DISQUS

so, all of Stanford University needs to come out and make some statement ... or something? What exactly do you want?

hey, I'm no defender of Condi, but give me a break with this post.

btw, the Hoover Inst is essentially an autonomous entity housed on the campus

Radon as earthquake-predictor approach is more-or-less junk science ... plain and simple.

okay, here's mine: http://clasticdetritus.com/2008/10/03/the-me-meme/

sorry for the crappy photo ... had to use my cell phone ... let's see how much this one catches on

thanks for the info ... just got my tix for the Fillmore show in SF. I love these guys and am looking forward to new stuff and what sounds like an interesting format for a tour.

Ha, I didn't even read the comments above mine that also mentioned Lizards ... I didn't look on purpose, just tried to think of a song.

Lizards.

I just love the whole ending melody.

We watched it live (on PBS) and I thought it was very good.

It is so difficult to strike a balance of being specific and outlining a vision in a speech like that, but I thought he nailed it. Naysayers of political speeches will usually respond to a visionary speech with "there were no specifics, no details" and they'll respond to detailed, line-by-line speeches with "I got lost in the details, there was no vision" ... well, he did both.

The other thing Iiked was how he is at least trying to defuse some of the 'culture war' crap by saying "we might disagree on ____, but we should be able to agree on ____". Obama needs to keep this election about real, everyday problems, not the hot-button divisive issues that Rove wants it to be about (and what the choice of Palin is obviously trying to do).

I also liked his tone when he told McCain and McCain supporters to not question his patriotism ... I think that will at least help diminish some of that crap (but it won't go away completely).

After watching a speech like and then seeing McCain speak it boggles my mind that McCain might even have a chance ... but, that's just me.

btw, see my wrap-up and some photos here: http://clasticdetritus.com/2008/08/29/outside-lands-music-festival-golden-gate-park/

If you haven't read ... check out Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near" ... not sure I quite buy all the predictions he talks about on the time frame he talks about, but intriguing reading nonetheless!

I went to all three days and thought it was, overall, a great festival. I chose to not see Beck so I could get relatively close for Radiohead and it was worth it. I had never seen them before and was mesmerized. Saturday was decent ... caught Abigail Washburn (w/ Bela Fleck), Devendra Banhart, Galactic, and Cake. But, I thought Sunday was the best day. We hung out at the Twin Peaks stage all day for ALO, Stars (they were okay, not quite my cup o' tea), Andrew Bird (awesome!), Broken Social Scene (very cool), and finally Wilco. After all that, we didn't need to venture over to main stage for Jack Johnson.

All in all ... a great festival.

thanks for the feedback ... I might have to go test one out ... this would be a great thing for trains/buses/airplanes, but I still like the feeling of holding a real book too. I guess in that sense it shouldn't be seen as a replacement per se, but just an additional way to read.

What do you think of Kindle in terms of it as a replacement for real books? Is it truly easy on the eyes like the ad says? It seems like that is still the main hurdle for 'e-books' ... I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

If we think that some component of the universe is incomprehensible no matter what we do to try and understand it, then it's a science-stopper ... what would be the point of continuing to do work?

What if we had stopped doing science X years ago when we thought we couldn't comprehend the nature of universe?

I'm in the middle of The God Delusion by Dawkins and it's worth noting how he talks about this. He has a chapter titled 'Why There Is Almost Certainly No God' ... note the 'almost' in there. And then he puts himself on a scale from 1-10 ... with 1 being there is definitely a God no matter what, and 10 being there is definitely NOT a God no matter what. He puts himself as a 9 because, as a scientist, he must concede to uncertainty. I think I heard in a later interview that he put himself at 9.99, or something like that.

The point is, that most strong atheists, especially those that actively conduct science, cannot with 100% certainty say there's no God. This is in stark contrast to those on the other side of continuum who say they know with 100% certainty that God exists.

For any atheists who do claim they know for sure (w/ 100% certainty) that there is no God, then I would agree with your assessment of putting them in the same bucket as extreme theists.

Regarding what Keith was talking about ... if you watch time-lapse footage of heavy traffic, those transient moments of stoppage or near-stoppage migrate "upstream" even while all the traffic is moving "downstream". This produces an accordion effect or a "wave". Definitely not efficient...but this type of pattern is seen in nature, so there's something fundamental about it.

You can see this phenomenon well in some of the footage in the film Koyaanisqatsi.

The problem, as always, is transitioning ... how does a roadway work when you have a combination of the "new" automated cars and "old school" human-driven cars ... this mix will have to be addressed. We can't simply switch over all of the sudden.

Perhaps, it'll start with special lanes (like HOV lanes) that are only for these new auto-automobiles? Or, maybe it'll start with cabs, buses, or other non-personal vehicles.

I've tried to move into the realm of not using a credit card at all. Every once in a while I'll use it for a decent-sized purchase and then pay it off right away.

I'm nearly done being a student (and have been for quite a while) but another tactic is to take out student loans and pay off your other high-interest debt. Not only does this consolidate it into a lower interest account, it is deferred until after you are done.

wow...7 years...you are indeed a pioneer

i like it...kinda looks like the Grinch's uncle (who's even more of a curmudgeon than the Grinch from the looks of it)

i agree...one might put Gravel in there as well, although not as appropriate as Paul within the context of what you write above

I agree...I have no particular study to cite as I write this, but the prepared food has so much more 'junk' (preservatives and other sketchy things) that has huge negative effects on health. We have also tried to cook more at home, and it is not only healthier but tastes way better too!

"...every place becomes your place"

the future is kind of crazy when you think about it, right?

He's such a great artist...it'd be great if he made these illustrations with current ideas and reconstructions of paleogeography.

I blogged about Neal recently here

love this blog, by the way...just came across it randomly

except his theory is completely blown out of the water by vast amounts of evidence that subduction does indeed occur...but if you read Adams' writings, he simply and conveniently dismisses subduction without any discussion.

it's a quirky and entertaining 'theory' that does have some history, but was left behind decades ago after real data and information addressed it

the fact that his illustrations and animations are pleasing to the eye (which they are) should not be mistaken for science

beautiful!

having seen most of my shows from the '93-'96, my favorite era, this is a treat -- this nicely replaces my worn-out cassette ... yes, cassette (i'm catchin' up slowly)

thanks