:: Sunday, July 31, 2005 ::

Driving down the 101

Tomorrow my sister and brother-in-law, Mallory and Art, leave their old life and long-inhabited home in the teeming streets of the Big Apple on an epic cross-country road trip to a new life in a new home in the sunlit climes of the Golden State.

So I'd like to take this opportunity, from my current residence far across the Sea of Atlas, to wish them Bon Voyage and Happy Trails on their journey across the Great Divide and from sea to shining sea.

Good luck, safe journeys, and best wishes for y'all in your new home!

:: posted by Rob 5:51 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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Welcome my son, Welcome to The Machine

There's an interesting article in the current issue of Wired Magazine called We Are the Web that looks at the development of the world wide web/internet in the 10 years since the IPO of Netscape, an event that arguably opened up the internet for the widespread use that we all enjoy today. It looks at what people then thought the internet would become, and what it has actually developed into. The author, Kevin Kelly, then goes on to present his views of what the internet will become in the next 10 years:

[The Web will be] the OS for a megacomputer that encompasses the Internet, all its services, all peripheral chips and affiliated devices from scanners to satellites, and the billions of human minds entangled in this global network. This gargantuan Machine already exists in a primitive form. In the coming decade, it will evolve into an integral extension not only of our senses and bodies but our minds.
....
This planet-sized computer is comparable in complexity to a human brain. Both the brain and the Web have hundreds of billions of neurons (or Web pages). Each biological neuron sprouts synaptic links to thousands of other neurons, while each Web page branches into dozens of hyperlinks. That adds up to a trillion "synapses" between the static pages on the Web. The human brain has about 100 times that number - but brains are not doubling in size every few years. The Machine is.
....
What will most surprise us is how dependent we will be on what the Machine knows - about us and about what we want to know. We already find it easier to Google something a second or third time rather than remember it ourselves. The more we teach this megacomputer, the more it will assume responsibility for our knowing. It will become our memory. Then it will become our identity. In 2015 many people, when divorced from the Machine, won't feel like themselves - as if they'd had a lobotomy.

Kelly heralds this as a watershed moment in history, one that we are present for at its very beginning. A bold new future for mankind, as it were. But am I the only one who finds this projected future a little bit creepy? A vast Machine that encompasses every aspect of our daily lives, "which penetrates our lives to such a degree that it becomes essential to our identity"? Visions of The Matrix and The Terminator immediately spring to mind.

Yes, the internet is a wonderful and amazing tool. I can barely remember life without it. But it's always been a tool, nothing more. And the idea that this tool could become The Machine, an artificial intelligence more powerful than the human brain, so vast that humanity itself is subsumed beneath its inhuman might, scares the living bejeesus out of me. If this were to happen, what would become of humanity? Would we even be human anymore?

The full article can be found here. I strongly recommend reading the whole thing. Food for thought, indeed.

:: posted by Rob 10:34 AM [+] :: 3 comments
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Right place at the wrong time

So just as I'm preparing to leave Sweden for the mean streets of Prague, I discover that:

You Should Learn Swedish

Fantastisk! You're laid back about learning a language - and about life in general. Peaceful, beautiful Sweden is ideal for you... And you won't even have to speak perfect Swedish to get around!

What Language Should You Learn?

You know, if I had known this a year ago, I would have tried harder to learn Swedish over the past year. Or, I would have stayed at the hellhole that was the United Colors of Benetton warehouse a year longer and not come to Sweden until this year.

Yeah, right. And if you believe that, there's this really nice bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you. Great property value, nice neighborhood, good schools.

But still, you'd think it could have thrown out Czech or Polish for me to learn!
Whatever.

:: posted by Rob 6:53 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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Oh waiter, bring me my Czech soon

I have taken the first step towards my new life in the Czech Republic by applying to the Oxford TEFL school in Prague to get my Trinity TEFL certificate to teach English. I think it's the best step to enhance my employability here in Europe (and more specifically, in Prague) beyond my native speaking ability.

Hopefully, I'll have a telephone interview in a few days, and be accepted into the program which starts August 29. Then it will be four fun-filled weeks of intensive teacher training, after which, again hopefully, I'll actually find a job as an English teacher in Prague.

So wish me luck!

:: posted by Rob 6:44 PM [+] :: 3 comments
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And the sky full of stars

Woo-hoo!!!!

I have finally finished the first draft of my Master's Thesis!

The full deal isn't actually due until August 3, but my supervisor wanted to see a first draft this week. I still have to double-check the structure and "flow" of the paper, and write an appendix that showcases an exercise/economic model that demonstrates the production/consumption cycle and highlights the inadequacies of our current "orthodox" economic system, but other than that, I'm a steak on the grill, baby!* Provided that my supervisor doesn't have any major changes for me to make in the next two weeks, that is. (cross fingers)

In any case, it is a huge weight off my shoulders. I'm free, I tell you. "I am not a number! I am a free man!"

I think I should get some sleep now, and maybe something to eat, both of which have been severely lacking the past few days, as I've hardly dreamed or eaten anything but Social Credit and frame analysis.

Fortunately, I had The Man In Black to keep me sane. Drive On, Johnny. Drive on.

*As in done. Well done. Stick a fork in me, etc. etc.

:: posted by Rob 4:08 PM [+] :: 1 comments
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Doubloons and Philosopher Stones

I've found a few more funny blog tests. First up, What's Your Pirate Name?

My pirate name is:

Captain Roger Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Then there's Who Were You in a Past Life? I actually discovered two past lives:

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Diseased Alchemist. Where You Lived: Germany. How You Died: Suicide.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

In a Past Life...

You Were: An Albino Spice Merchant. Where You Lived: Ukraine. How You Died: Hung for treason.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Captain Roger Flint, diseased albino spice trader, at your service. Past lives just don't get any better than that.

:: posted by Rob 10:33 AM [+] :: 0 comments
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Rockets' Red Glare Redux

In honor of the the recent Fourth of July holiday and as substitute for the lack of fireworks at my own Independence Day celebrations here in Sweden (although a friend did bring sparklers, so it wasn't a total wash), I'm posting the following selection from Drink at Work, the blog of Francesco Marciuliano, writer of syndicated comic Sally Forth as well as his own webcomic Medium Large.

So without further ado, I present The Drink at Work.com Childhood Guide to Celebrating Independence Day:

In a world where children are routinely discouraged from setting off fireworks on Independence Day, going trick-or-treating on Halloween or even tackling their own wild turkey on Thanksgiving, we at Drink at Work.com would like to recall a less anxious era when explosives were well within the reach and rights of those who had yet to achieve full motor skills. From sparklers to M-80s, the following guide to consumer incendiary devices is our way of celebrating those glory days when every small boy or girl could let freedom ring so loud that it left them with a lifelong case of tinnitus.

Sparkler: Much like candy cigarettes were once an adorable towhead's first awkward steps toward an adult lung biopsy, the equally harmless sparkler once started a child on the path that could eventually lead to firecrackers. Then M-80s. Then having to count to ten by using the same hand twice. That said, as fireworks, sparklers were only amusing if you had ever wondered what a corn dog would be like if it were made of magnesium. Limited in firepower, lacking in risk and wanting in unbridled machismo, the sparkler lent itself to only three forms of entertainment:

1. Pretending the sparkler was a light saber as you engaged in epic duels while imitating Darth Vader's voice in a prepubescent voice so ludicrously high it made Neil Sedaka sound like Barry White.
2. Using the sparkler to quickly scrawl some incandescent doggerel in the air, such as "This sparkler sucks."
3. Making believe the sparkler was Tinkerbell burning up upon reentry.

...

So the next time you say to a child "Why use a sparkler when we have a perfectly good flashlight you can wave?" or "You know what's really fun? Reading about fireworks!" think back to the carefree Independence Day celebrations of your youth. Then give your kid a crate of cherry bombs and a Zippo lighter, point them in the direction of your neighbor's yard and say, "Knock yourself out. I'll call you when burgers are ready."

Full story can be found here. Read the whole thing - I laughed my ass off!

:: posted by Rob 12:09 PM [+] :: 0 comments
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And the rockets' red glare

A hearty happy Independence Day to everyone (or as we tend to call it, the Fourth of July)! Of course, here in Sweden, there is no such animal, but I did get an SMS from my Polka dot this morning wishing me a happy Independence Day, which I thought was quite sweet. :) And I'm planning on celebrating anyways by roping a few Poles and Germans and other sundry nationalities into joining me at a campfire/barbeque/bonfire down by the lake this evening. Unfortunately, there won't be any fireworks (I should have planned ahead and bought some on Walpurgis Night, but my future-planning skills are sadly underdeveloped) but there should be some hot dogs and beer, and you get any more American than that!

Now it's no secret that my feelings for America run somewhat against the mainstream, but I still feel all warm and mushy inside on our biggest hoiday, because I do respect the ideals that America was built on and represents, if not necessarily the way it has subsequently developed (and I don't mean just politically). And I miss the annual tradition of seeing family at the Summer Palace too, but with the magic of Skype I've at least been able to talk to them. Which of course, only made me miss being there more...

And in honor of this great day, I found an interesting quiz to find out just How American Are You? Turns out I'm not so un-American as I thought.

You Are 46% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

So in any case, here's to you and yours, have a good, safe and fun Fourth. Wish I could be there to celebrate with ya!

:: posted by Rob 11:38 AM [+] :: 0 comments
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