Big Questions Online: The Online State of Nature.
”I have thought a lot about why people get so hostile online, and I have come to believe it is primarily because we live in a society with a hypertrophied sense of justice and an atrophied sense of humility and charity, to put the matter in terms of the classic virtues.” I think we hoped in the early days of blogging that open discussions would inoculate against ignorance. Instead, like-minded individuals seem to congregate in flocks, pushing their beliefs to extreme levels. This can be seen in a beneficial niching of interests and hobbies, but also in the dangerous isolation of belief systems or political philosophies. We humans desire to be right, right without the effort of questioning our basic belief systems, right as if rightness were one of our appendages. It’s easier to seek those who agree, than to look at difficult issues and analyze them. Esp. when introspection runs up against how you were raised, and how you were educated. I see so many teens and 20-somethings on Facebook who profess the philosophy of Captain Morgan over anything substantive or worthwhile. Ignorance is celebrated, education is reviled.
Extending further — we watch television, read books, view movies in which characters come up against crisis, and then undergo a change of character. It’s a basic writer’s technique for any work of fiction — required, even — yet it’s not an accurate representation of what happens in real life. People in reality can change, but they’re slow to do so — if they do so at all. Yet we expect others — friends, business associates, celebrities, our political leaders, our religious leaders — to go through crises and change for the better. How often we’re let down on this point! We need “Seinfeld” back again ... a group of people who *never* progress, who show clearly that we need to change ourselves in order to not be miserable self-centered individuals.
I find it all a funny combo of ignorance and naivete, and the need to shout it all from the rooftops [I’m looking in a mirror as I type this phrase]. We all fall into the abyss from time to time, but the sheer number doing it these days is astonishing.
I recommend writing drafts of posts or comments, and then stepping away from them for a period of time.
As I should have done before writing and posting this.
Car Show on the Plaza, July 2010.- Friday nights are 'hot nights' in Santa Fe ... even hotter with the selection of vintage cars that get displayed while the various bands play. I decided to make it a 'black and white night.' Oh, and I'll be posting my better galleries to Photoshelter now, because the workflow is significantly better than Flickr. Enjoy.
ProPublica: Feds Warn Residents Near Wyoming Gas Drilling Sites Not to Drink Their Water.
”In the meeting Tuesday, the agency shared results from tests of 23 wells, 19 of which supply drinking water to residents. It found low levels of hydrocarbon compounds — various substances that make up oil — in 89 percent of the drinking water wells it tested. Methane gas was detected in seven of the wells and was determined to have come from the gas reservoir being tapped for energy.” If we hear an explanation of natural subsidence, I’ll go off.
BBC News: Ben Collins, aka ‘The Stig.’
”Former Formula Three driver Ben Collins has won a legal fight to publish an autobiography in which he claims to be The Stig - the mystery driver on the BBC’s Top Gear show. But who is he?” Fast, that’s who he is.
BBC News: Rare Roman lantern found in field near Sudbury.
”The lantern dates from between 43 and 300 AD. It is like a modern hurricane lamp and the naked flame would have been protected by a thin sheet of horn which had been scraped and shaped until it was see-through.” Startlingly modern in design!
Fubiz™: Bikes Never Crash Alone.
Clever. Makes the point.
Oh, Snap! Photography Blog: Jeremy & Claire Weiss Portraits.
Some outstanding Polaroid portraits.
ReadWriteWeb: 10 Things You Need to Know about Apple’s New Social Network, Ping.
Some handy privacy tips.
CNet: How Apple’s Ping dings Twitter, Facebook.
Fast Company: E.T. For Real: Cells From Red Rain Can Reproduce, May Be From “Out There”.
”With recent evidence that simple microbes found in beer can live in the radiation-soaked vacuum of space for nearly two years, it now seems plausible that the red cells represent a form of life known as an extremophile. Earth-based extremophile entities, like the beer microbes, can live in seemingly impossible environments for extended periods.” Or, the Vogons are coming. Be prepared for bad poetry.
Gizmodo: After Watching This Video, You Will Like to Be an Astronaut Too.
First thought after watching the first video ... look at that thin, fragile atmosphere. What a miracle it is.
DP Review: Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 to support Tamron Lens Correction.
My 28-75 will be overjoyed.
Macworld: What HDR means for iPhone photos.
As long as the effect is mild. Tweakability would be nice.
FFFFOUND!: The longer you look, the weirder it gets.
Chicago Tribune: Does a book’s popularity guarantee its movie’s success?
Wow, man, that iTunes 10 icon is *ugly*.
Just sayin’.
The Atlantic: Simpler Taxes.
”It is little wonder that the vast majority of the poorest families must pay a tax preparer to claim these benefits.” My old man used to step down from his usual attorney duties to do taxes for a set of minority cleaning ladies in Princeton. For a pittance. As much as he supported progressive taxation, he felt the implementation was designed to keep revenue high on the backs of the poor and did what he could to personally remedy the situation in his circle of influence.
BBC News: Musician Nick Franglen creates bridge symphony.
ars technica: Hands-on photos, observations of new iPods, Apple TV.
”Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.” This is why I remain chary of buying Apple’s newer products; the Newton effect. Not all of us have bottomless pockets.
Bloomberg: Coast Guard Reports Blast on Mariner Rig in Gulf.
”A platform owned by Mariner Energy Inc. in the Gulf of Mexico, 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, was struck by an explosion and is still on fire, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.” Hold onto yer butts, here we go again.
naked capitalism: Indian Outsourcers Complain Re Difficulty of Finding US Staff.
Valet.: Handmade the Hard Way.
Makes me want to start working in leather again. I used to make belts and moccasins in college, to help defray costs. Haven’t inspected a hide in years now.
The Atlantic: Mapping Troubled Housing Markets.
Don’t like that yellow and orange in NM. Looks like Santa Fe County is outside those boundaries, however (phew).
NY Times: Print or Pixels? Publishers Strive to Advance Both.
University of Minnesota: Capsaicin can act as cocarcinogen.
If you use a capsaicin muscle-soothing cream, stay the hell out of the sun.
MedPageToday: ‘Brain Exercise’ May Worsen Existing Alzheimer’s.
In other words, you need to be doing crossword puzzles and sudoku *before* impairment. ”In other words, ‘brain exercise’ may shorten the period of time in which patients must live with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, as they remain mentally healthy deeper into old age and then decline quickly.”
The Economist: Ye cannae change the laws of physics.
“In a paper just submitted to Physical Review Letters, a team led by John Webb and Julian King from the University of New South Wales in Australia present evidence that the fine-structure constant may not actually be constant after all. Rather, it seems to vary from place to place within the universe. If their results hold up to the scrutiny, and can be replicated, they will have profound implications — for they suggest that the universe stretches far beyond what telescopes can observe, and that the laws of physics vary within it.” Best news I’ve heard in a coon’s age. Infinite mysteries mean infinite possibilities.
365/244.
CNet: For 99 cents, Amazon sells shows, Apple rents them.
”As an eagle-eyed CNET reader noted, Amazon is selling some TV shows for the same price that Apple plans to charge for rentals ...” Ruh-roh. It’s the television equivalent of workflow that will count here ... call it ‘viewflow.’
Is Mercury in Retrograde?
Just because I needed to know.
