Not having internet access up here in Fish Lake has made me realize that I need to make what little time I have for internet browsing needs to be more productive. I find it FAR too easy to aimlessly browse for more time than iwould like to admit. The problem that I run into with browsing sometimes is that I find it easy to kustify by saying that I am "learning" but but coming to this realization I have found that the "learning" I do while browsing doesn't give me the depth of knowledge I would like. Sure it gives me wide breadth of knowledge but this I feel is knowledge that is too superficial.
The qeustion now that I know this is how to change. Is it a matter of limiting my time? Changing habits? Changing the way I view internet browsing? What I would like to have is a more directed and focused experience but as of now I see internet browsing as a sort of recreational activity. And recreational activities as I see them should be a time that allows your focus to relax.
The quote "the time you enjoy wasting is not time wasted" comes to mind and I think I can see some fo the truth to that statement. That is that recreational pursuits lose a quality of their appeal when we become overly focused on the end result too much. The things we do for fun need to be done for their own sake otherwise they lose the qualities that we enjoy.
So I suppose what I am trying to figure out here is how to better balance my time in reguards to things I do for fun, things I do for the importance I see in them and work and school. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions let me know.
Friday, July 29
Provo Bike Thefts Surge – Here’s How to Get Free Bike Registration |
Provo Bike Thefts Surge – Here’s How to Get Free Bike Registration |: "Dozens of bikes have been stolen during the last few weeks and Provo police aren’t quite sure why thefts have surged.
The Daily Herald reports:
“According to a news release, Provo ‘is currently experiencing an unusual amount of bicycle thefts.’ Capt. Jerry Harper said that authorities are unsure what is behind the surge, but estimated that in the last couple of months roughly 80 thefts have been reported. Harper added that Provo normally has very few reported bike thefts.”"
The Daily Herald reports:
“According to a news release, Provo ‘is currently experiencing an unusual amount of bicycle thefts.’ Capt. Jerry Harper said that authorities are unsure what is behind the surge, but estimated that in the last couple of months roughly 80 thefts have been reported. Harper added that Provo normally has very few reported bike thefts.”"
Thursday, July 28
Twilight Concert: Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes
I Do Not Want Mercy, I Want You To Join Me: statement from Tim DeChistopher
Tim DeChristopher, who was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison and a $10,000 fine for 'disrupting' a Bureau of Land Management auction in 2008, had an opportunity to address the court and the judge immediately before his sentence was announced. here are excerpts from his statement (full statement found in the link):
I Do Not Want Mercy, I Want You To Join Me: "Despite my strong disagreements with the court about the Constitutional basis for the limits on my defense, while I was in this courtroom I respected the authority of the court. Whether I agreed with them or not, I abided by the restrictions that you put on me and my legal team. I never attempted to “taint” the jury, as Mr Huber claimed, by sharing any of the relevant facts about the auction in question that the court had decided were off limits. I didn’t burst out and tell the jury that I successfully raised the down payment and offered it to the BLM. I didn’t let the jury know that the auction was later reversed because it was illegitimate in the first place. To this day I still think I should have had the right to do so, but disagreement with the law should not be confused with disrespect for the law."
The reality is not that I lack respect for the law; it’s that I have greater respect for justice. Where there is a conflict between the law and the higher moral code that we all share, my loyalty is to that higher moral code. I know Mr Huber disagrees with me on this. He wrote that “The rule of law is the bedrock of our civilized society, not acts of ‘civil disobedience’ committed in the name of the cause of the day.” That’s an especially ironic statement when he is representing the United States of America, a place where the rule of law was created through acts of civil disobedience. Since those bedrock acts of civil disobedience by our founding fathers, the rule of law in this country has continued to grow closer to our shared higher moral code through the civil disobedience that drew attention to legalized injustice. The authority of the government exists to the degree that the rule of law reflects the higher moral code of the citizens, and throughout American history, it has been civil disobedience that has bound them together.
Most of the parcels I won were later deemed inappropriate for drilling. In other words, the highest and best value to the public for those particular lands was not for oil and gas drilling. Had the auction gone off without a hitch, it would have been a loss for the public. The fact that the auction was delayed, extra attention was brought to the process, and the parcels were ultimately revoked was a good thing for the public.
The reality is not that I lack respect for the law; it’s that I have greater respect for justice. Where there is a conflict between the law and the higher moral code that we all share, my loyalty is to that higher moral code. I know Mr Huber disagrees with me on this. He wrote that “The rule of law is the bedrock of our civilized society, not acts of ‘civil disobedience’ committed in the name of the cause of the day.” That’s an especially ironic statement when he is representing the United States of America, a place where the rule of law was created through acts of civil disobedience. Since those bedrock acts of civil disobedience by our founding fathers, the rule of law in this country has continued to grow closer to our shared higher moral code through the civil disobedience that drew attention to legalized injustice. The authority of the government exists to the degree that the rule of law reflects the higher moral code of the citizens, and throughout American history, it has been civil disobedience that has bound them together.
Most of the parcels I won were later deemed inappropriate for drilling. In other words, the highest and best value to the public for those particular lands was not for oil and gas drilling. Had the auction gone off without a hitch, it would have been a loss for the public. The fact that the auction was delayed, extra attention was brought to the process, and the parcels were ultimately revoked was a good thing for the public.
Jury nullification
Jury nullification: "Jury nullification occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judge's instructions as to the law."
Jury nullification is a de facto power of juries. Judges rarely inform juries of their nullification power. The power of jury nullification derives from an inherent quality of most modern common law systems—a general unwillingness to inquire into jurors' motivations during or after deliberations. A jury's ability to nullify the law is further supported by two common law precedents: the prohibition on punishing jury members for their verdict, and the prohibition (in some countries) on retrying defendants after an acquittal (see related topics res judicata and double jeopardy).
Jury nullification is a de facto power of juries. Judges rarely inform juries of their nullification power. The power of jury nullification derives from an inherent quality of most modern common law systems—a general unwillingness to inquire into jurors' motivations during or after deliberations. A jury's ability to nullify the law is further supported by two common law precedents: the prohibition on punishing jury members for their verdict, and the prohibition (in some countries) on retrying defendants after an acquittal (see related topics res judicata and double jeopardy).
The Open Web
what does your local mexican resturaunt reviewer and the vetted political blog fivethirtyeight.com have in common?
they were started by the same guy using the powereful and open technologies of the web. This is a good write up on the just what one can do when you can harness the technologies of the web, tech that has changed the way we interact with the vast array of knowledge available at our fingertips.
also touches on the dynamic between academic circles and online blogging communities in disseminating information. As noted in the article the web has changed in what we value when it comes to knowledge. gone are the days of the reclusive sage holed up in the ivory tower, today information does not spread by decree but through the democratizing power of the web to connect. A point debated by traditional newspaper journalists and academics on the legitimacy is as follows:
they were started by the same guy using the powereful and open technologies of the web. This is a good write up on the just what one can do when you can harness the technologies of the web, tech that has changed the way we interact with the vast array of knowledge available at our fingertips.
also touches on the dynamic between academic circles and online blogging communities in disseminating information. As noted in the article the web has changed in what we value when it comes to knowledge. gone are the days of the reclusive sage holed up in the ivory tower, today information does not spread by decree but through the democratizing power of the web to connect. A point debated by traditional newspaper journalists and academics on the legitimacy is as follows:
Mary Coussons-Read, a professor of psychology at CU Denver, says today’s quick turnaround of information helps to make it more compelling.but this idea that academic legitimacy is changing with the adoption of wikipedia as the go to source for much of the general population.
“Information travels so much more quickly,” she says. “(We expect) instant gratification. If people have a question, they want an answer.”
That real-time quality can bring with it the illusion that it’s possible to perceive a whole reality by accessing various bits of information.
“There’s this immediacy of the transfer of information that leads people to believe they’re seeing everything … and that they have an understanding of the meaning of it all,” she says.
the do-it-yourself nature of much of the most innovative work on the web, and how one can iterate toward perfection rather than publishing works in fully polished states.His tale[this] underlines the principle that good is good, and that the web is extraordinarily proficient at finding and disseminating the best work, often through continual, post-publication, recursive review. FiveThirtyEight also shows the power of openness to foster that dissemination and the dialogue between author and audience. Finally, the open web enables and rewards unexpected uses and genres.
Wednesday, July 27
C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
I was unable to blog last Sunday due to the fact that I had left my laptop at Jake's house so I thought I would do a quick update for what I have been up to since then.
Pioneer day: drove up to salt lake with mom and Liz to watch fireworks with Alex and Elisa. ended up watching them in the backyard of a house that Elisa was house-sitting. Afterwards played an enjoyable game of apples to apples with everybody.
School: registered for some classes today but am still unsure exactly what my schedule will look like for the fall. Currently I am registered for a Microbiology class which should be really fun and I am looking forward to taking it (which is something I might reconsider when I am in the thick of it because this class is considered especially rigorous). I am wait listed in two classes that I will have to see if I can get in or not on. One of them is an Anatomy class which is class that I have wanted to take but have been concerned with the workload it expects, also the class that I am wait listed in is a 9am class which is something I would have to consider and weigh against my resolve and motivation to succeed in the class. The second is a Philosophy through Literature which sound really interesting to me and is something I would like to take, however I don't know if I can justify taking it or not. I mean if I already have the self discipline to at least attempt reading philosophical texts on my own what would a class do for me? I realize that being in a class would give more rigor and structure to my learning as well as access to someone knowledgeable in the subject to answer questions with but I don't want to take classes and spend the tuition money on a class that is irrelevant to what I would like to study if I am capable of doing so myself.
Another thing I need to consider when registering is leaving a slot open for a math class for me to take, which could be difficult to get into. I just really hope I can test into a level 1000 or higher class other wise it will mean a whole more semester at UVU instead of the U of U
Math class: have been struggling a little bit in this class but not because I find the material too difficult I just have had a hard time going and managing my day around it. I find it kind of hard to go to the class and sit through a 2 hour lecture when I feel like the most important thing I need is practice with the material and not so much instruction. Also I find it hard to be expected to not use a calculator for many of the concepts in the class when I know that in my following classes I will be allowed to use one, but I suppose it is all for the better because I really do need the practice with my computation and arithmetic skills
Pioneer day: drove up to salt lake with mom and Liz to watch fireworks with Alex and Elisa. ended up watching them in the backyard of a house that Elisa was house-sitting. Afterwards played an enjoyable game of apples to apples with everybody.
School: registered for some classes today but am still unsure exactly what my schedule will look like for the fall. Currently I am registered for a Microbiology class which should be really fun and I am looking forward to taking it (which is something I might reconsider when I am in the thick of it because this class is considered especially rigorous). I am wait listed in two classes that I will have to see if I can get in or not on. One of them is an Anatomy class which is class that I have wanted to take but have been concerned with the workload it expects, also the class that I am wait listed in is a 9am class which is something I would have to consider and weigh against my resolve and motivation to succeed in the class. The second is a Philosophy through Literature which sound really interesting to me and is something I would like to take, however I don't know if I can justify taking it or not. I mean if I already have the self discipline to at least attempt reading philosophical texts on my own what would a class do for me? I realize that being in a class would give more rigor and structure to my learning as well as access to someone knowledgeable in the subject to answer questions with but I don't want to take classes and spend the tuition money on a class that is irrelevant to what I would like to study if I am capable of doing so myself.
Another thing I need to consider when registering is leaving a slot open for a math class for me to take, which could be difficult to get into. I just really hope I can test into a level 1000 or higher class other wise it will mean a whole more semester at UVU instead of the U of U
Math class: have been struggling a little bit in this class but not because I find the material too difficult I just have had a hard time going and managing my day around it. I find it kind of hard to go to the class and sit through a 2 hour lecture when I feel like the most important thing I need is practice with the material and not so much instruction. Also I find it hard to be expected to not use a calculator for many of the concepts in the class when I know that in my following classes I will be allowed to use one, but I suppose it is all for the better because I really do need the practice with my computation and arithmetic skills
