The Anti-Zen Dictionary

Imminent Threat

2013-02-07T11:19:00.001-08:00

Imminent threat

The current buzzword going around in politics and the media regarding the US Administration Use of Lethal Drone Force Legal Review (imprimatur: NBC News).

Apparently none of the sources cited in our posting "Are Drone Strikes a Form of Extrajudicial Killing?" searched their legal dictionaries or other sources for that phrase.

Our blog did that and found possibly two applicable definitions.

The first one comes to us from The Law Dictionary - Imminent Danger.

The other comes from The Free Dictionary - Imminent Threat (via public international law).

Regarding the first definition - you can guess that it concerns incidences 'where a person or persons may be called upon to defend themselves against homicide without protection from the law or other persons'. The intended victim must be "reasonable" and "prudent". A few court decisions are cited with the brief description.

It, of course, mentions nothing about drone strikes and persons perceived to be terrorists. Innocent collateral victims of drone strikes are not mentioned - even though politicos have been seen defending said drone strike practice and policy. For more on that perspective please see the report by Micah Zenko, Council on Foreign Relations. (For just the summary and recommendations go to pp. 22+.)

The implication is that the US Policy requires some oversight by Congress - perhaps even transparency. Also, there could be consequences with our foreign counterparts if the policy does not conform to expectations.

The second definition (Imminent Threat) is defined as a criterion - which makes it, too, somewhat vague as the pundits have been complaining. Criteria like this can make for irreversible consequences and innocent collateral casualties and fatalities.

And some folks don't have a problem with that - and that makes the rest of us weep.

Please note this posting appears in our sister blog: http://americanpoliticalhandbook.blogspot.com/2013/02/imminent-threat.html

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An invisibility cloak (DIY, sort of)

2013-01-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US Government Work, Public Domain

If everybody could have an invisibility cloak then we would all be invisible. We don't "see" an advantage to that. But building a "room temperature full optical wavelength" invisibility cloak (that presumably runs on DC power) would be challenging to build! Not the sort of thing we would expect from the folks at Apple but perhaps the Fraunhofer Institute/s? We suggest you look at the ("pay $") entry in Applied Physics Letters*: http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v102/i1/p014102_s1?isAuthorized=no. A better source may be the related article in Phys.Org: "Nearly perfect, ultra-thin invisibility cloak could have wide practical applications".

The invisibility cloak appears to have the shape of a "true cloak" or more like a "poncho shape". It's thickness/thinness is explained by the researchers as being made of a homogeneous construction of resistors. The secret/s of its invisibility property is said to be due to permittivity and permeability. It is not known which wavelengths or frequencies in which it is "invisible". For a "non-action video" - that may have technical issues - one was developed by TechNetworkNews. You may have to look into the ALP* article for a demonstration, if possible.

The "prior art" of the invisibility cloak was being developed on the basis of metamaterials. However that last link (from the Wikipedia) is current up to only 2010. But the prior art does date back to 2005/2006. For a good working development (based on nanomaterials) see the YouTube video from/by Ali Aliev. For more on that development see our Examiner.com article. If you read the article you should see that that invisibility device - as is - might be impractical for your room temperature full optical wavelength invisibility cloak. But, it is apparently invisible in the optical range of light visible to human eyes.

For more on the recent (November 2012) invisibility cloak/device from Duke University see our other Examiner.com article. Like some invisibility devices it does not cover the optical range and works only in the microwave range. However, it does give a working demonstration that the next advance to the optical range cloak could be possible.

The prior art to that work was the research and development of metamaterials (earlier, more) for "fishnet" invisibility cloaking - a design which was in favor. See the articles "Low-loss negative-index metamaterial at telecommunication wavelengths" and "Development of bulk optical negative index fishnet metamaterials: Achieving a Low Loss and Broadband Response Through Coupling". The thinking at the time was the development of a "layered, pierced metamaterial" with a negative refractive index.

Credit: Infrared.als.lbl.gov, US Government Work, Public Domain, http://infrared.als.lbl.gov/content/the-news/1-latest-news/152-invisibility-shields-one-step-closer-with-new-metamaterials-that-bend-light-backwards

The layers of materials might be nano-scale coatings of silver sandwiching a dielectric (like Magnesium fluoride). The advantage/s of silver being it's high reflectivity and "damping" properties. Magnesium fluoride was seen to have an advantage in its relative clarity, we surmise. Other dielectrics might be worth reviewing at a later time. A superconductor might also replace silver due to it's high permeability. However, superconductors (at this writing) have disadvantages like a very low operating temperature and lack of optical clarity. Would elemental Niobium work in this case? We can't say.

Silicon - combined with metallics - was also a research topic in 2009. However, the cloak developed by the Berkeley Lab was said to be invisible only in the near infrared wavelength - slightly outside the range of human optical visibility. However, it too, was something of a "fishnet" material. (See also the video at top of the post.)

Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, US Government Work, Public Domain

For more information you may wish to search Google Books. If we may point out one it might be "Structured surfaces as optical materials". We'll have to get back to you next time there is another advance towards a "room temperature full optical" invisibility cloak.

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Nightmareliner

2013-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Nightmareliner -

(Updated Sunday, 1_20_2013 see below. And again 1_30_2013.)

The VERY unfortunate and unfunny conflation of "Dreamliner" with nightmare/s or nightmarish events seen with the Dreamliner (Boeing's 787 airliner).

We'll go to the latest press release from the NTSB: "Second Investigative Update of Boston Boeing 787 Battery Fire". Yes, you read that right, 'battery fire'. Seems that the Lithium-ion batteries for the jets are catching fire (for "unknown reasons") with leaks of the lithium electrolyte fluid a possibility? An electrolyte leak could make fire spread and fire conditions even worse - fortunately one of the incidents required only "just about one half hour of extinguishing by the emergency staff".

The NTSB release almost occurred simultaneously with the FAA Dreamliner grounding announcement.

Credit: NTSB, US Government Work, Public Domain

As you can see posted above, the NTSB posted photos of burned 787 batteries with its PR. Well, shouldn't they have fire-tested those batteries before? Well, yes and no, we found a PowerPoint presentation from the FAA regarding the fire testing of smaller commercial lithium ion batteries - but nothing yet on the full-scale commercial airline format. At least nothing related to the full-scale battery was found in our search.

Presumably, GS Yuasa was awarded the *contract to supply the full-scale 787 aviation batteries. Link to the (presumed) spec sheet here. The spec sheet (as of this writing) states that the battery has a "Prismatic Shape" - which doesn't appear to resemble the photo/s supplied by the NTSB. What shape exactly is the battery form supposed to be?

If we read further down the spec sheet (under "Safety and Handling") we see that the "cell design details and specification are subject to change without notice." We sincerely hope that that verbiage wasn't approved in the *original contract.

The "Safety and Handling" section goes on to read: "Inappropriate handling or application...can result...even in the possibility of smoke generation or fire".

Yes, that is a known safety/hazard factor in Lithium ion batteries! See the link to the above PDF. Also, see the reports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission dating back to 2006. Of course, the GSY contract award for the specified batteries pre-dates those 2006 incidents.

We also saw proposed safety labeling for the Lithium ion batteries in the Federal Register (2010).

Credit: Federal Register, U. S. Government Work, Public Domain

Further safety and hazard precautions are found for Lithium ion batteries in what appears to be a sample military grade battery Material Safety Data Sheet. Please note: the manufacturer of the battery for our sample MSDS is not involved or implicated in the current Dreamliner battery fires!

And the Wikimedia Foundation has an Ebook available on Google Books - and it also contains similar recommendations and precautions.

The element Lithium, itself, is rated as non-flammable but has some other safety issues on its own. The problems appear to arise in the Lithium battery - and its electrolyte (when leaked) - in certain applications like the Nightmareliner. Er, sorry, we mean the "Dreamliner". To be fair in the end, Boeing has also posted their own PR statement on the incidents (FAA 787 Action).

Update 1_20_2013 The FAA #designated Boeing to generate LiIon battery data #Nightmareliner http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324624404578253010041254492.html#articleTabs%3Dvideo Via @WSJ Most of the video reported by Andy Pasztor, LA WSJ Sr. Correspondent.

Update 1_30_2013 Boeing's Batteries Draw Criticism as Dreamliner Probe Continues | Autopia | Wired.com http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/01/boeing-787-battery-design-musk/

Update 2_05_2013

Boeing Asks FAA to Lift Grounding of Dreamliners for Test Flights http://soc.li/YoyaG3I Via CNBC

Update 2_10_2013

Via Reuters

Expect Dreamliner delays, Boeing tells airlines http://reut.rs/1501qgw via @reuters

Update 3_06_2013

Analytical theory may bring improvements to lithium-ion batteries http://phys.org/news/2013-03-analytical-theory-lithium-ion-batteries.html

via @physorg_com

Analytical theory may bring improvements to lithium-ion batteries http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/analytical-theory-may-bring-improvements-to-lithium-ion-batteries.html#.UTYx6t6AdCo.twitter

How lithium electrochemical research might save the Boeing Dreamliner http://www.examiner.com/article/how-lithium-electrochemical-research-might-save-the-boeing-dreamliner

via @examinercom

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Huge LQG

2013-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

The Huge LQG or The Penultimate LQG -

The news about the Huge LQG is still posted on Reuters/News Daily as of this writing and may still be found on Science Daily and even in the Wikipedia. The discoverers posted their findings in the Arxiv paper "A structure in the early universe at z* ~ 1.3 that exceeds the homogeneity scale of the R-W concordance cosmology" by Roger G. Clowes, Luis E. Campusano, et. al..

This penultimate structure (LQG) is mind-bendingly large and even distorts our concepts of relativity and the cosmological principle. In "classical cosmology" it was thought that the CP limited universal structure sizes to about ~ 370 Mega-parsecs (Mpc). The newly discovered Huge LQG has an estimated size of ~ 500 Mpc - which is stupendous. Even greater is it's estimated longest dimension: ~ 1240 Mpc.

We also refer to it as the Penultimate LQG as nature is full of surprises. That is we expect an even larger LQG structure or hyper-structure may yet be discovered and described - an Ultimate LQG. The red-shift* ("z") implies that the Huge LQG lies far in the past and a long, long way away. The same may apply for the hypothetical Ultimate LQG.

This appears to upset the old (1977) documentary (and book) "Powers of Ten" and the orders of magnitude described. The book was written by the late great Philip Morrison and late wife Phylis Morrison. The office of Ray and Charles Eames (designers) was deeply involved with both projects. The previous high limit on order of magnitude (according to these good folks) was 100 million light years (~ 3E x 7 Mpc) or 10E x 24 meters.

The 7 Mpc order of magnitude (and the previous limit of approximately 150 Mpc) has long since been toppled apparently by the discovery of the Huge LQG. This begs a question - how does the Huge LQG compare in size with other large "structures" and "voids" in the known universe? How do they compare with the size of the universe?

Credit: NotOnTwtr and a variety of sources.

Assuming that the numbers we were about to play with were best estimates and best measurements available we put the data together in a graphic and a table.

Our own Solar System is at too small a scale to give a relative comparison. The same goes for our own Milky Way. The Universe (estimated size - which is likely quite wrong!) would cover the whole chart and obscure the available comparisons!

Our own Local Group of galaxies "disappears" in the graphic due to it's relatively small size/volume.

The Great Wall refers to the Sloan Great Wall and is roughly equal in size to the "average" LQG.

The Huge LQG is slightly "larger" than the estimated size of the Giant Void.

The size comparisons with the Huge LQG suggest non-randomness. However, we invite you to make your own conclusions. Until the discovery of a larger structure (like the hypothetical Ultimate LQG) our universe may be seen as "expanding" - but is a non-random structure itself.

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Blurricane

2012-11-01T12:40:00.002-07:00

Derivative work: NASA Hurricane Sandy (10/31/2012) with NASA GOES-13 Project

Blurricane - The extremely unfortunate portmanteau of blizzard and hurricane. Late last month (October ~ 29th, 2012) the Atlantic spawned a tropical cyclone that became the almost 1000 mile wide storm known as Hurricane Sandy. Blurricane now seems to be trending on Twitter.

Blurricane is the preferred definition in this instance as it blurred the line between cyclone,
hurricane and a blizzard. Other suggested names
would have been: blizzacane or hizzicane or huzzicane. All extremely unfortunate.

For more: NASA orbiting earth satellite observing Sandy: http://mobile.arc.nasa.gov/public/iexplore/scripts/v15/getnewsitem.php?id=430240 ; Climate Scientist - Sandy just a taste of things to come (CNN): http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/01/climate-scientist-sandy-just-a-taste-of-things-to-come/
Sandy death toll keeps rising (BBC News):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20171227

Hurricane Sandy from Birth to Landfall latest NASA video Credit: U. S. Government Work; http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAexplore

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The Lionfish Cookbook

2010-12-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by BONGURI

The Lionfish Cookbook: No, we're not kidding. Just see the link to the News Daily article below. Seems that the Lionfish invasion of the waters off Florida have become a problem. So much so that they actually wrote a cook book with 45 recipes for these beauties. They claim the delicacy is safe (except for the spines) and delicious. We expect a good export business to Japanese fish markets...

And, yes, you can purchase The Lionfish Cookbook from the Amazon Carousel below... Thank You,

FOM: "Eat 'Em" Stratagem for Lionfish Invasion in Florida (REUTERS), Lionfish (Wikipedia), Pterois volitans (Wikipedia), Pterois volitans (FishBase), Pterois volitans in the Encyclopedia of Life, Pterois volitans information page from the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce

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Good Riddance Day

2010-12-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

Good Riddance Day: Unfortunately, not a term of our creation plus we are a day behind on this one. December 28 was the officially designated day to rid ourselves of a bad memory, experience and or so on from the year. 2010 was an especially unfortunate year for us as our Senior Editor's father became very sick for the last three months of the year and then passed away on December 19. His brother and his wife lost her mother on Columbus Day due to end-stage cancer. Also, supposed to be named after the Green Day song "Good Riddance" (The Time of Your Life). GOOD RIDDANCE 2010!

FOM: Times Square Alliance for Official Good Riddance Day and Link to YouTube Video Performance of Good Riddance by Green Day

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Escherite

2010-12-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by fdecomite

Escherite: Predicted/Suggested name for an artificial material reminiscent of some of the recursive surfaces famously and popularly depicted in some of the works of M. C. Escher. Such a material would have no "inside" nor "outside" at the molecular level. The name is the suggested conflation of Escher and the suffix -ite sometimes applied to minerals, chemicals and so on...

FOM: Strange New Twist: Researchers Discover Möbius Symmetry in Metamaterials (from Science Daily), Möbius Strip, Metamaterial and M. C. Escher

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The Passage of our Editor's Father

2010-12-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

Image MRSA Culture licensed under Creative Commons by Simon Goldenberg

The Passage of our Senior Editor's Father: Though not a true dictionary entry, we thought we should make note of the passage of our Senior Editor's father. George James passed away on Sunday December 19, 2010 (though the COD says Monday December 20, 2010) and he was just 76 years young. Though an autopsy would have been requested by our editor, the rest of his family passed on it without asking his opinion (!).

At the time, GJ had been suffering from two pneumonias (Serratia and Pseudomonas) as well as the now dreaded MRSA! Although Dad seemed to have responded successfully to treatments with massive doses of Vancomycin and 5 days treatment with Tobramycin. He was eventually discharged from his 4th hospital stay and housed in a very good medical facility. Unfortunately, the MRSA must have entered his bloodstream on or about the 19th as our editor found GJ foaming badly at the mouth - which appears to have meant that his organs were shutting down.

His father responded positively to a request for an ambulance (which he never does!) and the ambulance came and took him away on a portable ventilator. GJ was placed on a CPAP Ventilator once in the trauma room and remained so in the ICU. No amount of 'pressors' could have preserved him as he appeared to be in complete shutdown - though our editor hoped desperately and tearfully otherwise. He probably had no conscious mind nor spirit during this time and passed on probably that day. Which is why an autopsy may have been helpful (or not). Perhaps it could have positively identified MRSA in the bloodstream at that time - or not...

Looking back over the previous events, two of GJ's doctors at two of his previous hospital stays had predicted his death within a short while - possibly months. Which came true just before this Christmas...

FOM: Medical Odyssey/Hospital Nomad

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Hospital Nomad / Medical Odyssey

2010-11-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by TCDC Media

Hospital Nomad / Medical Odyssey: It is hoped that this posting/definition will give you some insight as to where we have been just over the past 2 months. Our Senior Editor's 70+ years young father took very sick in early September and had to be whisked away to an emergency room. He was having severe nausea and chronic vomiting (guess who got to clean the bucket?...) for a period of over 24+ hours. Having suffered this way, he finally asked for medical care - and got it that day.

Our Senior Editor and his father found out that he had a partial bowel obstruction - along with several other chronic medical conditions. A naso-gastric tube was installed & removed about 1500 ml. of dark bile over a period of 30+ hours - thus avoiding surgery. The recovery in the hospital took about 6 days. Plus, we also found that Dad had lost his core/trunk strength (he had displayed some kyphosis earlier in April), leg strength, became dysphagic and was declared NPO. Dad has basically been a bed-bound invalid, unable to swallow, since this time. We will refer to this hospital as HSJ.

A swallow evaluation/study was done on Dad in their fluoroscopy dept. which determined that he aspirated when swallowing. Even worse, he displayed no symptoms (asymptomatic). Thus, he might have been dysphagic for a long time without even knowing it. He has the possibility of contracting aspiration pneumonia if he attempts to swallow anything - which could even be lethal.

Thus was the beginning of Dad's medical odyssey. Our Senior Editor and his brother being so concerned (this is their last living parent) that our Editor slept over many, many nights in more than one hospital with his father. Thus giving rise to the term Hospital Nomad. In the periods between hospitalization, Dad has spent three separate occasions in Medical Skilled Care Rehabilitation Centers as required by Medicare. The long and short of it is that our Senior Editor has spent 63 of the last 65 days or so in the hospitals and Rehab Centers with his sick, invalid father during this medical odyssey. His father is currently staying at his fourth hospital in this time.

A special warning to all who may have a similar situation existing or arising with a loved one. If you see your elders in decline you may wish to visit their primary care physician with them and discuss the option of in-home rehabilitation before you reach this state of affairs. One of the undiscussed (?) issues with Rehabilitation Centers and similar communities is the potential for infection by communicable organisms/pathogens/microbes shared by that community. Each time Dad was sent to one of these centers he developed pneumonia or MRSA.

Early in November/late October, he developed pneumonia due to a species of Serratia. Fortunately our senior editor was present when he began to sink and kept requesting an ambulance. When Dad stopped talking, they finally called for Rapid Response. When in hospital, you can usually request Rapid Response by dialling 141. See your hospital staff for instructions before you panic and need this service - it can be a life saver.

As it turned out, Dad 'coded' in the emergency room at a different, nearby hospital ('HSM'). There appeared to be only respiratory arrest - no cardiac arrest - but stopped breathing all the same. Dad was then intubated, heavily sedated and put on a ventilator. The ER team at HSM basically saved his life - for which our Editor nominated them for a recognition award. The Rapid Response team remained in the ER room during the entire revival. It was quite a moving experience. But, our Senior Editor's father looked like one of those horrible rubber dummies in a horror movie and our Editor was about to freak out.

He was eventually transferred to Intensive Care where he remained on the ventilator for about a day. He coded again the next day and had to be placed on a ventilator again. The IC team was excellent and they were also nominated for a recognition award. Dad was eventually transferred to the hospital - for 13 days.

He qualified for a specialty rehabilitation hospital where he may receive constant hospital care along with therapy for as long as they feel fit. He is visited almost daily by the doctor, an RN and other professional staff. Unfortunately, he acquired MRSA in his sputum and lungs at the start of this go-round. Which is quite fearsome, as MRSA can then enter the bloodstream in this fashion. But the antibiotics appear to have it under control. Hopefully, Dad is coming to the end of his medical odyssey in a positive way and may be released to sub-acute care. And our Senior Editor is hoping that he does not have to be a Hospital Nomad much longer - again in a positive way.

Revised/Updated: 11/23/2010

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Huggle

2010-09-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Bee Beard 2 image licensed under Creative Commons by Max xx

Huggle: The VERY unfortunate conflation of honey and smuggle. Some executives have actually been charged with the allegations of honey smuggling and tainting it with antibiotics*. One might be tempted to conclude that now the honey supply cannot be trusted much like the egg and dairy supply...

Can you imagine what the agency phone call was like? Riinnnggg: Hello, Special Crimes Unit, Bee and Honey Division. Actually, when that phone rings it sounds like a buzzing bee...

FOM: * US Indicts 11 Executives with Honey Smuggling (from BBC News), Honey, Honey Bee (from Wikipedia), Smuggling (from the Wikipedia), Memorandum from Senator Chuck Schumer on Honey

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Spontaneous Creation or The Big Splat

2010-09-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by MikeLicht, NotionsCapital

Spontaneous Creation or The Big Splat: According to the great Dr. Stephen Hawking, the creation of the universe occurred absent the presence of a god or goddess*. Therefore, (not sure if we are quoting him or the BBC News) the creation of the universe was spontaneous. We also (here at the AZD) now refer to it as "The Big Splat" (relative to the Big Bang) - kind of like a paintball or an egg being splattered against the fabric of space time. And, there you have it! But the godless creation of the universe seems somehow meaningless and purposeless. One can only imagine a cartoonish god (like the Seth McFarlane god of 'Family Guy' or the Terry Gilliam god of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail') splattering a great egg against the wall. And where did the wall come from?

However, the argument could be made that absence of a Creator at the beginning does not rule out the existence of the same...

Incidentally, we can't wait for the great Stephen Colbert's take on this in his hilarious "Stephen Hawking is Such an *ssh#l@" segment.

FOM: *Stephen Hawking: God Did Not Create the Universe (from BBC News), REUTERS News Agency on the subject, Anti-Time and SearchEdu.com on Spontaneous Creation

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WikiRapes

2010-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Swedish Police Woman Image licensed under Creative Commons by ThisParticularGreg

WikiRapes: The VERY unfortunate and rather cynical conflation of WikiLeaks and rape/s or the (repeated) charges of rape/s.... Seems like Sweden (or Julian, ooohhhh...sorry about that!) just can't get enough of serious sex offenses and their related charges of same...

Hugo: Oh, dear God help us, we are going to hell... AZD: No we're not! Doesn't it seem like every time he (Julian) charges the USA with some nefarious activity that Sweden charges him with rape? Hugo: Hmmm...could be a connection there...

FOM: Sweden Reopens WikiLeaks Founder Rape Investigation (from REUTERS News Agency), WikiLeaks Rape Inquiry Reopened (BBC News), False Charges Made Against Mr. Assange? and CIA Memo on USA Exporting Terrorism (from WikiLeaks).

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Anti-Time

2010-08-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by pt

Updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010* (See Below)
Anti-Time: Is the unfortunate proposal that time will eventually come to a stop - and could even be due to consequences from human activity, engineering and science. We got this idea from at least two sources: Ray Kurzweil and Star Trek: TNG Last Episodes(!). (Yes, yes we were big fans of the TV series and occasionally view a repeat every now and then.)

Our main reference is to the book by Ray Kurzweil - The Singularity is Near. One of the propositions seems to be that computer speeds will continue to increase at an accelerated pace.

One wonders if the pace will continue to the point where computations will literally exceed "light speed". What if they continue to accelerate to the point where computations will become instantaneous? At which point, time will become unnecessary (who ever thought that time was necessary?). At which point, time's reality becomes obvious and even stops. This might be the true singularity.

At which, point time itself could implode upon itself and reverse. Thus creating the phenomenon of "anti-time"? Everything affected by time (the universe) would then reverse in time. Except, of course, for certain sub-atomic particles! The universe would literally implode upon itself in this gigantic reversal. A sort of a "Reverse Big Bang" would then be created. Could the universe start all over again?

FOM: The Singularity is Near (on Google Books), Wikipedia Link on Arrow of Time, Wikipedia Link on Ray Kurzweil, Glenn Beck's Interview of Kurzweil (!), US Military to Attack Moore's Law for Future Computers (from BBC News), *Stephen Hawking: God Did Not Create the Universe (from BBC News), Spontaneous Creation or the Big Splat and Time's Arrow from Google Books

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Lunar Reduction or Lunduction

2010-08-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Mike Baird

Lunar Reduction or Lunduction: Is the unfortunate conflation of lunar and reduction. That's it, the Moon seems to be shrinking in size. ABC News reported that it appears to have shrunk by the length of 2 football fields (American). That's right - the moon appears to be shrinking.

FOM: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Reveals 'Incredible Shrinking Moon'.

Amusing Observation? - Yesterday we posted about Secure Redaction.

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Secure Redaction

2010-08-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Redacted Document image licensed under Creative Commons by jon.bell

Secure Redaction: So you thought you deleted that sensitive or possibly embarrassing information from your documents (WORD and PDFs)? But, the NSA says you may not have. You may have left traces of the sensitive information in your 'redacted document'. Yes, they wrote a brief manual on a suggested procedure. You can link to it here: http://wikileaks.org/w/images/7/75/NSA-redact.pdf

Please note: We found this interesting document while searching for the 'uncrackable insurance file' on Wikileaks. This appears to be the link to the mysterious insurance file.

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Salmonella

2010-08-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Salmonella Did you know that over 200 million eggs have been recalled? See our posting at this link. http://thelostcookbook.blogspot.com/2010/08/over-200-million-eggs-have-been.html

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Meditations on Life's Meaning

2010-08-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Please see our blog post "For Dedanna / Kim" at:
http://meditationsonlifesmeaning.blogspot.com/2010/08/for-dedanna-kim.html

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MLKvBeck828

2010-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by DonkeyHotey

Updated: Friday, August 20, 2010*

MLKvBeck828: When we left Twitter (yes, yes, we did! - we deactivated our account which makes it even more difficult to rejoin!), the one "trending topic" that we contributed to might have been the DC Rally planned by Glenn Beck (and his one follower?) for August 28, 2010 (Which is a Saturday, by the way...). The hashtag for the topic/event became the now-infamous #MLKvBeck828 topic.

It was unfortunate that this date was chosen by Mr. Beck and his one lone supporter (?) for the date of his rally as it coincides with the date of the late, great Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (Yes, even though this is a link to the Wikipedia page we urge you to visit it for its great External Links to the YouTube National Archives records of the march itself.) Many tweeters - including ourselves, who view Mr. King as a prophet - saw this coincidence as an affront to the great man himself (Mr. King ~ not Mr. Beck) - perhaps even a racist affront.

Apropos to the times, we tweeted some suggestions for preparing for The Rally, as well as making preparations for the G20 Protests which were happening in Toronto at the time. Because some of our tweeps (Twitter friends) might still be planning to protest or counter-protest the 8/28 "event", we think some of the same preparations and precautions may be in order. We will present some of those below. Why? Well, for one thing, the event does coincide with the day of the March on Washington of '63 - we expect many Americans to be insulted and will show up to express their outrage perhaps. And by the way, there are still 40 unsold tickets to the Beck event! HAH!

You may need some of the following items if you are a protestor or counter-protestor:

1) Handcuff Key Please note: We do not approve, authorize nor endorse the use of these devices if you are under formal arrest by the police. Once arrested YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME. However, the possession of the key does not imply resistance of arrest. You should make it clear that it is for your own personal protection. USE THE KEY ONLY IF YOU OR OTHERS ARE IN CLEAR OR IMMINENT PHYSICAL DANGER. Fair use of the key is constituted if you are taken against your will by unauthorized persons or personnel.

2) Nylon Tie Cutter Once again Please note: We do not approve, authorize nor endorse the use of these devices if you are under formal arrest by the police. Once arrested YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME. However, the possession of the cutter does not imply resistance of arrest. You should make it clear that it is for your own personal protection. USE THE CUTTER ONLY IF YOU OR OTHERS ARE IN CLEAR OR IMMINENT PHYSICAL DANGER. Fair use of the cutter is constituted if you are taken against your will by unauthorized persons or personnel.

Remember: Resisting arrest is a crime.

3) Spyderco Knife Once again Please note: We do not approve, authorize nor endorse the use of these devices if you are under formal arrest by the police. Once arrested YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME. However, the possession of the knife does not imply resistance of arrest. You should make it clear that it is for your own personal protection. USE THE KNIFE ONLY IF YOU OR OTHERS ARE IN CLEAR OR IMMINENT PHYSICAL DANGER. Fair use of the KNIFE is constituted if you are taken against your will by unauthorized persons or personnel.

IF ARRESTED YOU MUST BE FAIR TO THE POLICE AND AUTHORITIES BY ALERTING THEM TO THE PRESENCE OF A KNIFE OR OTHER POTENTIAL/ WEAPONS ON YOUR PERSON. IT IS YOUR DUTY TO DO SO. If you do not commit to this clause, you may be sanctioned by your internet community.

One other potential use for the Spyderco knife is that they have been reported for the use of cutting through seat belts. This tool is also a potential life saver for persons trapped in a vehicle in a dangerous and life threatening situation.

4) Copy of the United States Constitution. Oh, we don't know, we just think it might be handy to have ~ or provide you with something to read if you should be in jail...

5) Gas Mask This should be obvious. You will need it if the authorities decide they need to toss those canisters! It will be worth having one just to see Mssrs. Beck and Palin having to don theirs - if they have one....It should be comical if Sarah and Glenn have to fight over who gets to wear the gas mask! That should really give Becky something to cry about! Also, an old remedy for tear gas is to urinate (we know, gross) on a handkerchief or other piece of cloth or linen. This should then be placed against the mouth and nasal openings to prevent the effects of the tear gas.

Speaking of which, the Sarah Palin DIY mask might make a great fashion statement at the Rally! Go team!

6) The Family Jewels You should consider having a cup just in case something should strike you in the groin - by accident or not. You too ladies!

7) Body Armor Might come in really handy should things get really ugly...Serio, babe.

8) Head and Facial Protection If you decide to wear a Redskins helmet, just tell everybody without one that you're a really big fan! But, seriously, you shold consider wearing a helmet.

9) Tear Gas or Mace: Might be illegal to have this on your person. Not Recommended! But, if you are in a jam, and without police protection, these could be lifesavers!

10) Life Jacket Might come in handy if somebody decides to try and drown you in the reflecting pool...

11) Baton For police personnel only, but like (9), might come in handy in a pinch... NOT TO BE USED AS AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON. INFORM THE POLICE IF YOU HAVE ONE ON YOUR PERSON AND YOU ARE ARRESTED!

12) Portable Police Radio Might come in handy if you have to alert them to a dangerous situation! Might also come in handy if you need to stay in contact with your group! Of course, you should not forget your cell phone this day!

13) Identification: You might not want to forget it this day! Think about Arizona...

14) NO FIREARMS! None at all! Do not carry at the Rally! Forbidden!

15) Safety glasses or goggles Might be a good idea, too.

16) If we left anything out, you might want to consider the writings of Saul Alinsky or George Hayduke...or Hunter S. Thompson...

That all said, we hope you found the links informative or at least entertaining.

While we are still on the subject of Glenn Beck, you should catch the BookTV program about Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance by Alexander Zaitchik. We found Mr. Zaitchik to be humorously petulant - even prickly - while discussing his book. But, who can blame him? He said that he had spent about a year wallowing in the "works" of Mr. Beck. We got the sense from him that he considers Mr. Beck to be a truly alarming and dangerous individual. Which causes us to warn you even further to carry some protective gear (mentioned above) should you be daring enough (or foolhardy enough?) to visit the Rally on 8/28/2010. The Q&A session with Mr. Zaitchik was very good - those are usually a crashing bore if you catch the wrong BookTV program - if you know what we mean... If we recall correctly, one of Mr. Zaitchik's main arguments is that Mr. Beck does not need Fox News for the increase and spread of his empire. Despite all the vaunted advertising losses and evacuations from his program, he still has a $30 Million/year or so empire. Apparently, Mr. Zaitchik does not see this stopping anytime soon. You can find out more about Mr. Zaitchik at his website. You might be able to find more at AlterNet.org. (You might also want to see Mr. Zaitchik's commentary against Twitter). Despite Mr. Zaitchik's attitude about Twitter and his apparent discomfort on BookTV, we think he is an important and rational voice and you might do well to heed him and his thoughts.

Oh! And there's more Beck news, see the Mother Jones Front Cover story in the July+August 2010 issue "The Golden Fleece - They Trusted Glenn Beck to Protect Their Nest Eggs. He's Laughing All The Way ToThe Bank" (page 24).

If we left anything out, please comment! Or please use the quick links below for a quick comment! Thank you.

FOM: *ABC News's Take on "The Rally"

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Snorting McChrystal?

2010-07-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Snorting McChrystal (or) Snorting Rolling Stones?

Updated: Saturday, August 21, 2010*

OK, the whole media world is talking about the sucker coup of Wikileaks (Bravo for them!) and their revelatory Afghan War Diaries leak/s.

The leak took place on or about July 25, 2010. And blame or responsibility has already been assigned to some, sorry to say, low-level US military personnel. A-Hem! Excuse us! Did everybody miss something here? Including The Daily Show and The Colbert Report?

What are we talking about? Hellooooo.... Didn't the US/ISAF General in Charge of the Afghanistan Operations/War just get sent down the tubes about one month ago? Speaking of tubes, is everybody in the media snorting "McChrystal" or some other finely powdered crystalline Class I narcotic? (Sorry, we apologize for the drug/humor reference/s, we know it is in poor taste).

Why did everybody else miss this? Does the world have ADHD? Is Mr. Derp now running Fox News?

Not to mention, therefore, isn't this all a result of that sh*tty tirade reported by Rolling Stone just this summer/spring? You be the judge.

What else is funky about this relationship? We're not saying the general had anything to do with the leaks, but the events are pretty closely related in time. A little too close.

And, when some top guy goes down for something - they sometimes like to leave behind a little 'Position Paper' on where their major activities stood prior to their departure? Is this all starting to sound familiar? Helloooo...

Does anybody remember Abu Ghraib and what happened to all the low-level torture clowns involved there - and then the commanding officer. You do remember the sequence of events in that scandal, right? Ahhh, we detect the odor of the same order of sequence here...

Not to mention, we did have a look at the reports that appear on the Wikileaks website. No, we haven't had time to read all of them. We're still sorting through the Pentagon Papers for G*d's Sakes! But, it is starting to look like the Pakistan-Taliban-US$ connection might be a little overblown. Only 4 known reports appear in the journal concerning finance from Pakistan or anywhere. As far as "hits" (assassinations) go, those were probably in all likelihood funded by the Taliban (with money from Pakistan or from poppy money - its hard to say for sure...). There were something like 48 reports on hits.

We have distilled some of the more "important" categories of reports from the Diaries and listed them below. Approach with caution. We did this in case Wikileaks runs out of funds (again) or gets mysteriously shut down and disappears... Meanwhile, our list, enjoy...

Oh, and something else, nothing shows you are winning the war like the number of enemy surrenders. Ahem, we have FOUR of them. Oh, and reported Food Distributions and Counter-Terrorism attack numbers were also weak; 4 and 1. ONE counter-terrorism attack? That "War on Terror" is going really swell isn't it Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney?

(Oh, don't get us wrong - we love our troops and support those that do honorable service and some not so much, too).

Number of Assassinations reported in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 48

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/assassination_0.html

Number of Attacks reported in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 2283

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/attack_0.html

Number of Ambushes reported in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 538

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/ambush_0.html

Number of Counterterrorism Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 1

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/counter_terrorism_0.html

Number of Drug Operations Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 8

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/drug_operation_0.html

Number of (Enemy) Finance Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 4

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/finance_0.html

Number of Food Distributions Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 4

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/food_distribution_0.html

Number of IED Ambush Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 350

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/ied_ambush_0.html

Number of IED Explosions Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 7202

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/ied_explosion_0.html

Number of IED Found/Cleared Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 8581

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/ied_found_cleared_0.html

Number of Mines Found/Cleared Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 396

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/mine_found_cleared_0.html

Number of Mine Strikes Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 321

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/mine_strike_0.html

Number of Murder Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 100

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/murder_0.html

Number of Willing Recruitments detained Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 1

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/recruitment_willing__0.html

Number of Poisonings Reports (attempted) in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 1

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/poisoning_0.html

Number of Enemy Sabotage Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 6

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/sabotage_0.html

Number of Enemy/Unknown Surrenders Reports in Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries: 4

http://wardiary.wikileaks.org/afg/sort/category/surrendering_0.html

Please note: This posting appears simultaneously on our sister publication The American Political Handbook

*FOM: False Charges Made Against Mr. Assange?

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Dumb*ss

2010-07-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

Image Licensed under Creative Commons by M. V. Jantzen

Dumb*ss

Could this be the title of Michael Moore's new docu-comedy about the Tea Party? Could he throw in the Birthers too? We're hoping, we're hoping... Of course, we're referring to that great Off-the-Cuff made by Ken B*ck in regards to the Tea Party and their Birther "questions"? Chris Matthews did a great segment on this on his Hardball "Sideshow" for July 26, 2010.

Please note: This posting appears simultaneously on our sister publication The American Political Handbook.

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The Bad Sea

2010-07-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by DigitalGlobe

Updated: Friday, August 20, 2010
“The Bad Sea” should be a rather simplistic name reference to what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico and the antonym of the good earth (with apologizes to the late great Pearl S. Buck). Of course, to some folks, “bad” is an insufficient descriptor – what is happening may be a disaster or a catastrophe without measure. An entire coastline (from Texas to Florida) has been defaced, scarred or even destroyed. At this writing, more emergency measures are being desperately employed to cap the leaking underwater oil well. Lives and economies, and possibly an entire ecosystem have been destroyed. And it could possibly get worse – computer simulation models have predicted that the leaked oil spill will reach the Atlantic Coast.

And before it reaches the east – or Atlantic Coast – it will necessarily run along the Florida coastline. And the Everglades – and that should cause even the most insensitive folks to take pause. Why? – Because it truly is a unique place and ecosystem on this earth. It is the only place where one can find alligators and crocodiles habituating the same locale. There are, of course, many other animals that live there. Like the Everglades mink – this is now endangered. One gasps at the thought of having to clean up the Everglades when that fearful time comes – How would people clean that?

Of course, the sea life is threatened around the Gulf as well. Highlighting this dismal fact is the discovery of two previously unknown species of pancake batfish (Halieutichthys intermedius and Halieutichthys bispinosus). These two species were previously unknown until deep investigations of the area of the oil spill were taken. The obvious question is – How many previously unknown as well as known species could be lost due to this terrible disaster? In other words, the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and just about everything that around it has been turned into a bad sea.

FOM: (Science Daily) The Oil Spill Plume, Deepwater Oil Spill Heading for Atlantic Coast & Eastern Europe, (BBC NEWS) Russian Sub Could Stop Oil Leak, (Wikipedia) Deepwater Horizon oil spill and (Innocentive)
Emergency Response 2.0 : Solutions to Respond to Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

07112010/2

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George Won't

2010-06-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

* Fair Use of image is claimed for reference purposes and criticism

George Won't: Is an obvious word play/antonym on the name of the writer that Keith Olbermann strongly criticized on Countdown on MSNBC last night, Monday, June 28, 2010. We would like to tell Mr. Won't that the GOP Republican plan to block unemployment and other benefits and extensions of the same has been enormously effective. I can tell you from personal experience that I currently live in bone-grinding poverty - right here in the good ol' USA Mr. Won't - as a result of corrupt and morally bankrupt GOP/Republican policies, programs, pugnaciouness and general obstinacy coupled with insanity.

Yes, thanks to you and your ilk Mr. Won't, I haven't been receiving unemployment benefits nor Medicaid for the past 22 months. Congratulations! You and your ilk have driven me and ten million others like me into abject poverty! It is wonderful living on food stamps and being denied health care and other benefits and monies. If I desperately need something, I have to contact the local church for charity. The first time I did this (last year) I was given all of one hundred dollars in gift cards. The second time I requested charity (this winter) I was given all of forty five dollars in gift cards. Do you know what it's like living on $ 200/month on food stamps and $ 145 in gift cards for almost two years Mr. Won't? I'll bet you don't have a clue. But, it is obvious that that part goes without saying.

Oh, what's that Mr. Won't, I should find a job? Well, happily, I have. I now work as a freelance copywriter - which puts me in the same profession as you, Mr. Won't. That means I can compete with the world market for writing jobs that pay about 50 cents/hour - once you calculate the research, the rewrites and the chasing around payments for money. Why that is only six or seven dollars shy of minimum wage! Why can't I make minimum wage? Because I can't even find a job here in the USA at that high a level of income. So I have to take my 50 cents an hour - if I can even find that. What makes it worse, Mr. Won't, is that your ideologies have forced your fellow writers into making that kind of wage.

Here's something else. The writing work that I do is called "SEO" - the so-called Search Engine Optimization. This means that the texts I write and get published are put on the internet and compete with all the other legitimate and otherwise sources of information on the internet. I have been successful at this, one of my articles came up as a "4th Page Ranking" when you search for the keyword. So, thanks to you and the GOP/Republican policies, I have to write SEO articles that might have an even higher page ranking than the topics you could be googling. And I am not alone, thanks to people like you in your profession of writing, millions of them are posting this "information" on the internet. Which slows down the search engines and the original stuff you were trying to look up.

The upshot of all this, Mr. Won't, is that your forced labor at costs of 50 cents/hour is creating writers and more SEO writings that jam up the internet when you search for something. If your policies and opinions keep prevailing, soon you'll have to take all day to find that one article you were really searching for on the internet. That's what you wanted, isn't it Mr. Won't?

* Reference: MSNBC's Countdown/KeithOlbermann's Comment Monday, June 28, 2010

FOM: FED Officials See High Unemployment for Years to Come (Reuters) and How Welfare Cuts Can Cost Lives (Reuters)

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Ex-Specter-ate

2010-05-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Image licensed under Creative Commons by wickey29

Ex-Specter-ate: The unfortunate conflation of the name of a certain political chameleon and expectorate. (1) What an electorate does when a faux DINO* (or RINO for that matter) gets in their mouth.

FOM: Tuesday's Elections, Tuesday, May 18, 2010 and Specfection

*"Democrat/Republican in name only"

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No - you can go ahead and copy or show on the air. Just give us credit where possible. We checked this posting against Copyscape yesterday and it passed their review.

Our Twitter Report

2010-05-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Fair Use of image claimed for purposes of self-reference; humorous reference

Our Twitter Report: Not exactly a definition, but we did have a tweet read exclusively Friday, May 14, 2010 by KeithOlbermann on "The Twitter Report" during MSNBC Countdown.
Keith referred to our avatar as President Garfield. "Is that President Garfield? President Garfield is tweeting us?" Then he did his humorous voice "President Garfield here!". We loved it. (It's actually Benjamin Harrison. Keith - we love you!)

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