P3T3RK3Y5

House of Echo : Live Fri 16 Oct

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Guatemala Benefit Concert

LIVE

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:00:00 +0000

House of Echo - LIVE, 8:30am Eastern Fri May 15th.

On Fox 5 (in DC). And here everywhere else.

Fill in the Blank Worship

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:27:00 +0000

Our Congregational Worship Element Last week:

For I am convinced that __________________ will not be able to separate me from the love of God.

And my answer which i didn't share:

* deconstructing my theology *

what is your answer, btw?
props to jen

Microcosm

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

My parents have been attending a small congregation that is closer to their home. its an old church with a 150 years of inertia, and its really become the focal point of ministry for them. yes, they feel their ministry is *to* their church. at least for the time being.

Like many other baptist church's in the midwest region of america, this church is changing their name to take the word "baptist" out of it - in order to not present it as a stumbling block (leaving Christ, the only appropriate stumbling block) - because, ummmm - 'baptist' doesn't really have a good name up there.

My parents have suggesting that, instead of just changing the name - they do something to change who they actually are. (e.g. let us consider exactly *why* baptists have the reputation they do, and consider what we might do different). i have asked to share the letter they recently wrote to their church, as a guest blog post here. they read this letter to the eighteen bigwigs in the church - emailing it to the pastor ahead of time to let him know they were going to share it. (they didn't ask for permission, just gave him the heads up as a courtesy, thinking - "we shouldn't have to ask permission to be *christian*"). i think its a fantastic letter - and am very proud of my parents for the way they approached this - recognizing the opportunity to make a holistic change to who this community is, rather than a change in name only (as if thats the real reason for their declining attendance). here is the letter they wrote and read:

We would like to propose that along with our name change, we also would consider a change in philosophy. For too long a Baptist church has looked to the outside world as an elite club for perfect people. Not that we have sought that look, but none the less, that has become our reputation. And Baptist churches have done things over the years to deserve that reputation.

As a result, some people would come to a Baptist church, but when a family member fell into sin or a child started going down the wrong path, too often that family would leave the church because they felt “judged” and they felt like they no longer fit into this club of perfect people.

We propose that this church become a spiritual hospital for those in this community who have been ravaged by this imperfect world: A church where the hurting are welcome, where the sinner finds grace and love - Not that we love the sin, but that we demonstrate love to the sinner, as Jesus did. Let us be the hands and feet of Jesus who came to save sinners. Let us welcome the lost of this community into this church with an attitude of acceptance so that we can share with them the Good News of the Gospel. Let our church be a place of healing, a place where people can understand forgiveness and where they are accepted and loved because Christ died for them. Let us minister to people - not because they deserve it, but because they are desperate for it.

We think the start of this is the support group that Ruth started for divorced people. Maybe other support groups need to be available: Like maybe for grief, and maybe for alcohol and drug abuse, or maybe for parenting, or for handling finances, or for loss of a spouse, or for those who have had an abortion in the past, or for cancer.

Let us let it be known in this community that this church ministers to people’s needs in this community, whatever those needs might be. Let us be real, authentic Christians so that hurting people in this community might look to this church to find the Only Answer amidst the pain and sin and chaos of their lives.

This letter comes amidst a recent surgery that left my mom's right arm in a sling. some at her church asked to let them know if they needed a meal or anything - and sent my parents a shiny new devotional book. my mom's reaction to the way this came off was "I would sooner eat at mcdonald's than ask someone to make a meal for me". when you hear your own mother get on a soapbox and say, "i didn't need a devotional book i needed a meal!" - it really hits you how far off base we have been.

More recently, someone in their small group, who owns a farm, lost their helping hand to a suicide. he was a young man - someone they had met randomly, had provided a job to - and then this. his surviving family was catholic (which in this area, is the opposite of baptist), and no one really knew them. my mom suggested they provide meals for the family. someone literally asked why we would do that? my mom had to argue that you would do that to share Christ's love with them. they came back with - but they are catholic - wouldn't their church do that? well - the answer is apparently "no" - their catholic church wouldn't do that. they came back with "but nobody here knows them". my mom replied, well... thats ok, we can leave a little note with each meal explaining our connection to them through the church.

In the end, three meals were provided.

It's a start.

btw - who thinks my parents need to start blogging?

There is no Spoon

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:00:00 +0000

"your mind makes it real" ~ morpheus

so this is my 200th post here at P3T3RK3Y5 (the second anniversary of achieving three digits in the arbitrary base 10 numbering system) and its going to be a lot of doodles i've been brewing on for a long time, all linked together, that simply must get out - so that i can move on... to a bunch of other stuff i've been brewing on.... :-) so here goes!

while moderating a group discussion in one of our sunday morning community gatherings a couple years ago - i was presented with an off the wall comment from a gentlemen who walked in and had only been listening briefly. now I should preface this by saying, i had a number of my lay-physics books with me - but i recall his comment as really coming from out of left field. the best I could come up with to validate his idea was to mention that there are, in fact, physicists who think that the reality we know - is really a hologram (like i said, out of left field). at this point he muttered something about us being literal six day evangelical creationists and walked out. which was unfortunate - because i really was willing to engage him. anyway, since that time - scientists have actually devised a pretty cool little test to decide if this could be the case.

the thinking goes like this:

* (credit cards) holograms are etched on 2D plastic films - and create the appearance of a 3D image.
* our 4D reality could be projected from a 5D pringle shape - the physics are the same.
* a planck length is reality's analogue to a computer screen pixel.
* the grains of information that exist in the hologram (assuming were living in one) would be bigger than a pixel (Planck length). i.e. they would be blurry.

the idea is not unlike watching a DVD (at 720 x 480) at full screen on your computer (typically 1280 x 1024). there is only so much information available from the source material - information is not created just because youre watching it full screen. so what happens is 1 pixel of information is spread across maybe four pixels. if we can detect this blurriness - one good cause for it might be this hologram idea. incidentally ladies - this is why all the guys out there know the *right* answer is to have high-definition source material ;-)

so anyway, if you're willing to engage with the mind-job that we are (living) (in) a hologram - i think it becomes easier to embrace the significance of the role of the observer in this suggested ephemeral existence. and also - to accept the importance of the observer - and the role that consciousness plays in this suggested reality - and really, should play in our theology, and in our understanding of truth. personally, i think that ignoring the significance of consciousness, happens at our own very significant loss.

for example - when a friend looses someone - the significance of that to me is related to the 'significance of that death to the observers consciousness'. so if they don't care - i probably won't care much. however if they are devastated - i may be as well. another example, pain - is so significant to a persons consciousness - and life - it can't be overstated. the problem of pain is such a compelling one too btw. i would also argue that if someone is going insane - the significance of that (loss) is also related to / can be measured in terms of consciousness. another example, listening to a friend while they unload - is so significant - simply by the act of those thoughts being observed by the listener - another conciseness. compare that with words spoken into the air. turns out a tree falling in an empty forest really does make no sound.

recognize that these things have almost no physical bearing on the outside world. but they are precisely why solitary confinement - or even a blindfold are so significant to the consciousness - because our reality - our existence - becomes meaningful only when we observe and are observed. and there are a million other examples exactly along these lines - which you can become aware of by your new found awareness of this in your daily comings and goings.

and *consciousness* - is precisely where, i wish, christianity could begin to engage with a variety of the moral issues out there. traditionally - we have a christianity whose leaders are not well educated (not very "genetically diversified" as I've come to start saying), who already knows the answers to problems - so they think, who thinks that the world / america is out to get them, who asks people to accept by faith but on a given arbitrary form of christianity's terms, and is not willing to engage at the level of dialogue that is out there. partly, i think, because christianity has become so short sighted in its potential roles in the dialogue and future that is humanity's (going no further than gay marriage, abortion, and evolution. and viewing the world in terms of blacks and whites, and false dichotomy's).

actually - this shortsightedness manifests in all the abrahamic faiths. remember ahmadinejad saying "there are no homosexuals in iran". yeah dude - just like there are no homosexuals in the republican party - or the pulpit. this is, i think, quite honestly a little revealing: because it leads one to realize this short sighted kind of thinking is independent of ones faith, be it islam, christianity, judaism.

let me say it again, you're not being uniquely christian by opposing: gay marriage, abortion, or evolution. so if you're not being uniquely christian - you're being something else. what is that?

for me? the number one word i think of, when i think of this camp, is "fear". be those phobias. or the "certain" collapse of morality or society.

personally, i associate fear with cowardice. i think you're cowardly if you succumb to fear, and you're probably a bigger coward if you use fear.

which is also why i believe cheney and bush were such colossal failures as leaders because they led the country into being fearful (whatever happened to "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself?)!! and also because they used fear to manipulate the masses.

and also, why fear-imbalanced fox news, who i actually don't necessarily believe to be led by a partisan - are so ... well, partisan. because their coverage, both on the internet and television, consists of peddling sensationalistic crap to those who would believe the sky is falling. but the motivation is simple: sensationalist stories sell, and the point is to make money.

so here are some bigger questions for consideration:

have you seen people setting tickle me elmo dolls on fire on youtube? why would you do that? turns out to kinda be disturbing. how is that different than cruelty to animals? when will it be not different? is it not different to the observers consciousness - or what it teaches a child - or what it could lead to. (actually while were here - why is cruelty to animals a problem in the first place? how do you argue that?) but then, what happens as elmo dolls get smarter - and start to sense they are "uncomfortable" and maybe start to call out - or even scream. why is that significant. why does it become significant. when does it become significant.

mores law says computers get twice as smart every 18 months - and thats not stopping any time soon. so maybe twice as smart as zero (my computers current smartness) will be zero for a long time. but what happens if we can sample a brain or build neural nets. what happens when your loved ones brain can be sampled at their death and they can live - on in in the internets, or your iPhone. or get downloaded to a synthetic body. what is that really? is this extending life or doing something else? what if that personality / program claims to be aware - and claims to be your loved one - and even acts like them. and finally, would you do this if you could? i would.

what happens as we create synthetic life - synthetic life that is smart? or bring back neanderthal? what kinds of rights should they have in our society? how would you decide that? what is the morality of hybrid humans? and what does it mean we we realize a parrot can have the IQ of a six year old. how should we respond to Dolphins intelligence. or Elephants. if smart is sexy - are these species going to get smarter?

i'm not asking these question because i'm worried or i think the world is going to end. i precisely believe its not - at least not with any of these! i just would like to be involved in thinking about them - because i think they are the really interesting ones. and i do think there are implications. moral ones. and i'd like to not miss those. mostly because i'm tired of christians arguing an issue that, in some cases issues 200 years old, while bringing nothing intellectual to the conversation. so i would ask you - if you want to talk about any of those - or even the old standards - lets have a dialogue that is elevated.

i'm not suggesting consciousness is the only perspective from which to dialogue - i'd love to see others. i happen to think its an exemplary one that shouldn't be underestimated. and i think its remarkable that we still don't know what it is, any more than we know what time is. but we need to have a better conversation.

btw - what do you suppose happens when the hologram blips out - or we blip out of the hologram. think we might begin to see reality as it really is? and no longer through a glass darkly? sounds like fun!

Where is Philip Rizk?

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:00:00 +0000

NY Times - Van Spirits Away Protester in Egypt, Signaling Crackdown on Criticism Over Gaza

Associated Press - Germany seeks reasons for student's Egypt arrest

BBC - Gaza activist detained in Egypt

IHT - German-Egyptian activist held in secret location

Facebook Group - Please Join to raise visibility on this unlawful detention lacking in due process.

The more visibility this gains - the safer Philip is.

p.s. Want to learn more?
Read more about Egypt, and it's human rights record.
US Aid to Egypt is greater than for any other Arab State.

What a Great Day

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:00:00 +0000

... for the world:

AP | BBC | Al Jazeera

... he kept it cool:

Tidying up Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:51:00 +0000

one of a handful of memories that i have growing up (I have a terrible memory!) is sitting in church when i was about twelve, and wondering why God wasn't more clear with his doctrines when he wrote the Bible. I mean - its clear we all really want to follow him - but God really screwed up when he made things so purposely obtuse and "mysterious" so as to introduce so much room for confusion and latitude that all these denominations and disagreements could spring up. i mean, if he really wanted us to know what to believe - why didn't he just *say* it!

now i must mention that our pastor was doing his best to unscrew the narrative so that this story became understandable! and all that work (along with a growing awareness that there was disagreement as to what the scriptures really meant) is what made me realize that something was wrong. really seriously wrong. and i couldn't imagine what it was because - well, i even remember our pastor teaching us to be careful to reject modernism. and by modernism, my guess was he was worried about us invoking the thinking of man or the world while viewing scripture. not that i really knew another way to think.

in the midst of all this confusion - i had a really cool faith. i remember getting saved at age five by literally walking an isle lol - and then trying to tell my younger brothers about it downstairs in our family room that afternoon. and reading the bible all the way to grandmas house. and i remember getting baptized at age seven - and the seriousness of that commitment to have a public faith. everything was so real to me - and i especially loved reading the scripture. the new testament especially - the stories of Jesus. and then later on the poetic books.

its clear now that what i really wanted was for God to speak to me on my terms - terms that i created / preferred. you see, i was used to categorizing information in a certain way. like "parameters" for instance. i still like thinking in terms of those today. but also categories. codes of conduct. statements of belief. pre or post this or that. Gods sovereignty (no less!) understood in either / or terms. lots of opposites. mutual exclusivities. and dichotomies.

and i think that, like Ursus Wehrli's TED talk on "Tidying up art" we may have been trying to Tidy up Scripture.

the absurdity of which now seems evident.

those metal things

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:46:00 +0000

since my holiday plans (Christmas is the holiday i'm talking about, in case that was unclear to anyone) to travel have been thwarted, ive found myself not wanting to really see anybody except my wife and with a bunch of extra time on my hands. enough to start getting at some of those projects.

so yesterday i steam cleaned our living room carpet. pretty much just for the hell of it. and of course i pushed all the furniture around to let it dry. because, you know, when you steam clean - your carpet gets wet. that's by definition.

imagine my surprise today, when, i pushed our love seat back into place - to find RUST MARKS in the carpet. w. t. effing f.

my wife asked - "why... what is that? are there metal things underneath the legs??", to which i could only reply "apparently". to which she followed up with perhaps THE MOST perceptive and germane question I could ever envision: "why do they do that"?

and that my friends is exactly the fucking question. why the fuck did people, i want to say largely in the fifties, nail little metal things into the bottom of otherwise perfectly formed wooden legs?

to increase the pressure point like a woman's high heal does? so that you get digs in your floor? so you scratch the floor? so your table slides around easier? so that they will rust and leave a mark on whatever they are on if they get damp!?!?!? i'm mean seriously, why reduce the surface area AND put an intentional hostile and unforgiving material (that also rusts!) at your point of interface? and in your home no less? what, ... so they don't wear out? how long is this table supposed to last just sitting there - five hundred years? sure metal tires would last a long time - but they are the right answer to the wrong question for "best contact patch".

what the fuck were people thinking back then?

i'm loosing my tolerance for old school stupidity.

Gambling, the OK kind

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:32:00 +0000

So I think an economist (Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert) may have just stumbled upon the idea that unregulated individual investment of your life savings in the Stock Market is indistinguishable from the kind of gambling that is already illegal, and thus aught to be illegal as well.

isn't this the kind of thing pretty much everyone else has known all along?

... first obama gets elected - and now its being suggested white collar activities should be consistent with the rest of societies. i'm in shock and awe!

Who Throws a Shoe? Honestly!!

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:13:00 +0000

Answer: Muntazer al-Zaidi

an ode to speed

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:33:00 +0000

follow the ball bearing.... as it winds it way down

insurance companies lobby for stoopidly slow speed limits
and in regions with a statistically low amount of tickets
they provide free speed detection devices to police departments
so they can raise your rates for these infractions

safety is hard to quantify and prosecute
but speed infractions are easily quantifiable and prosecutable
police performance is measured via # of tickets
speeding tickets become a revenue maker for municipalities

so speed becomes a proxy for safety
and the largest revenue maker there is
driving gets dumbed down, people stop paying attention
a culture of minimal situational awareness is the norm

cars dont need to go faster than 75 mph (120 kph)
so the requirements for engineering are reduced
car makers dont need to make well designed cars
so the cars dont last, and dont drive well either

and like a tall lanky kid in middle school
trying on a new persona each week
american car manufacturers still dont have a identity
compare this to saab, volvo, audi, bwm, porsche...

you can put money into the system
you can raise the blood pressure temporarily
you can try to stop the hemorrhaging
but the ball bearing will always find its way down

want to change the landscape?
become competitive in the world?
build the best vehicles ever?
then we need to change our system

disassociate insurance from lobbying
disassociate insurance from police
disassociate speed citations from revenue
disassociate speed from safety

and support both goals of transportation: speed and safety.

america caters to the lowest common denominator
then we build cars every bit our equal...
but a nation of cowboys isn't founded on the LCD
its high time we celebrate our diversity.

*update:
best case, based on the american taxpayer buying the big three
we will build the crappiest alternative energy cars in the world

Three More Cups of Tea

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Recognize A Comprehensive Strategy Here?

Al Jazeera English: Afghan school girls scarred in acid attack

Five Afghan schoolgirls have been attacked with battery acid by suspected Taliban fighters in the southern city of Kandahar.

CBS News, Lara Logan: Afghan Insurgency Stronger Than Ever

An exclusive video from Pakistan's tribal areas shows a group of young boys being indoctrinated. The boys' fate is to become suicide bombers over the Afghan border. The teenage boy seen in the video is about to blow himself up.

if we were going to try to counter this, interrupt it... besides the regular missile strikes on wedding parties...

are there any ideas out there?

Pete Rollins

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0000

a few of us caught up with pete rollins in philly on his north american tour of his second book.

an unscripted moment with pete rollins.

for me, pete is fresh oxygen to the conversation. he thinks thoughts that i wouldn't get to on my own - and communicates them in unassuming stories & jokes that allows someone (like me) - without any background in the who's-who of philosophical names and concepts (i.e. jargon) - to grasp the idea.

the visual image i have of what pete does is - he reaches up and grabs three or five thoughts - questions their normal relationships - and rewires them... usually with some kind of inverter or polarity flipper thrown in. a lot of people are good at asking questions. i think pete is creating the first recognizable forms in postmodern theology.

i rode up and back to philly with a guy who is pretty new to our community, yo vince!, and turns out he is way hipper than me (e.g. he had some mars volta with him). so we were able to talk about some of the more eclectic voices in music.

one of the most popular of those eclectic voices for which we both share an affinity, is the gifted guitarist pat metheny (including his ubiquitous 'first circle' album). pat's keyboardist, lyle mays has been the biggest influence on my playing - in that he has given me permission to not have to play a lot of notes - and just let the sound do what it does.

anyway, pat metheny found his very unique voice early on - no one sounds like him - he's just incredibly distinctive. turns out no one else should try to sound like him either. when they do - it doesn't result in much of anything, and just pisses people off.

i think the moral of the story is probably, have confidence enough to speak with your own voice, and don't try to be one of the cool kids - 'cause you ain't foolin nobody.

no longer...

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:57:00 +0000

no longer waiting on the world to change...

In case we've forgotten what an American president is to look, sound, and act like - and how lightly they are to wear that mandate from the people, of the people, by the people, and for the people - we need look no further than this.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

'Unyeilding support'

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

'Task ahead'

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep, from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers, from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

'Spirit of patriotism'

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends ... though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

'Peace and security'

To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

'Common purpose'

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

'Fundamental truth'

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace, to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one, that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."

{source Al Jazeera}

Joe Meets Ashley

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:28:00 +0000

I was Ashley Todd this year.

It got really weird when Joe the Plumber was at the same party.

my favorite interview

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:30:00 +0000

i think colin powells words on islamic americans are probably the most important spoken this election season, but this interview is probably my favorite so far...

personally, i think a really robust interview, or in this case - a hilariously slanted one - provides a unique opportunity to speak to some of the fringe ideas out there. and biden was unflappable.

which makes me wonder ... is there really such a thing as an *unfair* interview? i mean the interviewee is not limited by how they choose to respond... they can either defend their position... which may require synopsis-ing your assumptions and positions in a 30 second "elevator pitch"... or they can sit there and complain about the question.

can anyone provide a link to a truly "unfair" interview?

Wassup 2008

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:20:00 +0000

visual processing

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:00:00 +0000

one of the most important problems the defense industry has yet to solve is that of Identification Friend of Foe. active methods of IFF require emitting a signal - essentially "yelling across the room: are you a good guy or a bad guy??", and waiting for an answer. if the "bogie" chooses not to answer, you still haven't confirmed anything more than he might be hard of hearing right now for any number of reasons - or he doesn't want to respond to you and "yell back" giving away his position.

consequently, the preferred method of identification would be a passive mechanism... something like the mark 1 eyeball would be awesome... and passive as long as you weren't using a flashlight. but this problem is surprisingly hard to teach to a computer. even when we teach a machine what an object looks like on all sides - we have no way for it to anticipate the orientation of that object or how much of it is exposed when one is encountered – so the computer can’t do the matching. and we can't get ahead of this.

as i think about my own object recognition capabilities - or that of a six year old, we have no problem recognizing "chair ness". when we encounter a chair obscured, or at a odd angle, we have no problem rotating it around in our head, filling in the blanks, and identifying it. this capacity eludes our programming strategies and capabilities of today.

at the day job, we’ve been trying to create a model / computer program that solves a problem that has a number of constraints - and, once we formulate those constraints, were trying to identify the maximum point - which would be our optimum. for instance, if you visualized a messed up bed - and that geometric pattern was defined by a series of data and equations, we're looking to teach a computer a smart way to find the highest point on that bed. via e.g. a heuristic, linear program, or differential equation.

since ive done little of this kind of algorithm formulation in the real world - and recall what i know from classes that were back in '99 - i find i am a wee bit rusty on some of my math. however, i am finding i am having no problem at all discussing the problem and approaches, being a sounding board, testing ideas, even making jokes - because everything we're doing has a visual allegory to it. i don't have the math handy - but all the processing and imaging can take place in the visual domain.

this caused me to think of computer graphics chipmakers nvidea, and their old slogan, "the display is the computer". and ponder the significance that visual processing is likely to make in future computer design - most especially in artificial intelligence. visual processing has been selected by nature as such a powerful tool for coping with our reality. from the series of differential equations a cheetah "intuitively" solves to intercept its prey - to even more awesome maneuvers performed by little birds twittering by us day in and day out. visual processing is hugely powerful.

i'm just saying, buy stock in nvidia.

a love note

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:49:00 +0000

On Mon, Oct 20, 2008, J4CK13 wrote:

Wish i didn't know that the man who did the training videos should have used a pop filter when recording...

You need to stop explaining stuff to me honey. :(

:-*

I love my girl!

On Being American

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:44:00 +0000

The Interview (on iTunes)

More significant than even Powell's ringing (and right on) endorsement of Barack, is his shining of light onto the very Un-American ideas currently imbedded in Republican thought.

I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim,and he might be associated with terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards — Purple Heart, Bronze Star — showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

DRM

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:14:00 +0000

Digital Rights Management

don't vote

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:20:00 +0000

i'm not. here's why you shouldn't either:

"Look"

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:45:00 +0000

= my most hated word out of a politicians mouth.

feedback

noreply@blogger.com (P3T3RK3Y5) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:15:00 +0000

i'm not an economist. and just like the economists, i don't understand how the economy works.

but fortunately i don't have to understand how the economy works. i'm only a systems engineer. i merely need to envision a system to understand something.

"feedback" is one of those things we know is good for us, but we don't often like, or necessarily pursue. in this sense, we're talking about negative feedback, which is almost never perceived as good. positive feedback is perceived as good. or at least happier.

but from a systems perspective, the opposite is true.

negative feedback is extremely important to the stability of systems (of which, nearly anything can be viewed as). and it'd be really cool - for it to get a good wrap at a gut/intuitive level.

amplifier design, for instance. the goal here is to take an itty bitty electrical signal of only a few milli-volts amplitude and power measure in milli-watts, and amplify that signal so that it has a much larger amplitude and much more power, to drive big speakers that push lots of physical air. especially for our beloved 'merican subwoofers. making a bitty signal big is fairly straightforward. the magic is in harnessing that power so that it doesn't get too big, and in essence pulling that signal gain down in an accurate way so that the amplifier doesn't blow up to infinity when you turn it on.

negative feedback is crucial to life: e.g. a friend of mine thought of leprosy patients - those who loose the negative feedback of pain... another perfect example.

positive feedback on the other hand, is unstable. i can't really point to a common shared example of positive feedback because those systems are inherently unstable - that is, they blow up. a nuclear weapon is about the only example i can think of. like i said, boom.

so, turns out our tinkerbell economy seems to be exhibiting all the signs and symptoms of a positive feedback system. that is when speculators feel good about things, our economy does better, so they feel better, so it does better... until your head explodes. but say, for some reason, those speculators don't feel good about things, well, our economy does worse, so they feel worse, so it does worse... until your head implodes. i betcha there is a clinical psychological term for someone who exhibits these kinds of behavior. and i'm sure its a long one.

i can't help think, and for a long time now, that our economy is a house of cards. who among us can understand this crap - let alone its implications? the big guys at the top only care about one thing - and they don't care *how* because everyone is in it for the short term returns. except us. so, on this point: i'm not exactly disagreeing with bush - our economy does self correct. it's just that were not letting it. because they've got us by the gonads.

would somebody please build an inherently stable financial system. please? one with negative feedback applied to the more sensitive areas of those who benefit from risk. thank you.