Healthcare Plan

I was quite impressed by a friend's argument against McCain's healthcare plan. He pointed out that, sure, McCain would allow people to shop around for cheaper insurance alternatives, but insurance agencies will not be willing to pick up those with pre-existing illnesses. He also brought up the argument that employers will cease to cover employees if employers were taxed to fund the McCain plan. Finally he argued that the uninsured population abuses emergency department visits, thus driving up costs for the public and hospitals. He proposes that with universal coverage would remove one reason they are inclined to visit the ED. Both candidates plan to increase the number clinics to improve preventative care and field non-emergent complaints. Even so there are several free clinics already available through county systems; yet the ED still is swamped with visits.

Nonetheless a question continued to linger was how could Obama pay for his version of universal healthcare. Faulty implementation has become a motif in Wall Street Journal's criticism of Obama's weak economic plans which appears to draw heavily upon "unverifiable" sources. One article showed that his own economic advisors have even up to 4 months ago admittedly advocated a McCain-like plan and that "Mr. Obama has offered no clue as to how he intends to pay for his health-insurance plans, or doubling foreign aid, or any of the other 175 programs he's promised to expand."

Addendum
Apparently McCain's plan actually accounts for those with pre-existing illnesses. His healthcare plan would fund insurance for those who have been rejected by an insurance company, i.e. those at highest risk.

China's Silencing of Parents

Oh China, you pain me! This is not justice. You placate your people now, only to build future unrest. Companies cutting corners leading to deaths of children are not brought to trial because they are too intertwined with government. It demonstrates fear of exposure and losing control.

Scare Tactic

Enough with rumor that Obama is Muslim as a scare tactic-- a tactic that is is somehow demeaning to a group of Americans and not true.

But most people understand this. I myself have been wary of the violence against Christians and against those who leave or criticize the Islamic religion. This however has not been the case for moderate Islam; extremism within any people group subsists in the fringes yet they can act as though speaking as representative. (So it is a sad that the Wahabist movement in Islam cannibalizes the rich, open culture widely found even as late as the 1970's.)

Capital Gains Tax

Obama now has a 6% lead (50% vs. McCain's 44%), mountains upon mountains of money, advertising spending at a 4:1 ratio compared to McCain, the endorsement of Colin Powell and Warren Buffet, a constant message of change and hope, and the often cited "steadiness" which on the side some wonder about a dullness or lack of passion but mostly it is read as confidence. Powell's opinion has been swayed by the current economic climate. So is Obama's economic plan sound? The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily have both argue against his increase in the capital gains tax from 15% to 28% which would hit those who own stock. This was said in his debate in April but even now Obama is consistent with his plan to increase the capital gains tax for the sake of "fairness."

This is despite the fact that government revenue from taxes increased every time capital gains tax was cut and decreased when it was raised. It suggests that Obama still has much to learn about economics and that he is willing to stick with an ideology despite the evidence being pointed out to him. Either candidates will need to draw on a strong economic partners if they are to carry us through these hard times.

Powell for Obama

Colin Powell's endorsement for Senator Obama is huge, especially if Obama is elected and Powell is invited and agrees to come on staff. Powell is an iconic man whom everyone respects, has military and foreign relations experience, has served on staff under three presidents (Reagan, H.W. Bush, W. Bush), and was once considered for presidential candidacy (though declined). In my opinion, Obama's greatest weakness is a lack of experience but if he continues to surround himself with seasoned pros, that weakness is minimized.

Liberal Elite

The television political talk show satirists have pointed out the jaundiced eye Republicans have towards the Liberal Elite. I quote, "It is only in politics where being elite is a bad thing"; which was followed up by giving contrasting examples: elite athletes and elite scientists are considered good things. But this partially misses the point. There is a difference between being elite and elitist and the Republican party sentiment has been directed against elitism. But there has also been a neglect or antagonism towards the educated. The New York Times published an article that puts forth cogently that only in the last 15 years have Republicans spurned the educated class in an appeal to the regular Joe Six-pack. Educated conservatives are not lacking but the party has stopped appealing towards them.

World Gone Nuclear

India
President Bush and Congress have given India a huge vote of trust in the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement which provides for trade of nuclear fuel and supplies. This has won over India as a longstanding ally but may threaten to destabilize the relationship India has with Pakistan, given their own arms race in recent history. India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and though the Bush-Singh trade accord provides for nuclear energy it allows India to progress as "nuclear weapons state" without strings attached.

The accord seems to have wide support from India's left and right. Economically, both countries will benefit as India gains energy supply and U.S. receives needed funding. Strategically, the U.S. may have gained a partner in Asia with regards to Iran but also potentially regarding China.

Iran
Iran continues to scorn international overtures to cease its nuclear enrichment. According to Wall Street Journal it will have enough "low-enriched uranium necessary to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb by mid-January" despite offers for "membership in the World Trade Organization to Western billions and backing for its energy sector, including civilian nuclear reactors. The mullahs mock those entreaties." Most pitiful is how the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling Iran to abide by its previous three resolutions to stop enrichment. What evidence shows that a 3rd repetition would help? In turn Iran has threatened to limit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to known nuclear sites.

It highly unlikely the U.S. would take military action; however this does not stop Israel from striking especially with past threats to destroy of Israel coming from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

North Korea
The Hermit State with the last standing Stalinist cult of personality, has turned back on its aid-for-disarmament deal and proceeded to rebuild its Yongbyon plutonium processing plant. The IAEA has completed North Korea's orders to remove surveillance camera and seals and no longer has access to the facility.

Addendum
North Korea agreed to stop rebuilding now that the United States has removed it from the terrorist list.

Support

If Obama becomes president we need to support him. If McCain becomes president we need to support him. I have been admittedly wary of Obama because of his inexperience, stance on abortion, and radical associates, but any U.S. president needs the support of his or her citizens. It is during campaign season that our differences are most acutely felt because our future seems so wrapped up in theirs. In one sense the influence of the U.S. President on the world is impressive in the direction of humanitarian efforts, trade agreements/sanctions, military campaigns, and ideals promoted.
I urge a focus on where each candidate stand on issues and determine what beliefs they hold. Past elections have shown people vote with their feelings whether they admit it or not. Being cool or likable do not determine leadership. What direction they take the country must be assessed at best by their words and what history we know about them.

Obama's Middle Class?

The recent post-debate commercial that Senator Obama ran pointed out that Senator McCain did not use the phrase "middle class" as a sign that McCain was disconnected. The New York Times mentioned Obama's own admitted adherence to Trinity United Church's Black Value System which disavows the middle class (see below #8). Obama later said it initially "stopped" him. What "stopped" meant Obama writes in his book Dreams of My Father was that this disavowal stood out from day one of visiting the church and he often thought about it. When interviewed about it last year, Obama says it is important to take it in as a whole. The description of the Black Value System has recently been removed from the Trinity United Church's website however it can still be found because this System continues to reflect a radical belief system that the blogosphere cannot forget. The Chicago Tribune reported that one of the Black Value System's drafters, Vallmer Jordan, designed it to "empower the black community and counter a value system imposed by whites." Obama notes the values espoused by the Black Value System are "necessary for black advancement." I believe it is understood that many blacks in the United States are disproportionately disenfranchised; however I believe there is a manner of promoting the black cause that can be extreme to a fault.

Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System, written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee, chaired by the late Vallmer Jordan in 1981.

Dr. Manford Byrd, our brother in Christ, withstood the ravage of being denied his earned ascension to the number one position in the Chicago School System. His dedication to the pursuit of excellence, despite systematic denials, has inspired the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ. Prayerfully, we have called upon the wisdom of all past generations of suffering Blacks for guidance in fashioning an instrument of Black self-determination, the Black Value System.

Beginning in 1982, an annual Black Value System – Educational Scholarship in the name of Dr. Byrd was instituted. The first recipient of the Dr. Manford Byrd Award, which is given annually to the man or woman who best exemplifies the Black Value System, was our brother, Dr. Manford Byrd.
These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They consist of the following concepts:

1.Commitment to God. “The God of our weary years” will give us the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activists, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all humankind.

2.Commitment to the Black Community. The highest level of achievement for any Black person must be a contribution of strength and continuity of the Black Community.

3.Commitment to the Black Family. The Black family circle must generate strength, stability and love, despite the uncertainty of externals, because these characteristics are required if the developing person is to withstand warping by our racist competitive society.

Those Blacks who are blessed with membership in a strong family unit must reach out and expand that blessing to the less fortunate.

4.Dedication to the Pursuit of Education. We must forswear anti-intellectualism. Continued survival demands that each Black person be developed to the utmost of his/her mental potential despite the inadequacies of the formal education process. “Real education” fosters understanding of ourselves as well as every aspect of our environment. Also, it develops within us the ability to fashion concepts and tools for better utilization of our resources, and more effective solutions to our problems. Since the majority of Blacks have been denied such learning, Black Education must include elements that produce high school graduates with marketable skills, a trade or qualifications for apprenticeships, or proper preparation for college.

Basic education for all Blacks should include Mathematics, Science, Logic, General Semantics, Participative Politics, Economics and Finance, and the Care and Nurture of Black minds.

5.Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence. To the extent that we individually reach for, even strain for excellence, we increase, geometrically, the value and resourcefulness of the Black Community. We must recognize the relativity of one’s best; this year’s best can be bettered next year. Such is the language of growth and development. We must seek to excel in every endeavor.

6.Adherence to the Black Work Ethic. “It is becoming harder to find qualified people to work in Chicago.” Whether this is true or not, it represents one of the many reasons given by businesses and industries for deserting the Chicago area. We must realize that a location with good facilities, adequate transportation and a reputation for producing skilled workers will attract industry. We are in competition with other cities, states and nations for jobs. High productivity must be a goal of the Black workforce.

7.Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect. To accomplish anything worthwhile requires self-discipline. We must be a community of self-disciplined persons if we are to actualize and utilize our own human resources, instead of perpetually submitting to exploitation by others. Self-discipline, coupled with a respect for self, will enable each of us to be an instrument of Black Progress and a model for Black Youth.

8.Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness.” Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control.

Those so identified are separated from the rest of the people by:

• 1. Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that encourages them to kill off one another.
• 2. Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.
• 3. Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which, while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us.”
• 4. So, while it is permissible to chase “middleclassness” with all our might, we must avoid the third separation method – the psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness.” If we avoid this snare, we will also diminish our “voluntary” contributions to methods A and B. And more importantly, Black people no longer will be deprived of their birthright: the leadership, resourcefulness and example of their own talented persons.

9.Pledge to Make the Fruits of All Developing and Acquired Skills Available to the Black Community.

10.Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions.

11.Pledge Allegiance to All Black Leadership Who Espouse and Embrace the Black Value System.

12.Personal Commitment to Embracement of the Black Value System. To measure the worth and validity of all activity in terms of positive contributions to the general welfare of the Black Community and the Advancement of Black People towards freedom.

There is good in promoting education and progress, but why the mention of escaping middleclassness for the "fact" that it is an instrument of the "captors" as if the white community is still holding the black community captive. I believe this is a delusion that cannot be allowed to continue. There is an inherent racism in this document as it would be anathema in this society to have a church indoctrinate members towards a White cause, White progress, and allegiance to White leadership. In addition I do not understand why this holds such prominence for an entity that calls itself a church. The Black Value System illustrates the means as self-reliance and the goal as self-promotion which are both ultimately at odds with the Jesus of the Bible.

Music Online

For my personal reference - music online, courtesy of PC Magazine.

MP3 search:
SkreemR.com
SeeqPod.com
Sonza.com

Playlist:
IMEEM.com
finetune.com

Streaming:
Pandora.com
Last.fm
slacker.com

Recommended:
thesixtyone.com

An Eye for Annai

Cute Vid

Little Big Planet for PS3

This is a potential system seller.
Trailer:



Gameplay:

Watched the documentary Iraq for Sale. The approach has politically left leanings though any political bias does not mar the critical information presented.

The film targets private contractors funded by our tax money in a manner of war profiteering that is destroying "the war effort" in Iraq. Haliburton, KBR, Titan, Caci, Blackwater are the guilty parties served contracts without any competitive bidding and allowed unregulated spending and waste. These companies are pepper with ex-high ranking military and governmental types with tentacles apparently penetrating deeply into the federal government.

It portrays an infrastructure set up for American troop support that is essentially crap, has endangered all involved, and is leading to countless, unnecessary deaths. If this is the infrastructure for our troops, what of the infrastructure of the rebuilding effort? I believe it is one reason why the war is going on "for so long."

Private and civilian forces involved in security and interrogation operate apart from the U.S. military's chain of command and oversight, but are in positions to direct soldiers and blur service and profit.

An example of endangerment is Titan provides the bulk of linguists as interpreters for the military. However there is absolutely no grounds to trust the interpreters as these linguists are neither testing nor certified; there is no guarantee they know Farsi or if they are accurately translating versus just saying their opinion.

I do recommend watching it just to be in the know of what has happened and ensure it does not happen again. We need to have better oversight of private contractors, their selection and spending, and perhaps staffing, training and decisions. The last three may not be feasible as that would essentially take on the role of contractors. One unpopular but practical alternative is reinstate the draft, eliminate contracting and place everything under the jurisdiction of the military.

Good Med School Humor

Obama & Faith

I cannot shake the sense that presidential candidate Barak Obama has racist leanings and is, despite the hype, another typical politician.

Why racist?
Perhaps it's only an issue of guilt by association but I fear it to be more. Obama has had the cultivation and nurturing of 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and his mentor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Obama's concept of American society and God must have been affected, and he must have assented or partook to have latched onto Wright for so long.
Wright preaches messages that:

1. are anti-Caucasians (including Europeans);
2. curse and vilify the United States;
3. honor Louis Farrakhan (leader of the cult Nation of Islam);
4. promote an imaginary black Jesus (not found in the Bible);
5. follow the teachings of James H. Cone (a founding father of black liberation theology and a man who calls white men the devil); and
6. perpetuate a delusion of government conspiracies (i.e. AIDS) against blacks.

In general, Wright stirs his congregation by painting nonblacks as enemies. In this way Trinity United Church is the Nation of Islam in the guise of Christianity. It is a message where the greatest sin is the poverty and oppression of blacks, and heaven is to be had now in the form of black power, influence, and wealth. Obama is a proactive accomplished man so I ask by which factor did Obama choose to follow Wright's message?


The typical politician
Only in the past couple weeks has Obama sloughed off association with Trinity when it threatens his political image. He has played a careful balancing act: defusing speculation of being Muslim (named Hussein, childhood in Indonesia) by claiming Christianity ("I attend a church"), but now distancing himself from church to deflect suspicions of racism. Like the majority U.S. politicians, Obama must reassure the middle America of his Christian "faith"; yet the faith he has followed turns out to be different from Christianity. Either he is misinformed or he tosses faith about as another tool for or obstacle to his rise.

These are days of mourning for China, the 12,000 dead and counting. The student bodies crushed in collapsed schools are made almost entirely of the sole children of family (due to the One Child Policy), the absolute devastation to parents cannot be fathomed.

The U.S. is giving $0.5 million to aid the earthquake effort which I believe is too small for the magnitude. The Yunnan province of China alone is donating $0.25 million in aid to the cyclone destruction in Burma - an even more terrifying death toll of over 30,000. Please pray and if possible offer aid, food, medicine.
(I am selfish to mourn more for the Chinese...need to grow in compassion.)


Suffering is not always the act of justice.

"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." -Matthew 5:45b

Quote of the Day

"It's not like I'm a rocket surgeon!"

Prince Creepy

My sentiments exactly:

Beauty and a Beast by *JohnSu on deviantART

Lines of the Day

Carla: Are you familiar with the term "delusions of grandeur"?
Janitor: I believe I coined that term.

From Scrubs Season 7, Episode 9

Tibet as Polarizer

I often criticize the self-serving business practices and dangerous shortcuts that China has allowed or overlooked. This has been not out of malice or scorn, but always in grief towards the Chinese and hope that things will change with exposure to truth. The voice of media is accountability to the people.

I feel the Tibet-Olympics protests is a completely different issue. I cannot stand the irrationality of so many Chinese mainlanders and the hands-off attitude of the Dalai Lama. By consciously refusing to tell the Tibetan riots to stop or refrain from violence, the Lama effectively approves of violence demonstrated by Buddhists and Buddhist monks. Does anyone see the irony in ignoring their own tenets? I question the Lama's motive here even as he continually grins. And we see also the ugly Chinese (akin to the ugly American); the ugly Chinese now takes the form of rabid reactionary hyperpatriotism. If a Chinese person calls for dialog or rationality, many mainland Chinese turn on him or her, an act that confirms their irrationality by threating the victim's life and family.

The Chinese government and Olympic organizers believe the riots were timed to disrupt the 2008 Olympics and the actions of the world confirm it. If spectators continue to threaten the passage of the Olympic flame the ugliness will only be fed. The whole Tibet issue is out of proportion on both sides. Everyone is missing the point.

Don't destroy this event for which athletes world-over have worked so hard to reach.

Mom-ism

Searchme

Apparently taking cue from Apple's Coverflow interface, a new search engine interface arises in the form of Searchme as featured on Ars Technica.

Bad Dream

Had a nightmare:
I was driving a navy blue Volkswagen Beetle on the highway. My breaks went out and I started gaining speed towards 100 mph--crazy dodging traffic. I drove off a bridge (of course) and fell into a raging river. The car tilted downward and and rapidly started sinking but I had rolled down my window to climb out and leap off the roof of the car. The river tossed me along the current but I eventually made it to a side and pulled myself ashore... which happened to be next to my parents' house.

It was raining now but I didn't want to go inside because I feared that my parents would be angry I had lost the car. But someone with a crane happened to fish the Beetle out of river onto the opposite side. I felt so relieved but now I worried about how to salvage the wet upholstery and offer a solution that would satisfy my parents. I couldn't do anything about it now since the car was across the river so I headed inside and ... I woke up.

It is weird that I did not give a thought to my life but was overly concerned about the car and my parents' opinion. I don't drive a Beetle nor do I particularly like navy blue.

Half Empty

Despair.com has funny & mean Demotivator posters...but that's their point. Read the text for Persistence. Apparently "disaffected college students" are prime for such posters.

Edwards and Organ Transplants - WSJ.com

Edwards and Organ Transplants - WSJ.com

Nanking

Nanking, the movie, brought me to tears. As you may know it is a documentary on the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing). After seeing this, can one foolishly deny the historicity of this event? It was a history that the imperial Japanese military suppressed (even now so many revisionists deny it). Despite that, eyewitness accounts, photographs and videos of the atrocities survived and even reached the U.S. government of the 1930's. Yet the world stood by and watched the mutilation. I recommend this movie as this must be known.

This provided such rich examination into the human nature; a nature capable of unfathomably evil and so twisted as to call evil, "Good." Evil is a word used often these days, but there is such cruelty that sickens you to exhaustion.

The era encompassing WWII may well consist of the Greatest Generation to behold such vibrant heroes and villains. The rawness of existence and struggle of war is a testing ground that tears away any facade to reveal the beauty or ugliness that we are.

The Japanese Tradition

I found the following series called "The Japanese Tradition," a quirky tongue in cheek collection of lessons on Japanese culture. The videos in the series should run one after the other. However there is a part of the series missing: a three part on dating in Japan. There is a version on YouTube with English subtitles. which I cannot find now.

Richard Hitchens, author of god is not Great was recently interviewed at an atheist convention.  He says that Abraham Lincoln & Thomas Jefferson were atheists but I beg to differ as they often quoted God in a manner that accepts His existence.

"In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible" (September 7, 1864), p. 542.

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. Thomas Jefferson

Once again, like his book, Hitchens' makes too many false generalizations.

Quote of the day: "Life's too interesting to be bored."

Surgery & ObGyn have eaten my time.

Quote of the day: "Your cervix is stone-cold closed."

I am thirsty:

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God? -Psalm 42:1-2

Surgery is a vacuum of time, but it is a draw - the challenge of technical prowess, the satisfaction of tangible action; but do I want to constantly feel tired?

That's all secondary. What is life apart from God?

Disney Returns to High School

I admit, I watched High School Musical 2. Despite the oversaturated glare from color editing, abrupt transitions to song & dance, cliched villainess and talent show plot, and a scene with poor juxtaposition of baseball with dancing, I enjoyed it. High school never came in such fake rosy (magenta) packaging and romance; but romance, spectacle, or comedy is what we expect from musicals--an escape. Here the faces are fresh, choreographs are polished, and songs are radio ready. The Village Voice has a review with spoilers.

If you missed the crazy amount of media buzz generated, it's a Disney made-for-TV movie. The last two weeks saw a sudden rush of media outlets featuring HSM. Who is this unknown on the cover of Rolling Stones? I guess he's become somebody...good business. The first movie generated $100mil in merchandise (highest selling CD in 2006) and so Disney tripled the production cost of the sequel and it shows.

OD on Caffeine

17 year old girl consumes seven double espressos, develops palpitations, hyperventilation, fever, diaphoresis.

Step Closer to Precog

Ars Technica reports on the Department on Homeland Security (DHS) exploring automated Hostile Intent detectors. As quoted, "hostile intent indicators are composed of behavioral, speech, and physiological cues that are derived from operational and laboratory experiments" which Ars notes:

these cues can identify not only those who pose immediate risks but also individuals who are likely to pose risks in the indefinite future (italics added).

It's a step closer to the Precogs in Minority Report. I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

New iMac. More svelte than ever.

Night Rain
Aching swollen heaven cries.
There, there...
Gunshots tear white hot twists
And leave slow "Timber!" in the hollows of space,
Shaking houses beneath the strobe of vapor mountains.
Frog, cicada join the applause of struck dirt.
The heavens cried and cooled the earth.

gPhone
In the wake of Apple's iPhone, rumor is Google developing a cell phone to be supported by ads (as recently reported in Wall Street Journal, then other news sources).

Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times published an excerpt from the book Blasphemy: How the Religious Right Is Hijacking Our Declaration of Independence, by Alan Dershowitz. The issue: separation of church and state. Mr. Dershowitz shows a surprising lack of understand. Essentially he says the religious right wants to break down the "wall of separation in Church and State" to form a state-run religion. A religion run by the government is exactly what the religious right does not want. Therefore Dershowitz is actually in agreement on this point and in agreement with Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson coined the phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptists, he was trying to protect the free practice of religion by not setting a federally sponsored religion. The religious right see a twisting of this original intent. Instead of protecting religion, the past few decades shows rulings and legislation impinging on religious freedom.

David Crowder Band's next album, Remedy, seems set for Sept. 25, 2007. Yeah!

Marijuana: Risk for Schizophrenia

P1010508
Originally uploaded by munghole.

A study published by The Lancet, strongly links marijuana use with the risk of developing schizophrenia. Users have a 41% increase risk of psychosis and higher with heavier use. Of note is, if Britain stopped its marijuana consumption, ~800 cases of schizophrenia would be prevented. (see article at Reuters).

NY Times article on restaurants for people with celiac disease. It is useful to know if you have friends who have the condition. It frees you up to go out to eat and not have to always check in advance if the restaurant offers gluten free food.

Rambling on Tolerance (modified)
It seem unavoidable that we operate by stereotypes. How do people sum or size others up? By pattern recognition. We match from past experiences with people of the similar body habitus, complexion, fashion sense, posture, demeanor, vocal inflections, vocabulary, etc. How do people make a judgment call or determine first impression? At times it is an essential tool in order to screen people in the interview process, auditions, airports... not to say that our ability to match is perfect. Mass data (people) under time constraints demands practicality.

In part I poo-poo the notion of tolerance. What is tolerance? It is the notion of not acting out against something attributed negatively. Our P.C. nation has no tolerance for stereotyping that is matched with negative emotions (hatred, anger, annoyance); though it has spread to avoiding almost any form generalization (which is impractical). This band-aid on a heart issue will not resolve by putting on a front. Yet everyone is required to assume the front and pretend without necessarily addressing the core. Doesn't this just add another layer of deception? Then again we should strive to live at peace with others so it could suffice as a temporary salve.

As for tolerance in terms of "being open to new ideas or change," fine. There should be a willingness to entertain and understand new things, within reasonable limits. After all, experience is not an end-all (unless you're an existentialist), otherwise everyone would try, for example, street drugs. But we don't need experience to necessarily choose wisely.

At the other side of the spectrum there are elements we can not tolerant: injustice, evil and the likes... In conclusion, tolerance is too broad an agenda to set, that could lead to oversight of practicality and core issues.

(There is a distinction between tolerance and patience. Patience is tied closely with contentment and enduring stress, duress, boredom.) Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.

Break & Down

Break in.
Break locks.
Break chains.
Break free.
Breakfast.
Break ties.
Break promises.
Break hearts.
Break spirits.
Breakdown.

Down to the details.
Down to a science.
Down to the bone.

Down to an artform.
Down to the last second.

LOLCats.com. Woot! (in the same lines as dpac)

Saw Ratatouille. Awesome... consummate satisfaction! And the animated short, Lifted, made me laugh out loud. I'm amazed at how Pixar pulls it off that movie magic each time. How do they keep it fresh? Working there is a dream job for many people I'm sure.

Chinese Steam Buns Made from Cardboard.

northern redbelly dace
Originally uploaded by Ardea.

China's Export Woes - Seafood
The Washington Post reports China exports farm-raised seafood contaminated with antibiotics and carcinogens despite repeated warnings and even visits to farms. The FDA now requires inspection of shrimp, eel, catfish, basa and dace from China before they are sold.

The chemicals found in the seafood were "nitrofurans detected in shrimp, malachite green detected in dace, eel and catfish and basa, and gentian violet detected in eel and catfish. In addition, fluoroquinolones were found in catfish and basa."

Again, the levels are just detectable but should not be present in the firs place.

iPhone Strategy
iPhones hit stores at 6 p.m., 1 week from now (June 29). Details about the plan are still vague but news estimates have it at $60/month phone service + $20/month unlimited data = $80/mo. or $960/year. The phone itself will cost ~$600 (8GB model) and there doesn't seem to be any AT&T subsidy to buffer the cost. I want one, but practically I can't afford it.

Just like iPods, part of the initial draw would build on the fact that only a select few--the affluent and trendy have it. If you follow the music player market, as it grew, the white headphones became more widespread, a turn off to some early adopters (no longer elite), but the larger draw shifted to a stage of belonging, being in, an elevated expectation of norm. How else could you answer, "What's on your iPod?" (not that I could answer that)? The iPhone's price point has it's role in maintaining cool. A strategy which Apple will not exercise is making the phone first available only for the Mac, as they did with the iPod.

People believe the iPhone has greater function and customization than a Treo, Blackberry Curve, Blackjack, etc. Sure it has a full operating system (Leopard) and full web browser (Safari); yet the OS's potential may choke at outset. Security restrictions have not opened the phone to third party developers ("Where's the iPhone developer kit?"). The only means of expanding function are via webwares and working at Apple; perhaps that's enough. The interface is great intuitive eye candy but these do not replace the office. In the least, the iPhone would benefit from having document & spreadsheet software. The current absence of these imply that Apple is targeting trend setters and consumers not business-types and industry. Expectations are overblown. Gear lust - it's real and it's hungry.

Update: iPhone Guide video on Apple's website. It looks beautiful and its surface is optical glass. "Nothing compares to holding one in your own hand."
Features: phone, email, SMS text messaging, browser... plus Notes, Stocks, Google Maps, Weather, the ability to read .doc and .pdf, YouTube. Integration is well done, something that 3rd party developers will likely be unable to access.

No games shown. It would be cool if programs were written to take advantage of the proximity sensor (used to detects if the phone is close to your face), accelerometer/gyroscope (detects if phone is in landscape or portrait mode), the touch screen, and microphone. It could be the sleek alternative to Nintendo DS.

Haha :)

The days of Big Solar have come. Yay! I had said we should convert that sun drenched expanse of the Southwest into a solar power generator for the U.S. Two concerns: Can the energy be transported to far off states? Is there an ecological impact on the desert?

Apple Trailers shows a new Pixar movie for June 27, 2008. WALL∙E a robot that draws similarities to Spielberg's ET in voice + body habitus (prominent eyes, thin neck, squat body).

I hope it follows in the Pixar tradition of dynamic heartfelt characters. With Pixar running Disney animations, are all their subsequent animated features falling under Pixar's name? (Banish the duality formed around "Chicken Little," "Meet the Robinsons" & "Incredibles," "Cars.")

In the same vein as Gmail Chat, Yahoo has integrated it's chat into it's Yahoo mail system.

Mr. Wizard passed away from multiple myeloma on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. He was part of a better Nikelodeon.

Several years ago Microsoft's ramped up its recruitment of researchers in the field of voice recognition and other multimodal interactions (touch, vision, voice, position/motion) for the HCI (human-computer interaction). Only now is its efforts becoming commercial and reaching market. Of note is their research in computer vision, which will only trend larger unless limited by privacy issues (Big Brother watching or Minority Report iris/retinal scans). Microsoft's Surface uses cameras to track interaction with the table interface and is an example of how refined vision has become.

It's not a far stretch to see future payoff in Microsoft's investment in robotics. I'd say robotics is essentially computing empowered with motion. The payoff (reaching consumers) comes with applying that vision to hand-eye coordination and then applying AI. This is not to say, robots do not already exist for the consumer (Roomba), but it has yet to hit critical mass.

Not only are our senses interacting with computing more but computing devices are increasingly sensing us. For example xuuk has a camera with infrared eye tracker to detect if you are looking at it. They are marketing it as a way for advertisements (Wired magazine says billboards) to tell if you are looking at them. Not too long ago, a Wired magazine article described military research on computers scanning our brains to monitor which sensory input was overloaded or underutilized. The computer would then select the optimal mode of communication (image, text, or audio) to the user.

Gypsy Cab Project - reality webTV in a VW Rabbit.

Safari to PC
Apple has released a public beta of the latest version of Safari AND it's available for Windows XP or Vista. It claims the current title of fastest major browser--faster than Firefox 2 or Opera 9.

YouTube - New Interface
more Aqua on the bottom.
You can still browse the current video at this point (by adjusting the scroll bar).

Amazonian Tree of Services
I am developing greater respect for Amazon. A9.com and Mechanical Turk are two sub-corporations of Amazon. Yet, there is little media buzz surrounding Amazon's branching reach (besides Bezos' space endeavors).

• A9.com is tempting to be my search portal of choice (or 2nd) because it is a search aggregator allowing simultaneous search with multiple and specialized search sites. You can choose to include Wiki to less common/more specialized portals like German, Japanese, programming, or law. Yes, it is annoying for it's lack of Google searches among all the searches they offer to aggregate. Another feature I have yet to find on A9 is a news aggregator.
  
• Mechanical Turk uses what Jeff Bezos calls Artificial Artificial Intelligence (hmmm... clever name). As Wiki tells us it is computers outsourcing tasks to humans regarding tasks that humans do faster.
  

In other search explorations, Microsoft's Live.com has become oh so similar to Google.com. Consider the minimalistic interface, map search (note Virtual Earth's nice new Bird's Eye view), Academic search (like Google Scholar), and most telling, the caching of web sites.

Poison for Your Pearly Whites
China is really killing it's international reputation. Toothpaste labeled "Excel" & "Mr. Cool" containing the poison diethylene glycol (DEG) was confiscated in Nicaragua. Not surprisingly the toothpaste was smuggled from Panama (note post regarding poisoning in Panama).

The FDA has issued warning and stopped imports of Chinese toothpaste into the U.S. The Associate Press reports that the former head of the China's FDA was sentenced to death four days ago (Tues., May 29, 2007) for taking bribes to allow companies to bypass drug regulations. A senior official of China said the levels of DEG were not harmful. However, the U.S. FDA rightly notes that such a poison does not even belong in toothpaste.

Googlenope by Weingarten

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.