I found Bejeweled for Niambi!

I Finally found Qix for Mom!

From Shockingly Fun Games! (www.shockinglyfun.com)

xkcd: Future Timeline

xkcd: Future Timeline

I'm addicted to the Smurfs on the iPad!

Beware of the games you down load...

I'm having a bad bad day....

At least I had a fun song playing in my head at the time.

Depression is a long slow

Depression is a long slow death of the soul.

Or, at least I was feeling that way for a while.  Then I thought of this to replace it.

A little better

today and forever.

If not, it's OK

tomorrow is another day.

I like that a bit better.

RealClimate: The uncertainty prayer

I saw this recently at RealClimate.  I thought is was really cool and I thought that I'd share it.

Grant us…

The ability to reduce the uncertainties we can;

The willingness to work with the uncertainties we cannot;

And the scientific knowledge to know the difference.

From whence came the Zemox...

I had a short discussion with my eldest yesterday. It went something like this.

She asked me why I like Zemox so much on the web.

I told her that it was a word I created for an imaginary universe when I was about 9 or 10.  It was a place where you could design what ever laws of space and time you desired.

She said, so you have been using it all this time on the internet?

I said, no the the internet was created around the time I was born, like 1969-70.  But, the web wasn't created until around 1991, so I didn't get online much until after that, like around '93-94*.

You mean that you didn't have the web when you were a kid?

Nope.

What about Google?

No, I think that wasn't around until the the early 2000's**.

Where did they come up with the name Google***?

Well, some kid made it up when he was about 9 or 10...

Well, she is turning 10 in October, I wonder what she will come up with?

---

* I first used USENET in 1989 at Bellcore, but didn't have much access until later.  I also used Gopher for a while until I discovered the Mosaic browser...
** Actually, it was founded in 1998. I didn't switch loyalties from Yahoo! until sometime later.
*** Google is actually a misspelling of googol.

Wocka: Joke of the Day

I always like a good quote. Here are a few amusing ones to ponder upon...

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly
what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There
is another theory which states that this has already happened."
 - Douglas Adams.

"I'm astounded by people who want to `know' the universe when it's hard
enough to find your way around Chinatown."
 - Woody Allen.

"Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it
holds the universe together...."
 - Carl Zwanzig.

"Computer programming is a race between software engineers striving to
build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to
produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning."
 - Rich Cook.

"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe
is that it has never tried to contact us."
 - Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes).

---

From Wocka.com
To vote or comment on this joke, go here

Trying out a Google Wave in a blog post!

UPDATE: I have been saddened to learn that Google has decided to drop Google Wave as one of it's projects. This is almost as bad as when one of my favorite shows gets cancelled. I say almost, only because I had not invested the time into it as a show. But, it still P**SES ME THE F**K OFF! As anyone who knows me will tell you, I use such language sparingly. Now, I return you to your regularly scheduled blog post...until Google cancels it....

Singularity Summit, Aug. 14-15, on intelligence augmentation

Oooohhh! This looks really interesting. One day, I'll make the free
time/money to go to things like this...

--------------------------------------------------------

Singularity Summit
August 14-15, 2010
San Francisco, California
http://www.singularitysummit.com

Many Foresight leaders and members will be gathering at this year's
Singularity Summit in San Francisco, expected to draw up to 1100
participants. Experts in fields including animal intelligence,
artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfacing, tissue
regeneration, medical ethics, computational neurobiology, augmented
reality, and more will share their latest research and explore its
implications for the future of humanity.

It's a bit pricey, but it's for a good cause, and there are student and
referral discounts plus discounts on the hotel rooms. I can testify
that this is a fun and stimulating event, and if a particular talk is
not in your area of interest, just go out into the hallway and meet lots
of interesting people.

Speakers include Ray Kurzweil, James Randi, Greg Stock, and Anita Goel
(who won Foresight's student prize back in 1999).

Full speaker list:
http://www.singularitysummit.com/program

The press release is worth reading:
http://www.singularitysummit.com/media

Info on discounts:
https://www.singularitysummit.com/registration

I look forward to speaking with you there!

Best wishes,
--Chris

Christine Peterson
President, Foresight Institute
Advisor, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
tel +1 (650) 289 0860 ext 255

Wocka: Joke of the Day

The Wocka.com Joke of the Day for Jun 12, 2010 is:
=======================================================

A man stepped onto the overnight train and told the conductor, "I need
you to wake me up in Philadelphia. I'm a deep sleeper and can be ornery
when I get up, but no matter what, I want you to help me make that stop.
Here's $100 to make sure."

The conductor agreed. The man fell asleep, and when he awoke he heard
the announcement that the train was approaching New York. Furious, he
collared the conductor. "I gave you $100 to make sure I got off in
Philadelphia, you worthless fool!"

"Wow," another passenger said to his traveling companion. "Is that guy
ever mad!"
"Yeah," his companion replied. "But not half as mad as that guy they
forced off the train in Philadelphia."

=======================================================
To vote or comment on this joke, go here:
http://www.wocka.com/joke.php?e=1&id=7785

Two New Milestones

It's odd, but I just realized that this week I've hit two major milestones.

One is obvious. I'm turning 40 on Saturday.

The other is less obvious. I've been losing weight over the past 15 weeks with Weight Watchers. I've lost 36.4 lbs. If I lose 100 lbs, I'll have a BMI at almost exactly 25. I would no longer be overweight! I don't think I've been in that territory since pre-adolescence.

If I could maintain a consistent weight loss of 2 lbs a week, I could hit that goal by my next birthday. If I lost at 1 lb a week, I could do it in two years. Barring plateaus, meltdowns, quitting, and any other potential barriers that I may face, I might be able to do it. (So far, I've lost an average of 2.4 lbs/week.)

So, here's to living on the edge for the next 1-2 years.
I'll be Skinny Me!