Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Interesting Video
Attached is a piece by David Harvey, an awesome geographer. Details systems flaws in capitalism while focusing on the current cycle of crises ... very interesting. Video also has an amazing mind map by a group that has done several of these super intricate maps detailing complex topics ...
Also way to go Dante with all of your posts lately. I check the blog when I get an email and it requires someone commenting on the post to receive notification ... but when I have time I am excited to look through all of the stuff you have been posting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0
Also way to go Dante with all of your posts lately. I check the blog when I get an email and it requires someone commenting on the post to receive notification ... but when I have time I am excited to look through all of the stuff you have been posting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Google Gets Better with 500 Billion
In 500 Billion Words, New Window on Culture
google has established a library of over 5.2 million books! somewhere around 500 billion words and some crazy statistic search engince. you can look up words against their catalogue of books and the egine will produce a graph of the number of times it showed up throughout history within their book collection Click here to check it out
google has established a library of over 5.2 million books! somewhere around 500 billion words and some crazy statistic search engince. you can look up words against their catalogue of books and the egine will produce a graph of the number of times it showed up throughout history within their book collection Click here to check it out
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Highlights of Gregoire's budget cuts
NOTE* this is the purposed budget plan and it has not yet been approved by our legislators BUT still this is the general game plan for our state come january
Thursday, December 16, 2010 - Page updated at 12:01 AM
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Eliminate K-4 class-size reduction funds — $216 million
Suspend Initiative 728, which provides money to reduce class sizes — $860.2 million
Suspend Initiative 732, which provides cost-of-living increases for teachers — $253.3 million
Suspend planned increases in all-day kindergarten — $57 million
Suspend annual bonuses for National Board certified teachers — $99.5 million
Suspend annual step increases for teachers — $56.3 million
Eliminate gifted-student program — $18.6 million
HIGHER EDUCATION
Increase tuition to offset a $344.7 million cut at state colleges and universities
Further reduce state higher-ed funding by an average of 4.2 percent — $102.2 million
Suspend yearly pay increases under Initiative 732 for community-college employees — $27.1 million
Reduce state Work Study program to serve 2,800 fewer students — $20.8 million
SOCIAL SERVICES
Eliminate Basic Health Plan, a subsidized insurance program for the 66,000 poorer residents — $230.2 million
Eliminate Disability Lifeline, which provides health-care and cash grants to the unemployable disabled — $327.3 million
Eliminate Children's Health Program, which serves 27,000 children who could be in the country illegally — $59 million
Reduce in-home personal-care services for people on Medicaid — $97.5 million
Reduce nonemergency dental and maternity care for Medicaid patients — $48.2 million
Eliminate State Food Assistance Program — $45.6 million
PUBLIC SAFETY
Reduce Department of Corrections staff and programs — $51.6 million
Close McNeil Island Corrections Center — $17.6 million
Close Maple Lane School, a juvenile-offender center in Rochester, Thurston County — $3.3 million
Eliminate State Patrol Auto Theft Task Force — $3.6 million
Reduce parole services for juvenile offenders — $5 million
Deport all noncitizen drug and property offenders now incarcerated — $2.5 million
WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES
Increase fares by 10 percent
Reduce average daily sailings from 505 to 477
Cut administrative and operations support — $2.8 million
OTHER CUTS
Suspend 2012 presidential primary — $10 million
Close state historical museums in Tacoma and Spokane, and eliminate education and outreach programs — $5.2 million
Cut all state funding for State Tourism Office — $4 million
Eliminate State Arts Commission — $2.5 million
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.
Because of this there will be no more art walks until may, atleast. Cutting social, working, business space for local artists
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
So i walked to work today...
while walking to work and well actually while waiting for the sun to rise early this morning around three i couldn't help but ponder the dichotomy(am i using this symbol properly?)of last night's logic of conscience.
one line of understanding went as:
is there history without conscience? what is real and existent except this moment? our individual perception in regards to what we understand as reality is a construct of our own mind--without our mind it would not exist...Thusly our conscious defines our perception and thus all experience and understanding is not defined by an external point but by our selves. we are god. we are the creator. i (my conscious) define reality. (so here comes the emotionally contingent example because it is not a sell unless you feel it too) for the Korowai, from West Papua, Indonesia it is acceptable to eat other other humans under specific conditions. WE may think that eating humans is innapproriate to do so but that's our culture to theirs sort of thing. In essence life is abstract and our conscious has given it definition and applicaiton (--this could be better defined--some one should try and tackle it, or provide resources for this line of thought, i would love that)
then we began to talk about infinity and our relation to the infinite--how we measure infinity/our understanding of it i.e. time's relationship to infinity, matter and existence. We then came to the confluence of the infinite in relation to conscious and our perception of coming to an end of conscious and what that might be and that no "human" has lost(died) his conscious and then came back "to relate it" --maybe nothing is an extention of the anticonscious the state of no perception.
BUT THEN...
we came to the revelation and shared understanding of percieveing our conscience as an evolutionary step(forward?)--a tool--to give us more access, to give us an edge above the competition we learned from our past actions by being able to process stor and compare our persceptions--but wouldn't that sort of understanding be an acceptance to the idea that beyond our counsciousness is a world independent of it, a third party difinitive that will exist and maintain beyond our perspired conscious (if they do...)regardless of one's ability to percieve it?? that will exist whether or not we can hear the tree fall? to believe that our conscious was obtained through evolution...
what i really just wanted and the above words may have lost it and it maybe be better had just in person because the following may not have it either but.......what i was trying to get at was that in the conversation we had the other night--we kept running in to a stream of rhetoric that we weren't able to swim that limits all conversation to an anthropocentric scientific unscientific trap of our conscious is what defines our expereince and understanding and its all relative to that if you grow up learning to eat shit then its your thing and i'm going to grow up learning to eat bark and neither of us are right. neither of us are wrong. which concludes with there is no ultimate moral line or obligation we will never have one. certainly when it is our conscious that is pulling the strings of defining our reality to bicker in the pursuit of finding the moral floor will be pointless. BUT i think the flaw of our conscious and the attempted full embrace of it is that ultimately it is an evolutionary tool that was crafted with the intent of maximizing our creatures access to energy to life-- solely Anthropocentric. the conscious has many different applications and could function in many different directions but since it resides in my brain in your brain in our brains we are using it specifically to benefit me, you, and us....i've got to leave...i'll write more AND SO NOW HALF A YEAR LATER I WRITE MORE... so my solution to this trap is to demand an evolutionary step forward for all humanity. the evolution of of our conscious...just as our conscious is applied to further maximize human benefit (and it has successfully for many years) we need to expand its foundation and line of rationality to include a moral under pinning that is holistic in its relationship to the earth and environment. Moral not in the anthropocentric sense. go ahead kill people. have wars. rape. pillage. deceive. subjugate. be violent. believe you can be taught to believe anything but maintain a simple moral under pinning to our mother to this planet to the earth to the environment to other animals and forms of life including rocks. ask the question "is what i consume taking more from than this earth than what it gives?" Lead a life that does no damage to the land. a life that does no damage to the water and a life that does no damage to the air. beyond those simple securities do what ever the fuck you want. ..
one line of understanding went as:
is there history without conscience? what is real and existent except this moment? our individual perception in regards to what we understand as reality is a construct of our own mind--without our mind it would not exist...Thusly our conscious defines our perception and thus all experience and understanding is not defined by an external point but by our selves. we are god. we are the creator. i (my conscious) define reality. (so here comes the emotionally contingent example because it is not a sell unless you feel it too) for the Korowai, from West Papua, Indonesia it is acceptable to eat other other humans under specific conditions. WE may think that eating humans is innapproriate to do so but that's our culture to theirs sort of thing. In essence life is abstract and our conscious has given it definition and applicaiton (--this could be better defined--some one should try and tackle it, or provide resources for this line of thought, i would love that)
then we began to talk about infinity and our relation to the infinite--how we measure infinity/our understanding of it i.e. time's relationship to infinity, matter and existence. We then came to the confluence of the infinite in relation to conscious and our perception of coming to an end of conscious and what that might be and that no "human" has lost(died) his conscious and then came back "to relate it" --maybe nothing is an extention of the anticonscious the state of no perception.
BUT THEN...
we came to the revelation and shared understanding of percieveing our conscience as an evolutionary step(forward?)--a tool--to give us more access, to give us an edge above the competition we learned from our past actions by being able to process stor and compare our persceptions--but wouldn't that sort of understanding be an acceptance to the idea that beyond our counsciousness is a world independent of it, a third party difinitive that will exist and maintain beyond our perspired conscious (if they do...)regardless of one's ability to percieve it?? that will exist whether or not we can hear the tree fall? to believe that our conscious was obtained through evolution...
what i really just wanted and the above words may have lost it and it maybe be better had just in person because the following may not have it either but.......what i was trying to get at was that in the conversation we had the other night--we kept running in to a stream of rhetoric that we weren't able to swim that limits all conversation to an anthropocentric scientific unscientific trap of our conscious is what defines our expereince and understanding and its all relative to that if you grow up learning to eat shit then its your thing and i'm going to grow up learning to eat bark and neither of us are right. neither of us are wrong. which concludes with there is no ultimate moral line or obligation we will never have one. certainly when it is our conscious that is pulling the strings of defining our reality to bicker in the pursuit of finding the moral floor will be pointless. BUT i think the flaw of our conscious and the attempted full embrace of it is that ultimately it is an evolutionary tool that was crafted with the intent of maximizing our creatures access to energy to life-- solely Anthropocentric. the conscious has many different applications and could function in many different directions but since it resides in my brain in your brain in our brains we are using it specifically to benefit me, you, and us....i've got to leave...i'll write more AND SO NOW HALF A YEAR LATER I WRITE MORE... so my solution to this trap is to demand an evolutionary step forward for all humanity. the evolution of of our conscious...just as our conscious is applied to further maximize human benefit (and it has successfully for many years) we need to expand its foundation and line of rationality to include a moral under pinning that is holistic in its relationship to the earth and environment. Moral not in the anthropocentric sense. go ahead kill people. have wars. rape. pillage. deceive. subjugate. be violent. believe you can be taught to believe anything but maintain a simple moral under pinning to our mother to this planet to the earth to the environment to other animals and forms of life including rocks. ask the question "is what i consume taking more from than this earth than what it gives?" Lead a life that does no damage to the land. a life that does no damage to the water and a life that does no damage to the air. beyond those simple securities do what ever the fuck you want. ..
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
I think i liked this movie a bit more than most..but maybe thats me.
The UNidentified
some of us were watching this last night at my place--i've watched it once and enjoyed it--watched the start of it again with some of you last night and may like it even more. supprisingly it has only garnered an impressive 4.8 at IMDB but i feel the dialogue and story line were well intended and insightful, painfully ironic for me.
some of us were watching this last night at my place--i've watched it once and enjoyed it--watched the start of it again with some of you last night and may like it even more. supprisingly it has only garnered an impressive 4.8 at IMDB but i feel the dialogue and story line were well intended and insightful, painfully ironic for me.
The plundering of afghan begins
Afghan gold mining project approved!--no supprise there, but why is it no supprise???
interesting how without hesitation in seemingly seamless action we begin to extract resources from Afghanastan as if in the innocuous act of reaching into our own pant's pocket. A few weeks back my brother was assigned by his history teacher to compare and contrast "traditional" colonialism with neo-colonialism and decide which of the two was "worse." A worthy assignment but flawed in the structure of the question: requesting the students to rationalize one form of oppression above the other in a simple act of defferentiating which is more acceptable than the other...
earlier this year...mineral deposits were found
my favorite commentary on the subject
interesting how without hesitation in seemingly seamless action we begin to extract resources from Afghanastan as if in the innocuous act of reaching into our own pant's pocket. A few weeks back my brother was assigned by his history teacher to compare and contrast "traditional" colonialism with neo-colonialism and decide which of the two was "worse." A worthy assignment but flawed in the structure of the question: requesting the students to rationalize one form of oppression above the other in a simple act of defferentiating which is more acceptable than the other...
earlier this year...mineral deposits were found
my favorite commentary on the subject
Sunday, December 12, 2010
what we did this weekend.
Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!
Spent some time working on this over the weekend, Asa really wanted to do a group project for his birthday, so we came up with this. enjoy
Shameless Self Promotion
Hey all! I've been trying to find how to share files with some of you but haven't figured it out yet, but I just put up some new songs to my myspace, having just completed my computer music class, and I put up a new video (based on travels in europe) on youtube, so I'm including the links to those sites in case any of you want to check it out...
Here's the music:
http://www.myspace.com/nathanielbuechler
and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/beakyN
But right now I'm in Austin and I'll be coming back to the northwest on the 21st of December, so I'm stoked to see you all in person soon!
Nathaniel
Here's the music:
http://www.myspace.com/nathanielbuechler
and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/beakyN
But right now I'm in Austin and I'll be coming back to the northwest on the 21st of December, so I'm stoked to see you all in person soon!
Nathaniel
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Hackers Avenging Julian Assange
To whom it may concern
This could get ugly. Hackers have started targeting the websites of Mastercard, the Swedish prosecution authority, and other websites that are working against Wikileaks and Julian Assange. This article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/08/operation-payback-mastercard-website-wikileaks gives an overview and notes that Twitter might be a target for alleged censoring of debate over Wikileaks.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
MAKE A BREAKFAST FORTRESS TO KEEP ALL THE HATERS OUT
Can we do something like this sometime, except with vegetarian options? This is fucking amazing.
CHRIS MIKAIL --YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK THIS!
TWO THINGS:
1st. is Dailyhiker mikail this website seems to be really hitting what you have been talking about!
2nd. is a bad ass company called Klymit
with that said now click here to see their core product--they're working on full jackets too!
then check out their website http://www.klymit.com/index.php/
I think there is obvious overlap with the direction Nemo has gone with the innovative concept Klymit is pushing
chris you should get the family company to invest with this and merge it with NEMO!
1st. is Dailyhiker mikail this website seems to be really hitting what you have been talking about!
2nd. is a bad ass company called Klymit
with that said now click here to see their core product--they're working on full jackets too!
then check out their website http://www.klymit.com/index.php/
I think there is obvious overlap with the direction Nemo has gone with the innovative concept Klymit is pushing
chris you should get the family company to invest with this and merge it with NEMO!
Genetics: Proclivity to Power vs. Endurance
Nathan, I think you might get as excited about this as I just did. Check it out: http://www.gtpersonal.com.au/sports_performance.php. This is a genetic test from an Australian company that will (theoretically) determine whether you have a genetic muscular proclivity towards power/explosiveness or endurance events. Apparently the ACTN3 gene that we inherit from both parents is the genetic determinant for this kind of thing. Holy crap. And its a mouth swab test, so it's non invasive and available for $200 Australian. I am currently jizzing my pants.
Julian Assange Arrested in London
(sorry if the videos are lame, i can't listen to them at work)
Getting the facts straight (Glen Greenwald)
Julian Assange's arrest
Debate over Julian Assange is a hero
The New Republic's take
The Associated Press' take
Monday, December 6, 2010
Public Record
I just wanted to get these ideas out in the public record so they don't get lost in the ether quite as easily.
WINTERISH RAFTING IN THE GRAND CANYON.
HAMMOCK CAMPING ON A DOUBLE PITCH.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Expedition Impossible
This is the TV show we are applying to, and our application and supplemental video. I think we have a 92-97% chance of getting a part, give or take.
Show page
Name/Age/Location:
Nathan Stern - 20 - Bellingham, WA,
Chris Baran-Mickle - 20 - Dante Garcia - 20 - We live on Bainbridge Island, WA. Come April we will be in South America nearing the end of a 5 month multi-county adventure ready to begin on a new expedition.
Level of individual and team's experience with competitions/races:
Nathan: high school soccer, competitive submission wrestling, competitive rock climbing,
Chris: high school and collegiate ultimate frisbee player, recently competed in a sprint triathlon, high school soccer player, local adventure race winner.
Dante: select soccer player, local adventure race winner, climbing enthusiast.
Brief description of why your team is great for this competition and why you will win: We are great candidates for this competition because we thrive in and seek out adversity outdoors. Last summer we together completed all 220 miles of the John Muir Trail in 2 weeks (over 15 miles a day). Previous summers the same group of friends has gone on equally trying and rewarding climbing/backpacking/white water rafting trips. In addition to all the trips we take together each of us independently leads an extremely active outdoorsy lifestyle. Chris completed a NOLS mountaineering semester (along with several other WFA and mountaineering courses), is an avid skier, climber, and is an aspiring ultralight backpacker. Nathan partook in a Outward Bound river rafting course, skis, climbs, cycles and fights competitively. Dante first left the country by himself to travel to Venezuela when he was 15 and recently hitchhiked around New Zealand. He is a veteran outdoorsman and social activist/artist working as a union organizer. All of us are very fit and bring different and valuable outdoor skills to the table. We will win because we know how to work together, solve problems and deal with difficult situations in the outdoors and aren’t afraid to trust each other.
Anything else that makes your team memorable and unique: We have been friends since elementary school. During high school we started adventuring together as a team and family, pushing each other through hardships like snowstorms and dehydration; climbing mountain peaks and getting lost in canyons. Over the last few years we have drifted apart following our different paths in life. This expedition may be one of our last great adventures before diving into the real world of and careers and families. We are still a deeply connected team that knows how to work together and push each other to the limit, we certainly can push each others buttons, but we think we can make this work.
A glimpse of us and our adventures (OUR VIDEO)
Chris: chrisbaranmickle@gmail.com 206-403-5151
Dante: dantebgarcia@gmail.com 206-755-4729
Nathan: nerts.n8@gmail.com 206-963-4760
Thanks for considering us!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
HUT HUT... HUT TRIIIIP!
We've been fantasizing about our next outdoor adventure for some time, let's start discussing details so this actually happens.
Objectives:
Snow, Warm place to rest our heads at nice, friends, SLEDDING, warm, yummy food. I am thinking three nights.
Possible Locations:
Mary Rain's Cabin: Mikail has talked to her about letting us use it, I believe she is on board. I think there is a potential for snowmobiles, if not we would have to ski/snowshoe in. It is a big slog, but definitely feasable. Pros: FREE! Cons: Devin went up there last season and discover a thriving mouse population. APparently the floor was covered in insulation when he got there. He said they swept it out and managed just fine, but this could be an issue.
Tahoma Huts:
These are a series of huts by Mt. Rainier that cost $15 per person per night. They hold 14 folks and the Parks fill them, so we would either need to get 14 of us commited, or share the space with other campers. They are plush - stoves, couches, sleeping mats, full kitchen, outhouse. They do fill up, so if we are moving in this direction we should try and reserve them within the week. Here's the link see for your self, the word 'hut' doesn't really do them justice. http://www.skimtta.com/
Other Options?? I know there are tons of rentable cabins in the cascades, we should look around for other possible locations.
Right now the main thing we have to decide upon is dates and numbers going. In my mind there are two possible windows, the 20-24 and the 26-30. I am flexible with both, but need to inform my boss asap, as I will be working in the woodshop any available day that is not christmas or this trip. For that reason, I would prefer to schedule the trip as close to Christmas as possible, so as to minimize days just chilling on the island. I would also prefer the 26-30th window, but I can do either.
Stoked, let's make this happen. believe in the magic of your dreams.
Objectives:
Snow, Warm place to rest our heads at nice, friends, SLEDDING, warm, yummy food. I am thinking three nights.
Possible Locations:
Mary Rain's Cabin: Mikail has talked to her about letting us use it, I believe she is on board. I think there is a potential for snowmobiles, if not we would have to ski/snowshoe in. It is a big slog, but definitely feasable. Pros: FREE! Cons: Devin went up there last season and discover a thriving mouse population. APparently the floor was covered in insulation when he got there. He said they swept it out and managed just fine, but this could be an issue.
Tahoma Huts:
These are a series of huts by Mt. Rainier that cost $15 per person per night. They hold 14 folks and the Parks fill them, so we would either need to get 14 of us commited, or share the space with other campers. They are plush - stoves, couches, sleeping mats, full kitchen, outhouse. They do fill up, so if we are moving in this direction we should try and reserve them within the week. Here's the link see for your self, the word 'hut' doesn't really do them justice. http://www.skimtta.com/
Other Options?? I know there are tons of rentable cabins in the cascades, we should look around for other possible locations.
Right now the main thing we have to decide upon is dates and numbers going. In my mind there are two possible windows, the 20-24 and the 26-30. I am flexible with both, but need to inform my boss asap, as I will be working in the woodshop any available day that is not christmas or this trip. For that reason, I would prefer to schedule the trip as close to Christmas as possible, so as to minimize days just chilling on the island. I would also prefer the 26-30th window, but I can do either.
Stoked, let's make this happen. believe in the magic of your dreams.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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