Imagination

(Image credit; By artist Dean Yeagle)


Some moons ago Boing Boing posted a link to this Flickr gallery featuring Soviet radio apparatuses.

They also posted a link to the online archive of the American eugenics movement. We like to censor our social attitudes at the time of WWII in retrospect, but I really think that in this case we could benefit from learning from it. Also, it strikes me as blatant propaganda to hide this ugly truth. Perhaps it is beneficial that the story is alien from us as it makes it all the more repulsive, but America is guilty and needs to answer for that. It is also beneficial to face the realities of a society where quote-unquote scientific enlightenment ruled, or rather, how easily "common sense" and misinterpretation/failure to take into account variables in/of models can turn into a destructive force. As someone who welcomes intellectuals as leaders this era has especially served as a cautionary tale: yes, in ideal form, this would not happen, but a lot of things work in ideal form and Joseph Stalin does not come to power, for example.

So I don't have a Wii, but the images for the new Steampunk "Epic Mickey" freak me out and make me want to. As long as they don't have that six-legged MechaMickey in there, because I would probably accidentally throw the controller through the screen when he turned up. This is probably the most blatantly psychological steampunk I have seen, filled with a landscape of broken childhood innocence. Imagine a post-apocalyptic fairy tale, or set in a formerly fairy land. I had a dream like that, where fairyland had been transformed into suburbia and it was my job as the leader to lead my people to wake the fairy queen. We had to escape guards at Disneyland and she was in a pond where houses and graffiti were encroaching; it was nevertheless a beautiful place, much like a lake I saw in Scotland. In fact, it probably was that lake in Scotland, a lake where we thought that an oil slick made the water shine from afar but was in fact a healthy and living beauty. I was the only woman, I made fire and water dance together for a couple's wedding and accidentally made it rain. But I am all about actual utopias(or as near as humans can get, or a civilization where everyone is enlightened and can fullfill their creative urges...something), so someone else will have to write the story.

Here is an interesting story from Wired on the economics of the Somalia pirates. Note: an average pirate makes seventeen times the income of a regular Somalian citizen.

You know, all of this buisness news is blending into "estimated this and that". I'm suprised economists haven't included into their own model the estimates of what reporting can do to stocks.



If you love stop-motion animation, you'll love this. It's seriously amazing.
(Credit: The PEN story, found via Boing Boing, is another amazing stop-motion video made as an ad by Olympus. They mention him as their inspiration in their credits. )

Honestly? I can't wait for Italy and England. My blood is boiling from the need to travel to Europe again. I've been having dreams about it, and finally I'm going. And yes, I am going to be posting while there, which will probably be my only contact with the outside world.

Working out is Tiring

Apparently L'oreal is installing a generator at their factory that will allow them to run the plant on methane gas from cow poop. This is an awesome idea, and I may switch shampoos because of it.

My physical therapist is very nice. We chatted and she recommended a steep hike called "The three sisters" which is about six miles from here.

I spent most of this afternoon reading things I have to read while relaxing in the sun. I really like the things I have to read. The Morphology of the Folktale is very interesting, though it is hard to make large judgments on something commenting on the overall structure of the fairy tale when I've never done a significant analysis myself. After all my reading in this area I feel as though I should be more qualified, but I'm not. Perhaps when the author applies his analysis to specific folktales I may have something interesting to say, but for now the best insight I can offer is how interesting it would be to twist this structure to fit a story with the feeling but not the reality of magic, such as someone from the far past discovering alien technology. I am sure that someone has done this before. Also, the author's methodology is refreshing, as he emphasizes over and over that the theory should conform to the material and not the other way around. I wish he didn't use Greek letters for functions since every time I see theta it's either polar or imaginary coordinates and neither pleases me.

There is a Muay Thai class at UCSD which it's too late for me to enroll in, but I really want to.

On Gawker there is an article where Madoff's secretary talks about how he was irresistible to women. A Gawker commentor pointed out that "For the rest of his life he's certainly going to be irresistible to men."

Edit:

The White House OSTP wants your opinion

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 7:21 PM

From:

"Shawn Otto - ScienceDebate.Org team"

Dear Marisa: Barack Obama pledged to Science Debate that he would "restore the science integrity of government and restore transparency of decision-making..." He has referred to this pledge several times since, most recently in his speech to the National Academies of Science. On March 9, the president formally asked the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to make recommendations on how the executive branch can meet this pledge. The OSTP has opened a public comment period regarding this directive, giving you the opportunity to share your thoughts on what the next steps should be. Comments are due by Wednesday, May 13. The OSTP is looking for recommendations on the six issues President Obama identified in his memo: hiring and keeping qualified scientists defining new policies to ensure integrity using "well-established scientific processes" like peer review disclosing scientific findings ensuring that principles of scientific integrity are being adhered to adopting additional policies like whistleblower protections The OSTP is accepting comments via email and through their blog, here. Their original request for input can be found here (pdf).

Cleaning and German Tales

I remember reading the plot of the Nibelungenlied as a child. It was one of my least favorite stories because of how horribly depressing it was, which made such an impression on me that I may never read it as an adult. The ending is the wife of Siegfried locking all of the warriors who betrayed her husband in a hall and poisoning them.

Today I read some of The Ring of the Nibelung, studied quantum physics, did a lot of housework while watching "Bones", and exercised. Ammonia with surfactants is an excellent cleaner. My mom bought me some ammonia ($0.99 for about a gallon)when I was attempting to do a fishless cycle(Aquaria Central's server wasn't responding when I wrote this) which, unfortunately, well, contained surfactants. I decided to use it as a normal person might and was pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, however, my windows are open and I took two showers today.
I also use the "Greenworks" all-natural line from Clorox for extra irony, although if they came out with something that effectively cleaned floors I would use it instead. Their bathroom and glass cleaner work very well and their all-purpose cleaner works fine, although not as effectively as some other brands. What? I do live alone and do all my own cleaning, which also probably makes the layer of dust in the previous picture with Monkey self-explanatory. If you want to have an awkward conversation about the relative effectiveness of household cleaners, feel free to bring it up. I must also say that the microfiber cloth my mom bought me is the most effective duster I have used, including Pledge, and the most environmentally friendly.
If you are a man and are laughing at this point, let me tell you that one of the most unattractive things to many woman is a guy who won't do his share of the housework. I only clean up after myself because I have to and if somebody put me in charge of his or her mess in addition to my own I would turn into an axe murder overnight. Thankfully, I am with someone with whom that will never be an issue.
Significant others should never have to act as parents.

A good idea for a science fiction short story would be a love story between a human and an alien, emphasizing perception shaping the role of both in shaping the other into someone they are obviously not.

Later Edit: This entry sounds much more angry than I meant it to be. I was trying to be funny, not defensive. Btw, another scenario for my becoming an axe murder is working with people like those in "The Scientist and the Physicist".