Looks great. Its all about timing now…
Apr 032010
Mar 172010
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, La Grange, Illinois (Interior), originally uploaded by Cornell University Library.
Anything science has not proven – if it is not observable and reproducible under controlled conditions, etc, it is suspect as hogwash.
Some challenges with this kind of thinking:
Science is not a “source” of truth but there’s a danger in treating it this way, or as the title of this post says, as dogma. I’m no scientist myself, but I see science as more of a method – sort of a structure of a process. The goal is observing, discovering, and learning the truth that is already there, not to “lay down the incontrovertible truth.”
Careful scientists know their own limitations. Honest scientists say “I have no friggin’ clue” much more often than “this is how it likely is,” at least outside their given discipline, and even within their field of study “I don’t know” is much more “truthier” than offering an accepted theory. Productive scientists are curious – and I mean really curious, openly curious.
To observe something, you have to be in the right place to observe it and observing it in the appropriate context. When there isn’t enough care about knowing the limitations of the context of observation, the conditions, etc, scientists can establish the truth of all sorts of things – like spontaneous generation. I mean hey, you leave food out, you start seeing flies – obviously the flies are coming from the food right? Duh!
Like countless other times in the history of science, science itself admitted to its error. Methods of experimentation and observation evolved and more information became available and the truth of where those maggot came from was had.
“Yeah, but that was then, this is now….that was a couple hundred years ago.” A few hundred years is a speck on the timeline of human existence – especially if you listen to the scientists and not the religionists! There’s a real danger (in my mind anyway) in believing we’ve suddenly reached the pinnacle in our generation. I suggest there is an infinite amount more truth to uncover and if there isn’t we should be acting as if there is.
A little of this truth may lay in the bottom of the deepest oceans, a little more in the farther reaches of space, and much more as we explore the irreducible complexity of the stuff we’re made of and what makes everything tick and hum.
I love Apple products. I am a Mac convert – first the Iphone, then a Macbook, and now a big beautiful Imac. I’m done with PCs for personal computering.
I also appreciate the engineering and design of the Ipad. What a lovely toy or gadget or whatever. I just don’t plan on having one right now.
If they sold them for $100 I might buy one. That will not happen any time soon.
There’s nothing I don’t like about it. My reason for not wanting one is I don’t need one. Apple has done a great job of making everything I do need.
I have a 13″ unibody Macbook. I take this thing everywhere – literally. I have a computer everywhere I go. And when even the Macbook is too big, I have my Iphone – web, email, programs, web apps, etc.
I watched the big speech. I see things opposite the way he does. Ipad takes the best things about Macbooks and Iphones and gets rid of it and leaves a gizmo with nothing but the limitations and a portion of the pros.
I need to be able to type easily on nearly all the pages I visit. If I need small and portable, I need small and portable. If I want to read books I want something designed for reading books. (That would be my Kindle.)
Mar 062010
I was just talking with a friend about coffee – again. I admitted that if coffee is not an addiction it will probably do until I find myself actively addicted to something else. Incidentally, I am perfectly happy accepting myself with this particular “addiction” if that is indeed what it is.
Here I’m using my new definition of “addiction” borrowed from Neale Donald Walsch: If you can’t be happy without it, its an addiction. If you just like it, but can accept being without it (which I did for a month) its a preference. Or, as I would call it – a life enhancer.
Since my caffeine fast in February I have spent some time thinking about this whole thing, asking others about their use of caffeine, etc. I’ve also become more conscious about how much I’m taking in – an more consciousness is always a positive thing.
Here is an article that breaks down the amounts of caffeine in a bunch of different foods and drinks. All I have put in my mouth from the list is coffee and tea. If you find yourself enjoying much of the rest of it, you may be surprised at how much caffeine you are taking in every day.
Feb 272010
This is the happiest I’ve been to be let down as far as I can remember. “Let down” is probably the wrong term. I actually figured there may be significant activity related to what turned out to be the 3′ micro-tsunami. Glad there was not.
Apparently the energy generated by Chile’s quake was absorbed before it became anything significant.
The authorities appeared to do well on this one. They were right to make as big a deal of it as they did. There’s no second chance on these things.
Not being a TV/media watcher or night owl I didn’t know anything was up when I went to bed. I was up and puttering around the house when they blew the sirens for the first time at 6:00 this morning.
“This is not a drill” I thought and began hunting for a remote to turn the the TV on.
People were out early and Costco opened up early as well – something they never do. Say what you want about the big companies but “Down To Earth” and little stores like it weren’t doing much for anyone today if they were even open. Wal-Mart and Costco were.
Speaking of closed stores, Starbucks (at least my neighborhood Starbucks) didn’t open. On the way back home without coffee I saw some people with a pickup full of belongings pitching a tent on Waipio Uka St.
Back to normal…
Feb 202010
I thought I would look for some nice shots of elephants on flickr. Didn’t take long to find one.
Feb 202010
Nice spot. Good decaf and casual atmosphere. I like that the furniture is mostly tables rather than easy chairs. Very roomy and on a corner so plenty of windows for people watching. There’s a diner style counter and plenty of art.
There are a few computers and a printer available. Free wifi too. There’s the standard bagels, muffins, and most other coffee shop grinds available too.
One big plus that I like is they serve the coffee in ceramic mugs automatically without being begged like at Starbucks.
Google Maps Page
3601 Waialae Avenue Honolulu, HI 96816-3224 – (808) 737-7444
Open Daily
Saying caffeine free isn’t entire true. I have been imbibing in Starbucks decaf nearly every day. That has a touch of caffeine left in it. Probably a pretty significant touch. Like a pat or maybe even a gentle rub.
Anyway, I’m halfway there. The experiment was to go a month without caffeine. Primarily I wanted to see if it would improve my sleep. I think it has tho some other variables call it into question.
One thing is for certain – March 1 I’m going to try caffeine again – the same consumption as before, a few cups of coffee in the morning, tea mid day, and none in the evening and see what happens.
My biggest gripe, and I don’t know if this is true everywhere – I doubt it is…is that Starbucks doesn’t like brewing decaf. My “work” Starbucks doesn’t even brew it unless it is requested. Most of them on the island never brew it in the afternoon and evening. Seems backwards.
I was absolutely jones-ing at first. The first few days I didn’t even have decaf coffee, just herbal tea. That just don’t cut it sports fans. The first cup of decaf was like getting a little fix.
Safe to say I am a caffeine addict on some level but it hasn’t made my life unmanageable in any sense. Some day I may develop a really good reason to put the caffeine behind me altogether but right now I’ll manage with it thanks very much.
I do plan to finish the month just because I planned to finish the month. Don’t think I haven’t brushed up against the idea of saying “#@$% it – gimme a quad and a Venti Pike and keep ‘em coming” but I think being true to my wishes feels better. And in 13 days (but who’s counting) I get to say all that without the “#@$% it.”
Feb 092010
Just saw an article at Lifehacker pointing the article below. I may have just decided on a new color scheme. Great article on color schemes.
Orange is used here to give a friendly and inviting impression
via Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color – Smashing Magazine.
