- New US strategy: ‘lily pad’ bases
- Tutorials for making tile-based games in Flash via
- Custom Viewmaster discs based on fiction by Franz Kafka, Italo Calvino via
- Anxiety doesn’t detract from happiness
- Personality Disorders Common in U.S. Caused in part, I would presume, by social isolation.
17
Aug 04
Untitled
16
Aug 04
Question of the day
If there was a book that disclosed all the existential secrets of the universe, would you read it? Would you read it if you knew that the information enclosed within could potentially drive you insane? Which is stronger, your desire for self-preservation or wanting… to know.
16
Aug 04
Odds and ends
- Brain diseases treble in 20 years, says new report: Deaths from brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease have soared in the past two decades, a study has found. Researchers are blaming the increase on higher levels of pesticides, industrial chemicals, car exhaust and other pollutants.
- Tecumseh’s curse
15
Aug 04
Bin Ladin’s Former ‘Bodyguard’ Interviewed on Al-Qa’ida Strategies
Bin Ladin’s Former ‘Bodyguard’ Interviewed on Al-Qa’ida Strategies via Cryptome.org:
(Abu-Jandal) Most of my answers were on Al-Qa’ida ideology and structure and why it deals in this way. The answers were to the point. They used to put forth rather strange questions. One question said: As far as we are concerned, 80 percent of what you said is true, but does Al-Qa’ida have chemical plants and nuclear weapons? I recall that my answer to them was that Usama Bin Ladin has a weapon that is far superior to all the US weapons. What is this weapon, the asked? I told them: “Among the believers are men, who have been true to their covenant to God: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: But they have never changed (their determination) in the least.” (Koranic verse) The US arsenal is full of weapons, but it does not have the men. …
14
Aug 04
Imam Ali and Jesus Christ
Like many of you I’ve been watching the Iraq and Najaf coverage with interest. It is challenging to try to read between the lines about what is happening. You have to sift through so many news reports to distill a semblance of what is actually going on, and you have to do a significant amount of research to achieve the most rudimentary amount of context. It seems like media coverage is impossible to obtain from a disinterested and contextual point of view. Anyway, whenever you see the Shiia marching with their portraits of Sadr you may have also noticed the presence of depictions of Imam Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam, who the Shiia regard as the true successor of Muhammad. Ali was betrayed and killed much like another famous religious figure. See the image below for a visual comparison of popular depictions of Ali (left) and Jesus Christ (right).
13
Aug 04
Satellite radio
I have always liked listening to talk radio programs and music while I work and drive so getting satellite radio was a no brainer. Most broadcast radio sucks hard, even KUT, the local public radio affiliate, pisses me off. There was some indecision as to whether to get Sirius or XM Radio, but in the end XM Radio seemed to be the better choice for me. In many ways they are very similar. Sirius supposedly has marginally better sound quality due to the fact that they run the talk programs in lower bandwidth so they can boost the quality of the music programs. They also provide more sports radio options, which is not something I care about. The reasons I went for XM Radio are pretty simple. XM has 1 million subscribers versus Sirius with 200-300 thousand or so. Even though satellite radio is relatively new this tells me that XM is more serious about attracting subscribers. Also, an XM subscription is $9.99 a month whereas Sirius is $12.99 a month. And for the most superficial reason, I liked the SkyFi receiver better than any of the Sirius products. I can use it in my car and at home and it will connect to any powered speaker source like your computer speakers. My 5-piece computer speakers have dual input connections so I can listen to my computer and XM radio at the same time.
At home these days, I’m watching zero television. There’s just nothing on I want to see and it wastes too much time with too little benefit. While you watch television you usually have to pay attention with your eyes and ears. This makes it difficult to do much if any sustained activity. Instead I’ll just listen to the radio while I putz around the house.
There are no commercials on any of the XM music channels. Who knows if this will last, but it’s awesome. The variety is also really nice. Imagine radio stations where you can actually hear The Smiths, REM, and many other things that never make it to the radio. You can view the complete channel listing here. My favorite channels on XM are:
- Hank’s Place (vintage country) I like old country tunes. They’re sentimental and often exquisitely morose.
- Fred (classic and classic brit alternative) This is where you hear the Morrissey and Depeche Mode.
- Ask! This is expert-type call-in radio where people call in for advice, etc. My favorite host is Bruce Williams, who is very wise especially when it comes to financial and legal advice.
Here’s an interesting piece of software I saw mentioned on Gizmodo. It basically converts XM radio content from your XM Satellite Radio XM PCR computer device to mp3.
11
Aug 04
Small Business Sprouting
Two very important people in my life are in the process of launching their own businesses. My father just started a security company in San Antonio called Intrepid-PI. He basically gets contracts from hotels and businesses to provide security. I should have a website done for him here soon.
My friend, Sab, is starting his own hair salon down on South Congress. It’s going to be called Primp Salon and it will be located just south of Magnolia Cafe, which I think will be a great location. If you live in Austin you should give him a try. He’s a good man and thorough.
Anyway, I’m proud of both of them and it provides an inspirational example to us all. Here’s one of my favorite quotations on the subject and it popped into my head today when Sab was telling me about how he went down to the AG’s office to incorporate:
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
08
Aug 04
Cock of the block
That damned rooster finally made a personal appearance. I’m talking about the same one that’s been waking us each dawn with his insanely loud and incessant crowing for the past few months. This past week he decided to fly over into our neighbor’s backyard. Today we finally put out a raccoon trap to catch it. While setting the trap and sprinkling a trail of feed corn into it, I felt like I was living out a cartoon. Of course, in the cartoon I’d be the bear who’s trying to hibernate. Here’s a couple photos of him strutting around in Joyce’s backyard:
