Wednesday, May 31, 2006

We're all going to die....

So last week we got the "Day Without An
Immigrant"
Now this week they have unleashed the Mexican Illegal Immigrant Computer Virus...




BUENOS DIAS!!!

JOU HABE YUST RECEIBED A MEHICAN BYRUS.

SIN WE NO HABE SO GOOD TECHNIOLOGICALLY
ADBANCE IN MEHICO, DEES IS A
MANUAL BYRUS.

PLEESE DELETE ALL JOUR FILES ON JOUR
HARD-DRIVE JOURSELF AND SEND THEES
E-MAIL TO EBERYONE JOU KNOW.

TANK JOU FOR HALPING ME.

JULIO MANUEL JOSE RODRIGUEZ-GARCIA
----MEXICAN HACKER---

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

A crystal orb of blue wonder.

Such a peaceful orb to behold, deep blues and rich greens. Accelerating inwards to a distant orbit he finds its three beautiful moons. One is full, one is new and one is lit from only one side.

All at once he is on the ground. Long black coat and savvy demeanor, he walks as if he owns this place, though he has never known this place. Always a distant observer, he has never truly visited. What a shame, after all, this is his domain.

At the behest of one of his peers he set down on this wild and ever-changing world. “What’s it like?” She had asked. “How are the locals?” He was admittedly startled, he had never been asked about it with such earnest.

It was with that then he set out for this world. An explorer and adventurer in his own domain. When he landed he took a deep breath and looked about. The air was pure and the place was full of light. He found himself on a narrow road in a wood. The light could not penetrate the trees and darkness was found there.

Off in the distance he found the sky darkened. An odd thing to behold as the sky was as blue crystal as far as the eye could see. He decided to make that his first destination.

As he trapsed toward the unnatural sight, he found it was billowing up from the ground. The hairs on his neck stood on end and he felt followed and heard rustling in the woods.

Out of the brush he heard running feet and a shriek of fury. He turned unafraid to watch a short humanoid pulling a sword from the back of a spider. His first thought was that it was merely a child, but the eyes did not reflect this. His emerald eyes and pointed ears suggested he had an almost other-worldly origin.

The creature removed his sword and cleaned it. His glowering visage softened to a smile as he looked up and beamed before fleeing back into the woods. The man stood reflecting for a moment and then turned to continue towards the distant and dark clouds.

As the man traveled he found that the place was beautiful and some how terrible. There were shrieks that occasioned from the woods, sounds of creatures in pain or dieing, though throughout most of the journey his peace was undisturbed.

The man traveled and he observed the world around him. It was not unlike many others. The greens were vivid and the sky was a beautiful blue and the flowers were exotic and beautiful to behold. Their aromas filled the air around him and mixed with the smell of pines as he continued on his path.

Wildlife was often hinted at, a torn branch signifying larger animals and torn bark where they were molting. Animals were rarely seen in the flesh, but signs of their life was ever present. Once while walking he did find a large scaled creature that writhed about on the ground. As soon as he noticed it, the creature vanished into the brush.

After his trek was drawing long he found himself in shadow. As he looked up to see the cause, he found himself near the source of the dark cloud that he had seen.

He walked to the end of that road to find it crumbling away into a great pit of fire. No screams were issued forth of it, but when he tried to gage the depth of it, he could see or find no signs of an end.

A tremble sent shockwaves through the ground as the world lurched and then fell away in areas. The pit grew, though not all that much. “A scourge on this land”, he said to no one. “This shall heal in time.” Already he saw hope. Not much longer and an endless river will swallow the fire, quenching it forever.

Turning his gaze to the north, beyond the river, he noticed a great gleaming tower. Having only seen one other indication of sentient life, he decided to turn his trek there to see what he might discover.

He walked and noticed that after several hours he found that the light had not dimmed and that he had not grown weary of travel. As he pondered this happenstance, he searched for the source of what energized him. He took many thoughtful steps towards his destination he pondered the riddle.

“Oh how interesting,” he mused. He took a look at the vegetation and at the sky once more and took a deep breath. “This world sustains me. The life flows out of it from within.”

The scenery changed from the densely packed woods into a wooded lowland. Every now and then a cottage was found in the prairies near the side of the road. Every time he investigated the short structures, he found them empty. No one was ever home to converse with. The buildings were far from looking abandoned, found in a general state of repair, but a knock or a holler were left ignored at each such place.

He traveled on to find himself at a large black wall, as he looked up he realized that he had made it to the shimmering tower. “That can’t be right, the tower had been much farther than this.” He found the gleaming tower that he had sought to be large and flat black. Not at all what should be gleaming from afar.

The perimeter wall was enormous, there was no way to scale it and it circled around to the sides as far as the eye could see. When he looked to the tower, he found it taller than he would have expected. He continued around the wall looking for some entrance that he could pass through.

“Hello there.” A voice out of nowhere chimed in as the man was thinking of how to cross the wall. The man looked behind him and saw nothing, as he turned around again he found an oddly dressed man holding a long carved staff. The wanderer looked the man over taking in his wolf skin cloak and royal garments.

“Hello Sir,” the man finally responded, “is this your home?”

The older man just stared intently until he finally broke into a smile, his long white beard just exaggerating the movement. “I do live here, yes, and it is about time that you should arrive here.”

The young wanderer was taken aback by the thought that this stranger might have been waiting here for him. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, let me courteous, I know the lengths that you have traveled to come here. I have been waiting for you to come this far longer than you might guess, Cedric.”

The young man had a tough time keeping his shock hidden as the old man continued. “I know a quite bit more than you would think, perhaps even more than you might think is possible. You’ve left your personal responsibilities unattended for just a little too long. I’ve just been waiting here for you to come home.”

“I see… But how can you possibly have been waiting for me? No one here should even know of my existence.”

“Ah, but we do all the same. Lollier, Gallatus, I and others have spoken of you often. The Scourge there wreaks a great havoc, but there is no doubt of the outcome. Deep in yourself you’ve realized this, too. Realized that you’ve needed to come back here and stay for a bit, at least to witness the end of the Scourge. Though we’ve all missed you terribly, we have always cherished you for protecting us at such a great cost.

But we both know the Scourge was born from within and will be removed from within.”

“I did see its end near. It moves forward toward its end, a giant river shall quell its fires.”

“Indeed, however, though the river is great, it will not defeat it alone. We all have our place in that fight, even you.”

The old man spoke as though he had seen it somehow, or somehow been there and seen it as it unfolded before. The young wanderer was unnerved by the certainty of his tone.

“But come now, Sire.” The old man continued. “We have much to do. People to meet and alliances to form. We mustn’t wait forever.”

Oblivious.

My quest is complete.

Only one of you has shared it, not realizing until the end it's power and it's importance.

My quest took me all over town, and you are oblivious of it. At least until the morning.

Do you want to know the power of the Shadow?

I was within arms reach of you, of your family, and you never even knew it.

In fact, if I was to have struck, the first target would have fallen silent forever never knowing the difference.

Hah.

My victory is complete.

Even if I had been noticed, I would have made a clean get away.

I hope you enjoyed it at least. I know I did.

I frickin' rock.

No, don't bow down to my awesomeness...

That is unless you want to.

That is unless the supreme glory of my uber waves knocks you over.

Oh yeah.

Today's turned out to be a pretty good day, as you might guess.

The weekend was good. I decided to go a little nuts and by a psuedo-katana. Will it cut you? Yes. Is it worth bringing to a sword fight? Only if your friends bring their wall hangers. For $90 I picked up a cheapo, but it was worth that much for just the learning that came with it (it's normally $120 unless you buy it for $160 from the stores). So yeah, that was cool. I got to pick the tsuba and the color. I got to piece it together, and though the workman's ship could have been better, it works for me (turns out we'll have to drill new holes in the handle to get the pegs in there and be reasonably sure that the handle won't slip when messing around.)

On top of that, for a scant $5 I was able to get 3 pretty decent 'pocket' knives. They're more like utility knives than anything, but they fold up under the bed if needed.

Needless to say, the sword guys where my friends that weekend.

No for the part that rocks today? I got my bow.

45lbs draw at 28". Longbow. Wood. Cedar arrows and a back worn quiver.

I rock.

That's all there is to it. I got my bow today, and am super stoked about it (not super soaked, mind you).

I haven't strung it up yet, I need to get a target and some arrows that won't cut totally through it first.

To top it all off, I sent off the information so I can get payed for Boba Fett, he fetched a total of $26 and some change counting shipping.

Then after that, applied for a job worth $50k a year. Yeah, that's right. Not that I really think I would/could get it, but it would totally rule. I mean, that would be bitchin' for my age. We'll see what they say, they say that all applications will be considered, but that's a standard dealio. I'm thinking the only two things they could concievably gripe about is the A+ (quickly remedied) and the work experience. I count I-Sci-Fi, but if we want to get nitpicky, I probably only have 9 Months instead of the 1-2 years they want.

But the possibilities would be endless with that.

Sweet.

Yes, good day.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Geeks in the Workplace.

See, now you've done it.

Time to make a billion posts:

http://positivesharing.com/2006/03/how-not-to-lead-geeks/

It's about geeks in the workplace, duh, and it's pretty good, actually.

Oh snap.

Okie dokie, my memory est bad for there not being enough sleepage, but this is a shortly awaited, much anticipated link post:

Let's start with the Star Wars Rap, because I feel like it, because it's not the East or the West side, no it's not:

It's a different source than the one I have, but looks the same.

The great and wonderful Vista patch. It makes your Windows XP machine look almost EXACTLY like Vista including the transparent windows feature:


"I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!"


Sorry, Kev, I did say better quality, how about a bigger one from Google...?

And just for kicks, a proto-type for a 3D browser


If you guys can remember anything I needed to link, let me know.

I think this was it, mostly.

And though the Vista patch talks big, I haven't noticed any negative side affects, it's mostly a skin patch, the boot screen is the windows files that change, mostly.

I did notice that it didn't change my desktop icons, but that can be monkeyed around with, everything else is pretty damn cool looking, IMHO.

I'll have to get off my big butt and post my world here shortly, lest it be lost forever.


Editors note: Props to Vermillion for catching an HTML code error, thanks!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Time's a changin'

It used to be that I cringed at the thought of having you guys read 3 posts in a day, but since most of you read them at your own leisure anyways, eat it.

This is totally third post worthy.

I have transformed my Windows XP into a Vista looking machine, for free!

I found a patch that can transform XP into Vista.

It sounds really scary at first, because it changes settings files (because it actually goes as far as to change the bootup screen and login screens), but it's really farking cool so far.

I got all of the features I wanted out of Vista and I don't even have it yet.

Awesome.

I can make my freakin' pages transparent, how cool is that? My background is the GMan, so I can have his shadowy face behind all of my apps, lol.

The theme fits too, being all darkish and the like.

But more then that, I like the smooth look that they put to it.

And the eerie sounds it uses to log on and off, sweet.

I'll stop geeking out by the end of the week, but I still have two toys to break out, like my multiple desktops tool and my 3d web browser (all just for the hell of it, really).

It's all really cool. It's been nice.

Oh, invisi-Fire Fox, where'd you go?

There you are!

Continuing policy.

In an effort to maintain a policy of mine that should be upheld with the most sincerety and un-yieldingness, I find it necessary to post a post that will leave all of you in thinking the same thing: "WTF?"

It's been nice for once, an administrative day that wasn't mucked up by some unneeded needlessness.

Y'know, there are many thoughts that come to mind when this happens, like why can't I have more? I don't like to think of myself as selfish or needy, but when all I want is more, it has to be one or the other or both. Not neither.

Today was how it is supposed to be, how things were meant to be.

How things are supposed to be between us, if that is all that is to be hoped for.

I don't deny any responsibility, we all know I would take it all if I felt like it, or none at all if I wanted it.

But it was 'nice'.

No back flips.

No venom or chaingun-machete wielding, flip-flop wearing hippies.

Just nice.

That's all it needed to be.

A message was sent this day, but am I the only one to get it?

Probably.

And what would be the point if I sent up the flare? You wouldn't appreciate it anymore then you do already.

Assuming you noticed in the first place, but I gave up that game a long time ago. I don't play it anymore, I always lose and they're my rules. You all always lose and you don't even know, don't even realize.

No justice in that.

------------------------------------------------------------

I found out today that our tourney is quite a bit different than we had thought.

At first, we were thinking 'bring your own figures of 100pts worth and lay down the pain', but now it's 'bring $25 bucks, we'll hook you up with randomness and you make due with what you've got'.

I have decided that I better not engage in anything of any chance the next 3 weeks so I can build up a sickening ammount of Karma to do my best.

But I have to actually believe in it first, lol. I do, of sorts, but still, I don't believe it builds up, it just moves about like water...

But yeah, here's the details, if you wish to accompany me and my father (at least) in throughing out some ancient past whoop ass:

DATE: Saturday, June 10th, 2006
PLACE: Game Den Valley Fair Mall
3500 S. 1700 W. West Valley City, Utah
TIME: Noon
COST: $25.00
FORMAT: Sealed, Two boosters per player. 100 pt armies.
PRIZES: 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th place winners each receive one Champions of the Force Booster Pack
The 3rd and 4th place winners each receive three Champions of the Force Booster Packs
The 2nd place winner receives five Champions of the Force Booster Packs
The 1st place winner receives eight Champions of the Force Booster Packs

Website is www.gameden.com.

It's some good information to know, I wasn't aware of the entry fee or the format.

I hope to meet and make nice with the judge, hopefully I can get something going on up north here at Ebon Root. We might set something up for the coming month or two anyways.

So there we go, did you see the size of that distraction? Now on to my detective works.

Can You Tell From Butter?

Slogan Generator

A few others:

The Too Good to Hurry Cedric Durant.

Promise Her Anything, But Give Her A_shadow. (roflmao, you know it's true)



On a much less comedic note, I pass on the following news:

Today Amilya Charlene Soresen was born at 10:29 in morning and passed on and
returned to her heavenly father at 11:50 in morning.

I'm sorry, I had to edit that a little, I had to at least pull out the phone numbers.

For those of you that don't already know, Crystal, Jed Smith's daughter, was having a baby.

It was very much pre-mature and they were trying to save her, but apparently that didn't happen.

Even if you didn't know them, I think we can all say a silent prayer for the daughter that Crystal lost and the Grand-daughter that Jed lost.

I know he would appreciate the thought.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Hurt.

I found this by happenstance.

Someone I don't remember had me read it from someone I don't know.

From there it just got touchy feely.

It's a decent poem, it speaks to me, and on the person's profile page there's a beautiful music video to a good, albeit depressing song.



Hurt
by 'Lotus Mary'



Why do you do this?
Is there something funny in the way I act?
The way I treat you?
The way I want to be treated?
To have you for a moment
Then to see fade away in the darkness
What I want?
Is to have an honest answer
From you
And just you
Don't play around like that
I may not back down
But I'm not unbreakable
And you have come so incredibly close
To shattering me
That I am scared
And I want to run
You confuse me
Till I cannot think clearly
Hurt is what I feel
Leave me be
Or help me
To understand
What it is that you want
From me
If I had my way
You'd be gone
And I wouldn't feel this way
You haven't broken me
But you've left me scarred and cracked
Like an old porcelin jar
Don't ever play with me like this
Ever again



And for the music video to Hurt for those that are interested. It's the Johnny Cash version, and the better of the two in my opinion.

Die in a Fire.

Ever had a day where you just wanted to start large fires?

Great, now I'm busted, the cops are onto me.

But in all seriousness, today hasn't been all that swell of a day.

I don't really know why.

I'm just not in the proper mood.

I didn't want to really talk to anyone over the phone (sorry).

I didn't want to do much of anything.

I got to play my game, but what's the point when I get my ass kicked mercilessly every time?

Not that I want to have a victory handed to me or anything, but what's the point, really? It's a retarded outlook to have, but I mean, c'mon. If there's a person I know with the worst luck in the world, you're reading his blog.

It's not like I caught on fire, got struck by lightning and then was hit by a truck, but that would be more like God hates you, more then bad luck. I mean, really. But if it involves probability, I destroy it, but in the bad way.

I don't know where it went wrong, because the first time I picked up dice I destroyed a guy's army in one shot.

But now? Now I destroy probability because by now, I should have won at least once. Oh wait, I did. So I'm not do for another 2 years at least.

On top of that, I'm not allowed to have anything to do with those that I would like to.

Something else I will forever lose at.

That's the suckiest part about being all wanna be sociable and the like, is that I became fond of some of you assholes.

Lol.

That's cool.

It doesn't matter.

I can be like everyone else here and bitch about it, but I'll just not, and save wasting that much of your life, okie dokie?

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Sell out.

So I finally put something up to SELL on eBay, though I'm not super confident...

We'll see how it turns out.

Maybe in the future I should just charge a flatrate for shipping, but this one I told them I'd let them know based off of their own preferences, but that's because I'm shipping worldwide...

So many options, it's a whole mess of a lot for someone who's never done it.

I mean, what should I use as a border? I mean, c'mon, it's a border!

Scary.

Anyways, I put up my duplicate of Boba Fett from the Rebel Storm.

He's probably the highest priced duplicate I have so far. He goes for $30, by himself, on average. Hopefully mine will do as well and not be a pain in the rump.

Time shall tell. 7 days and we'll know.

Until then, can only wait and see.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Dorks.

First a joke:

One morning a husband returns to his lake cabin after several
hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with
the lake, his wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a
short distance, anchors, and reads her book, enjoying the peace and
quiet. Along comes a game warden in his boat. He pulls up
alongside the woman and says,

"Good morning Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start
at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you
could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am", and he left.



MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think!



Brilliant execution.

As for the title:

Our senate has voted to seriously consider building a 500 some-odd mile fence accross mexico, or something.

Duh.

What the hell makes them think that it would help, work, or even be the slightest bit effective?

As much as I think the issue needs consideration and 'fixing', they need to approach it intelligently.

I don't know how many of you have actually considered the fact, but it's almost turning into a new civil rights moment in history.

I can't shake the fact that it's turning into an us and them mentality that is so much like so many others in our country's past.

I want to see the issue fixed, but there has to be a better, smarter, more friendly way than putting up a jynormous fence and lining it with the Army National Guard.

I mean, c'mon. That's practically a play out of the Communist handbook, and we don't want that, do we? I jest, but seriously, what really makes sense to you about that?

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Can you take me higher?

Yesterday was a pretty good day, oh, and Happy Mother's day to Dani and Erica and Tim's wife and each of your respective mothers and wives.

But yeah, the day was pretty good, getting my butt kicked by Dad at my own game again. But I think I found some combinations to at least unthrone his uber hit squad. But the problem will be that we need to find him a way to beat said squads, because at this point he has the best chance at winning, lol.

The other day I finally got my Jedi Master Luke and a Yoda, so that should help rather nicely. And, assuming factions aren't a limiting factor, I found a two man squad that could potentially throw down some pain.

But the evening was particularly good.

I went out to meet Whitney after work and had to wait for her. Not that I minded, but it was ironic because I was sure that I was going to miss her, but that's ok. 30 mins later when she was able to get out after counting out her till and everything, we raided Greywhale for about 20 mins before they closed and then managed to get out with three really good CDs:

Creed - Human Clay

Breaking Benjamin - We are not Alone

Smash Mouth - Get the Picture?

Odd little mix, but I need to go back for some Switch Foot, Staind and Foo Fighters (I think, I need the 'On your Honor' album.)

After that we went over to Wal-Mart and got last minute Mother's Day gifts.

That was fun.

It was nice. Not nearly as cool as I was planning I think, but awesome just the same.

And now for the bombshell for those not already aware:

That was our little "Hey it's been a week" thing, well, for me.

For those of you not understanding yet: We've been "going out"/dating for a week now.

Hold the presses, yes it's true.

I don't want to get more than the usual ammount of crap for it either. So swallow that all right now.

I think it's safe to talk about it now, I'm getting a little more comfortable with how things are. Well, I was by about Tuesday.

But anyways, now it's kinda public.

So there.

And happy Mother's Day. Again.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Wake up you dreamer.

I just watched a disappointing movie, I was hoping against hope it wouldn't suck as bad as everyone said it did, but of course it sucked...

It took forever for the movie to give me something I could use. It almost makes up for the 2 hrs I spent watching it.

It had to do with dreams, goals and ambitions.

Alexander's ambitions were not his army's ambitions and after years of it, at least in the movie, they killed him for it.

It brought an interesting parallel to light about all that.

An interesting point to show indeed.

I have many similar dreams.

In the movie he had his noble plan for what to do with all of the kingdoms of men.

He was conquering them, but it became a quest of freedom, to let them lead their own lives, ironic, but it was his vision.

I don't see that as being too far off from what I would have done in some instances of my life.

We all know that I'm a dreamer, just about to the point of being delusional (heh), but I would have you be free. You need have your personal responsibility, but it would be excellent for you to live your own lives free from all else.

You don't share that dream, at least some of you don't. I find it hard. On one hand you see me as the enemy, just trying to enslave you to a new master, and you are not wrong. I would have you be a slave to youself. And on the other hand you see that you are already where you think I want you to be.

This is not true.

You are a slave, you believe it is to yourself, and while I can't free you from this master, I hope that in a short span of time you will realize as I did that the path you walk is not the path you need to walk.

You say you do, but you act differently.

You feel that you are giving into your own will, and I believe you that you think it's true as I once did.

But you are trying to give up that will of yours, you are trying to force it onto someone else, someone that you think you love, that you want to love and want to love you, but I am sorrowed at the sight.

If I find it come to pass as it came to pass for me, then I will have my work cut out for me indeed.

I'm hardly going to let you follow the path that I've already tread with my own blood. That wouldn't be productive.

But should you continue down this path, you must finish it and there's no way for me to shorten it for you.

On the other side, you will realize as I have that you are just a splinter, a shadow, of your former self. You might feel regret, you might try to reclaim it, but realize that you are clinging to ideas and memories. You need to forge a new path. You need to find a new self on the other side, one that is wiser and stronger, albeit maimed and fatigued from a necessary journey.

I pray that you don't have need or want to follow that same path, but I am watchful to see what comes for you.

You think me evil, you think me a slave master, but I haven't a thought towards that in the world.

I don't care if you believe me or not, but I feel like I'm one of the few people that will try to help you no matter what, regardless of whether I've wanted to or not, I am here, I was put here for a purpose, and I intend to find that purpose and fulfill it.

This I swear.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Watch, as your head asplodes as I cause light to not only travel faster than itself, but go so fast it goes BACKWARDS!

Enjoy:

http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2544

Back to Press Releases University of Rochester
MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Sherwood (585) 273-4726, jonathan.sherwood@rochester.edu
May 11, 2006
Light's Most Exotic Trick Yet: So Fast it Goes ... Backwards?
Animations

Light propagating backwards

* "Backward" light
* Fast light
* Slow light



In the past few years, scientists have found ways to make light go both faster and slower than its usual speed limit, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have published a paper today in Science on how they've gone one step further: pushing light into reverse. As if to defy common sense, the backward-moving pulse of light travels faster than light.

Confused? You're not alone.

"I've had some of the world's experts scratching their heads over this one," says Robert Boyd, the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics at the University of Rochester. "Theory predicted that we could send light backwards, but nobody knew if the theory would hold up or even if it could be observed in laboratory conditions."

Boyd recently showed how he can slow down a pulse of light to slower than an airplane, or speed it up faster than its breakneck pace, using exotic techniques and materials. But he's now taken what was once just a mathematical oddity—negative speed—and shown it working in the real world.
Robert Boyd
Robert Boyd, professor of optics (PHOTO CREDIT: University of Rochester)
High-resolution photo for download
(please include photo credit)

"It's weird stuff," says Boyd. "We sent a pulse through an optical fiber, and before its peak even entered the fiber, it was exiting the other end. Through experiments we were able to see that the pulse inside the fiber was actually moving backward, linking the input and output pulses."

So, wouldn't Einstein shake a finger at all these strange goings-on? After all, this seems to violate Einstein's sacred tenet that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

"Einstein said information can't travel faster than light, and in this case, as with all fast-light experiments, no information is truly moving faster than light," says Boyd. "The pulse of light is shaped like a hump with a peak and long leading and trailing edges. The leading edge carries with it all the information about the pulse and enters the fiber first. By the time the peak enters the fiber, the leading edge is already well ahead, exiting. From the information in that leading edge, the fiber essentially 'reconstructs' the pulse at the far end, sending one version out the fiber, and another backward toward the beginning of the fiber."

Boyd is already working on ways to see what will happen if he can design a pulse without a leading edge. Einstein says the entire faster-than-light and reverse-light phenomena will disappear. Boyd is eager to put Einstein to the test.

So How Does Light Go Backwards?

Boyd, along with Rochester graduate students George M. Gehring and Aaron Schweinsberg, and undergraduates Christopher Barsi of Manhattan College and Natalie Kostinski of the University of Michigan, sent a burst of laser light through an optical fiber that had been laced with the element erbium. As the pulse exited the laser, it was split into two. One pulse went into the erbium fiber and the second traveled along undisturbed as a reference. The peak of the pulse emerged from the other end of the fiber before the peak entered the front of the fiber, and well ahead of the peak of the reference pulse.

But to find out if the pulse was truly traveling backward within the fiber, Boyd and his students had to cut back the fiber every few inches and re-measure the pulse peaks when they exited each pared-back section of the fiber. By arranging that data and playing it back in a time sequence, Boyd was able to depict, for the first time, that the pulse of light was moving backward within the fiber.

To understand how light's speed can be manipulated, think of a funhouse mirror that makes you look fatter. As you first walk by the mirror, you look normal, but as you pass the curved portion in the center, your reflection stretches, with the far edge seeming to leap ahead of you (the reference walker) for a moment. In the same way, a pulse of light fired through special materials moves at normal speed until it hits the substance, where it is stretched out to reach and exit the material's other side [See "fast light" animation].

Conversely, if the funhouse mirror were the kind that made you look skinny, your reflection would appear to suddenly squish together, with the leading edge of your reflection slowing as you passed the curved section. Similarly, a light pulse can be made to contract and slow inside a material, exiting the other side much later than it naturally would [See "slow light" animation].

To visualize Boyd's reverse-traveling light pulse, replace the mirror with a big-screen TV and video camera. As you may have noticed when passing such a display in an electronics store window, as you walk past the camera, your on-screen image appears on the far side of the TV. It walks toward you, passes you in the middle, and continues moving in the opposite direction until it exits the other side of the screen.

A negative-speed pulse of light acts much the same way. As the pulse enters the material, a second pulse appears on the far end of the fiber and flows backward. The reversed pulse not only propagates backward, but it releases a forward pulse out the far end of the fiber. In this way, the pulse that enters the front of the fiber appears out the end almost instantly, apparently traveling faster than the regular speed of light. To use the TV analogy again—it's as if you walked by the shop window, saw your image stepping toward you from the opposite edge of the TV screen, and that TV image of you created a clone at that far edge, walking in the same direction as you, several paces ahead [See "backward light" animation].

"I know this all sounds weird, but this is the way the world works," says Boyd.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University's environment gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and Schools of Medicine and Nursing.
PR 2544, MS 983




Victory is mine! Eat that science! Eat that Lindsey! Eat that 'constant' speed of light!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

What? Retreat in our moment of triumph?

I have you now.

And I'm hoping that things will work out.

I really want to be able to go to the tourney on the 10th, that would be swell. After all, as long as I'm not playing my dad, I win, and I have enough of the figs that I could do just about anything.

I'm excited and I'm not even sure that I can make it.

And I got more today, like 3 weeks over due. Sheesh.

So that's cool.

BTW, I haven't forgotten, but I'm almost nearly done with my 'short' story about my world.

Which is a nice practice and all, but I'm finding it not all that I imagined. I didn't get very much of the actual world in there, I think. There's only been a handful of features and a few more that were alluded to.

The beautiful thing is that as per standard I'm the one who will get all of it and most of you will only get some of it.

And that might even make it here by tomorrow, but as for now, I need to try to change the playlists and use my spar time to construct a 100 pt. army that pleases me. I've found that I might make a handful to choose from, depending on what ends up happening.

Very nifty stuff. It should prove interesting, but I'm thinking that the imperials have my heart right now. They have the highest number of figures that would kick major butt, that and the Fringers, because if they let the rules flow normally, I can bring a larger force than the rules allow upfront :-p.

We shall see.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Well... That was wierd...

I think the swirling hell of the last couple of days is coming to an end.

Today was very necessary, unfortunately.

I think I'm back in the drivers seat now.

That's good.

Note to self: Find out about your world.

I can't actually believe it, I was asked pointed questions about my world and didn't have an answer... So wierd...

I mean, I know places of it, but I've never had to know such details about it ever, just what color the sky is. And I don't know what the answer to that is, either. I usually just come up with something witty or wierd...

But I am looking now, searching and the like, we'll see what I discover. I plan to share it.

It's a fantastic place so far.

Not that I plan many visitors.



So I found out a little bit about what's going on with Ali today.

I can sort of see why she's a bit stressed out, but she's definately not got the best mechanism for it.

I can see where I haven't helped, but I still don't appreciate it when people take their troubles out on those around them. Your own personal problems should, wherever possible, be sepperate from other issues and goings on.

Compartmentalizing, was how it was put to me before.

Being able to box up and set aside that which isn't going to help or contribute or even be applicable to the situation at hand.

As much as you might think the boxes are limiting, I don't find that mixing all of my colors together BEFORE I paint to be useful. With these colors, the world is drawn, but I still see them in their uniqueness.

Anyways.

I think I shall be going to work in the morning, I mainly needed to post my understanding, and my searching.

I understand you a little better now, and I am sorry for what happened.

And I am searching myself a little deeper now and will fill you all in on the crazy-assed wilderness that I find.

I mean, c'mon, this is going to be nuts.

And I so have needed an adventure.

Thanks Heather:

My Princess
Love Letters from Your King
By: Sheri Rose Shepherd

My Princess...
Triumph Through Trials

I see you when you are in the garden of grief, My princess. I hear your cry for help in the dark hours of the night. I Myself cried out in the garden the night I was betrayed. In My suffering I ask My Father for another way--a less painful way. Yet I trusted His will and purpose for My life and knew the ultimate victory was at the cross. Just as olives must be crushed to make oil, I poured out My life as a love offering for you. Don't ever doubt that I am with you and that I long to take you to a place of comfort, peace, and victory. Even when you cannot see Me from where you are, I am working on your behalf. Give to Me the crushing weight of your circumstances, and come to Me in prayer. When it is time to leave the garden, I will walk with you across the valley and straight to the cross-- where your trials will be transformed into triumph.
Love,
Your Savior and your Victor


For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when our endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
James 1:3-4





Something to think about, anyways.

I just wanted to add that I found out what was killing me, and I was right to assume initially that it WASN'T my fault.

I have some sort of bug that found the best way to kill me.

I don't deal with acids very well because I'm rarely found in a position of super stress where I have acid reflux and the like (especially because I'd rather burn the world to a cinder than be stressed out.)

Well this bug, whatever it is, ramped up acid to the point that I didn't know what to do, it was litterally attacking my innards to hellacious levels that I could barely manage, which was not very cool.

Well this morning, sparing greusome details, I litterally exploded. Pretty much.

It's a rather good thing that I stayed home, lest I have been doomed anyways.

I'm still fighting it, but I shall be making a full recovery, fortuneately (or unfortuneately for you guys, heh).

Now that we all care about that in the first place, I shall be doing other things now.

Monday, May 08, 2006

I'm not dead yet.

Feeling a bit better.

I'm being finagled into something.

Good luck finding that spelling...

Anyways. Not that it's a bad thing, but I'm not a big traveler, and 20 million hours on a bus is not swell, by myself.

Sheesh.

So yeah, they better really love me before I make the trip, assuming I do. Or else.

I think I'm better, I at least gave myself, something to digest, other than myself.

Which is a plus.

Don't worry, you're getting the raw thoughts, remember? Most of you probably wouldn't even be able to tell in person.

Exciting day, of sorts. I'll post again later, I'm sure.

Bloody hell...

I figure at this rate I won't make forty.

By the end of the hour I'll have an ulcer and by the end of the week I'll have grey hairs.

I'm overreacting, but only a bit. It's unfair to mention it because it will stress out one of my readers.

It's not entirely about that, but it's partially there.

I'm damaged, I need recouperation.

Please.

Like you couldn't possibly imagine...

It's ok, I breath slowly and it isn't as bad. Drink, eat tums, and be Mary. All in a days work.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

'Ello there, and just what are you doing there?

Here's an interesting thing. Thoughtfulness and calm, with a hint of a darker energy.

I can't quite place it.

My cynicism?

The thought that things aren't going to go as I want them to?

I really have no idea.

An interesting thing indeed.

Wouldn't you know it, though, that I completed everything that I wanted to yesterday?

I played my SWs Minis game for about 5 hrs. While that could have gone better, more exciting anyways, I did actually play until I was sick of it, litterally.

After about 4 straight games, I was tired and irritable.

Then we were 45 mins late returning home for my next event, a movie night with the friends of my age. It pretty much involved half of them, heh.

Anyways. After 23 mins of fighting with the DVD player, got that to work while finding out that someone who I hadn't invited was showing up.

Not that I'm necessarily complaining, things turned out fine, but there are a few things you don't do out of politeness and ettiquette. That's one of them, you could at least let them know that you invited someone, sheesh.

So we only ended up watching one of the movies, even though the plan was to watch two. But that's fine, it wasn't all a waste. Apparently the highlight of Alien is that Jonsie survives. He's obviously the star of the entire movie.

Then everyone departed, for the most part.

So the evening, the day entirely, actually, was exactly as was planned a week ago. There was a bonus. But I'm keeping that to myself for the time being.

As for today, it's where everything was paid for.

I'm sorry, but I didn't have a huge ammount of fun today.

I decided that I should have picked an Officer type class, but instead, I'm a chaingun wielding Vulcan.

But at least I have my books and can go over my own campaign.

I love this one that I'm in right now, it's "Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds" and contains the homeworld of those large, metal, Ewoks.

Just for you, Porter.

Then I managed to get the Core Rulebook of of eBay for half price which should be here this week, I'd imagine.

The full set of PC rules. That'll be nice.

Anyways, I need to install a really cool set of programs, tinker with it and read my book some more.

You guys should have fun to.

Also, a special shout out to Heather, again, for helping to make yesterday something good for me. I'm sorry that your day wasn't great, but my philosophy holds a special place for that, and your sacrifice was not in vain.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Rationality: Return to your center.

The following is from http://yudkowsky.net/

It's an interesting thing, much to teach, much to listen to. Much I have heard of it before, not in it's context, but in it's truth. Visit the site, there are other articles to read that will have a learning affect as well.

Beyond anything, don't take it as leading you into anything, you alone will do that yourself.



Twelve Virtues of Rationality
©2006 by Eliezer Yudkowsky.



The first virtue is curiosity. Curiosity opens the gate to the Art and sustains the Art. Curiosity requires both that you be ignorant, and that you desire to relinquish your ignorance. If in your heart you believe you already know, or if in your heart you do not desire to know, there is no purpose to which you can employ your Art. The glory of glorious mystery is to be destroyed, after which it ceases to be mystery. Be wary of those who speak of being open-minded and modestly confess their ignorance. There is a time to confess your ignorance and a time to relinquish your ignorance.



The second virtue is relinquishment. P. C. Hodgell said: "That which can be destroyed by the truth should be." Do not flinch from experiences that might destroy your beliefs. The thought you cannot think controls you more than thoughts you speak aloud. Submit yourself to ordeals and test yourself in fire. Relinquish the emotion which rests upon a mistaken belief, and seek to feel fully that emotion which fits the facts. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is hot, and it is cool, the Way opposes your fear. If the iron approaches your face, and you believe it is cool, and it is hot, the Way opposes your calm. Evaluate your beliefs first and then arrive at your emotions. Let yourself say: "If the iron is hot, I desire to believe it is hot, and if it is cool, I desire to believe it is cool." Beware lest you become attached to beliefs you may not want.



The third virtue is lightness. Let the winds of evidence blow you about as though you are a leaf, with no direction of your own. Beware lest you fight a rearguard retreat against the evidence, grudgingly conceding each foot of ground only when forced, feeling cheated. Surrender to the truth as quickly as you can. Do this the instant you realize what you are resisting; the instant you can see from which quarter the winds of evidence are blowing against you. Be faithless to your cause and betray it to a stronger enemy. If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot make a true map of a city by sitting in your bedroom with your eyes shut and drawing lines upon paper according to impulse. You must walk through the city and draw lines on paper that correspond what you see. If, seeing the city unclearly, you think that you can shift a line just a little to the right, just a little to the left, according to your caprice, this is just the same mistake.



The fourth virtue is evenness. One who wishes to believe says, "Does the evidence permit me to believe?" One who wishes to disbelieve asks, "Does the evidence force me to believe?" Beware lest you place huge burdens of proof only on propositions you dislike, and then defend yourself by saying: "But it is good to be skeptical." If you attend only to favorable evidence, picking and choosing from your gathered data, then the more data you gather, the less you know. If you are selective about which arguments you inspect for flaws, or how hard you inspect for flaws, then every flaw you learn how to detect makes you that much stupider. If you first write at the bottom of a sheet of paper, "And therefore, the sky is green!", it does not matter what arguments you write above it afterward; the conclusion is already written, and it is already correct or already wrong. To be clever in argument is not rationality but rationalization. Intelligence, to be useful, must be used for something other than defeating itself. Listen to hypotheses as they plead their cases before you, but remember that you are not a hypothesis, you are the judge. Therefore do not seek to argue for one side or another, for if you knew your destination, you would already be there.



The fifth virtue is argument. Those who are about to fail must first prevent their friends from helping them. Those who smile wisely and say: "I will not argue," remove themselves from help, and withdraw from the communal effort. In argument strive for exact honesty, for the sake of others and also yourself: The part of yourself that distorts what you say to others also distorts your own thoughts. Do not believe you do others a favor if you accept their arguments; the favor is to you. Do not think that fairness to all sides means balancing yourself evenly between positions; truth is not handed out in equal portions before the start of a debate. You cannot move forward on factual questions by fighting with fists or insults. Seek a test that lets reality judge between you.



The sixth virtue is empiricism. The roots of knowledge are in observation and its fruit is prediction. What tree grows without roots? What tree nourishes us without fruit? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? One says, "Yes it does, for it makes vibrations in the air." Another says, "No it does not, for there is no auditory processing in any brain." Though they argue, one saying "Yes", and one saying "No", the two do not anticipate any different experience of the forest. Do not ask which beliefs to profess, but which experiences to anticipate. Always know which difference of experience you argue about. Do not let the argument wander and become about something else, such as someone's virtue as a rationalist. Jerry Cleaver said: "What does you in is not failure to apply some high-level, intricate, complicated technique. It's overlooking the basics. Not keeping your eye on the ball." Do not be blinded by words. When words are subtracted, anticipation remains.



The seventh virtue is simplicity. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Simplicity is virtuous in belief, design, planning, and justification. When you profess a huge belief with many details, each additional detail is another chance for the belief to be wrong. Each specification adds to your burden; if you can lighten your burden you must do so. There is no straw that lacks the power to break your back. Of artifacts it is said: The most reliable gear is the one that is designed out of the machine. Of plans: A tangled web breaks. A chain of a thousand links will arrive at a correct conclusion if every step is correct, but if one step is wrong it may carry you anywhere. In mathematics a mountain of good deeds cannot atone for a single sin. Therefore, be careful on every step.



The eighth virtue is humility. To be humble is to take specific actions in anticipation of your own errors. To confess your fallibility and then do nothing about it is not humble; it is boasting of your modesty. Who is most humble? The one who most skillfully prepares for the deepest and most catastrophic errors in his own beliefs and plans. Because this world contains many whose grasp of rationality is abysmal, beginning students of rationality win arguments and acquire an exaggerated view of their own abilities. But it is useless to be superior: Nature is not grading on a curve. The best physicist in ancient Greece could not calculate the path of a falling apple. There is no guarantee that adequacy is possible given your hardest effort; therefore spare no thought for whether others are doing worse. If you compare yourself to others you will not see the biases that all humans share. To be human is to make ten thousand errors. No one in this world achieves perfection.



The ninth virtue is perfectionism. The more errors you correct in yourself, the more you notice. As your mind becomes more silent, you hear more noise. When you notice an error in yourself, this signals your readiness to seek advancement to the next level. If you tolerate the error rather than correcting it, you will not advance to the next level and you will not gain the skill to notice new errors. In every art, if you do not seek perfection you will halt before taking your first steps. If perfection is impossible that is no excuse for not trying. Hold yourself to the highest standard you can imagine, and look for one still higher. Do not be content with the answer that is almost right; seek one that is exactly right.



The tenth virtue is precision. One comes and says: The quantity is between 1 and 100. Another says: the quantity is between 40 and 50. If the quantity is 42 they are both correct, but the second prediction was more useful and exposed itself to a stricter test. What is true of one apple may not be true of another apple; thus more can be said about a single apple than about all the apples in the world. The narrowest statements slice deepest, the cutting edge of the blade. As with the map, so too with the art of mapmaking: The Way is a precise Art. Do not walk to the truth, but dance. On each and every step of that dance your foot comes down in exactly the right spot. Each piece of evidence shifts your beliefs by exactly the right amount, neither more nor less. What is exactly the right amount? To calculate this you must study probability theory. Even if you cannot do the math, knowing that the math exists tells you that the dance step is precise and has no room in it for your whims.



The eleventh virtue is scholarship. Study many sciences and absorb their power as your own. Each field that you consume makes you larger. If you swallow enough sciences the gaps between them will diminish and your knowledge will become a unified whole. If you are gluttonous you will become vaster than mountains. It is especially important to eat math and science which impinges upon rationality: Evolutionary psychology, heuristics and biases, social psychology, probability theory, decision theory. But these cannot be the only fields you study. The Art must have a purpose other than itself, or it collapses into infinite recursion.



Before these eleven virtues is a virtue which is nameless.



Miyamoto Musashi wrote, in The Book of Five Rings:



"The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. More than anything, you must be thinking of carrying your movement through to cutting him."



Every step of your reasoning must cut through to the correct answer in the same movement. More than anything, you must think of carrying your map through to reflecting the territory.



If you fail to achieve a correct answer, it is futile to protest that you acted with propriety.



How can you improve your conception of rationality? Not by saying to yourself, "It is my duty to be rational." By this you only enshrine your mistaken conception. Perhaps your conception of rationality is that it is rational to believe the words of the Great Teacher, and the Great Teacher says, "The sky is green," and you look up at the sky and see blue. If you think: "It may look like the sky is blue, but rationality is to believe the words of the Great Teacher," you lose a chance to discover your mistake.



Do not ask whether it is "the Way" to do this or that. Ask only whether the sky is blue or green. If you speak overmuch of the Way you will not attain it.



You may try to name the highest principle with names such as "the map that reflects the territory" or "experience of success and failure" or "Bayesian decision theory". But perhaps you describe incorrectly the nameless virtue. How will you discover your mistake? Not by comparing your description to itself, but by comparing it to that which you did not name.



If for many years you practice the techniques and submit yourself to strict constraints, it may be that you will glimpse the center. Then you will see how all techniques are one technique, and you will move correctly without feeling constrained. Musashi wrote: "When you appreciate the power of nature, knowing the rhythm of any situation, you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally. All this is the Way of the Void."



These then are twelve virtues of rationality:



Curiosity, relinquishment, lightness, evenness, argument, empiricism, simplicity, humility, perfectionism, precision, scholarship, and the void.







In myself, I'm learning to let go.

Shut up about the dancing already :-p

If there's something that I need to ditch and lose, it's my own stubbornness. Good freakin' luck.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

What a stupid day.

No, that's pretty much it.

Arguing about nothing.

Fighting about nothing.

Telling everything for nothing.

Things are going to change, and I don't know. Fear the unknown, right?

That isn't like me.

I haven't been like me lately.

Corrected by a 17 year old, what the hell...?

Why can't I listen to my own wisdom? I have to hear it from someone that I shared it with?

Tomorrow is a new day, right?

Don't tell me to just let things lie, that won't happen, never does/has/will work.

It will pass, but it needs to pass, not be dropped and forgotten.

I have it forever, you know.

I will always have that moment, to know forever when things changed, and likely not for the better.

And if they do get better, if hopes are fulfilled...? What then? Shall I feel eternally selfish and greedy for it?

I get what I want, but at what cost?

Nothing will change, save the typical awkwardness as always is present and the slow fading away.

It will pass, as all things do, and I will fade, again A_Shadow lost for time.

Don't stop me, don't try anymore then I should try to change you.

Everything will pass and nothing matters until the end, when you will have to cache in your chips, win or lose.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

404ed

I should have made that mission compossible, or unpossible... That's what I get for being tired.

I was going to post something worthy of reading, but someone called me and now I can't think for the life of me what it was.

Well... Have fun, and junk.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Mission Impossible.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read this blog without emotion. Read this blog without a laugh or a smile, an elevated heartbeat, or a lack there of.

This is your mission:

It's a little odd to me, the movies we watch sometimes.

Impossible things, but tonight it reminded me of my own impossible missions.

I'm no where near that cool, no super spy gadgets, no babe waiting for me at home, wondering what's going on. At least not yet, heh.

My missions never need the high-tech gadgets at my disposal. Not in the least. It spices things up, sure, makes things "sexy", but so?

My only weapon, my only ally is my brain. And I use it 8 hours a day at work, testing the structual integrity of the desks.

Yes, it's getting that bad.

Anyways...

I'm running my impossible scenarios right now. How many of you know them? How many of you sense them?

Not many, I'm sure.

This very moment, I'm on the verge of a breakthrough, or another failure, who knows how it will end? I would like to guess, but there are two somewhat equally plausible outcomes.

"Secret, agent, man!"

Anyways.

I'll make it through the week, I hope.

My other mission impossible, should I choose to accept it, is to get more than 4 hours of sleep at least once before Saturday. That would be somewhat beneficial.

Also, for all ye nerds, make ye way down to ye olde Ebon Root in Layton.

I'll be 'running' a Star Wars miniatures event during the day, you can come to learn, collect, and more!

At least come because I'm cool, star wars is cool, nerds are sexy and you will be nearly garaunteed to shake Vader's hand.

I shit you not. The 501st Alpine Garrison is supposed to be there. Movie ready armor and props, how cool is that?

That's your side mission/bonus objective, should you accept it.

Now I know you've failed the mission.

You might not have laughed at the dry humor, but to chance meeting the Dark Lord? You just got excited.

This blog will self-destruct in...

5...

4...

3...

2...

*popsputtercoughsmokeglaven*