PN:
Joe’s Comment – Just how far from rational do things have to get in order for the forces of good to rally to the cause? There is madness in the world that must be left behind. Both daughters seem confused.
Hail, Britannia, you’re on your knees……
Get Smart
The door to your future has a lock.
Education is the key.
There is a website that can help, be your future learning new skills or pursuing a passion.
The website is called “Skillshare“.
Worth checking out.
Energy IQ
Joe and I took an online test.
It purports to give you an idea of your energy usage as a Canadian.
You would think that a loud mouth like me and a gear-head like Joe would have an energy profile over the moon – much higher than the average Canadian schmoo.
Here is how we rank – lower than the Canadian and any Provincial average –
Give it a try.
The quiz is on the Canadian Geographic website here.
Joe says we rated so low is because we are always working on toys instead of playing with them.
POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, SMART STUFF
Moore’s Law
Way back at the dawn of integrated circuitry manufacturing (the ’60’s), Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel) made an observation about the pace the industry was miniaturizing electrical and electronic components, especially transistors. This observation, fine-tuned over time, became known as Moore’s Law. This “Law” has more or less driven long term planning and research and development of integrated circuitry to date. Alas, the nature of physical size, the “real world”, is a roadblock bringing Moore’s observation to an end. The quantity / size / cost relationship he observed has reached its limit.
What is the next advancement?
Glad you asked!
There are other approaches to the current Von Neumann computing architecture (CPU and memory separate, connected by a bus) such as quantum computing. Another promising design is “neuromorphic computing”, which attempts to copy the neuron architecture of the human brain with electronic devices. The following video explains:
Joe says this smacks mightily of “Terminator II: Judgement Day”, and the Cyberdyne Systems robotic intelligence discovery. Fascinating and scary, too!
There are other technologies that are promising but not practical: they do not “obey” Moore’s Law. Here are a number (7) of possibilities:
Joe laughs, and says the peculiarity with this speculation is the only possible way to know which way it will go is to stay alive long enough to witness the actuality. How’s that for quando quando (quando)?:
THE RELIGION OF PEACE (ALL OVER US)
Dr. Bill Warner is one of very few Westerners who have made a serious effort to study and understand the “religion” of Islam – the Quaran, the Sadira, the Hadith documents, and the mindset of a devout follower.
Some people advocate that if Islam only experienced a “Reformation”, much as Judaism and Christianity evolved, presto-chango! a nice, friendly, coexisting form of Islam without that nasty Jihad business where people tend to loose their lives, their heads, or both….
A lovely dream.
Alas, Dr. Warner warns that logically such an unprecedented event will remain unprecedented, for very logical reasons. That is, the logic built into the documents and teachings of Islam. A quote from the video –
“Reforming of Islam is not a matter of tweaking here and there in the controlling documents of Islam. When you understand the controlling documents of Islam, you will realize that the supposed radical Islamists have not perverted Islam. Rather, these supposed radical Islamists are simply answering the call to action against all infidels and those Muslims who are heretics, and which Mohammad demanded of all true Muslims.”
Take a few minutes to listen:
Further, Sam Harris sets the nail. As he demonstrates, it is not the extremists or the fundamentalist adherents to Islam causing havoc. Rather, it is the extreme fundamentals of Islam that is the source of the problem:
SUNDAY SERMON
Time for some Daniel Dennett goodness.
One of the best living philosophers ponders, “If the brain is a computer, who writes the software?”.
Powerful and entertaining:
Addendum: Here is the Q & A that follows the above lecture:
WEATHER (OR NOT)
This week in Vernon has been a mixed bag.
The bloody furnace came on two different mornings!
A few very warm lovely days.
The lakes and streams are still swollen – the snow pack is still unmelted.
The speculation is that peak water rise will be in early July.
A very strange world we live in this year, captain Jack…..
Joe (tanned) Mekanic
p.s. Ramirez shines no matter the weather –
