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June 30, 2005
From executioner to President. . .
Chrekoff has some interesting tid-bits on the new Iranian President's work history.
Boy, dealing with this guy's gonna be a blast (pun intended).
Seriously, the days of ONE religion sweeping the world and conversion-by-force are OVER. I don't care what your religion, when you start taking hostages, cutting off heads and blowing up civilians in the name of your god, you shouldn't be allowed to play anymore.
NO GOOD will come from this guy Ahmadinejad I tell you, NO GOOD.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 2:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Davids Medienkritik has an update on the planned bulldozing of the Checkpoint Charlie Monument I mentioned in this post.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Get back in the game . . .
Transterrestrial Musings points us to a media roundup on the recent NASA safety panel findings.
LOOK! Space travel is dangerous. We little humans have developed to live on this little blue green marble, third planet from the sun. For us to up and decide to leave this rock is a huge step and totally alien to our previous experiences on the planet (ok, small pun noticed, but not intended). Strapping humans to rockets and accelerating them to speeds faster than a rifle bullet, exposing them to the vacuum of space, and then dropping the back through the atmosphere in a firery descent, then finally fly amost a quarter of the way around the world as the worlds biggest glider. THAT'S A CRAZY DANGEROUS STUNT. It's a battle against physics.
The FACT that people have and will continue to DIE exploring space is something that we have to come to grips with. The Astronauts KNOW that they are "strapped to a rocket with over 30,000 moving parts all made by the lowest bidder". They understand that thousands of systems, checklists, and safeguards must be followed to the letter and missing any one of them may wind up in a dramatic snuffing. The Astronauts also understand that no space vechicle system is 100% safe.
A close family member of mine called her former NASA boss when the Challenger blew up. She figured that since he was a prominent figure in the development of the shuttle program, he'd have an idea. As one would expect, he was quite busy in the chaos, but he took her call.
"It was the O-rings."
That was his comment just hours after the Challenger disaster. The thing is folks, and the media needs to realize this. We know where ALOT of the weaknesses in the Space Program are. We know that a joint in a solid rocket booster is a potential point of failure. We know that if a enough heat-shield tiles fall off the shuttle it'll burn up in re-entry. We also know that 10's of thousands of other major and minor systems coud fail along the way and create disaster.
We'll never make space exploration 100% safe. In fact, for some time now IT WILL BE VERY DAMN DANGEROUS. More people will DIE in very dramatic fashion as we continue to figure out how to get off this rock. There's a concept called "acceptable risk" and every day we use it consciously and un-consciously. We decide to accpet the risk of an auto-accident when we drive to the store, we accept risks bungee jumping, playing golf, knitting a sweater.
The calls for NASA to be "safer" are a little overdone. A "safe" program wouldn't be a useful one. We can have an eye to "safety" and work for a safe return of every explorer, but we've also got to take risks. That's an inherent part of exploration. We're travelling into the great unknown, facing new, seen and unforseen dangers. This is a necessary evil of exploration.
People need to accept this, because we need to get off this rock for a number of reasons, too many for this post, and these pioneers know how dangerous it is, and they analyze the acceptable risks. The media needs to back off and let us move forward, get the shuttles flying again (even if we lose another one in a few years), and keep our space program moving forward.
It's been too long since we've seen a video of intrepid American asronauts pushing the envelope of manned exploration of the heavens. For me, the site of the shuttle roaring off the pad is an affirmation that humans as a species are moving forward. I can't wait to feel that way again.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I gotta say it.
You know, it's pretty easy to see who the bad guys are when they're out there beheading Buddhists. I mean come on people. BUDDHISTS???
If there's ever a group of people that you SHOULD NOT have problems with, it's Buddhists. It really goes to show how just plain wrong these Muslim Extremists are, and why they need to be dealth with.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 3:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A newcomer to my blogroll found this by Jeff Jacoby about who people turn to when they're looking for freedom. Check it out, then take a stroll around !No Parasan!.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 29, 2005
Must Read
It's about time the Media started printing some of the responses to Senator Durbin's remarks, written by people who have the qualifications to really comment.
And before you say it, NO, I do not consider Durbins later remarks to be a retraction nor an apology, no matter how many alligator tears were shed.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:37 PM
June 28, 2005
Cop out . . .
I was gonna blog about my recent trip to Memphis (actually, the drive there and some revelations along the way) but I went out and checked my mail and Netflix sent a copy of Gunner Palace. So, sorry, but I've waited a long time to see this flick and I'm gonna watch it instead. Maybe I'll write my first movie review for the blog after I watch it a few times.
So, for now, go check out what the fine ladies of The Cotillion have to say today. They throw their big shindigs on Tuesdays. Plus, right wing chicks are sexy.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 5:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 26, 2005
Some gratitude. . .
The Checkpoint Charlie Monument is scheduled to be destroyed by the Berlin city government on July 4th.
President Bush should definately ask German Chancellor Schroeder about this act that one can only describe as highly insulting to free people everywhere.
Secondly, I think we should think seriously about giving a sharp rap on the nose to the German government by ending all aid programs to Germany. They can try to get the aid back from the last remaining Communist countries (yeah, right).
They certainly have a right to do whatever they want over there, but lets get real. Checkpoint Charlie was the focal point for the cold war. The monument remembers those East GERMANS who died trying to reach the west. For decades, Americans stood guard at Checkpoint Charlie, manning the front line against the communists.
I don't think I need to remind people about the Berlin Airlift, nor the fact that even though Germany as a nation went decidely batshit in the 30's and 40's and tried to take over the whole damn world, we didn't hold it against the German people and we essentially rebuilt their nation and economy. Not to mention the billions in economic aid to Germany in the 60 years since the end of World War 2.
I'm sure if there's any outrage, the German authorities will say it's just a mistake and there was no "message" to be sent by doing this on the 4th of July, but lets get real again. If this isn't a message, I don't know what is.
So I say we send a message back, end all economic assistance to Germany, until they decide to play nice. I think we might start off by ending all purchasing agreements with German firms for goods and services used by our bases in Germany. We can simply buy supplies and provisions from Poland. If they bitch, we can move our bases to Poland, who would LOVE to have our American dollars deposited in the hands of deserving Poles who would actually be greatful.
--Jason
CLARIFICATION: In response to a comment, Checkpoint Charlie is not being removed (that's already been done, the original booth is in the Allied Museum in Zehlendorf). What's being removed is the CHECKPOINT CHARLIE MONUMENT that remembers those that died trying to escape from East Germany. Here's a picture of what they are bulldozing (in case you don't go to the linked article).
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:28 PM | Comments (4)
June 22, 2005
Open Media 100
AlwaysOn and Technorati have come together to create the "Open Media 100". A comprehensive list of the movers and shakers in Open Media, from the creators and visionaries to the reporters and collectors that shape the new Mediascape. Described in their own words:
"The purpose of this list is to provide an initial, helpful framework of this emerging industry and highlight its key players who are influencing the adoption of open media and proving the impact it is already having on the technology industry, journalism, and marketing."
The list is VERY impressive, and is sure to give countless hours of reading material to anyone interested in Open Media. Additionally, the list serves as a Mega-Blogroll of the important players.
I'm reproducing it here for two reasons, one so you can have a look at it and two, so I can have it easily accessible for my own use. I'll probably wind up putting it in the sidebar in some fashion as well.
The list is pretty damn big, so I'm leaving out the 50 Honorable Mentions for now, I'll find a place to stick them for easy access in a little bit.
| Pioneers | Trendsetters | Practitioners | Toolsmiths | Enablers |
| Adam Curry The Daily Source Code Dan Gillmor Bayosphere J. D. Lasica New Media Musings Lawrence Lessig Lessig Blog Craig Newmark Craigslist Yeon Ho Oh OhMyNews Howard Rheingold Smart Mobs Doc Searls The Doc Searls Weblog Clay Shirky Shirky.com David Weinberger Joho Dave Winer Scripting News | John Battelle Searchblog Rebecca Blood Rebecca's Pocket Jason Calacanis Weblogs, Inc. Marc Canter BroadBand Mechanics Nick Denton Gawker Media Cory Doctorow, Mark Frauenfelder, Xeni Jardin, David Pescovitz Boing Boing Steve Gillmor ZDNet Matt Haughey MetaFilter Mary Hodder Napsterization Doug Kaye IT Conversations Amy Jo Kim SocialDesigner.net Liz Lawley Mamamusings Eric Olsen Blogcritics Tim O'Reilly O'Reilly Media Eric Rice Audioblog.com Brett Simmons Ranchero Software Elizabeth Spiers Mediabistro.com Phillip Torrone Flashenabled.com Joe Trippi Change for America Jeffrey Veen Adaptive Path | Mohamad Reza Abdollahi (Imprisoned in Iran for his blog) Jeff Bates, Rob Malda Slashdot Russell Beattie RussellBeattie.com Duncan Black Eschaton N. Z. Bear The Truth Laid Bear Stowe Boyd, Hylton Jolliffe Corante Ana Marie Cox Wonkette Mark Cuban Dallas Mavericks Matt Drudge The Drudge Report Kevin Drum Washington Monthly Barb Dybwad Geeked Mohammed Fadhil, Omar Fadhil Iraq The Model Hugh Hewitt HughHewitt.com John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson, Paul Mirengoff Power Line Jeff Jarvis BuzzMachine Charles Johnson Little Green Footballs Mickey Kaus Slate Jason Kottke Kottke.org Bob Lutz General Motors Om Malik Om Malik's Broadband Blog Josh Marshall Talking Points Memo Dave Pell Davenetics Chris Pirillo Lockergnome Dave Pogue New York Times Glenn Reynolds Instapundit.com Peter Rojas Engadget Steve Rubel Micro Persuasion Jonathan Schwartz Jonathan Schwartz's Blog Robert Scoble Scobleizer Roger Simon Roger L. Simon Andrew Sullivan The Daily Dish James Taranto The Wall Street Journal Jon Udell InfoWorld Eugene Volokh The Volokh Conspiracy Jeffrey Zeldman The Daily Report Markos Moulitsas Zuniga Daily Kos | Jonathan Abrams Friendster Tom Anderson, Chris DeWolfe MySpace Mitchell Baker Mozilla Foundation Nick Bradbury Bradbury Software (acquired by NewsGator) Stewart Butterfield, Caterina Fake Flickr (acquired by Yahoo!) Dan Chan Daypop Bram Cohen BitTorrent Dick Costolo, Eric Lunt, Steve Olechowski, Matt Shobe FeedBurner Neil Drumm, Zack Rosen CivicSpace Labs Mark Fletcher Bloglines (acquired by AskJeeves) Janus Friis, Niklas Zennstrom Skype David Galbraith David Galbraith's Weblog Meg Hourihan Blogger Salim Ismail, Bob Wyman PubSub Scott J. Rafer, Scott Johnson, Francois Schiettecatte Feedster Brewster Kahle Internet Archive Loic LeMeur Six Apart Paul Martino, Mark Pincus Tribe.net Ross Mayfield Socialtext Matt Mullenweg WordPress Greg Reinacker NewsGator Technologies Joshua Schachter Del.icio.us Ben and Mena Trott Six Apart Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales Wikipedia Evan Williams Odeo | Tim Draper, Steve Jurvetson, Andreas Stavropoulos Draper Fisher Jurvetson Esther Dyson Release 1.0 Bradley Feld Mobius Venture Capital Reid Hoffman David Hornik August Capital Joi Ito Neoteny Allen Morgan Mayfield Pierre Omidyar Omidyar Network |
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 5:00 PM | Comments (2)
Talon Sword delayed. . . .
The Packbot crawled through caves in Afganistan looking for Al-Queda badguys and predator drones fly overhead, but the next generation of battlefield robotics has been delayed as Army engineers finish final testing in preparation for the Talon Sword to be deployed to combat regions.
I'm glad to see that the Army isn't rushing these tools to our soldiers before they are ready. I know that pressure to take our boys out of harm's way is strong, but lets face facts. If the technology isn't ready, or worse, doesn't work after it's deployed, soldiers in the field will lose faith in it. They may even be putting themselves in greater danger by using tactics that fail due to technology.
All in all I approve of the move to put weapons on battlefield robots, and I respect the difficulties that arise when you try to automate or remote control a system. I'm glad to see that they're still moving forward, and I hope that soon the technology will be ready to help our boys in the field.
Here's a brief roundup of battlefield robots with lots of links that I'd written previously.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 2:43 PM
Cosmos 1 Update
Check the Cosmos 1 Mission Blog for more info, but here it is in a nutshell. The Russians confirmed that their launch vehicle shut down early. They've had 3 low level signals from the craft, but no hard data telemetry. Space Command hasn't found it yet.
My conclusion given the available info - The spacecraft is in a very low level Earth orbit that is probably not very stable. If they can find the little spacecraft buzzing around the planet, they'll be able to track it and lock in on any signals it's transmitting. If they can establish communication, they may still be able to deploy the sails and even pull it up into a higher stable orbit. Unfortunately, once they deploy the sails, atmospheric drag could catch the spacecraft and destroy it. It all depends on exactly how low or high (depending on your perspective) the orbit actually is.
I'm rooting for the little machine, but I have to admit it doesn't look to good. All and all though, even if the mission is a failure, it's still a step forward for civilian space exploration. You have to fall off a bike once or twice to get good at riding one, ya know.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Must Read. . .
This is probably the best write-up for someone trying to understand the realities that lead us to this second war with Iraq, in a simple and easy to read format. It also debunks many right and left wing myths about the conflict.
It's definately worth the read.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
So this is what we know. . . .
along with what we don't know. Apparently it's looking like the Russian launch vechicle may have inserted the Cosmos 1 spacecraft into a lower, more eliptical obrit. This would mean that A) the craft is going faster than planned, and B) that the eliptical orbit means that "finding" the little bugger is gonna be hard. Remember, SPACE, even just that region right around our little blue marble is VERY BIG.
It does seem that they've gotten more signals and that the craft has made one orbit at least. Now we just have to wait and see as Russian ground stations, Planetary Society mission control and U.S. Strategic Command look for, and hopefully, can find the little bugger.
Keep checking the Cosmos 1 Mission Blog for updated info.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2005
Launch!!!!
The Russian Navy has confirmed that Cosmos 1 lifed off at 3:46 PM eastern time. So far they haven't confirmed any more details other than to say, everything seems to be going fine.
Don't know what I'm talking about? Click here!
Further updates will be in this thread.
UPDATE: The Planetary Society Cosmos 1 blog is up at the moment, it's been up and down all day as the MSM picks up the story. Right now they are waiting for acquisition of signal at Panska Ves (a ground station).
UPDATE: Looks like the spacecraft was lost between the final burn and orbital insertion. They got a little more data over Kamchatka, but nothing since then. Spacecomm can't see it, so it's probably not where it should be. They're still looking for it, and sending commands for it to "talk". Check out the blog for more.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 3:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Really Mixed Feelings
Killen convicted on all 3 counts.
#1 - EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE
#2 - EXTREMELY DISTURBED WITH THE ADDED DRAMA OF THE CONVICTION BEING HANDED DOWN ON THE 41ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE CRIME ITSELF.
#3 - I'll toss in the "Anti-Lynching" Vote in the Senate.
My Point? This contrived drama seems to be coming together better than a Hollywood script. I'm not sure I like the idea that our courts and mediascape have now combined to present morality plays.
Or perhaps they should.
Let's hold a public trial and televise it for the 20th hijacker guy. Pull a jury of 12 plus 88 alternates (100 or 2 from each state) lets lay it all out on the table. Let's talk about the USS Cole, the 1st Trade Center bombing, Bali, Israel, and then 9-11. Then we can talk about air-conditioning, Christina Aguillera and handling books THAT WE GAVE THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE with rubber gloves and surgical masks. Then lets talk about Nick Berg and countless other beheadings. Connect them all up with the guy that WANTED to be a part of the Twin Towers attack. <-- Video you might want/need to see again. If you start, WATCH THE WHOLE THING!
On the side we can have a smaller trial televised from Europe (Italy), the one where the woman is on trial for "defaming Islam". Oops, looks like the guy that complained just got convicted for "defaming Christianity".
Oh yeah, don't forget, it's ok to sleep with little boys.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 11:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sailing Away . . .
Later today, sometime around 3:45 PM Eastern, The Planetary Society will launch Cosmos 1. The spacecraft will be launched form a Russian submarine and hopefully climb to an altitude of about 500 miles. Once there, it will deploy 8 solar sails. These sails will begin harnessing the solar wind and if all goes well, the craft will be able to change orbit using only the motive forces provided by photons streaming out of the sun. The spacecraft will literally ride on winds of light.
Click to enlarge.
It's an ambitious undertaking, especially for a private foundation comprised almost entirely of individuals with a strong enthusiasm for space exploration. If the mission is a success it will pave the way for private and corporate space exploration and hopefully light another fire under the governmental space exploration agencies to work on solar sail exploration projects.
It's all very exciting and I'd made a bigger post about how solar sail spacecraft could reach some truely impressive speeds and bridge the distances between the stars in decades rather than centuries, but I opened to many windows getting supporting links, so that will have to come later. Maybe when I finally get around to finishing the big Space Elevator post.
I'll probably update on this more after the successful launch, keep your fingers crossed, OK!
--Jason
PS - Here are some guidelines if you want to see the spacecraft yourself.
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Mars Pics
A couple of images for ya here. First we have an image from the Mars Express orbiter of the Coprates Chasma, a major trough running through Valles Marineris canyon system. The picture has a resolution of approximately 49 meters per pixel. It makes a great desktop.
Click image to enlarge.
The second is a picture from one of our rovers, the Spirit. It's amazing to just sit and stare at. At least to me it is.
Click image to enlarge.
Oh yeah, before you conspiracy theorist get going, YES, those are tire tracks. Remember, I said it's from one of our rovers.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Glad these are going bye bye. . .
Russia has decided that it's time to take the BZHRK trains off the tracks. The 36 BZHRK trains were one of Russia's most feared weapons platforms during the Cold War. Each train consisted of a command post, and up to 5 nuclear tipped SS-24 ICBM's. The trains kept on the move constantly during the Cold War, each was capable of traversing 1000 miles over 24 hours.
These moving missile silos were very difficult for American and NATO intelligence analysts to track. The rail cars housing the weapons were very difficult to disguinish from standard rail cars and they were frequently "lost" in railyards and during bad weather. In the 1990's the U.S. struck a deal to keep the trains stationary.
The Russians say that the systems are no longer guaranteed reliable, and I supposed that's as good a reason as any for getting rid of them. Regardless, I'm happy that these are being retired. The world just became a slighty safer place.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Aw man, this just sucks. . .
Viruses are downright scary. I could go on and on about how scary they really are, how we're making their job eaiser (which for many viruses, their job is soley to kill us humans) and destroying our own natural defenses against them, but I won't.
I will however leave you with two items from Nature Magazine.
First is this segment on Avian Flu, they're dedicating the whole next issue to this.
Second is a fake blog that they set up to describe a an theoretical epidemic.
I guarantee that I'm gonna go to bed now and have nightmares about this.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
If Vonage goes public . . . .
I'm buying their stock. Here's Why! Plus they have that catchy jingle. Do, Dooo, Do, Do, Do -- You know the one!
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:00 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Geek Stuff and a Paranoid Rant about Aliens coming to kill us all.
I usually have a computer running 24/7 that performs a whole load of automated tasks for me. It runs spiders, manages downloads, keeps offline copies of certain websites and collects program updates. I've also run SETI@Home for years on it. Normally I don't pay much attention to this computer, but when I decided to check up on it today, I noticed there have been some major changes to the SETI@Home service and I haven't been helping the SETI Project for the last couple of weeks. Ooops.
After a quick download, I'm proud to announce that I've got it back up and running. Also, that the new SETI@Home service, powered by BIONIC is a great improvement over the old set-up.
I like that BIONIC can shift programs from SETI programs to other NASA distributed computing projects without having to require the user to make adjustments. I've tagged onto other NASA distributed projects before and I like that I can now set-up my account to automatically make the switch when needed.
Ok, this is gonna turn into a space rant from here on out, so to spare some readers that would be totally lost by it, you'll have to continue to the extended entry.
Ok, time to "Space Rant" a bit.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is a tiny, tiny portion of the NASA budget, I've never checked the actual figures, but I'd imagine that if you account for all the computing cycles donated by individuals and private donations, that SETI probably gets more cash from the private sector than it does from the government. I can't really complain about that too much. SETI is the proverbial needle in the haystack and given the choice I'd rather see new dollars go into exploration and research programs.
I am pretty realistic about the SETI project and don't "expect" anything to develop from it in my lifetime. That doesn't mean it won't happen tomorrow though. It' a scary thought to think that tomorrow we might catch an ET's "I Love Lucy", or black and white test signal.
When I talk to people about SETI, they usually imagine that the "first contact" will be like some science fiction movie where we are actually in two way communication with some benevolent superior life form. It's unlikely that's what we'll see. More than likely, the first things will be more of a "first discovery" nature. Some of our first powerful radio and television transmissions would be quite confusing to an outside observer. Variety shows, news broadcasts and music would all paint a strange and distorted picture of our world. We'd likewise discover something similar upon "first discovery".
From what I understand, our best chance to discover an exterrestrial intelligence is to be looking and listening in just the right spot at just the right time. The spot, of course, is where the developing ET society is was located in the universe at the the time that it was technologically advanced enough to have discovered the radio but not so technologically advance that it's using mostly digital broadcasts and has a ring of communication satellites around it. So roughly, compared to Earth time, we're looking at a 75 to 100 year window.
If we observe the alien planets location too early, they aren't pumping out anything to detect, and if we come along too late, we lose the opportunity for discovery as recognizable signals become lost in a haze of overlapping broadcasts turning into a sea of white noise. There's also the problem of an alien intelligence migrating to a communications protocol that we simply haven't fathomed yet.
So lets ponder a bit. Suppose we're looking at the right place at the right time? What might we find? We could get really lucky and find ourselves staring at an alien version of Alex Trebec playing Jeopardy with a panel of tentacled blue squishy things. This would be ideal!!! We'd be able to learn the language both written and spoken and learn about their history, culture and trivia, that's all probably a little much to ask though.
We'll probably get a snapshot pretty similar to what we've cranked out. We'll see news that we cannot understand, entertainment that baffles us and images presenting the extremes of whatever society we get to observe. We'll probably get to eavesdrop on a war or two and alot of toally incomprehensible audio and data. Then we'll hit a wall.
This first discovery will be very frustrating because we'll have no context to put the data in. Once discovery is made, we're only moving forward from that point, and only one day at a time. That's kinda hard to wrap your brain around, but I'll try to clarify. Once we discover the source, we're only able to watch and listen from that point forward. Every day we'll get more and more data which will certainly keep everyone interested, but then we have to tackle the problem of "where are they now" and more importantly "what are they doing".
The most probable scenario is that we'll catch some ET's that are hundreds, if not thousands, of light years away from us. We'll also be catching them at a period of time when they are remarkably like us technologically. We'll be catching them as they migrate into their information age. They will probably be mastering some sort of powered flight, fighting about energy and resources, and in the infant stages of leaping off their rock. Remember though, that they'd be hundreds, if not thousands of years ahead of us though.
So now I get to my reasons for using the SETI@Home service. I look at it as our only "Early Warning System" for a War of the Worlds type scenario. I most certainly do not believe that our first interaction with any sort of ET's will be a pleasant one AT ALL. In fact, I'd suspect that if a bunch of ET's were to roll up on us tomorrow, that'd either kill us right off the bat because of the threat we represent or that we'd wind up shooting at them in some way, and then they'd kill us.
I'm not joining the tin foil brigade here, I'm just saying that if an alien society were advanced enough to pay us a visit, they'd probably be pretty damn scared of us. Not because we'd be an actually threat, but more the "virus-like" quality we'd represent. If someone handed us warp-drives and rayguns today, we'd be pretty dangerous.
So I'm promoting the SETI@Home project so that we may get a jump on these bastards; before they find us and kill us all. If we can catch up to them by eavesdropping on their past, we may be able to drive our efforts to get off the rock along quicker, enhancing our ability to survive when the human-virus does get discovered. Eventually we may be able to sneak up on them and kick their ass first.
I'm sure you're shaking your head right now. Make no mistake though, once we get off this rock it'll be no picnic. Interactions with other biological systems will not be pretty. War will be the outcome of more of these meetings than peace. We'll get beat down by more technological systems and we'll be beating down those below us on the ladder.
Now I know that this flies in the face of tradional science ficion lore about who altruistic we'll be in the future and how as societies advance they get less and less warlike. I totally disagree though. When we do get out there in big spaceships that have some independence (which is inevitable), it'll be the wild west all over. I can imagine that some alien societies might be peaceful and it could wind up as a "Ok, I'm over here, and you're over there. Let's keep it that way" scenario. In those situations we might even be able to trade a bit and do some technology transfers. I'm not thinking we'll be too interested in getting too close to them, nor they us. After all there will be viruses and disease to worry about, quite serious concerns actually. We really couldn't trust them, nor they us when it comes to sharing resources or anything for that matter. We'd be looking out for humans first and they'd be looking out for whatever they are first.
Then we'll probably run into quite a few hotheads, the shoot first, ask later types. I'm pretty sure that out there in the universe there will be quite a few Hitler types that acutally succeed in their warped world view creating societies that are 100% confident that they are the #1 life form on the block and are ruthless about keeping in that way. There will probably be interactions with alien societies that have been burned by trans species peace deals before. These alien cultures may have decided long ago that bipeds are evil and they may just vaporize us on sight.
I don't think it's a question of "if" there are ET's out there, I believe it's a question of "when" we'll meet them, and at in what stage of our and their technological development do we meet. Finding someone now, through a program like SETI will scare the living bejezzus outta me, because that means we're way behind in the game, could we catch up to a society that's thousands of years ahead of us? Have they seen us yet? Are they coming to kick our ass?
So there you have it, what I'm sure is an almost incomprehensible rant about blue squishy aliens that are going to kill us all one day. You can take it for what it's worth, but this is my blog and I just felt like "going off for a bit".
Oh yeah, for the protection of mankind, go to the new SETI@Home page, create an account, download the software and let your puter turn an eye to the sky and make us all a little safer . . . maybe.
--Jason
PS In all seriousness tho' please check out the SETI sites and think about helping out with their distributed computing project. It helps the program along, doesn't really cost you or them anything and we're a small step forward to the future.
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2005
The Canucks have a good idea here. . . .
Placing "Bait Cars" in areas where car theives operate. Film the crime from inside the car, notify police when one is hijacked, and disable the engine via remote control before they can flee. Then make a website so everyone can see what jackasses car theives are. Deterrence coupled with some pretty lock-tight evidence for prosecution. Right on, yeah, eh!
Of course trying to use techniques like this in the U.S. would bring the A.C.L.U. in force, and get challenged by every race-baiting politician out there.
They have some cool videos, funny, tragic and scary. [Note: Getting the videos to play is a bit tricky, look for the "High" and "Low" Resolution links under the parental advisory tag.]
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 11:00 PM
Triumph!!!
It's Triumph, the Comic Insult Dog, doing a number on Michael Jackson supporters. Funny Stuff!!!!
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Everyone should keep a close eye on these guys. . .
As I write this, a new operational unit is getting settled in Iraq. It's not a new US division from the states, but rather a hybrid, experimental embryonic unit being deployed from Bosnia. The ehnically mixed unit has Serbian, Croatian and Muslim soldiers in it's ranks.
I feel this particular unit deserves some close attention from the world community over the next few months/years. If this unit can function harmoniously and provide the Iraqi people with support, it may turn out to be that one example of cooperation that the world community has been looking for.
Centuries of ethnic conflict bubbled to the surface when the Yugoslav republic collapsed. The region saw the rise of tyrants, genocide and anarchy, followed by the arrival of "War - American Style", which eventually quelled the disruptions and finally brought stability to the region.
We can look at the Bosnian situation as a proto-example of many things happening throughout the Middle East. The Yugoslav solution was messy and fumbling, just as the Iraq/Afganistan situation is, but I see this deployment of mixed muslim, christian and other troops coming from a newly arising nation to help the people of Iraq recover as a very good thing. Even though the Bosnian Army is divided within along ethnic lines, I see this as still a tremendous step forward and an example that may help the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds find their way as a nation.
We'll see what happens.
Read the Reuters Article here.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 7:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2005
Life. . .Death. . .not quite life? Death?
Today the news is full of the autopsy reports of Terri Schaivo. The general scientific sense is that nothing more could have been done for Terri, her brain had atrophied to less than half normal size and some parts had simply been completely destroyed, in effect, GONE. I didn't agree with taking Terri off life support, but I didn't necessarily support keeping her on it either. It's a difficult case, and that's what I want to expound on today.
As a society, we've got real fundamental problems when it comes to discussing life, death, the creation of life and the brining of death. It amazes me day in and day out when I see the far right and far left square off on things like abortion, the death penalty, war and stem cell research. Further, these debates have at their centers, a core that touches the fundamental building blocks of religion, then builds from that a moral construct of how everyone should behave, interact, create, destroy and relate with regard to one another.
So lets put some things on the table.
Abortion -- I hate abortion, I think it should be a last resort. I've been involved in decisions about abortion, I've seen it as the only acceptable recourse in a situation and I've seen it as a horrible consequense of fear and misunderstandings. In short, I'm firmly Pro-Choice, but the concept itself makes my heart hurt. Does this make me a contradiction? Does it make me a hypocrit? Of course it does. In questions of morality, justice, fairness, economics, faith, life and death we are all hypocrits, those that claim they are not are either deluding themselves or big fat liars.
The Death Penalty -- Big supporter here. Gotta have it gotta use it, in fact, it should be expanded to include so-called lesser crimes such as rape, molestation and transmitting potentially fatal infections knowingly. There's a point in every situation that you have to simply give up and bite the hard bullet. The goal here is to protect the life, liberty and happiness of the population at large, and defend these same rights for the individual. However, when someone starts hacking people up with axes because they lost a poker hand. You gotta stand back and say to yourself, "Ok, that guy doesn't get to play anymore, EVER!"
People could say that we can accomplish the same with locking people up for 20 years, life or 20 consecutive life sentences, but does that really solve the problem of the axe-murdering loser??? Of course it doesn't. It does however create a person with nothing left to lose, who will live on in a state of semi-anarchy, fighting for life in a colony of similar dead-enders who form semi-fuedalistic fiefdoms based upon fear and violence preying on "lesser criminals" who we are supposedly "rehabilitating". You need to eventually cut your losses in the investment of societal capital in the aforementioned axe-murderer (or rapist). There are FAR BETTER uses of our finite resources. DO YOU REALIZE we spend more money (and resources) keeping a killer locked up than we do caring for an orphan placed in foster care? THAT'S A CRIME IN AND OF ITSELF. As a society, we've placed a greater value (determined by the use of resources) on a killer than we do the potential for a young human life to develop into a productive member of society.
War - There are times when people NEED to fight it out. Diplomacy is the big concept, and WAR is a subset of that concept. There are times when you truely NEED to kick the living shit out of a group of people. The NAZI's were a perfect example, perhaps THE perfect example, but there are plenty of other examples out there. Napoleon truely needed an ass kicking, Atila the Hun needed one too, we're just lucky he choked on a chicken or dog bone or something. Throughout history there have been groups of people that come together under a philosophy, religion, economic system or person that just wind up being a bad idea, at a bad time, in a bad place for bad reasons. Usually, this collection of "badness" creates a groupthink that leads to invasions, threats, attacks and passive aggressive behavior that seeks to impinge on those that hold a different perspective. It can be as simple as "Who own's that river?" or as complex as "My God's name is Allah, but you call him Jehova, you must DIE!!!"
The events leading to war are generally pretty similar, but vary in particulars. In a nutshell though, normally one group or collection of groups decides that their views are the only right, just and correct views to hold. This is followed by posturing, chest pounding, and thumping of clubs on the ground (this part is generally referred to as diplomacy). Eventually, someone's going to give ground. Normally the side that gives ground first is the one that holds the stronger deck of cards, it's usually the more tolerant and submissive side. It's also usually side that is happy with the way life is progressing (generally) and the side that wants everyone to get along and move forward together. The other side (now known as the aggressor) usually takes this backing down or inaction as a sign of weakness, which increases the agressors furvor as they misunderstand the appeasment as a victory for their cause, many times, the aggressor will use this opportunity to ATTACK. Then you get a WAR!
Sometimes, the aggressor is far stronger than the just party in the conflict, such as Germany and Poland. Other times, it's a ludicrous display and a last gasp or grasp for power that the aggressor hopes will lead to victory or worldwide revolution (think Yugoslavia).
Which brings us to today's war. Let's face facts and I'll make this quick because what I really want to get to is Stem Cells. The Western World has been giving ground to Muslims for some time. While the West (and in many cases, the East) is seeing great success in improving the quality of life of people, the Muslim world is doing everything it can to move in the opposite direction. The Western (and Eastern) world have effectively destroyed slavery in their midst over the last 300 years, the Muslim world still clings to it, even expanding it. Whilst the Western world (and to a lesser extent the Eastern one) is giving women equality with men, the Muslim world is moving in the opposite direction. As the Western and Eastern Worlds embrace science, medicine and technology for the betterment of mankinds, the Muslim world is rejecting many of the most basic scientific advances. The culture that gave us the ZERO and was once the most scientifically active on the planet, has, after the teachings of Mohammed took hold, effectively become an Iron Age culture that believes that God/Allah is turning little girls into dogs for throwing a book.
We gave ground to the Muslim extremists. We tried for years to accomodate them to the point of lunacy. We've thrown money, food, shelter, education and protection at them for the last 100 years and they still rage against the world. Our conversion is their only goal, with our deaths being the only other acceptable option. Anyone who doesn't realize this simple fact is an idiot. I'm sorry to be that harsh, but come on now. These people want us dead because we choose to recognize people have different views on who Allah/Jehova/Yahweh/Buddha/Bob is. They want us dead because we're not willing to submit all of our waking energy to the worship of an as yet unproven, unseen, unheardfrom and totally irrational construct of THEIR creation.
It's INSANITY in it's purest form. For this reason alone, it must be stopped, and that, unfortunately at this time and in this place, means WAR.
Which brings us to the final topic of this rant, but the one that hopefully ties it all together to demonstrate some very basic problems we have as a society. They are problems that we can overcome, but it requires some intellectual honesty and some decisions that will make both the anarchist atheist and the most devout Deist cry.
Stem Cell Research - This is a very tricky subject because it brings with it so many different possibilities for research avenues and promises to bring forth many advances that might be helpful or even life-saving to so many people. Personally, I support stem cell research, I support any scientific research avenues that can lead to a betterment of the human condition.
HOWEVER, and this is a BIG however, stem cell research is a HUGE pandoras box awaiting to devour us as a species. If we cannot answer very simple questions such as "when does life begin" and "when is it acceptable as a society to take life" WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER playing around with stem cell research and it's associated offshoots.
This issue is truely going to be one that will plague us for some time forward, and no one seems willing to tackle the questions necessary for this issue to move forward without causing major trainwrecks in the future.
Lets ponder for a minute where this is going to go. Suppose stem cells become the great savior for millions of people that the supporters fortell. We're going to have to get these cells from somewhere. Discarded embryos won't supply the demand if this works out. You may scoff, but someone, somewhere will capitalize on the demand for stem cells and travel down a road we don't want. That road involves, impregnation, then abortion and harvesting of the relevant cellular material. If that concept doesn't horrify you as a reader, I suggest you stop reading now and check yourself into a mental institution.
Proponents will say "that will never happen" we'll pass laws to prevent it. We will??? Yeah right. If we can't get a consensus on the fact that aborting a 7 month old fetus is wrong, I doubt we'll be able to put restrictions on someone aborting a pregnancy for profit. And who ever said this would happen here? Many rogue entities in various countries are already going forward with cloning humans, Italian scientists have already claimed that they've succeeded. If stem cells work, mark my words, within a few years of a standardized treatment protocol, we'll have news items describing wards in Russia or Africa or South America where women are repeatedly impregnated and then undergo abortions to collect the necessary material. It will happen, all it will take is ONE person to make the moral leap that it's "for the good of others" and BAM, we've got mommy-farms. If it's illegal, it'll become a black market, and what's illegal here won't be illegal someplace else if there's money to be made.
Beyond the mommy-farm nightmare scenario, we're opening up the cloning door more and more by travelling down this road. All of your science fiction horror stories about clones being grown and kept are going to come to life. Eventually, the populace will be so intoxicated with the possibility of "eternal life" that cloning will be accepted. But what property rights will become involved. Are we to become a society where for every human with means will have a few clones in storage for kidney transplant? What happens when some rogue nation decides to develop a clone army a la Star Wars? You may laugh, but don't you think that if the technology were available that Kim Jong Il would be running with it?
What value will we place on human life when we can create it in vast numbers from a gene bank, after we've refused to answer the hard moral and ethical questions about "what is life" "who owns their own genetic material" and "what are the rights of a life form created in mass quantities"?
At what point to we place the individual human rights we hold so dearly on an entity? Is it when a baby is born to a mother? Is it at conception? That won't fly once we're growing clones. But then again, if a clone baby has rights, but no parents and was created by a corporation, does that corporation have the same parental rights and responsibilities as a human set of parents? What if that particular clone was grown to provide a second heart or liver for a customer and the time comes to take that heart from the clone? Will that clone have a clone, ad infinitum?
But back to stem cells. As I said, I'm supportive of the research. I'm also VERY supportive of the current policy to NOT ALLOW government funding to finance such research. The proponents of Stem Cell research try to call this a "BAN" on Stem Cells. That's just political gamesmanship. There is NO BAN ON STEM CELL RESEARCH. There is a prohibition of federal funding for such reasearch, and I think that's for good reason. If the government were to suddenly find a treatment and be in need of massive quantities of stem cells to implement said treatment, we've have a severe dilemma on our hands. The government would be literally forced to create life on some level and then destroy it. Over and over and over and over again. Such an activity would rip the very fabric of our society apart as the bonds of family, education, responsibility, human rights and almost every interpersonal interaction would be tipped on it's ear.
The simple point that this all boils down to is this. We're reaching a point in our society that we MUST confront some of these questions about life and death that face us everyday but we play the ostrich by sticking our head in the political sand and avoiding it. We must sit down and have a respectful, calm and well examined discussion about the nature of life and our rights as they apply to it. We can't keep on playing a political game where large groups of people argue for abortion on demand with their left hand and then with their right, they decry the death penalty. Conversely we cannot keep playing the game where we call out for no abortion while supporting the death penalty.
These are the fundamental problems with both sides of our political spectrum. Sure there are more issues out there, but these are by far the most important when we think about life, rights, death and even taxes (Would a clone be required to pay taxes on the financial worth of their organs ready for harvest? Yeah, that's extreme, I know).
Most unfortunately, this is an issue that's very easy to ignore becuse it's so hard to deal with rationally, both sides of the debate have so much invested in their absurd rhetoric that they can't sit down and logically look at the real issues. Adding to this is the fact that in order to answer the questions and deal with the issues, BOTH SIDES WILL LOSE, on the up side, the winner will be humanity as a whole.
Thank you for taking the time to read this rant. It's a huge issue and I've skipped many facets of it. I've expounded on some elements in the extreme, and I've simplified others. It's not intended to be anything other than an encouragement for people to begin thinking about the issue of life, death and how human rights apply.
It's a debate that needs to happen, I only hope we can have it and come to a consensus before the questions themselves devour us and we become some science ficion nightmare of a society.
To recap -
Abortion - Hate it, understand it, Pro-Choice, but not happy about it.
Death Penalty - Gotta have it, gotta use it, it's a matter of what's best for society as a whole.
War - It's inevitable, try to avoid at all cost, when it comes, be brutal and quick and get it over with to move on.
Stem Cells - For it, but I realize that we're not ready for the consequences. We aren't really ready for the question, much less the answer.
Cloning - See above, but now the question is bigger and the answer is gargantuan.
Time for a real debate world. Not just political soundbites and appeals to heartstrings and cries of oppression.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 11:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The Phoenix is arising . . .
Scheduled for a March 2007 launch aboard a Delta II rocket, the Phoenix will be headed to Mars to look for water, that ever elusive necessity for human missions to Mars. While astronauts travelling to Mars will bring with them a finite quantity of water. For long term success or eventual colonization of the Martian surface, a method of extracting or producing water must be found.
In 2002 the Mars Odyssey Orbiter discovered significant amounts water trapped beneath the surface of the Martian polar regions and a surface ice cap at the Martian poles. The Phoenix lander intends to investigate this region and actually physically extract some of the subsurface ice and analyze it.
While all the Martian landers and orbiters are important to the long term goals of exploring the solar system, Phoenix serves double duty by specifically being designed to lead the way for a human presence on Mars. The data retrieved from this mission will open up many new research avenues directly related to human survival on Mars. Extra-terrestial agriculture scientists will be able to develop models for the possible transplantation of oxygen producing plants as a first step toward terraforming the planet. Mission planners will be able to have hard data about the ability of astronauts to extract enough water to feed bio-habitats producing food and consumable oxygen on the surface. Such habitats will mean the difference between months long Martian visits and days long visits.
The lander itself is a stationary platform this go round. There won't be any spify videos of little rovers zipping around the surface. Some very impressive technology is being sent up instead of a remote controlled rover, not the least impressive is the spacecraft itself, combining off the shelf, previous mission and brand new engineering. Coupled with a robotic arm and camera, the craft will scoop up material do a depth sufficient to collect ice and water samples. On board analyzers will conduct extensive testing on the samples to give a picture of the polar subsurface makeup.
Special cameras will record the terrain in stereoscopic 3-D giving us some of the best views to date. Additionally a weather station and special imaging devices will record and examine the atmospheric conditions in the region.
All in all, this mission will be the most complete look at what NASA considers to be the prime location for a manned mission landing site. Those scientists and mission controllers working on manned missions to Mars will be using this data as their keystone for building their missions off of.
The key to Mars will be water and power. Power is relatively easy to bring to Mars via fuel cells and solar generation, eventually to be replaced with some sort of nuclear power. Water on the other hand is a problem. Massive quantities will be needed for any long term habitation, far too much for us to transport to Mars and far too heavy to land on the surface. We know that there's water there though, so hopefully Phoenix can get a good look at it and give us some indications of whether or not it's in a condition that we can use easily.
The Phoenix is abandoning the familiar balloon ball landing approach opting instead for a more complicated controlled landing on the surface. You can view an animation of the landing and deployment sequence of by clicking here (will take some time to load).
It's a very exciting mission and I hope there's nothing around the bend that could derail it. Maybe we are actually moving forward as a species just a bit.
--Jason
PS - While I love that we're moving forward with Martian exploration, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if NASA would have run with Wernher Von Braun's 1952 outline of a manned Mars mission by 1965.
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
It's about time . . . .
NASA officials delayed the roll out of Discovery until today. FOXNEWS just reported that the shuttle Discovery is now moving out to pad. It's about time that we get the shuttles flying again.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 8, 2005
The little rover that could.
Earlier I mentioned, that our little rover Opportunity on the Martian surface had freed itself from a sand dune it was stuck in on the Red Planet. Now JPL has released a video of robot extracting itself, watch it here (it's a quicktime video). As you watch it, remember, THIS IS HAPPENING ON MARS. Boggle!
Being a good 'ole Southern boy, I can't help but thinking "YEE HAW!" as I watch the wheels spin and bury themselves in the sand then grind their way out.
This gives way to thoughts -
I think I can,
I think I can,
I think I can. . .
Woo Hoo, have a GREAT DAY! Don't forget to read about "tiny penquins' legs" below.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 7:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 7, 2005
Time to talk about that berg again - B15A
Well, it's been a while, and since I'm still waiting for my "Live from Iraq" CD (see below, or click here), I thought I'd update folks a bit on the saga of B15A. After all, I am on Google's first page of results when you search for "B15A" and for some reason, the search phrase "sexy bergy bits" always seems to show up in my keyword search list results. Go figure.
SO? Don't know anything about B15A? That's ok, here are my earlier pictures and posts about it, be sure to check out "The Ice Dance". Briefly tho', B15 was an iceberg down in Antarctica that at one time held the title of "World's Largest Iceberg", was vilified as a penguin killer, and some media outlets tried to make it out like B15A was threatening the survivability of our Antarctic outposts. Some penguins probably did die as a direct result of the berg, but our outpost was never in "danger".
So what's B15A doing now??? Ok, take a look at the picture. YES, I know it's pink, that's because it's Winter down there and it's DARK. Not exactly good for picture taking. So this is a satellite thermal image of the region. For reference, the PINK areas are COLDEST, about -43 degrees C. The BLUE areas are WARMER, about -13 degrees C, downright tropical by comparison, right???
The iceberg is the rectangle (or aircraft carrier) shaped pink object close to the center of the picture.
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Click here for a larger version
If you've been following it, you'll notice that the berg has moved away from the Drygalski "ice tongue" and is a bit offshore. Hopefully, it'll stay out there and begin breaking up rather than forcing those poor little penguins to walk 200km on two inch legs.
So there you have it, another B15A update.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 6, 2005
Iraq Rap . . .
I'm not sure if it's in the same spirit as Kosovo and Way to Amarillo, but it's certainly "All-American". Members of Task Force 112, currently serving in Iraq have released an album, yep, a full fledged album, not just a net-video parody. Members of the task force had the recording equipment sent to Iraq, created a makeshift recording studio (actually a semi-soundproof room with exercise mats for soundproofing) and used the "studio" to "vent" their anger when returning from patrols. The result is their rap-album Live from Iraq, the Music of a Lifetime.
Now I'm not a big rap fan, I like R&B and some of the more mainstream rap, but if you ask me for details of the East vs. West coast thing, I'm clueless. Although I do think that Tupac is alive and well somewhere on an island dreaming up his next "post mortem" CD.
Now, on to the album, which you can buy at CDBaby.com. The "anger" I referred to earlier isn't what those lefties that come read my blog and then send me stupid emails might think. This is the ANGER of young men and women serving overseas and fighting a life-and-death battle every day to give a better life to the Iraqi people and protect our way of life here at home. Anger that's directed at the insurgents who target women and children, as well as American, Coalition and Iraqi forces. Anger that's directed at urban youths who are "playing soldier" (in reference to gang-bangers in America) and whose common lexicon tries to develop solidarity with soldiers fighting in Iraq (the track is called Reality Check, links below). Anger that's natural for any soldier to feel when he or she realizes that just a few moments earlier someone was trying to kill them. A special ANGER is revealed on many of the tracks for critics at home who are second-guessing every action of our soldiers and media whores who want to condemn every action of our soldiers as they put their very lives on the line. More than one track references the Marine who was vilified by the media for shooting an insurgent in a mosque which was videotaped and sent around the world as "evidence" - !NOT! - of soldiers acting inappropriately, namely Integrity and Testament of a Soldier.
From what I've heard so far (the sample tracks and trailer), I like it. While it's not what I normally listen to, the beats are rough yet catchy and the lyrics are direct and easy to understand. Most of all though I like the messages and honesty of the work and think it's worthy of recognition, if even only by me.
WARNING: The lyrics in the samples are strong, these are soldier's in the field remember, not rappers in a studio sipping on Cristal. There are also some images in the video trailer linked below that may be disturbing in their stark reality.
I've listened to all the tracks sampled at CDBaby, and even if you don't buy the CD, listen to the sample tracks, the first 2 minutes of each song is available at the CDBaby page. Each of the tracks carries a powerful message, some simple, some very complex, please go have a listen.
Here's the official website for the album -- www.4th25.com
Here's the trailer video for the album.
Now if I can just get my hands on a DVD of Gunner Palace, I'll be happy.
--Jason
PS I'm tired now, but I'll pull individual lyric quotes from the album tomorrow for those reading from work or dial-up readers.
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:57 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 5, 2005
Rest in Peace, President Reagan
It was a year ago today that President Ronald Reagan passed away. While I don't go as far as Regular Ron does and call him a "saint" (I am atheist after all), his comments are very similar to my own feelings about this great President.
Trey Jackson also has an excellent "in remembrance" post.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 7:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Opportunity knocking again . . . .
One of our little buddies on Mars is on the move again. After been stuck in a sand dune for weeks, NASA Mission Controllers have finally been able to free the little rover named Opportunity from the sand and let it continue on it's mission.
Ya gotta hand it to the engineers, NASA, JPL and all the others that contributed to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, both are going strong a full year after they completed their primary missions. Both rovers were designed to last longer than the three month's planned mission time, but the longevity of the little bots has surpassed everyones hopes.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 6:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 3, 2005
WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Echo and the Bunnymen is now RETRO????? Who the hell decided that BS! We're only talking 1990 here. I AM NOT OLD DAMMIT!!!
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:20 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 2, 2005
EPIC: 2015
Here's the bitorrent for EPIC: 2015 by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson. Right click and select Save As. .
If you don't know how to use BitTorrents, CLICK HERE - It will take a while to download (Note, this link will go away if bandwith issues come up. So you might want to right click and Save As. ., in case you want to watch it agin.)
EPIC is a shockwave based animation depecting the future of our mediascape, the internet and how they might develop into the construct named EPIC. The battle between the internet and "old media" is played out as well as the News Wars between Microsoft and Google. It's an interesting piece.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 7:30 PM
Days Like Today . . .
It's days like today that I really appreciate having a covered porch-
__________________________________
It's a heavily overcast afternoon with fissures of sunlight periodically approaching, only to veer off to the south or northeast, pushing a dark rolling mass of thundercloud directly overhead. The rain begins with a gentle pop, pop, pop rising to a crescendo of howling winds and roaring rain, punctuated by sharp cracks of lightning crashing all around. It seems the very earth itself is cowering away from the angry sky above.
As quicky as it began, it ends, as another river of sunlight burns through begins to drive the meanacing clouds away. The raging waters relax with a sigh, fading in insensity to a mist. Thunder booms and rumbles near and far, seeming to briefly stop time in a final desperate rage.
It's over. The tress and bushes seem to sigh as they settle their limbs and return to their placid states. The first few chirps are met with whistles and calls and songs as they birds assess the scene and reestablish order from the recent chaos.
The chipmunks chase away a lizard interloper who only dashed into the open to suck up precious moisture pooled on the walkway. A squirrel charges out to defend his territory against anxious finches who covet his little pile of soggy spilled seeds and corn recently liberated from the the birdfeeder but abandoned when the sky let loose.
A quite calm returns to this little place on earth, the sunlight slowly drifts away to the south.
Pop. . pop. . pop. .
________________________________________
Ok, time to get some work done.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 3:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
YOU HAVE TO DO THIS. . . .
I don't know why they are doing this, I don't know who's behind it, and basically I know nothing about it other than IT'S THERE, IT WORKS, AND IT'S HILARIOUS.
CLICK THE LINK AND CALL THE NUMBER -- WWW.CALLTHEINTERNET.ORG
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 2:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I think something broke
Noticed a sharp spike in error pages served lately. Not sure if it's someone linking to me incorrectly or a failure in the Moveable Type software. If you get served an error page and feel like helping a guy out, email me at Jason[AT]JasonColeman.com and let me know about it.
Thanks in advance,
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 2:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 1, 2005
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
All I can say about this is - IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME.
Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton's abandonment of the Moon is nothing short of utter stupidity. I can't express how happy I am to hear that we've got the money put aside and budgeted to return to the moon. Our nearest celestial neighbor should have a full time occupancy moon base already. The scientific advances we could gain by having a permanent moon base are impossible to quantify. Telescopes for exploring the universe, drug labs for research, Earth focused climatology research, vacuum and micro-gravity construction techniques and much much more are just but a scratch to the surface of the knowledge awaiting us up there. I can't even begin to talk about getting humans to Mars right now I'm so giddy.
Go Griffin, Go!!!!!
Until I calm down you might want to check out my Space Archives.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Presenting, The Cotillion
Possibly the first blog I ever read was Beth's. I think I found it via google for "Alabama Blogs". Beth introduced me to Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, IMAO, LILEKS, LGF and more. I'm not sure whether Glenn is my Blogfather or Beth is my Blogmother, but she's certainly a figure in the formation of this blog. Plus she got me named Blogger Babe of the Week.
So I MUST MUST MUST give a plug for her new project. Not just because she's involved, but because it's a great idea, and a fantastic collection of b