dot dot is dead

Re: working from home

FutureMe.org is based on the principle that memories are less accurate than emails. we strive for accuracy.

Clever. Now find something worth sending yourself. "Wouldn't it be great if the relationships you made in your life genuinely fit the identity you've learned to love within yourself?"

Instead, you could blog a note and read it any time in the future. On that note, this post is dedicated to working for my future selfishly-enjoyed weekends. (and thanks Christine)

Sadly these were taken @ 2Mpixels, camera has 3Mp, only the most detailed photos show the loss of resolution this badly
at the great wall
by the great wall

100 CAD CKUT and thanks for all the packets. This post is dedicated to shoutcasting http://www.wefunkradio.com.

Every one of her stories reads like this: corruption, more and more of it, it just keeps getting worse. That's some biting commentary, but there's always hope. Wait until she writes another one. This post is dedicated to Yulia Latynina.

I discovered http://lib.ru has the full text for Идиот! Maybe I could read the Russian one day, but this is still fantastic. Look at what Idle Words did: Your Literary Masterpiece Was Delicious.

Now that is an interesting application for NLP. I can't read much in Russian, though I simply cannot read Perl. I want to see the Idiot. When it comes to character flaws, Dostoyevsky was brilliant. This post is dedicated to Prince Leo, the lovely Aglaya, and Mrs. Yepanchin.

Moscow's historic Manezh exhibition hall is burning following the election: "Hundreds of people -- many in a celebratory mood after taking part in Sunday's presidential election, which election officials had ordered to be treated like a holiday -- gathered on Manezh Square to watch the blaze. They cheered 'Hurrah!' as each section of the building's roof collapsed with a loud crash."

Interesting psychology, that. I saw the Moscow Fotobiennal 2002 exhibit there, such a nice building, such nice artwork. Hundreds of paintings burned in that fire, reportedly not an accident. It was election day.

The only way a fire of such magnitude and speed could have started, the experts said, was through a powerful source of heat.

A cynical friend in Moscow writes:

Frankly, Manezh was an ugly piece of early 19th century architecture. Of course, I reserve no doubts that our contemporaries will be able to easily surpass their two-hundred-years-ago colleagues in the mediocrity, but I feel zero pity for that huge "saray"...

I can't feel that way, huge Сарай (barn/shed). This post is dedicated to Russia's artists.

I hate this guy.
I take it back. This post is dedicated to working from home.

Vladimir to Estragon: (musingly). The last moment . . . (He meditates.) Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that?

According to notes written in my mom's edition, this line was omitted in the original French but added by the author in the translation to English, and the answer is Proverbs 13:12, Hope deferred makes the heart sick -- an oversimplification, to be sure. This post is dedicated to fifty years of waiting (1954 -- 2004).

No wonder I don't get along with myself.

The scores are from 0 (not you at all) to 100 (dead on match).

...
Gemini May 21 to June 21 52
Cancer June 22 to July 22 54
...
Virgo Aug 23 to Sep 22 72
...

According to our analysis, you are a Virgo, Aug 23 to Sep 22. But you are certainly not a Gemini, May 21 to June 21. You claim to be a Cancer, but you are simply in error. From http://www.cryptoclast.org/Opinion/astrology/reverse_astrology.htm via s.a.t..

This post is dedicated to "Please consult your parents as to your actual birth date."

La vie russe is by a friend who recently left here to live there.

Tune in! [Ostankino TV Tower]

This post is dedicated vicariously.

Self-absorbed twit (lj) has entrepenurial wit:

<buzz>
<twit> it's my nightly "how much money did i make today?" page.
<fizzy> ?
<twit> don't you have that?
<fizzy> i check my bank account once or twice a month
<twit> i bet larry and sergey have that
<fizzy> shrug
<twit> they should

This post is dedicated to daisy chainsaw, love your money.

"Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant, a member of the sage genus. The plant is grown by the Mazatec indigenous people of the Oaxaca mountains in isolated, moist and secret plots. It has been usedby their shamans for centuries for healing during spirit journeys. The active chemical, Salvinorin A (there are also B and C forms), is unique in that it is antagonist of neuroreceptors largely ignored by other known drugs. It is extremely powerful, but controllable.

A small dose clears the mind and impairscoordination and is useful for meditation or simply being in the world. A large dose may demonstrate that the four dimensional space-time continuum is a wet paint job. Consciousness is retained until the very highest doses, but body control, awareness of externalities, and individual personality disappear at modest ones."

"Perhaps the most mysterious and most poorly understood of the sacred plants are those of the genus Datura and its close relatives. The daturas are a fascinating, yet frighteningly powerful group of plants that have been commonly associated with vague accounts of sorcery and witchcraft from early Sanskrit texts to modern ethnographic accounts. Like other evil-seeming plants of poison likethe opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Datura bestows the potential for many medicinal uses.

The name Datura derives from the Sanskrit dhatura or dutra although daturas have been variously known as pricklyburr, thorn-apple, jimsonweed, and devil's weed. The most common Mexican name for the various daturas is toloache or some form thereof, derived from the Aztec toloatzin from the word meaning 'to incline the head.'"

Four dimensions suits me fine, but I dedicate this post to evil-seeming plants, wet paint jobs, and ethnobotanists.

Case notes an easy way to make friends in foreign places. Reminds me of how popular I was in China -- while touring the three-gorges, our riverboat anchored to a barge with nothing but oranges, baskets 'n baskets of oranges. Having tourist status, they were happy to take my Yuan. I watched the farmers bargain with Chinese travellers for around two hours until the crowd dwindled. Amused, I returned with my last three $1 dollar bills and they joyfully gave me all the oranges I could carry.

(Speaking of which, I've come across two Where's George's. You?)

This post is dedicated to the displaced monkeys of the three gorges.

Unbridled! is a photo essay on hippopotamus sex. More specifically, it's a "digitally produced series of miniature stuffed hippopotami caught inflagrante... all orientations and sexual penchants are explored and celebrated". The artwork is currently on display at Brickhouse Cafe (Brannan @ 3rd). This post is dedicated to saturday breakfast.

Physics can be fascinating. PBS/Nova's elegant universe series has this amazing presentation on the mysterious M-theory (1995), which united string theory with the concept of membranes. One extra dimension was added to unite several existing 10 dimensional theories. Physicists are enamored with M's 11 dimensions.

According to M, strings of raw eleven dimensional energy comprise our universe, but the 4D strings we know are "tied-down" to the membrane, which is just a huge mass of energy. The key to this theory lies in gravity, which we know is around 30 orders of magnitude weaker than the electrical/magnetic force. By nature, two electrons repel 1.0 × 10³⁰ more than gravity pulls at them, making gravity insignificant for sub-atomic physics. I'm not clear on general relativity, but I remember in physics classes thinking, why's there no "repulsive" gravity force?

The disparity between G and EM forces was a problem for the big bang idea. General relativity equations are nonsense in the early stages. To resolve this, according to M, gravity strings must form closed loops. Gravity is unconfined but weakened by 7 more degrees of freedom.

Scientists at Fermilab and CERN are out to discover evidence of a graviton at the precise moment of escaping our sadly 4D "brane", which floats inside the "bulk" of existence.

The show was produced for those of us lacking math brains. For us, imagine our universe is like jelly on a piece of toast. The bulk is a sliced loaf of bread. Confined to time and space, we're unable to see the other universes, though for all we know they're sitting right next to us -- just turn your head. Could other membranes have more, or fewer dimensions?

Science fiction: we'll search for the existence of independent universes using gravity radio astronomy. This post is dedicated to problem sets all night and Black Lightning all morning.

Why is envy green? I didn't find an answer, but the title track from "Axis: Bold as Love" is an old favorite.

Queen Jealousy? envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

According to Jimi H., red, green, and purple emotions get us in trouble (pride, envy, & anger), whereas blue, turquoise, orange, and yellow are more virtuous (patience, fortitude, courage, humility -- or something like that). I like orange. This post is dedicated to rainbows.

Don't believe what they say about "excellent snack-bar Russkoe Bistro". Otherwise, this is a nice description of the Nirnsee house. I am fortunate to have lived in this pre-1917 building at number 10 Bolshoi Gnezdnikovskii Per., which with its tall ceilings and nine floors was once the tallest in Moscow.

"It is said that on being imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg Rubinshtein made a gift of this house to Rasputin, to obtain his protection and release from prison. There are rumours that Rasputin frequently visited the house and held orgies here during his visits to Moscow. The truth of the matter is still unclear, but it is certain that Rasputin came here by car in March 1915, and he was observed by agents of the Moscow police, who made a report."

Have a look inside. This post is dedicated to the elderly pensioners.

Moscow. I was there on this particularly news-worthy day (mom's birthday, in fact).

This post is dedicated to the victims of terrorism.