The Singularity is Present

MISSING CAT

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:56:00 +0000

Alternative Energy Cars

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:03:00 +0000

(Los Angeles, CA) Visitors at L.A.'s Auto Show were the first to see the next generation of environmentally-friendly cars that pack a lot of punch. Kent Shocknek reports.

Don't fuck with the people that maintain your sites...

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:23:00 +0000

Some emails back and forth with my ex-supervisor. She got bitchy and I accidentally... well, the whole site. Anyone hiring? :]

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:02 PM
To: mary
Subject: SOTM - Site update complete

[site url]

Look okay?

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:30 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Tyler,

Yes and no.

I like Reggie’s video at the top.
But since we extended the deadline for the new contest to Friday,
I would rather have that next.
The plan is to announce the winners on the site on the first.
Then announce the new contest the following week.
Can you move the announcement message to second?

Mary

PS – other than that, great job. It really looks great.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:32 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

So you want the contestants in separate posts?

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:39 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

No, one big long running one is fine.

That’s how Joe [last name] has his and this is what we’ve been modeling.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:42 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Really… so that’s what we’ve been modeling!? I could’ve sworn I built this whole contest system…

Should I separate Reggies post so it stay on top and put the new announcement under it and have the other winners of this months contest under it?

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:43 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Yes, you set it up... congrats.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:45 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

So, we want them separate but keep vid at the top? :) I think it looks better with the vid at the top… and it’s a short post so they won’t even need to scroll to see the next announcement.

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:48 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Tyler,

No, I’d rather have them running.

I agree on the video.

So, like this:

Video
Announcement of new contest
Reggie’s entry (text)
2nd place
3rd place
Jennifer’s
Etc.
Make sense?

Mary

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:49 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

So basically, you want the site to be exactly like I said we should have it… Or am I confused?

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:50 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Oh, I thought “separate” was on separate pages.

But I’m still right because I said so.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:54 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

You know this isn’t just copy, paste, POOF, right? It took two hours to troubleshoot

The coding nonsense that came from taking the submissions from pdfs…

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:57 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Just fucking do it and stop bitching.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 8:03 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

OH SHI--

I accidentally the whole website.

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 8:05 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

You accidently “whated” the whole website.

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 8:10 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

The whole thing

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

From: mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 8:11 PM
To: Tyler
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

Where the FUCK is the site Tyler?

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

From: Tyler
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 8:15 PM
To: mary
Subject: RE: SOTM - Site update complete

I accidentally the whole site: [url]

Have a good night! =)

Radical Evolution: The Future of Human-Machine Intelligence

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:40:00 +0000

If we don't kill ourselves out, the next 50 years are going to be incredibly interesting... it's worth just shutting the fuck up and stopping all wars just to see what amazing things we come up with. Well, we should really do that anyway. Our technology has become so incredible it's worth living just to see what we can create now. There's no longer a need for service-based economies, with our science we can truly exist as resource-based societies. We should look to begin the transition immediately, if we want to truly see the potential of the human mind begin to blossom.

SCIENCE - FTW.

Read this great article by Ray Kurzweil:

Ray Kurzweil sees a radical evolution of the human species in the next 40 years. The merger of man and machine, coupled with the sudden explosion in machine intelligence and rapid innovation in gene research and nanotechnology, will result in a world with no distinction between the biological and the mechanical or physical and virtual reality.

read more | digg story

The evolution of the benevolent alien

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:12:00 +0000

In its bid for our ticket-buying dollars, Hollywood has long sought to reach into our pockets by giving us films that appeal to our current sense of hopefulness or fearfulness.

Over the years, one of the most reliable mechanisms for doing that has been the alien, the evil, destructive invaders hell-bent on laying waste to everything we hold dear (The War of the Worlds, say) or the inquisitive visitors curious to make our acquaintance and see what they can learn from us and our experience (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, maybe).

And to many, the extent to which these film aliens have been friend or foe has had a great deal to do with our general emotional state of mind.

"I think that it goes in waves," said Yair Landau, the former president of Sony Pictures Digital. "There was a wave of benign aliens around E.T. and Starman...Then there was a wave of, 'They're out to destroy us' aliens, like in Indepdence Day and the remake of War of the Worlds. It depends on whether we're looking for fear or reassurance as a society."

In 1951, Twentieth-Century Fox released director Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still. In that Cold War-era film, we meet an alien, Klaatu, who has come to express, in the most soothing terms possible, that if we proceed with our nuclear weapons proliferation and are seen by the galactic consortium Klaatu represents as presenting a threat beyond our own atmosphere, we will be destroyed.

Even as he delivers this mortal threat, Klaatu, played by Michael Rennie, comes across as sympathetic, even benevolent, as he really, really wants to give us humans some say in what happens to us. He seems really to care, as expressed by his budding friendship (would it have become romance?) with Helen Benson, played by Patricia Neal, and the urgency with which he strives to deliver--even in the face of a belligerent U.S. military--his message that we have some say in our fate.

Next month, Twentieth-Century Fox will release a remake of the film, this time directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu.

This time around, Klaatu is here to tell us that the galactic consortium has had it with humans' mistreatment of our own planet, and he has come to explain that, effectively, his colleagues have taken the side of the Earth over the humans. Large-scale explosions and destruction ensue.

Why would these beings from outer space care so much about the health of the third rock from the sun? That's not entirely clear, said Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute who worked for a time as a scientific adviser on the film.

"The (aliens) come down...trying to save the planet, but saving the planet requires them to obliterate the problem threatening the planet," Shostak said, "and in this case, that's not just SUVs and coal-fired plants."

In the 57 years between versions of The Day the Earth Stood Still, aliens covered a lot of evolutionary ground, so to speak, in how they've been portrayed. Some of that ground has had to do with the world's emotional makeup and some has had to do with what has been possible from a technological perspective.

For example, the look and feel of the aliens in a film like the remake of The War of the Worlds have almost nothing in common with those of the original. What originally had to be built using crude models and special effects is now done to exacting detail with computer graphics. And these advances put a lot of pressure on filmmakers today to keep the audience's attention with a story while those in the old days could do so much more with the novelty of on-screen aliens, no matter how rudimentary they looked.

"Anything you can conceive of can be (computer generated)," said Landau. "Just blowing stuff up, or just having an alien creature itself, is not very compelling...We're (now) able to give aliens a much higher complexity, so you can imbue them with character...Now you can make us believe almost any physical destruction you can think of and you can make us believe in any sort of 3D CGI environment. So it's all about whether you can drive compelling story and performance."

Our friends the aliens
Further, as Landau put it, the story has to fill in gaps left by the fact that people view aliens--who have long stood in for foreigners, or the "other"--as less threatening. And while that presents writing challenges to filmmakers, it also opens doors to a whole new era of stories in which aliens can more easily be presumed to be friendlier than in the past.

An example of that might be Contact, the 1997 Robert Zemeckis film in which Jodie Foster plays a scientist scanning the skies for intelligent life. Upon discovering a far-away civilization, Foster interprets messages sent to us as instructions on building a monumental transporter that will allow us to travel to the aliens' distant world. And while the film gives a nod to the inevitable military suspicions of the aliens' motives, it is the optimistic view that carries the day.

"Aliens in fiction are exaggerations of our hopes and fears about ourselves," said Mike Kuniavsky, a co-founder of the ubiquitous computing device company ThingM. "If they were genuinely alien, they wouldn't be particularly interesting because we wouldn't be able to understand them."

To Allan Lundell, a co-founder of the DigiBarn computer museum and a former editor of Byte magazine, the question of how aliens are depicted has very much to do with the financial considerations involved in how people's fears and hopes resonate at any given moment in time.

"Arnold Schwarzenegger was popular as a good Terminator, keeping us safe from the evil sentient machines and the ever-present Skynet," Lundell said. "But soon, he will be facing serious competition from a new hero, Ramona, a sentient cybernetic being hatched from the inventive mind of Ray Kurzweil, in his upcoming feature release, The Singularity is Near. Much cuter than Arnie, she saves the world from a nano grey goo attack while showing us what love beyond biology is all about."

The question here, Lundell poses, is whether an artificial intelligence construct can be considered an alien. Given that the term "alien" in this context is generally assumed to be a creature from another world, that's open to debate. But his point is a good one, as Ramona, as Lundell described her, is certainly the other.

Yet even as cybernetic others will be increasingly making their way onto the silver screen, it's almost certain that malevolent aliens of a traditional kind will also be making regular appearances, despite the fact that we, as a people, are becoming more and more comfortable around those with whom we aren't familiar.

And why?

"Aliens have a bigger role today as bad guys in film," Shostak, of the SETI Institute, said, "because once the Soviet Union collapses, who are you going to make as bad guys? You can make certain (nationalities be) bad guys, but it's a little hard because everybody's so culturally sensitive. And aliens don't have any advocacy organizations that are going to protest (outside) your theater if you make them the bad guy."

Today, it seems, Hollywood has decided to apply that approach even to well-worn stories like The Day the Earth Stood Still.

For where the Klaatu of 1951 adopted a concerned facial expression as he explained to humanity that he wanted to save us, Reeves' 2008 Klaatu seems content to dispense with us as the only way to save our planet.

And while there might be some truth to that conclusion, it's not very benevolent, at least from the humans' perspective.

Perhaps, suggested Lundell, that's because we haven't been in a very optimistic mood the last few years, an idea backed up by opinion polls showing that vast majorities of Americans, at least, think things have been going very badly. But if things begin to look up, then perhaps the benevolent alien will return in force.

"From my perspective," Lundell said, "ultimately the greatest revelation about aliens is that 'they' are 'us.' It's just that some of us don't quite know that just yet."

source:

Dear Red States,

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:53:00 +0000

If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving.

We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all theNortheast.

We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get stem cell research and the best beaches.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.

We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.

You get Alabama. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families.

You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once.

If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.

They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home.

We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plusStanford, Cal Tech, Berkeley, UCLA and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all

U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

Finally, we're taking all the good pot, too.

You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico

Peace out,
-- the Blue States

source: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/80714812.html

Iraq Vet Crushed by Police Horse at Presidential Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:24:00 +0000

Shocking video shows former Army Sergeant Nick Morgan at the moment his head is crushed to the sidewalk under the hooves of a police horse. Morgan lost consciousness immediately as bones shattered in his face. Visibly bleeding, he was tugged, dragged, arrested, and thrown in a police van, where other arrested veterans say he was denied medic...

read more | digg story

Short Circuit

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:32:00 +0000

yes... I'm sad/mad to report, the rumors are true.

Short Circuit is being remade and is set to release in 2010

IMDB Source

everyday a piece of my childhood is stolen, repackaged and sold away as reconstituted garbage...

TwitterKeys: ♥ ✈ ☺ ♬ ☑ ♠ ☎ ☻ ♫ ☒ ☤ ☹ ♪ ♀ ✩ ☠ in Twitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:02:00 +0000

How I added ♥ ✈ ☺ ♬ ☑ ♠ ☎ ☻ ♫ ☒ ♤ ☤ ☹ ♪ ♀ ✩ ✉ ☠ ✔ ♂ ★ ✇ ♺ ✖ ♨ ❦ ☁ ✌ ♛ ❁ ☪ ☂ ✏ ♝ ❀ ☭ ☃ ☛ ♞ ✿ ☮ ☼ ☚ ♘ ✾ ☯ ☾ ☝ ♖ ✽ ✝ ☄ ☟ ♟ ✺ ☥ ✂ ✍ ♕ ✵ ☉ ☇ ☈ ☡ ✠ ☊ ☋ ☌ ☍ ♁ ✇ ☢ ☣ ✣ ✡ ☞ ☜ ✜ ✛ ❥ ♈ ♉ ♊ ♋ ♌ ♍ ♎ ♏ ♐ ♑ ♒ ♓ ☬ ☫ ☨ ☧ ☦ ✁ ✃ ✄ ✎ ✐ ❂ ❉ ❆ ♅ ♇ ♆ ♙ ♟ ♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ to Twitter.com and what happened in the first 48 hours...

read more | digg story

Top 5 Tips For Success on Digg

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:39:00 +0000

So, you know submitting articles to digg can bring hordes of traffic to your site. You know it’s relatively easy to amass a few hundred friends by adding everyone you come across and you’re probably aware that you can spam the crap out of your friends using “shouts”. These are some of the tools you have at your disposal as a member of digg’s community but in order to truly be a success on digg, you’ll need more than a spammer mentality and a blog especially if you’re looking to get that zerg diggrush of traffic to your submission’s site.

(Disclaimer: Poorly edited pics - I'm at work and used what I had)

The following five tips should help you become a successful, contributing member of the digg community:

1. Stop digging every story you come across.

This is a community website based on the collective interests of the masses (in this case, geeks). Don’t ruin that by digging the duplicate’s duplicate of the “COOLNESS” Motivator, the (coolest guy to ever exist) guy with four-popped collars for the 43892174 time. Acclimate yourself to the community and digg what you really like! Gaming the community takes away from what’s so great about it in the first place, being able to see what the collective consciousness is really interested in, whether that’s a breaking news story, new mac, speculations on the next batman movie, gorgeous chick, or another god-awful meme in the making.

2. Stop adding everyone.

You’re watering down the community and contributing to the spammer behavior that’s run rampant. Add people you share interests with, people that leave the comment you would’ve left had you arrived at the submission earlier. You’re far more likely to receive shouts that are relative to your interests from a person you share interests with, which in turn leaves you more likely to receive diggs on your submissions. It’s give and take whether you like it or not, so do yourself (and the community) a favor, take the time to do it right.

3. Don’t leave spam comments.

We’re aware you probably just found the most profound, hilarious, front-page-worthy article/vid/image evar (that you cited and moved to your ad-filled-spam-blog) but we don’t want to see you link spamming it in the comments on our “Sarah Palin Has Seven-Armed Mutant-Child Born From Satan’s Seed” - it’s in poor taste. Leave a comment that’s witty, snarky, intelligent, or even a (very well placed) meme joke - something that’ll make people want to add you for your amazing commenting abilities or at least your ability not to look like a total asshole.

4. Participation is key.

If you want to make a name for yourself or your submissions on digg, you need to participate and by participate, I don’t mean digg 8942378945 stories, I mean be an active contributor to the site’s content. Find your niche or clique and start submitting, commenting and socializing with like-minded individuals. If you’re on digg for the purpose of trolling or spamming, better make a few sock-puppet accounts because the sites moderators will not hesitate to ban you (I know from experience).

5. Stop shouting at me.

(pic unrelated)

Seriously. If you shout at me one more time about Ron Paul’s Parrot Reciting The Constitution After Discovering The Cure to Cancer While Riding a Beagle Backwards Through a Mac Factory, I’ll shit bricks. Keep your shouts to a minimum. I know you’re excited about the pic you found of an Kevin Rose doing surgery on a pregnant Albino Penguin but if I’m interested, I’ll check it out when I get around to it. Your submission and shout will not disappear but if you keep shouting, you’re going to be un-friendified faster than tits reach the Front-page, that’s no bullshit.

Seriously though...

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:06:00 +0000

Police pwn CodePink protester

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Police slam CodePink protester to the ground, call her a "bitch" before arresting her.

read more | digg story

The Pi is a Lie

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:21:00 +0000

Seriously,
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679 8214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
4428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273
724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330530548820466521384146951941511609...

I wish I was better at math.

Top 5 Popular Women's Styles Men Hate

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:03:00 +0000

For all those times we've seen an otherwise unbelievably hot girl walking down the street, only to be ruined by whatever dumb trend she decided to try to be cool with.

read more | digg story

My Review of The Dark Knight

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:46:00 +0000

My review (no spoilers) -

The Dark Knight was really good and yes, the buzz around Heath Ledger's performance is worthy, he really turned the toes up. I don't think there was a single lull throughout the entire movie, it's very visually stunning, extremely fast paced, and engaging, for a two and a half hour long movie that says a lot. Director Christopher Nolan did an amazing job all around with this film and really elevated the standard for the genre. I would not be surprised if he walked away with an oscar for his work on this film.

This isn't a spoiler but... the "pencil trick" introduction - so awesome. It makes you want Joker to win from the second he comes on screen... did for me anyway.

The Dark Knight: A -

~Ty

p.s.
WATCHMEN looks really good, check it: HERE

Warren Buffett’s 7 Secrets for Living a Happy and Simple Life

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule. No. 1- Warren Buffett

Are you sold on the fake notion that owning possessions is the touchstone of your self-worth? Have you felt jealous and self-pity when a neighbor bought a new Mercedes or a new Yacht that you always wanted to possess? We all have.

If your paycheck is not keeping up the pace with your cravings for the new iphone, why not learn the secrets of simplicity from the richest man on the earth who still lives without a cell phone? Before you sink your money for the latest gadget what if you were to know that the Oracle of Omaha still has no desk computer in his modest office?

In this world full of the rich and famous, Warren Buffett remains the greatest investor ever born not due to his acumen for the wise investments that he has made during his life but more for exemplifying the greatness with simplicity. He’s full of wit and happiness and this is at the core of everything that he does.

Secret # 1 : Happiness comes from within.

In my adult business life I have never had to make a choice of trading between professional and personal. I tap-dance to work, and when I get there it’s tremendous fun.- Warren Buffett

This is the man who truly does what he loves. The battle between Productivity and anti-productivity blogs stems from their convoluted chains of frequently twisted rational to substantiate their claim that productivity is a force of an external demand - from an employer or a competitor. In reality, productivity comes from within. It comes from doing what we love and loving what we do. When we start trading time between our professional and personal life, we wage war in our own mind to justify our passion in terms of a personal benefit. In my business I have felt more stress and angst when I haven’t given all of my talent, hard work and passion to help others on a given day. The myth of working hard to make more money to buy more things throws us in the vicious circle of hallucination. Our happiness always remains imprisoned when we do work that we abhor yet justify doing it to pay bills for those things that we don’t need. I used to work even after buying my first hotel for many years to justify the fake notion that I needed additional income to pay bills. What I needed was to change my lifestyle to free myself from this never-ending rut chase.

Secret # 2 Find happiness in simple pleasures.

I have simple pleasures. I play bridge online for 12 hours a week. Bill and I play, he’s “chalengr” and I’m “tbone”. — Warren Buffett

If the man richer than God can find happiness in the simple pleasure of playing bridge online with another billionaire, I have to learn to be happy with the simple pleasures of playing cards with friends or playing with my children or taking a walk in the wilderness. All of these simple pleasures do not need extravagant spending. I used to go play golf with other businessmen when the local chamber of commerce sponsored an event. I never found happiness in those events as they were centered on generating more business and exchanging business cards than on truly enjoying the moment. I was allowing myself to be run ragged by trading business cards after hours in a vain hope of making more money whereas that time deserved a dinner with my family.

Secret # 3 Live a simple life.

I just naturally want to do things that make sense. In my personal life too, I don’t care what other rich people are doing. I don’t want a 405 foot boat just because someone else has a 400 foot boat. — Warren Buffett

The sad truth is that our ever-sophisticated advertising industry has conditioned our mind to find happiness from consumption by spending our hard earned money on the possessions that never bring us lasting happiness. We spend our life-energy on those possessions that we seldom use. We worry about making payments for a luxury car that sits in our garage collecting dust only for the right to brag about it in an occasional social gathering. Keeping up with the Joneses is the worst epidemic among those who should never contemplate that notion in the first place. If a man who can possibly buy a nation with his cash never espouses the mantra of “more the better”, I need to learn not to spread my legs beyond the reach of the blanket. We are conditioned to spend money before we earn it. We are sold on the fake happiness of “Buy now, pay later dearly” - It’s nothing more than buying possessions that we cannot afford. I have my share of insanity when it comes to mindless spending, but lately I try to pay for most of my purchases with cash. It creates awareness towards the impulse buy when I pay by cash. I have also started red lining items on the credit card statement that I consider useless spending. All of these efforts have built my awareness towards my impulse purchases. I have been using mantra of - “less is more” to simplify every aspect of my life. It’s a work in progress but the results are astounding.

Secret # 4 Think Simply.

“I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things I completely understand.” - Warren Buffett

There lies one of the greatest secrets of simplicity. Warren Buffett invests only in the businesses that he understands. If you ever read research reports from an accomplished Wall Street guru, you’ll find a plethora of details that make you dizzy. The success of Warren Buffett as the greatest investor ever lies in his ability to think simply.

I used to invest in the stock market in the mid 90’s when everyone wanted to make over night millions in an exuberant market. I used to read “Investor’s Business Daily” only to look at the movers and shakers. These were the stocks that made a significant upward move a day before. A few days before Christmas, I made $52,000 in one stock in a matter of a few days. I knew nothing about the company. I created a new reality for my thoughts that I had figured out how the Wall Street works. I was on my way to the riches. I applied the same thought model on the next several stocks. Needless to say, I lost all that I made and much more. I was lacking in a basic human quality that Warren Buffett has mastered well - common sense. It says a great deal about the character of a man who invested a measly amount in Microsoft despite the fact that Bill Gates is one of his closest friends. I learned a valuable lesson of life from this experience - “Not losing hard earned money is far more important than making more money”.

If I apply this rule in my life, I can develop clarity and sanity in my thoughts. Clarity is the mother of simplicity. Life is not a roulette; life is about simple yet profound choices.

Secret # 5 Invest Simply.

The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund. - Warren Buffett

It is astounding to know that the greatest investor in the world is not bragging about intricate financial maneuvering to impress the rest of the world with his financial genius. Instead, Warren Buffett shows us the most simplistic approach to our financial freedom - “Flow with the market rather than pretending to be smarter than God.”

In this world full of so-called financial experts, Warren stands tall by showing us the simplest way to the riches. The stock market has moved upward for the last hundred years despite numerous setbacks. He is using a long historical view to back his argument rather than making a futile effort to predict how we can make a quick fortune. After losing most of my capital in the late 90’s, I have precisely followed the simple advice of investing in the no-load index funds. I’m happier than ever and while my assets have not skyrocketed, they haven’t dwindled either.

Secret # 6 Have a mentor in life.

I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming. - Warren Buffett

We are worshipers of celebrity demi-gods. All of us have this acute desire to look and live like these celebrities. However, are they truly the ones with character and moral compass to lead us? Having a mentor is as important as having a purpose in our life but having a wrong mentor is as devastating as having a wrong purpose in our life. The mentor has to be someone whom we can trust and have an unwavering faith in his/her guidance. The mentor has to be the one who has made outstanding strides in advancing the greater and guiding purpose of happiness in his/her own life. You’ll find that person in your inner circle if you think hard enough. Write down why you admire them. Try to emulate their traits and as Warren has shown by his exemplary life, with a little practice, you can form a habit to clone the life that you admire the most.

Secret # 7 Making money isn’t the backbone of our guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of our guiding purpose.

If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money.- Warren Buffett

How do you rationalize the richest man on the earth still living in a small 3-bedroom house that he purchased fifty years ago? Warren Buffett never travels in a private jet despite the fact that he owns the largest private jet company. His character and way of life speak volume about his greatness. This is the man who spent his personal time investigating a $4 line item on his tax return to hunt down the specifics of it while giving away billions of dollars to Bill Gates foundation. It is rare to find the richest man on the earth living without luxuries that we want to possess even by mortgaging our future. He has demonstrated that while valuing the worth of money is vital for our ingenuity and success, money shall never become the object and end all of our motivation.

I’m an avid admirer of simplicity, but I’m an even bigger fan of the man who has mastered the greatness by living and breathing simplicity amid an ocean of wealth. Do you agree?

Found at: http://www.successsoul.com/2008/07/15/warren-buffetts-7-secrets-for-living-a-happy-and-simple-life/

Scientists: Humans and machines will merge in future

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:37:00 +0000

"LONDON, England (CNN) -- A group of experts from around the world will Thursday hold a first of its kind conference on global catastrophic risks.
Some experts say humans will merge with machines before the end of this century.

Some experts say humans will merge with machines before the end of this century.

They will discuss what should be done to prevent these risks from becoming realities that could lead to the end of human life on earth as we know it.

Speakers at the four-day event at Oxford University in Britain will talk about topics including nuclear terrorism and what to do if a large asteroid were to be on a collision course with our planet.

On the final day of the Global Catastrophic Risk Conference experts will focus on what could be the unintended consequences of new technologies, such as superintelligent machines that, if ill-conceived, might cause the demise of Homo sapiens.

"Any entity which is radically smarter than human beings would also be very powerful," said Dr. Nick Bostrom, director of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, host of the symposium. "If we get something wrong, you could imagine the consequences would involve the extinction of the human species."

Bostrom is a philosopher and a leading thinker of transhumanism -- a movement that advocates not only the study of the potential threats and promises that future technologies could pose to human life but also the ways in which emergent technologies could be used to make the very act of living better.

"We want to preserve the best of what it is to be human and maybe even amplify that," Bostrom told CNN.

Transhumanists, according to Bostrom, anticipate a coming era where biotechnology, molecular nanotechnologies, artificial intelligence and other new types of cognitive tools will be used to amplify our intellectual capacity, improve our physical capabilities and even enhance our emotional well-being.

The end result would be a new form of "posthuman" life with beings that possess qualities and skills so exceedingly advanced they no longer can be classified simply as humans.

"We will begin to use science and technology not just to manage the world around us but to manage our own human biology as well," Bostrom told CNN. "The changes will be faster and more profound than the very, very slow changes that would occur over tens of thousands of years as a result of natural selection and biological evolution."

Bostrom declined to try to predict an exact time frame when this revolutionary biotechnological metamorphosis might occur. "Maybe it will take eight years or 200 years," he said. "It is very hard to predict."

Other experts are already getting ready for what they say could be a radical transformation of the human race in as little as two decades.

"This will happen faster than people realize," said Dr. Ray Kurzweil, an inventor and futurist who calculates technology trends using what he calls the law of accelerating returns, a mathematical concept that measures the exponential growth of technological evolution.

In the 1980s Kurzweil predicted that a tiny handheld device would be invented sometime early in the 21st century allowing blind people to read documents from anywhere at anytime -- earlier this year such a device was publicly unveiled. He also anticipated the explosive growth of the Internet in the 1990s.

Now Kurzweil is predicting the impending arrival of something called the Singularity, which he defines in his book on the subject as "the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots."

"There will be no distinction, post-Singularity, between human and machine or between physical and virtual reality," he writes.
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Singularity will approach at an accelerating rate as human-created technologies become exponentially smaller and increasingly powerful and as fields such as biology and medicine are understood more and more in terms of information processes that can be simulated with computers.

By the 2030s, Kurzweil tells CNN, humans will become more non-biological than biological, capable of uploading our minds onto the Internet, living in various virtual worlds and even avoiding aging and evading death.

In the 2040s, Kurzweil predicts non-biological intelligence will be billions of times better than the biological intelligence humans have today, possibly rendering our present brains as obsolete.

"Our brains are a million times slower than electronics," said Kurzweil. "We will increasingly become software entities if you go out enough decades."

This movement towards the merger of man and machine, according to Kurzweil, is already starting to happen and is most visible in the field of biotechnology.

As scientists gain deeper insights into the genetic processes that underlie life, they are able to effectively reprogram human biology through the development of new forms of gene therapies and medications capable of turning on or off enzymes and RNA interference, or gene silencing.

"Biology and health and medicine used to be hit or miss," said Kurzweil. "It wasn't based on any coherent theory about how it works."

The emerging biotechnology revolution will lead to at least a thousand new drugs that could do anything from slow down the process of aging to reverse the onset of diseases, like heart disease and cancer, Kurzweil said.

By 2020, Kurzweil predicts a second revolution in the area of nanotechnology. According to his calculations, it is already showing signs of exponential growth as scientists begin test first generation nanobots that can cure Type 1 diabetes in rats or heal spinal cord injuries in mice.

One scientist is developing something called a respirocyte -- a robotic red blood cell that, if injected into the bloodstream, would allow humans to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath or sit at the bottom of a swimming pool for hours at a time.

Other researchers are developing nanoparticles that can locate tumors and one day possibly even eradicate them.

And some Parkinson's patients now have pea-sized computers implanted in their brains that replace neurons destroyed by the disease -- new software can be downloaded to the mini computers from outside the human body.

"Nanotechnology will not just be used to reprogram but to transcend biology and go beyond its limitations by merging with non-biological systems," Kurzweil told CNN. "If we rebuild biological systems with nanotechnology, we can go beyond its limits."

The final revolution leading to the advent of Singularity will be the creation of artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, which, according to Kurzweil, could be capable of solving many of our biggest threats, like environmental destruction, poverty and disease.

"A more intelligent process will inherently outcompete one that is less intelligent, making intelligence the most powerful force in the universe," writes Kurzweil.

Yet the invention of so many high-powered technologies and the possibility of merging these new technologies with humans may pose both peril and promise for the future of mankind.

"I think there are grave dangers," said Kurzweil. "Technology has always been a double-edged sword."

5 p.m. (EDT), the Clerk of the House of Representatives will give the first reading of the Article of Impeachment of President George Bush

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:44:00 +0000

Original message from Dennis Kucinich -

"Dear Friends,

This afternoon, at approximately 5 p.m. (EDT), the Clerk of the House of Representatives will give the first reading of the Article of Impeachment of President George Bush. Article One charges the President with deceiving Congress with fabricated threats of Iraq WMDs to fraudulently obtain support for an authorization of the use of military force against Iraq.

Once the Clerk reads the bill, I will move to refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee for hearings. I believe the American people have a right to an open airing of the charges against this President. Did he or did he not lie to take us into a war? I believe the evidence is overwhelming that President Bush knew that Iraq was not an imminent threat, was not in possession of WMDs at the time, and had nothing to do with 911 or with al Queda's role in 911. And yet, despite having facts to the contrary, he took the U.S. into war with devastating consequences for our troops, our nation, and the people of Iraq. Congress must hold hearings.

There can be no greater offense of a President or a Commander in Chief than to conjure a war based on lies to Congress, to the troops, and to the people of America.

I love our country with all my heart and I intend to persist until America is America again.

Please contact your friends and neighbors and ask them to go to our website at www.kucinich.us and sign the impeachment petition. Thank you for your continuing support and for your love of our country and its people.

Sign the petition.

Sincerely,

Dennis"

Max Payne Trailer Leaked

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:36:00 +0000

"We're not sure how long this will stay online, but it looks like the new trailer for 20th Century Fox's Max Payne has been leaked by international sites.

Opening October 17, the video game adaptation stars Mark Wahlberg, Chris O'Donnell, Beau Bridges, Ludacris, Mila Kunis, Donal Logue and Amaury Nolasco. Max Payne tells the story of a maverick cop determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder of his family and partner. Hell-bent on revenge, his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmare journey into a dark underworld. As the mystery deepens, Max (Wahlberg) is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal."

US Senate Annihilates Constitution

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:34:00 +0000

FISA Passed, Obama voted in favor of it.

read more | digg story

FISA Amendment Act - Another Unlawful Underhanded Attack on The People of America

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:07:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Senate has approved a bill overhauling the rules on secret government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telecom companies that helped listen in unlawfully on Americans.

read more | digg story

I'm going to put this all together and make it easy to do something... even if it does feel like an exercise in futility, at least we're doing something...

Email them at: senate.gov/general/contact_information

Here's a list of the senators that approved the Act:

Alexander(R-TN)
Allard(R-CO)
Barrasso(R-WY)
Baucus(D-MT)
Bayh(D-IN)
Bennett(R-UT)
Bond(R-MO)
Brownback(R-KS)
Bunning(R-KY)
Burr(R-NC)
Carper(D-DE)
Casey(D-PA)
Chambliss(R-GA)
Coburn(R-OK)
Cochran(R-MS)
Coleman(R-MN)
Collins(R-ME)
Conrad(D-ND)
Corker(R-TN)
Cornyn(R-TX)
Craig(R-ID)
Crapo(R-ID)
DeMint(R-SC)
Dole(R-NC)
Domenici(R-NM)
Ensign(R-NV)
Enzi(R-WY)
Grassley(R-IA)
Gregg(R-NH)
Hagel(R-NE)
Hatch(R-UT)
Hutchison(R-TX)
Inhofe(R-OK)
Inouye(D-HI)
Isakson(R-GA)
Johnson(D-SD)
Kohl(D-WI)
Kyl(R-AZ)
Landrieu(D-LA)
Lieberman(ID-CT)
Lincoln(D-AR)
Lugar(R-IN)
Martinez(R-FL)
McCain(R-AZ)
McCaskill(D-MO)
McConnell(R-KY)
Mikulski(D-MD)
Murkowski(R-AK)
Nelson(D-FL)
Nelson(D-NE)
Pryor(D-AR)
Roberts(R-KS)
Rockefeller(D-WV)
Salazar(D-CO)
Sessions(R-AL)
Shelby(R-AL)
Smith(R-OR)
Snowe(R-ME)
Specter(R-PA)
Stevens(R-AK)
Sununu(R-NH)
Thune(R-SD)
Vitter(R-LA)
Voinovich(R-OH)
Warner(R-VA)
Webb(D-VA)
Whitehouse(D-RI)
Wicker(R-MS)

Here's a rough draft I worked out of the comments (thanks for the help):

"The leadership of the United States of America has committed high crimes and treason against the American people. Here is my list of charges against the Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and White House:

1) Used false and misleading intelligence to start wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
2) Have violated the Constitution by holding US citizens without charges.
3) Have violated the Constitution by tapping our calls without warrants.
4) Have violated the Geneva Conventions by waging wars of aggression for profit.
5) Have violated the Geneva Conventions by torturing enemy combatants in Abu Ghraib.

It absolutely blows me away that you could approve the FISA Amendments Act. The disgusting abuse of power and rampant corruption in this once great republic has gone too far. How could you support such a thing?

Is there no end to this madness? Does anyone "up there" care about the future of this country and its people at all?"

- ask for a reply.

Another sad day in the history of America. Damn shame...

Apple Security is Really Not Great...

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:19:00 +0000

No need for 'social engineering' at Apple, ask and you shall receive.

read more | digg story

John McCain lies about his vets voting record

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:14:00 +0000

At his townhall meeting in Rochester, MI today, John McCain lied about his veteran's voting record saying, "I received the highest award from literally every veterans organization in America." The truth is, the recognition McCain has received from veterans groups is not "high awards" but failing grades. Check the record for yourself.

read more | digg story

Net Neutrality: Five Facts Everyone Must Know

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:12:00 +0000

The term net neutrality, unless you’re a tech geek, conjures up thoughts of fair trade, international policy or possibly anti-fishing zones. Here's a clarification the oft confusing technical jargon slimmed down to only the necessary information:

read more | digg story

Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Crouch) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:09:00 +0000

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is sticking to his drive to impeach President Bush. After brining 35 articles of impeachment to the floor last month, Kucinich will return this week with a single article accusing Bush of misleading the nation into war.

read more | digg story