The GOD Delusion – by Richard Dawkins

This is an important book. I won’t say it changed my world, but it did change some thoughts. You need to read it.

This is my first introduction to Richard Dawkins,  so I didn’t know what to expect. And, at the beginning, I was a bit confounded: I got the sense this would be a religion-bashing tract, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. That, and it was incredibly dense. I almost stopped.

Maybe it’s my stubbornness, or my need to finish every book I start (the only one I can remember not finishing was The Theory of the Leisure Class, by Thorstein Veblen. That was undergrad, and voluntary reading, so cut me some slack).  And I’m glad I did.

Dawkins’ ideas are fresh and refreshing. He has a way of discussing thing, “big” things, in a rational way. I found many of my confusions about religions tackled in this book. (Confusions as to how so many people accept on “blind faith” being one of them – have you seen Jesus Camp yet? – this power-in-numbers, God-elected-me president, if-you’re-not-like-us-you-should-die, “new” American ideal is horrifying.)

In the end,  I would say that Dawkins does not condone belief in God. He is an avowed atheist, but I do not think he would try to “un-convert” someone from his/her chosen faith. I do believe he would ask him/her to question his/her belief.

Of course, questionning and looking for evidence goes against Faith, by definition. Oh well. Read it.

As a side note, I found an interesting piece in the NY Times recently about Dawkins and a colleague having trouble getting into a theater showing a creationist documentary they were being quoted in.  What is Ben Stein thinking?

Finished: 3/30/08
Pages: 374 (not including notes and appendices)
Running Page Count: 5,455

GPS = Great Product Service (Thanks, Nikon)

Well, following up on my previous post, I tried to email Nikon my GPS idea, but I can’t get in to the damn email system. It seems that you cannot email a service request without logging in. Problem is, the site recognizes my email, but won’t let me log in or email my password. So, rather than waste more vacation time (it’s good to be a teacher), I’ll just post my email here (for posterity?) and try again later (that way, I won’t lose it…):


This is not actually a tech question, but a request for new features - I just couldn't find the appropriate spot.

How about putting GPS into cameras and recording date/time/place in the metadata. Think about it: sites like Flickr allow you to post photos on a map - having GPS info would do that automatically.

Take the Twitter idea even further: although you may not be able to upload directly from a camera in real-time, you would be able to upload a photostrip of your day's shoot. Or, even bigger, a photostrip of your life. This can be uploaded and we get a continuous visual interpretation of what our world looks like, from the individuals living in it (and capturing it, with Nikon products, of course).

I am not looking for any compensation, just for someone with the know-how (you) to make it, so someone with a credit card (me) can buy it. (Of course, if you wanted to send one to me as a tester, I wouldn't complain.)
Thanks,

It’s been a while (or, Life’s Photostrip)

Crazy and busy. That about says it. But how about a random invention idea (and if you invent it, send me one as “compensation”): GPS on cameras.

Think about it – you and your friend are trolling around town, snapping pictures and catalouging your trip. You both go home, upload to, say, Flickr, and viola! your pictures are automatically synced to the map. Furthermore, you could make a group slideshow, and they would automatically align by time, giving you (all) a step-by-step re-vision of your journey.

And what if others were taking pictures at the same time? Think of it as a Twitter (with date-time stamped meta data – Yappd.com, anyone? Haven’t seen it myself) for cameras. Theoretically, we could create a virtual visual timeline of life around the world (assuming fast enough processors and big enough hard drives).

I can dream, can’t I?

Now, if only Apple would listen to me and create that tablet-sized iPhone (they could call it the iTab).

I can dream, can’t I?

You Are Here – by Kyle Baker

AN interesting read. Bambi meets seedy New York crime. The artwork is quite different from other graphic novels I’ve read, and it certainly lends itself to Baker’s mood. The characters, although stereotypical, and not flat. And the title reminds me of a SOAD lyric, (paraphrased, of course): Everytime I wanna go I find out it’s already where I am.

You are here. Where else could you be?

Finished: 3/16/08
Pages: 155
Running Page count: 5,081

Gun stops bullets in mid-air

Scientists have figured out how to stop a bullet, albeit a very tiny one, in mid-air.

read more | digg story

What Life Would Be Like Without Text Swearing

“A genius bit on the history of predictive text swearing and why it’s so hard to text pottymouth
phrases. Hilarious!”

I should share this with my students…but they probably wouldn’t get it. You know, this digg thing is quite addictive…

read more | digg story

Mentos Boosts Confidence With Ladies [HILARIOUS]

How’s this for unexpected?

read more | digg story

The Awful Truth Behind 5 Items Probably On Your Grocery List

Holy shit, this is great. And Pete, when you read this, reconsider the banana you’re about to eat.

read more | digg story

$1 Image Stabilizer For Any Camera – Lose The Tripod

“Don’t be a slave to your tripod. A simple solution for stabilizing your camera. Get professional results. This instructional video shows you how to build your own stabilizer for less than $1. It is super light weight and folds up small enough to fit in your pocket. It works just as well with video cameras.”

Wow. Kind of wish I was an Eagle Scout, too.

read more | digg story

Twitter In Plain English

Hey, we saw some of these videos in our “Blog and Wiki” class in my district. I think it’s great that there is a Twitter vid, especially because I’m stuck at that “Drinking coffee and grading” phase. Where or where do I go from there?

read more | digg story