Free Video

So incase you don't know, the way the video piracy law is currently working, is that a website has to remove the video at the request of the copyright owner of that video. So you will get something like a TV show on YouTube for maybe a day or so. The execs. are starting to have people on staff just trying to find TV shows on the net and get them taken off. With that background in mind I bring you a list (from a PCWorld mag.) of YouTube-ish sites that are at least equal if not better than YouTube- and are less likely to have a show yanked, as they are not as popular as YouTube. The number in quotes is for the pcworld link, you type www.find.pcworld.com/#####

1. Blip.tv Beta (58123)
2. DivX Stage6 Beta (58125)
3. Brightcove Beta (58126)
4. Revver (58127)
5. Veoh (58128)

Another King Quote

Still making my way through the epic series, The Dark Tower.

In The Drawing of the Three:

"This is what romance gets you- a noose around your neck and a crazy woman with two guns somewhere behind you."

Bahhaaaaaaa! Right on!

A Poem

The rain in Spain falls on the plain.
There is joy and also pain
but the rain in Spain falls on the plain.

Time's a sheet, life's a stain,
All the things we know will change
and all those things remain the same,
but be ye mad or only sane,
the rain in Spain falls on the plain.

We walk in love but fly in chains
And the plains in Spain fall in the rain.

-Stephen King
The Gunslinger: Book I of The Dark Tower

I've read a little bit of S.K. over the years and I've got to say this is a really well written book.

Conservative v. Liberal: The Brain

This is a very interesting article. It discusses the differences between the way the brain functions in Liberals and Conservatives. From what it says, just more evidence supporting my happiness at being a liberal.

"Analyzing the data, Sulloway said liberals were 4.9 times as likely as conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts, and 2.2 times as likely to score in the top half of the distribution for accuracy."

Booya!

Quantum Explainings

So I've always found it very difficult to explain Quantum Mechanics in layman terms. It's so mathematical and heady that it often takes quite a while for ANYONE to understand, let alone someone who has little or no scientific exposure. So when I saw this picture, I found it to be a perfect visual representation of superposition. For those of you who don't know, a superposition is something that particles and waves (since they are the same thing, right?!?) do all the time. Only upon observation, does the particle (wave) "choose" (this is in quotes because there's quite alot of debate about how a the wave collapses in actuality, but this has always been my favorite version because it give the little buggers a modicum of conscience) which state it is in, and that state is what we measure. After the observation ends, the waveform dissolves back into its superposition of states.

So this double cube, called Necker Cubes, is a beautiful example of a superposition of FOUR states. Can you see them all?
(Original article discussing quantum computing basics!)

My new slogan

"Life is like a jar of habañeros. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow."

Desolation Wilderness (Part 2)

So the first full day back country I went on a walk around my lake. Nice views all around, got to see the mountains that I was camped in at the time.


Cool little island.

Aren't partially cloudy days just PERFECT for taking pictures!


This last pic was included b/c I go on a day hike the following day and get up close to it!

Hamas and Gaza

So this is kinda nuts. If there's one thing I know about the people of the Middle East, they take their religious beliefs seriously, so I'm gonna bet this is going to seriously piss some people off. The only question I have is, didn't they vote for Hamas? Also has anyone else noticed the similarities between Islam extremists and our own religious right?

Desolation Wilderness (Part 1)

So instead of going to Burning Man this year, I decided to take a long weekend over Labor Day and go backpacking in Desolation Wilderness. This has to be one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. Lots of lakes and exposed granite, nice trails, just great views. Amazing!

Well here's the pics:


The first view of Tahoe on the way in on US-50.

Eagle Lake, very short hike to this, and where the tourists stayed. It was funny on the way back you could tell that it was almost over when the blondes in tee-shirts, with their huge boyfriends started showing up on the trail.

View of Lake Tahoe between the mountains on the way up. This part was absolutely brutal. Very hard up with granite stairs. My MCLs were screaming.

Zoom of Lake Tahoe

Sunset on Middle Velma Lake and my home for 3 nights!