A hundred years from now

Again, going through some papers, I found this scrawled note. After some research, I hopefully found the correct author.

A Hundred Years From Now
It will not matter what your bank account was,
the kind of job you had,
what sort of house you lived in,
or the kind of car you drove.
But the world may be different
because you were
important in the life of a child.

- Dr. Forest E. Witcraft
(American scholar, teacher and scout leader, 1894-1967)

Terence McKenna

I was going through some books on the shelf today, when I unsuspectingly ran across a hand-scrawled quote from Terence McKenna...

If we're all God's chil'en, how come we've rigged the Earth with dynamite and we're flipping coins to see who gets to set it off?

Hmmm...

The bright side of the NHL lockout

Okay, I'm trying to look on the bright side. One benefit of the NHL lockout is the increased attendance at WHL games, especially in cities like Vancouver, with teams in both leagues.

Another was Phoenix Coyote Brett Hull's appearance on Saturday Night Live last night. When Weekend Update co-anchor Amy Poehler asked him how he felt about the recent move in Canada to legitimize same-sex marriage, he said, "That's what happens in Canada when there's no hockey. Guys have more time to hang out, talk about their feelings and fall in love with each other. I have nothing against it, but I'd rather be playing hockey."

Donna the Buffalo shows archive

I heard about these guys at an RSA reception earlier this year. Thanks to the guy from the East Coast wearing the terrapin shirt.

Donna the Buffalo has set lists and MP3s archived online. There are some great cuts here. If you're into Grateful-esque jam bands, check it out.

DJ Dangermouse - The Grey Album download

The Grey Album has been out for a while, but I just got around to DL'ing it. I'm not much of a hip-hop fan, but I really enjoyed this. Guess this is really fusion, being DJ Danger Mouse's remix of Jay-Z's The Black Album and the Beatles' White Album. Legal battle's are still simmering with EMI and Sony, so DL while it's still available.

Fiction vs. Not

I eschew fiction.

I figure there's enough weird and extremely interesting stuff in the world today without ever reading a word of fiction. My reading list is packed with how-tos, biographies, histories, technical tomes, study guides, and religious reading. How boring, you say.

Okay. Although I habitually read non-fiction, I realize there is a realm that cannot be entered, or made interesting, for sure, by non-fiction. The realm of "what could be." New social or scientific paradigms are especially suited for fiction. To get to a different plane of thought, it's much easier to take the reader with you via fiction, as they sympathize with your character and come along for the ride.

A couple of the mind benders:

Stranger In a Strange Land
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Both by Heinlein, of course.

Can you hear me now? NO!

For some reason, my employer chose to change service from geek chic Nextel to Verizon. What a mistake. Verizon has poor coverage (frequently one or less bars). When I do have coverage, the signal quality is horrible and my calls are frequently dropped.

The actual phone is almost as bad as the carrier. My LG VX4400 is incredibly non-intuitive and most operations require three or more button pushes, where my Motorola flip-phone could do the same is one. Earpiece sound is incredibly weak and focused, so even a slight move of the phone causes you to lose the audio. Even the phonebook function is poorly designed. The Motorola allowed you to easily toggle the number without changing the menu or name you were viewing. The LG requires you to actually open the phonebook entry to dial a number other than the default. Incredible!

To top it off, we dumped the direct connect with Nextel and opted out of the Verizon direct connect. Can't say I'm surprised or horribly put out; I'm convinced it would be just as horrible as the rest of Verizon's service.