Nevermind

I'm still in the Beta phase of my website but I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Recreating a blog like site while also having a wider variety of content is much nicer this way. I've sacrificed individual blog pages in favor of in-page links. My bare bones RSS feed uses these links. I figured if HaloScan can only offer a separate page for comments, I might as well not bother with figuring out how to add writing separate blog pages to my preliminary system of AppleScripting the whole thing. The in-page link is so much easier.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing for the past month. I've been generally negligent with this poor site for various reasons. I've found it difficult to muster a consistent rage about politics. Certainly there's plenty there to get enraged about, but I don't want to waste (all of) my time with it. I've got other things to do. I'm sure that's how "they" like it, but oh well. I'll still indulge in a little social outrage every now and again, I just can't think of it as a theme.

The new blog, called Nevermind, is currently a bit too tech focused, but that's only because that's most of what I've been dealing with recently. Most of the early stuff was me griping about setting the site up. I guess it's a hobbyist's blog mixed with opinion, review, and resources. I can't imagine who might be interested. Who else is using AppleScript to simulate a blog on their iDisk? I do deal with a lot of other stuff too, though. CSS, HTML, AppleScript for other things, music, books, the printing industry, design, whatever really. I've got eclectic tastes. I figure I might as well explore them on my site to pad for content ;).

I might still maintain this blog, but it won't be much, and since I've never really embraced it throughout, it is likely to end up getting deleted. If so, though, I will also likely transfer all of my posts here to my site.

Autism & Animal Consciousness

In her new book written with Catherine Johnson, Animals in Translation (NYTimes), Dr Temple Grandin, an animal behavior expert and inventor of the squeeze machine, uses her experiences with autism to explore the intricacies of animal behavior. She argues that animals do have consciousness, that language is not a prerequisite and other theories that bring fascinating insight into both animal and human behavior.

Though apparently controversial, her theory that animals are conscious beings has been put forth by other reputable authorities and would probably seem excruciatingly obvious to pet owners. Nonetheless, there is plenty of debate on the subject, arguments for and arguments against.

Grandin is known for her designs and prescriptions for more humane animal slaughter and general care. She is currently doing consultation work for McDonalds, Wendy's and other fast food chains in designing auditing formulae (pdf) for slaughterhouses. She also teaches animal science at Colorado State University.

She was first brought to the spotlight in Oliver Sacks's book, An Anthropologist on Mars, a phrase Grandin used to describe how she felt about herself. She also has written two other books, Emergence: Labeled Autistic (with Margaret M. Scariano) and Thinking in Pictures, about living with autism.

Some links on Autism:
Autism: an Overview
Autism
The Genetics of Autism
Unraveling Autism

Some more animal consciousness links:
Nature: Inside the Animal Mind
Animal Consciousness as a Test Case of Cognitive Science (pdf)
Does consciousness exist in animals?
Dimensions of Consciousness (pdf)
Animal Pain (pdf)
Consciousness in Science - Animal Consciousness

Three Things

Saw Julie, Interrupted's version of this and thought I'd give it a try. It was a lot harder than I thought. I figure I need some introspection; I haven't done it in a while.

3 names you go by:
1. Joseph
2. Joseph Briggs
3. Mr Joseph Alan Briggs

3 screen names you have:
1. effwerd
2. jormundgand23
3. Joseph Briggs

3 things you like about yourself:
1. My dog
2. My cat
3. I treat them well

3 things you hate/dislike about yourself:
1. My brain is slowing down
2. My body is falling apart
3. I'm way too dependent on electricity

3 parts of your heritage:
1. Korean
2. Irish
3. New Jersey

3 things that scare you:
1. The thought of my pets dying
2. Realizing that I am afraid of losing my job
3. The US Justice System

3 of your everyday essentials:
1. Shower
2. Coffee
3. Leaving snarky comments littered across the internet

3 things you're wearing right now:
1. Blue Jeans
2. Waffle-textured Shirt
3. Black bra and blue velvet thong! (no, wait...)

3 of your favorite bands/artists (today):
1. Andy Goldsworthy
2. Smoosh
3. Audiot

3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. Bodies - Drowning Pool (theme song for US Troops in Iraq)
2. Massive Cure - Smoosh (the exact opposite of the above song)
3. Young'n - Fabolous (I wanted the longer version dammit)
(iTunes told me these so it must be true)

3 new things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. Query a publisher for a book proposal
2. Figure out how to get josephbriggs.com working
3. Establish a retirement account

3 things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
1. Intelligence
2. Companionship
3. Support

2 truths and a lie:(no particular order to keep ya guessing)
1. I liked the movie Josie & the Pussycats
2. I have a warrant out for my arrest
3. I am not an asshole

3 physical things about a love interest that appeal:
1. Her size (in contrast to her strength)
2. The genetic/biochemical makeup of her brain (that makes her so intriguing)
3. Her mother

3 things you just can't do:
1. Understand religious folk
2. Accept that this is the best humanity has accomplished in 150,000 years
3. Find a way off this planet

3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. Evolutionary Psychology
2. Constitutional Law
3. Global Economics

3 things you want to do really badly right now:
1. Get more coffee
2. Start an internationally funded cable/satellite 24 hour television broadcasting network that only repeats the day's news twice a day and for the rest of the day it deals with substantive documentaries and discourse covering a broad range of human experience, including history, art, politics and political philosophy, legal systems, science, et cetera.
3. Sleep for 18 months

3 careers you're considering:
1. Writer
2. Ruler of the World
3. Crime

3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Barcelona
2. Athens
3. Mount Kilimanjaro

3 kids names (either boy or girl):
1. Ember
2. Sarah
3. Franklin

3 things you want to do before you die:
1. Live
2. Travel
3. Learn German

(I honestly don't have three friends on the internet so I have omitted the last 3 things)

Franklin Reincarnate

Okay, I've actually got my new 20" iMac G5 yesterday but I spent all of last night playing with it. It took about 15 minutes to get everything out of the box and setup, then I spent the next two hours messing around trying to make the computer fail. Everything worked fine until I decided to go to bed. I put the computer to sleep and started to retire, then decided to check how quickly the computer would wake up. That's when the wireless keyboard and mouse went out. I couldn't get them back online so I had to use my wired keyboard and mouse from the old Mac to put the computer to sleep.

Anyway I went onto Apple's Discussion forum for the iMac G5 and eventually found a solution that worked. Now, I just have the minor whine problem that many others are experiencing. It's somewhat annoying but I think I can deal with it until Apple gets a fix. If they don't I'm pretty sure my three year protection program should cover any replacement if it comes to that. Hopefully.

Regardless of these minor flaws, the computer is absolutely beautiful. The external speakers I got from Michelle fit so much better with this computer than the old one. My next peripheral purchase will be a digital camera so I will eventually have pictures posted on my (decrepit) website.

I've pushed its facilities as much as I can with the stock applications and I've only found one glitch with iTunes but found a simple workaround. I started importing a CD and before the app would naturally start playing the first track, I pressed the issue and double-clicked the song. This made the everything bad. The import slowed down and the tracks constantly skipped. The workaround was to just leave it alone after clicking Import. This made importing faster and no skipping. Other than that, iTunes Visualizer works great. Full screen was flawless - fast and smooth. There is one other small problem with AddressBook where Bluetooth (the wireless tech) drops out temporarily. But it only happens in AB so it's no big deal since I hardly ever access AB directly.

The biggest problem has been my cat. He was used to sitting atop the old gumdrop iMac. He's a gigantic cat but still managed to perch without difficulty. So after I set up the new Mac, he was compelled to sniff it, walk behind it and try to get up on the top of it, which is only two inches thick. He was skittish enough not to get any further than his two front paws whereupon he was greeted with admonition.

Now if I can only figure out how to get all of my data off my old broken iMac I'll be set.

One More Day

Amazingly, it appears I will be getting my new 20" iMac G5 (I just love typing that) before I get my old iMac back from the shop. It will be here tomorrow. Of course, I'll be at work when it arrives but at least I'll have the weekend to play with it.

I've given my blog a new name, Null & Void: The Modern Social Contract. I'm not sure about the subhead. I was hoping to add a computer science/mathematical slant to it more than the socio-political slant. Oh well.

Robotica

Honda has upgraded Asimo. They've added jogging, autonomous continuous movement, some new joint designs, and better intelligence, expanding the range of humanoid robots, which includes, the Qrio from Sony, Isamu, and Toyota's offering that entered the fray earlier this year (previously discussed).

These robots present a far more finished appearance than their research and development kin, like Kismet, Cog, or Lucy (pdf) a robot that can tell the difference between an apple and a bananna (also previously discussed). And let's not forget the Shadow Biped or the offerings from Sarcos.

They present a more civil demeanor than their military kin, like the Talon from Foster-Miller, or the Packbot from iRobot. Military robotics covers attack theory, recruitment and training, and, of course, actual combat.

The differences between the myriad robot design paradigms has not escaped comparison and analysis. When you consider American fare such as a recently discussed home security robot, or even the Roomba, you can see a distinct lack of anthropomorphization or any attempt at simulating a human friendly form. While the Japanese have wholly embraced the fun and practicality of such design. Are Americans possibly afraid of the cliché prognostications from bad scifi?

If you can't wait to see what the future of robotics holds, you can always build your own or just buy a toy, like Robosapien.

Get a Fucking Blog

So I did a search for "plastic" to see if my blog would come up. I doubted it would since it's such a common multipurpose term. But what did come up was a community blog also called Plastic (which means I will soon change the name of my blog again). It looked interesting so I joined. I submitted my recent blog entry to see what kind of reaction I'd get. I admit, I knew it was a flawed piece that had no links, no particular relevance, and was fraught with trite sentimentality and philosophy but I figured this would make for a great test submission. And it turned out to be quite informative. "Get a fucking blog," is the most common comment, though one commenter did mention that my submission would probably break the record for that comment *fingers crossed*. (I didn't realize I was being told this at first since they used the initials GAFB. I caught on quickly though.)

It's hard to judge because it was such a flawed submission, but it seems that many revel in the opportunity to degrade submissions. I'm happy to have provided them with ample fodder. I received very little constructive criticism, the best mentioned a name of someone related to the issue I was addressing. One guy even suggested that the submission should be run! Eeek. That is not what I wanted. A few mentioned that it would make for interesting discussion, which is what I thought of the piece. Only one person was dead on: a comment in search of a story, which is really what it is, which is why it was a blog post.

It will be interesting to see how they will react to whatever I can come up with when I get my computer back and have the time and resources to put together a real post.

In the interim, I can only hope I can someday afford the repairs I need.

Secular Spirituality

With the recent deluge of political discussion focused on religion and the demonization of secularists, I felt it necessary to point out that secularism and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. Religion doesn't hold a monopoly on spirituality since spirituality is the precursor to religion not a product of it.

I am secular, which means I don't believe in gods, superbeings, or aliens, hyperdimensional or otherwise, involved in the creation and guidance of the universe, Earth, or humanity. I don't believe humans hold any special role or purpose in some grand scheme, and I don't believe humans possess any special metaphysical element, like a soul, that differentiates us from any other creature in the universe.

For me, spirituality is the sense that what we call the universe is a singular event that has, for all intents and purposes, already happened. I see the universe as a tiny puff of energy in an infinite void and from this perspective, humans are indistinguishable - the difference between me and, say, the Horsehead Nebula is meaningless. It is the ability to see beyond the arbitrary distinctions we use to define ourselves and realize it's the very lack of distinction that drives this sense of higher order. We are merely the universe experiencing itself. Or more precisely, we are the memories of the universe experiencing itself. This is what we all feel and interpret as spirituality.

Unfortunately, this sense is ambiguous and easily confused. It's elusive and difficult to articulate. Worst of all, it's held in fanatical esteem as the most defining characteristic of being human. As a consequence, we have obsessed over codifying the absolute guaranteed truth as to why we feel the way we do about our relationship to the universe.

We've spent many thousands of years and have developed complex and intricate religious models to explain the cosmos but the details have always been superfluous, born of our human desire to decorate. It's a patina on the sheen of spirituality that lends character and charm. Though this may make it more valuable to some, I prefer the polished core. Life is more precious without an afterlife than with one. Life has more meaning without purpose than with it. Personal freedoms and responsibilities are more essential without a god than with one.

This sense of spirituality gives rise to our sense of morals, which acts as a bridge between spirituality and behavior. And behavior determines survivability so there is a real biological aspect to spirituality that grounds this sense in practical application. No gods are required, no soul, no convoluted mysticism. Secularism can provide noble values without religion as a broker between spirituality and morals.

Still Broke

Me and the computer that is. Poor me. Poor Franklin. I can't seem to muster 300 bucks. I suck.

Sad Mac

I know you're all wondering why I haven't been posting (;)), especially about the election results. My iMac has died. Poor Franklin. He needs a new power supply board so it's dead until I can save up about 300 bucks. Until then I can only post while at work (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone).

Crossfire Backfires

Crossfire Video of Jon Stewart Calmly Demolishing Tucker & Beglia
(18.2MB MPEG-4)

What Crossfire thought they were going to get was probably an amiable Jon Stewart on to promote the Daily Show's new book, America The Book, and the Daily Show itself. I'm sure Tucker & Beglia thought they were going to have a fun time tossing Stewart some easy meat for Daily Show type insights but Stewart came in with a different agenda and stuck to it.

Stewart had stated his opinion of Crossfire on Now with Bill Moyers:

MOYERS: Which is funnier? CROSSFIRE or HARDBALL?

STEWART: CROSSFIRE or HARDBALL? Which is funnier? Which is more soul-crushing, do you mean? Both are equally dispiriting in their… you know, the whole idea that political discourse has degenerated into shows that have to be entitled CROSSFIRE and HARDBALL. And you know, "I'm Gonna Beat Your Ass" or whatever they're calling them these days is mind-boggling.

CROSSFIRE, especially, is completely an apropos name. It's what innocent bystanders are caught in when gangs are fighting. And it just boggles my mind that that's given a half hour, an hour a day to… I don't understand how issues can be dissected from the left and from the right as though… even cartoon characters have more than left and right. They have up and down.

I mean, how... it's so two-dimensional to think that any analysis can come from, "It's the left and it's the right and well, we've had that discussion and that's done."

Man that he is, Stewart thought it appropriate to go on Crossfire and, in the spirit of fairness, confront them. Tucker & Beglia obviously weren't prepared for this. They hyped the segment with some line about having photos of the Supreme Court Justices nude. What they got instead was Jon Stewart stripped of his Daily Show persona and present as a conscientious citizen concerned for our democracy and the media's failure to live up to its promise.

I felt that that wasn't fair and I should come here and tell you that I don't -- it's not so much that [Crossfire is] bad, as it's hurting America.

See, the thing is, we need your help. Right now, you're helping the politicians and the corporations. And we're left out there to mow our lawns.

No, no, no, you're not too rough on them. You're part of their strategies. You are partisan, what do you call it, hacks.

Certainly, by this time, Tucker & Beglia had realized that they were in for a real fight and they persisted in trying to cut Stewart off and deflect him back into a more agreeable dialog.

Tucker is visibly red in the video. Beglia has some valiant attempts at trying to temper the discussion and appeal to Stewart's distress but Tucker is at a complete loss. He tries to fight back with increasingly lame red herrings but Stewart would have none of it. At first Tucker tried to impugn Stewart on his softball handling of Kerry on the Daily Show but Stewart countered the argument easily enough:

If you want to compare your show to a comedy show, you're more than welcome to.

If your idea of confronting me is that I don't ask hard-hitting enough news questions, we're in bad shape, fellows.

You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls.

Tucker repeatedly made his attacks poorly-veiled ad hominems...

You had Jon Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?

Well, I'm just saying, there's no reason for you -- when you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.

... which Stewart handled calmly though he was still willing to shoot back with his own.

STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one.

The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.

Here, Tucker starts to lose it and he tries to again attack Jon personally rather than the substance of what he had been saying.

CARLSON: What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating. Do you like lecture people like this or do you come over to their house and sit and lecture them; they're not doing the right thing, that they're missing their opportunities, evading their responsibilities?

STEWART: If I think they are.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: I wouldn't want to eat with you, man. That's horrible.

STEWART: I know. And you won't.

Tucker & Beglia probably had the producers screaming in their ear pieces to get the show back on script.

BEGALA: We did promise naked pictures of the Supreme Court justices.

CARLSON: Yes, we did. Let's get to those.

BEGALA: They're in this book, which is a very funny book.

STEWART: Why can't we just talk -- please, I beg of you guys, please.

These were not specious pleas from Stewart for real discussion. The show broke for commercials and upon return, Stewart would not relent.

CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.

We're talking to Jon Stewart, who was just lecturing us on our moral inferiority.

Jon, you're bumming us out. Tell us, what do you think about the Bill O'Reilly vibrator story?

STEWART: I'm sorry. I don't.

CARLSON: Oh, OK.

STEWART: What do you think?

BEGALA: Let me change the subject.

STEWART: Where's your moral outrage on this?

CARLSON: I don't have any.

STEWART: I know.

And further...

CARLSON: I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion.

CARLSON: OK, up next, Jon Stewart goes one on one with his fans...

STEWART: You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.

It is apt to our times that it takes a jester like Jon Stewart to go onto a "debate" show and drill into these hacks that they have a job to do and aren't doing it. If any of you are still confused as to why the Daily Show is so popular as a "news" outlet, Jon's bold performance on Crossfire should explain much of that confusion away.

Thank the gods for Jon Stewart. I hope he gets more opportunities to speak his mind.