Lub-dub... Lub-dub...

Lub-dub is the phonetic representation of a 2 chamber heart beat, with all valves/equipment/etc. functioning properly, as taught to medical students.

I'm sitting here stretching before I begin my morning treadmill & email routine, and I noticed that I have a habit of mentally counting my stretching in groups of eight.

Why is that?

Two thoughts come to mind immediately:
1) I've heard that humans can comfortably remember about 7 digits (see: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell), which is why we have phone numbers in groups of 7.
2) It just *feels* better to end on an even number. Why should that be? Ideas:
a) The TWO CHAMBER HEART indoctrinates us with a familiarity to the two-step, lub-dub, even before birth
b) The human body's bilateral symmetry gives us two of lots of stuff.

So,
i. what would our culture, music, and lives in general be like if we had a THREE chambered heart, and
ii. What's with all the symmetry. I understand the benefits of redundancy/fault tolerance, but how did it happen in nature? I wonder if a math wiz could prove that it's the simplest solution.

Or is it the simplest solution, rather than dumb chance?

I'd like to hear Ray Kurzweil's thoughts on this, and also Robert Wright's, Malcolm Gladwell's... any of the authors from my reading list.

umd

Why do they call it a Universal Media Disc when it is a proprietary, read-only format that only works in my PSP? grumble grumble...

kill you

Confucious said something like, "Good people order and arrange." Wise advice, considering we've only got one brain each.

Let's start with:

• nuclear weapons, especially suitcase nuclear weapons (aren't a dozen or so unaccounted for?)
• acid rain
• carcinogens
• disease (this and the above category can be expanded. Analisa can probably help_)
• gang initiation killings
• earthquakes
• fire
• flood
• Snakes on a Plane (contributed by Steve Cowles)

What happend to the Acid Rain??

What the heck ever have happen to acid rain? I mean, when I was a kid, I was as scared of acid rain as I was nuclear annihilation. The cold war was in full effect, and acid rain was all over the tv and news media.

As of late, I haven't heard anything about it in years. So what happened to Acid Rain? Was it part of someone's political platform? Or a scary-sounding label put on a not-so-scary threat to get people to watch more TV/advertisements?

"Speed limit enforced" by...

There are two common freeway signs with which I have a slight objection:
1) "Speed limit enforced by radar," and
2) "Speed [limit] enforced by aircraft."

en·force [en-fawrs, -fohrs] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object), -forced, -forc·ing.
1.to put or keep in force; compel obedience to: to enforce a rule; Traffic laws will be strictly enforced.
2.to obtain (payment, obedience, etc.) by force or compulsion.

When one considers the above definition, it can be realized that a more accurate sign might say,"Speed detected by radar. Adherence to maximum speed limit rules encouraged
by society, incentives from auto insurance companies, and noticed of penalties delivered by officers of law & enforced by courts."

To directly enforce a maximum speed without access to the gas & brake pedal is impossible, unless the radar is being used for some sort of mind control. As for the aircraft, short of a tractor beam or perhaps weaponry, a maximum speed rule cannot be directly enforced.

Happy to note that in Monterey County, the signs correctly read, "speed detected by radar." I'm proud to know that my soon-to-be home county is so enlightened.

Tahoe 2

view

Lake Tahoe

Well we're on the road again, returning from our place @ Lake Tahoe (more pics coming- I only know how to attach 1 via sms post). It's kind of nice & scenic to drive not fly, but mobile internet and offline accessiblity of web apps is not yet where I would like them to be.

Anyway, the residents here are all very grateful that their community did not burn, as am I.

death space

Based on my belief (shared with Dalai Lama) that the way to enjoy life is to remain aware of its transience, I am subscribing to the RSS feed of MyDeathspace.com, http://www.mydeathspace.com/smf/index.php?board=23.0;sa=news;type=rss;action=.xml

 

Thanks, Drew, for that uplifting instant message.  You are now immortalized in my blog.

restrained weiner

Ladies and gentlemen, behold:

The worlds largest hot-dog restraint system!


Hey seriously, do you know what that is? I will give you one hint: "It was rumored that Michael Jackson slept in one."

Give up?

This is a partially assembled hyperbaric chamber. My understanding is that it looks less terrifying once it is housed in the usual casing. Think of it as furniture that has not yet received its slip cover.

[Jott from Crockett Dunn] Hello world, this is my first test of voice speech to text transcribed Nobel blo...

Jott From Crockett Dunn

Hello world, this is my first test of voice speech to text transcribed Nobel Mobile blog post via jott.com. Pretty awesome, I will revise this post for errors later.

Listen to Audio

Set reminders, assign, and manage this jott on Jott.com Brought to you by Jott Networks, Inc.

[later]
As you may notice, the only error was "mobile" transcribed, "Nobel." No biggie, because I did some reading and discovered that you can spell-out difficult words. Very cool, especially if you're a commuter. Free voice-to-SMS and voice-to-email from Jott.com rules!

i like sunshine and music

The list of things I feel this calmly certain about can probably be counted on my two hands and feet. This I know: "I like sunshine and music."