Just another article to point out that you should eat and drink what you like.  Workout as little or as much as you want.  Everyone dies and everything you do hastens that demise.  You are not built to last and you live in a hostile environment even if you are surrounded by the kindest, gentle people imaginable.    Tons of perfectly natural items you breathe and ingest are slowly deteriorating your cell’s ability to reproduce themselves and absent anything getting you even more quickly your body will just fail around age 120 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity#Long-lived_individuals).

Good news is that Americans on average are living longer and longer.  Then why all the angst about special diets, organic foods (as opposed to inorganic foods?) and the “obesity epidemic”?  Hmmm… scams anyone?  The source and the purpose vary starting with the simplest and oldest, fear-marketing.  And of course, most anything the government wants to do “for” you means “to” you which means give up your rights, depend on us and do what we say in little things now and bigger things tomorrow.

Yeah, its that good.  I broke down and went to see this in an actual theater and am glad I did, so now I don’t have to worry about guarding against spoilers till the Bluray release.  If you haven’t gone, go now.

I would also be curious if there was an uptick in the sales of the lead-up DVDs / BDs as folks prepared to see the Avengers.  I know a couple families that definitely went  and got the other movies to get up to speed.

Tip of the hat to the geniuses at Marvel for a fantastic idea well executed!

Some good tips and recommendations.  Me?  I’m still looking at either the Google Nexus or the Samsung Note (or equivalent).  I’m still waiting a bit on my decision and won’t go with the Note if it doesn’t have ICS and probably won’t go with that if Verizon doesn’t get one.  I’m not going to any other carrier as I’m not willing to cut back on coverage.

Good information on this model, though I’ll go do my own hands on as well before deciding as I find there’s a fair amount of Android disdain in the tech press.  Yes, a generalization, but one worth noting.  See my previous posts on the pros and cons of Android vs. iPad.  Just depends on what you want and are willing to put up with as cons in both ecosystems.  For me the Android pros have a bigger delta over its cons than iPad.

I suspect I’d use the Transformer as a tablet 85% of the time and use the dock for:

1. Those times I need to type something substantial and don’t have a laptop nearby.
2. For travel to facilitate having a longer battery availability as the base provides battery life to the docked tablet.
3. For protecting the screen when travelling and holding the screen upright as I used it in planes or hotel rooms for video watching.

The Abolition of Man.

Another great effort from John C. Wright. Just like his Golden Age trilogy, this isn’t a book I would recommend to SciFi newbies unless I know them to be a bit of a polymath in interests if not in full expertise. This book is full of big ideas, large philosophical musings, long time spans and wondrous, galaxy spanning mysteries. If Hunger Games is your idea of sci-fi, then don’t bother with this book. If you couldn’t put down the Foundation trilogy by the awesome Isaac Asimov, then get this book now.

This story is certainly able to stand on its own, but as with the Foundation series, contains such huge ideas and time lines that an “ending” is impossible. That said, I did finally find an article where John C. Wright himself states this is the start of a new series. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/12/20/the-big-idea-john-c-wright/

I can’t wait for more!

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Been wondering if Jim Butcher can possibly keep Dresden rolling without falling into boring stale-breadedness? Fear not. If this book is any indication, then we’ve got many more great adventures to share with Harry without knowing what’s coming. Keep ‘em comin’ JimB!

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So I was happy to be introduced to the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AFID) in an interview that Frank Gaffney had with M. Zuhdi Jasser.  As you can see from AFID’s statement below, they are working to reform Islam to pull back to being only a religion so it can exist in the context of free, democratic states.

This is an encouraging sign and something I’ll be following with interest.  The best early signs that this group is serious and headed in the right direction is by the enemies they have.  Top of the list is the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations).  Anyone that makes those folks unhappy is at the least a friend of the “enemy-of-my-enemies” kind and headed toward true friendship at a rapid clip.

Best of luck to AFID and Zuhdi Jasser in your efforts.

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“Help us build capacity in AIFD’s programs that help to reform those ideologies in Islam that create radicalization which in turn threaten our liberty, freedom, and democracy. Please take action and donate today.”

via American Islamic Forum for Democracy.