Wednesday, September 12, 2007
ACIM blog
I have not yet formally announced my ACIM blog. There are two reasons for that: 1) it's not so active, and I don't know how active it will turn out to be, overall. 2) it is not for the general public, but for people who are studying A Course In Miracles. Others may be confabbled by unfamiliar terms and assumptions. But anyway, there you are.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Humor
Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony in just about anything a human does.
-- Bill Nye
I like this quote because it supports my increasing perception that books and films (or indeed humans) without humor are missing a vital ingredient.
-- Bill Nye
I like this quote because it supports my increasing perception that books and films (or indeed humans) without humor are missing a vital ingredient.
--------------
High ISO tip
I have found out that many photographers with digital cameras use the lowest ISO setting (100 or 200).
With some pocket camera this might be wise (they often have noise in the pictures at higher settings), but if you're using a digital SLR (those with exchangeable lenses) you should take some test photos to find the highest ISO (sensitivity) setting you can use without degrading the image.
With many cameras you can use 800 ISO, and this will greatly help you in getting sharp pictures, you can get a deeper depth-of-focus and shorter shutter speeds.
With some pocket camera this might be wise (they often have noise in the pictures at higher settings), but if you're using a digital SLR (those with exchangeable lenses) you should take some test photos to find the highest ISO (sensitivity) setting you can use without degrading the image.
With many cameras you can use 800 ISO, and this will greatly help you in getting sharp pictures, you can get a deeper depth-of-focus and shorter shutter speeds.
What is this?
My friend Jeff photographed this critter in the North-West USA.
He says: "... from the side it looks like a giant ant but furry and moves very fast, about an inch long, I have only come across two of them while in the forest."
What the heck is that thing? An inch long is very big for an insect in cold climate, but it does not look like a spider. And for sure it's no mamal. What is big and furry like that, if it's not a spider?
This is a pretty amazing shot. (It's a small crop from a big picture.) Jeff had to walk fast just to follow the dang critter! Getting focus right and no motion blur is tough under those circumstances. He took it with a Nikon D40x with a standard zoom.
This second pic shows the head a little better.
I like the abstract shapes in the picture.
And the incredible intensity of the critter's color makes the picture seem like it's been manipulated.
I think we have a winner! (That was fast). Thanks to Magnetic Mary. It seems to be a "velvet ant".
The females are wingless and look like ants, but they are actually wasps! They sting, so don't handle them. (I was not about to!)
Here is a full version (and large) version of this picture, just in case you like it as much as I do. I have it on my desktop now.
Thanks to Jeff, the ole stone guy.
He says: "... from the side it looks like a giant ant but furry and moves very fast, about an inch long, I have only come across two of them while in the forest."
What the heck is that thing? An inch long is very big for an insect in cold climate, but it does not look like a spider. And for sure it's no mamal. What is big and furry like that, if it's not a spider?
This is a pretty amazing shot. (It's a small crop from a big picture.) Jeff had to walk fast just to follow the dang critter! Getting focus right and no motion blur is tough under those circumstances. He took it with a Nikon D40x with a standard zoom.
This second pic shows the head a little better.
I like the abstract shapes in the picture.
And the incredible intensity of the critter's color makes the picture seem like it's been manipulated.
I think we have a winner! (That was fast). Thanks to Magnetic Mary. It seems to be a "velvet ant".
The females are wingless and look like ants, but they are actually wasps! They sting, so don't handle them. (I was not about to!)
Here is a full version (and large) version of this picture, just in case you like it as much as I do. I have it on my desktop now.
Thanks to Jeff, the ole stone guy.
TidBITS
TidBITS has a new design.
Looks a bit "generic news portal" to me, but then admittedly it's tough to design a page with a ton of information and links on it, and still have a nice and unique design.
Looks a bit "generic news portal" to me, but then admittedly it's tough to design a page with a ton of information and links on it, and still have a nice and unique design.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Seth Godin
Business guru Seth Godin (ideavirus) comments on Apple's iPhone price flub.
---
Here is Steve Jobs' defense for the move:
"iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season."
Or to put it simpler: "we just lowered the price by 33%. We believe this will help sales."
No! Really?!
---
Here is Steve Jobs' defense for the move:
"iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season."
Or to put it simpler: "we just lowered the price by 33%. We believe this will help sales."
No! Really?!
Libertarianism
I may regret this, but OK, lets have a political thread then.
(Normally you won't find me using the word "thread", for this is not a discussion board, but a blog. :)
When I found out about libertarianism, I couldn't believe there was an actual movement which was that sane. Basically a policy of non-interference, live and let live.
Basic principles shown simply. What is amazing is how unpopular it is. People don't want non-interference, they want to control others.
Coincidentally, I am just now reading the 'government' chapter of the famous book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, by Harry Browne. And I must say, it's an eye-opener. Even though I have most of my life been pretty much an anarchist or a libertarian, this teaches me how far that rabbit hole goes. Astounding.
I think the book is out of print, but I recommend finding it, for example on abebooks.com or abebooks.co.uk. (often cheaper than amazon.)
Update: One of the things Browne addresses in this book is the question: don't we need a government to protect us from invasion? He points out that you can't subdue a country if there is no government to surrender. If there isn't, you'd have to destroy the whole country, or send men to every single household to subdue it. The second thing can't be done, and the first thing wouldn't be, what would be the point?
Also, don't we need them to protect us from organized crime? Browne speculates how, even if we for some reason imagines that we would not be able to buy at least as good protection for the money we'd save in taxes, then what would happen? And funny enough, the end result of living under organized crime rule ends up sounding an awful lot like what life is like under a government.
---
TTL said:
["Example in point, current Republican leadership in America."]
Don't confuse them with libertarians (no matter what they say). U.S. goverment has grown more during the republican presidency than it did during the Clinton administration.
Now, of course, the republican party used to stand for those ideals, and there is still one notable republican who does: Ron Paul.
Americans, watch this video and be amazed at what a wise and courageous man you have running for president.
(Normally you won't find me using the word "thread", for this is not a discussion board, but a blog. :)
When I found out about libertarianism, I couldn't believe there was an actual movement which was that sane. Basically a policy of non-interference, live and let live.
Basic principles shown simply. What is amazing is how unpopular it is. People don't want non-interference, they want to control others.
Coincidentally, I am just now reading the 'government' chapter of the famous book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, by Harry Browne. And I must say, it's an eye-opener. Even though I have most of my life been pretty much an anarchist or a libertarian, this teaches me how far that rabbit hole goes. Astounding.
I think the book is out of print, but I recommend finding it, for example on abebooks.com or abebooks.co.uk. (often cheaper than amazon.)
Update: One of the things Browne addresses in this book is the question: don't we need a government to protect us from invasion? He points out that you can't subdue a country if there is no government to surrender. If there isn't, you'd have to destroy the whole country, or send men to every single household to subdue it. The second thing can't be done, and the first thing wouldn't be, what would be the point?
Also, don't we need them to protect us from organized crime? Browne speculates how, even if we for some reason imagines that we would not be able to buy at least as good protection for the money we'd save in taxes, then what would happen? And funny enough, the end result of living under organized crime rule ends up sounding an awful lot like what life is like under a government.
---
TTL said:
["Example in point, current Republican leadership in America."]
Don't confuse them with libertarians (no matter what they say). U.S. goverment has grown more during the republican presidency than it did during the Clinton administration.
Now, of course, the republican party used to stand for those ideals, and there is still one notable republican who does: Ron Paul.
Americans, watch this video and be amazed at what a wise and courageous man you have running for president.
Me and Baretti
I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.
-- Joseph Baretti
I love mankind, for I think myself one of the worst of them, and I know how great I am.
-- Eolake Stobblehouse
-- Joseph Baretti
I love mankind, for I think myself one of the worst of them, and I know how great I am.
-- Eolake Stobblehouse
Headlines confusion
I am doing some vague and lazy research to see whether it will soon be time to buy a bigger home, or whether the housing bubble will continue to grow before it bursts. (I am not in a hurry, I am not going to buy a house or big apartment in a ridiculously overpriced market.)
The headlines are no help. Just look below, where I have filtered out the most pertinent headlines from a page of links to articles. Two things are very clear: 1) the housing boom is over. 2) The housing boom continues.
Is it any wonder we're confused?
(Listen to this: "House prices in England and Wales have increased by 9.1% in the year to April, one of the highest annual rises in two years." ... "one of the highest annual rises in two years". Haha.)
I should add that personally I believe that the housing boom is over. But the thing is that I also believed that three years ago, and also had good reason back then.
---
Nationwide: property prices slowing
Aug 30: House price inflation in the UK last month eased to its lowest level since March amid signs that higher interest rates are having an impact on the property market.
Average house price will 'top £300,000 in five years'
Aug 6: More parents will have to pay for their children's mortgages as the 40% rise is expected to bring more grief for first-time buyers.
August
UK housing market 'overvalued by 20%'
July 30: The UK's housing market is now the third most overvalued among the world's major economies, a rating agency claimed today.
July
Halifax: house prices up 11.2%
Aug 2: House prices rose at a faster pace in July than June, the Halifax says this morning, but the underlying pace of growth in the market was easing.
Nationwide says housing boom goes on
June 28: House prices unexpectedly leapt 1.1% in June, the biggest rise since December, the strongest in more than two years.
House price inflation slips below 10%
Housing market 'coming off the boil'
July 16: House price growth slowed during May as the property market showed further signs that it may be losing momentum, government figures revealed today.
Nationwide: house prices to rise 8% in 2007
Interest rates 'beginning to bite'
London drives house price growth
May 30: House prices in England and Wales have increased by 9.1% in the year to April, one of the highest annual rises in two years.
DCLG confirms April house price rise
March
DCLG reveals cooling house prices
May 14
House prices stronger in March
House price growth tailing off
The boom is over, the price must yet be paid
Britain faces 20-year house boom that will 'split nation'
June 7: Homes for poorest will cost 10 times their income with an imbalance of supply and demand set to be a long-term problem.
First fall in ownership since 1950s
March 27: Home ownership in England fell last year for the first time since the 1950s as rising house prices made it difficult for first-time buyers to enter the market.
The headlines are no help. Just look below, where I have filtered out the most pertinent headlines from a page of links to articles. Two things are very clear: 1) the housing boom is over. 2) The housing boom continues.
Is it any wonder we're confused?
(Listen to this: "House prices in England and Wales have increased by 9.1% in the year to April, one of the highest annual rises in two years." ... "one of the highest annual rises in two years". Haha.)
I should add that personally I believe that the housing boom is over. But the thing is that I also believed that three years ago, and also had good reason back then.
---
Nationwide: property prices slowing
Aug 30: House price inflation in the UK last month eased to its lowest level since March amid signs that higher interest rates are having an impact on the property market.
Average house price will 'top £300,000 in five years'
Aug 6: More parents will have to pay for their children's mortgages as the 40% rise is expected to bring more grief for first-time buyers.
August
UK housing market 'overvalued by 20%'
July 30: The UK's housing market is now the third most overvalued among the world's major economies, a rating agency claimed today.
July
Halifax: house prices up 11.2%
Aug 2: House prices rose at a faster pace in July than June, the Halifax says this morning, but the underlying pace of growth in the market was easing.
Nationwide says housing boom goes on
June 28: House prices unexpectedly leapt 1.1% in June, the biggest rise since December, the strongest in more than two years.
House price inflation slips below 10%
Housing market 'coming off the boil'
July 16: House price growth slowed during May as the property market showed further signs that it may be losing momentum, government figures revealed today.
Nationwide: house prices to rise 8% in 2007
Interest rates 'beginning to bite'
London drives house price growth
May 30: House prices in England and Wales have increased by 9.1% in the year to April, one of the highest annual rises in two years.
DCLG confirms April house price rise
March
DCLG reveals cooling house prices
May 14
House prices stronger in March
House price growth tailing off
The boom is over, the price must yet be paid
Britain faces 20-year house boom that will 'split nation'
June 7: Homes for poorest will cost 10 times their income with an imbalance of supply and demand set to be a long-term problem.
First fall in ownership since 1950s
March 27: Home ownership in England fell last year for the first time since the 1950s as rising house prices made it difficult for first-time buyers to enter the market.
The artist and making a living.
An article about being an artist and making a living.
I have put in a comment to it:
I found it to be a relief when I realized that it was not a failure if I did not make my living by painting or photographing. In fact it can remove the strain of having to please many. Like you said, how many professional photographers make their living on actual fine art?
For a life of doing more than one thing, I recommend the books "Refuse to Choose" and "The Renaissance Soul".
I have put in a comment to it:
I found it to be a relief when I realized that it was not a failure if I did not make my living by painting or photographing. In fact it can remove the strain of having to please many. Like you said, how many professional photographers make their living on actual fine art?
For a life of doing more than one thing, I recommend the books "Refuse to Choose" and "The Renaissance Soul".
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Audrey
I just watched Roman Holiday, delightful film, with Audrey Hepburn.
Gawd, she was just unbelievably beautiful and vivacious. Enough to make a grown man cry.
Do we have any actresses of that caliber and beauty today?
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