Ada Lovelace is my Hero

I dedicate this ephemeral moment of blogginess to Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace. If you are a geek, you may have heard of her (or at least the programming language named after her). If you are a girl geek, you probably know who she is already. Wikipedia (and a number of websites and hard copy books) can give you a bio, so I’ll just make a few notes on why she is important to me.

Ada lived on the bleeding edge of technology. She was a well educated woman who was comfortable being a futurist. She was able to see the possibilities of a theoretical machine, and work them out to extensive logical conclusions for her time.

It’s easy to get caught up in the now and the practical. It’s easy to say “Yeah, neat idea, but that costs way too much to ever be worth doing.” Today, I want to look at the tiny steps science is taking that may not pay off now, or even in my lifetime, but will change the world in 50, 100 or 1000 years.

Large Hadron Collider – It costs billions, it’s not even working, and if it does, there are grave doubts that it will show us the tiny particals we hope to see (where are you, Higgs boson?!) Regardless, this scientific masterpiece may change the way we understand the creation of our universe.

Exoplanets - These planets exist outside the solar system. As our telescopes and techniques get better, we’re finding dozens (a couple hundred so far). We can even see the rocky little ones now, not just gas giants 3x the size of Jupiter. We won’t be leaving the Earth en-mas in my lifetime (unless I get my android body), but some of these planets may be the future homes of humanity, or a popular get-away-from-it-all vacation spot.

Quantum Teleportation – Right now, we can teleport a photon across the room, but it’s not exactly star-trek. But think what a few decades of research could do with this. Even if I will never be able to beam up, it would be cool to get an instant quantum-download on my wearable as the data is seamlessly teleported into place.

Sheep Art

One of the things I love to see is the use of antiquated technology combined with modern technology for a new use or for interesting art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Just a few sheep, some herding dogs, a hillside, and a lot of LEDs.

Science & Sensibility

It is unfortunate that in the stew of information that we are surrounded by, it has become increasingly difficult to strain the veggies from the broth, so to speak. Every day it seems like more and more people are being influenced by the craziness available on the Internets. Maybe a parent is in terror of GM food, maybe a friend is taking their child to a chiropractor for sinusitis. What do you say to your friends and relatives when they have embraced some crazy misconception or remedy? I discovered this excellent resource while trolling through the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast. It is a British foundation dedicated to promoting scientific education to the public.

Sense About Science: http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/
And the Skeptic’s Guide Podcast: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/

Gracefully Conceeding a Flame War

We’ve all been there. The forum topic or list topic gets a little out of hand, soon enough your best rhetoric has failed, your straw men and ad hominids are thrown back at you and you’re being run out of town on a metaphorical rail, stinking of tar and chicken feathers. There is only one solution then for the erudite troll (I mean other than deleting all the emails or giving the forum a break).

Concession.

Yes, it is like quitting, but it’s quitting with a little bit of grace. With a carefully composed concession, you can save face, endow the victors with a proper sense of shame, avoid responding to any other unpleasant claims and and even earn points among those groups you have maligned.

Here are a few key points to add to your concession:

• I’m just trying to help/telling you the ugly truth.
• I didn’t intend to personally attack anyone (even if I did).
• No one really understands me/my point.
• I am disappointed in your group’s inability to keep an open mind.
• I am no longer going to post to this thread/topic (even if I will).
• I have received a lot of support privately, but my supporters are concerned about risking their popularity with your group.
• You’ll be sad when you find out I’m right.

It is, of course, necessary to word all these points eloquently. Here is a handy template to follow. (My thanks to the anonymous Trolls who assisted in compiling this). Sprinkle in details about your own flame war to make it more personal.

“My Friends,

I’ve made my points as well as I can and it doesn’t appear my opinions are welcome.  I wish people would realize that I am trying to help here, and recognize that I am not trying to attack anybody personally.  Since I was not able to make myself heard, I’m going to conclude that I either haven’t made my points effectively, don’t have a receptive audience, or some combination of the two.  Either way, I’m not going to add to the anger and bad feelings. I’ll sit the rest of this one out.  It’s not my intent to derail anything, just to provide an alternate opinion.

I’m also going to go back to treating this <list/forum> as read-only, which seems to be a better approach for me. I’d like to leave you with a thought before I do.  Most people agreeing with me have being doing so off-list, in private, presumably because they’re too worried about getting the same treatment I have received, or they just don’t have the energy to defend their position publicly.   You might not want to confuse the fact that I am the only one publicly voicing my opinion, with being the only one having it.

I wish you all the best, and I  hope the points I have made are some help to you in your future endeavors.

Thank You,”

Steampunk = Form + Function

I present more excellent examples of form and function from my new favorite historical era. This is really what I want out of Victoriana, this is the steam in steampunk for me. Gorgeous tools skillfully crafted and cared for. Maybe it is because I am a child of the beige box computer – all function, no form. Maybe I am simply worn out with the maintenance of all my cruft, and coming to the age where I am inheriting more. Forget the 14 pound Victorian dresses, the lace, the tea sets, etc. I’ll take the idea that those things you own should be created with care and beauty.

1800’s Tool Chest
Ivory Surgical Tools

Do you have steam in you? What is it?

Form + Function Embodied in a Chair

Not only is it a delight to the eye, (well, my eye anyway, your taste may vary) but the new Herman Miller chair is, like it’s predecessor, built to function. Some may question the wisdom of paying $1600 for a chair (and I have certainly not purchased one at this time), but if you are like me and sit in front of a computer for a living, the purchase of a chair might be one of the most important purchases you make, next to your bed and your shoes.

Wired’s Review of the Embody Chair
hermanmiller.com/

I can image an alternate me, in a an alternate life that owns nothing but a memory foam bed, a computer, a closet with a few beautifully tailored (& comfy) clothes, a desk with ample light, and this chair. I am no where near that level of asceticism, yet maybe there’s a good balance between here and there.

Taiko

This weekend, I ventured North to spend a short holiday visiting my good friend Miss Em. We had a delightful time, the centerpiece of which was viewing a performance of the 40th Annual International Taiko Drum Festival.

San Francisco Taiko Dojo
Photos and Videos

Taiko drumming is a magnificent ratio of drumming (2/3) and dance (1/3). I sincerely recommend you take a look. To truly capture the feeling of experiencing it in person though, you must imagine that every beat of every drum sends a vibration through your frame.

Form and Function for our Everyday Things

The things that surround us must be beautiful, functional or important, preferably all three. This is a very steampunk-maker ideal that converges with other futurist thought. I found Sci-Fi Author/Futurist Bruce Sterling’s article for Viridian made a simple and glorious incursion into the stuff wars.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/009061.html

I’ve heard the much-repeated thought that stuff is not as good as it used to be, and though I have no experimental evidence, I believe it. So when you are purchasing that important *thing* you need for your everyday life, consider looking to a thrift store, for something old and sturdy that can stand (and has stood) the test of time. If your object needs work to enhance the form, that can be a worthwhile project (so long as the fun of the task adds value for you) as well. Consider your possessions, I propose that every one of them have a function, even if that function is to please your senses on a regular basis.

Now you have no excuse….

Lovecraft’s works are all online. Go, read, enjoy. I recommend starting with The Rats in The Walls. Please excuse the style of the site, it should not reflect on the writing.

A word about Etiquette

Etiquette is far from the vocabulary of the average techno-fancier, but a short pause for consideration would not hurt any of us. A little knowledge and forethought can do much to conserve your social reputation.

A few of my own observations about party etiquette follow.