" It was a dark and stormy night. "

...

" It was a dark and stormy night. "

This is an oft-recurring theme in the Peanuts cartoons penned over the years by the late Charles Schulz. His cartoons seemed to often feature the world's favorite dog Snoopy lying on the top of his doghouse, putting pen to paper to begin his 'great American novel'.


But little did I realize that there actually is a complete Snoopy novel led by these words.

( Photo by: greymouser / flickr.com )

The 'novel' features pirates, dying patients, lovers torn apart, a cattle stampede, fighting cowboys ...truly a 'tour de force', all in a bare 250 or so words..!! I can almost imagine it put to film and playing on the silver screen . . .or not..!!


There is more Snoopy and Peanuts info to be found at Snoopy dot com.


Enjoy.


...tom...
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' Alphabet for Beginners ': letters to live by...

 
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William Hone was a political firebrand in the early days of nineteenth century merry old England. While his efforts in promoting the goals of the London Corresponding Society in parliamentary reform and other political efforts have faded over the years he did publish some works of long-lasting value.




In addition to a number of political pamphlets authored and published, Hone also produced some general consumption literature. One of his books is titled:

The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information, concerning Remarkable Men and Manners, Times and Seasons, Solemnities and Merry-makings, Antiquities and Novelties: forming a Complete History of the Year

Yes, that is quite the mouthful. Perhaps that is why 'Poor Richard's Almanack' is remembered and this one not so much...


Included in 'The Year Book' is an "Alphabet for Beginners", perhaps best described as a secular credo for living based on traits identified by the 26 letters of the alphabet.

Such homilies as:

B e just to others, that you may be just to yourself.

N ever take credit; and, as far as possible, avoid giving it.

R evenge a wrong by forgiving it.

and other familiar and not so familiar advice are included.


It is pretty amazing that so many of the ideas might still be found applicable today, nearly two hundred years later. Perhaps basic human nature changes little over the years and through the generations.


hat tip: Neatorama


...tom...
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Beating the Reaper: Randy Pausch, 1960-2008

 

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" But we don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well. "
—Randy Pausch


A true teacher left his final classroom Friday. Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Randy Pausch finally succumbed to the ravages of pancreatic cancer.

But he certainly did not go meekly into the night.


The entire mushroom of attention about his health 'problem' and his philosophy of life really began as he sought a way to leave a permanent mark in the lives of his three children, to create a touchstone for them to always find the presence and love of a father taken too, too early from them.

He did so by documenting his life goals and how he worked to reach them. The methods and drive that worked for him will serve his children well in the decades that follow.


That he chose to share this personal story with his students, his colleagues, with us is a gift that we may never be able to re-pay. Except, perhaps, by living our lives as he lived his; sharing our energy, our optimism, our dreams and goals with all those around us to craft a better world and life for all.


You must see the video, you must read the book, you must absorb his message. If you take full measure of it you will find it greatly enriching your life and those you love.

There could be no better fitting gift for any of us to leave for those who will follow in our footsteps.



The Last Lecture video can be found here.
The Last Lecture book can be found here.
My review (and others) of The Last Lecture can be found here.


...tom...
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Rainy day songs...

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Songs of rain. Just because...
















And a few youtube vids...


Raining On Sunday ... Keith Urban ...wonderful guitar playing.





Stay Away Joe ... Elvis Presley





Bring On The Rain - Jo Dee Messina & Tim McGraw





A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan ( a memorial of the Vietnam years )





Kiss the Rain - Billie Myers





Like the Rain ( Pride and Prejudice ) - Clint Black



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Dancing is astronomy..??

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How can dancing be considered to be astonomy-related..?!?

That was my first thought when checking out a recent APOD 'picture of the day'.

I have talked about APOD before, what a great site it is. It is always good for something new, something refreshing, something awesome indeed. Anyone who can look at the stars on a dark night and not find it awesome is missing a part of their soul.


But back to this dancing thing. how can that be related to astronomy..??

Well, one of their recent daily pics featured that dancing fool Matt Harding and a video of him dancing his fool way around the world. What a life..!! ( And another 'why the h3ll did I not think of that..?!? ' moment for me..!! )


Well, we are all traveling through the universe and through our lives on this same great big ball called Earth. One thing we all share is smiling and joy. As they say at the APOD page: "few people are able to watch the above video without smiling."


Enjoy.


...tom...
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See anybody you know..??

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OK, this is pretty cool. I know, I know ...I am easily impressed by modern technology.

But if you are still at the level of enjoying snapshots and pictures from your vacation last year out west, some of which you actually managed to get posted on a free web picture site . . .well, you might be impressed with this bit of pixel prestidigitation also.

Say, isn't that Billy Crystal right there..?!?

July 4th, Yankee Stadium . . .but where did the shortstop and 3rd baseman go..??


...tom...
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'Word clouds' galore...

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We have all seen those 'word clouds' around the net. They are used to graphically and textually represent the content of a set of tags or perhaps the text in an article or on a page.

Well now comes wordle dot net that lets you create your own 'word clouds', from content of your choice. It could be some writing of yours on the web, or your photo tags at flickr or your last love letter to your girl ...whatever you want.

Here are just a couple of examples:

This one is apparently the 23rd Psalm.

Here is Kristin's page where she leaves a sweet thought for her darling husband and a simple 'happy birthday' thought to Tiffany.


While you can not register a particular name you can accumulate 'wordles' under your ID of choice. Before saving them you can use the randomize button at the page to display them in varying colors, arrangements, and page backgrounds.

Because the application is java-driven you also can not capture a jpeg of your 'wordle'. But the site does explain other methods to capture the image. As all images are created under a Creative Commons Attribution license you are free to use them to your heart's content.


Try it out, have some fun ...or at least a brief moment of nonsensical diversion.


...tom...
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Use it or lose it....

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Good news is out for those men who are getting theirs frequently.


Finnish researchers have found that " ...men who said they had sexual intercourse less than once a week had twice the risk of developing erectile dysfunction, compared with men reporting having sexual intercourse once a week. "

The data even seems to indicate that the greater the frequency of sexual intercourse, the lower the incidence of erectile dsyfunction.


Unfortunately, the study only investigated the effects of actual sexual intercourse and not masturbation. Of course, one associate professor of urology is quoted in the last paragraph of the linked report theorizing: " ...this (masturbation) is essentially the same concept, ... Anything you can do to bring blood to the penis is beneficial. "



So there ya go. Get out there and exercise your little friend guys; either with your favorite workout buddy or on your own. Your future sexual potency is in your hand . . .or hands.
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Filtering search results by color..?!?

OK, this is one of the weirder things I have happened upon while surfing the net. I know, given some of the weird and disturbing stuff out here . . .that is saying a lot.

But filtering search results by color..?? I mean, I can see that if you are looking for bath towels or dishes or paint of a particular color. But just random objects..?!?


Here is a Yahoo.Shopping search result page that I somehow landed on. Notice the block of color swatches at the left. You may have to scroll down just a wee bit.


This particular page is tagged at the top as:

Shopping > Home & Garden > All Home & Garden > Light Pink


Notice the various articles displayed there for the shopper: a pink toy box bench, a pink bean bag chair, pinks sheets, pink security blanket, pink muffin pan, pink toaster..?!?

Clicking on the different color boxes brings up a new set of products, all with that color in common.

Well, I suppose if you are nuts about a particular color and want to pimp your pad out in that color ...I suppose that 'color search' function might be useful.


You can 'click back' on the URL string at the top at keep the color option visible. But I could not figure out how to 'call it' from the main Yahoo:Shopping page.


Anyway . . .I thought it was very, what did I call it earlier..? ...I thought it very weird.
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Art in the Heartland

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This is the 11th year for the Des Moines Arts Festival as hosted by the Downtown Events Group. It continues a fifty year tradition of locally-produced and directed fine arts fairs. A handful of paid staff members and over a thousand volunteers work each year on this Art Fair. Every year it serves as a highlight of their efforts to revitalize and re-energize the evolving downtown scene in Des Moines.


Held on the broad, open vistas of the Western Gateway Park at the edge of downtown Des Moines, several streets are closed to vehicle traffic and a visitor-friendly and spectator-inviting atmosphere is created for the weekend.






This year over 1400 (!!) applications to show were received. As they needed to be culled to fit the 175 available spots in the show, a jury of fellow professional artists used a blind selection process to select those to be invited to participate.

Fifteen categories are represented, ranging from 2-D and 3-D Mixed Media through Digital, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, to Sculpture and Wood.


A quick look at the list of artists presenting this year shows they come from as far away as Washington and Florida, from California to South Carolina. As a member of the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) the Fair has a growing reputation for quality in the art fair world.


The Fair also supports new Iowa artists through the Emerging Iowa Artists program and also supports art in school classrooms throughout central Iowa through the Nurturing a Student’s Vision program.


Of course, food, music, drink, and family fun are also an integral part of the Fair. It truly is an event valued by young and old, singles and families, any and every person that enjoys viewing the world through the eyes of artists.


Of the many artists exhibiting this year, a couple grabbed my attention.

It was hard to miss the woven wire sculptures of Michael Gard. Starting with a clay sculpture, which is then reproduced in wax, the wire itself (brass, aluminum, copper, silver, etc.) is then woven over the wax sculpture. When the piece is completed, the wax is melted away leaving the finished 3-D art work.

They are light, airy, strong . . .and incredibly beautiful. Now if only I had the jack to afford even a small one... The one shown is one of the larger sizes displayed, apparently 48 inches large, if it follows the example on his web site.


Another artist that captured my eye and my imagination was Gregory Story. From Fort Worth, Texas Story captures his visions in ceramic creations. Jars, bottles, floor 'totems', 'wallballs', etc.

I wanted to take a picture, but Gregory asked that I not, that instead I could use images from his website to illustrate his work. Unfortunately, his website is 'Flash'-based and I am too busy and clueless to ferret out the image URLs. I am sure you can google his name or 'wallball' and find his page. Sorry Gregory.


Some Des Moines residents complain there is 'nothing to do' here. I would suggest that there is much to do if one is willing to look around and take advantage of the opportunities available.


...tom...


Addendum:
Here are a few more pictures of the grounds, some art-work, prepared by kids visiting the various exhibits, and a giant mural created from individual panels 'painted' by Fair visitors.

Chicago 2008 post-'Meet-n-Greet' thoughts...

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'Community' is the result of individuals banding together in a common activity. These activities are unlimited: sandbagging to save a flood-threatened town, participating on a sports team, working as a citizens group for civic improvements ...or writing on a website.

New members (OK, most of them) come to Epinions with similar game plans: to share their opinions by writing reviews. All member/writers utilize the same basic format: Pros, Cons, a Bottom Line, a star-rating, and their thoughts and words.

The Epinions review is the method for any member to define their personal level of participation on the site. To some the community side is less important, to others more important. Some look to balance the level of their writing on the site and the amount of time spent interacting with others. Some like to write, some like to read and rate, some like the social interaction possible on the site. The spectrum is endless and only determined by the desire and actions of any given member.

Some immediately (or eventually) become more deeply intertwined with the site than others. Perhaps they write more often, rate more often, comment more often. Perhaps they frequently interact with other members on the message boards or via e-mails. Each member defines their own level of involvement, either deliberately or by simply 'going with the flow'.


Over the years, the corporate side of Epinions has facilitated the next step of 'community-building' on the site by hosting 'Meet-n-Greets' for community members to interact both with the corporate staff of the Epinions website and their fellow members.

Recently such an event was held in Chicago. These 'Meet-n-Greet' events obviously cater to those members who are strongly interested in the community, in meeting both the individuals who run the 'business' side of the site and fellow members who pepper the site with their words, their rates, and their comments.

I had always told myself that if an official 'meet-n-greet' were held in my area of the country I would make every effort to attend. I knew the chance to meet, in the 'flesh and blood' so many fellow users that I know and trust would simply be too rich to miss.


Let me just say I was not disappointed. The ability to put a face, a voice, just a bit of a persona with a mental image we have of our fellow users is invaluable. Amazingly many of the users were just as I imagined they might be. I really felt that I would be lucky to call them friends in the real world as well as friends on a silly website.


Anyway, I am immensely pleased, beyond expectations, to have met each of them; to have shared just a bit of myself with them and to take from them just a bit of reassurance that not everyone you meet on the internet is really an ax murderer.


...tom...

P.S. My wife and I would like to thank scmrak and pestyside for hosting us for the weekend and being our 'mini-tour guides' for our foray into the big city. Your friendship is valued and appreciated.

Chicago 2008 'Meet-n-Greet' pre-musings....

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Years ago I registered as a member of yet another website. I am sure we all have a littered 'net trail of sites visited, joined, and allowed to wither on the vine. For lack of interest, lack of 'stickiness', lack of value ...short or long term.


Epinions dot com was such a site for me. I am sure I was probably looking online for info about a book or book reviews when I first found it. I registered and then apparently moved on. Nine or ten months later I 'rediscovered' the site and somehow this time it pulled me in.


Epinions is a site for "unbiased reviews by real people". Reviews of products we all use everyday in our lives: computers, cameras, baby gear, outdoor equipment, books, movies, music, garden equipment . . .the list goes on and on.

What I have learned over the years is that the people of Epinions truly are 'real'. Through the process of sharing my thoughts about products in reviews and about other topics in essays I have learned that many members share my passion for the power of the written word and their ability to shape those words and their thoughts into a 'helpful' review. A review that serves the shopping customer while also meeting their need to reach out, to be heard, to communicate with others.


The passion of members on the site is real and tangible. Some lust for markers of recognition, some strive for popularity, some seek 'trust', some lust after the rising tally of numbers. Some immerse themselves in their own 'work', quietly pursuing their 'vision' of Epinions. While others actively engage, challenge, try to provoke their fellow members into action for this cause or that cause.

The diversity of approaches to the site is amazing. Finding one's own niche can be very stressful or very enriching and rewarding. We all make our own journey and we all look back with mixed emotions about the path we have traveled, the good we have accomplished, the bad we have committed, and those we have helped and those we have hurt along the way.

Perhaps it is a good metaphor for the 'real world' of our daily lives. Or perhaps it is a snow globe shaken by some unknown being, I and others being nothing more than ". . .an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato." To quote Ebenezer Scrooge.


This weekend I am traveling (with my wife) to Chicago for a formal activity sponsored by the site management, a 'Meet-n-greet' where the powers that be and site members have a chance to interact about the workings of the site, goals to meet, changes needing to be implemented, and just where the heck we (as a site and as individual members) are going over the short- and long-term future.


But beyond that is the chance to finally meet many users, fellow members ...flesh and blood people that I know only through exchanges on the site, through e-mails, through silly user-pics on the site.

To be honest, it is kind of scary. Will the 'flesh and blood' ...tom... meet the expectations of those who have interacted, positively and negatively, with me over the years..?? Will I find this user or that user as 'trustable' in real-life as I do on the site..?? Will they meet my expectations..?? And just how in the hell can I or they even have 'expectations'..??


Anyway, a chance to get away for a day or two with the wifie, perhaps our only road-trip of the summer ( before gas prices put us in the poor house...), a chance to meet a bunch of wonderful people . . ..


Expectations indeed.


I am sure I will share some thoughts later about my experiences there. I am looking forward to the next couple of day..!!


...tom...
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Get the Big Picture

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The Big Picture blog has been getting mad crazy pub all over the Internet. So why should I not pimp it also..??

Boston dot com is the website of the The Boston Globe. Among the many blogs they host driven with specific area content is The Big Picture. With its first entry dated May 21, 2008 it is a brand new player in the world of presenting visual images to the world.


Blogger Alan Taylor has been active on the net for over ten years and has been a Web developerfor a diverse collection of websites. His personal blog at kokogiak dot com explores his personal history and the reasons behind the latest project of The Big Picture.

The sizes of the photographs are deliberately large - taking advantage of the majority of web users who have screens capable of displaying 1024x768 or larger. The long-held tradition of keeping images online tiny and lightweight is commendable still - when designing a general purpose site. But one dedicated to quality imagery should take full advantage of the medium, and I hope I've struck a good balance with The Big Picture.

With perhaps a dozen or so sets presented so far, it demonstrates a wide variety of lesser-known events in the news and a series of pictures and interwoven narrative about each event.

I am particularly impressed with the astronomy picture sets presented to date. A view of Cassini Spacecraft images (example here) of Saturn and another set of The Sky, from Above are both breathtaking.


If you want a nearly daily source of quality news-realted web images that use the full capabilities of your web access to display quality images, you have to check this blog site out.

Hat tip to: Photojojo
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Mixing up the tunes to share with all...

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We all like to play the disc jockey. Arranging our tunes to play in just the right order. Burning them to CDs or, back in the day, making a 'mix tape' to share with our friends. A cassette tape featuring our perfect mix of songs and arrangements of them in one playlist.


Well now comes mixwit dot com, a site that uses that visual metaphor of a cassette tape to let you create your own mix tapes.


Mixwit uses two music search sites to find mp3 files to add to your 'mix tape'. It creates a playlist of songs from all over the web that are sorted and maintained in any order you choose. You can then share that mix tape URL with anyone you like. Or you can simply use it for your own playlists, as I have just began to do.

You can also search for playlists of others that might contain songs, artists, or genre you like. Those mix tapes can then be saved as 'favorites' by you.


Check it out. A new experience for me at least.


...tom...
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OK, I barely remember this one...

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It seems it was decades ago that I was first exposed to coin-operated video games. Actually, it probably was...

But this one was definitely one of the first I remember playing. Well other than the table-top Pong games that I seem to remember from one of the old college bars I once frequented...


The growing, menacing 'music' on this recreation definitely brings old buried memories back to life. Still get that old, harried, 'I am gonna die..!!' buzz from it.


hat tip to: Mike the Mad Biologist

The Arrival on Mars of the Phoenix Lander...

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Launched in August 2007, the Phoenix Lander is scheduled to land on the red planet on May 25, 2008.

Reborn from the ashes, like its namesake mythical creature, of the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (mothballed earlier this decade) and the failed Mars Polar Lander of 1999, the Phoenix Lander is set to study the "history of water and the habitability potential in the Martian arctics ice-rich soil."



The problems faced by the Lander as it approaches Mars at a speed of 12,500 mph and after Seven Minutes of Terror has hopefully safely landed on the Martian surface are documented in the video at Space dot com.

As it takes ten minutes for signals to reach Earth from Mars ...and the whole landing sequence will be over in seven minutes . . .well, let us say there is not a lifeline back to Mother Earth.


Excellently produced and very informative, the video is well worth the five minutes spent watching and thinking.



For some reason, I am seriously geeked by this whole mission and the idea of finding water and perhaps the possibility of past life on Mars. I feel ten years old again and living, once again, at the crest of mankind reaching for the stars.

Crabapple Glory Days

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Fifteen years ago my wife and I planted two Flowering Crabapple 'Prairiefire' (Malus) trees. Their bright pinkish-red flowers are a truly glory in the spring . . .for about two days. When they bloom they quickly 'set' and lose the petals and brilliant color in a day or two.


But oh my, while they are in full glorious bloom . . .lets just say we hope we are trying to sale our home in the springtime when the trees are blooming. They may be the best asset of the property, even with winter storm/snow damage the trees suffered a decade or so ago.


Check out the pics and link below and enjoy.


































Link: Crabapple Glory

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Do Not Be Taking Urban Dictionary seriously...

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The idea that anyone would take the unfiltered content posted to urbandictionary dot com seriously is crazy to me. A disclosure at the bottom of their web pages notes: "Urban Dictionary is not appropriate for all audiences." No duh.


A recent article in the NY Times Magazine online noted the value of the iconic Oxford English Dictionary in seeking ". . .guidance in the finer points of usage..." for words and phrases, a task well served by the O.E.D.

As an example of the hazards out there on the web for the linguistically-challenged writer, the writer notes the Urban Dictionary 'usage' given for the slang rotflmao: "A chatroom abbreviation used mainly by imbeciles, usually in response to something mildly, often very mildly, amusing. People who use this type of shorthand should be avoided like the Spanish flu."

Well, yeah. But the more expected definition is given first: "Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off."

Either you want to say that or you do not.


Urban Dictionary is full of prank, pornographic, and downright stupid definitions. An online O.E.D. it is not. Unless you are trying to understand your teen daughter's 15 y/o boyfriend I am not sure why you would want to believe much, if anything, found on UD.


Hat tip to: A.Word.A.Day newsletter

"Last Man Down" ...Last job done.

.....September 11, 2001: 9:59 A.M.
"It came as if from nowhere.
There were about two dozen of us by the bank of elevators on the thirty-fifth floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.
We were firefighters mostly, and we were in various stages of exhaustion...
And then the noise started, and the building began to tremble, and we all froze. Dead solid still... No one spoke. There wasn't time to turn thoughts into words, even though there was time to think.
For me anyway there was time to think, too much time to think..."


"Last Man Down" is the sobering personal tale of one New York City fireman's experience surviving a hellish event that the world could never have imagined. His tale is not one of personal heroism while battling flames or pulling innocent victims from the clutches of Death. His tale is one of uncertainty, of not knowing what is happening, of having to be responsible and logical, of having to lead in a situation antithetical to reasoned response, calculated logic and effective leadership.

This is the story of New York City Fire Department Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto and his survival of the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.


Last Man Down opens with a quiet moment of reflection. The author recounts the New York Fire Department's (FDNY) custom of sounding a sequence of five bells, four times in a row, over the FDNY internal bell system when a firefighter is lost in the line of duty. While the communications system has changed "the call of 'four fives,' from one firefighter to another, will always signal the loss of a brother." The author deplores the ugly fact that on September 11, 2001 there was no time for 'four fives'. "There was no time to ring the bells for (our fallen brothers) and too few of us left to hear the ringing."

What follows is his dedication of his story to those firefighters who "gave their lives on that tragic day." What follows are black words set on white paper: rank / surname / given name / unit assignment. Page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page of names...343 firefighters strong--as officially recorded by the FDNY--all gone. A roll call as hauntingly obscene as it is beautifully evocative of all that was lost.

"May their spirits soar, and their legacies linger, and may their mention here stand for the bells that never rang in their honor."
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Read the rest of the review at Epinions dot com.

Originally published May 2, 2002

APOD: your daily space picture...

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Astronomy Picture of the Day is a site that consistently provides some of the best pictures of the marvels of our universe. Each day a new picture showing an image of the world and the planets and stars above us is presented.




An example is this picture showing two spiral galaxies that will slowly collide over the next billion or so years.

Perhaps some distant relative of humanity will be around to record the 'cosmic wreck'.






Other pictures share images of planet Earth and our interactions with our neighbors, near and far, in our solar system, galaxy, and beyond.


Check out the site and the various ways to search the site and discover a wide range of fantastic astonomy pictures.