Happy Leap Day!

Even a shop open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is closed for 6 hours a year!

One of our earth years (a complete orbit around the sun) does not take an exact number of days (one complete spin of the earth on its axis). It takes 365.2422 days, give or take.

The leap year was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46BC, to make the calendar tidier. The extra day every fourth year made the average year 365.25 days long. This was still about 12 minutes longer than the solar year, which you can get away with on the short term, but in 1267 a monk called Roger Bacon noticed that the calendar had slipped nine days in the 13 intervening centuries.

It then took the church until 1582 to accept that it was celebrating Easter on the wrong week. That year Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the calendar, introducing the system we go by today: every fourth year is a leap year, unless it is divisible by 100 and not by 400. This makes the year 365.2425 days, which is still a little under 26 seconds too long, but nothing to fret about. (Unless you live more than 1,000 years, and even then, it's only about 10 hours.)

As a one off, Gregory's reform also skipped the 10 days they had gained since Caesar's time, jumping from 4 to 15 October 1582. It is said that this provoked demonstrations from people demanding their stolen days back.

This gives me pause... what would happen if the Pope said that tomorrow would really be April 1st... While people might not fear the time has been subtracted from their lives (I hope), they might protest wages lost from their bank account. Since life is real and money isn't, we might not have progressed so much after all.

Jahiliyya - being ignorant of guidance from God

The last few days have been filled hosting for my Kuwaiti family. Yes... my Arab, Muslim family is now in the Midwest America... I felt obligated to show them a little culture while they visit the place furthest from.

If you ever read the 9/11 Commission Report (google "9/11 pdf"), it says that the roots of the fundamental Islamic movement can be traced to one man, Sayyid Qutb, sent by Egypt to study in the US during the 1940s (p.51). He was appalled by Western culture, saying we were affected by barbarism, licentiousness, and unbelief (a condition known by Muslims as jahiliyya).

This was fine until he observed that jahiliyya was spreading, not just through the Western world, but also penetrating into Islam lands, thereby posing as a direct threat to Islam and her culture, caused by Western culture.

... there's more, but 60 years later, here we are, and simplistically, that's why 'they' hate 'us'... because our culture promotes god-lessness by worshiping money and actors, we advocate freedom but lack within ourselves the restraint needed to responsibly wield it, and we are barbaric; we don't care for our citizens and in some cases, even kill them, so how can we be civil to others?

Knowing that... I was in Kuwait 20 years ago and then, it looked like a middle-eastern city. Now they tell me with all of the corporations and media, it looks like an adjunct of America. Advertisements for Western companies are now peppered through the city. Western fashion with its emphasis on sexually evocative models line the store fronts. Etc., etc.

For what it's worth...

Of course, not all Muslims feel Western culture is undesirable, which causes further friction and fragmenting because that would appear to bolster Qutb's claims! (Now because of Westernism, Islam is being attacked from without and from within!)

I'm not sure we're entirely to blame for internal affairs within the Muslim world, but looking around at my America, I don't completely disagree with Qutb. I'm an ex-pat for precisely those reasons; I too feel the American people have lost their way. To me, it's self-evident in our apathy, obesity rates, drug use, materialism-as-substitute-for-love, and anger management issues.

Although I don't hate America for her decadence, it does cause me to blush.

Your daily perspective...

1861 to 1865 - 600,000 people die (Americans kill Americans in civil war)

1929 to 1933 - 6,000,000 to 11,000,000 people die (Stalin ethnic cleanses)

August 6th, 1945 - 140,000 people die (American President Truman bombs Hiroshima)

August 9th, 1945 - 75,000 people die (Truman bombs Nagasaki)

(Holocaust deaths: 9,000,000 people)
(WWII deaths: 72,000,000 people, 47,000,000 civilians)

September 11, 2001 - 3,000 people die (Al-Qadea attacks New York)

December 26, 2004 - 225,000 people die (Indian Ocean earthquake)

... but which event gets/has the most press? Which is most important to you?

My First 9/11...

Today is the anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle disaster. I consider this to be my generation's first '9/11' experience, that is, our first collective memory of an event unfolding live on world-wide TV.

I wasn't alive when the Beatles played on Ed Sullivan, and I wasn't alive when John Kennedy was shot, but I hear that if you were alive during those events, you remember exactly what you were doing while they happened (in contrast to say, knowing what you did the day or week before/after.)

But I was alive when faulty O-rings caused Challenger to explode itself into millions of pieces, killing instantly the shuttle crew of seven. One of them was to be the first school teacher in space. I am sure their loss is still felt today and my heart goes out to their families.

Back at home, at Wilson Middle School, 7th grade, we had canceled classes in order to watch the launch. CNN was not around yet, but this kind of event got full media coverage by all three (3!) networks, so we could watch it over the airwaves at school.

Believe it or not, we even had a competition science fair where one lucky winner got to go down to Florida and watch the launch live! I'm not sure, but I think Muncie was selected for this special honor because of Ball Corp. and their role in manufacturing the heat-shield tiles used for shuttle re-entry.

1/29/2006: Update from my friend...

I actually got 8th place the first 7 got to go to Florida... I was the first alternate.... So I got to participate in everything except the actual trip.

It was called the Ball Corp Space Challenge Program...the plan(back those Naive days) was that the prize in future editions of the contest would be an actual flight into space onboard the shuttle.

All of that changed after it blew up... in fact they cancelled the whole program. However... I love the Blues Brothers picture... it is extraordinarily cool

For some reason, I didn't participate in this event, and I don't remember what I did instead, but I do remember my what my friend (then arch-nemesis) did... he wrote a computer program (in 5th grade) which taught maths skills... more or less. You see, a problem was shown on the screen, say 5+7, along with a launching shuttle, and if you got the right answer to the problem before time ran out, the shuttle launched... but if you got the answer wrong... well, I think this is where we go into the vagueness of 7th grade humor and invincibility, mixed in with a colossal cosmic dash of irony. If you got the answer wrong, the shuttle blew up shortly after it launched.

Unsurprisingly, in retrospect, he didn't win and a project of lesser skill and talent (although perhaps a bit more taste) won. In the end, the selected students didn't get to see the lift-off... they went down to Florida, but the launch was delayed several times and they had to come home before.

You mind the coincidences. While I can't say these were auspicious signs, the events made me take notice in a whole new way that kid who wrote that program. He's still in my life, and in many respects, we're still those same kids we were at Wilson middle school...

Later that year, we became friends and performed a skit featuring the Blues Brothers. It was a smash hit and cemented our friendship.


And that's how an 11-year old goes from the biggest national tragedy in their life to their biggest friend.

This Day In Herstory... July 7, 2005

It's been a rough year. Personally, I've met with tremendous growth opportunities (read: pain) and my work has been intense, but very productive.

And so I suppose it's never convenient to get robbed. It just plain sucks. You come home and everything seems normal (because they picked your locks) and the first thing you notice is that your first view into the flat, which is always the same... is somehow different. The room is not like you last left it, which is impossible for someone who lives alone. The you notice your projector is missing. WTF? The mind reels for an explanation and you emotionally attach to the first thing that pops into your head. "Why would my landlord come in here and borrow it without even asking me first? He doesn't even know how to use it!"

Then you notice open drawers in the bedroom and the awful reality begins to sink in... YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED!

You run to your stash of currencies in five different countries... well hidden, but now... gone. How smart of you to avoid needlessly paying currancy conversion fees by keeping a wad of cash hidden in your bedroom. Yeah, you were ready to fly to any given country on a whim (and you did), but now you're $20K poorer. You've gone from buying gifts for friends 'just because' to not being able to buy groceries in just 3 short hours.

You look around, in shock. What else is gone? Credit cards? A great tinge of panic... no, they left them... they were only looking for things they could sell quickly. My computers!!! My terabytes of data!!! No, they left them... too bulky. The thought of losing so much personal data makes you woosey, you sit on the floor. My jewlery? Gone. Now you realize the memories attached with them are now just that ... memories. Gut-wrentching pangs. Slowly, this turns to anger and action. You rush downstairs to view the CCTV of the shop below you, knowing that the perp would be captured on the screen. After 15 minutes of searching... you've found him. Now you rush out onto the street, frantically searching for that bastard.

Hours later, you come home exhausted, spent, and miserable. But in the end, what's missing? You still have your health, your experience, your friends, you ... it doesn't work. Fact is, your life savings is gone and so is a $4,000 projector, which was also your main source of entertainment, information, and relaxation. Heh, but you can forget about relaxing now. How about getting exponentially more paranoid for every hour you are away from home. How about doing an inventory check everytime you return to your flat? How about going out of your way to hide things you would normally have displayed?

Weeks go by, and then, finally, one day, you find yourself not looking longingly at the blank spaces where your stuff used to live. You find yourself enjoying being out again. You have come to believe that yes, you have passed some cosmic Taoist test about attaching yourself to your material possesions. And then, one ordinary Sunday afternoon, you come home to find your front door in two pieces.

Now add in loads of stress and aggrivation from living and working in a foreign country and being separated from your friends, family, and comforts, put yourself in a competitive publish or perish environment, and throw in, just for fun, a good measure of gender dysphoria. Welcome to my July 5, 2005. It's pretty fuct, I know... and then ... not just two days later...


Bombs in my backyard! I live at the left part of the #4 circle. From my home, I can walk to the bus blast in 4 minutes and the Russell Square blast 6 mins... that should give you an idea of how close I am. What in distance to Americans might just be the width of a mall can cover two small inner London towns here, so while the blasts were physically close to me, they were literally in another city from my eyes… I walk everywhere, my physical world is small.

However, the blasts occurred where many students and locals work and live, right on the fringes of UCL's campus. The bus blast occurred just outside where UCLIC (and my old office) was based.

My first reaction was to phone home and let family know I'm fine. I've never heard my mother in more of a fit of despair, fear, and panic. Somehow, she seemed to know before it happened. Meanwhile, the local reaction was much more of what you'd expect from a people who had World War II on their door step... people in London worked. Most high street stores closed early (because there was not much interest in shopping), but city services were near normal. Kids were not told of the event while at school… at then end of the day, they were told ‘a security event has occurred’ and they left it to the parents to explain what happened. Now that's slick.

For most people, getting OUT of central London was trickier than normal, but not impossible.

I wasn't able to sort my mind before the explosions, but that didn't seem to matter as my mind was focused on the things that really mattered. Since then, I have been helping friends, and also walking around the city, talking to strangers in need, helping them, and taking photos of this beautiful and calm city so you all back home can know I continue to be safe and happy. Many people just need to talk about it, and have someone listen. I guess I'm no different.

I don’t know what the media coverage of this event is like in America… I feel most Americans do not get unbiased news reported to them, even those that think they do.

So 7/7 is going on, the UK's 9/11... I'm walking around the streets of London just hours after the attacks, and what do I see?

As an American living in the REAL world, I am frequently asked to explain people like this to the rest of people also living in the real the world.

The statement he chose to make…

Why he chose to make it…

The time he chose to make it…

Visions from the Dead

Tomorrow

is
the
anniversary
the
July 7,
2005
terrorist
attacks
on
London.

9/11 occured 1,000 miles from where I lived. 7/7 (and the subsequent failed attack two weeks later) occured just a few blocks from where I lived. The iconic bus explosion - as horrific to England as are to Americans the images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center - occured just one block away from my old office.

My home was at the intersection of the two diagonal red 'blast lines' just below the fourth explosion, and just to the left of the second one.

It's hard not to feel affected by this 'anniversary.' And on the eve of this dreadful day... a video showing London Tube bomber Shehzad Tanweer has been aired on al-Jazeera television. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5154714.stm)

This is the second time one of the suicide bombers from 7/7 has come back from the dead to leave a message. (The first time was Mohammad Sidique Khan -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4206708.stm)

Each time, the message has been simple, clear, and consise, and each time the message has been misunderstood by the West. Put simply, it has always been "leave us alone and we'll leave you alone." Anyone who has read the Koran knows that they are obligated by Allah to follow this rule (they are basically quoting scripture to us). Even Bin Laden says this in his latest message addressed to the US:

“Your salvation will only come in your withdrawal from our land, in stopping the robbing of our oil and resources, and in stopping your support for the corrupt and corrupting leaders.”

Whatever your stance is, I think those are pretty reasonable requests as a first step toward creating a peaceful coexistence through non-violent, diplomatic means, but I do not wish to enter that debate... especially not with Americans. Whatever the consequences to following these actions are, no other actions will bring peace (short of total destruction) until these basic requests are met; it's right there in the Koran, check it out.

The Bigger Picture

What I do want to discuss is the bigger picture of it all... what hath technology enabled?

Just 150 years ago, if a person from the dead had reappeard to a group of people, can you imagine what the reaction would be? Recall that there was no TV, no radio, no recordings, no photos, almost no media as we know it. There was only one way to see and hear a person who was already dead... so I suspect it would be the similar as to what happened 2,000 years ago - that person would have been elevated to the status of a god, prophet, buddha, or super-natural being. Whether or not the 'vision' would have been interactive is beside the point, any message delivered would have been a message that would have been listened to. Q&A afterward optional.

Now, thanks to technology, with $100 and a nearby Wal-Mart, any mere mortal can do the same. Don't have $100? Well, that's just a week of washing dishes to achieve a form of life after death. Hopefully, your message won't start out, "Hi. If you are watching this, then I am dead and I bet you all are pretty bummed."

You are either awed by this revelation, or numb to it, but such is the progress of technology - and just one example at that!

Of course, society has moved on too. It seems we are no longer impressed with messages from the dead, even those who give their lives for the chance to obtain an audience hear it. What technology giveth, society taketh away.

But not quite... now think about what services like tribe allow... think hard about the nature of consciousness and what one can do with the ability to reach and interact with millions of voices. The tower of Babel has been climbed, for sure, but that is just the tip of the iceberg!

Consciousness has been freed from the temporal and spatial limitations of its host body and is free to join and merge with others. The human is no longer what will survive, but instead, the ideas created by them... especially as ideas form that are not of one single mind, but rather are the result of many. We are merely ants moving memes from one format to another; simply instruments of their creation, evolution, and preservation.

Our bodies, our DNA, our history is just one ginormous external memory system, and taken together with all the other life on this planet, represents the sum total of what has been learned over the billions of years of evolution. Kinda cool, huh?

Now consider that technology, first through verbal language, then books, now with computers and media, is enabling us to accelerate the pace of knowledge by storing it outside of our DNA (the domain of instincts). No longer do ideas survive purely by natural selection. Unnatural selection is upon us!

Our ideas survive, but we cannot.

To quote from 'Jerry Springer, The Opera':
"Hopefully, what will survive of us, is love."