<Life>

On My latest Crazy Idea

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:02:31 -0400

On my last idea for a business I was told by a friend, “its a tough market for an engineer.” I’m not sure if that was a compliment, or an addition to the list of problems. :)

NJ sunset

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:33:40 -0400

NJ sunset

This is from 1 of Esquire’s 7 best articles. Clicking thru...

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:40:35 -0400

This is from 1 of Esquire’s 7 best articles. Clicking thru takes you to it. H/T to GMSTR

In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears comfortable in the grip of unimaginable motion. He does not appear intimidated by gravity’s divine suction or by what awaits him. His arms are by his side, only slightly outriggered. His left leg is bent at the knee, almost casually. His white shirt, or jacket, or frock, is billowing free of his black pants. His black high-tops are still on his feet. In all the other pictures, the people who did what he did — who jumped — appear to be struggling against horrific discrepancies of scale. They are made puny by the backdrop of the towers, which loom like colossi, and then by the event itself. Some of them are shirtless; their shoes fly off as they flail and fall; they look confused, as though trying to swim down the side of a mountain. The man in the picture, by contrast, is perfectly vertical, and so is in accord with the lines of the buildings behind him. He splits them, bisects them: Everything to the left of him in the picture is the North Tower; everything to the right, the South. Though oblivious to the geometric balance he has achieved, he is the essential element in the creation of a new flag, a banner composed entirely of steel bars shining in the sun. Some people who look at the picture see stoicism, willpower, a portrait of resignation; others see something else — something discordant and therefore terrible: freedom. There is something almost rebellious in the man’s posture, as though once faced with the inevitability of death, he decided to get on with it; as though he were a missile, a spear, bent on attaining his own end. He is, fifteen seconds past 9:41 a.m. EST, the moment the picture is taken, in the clutches of pure physics, accelerating at a rate of thirty-two feet per second squared. He will soon be traveling at upwards of 150 miles per hour, and he is upside down. In the picture, he is frozen; in his life outside the frame, he drops and keeps dropping until he disappears.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0903-SEP_FALLINGMAN#ixzz0QpvOHMNp

How the world really is

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:49:33 -0400

squashed:

I read today that 9/11 shocked us from a complacent naivete and awakened us to the way the world really is. The idealists, this editorial asserts, believe in a world of hope and reconciliation while the realists know that the world is a terrifying place full of dreadful people seeking to destroy everything we care about. The realists know that we always need to be vigilant because suffering is only a heartbeat away and that things like art, community, and whatever affectations we wrap ourselves in cannot keep horror at bay. Nasty things lurk just outside our comfortable, too-frail bubbles.

I don’t deny that there are nasty things in the world. Nor should we pretend that they cannot hurt us. And yet, when did bad things become more “real” than the good ones? Why do the people who see only ugliness get to call themselves the realists? Is love so impotent and illusory? Is sickness more real than health? Are we only alive when we are unhappy? When the worst happens, do the best things vanish? Do people stop caring for each other? Do people think only of themselves? Do we stop believing in everything we once believed in? Are our ideals so fragile? Does the inevitability of our death mean we can never meaningfully exist? Is the entire project of civilization a denial of reality?

We are not as invulnerable as we pretend to be. Others can hurt us. We can hurt them. But the things we care about are real as well, even if they look distant through the shock and smoke of tragedy. In the most desperate times, the best things are most important. In a sudden medical emergency, we may not be aware of the doctors caring for us and of the family or friends watching by our bed. That does not make them less real. Let us not define humanity by our failings.

langer: Each year it gets a little easier. Yesterday I was only...

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:46:37 -0400

langer:

Each year it gets a little easier.

Yesterday I was only dimly aware of the approaching anniversary. This morning it didn’t even occur to me until I was riding the subway and caught sight of the headline on someone’s newspaper. There were no inadvertant countdowns, no subconscious staring at the clock as its hands swept past 8:46.

But because others remember, so too must those of us who wish so desperately to forget.

The remembrances are everywhere: on Facebook, on the news, in those two shafts of light rising skyward from southern Manhattan. And so we have no choice but to grieve. Again.

And grief subsumes. It guides our hand to the darkest places as it seeks out its own indulgence, until, by no conscious choice of our own, we find ourselves actively looking for pain, just to feed this hungry monster that climbed inside our heads so many years ago, this monster that haunts us still, this monster that thrives only on sadness and tears.

And so you look at pictures, the same pictures you see every year. You wonder which one of those ashen faces running up West Broadway is yours, just like you do every year, to just sob gently to yourself at your desk and feed this cruel monster.

You watch the new President deliver a memorial and you realize how weak you are, how much what you really needed at the time was a leader. You remember the morning of the 12th, when you stood on your front steps shaking debris out of your shoes, hearing words like “vigilance” and “revenge” echo from the TV, and you remember how bizarre those words sounded when you were still so shocked and saddened, still so shaken by all the death that happened right in front of your eyes that you weren’t ready for vigilance or revenge and all you needed at that moment was for someone to tell you why.

Why.

You watch the new President and wonder if your monster would look any different if there had only been different leaders at the helm, if your trauma hadn’t been paraded all over the campaign trail the following November. You wonder if your monster would look any different if only your leader hadn’t said bring ‘em on but instead had just told you that the mountains may fall and the Earth may give way and the flesh and the heart may fail but after all our suffering God and grace will restore us and make us strong, firm, and steadfast.

So it is, so it has been, so it must be.

Ordered by most used:people time love nature life doesn american...

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:20:38 -0400

Ordered by most used:

people time love nature life doesn american beer obama friends human world marriage natural person money post college live little

"To the Republicans … we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have."

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:29:52 -0400

“To the Republicans … we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.”

- President Barack Obama

Think he’ll get any takers?

(via squashed)

I hope so, and if not, I’d really like to know why not?

Who was the congressman who had the, um, audacity to shout "lie" when Obama his plan would not cover illegal immigrants?

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:27:57 -0400

squashed:

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). The incident has already made his Wikipedia page, along with the link to the section of H.R. 3200 titled “No Federal Payment For Undocumented Aliens.”

Representative Wilson also brought you such memorable quotes as,

[I find it] just inconceivable and truly incorrigible that in the midst of the war, the Democratic leaders would be conducting guerrilla warfare on American troops

Really? He thought that his comment shouted out during a presidential address, was something that added to the value of the conversation? Even when he is demonstrably false?

randyhate: I love REM, But I love this message more. Currently...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:09:00 -0400

randyhate:

I love REM, But I love this message more.

Currently I am part of a medical study where my medical bills are paid for, which is an amazingly fortunate situation to be in, as I have not had medical insurance for years. This benefit ends in less than two years.

This is most unfortunate, as in my time without insurance I have been diagnosed with SLE Lupus and am now completely uninsurable. And before I was picked to be in a study, I drained my retirement accounts and went into a gross amount of debt to try and stay healthy, as healthy as I could.

And without the study picking up the tab on a radical procedure, right now I would be planning my last days, as my normal treatment options had been exhausted. I would also likely be out of a home.

The debate on the public option makes my head explode. Seriously People???? Are we really suggesting that Health Care is only an option for those who have the funds to afford it?

But as the title of the video above states, we can not afford to wait. Public Option Now!!! Anything less is failure.

What exactly is the argument against the Public Option? I haven’t heard a good argument yet - that makes me think this is a particularly bad idea. Can someone - anyone explain to me, why having a Single Payer Option available to everybody is a bad idea?

I like the idea of Fred Wilson - Consumer Centric Health Care - because that creates a market, and markets create competition and competition benefits the consumers.

However, what exactly is the problem against having an option that will help the uninsurable, the problem against having something that will help the currently unhelpable ?

What will it cost us? (900 billion over 10 years, less than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) - and so what? Please educate me?

The River, It Bends.

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:38:00 -0400

This river leads from dark to light
So I must say adieu kind friends
But if my ship sails from your sight
It does not mean my journey ends
It only means, the river bends

-I found this on the cover page of a diary that belonged to my mother, about 3 decades ago.

nostrich: marco: My combined contribution to You Look Nice...

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:30:32 -0400

nostrich:

marco:

My combined contribution to You Look Nice Today’s Song Parts Dot Biz business, representing the best parts of 46 different songs, conveniently trimmed down to less than 9 minutes. (right-click, Save As)

This took a very long time, and should indicate clearly why I’m not in the music business.

I dare you to name all of the songs. Here’s a video that numbers them all for easy reference.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

(1) Arrested Development - Mr. Wendall

(9) Pearl Jam - Corduroy

(10) Foo Fighters - Everlong

(12) Weezer - Pink Triangle

(13) Beck - Loser

(14) Allman Brothers Band - Jessica

(18) Jonathan Coulton - Code Monkey

(20) Fountains of Wayne - Mexican Wine

(22) The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations

(23) Alice in Chains (I think) - Rooster

(24) Donna Summer - I Feel Love (I have the artist wrong here, according to Marco)

(25) Don’t Copy That Floppy (no idea of the artist)

(31) Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun

(33) Muse - Knights of Cydonia

(35) Chilli Poopers - By The Way

(36) O-Zone - Dragosteo Din Tei (or something)

(38) Scatman!

(40) Cracker - Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself

(41) Butthole Surfers (not sure of the title, not even completely sure it’s actually them)

(42) 4 Non-Blondes - What’s Up

(45) Offspring (no idea of the title, I hate Offspring, it’s just so obviously them)

(46) Right Said Fred - Too Sexy

Admit it, you’re aroused, aren’t you?

With Heather’s help, I was able to get Greenday (2), which I was infuriatingly unable to place, and I’m sure I know 4 or 5 more of these, but I’m terrible at remembering song titles and artists (it took 3 listens of a few of these to remember them). And yes, I’m embarrassed that I couldn’t name a single one before Pearl Jam.

"They showed up enmasse to scream at their elected representatives in townhalls across the country...."

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:45:25 -0400

“They showed up enmasse to scream at their elected representatives in townhalls across the country. Their complaint? The government wants to give them healthcare, but they don’t want anybody giving them healthcare. Their motto: Give me liberty and give me death.”

- Carl Kassell on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me (via squashed)

hilker: Chris Matthews Hardball: Protester William Kostric...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:13:59 -0400

hilker:

Chris Matthews Hardball: Protester William Kostric brings gun to presidential town hall in NH

i’ve seen chris matthews interview a couple folks in the past couple days and all he cares about is the birthers. he’s just as bad as bill o’reilly.

[h/t devin]

Hmm, William Kostric was not the cup of coffee I was expecting. Color me surprised.

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun. If you haven’t heard...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:10:46 -0400

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun.

If you haven’t heard them yet, I suggest you start with their second album of which, this is the first track.

Every morning - my girlfriend wakes up several hours before me,...

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:39:11 -0400

Every morning - my girlfriend wakes up several hours before me, and leaves for work. And every day without fail, she will wake me up, and kiss me goodbye.

I’d never really understood this behavior - especially when she goes thru so much effort not to wake me up in the mornings. She takes her clothes out of the room, she sets up all her stuff the night before outside the bedroom, so that she doesn’t have to go back and forth etc.

One day it came up in jest - this waking me up every morning thing, and she said (I’m paraphrasing) “Who knows what’s going to happen today… what would you want your last interaction with me to be?”

Twitter and Facebook attacks targeted individual | News.com.au

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:07:23 -0400

Twitter and Facebook attacks targeted individual | News.com.au:

buyhercandy:

POPULAR social networking sites Twitter and Facebook are under attack from cyber criminals allegedly targeting a single individual.

Online security firm Symantec today said it was monitoring a new wave of denial-of-service attacks against the sites, after a first round last night.

Twitter was taken offline by the attacks for several hours overnight. Facebook and LiveJournal also suffered problems.

CNET News reported the attacks may be targeting an individual with profiles on several social networking sites.

Facebook’s chief security officer Max Kelly told the site that the user, who uses the pseudonym “cyxymu”, was a pro-Georgian blogger.

“It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard,” Mr Kelly said.

Georgia is a former member of the Soviet Union and last year was involved in an armed conflict with Russia.

The “cyxymu” profile is currently able to be viewed on Twitter and YouTube. It is down on Facebook and LiveJournal.

“Cyxymu” has previously written on LiveJournal of Russian visa restrictions on Georgian citizens and the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia.

Last night a post on the official Twitter blog confirmed the attacks.

“We are defending against a denial-of-service attack, and will update status again shortly,” it said.

LiveJournal also confirmed an attack and said it suspected they were linked.

“The company cannot 100 per cent confirm that it is the same attack that plagued Twitter this morning, but it would be a huge coincidence if they aren’t tied to one another,” a spokesman said.

Sorry to quote the whole thing, but if true, this is fascinating! Conducting massive, multiple-network denial of service attacks to quiet one individual.

Ah the wonder of it all…

jacob: Miike Snow - Animal

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:57:28 -0400

jacob:

Miike Snow - Animal

Originally read “Life Changes…”

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:17:35 -0400

Originally read “Life Changes…”

riazm: The exposure was about 30 seconds. I shot it on 4×5...

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:24:23 -0400

riazm:

The exposure was about 30 seconds. I shot it on 4×5 film. The man didn’t wake up.

via

robot-heart: Avedon Fashion - International Center Of...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:34:51 -0400

robot-heart:

Avedon Fashion - International Center Of Photography

A few weeks ago - when I went to the ICP to see the Avedon exhibit, I noticed a tall, broad shouldered gentleman, of fantastic posture, standing next to a picture. He wasn’t admiring it necessarily - I would use the term “amused” to describe his expression. At that moment, I noticed a young woman, trying to get him to turn and face her camera. After he moved on, I looked at the tiny photograph on the wall a little closer and realized that I’d just seen Robin Tattersall - the gentleman in skates in the picture above. He was just as handsome.