Xenophobia is not what this country is all about.

During this time of crisis, some have cited Pearl Harbor. That citation does have validity but, I’d like to remind people of another event in World War II that we should remember.

I remember as a kid being taught about the US internment camps. Citizens of Japanese descent were forcibly rounded up and imprisoned during World War II. US citizens were imprisoned simply because of their ethnicity. It was an act of fear and stupidity and it diminished us.

I’ve been reading news that this ugly bigotry is on the rise again. People are being singled out for harassment and attacks by stupid, cowardly fools because of skin color, clothing or religious beliefs, real or imagined.

A lot of folks are asking themselves what they can do to help the country now. I’ve decided that my job is to stop this kind of hatred, if and whenever or wherever I see it, and to offer support to my local Muslim community.

Diversity is strength. Anyone who attacks that, is no patriot. Salaam. Shalom. Peace.

Posted in Personal | 7 Comments

And the Internet Did Not Fail

For much of yesterday I watched the poorman’s broadband, television. Today I have it turned off. It’s just getting repetitive now. Yesterday and today I was able to send e-mail, chat with friends and make changes to the sites I administer. The Net did not fail. It’s true that some major news sites crashed under the weight of hits, and that video clips were hard to find but, thousands of amateur images and clips were posted on personal sites and news sites less traveled. I was able to find the information I needed. The Net did not fail.

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I found some words

I realize that hardly anyone reads my site and, that I am preaching to the converted but, I figured I’d point to an editorial that more or less encapsulates my views on yesterdays events.

In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Pennsylvania, some officials and media pundits have advocated policy that is certain to haunt future generations.

Will fervor and panic drive us to give the FBI and CIA totalitarian powers? Are we really ready to go to war over this? And I mean real war, not some video game. I mean bayonets, POWs, internment camps and nightly body counts. If we start doing this, those responsible for yesterdays attacks will have won and gained the moral high ground. How are terrorists created? What has the United States done to make people that angry?

Before the United States engages in another bout of cruise missile diplomacy, let’s think about the consequences that such an action may entail.

Posted in Personal | 6 Comments

Today

What can I say? It’s truly horrible.

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Make your own DSL!

The rarity and expense of DSL is totally bogus. Robert X. Cringely shows you the truth the baby bells don’t want you to know.

Probably isn’t legal in some parts though.

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The Marinara Chant

Lots of nerds have their own version of the Mentat Chant. Here is mine:

It is by pasta alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the paste of tomato that
the thoughts acquire speed,
the lips acquire stain,
the stain becomes a warning.
It is by pasta alone I set my mind in motion.

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Protein Engineering Begins

Researchers have managed to coax bacteria into building proteins out of amino acids other than the 20 used by all Earth organisms. One of the many things they hope to learn is why those 20, out of the many others chemically possible, emerged from natural selection.

Protein engineering is also one of the many paths to mature nanotech.

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Smart Dust and Paranoia

How’s this for a science fiction short story? What if the mass deployment of smart dust by various concerns leads to the discovery of unexpected data? What if in investigating the source of this mysterious data, researchers discover that the Earth’s biosphere is already infiltrated by smart dust of unknown origin?

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Artificial Intelligence and Commodities Trading

This was a news item I missed when I was at the Robotics/AI conference a week or so ago but, IBM has built AI programs that are apparently better than humans at commodities trading.

One could make the argument that, as financial expert systems and computer models of the economy improve, and there are strong incentives in business to fund this sort of research, we will give over more and more control of our economy to software. Ever since Crash of 1987, stock trading programs used by big brokerages have been written to shutdown if they spot negative feedback loops that might trigger a stock market crash. Who knows where this is all headed?

Posted in Science and Engineering | 3 Comments

Transportation in the XXI Century

Hey look! Paper Models of High Speed Trains! Automobiles powered by fuel cells!

Posted in The Future | 2 Comments