Feynman on Fire

Man, I love Richard Feynman! He has just such a passion for science, I love seeing how he seems to get such enjoyment in explaining the world. It would have been such an incredible experience to take a class from him because his love of science just rubs off on you and really inspires you to think and look at the world around you in new and interesting ways. This video is from a lecture and there are several clips I really enjoyed that you should check out

Home for the Holidays

Yesterday, after nearly nine years, Obama announced that the troops will be out of Iraq by December 31

Nine years! Longer than WWII...
think, where were you nine years ago? I remember clearly the 9/11 attacks and the patriotic fervor that followed. I remember the newscasts delivering the news of the "shock and awe" campaign, with the giant fireballs and bombs leveling buildings. it was so easy to watch on the tv but so hard to imagine that happening here.

but the economic realities and consequences of the of the war slowly came to realization (too slowly). With the cost of the war  and the economy in shambles the need for investment in America stands in my mind as a far more important use of our resources

"After a decade of war, the nation that we need to build and the nation we will build is our own — an America that sees its economic strength restored, just as we've restored our leadership around the globe," - President Obama

Where you live makes you happy

Listened to this short podcast from NPR on happiness and heard some interesting things. I was first surprised at how many times the work "bike" was mentioned, which was something that I did not expect to hear in this. But as the commentator in the program notes that some of the things that make us most unhappy according to studies is having a long commute that separates us from work, family, and friends. So having a well designed and connected city is something to consider for policy makers. 

Another thing which stuck me is how it was noted that as a rule of thumb we should be getting at least 6 hours of face to face social time in our day. This seem like a lot of time to be devoting to social activities but it also fits in line with the results of studies that indicate:
1. People who live in cites (and thus interact with people more) are happier and more fulfilled with life
2. After a certain amount money does not tend to make people happier. Studies indicate that contrary to common "wisdom" becoming extravagantly rich is not the direct ticket to happiness, instead only having enough money is what seem to make the most difference in peoples lives.

But most importantly as mentioned in the podcast, where you live seems to have a strong correlation with how happy you are. This has some pretty strong implications in how we factor what makes us happy. Will buying a new fancy car make us more happy or will possibly relocating to be closer to family and friends make more of a difference in our happiness.

Small Changes Can Help You 'Thrive' Happily

AWWWW YEAH! It came!

the original compact

the daily challenge

who wants in on this? it sends you a daily email with one challenge for the day, helping you (and with the help of friends) improve yourself.

Daily Challenge - MeYou Health:

the power of music

obvious

The Greatest Speech Ever Made?

You may or may not recognize the actor giving this speech, for those of you who don't it is Charlie Chaplin in his most commercially successful film "The Great Dictator".
Watching this makes me realize how important it is for artists to be able to express their views and share their work. It is fortunate that we have this piece of film history as the U.S. was still formally at peace with Germany and this was the first major film to criticize Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Similarities between Chaplin and Hitler were noted as both

had superficially similar looks, most famously their toothbrush mustaches, and this similarity is often commented upon. Furthermore, the two men were born only four days apart in April 1889, and both grew up in relative poverty with alcoholic fathers and ailing mothers.

Chaplins son is quoted on his fathers similarities that

Their destinies were poles apart. One was to make millions weep, while the other was to set the whole world laughing. Dad could never think of Hitler without a shudder, half of horror, half of fascination. “Just think,” he would say uneasily, “he’s the madman, I’m the comic. But it could have been the other way around."

The message of a united, peaceful coexistence with the world we share with 7 billion others is a strong one. We are in this together. Yet there are those who claim otherwise, with justifications and rationalizations to wash their hands of the deeds committed are found in the volumes of history.

FRAMED-Andi Wittmann Rider profile from Felix Urbauer on Vimeo.

war and peace

Are human beings essentially good or bad? Has the past century witnessed moral progress or a moral collapse? Do we have grounds for being optimistic about the future?

Steven Pinker tries to answer these questions in his latest book (looks like a lengthy, but interesting read)
here is a video that breaks down his postition
it looks like he presents a compelling argument yet contrarian argument especially considering certain affairs of the world.
here is his full length talk

Oh boy, not again

Soo I kind of got hit by a car....again.

here is the breakdown of what happened

Steve Jobs

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs

Oligopoly much?

(click to expand)

Anonymous e-mail

MailNesia - Anonymous e-mail in seconds:

ever need to send an email anonymously like when signing up for websites that you don't want knowing your email?

claims there is no registration or password necessary.

I have not used it but I can see the appeal it would have. check it out and tell me what you think

the 99% that used to be

Here are the sources because it is hard to read in the original

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Posthumous pirating

Is it wrong to pirate an artists work after they have died? I know that pirating is wrong and that pirating a work after an artist has died takes money away from those who publish or perform the artists work. But something inside me sees it as a different things to pirate an artists work after they have died. I mean have you ever heard of a dead person complain from being ripped off? I can understand the case if an artist had specifically stated that any profits post death should go to family or charity, but if the artist is dead then what?
Now in thinking about this I can see two cases but with each I feel differently about them. Take the case of classical music, say a piece by Mozart. Mozart has been dead for hundreds of years and Mozart or his family has likely not seen a cent from the sales of reproductions of his music, yet I would have a hard time trying to justify pirating it because I would be unjustly depriving the performers of due payment.
But what about the case in which there are no performers? What about say an Ebook? Would it be wrong to pirate it? I mean it is very likely that these days printers already have a digital copy. Is ten bucks a fair price for a digital copy of a book when the author would never see a cent of it?

Before I sign off I would just like to reiterate that I am not trying to justify or promote stealing. Really I was just trying to answer the question of who does a piece of artwork belong to? The artist or the distributor. If it belongs to the artist then it seems to me that the cost of posthumous works should be significantly reduced.
But as is likely with other questions, the answer I seek is probably much more complicated than a simple yes or no

Slime Molds!

Slime molds are really awesome! They come in a variety of otherworldly forms and exhibit some really striking characteristics.

There is a great write up on em on in the NYT today by Carl Zimmer. I have enjoyed Carl Zimmers work and he does a pretty good job explaining cool science stuff in a way that captures your attention.
but back to the slime molds! here is a cool video that shows just some of the interesting characteristics of slime molds

(on an unrelated note, I really like the music in this. If someone wanted to get it for me that would be awesome)
How do the single cells of the slime mold know how to organize themselves without any sort of nervous system organizing them?

The peculiar characteristic of slime molds to organize themselves can also be used to predict and understand the most efficient way to distribute resources. Because slime molds do not have any of the advantages a circulatory system brings us, slime molds have to adapt in different ways. Scientists have tested slime molds organizational skills by placing food resources in the same patterns as train stations. here we can see the results

Health Care Debate

Kind of interesting to see how things seem so similar yet nothing has really changed. Even back then there were the same concerns of spiraling health care costs, and balancing private and public sector intervention.

War is a Racket

"War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."

Kind of a striking quote huh? My first reaction to this quote was that it came from some raging left leaning, birkenstock wearing hippie but in fact came from Smedley Butler a U.S. Marine with a career of 33 years under his belt, decorated with some of our nations highest honors with not one but two medal of honors (only 19 other brave individuals have had the same commendation).
On looking back at his military career he said:

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

To have someone with such experience and honors speak of war like this should make us reconsider the notions we have with "nation building" or defending America and its "interests" (corporate interests or citizen interests?)