Guesses At Nothing

Relaxation is a close friend of mine. I am doing it right now, fully clothed in the dark, with a sleeping wife sleeping soundly beside me. The battery in the computes is dead so I am writing this from my phone which is infinitely frustrating and surprisingly pleasant. Why any of this is relevant... well it's not really except for the reason that anyone writes anything short of a scientific thesis or dissertation. There are two opposing camps (not camps really, no where nearly as entrenched as that, more like park benches really, the kind where old men perch and throw stale bread at the pidgeons) between sciences and arts -- the first summizing that any being that does his calculations correctly would come to the same conclusion given the right data, rendering science as a sterile and the indivdual irrelevant (making art more meaningful) and the second believing that the act of humans (being of and in the universe) are part of a grand design in which the universe is supposed to become aware of itself -- after all what good is a really beautiful day on Earth if there is no one there to enjoy it. So there you have it. You can determine from the above which bench I sit upon.

Or "redgrass", is kick-ass bluegrass played with traditional Chinese instruments.


[via BoingBoing]

Apparently Atlantis was found then lost again.  Users of Google's popular Google Earth program saw odd formations off the coast of Africa that resembled city blocks.  The patterns are apparently a byproduct of the technology used to map the ocean floor.  Google clarified the whole issue in a fascinating blog post about the techniques used to map the ocean.

So what is it? The scientific explanation is a bit less exotic, but we think it's still pretty interesting: these marks are what we call "ship tracks." You see, it's actually quite hard to measure the depth of the ocean. Sunlight, lasers, and other electromagnetic radiation can travel less than 100 feet below the surface, yet the typical depth in the ocean is more than two and a half miles. Sound waves are more effective. By measuring the time it takes for sound to travel from a ship to the sea floor and back, you can get an idea of how far away the sea floor is. Since this process — known as echosounding — only maps a strip of the sea floor under the ship, the maps it produces often show the path the ship took, hence the "ship tracks." In this case, the soundings produced by a ship are also about 1% deeper than the data we have in surrounding areas — likely an error — making the tracks stand out more.

[via Google Blog]

Before you get a puppy, consider this from the onion:

I have a hole in my life. It's small, has four legs, a shiny coat, and maybe even one of those teeny corkscrew tails that wags when it's happy to see me. Yes, it's a dog—a huggable little munchkin who's there for me anytime I happen to be at home and in the mood for some limited companionship.

I'm just dying to get a sweet, sweet puppy, one I can love will all my heart to the extent that it's convenient for me.

Do you know why I want one so bad? Because they are full of love! They're snuggly. They don't know that you aren't fit to own them. They adore you no matter what. And that's exactly what's missing from my life: the kind of nonjudgmental creature who doesn't clash with my living room furniture and allows me to say "I have a dog" to anyone I think it will impress.

Of course it is not at all like that.  Not at all.  The article continues:

Plus, this is the perfect time for me to get a dog. I never used to be responsible enough to neglect a pet, but now I'm old enough to know you're supposed to take it for walks and pick up after it, and I can make the adult decision not to do so. I'm sure I have enough initiative to let a living, breathing animal scratch at the door for hours on end because I've been out all weekend and have a raging hangover and don't have the energy to walk downstairs and let it out.

But I kid, it really isn't like that because it can't be.  I suppose for some people it is -- people who just don't give a shit, but puppies demand your attention.  Not giving it to them just isn't an option.  And the payoff of taking care of a living, breathing being whose only means of survival depends on the food, water, love, and exercise you give it must surely fit in somewhere on the climb to self-actualization  As I read in an email forward today, "dogs really are man's best friend.  If you don't believe me try putting your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for an hour and see who's happy to see you when you let them out."  (With apologies to Meghann.)

Posting has been light (obviously) and I blame it all on Ernie. Puppies require rigorous attention. I think my friend Dave's anecdote about everyone in his family being miserable when they had a house full of pups is about right. Though pardon my griping -- really it is worth it. I am going to try to post a bit in the coming days, so if you still check this site, then stay tuned.