Filed under: Amazon, Connections, Constitution, Feedback, Humor, Kindle, Promotion, Publishing, Religion, Science Fiction, Society | Tags: Amazon, blogging, Christians, Communion of Dreams, Constitution, direct publishing, Edenists, feedback, free, highlights, humor, jim downey, Kindle, promotion, reviews, Science Fiction, Thanksgiving
I was scheduling a “free Kindle copy” promotion of Communion of Dreams a while ago, and as part of that I was poking around a little deeper into the Amazon ratings/rankings/comments. Something they evidently added a while back that I hadn’t noticed is that people can “highlight” passages in the Kindle edition, and share that info with other readers.
Anyway, about a year ago someone highlighted a passage (in italics below) and added a comment which I find rather amusing, and I thought I’d share it:
JohnB: I resent the author’s allusion to Christians in this negative light. More unConstitutional bashing.
Take your worst nightmare right-wing Christian fundies,
Really makes me wonder if he continued to read the book at all past that point.
You can find all the highlights here. Oh, and the Kindle edition will be available for free this Thursday and Friday.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Connections, Gardening, Habanero | Tags: Bhut Jolokia, blogging, cooking, Devil's Tongue, Habaneros, hot sauce, jim downey, Moruga Scorpion, Red Savina, Trinidad Scorpion
As I’ve mentioned previously, it was a good year for peppers. Well, in addition to making the big batch of sauce at the end of the season, I also dried approximately 5 gallons of seeded habaneros of various sorts. And this morning I got around to crushing them. Here’s the result:
Quart jars of powdered evil.
That works out to something like 8 ounces (fluid volume) of crushed habs per gallon of fresh/frozen. Yeah, baby!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Art, Blade Runner, Connections, movies, Music, Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, Science Fiction, YouTube | Tags: Anders Ramsell, art, Blade Runner, blogging, jim downey, movies, music, Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott, Science Fiction, video, watercolor, www youtube
Wow:
I am staggered by this thing: a 35-minute “paraphrasing” of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner from 12,597 animated watercolor paintings. It’s beautiful and insane—who would do this? A really big Blade Runner fan, I guess.
That fan is Swedish artist Anders Ramsell, who hand-painted each of the thousands of 1.5 by 3 cm paintings that make up the film, then synced them up to audio from the movie. The results are moody, and dreamily gorgeous.
Judge for yourself:
For me, this presentation/interpretation works, because it fits so perfectly with the theme and style of the movie. Very impressive.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Connections, Government, NPR, Society | Tags: blogging, Doolittle Raiders, jim downey, NPR, Veterans Day
The Raid was a total secret to all involved and the members of the raid were chosen by volunteering for a “dangerous secret mission”. The members did not know the target destination until the planes were loaded on the ship and the raid was underway. This was to prevent any “leakage” of information about the raid. 16 B-25 twin engine bombers were to take off from the deck of the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet and bomb Japan mainland. This would be the first attack on Japan mainland of WW2. Because the airplanes were too large to be taken below deck on the aircraft carrier they had to be stored at the end of the runway on top. As a result the runway was very short, especially for the first plane in line, and special training was required to teach the pilots to be able to take off in such a short distance with a full payload.
From the official Doolittle Tokyo Raiders website.
* * *
Historically, important legal and government documents were “sealed” with some manner of imprint in wax, wet clay (which was then allowed to dry), ink or some similar material. This helped to verify their authenticity.
Later, such sealing was used so as to indicate that a letter or package wasn’t opened prior to the intended recipient having possession, or before an appointed time.
We still use the term “seal” in both ways, routinely. So much so that we seldom even give much thought to it. Court records are sealed. Government documents bear a seal indicating their official nature. Food & drug products are sealed for your protection. Alcohol containers are sealed with a tax stamp.
When a seal is broken, it is a moment of change. Perhaps a noteworthy one. Perhaps something trivial. It can be a violation. Or it can be the culmination of a promise.
* * *
From NPR this morning, about the final reunion of the Doolittle Raiders this past Saturday:
In 1959, officials in Tucson, Ariz., presented the Raiders with a set of 80 name-engraved silver goblets. They’re kept in a velvet-lined box, and after each year’s toast, the goblets of those who have died are turned upside down. Four remain upright.
This time, the Raiders bring out an 1896 vintage bottle of Hennessy cognac. It was given to Jimmy Doolittle on his 60th birthday, and it has been kept unopened by the Raiders.
Cole is asked to break the wax seal, but it’s not an easy task. When the 98-year-old succeeds, the final toast is offered: “Gentleman, I propose a toast to those we lost on the mission and those who have passed away since. Thank you very much, and may they rest in peace.”
More than 71 years of tragedy, bravery and inspiration have lead to this moment. And finally, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders declare their mission is over.
Thank you, gentlemen. And thank you to all our Veterans. You have kept your promise to us, one sealed in blood and sacrifice.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Civil Rights, Connections, Constitution, Government, NYT, Predictions, Science Fiction, Society, tech, Writing stuff | Tags: blogging, Constitution, Edward Snowden, government, jim downey, New York Times, NSA, predictions, privacy, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, technology, writing
I said this in passing back in August:
Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that these topics are ones I have discussed at some length in the past, well before the latest news. Just check the “Constitution“, “Government” or “Privacy” categories or related tags, and you’ll see what I mean.
And the things I have had to say in the past reflect a lot of what informs the background of St. Cybi’s Well. I don’t want to give too much away, but a lot of the book is concerned with what happens when a government uses tools intended to protect its citizens to instead control them. And working off of what was already in the public domain about the different security programs, I made a lot of projections about where such things could lead.
Then came the Snowden revelations and subsequent discussion. As it turned out, I was very accurate in my understanding of the spying technology and how it could be used. Almost too much so.
Yeah. From the close of a long, disturbing article:
Another former insider worries less about foreign leaders’ sensitivities than the potential danger the sprawling agency poses at home. William E. Binney, a former senior N.S.A. official who has become an outspoken critic, says he has no problem with spying on foreign targets like Brazil’s president or the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. “That’s pretty much what every government does,” he said. “It’s the foundation of diplomacy.” But Mr. Binney said that without new leadership, new laws and top-to-bottom reform, the agency will represent a threat of “turnkey totalitarianism” — the capability to turn its awesome power, now directed mainly against other countries, on the American public.
“I think it’s already starting to happen,” he said. “That’s what we have to stop.”
Perzactly.
Back to writing. Before my predictions of dystopia all become entirely too real.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Connections, Health, NPR, Science, Sleep | Tags: Alzheimer's, beta amyloid, dementia, health, jim downey, NPR, science, Shakespeare, sleep
Interesting. They may have found the reason that animals sleep: in order to flush the brain of toxins which build up during waking hours.
And more importantly, this may also be part of the explanation for Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementia. From the NPR article linked above:
The brain-cleaning process has been observed in rats and baboons, but not yet in humans, Nedergaard says. Even so, it could offer a new way of understanding human brain diseases including Alzheimer’s. That’s because one of the waste products removed from the brain during sleep is beta amyloid, the substance that forms sticky plaques associated with the disease.
That’s probably not a coincidence, Nedergaard says. “Isn’t it interesting that Alzheimer’s and all other diseases associated with dementia, they are linked to sleep disorders,” she says.
Researchers who study Alzheimer’s say Nedergaard’s research could help explain a number of recent findings related to sleep. One of these involves how sleep affects levels of beta amyloid, says , a professor of neurology Washington University in St. Louis who wasn’t involved in the study.
Perhaps it is time for a nap …
Jim Downey
*With apologies to Mr. Shakespeare.
Filed under: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Ballistics, Blade Runner, Brave New World, Connections, Expert systems, General Musings, Google, Government, Guns, Predictions, Preparedness, Privacy, Science, Science Fiction, tech, Violence | Tags: artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Communion of Dreams, drones, Expert, Google, government, guns, Guns.com, jim downey, MADSS, NSA, predictions, privacy, science, Science Fiction, Seth, technology, TrackingPoint, Watson
… and sometimes it is just chilling.
First, meet Seth’s grandpa:
Watson is a cognitive capability that resides in the computing cloud — just like Google and Facebook and Twitter. This new capability is designed to help people penetrate complexity so they can make better decisions and live and work more successfully. Eventually, a host of cognitive services will be delivered to people at any time and anywhere through a wide variety of handy devices. Laptops. Tablets. Smart phones. You name it.
In other words, you won’t need to be a TV producer or a giant corporation to take advantage of Watson’s capabilities. Everybody will have Watson — or a relative of the Watson technologies — at his or her fingertips.
Indeed, Watson represents the first wave in a new era of technology: the era of cognitive computing. This new generation of technology has the potential to transform business and society just as radically as today’s programmable computers did so over the past 60+ years. Cognitive systems will be capable of making sense of vast quantities of unstructured information, by learning, reasoning and interacting with people in ways that are more natural for us.
Next, consider the implications of this idea:
Now think of another way of doing this. Think of a website that is a repository of all these IDs, and is government-owned or certified. Why can’t I just visit a police station once, pay a fee (so the government doesn’t lose money on this), show all my documentation, have the government scan and upload everything so that all policemen and pertinent authorities can have access. Then my car insurance company, my health insurance company, the car registration agency can all notify this government repository if I stop paying, or if my insurance policy is not valid anymore.
Imagine a world in which the police has tablets or smartphones that show nice big pictures of you, in which whatever they currently do secretly with NSA-type agencies they do openly instead. If they find you without an ID they ask, “who are you?”, and once you give your name, they can see your photo and a ton of information about you. It would be so hard for anyone to impersonate you. I find it paradoxical that while some government agencies spy on you and know all about you, others pretend to know nothing until you show them a piece of plastic that if you lose, somebody else can impersonate you with. We need to evolve from this. We need to evolve into a system in which we have no wallets and a safer world!
Yeah, safer …
TrackingPoint, the biggest name in “smart” scope technology today, is rolling out their next big project. Not too surprising, it is a military endeavor. Called the “Future of War,” TrackingPoint is gearing up for a new market.
The company has been getting a lot of attention with their high-end big-bore hunting rifles that are designed to track targets up to 1,000 yards away. The “smart” aspect of the scope technology is a host of rangefinders and sensors that, combined with optical image recognition software, calculate the ballistics of the shot and compensate for it automatically.
TrackingPoint’s hasn’t exactly concealed their intentions to develop arms for the military market. That was always a possibility and something they all but confirmed when they began talking about their second-generation precision guided rifle systems that, chambered for .50 BMG, are expected to be effective well over 3,000 yards. The cartridge, .50 BMG, is a devastating long-range anti-personnel and anti-material round.
From TrackingPoint’s website:
Target handoff can be achieved by leader touching a smart rifle icon and map location at which point the designated user will see an arrow in his scope directing him to look at handoff location. Whether from shooter to shooter, leader to shooter, drone to leader to shooter, shooter to leader to drone, handoff is a simple touch interface via a mobile device and mobile apps augmented by the appropriate a la carte communications gear.
Emphasis added, because:
The MADSS is one mean robot. Developed by defense industry leader Northrop Grumman and currently being showcased at the Fort Benning, Ga. “Robotics Rodeo,” the MADSS is a 1 1/2-ton unmanned ground vehicle designed to provide soldiers with covering fire while cutting down targets.
Make no mistake, it’s an automatic shooting machine, But it requires people to operate it and set targets. The MADSS — Mobile Armed Dismount Support System — tracks and fires on targets only once it gets the green light. It won’t shoot unless a soldier is directing it.
It’s half killer robot, half killer giant remote-control car.
But you know, not all cars need someone in control of them these days:
In Silberg’s estimation, the reason is that Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz drivers are “already accustomed to high-tech bells and whistles, so adding a ‘self-driving package’ is just another option.” Throw in the possibility of a special lane on highways for autonomous vehicles and the ability to turn the system on and off at will, and premium buyers were sold on the option full-stop.
Considering that Audi, BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes-Benz all plan to have some kind of semi-autonomous, traffic jam assistance feature either on the market or coming in the next few years, and it’s obvious that luxury brands are well aware of what their buyers want.
Draw your own conclusions.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Astronomy, Connections, Religion, Science, Science Fiction, Space, Writing stuff | Tags: astronomy, Communion of Dreams, exoplanets, Gliese 1214 b, jim downey, Norio Narita, science, Science Fiction, space, Space.com, St. Cybi's Well, writing
Got an email from an old friend and fan of Communion of Dreams which consisted of a link and this comment: Couldn’t resist…when I read this, all I could think was, “they’ve found the gel!!” 🙂
From the article at the link:
A nearby alien planet six times the size of the Earth is covered with a water-rich atmosphere that includes a strange “plasma form” of water, scientists say.
Astronomers have determined that the atmosphere of super-Earth Gliese 1214 b is likely water-rich. However, this exoplanet is no Earth twin. The high temperature and density of the planet give it an atmosphere that differs dramatically from Earth.
“As the temperature and pressure are so high, water is not in a usual form (vapor, liquid, or solid), but in an ionic or plasma form at the bottom the atmosphere — namely the interior — of Gliese 1214 b,” principle investigator Norio Narita of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan told SPACE.com by email.
You should read the whole thing, it’s pretty cool.
And yes, there is a reason why the prequel to Communion of Dreams is based around visits to holy wells in Wales … 😉
Jim Downey
Filed under: Connections, General Musings, Humor, Music, NPR, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff | Tags: Alwyn, blogging, Darrell Scott, Fat Tire, humor, jim downey, Lake of the Ozarks, music, New Belgium, NPR, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, Tim O'Brien, travel, writing
At about 7:45 in this interview:
NPR: “I wonder: your original CD together Realtime is so beloved by your fans, does that make you just a tad nervous about how this much-anticipated follow-up might be received? Or do you just block that stuff out?”
O’Brien: “Ah, you know, I’m gettin’ over that.”
NPR: “But not yet? You’re still working on it?”
* * * * * * *
It was a hard week. He may have been only a dog, but his absence was entirely too distracting.
* * * * * * *
The other night I played supportive spouse and accompanied my Good Lady Wife to a professional meeting she had at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Lake (as people in Missouri almost universally refer to it) is an interesting sort of place, from a purely anthropological perspective. Originally built to help generate electricity, it then became a tourist trap in the 1960s, then evolved into something of a Spring Break party spot for college kids throughout the state. It still has something of that reputation, though it has now branched out a bit into being a general purpose convention/resort area. I’ve written about it previously.
Anyway, like these sorts of meeting things go, the first night there was a cocktail party with an open, but limited selection, bar. I walked up to the bar, nodded to the nice very clean cut young man behind it, asked “Got any Fat Tire? ”
“Sorry, just domestic beer. ”
I blinked, a bit stunned.
He explained further “We don’t have any of those Belgium beers.”
* * * * * * *
At about 7:45 in this interview:
NPR: “I wonder: your original CD together Realtime is so beloved by your fans, does that make you just a tad nervous about how this much-anticipated follow up might be received? Or do you just block that stuff out?”
O’Brien: “Ah, you know, I’m gettin’ over that.”
NPR: “But not yet? You’re still working on it?”
O’Brien:“Well, there is a sort of a fermentation that happens in people’s minds, and I guess it happened in my mind too, that you know, what, can we do that again? Can we go back to that? And then, at some point I just said ‘well, you know, if we don’t try we’ll never do anything together again'”.
Scott: “To me the word is ‘fearless’. Putting it out there, and then, with the right ingredients it’ll probably turn into something edible.”
Something edible, indeed. Back to work.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 