PhantomX running Phoenix code - This video is so cool. I especially like the toddlers running around and putting toys on the robot during the demo. Welcome to the future.

My wife recommended I look into Jo Nesbo as an author to read. I started looking at the Amazon reviews of his first volume in a series, The Redbreast: A Novel.

I immediately jumped to the 1 star volumes as I tend to find interesting perspectives in this review section. I especially enjoyed this review from ReadsALot:

Admittedly am in the minority per the reviews but in sync with at least a few others.

This book seems to suffer from an identity crisis. The author periodically references multiple personality disorder. The book is a perfect example: is it to document some history(WWII)? Detective fiction? Or, a romance novel designated for the sub-teen set? It has many elements of all. I'd also assess at least 30 percent as page filler much of which is flashbacks. That went on for every other chapter for way too long. The novel is complete with the trite, "formula" gorgeous heroine who immediately falls "in love" with the detective as he does her.

In total the book is so predictable, it almost wasn't worth reading. Per the interaction between the gorgeous female and our hero, Harry Hole, he states several times that he felt like a teenager. The content and elements of their entire involvement reads exactly like that -- up to and including the end of the book.

This could hardly be called "a suspense thriller" . The "who-done-it" was fairly evident mid-way though the book and became more so with each page. Of course in the concluding pages, Harry arrives just in the nick of time to "save the day". That element of the story required some 30-40 pages to describe in boring,endless detail including (as referenced by another reviewer) pages and pages of the villain's diary notes of still more flashbacks to explain his motives.

I bought the book used and was glad of it. How something like this could win such praises and awards is puzzling unless it's quite dated and has been revised for the English speaking market only recently. That would explain a great deal of it.

Based on this review I decided to move on in my search for "Good books to read". However, the commentary thread linked below this review caught my eye as it is not typical for 8 comments on a review. Below is the entire thread:

Araminta says:

I read about half of this book and finally laid it down after a week or so. I am also puzzled by the number of rave reviews it has gotten. The gorgeous heroine was just too much - the idea of a wealthy, beautiful, impeccably dressed woman helping some burned out detective push his stalled rattletrap of a car up a hill is just too much.

Sussex Pond Pudding says:

Araminta, you underestimate the level of altruism within culturally and racially homogeneous societies.

Araminta says:

Oh please - do enlighten me on "the level of altruism within culturally and racially homogenous societies".

Larry L. Hill says:

Man, you are a dunce. You do know just because somebody is rich and beautiful or impeccably dressed doesn't mean they aren't able to be good, helpful people. You are out of touch.

Araminta says:

Come again? Did you just call me a dunce? Methinks you are the one who is out of touch. You fear a dissenting opinion, which narrows the mind.

Larry L. Hill says:

No. I haven't ever read the book or heard of the author. I was looking for new authors and I was seeing what people said about him. Your opinion is flat out wrong - dissenting or not. Just because somebody is rich, dressed nice and beautiful doesn't mean they wouldn't do what you said. I had a girl that fit the second two help me drag bags and bags of smelly, drippy garbage bags to the dumpster and she asked me if I needed help - and still helped as I insisted no I didn't. You know nothing of human nature.

Araminta says:

Why do want to keep insulting me and why are you so angry about this? I never said well-dressed, elegant, gorgeous rich folks don*t help people. I just did not find it plausible in this book. I know plenty of human nature and your nature is coming through loud and clear. You like to call people names. Enough said.

Yes, Araminta is a bit touchy when criticized but what really caught my eye was her first comment, "the idea of a wealthy, beautiful, impeccably dressed woman helping some burned out detective". Based on my experience I had to agree with this statement.

Which led me to seriously ponder Sussex Pond Pudding's response "Araminta, you underestimate the level of altruism within culturally and racially homogeneous societies.". This led   me to consider the level of altruism in the US. and why SPP feels culturally and racially homogeneous societies would have a higher level of altruism.

CRAPCHA is cool

From Laughing Squid:
Completely Ridiculous And Phony Captcha that Hassles for Amusement (CRAPCHA) is an embeddable fake CAPTCHA test that is intentionally indecipherable and impossible to complete. CRAPCHAs can be easily embedded into a website—user responses to the impossible tess are posted on the CRAPCHA website. CRAPCHA was created by human-computer interaction researcher Thomas Park.

I really enjoyed playing with this techno-weenie joke tool, here is how it looks, press the Pisces arrows to see more examples:

LED bulbs

I was looking for LED bulbs for 2 of these lamps. After some diligent searching I was able to find one at Lowes. I asked a sales person for a 2nd bulb and he said they had 4 on order.
Four boxes? I asked.
Four bulbs he replied and there was no ETA either.
I guess you could call the LED bulb retail market supplier constrained.

Will Blogger let me publish my Google+ pointer?

One response to conservative rants

Somehow I was added to a mail list of an extremely conservative group. I ignored their e-mails until some one in the group finally tried to respond to the ignorance.

I had to follow up myself; see below for my response.
Carson
--------------------
From: ...
To: ...
Subject: Socialism, Beware
Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 18:17:41 -0500
Check out the attachment of Norman Thomas. We need to get the Dems out now!
--------------------
On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 3:42 AM, Susan Booker Blanton wrote:
I have some terrible news, folks: it doesn’t really matter who’s in office. I think the best we can hope for is a continual balancing of power. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Get the Dems out, but they will be back, not because they are :::::totally awesome::::: but because that is the nature of things. In the interim their legacy will linger, same as the Republican legacy lingers today in the Gulf, OUR Gulf this time, the legacy of inappropriate government/industry relations. Long-term, though, the legacies of all political terms get mixed up into one big constantly evolving zeitgeist whose provenance is attributable to no one person...kinda the way no one can seem to find the original source for that supposed quote from Norman Thomas.

It’s really time to move beyond “capture the flag” thinking because we are all in this together. This is not liberal kumbayah bullshit. This is survival. Like it or not, H. sapiens is a pack animal, and the well-being of the individuals reflects the well-being of the pack.

So the Dems got their health care bill passed. Won’t it be repealed next time a Republican is in office? What will that Republican replace it with? The former status quo? I think not. Perhaps a better alternative? Let’s hope so, and let’s not begrudge our leaders progress, even if we don’t approve of their party affiliation.

What are you personally doing to improve our society?
--------------------
From: "carson stuart"
Date: Sat, May 15, 2010 1:03 PM
Subject: Socialism, Beware
To: "Susan Booker Blanton"

Thank you, Susan.

I do not know why I am continually included in this particular e-mail
group but I will take this opportunity to express my views. Maybe this
note will finally drop me from this group.

I support Susan's implication that the current oil pollution
catastrophe in our gulf waters is can be directly attributed to oil
company (BP, Halliburton) hubris and a lax regulatory regime that was
foisted on this country by W's administration. I fully support off
shore drilling (and nuclear power plants) but our federal government
must regulate these industries in a manner that does not damage our
only world.

Wall Street banks do not create anything of value, instead they
transfer money from a large group of individuals to a smaller group
and apportion themselves some of that wealth along the way. I fully
support a financial activity tax that might reduce the global economic
damage wreaked by this group.

Anyone that has interacted with the Medical Industrial Complex in the
last few years must walk way with some inkling the system is in
serious disrepair. The current federally mandated health care plan is
only the first step on a long path where this country will begin to
rework a national system for health care that can work for everyone
that is not independently wealthy.

I cannot understand how anyone in this country can still prefer the
last presidential regime to the current President. Obama is not
Hitler, is not a fascist, is not a socialist, is not a Muslim, and is
not perfect. Based on his current record I plan to vote for him again
in the next Presidential election.

Please drop me from this mail list group. I do not agree with any of
your political conclusions and no amount of ranting will change my
views. The actions and results of W. and his administration during
their term in power is more than enough justification in my mind to
support their opposition for the rest of my life.

To answer Susan's final question - I create value for all in my
occupation, I pay my taxes, I have raised 2 college educated, tax
paying citizens, I pay attention to world events and I participate in
rational political discourse when it occurs. Thank you again, Susan.

Carson

Lots of life but less blogging - the catchup edition

I cannot believe I have had a MV apartment for >1yr.

Time flies when you are older even when you are not having fun.

Significant events of the past year:

1. First case of walking pneumonia and first chest x-ray. I recovered.
2. Promoted back to manager again so I can approve >$0 purchases.
3. Bought tickets to Underworld concert in Oakland but did not go. Helped Ulana edit and review her trip docs for the fall NCNPS trip
4. Went on the spring and fall NCNPS trips, for more details see http://www.ncwildflower.org/schedule.htm
5. Found lots of Eastwood high school friends on facebook - Dixie Bailey, Paul Johns, Ellen Thomas, Missy Sherlin, Lorraine Baldwin, Betty Stockard
6. Came down with a case of acute colitis and had to visit a nearby emergency room. I have recovered from the colitis but the retail bill is still shocking. This is material for another blog.
7. Theo visited my MV apartment and we bought an inflatable mattress and fixed the tires and lights on the bikes.

That is not everything significant for this last year but a good start.