Results of ad hoc committee on Frish's Exploding Eyeball design

The design team speaks:

 

"They lack something...maybe some yellow-green goo oozing out from the middle."

"You need more oozing out of them, running down your cheeks, etc…"

"There should be some disgusting goop dripping down onto your face (splatter pattern)."

 

Your words, my command, thanks for helping!

--
Cheers,

Frish

The eyes have it, design team convened...

Just checking to see if my "exploding eyeballs" are worthy of this Friday along Santa Monica with 300,000 of my closest friends!

Your comments/disgust will be duly registered.

Improvements needed?

Impact?  Are they too subtle?

--
Cheers,

Frish

A secular Religion - some thoughts

Can we build a self replicating intelligence so that at least learning can continue, even if not in a biological being.

Our challenge, as the World shuts down, is to create an intelligence within an electronic cloud, so that management structures could be implemented and whatever "success" was asked for it can be achieved.

Humans need a "universe solving problem".
USP - Can "intellingence" as we call it, outlive humanity, as humanities end is near.

The two haiku here; reflection - introspection; seem to work for me!**

Movies are Boring

Best Friends For LIFE (and, just fwos!)

You sure catch my drift

 

Satisfied my itch!

"Absence makes hearts grow fonder"

Can't wait for bowling!

In relaxation, Frish

With his tongue firmly in cheek

just not anywhen

**These 'ku make me proud. 

I am only the author...

So, you be the judge!

The part I like best

Is reading the first - last lines

1st 2 ku above!

You stand on your mark

Let gravity take control

ball goes for the pins

Having kids means lots of responsibilities!

Choosy Moms Choose Jif, But What About Responsible Dads? -- powered by Cracked.com

New Acronym Alert - FWOS - Friends With Occasional Sex

FWOS - AS ELMER FUDD PRONOUNCES FLOSS!

(Found only 8 web references so far...but heard it today for the first time...I think it is a modern form of relationship!)

Human Caused Climate Chaos and environmental degradation WHAT WE MUST DO

(THIS IS STILL A DRAFT, I HAVE A NICE LIST TO SEND IT TO...PLEASE REACT AND LET ME KNOW WHERE I'M ALL WET, AND/OR, ADD AS YOU SEE FIT.)

(working from home, have a lunch date, took care of the oil for the car this am, it's nice being free from my desk at work once in a while!)

My friend Bryan and I were motivated to discuss the state of human affairs, thanks to the Frontline feature tonight (HEAT - October 21, 2008) featuring some of the issues surrounding our very human folly.

We agree it requires Real Leadership.

But, in what direction?

As HEAT pointed out:
1. Corporations are beholden to their shareholders and therefore will not change their environmentally unsound practices eagerly, or, perhaps, without government mandates.

2. Governments are greatly influenced by economics, which includes both corporations and the welfare of the citizenry.

3. We face a situation unique in human experience.  Destruction of the Planet's biosphere due to unsustainable practices - energy production, transportation, development worldwide to a "western standard", over fishing, deforestation, unsustainable agricultural activities - is literally about to kill us, even while we reproduce without limit!

4. Both the citizenry, and the shareholders, will shortly no longer exist!  Where will corporations be without a market and without capital? 

So, the question is, will Shareholders Force Corporations to do the right things in time to save THEMSELVES?

Human Self Interest being myopic, can we leave it to Shareholders to do the right thing?

I propose the following, as a non-exhaustive and off the cuff partial answer to "What can we do?"

A.  Reproductive freedom must be made available worldwide, as quickly as possible.  The means and the education to have contraception be a choice, freely available and without impedance of long held religious or cultural more has to be obtained.

Experience shows, when couples have choices to reproduce or not reproduce, they choose smaller family sizes, regardless of economics or social mores.  This is KEY. 

Fewer people going forward has to be fostered with tax regimes realigned to represent this new reality.  A simple example is to have zero tax benefit for children become a policy that would foster correct outcomes.  I believe there is in the US Tax Code, thanks to Detroit and other lobbying interests, tax benefits for large family purchases of very large passenger vans...all such benefits must cease immediately.

It is not in the Government's interest as it is not in the people's interest, to foster the growth of population in any manner!

B.  In the U.S., we have government By the People, For the People, Of the People.  The founding fathers could not have foreseen what Corporations have become.

Corporations, as they developed, became Persons under the law.  They are without a conscious or moral compass of any sort, they answer to stockholders and market forces, and laws but only when they can't get away without, and have an unlimited lifetime!  Quite an unnatural "person" to be sure.

Therefore, they can influence elections, by financing campaigns, which has been shown to be their Freedom of Speech right to do.

Therefore, they can influence legislation, by financing lobbyists, who are expressly committed to fostering friendly laws, and thwarting attempts to counteract any profligacy on a corporation's part!

Corporations can no longer be persons under the law.

They therefore cannot be taxed, they'll like that, as that would be taxation without representation...but since they simply pass along any taxes in their pricing, it will have a net zero effect on their bottom lines.

However, they can no longer have freedom of speech, and cannot influence the People's Government with their self serving schemes.

And, while not taxable entities any longer, they can certainly be subject to fines, and legal restrictions on their activities.

For example, before they can introduce a new process, chemical, compound, product, service or anything else, they must show exactly what the environmental impacts will be. 

C.  The primacy of Good Science must come to direct and influence any legislation that can bring things under control, for example by setting limits on what a new product's impact can be on the environment, including how that new product interacts with existing products and the environment...

D.  Cooperation of all the world will be required, since even Chinese air pollution affects the air quality on the West Coast of North America...

E.  Products must support the goal of energy conservation.  No more LED clocks on Refrigerators, for example...or "instant on" television sets, products where constant trickle power causes incredible energy consumption.

F.  Costs for things must reflect the TRUE COSTS for things.  Gasoline costs are not simply extraction, refining, distribution costs, but the environmental costs and the future OPPORTUNITY costs of no longer having such an incredibly useful feedstock for better and higher uses.

That's some of what we MUST do.

What are we likely to do?

Not enough.

What we are witnessing, writ large, is the very essence of Human Nature.

From the time of the earliest humans until today, we have been hunters and gatherers, camping in a spot, consuming what's easily available, and then, having "spoiled our nest", moved on to greener pastures.

That worked for a time, but we now have reach a point where the Entire Nest has been spoiled, and there is nothing greener anywhere...as our Human Culture we created to overcome natural limits has now overwhelmed natural limits.

So, our very underlying human nature will probably preclude us from doing what is necessary to save ourselves from ourselves.

How utterly ironic, especially since nothing left on the planet after our passing can even come close to appreciating what we've done to ourselves.
--
Cheers,

Frish

An abortive attempt at justice! Karl Rove, Traitor!

Haitians Eat Mud To Survive...

My computer at work has no sound card.  Just viewing this piece of video made me ill, so I'm just as happy I can't listen to it.

Once upon a time, there was a movie ("Pink Flamingos") with Divine (notorious transvestite),
when she was asked what she was up to, she answered:

"It's the future of city living"...

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10232546&ch=4226714&src=news

Haiti, already the western hemisphere's poorest economy, was hit by several hurricanes this season.

The US subsidizes sugar farmers...just sayin'...

http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/27/florida-sugar-crist-biz-beltway-cx_jz_0630sugar.html

"Sugar crops are a small proportion of the U.S. agricultural output. For the 2006-2007 crop year, sugarcane receipts totaled around $897 million and sugar beets $1.53 billion--a mere 1% of cash receipts for U.S. farmers. While legislation calls for the program to be operated on a no-cost basis, a 2007 USDA estimate of the current system (before the support levels were increased by the 2008 Farm Bill) estimated that the sugar programs would cost $1.4 billion between 2008 and 2017."

Wonder how many Haitians wouldn't be starving if the US bought Haitian Sugar Cane, instead of subsidizing corn and sugar growers in inefficient locations such as Florida?

Guess I'll keep wondering...

For any "swing voters" in this 2008 presidential election!

If you think American politics are "dirty" or "mean spirited" or full of non-sequiturs, take a peek at Czech Republic Politics!

My friends, Howard and Yael, are considering a move to Prague...so I did a little research to assist them with their decision, and found the following gem...good luck my friends, the "silly season" definitely extends to the Czech Republic!

For context, here's a Wiki note:
The Civic Democratic Party (Czech: Občanská demokratická strana - abbreviation: ODS) is the largest right-wing political party in the Czech Republic. In its public statements, it typically mixes eurosceptic and market liberal rhetoric, although it is often viewed as more moderate on both issues in actual policies.

This is the news I found interesting:

An ODS member revealed that he commissioned compromising photographs of himself and gave them to TV Nova, a broadcaster, to ascertain which politicians would be willing to use them for purposes of blackmail.

(There is way more than one punch line here, but it is almost too easy...actually, he's too easy and doesn't care who knows!)

Ostensibly, people are depressed due to the financial situation!

But, they should be grateful they don't have this job!

Defining Marriage - which sex are you?

Here in California we have a terrific chance to protect our civil rights, by voting against Proposition 8. 

My niece, a student at UCal Berkeley, was approached by a Mormon Facebook Friend to vote for this heinous attempt to limit freedom in an obviously coordinated attempt to confuse and lie about this proposition!

Here's a fascinating look at defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. 

The legal issues that could result are far and away worse than anything than having "same-sex" stand as a legal right under current law!

http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/marriage.html

FROM THE ARTICLE:

"To sum up, "marriage protection" statutes are already a debacle from the standpoint of their own advocates: Those laws spectacularly fail to advance their objectives — and are in fact a powerful tool for social conservatives' political and social enemies to create same sex marriages that were impossible without them. That effect can only get worse, over time. The only thing they're particularly good for is breaking up real, existing marriages of those unlucky enough to fail an inevitably arbitrary and unrealistic legal test of one's sexual identity: None of those "Which sex are you?" tests proposed, tried, or likely to emerge fixes the problem."

We must thwart all attempts by religious fanatics to destroy our Constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, unless we'd rather live in a theocracy...
--
Cheers,

Frish

A short investigation of "shy"

Coy? Unforthcoming?
Bashful? Cautious? Circumspect?
Well, I've not seen it!

Can be considered...
Restrained? Reticent? Sheepish?
But no, not so much!

Undemonstrative?
Lacking, meek, modest, reserved...
Not by any means!!!

Definitions of shy include the following...perhaps this is what is meant...

Shy

Shy\, n. 1. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.

2. A side throw; a throw; a fling. --Thackeray.

If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody. --Punch.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Embryos

Dear VHEMTers:
Enjoy the LA Times article (see link below) and my letter to the editor...didn't mention VHEMT on purpose, sometimes spreading the meme isn't about recruiting!

Perhaps some of you will also be prompted to write...

To: letters@latimes.com

Editor, LA Times:
In reaction to: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-embryos6-2008oct06,0,4090965.story
"Embryo factories" are just one demonstration of our uniquely human rejection of natural limits.
Without question, it is sad when a couple can't have children if they want them.  We must recognize that sex is fun, evolution did not provide an innate drive to procreate.  Our unsustainable economic practices, along with human overpopulation, is literally killing the biosphere's ability to sustain human life.  Life began billions of years ago, each of us are simply another expression of that continuation.
Elsewhere in the Times today we see an article on innovation in health care http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-svorny6-2008oct06,0,7360789.story.  Universal Health Care ought not include infertility treatments as it is cosmetic, not vital.
--
Cheers,

Frish

O.J. Simpson conviction...what's astrology say? The numerologists are also concerned...

Here's the beginning of an OJ article that I found amusing...I asked my astrologer friend to comment, see her answer below...

==================

LAS VEGAS - In a city where luck means everything, O.J. Simpson came out the big loser — and his unlucky number in a case full of bizarre twists was 13.

He was convicted of an armed robbery that happened on Sept. 13 and was found guilty on the 13th anniversary of his Los Angeles murder acquittal. The Las Vegas jury deliberated for 13 hours after a 13-day trial.

=================

How did the stars line up?

Frish - I don't know about the number 13 (seems a bit superstitious to me), but the astrology being discussed in relation to this latest O.J. news is Mercury retrograde, which is famous (among astrologers) for bringing up issues from the past, as though they need to be reviewed, reworked, redone or revised.

I've definitely seen it in my life, but of course that's only subjective evidence. There's are several discussions going on at the astro.com forum. I can only find one right now;

http://forum.astro.com/cgi/forum.cgi?num=1222140716/187#187

but I'm sure that if you do a search you could find more.

YES, A BIT SUPERSTITIOUS INDEEDY!

Great Advice About Fellow Church Goers!

BABY SITTER GETS SCARE OF HER LIFE IN LATE-NIGHT DRIVE HOME

Sat Oct 4, 7:58 PM ET

DEAR ABBY: Please print this as a warning to other teenagers.

A couple from church asked me to baby-sit their three kids from 7:30 until 11 p.m. last weekend. My problems began when they didn't pick me up until 9.

When they didn't return at the time they had promised, I began to worry. When they finally showed up at 1 a.m., they dropped a measly $6 in my hand. Then the husband drove me home. He reeked of booze and swerved all over the road. It was the most terrifying ride of my life. I was shaking all over by the time we arrived.

The next day my dad called the police and told them the man had driven me home drunk. They said that if he had called the previous night, they'd have gone over and taken a Breathalyzer test, but they could do nothing after the fact.

My mom then called the woman, who swore her husband hadn't been drunk. When Mom asked her for my going rate ($3 an hour, plus double time after midnight, which would have been $15 or $19.50, if you count the time I was booked for), the woman hung up on her.

Some important lessons I learned that night:

1. Agree on the wage beforehand.

2. If the driver appears drunk (or stoned), call your parent, a friend or a taxi even if it costs you your wages to get home. NEVER get into a car with someone you think is impaired just to be polite.

3. Don't automatically trust someone because you go to the same church. Always get references and baby-sit only for people you know well. -- WISER NOW IN CANADA

DEAR WISER NOW: That's excellent advice, and I hope my younger readers will take it to heart. Watching children is a heavy responsibility that requires maturity and judgment. It should be planned so that it's fun, fair and safe for everyone concerned.

Palin Debate Flowchart

This is obviously a "timed stamped" thing, since she'll (hopefully) never again be in a VP or other nationally televised debate...but it sure is both poignant, funny and right on at this point.

Sometimes it really is the forest for the trees!