Linux: Live Free or D.I.Y

Perhaps it was because of the report of Google planning to release an operating system that I began to reconsider my Linux choices. I had to stop using Ubuntu on my eee 4g due to sluggish display and a bug that erased all menus. It now runs Mandriva, but Japanese input still is not functional. My eee1000he runs Ubuntu 9.04 OK. I think Google's OS will be a hit since they will have Chrome on Windows, on MacOSX, and they will have their own Linux platform to stick under it, so they don't need to rely on anyone else's good will and will cover everyone who wants to use it --very much unlike the exclusiveness of Apple. The Chrome browser will be the platform upon which to build all other functionality. Having said that, though, I have to admit I threw out Google Chrome (in Windows) for being so huge and for crashing more than anything else. Still, I wish them the best. They will shake up M$ and probably steal market share from Apple, too. Maybe Apple will finally make some urgently needed changes to their closed MacCultOSh mentalITy.


I was interested in the newest Moblin release (see video)(until I found it got some baad reviews and is not ready yet) and learning more about FreeBSD or PC-BSD (more Unix-y than Linux-y)(but probably too advanced for meee). That led me back to some Distro Selectors again (I found a new and useless one) and to look into those other distros more. But I think I will stick with what I have now, or perhaps replace Mandriva with another Linux on the little sucker (4g).

Distro Choosers

http://desktoplinuxathome.com/distro.html

Distro Name… Is it free? Geared toward… Runs well on older computers
Vector Yes Intermediate Yes
Ubuntu Yes Intermediate Maybe
Mandriva Yes Intermediate Maybe

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

We found these matches, sorted by how well they match:
95% Mandriva ( http://www.mandrivalinux.org/ )
May not be suitable because: Your computer may be too slow
Mandriva Linux (formerly known as Mandrake Linux) was created in 1998 with the goal of making Linux easier to use for everyone. Mandriva offers all the power and stability of Linux to both individuals and professional users in an easy-to-use and pleasant environment.
[That's if I say I want to put it on a Mac.
-or-
If I say "PC", …]
We found the following perfect match(es):
100% OpenSuSE
Homepage: http://www.opensuse.org/
The openSUSE project is a community program sponsored by Novell. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, this program provides free, easy access to the world's most usable Linux distribution, SUSE Linux. OpenSUSE delivers everything that Linux developers and enthusiasts need to get started with Linux. Hosted at opensuse.org, the project features easy access to builds and releases. It also offers extensive community development programs for open access to the development process used to create SUSE Linux.
(This distribution also has a "Live CD" you can use to test the distribution before you install it)

In addition, we found these matches, sorted by how well they match:

95% Mandriva
Mandriva Linux (formerly known as Mandrake Linux) was created in 1998 with the goal of making Linux easier to use for everyone. Mandriva offers all the power and stability of Linux to both individuals and professional users in an easy-to-use and pleasant environment.
Visit Mandriva at: http://www.mandrivalinux.org/ May not be suitable because: Your computer may be too slow

95% Linux Mint
Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, Linux Mint has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release
Visit Linux Mint at: http://www.linuxmint.com/ May not be suitable because: Your computer may be too slow

95% Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a free, open source operating system that starts with the breadth of Debian and adds regular releases (every six months), a clear focus on the user and usability (it should "Just Work", TM) and a commitment to security updates with 18 months of support for every release. Ubuntu ships with the latest Gnome release as well as a selection of server and desktop software that makes for a comfortable desktop experience off a single installation CD.
Visit Ubuntu at: http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ May not be suitable because: Your computer may be too slow

http://distrogue.awardspace.com/

PCLinuxOS
A fork of Mandriva designed to appeal more to slightly-more-experienced users. A power-user's distribution. Perfect match!
Pardus
An up-and-coming source based distribution. Pardus comes with 3.4 gigabytes on software on one CD, all of which runs faster than normal, thanks to several unique features. Perfect match!
PC-BSD
PC-BSD PC-BSD is based on FreeBSD, and comes with everything you need for a FreeBSD desktop. Perfect match!
SAM Linux
SAM Linux is a fork of PCLinuxOS that uses XFCE to be even faster that normal. Perfect match!
Linux Mint
Based on Ubuntu, Mint comes with a more refined out-of-the-box program selection, along with some extra configuration utilities. Perfect match!

http://www.tuxs.org/chooser/

If PC is a few years old and you are looking for an easy to use distribution to install on your hard drive then try
Fedora or Suse

Well, alrighty then. I'n not a Pole nor am I ready to polish my skills yet, but I found another opinion:

http://polishlinux.org/choose/quiz/

1. Mandriva Linux
2. Ubuntu Linux
3. openSUSE
4. Fedora
5. Debian GNU/Linux

Summarizing the combined (robot) recommendations::
Mandriva:___*******
Ubuntu:_____******_
OpenSuSE:___******_
Fedora:_____***____
Vector:_____***____
Linux Mint:_**_____
PC-BSD:_____*______
PCLinuxOS:__*______
SAM Linux:__*______
Debian:_____*______
Pardus:_____*______

So maybe I'm already trying out the most reasonable options, but those selectors did not ask the questions I need to ask.

Some guidelines I have tried to establish for myself:
• Use Linux wherever possible (install on all computers --to get used to it).
• Maintain dual-boot of proprietary OSs when:
--already bundled for free
--space allows
• Use Windows or MacOSX for access to apps without available equivalents in open-source, such as Garageband or Songsmith
• Use open-source software (or at least cross-platform apps) across all 3 platforms. Prefer Firefox (or Opera) to Safari and Explorer. OpenOffice default office suite. GIMP before PhotoShop.
• Prefer a Linux distro with ppc as well as eee support for maximum compatibility. (as many processors supported as possible, unlike Windows and Apple) -OR- Experiment with 2 different distributions? (if not too confusing?)

In practice, I'm using MacOSX alot since I still prefer Apple Mail to Thunderbird on a daily basis. iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD are also quite compelling and hard to replace. The Mac Mini is my desktop and Asus my laptop(s). The Mini will get a Linux install eventually, but I haven't even organized the files on it yet.

Personal Checklist Questions for before and after Installation:
Beginner-Friendly?
LiveCD/DVD?
Multilingual?
Asian Language Support? (JP)
Keyboard recognized (all keys)?
Japanese Input OK?
Wireless working?
Sound Output OK?
Sound Input OK?
Skype included/working?
MP3 plays OK?
YouTube (flash video) plays OK?
Volume keys work OK?
Brightness keys work OK?
Function keys all working?
Printing works?
Video output works OK?
Sleep/hibernate/etc works OK?
Scanning works?

I found a free Ubuntu book as a PDF. Keir Thomas has a clear writing style and is aimed at beginners. Thanks, Keir!

Chinese Recycling Program

And you thought Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were bad...

Prisoners of conscience --especially young healthy Falun Gong practitioners-- can be worth $60,000 for just one organ. I'd heard of this before but not looked at the documentation.

http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc158023111

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reports_of_organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_in_China

The Canadian MP and human rights campaigner didn't have much trouble confirming that Falun Gong (Qi Gong meditation group) members were being executed on demand to fill the needs of foreign visitors paying for organ transplants. You can just call up hospitals all across China and ask them. They will tell you that that is what they do. No problem.

An excerpt:

Phone-call transcripts from the Kilgour-Matas Report

1. Call to Dr. Lu, Nanning City Minzu Hospital, Guangxi
M: "...Could you find organs from Falun Gong practitioners?"
Hosp: "Let me tell you, we have no way to get (them). It's rather difficult to get it now in Guangxi. If you cannot wait, I suggest you go to Guangzhou because it's very easy for them to get the organs. They are able to look for (them) nation wide. As they are performing the liver transplant, they can get the kidney for you at the same time, so it's very easy for them to do. Many places where supplies are short go to them for help..."
M: "Why is it easy for them to get?"
Hosp: "Because they are an important institution. They contact the (judicial) system in the name of the whole university."
M: "Then they use organs from Falun Gong practitioners?"
Hosp: "Correct..."
M: "...what you used before (organs from Falun Gong practitioners), was it from detention centre(s) or prison(s)?"
Hosp: "From prisons."
M: "...and it was from healthy Falun Gong practitioners...?"
Hosp: "Correct. We would choose the good ones because we assure the quality in our operation."
M: "That means you choose the organs yourself."
Hosp: "Correct..."
M: "Usually, how old is the organ supplier?"
Hosp: "Usually in their thirties."
M: "... Then you will go to the prison to select yourself?"
Hosp: "Correct. We must select it."
M: "What if the chosen one doesn't want to have blood drawn?"
Hosp: "He will for sure let us do it."
M: "How?"
Hosp: "They will for sure find a way. What do you worry about? These kinds of things should not be of any concern to you. They have their procedures."
M: "Does the person know that his organ will be removed?"
Hosp: "No, he doesn't."
-

2. Call to Shanghai Jiaotong University Hospital’s Liver Transplant Centre:
M: I want to know how long [the patients] have to wait [for a liver transplant].
Dr. Dai: The supply of organs we have, we have every day. We do them every day.
M: We want fresh, alive ones.
Dr. Dai: They are all alive, all alive…
M: How many [liver transplants] have you done?
Dr. Dai: We have done 400 to 500 cases… Your major job is to come, prepare the money, enough money, and come.
M: How much is it?
Dr. Dai: If everything goes smoothly, it’s about RMB 150,000… RMB 200,000.
M: How long do I have to wait?
Dr. Dai: I need to check your blood type… If you come today, I may do it for you within one week.
M: I heard some come from those who practise Falun Gong, those who are very healthy.
Dr. Dai: Yes, we have. I can’t talk clearly to you over the phone.
M: If you can find me this type, I am coming very soon.
Dr. Dai: It’s ok. Please come.
M: … What is your last name?...
Dr. Dai: I’m Doctor Dai.

The military, like the health system, has gone from public financing to private enterprise. The military in China is a conglomerate business. This business is not corruption, a deviation from state policy. It is state sanctioned, an approved means of raising money for military activities. In 1985, then President Deng Xiaoping issued a directive allowing the People's Liberation Army units to earn money to make up the shortfall in their declining budgets.

Many of the transplant centres and general hospitals in China are military institutions, financed by organ transplant recipients. Military hospitals operate independently from the Ministry of Health. The financing they earn from organ transplants does more than pay the costs of these facilities. The money is used to finance the overall military budget.

There is, for instance, the Organ Transplant Center of the Armed Police General Hospital in Beijing. This hospital boldly states:

"Our Organ Transplant Center is our main department for making money. Its gross income in 2003 was 16,070,000 Yuan. From January to June of 2004 income was 13,570,000 Yuan. This year (2004) there is a chance to break through 30,000,000 Yuan."

Military involvement in organ harvesting extends into civilian hospitals. Recipients often tell us that, even when they receive transplants in civilian hospitals, those conducting the operation are military personnel.

Somebody should make a data bank of the transplanted organ's DNA and some day the origins of many of these could be cleared up, matched with surviving family members.

I love China (all of the Chinas, including Taiwan, and the whole greater Sino-Tibetan entourage, especially the Dalai Lama;-), but this religious-freedom-suppressing organ-salvaging military-funding transplanting practice should be brought to an end. The report contains very clear and targeted proposals for how Canada et al should respond.

Some people will criticize China heavily for this, but I don't think it's really something to bash the Chinese for. First of all, that's not productive, and secondly, it's the logical result of (1) having the death penalty (like many of the United States & Japan); (2) encouraging organ donation (many countries and states are in the process of trying to make the process 'Opt-Out' rather than opt-in); (3) having policies of rounding up people on the basis of their political and religious beliefs and holding them indefinitely without charges or trial (like the Americans' Soviet-gulag-style camp at Guantanamo Bay which holds, indefinitely and without charge, political prisoners apprehended worldwide who are considered too dangerous to be left free). In other words, it really isn't much different from other beliefs and practices which we accept (and the direction in which other cultures are drifting). It is just combined and extended further. It wouldn't be all that surprising if this becomes the practice in the United States. How does a prisoner guilty of the September 11th attacks repay the victims? If the death penalty is employed, why wouldn't you auction off the organs of the 9-11 terrorists to executives of AIG or someone to raise money to compensate the victims of terrorism? Perhaps Mitt Romney will make it part of his platform when he runs for president. I'm not defending it, just saying we need to see that we are cleaning up our own act at the same time.

Almost like being there…

…only less humid. This is from a little-known maker of 360º Tokyo panoramas, the Washington Post. Zooming is available. This particular panorama is shot at bicycle-basket level.

The link is thanks to Tokyotopia at JapanSoc, which could connect you to this and some how-to-itiveness.

Aspirin

I had this EP in 1982. This song stuck in my head; I occasionally remember it.

B is for… Bamboo

B Is For Bob. Thank you, Facebook. Thank you, Ziggy. I'm not sure that I like that idea but I have bought and loved other music released by the dead Bob Marley. "Death is only the beginning," as mummy used to say. 

I got to thinking, Barley Mob or Mob Barley would be a good name for a band. As I (one-mind) should have suspected,  Mob Barley already exists. I haven't found out if they are any good yet, tho. 

That reminded me that I was thinking about "Psycho Farm Ecology" and found that there is --or was-- only one result for that google search. I love your graphic! Wn wiy reform dh inglish speling sistm tu biy mor fnetik wiy'l haf tu remembr tu priysrv dha originl speling uv sum uv dhous homonimz tu avoid knfyuzhn. One thing led to another and I found myself here: 

and then here:::House of Bamboo trailer (1955) Directed by Sam Fuller. Film-Noir. U.S. Army Investigator infiltrates a Tokyo crime syndicate and discovers fellow Americans running things. Starring Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Sessue Hayakawa.


You can't tell much from the trailer, but this scene is so familiarly Japanese yet at the early postwar standard of living that I want to see it regardless of how corny it might be. 

Might as well give away some key plot details here. I think I'd like to get this dvd just to enjoy the widescreen postwar location shots in Japan. Hmmm. The Japanese version of this dvd is available-- at only twice the US price. I'd pay that if it was in 3D. 

Dark Night Of The Soul

The new collection of music by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, (and David Lynch), Dark Night Of The Soul, is available online from NPR in streaming format. Many other artist collaborated and are featured. The album and accompanying booklet of photographs by David Lynch is tied up in a legal dispute and may never be released. Plans to release the album with the CD case, booklet, and a blank cd-r are proceeding. BBC, NYT

1. "Revenge" (featuring The Flaming Lips) – 4:52
2. "Just War" (featuring Gruff Rhys) – 3:44
3. "Jaykub" (featuring Jason Lytle) – 3:52
4. "Little Girl" (featuring Julian Casablancas) – 4:33
5. "Angel's Harp" (featuring Black Francis) – 2:57
6. "Pain" (featuring Iggy Pop) – 2:49
7. "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)" (featuring David Lynch) – 3:10
8. "Everytime I'm with You" (featuring Jason Lytle) – 3:09
9. "Insane Lullaby" (featuring James Mercer) – 3:12
10. "Daddy's Gone" (featuring Mark Linkous and Nina Persson) – 3:09
11. "The Man Who Played God" (featuring Suzanne Vega) – 3:09
12. "Grim Augury" (featuring Vic Chesnutt) – 2:32
13. "Dark Night of the Soul" (featuring David Lynch and Scott Spillane) – 4:38

Track 1



Little Girl



David Lynch on track 7 "Star Eyes"



Insane Lullaby (James Mercer)


A little bit of gnowledge on de-gaarding and uN-PRotectionizing.

QUARTERLYearningsSTATEMENT

I figure I may owe my putative reader an explanation of why "blogging has been light" these past few months. Scratch that, it's not that i feel i "owe" anybody anything, but as a matter of courtesy and as a pubic service, it may be an excuse for making a post.

In most of February and March, I am "free", which usually means I am busy pursuing some projects and work that has been put off the rest of the year. In this case that meant cleaning out my office "laboratory" at the camp-us where I have been institutionalized for the past 9 years. I also had to clean and reorganize my house to accommodate things that previously occupied my office. I managed to get everything I wanted to keep in 1.5 carloads of material which fit into my house with no visible change, as I found things at home to discard from our 10 years here.

Among the things I discarded were many computer models from my computer "museum". These included an Apple Classic 2 (the size, shape, weight, and esthetic twin of a concrete block), an LC, a Performa, a couple of old PowerBook Duos from the mid-1990s, 3 or 4 6600/somethings from my significant other's office (also 1990s discards) and probably a few more I have forgotten about. There was a late 1990s "video editing edition" of something I had at home that got tossed. In addition to those, I had purchased 2 desktops and 2 laptops in my 9 years of serfdom as an institutionalized academic. These were obligingly returned to the institution and dumped on a basement storeroom floor for disposal (a particularly sad waste of a 2008 MacBook). From this you may conclude that I keep and adopt computers roughly the way the cat lady takes in cats, and you would be correct. I seem to have had roughly 17 computers earlier this year, some of them completely non-functional. Intake of computers left on the curb with minor problems such as a glitchy speaker or broken floppy has declined to zero in recent years as the recycling laws have made these treasures disappear. I now find myself down to a mere 7 (?) computers. Three "candy" iMacs and an eMac constitute the "museum" portion of my holdings (all running great), while a 21-inch iLamp (or "flower" iMac) desktop circa 2004 and two new laptops constitute my "active" array of machines.

The new ones are ASUS Eee PCs, a 4G (but I call it "Little Sucker" in respect to its performance) and the world's and Amazon's most popular netbook, the ultra-mobile 1000HE. I happily got the 4G in order to buy it on my office budget without having to return it (under $300). I am happy to move away from the Apple cult, although I think I would like to keep a working Apple CPU around to run some Apple software, probably a Mac Mini when I need to replace the fading iLamp.

As you may expect from a person with a slew of older low-spec'd computers around, I like to run free, open-source software, not proprietary corporate software licensed for use on one machine. It's natural to extend that principle to the OS itself, especially as I try to make use of the Eee(s) without using Windows XP Japanese version, which was the pre-installed OS. As a result, I have been busily learning Linux. What has surprised me is that there is much more software available than I had thought, and that the user interface can be very very slick after a little additional customization. It is nice to have 3 OS platforms available, as I can find an app to do almost anything.

I seem to visit dozens of Linux pages every day, but as an Eee user, this page has been particularly useful to compare Linux distributions. I have downloaded ISOs or IMGs of eeebuntu, OpenGeeeU, Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04, Mandriva (Gnome), Mandriva (KDE), FluxfluxEEE, and EEEpcLinuxOS. I have rejected OpenGeeeU as wasting too much screen space and for compatibility reasons. I suspect Fluxflux (and the gOS) would not use screen space efficiently either. UNR 9.04 was slow and glitchy on the 4G and has a nasty desktop-switcher bug that the newer ISO still hadn't got rid of, so I dumped it, and the Little Sucker is now running Mandriva (Gnome) very well. Mandriva is extremely impressive; only the default partitioner was not as good as Ubuntu's Gparted. The 1000HE runs Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 without trouble so far, although I am afraid to switch to Classic Mode because I would (probably) have to re-install everything --with a different OS-- if the bug shows up. I'd recommend avoiding Ubuntu Netbook Remix and perhaps sticking with the standard Ubuntu instead. You can right-click the top menu and select Autohide and Show Hide Buttons (I think it's called), --and do the same for the bottom taskbar-- and they will both disappear with one click (or just automatically) any time you like, leaving you with the full screen for Firefox or whatever your working window is. This is much less buggy than Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

If you are considering Linux, visit Distrowatch. Try this distro selector and/or another one of these as a second opinion.

Legacy: The "Noughties" Ain't Over

Dick Cheney just won't stay underground. The Dark Lord appeared on deFace duh Nation and in Harry Shearer's Dick Cheney: CONFIDENTIAL (from the 38:00 minute mark). I never expected to hear much of him again after January 2009. In a related story, suspected Bush/Cheney sympathizer Lawton Smalls calls in to Mark Maron at BreakRoom Live again with some of his own unresolved medical and psychological issues surrounding health care (@ 19:15).

Lawton Smalls on BreakRoomLive

Marc Maron has been continuing his abusive off-again-on-again relationship with Air America radio. This time he's working with Sam Seder on BreakRoomLive.

The show hasn't built up to the heights of Morning Sedition, and Seder will never be as funny as Jim Earl, but Marc and Sam seem to work pretty well together.

Lawton Smalls called in last month. Can Angus McFarquhar be far behind? Sammy the stem cell? Cardinal Milfington?

The voicemail


The first call: Don't Stim Me, Bro


The second call: Republican diversity (March 9)


Speaking of retired radio (or podcast) characters rising from the dead, Dick Cheney: Confidential hasn't run out of steam yet, either, with Harry Shearer placing, uh, Dick, in some continuing undisclosed locations.

Cat Power

Chan Marshall at KCRW (Morning Becomes Eclectic) February 29, 2008:


"New York"

Microsoft Songsmith

I learned via the February 4th WNYC Soundcheck podcast about the phenomenon of Microsoft Songsmith. To me, it is the opposite of karaoke. Whereas karaoke is everything but the vocal, and the vocal is the only live part added at the end, Songsmith starts with the vocal (apparently sung synched to a metronome-like set beat) as a start point, and then the software generates what the rest of the song might sound like according to your preferences. As WNYC puts it, "With the release of Microsoft's Songsmith, seasoned songwriters and amateurs alike can generate canned accompaniment to their own voice (or those of others) with the touch of a button." Songsmith compositions seem to have gone viral a few weeks ago, although many of the YouTube videos still only have a few thousand hits. They (at WNYC) put some examples here, and linked to some others at Musicradar. Check out this playlist at YouTube or create one with a search. Microsoft's geeky (anti?-)ad may make you appreciate the production values of real ads. If you have a pc lying around and some audio tracks, you can give it a try for your 6 hour free trial. [download] [screen-shots]



Here are some lesser-known hits of "The Songsmiths":
Tom's Diner (and Glockenspiel Emporium)
Heart of Glass (and Metal!?)
Reggae-o-head's "Reckoner"
PussyCat Dolls (Don't Cha)
Billie Jean (is not my robot?)
Slim Shady (pleeease sit down?)

Just as with real musicians, it's hard for the virtual band to have a hit, but perhaps someday the robo-musicians WILL be better.

Tunes generated by economic data allow the depression to generate its own soundtrack! Any data will do.



I wonder how this cyber-muzak will wash back and influence human musicmaking, like songbirds imitating cellphone ringtones. Will musicians imitate famous bad Songsmith compositions in their live shows? Will machine translations of random wikipedia pages be the most popular lyrics?

We got the beat
Beat it
Heard it thru the grapevine
Just what i need, ed. (the cars)
The Doobie(us) Bros: Long Train Running
Buddy Holly (weezer)
What's goin on?
God only knows (bleach-boyz)

Cop shoots Trump Chump Chimp dead

I am running Mac OS 10.5.6 again on my 21-inch iLamp. Last year at this time, it froze whenever the screensaver ran, driving me back to 10.4 (and closer to Ubuntu). In keeping with Apple's corporate philosophy of "Less is More," the newsreader RSS screensaver in 10.5 now only shows 3 news stories, instead of 10. (Thanks, Steve.) Yesterday, as the screensaver cycled through the top 3 stories from Yahoo News, I saw "Huge Chimp Shot Dead After Mauling Woman in Conn." and clicked on 3 as instructed to pop open the story in a browser page. To my surprise, I saw this:

The picture was a little surprising. Look at the powerful jaws on that thing. The vacant, staring eyes. The face, almost human, but not quite. It just doesn't seem right that people are allowed to keep 200-pound monsters like this as pets. Funny thing, though, the story didn't seem to mention the animal mauling a woman or being shot. So I looked around the news and found the promised and elusive story:

The story goes on to describe the chimp's lifestyle, how, raised as a human, he's quietly living the American dream in the suburbs, wearing clothes, surfing the internet, using a remote to channel-surf TV, riding in a truck, doing a little acting, working hard, paying taxes, and drinking a little wine. The article goes on to say that "Chimpanzees are unpredictable and dangerous even after living among humans for many years." That goes without saying. It seems like a species-ist statement considering that HUMANS are unpredictable and dangerous even after living among humans for many years.

Colleen McCann, a primatologist at the Bronx Zoo, said Tuesday that chimpanzees are unpredictable and dangerous even after living among humans for years.
"It's deceiving to think that if any animal is ... well-behaved around humans, that means there is no risk involved to humans for potential outbursts of behavior," she said. "They are unpredictable, and in instances like this you cannot control that behavior or prevent it from happening if it is in a private home."
After the initial attack, Travis ran away and started roaming Herold's property until police arrived, setting up security so medics could reach the critically injured woman, Conklin said.
But the chimpanzee returned and went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars, Conklin said. Travis knocked the mirror off a cruiser before opening its door and starting to get in, trapping the officer.
That officer shot the chimpanzee several times, Conklin said.
The wounded chimpanzee fled the scene, but Conklin said police were able to follow the trail of his blood: down the driveway, into the open door of the home, through the house and to his living quarters, where he had retreated and died of his wounds.
Herold and two officers also received minor injuries, police said.
A woman answering the door at Herold's house Tuesday morning declined to comment.
Conklin told reporters the chimp was acting so agitated earlier that afternoon that Herold gave him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea. Conklin also suggested the animal may have attacked Nash because she was wearing her hair differently and perhaps wasn't recognized.
The chimpanzee was well-known around Stamford because he rode around in trucks belonging to the towing company operated by his owners.
Police have dealt with him in the past, including an incident in 2003 when he escaped from his owners' vehicle in downtown Stamford for two hours. Officers used cookies, macadamia treats and ice cream in an attempt to lure him, but subdued him only after he became too tired to resist.
At the time of the 2003 incident, police said the Herolds told them the chimpanzee was toilet trained, dressed himself, took his own bath, ate at the table and drank wine from a stemmed glass. He also brushed his teeth using a Water Pik, logged onto the computer to look at pictures, and watched television using the remote control, police said.
When he was younger, Travis appeared on TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola, made an appearance on the "Maury Povich Show" and took part in a television pilot, according to a 2003 story in The Advocate newspaper of Stamford.
"He's been raised almost like a child by this family," Conklin said Monday. "He rides in a car every day, he opens doors, he's a very unique animal in that aspect. We have no indication of what provoked this behavior at all."

They inexplicably seem to be at a loss for reasons for the attack. Let's go over a few:

1. He's living in the society of another species. Imagine the stress you would experience living alone (without a mate) among wolves, sheep, cats, aliens, stag beetles, bonobos, or ants, and trying to earn a living and accommodate yourself to their society.
   
2. He's not human. He cannot be judged according to the standards of human society.
   
3. He's aging and ill. His body and mind are in declining states of health. He may lose control once in a while.
   
4. They have him on medications. Medications usually have psychological side-effects. Also, these drugs are not approved for use in chimpanzees and may affect them differently.
   
5. They gave him Xanax. Same as number 4, only worse. The psychological effects on a chimpanzee cannot be predicted from the (mixed) effects on humans. Maybe the neighbor kids are giving him pot, acid, ecstacy, crack, crank, or other drugs as well to see how he reacts or test them out.
   

I think the officer also erred by not considering him "bro" enough to get tased. He must have not had a taser, because I would think that would be better than blowing chimp blood all over your car and uniform.

The takeaway impression of the subconscious mind:

New Standard Chronomenclature (2009†02•12º)

Various ways of writing and numerically abbreviating dates exist in different countries. This can be confusing when you find a document dated 02-03-04 and have no way of knowing if the creator of the document was thinking in American, Australian, British, German, French, Swedish, or another way. February 3, 2004, March 2, '04, and March 4, 2002 are among the possible interpretations. 

The most logical way is to follow the system which is implicit within numerals themselves, that of placing larger units to the left and smaller units to the right. This has the added advantage of placing your files or photographs in order when used in alphanumeric file systems. 2009-02-12 will come after 2007-02-12, 2009-01-12, and 2009-02-11, for example. 

However, aside from placing numerals in the correct or at least logical order, I have often toyed with alternative date representation systems which would reduce the ambiguity of the unadorned number by linking it with a convenient abbreviation not unlike the m, k, cm, and other units. This is needed because people will not adopt the international system overnight, or even within their own lifetimes. 

For a time, I found that writing the year as four numerals makes that clear enough, and writing the month in Roman numerals was attractive, but that completely negates the advantages discussed with data in computers. 

Something similar to the Japanese 年 月 日system (e.g. 2009年2月12日) would be ideal. These characters represent year, month (or moon) and day (or sun). Looking at the (Roman) keyboard viewer, I think the best available characters are †(option+t), •(option+8), and º(option+0) or alternatively ˚(option plus k). Since we have a Christian calendar, plop a cross thingy right down there after the year (†). The four quadrants represent the four seasons and the Earth's travel through these quadrants in its orbit. The moon is often associated with a crescent but a parenthesis is the only thing close to that, and is reserved for other uses, so consider instead the moon as a reflective, mostly dark body (90% black, albedo 0.1). Represent it with the •(option and 8 on a US keyboard). That "bullet" also reminds us that the moon was created when a large body tore through the early Earth like a bullet. Last but not least, there is the day. The day is best represented by the sun, or in this case, the degree sign º(option+0(that's a zero)) or ˚ (option+k). The really nice thing about that is that a degree is considered 1/360th of a whole (circle), and a day is 1/365.25 of a year.Close enough!  Actually, using 0 may be a superscript (?) while k is a degree sign. Depending on whether you think you will confuse today's temperature with today's date, one or the other may be preferred.  

I'd like the world to adopt this by next Tuesday, 2009†02•17º. (Everybody needs a few days to adjust.) Please make a note of it. (Persons over 65 have until 9†3•1˚.) Just remember Option/alt and t8k. (Your mnemonic is "ALTer Tate, Kay" or "Alt/t80"). 

[alt/t/8/k] OR [alt/t/8/0]

Peace through Parks

Throughout the last hundred years, there have been proposals for Peace through Unilateral Disarmament, Peace through Love, Peace through Strength, and Strength through Peace. Wars rage on.

I propose Peace through Parks.

First of all, note that many, (most?) but not all, of the world's many wars originate in border disputes. Russia-Georgia, the Falklands, Israel-Palestine, and others come to mind. By resolving all outstanding border disputes, war is less likely. Imagine if the property lines between you and your neighbors were not clearly defined, and you were all armed to the teeth and had some long-standing grudges. If you could at least agree on the property line, you could build a fence there and relax tensions.

Secondly, note that the world can use as much greenery, preservation of nature, and parkland as it can get. Areas not exploited by humans are needed in every biome to preserve biodiversity and other Gaian systems.

Basically, therefore, the proposal is to turn all disputed territory into international peace parks -- natural areas where human presence is prohibited.

To work best, such a system would need some kind of sanction or push. Most of the world's nations would have to be sick of war and push the rest to agree to settle their border issues. They could block countries from having a vote in the UN General Assembly until they had resolved all disputes. Alternatively, countries with unresolved issues could be kept out of the latest trade agreements or the WTA.

There could be a multi-stage process for this. The flowchart would go something like this, as follows. Nations would report their borders to the UN or another mediating authority. In cases where they disagreed, where two entities claimed the same territory, they would be given a chance to resolve it by mutual agreement, submit it to binding arbitration, or agree to remove all personnel and installations from the disputed area and allow it to revert to nature, either for perpetuity or for a century at a time. If you choose the century option, simply suspend all arguments and agree to discuss this issue again in 100 years time. The default option of creating international parklands would be the preferred wherever possible.

Returning to our neighborhood analogy, you don't need to necessarily settle disputes with a surveyor's clear line. You can take the area between your line and their line, and grow a big hedge there, a stand of bamboo, or whatever grows there, an impenetrable brush, perhaps.

How would this look in its actual implementation? Let's start near home, in Japan. Japan's claims to Sakhalin and some of the Kurile Islands would either be agreed to, resolved in favor of one of the parties, or the whole area would just be turned into a vast nature reserve. Where the sea is involved, the old 12-mile limit or a similar rule would probably be best. Bears and perhaps wooly mammoths would again roam and rule the land. Displaced persons would be compensated for the loss of their property. Call it a stimulus package, or create a system to generate income from the area to repay the displaced or to fund the compensation board.

Also involving Japan, the Takeshima/Dokdo/Liancourt rocks/islands and the waters around them would make a good nature reserve. This place is a wasteland not worth the investments made in it (and certainly not worth fighting over). The fishery resources around it benefit both sides the most if the area is preserved as an undisturbed breeding ground to help sustain fish stocks in the open ocean. The resources on the immediate sea floor can be saved for another century. There are similar disputes with Taiwan and China, and between China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and others, which can all be settled in the same way, by creating nature reserves.

More complicated cases arise where large populations, third parties, or different cultures are involved, such as the Basques, South Ossetia, the former Yugoslavia, Kashmir, Tibet, and the Amazon. Without self-determination and devolved autonomy to indigenous people, this would not make much sense. In other words, it's better to give autonomy to Kashmir, or make it a nation (or two) than for India and Pakistan to settle the dispute by evacuating Kashmir.

Let's take some extreme and potentially absurd cases. What if Mexico were to claim California, Texas, Colorado, and the rest of the southwest United States? The disputed area is probably too big to be considered as a park. Suppose then that, in addition, the settlement went Mexico's way, and these areas were returned to Mexico. This might seem to be a nightmare scenario, but would it really be so bad? Adding 60 million or so "Anglos" to Mexico's population would instantly make it a bilingual country. The wealth of the north combined with the labor force in the south could create a potent economic superpower. The northerners would demand better governance than has sometimes come from Mexico City in the past. If the northerners didn't feel they were getting a fair deal, they would secede again, or perhaps parts of the south would, repeating history in a different form. The America that didn't fight and win the war with Mexico would be different but possibly better, and no worse than the America that did not fight and win the war with Canada. By this I mean that people tend to be prejudiced in favor of their own timeline and not consider that an alternate history could have been better or worse.

In the case of Israel/Palestine, we often hear of the two-state solution and less often, the one-state solution. Other integers must be considered. The no-state solution would evacuate the entire area permanently and plant lots of cedars. Property-owners and refugees would be compensated for their inconvenience and loss. In many cases you would have to compensate both an Israeli claimant and a Palestinian claimant to the same property. This would still be cheaper and more humane than continued human occupation of the area. Fortunately, there is a ready source of income to fund this project. The incorporated park of "HolyLand" would be a continuing site of religious pilgrimage for many centuries, and the high admission charges would insure that the displaced Israelis and Palestinians would be well-compensated in their new homes in the countries of their choice in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, or Australia. Visitors to the HolyLand park would find it as hard to imagine the park grounds were once a battlefield as visitors to EuroDisney do. The park would be governed by a council composed of Jewish rabbis, Muslim ayatullahs, Christian priests, Buddhist monks, Sihks, Hindus, and members of other religions, with most employees being neutral Buddhist monks and secular scholars. Religious sites would be operated in a secular manner as museums most days, with multi-religious sites holding Islamic functions on Fridays, Jewish functions on Saturdays, and Christian functions on Sundays. Visitors to the park would be issued a sackcloth robe and would be required to bring their own food and water since all vestiges of electrical and water infrastructure would have been removed. Complex chemicals and technologies, such as lighters and matches, would not be allowed, while simple substances such as salt, oil, and soap would be allowed to be carried inside the park. These austere measures and strict policing would reduce the chance of violence.

That's a no-state solution, but what of a three-state solution? This solution could also work with a rump Israel, a rump Palestine, and the neutral third state enveloping the middle land and all shared religious sites. Rather than being abandoned, a variation on this would be for the central state to be a secular union of the peaceful, moderate members of both communities, with the 30-50% of radical Zionist Israelis in their own "Zion" enclave, the 30-50% radical Islamicist Palestinians in their own enclave, and the moderate ones of both communities who just want to get along in the largest group. This would not be a peace park but would have to be free of explosives and automatic weapons, and be highly policed. Unlike the area today, civilized life might have a chance of succeeding (without religion).

The nation-state-based world order may not be the most ideal, but until a transcending and unifying idea takes its place, it would at least be better for it to function peacefully.

Inspiration for peace parks comes from the DeMilitarizedZone between the two Koreas, one of East Asia's richest wildlife reserves. The experience of Chernobyl after 1986 also suggests what much of the abandoned world parkland may look like as it restores itself.

Rather than being imposed worldwide from above by the community, people could encourage their countries to drop their territorial disputes and/or convert lands in disputed border areas into national parks.

Warning: It may make people angry when you propose turning their entire country into a wilderness area.

Break a leg, Kev!

February 1st, 2009 --Tokyo. Somebody finally broke "Kevin's" leg(s). I can't tell you how happy that makes me. I think it was the kid with the headphones that he was making such a fuss over back in July. Hey: it's a roaring train, full of drunk people talking loudly after work and housewives gossiping at a siren's pitch over the train noise most of the time.Then there's the sardine-packing, the bad breath and other body odors, the sneezing and coughing commuters, the brazen nose-pickers. Hello? If Kevin imagines that he can hear a faint strains of music of several decibels loudness destroying the inhuman industrial ambiance when the train stops, he should put on his own headphones and play noisy recordings of industrial machinery such as trains so he can be happy.

But having said that, the couple making sweet sweet choco-love in public in his chair should give it up for the dude with the creepy glasses.

Another possible suspect at the top of the list is the guy (and girl) he walked over back in January.

Postscript: Scholars of Japanese urban rail manners posters will recall that the "Do it at home!" series follows a dubious series featuring Clifford the big red dog, and apparently aimed at the critical trouble-making 3-year-old demographic. Or they were thinking long-term, for when those kids turn 20. Or it was aimed at the inner 3-year-old encysted within each of us. But then they should have used Mickey.

Sober Driver '09

Busy busy busy. Need a break. What's Dengue Fever been up to lately? SF and NYC. This video recorded January 17 is of decent quality. Sober Driver is one of my favorite tracks from Venus on Earth. This is the fist video I've seen of this band in the Obama era. And if you dwell on that thought, it may occur to you that we do have a "sober driver" at the helm of the United States, if the US has a helm. Black coffee, no sugar, a bit of LMM for sweetness. Sobers you right up. You may also recall that the last occupant of the office, his veep, and wife were all confirmed DUI drivers!

Sober Driver has a pretty good premise and funny lyrics. I particularly like "The cake is all dry!" as something the fictional self-centered loose drunk chick of the story would say when she's tired of the party and calls her sober part-time boyfriend for a ride. I have to say that "It's withered, dull, and dry" makes a strange refrain (unless I've been mis-hearing it massively all along). Unfortunately for America, the drunk chick in this extended metaphor is the American public. Oh, well. Carry on, my wayward sons of…

ASUS EEE PC

I bought a 4GB ASUS EEE PC for Y28,000. It has Windows XP Home Edition. The 4GB flash drive comes with less than a gig left free after the OS is installed. I removed Explorer, Outlook Express, and as many Microsoft wares as possible while installing a suite of essentials.  A 4GB SD card also slots in. 

I will try to leave none of my files onboard; keep them only on the SD card, a USB memory stick, or external hard drive. I put GIMP portable on the SD, may try that with Go-oo (open Office) and other wares, too. I'm posting this with Google Chrome. Will also consider a version of Ubuntu to run off an external drive. Windows XP in Japanese is even worse than the English one as far as I am concerned. Because of the laanguage, xp OS, small keyboard and 800x480 monitor, It's not very comfortable to use, but it works well, it incredibly light, and has a camera.

I wasn't born yesterday.

I heard Keith Olbermann mention on the Countdown podcast that it was his birthday. I checked it out and added him to the amazing lineup of savants born on 1-27. 

3D Time Travel (and the future?)

While searching for an image of a stereoscope, I came across Early Visual Media, a kind of archeological museum of image culture. The aims of the site are diverse and varied. It's certainly entertaining and very educational. Among the stereoviews, you'll find some nudes and related collections from the 1800s! Yes, your grandmother's grandmother was a flousey. And although she is dust, she looks pretty hot. The site's creator, Thomas Weynants, has an exhaustive bibligraphy of publications and links. Television in its earliest forms is among his interests.

There is a fLIckr group of stereo photography--actually several groups divided into parallel, cross-view, and anaglyph factions. Can't we all just get along? Via Xorsyst, I found the wonderful fLIckr site of Okinawa Soba and his T-Enami dedicated site as well. Since we're on the subject, you could start at this 3D set and his instructions for parallel viewing. I may require several years to fully explore Rob Oechsle's collections.

Digital stereoscopy is slow to get started despite what seem to be advantages. I think it is more practical than ever before, as all photography now consumes fewer resources. Only the design of the camera lens --not all components-- would need to be effectively doubled. An 8-megapixel camera would become a camera which takes two 4-megapixel images and stores them in a single image. Three-dimensional photographs would have much more information (regarding depth) than 2D photos and would have applications in forensic analysis, for example. Surveillance cameras might benefit from 3D video imaging as well. In addition to depth, the photographer who wishes to use the 2D image has 2 slightly different versions (of the 2D image) to choose from. Dust and scratches could be more easily removed with a second image as a reference. Perhaps a new file type like the JPEG could be created, but in principle it should not be necessary. The left-eye and right-eye images can just be recorded side-by-side in a single wide jpeg. EXIF data or some tag in the 3D jpeg could indicate to software that this is a stereoscopic image. (Alternatively, software might detect this fact automatically.) In that case, additional tags could indicate from several options for displaying the photo. The left and right sides of the photo could be displayed straightaway in parallel as a default. A tag indicating cross-eyed viewing could instruct software to divide the image and display the right-eye image on the left and vice-versa. A third way to view it would be to display the right-eye image and the left-eye image in the same frame in rapid succession, like an animated GIF, producing the illusion of three dimensions in this way (the "wiggle" method). This works for people with one eye since it fools the brain rather than the eye. Another technique would be to specify either the left or right or the image as a default to display, and the other half to display upon mouse-over.

There are a few easy adjustments to be made on the software side before stereoscopy can experience a mainstream boom or revival. I would hope that a digital camera maker would come out with stereoscopic model soon and find it to be extremely popular. Alternately, the development of 3D display technology may be driven from the display side, it a breakthrough occurs there first and enables the easy viewing of 3D content on inexpensive screens.

More goat

Newspaper claims suspect transformed into a goat

Fri Jan 23, 6:07 pm ET
LAGOS, Nigeria – One of Nigeria's biggest daily newspapers reported that police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. In a front-page article on Friday, the Vanguard newspaper said that two men tried to steal a Mazda car two days earlier in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him.
The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended.
The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal.
Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas.

Google Charts QR-Code API

Google charts dynamically generates various kinds of charts as you need them--right in your browser or on a web page. Venn diagrams, bar graphs, pie graphs, and even maps are available! An interesting one is the dynamic generation of QR codes. A very appealing feature is that you can set the EC (error correction) level on these. I didn't see this in other online QR code generators. EC level H allows your code to be readable even if 30% of your code is obscured. That should be ideal for the purpose of embedding it in a manipulated image. It compares to the default level L, which only allows 7% of the data to be restored. Version number is set automatically depending on your request. I'm a little drunk now, so I may not be able to summarize it very well. Al Khahol can make you geeky (cuz it definitely don't make you sexy (unless the opposing party is even more drunk)).
Basically, you start with
http://chart.apis.google.com/
and add the chart type (cht)
chart?cht=qr
to indicate you are making a QR chart. Then you can add the other specifications or parameters, such as size. You can't get much smaller than 40 for a QR code, and I'm not sure what the upper limit is… (177x177 -- but you could be using multiple pixels per bit). Suppose it's 200x200.
&chs=200x200
That (chart size, chs) is obligatory. The output encoding default is UTF8 so you don't really need to add that. You could encode you Japanese kanji using Shift_JIS
&choe=Shift_JIS
otherwise you can leave it out. ISO-8859-1 is also available, whatever the hell that is.
Specify the L, lingual string(?) with
&chl=your text string here
Then my favorite part ,
chld=<L, M, Q, or H>|
This is the EC and margin, where you can specify error correction and margins, according to Google,

Four levels of error correction (EC) are available. The default level (L) allows the QR code to be read even if up to 7% of the code is misread, missing, or obscured. Other levels provide error correction for codes where up to 30% of the code cannot be read. The number of characters that can be encoded decreases as the EC level increases. See Versions, error correction and maximum characters for details.

The default margin is 4 modules. This means that a blank space equivalent to four rows at the top and bottom and four columns on the left and right is placed around the QR code. This is the minimum required by QR readers.

Optionally, specify an EC level and margin with
chld=|
Where:
is one of the following:
L allows 7% of a QR code to be restored
M allows 15% of a QR code to be restored
Q allows 25% of a QR code to be restored
H allows 30% of a QR code to be restored
and
defines the margin (or blank space) around the QR code. The default image has a margin equivalent to 4 rows / columns of the chart.

examples:

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&&chs=240x240&chl=http://www.blues-tea-cha.blogspot.com/&chld=L|2
looks like
while
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&&chs=240x240&chl=http://www.blues-tea-cha.blogspot.com/&chld=H|2
looks like

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=50x50&chl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blues-tea-cha.blogspot.com&chld=%3CH%3E|%3C2%3E
Some characters will change in the browser URL to appear as follows:
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&&chs=50x50&choe=UTF-8&chl=http://www.blues-tea-cha.blogspot.com/&chld=%3CH%3E|%3C2%3E
so don't be confused.

If you type
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=p3&chd=t:90,10&chs=440x220&chl=Pacman|ghost
you get


Even more interesting is maps. For example, type (or cut and paste) http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=t&chs=400x200&chd=s:_&chtm=world into your browser (or insert on your web site) and this map will appear.


440x220 seems to be the maximum size.
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=t&chs=440x220&chd=s:_&chtm=usa

Witness to History

Hello, President Obama!


Mr Cheney and his gloves. He leaves no fingerprints.


See ya!
To President Obama: Congratulations!
To my fellow Americans: Yay!
To my fellow world citizens: Sorry for the last 8 years.
To my fellow expats: What next?

all photos cellphone+CNN

America's Pet Goat

The hooved and horned one will be gone in a few moments. The long national nightmare has ended.
Update: I must say that if there was a purpose for George W. Bush's life and reign, it was to create the conditions for the rise of Barack Obama. Perhaps we should be thankful to Governor Bush for that.

Tony Blair Witch Project -- continued

It lives! This is from a cellphone snap of a BBC broadcast. A small amount of post-processing has brought out the beauty of Tony's features. His "W" is still visible, although it may be getting botoxed out gradually and tastefully, Blair-style. Or is it becoming a "YY"? Is it just me or is he starting to look a little like either Dwight Eisenhower or Don Knotts (if they had appeared on Six Feet Under)?

Notice how the Israel-Palestine conflict has just magically disappeared since Blair has combined his flair for diplomacy with that of Condoleeza "Destroyer of Worlds" Rice? Tony, yer doin' a heckuva job!

This is one more possible fate for Obama to avoid; don't become Blair, Clinton, or Carter. He's already managed to avoid becoming Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, and Jesse Jackson.

Few favors for feathered friends from frequent fliers

In contrast to the fuss made over the occasional bird or bat accidentally killed by wind turbines, birds unfortunate enough to nest near airports are systematically exterminated as pests, and the question asked is "Are we doing enough to kill the birds?"

The accident also raised questions about whether airports around the country are doing enough to deal with bird flocks.
The agency that operates New York City's major airports said it has a multimillion-dollar program to chase birds off its property, but can only do so much to protect planes once they are in the air.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it kills thousands of birds every year in the marshy waterways and tidal flats that surround its two major airports in Queens, and uses guns, pyrotechnics and hawks to drive away birds.
Among the other tactics: Bird eggs are coated in oil to prevent them from hatching. Nests are removed. The agency also plays recordings of bird distress calls, and landscapers remove any shrubs and trees that might be attractive to certain species.

Source: AP news article in the IHT

A network of maglev trains connecting the major cities will work so much better than the jet-propelled, winged aluminum canisters careening through snow, sleet, rain, and flocks of seagulls that we have today, even though the wind turbines and concentrated solar collectors to power the maglevs may whack or roast a few birds, too. Perhaps you could shave a few hours off by flying, if it's coast-to-coast across the continent, but the carbon tax may be prohibitative.

Swarm-bots

The swarm-bot concept and implementations are impressive, but what was the scientist(/performance artist?)'s motivation for using a living human girl (the symbol of the hope and future of humanity?) for this demonstration, rather than a dummy (dressed in fatigues, say), mannequin, bag of flour, or something else? 

Here's my kwik remote psychoanalysis: The creator(s) see their creations as beautiful. To them, they are like children. They want you to see them as cute, colorful, intelligent, helpful tools. They are probably tired of people seeing these as potential vacuum cleaners or luggage trucks and want to jump-start the public imagination to see the swarm-bots in hospitals, refugee camps, de-mining, doing humanitarian work and winning the Miss Universe contest. They are protecting the children. In short, some of the humanity of the child should rub off on the swarm-bots just by being photographed together. They think this is good PR. 

There is another way to see it, based in the animal brain and subconscious. As humans, we instinctively feel protective toward small children. We also interpret the small moving things as animals like rats. Their behavior is that of a scavenger, or feeding behavior. It seems they will drag the girl off to their lair first. They seem to have incapacitated the girl with a tranquilizer or muscle relaxant, or perhaps she fears their power or is trying to trick them into thinking she is dead. As living things with a hive-mind, they will seek to become stronger, the will to power, probably by injecting nanobots into her bloodstream, where they will gain control of the pain and pleasure centers of her brain and contribute to the Swarm by luring other humans to where they can also be captured and absorbed by the swarm. 

Stereo-card collection

This is a collection of stereoscopic postcards from the San Diego Historical Society. I keep waiting for stereoscopic digital cameras to come out, but it seems I'll have to wait a bit longer, perhaps for a cheap and high quality display technology.