Colorado Cough - all the stuff i read on the internet

colbert hits the spot

Colbert Roasts Bush - Fire. so fire. (updated link)

going to the islands

shaka brah

party time

Friday night was hilarious and a blast. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE got way too lit. Who kept handing me shots?! And who kept buying Chad all those Mai-Tai's?! ridonkulous, and fun. lets do it again. (was I really the heavyweight champ out of all y'all?)

Unofficial Mini-Reunion - Thanks Nick for the photog skills

C for Cookie

a couple videos and a couple of links.

Sesame Street spoof of "V for Vendetta"... from boingboing

How NOT to land a helicopter.

The Trillion Dollar War

I don't drive, but here is an interesting article on gas prices. Basically since the supply and demand are so finely tuned to the high price of gas, if every American used just 3% less gasoline fuel prices would crash. A month has 30 days in it. Don't drive one day. Now, get everyone else to do it too.

Funny Republicans

I don't really affiliate myself with any political party: the corporatocracy owns them both, and there isn't any way for a "third" fourth, fifth or any alternative to emerge in the current political climate. What the crap, democracy. I do think that getting the morally and politically corrupt far-right out of our electorate is important though. We have far more important issues to worry about than gay marriage and prayer in school. (Yes, and NO, imho)

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bushs daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we cant find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents wont have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobaccos link to cancer are junk science, but Creationism should be taught in school.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offence, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving records are none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then its an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the 80s is irrelevant

Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

Remember!!! Friends dont let friends vote Republican

goto: MoveOn and help beat the Pub's in 06 and 08.

Reason #1 to Own A Business

1980 - CEO Pay is $10 for every $1 dollar earned by the average worker. Today: $430 for every dollar. Does this guy really need more money?

Lee Raymond, CEO of Exxon/Mobil : $51 mil/yr, plus $400 mil retirement package.

We are all Monkeys

The meaning of life. Dance, Monkeys, Dance. video, safe for work.

Fight The Power

Marc Ecko's brilliant (faked) video of him tagging Air Force One. Recently Ecko tried to get Mayor Hickenlooper to repeal a Denver ordinance that prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a can of spray paint. In NYC, you can't buy or carry a wide tip marker or spray paint if you are under 21 without the threat of real jail time.

Revere's Ride

Today in History...

1775: American colonial patriot Paul Revere made his famous ride from Lexington to Concord, Massachusetts, warning the American people that the British “redcoats” had landed and will soon arrive
1906: An earthquake, followed by fire, destroys most of San Francisco, killing 3000 people
1934: First Laundromat opens in the United States. Now you can wash your dirty laundry in public
1949: Republic of Ireland created

So everyone likes Ireland, laundromats and earthquakes. But not everyone likes America. There is worldwide hostility and resentment towards our country - and I can't say that I blame the world. Americans generally are very uneducated about world events - is it because they feel isolated and secure in their land of shopping malls and air conditioning? Today I was talking to someone who literally never goes outside except for the brief space between his car and the front doors of his office or apartment. What kind of existence is that?

I ran 10 miles today. It felt fantastic. Go outside. Go camping, go climb a mountain, or go for a walk and watch the sunset. It will make you feel better.

blowout

So I was watching Blowout on Bravo the other night... Just wow. That show is hilarious. Jonathan isn't gay? He's married and has a little kid? Wow, he has really great hair though (joking, joking). But J dropped a gem of wisdom on the love front:

"The minute I stopped trying to find the right girl and started trying to become the right guy, the right girl showed up."

word.

worktime productivity destroyer

I didn't sleep last night. At all. Today is going to be awful at work - I'm going for the "I have the stomach flu, I have to leave at 10" excuse today. It's 5:36am...

Funny movie clip: first person to tell me where this is from gets a shiny nickel. Psycho Killer - Garbage Day

This kayaker will think twice before heading out to sea again...

The Best Page in the Universe.

Urban Legend Reference: Artificial sweeteners give you Alzheimers, and other myths.

Why you won't crack the top 50- A look at the top 50 blogs, and their linkology/relationships to each other.

Okay, really finally. Cheese is gouda for your sex life. Really. I like cheese.

get organizized

30 Boxes - the last calender you will ever use. you can import from Yahoo, Outlook, ical... It's a great interface and easy to use.

Are you busy? Do you forget to pay the rent or miss meetings? Do you know about the GTD system? Honestly I don't have enough on my plate right now to take full advantage, but I expect to soon. Here is the original system. Basically it's a compilation of To-Do lists and action items. Here is a "whitepaper" written by a user. GTD turns people who follow it into GTD freaks. That can be good.

EvokeTv- Find the shows you want to watch. Don't watch the rest. Anything other than Charlie Rose or 24 is melting your brain. Even the new Law and Order episodes aren't very good. You can even get an RSS feed of your favorites and export it to your 30boxes cal, and your favorites shows get scheduled in automatically. Genius!

Finally, celebrate this unique moment in history with a drink... or 2. or 3. or 4, 5 or 6.
This Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. (Thanks, anonymous clock-watcher)

blazing fast post

Hey NASA - you suck. Lets build a pretty moon base, ooh, ahh. A great editorial. Why go to the moon at all? Go straight to Mars, do not pass the Moon, do not spend $200 Billion. We could spend $50b and go all the way to the Red Planet. C'mon you engineers and jokers. Figure it out.

Who knew politicians could be funny? I always suspected Obama had a hidden Eddie Murphy in there somewhere. Obama roasts Cheney. Wow, the hunting jokes don't really get old.

On a serious tip (for once) - Dave Pollard's deep and interesting blog How to Save the World. Spend your lunch hour reading the archives, there are some real gems in there.

It's thursday y'all, the weekend is almost here. Go George Mason!

Busy Busy

I don't know people can write like 5 entries a day, work full-time, and have any semblance of a social life or any hobbies. I'm too busy right now with March Madness/work to post much. Did anyone see that George Mason game?! Wowza.

After the game I watched the 60 minutes special on Tiger Woods. Man, that is one good motherf#ckin golfer. He has made $80 million just from winning golf tournaments? He makes an additional $80 million every year from endorsements? He is on track to be the first Billion dollar golf star. He was already in the ranks of Palmer and Nicklaus after his first couple of years on the Tour, and he still practices 14 hours some days. That is the kind of dedication I truly admire. Working a full-time gig has been a change for me, and I'm definitely feeling the Monday blues. How do people work jobs they hate 40 hours a week for their entire lives? This is just a transition period for me, but it's difficult to stay motivated at times. Mainly I try to just look for something positive every day, or try and apply some concept from work that I can benefit from in the future.

a few random monday links
BuddhaNet Audio Dharma - Listen, and be a better person, no matter what your religious beliefs.

Drink Water to Lose Weight

Great blog of a NYC Waiter

Go work on the Moon. Get out of here!

Staying In Is The New Going Out

Staying in your pajamas for 54 hours straight is a damn good feeling. I hardly even left the house all weekend, and I didn't miss a thing! The weather was crappy, the fridge was stocked, and I had some great company...

Look what happened to this 15 year old that left his house. Remember, guns don't kill people. Idiots with guns kill people.

Sure, I like to go out and hang out with my friends occasionally. Going out to the bar can be fun, but it is always expensive and usually you have to deal with a minimum of five morons. Per bar. Even though there are cool people out there I don't know, the signal to noise ratio of hip cats to utter fools is ridiculous at any bar or club. 90% of the crowd is there to get laid, maybe 10% is couples just wondering why they went out in the first place. Why not stay in? I'm more of a homebody anyways - I would much rather kick it, watch a movie and play Scrabble than "get wasted" at the bar.

Good rainy/snowy day time killers -

browse Everyday

read PostSecret

read a BOOK - they're those things with a cover and a bunch of words in between.

Music Monday II

The Greatest Rapper of All Time - Age 17, Bedstuy, Brooklyn.

This video is pretty long, but you music nerds will appreciate this look at one of the most used breakbeat samples in history.

How big is your mp3 player? Did you know you can use Itunes no matter what type of player you have? I take my 4G ipod mini everywhere, even though I'm probably damaging my hearing. Smart Playlists really help keep the music fresh, especially with such small capacity. I keep most of my music stored on the computer, and the playlists rotate my favorite songs, recently added tracks, and songs I haven't heard in a while.

more radio - Pandora is an radio site with an in-browser player, it works by recommending other songs based on who you like - much like the amazon.com recommendations engine. I would give it 3/5 stars right now, but they are making improvements and it should get better. You can input multiple artists into one station as well - it is cool to see what kind of stuff they recommend if you mix Miles Davis + Talib Kweli + Postal Service.

March MADNESS

Just wanted to drop a quick post now that my NCAA bracket is thoroughly destroyed.

Why am I not out celebrating my Irish heritage this cold Denver evening? Well I had a few pints of Guinness at the Uptown Tavern after work today, came home and fell promptly asleep. Now I'm rocking my flannel pajama pants, I just finished watching the basketball games and I'm too damn comfortable to go out and "celebrate". St. Patty's Day is just a drunken orgy of amateur drinkers anyways, my usually beautiful pubs overcrowded with those people who only drink on special occasions, spilling their beers and throwing up in the sink in the ladies room. Amateurs. As I write this I have to turn my music up to drown the screams of the partygoers outside my window. Yeah, I know you like the green beer guys. Do you need to yell like someone is stabbing you in the eye to get the point across?

Letter To President Bush

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While browsing NewsVine today I came across this letter to Bush from a retired Naval aviator, judge, and law professor.

"Until your administration, I thought it was impossible for our nation to take hundreds of persons into custody without provable charges of any kind, and to “disappear” them into holes like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and Bagram. Until your administration, in my wildest legal fantasy I could not imagine a U.S. Attorney General seeking to justify torture or a President first stating his intent to veto an anti-torture law, and then adding a “signing statement” that he intends to ignore such law as he sees fit."

In the end, he tells Bush he is turning in his aviator's wings and his Lieutenant's shoulder boards as a protest for the injustices done by this adminstration. This is the type of person we need serving as an elected official for our country.

health news, 10K

Guy #1: I'm thinking of doing bio-medical engineering.
Guy #2: Isn't that where people create animals--
Guy #1: No, you dumbass film major.

--Hayden Hall Residence, Washington Square West from overheardinnewyork.com

Hole in the heart may be linked to migraines - Some cases of severe migraine may be effectively treated by closing a hole in the heart, research suggests. more heart stuff - should we all be on statins?

An interesting new theory on pregnancy - a competition between mother and child.

The ganja causes memory problems? What was that?

JOIN ME for this year's Bolder Boulder, May 29th. This will be my first 10K in about five years, and I haven't really been running that much. I'll try just to wheeze and gasp my way to the finish. Training is way more fun with some friends though, so get off your plush couch and lace up those running shoes. My plan for this week is to run 15 miles in 5 sessions (2 3 4 4 2)

music mondays

a few internet radio stations/podcasts I like:

deepfunk

zoe's radio show - many styles, mostly rock but overall a great show and collection.

Beatbasement

and my favorite... WeFunk

Faster, Better, Healthier.

Fast 50 - Report From the Future:: One of my goals is to be on this or a similar list in ten years. A list of 50 "portraits from the future", people who are making a big impact on changing our world. by Fast Company

Fortune has a feature called Secrets of Greatness. This is a series of short interviews with a dozen "accomplished" people, from A.G. Lafley to Wynton Marsalis, on their keys to achieving flow in everyday living. The recurring theme: be an early riser. I've never really been a morning person, but I'm finding that once you start waking up early, it becomes a habit. I'm even waking up five minutes or so before my alarm goes off now - it's so much nicer than being jolted awake. One of the recommendations given in the early riser article is to cut caffeine out completely - I'll only give up my java when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

Don't make Dave's mistake. You are only as good as the fuel you put into your body. Maybe you may function fine on Wendy's #2 Combo, Biggie-sized with a Diet Coke. I understand. Sometimes, you just crave those 60g of fat and 1140 calories. I do too. Just promise yourself it's a once a month treat. Since January 1 I've been trying to eat healthier and organically. I've found it to be a challenge to change some of my neandrethal eating habits. I am definitely noticing a difference in my energy levels and I feel healthier in general. I eat a lot - I have been taking in about 3,800 to 4,000 calories a day. I keep track of this with a great, free site called Nutrax. You can keep fitness and food logs there - just snap a picture with your camera phone before every meal, then go back and input the nutritional information. There are menus that list virtually everything edible with the info already there for you, and it's pretty easy to use. The hard thing for me is still making a habit of tracking every single thing I eat. This is a great tool for athletes, anyone with diabetes, or people trying to lose weight.

So I'm trying to get to the point that eating organic is better for you and better tasting than processed foods. I guess we all know this, but who has the money to shop at Whole Foods every week? You don't have to. A few weeks ago my favorite person turned me on to Sunflower Markets here in Denver. All organic, they have the best produce and great quality, inexpensive meats. When my friend got out of the car with her own grocery bags, I was a bit perplexed - then I saw when we got the receipt, they took $.25 per bag off of the bill. I was really impressed by their helpful staff and great food - and it marked the last time I will go to the unSafeway in 5 Points for any reason. Now, if they could just figure out how to make a decent tasting organic peanut butter...

randomosity

InBubbleWrap - daily contests for free business books. I won How Dell Does It, by Steven Holzner. They send me a free book, I send them a link - also check 800-CEO-READ, an excellent business blog.

Psychologist Steven Hayes says the American obsession with feeling good is preventing us from living good -- and that living life to the fullest means a lot of pain. from salon.com

Tonight I am motivated by: fresh starts, and my first $4 adsense payment. Now I'm going to sleep, maybe have a crazy lucid dream or two. Sleep is important.

homeland security?

I was reading slashdot this afternoon and came across this interesting thread. A retired schoolteacher from Texas paid off his credit card debt in a lump sum, and it got flagged by Homeland Security. This isn't really new news - large financial transactions have been flagged and subject to scrutiny by government agencies for years. Since 9/11 however, the threshold for "suspicious" dollar amounts has been lowered, and the number of investigations (pdf) have increased considerably.

A few of my friends who play poker for a living have had some increasing difficulty with taxes and even simple banking due to the large amounts of cash they use for their chosen career. I know 2 people that were audited in 2005, and even with all of their paperwork fully documenting their profits, they were subject to harassment and undue scrutiny by the IRS. If this kind of Orwellian monitoring is already commonplace, how will citizens ever regain some semblance of privacy from the government?

Like it or not, our society is far past the point of no return. Everywhere you go, you leave a data trail. Living off the grid is almost impossible at this stage. I wouldn't want to - I am a (mostly) law abiding citizen, and in some aspects the benefits of a truly open society improve the quality of life for everyone. As Americans, however, we did not enter into any contract granting the government full access to our lives, and the government is clearly overstepping their defined legal boundaries lately.

This is just the most recent example of the violation of privacy in America. Unconstitutional laws that have been passed radically overstep personal rights in the name of "security" and "fighting terrorism". But are we really safer today than five years ago? Does the U.S. have some secret force field that I don't know about? Or did we simply squander the world's admiration and respect for our supposedly reasonable actions in Afghanistan by invading Iraq in violation of international law...?

stewie griffin, on 50 cent

I have been a Family Guy fan for a long time - the show is brilliant and I can't watch an episode without nearly dying from laughter. I missed this episode, where Stewie goes off on 50 Cent. Priceless (free video).

Here is a GREAT guitar solo - Stanley Jordan, playing Eleanor Rigby - wow. If you thinks it's slow, just wait about 40 seconds. I wish I could play like this...

Finally on this beautiful Sunday (67f today in Denver), I leave you with this.
I hope your French is better than mine to translate - or you can go to Babelfish. Unique ebay auctions, including my forehead. Here is the original listing. Yes, that's me and my big ass forehead, which I auctioned for adspace after a bad week in Las Vegas. I saw an article in the Denver Post about someone who made $34k auctioning a temporary tattoo on his head, and I'm way more handsome than that guy. Alas, no bidders - just $60 in listing fees. Damn you ebay!

joshua davis

article from this month's Wired Mag about artist/coder/designer Joshua Davis. (denver native, what)

"Of course, Davis isn't the first artist to stand out for rogue techniques. He's routinely compared to Pollock, who lived at the other end of Long Island and came up with a whole new approach to painting. It's tough not to compare the two - unhealthy attachment to mind-altering substances, bristling persona, studio barns, unorthodox technique. Davis isn't a fan of Pollock's work, but he admits that he's an artistic descendant."

cutting edge architecture

It looks like Dubai is a leader in innovative architecture - take a look at these new buildings. Looks like I need to take a trip to the UAE to play some golf and do a little sightseeing.

What about the wacky designs of these strange buildings?

If you are into architecture, check out BLDGBLOG. They always have breathtaking imagery and a lot of content.

Over at Inhabitat they detail everything from prefabs to treehouses, an emphasis on modern designs that are both eco-friendly and beautiful.

A student from USC completed her thesis on Sustainable Car Parks - basically transforming urban parking lots that sit empty much of the time into multi-use, functional, aesthetically pleasing spaces that would both improve the urban heat sink problem and increase the beauty of the concrete jungle.

viva freedom

what are your weekend plans?

Check out Art-o-Mart Emerging Artists market on Friday.

good hiphop i like = Little Brother. good, new, and conscious. and in Boulder Saturday night. I'll be at the Gothic to see the Greyboy Allstars, check out either show and you won't regret it.

Sunday I like to relax, review, and recharge. I usually spend a few hours catching up on my reading or projects or just chill. I'm a coffee addict, so I can't do without a good cup of joe. This blog has all the good coffee spots in Denver reviewed and listed for your java pleasure.

from my wounded ego tonight -I have a new job this week, and a new perspective as of about thirty minutes ago. Tonight I meditated on possibilities, and they are truly endless. Sometimes pain is good. It can help you evolve and move in a different direction.

Who?

this guy is just frontin

this cat has real style

this guy has vision

not much time tonight. on a personal note: wish I had more time. as soon as my schedule permits I will go polyphasic and never look back.

Mobile Art

I came across Start Mobile recently, which charges $1.99 to download images to your cell phone. The art on the site is great, from "from premier underground and emerging artists". Guess what? You don't have to pay. Simply find the pictures you want, save them and email them to your cell phone. For Verizon, open up a vzwpix account and send to (yourphone#@vzwpix.com). Not sure for you other services, but can't be too hard. I snagged several of the images and they are rotating through the background of my crappy Motorola V710. Don't pay for an 80x80 pixel drawing - save your money and buy one of their pieces or t-shirts or something.

A bonus is that as you find the art you like, they provide a link to the artist's site. Truly some incredible images and impressive work.

Olympics, ToDo Lists

The Olympics are finally over. Maybe now I can get some new episodes of Law and Order? I miss Stabler's fury and Olivia's caring but tough attitude. The only exciting thing to watch was the halfpipe snowboarding competition, and that was over on the fourth day or something. My boy Shaun represented, of course. Figure skating drama? Spare me, please. Just let me return to my regularly scheduled programming.

In addition to my myriad of small business ventures, I recently got a "real job" where I go to an office and drone mindlessly through the day. Now that more of my time is occupied I'm trying to adjust to a busier schedule, while still completing all of the personal development and business goals I have set for myself. I have always used a lot of lists and planners, and a nice tool I found recently is called voo2do. Voo2do is a web-based project tracker and priority to-do list system. It uses a "fancy-schmancy Ajax interface" and it has worked out great for me. I'm always trying out new sites and new productivity tools, but I think I will use this for a while. I'm learning Ajax so it's nice to see such clean design, it's very inspiring.

A Beautiful Day

Colorado is a terrible place to live. Please, do not move here. The traffic in Denver is out of control, we get 100 feet of snow every winter, and the sun never shines. Thank you, that is all.

No matter where I go, I always end up coming home to these beautiful mountains. Today I had a great day up at Copper Mountain snowboarding with my father. Pops is a skier, but I pretended he was cool anyways and we had an awesome time. Busy weekend ski tip - stay away from the Center Village and waiting in 30 minute lift lines. We stayed under the Super Bee lift, rocked the groomers all day, and never waited more than 10 minutes in line.

I miss living in Summit County. I would love to buy some property and build a little house up there. In fact, I think I will do just that. I really need to make that first ten million...

Immigration Reform: Be Sensible

I was thrilled to read an editorial in the New York Times this morning that took a common sense approach to the hot button issue of immigration reform. CNN and other major news networks have been causing a ruckus about immigration lately, and no one doubts that our current stance of ignoring the issue or going after immigrants vigilante style is idiotic at best.

I have worked a day labor job recently, mainly for some quick cash but it also turned into an interesting social experiment. In the back of a truck, my white skin offset by the dark tans of my new immigrant friends, my broken spanish was more than enough to find out that my co-workers were just like me. They just wanted to work for a real wage, and they were willing to all but break their backs to do it. They all had families to support, in the U.S. or back home. Their paychecks were wired to wives and mothers, and they lived a spartan life while enduring the racism and culture shock of America.

We are all immigrants here. Just because your parents came on a boat two or three generations ago gives you no more inherent rights to this country than someone who wishes to escape an endless cycle of poverty and live the American dream. It's not just your dream, and America has no right to deny entry to immigrants who simply want a better life for their children. We need to welcome these new Americans with open arms and incorporate them into our society. There won't be an illegal immigrant burden on education or health care if we make them part of the system; tax-paying, law-abiding citizens just like you or me. We have a huge, rich country here that only needs smart management and smart policies to remain a world leader. So let's elect those officials who will make good things happen. If no one is stepping up in your district or your state, do it yourself. The key word to participatory democracy is the one that starts with a P.

Future Tech and Toys

Hey, buy me this camera. No, really. I want to take some pictures, and it's only 3 grand! Or just click on it and go buy one yourself, then I can get a neckstrap for it or something, 'cause I get 4% y'all.

23" LCD = Good This insane touch screen = Great

While I was working as a professional poker player, I dreamed of a system like this. Many online pro players have four or more tables open at one time, often spread across two monitors but you almost always have to deal with "table overlap". Just think of applications for this multi-input touch screen - from art, to design, to well, poker. As a musician, I love the section in the clip with a touch screen MOOG and what looks like music composition software. Can you say productivity boost?

Do you find yourself drinking an ever-increasing amount of coffee in the morning? I sure do. Maybe I should pick up some of this self-cleaning, caffeinated soap. It's organic - and no, you don't have to eat it.

Riggedy Rigged?

I'm not saying that the 2004 election was rigged, but stuff like this makes you wonder what the hell was going on down there, or in many other districts around the nation that used these same electronic voting machines. We are just now hearing about this?

You know it's not good news when the article starts with: The internal logs of at least 40 Sequoia touch-screen voting machines reveal that votes were time and date-stamped as cast two weeks before the election, sometimes in the middle of the night. -thx metafilter

New Video Ipod

From the "My Wishlist" Department -

Looks like someone published a photo of the new video Ipod with it's bigger screen and touch-click wheel interface... Nice. Okay so this, a PS3, and a 60-inch flat panel. Christmas is only 10 months away!

Laugh More

Take a few minutes and just laugh. It's good for your body and mind. If you can't do it spontaneously, maybe check out one of these sites.

Everyone remember Jackass? That was so 2002. These guys didn't get the memo.

Chuck Norris Facts

Overheard in New York

my favorite comic strip - The Boondocks

The Robots are Coming

The robotics pioneers over at DARPA are coming out with some crazy stuff... Here is a 20-ton robotic tank.

Pointing to the bristling array of sensors on the vehicles, Jaczkowski said these vehicles incorporate second-generation ladar-laser radar, forward-looking infrared sensors, and advanced computers to handle autonomous navigation.

For the autonomous follower, engineers are going beyond Global Positioning Systems to link terrain data from the lead vehicle back to the follower vehicle to augment data the follower vehicle gathers from on-board sensors.

"We have a major emphasis to create systems that can operate without GPS. We know that electronic interference can easily jam GPS in a battle zone.

The future of warfare will be these unmanned vehicles, much like the Air Force is using the Predator drones now. thanks engadget!

Or take a look at this US Navy swimming spy plane, which could give new life to the large fleet of Ohio-class submarines previously only engaged in nuclear deterrence.

None of these robots are autonomous, meaning that there is a human in the loop at all levels. The goal is to make them operate without someone's finger on the trigger, so that the robot can identify and eliminate a target without human intervention. The smart AI for these systems isn't science fiction, and it's not that far off. It might sound a little bit scary, but it is only the beginning of the robotics revolution that we will see in the next twenty years.

The first successful home robots are simple. They sweep and mop your floors. In the next few years there will be more of these simple machines taking over chores and easy tasks, growing increasingly complex. I finished reading Ray Kurzweil's latest book, The Singularity Is Near. In this 672-page tome he discusses the three upcoming revolutions that will change our world. Not a little bit, but change as significant as the Industrial Revolution. These three revolutions are the Genetic, the Nanotechnology, and the Robotic. I will post a review of this book in the near future.

His premise is that human technological advances are exponential, while we are still stuck in a linear mode of thinking. Most policy and decision makers simply cannot fathom the awesome advances we will make in the next fifty years, and that we as a society need to change our thinking so that we are prepared for these advances. For a visualization of exponential growth, take a look at this Malthusian population graph.

As is stands today, we are at the base of curve, ready to take off and capitalize on exponential technological growth. On some level it can be argued that not just technological progress, but economic, social, and political growth and understanding will follow this same trend. I'm excited and optimistic about the future of human societies. It is difficult to remain positive sometimes, and humanity needs some good fortune and good luck to survive into the next millenium. There is a fair chance that we might just blow ourselves up. I think there are more reasons look forward with hope rather than fear, however.

For some great short stories and information about robotics and future possibilities, check out Marshall Brain's Robotic Future. Be sure to read his story Manna. The future is near...

I heart Google

I have been a Google devotee for a long time now. I search, I shop with Froogle, I fly all over the globe, I use their blog software, and I have a couple of Gmail accounts. I have been following this company for a long time. I was an "early-adopter" before they went public and blew up into billions of dollars of market cap. I told everyone I knew that they had better jump on the bandwagon at their IPO.

When the stock hit 65 the next day I said "Buy, buy". Of course no one took my advice, I'm not some big shot analyst. If they had, they would have made a nice chunk of change. GOOG is still a good buy, hovering around 370. Their business model, P/E, cash and position are exceedingly solid. They are the 800 pound gorilla of Internet search and advertising, and on their way to dominating many other markets as well. They have the cash to buy up any innovative young companies that might add to their long term plan, which is basically to be the operating system and front end for every click and every transaction.

Recently there has been a small uproar regarding Google's censorship of search terms in China. There are certain costs to doing business with the PRC, and this is one of them. The fact is that the censorship is easily foiled just by misspelling a word, or a Chinese citizen can log on to an anonymizer website, then conduct searches or post about human rights violations from there. The situation just requires some creative work-around for a while. The Chinese government won't be able to keep their billion citizens under such tight control in the information age, at least not for long. Information wants to be free. It will be. Plus as far as I know, google hasn't helped get anyone thrown in jail, like their buddies over at Yahoo.

The philanthropic arm of their company is getting off the ground now, and I expect it to not only contribute vast sums of money to worthy causes, but hopefully establish a corporate model for intelligent, responsible philanthropy. They recently named Larry Brilliant to head this effort. He has a great bio, but an even better name.
some links from Metafilter

Colorado Cough - all the stuff i read on the internet

5.03.2006

colbert hits the spot

going to the islands

5.01.2006

party time

4.28.2006

C for Cookie

4.26.2006

Funny Republicans

4.25.2006

Reason #1 to Own A Business

4.24.2006

We are all Monkeys

4.20.2006

Fight The Power

4.18.2006

Revere's Ride

4.12.2006

blowout

4.03.2006

worktime productivity destroyer

4.02.2006

get organizized

3.29.2006

blazing fast post

3.25.2006

Busy Busy

3.21.2006

Staying In Is The New Going Out

3.20.2006

Music Monday II

3.17.2006

March MADNESS

3.15.2006

Letter To President Bush

3.13.2006

health news, 10K

3.12.2006

music mondays

3.08.2006

Faster, Better, Healthier.

3.07.2006

randomosity

homeland security?

3.05.2006

stewie griffin, on 50 cent

3.04.2006

joshua davis

cutting edge architecture

3.02.2006

viva freedom

Who?

2.28.2006

Mobile Art

2.27.2006

Olympics, ToDo Lists

2.26.2006

A Beautiful Day

2.25.2006

Immigration Reform: Be Sensible

2.24.2006

Future Tech and Toys

Riggedy Rigged?

New Video Ipod

2.23.2006

Laugh More

The Robots are Coming

I heart Google

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