It's amazing that we can be so short sighted when it comes to the concept of energy consumption.I'm not referring simply to fossil fuel consumption, I'm talking about all of it.'Alternative' energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro are all just illusions. They are all just methods of extracting stored energy or energy transferrence to a storage medium, for later extraction.
The reasons they won't work, is because of scale. We cannot possibly predict the effects of worldwide alternative gathering methods. We can't sufficiently predict what effect we would have on the environment if we were to begin transferring tidal energy or wind energy. Each of these methods also requires material and energy extraction for production and maintenance. How much tidal energy do you have to gather to offset what it cost to create the barrages? What effect would they have on the tides, the land, flora and fauna? What effects would we see in 20 years, or 50?
No currently placeable method is perfect. We are constantly looking for a silver bullet. The problem is there isn't one.
We are constantly finding new solutions that never play out like we hope. Hybrid is the solution de jour. Be green! Be energy efficient! It's all bull. Hybrid cars are a boondoggle. They don't save money or energy. They have a higher cost of ownership, and their *fabulous* MPGs generally aren't even close to accurate. Much of the efficiency gain can be applied to standard fuel only vehicles. Where does the battery go when it dies? Battery heaven I'll bet. No harm to the environment there. Want a humvee? No? Try our hybrid instead, so you can feel just a little less guilty about killing mother earth.
Ideally, if we could harvest solar energy without depleting the stored or earthbound solar energy THAT might be sustainable, but we'd have to find some way to gather and transfer that wasn't earth-centric.
Ethanol? Forget it. Read up on it. Find out about energy density and subsidies.
Hydrogen? It's essentially the same thing: we're consuming. Currently we can't do it efficently. Production, storage, distribution and use issues abound.
The truth is we're always going to be dissipating stored energy to heat, and hopefully gaining some use out of it. The best thing we can do is to try to make the methods we use more efficent. Drop the humvees for subcompacts. Come up with a more efficent engine. Walk instead of drive. I hate to say this too (cause I love steak sooo much), but minimize our consumption of agricultural meat. Eventually we'll run out no matter what, we just need to put that off for as long as possible.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Puff puff search!
Rollyo (a contraction standing for Roll your own). Allows you to customize a search engine to fit your own specific needs.
While this concept may have merit with specific projects or jobs, I don't necessarily believe it's worth the effort. I am of course saying this without putting forth any effort to create one myself, this way I can speak about it from a soapbox made largely of ignorance and surface observations.
I can see use in it. Just not for me. I'll draw a parallel. I've got digital cable. It's cool and I actually like the fact that I can filter out a lot of the channels that I can't use yet (HD signals), I can't use effectively (in spanish), or just downright loathe (anything country or sports). The great part is, I don't have to sift through those things while I'm browsing. But there's a downside. When things change (like the channel lineup) I have to re-accomplish, or at the very least, re-examine, my filters. If you tailor a suit, it may fit you perfectly, but if you get fat, you've got to make changes again.
Rollyo seems to provide some very basic 'canned' customization, which, really, isn't customization since you're still getting broad strokes. I'm assuming there is more to it, if you so desire, I just don't care enough to dig deep into this effort. It's nice to know it exists, in case I ever come across a need for it, or have a user that might benefit from it.
While this concept may have merit with specific projects or jobs, I don't necessarily believe it's worth the effort. I am of course saying this without putting forth any effort to create one myself, this way I can speak about it from a soapbox made largely of ignorance and surface observations.
I can see use in it. Just not for me. I'll draw a parallel. I've got digital cable. It's cool and I actually like the fact that I can filter out a lot of the channels that I can't use yet (HD signals), I can't use effectively (in spanish), or just downright loathe (anything country or sports). The great part is, I don't have to sift through those things while I'm browsing. But there's a downside. When things change (like the channel lineup) I have to re-accomplish, or at the very least, re-examine, my filters. If you tailor a suit, it may fit you perfectly, but if you get fat, you've got to make changes again.
Rollyo seems to provide some very basic 'canned' customization, which, really, isn't customization since you're still getting broad strokes. I'm assuming there is more to it, if you so desire, I just don't care enough to dig deep into this effort. It's nice to know it exists, in case I ever come across a need for it, or have a user that might benefit from it.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wikis, groupthink, and accumulated knowledge...
Probably one of the most fascinating aspects of online social efforts is inevitable accumulation of knowledge that occurs. When you've got MILLIONS of people contributing information, perspectives, and content you end up with an enormous wealth of data.
Now, it's not perfect. There are some interesting side effects. As you can well imagine, corporations have an interest in this knowledge, and Stephen Colbert did a great bit on Wikiality (I can't link to the video clip because viacom opposes posting their property on youtube since they want to protect profits by only allowing Daily Show, Colbert fans to view it from Comedy Central's site).
In a sense, resources like Wikipedia end up representing the accumulated knowledge of those with access to the internet. And while it certainly isn't a perfect, or even completely representative, mass of knowledge, it certainly is a start.
Anyone can start an article, and anyone can feel free to correct that information. Due to the nature of this particular beast, ignorant, malicious or ulteriorly motivated users can also plant wrong, fraudulent, or misleading information. Also due to the nature of the beast, this usually corrects itself because it's likely that eventually, someone in the community will see fit to correct it. Removal of information, though, is much more dangerous. In the first link in this post, there is a growing trend for organizations (government, corporate) to make modficiations to information placed in Wikis, particularly to remove information that is sensitive, negative, or particularly critical of their organization or efforts.
I'm curious to see where it ends up. My guess is, big business and government will probably win. They always seem to come out on top.
Now, it's not perfect. There are some interesting side effects. As you can well imagine, corporations have an interest in this knowledge, and Stephen Colbert did a great bit on Wikiality (I can't link to the video clip because viacom opposes posting their property on youtube since they want to protect profits by only allowing Daily Show, Colbert fans to view it from Comedy Central's site).
In a sense, resources like Wikipedia end up representing the accumulated knowledge of those with access to the internet. And while it certainly isn't a perfect, or even completely representative, mass of knowledge, it certainly is a start.
Anyone can start an article, and anyone can feel free to correct that information. Due to the nature of this particular beast, ignorant, malicious or ulteriorly motivated users can also plant wrong, fraudulent, or misleading information. Also due to the nature of the beast, this usually corrects itself because it's likely that eventually, someone in the community will see fit to correct it. Removal of information, though, is much more dangerous. In the first link in this post, there is a growing trend for organizations (government, corporate) to make modficiations to information placed in Wikis, particularly to remove information that is sensitive, negative, or particularly critical of their organization or efforts.
I'm curious to see where it ends up. My guess is, big business and government will probably win. They always seem to come out on top.
Awesomely awesome thing I said the other day
It's like throwing mustard at a brick wall...totally pointless.
deelishus iz neet
It's a pretty interesting aspect of social browsing. It uses peoples own perspectives and triggers to create tags, rather than a prefabricated structure and rigid definitions.
I 'tag' a site, write a description for it, and make up my own tags for it. This way, my perspective is represented as a part of the whole. The primary benefit of this is that eventually trends should emerge. The way I think about something may guide me to others who think about it the same way. It will also produce a categorization based upon my own unique take on a website.
I 'tag' a site, write a description for it, and make up my own tags for it. This way, my perspective is represented as a part of the whole. The primary benefit of this is that eventually trends should emerge. The way I think about something may guide me to others who think about it the same way. It will also produce a categorization based upon my own unique take on a website.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
MySpace my ass.
While exploring the idea is interesting, MySpace (near as I can tell) is virtually a dead medium. It is no longer the hub of questionably-social-pseudo-party-atmosphere interaction it once was. Now it seems like it's reserved now for corporate marketers, bands, janey-come-latelys and would be child stalkers.
I created a MySpace page from selection of crappy layouts into what (to an outsider) seems like a pathetic attempt by some aging bachelor to remain hip and relevant in todays web-savvy world. I'm embarrassed by it, and I'll probably remove it before too long.
It seems like the more modern, or perhaps the more topical (to the University), medium seems to be Facebook. Most of my hip young student friends are much more active in that world than MySpace, which most seem to regard as a 'been there done that' kind of thing.
I know that MySpace was selected specifically for a reason, but I do think that if part of the purpose of the Learning 2.0 exercise is to stay relevant, it's probably a good idea to start with the more relevant applications. This way, people aren't (METAPHOR WARNING) reading last years news. Just my opinion of course.
I created a MySpace page from selection of crappy layouts into what (to an outsider) seems like a pathetic attempt by some aging bachelor to remain hip and relevant in todays web-savvy world. I'm embarrassed by it, and I'll probably remove it before too long.
It seems like the more modern, or perhaps the more topical (to the University), medium seems to be Facebook. Most of my hip young student friends are much more active in that world than MySpace, which most seem to regard as a 'been there done that' kind of thing.
I know that MySpace was selected specifically for a reason, but I do think that if part of the purpose of the Learning 2.0 exercise is to stay relevant, it's probably a good idea to start with the more relevant applications. This way, people aren't (METAPHOR WARNING) reading last years news. Just my opinion of course.
Willful ignorance vs. willful idiocy.
Willful ignorance exists when you decide to remain ignorant and uninformed of those things you should know or be aware of.
Willful idiocy stupidity is when you are aware of or informed about the things you should know or do, yet you refuse to act or behave accordingly.
I'm not saying to pick one. I'm telling you so you can avoid them both.
Willful idiocy stupidity is when you are aware of or informed about the things you should know or do, yet you refuse to act or behave accordingly.
I'm not saying to pick one. I'm telling you so you can avoid them both.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Awesomely awesome thing I wrote down, and I think I probably said.
"How can they work on anything new if they haven't caught up to where they are yet?"
Belated Flickr post
Yes I'm late, but I guess it's better late than never, I'm going to do my best to catch up this week.
I did the Flickr thing. Seems like an interesting idea, but it's not my bag. If I were a photophile, I would probably already have an account with 302 pictures of my cats, my kids, or my car.
As it is, though I generally avoid cameras being pointed at me, and in general am reluctant to do the same to others. It might be a projected courtesy as clearly there are people who like being photographed. I don't dally in that business, so Flickr has always seemed something I didn't need to actively indulge in.
As an individual, Flickr doesn't really offer me anything I need. I don't feel the need to document moments in my life, or share pictures of myself or my world with anyone. As I said, it's not my thing.
As an observer, Flickr(like blogs) offers a kind of voyeuristic opportunity as it can reveal facets of both the subjects in the photos, and the original photo poster. Some may not like that term, but in it's simplest form that is what many of the 'personal' web incarnations (avatars, blogs, etc.) provide.
I find Flickr itself fairly unintuitive, and I found myself halted at several points in my attempts to customize or even use the tools they provided. Once you know where everything is at, though, it isn't too difficult to accomplish tasks.
I did the Flickr thing. Seems like an interesting idea, but it's not my bag. If I were a photophile, I would probably already have an account with 302 pictures of my cats, my kids, or my car.
As it is, though I generally avoid cameras being pointed at me, and in general am reluctant to do the same to others. It might be a projected courtesy as clearly there are people who like being photographed. I don't dally in that business, so Flickr has always seemed something I didn't need to actively indulge in.
As an individual, Flickr doesn't really offer me anything I need. I don't feel the need to document moments in my life, or share pictures of myself or my world with anyone. As I said, it's not my thing.
As an observer, Flickr(like blogs) offers a kind of voyeuristic opportunity as it can reveal facets of both the subjects in the photos, and the original photo poster. Some may not like that term, but in it's simplest form that is what many of the 'personal' web incarnations (avatars, blogs, etc.) provide.
I find Flickr itself fairly unintuitive, and I found myself halted at several points in my attempts to customize or even use the tools they provided. Once you know where everything is at, though, it isn't too difficult to accomplish tasks.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
RSS POS post
I've sort of decided that I'm not the type to make use of RSS feeds. Aggregated feeds are not for everyone.
I do find it interesting how much resistance there is to an effort like this. I really do think it's an odd sort of thing to project any kind of emotion onto a concept. It makes sense that you can dislike how a particular aggregator works, or the way it implements the tools you're supposed to use.
I'm still trying to use it, I just find that my habits are such that going to an aggregator doesn't really work well for me. I don't have so many sources that I MUST use one, and frankly, the aggregators tend to remove some of the 'personality' from the sources it draws from.
I do find it interesting how much resistance there is to an effort like this. I really do think it's an odd sort of thing to project any kind of emotion onto a concept. It makes sense that you can dislike how a particular aggregator works, or the way it implements the tools you're supposed to use.
I'm still trying to use it, I just find that my habits are such that going to an aggregator doesn't really work well for me. I don't have so many sources that I MUST use one, and frankly, the aggregators tend to remove some of the 'personality' from the sources it draws from.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Four Horsepersons of the Ablogalypse
And I saw when the n00b opened one of the blogs, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder (for he had eaten beans), one of the four beasts saying, Come and see my blog.
And I heard, and beheld a white noise: and he that posted within it had a computer; and anonymity was given unto him: and he went forth conquering the forums with trash talk, and to rant.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see my blog.
And there went out anothers thumb was green: and power was given to her that sat thereon to make peace with the earth, and that they should not kill one another: and there was given unto her a tree to plant.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see my blog.
And I beheld, and saw black hair; and he that it sat upon had a pair of Smiths tickets in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of truth for a blogger, and three reply posts that call you an names; and see that this will hurt your feelings and you will boil and whine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see my blog.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Dearth, and "what the Hell" followed with him. And power was given unto them over the Web part of the Internet, to kill with word, and with hunger for meaninful content, and with dearth (of meaning), and with the the bloggers of the earth.
And I heard, and beheld a white noise: and he that posted within it had a computer; and anonymity was given unto him: and he went forth conquering the forums with trash talk, and to rant.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see my blog.
And there went out anothers thumb was green: and power was given to her that sat thereon to make peace with the earth, and that they should not kill one another: and there was given unto her a tree to plant.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see my blog.
And I beheld, and saw black hair; and he that it sat upon had a pair of Smiths tickets in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of truth for a blogger, and three reply posts that call you an names; and see that this will hurt your feelings and you will boil and whine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see my blog.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Dearth, and "what the Hell" followed with him. And power was given unto them over the Web part of the Internet, to kill with word, and with hunger for meaninful content, and with dearth (of meaning), and with the the bloggers of the earth.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Awesomely Awesome thing I said yesterday...
"It's like a wreck from a carload of Swedish models. It's tragic and beautiful at the same time."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Blogging Blog...
"
- A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web Site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post."
BLOG. Short for WeBLOG, it has essentially become the catch all term for any forum, personal log, or posting board. The term itself is misused because of people (often journalists) who have come across the term and adopted its use without a real understanding of the subject.
Webinar is another term that annoys me. So you're holding a seminar on the web, you should coin a term that is kitschy and will make the people talking about it sound like they're part of the 21st century. No thanks, I'd much rather attend a roominar or just watch the video on the web.
For now though, I'm going blogging mad. I'll be blogging this blogging blog until the blogs come to blog. Blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog baked beans blog blog blog and blog.
- A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web Site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post."BLOG. Short for WeBLOG, it has essentially become the catch all term for any forum, personal log, or posting board. The term itself is misused because of people (often journalists) who have come across the term and adopted its use without a real understanding of the subject.
Webinar is another term that annoys me. So you're holding a seminar on the web, you should coin a term that is kitschy and will make the people talking about it sound like they're part of the 21st century. No thanks, I'd much rather attend a roominar or just watch the video on the web.
For now though, I'm going blogging mad. I'll be blogging this blogging blog until the blogs come to blog. Blog blog blog blog blog blog blog blog baked beans blog blog blog and blog.
RSS your life...
I've already signed up for my RSS feeds, week 2 (or is it 3) is done. Funny though, as I was signing up to the RSS feeds for the blogs of library co-workers, it dawned on me that I would be getting RSS updates for everybodies Library 2.0 efforts.
Do I really want to be notified when someone else has done what I've already done? Do you really care, whether I want to know or not? Are you even reading this?
Do I really want to be notified when someone else has done what I've already done? Do you really care, whether I want to know or not? Are you even reading this?
Friday, June 8, 2007
Awesomely awesome thing I said days ago...
"If I have a look on my face like I know something you don't, it's because I do."
Slip in the Gears
Gears represent the machine.
Gears bring to mind an internal set of workings. Various cogs, chains, and maybe a motor for drive. The function of the system relies upon the precision and reliability of the gears. Relationships and pressure (that forces other gears) that is not quite violent yet not entirely peaceful. That is the nature of the machine.
We are trapped in the machines. Societal machines. Wage-slave machines. Psycological machines. Nationalist machines. Natural machines. Doesn't matter.
Now, what does a slip in the gears imply for the machine? Think on that for a bit.
Gears bring to mind an internal set of workings. Various cogs, chains, and maybe a motor for drive. The function of the system relies upon the precision and reliability of the gears. Relationships and pressure (that forces other gears) that is not quite violent yet not entirely peaceful. That is the nature of the machine.
We are trapped in the machines. Societal machines. Wage-slave machines. Psycological machines. Nationalist machines. Natural machines. Doesn't matter.
Now, what does a slip in the gears imply for the machine? Think on that for a bit.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Awesomely awesome thing I said today...
In what I hope is a recurring post...the awesomely awesome thing I said to day was:
"It's like he's tied his stupid to a rope and he's swinging it around his head."
I really am hilarious.
"It's like he's tied his stupid to a rope and he's swinging it around his head."
I really am hilarious.
Let's get ready to ramble!!!!
Let's begin with some pedantic ramblings about the name of my blog. I love the word pedantic. If you're using it, you're living it.
It's like all metaphorical and stuff. Do you get it? The question is...does it describe what has happened, what should happen, or what I wish would happen?
OK I've started my BLOG. That's a word I hate, but like stupid, it's something you just have to learn to live with, cause it's not going away. It's Tuesday and that slacker Jon has the audacity to take the day off to go look at animals being all animally inside a faux-naturelle homo-sapien fabricated confinement system. You guessed it! The zoo!
I should be working on some photo collages for an upcoming campus coordinated tech expo this Friday. But my boss ORDERED me to start my weBLOG RIGHT NOW!!! What a tyrant. I swear, if my boss wasn't so nice and good at what she does, and if I didn't like my job and my co-workers, and if I was making minimum wage, I'd quit this job.
I HATE artsy/craftsy projects. I don't have any comprehensive sense of visual style. I mean look at how I dress, free t-shirts and church clothes (cause they're holey --ha, that joke never gets old. Or funny). Oh well.
Well, I think that's it for now.
It's like all metaphorical and stuff. Do you get it? The question is...does it describe what has happened, what should happen, or what I wish would happen?
OK I've started my BLOG. That's a word I hate, but like stupid, it's something you just have to learn to live with, cause it's not going away. It's Tuesday and that slacker Jon has the audacity to take the day off to go look at animals being all animally inside a faux-naturelle homo-sapien fabricated confinement system. You guessed it! The zoo!
I should be working on some photo collages for an upcoming campus coordinated tech expo this Friday. But my boss ORDERED me to start my weBLOG RIGHT NOW!!! What a tyrant. I swear, if my boss wasn't so nice and good at what she does, and if I didn't like my job and my co-workers, and if I was making minimum wage, I'd quit this job.
I HATE artsy/craftsy projects. I don't have any comprehensive sense of visual style. I mean look at how I dress, free t-shirts and church clothes (cause they're holey --ha, that joke never gets old. Or funny). Oh well.
Well, I think that's it for now.
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