[car of the future] more technology the answer?

How far can the development of the automobile go? In the light of the oil crisis, drastic solutions seem to be indicated:

At last week's Frankfurt Motor Show, Mercedes unveiled a concept car that literally reads the road ahead, looking out for potholes and adjusting the suspension to cushion the occupants from the blow. It is the latest in a long list of sophisticated driver aids that seem more at home in a fighter jet than family transport.

Wonderful stuff for the techies but isn't the problem of the future more with what is it going to be powered?

[housekeeping] changes

I'm in the process of going MacBookPro 17" and Broadband. Then I'm going to need a heap of advice from the techies.

My reasoning might seem strange - it's not for Skype or for any of the other goodies. At least initially. It's for being able to run 20 sites along the top at one time, accessed super-quickly and then to use that time to read them at leisure and comment.

Half the net time - double the time visiting. That's the plan.

[dr. johnson] sean jeating remembers

There's a blogger around who runs Omnium, a chap occasionally named Sean Jeating and the secret is that English is not his first language. Nevertheless, he did what almost all of us did not - celebrate Johnson's birthdate - September 18th, 1709 and looked at the man in some detail:

Tonight I shall have a nice drop of wine on the 299th anniversary of Samuel Johnson's birth. And I do feel glad having a "treasure" to share with connoisseurs of the English language.

Sean then quotes from The Listener, September 24, 1959, Vol. LXII. No. 1591, when such matters were handled better:

[W]e undervalue the many kinds of writing whose main qualities are not peculiar to literature, writing whose matter is so close to common experience that we do not think of it as imaginative, and whose manner is so much that of ordinary human discourse that it hardly occurs to us to discuss its literary form.

The distinction between the world of art and of life becomes irrelevant in extreme cases of this kind of writing, because both their subject-matter and their mode of communication are common to both.

Completely agree. For all Johnson's "bow-wow" style, as Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke termed it in Boswell's Johnson, his letters, his aphorisms, his simple common sense wisdom has yours truly an earnest devotee.

In short, Johnson was a cool dude. Sean's Listener article observes:

When Boswell remarked ‘But I wonder, Sir, you have not more pleasure in writing than in not writing’, Johnson refused to be drawn: ‘Sir, you may wonder’.

I see, in Johnson, a man who thoroughly enjoyed his life as a whole, of which writing was but one part. He is so much more than his writing and is rightly accorded his place in English letters, whatever his shortcomings, as perceived by his detractors.

[blogfocus wednesday] n.a. under the hammer

Philadelphia, where WC preferred to be

Now, continuing the theme of posts or posters I disagree with, all these North Americans are here because they've contravened the unwritten rule in some way, as explained below. If you're a North American and you're not here, then chances are you haven't contravened anything yet:

1. JMB is listed this evening on the grounds that she's complaining about malfunctioning rental cars with flashing danger messages. She should have taken the chance and lived on the edge - after all, that's what she's paying for:

First an aside about the trip to Philadelphia. I had arranged to rent a car from the local car rental agency in my daughter's hometown. Being the micro-manager that I am, I went to pick it up the day before we were to leave. I went over the car briefly with the agent, no scratches, tank full, nice clean new car. No problems. I drove it home only to find out that suddenly messages were flashing on the dashboard. Trunk ajar! Oil needs service! Neither of which were likely to be true, and in fact were not, but this car was not acceptable. Back to the agency where the only car left was a larger, fully loaded Mazda 6 which he would give me for the same price but had dried paint spilled on the upholstery of the back seat. Well, as this was the only available car, I accepted it.

2. Pantheist Mum has me staring at the screen after this. I think she's going somewhere but where?

So how many parenting blogs have you read where mom is grousing about the CRAZINESSS! The INSANITY!!! of her day? ...packing lunches and making breakfast and "Oh, honey? Have you put on your deodorant? Have you brushed your teeth? Clean underwear?", signing the homework logs and cleaning up the dog barf and writing a check for band fees while trying to remember why the cat is out of food... (and that all before 7 am). Have they written about the after school juggling? The overlapping activities full across town while trying to assure all homework is done BEFORE the night's ventures, equipment makes it to the activities, all permission slips are signed, and crabby children get a quick peanut butter sandwich between soccer and baseball so they don't explode in the middle of practice?

3. The Fake Consultant falls into the Buckeye Thoughts category [later] - I have a vague idea of what it's about but it's a mystery for those of us across the pond:

More than 55% of Americans, by the Wall Street Journal’s count, even after this giant “product placement” we saw this week, believe this war cannot be won. Last week, that number was 62%. If history repeats itself that number will go back up as our perceived probability of “winning” goes back down.

You will not chase off any likely D voter by beating this point to death every chance you get. Most of the “purple” voters are leaning this way as well, if the numbers are correct.

There is nothing to be gained by being cautious. There is nothing to be gained by worrying that voters might be turned off by our aggression. There is everything to be gained by proving to the voters we are the real patriots.

4. Odiyya's cynicism about our leaders got him onto the list - shame on him for thinking the same as me about the APEC announcement: Leaders Agree to Aspire to Stop Global Warming:

So what is an aspirational goal? Clearly its a huge step forward for all nations. Now instead merely having industry set their own targets for reductions and ignore them, they will now have to "aspire" to reach them. For greater clarity here's YourDictionary's definition for aspire:

1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom.

2. To strive toward an end: aspiring to great knowledge.

3. To soar.

Spirits are soaring now that leaders have endorsed an inspired plan to inspire industry to aspire towards the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Lord Nazh is on this list this evening because fun things are just not allowed in a serious blog and as an important blogger, he has to set the example to the kiddies:

These 16 police comments were taken off actual police car videos around the country:

#16 “You know, stop lights don’t come any redder than the one you just went through.”

#15 “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”

#14 “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”

#13 “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

#12 “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.”

#11 “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”

6. Dave J is on the hitlist this evening because he's attacking my favourite polly [check this link for my eulogy of Dick]:

In reference to Dennis Kucinich's recent move to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, all those present agreed that the evidence is sufficient enough to impeach him, but that the ensuing bureaucratic swamp of attempting to do so would postpone his actual removal from office until around August 2008, at which point it would no longer really matter, and we would have wasted millions of dollars, and a great deal of congress' time. The general attitude was that we should have moved to impeach Cheney in 2002, and that even that long ago, the evidence would have been sufficient to do so.

7. BobG's post doesn't seems to have much wrong with it at all. It doesn't. He's on the "attack list" because he's dropped me from his blogroll [don't you get any ideas now]:

I'm not much into sweets such as candy and soda pop; I tend to prefer fresh fruits for my sugar. One of the few exceptions is homemade fruit pie, especially with my wife's pie crust, which is the best I have ever had. This was a new type, an apple and pear recipe that I found over at Kit's place. I took a picture, but didn't use a flash, so it came out with a weird yellow cast over the whole picture because of the type of lighting it was sitting under. Homemade pie with a mug of Kona coffee...life is good.

8. Matt, of Buckeye Thoughts, waxes lyrical about Boilermakers, whatever they are. I think I vaguely understand what's going on here but not completely [see photo] so that's why Matt's here this evening:

Hail hail to Old Purdue, all hail to our old gold and black

Hail hail to Old Purdue, our friendship may she never lack

Ever faithful ever true, thus we raise our song anew (Boiler Up!)

Of the days we've spent with you, all hail our Old Purdue!

For those in doubt about the first down chant, click here. Warning: Strong Language

Writing of an "I.U." game, Matt notes:

That was one of the days/games/nights I will never forget for as long as I live. Brees' pass right at the end of the game went right past us. The energy that night as we rushed the field and tried to take down the uprights...I get shivers just remembering about it.

I get shivers, Matt, just trying to understand it.

So, dear reader, the third part of the Disagree series - Rest of the World - is scheduled for Saturday evening. Don't miss it.

Something to do with human pyramids, I think

[ant quiz] wonders in wildlife

Meat-eating ant - watch out!

You thought the previous quizzes were difficult? This one's going to really stump you:

1] Some societies are described as superorganisms because the colony appears to operate as a unified entity. One example of this is:

a. The one-eyed trouser snake

b. The Ant

c. The Democrats

2] The species not found in Iceland is:

a. The arctic fox

b. Mice

c. The Ant

3] Termites are sometimes mistakenly thought to be related to:

a. The Ant

b. Financial cabals

c. The Wasp

4] Animals with poor to mediocre eyesight include:

a. The Cheetah

b. The Owl

c. The Ant

5] Societies where queens themselves can live for up to 30 years, while workers live from 1 to 3 years include:

a. Victorian society

b. The Ant

c. The Badger

6] Organisms which survive the winter by going into a state of dormancy or inactivity include:

a. The Ant

b. Parliament

c. Women

7] The animal whose communication is accomplished primarily through chemicals called pheromones is:

a. Chemical Ali

b. The Jellyfish

c. The Ant

8] The animal which attacks by often injecting chemicals like formic acid is:

a. The Embalmer

b. The Ant

c. The Swordfish

9] Animals which can specialize in their work, based on their previous experience, include:

a. The Ant

b. Cabinet Ministers

c. The Lesser Spotted Dweeble

10] The culinary delicacy "escamoles" is a Mexican dish based on:

a. Mexicans

b. Vice-Presidents

c. The Ant

Click here for the answer …

[tar sands] canada sits on barely usable oil

This article was referred to me by Two Wolves: Tar Sands: Part 2 by Chris Nelder, originally written for Energy and Capital and it's severely abridged to fit it into a blog front page.

It touches on problems faced by Canada and ultimately the U.S. in using Alberta tar as one of the sources of fuel for internal combustion engines.

Water

- plants typically use two to four barrels of water to extract a barrel of oil - currently enough to sustain a city of two million every year.

- water ends up toxic, some of it reused, vast amounts pumped into enormous settlement ponds as toxic waste.

Energy

- needs over 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas - to produce one barrel of bitumen.

- consume about 4% of Canada's natural gas supply.

- quadrupling production would consume 16% of the supply

- estimates over the next ten years exceed the projections for available amounts of natural gas

- proven reserves of natural gas will be gone in about eight years

- after gas, the next obvious choice is nuclear energy - costs and water usage still a problem.

- total Energy Return On Investment around 5% to 10% but with oil over $60 it still makes economic sense

- other processes like "toe heel air injection," are being looked at.

Labor

- perennial shortage of skilled labor

- workers want a bigger piece of the action.

Environment

- primeval boreal forest the size of Florida is being blighted

- toxic sludge in huge tailings ponds

- industry pays next to nothing

- every barrel of oil uses enough natural gas to heat a family's home for four days.

Therefore there is the scenario of us sitting in our cars burning up the environment with the only limit in our minds vague ideas of environmental difficulties and the limiting cost of increasingly pricy fuel and this being supplied at all costs through a very inefficient and damaging process.

As my Min pointed out, the Arabs have only to drop the price below 50 dollars and still make a profit and the whole tar sands wastage then becomes pointless. This is how the middle-east has the west over a barrel.

Bob Ebersole [oilmanbob] says:

Its time to do the heretofore unthinkable, and demand that no more internal combustion engines be sold new in North America, and go full tilt into Alan Drake's Electrification of Rail program.

That's the rationale coverage of the issue.

Another point of view has it that far from being indifferent to the blighting of the landscape, making it unfit for human habitation and destroying all eco-systems, the driving force for this energy madness is quite happy to see this state of affairs and will do all it can to continue it.

Verse 6:12 here states it clearly.

Just an alternative point of view, that's all. But still these are words. I myself have sold my gas guzzler which I admit simply transfers the problem to someone else.

[science] religion and evolution

Angelic?

Wolfie believes science is not a religion:

There are many within science who attempt to elevate the scientific method to the position of religion which in itself is a dishonest practice. Science is nothing more than an intellectual tool and can only offer support to philosophical enquiry but there are many who believe, in their nihilist delusion that it can supplant philosophy.

The power of belief can be astounding, but one should be discerning in whatever you believe and belief can and will define your personal reality. Its up to you whether you create a heaven or a hell.

Gracchi agrees:

Scientific method is simply the idea that if you have a hypothesis about the world you then test it in an experiment, nothing more nothing less. Therefore that cannot prove or disprove anything you say about a supernatural event or person because obviously that isn't testable.

Commenters here generally see science and religion as mutually exclusive and I imagine they'd also see the latter as untestable. Christians might be upset with me for this analogy but it seems to me that Christianity is quite testable, in the way that LSD is testable - you're not going to know, until you're actually on it, if it works or not.

In other words, the proof comes to those who've signed on but will never come to those who haven't. Therefore all argument between Christians and non-Christians is pointless.

So where does that leave evolution? Where indeed, with so many turning against it now? Is it testable or is it merely theory [good theory though, quite logical] about the origin of the earth?

Simian?

[body image] how important is it

I don't want to start getting all feminist here but this one had me thinking:

I am a healthy, active and happy 26-year-old woman, surrounded by other seemingly healthy and happy women. We should be in the prime of our young lives: embarking on careers, travelling, falling in love, thinking about the future, fearful of buying a house, partying too hard, working too hard — but loving it all. And yet this year two 26-year-old women in my extended circle have died before their time. Too young. Too unnecessary.

In a nutshell - body image, eating disorder, unlucky, dead. These were the extremes but there's a lot happening in between. Why do girls do it? Why do they concern themselves with an unrealistic ideal dictated to them by the media, fashion and peer pressure? Why are they doing it younger and younger? Why is the unreasonableness seemingly getting worse and worse, as with alcoholics?

If the girls over here can be an indicator - it's one third for the boys, one third for the appreciation of other women and one third for their own self-confidence. For myself, it's basically because I'm with girls who care so much about appearance that it can affect relations and for my own pride that I watch how I look.

The test is when I'm with the guys but even here I think I'd still dress smartly, if not sartorially or fashionably. But die of an eating disorder? Well, someone is going to have to explain this one to me. It doesn't compute.

[readers] as soon as rl allows

Again the constant problem of answering your comments, particularly on the debunking of science post, the comments raising some interesting issues which are crying out to be addressed.

Then there is getting to your sites with the help of the reader. It's uppermost in my mind, I assure you but you would also see, by the low number of posts from me currently, that RL is intruding something awful.

But we're winning the battle.

[playing g-d] the mindset of those in power [2]

Hamilton - played g-d at Gallipoli

If you've read the last article, "playing g-d: the mindset of those in power", you possibly still think so what? Even if these people are as dastardly as all that, what's wrong with that? They keep it to themselves and all's well. We don't see them - they don't see us.

Wrong. We see it very much.

Result from the Mindset

Nixon and Kissinger, from the released phone transcripts:

Nixon: There are other methods of getting intelligence. You understand what I mean?

Kissinger: Yes, I do.

Kissinger gives directives to Haig:

He wants a massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. It's an order, it's to be done. Anything that flies on anything that moves.

Kissinger's professed concern with the biosphere:

On page 149: Then there is the entire range of New Age issues: proliferation, environmental, cultural and scholarly exchange, among many others.

Rummie enjoys a round of golf while generals protest and the slaughter continues in Iraq

The Method

Senator Overman: It was charged that Trotsky got $10,000 here.

Col. Hurban: I do not remember how much it was, but I know it was a question between him and Miliukov.

Senator Overman: Miliukov proved it, did he?

Col. Hurban: Yes, sir.

Senator Overman: Do you know where he got it from?

Col. Hurban: I remember it was $10,000; but it is no matter. I will speak about their propaganda. The German Government knew Russia better than anybody, and they knew that with the help of those people they could destroy the Russian army.

[The committee then adjourned for the day and the next day the matter was not mentioned nor ever again.]

On board the S.S. Kristianiafjord, the passenger list has been described by Lincoln Steffens, the American communist:

"The passenger list was long and mysterious. Trotsky was in the steerage with a group of revolutionaries; there was a Japanese revolutionist in my cabin. There were a lot of Dutch hurrying home from Java, the only innocent people aboard. The rest were war messengers, two from Wall Street to Germany...."

Sutherland - a man with no country, not unlike me

Lincoln Steffens was on board en route to Russia at the specific invitation of Charles Richard Crane, a backer and a former chairman of the Democratic Party's finance committee. Charles Crane, vice president of the Crane Company, had organized the Westinghouse Company in Russia, was a member of the Root mission to Russia, and had made no fewer than twenty-three visits to Russia between 1890 and 1930.

Richard Crane, his son, was confidential assistant to then Secretary of State Robert Lansing. According to the former ambassador to Germany William Dodd, Crane "did much to bring on the Kerensky revolution which gave way to Communism."

The Stockholm legation cabled the State Department on June 13, 1917, just after Trotsky crossed the Finnish-Russian border:

"Legation confidentially informed Russian, English and French passport offices at Russian frontier, Tornea, considerably worried by passage of suspicious persons bearing American passports."

Somewhat tardily, in mid-August 1917 the Russian embassy in Washington requested the State Department (and State agreed) to "prevent the entry into Russia of criminals and anarchists... numbers of whom have already gone to Russia."

This is the tried and trusted method. Financing someone and setting him in motion, then drawing in the machinery of state to prevent him after it's too late.

Read on - the corruption of power

The spiritual comfort the U.N. offers at its HQ