Disqus - Latest Comments for Brian

Re: The Earth is expanding? | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:13:57 -0000

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

Re: The Earth is expanding? | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:24:24 -0000

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

Re: Opportunities in public spaces | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 03:08:54 -0000

"...every place becomes your place"

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

Re: More dietary experimentation | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:49:37 -0000

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!

Re: The Renunciation Vote | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:44:02 -0000

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

Re: Wacom drawing: green alien thing | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:58:56 -0000

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)

Re: 7 years | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:51:17 -0000

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

Re: Financial Freedom | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:51:10 -0000

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.

Re: Your earth capsule | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:30:20 -0000

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.

Re: Your earth capsule | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:58:59 -0000

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.

Re: Søren Kierkegaard’s view on the aesthetic life | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:22:23 -0000

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.

Re: Søren Kierkegaard’s view on the aesthetic life | Letter Never Sent

Brian — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:37:44 -0000

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?

Re: The Kindle is a portable book shelf

Brian — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:44:26 -0000

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.

Re: The Kindle is a portable book shelf

Brian — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:01:24 -0000

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.

Re: A Digital Soul

Brian — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:08:52 -0000

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!

Re: The Obama Speech

Brian — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:52:15 -0000

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.

Re: Me Meme

Brian — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:04:59 -0000

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

Re: Italian predicted earthquake

Brian — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:35:50 -0000

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

Re: Dear Stanford, If you're going to talk about war, meet your former provost, Condi Rice

Brian — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:22:06 -0000

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

Re: Wash Post poll, very bad numbers for Obama

Brian — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:57:55 -0000

I've been reading AmericaBlog for a long time ... and while I more-or-less agree with what you're saying, it's getting very tiring that almost every post is the same Obama-bashing stuff. Got it.

The point is that the Obama supporters that feel slighted do something ... call/write/donate progressive members of Congress. Tell them to whip Obama into shape. Let's turn this into an opportunity -- and some other liberal blogs are doing just that -- but, here it's post after post of negativity ... I'm done with it. I'll check back in a couple of months.

Re: Phish Friday | Clifford Ball Set II, A Magnum Opus?

Brian — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 22:25:51 -0000

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

Re: Weekly Roundup | Outside Lands Wrapup

Brian — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:47:50 -0000

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.

Re: Weekly Roundup | Outside Lands Wrapup

Brian — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:16:10 -0000

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

Re: Phish Friday | Walnut Creek Giveaway

Brian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:56:16 -0000

Lizards.

I just love the whole ending melody.

Re: Phish Friday | Walnut Creek Giveaway

Brian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:58:01 -0000

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.

Re: Medeski, Martin & Wood | New MP3, 2008 Tour Dates

Brian — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:11:04 -0000

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.