REFLECTIONS

Ptolemy and Freud

2012-02-20T17:53:00.004-05:00

Earth Centered model of the universe according to Ptolemy

A few days ago my daughter Laurissa sent me an email asking about my thoughts on Sigmund Freud's psychological theories. The astronomer Ptolemy came to mind. I told her I believed that Freud's theories can only sometimes explain and predict how a person will behave. It may seem to make sense, the same way Ptolemy's explanation of the universe with earth as the center, seems to make sense.

Even today, Ptolemy's theory accurately explains the motion of the planets. Planetariums still use gears and circles to project the image of the stars and planets using his calculations.

Even though not related in any way; Ptolemy's cycles, epicycles and deferents, sound similar to Freud's Ego, Id and superego in that they try to explain how something works without using scientific proof.

Signs

2012-02-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

My wife Lynette found these strange funny signs on the ChaCha website.

Enjoy:

Pratt Institute Sculpture Park

2012-02-16T16:55:00.001-05:00

The entire Brooklyn campus is home to the Pratt Sculpture Park, the largest in New York City

Follow the link below for a slide show:

Pratt Institute | About Pratt | Visit Pratt | Tour the Campus | Sculpture Park:

The Mind of a Serial Killer (Part Four)

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

The picture above was taken from the cover of a Pharmacy magazine. It looks exactly like Tom Bianco; a man I met by chance while having a sandwich in a diner last year. It not only depicts his physical appearance but also captures his tense emotional state of mind. The man has a good side yet he's tortured by what happened to him.

That day at the diner he asked if he could sit with me for lunch.

"There's nothing wrong with a man being attracted to other men but I'm not into that situation." I told him.

"I'm not into it either but you seem to be a sensitive person, someone who won't judge me for what I did. Listen man, if I don't tell somebody soon I'll completely lose my mind."

I was curious and had nothing to lose by hearing what he had to say.

He told me he was tricked into doing something horrible, something he never would have chosen to do on his own. Something he kept hidden because he was so ashamed.

~A Clandestine Covenant~
(c) John Mallozzi

Click on the label "Serial Killer" below to see previous posts on this topic.

Couple Married 62 years, play piano duet « TropicalTruth

2012-02-09T19:37:00.001-05:00

From the link: TropicalTruth
ON A SCAVENGER HUNT FOR HAPPINESS.

I like this blog. It has an upbeat POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

Google knows too much about you - CNN.com

2012-02-09T17:43:00.000-05:00

A frightening thought!
I believe they should give us the option of deleting our online personal information.
Google will not be able to protect the information from hackers. Then what?
I'm not sure how to get a petition going or if there is a better way to get them to listen.
Any ideas?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Google recently changed its privacy policy to consolidate user's data
Frida Ghitis: if Americans paid more attention, they would be troubled by the new policy
Ghitis: Our private information belongs to us and nobody else -- not to Google, not to Facebook
She says we should follow Europe's example and call for changes in law

Here is the link to the article:

Google knows too much about you - CNN.com:

Polarity and Paradox: Black and White Thinking in a Rainbow World « PARALLAX

2012-02-08T15:00:00.003-05:00

Use link below to read an excellent thought-provoking post from a great blog.

Polarity and Paradox: Black and White Thinking in a Rainbow World « PARALLAX:

New York City Photos

2012-02-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

Here is the link for some views of New York City

from the "Mille Fiori Favoriti" website:

http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com/2012/01/cityscapes-from-east-river-ferry.html

A Gift Of Reconciliation and Forgiveness

2012-01-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

This video brought a tear to my eye.

From the Stranger in a Strange Land blog.
Ho'o pono pono - A Gift Of Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Turn up the sound and use the full screen.

Chess: White Opening

2012-01-29T17:06:00.000-05:00

c4 accelerated fianchetto (English Opening variation):
This opening is not as technical as I thought it was, after seeing it for the first time.
Advantages:
~Avoid studying the many books dealing with the d4 and e4 openings. This means I have more of a chance for player vs player action instead of player vs book.
~It's a less well known opening, at least for beginners like me.
~It results in a good position on the board.
~It is very flexible.

The opening moves:
c4
g3
Bg2
Nc3

Here is a chessboard with the first few moves:
http://chessville.com/java_boards/1c4_e5.htm
Use the " >" controls.

"There’s less theory involved with this variation than others in the English family. It also has the advantage of being a bit less well-know than other openings – below Expert level, relatively few players use the English, much less the accelerated fianchetto variation, so most of your opponents probably won’t be too familiar with it. It’s a solid yet active opening and it’s also very flexible, allowing a wide variety of plans for White including central expansion, queenside play, or a King-side attack," S.Evan Kreider.

For details on the possible moves by Black and how to respond see the one page details at:
http://chessville.com/instruction/instr_open_rep_position.htm

Chess: Black Opening

2012-01-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Hippopotamus Defense:
The Hippopotamus Defence is a name for various irregular chess opening systems in which Black moves a number of his pawns to the third rank, often developing his pieces to the second rank, and does not move any of his pawns to the fourth rank in the opening.

Next for Black:
e6
Bg7
O-O
===============
or
===============
Bg7 first then
O-O
===============
or
===============

For White's 1. d4 (Queen's pawn)
g6 first. Then
Nh6 (you don't want your opponent playing 2. Bxh6) [I'm not sure how]

===============
Some other sequence of moves.
===============

"The idea is that Black develops within his first three ranks at the beginning of the game. He will construct a solid, stable yet flexible position, wait to see what White is doing and react accordingly."

International Master Andrew Martin

Playing against my computer the last time, I made it past the opening and past the middle game. I made a mistake in the end game and lost This was not the fault of the opening. Any opening that let me reach the end game could not have prevented me from such a mistake.

So the opening works for me by enabling me to avoid any of White's chosen openings. But it does not guarantee you will always win. I feel it gives me more of a chance against a better player.

Also because it's so strange, it makes the game that much more enjoyable.

About the animal:
~Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. Estimates of their running speed vary from 18 mph to 25 mph.
~Their closest living relatives are whales and porpoises, from which they diverged about 55 million years ago.
~Hippopotamus comes from two Greek words that mean river horse.

I lost the link for the following quote:

The Hippo lies low in the water. It looks almost ridiculously passive and many theoreticians consider the Hippo to be a peaceful, almost meek animal. But nothing could be further from the truth. On closer scrutiny the animal, the position, and the statistics look almost entirely different. The Hippo is a fierce animal; ready to crush anyone who gets too close.

Chess: Looking for an Easy Opening

2012-01-23T17:50:00.001-05:00

Player vs. Player
Not
Player vs. Book

I know that a better chess player will beat a less experienced, less skillful player. But if they are about equal in talent, the player who has studied and memorized more should win. I feel this is especially true for the openings, where a starting advantage can determine the outcome.

I'm not very experienced and have no intention of spending hours studying the details of the game. I just want to play for fun. Yet I want to make a good start with the opening moves, so I will go into the middle game in good shape.

I need good openings that will go against any opening my opponent might use. The openings must be less well known, maybe even bizarre. In this way I can play against my opponent and not against technical details he's studied from the books he's read. It will be even better if the opening takes the other player by surprise.

I've come up with two openings which seem good. One for white and one for black. I'll put them in my next posts.

The Original Popeye

2012-01-21T16:00:00.001-05:00

I found this on:
40inquietudes: THE ORIGINAL:

'via Blog this'

Ocean Sky

2012-01-13T19:35:00.002-05:00

I'd like to share this video I found on the Stranger in a Strange Land blog.
For a better experience turn out the lights, turn up the music and expand the video to full screen.
Enjoy >~~>

Here is the original link from: Stranger in a Strange Land
http://mnhopkins.blogspot.com/2012/01/ocean-sky-by-alex-cherney.html

The Barrel Shape

2012-01-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

Does wondering about a common everyday item ever bother you? Well I've sometimes wondered why a barrel has its shape. Why is it rounded in the middle? I knew it had something to do with rolling it but I wanted to learn more about the details. Not the details on how they are made but the reason behind its shape.

I tried finding the answer by searching Google but I had no results. I was getting frustrated until after ten minutes I found one site that explained it.

Here's a short summary:

Barrels are heavy over 100 pounds when they are empty which can make them difficult to move. But because of their curved shape they are easily rolled. They may contain liquids, crackers, nails, almost anything.

The curve of the barrel, known as the bilge, allows for steering of the barrel as it is rolled. By maneuvering the curve --applying more pressure on one side or the other -- a person can easily turn the barrel in the necessary direction."

The barrels can be turned onto their sides and stacked for storage in racks.
Not only that, if you store wine in it the wood changes the flavor.

Here's the original link:

http://www.ehow.com/info_7743728_do-wine-barrels-curve.html

DRAW A STCKMAN

2011-12-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

Here is the link to a game you may like to play.
http://www.drawastickman.com/

I found it on the Aging Gratefully blog:
http://aginggratefully.blogspot.com/

Wind-Chime Project is Finished

2011-11-29T10:45:00.001-05:00

My own wind-chime

Putting it together from parts of my old broken wind-chimes

Works fine but I'd like to make it louder and more responsive to slower breezes.
Maybe by:
changing the center chain to fish line
or using a metal clanger
or using a larger wind catcher
or maybe lower position for the clanger.
Any ideas?

My Wind-Chime Photo Is On Google !

2011-11-26T10:40:00.000-05:00

From my post a few days ago !

While I was looking up the parts of a wind-chime I found my photo on Google Image Search. I didn't know how fast an image makes it to the search engine. I didn't know it even used personal blog photos. It was a little scary but mostly a pleasant surprise.
I'll just be careful what images I use.

Parts of a Wind-Chime

2011-11-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

Image by Otie via Flickr

I never knew what the parts of a wind-chime were called. Here's an illustration from Google Image Search:

Wind-Chime Update

2011-11-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Using a metal chain instead of fishing line works for mounting the top of the wind-chime to a support like a tree limb. Also, the striker disk which hits the chimes and the wind-catcher below can be on a metal chain.

Metal chain or wire won't work in holding up the metal tubes because the metal on metal rubbing together makes a scraping sound. The stiffness of the metal prevents the free swing of the tubes when they are hit by the striker.

I bought a roll of fishing line to hold the metal tubes. Now I'll work on lining things up and adjusting all the parts.

Wind-chime

Old Broken Wind-Chimes

2011-11-12T14:12:00.001-05:00

After a few years the strings on all my wind-chimes break and they become tangled messes. When one wind-chime breaks, I buy another one. I love the way they sound.

I've tried replacing the strings. This doesn't last long and they always look crooked.

So now I think I've come up with way to fix this problem.

I'm going to put together the parts left over from years of broken wind-chimes. But instead of string or fishing line, I'm going to use metal chains. Maybe the metal will interfere with the sound but it's worth a try.

I'll keep you posted.

Pens, Writing Through Thick and Thin

2011-11-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

Random Thoughts

Thickness:
Thin line:
-write compactly
-ink seems to last longer
-best for fine writing in limited spaces

Thick line:
-takes up more room on a page
-more ink used
-easier to read
-best for labels

Printing:
-is slower
-takes more effort because pen must be lifted off paper for each letter
-is easier to read

Cursive:
-is faster
-is easier on the hand
-is more difficult to read
-is unique for each person's signature

Any thoughts?

Halloween

2011-10-31T13:00:00.001-04:00

At the Speed of Flowers

2011-10-20T12:08:00.001-04:00

If our perception of time could slow down to the relaxed speed of flowers,

we could enjoy them so much more.

Click on video link:
http://player.vimeo.com/video/27920977?title=0&%3bbyline=0&%3bportrait=0href=

From the Fridge Soup blog http://friko-fridgesoup.blogspot.com/

.

Ancient Roman "Tank"

2011-10-16T16:09:00.001-04:00

I was looking up the shield designs of Roman soldiers when I came upon this interesting fact.
When the Roman army went into battle they developed a strategy called, "Testudo" (it became known as the, ‘Tortoise’).

The command, "As One" was given and each soldier would stand with his shield overlapping the shield of the soldier next to him.
This made an near impregnable battle formation. It crushed the front lines of the enemy. This locking shields strategy won many battles.