i + You = AppleTube (...no, not quite = Wii)
or
Instant Content Boost
Oh, man. Just look at this. Come June Apple's looking to pop!

Wishing I invested in Apple in 1996.

Hand in hand with that is the fact that music labels are allowing YouTube to broadcast their music videos.

If Apple wants to take on the threat of Microsoft head-on, they should come up with a device that transforms ordinary TV's into multi-touch screens. I don't see that technology anytime soon. What Apple has going for them is price difference, portability and the fact that Microsoft Surface is not slated until later in the year and then only available for businesses.

In other news, Ars Technica reports "New RealPlayer to rip YouTube video streams" and other streams.

Microsoft Surface
Microsoft Surface look promising and will threaten Google and Apple. SciFi is definitely a source of inspiration -- Minority Report, that is. The multi-touch surface will be the interface for Apple iPhone (as you know) and the newly announced Microsoft Surface (a 30 inch monitor). It looks as though the spider web of Microsoft has come together in a product integration akin to Apple, but even tighter. The Surface looks like one of Apple's older monitors (before they went silver) and the music interface is shamelessly copied from iTunes. Have they out-Appled Apple?


Let me list some of the ways of integration and clever promotional tie-ins:

• Microsoft mobile operating system on mobile devices (take that Palm)
  
• Microsoft Live Search, Virtual Earth Maps (take that Google)
  
• Microsoft Zune (take that Apple)
• T Mobile deal (take that Cingular...ummm AT&T)
• Increased multiplayer interactivity (take that Nintendo...maybe?)

A YouTube search of FTIR or Reactable shows that the interface technology has been in development for quite a while not just by Apple or Microsoft, but only now is it becoming more comercialized. However it doesn't seem Mircosoft uses FTIR but instead uses near-infrared cameras.

Sunday night. Perfect weather at the Millennium Park. Uncrowded. Monster Percussion Concert. It was awesome. Percussionists may have the most fun of all instrumentalists... usually don't take themselves too seriously and are not above gimmick if it sounds cool. The xylophone cannot sound unhappy. Will I ever see a marimba orchestra again? Wish I brought a camera...

Something to give you a smile. The Balloon Hat Experience.

Lingo
The need to process more info. and communicate faster promotes more acronym use and likely a bit of elitism for those in the know. Two which I recently came upon via friends:

• Q.E.D. - quod erat demonstrandum - has been around for quite a while but I never knew its meaning. It is used "to indicate that something has been definitively proven" (Wikipedia) usually found at the end of mathematical proofs... and used by cocky math students, so I'm told.
• gosu - a term for one who is highly skilled at martial arts or the boardgame Go, redefined by the online gaming community as the acronym for "god/guardian of Starcraft universe"--an expert gamer. Therefore according to Wikipedia it is a bacronym. It is often used as an adjective as in:
  That is so gosu! or... 7|-|47 15 50 605|_|! (Is gosu used in l337 speak?)
  

Listening to David Crowder Band A Collision... not as readily accessible as Illuminate but it is still so wonderful to share in joy. There is a joy where you're laughing so hard, laughing so hard...maybe not so often while existing in this fallen world.

Washington Post reports diacetyl, an artificial flavoring agent in microwave popcorn, causes the irreversible disease bronchiolitis obliterans in workers at microwave-popcorn factories. The effects of consumption or the fumes after microwaving are uncertain as it has not been studied by the FDA.

Motivating is fleeting when it is unclear what your working towards.

I know it's not the in context meaning of "Where there is no vision, the people perish," but I sometimes feel discouragement along these lines; that is, needing vision to live ambitiously.

Life Ground Up
Ahhh, spring welcomes the awakening of nature.
This week, in the U.S. at least three rare Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum or Corpse Flower) plants have been in bloom. The plant is unique for remaining underground for a few to several years to then form a giant (5-10 ft. or 1.5-3 m high) bloom which smells and generates heat in mimic of rotting flesh. The bloom lasts 3-5 days.
If you are in Ohio visit UConn (Connecticut, OH) and in Minnesota visit Gustavus Adolphus College (Saint Peter, MN). For those in California, you may have missed your chance by now at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, but you can still see the time lapse video.

Brood X
Originally uploaded by Zsaj.

In a similar development, the Periodical or 17-year Cidada (Magicicada genus) in Chicagoland are expected to simultaneously come aboveground once the ground temperature warms up to ~63-64°F after 17 year of living underground. They will densely cover the region's foliage. Their predicted date of arrival is evening May 21 and morning May 22.

Would be awesome to make compelling animations like this by Yoann Lemoine:
Evergreen

An interesting development since 9-11 is the increased and intended visibility of Muslims. They voice it as an effort to normalize Islam in the U.S. public eye. More women wear the hijab, more participate in politics and elections, and in fact some boasts of Islam being the fastest growing religion in America (and Europe). I commend them for further embracing their rightful duties as citizens of this nation where there is still freedom of religion. I am also glad most distinguish themselves from the radicalism outside the U.S. I do wonder what the rest of the world thinks of U.S. Muslims when there are those who call the U.S. the Great Satan. One factor in the moderation of Islam in the U.S. has likely been attributed to demographics: many who come the America are more affluent and educated. I may sound quite optimistic, I want to hope they are making an honest effort to live at peace, but deep inside I remain suspicious of a religion and culture that seems so contrary to what I believe.

I cannot ignore the fact that the greatest geopolitical threat to Christians is Islam (2nd being communism). The top 10 nations persecuting Christians (by imprisonment, torture, murder, destruction of property, attacks, intimidation) are:
North Korea, Iraq, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Iran, Eritrea, China, Vietnam, Pakistan.
3 are communist nations. 7 are Muslim/dominantly Muslim.

So on the surface it appears there is a disconnect between the liberal and radical groups of Muslims. Morocco and Turkey are evidence of this. These are two nations where there is an internal struggle to keep Wahhabism at bay by separating state and religion, in the case of Turkey, or by the state directing religion and education towards moderation, in the case of Morocco.

Watched a few episodes of a fascinating show called America at a Crossroads. This show documents modern day Islam with a perspective sympathetic towards moderate Islam--the most visible form in the U.S. A distinction is drawn between radical versus peaceful interpretation of the Qur'an with radical being fundamentalist, extremist, violent as embodied mainly in the spreading movement of Wahhabism. In Europe the show drew attention to cases of such violence in Madrid, London, Holland, and Morocco. In Holland there was a cell of 20-something-year-old men, notable since they were citizens born and raised in Holland, yet somehow captivated by Wahhabism. One of the cell members threw a grenade into a group of Holland police. He was arrested and so was his younger brother. The younger brother was released as he wasn't at their meeting building at that time. Nonetheless, he holds to the cruel (and evil) ideology as seen by an interview of the younger brother. When asked about his brother, he laughed as if he couldn't contain his excitement in recalling what his brother did. Sick.

One thing that irked me was the note that the U.S. is different from Europe in that there are no terror cells in the U.S. because the Muslims in the U.S. are peaceful. This is blatantly wrong. The terrorist group which led to 9-11 had their cell in Florida. An more recently a group was arrested in New Jersey.

A question that many people in the U.S. are asking is: if Islam is a peaceful religion why haven't the moderates denounced violent acts committed in the name of Islam? At a Muslim Q&A session on a college campus the forceful answer was: "How many times do we have to denounce it?!" So it is often cited that Islam means "peace" and "submission." I think the harder question is if peaceful Muslims believe their holy book, they have to reconcile the following verses:

1. “Fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah” ~Surah 8:39
2. “Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free” ~Surah 9:5
3. “Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah…and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low” ~Surah 9:29
4. “Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites! Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end” ~Surah 9:73
5. “Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you…” ~Surah 9:123
6. “So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make (them) prisoners…” ~Surah 47:4

Note #3 "those who have been given the Scripture" refers to Christians & Jews. (Source is from International Christian Concern).

And so essentially these commands were carried out recently in Turkey when a group of Turkish Muslims gruesomely tortured three Christian missionaries:

ICC then continued to describe the nature of the torture, which included disembowelment, emasculation, and the slicing open of various orifices.
“Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated,” ICC reports.

Come on China!! NY Times investigative journalism reports on a
poison in disguise sold to Chinese citizens and the world. Glycerine, an ingredient used in cough syrup, was replaced with diethylene glycol (DEG, typically used as a coolant and an organic solvent) and sold to pharmaceutical companies. Why the counterfeit? The same stinking reason... to make a larger profit. According to Wikipedia, glycerine costs ~3x more than DEG. There is more to this case than that... unlicensed, unqualified suppliers; forgery; failure to test the material; erasing records; poor labeling; not checking labels; changing labels; changing dates; failure to monitor sources through the supply chain.

Two sources of origin--a Mr. Wang and the Taixing Glycerine Factory--provided glycerine leading to mass poisonings. Given that a person or persons commit crimes in ignorance, ignorance shouldn't necessarily spared them. People died!! Over a hundred. In the Taixing case, the poison was labeled "TD glycerine." No one checked to find out that TD was abbreviation for a Chinese term for "substitute" as in "substitute glycerine." Makes you want to cry over the whole mess.

Via the investigation the path of 40 barrels of diethylene glycol:
Taixing Glycerine Factory manufactured the DEG in Hengxiang, China--> CNSC Fortune Way Company in Beijing, China--> Rasfer International in Barcelona, Spain--> imported by Medicom into Panama--> used to make 260,000 bottles of medication in Panama City--> distributed to the people of Panama

McGraw Hill's Access Medicine reports DEG as:

Highly nephrotoxic. Renal failure, coma, metabolic acidosis, and death have been reported after ingestion... Gastritis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, and delayed neurologic sequelae also reported after ingestion. Metabolic acidosis may be delayed > 12 hours after ingestion.

Treatment: "ethanol and fomepizole may be effective" but Poison Control Center should be contacted immediately.

Speaking of following up on sources I believe the NY Times may have some confusion between ethylene glycol and DEG. Ethylene glycol is used in antifreeze and deicers. Both compounds are described as sweet and highly toxic causes of medical emergencies.

Honeybee 2
Originally uploaded by dragonseye.

Colony Collapse Disorder threatens the U.S. honeybees population nationwide and subsequently threatens the many crops dependent on honeybee pollination. The bees would suddenly abandon the colony, leaving the larvae and queen to die. The disorder has also affected populations in South America and Europe. The cause remains a mystery.

There Is Beauty
Read a bit of Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig. Leafed through a bit of Cold War Kids. They made me wonder at our mistaking what is novel and even creative for what is honestly beautiful.

To draw on Craig's summary of Francis Schaeffer's analysis of the human predicament: Schaeffer rallied against Hegel's influence on Western culture, an influence to destroy our definites and absolutes and leave us in desperate absurdity and meaninglessness.

In that "line of despair" we are gripped by avant garde expression to dwell on chaos, disorder, and emptiness and name it beauty. It's like rejoicing in our oblivion and blindness.

Cold War Kids draw inspiration from David Foster Walker:

"...to back away from ironic watching..."
"...gall actually to endorse and instantiate single-entendre principles..."
"...eschew self-consciousness and hip fatigue..."
"...The old postmodern insurgents risked the gasp and squeal:shock disgust, outrage, censorship, accusations of socialism, anarchism, nihilism. Today's risks are different. The new rebels might be artists willing to risk the yawn, rolled eyes, the cool smile, the nudged ribs, the parody of gifted ironists, the 'Oh how banal.' To risk accusations of sentimentality, melodrama. Of overcredulity. Of softness..."

Ha! Hip fatigue. I can't say the Cold War Kids have escaped it. It's hard to avoid, huh?

This is not to denigrate creativity; it has its place. I too am curious and fascinated by forms of expression. I just don't want to ignore or water down what is truly admirable.

And so I sign off with words that are reassuring and itself beautiful:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. -Philippians 4:8

Chicago Bulls swept the Miami Heat.

AlltheWeb.com has a live web search option. Nice. From my attempts it's a bit faster than the live search ability of Google Desktop and not quite as fast as OS X Sherlock... though the comparison is between web only and predominantly desktop search engines. PCWorld's Search Engine Shootout has both Yahoo-powered AlltheWeb and AltaVista besting Google in text search tests, however noting Google as overall best.