next batch of "recruits" comes to town, so I guess we’ll have those cold drinks ready in about 6 months.

Side note: If you need to find someone forget hiring a PI, just go straight to the Mormons because their people tracking skills are amazing.  No wonder so many work for the FBI.

Airline Bills Passenger $1,350 for Causing a 27 Minute Delay. Hmmm

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According to this story Air Canada is charging a beligerent passenger $1,350 for causing a 27 minute delay. They say the charges are for "the cost of overtime for flight crew, extra baggage handling and various other unspecified expenses".  While it sounds like the passenger was a real jerk this story has me wondering what would happen if the airlines received bills from every passenger they caused to be late to a meeting, miss a ride, miss a connecting flight, etc.

I think we might have a budding movement here.  Let’s see if we can introduce legislation that would allow us to bill the airlines for all the money they cost us when they’re late.  Of course there are situations when they can’t help it (weather and such), but there are plenty of times when it’s their own fault that the flights are delayed or cancelled.  I’ll tell you right now that a 27 minute delay would fall in the realm of "slight" delay from the airline’s perspective and if they’re going to bill passengers for causing a slight delay then they should be prepared to pay the piper for all the 27 minute delays they cause.

Sign me up.

Severe Blog Navel Gazing

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My buddy Fecund Stench asked me to participate in this rather silly chain-mail-like activity so I’m obliging him:

1. Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
Yup.

2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yup, and usually they are ashamed to admit it.  I’m the family dork.

3: Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
Not sure how something posted online could be private.

4: Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?
The more I read the better my strenuous efforts at procrastination.

5: Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Screeeeeee!

6: What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
It means I don’t know very many people and no.

7: Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?
I’m assuming I understand the question since the tortured construct is difficult to understand like. My answer: Aren’t they all fat middle-aged guys with a bad haircut, stained underwear and four days of stubble on their spittle covered chins?  Oh, that’s just me.

8: Do you think blogging has any real benefit?
Beyond enabling my narcissistic tendencies I don’t think so.  But I like my blog so I really don’t give a damn if it (blogging) does or doesn’t have any real benefit.

9: Do you think that the Blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
Bloggers are breathing while they type, right?

10: Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?
They bore me, and since they don’t seek me out I haven’t had to engage my anti-blog flares.

11: Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
Well, I think it’s brilliant and I like to agree with myself so I don’t ever criticize it.  Now if you’re asking if I think getting criticism from other people is useful then I’d have to say yes.

12: Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died?
That’s the least of my worries.  I’m more worried about who would get my collection of navel-lint I’ve collected over the years.

13: Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
Alton Hedgelick.

14: Which blogger you think is the most similar to you?
Felbert Simpsonian.

15: Name a song you want to listen to.
Oklahoma

Can you tell I have a headache?

Don’t Fear the Smart Big Man, Embrace Him

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My favorite people are large, strong men who also happen to be intelligent.  I thought of this when I ran across this Freakonomics post about a 6’8", 350 pound professional football player who majored in economics at Cal and who reads educational material in his free time.  That’s my kind of dude.

Here’s the deal: through ninth grade I was always the smallest kid in my class and I wasn’t endowed with natural strength although I did have a little speed.  In ninth grade I had the distinction of being the punching bag or locker-stuffing victim of several convicts-to-be, but I learned how to run well and I often found I could out-think my tormentors, usually by pointing behind them and saying "Holy shit that girl’s boobs are showing" and when they turned to look I’d take the precious seconds it bought me and run like hell. Sometimes my trickery didn’t work and that’s where the smart big man came into play.

You see I made friends with this one freshman football player who was actually studious.  The problem for him was math; he was doing okay but he really wanted to ace the class and we’d often work together during breaks to get him up to speed.  Well, one day he saw me getting chased around the track in gym class (I’m not kidding) and proceeded to whip up on the kid doing the chasing.  Word got around and my torture decreased significantly, but unfortunately not completely.  Still I forever after had a soft spot for studious big men.

I finally hit my growth spurt in tenth grade and after that I only got into a couple of scrapes and those were always fair fights.  I also found that most of my friends who were big suffered a kind of prejudice where everyone assumed they were dense.  Of course they weren’t and it was always fun watching them prove people wrong.

Can you think of a better person to have in your corner than a smart big man.  Put another way, would you want that person in the other corner?