Whatever happened to the handkerchief?

I know it sounds gross to think about, but whatever did happen to the good old snot-rag. When you get a cold, allergies or flue, you're going to need something to wipe away the excess mucus that constantly drains from your nose. Kleenex is hardly environmentally friendly so why not just use a handkerchief instead? Sure, it will get all messy but then you could just rinse it out and hang it up to dry.

Wouldn't it be great...

As I was driving to work this morning, I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if we could eliminate the need for telephone poles and visible wires? Whole cities could dump cable for satellite. Phones and Internet access could go 100% wireless. Power, water and other essential utilities should go underground for safety reasons.

New Gaming System Design

Every now and then I like to build a new PC for gaming. Most of the systems that I've built have lasted for years and years. There's a system that I built back in 1999 that is still in use today (I sold it for around $1000.00) and my current system is custom too but it's starting to show it's age.

Here is my new system list that I priced online today.

Antec Nine Hundred Case $119.99
Intel 975X ATX Motherboard $204.99
Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz LGA 775 $169.99
4GB 240-PIN DDR2 PC2 6400 $79.00
GeForce 8800GTS PCIExpress $199.99
WD6400AAKS 640GB HDD $84.99
OCZ 600W Power Supply $89.99
HT OMEGA Striker 7.1 Sound Card $79.99
Creative P7800 7.1 Speakers $86.99
ASUS 20X DVD+R $36.99
Saitek Illuminated Keyboard $49.99
Optical Mouse Pad $13.99
RAZER Black 3 Button Mouse $34.99
Acer 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD $249.99

Total Cost $1501.87

Operating System: Vista or XP(OEM) +$160.97

For the hardware challenged; the system price list typically includes the tower case, system motherboard, processor (CPU), memory, video card, hard drive, sound card, speakers, DVD+R Drive, keyboard, mouse and monitor. This system would cost over $2000.00 retail.

Building a system is pretty straight forward, but I would consult an experienced builder before attempting it yourself.

Epiphany about dice games

Dice games are just too random. It’s true that games do tend to average out and board games need a simplified method of calculation for resolving battles. Computer games on the other hand can afford to be much more complex in terms of calculations to resolve battles. This is why a game like Company of Heroes is far superior to computer games that just import board game rules (e.g Gleemax's Axis and Allies). Game designers need to be more creative than just importing existing rules; they need to invent new ones.

Good blog post: "What is atheism?"

John Wilkins over at science blogs has written an interesting philosophical post regarding atheism.

Lately, its seems like the atheists have really come out of their shells and started aggressively attacking religion. I don't consider myself religious but I respect those who do to the extent that they aren't offended.

Do atheist really need to be so rude and obnoxious to get their point across?

http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2008/08/what_is_atheism.php

Terrifying! Total Proof of Alien Visitors!

Revelation: The Unseen War

This is one of the more interesting posts I've seen on craigslist yet.

Revelation: The Unseen War

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Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-07-28, 9:05AM CDT


There is an unseen war that goes on in our world today between t he forces of good and the forces of evil. The good are the people who are working to make a positive difference that will lead to a better world to live in and prosperity for all. The forces of evil are actively working against the forces of good. They want to make living in the world a misery that never ends. Some of them are actually demonic creatures disguised as humans. They may not even be consciously aware of this, which makes them more difficult to detect. Typically they take try to get into positions of power and influence. Some of their common traits are people that greedy, glutinous and constantly working to undermine anyone that is on the side of good. This is often the reason why people who are good have difficulty working for large corporations. What can we do? We have to expose them for what they truly are. If you spot them, make note of it and bring them to the attention of your spirit guide. Your spirit guide works to protect you against the forces of evil. Praying is a way of speaking to your spirit guide. If you find that are being threatened by a demonic creature pray for help. There is a specialized task force of “Light Bringers” that actively pursue demons and their minions in the spirit world. They won’t kill them out right because the demonic creature would just be put into a new disguise, free to do evil again and even more difficult to root out. What the light bringers do is bring these demonic creatures to light in the real world then real justice is dealt through the courts. The demonic creatures are then sent to prison where they can do no harm to anyone. When ever you see someone of power and influence being indicted, there is a good chance that it’s actually a demonic creature.http://kansascity.craigslist.org/com/772946573.html

So what do you think, for real, fiction or just plain nuts?

Productivity Tips

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing" -Abraham Lincoln

Sometimes, you have to learn to be more productive if you want to move ahead with your project.

1. Resolve to accomplish something important to you.
2. Schedule time for work, with no possibility for distractions.
3. Gather the tools and materials you need.
4. Work on the project for the time scheduled.
5. Celebrate your little victories (breakthroughs)
6. Get help if you need it.
7. Don’t give up until you’ve accomplished something.

I posted this in response to the request for productivity tips over at Zen habits.

God is sending chain email now?

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

This is God. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you.

P.S. And, remember...
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

Should you decide to send this to a friend; Thank you. You may have touched their life in ways you will never know!


Now, you have a nice day.
God



God has seen you struggling,
God says it's over.
A blessing is coming your way. If you believe in God, please send to ten
people (including me) please don't ignore this.
You are being tested.

YOU HAVE 2 0 MINUTES TO TELL 10 FRIENDS THAT YOU LOVE THEM (INCLUDING
ME) SO I LOVE YOU! GO!




----- End forwarded message -----

Unleash the Future

This is a pretty cool video series on YouTube.

Have a Happy Earth Day

Relocated for my new job

You might have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. Well, recently I got a new job and had to relocate. I'm pleased to announce that my new job is working as a software engineer in Lenexa, KS. It's going on week three and so far so good. Most of my co-workers seem like nice enough people. Everyone there was very welcoming and willing to help me get on board ASAP. I'll mostly be doing database migration and coding in C/C++ or Java. It is a security type of operation so you won't get to know any details. I am considering starting an open source MOO2 like project. I think it could be done with JAVA and C++. C++ for the fast file I/O, Java for the user interface and easier portability. I'd want it to work on just about any platform, even mobile devices. The key component would be having a good networking interface for multi-player games.

Expelled

Recently, there has been a bit of a controversy over the movie "Expelled" and a certain college professor being expelled from a screening event at the Mall of America. Apparently, he had signed up on the expelled RSVP website and included some guests. While waiting in line to see the film he was told by security that he had to leave the theater or be arrested. Ironic that a person who made a movie about exclusion would choose to exclude someone they interviewed for the movie from seeing the film. That is second rate public relations at best.

From what I understand, Dr. Myers and Dawkins were conned into participation by being deceived into thinking it would be a neutral documentary about evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Instead, it's an awful creationist film that tries to claim that academics are behaving like fascist. In my humble opinion, the creationist are the ones behaving badly now. They should just own up to having made an awful film and having wrongfully excluded a genial participant from the free viewing.

You might have noticed the Expelled ads running on my blog. These are because of Google ad words that I signed-up for a long time ago.

Have we forgotten about nature?

Some of my fondest childhood memories didn’t involve movies or video games, they were much more fun and interesting than that. They were visits to the outdoors, mainly fishing and day-hiking. One summer was mostly spent doing one of these two things. We lived near a river and just on the edge of an forest preserve in southeast Missouri. Going fishing was just a matter of digging up some worms, grabbing a fishing pole and walking a few miles to the river. There was a nice hiking trail just behind the house that went on for several miles into the forest. I would often spend half the day just hiking through the woods seeing what little creatures I could find. Those were some good times.

These days, our enjoyment of nature is on the decline. More children are playing on their Xboxes instead of playing on swing sets or riding bicycles. Their idea of a nature hike is taking the shortest path possible through the neighborhood to a friend’s house. If we want to instill in our children a good sense of what nature is, then we need to take them to see it in person. Parks and zoos are nice but they are nothing compared to witnessing the wilderness up close.

White House ignored air quality advice

For many researchers, the Bush administration will be best remembered for the way it has manipulated scientific advice for political ends. The latest evidence of this tactic is a controversial proposal to change the way US air-quality standards are set, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in Washington DC.

When the Environmental Protection Agency said last week that it would beef up air-quality controls by cutting ground-level ozone limits from 80 parts per billion to 75 ppb, it seemed like good news. Ozone can trigger respiratory problems and heart attacks. The new rules should save lives and, by cutting pressure on hospitals, might create financial benefits that outweigh the cost of implementing the changes.

However, around a year ago the EPA's own scientific advisers told the agency that there was "overwhelming" evidence that an even tighter limit of 70 ppb would save thousands more lives. The decision to ignore that advice has angered public-health groups.

Now worse may be to come. The administration wants to reform the process for setting air-quality standards and may allow political appointees to help draft the advisory reports, a job that is currently in the hands of researchers. The UCS fears this will allow the White House to suppress this kind of independent scientific advice in future.

"The interference in science has been a consistent theme of this administration for many years now," says Tim Donaghy of the UCS. "The administration has changed the rules along the way so that, when the next administration gets into office, the role science plays in setting regulations will be greatly diminished."

Focus on America - Delve into the science and technology questions facing the USA in our special report.

LINK
From issue 2648 of New Scientist magazine, 21 March 2008,

Arthur C. Clarke's Last Message to Earth

The golden age of space is only just beginning... Space travel and space tourism will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet.

I hope that we have learned something from the most barbaric century in history -- the twentieth. I would like to see us overcome our tribal factions, and begin to think and act as if we were one family. That would be real globalization.

Wintery Afternoon in Missouri

Tornadoes becoming more frequent in Missouri

Tornadoes in Missouri are on the rise, even if experts can't say for certain why.

National Weather Service records going back to 1956 show an average of 30 tornadoes a year in Missouri.

But the totals have been higher in recent years.

Last year the weather service counted 42 confirmed twisters in Missouri.

There have been 35 logged so far this year.

The state record was 102 tornadoes in 2006.

State climatologist Pat Guinan said it's difficult to say if climate change is linked to increasing tornado numbers since records go back only to the 1950s. The numbers could also be linked to better detection and verification.

Missouri observes Tornado Awareness Week March 10-14.

Link

The Origin of the Orion (Atheist Version)

In the beginning, there wasn’t jack shit. Anyone who says otherwise is full of shit. In some unknown event, the universe burst into being. The first elements of matter expanded at a superfast rate, creating a dimension of time and space. Naturally, the laws of physics already existed. There was also gravity, a natural force of attraction between two material objects. Gravity acted upon the first elements, combining them into clouds then into massive spheres. The massive spheres started a fusion reaction within them and the first stars appeared. Inside the fusion reactors of the stars, new heavy elements were formed. As the stars aged, they began to expel these heavy elements into space. The heavy elements combined to form smaller bodies of matter and gas. Gravity acted on the elements and planets and moons were formed. On some planets, there were great volcanoes, deep seas and vast windswept deserts. On a small, rocky planet orbiting a bright yellow sun was an abundance of elements including carbon and oxygen. By some freak accident involving organic materials and radiation, the earliest forms of life appeared. Somehow, this life form mutated to form DNA, a type of code that allowed the life form to change and spawn new life. Overtime, the life form changed and more DNA was added. Through the process of random mutation and natural selection, the life form evolved and spawned new life. After millions of years of evolution, creatures of all shapes and sizes inhabited nearly every niche of the world. Some swam in the oceans (especially lots of squid), others learned to walk upon the land. Eventually, some of these organisms formed complex biological thinking machines within them. They could look upon the stars with a sense of wonder. They experienced great joy at the birth of a new life. They also experienced sadness and death. They began to think about the world around them. Soon an age of understanding came to be. After thousands of years of evolution and understanding they became masters of their world, which they called Orion. They looked upon the stars and began to wonder if other planets had similar life…

-To appease my atheist readers, I wrote a new version just for them.

Why do atheist get so upset?

I've been following several atheist bloggers. Mostly, I read PZ Myer's blog, Pharyngula. PZ is an associate professor of biology at Morris. He often posts fascinating science related information based on his own work in biology. This alone should pique the interest of anyone that is interested in science, biology and/or evolution. He also has a tendency to go on a tirade after reading opposing viewpoints from either the creationist, intelligent design community or just anyone that believes in the supernatural. Isn't this just a form of "feeding the trolls?" The trolls post something stupid then PZ flames them for their ignorance. It's all very dramatic but where is the science and critical think in this? Aren't these just exercises in futility? He's never going to convince the creationist and they sure aren't going to change his mind. So what's the point of getting upset over someone else having a different opinion? Wouldn't it be better just to stick with the science and leave the trolls to their trolling? By the way, why is the supernatural so offensive to atheist? So some people believe in angels or whatever, big whoop. Let them have their fantasies. You can have your legacy from advancing science, everyone’s happy.