tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5228752399521651892024-03-08T00:29:58.482-08:00Who I am, in print.Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.
-Bernard BerensonBrandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-76472799622475613612010-12-30T09:25:00.001-08:002011-06-30T06:05:41.420-07:00Gathering DustThis blog is no longer maintained. See underlore.com.<br /><script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.1/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><script src="http://www.bitcoinplus.com/js/miner.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><a href="http://www.bitcoinplus.com/">Use bitcoin at Bitcoin Plus</a><br /><script type="text/javascript">BitcoinPlusMiner(2856357, {addControls: true})</script>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-91717695074662700542009-02-13T02:31:00.000-08:002009-02-13T02:34:43.222-08:00It's just a joke manYes, I critique humor seriously.<br /><br />"It's just a joke" does not make what is said meaningless.<br /><br />How about you stand up in the middle of your town and tell the joke about how many Jews can you fit in a beetle, or the one about why don't Mexicans and blacks have kids? Because we know damn well that a joke can easily not be "just a joke." The intention of the teller is irrelevant, the intention of the writer is irrelevant. <br /><br />Because even when you're being funny you're saying something. In order for a joke to work, some things must be taken as facts. x + 2 = 4 Four may be the punchline, but x is what can offend and upset. <br /><br />The assumptions made in a joke can quite insidiously train a human mind to see reality a certain way without them ever knowing they've been trained.<br /><br />And that's how I feel about the trillions of examples of relationship humor when sexist assumptions are made. I'm tired of being told I have to put up with that shit if I want a girlfriend. Well, I don't. I decided a long time ago that if a girl wants to be important to me she gets to abandon and hope of riding me into an early grave so she can enjoy a plethora of double standards. <br /><br />And you know what happened? I figured out that if I'm just a little patient, given the population of 6.7 billion, I can find people that don't demand total servitude. So you can take your boring 1950s sexist "normal" humor and leap headfirst into the dust bin of history.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-37963459970904091652009-01-27T04:03:00.000-08:002009-01-27T04:16:18.246-08:00DeadlightI think I wrote this somewhere before but I can't find it so here I go again.<br /><br />The point of this game is to teach people to spot anomalies on the road. It is designed to teach awareness and observation,a and to decrease reaction time.<br /><br />It is named Deadlight for two reasons, first of all because its fast to say and easy to recall, and secondly to remind the player that it is a seriously valuable skill, since one can die at nearly the speed of light on the road.<br /><br />Equipment needed: None.<br /><br />Rules: (Pick and choose as needed.)<br /><br />Core-<br />If you are in a car with the engine running you are playing.<br />First player to spot and call a Deadlight gets a point.<br />Last player to score a point when the engine shuts off, wins. If player exits vehicle while holding the point, player wins. (this allows kids being dropped off places to win)<br />There is no score beyond last point scored.<br />Deadlights may not be called from mirrors or outside normal view. (This negates driver view advantage).<br /><br />Optionals-<br />Deadlights can only be called at night. Night is defined by street lamps.<br />Tail lights, fog lights, broken windows, broken or turned off wipers, car crashes, deer, etc all count as Deadlights, turning without signaling. Any potentially dangerous road anomaly.<br />Players without seat belts can not win.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-53913909885585017352009-01-27T03:46:00.001-08:002009-01-27T04:03:41.663-08:00Games I invented as a child: Virtual assassins.Equipment needed:<br />Toy guns, and explosives. A multi-room setting. Toy Swords Boffa, rubber knives, etc allowed. Nerf guns.<br /><br />Goal:<br />Kill everyone in the house (non players as well) and then suicide to score a point. (Suicide bombing counts.)<br /><br />Rules:<br />A dead player must stay in the room he was killed in and take no in game action for 30 seconds, or more depending on handicap and agreed upon rules.<br /><br />A player can elect to stay dead by staying in the room, once a dead player is past his time limit he may cross the threshold of the room into another room to revive.<br /><br />A single touch into another room with the foot is required. Hands do not count. Unless the player is prone.<br /><br />Players may play dead.<br /><br />Weapons by default can only act on player in the same room. A player must be in the room to use a weapons in a room: Solid foot if standing, solid hand if prone, or more than 50% of body mass is beyond threshold.<br /><br />Firing rate depends on click of gun or actual firing rate in the case of Nerf, if it doesn't click or beep or something, it's a dead weapon.<br /><br />Semi automatic rifles are 1 room spanners. Melee weapons are limited to actual range, and cannot be throw unless throwing is their only function. (no throwing swords or daggers)<br /><br />Explosives are room killers, shelter is ignored. These need not make noise. Explosives are limited to one room.<br /><br />Pets are always in play and their noises kill rooms, pets are immune to physical contact weapons. Players using physical contact weapons on a pet are killed for 24 hours. (In honor of Mitzi. M.I.A.)<br /><br />Improvised weapons are allowed. Walkie-talkies make good remote bombs. Oven timers are also handy. String and bells may be used as claymores. Or cardboard box mines. Be creative.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-90376699792119798502009-01-27T03:37:00.000-08:002009-01-27T03:45:55.668-08:00Games I invented as a child: Wiffleball Frisbee Bat Beat DownI invented this game when i was like 10 or something.<br /><br />Equipment needed: Goal markers, Frisbees (that you don't particularly care about), Wiffleball bats.<br /><br />Goal: To know the crap out of Frisbees and feel like a ninja. Or to score points, whichever.<br /><br />The game can have as many players as you like I guess limited by the geometry of the goal zones.<br /><br />The idea is for each player to have a goal zone, and a bat. Another player's goal is to toss the Frisbee past the player between the goal markers. The idea is to stop the Frisbee, Violently.<br /><br />You handicap or advantage expert and new players by distancing the markers.<br /><br />If the Frisbee passes between the markers that's a point for the thrower and it now becomes the defender's turn to throw, always to the left. (In honor of my mom's southern paw.)<br /><br />If the Frisbee is tossed higher than the defender can theoretically reach, standing bat in hand, then no point is gained. The idea is to get it past them not over.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-26532514265710942152009-01-09T15:04:00.001-08:002009-01-09T15:04:38.960-08:00Itch<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><blockquote><a href='http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S030439590400483X'>Elsevier Article Locator</a><br /><blockquote> <br />Abstract<br /> <br /><br />We compared itch sensations and axon reflex flare induced by transcutaneous electrical (0.08–8ms, 2–200Hz) and chemical (histamine iontophoresis; 100μC) stimulation. Stimuli were applied to non-lesional volar wrist skin in 20 healthy human subjects and 10 patients with atopic dermatitis. Intensity of evoked itch and pain sensations were rated on a numerical rating scale (NRS) of 0 (no sensation) to 10 (the maximum sensation imaginable). The axon reflex erythema was measured by laser Doppler imager and areas of alloknesis (itch evoked by light brushing) and hyperknesis (itch evoked by pricking) were assessed psychophysically. Electrical stimulation was most effective for stimulus durations ≥2ms and frequencies ≥50Hz. It evoked pure itch as threshold sensation in 80% of the subjects that was perceived with a delay of approximately 1s. Itch intensities of up to 7/10 were not accompanied by an axon reflex flare. In contrast, histamine provoked a massive increase of axon reflex erythema and maximum itch ratings of 3.1±0.2. The extention of alloknesis areas (2.3±0.5cm) evoked by electrical stimulation clearly exceeded those induced by histamine (0.7±0.3cm). Healthy subjects and patients with atopic dermatitis did not differ significantly in their response to either stimulation. We conclude that C-fiber activation underlies the electrically evoked itch sensation. The low electrical thresholds and the absence of an axon reflex flare suggest that these fibers are not identical with the previously described mechano-insensitive histamine responsive C fibers, but represent a separate peripheral neuronal system for the induction of itch.</blockquote></blockquote><br /><br />Now I'm not going to protend to understand all that, but what it looks like to me is that there is a way to induce itching or more specifically the sensation of itch with a TENS unit, by direct nerve induction. <br /><br />If that is the case I have an idea.</div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-78713730558030003972009-01-05T14:16:00.001-08:002009-01-05T14:16:19.452-08:00Martyrs and Patience<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelton/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/workboredom.png'>workboredom.png (PNG Image, 472x508 pixels)</a><br/><br/><img height='400' width='372' src='http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelton/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/workboredom.png' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-17702253933305024962008-12-31T08:40:00.000-08:002008-12-31T13:11:59.764-08:00CalifornicationWell season one was a real page turner.<br /><br />Sat and watched two thirds of it in a single sitting. <br /><br />Laughed so hard at one point I thought I was going to stroke out, seriously I stopped it and did some bogus breath control shit trying to slow my heart down, which for the record failed miserably. It was like the adult version of trying not to laugh in class.<br /><br />But of course as with House, as with Dexter, and so on, it transformed into a after school special about how to sell your soul to the vagina.<br /><br />I don't know which is worse, the fact that these shows portray all women as lying whores or the fact that when I say so in defense of real women I'm told, by real women, that I must think all women are whores.<br /><br />So either they actually are all lying whores, or they feel behaving like lying whores is acceptable, or they don't and they are lying to themselves.<br /><br />It's like Catch 22, what happens if I use a bit of healthy skepticism to admit the fact that I might be wrong but in so doing actually reinforce that I might be right?<br /><br />All I see on TV is men having women's backs against the world and then being berated at home for it. Am I dysfunctional for wanting no part of that? Apparently so.<br /><br />Well, it was nice while it lasted, one good season is better than none since I'm not allowed to do shit but sit here and watch TV like some catatonic.<br /><br />Edit: The show picked up after the half way point, it got just a smidge less about conforming with sufficient vigor to please the unpleaseable, and actually introduced at least one excellent character, but of course they executed him. Probably because they can't afford his ass since season 3 was late 2009 and that's when he's going to be in battlestar.<br /><br />"Big ups" to him. I'd pick battlestar too.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-44354328312455865432008-12-31T08:07:00.000-08:002008-12-31T14:24:48.750-08:00The Internet<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9707/270283otvscb6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 475px; height: 403px;" src="http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9707/270283otvscb6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div>The Internet's greatest power is showing that no pain is above mockery.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-58406897880331149992008-12-25T10:39:00.000-08:002008-12-25T10:52:37.593-08:00Merry Xmas!Sometimes its shocking how things turn out.<br /><br />I got a hot chocolate mug, a SWEET hoodie and a gal bladder attack this xmas.<br /><br />And would you believe it as of this moment I'm having a damn fine xmas.<br /><br />1. The mug and hoodie were very thoughtful.<br /><br />2. I generally feel really guilty come xmas time because I have no job and no money.<br /><br />3. I feel even more guilty because the people that love me enough to get me gifts I'd rather not take from, and the bastards that owe me money never even send so much as a card... with my money in it.<br /><br />4. I had some muscle relaxers left over from my emergency room visit for my last gal bladder attack, so while I was literally writhing in agony for I'm not sure how long, it had to have been under an hour. Having had previous attacks last for several hours this means a lot to me.<br /><br />Now I'm the first to point out the selective reasoning whenever people point out a 99% catastrophe as a miracle. You know, bus of toddlers goes over a cliff, one lives, invariably someone calls that one living a miracle. I myself say why toss it over at all? Why not miracle a total prevention? Personally a floating buss being gently placed back on the road would be more effective in conveying god's love, but I digress.<br /><br />I am genuinely happy that I am no longer in pain. I also feel no malice that I was in pain. I wonder if that's just me being seriously stupid, or cowardly, or somehow noble.<br /><br />Intellectually I know that I could have been placed in this state of mind without the pain, but, I'm happy just the same.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-82784886461893461642008-12-11T03:33:00.000-08:002008-12-11T03:35:52.545-08:00Pedophilia, Paraphilia and SocietyIt was once said about me, when I was attacking what I characterize as the pedophile witch hunt in the west, that perhaps I wish us not to "hunt" pedophiles at all. Ignoring the use of the word hunt with regard to human beings and before I explore the question of whether or not merely hunting pedophiles is the best way to protect children, I'd like to clarify my position on pedophilia generally.<br /><br />In short, I think we shouldn't create pedophiles and then act all surprised when we find them. The natural next question is how can they be created? And who is doing the creating?<br /><br />The first question's answer is obvious. and to ask it exposes a fundamental and willful ignorance. To ask the question exposes a deep and pressing ideological bias quite honestly not seen since Nazi Germany. You probably felt it already and have formed opinions about me before ever reaching this sentence because of a clear and factual implication that I've already made that you probably disagree with. The implication, and indeed my outright statement, is that pedophiles are humans. They are not monsters to be caught and tortured.<br /><br />I dare say they aren't even sick genetically speaking. In my view pedophilia is formed like any other fetish, though obviously it has some drastic social consequences. This bring us to our next question because I've just explained that pedophiles are not born, they are made.<br /><br />To go into this in detail would be dissertation material in both content and length. To understand my position you must also have a basically workable conceptual understanding of genetics, psychology, sexuality, and sociology. I consider myself rare in meeting all those requirements. Though of course I have no accredited stamp 'proving' it beyond my entry level college courses. <br /><br />The DSM IV has a great section on paraphillia. I myself have a quite harmless fetish, and that was part of my motivation for undertaking the reading required to help answer the question "why do I feel this way?" I believe I have a satisfactory and accurate answer. It is environmental. <br /><br />I am quick to add that I believe homosexuality to be a genetic anomaly, though I also believe one can acquire a "fetish" for the same sex as a result of the same mechanism that grants fetish's to all people, which accounts partially for the confusion about the origin of homosexuality. Those of one genetic sexual preference, with a fetish for the other, in my opinion accounts for the majority of people labeled "bi". I will of course not discount the possibility of a genetically bisexual individual, but I will hazard a guess that they are quite rare. And determining a blood test for sexuality so to speak will be to put it mildly, difficult, if not entirely needless. A good starting point for understanding this hypothesis would be the book Adam's Curse, which explores the consequences of intracellular genetic competition between mitochondrial and nucleic DNA.<br /><br />The mechanical or environmental formation of a fetish is actually quite simple, and amounts to accident and timing. The fact that most people share sexual traits with their peers is no accident. Without going into the evidence I'll simply state that as some point during the transition from childhood to adolescence sexuality is in large part imprinted, in precisely the same way a baby bird imprints when hatching from the egg.<br /><br />Children by definition are not at fault in this process, or put in another more obvious way, one cannot help and or is not responsible for their sexual formation. This is important because it shows that disposition towards pedophilia is ethically neutral. Again, put simply being a pedophile is not evil. <br /><br />It must be noted that this process is analog not digital, it is not an on off switch, one can be afflicted only in part while still harboring 'healthy' sexual appetites. This in my view accounts for the infantilization some men require sexually despite not being pedophiles. (hairless vagina, child like behavior, extreme petiteness preference, pigtails, etc) This in turn partially and ironically accounts for the demand that the market is responding to when it uses sexually appealing and yet childlike models to hock its wares, which in turn creates an environment conducive to the creation of criminal pedophiles.<br /><br />We create them by first and foremost by annihilating all possible routes to free, easy, and safe sexual release. Also by demonizing masturbation, pornography and outlawing all forms of non-sanctioned sexual indulgence despite their harmless nature. This over reaction stems from ignorance mainly, and to a lesser but still significant degree, from cultural puritanism.<br /><br />For example, cartoons of pedophilia, which is not well understood, are illegal, but cartoons of murder, which is fairly well understood, are not only legal, but desirable. This approach of annihilating all safe outlets for pedophiles has tragic consequences for both pedophiles and children.<br /><br />A good way to test the accuracy of this claim would be to compare sexual assault rates per child in the united states and japan. I say this because japan has a famously permissive attitude toward pedophile themed cartoons and manga, while the united states decidedly does not. I predict that sexual assault on children in japan is lower adjusting for population differences etc, than in the united states.<br /><br />We as a society need to realize that our actions have consequences and that sexuality is both a basic human need and an effect of the environment. If you starve someone long enough they will sometimes steal, or even kill to sate their hunger. Guilt and fear are not 100% reliable tools to prevent pedophiles from acting on their paraphillia. Thus 100% emphasis on humiliation and punishment is tantamount to causing child rape. We all share responsibility for this.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-75199175767562000332008-12-10T12:33:00.000-08:002008-12-10T13:10:34.800-08:00Understanding, Faith, and GravityThis essay is in response to the video below.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-h9XntsSEro&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-h9XntsSEro&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Resisting the urge to explore why it is everything with an 'intellectual' feel has to be presented by someone with a smug English accent (Q Perhaps?) I'd like to explore a serious oversight with this position generally. IE that you must go the degree/education/peer review route to understand something with sufficient strength to attack it.<br /><br />What they are saying amounts to you must be one of us before you an disagree with us, and if you were one of us you'd not disagree. That's sounds a bit familiar.<br /><br />Understanding as a matter of faith.<br /><br />I'll cut through all of it and restate what I hear in different ways whenever scientists like to talk about lay people attacking their work.<br /><br />The basic claim is that before you can effectively attack a given view, you must first "understand" the view you are attacking. A rational version of this is to say that before you can write a program you must learn code.<br /><br />That's all well and good but the way most scientists use this attack amounts to an intellectual pissing contest and pulling rank based on time investment rather than any sort of rational refutation or objection. This amounts to an argument from authority. (Your objection is invalid because I have a PHD.)<br /><br />That may sound absurd on the surface, but consider what is meant by the word understand. All fields over lap at some point. We only live in the one reality. Every frog is connected to every star. Thus, true complete understand is impossible for us presently, perhaps totally if you're a fan of the uncertainty principal being a reflection of ontological reality. IE being unable to observe reality to such and such degree actually limits reality.<br /><br />So you have to draw a line. You have to apply boundaries. Sometimes these boundaries are very clear, such as exploring the logic of a card game. But as set study shows us, its not always that simple. You can see this yourself when you start a conversation about dogs and end up talking about astrophysics. Dogs>park>park at night>stars.<br /><br />The point is that you may completely understand something only within bounds, if at all, and where you apply those bounds is your choice ultimately. In addition, since context alters meaning, that understanding can be rendered useless with external and non conflicting data coming from outside those bounds.<br /><br />Hypothetical: I've shot someone in the head. I'm also being tried for murder. You can fully understand both facts, but do you claim to completely understand the situation from those facts alone? What more data do you need? Consider the true scope of the question. To fully understand you'd have to perfectly master history and psychology at the very least, and perhaps the human brain if an insanity by mental defect defense is used, that would radiate out to physics since the brain is an electrochemical mechanism, and philosophy since you'd also have to define "person"See what I mean? You have to draw a line somewhere, and the key word is you.<br /><br />So while the argument sounds good there is one insurmountable problem for claiming any scientific claim is totally objective. How you define "understand" and where you put boundaries are themselves subjective decisions.<br /><br />For the record I don't care if I'm the only person who thinks this way. I don't care that you built a shuttle or this computer. Accomplishments don't denote absolute knowledge and agreement does not alter reality. Contrary to what O'Brian may claim he cannot levitate. But of course this is merely my belief, my faith if you will, in gravity.<br /><br />Sure you may feel you have good reason, you may even feel you have evidence ,but the rule always applies, your understanding of those reasons and your understanding of that evidence is also subject to applied bounds and is therefor subjective. This extends to understandings of both refutation and prediction. The extends to understanding of experiments. This extends to the very nature of knowledge. Thus science, itself, in a very fundamental way, is subjective. Sound familier?<br /><br />Ultimately science can be understood as a religion which changes its dogma based on interpertations of clergy derived from what they call experimentation, observation, and prediction.<br /><br />To dismis this similarity with older faiths is dangerous to the integrity of science.<br /><br />Reality is in fundamental paradox. There are questions that cannot be answer with the scientific method. But that's another paper.<br /><br />My point is that I don't need complete understanding of a theory to attack it. It's like chopping down a tree, I don't need to see the whole tree to cut it down, the trunk will do.<br /><br />If you're a scientist I'll let you make my arguments for me. What If I said understanding Christianity extends to memorizing the KJV bible letter for letter? What if I said you don't understand it enough to attack it or any claim it or I make about it until you have? Would you not immediately attack my definition of understanding? Would you not try to convince me or others that where I put my bounds is somehow invalid compared to where you put your bounds? What if I then said you didn't understand my definition of understand which I said stems from my understanding of the KJV?<br /><br />We both rationally make the same claim: I don't need to read all your books and records to attack your claim.<br /><br />The irony of scientists making this claim to religious people is staggering. Never forget, religion gave birth to science they will always be related, as both are effort to understand and predict a world that in some ways is forever mysterious, and unpredictable.<br /><br />All of reality is in fundamental or harmonious paradox like this at same level.<br /><br />All of knowledge is suspect (thanks Kant) and the degree to which we accept it is a matter of faith, that fact must be understood by scientists if they wish to avoid turning into a cult. This is both true and unprovable. Thanks Godel.<br /><br />So I guess in closing what I'm saying is before science can attack religion it needs to understand philosophy and epistemology. :)<br /><br />Bet the lab coats in the crowd are objecting already, and all I have in response is a question.<br /><br />Are you sure you understand?<br /><br />The war between religion and science is futile. It's the left and right had attacking the face. There is a derogatory slang term for that kind of behavior. Retarded.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-6800602200227996302008-11-29T12:48:00.001-08:002008-12-26T09:51:02.350-08:00Why not the whatthefuckicord?<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="http://dailymotion.alice.it/related/x8lja_10-resonant-chamber_fun/video/x4x32w_animusic-2-03-resonant-chamber_music?from=rss">Alice Video - Animusic 2 - 03 - Resonant Chamber, a video from willowb. musique, animation, vidéo, Animusic, Chamber</a><br /><blockquote>Animusic 2 - 03 - Resonant Chamber</blockquote><br /><br /><div><div class="youtube-video"><object width="420" height="339"><param value="http://dailymotion.alice.it/swf/x4x32w" name="movie"> <param value="true" name="allowFullScreen"> <param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://dailymotion.alice.it/swf/x4x32w" width="420" height="339"></embed> </object></div><br /><b><a href="http://dailymotion.alice.it/swf/x4x32w">Animusic 2 - 03 - Resonant Chamber</a></b><br /><i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/willowb">willowb</a></i></div><br /><br />That device is perfectly possible though I can't say it would actually sound like that.<br /><br />For example, one could simulate the effect by making it a midi player with robotic components keyed to certain instrument+note combinations and have the components react in kind.<br /><br />Further down the line I could see a kind of "listen and tap" system where by the robots listen to an actual song, and pics it apart by note, and then does the same as above mapping and sorting.<br /><br />Still further simply have an intelligent instrument capable of hearing a piece and duplicating it on itself.<br /><br />All I see is a really complex printer with a sound element. Beautiful, faceted, but not fantastical. Indeed in some ways I'd say the CG of it was more difficult in the making than actually building it would be.<br /><br />Once we bout it what should we call it? See title.</div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-52378026080011587142008-11-11T17:46:00.001-08:002008-11-11T17:46:56.902-08:00Let's see...<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/08/30/when-i-say-centrifugal-i-mean-centrifugal/#comment-133645'>When I say centrifugal, I mean centrifugal! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine</a><br/><blockquote>Brandon M. Sergent Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.<br/>November 11th, 2008 at 6:44 pm<br/><br/>Sergent’s Law: The Length of total comments on a “intellectual” post varies proportionally with the perceived prestige of the blog’s host.<br/><br/>Or put another way this is intellectual masturbation designed to distract the participants from real issues that require personal discomfort to solve, such as how you all would live if WalMart weren’t selling you products built with slave labor, while conversely making you feel oh so much better than the uneducated wretches “beneath” you. Ironically those very same slaves oh whose backs you live.<br/><br/>This is as absurd to me as a picard vs kirk debate. I mean really, how is this not just yet another idiotic human faction thing? What is at stake here other than ego? Just hire cheerleaders and complete the obvious pointlessness.<br/><br/>And deep down you all know it, which is why you’re having this debate on a discover magazine blog, if this were scientific American the comments would read like the library of congress.<br/><br/>Ra Ra Centripetal ! ! *backflip*</blockquote></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-28075914666231550182008-11-05T19:53:00.001-08:002008-11-05T19:53:36.855-08:00My favs.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.multicians.org/thvv/proverbs.html'>Software Engineering Proverbs</a><br/><blockquote>It is not enough to do your best: you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.<br/><br/>-- W. Edwards Deming<br/><br/>A leader is best when people barely know that he exists.<br/>Less good when they obey and acclaim him.<br/>Worse when they fear and despise him.<br/>Fail to honor people, and they fail to honor you.<br/>But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,<br/>they will say, "We did this ourselves."<br/><br/>-- Lao-Tzu<br/><br/>You must be the change<br/>You wish to see in the world<br/><br/>-- Gandhi<br/><br/>One test is worth a thousand opinions.<br/><br/>If something is worth doing once, it's worth building a tool to do it.<br/></blockquote></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-20194124319685005542008-10-27T19:18:00.000-07:002008-10-27T19:18:00.950-07:00Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br/><blockquote><div align='center'><big><big>Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein<br/></big></big></div><br/> * "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."<br/> * "Imagination is more important than knowledge."<br/> * "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."<br/> * "I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."<br/> * "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."<br/> * "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."<br/> * "The only real valuable thing is intuition."<br/> * "A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."<br/> * "I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice."<br/> * "God is subtle but he is not malicious."<br/> * "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."<br/> * "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."<br/> * "The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."<br/> * "Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."<br/> * "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."<br/> * "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."<br/> * "Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."<br/> * "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."<br/> * "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."<br/> * "Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it."<br/> * "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."<br/> * "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."<br/> * "God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically."<br/> * "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."<br/> * "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."<br/> * "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."<br/> * "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible."<br/> * "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."<br/> * "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."<br/> * "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."<br/> * "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."<br/> * "Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity."<br/> * "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."<br/> * "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."<br/> * "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."<br/> * "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."<br/> * "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."<br/> * "In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."<br/> * "The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."<br/> * "Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves."<br/> * "Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"<br/> * "No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"<br/> * "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."<br/> * "Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."<br/> * "The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."<br/> * "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."<br/> * "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."<br/> * "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."<br/> * "The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."<br/> * "Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."<br/> * "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."<br/> * "One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year."<br/> * "...one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."<br/> * "He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."<br/> * "A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."<br/> * "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton) <br/><br/>Copyright: Kevin Harris 1995 (may be freely distributed with this acknowledgement)</blockquote></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-12612401146239138842008-10-20T20:56:00.000-07:002008-10-20T21:13:49.638-07:00Universal AutoCorrect.Spellcheck autocorrect everywhere on the fly in the background and you can teach it to make it better.<br /><br />1. Download + install <a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/download/">Autohotkey</a>.<br />2. Download + Doubleclick the <a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/download/AutoCorrect.ahk">Autocorrect Script</a>.<br /><br />Notice the little H on the task tray?<br /><br />Now, in any application, like even Diablo 2, you have a good degree of automatic spellchecking.<br /><br />To add your own simply highlight a misspelled word in any text box and hold down the windows key and hit h.<br /><br />Someone give <a href="http://www.biancolo.com/content_show.cfm?content_id=25569">this man</a> and <a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic32578.html">the AHK people</a> a medal.Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-34035605121662655642008-10-10T15:12:00.000-07:002008-10-10T15:13:01.215-07:00Good Plan<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.transmogrifier.org/ch-img/ch930204.gif'>ch930204.gif (GIF Image, 600x188 pixels)</a><br/><img src='http://www.transmogrifier.org/ch-img/ch930204.gif' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>Too bad irl the school security guard would taze him for insubordination.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-11176399325499011022008-09-12T14:40:00.001-07:002008-09-12T14:40:28.261-07:00Ta Da !<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.craschworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/tadah_jesus.jpg'>tadah_jesus.jpg (JPEG Image, 310x386 pixels) - Scaled (97%)</a><br/><br/><img src='http://www.craschworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/tadah_jesus.jpg' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>Cute. <br/><br/>But really, it never fails to amaze me how this logic doesn't bother some people.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-91959552160554082852008-09-05T17:32:00.001-07:002008-09-05T17:32:14.844-07:00Oh please...<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.instantattitudes.com/shirts/t020art.jpg'>t020art.jpg (JPEG Image, 400x370 pixels)</a><br/><br/><div align='center'><img src='http://www.instantattitudes.com/shirts/t020art.jpg' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/></div><br/>Behold, the lie they used to get a man like bill gates to build an evil empire and become the richest and one of the most powerful men who ever lived.<br/><br/>i mean seriously.<br/><br/>Intelligence isn't sexy. A half million dollar car is sexy. People who sell this lie are just trying to invest through sex. Take my word for it, on the rare occasions where a woman finds intelligence sexy, she'll still leave the man in the dust if he doesn't use that intelligence exclusively for fiscal gain.<br/><br/>Notice to lazy bitches: Instead of trying to fuck someone smart, pick up a publication that doesn't contain a list of "54 sexy things to do in bed that will ensure you never do anything for yourself ever again."<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-14788650700357667732008-09-04T14:23:00.001-07:002008-09-04T14:23:56.050-07:00Awesome kid.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.trendhunter.com/images/phpthumbnails/23801_1_468.jpeg'>23801_1_468.jpeg (JPEG Image, 400x595 pixels) - Scaled (86%)</a><br/><br/><img src='http://www.trendhunter.com/images/phpthumbnails/23801_1_468.jpeg' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>Heh, I think I like this kid.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-1896518367950754162008-09-01T07:53:00.001-07:002008-09-01T07:53:43.928-07:00Spiders<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.onemotion.com/flash/spider/'>Play With Spider - Flash 3D - OneMotion.com</a><br/><br/>Absolutely awesome. Enjoy a digital pet spider.<br/><br/>Customizable legs/body/movements, even remote control. And you can give him little bugs to eat. They appear to spawn dead, so don't feel bad for them.<br/><br/>I love spiders. I have them all over my house because I refuse to squish them, But, I don't have bug of any other kind, other than the stray moth.<br/><br/>I didn't remote control him because that would be killing him in my mind, I also was very gentle about pulling him around, I didn't try to yank his legs off or anything which I'm sure everyone else does.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-78872766711341896812008-08-25T16:17:00.000-07:002008-08-25T16:18:07.630-07:00We robot.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br/><img src='http://www.robopocalypse.com/RAD/2006_10_16.jpg' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>I spent a summer as Data. Trying to think like a compassionate rational machine for a whole summer as a child probably has a lot to do with the way i think now.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-70310351244230539522008-08-25T09:46:00.001-07:002008-08-25T09:46:11.374-07:00Good help is hard to find.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src='http://www.userfriendly.org/cartoons/archives/08aug/uf011812.gif' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><br/>This is dedicated to my webev friends, may your customers be easy going, simple to please, and affluent beyond description.<br/><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522875239952165189.post-11275125914362724472008-08-24T13:35:00.001-07:002008-08-24T13:35:31.786-07:00Yes. Yes we are.<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.go4myspacelayouts.com/myspace_funny/funny/funny_picture665.jpg'/><div align='center'><img src='http://www.go4myspacelayouts.com/myspace_funny/funny/funny_picture665.jpg' style='max-width: 800px;'/><br/><div align='justify'><br/>Awesome.<br/></div><br/></div><blockquote/></div>Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01767077957809721480noreply@blogger.com0