Topic Tuesday #84 2014/02/25 - "How Do You Know?"

Topic Tuesday #84 2014/02/25 - "How Do You Know?"

   Simple interrogative statement, and one that I ask my children and myself fairly often: "How do you know?". The field of philosophy that this question introduces is called Epistemology, defined as "theory of knowledge" or "how/why we know, what we know".
  The concept as I use it in practice, with my kids, is to promote critical thinking skills. A constant background check of perceived reality.
Daughter 1) " 'Jane' is my best friend!"
Father/ME) "That's wonderful, what makes her your best friend?"
Daughter 1) Thinks for a moment, "She's funny and makes me laugh."
Father/ME) "I thought 'Alice' was your best friend. Not anymore?"
Daughter 1) "Not so much." (She's 6 BTW.)
Father/ME) "Why not?"
Daughter 1) "She's not as much fun anymore."
Father/ME) "Sometimes people change. Maybe you both changed. Grew up some."
Daughter 1) "Yeah. It's okay."
Father/ME) "What about 'Jane' makes you laugh?"
  The conversation went on like this for a while. I wanted to get her to understand what she liked about her friend, while I found out too. Sometimes we don't understand why we think or feel a certain way, and though that is fine most of the time, we should be able to ask ourselves 'why' anytime and be able to get to the answer.

What do you know? Why do you know that? Can you change your mind about it? Should you? Would you be better off overcoming the root cause? Can you?

   The mind is a ponderous organ. It interprets every little thing and stores our experiences. Built upon each other, the experiences of our life make up the way we think and feel. I am surely not alone in being transported to the memory of a place, time, and feeling by a sensory input. As we begin to sort through why we think any given "truth", sometimes what we uncover is unpleasant, while other times you can use this knowledge to surpass the unpleasantness and gain an awareness of how you interact with the world. Examples:
  Why you don't like a particular scent. Perhaps there was a traumatizing experience that happened when that odor was particularly prominent. This may manifest as "I don't like it" and after reflection and rational examination, was revealed and can be faced. It might take a long time but it will be one less skeleton in the closet to haunt your days.
Others:
  The smell of a roasting turkey bringing back memories of holidays and family.
  The feel of a fabric at a store whisking you back to a time when you were with your grandmother and she let you play with her scarf.
  The smell of fresh paint reminding you of a time when you tipped a gallon of paint over and were punished for ruining a carpet.
  The sight of a post card in a gift shop of a painting you saw when you visited a gallery with your parents and thinking the hall was so big and you get a sensation of vertigo because now you are tall.
  The smell of night blooming flowers reminding you of a lost love.
  I know I hate liver and onions. Why do I know that? Why do I not like that food? (Bad memory or bad taste?)
  Jane is my best friend. Why are they a friend, and what makes them your best friend? Why do I like this person? (Do you even know?)

  Thinking critically of our own lives is a fair habit to get into. Rationally coming to conclusions and being secure that you are not in a delusional state can be very reassuring. Like climbing an uncertain cliff for the first time, and not being sure that the next ledge will hold your weight, after testing it and becoming secure in that footing, it makes you safer for the next.

  This method of examination is like a conscience whispering to you to keep you safe. Your very own
Jiminy Cricket. "Are you sure that will hold you?" "How do you know?" "Did someone tell you?" "Do you trust your source? Why do you?" "Have you found out yourself?" "Did you watch someone use it before and have seen proof?" "Is it just a hunch with no supporting data?"

Epistemology: how we know things.
Do you think you could use more critical thinking in your life?
What does your gut say? Now... why did it say that?


Topic Tuesday #83 2014/02/18 - "Viva La Revolution!"

Topic Tuesday #83 2014/02/18 - "Viva La Revolution!"

Let's see... what was in the news today...?

"Anti-Government Protests In Ukraine Turn Deadly" and here "Ukraine crisis: Police storm main Kiev 'Maidan' protest camp"
"Venezuela expels US diplomats"
"4 Dead In Thai Protests; Prime Minister Faces Charges In Rice Deal"
"U.N. Report Details North Korea's 'Crimes Against Humanity'"
"South Sudan’s Forces Clash With Rebels Near U.N. Base"
"Turkey's President Signs Law Restricting Web Use"

OK... Enough... there were some more but between Blogger being slow as molasses and being kinda fed up with the world at large, I'm through with headline hunting. 

What does this say? What does it say about our fellow man around the world that they are, in some cases, taking up sticks, stones, and Molotov cocktails to protest? Something is rotten. I can't put my finger on just what it might be, and rightly so, as it is a convoluted and tangled web filled with selfishness, greed, trickery, and deceit; and those are the good things.

I was watching Blade Runner just this afternoon and the opening places the story in a dystopian Los Angeles, November 2019. That's only 5 years away, and still no spinners (flying cars). When will there be "A new life awaiting us in the Off-World Colonies, your chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure."

Anyway, as broken as this world is, there are certain simple answers for many of the worlds problems. Follow the easy money. Laziness is a valid reason for something not happening. People are mostly selfish, at least enough to be able to predict a level of behavior. No one wants responsibility, unless there is something in it for them.
I'm not trying to be negative; I'm a genuinely hopeful and happy person. I am a realist however. Nearly every major event in world history is simultaneously more complex and simpler than we give it credit, and that is because people are involved. Simple motivations, complex outcomes. A little bit of chaos theory.
As Jim Morrison put it so appropriately in a drug induced writing binge, "People are strange, when you're a stranger."

Today is about awareness, not solutions. Think about the world and how small it is. You can go to your closet and find something made in Thailand. The internet is everywhere at the speed of electrons (provider not withstanding like Turkey). The world is a smaller place. we need to keep in mind the things that are happening all around us and not get too side tracked by bikini babes floating weightless in the vomit comet.
I will however include a picture of that to ensure lots of pageviews, since that is how we internet.



Topic Tuesday #82 2014/02/11 - "The Day We Fight Back"

Topic Tuesday #82 2014/02/11 - "The Day We Fight Back"

https://thedaywefightback.org/

It sounds grand doesn't it? But really, "The Day We Fight Back" is not a grand idea. It is being fed up enough to call your legislators and demand privacy and a free and open internet. Our lives are very much controlled by the free flow of information. Health Records, Credit Statements and Checks, E-Commerce, Webmail, Chat records, things you like, or search for. These things should be private. They are not, for the most part. There is a torrent of F.U.D. (Fear Uncertainty Doubt) about what the NSA and as we continue to learn, other nations and organizations, collect and utilize about us, against us. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been fighting the good fight of net neutrality and freedom for quite some time. They have compiled some interesting and frightening things about what the NSA has been up to.
https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying
But really none of this should come as a surprise. We Americans have lost so much of our freedom in the name of "safety" since 9/11; gradually enough to not realize how much we have lost.
The law has not kept pace with the technology that we live with. It is time for better guidelines.
Join in the fight, https://thedaywefightback.org/ #stopthensa? @SenSchumer @ChuckGrassley

Topic Tuesday #81 2014/02/04 - "Sick Day"

Topic Tuesday #81 2014/02/04 - "Sick Day"

I have a fever. Have for days. Sore throat. Cough moving into my chest.
I call a rain check. I will likely examine the Creation Debate, when I return.
Be well, fair citizens of the interwebs.

Topic Tuesday #80 2014/01/28 - "State of the Union"

Topic Tuesday #80 2014/01/28 - "State of the Union"

Say what you will about President Obama; he is an excellent public speaker.
There were many talking points addressed and many gentle and not so gentle jabs at the opposition (with a very grumpy and ever slightly orange Speaker John Bohner, notably scowling over Obama's his shoulder).
Energy independence, immigration reform, sexual equality both in healthcare and compensation, middle class development and recovery, jobs, student loans, threats of EO to progress the agenda, Olympics! USA-USA-USA, healthcare, jobs, veterans (I am torn, I liked the message but propping up the soldier at the end was an obvious manipulation), we're awesome, war is bad, raise the wage (even if congress is inept at doing so), STEM education, and a few others that I missed while laughing at a live blog.
But no mention of marriage equality, decriminalization of marijuana, and only a light touch on spying on Americans being un-cool.
This will be analyzed to death in the next news cycle, so make sure to read the counter points from both sides. You have to be your own balance.
Over all, a very positive SOTU, and that is not surprising at all.
I would write more, but I injured my hand earlier today.


Topic Tuesday #79 2014/01/21 - "MLK & Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Topic Tuesday #79 2014/01/21 - "MLK & Uncle Tom's Cabin"


Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. As I was driving for about 12 hours, I took the time to listen to Uncle Tom's Cabin through my Audible subscription. It has been many years I read the once banned book and I had paid it little attention since it was "required reading" and I was not one to like being told what to read. Now, with age and parenthood under me, I appreciate these classics perhaps as much as those dear teachers that made the lists.
I want to talk about it but I do not want to give spoilers. I will say that I have a sensitivity to slavery and the pain and loss of loved ones, in particular - children. I'm quite the sap and was weeping for several chapters.
The suffering of the (to use language from the story) negro, is the suffering of humanity. The telling of the tale is a glimpse of life in pre-Civil War America. The morality contained within and the religious machinations by the characters is handled between the issues of suffering and deliverance of Uncle Tom and his compatriots. The character development and switching of voice from third person (fourth wall breaking) to occasional first person lends a familiar air and really captures you into the story.
Given the gravity of the story and of course the deeds and dreams of Dr. King go hand in hand. The rise of equality has been a treacherous journey. There are still many regions where racial bigotry are as common as wearing mixed fabrics. As such, we must remain vigilant towards these shows of intolerance. The country continues to grow and move against inequality.
Have we learned how to treat our fellows?
I hope so.
And hey, read a book!

Topic Tuesday #78 2014/01/14 - "Factory Reset"

Topic Tuesday #78 2014/01/14 - "Factory Reset"

I try to keep things as topical as possible and usually try to impart some bit of knowledge to discuss the merits of, but today is not really a great day for that. My cell phone, aka communication lifeline to the world at large, ceased to have internet access for many hours today. I don't even really know what the error was, beyond failing to connect to the data network properly. In my search for answers I came to a conclusion that I would simply have to invoke the "Factory Reset" option. I am reminded of Carl Sagan who brought to the table how we live in a world that is increasingly dependent on technology to function and yet, as a people have become ignorant of how it all works.
All I really know at this point is I will have to chack last pass for all my login information and am thankful for high speed internet and Google keeping track of what is installed on my devices and keeping that part of the process a breeze to reload.
SO- HOMEWORK!
Go take something apart, and try to put it back together.

Topic Tuesday #77 2014/01/07 - "BRR!"

Topic Tuesday #77 2014/01/07 - "BRR!"

Polar Vortex... What the heck is that?
It would seem that most of us are blissfully ignorant of what happens at the poles. There is a persistent circular cyclone like wind pattern that encircles both our geographic poles. When the pressure gets just right the cyclone moves in the direction of the low pressure. This just happened to make it a very cold first week of 2014. 
I have little more to say on the topic (this time) other than think of your pets, plants, and help the homeless shelters and the elderly weather the winter. Stay warm!

Topic Tuesday #76 2013/12/31 - "New Years Eve"

Topic Tuesday #76 2013/12/31 - "New Years Eve"

Behold, the close of another revolution around the our bright celestial neighbor. Yes, another year is over. Some of us are more than pleased about this and others are sad yet hopeful that the next year will live up to their own unreasonable expectations. A lot has happened in 2013, and I am in the first camp of people that are ready to move along, but oh, there was so much to see in 2013!
A brief year in review, so while you are lifting a libation to you lips to toast while toasty and let your "auld lang syne" breath forth, let's also remember what we did.

 Discovery of the Higgs Boson
Voyager 1 finally made it to interstellar space.
The Sun's magnetic poles flipped (we didn't die)
The universe is about 100 million years older than previously thought. 13.82 billion years.
A new Pope, and he's a rather nice man.
Space Telescope Kepler managed to find many "earth like" exoplanets, which is awesome.
China landed a robot on the moon.
Scientists at Cern started search for Anti-Gravity.
MANY new species were discovered.
India launched a spacecraft to Mars, and on the cheap too.
A solar cell (still in the lab) achieved a 44.7% efficency.
HIV Vaccine... Oh yeah.
Largest Volcano on Earth discovered in the Pacific.
A plethora of 3D printed organs were used.
Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented (whew, good).
3D printed Solar Panels...
Human Stem Cells created through, cloning.
3D printed organic ear, that manages to hear beyond human capabilities.
Bacteria is being used to turn algae into fuel.
The Curiosity Rover determined Mars; once had a thick atmosphere, contains the building blocks of life, was once a habitable environment  (in our terms), had drinkable water, and still has water in its topsoil.
Identified a new type of supernova.
New teeth were grown from mouse cells.
A supercomputer with over 1 million cores was brought online.

And so much more...

Let's make 2014 another year to remember.

Happy New Year from "Can We Fix It"

Topic Tuesday #75 2013/12/24 - "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Topic Tuesday #75 2013/12/24 - "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Santa Claus as an icon owes much of his spitely visage to Clement Clarke Moore (most likely though contested) and his poem published anonymously in New York's Troy Sentinal, 190 years ago today.
I could pick it apart and show you just what I'm talking about, but instead I will include it all below so you can read it aloud this evening and keep (or make) a family tradition of your own. Happy Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"


Topic Tuesday #74 2013/12/17 - "Language"

Topic Tuesday #74 2013/12/17 - "Language"

If you look around the world, there are anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 languages exist. About 35 languages fade into obscurity every year. We speak a miss mash of fallen languages that have merged into one another from neighboring tribes. Slave speech flowed into the slavers, the slavers speech fell to the slaves. We listen to accents and naturally judge where someone if from, what their class level is, and what kind of education and intelligence they wield their words with. Do their words whip like lashes? Do they drip like honey? Do they say one thing and simply mean the opposite? Can you tell?
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But Words... They can kill you from the inside out - or not.
Words have meaning and by their usage and mastery they can invoke magic. They can call forth grand vistas, ugly smells, faces of such astonishing beauty that they could never actually exist. They can make you warm, make you blush, make you lie or make you tell the truth. You can be urged to hate and love. These words are thoughts. They are someone else's thoughts, being poured into you and you have to digest them, like it, or not...

Words can suffer over usage; they lose their power and become meaningless and flaccid. Obcinities are nothing but words that evoke strong feelings. By themselves, they are just words with basic definitions. It is their context that provides them power and their intent revealed. Words are nothing without the person composing them. They describe the character of the speaker. They provide a measure of the writer.
Pay close attention to the language you are exposed to for it is not always meant for you. Think carefully about how you use your own language. Seek to understand where it comes from. Try to be clear, but never boring. Try to be kind, if not forgiving.

Topic Tuesday #73 2013/12/10 - "Remain Calm"

Topic Tuesday #73 2013/12/10 - "Remain Calm"

It is the holiday season and many people are freaked out. There's a preponderance of reasons why people go nuts, and particularly at this time of year. Money is often spent frivolously, and often borrowed to do so. Relationships are strained as people remember old times. The holidays are like a cultural birthday, and everyone just got a year older. For many, it's the saddest time, because it used to be the happiest time. We grieve and feel the loss of the ages. We miss those that have left our lives. We feel out of control, like something is just pulling our strings as we go through the motions of the humdrum day to day. There are many reasons why bah-humbuggery is ever present.
What do you do to make it through? To just survive the cacophony and malaise that hearing holiday music (now starting at Halloween) is challenging enough for some.
Our minds play horrible games with us. We hear things that aren't there. We see remembered faces in everything from cocoa to decorations. Our own boogymen haunt our thoughts and demean our self esteems.
By all accounts, it's a lousy time of year!
But it is beautiful.
The houses decorated in lights.
(if you happen to live outside Florida and the southern hemisphere [happy summer folks!])
The leaves turning colors and the remaining ones blanketed in snow.
Children smiling and giggling.
The smell of cinnamon, pine, and deserts like pie and cookies.
Wondering what you might get for a present, or what faces you will get to see.
There is a lot to be thankful for and  to be joyous about.
It's tricky. As we age, the wonder is driven out of us by the piper of progress and responsibility. But if you just sit, quietly, and focus beyond yourself, you may see that the rest of the world is a pretty great place. There is wonder still, if you calm down enough to look for it. New experiences are always there to be had. The seasons show us that life can begin again, year after year. Remain calm. A new beginning is right around the corner, waiting to be found.

Topic Tuesday #72 2013/12/03 - "Problem Management"

Topic Tuesday #72 2013/12/03 - "Problem Management"

We all have problems. Some are small like what to wear, what kind of salad dressing to use, where you left something, or if you left a poor impression. Some are large problems. Sometimes, my small problem will be monumental to someone else, and my greatest issue - insignificant to the right person.

Some words of advice:

We all share the same world.
We all are born & we will all die.
We all eat and drink and feel, though all differently.
"Enough" is relative.
There will always be someone with more and someone with less, than you. You are always going to be somewhere inbetween because the value of "things" change as you change. You can't eat a trophy. You can't drink a computer.
In the end, even the richest person in the world has something that he would trade their empire for one more moment of. You won't be taking anything with you, certainly nothing material.
Love will come and go. Friendship will do the same. Even family, is fluid.
Everyone is having a hard time with something. Being kind, goes much further than you will ever know, until someone is kind to you.
The sun will come up on our home world tomorrow as it has for all of recorded history an beyond, and lucky for us, it will continue to do so for billions of years more.

That is the human component of our shared existence. Materialisim, empathy, compassion, and mortality.
We all have our problems. Whatever is it, be it the right outfit to wear when you meat a prospective employer for the first time at a lunch and making sure to order the right dressing that won't dribble down your chin and stain that carefully chosen garment.... or whether or not to call someone or wait for them to apologize first, keep in mind that the human element is at work all around you, and is very complex.
You are not alone.

On to the management part of the problem.
A saying that I enjoy from the world of business project management, "you can't DO a project. You can only do tasks that will complete the project one step at a time." Or from myth, how do you eat a whale? One bite at a time.
Break it down. Whatever it is, it has smaller parts. Yes, they all go together to make an enormous scary boogyman, but where you can't defeat the boogyman, you can undress him. (Sorry for the visual, I didn't know you knew the boogyman. Awkward... anyway...)
Disect your boogyman into manageable steps. A list is a great tool. Just tick off the things that you can address about the boogyman.
Shoes, pants, coat, hat, gloves. Then address them one by one.
You'll often find you missed things, it's ok.
He had a vest on under the coat, and what looks like an ascot.  He's wearing other things, and you just keep taking them off until you have the boogyman defenseless.
Eventually your problem, your issue, your fear, your boogymen, will be taken care of.
     One
          step,
               at
                    a
                         time.

No problem, we're only human.


Images from http://idevourkidbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/eating-whale-my-self-pub-story.html

Topic Tuesday #71 2013/11/26 - "I Want A New Drug"

Topic Tuesday #71 2013/11/26 - "I Want A New Drug"

Huey Lewis And The News proclaimed during the cocaine riddled 80's about "...wanting a drug, one that won't make me sick." Huey would never have dreamed that the quest for an ever cheaper and deeper high to escape reality could lead to a drug that not only killed you, but dissolved you from the inside out. Desomorphine (dihydrodesoxymorphine), or more commonly known as "Krokodil" is a heroin addicts worst nightmare. Basically, it is a freebased opiate consisting of various components, boiled down and then injected into your blood stream. If you miss the vessel, and the compound lands in your muscle tissue, it will begin to dissolve it while turning the outer flesh green and scaly, like a crocodile.
If you are familiar with meth (methamphetamine and crystal) or Breaking Bad, you know that some chemicals can be cooked up in batches with some very basic chemistry/culinary skills. Back in Russia, as early as 2002, krokodil was on the scene filling gaps where heroin was unavailable. Instead of getting heroin, unsuspecting junkies were being fed a toxic cocktail (one recipe: codeine pain pills, gasoline, paint thinner, bathroom cleaner and red phosphorous from match heads) directly to their bodies. 
Chemically the cook uses a base-alkaline reaction to create a yellowish liquid that is up to ten times stronger, but only a quarter the effective duration as morphine. It's also much more addictive. The human brain loves the stuff, and it loves to eat the brain too. Many of the street made versions eat human flesh that can eventually just make limbs fall off. Most users don't seem to mind, since they have had so many brain cells popped that they end up in a strange fugue state of retardation due to brain damage. Speech and motor control are frequent casualties from home brew batches. Other than Krokodil, being such a lovely and descriptive name, the compound is sometimes aptly referred to as "zombie in a syringe". 
It was only a matter of time before this insanely dangerous poppy derivative landed abroad. Cases of it's use, and the after math, are popping up all over. Some police forces have taken such a controversial stand on it as to warn of getting your heroin from a trusted source and to have no questions asked drop off programs. They great police, the ones that really care about human life and suffering, want the bad stuff gone, so the real issue of addiction remediation can continue, without the need to crutches or homes for the mentally damaged. The average life expectancy of an addict of krokodil is said to be as low as 2 years with high susceptibility to infections and gangrene. 
Please, if you are hooked, seek help. For your own sake, make sure you get what you ordered while you are wrestling with your demons.
(For gruesome images of the health effects of krokodil, go here.)

Topic Tuesday #70 2013/11/19 - "The Gettysburg Address, 150 Years Later"

Topic Tuesday #70 2013/11/19 - "The Gettysburg Address, 150 Years Later"

Edward Everett
November 19th, 1863, Thursday, about 1pm, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Four and a half months after the Union won the Battle of Gettysburg, while the Civil War raged on, the Soldiers National Cemetary was dedicated by two speakers, Edward Everett and President Abraham Lincoln, respectively. The seldom remembered Everett delivered an oration that lasted 2 hours and was composed of 13,607 words (not uncommon in the day for these type of ceremonies).

After Everett performed his role, a hymn by B.B French, Esq. played. Then it was time for the words that lured Lincoln to the podium, "It is the desire that, after the Oration, you, as Chief Executive of the nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks.", to bear fruit.
One of the only known photos of Lincoln, at the address.

[Of the 5 known copies of the speech, the "Bliss Copy" has become standard text.]

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

As with any political speech, the words were taken in with partisan support, and unwitting speculations. There were rumors of all manner. It is also suspected greatly, that the President had contracted small pox and was just being afflicted with symptoms when he gave the address. 
Everett praised the President for his eloquent and concise speech, saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." 
Lincoln replied that he was glad to know the speech was not a "total failure".

May we all be so humble.
+ 

Topic Tuesday #69 2013/11/12 - "Meta-cognition - Thinking About Thinking"

Topic Tuesday #69 2013/11/12 - "Meta-cognition - Thinking About Thinking"


Between your ears rests everything you have ever known in roughly 3lbs of grayish matter known as our brain. No matter what your IQ or station in life, the amazing organ in your head does so much that you must step back and wonder how it works at some point. The ancients didn't think the brain was important, and instead went with the organs in our chest. Our heart was not a mere pump but but where your soul resided. We know more now. We don't know everything but we are getting there. Neuroscience is the field of study of the nervous system, and how it connects to the brain and how it works its voodoo.

The voodoo of the brain has some really fascinating implications. The thing the brain does, beyond keeping us alive, is think. When a thinking object thinks about the way it thinks, we have the recursive meta-cognition.
As you may well know, the brain is a collection of trillions of biological switches, making connections with each other in complex patterns that interpret all the things our bodies go through. Hunger, heat, pleasure, pain, elation, excitement, fear, rage... All of it exists in the brain. All of the concepts you have learned over your years, all the thoughts about your job, all the relationships you have had and relate to every few seconds, is a product of your brain.
This, being a vast discipline, is going to be exceptionally difficult to explain in a few Tuesdays, so let this serve as a brief introduction to thinking, about thinking, and what that may imply. What might we manage to accomplish taking this ultimate introspection to its logical conclusion? How do we think? Why do we see things and think things that aren't always real? Can we have an open mind? Are we able to rely on our own memories? Do two people see the same event the same? Love the same? Feel pain the same?
Mull these thoughts over, while I try to summarize this topic for future weeks.

Topic Tuesday #68 2013/11/05 - "Guy Fawkes Night"


Topic Tuesday #68 2013/11/05 - "Guy Fawkes Night"

"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot..." As the rhyme is most often remembered after V for Vendetta gave us another reason to remember Guy Fawkes. Earlier ditties were all similar enough to leave to your imaginations and a quick search on Google.
So, did we forget what happened on the fifth of November 1605? If you are American, you are likely nodding, while if you are British, you may be setting something on fire right now and reading this after the fact. Bonfire Night, as it is also known, commemorates in better humor than the original night was conceived, the attempt by the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the House of Lords at Winchester Palace on the opening day of Parliment in an attempt to kill King James I (as well as many other high level targets). Also known as the Jesuit Treason, the goal was to install the King's daughter, 9 year old Princess Elizabeth, as the Catholic head of state. Of the list of conspirators, Fawkes had the military background and was given charge of the explosives (pun intended). This would have been quite an effective strike, had it gone off.
The conspirators were ratted out by an anonymous letter to Baron Monteagle William Parker. As the story goes, Guy was caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords around midnight on November 4th. The rest of the Plot  was caught after some battles with the Sheriff of Worchester (not just a sauce you know). The eight survivors were tried January 27th, 1606, convicted and then sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered. 
Given the nature of the plot, it was often heralded by many of the Catholic faith and became more than just a treasonous plot. Over the centuries, it has become a celebration known as Bonfire Night, where Fawkes is burned in effigy on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by a firework display.

Rather interesting that a plot to kill the head of state by a bunch of religious extremists would turn into a celebration. Remeber the fifth of November!

I now leave you with my favorite scene from "V for Vendetta."
V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
[carves "V" into poster on wall]
V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
V: [giggles]
V: Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Topic Tuesday #67 2013/10/29 - "When The Boys Came Home"

Topic Tuesday #67 2013/10/29 - "When The Boys Came Home"

Beginning after VJ-Day in 1945, millions of soldiers were out of a job, Veterans from the largest conflict the world had ever seen. What the hell did they do next?
Why do I ask?
Glad you asked, and I will answer with another question. What will happen when the U.S.A. has to reduce the defense budget by double digit percentages, in 2014 with the next round of sequestration cuts? A lot of men and women will be looking for something to do. Something to feed their families.
What will they do? I thought it appropriate to look at history for an indicator of what we are about to repeat.
Brief review of WWII:

Obviously there was much more that happened, but those are some highlights. Now with all that, the troops, the men, the soldiers, the veterans and survivors came home.
Thanks to the 1944  Servicemen's readjustment Act, returning heroes could get low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college, high school or vocational education, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. 8.8 million veterans had taken advantage of the program before it ended in 1956. Thanks to the forethought of the FDR administration and veterans affairs lobbyists, the G.I. Bill set the groundwork for a successful reintegration of disciplined and skilled Americans. Education (51% of returning WWII Vets took advantage of the tuition program) allowed them to get jobs, or if there wasn't one to be had, they could get low interest small business loans. 
We respectfully took care of those that had served. What will we do when the Cold War ends? 
It ended? You say... 
When? I ask. 1991 says the web... 
Then Why do we still spend so much on the military?  When did we stop? 
We never did. We have a juggernaut war machine in place, that just keeps eating our resources. 
As we continue to talk about exit strategies... Has anyone heard of any reintegration plans for those that will be exiting the services? I have not. I also have not seen us exit any conflict.
The economists are looking at the bottom line. They know as well as you or I, that the war machine needs a diet. We spend as much as our allies combined on "defense". Why? Don't answer, it doesn't matter.
What matters is that it needs to stop, and we need an exit strategy and a reintegration plan. We don't need more fear.
So... As the next round of sequester cuts steadily marches towards us, and the government pulls the belt in another notch, what will those that have lost their jobs do?
Will they be able to get a small business loan? Will they be able to get an affordable education if they go back to school? Are there enough vocational schools out there to fill the need? Are there enough homeless shelters to house what we have now, much less an influx of displaced humans?
No. For the most part the answer to all these questions is no.
Why?
What can we do?
I'm going to write a letter to my representatives to find out what the plan is. To see if they have thought this out. I'll let you know, please do the same.


Topic Tuesday #66 2013/10/22 - "Cognitive Dissonance"

Topic Tuesday #66 2013/10/22 - "Cognitive Dissonance"

I am running late today on my Topic. It happens, but I dare say it was a slow news day for things that I have not already touched on. I have in recent days been having some heated yet civil discussions on beliefs. You can guess what the topic was, but I'll give you a hint, facts vs. myths.
Now that that simple statement has potentially ruffled your feathers, let me elaborate as why this may have had that effect.
Cognitive Dissonance, From the Concises Encyclopedia
Mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The concept was introduced by the psychologist Leon Festinger (1919–89) in the late 1950s. He and later researchers showed that, when confronted with challenging new information, most people seek to preserve their current understanding of the world by rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding the new information or by convincing themselves that no conflict really exists. Cognitive dissonance is nonetheless considered an explanation for attitude change.
For some human explanation, Frantz Fanon

“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.”
And Dr. Philip Zimbardo and some footage from the 1950's. http://youtu.be/korGK0yGIDo

I explain it in simple geek terms. "Conflicting orders, make our brains go a little coo-coo. Just like how the HAL-9000 on the Discovery in 2001 a Space Odyssey (spoiler alert) tried to kill everyone."
http://youtu.be/c8N72t7aScY  HAL: "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
Today we encounter this almost everyday in politics, science and yes, religion. Especially where they meet at crossroads. I will just look at some politicians, frankly because they are easy targets, have large opinions and even bigger mouths that they just don't know when to keep shut.
Rep. Dr. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology drew outrage from the scientific community last year when he declared that "All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell," Broun said at a banquet for a church sporting club. "And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior.... I don't believe that the Earth's but about 9,000 years old," 
And he's a doctor... 
BTW, he's announced that he's running for Senate. With any luck Charles Darwin will run against him again. One unnamed Republican told The Washington Post that an effort to counter Broun wouldn't be necessary because he's "going to say things that are going to make him unelectable, even in an ultraconservative GOP primary in Georgia." We can hope.
Representative John Shimkus (R-Ill.), According to Shimkus, pointing to biblical verses in Genesis and Matthew, "The earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood."
Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) Although Barton may be most famous for apologizing to the CEO of BP after the company spilled almost five million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico He is also known for his uneducated approach to science, due to faith. Barton characterized wind as "God's way of balancing heat" in 2009 and thus questioned whether wind turbines "slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up." He also described the biblical Great Flood as proof that climate change is not anthropomorphic: “I would point out that if you're a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change and that certainly wasn't because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy.” (Face Palm) He has some interesting ideas about oil and how it got to Alaska... http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2009/04/22/174314/barton-oil-science/ (Double Face Palm)
Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) What can I say that she has not already said? I'll just let her speak for herself.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel prizes, who believe in intelligent design," she remarked in 2006 without providing names.
She characterized HPV vaccinations as having "dangerous consequences" in a 2011 presidential debate and insinuated that they can cause mental retardation. Thankfully she has given us an out, and told us not to listen to her on matters of science. "I just take the Bible for what it is ... and recognize that I am not a scientist, not trained to be a scientist. I'm not a deep thinker on all of this." But alas, she continues to speak. OH! and she is on the House Intelligence Committee. The HPSCI is charged with the oversight of the United States Intelligence Community, which includes the intelligence and intelligence related activities of 17 elements of the US Government, and the Military Intelligence Program.
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), has suggested that climate change is the product of a mass global conspiracy of scientists -- the overwhelming majority of whom have concluded that burning fossil fuels cause warming -- to obtain grant money. In 2011, he told National Journal he didn't believe climate change was man-made because "I don't think we can control what God controls."

I have said it before, I'll say it again. You can have your own opinions, but not your own facts. Science, contains the facts as best as we know them. They are subject to change as we learn more. But when your belief contradicts the facts, somethings has to give - and it turns out, most of the time, it's the facts.  Unless you are his holiness, the Dalai Lama.  "If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change." 

Topic Tuesday #65 2013/10/15 - "NaNoWriMo"

Topic Tuesday #65 2013/10/15 - "NaNoWriMo"

"NaNoWriMo" is not gibberish. It is one heck of an acronym for National Novel Writing Month.
http://cfiles.nanowrimo.org/nano-2013/files/2013/10/nano_13_press_release_official.pdf
National Novel Writing Month was established in 1999. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes stories matter. This year, they anticipate half a million writers joining their noveling adventure.

Last year 341,375 storytellers participated in 2012's NaNoWriMo. Over 250 of the novels, that made it though the month, have been traditionally published. 

This year, I'm going to try my hand at it. I don't even know what I'm going to write. I have plenty of ideas but nothing solid. So where should I start? Where does one begin such a project? 

Outline: Your outline will be the "elevator pitch" 50,000 foot overview of your work. The beginning, the middle, the end, and some sinew to join them, consisting your story's flow.
It has been said that if the outline doesn't make you want to write the book and tell the story, you need to start again. If you are going to write a book in 30 days, that needs to be true as your motivation and will alone will get you to the end. Don't give yourself a simple roadblock, like not wanting to write your own book.
Really, many people have come to rely so heavily on their outline that the outline begins to grown and grow until it becomes the book. They treat it and the first draft, second draft, rough draft and then only transcribe to the final draft, all while working from the original "living" outline. 
Many traditional writers will have a bible of the story containing all the notes they have taken on the world and its inhabitants. We don't have that kind of time, unless you are going to treat NaNoWriMo as your chance to do your final draft. (DO IT!)
There are no two outlines that will look alike, and that is as it should be.
Some will need a little more structure so the empty page doesn't seem so daunting.
I have taken plot analysis courses in college and found that the examination of a typical plot arch can give you a path. Many will call it a formula. Why not follow one as a beginner?  Included below is an empty plot outline to get you started, if you need it. (If you don't see it, follow the link to the blog.) 

Now... I need to get writing.



“NaNoWriMo Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month. http://nanowrimo.org/press”