Boston Celtics took the steering wheel for a joy ride in the much deserved win over Lakers' sloppy game 6 to capture the NBA finals. What is Kobe Bryant's Lakers missing? A better point guard? A consistent center? A productive bench? No, no, no, and no. A leader. There was no direction, no determination, no shit. Better luck next year. On the other hand, Pierce, KG, and Allen can finally laugh in the face of ringless-greats Malone, Stockton, and Barkley. "na na na nan nana..." Congratulations!
In this past week, we're all losers. We lost Tim Russert, the Meet the Press host, a nearly extinct newsman species. But I'm going out on a limb to say that Russert wasn't that excellent of an anchorman. He had his misses with the war and whatnot. He stood out as one because the rest is pathetic, pathetic! You read right. Pa-fucking-thetic!
Why can't Bill O'Reilly have a heart attack? His infamous short temper fits the profile. One can hope.
Russert didn't sell his journalist soul to the devil, nor was he a saint. With all that said, he was more than decent, really good at what he did, and as honest as a major network newsman could be these days in order to remain in that post, of which, is very sad. R.I.P.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
large scale protests work
If the people can stand up passionately against their government's policies, the bigwigs in high office will have to respond. There is something here the US can learn from these young and passionate Koreans.
Well, there is something we can do: impeach Bush.
S. Korea: 80,000 protest new US beef import accord
SEOUL, South Korea - About 80,000 protesters gathered in the South Korean capital Tuesday in the largest demonstration yet against the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports, as the entire Cabinet offered to resign in the uproar over the policy.
President Lee Myung-bak's office did not say whether he would accept the resignations, an attempt to defuse the beef crisis that has paralyzed his government less than four months after the former Hyundai CEO took office following a landslide election victory.
The government agreed in April to lift almost all restrictions that had been imposed on imports of U.S. beef over fears of mad cow disease. Protesters have been demanding for weeks that the government scrap or renegotiate the beef deal amid perceptions it did not do enough to protect citizens.
The demonstrations began after a popular current affairs TV program questioned the safety of U.S. beef and claimed Koreans are more susceptible than Americans and Europeans to the human variant due to genetics. ap via yahoo
Well, there is something we can do: impeach Bush.
Rep. Kucinich introduces Bush impeachment resolution
WASHINGTON - Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic presidential contender, said Monday he wants the House to consider a resolution to impeach President Bush.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi consistently has said impeachment was "off the table."
Kucinich, D-Ohio, read his proposed impeachment language in a floor speech. He contended Bush deceived the nation and violated his oath of office in leading the country into the Iraq war.
Kucinich introduced a resolution last year to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. That resolution was killed, but only after Republicans initially voted in favor of taking up the measure to force a debate.
Kucinich won 50 percent of the vote in a five-way House Democratic primary in March, beating back critics who said he ignored business at home to travel the country in his quest to be president. ap via yahoo
Monday, June 09, 2008
Akihabara massacre
---==update==---
I believe he did it because: (speculations)
He doesn't have the social skills to properly ask for help.
(He's a country boy who's lost in a big city, trying to survive.)
He was hoping someone would stop him before he gave himself up to rage.
(He chronicled the entire killing plan online as he made the long drive from Shizuoka to Akihabara, Tokyo, where the killing took place.)
He has a violent and short temper.
(needless to say)
(more speculations)
In a nutshell, this is hardly an only-in-Japan problem. The younger generation distance themselves from real social interaction because the net is an easier place to make "friends", who resemble the real thing well enough . But that's where the similarity ends. They provide no real friendship when support is needed the most.
In other words, the suspect in this case is a typical outcast who can't cope with the stress of society nor is he resourceful enough to solve or even see the monster building up inside him. He snapped.
There's a collection of the smaller things like, lack of job security, strain with family, solidarity, indulging in a comic book world, personality flaw, etc...
No one ever gave him a second look. His act was a way to validate his existence.
---==end==---
Random acts of violence happen all over the world, but they're almost never truly random. We're going to find out more about what led up to and ultimately triggered the breaking point.
What was the most surprising was- why didn't anyone stop him?
after he mauled three people down,
with a big-ass truck,
leaving a pool of blood,
in the middle of a busy street,
in board day light,
where he stepped outside the vehicle,
all the while a shopper crowd looking on,
consequently allowing him stab 14 people thereafter.
Stop that crazy motherfucker!
He's probably going to get the death penalty and that's what he deserves but it will not solve anything. Your typical justice at its best.
I believe he did it because: (speculations)
He doesn't have the social skills to properly ask for help.
(He's a country boy who's lost in a big city, trying to survive.)
He was hoping someone would stop him before he gave himself up to rage.
(He chronicled the entire killing plan online as he made the long drive from Shizuoka to Akihabara, Tokyo, where the killing took place.)
He has a violent and short temper.
(needless to say)
(more speculations)
In a nutshell, this is hardly an only-in-Japan problem. The younger generation distance themselves from real social interaction because the net is an easier place to make "friends", who resemble the real thing well enough . But that's where the similarity ends. They provide no real friendship when support is needed the most.
In other words, the suspect in this case is a typical outcast who can't cope with the stress of society nor is he resourceful enough to solve or even see the monster building up inside him. He snapped.
There's a collection of the smaller things like, lack of job security, strain with family, solidarity, indulging in a comic book world, personality flaw, etc...
No one ever gave him a second look. His act was a way to validate his existence.
---==end==---
Random acts of violence happen all over the world, but they're almost never truly random. We're going to find out more about what led up to and ultimately triggered the breaking point.
What was the most surprising was- why didn't anyone stop him?
after he mauled three people down,
with a big-ass truck,
leaving a pool of blood,
in the middle of a busy street,
in board day light,
where he stepped outside the vehicle,
all the while a shopper crowd looking on,
consequently allowing him stab 14 people thereafter.
Stop that crazy motherfucker!
He's probably going to get the death penalty and that's what he deserves but it will not solve anything. Your typical justice at its best.
Death toll from stabbing spree in Tokyo's Akihabara rises to seven
The death toll from a stabbing spree in downtown Tokyo on Sunday afternoon has risen to seven, police said.
The random attack in the Akihabara district of Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, also injured 10 others, paralyzing shoppers with fear.
The 25-year-old killer, Tomohiro Kato, 25, a temporary worker from Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, was arrested for attempted murder because none of the victims had been confirmed dead at the time. Police are poised to upgrade the charges to murder. mainichi
Thursday, June 05, 2008
been busy...
...in my head.
Sure, at work as well- students are signing up slowly but steadily. We have a solid student base to call this a proper neighborhood English school.
With our baby only 2 months away, we're doing all we can to make this little world as comfortable as humanly possible, while staying within our means.
With more responsibilities the bigger, more enjoyable things in life come semi-voluntarily falling into places without us focusing too much effort on them. That doesn't mean it's not a little tiring. But the joy of getting these things planned out nicely outweighs the pressure.
When those things are ready maybe I'll let you in for a peek.
Sure, at work as well- students are signing up slowly but steadily. We have a solid student base to call this a proper neighborhood English school.
With our baby only 2 months away, we're doing all we can to make this little world as comfortable as humanly possible, while staying within our means.
With more responsibilities the bigger, more enjoyable things in life come semi-voluntarily falling into places without us focusing too much effort on them. That doesn't mean it's not a little tiring. But the joy of getting these things planned out nicely outweighs the pressure.
When those things are ready maybe I'll let you in for a peek.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tesla Roadster
Let's take a look at the roadster that's named after Tesla. Notable details:
Lotus-assembled
0-60mph = 3.9 sec
All-electric plug-in
reduced dependence on oil
An all-in-all fun sports car
Top speed = 125mph (201kmph)
248 horses 13,000rpm redline
range on one single charge = 200+ miles
What's holding some people back?
$98,000
Now, enjoy a teaser clip
test-driven
Tesla Motor
Tesla Roadster's wikipage
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tesla- sane in a mad time
There are many versions to this following story:
"A horseman comes to an end-of-the-world town where the entire population seems to be insane. After further investigation he realizes the town's well, its only regular water source, is poisoned with chemicals that induce madness. Since there is no where else to go, he's faced with two choices - (1)he'll drink from it and go insane, or, (2)he'll stay away from it and drink only from rainwater and fruit juice, but forever treated as a mad man."
Nikola Tesla was that mad man.
In addition, he was an unparalleled genius, a man who was able to out-envision the Inventor- Thomas Edison. He was the futurist of the future, hindered by short-sighted townpeople.
"A horseman comes to an end-of-the-world town where the entire population seems to be insane. After further investigation he realizes the town's well, its only regular water source, is poisoned with chemicals that induce madness. Since there is no where else to go, he's faced with two choices - (1)he'll drink from it and go insane, or, (2)he'll stay away from it and drink only from rainwater and fruit juice, but forever treated as a mad man."
Nikola Tesla was that mad man.
Free worldwide wireless energy, death rays, earthquake machines, remote control and green power, all from the fertile mind of the genius who electrified the world. Now, Nikola Tesla's Mad Electricity, on Modern Marvels.more
In addition, he was an unparalleled genius, a man who was able to out-envision the Inventor- Thomas Edison. He was the futurist of the future, hindered by short-sighted townpeople.
Monday, May 12, 2008
What does the Universe expand into?
I was reading reddit and came across this comment to the question above.
the growth is uniform?
In general. There are local areas where galaxies are gravitationally bound, but the expansion of spacetime means other groups become increasingly more distant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_expansion_of_space
the growth can be measured?
This is the most solid area of the cosmological science. We've known about the expansion since the 20s, and despite its unintuitiveness, discovered that the rate of expansion is increasing.
there is no central point from which the expansion is happening?
There are no privileged frames of reference. Within our 3-dimensional experience, there is no center. Every point is expanding away from the others equally.
But 4-dimensionally, you can view the instant of the big bang as the point in spacetime from which everything expands. As we move along the axis of time, the spacial dimensions all increase.
Alternately, if you view our universe as the surface of a hypersphere, the center of that sphere can be viewed as the central point; however it is "outside" the space we occupy.
The Bad Astronomer attempts an explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5W3CszeAI
that still indicates that the balloon is expanding IN something... know what I mean?
Not really; that's where the analogy breaks down. Space and time are both metrics internal to the Universe. They only make sense in reference to things within space and time. You can have no "space outside space" or "time before time".
The Big Bang wasn't an explosion of matter into an already-existing expanse of space. Space and time themselves emerge from that singular point, along with all the matter and energy in the universe.
If the universe exists at its origin point as a singularity, then that is how it exists relative to anything "outside". Everything else happens "inside" and has no bearing on what occurs "outside". One model is that our universe is one of an infinite number of "bubble universes" that simply pop into existence as a consequence of quantum vacuum fluctuations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaotic_inflation_theory
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/John_Gribbin/cosmo.htm
Here's a few links that may address your question better than I can:
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=274
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=651
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/011021a.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=according-to-the-big-bang-1999-10-21&catID=3
http://reddit.com/info/6iz44/comments/c03z5jd
Hey Mike!
First off the bat, let me condemn commercialism. EVIL EVIL I tell ya!
Despite the moral setback, enjoy this convincing CG where Michael Jordan plays 1-on-1 with his younger self. Their taunts crack me up. "Get your young butt out there." Wouldn't that be something?
Despite the moral setback, enjoy this convincing CG where Michael Jordan plays 1-on-1 with his younger self. Their taunts crack me up. "Get your young butt out there." Wouldn't that be something?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
YADS
YADS - yet another doomsday scenario
Our solar system wades through the Milky Way not unlike mother Earth orbits the Sun. Every so often we come to a dense section of the spiral disc where comets and other space debris hurl towards us ten times more frequently. Is it time the dinosaurs went distinct again?
Our solar system wades through the Milky Way not unlike mother Earth orbits the Sun. Every so often we come to a dense section of the spiral disc where comets and other space debris hurl towards us ten times more frequently. Is it time the dinosaurs went distinct again?
Scientists at the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology built a computer model of our solar system’s movement and found that it “bounces” up and down through the plane of the galaxy. As we pass through the densest part of the plane, gravitational forces from the surrounding giant gas and dust clouds dislodge comets from their paths. The comets plunge into the solar system, some of them colliding with the earth.
The Cardiff team found that we pass through the galactic plane every 35 to 40 million years, increasing the chances of a comet collision tenfold. Evidence from craters on Earth also suggests we suffer more collisions approximately 36 million years. Professor William Napier, of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, said: “It’s a beautiful match between what we see on the ground and what is expected from the galactic record.” Cardiff University
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