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my own closing ceremony
And now that it has been more than a week since the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, things are returning to normal. Classes have started back at UBC and the grind of assignments, lab expectations, long term projects, and midterm exams has provided a nice break from the breakneck pace of the Olympics. Moving [...]
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so accepting of Zombie Mode
I see it on their faces every day. It is worn on the numerous blank stares I walk by going to class at UBC. It hangs on those who sit next to me on the bus, staring into nowhere. Zombie Mode. That singularity of mind which is exemplified by destruction of all attentiveness to environment [...]
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my thoughts on the Bloom Box
Over the last few days, I’ve received emails from several friends requesting my thoughts on Bloom Energy. The Bloom Box looks interesting but the piece from 60 Minutes was incredibly misleading. The celebrities, the press releases and all the hype has looked like little more than just posturing for social capital in a competitive silicon [...]
Featured Post
And now that it has been more than a week since the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, things are returning to normal. Classes have started back at UBC and the grind of assignments, lab expectations, long term projects, and midterm exams has provided a nice break from the breakneck pace of the Olympics. Moving [...]
Renewable energy is often touted as the future because it has lower CO2 emissions or “can solve our energy scarcity problems because it will replace oil”. Unfortunately, renewable energy is far from solving those massive problems. Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, etc… all require tremendous amounts of oil to get their infrastructure up and running, emitting [...]
Asides
- ...but this video provides a disconcerting picture by taking a look at all they control. While I think Google has made our lives significantly easier, I don't know if it has definitively made our lives better. "Better" is hard to quantify though. What does concern me is that being consistently plugged in to communication and information isn't a human value it is a corporate value. Google wants us to place more and more of our lives under their domain because it gives them the information they need to provide us with more accurate ads. (more...) #
- I remember before the Olympics happened a lot of people in Vancouver thought that during the games transit would look like this, (more...) #
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- February didn't really count. So now I'm back with music recommendations in March, just before SXSW descends upon us. I would add commentary on each song but anything I say would taint your mind before hearing these fantastic tracks. The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain Yukon Blonde - Wind Blows MillionYoung - Hammock and Chlorophyll Broken Social Scene - World Sick Album of the Moment Tie between Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate - Ali & Toumani and Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me #
- If you watched the Vancouver 2010 closing ceremonies last week you saw giant inflatable beavers, moose, mounties etc... along with Canada's music "talent" like Nickelback and Avril Lavigne. There's a lot more up here than wild animals and I don't think anyone in Canada actually listens to Nickelback or Avril Lavigne so I feel like the stereotypes Canada propagates about itself aren't always true... but that's not to say it still isn't funny. Maybe they push these stereotypes on the world to keep everyone from moving here? If so, genius! [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="via Hark a Vagrant"][/caption] #
- Attending TEDx Vancouver this year was a huge honor as the talks were inspiring and the conversations were refreshing. By far the most amazing talk was by Canadian/South African District 9 director Neill Blomkamp on what aliens would look like. He jumps from Karashev to Kurzweil to the inevitabilities posed by Heinberg (even though he doesn't mention him by name). At first I was thinking this was nothing but futurist propaganda but then it hits a point, and it turns, and when it does it sends a chill down your spine. (more...) #
- Oh PhD Comics, you know exactly what grad school (at least in the sciences) is like, [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="so true..."][/caption] #
Welcome to a robot, i am not
Are we all machines? Do most humans live in orthodoxy to the point of being unconscious? Human life can be more than merely robotic repetition through daily routine. a robot, i am not will describe the things that make me and we diverge from becoming a pre-programmed human entity. Perhaps you read refreshing books with original thoughts or maybe you see the world in a unique way, capturing that vision in photography. My resolve is to embrace humanity it all its forms, inept and ingenious. Feel free to view my library or read about my thoughts.
Recent Posts
the way I see the world
- English Bay During the Winter OlympicsDuring the Vancouver 2010 Olympics the weather could not have been more beautiful (unless you were up on Cypress Mountain). This panorama was taken from English Bay with my back to Granville Island and. One of the great things about living in Vancouver is that even on an exhausting day, I can look up at [...] […]
- jellyfish!The last few weeks have been full of Vancouver 2010 crazyness but now that things are starting to settle back down I can return to a regular weekly posting schedule. I spotted these jellyfish at the Vancouver Aquarium when @jfeltis and @jennkane were visiting. Jane promised us that we were going to see orcas but [...] […]
- Year of the TigerThe Year of the Tiger rolled in with a bang on Sunday as Jane and I hit up the Vancouver Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade. In China, I’m sure they just call it New Year though. This was an awesome parade with all the dragon dancers and costumes but these dancers really captured the essence [...] […]
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