2:56 a.m. and can't sleep. Lightbulb: blog! Hey, I can't find time in my daily life to keep up with it, but I can find it in my night life!
Alright, fair warnings and legal disclaimers upfront, this blog is NOT, I repeat NOT a good place to come if you want the latest, most up to date info on trends (outside of fashion), gadgetry, etc. I'm the girl who writes on Brian Greene how long after he published The Elegant Universe after all. The one who discovers "new" shows after they've already gone to syndication (I watched every West Wing episode available on Bravo). The one who only just discovered itunes and ipods. But on this point, I must express public thanks for what a friend of mine refers to as 'our wonderful capitalist system.' My nano is the most amazing little thing - so much sound in such a tiny package. And the ability to browse music in a whole new, personally-directed, interactive way... to have immediate access to totally new sounds for under a buck... amazing. Actually, I discovered itunes first after being challenged by my Indian friend to create a CD for him and my other friends. He's a big music buff and seemed rather emphatic about the CD: had in fact made me three. I began creating a CD that is personally reflective of musical influences in my life, my name, where I live. But to find just those right songs... only online (all state songs and an ecletic but elegantly arranged mix of jazz, folk, country, rock and roll and blues.) It was my hubbie who thought if I was into itunes I could be into a nano. And he was, indeed right. An early birthday present of sorts, it has already brought big booming joy into my, well, ears.
And aren't nanos still cool?
At least I'm wearing my brand new Nannette Lepore pants - very hip cool designer I discovered at local boutique Twigs, and my gorgeous Burberry polo which was hugely sought after this season and unbelievably hard to find. So cute. Fashion I can do. My two year old takes after me in that way - it's been very important to her that everything "match" (and look out if it doesn't).
Books I can also do (forgive my late find on the Brian Greene Elegant Universe discussed in an earlier post. Did I ever share that I heard him speak thanks again to my hubbie? He seemed rather a polished speaker, and not so much the impassioned young physicist I took so much pleasure in listening to during his NPR video. That said, he can still hang out in my basement as my sexy human pet.) But all that aside, here's one you should try if interested in armchair physics: Parallel Worlds. An excellent compendium on the latest trends in physics and cosmolegy. (Sigh, I once wanted to be an astrophysicist and now it's all come to this.)
Alright, 3:17 now....
3:18...
3:20...
Snore.
Saturday, March 11
Tuesday, January 17
Get Gitanjali
Poet re-discovered this week: Rabindranath Tagore, India's only Poet Laureate.
Yeat's comment on Tagore/Indian poetry: "A tradition, where poetry and religion are the same thing, has passed through the centuries, gathering from learned and unlearned metaphor and emotion, and carried back again to the multitude the thought of the scholar and of the noble."
My older Indian friend concurs and comments that Indian poetry is a mirror-image of Hinduism, much more a way of life than a religion.
My comment on Tagore: He's been around a long while, but his work has something that is just so FRESH about it. Pick up Gitanjali again and see for yourself.
Yeat's comment on Tagore/Indian poetry: "A tradition, where poetry and religion are the same thing, has passed through the centuries, gathering from learned and unlearned metaphor and emotion, and carried back again to the multitude the thought of the scholar and of the noble."
My older Indian friend concurs and comments that Indian poetry is a mirror-image of Hinduism, much more a way of life than a religion.
My comment on Tagore: He's been around a long while, but his work has something that is just so FRESH about it. Pick up Gitanjali again and see for yourself.
Thursday, January 5
It's Just Stupid
Favorite quote of the week: “It’s like you’re throwing
darts, and the bullseye is just one part in 10^120
of the dart board,” says Leonard Susskind, a
string theorist based at Stanford University in
California. “It’s just stupid.”
From "Outrageous Fortune," published in Nature by Geoff Brumfiel, the beginnings of which is excerpted below.
Why are we here? It’s a question
that has troubled philosophers,
theologians and those who’ve
had one drink too many. But
theoretical physicists have a more essentialist
way of asking the question: why is there anything
here at all?
For two decades now, theorists in the thinkbig
field of cosmology have been stymied by a
mathematical quirk in their equations. If the
number controlling the growth of the Universe
since the Big Bang is just slightly too
high, the Universe expands so rapidly that protons
and neutrons never come close enough to
bond into atoms. If it is just ever-so-slightly
too small, it never expands enough, and everything
remains too hot for even a single nucleus
to form. Similar problems afflict the observed
masses of elementary particles and the
strengths of fundamental forces.
In other words, if you believe the equations
of the world’s leading cosmologists, the probability
that the Universe would turn out this
way by chance are infinitesimal — one in a
very large number. “It’s like you’re throwing
darts, and the bullseye is just one part in 10 to the 120
of the dart board,” says Leonard Susskind, a
string theorist based at Stanford University in
California. “It’s just stupid.”
One in a zillion
Physicists have historically approached this
predicament with the attitude that it’s not just
dumb luck. In their view, there must be something
underlying and yet-to-be-discovered
setting the value of these variables. “The idea is
that we have got to work harder because some
principle is missing,” says David Gross, a
Nobel-prizewinning theorist and director of
the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in
Santa Barbara, California.
But things have changed in the past few
years, says astronomer Bernard Carr of Queen
Mary, University of London, UK. String theorists
and cosmologists are increasingly turning
to dumb luck as an explanation. If their ideas
stand up, it would mean the constants of nature
are meaningless. “In the past, many people
were almost violently opposed to that idea
because it wasn’t seen as proper science,” Carr
says. “But there’s been a change of attitude.”
Much of that change stems from work
showing that our Universe may not be unique.
Since the early 1980s, some cosmologists have
argued that multiple universes could have
formed during a period of cosmic inflation
that preceded the Big Bang. More recently,
string theorists have calculated that there
could be 10 to the 500 universes, which is more than
the number of atoms in our observable Universe.
Under these circumstances, it becomes
more reasonable to assume that several would
turn out like ours. It’s like getting zillions and
zillions of darts to throw at the dart board,
Susskind says. “Surely, a large number of them
are going to wind up in the target zone.” And of
course, we exist in our particular Universe
because we couldn’t exist anywhere else.
darts, and the bullseye is just one part in 10^120
of the dart board,” says Leonard Susskind, a
string theorist based at Stanford University in
California. “It’s just stupid.”
From "Outrageous Fortune," published in Nature by Geoff Brumfiel, the beginnings of which is excerpted below.
Why are we here? It’s a question
that has troubled philosophers,
theologians and those who’ve
had one drink too many. But
theoretical physicists have a more essentialist
way of asking the question: why is there anything
here at all?
For two decades now, theorists in the thinkbig
field of cosmology have been stymied by a
mathematical quirk in their equations. If the
number controlling the growth of the Universe
since the Big Bang is just slightly too
high, the Universe expands so rapidly that protons
and neutrons never come close enough to
bond into atoms. If it is just ever-so-slightly
too small, it never expands enough, and everything
remains too hot for even a single nucleus
to form. Similar problems afflict the observed
masses of elementary particles and the
strengths of fundamental forces.
In other words, if you believe the equations
of the world’s leading cosmologists, the probability
that the Universe would turn out this
way by chance are infinitesimal — one in a
very large number. “It’s like you’re throwing
darts, and the bullseye is just one part in 10 to the 120
of the dart board,” says Leonard Susskind, a
string theorist based at Stanford University in
California. “It’s just stupid.”
One in a zillion
Physicists have historically approached this
predicament with the attitude that it’s not just
dumb luck. In their view, there must be something
underlying and yet-to-be-discovered
setting the value of these variables. “The idea is
that we have got to work harder because some
principle is missing,” says David Gross, a
Nobel-prizewinning theorist and director of
the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in
Santa Barbara, California.
But things have changed in the past few
years, says astronomer Bernard Carr of Queen
Mary, University of London, UK. String theorists
and cosmologists are increasingly turning
to dumb luck as an explanation. If their ideas
stand up, it would mean the constants of nature
are meaningless. “In the past, many people
were almost violently opposed to that idea
because it wasn’t seen as proper science,” Carr
says. “But there’s been a change of attitude.”
Much of that change stems from work
showing that our Universe may not be unique.
Since the early 1980s, some cosmologists have
argued that multiple universes could have
formed during a period of cosmic inflation
that preceded the Big Bang. More recently,
string theorists have calculated that there
could be 10 to the 500 universes, which is more than
the number of atoms in our observable Universe.
Under these circumstances, it becomes
more reasonable to assume that several would
turn out like ours. It’s like getting zillions and
zillions of darts to throw at the dart board,
Susskind says. “Surely, a large number of them
are going to wind up in the target zone.” And of
course, we exist in our particular Universe
because we couldn’t exist anywhere else.
Bumpers Beware
Believe it or not, I've taken a six month hiatus from this page to start a "Stop the Snark" bumper sticker campaign aimed at all the too-cool-for-you, FOX-network watching, haven't-been-sincere-(at least publicly)-a-single-day-in-my-life, let's-poke-tongue-in-cheek-fun-at-pretty-much-anyone-who-actually-
CARES-about-anything types. Write me if you want one.
CARES-about-anything types. Write me if you want one.
Wednesday, July 27
How's the Weather Out By You Then?
After rejoicing over spring weather back in March, which quickly gave way not to summer but to shivery wind and miserable dampness, which then gave way to 90 plus with humidity, I am pleased to once again announce that it is 76 degrees today with sunshine and little humidity! SEVENTY SIX baby. SEVEN-SIX. It feels like a day on a San Diego beach (sans the crime, the traffic, the value devoid residents, and the exorbitant housing costs - yes, there are reasons we left).
And perhaps it's just the sunshine and balmy breezes, but I realize now that a trait I've long loathed in Midwesterners - a mindless affinity for endless discussions about weather conditions - is not only completely reasonable but totally inevitable. When a day like today is as unexpected as it is pleasant, it really does become life's collective high point and a headlining topic for discussion.
So stay warm, stay dry, enjoy the sun. And if you want to talk about the weather, feel free to call and chat.
And perhaps it's just the sunshine and balmy breezes, but I realize now that a trait I've long loathed in Midwesterners - a mindless affinity for endless discussions about weather conditions - is not only completely reasonable but totally inevitable. When a day like today is as unexpected as it is pleasant, it really does become life's collective high point and a headlining topic for discussion.
So stay warm, stay dry, enjoy the sun. And if you want to talk about the weather, feel free to call and chat.
Friday, June 17
Paradox in Paradise?
Guys out there, can someone explain to me the whole "what happens in vegas stays in vegas" boys club attitude that seems to be more, or perhaps equally yet paradoxically, cherished than significant others? Call it morbid curiosity.
Monday, June 13
Talk Nerdy to Me
I'm getting this t-shirt. OK, I'm not. But if I were in the market for an obnoxious t-shirt, this is the one I'd get.
http://www.tshirthell.com/images/contestpics/a42_007.jpg
http://www.tshirthell.com/images/contestpics/a42_007.jpg
Monday, May 23
Women of the Galaxy, Unite
Finally got around to Revenge of the Sith. Since I reviewed it last post without even having seen, and since there are countless reviews elsewhere, I'll spare you.
Except to say this:
What the heck happened to the resourceful, athletic, involved, intelligent, diplomatic Padmei? Pregnant = glowy, self-imposed exile in some apartment building waiting for your turning-to-the-dark-side husband to figure everything out? I didn't take her for that kind of woman. Last I saw she was standing on top of a very tall pillar fighting off a massive, doglike beast. With a chain.
I mean, if you're pregnant, and you want to lie around your apartment, fine. I've been pregnant, and I certainly did my share of saving my strength. It's truly exhausting work, making and growing a real live baby from scratch. No hard feelings. But considering the galaxy's at war, Annikan's at the middle of a massive evil coup, and the Jedi are losing ground, this mother of one thinks action-oriented democracy-loving Padmei maybe could have done just an eensy-weensy bit more to redirect the inevitable fall of the Republic into Sith hands.
Maybe just.
Except to say this:
What the heck happened to the resourceful, athletic, involved, intelligent, diplomatic Padmei? Pregnant = glowy, self-imposed exile in some apartment building waiting for your turning-to-the-dark-side husband to figure everything out? I didn't take her for that kind of woman. Last I saw she was standing on top of a very tall pillar fighting off a massive, doglike beast. With a chain.
I mean, if you're pregnant, and you want to lie around your apartment, fine. I've been pregnant, and I certainly did my share of saving my strength. It's truly exhausting work, making and growing a real live baby from scratch. No hard feelings. But considering the galaxy's at war, Annikan's at the middle of a massive evil coup, and the Jedi are losing ground, this mother of one thinks action-oriented democracy-loving Padmei maybe could have done just an eensy-weensy bit more to redirect the inevitable fall of the Republic into Sith hands.
Maybe just.
Thursday, May 12
She Fanned on III
So my hubbie and I watched the last two Star Wars movies as a type of refresher before getting in line for III, and I have a confession: they're growing on me. Yes, despite Mr. Binks (and for that matter, Mr. Cristensen) - OK and number I's slow start - I found them engaging. Perhaps I went in the first time around with too high expectations. Why, I wonder now, considering that Jedi was pretty subpar, and god that BONDAGE outfit Leah was wearing. Yick. To be sure, on both points - good movies and bondage outfit - I diverge from the GGO, also known as general geek opinion.
Still, I really do think there's something sophisticated about the way the latest films portray evil and its insidious way of resulting from decisions that SEEMED right on the surface, but ultimately were not. And on that note, it's too bad that Mr. Lucas didn't heed the moral of his own stories when making Revenge. If I am to understand most of the reviews, the new film is not particularly kid friendly. Come now, George, you made the other FIVE movies in part for children. Why not this one? You KNOW kids are going to see it in droves, so why traumatize their little minds with more violence than they are already exposed to? Yes, it makes sense that a fall from grace would entail evil acts, and yet why follow in Darth's footsteps?
So make that a third point on which I am quite sure I diverge from the GGO. Maybe I'm not so much a geek after all. With three strikes, am I out?
Still, I really do think there's something sophisticated about the way the latest films portray evil and its insidious way of resulting from decisions that SEEMED right on the surface, but ultimately were not. And on that note, it's too bad that Mr. Lucas didn't heed the moral of his own stories when making Revenge. If I am to understand most of the reviews, the new film is not particularly kid friendly. Come now, George, you made the other FIVE movies in part for children. Why not this one? You KNOW kids are going to see it in droves, so why traumatize their little minds with more violence than they are already exposed to? Yes, it makes sense that a fall from grace would entail evil acts, and yet why follow in Darth's footsteps?
So make that a third point on which I am quite sure I diverge from the GGO. Maybe I'm not so much a geek after all. With three strikes, am I out?
Monday, May 9
Vice (President)
Promoted at last to veep. Am I pleased? Sure. Will it keep me interested in the job for awhile? Absolutely. Do I think I deserve it? Yeah, I've worked pretty hard. Can I excel? I certainly think so, but I must confess, I do have some work-related vices that may, finally, need to be addressed.
1) Instant messenger. And what a huge vice IM truly is. Studies now show that if you want to drop your IQ 10 points during the day, allow yourself to be constantly interrupted by IM and email. Who knows what the developers of IM have done to our GDP with one innocent invention. I figure that my own IQ must be affected by more than 10 points, considering that my worklife is one long IM/email/phone interruption. And let's not even discuss productivity levels.
2) Roscoe. The dog that insists on hanging out in my home office, and even muscles his 95 pound way through my door so that he can lay at my feet and sleep. This is fine and good until I'm on the phone with a CEO and something goes bump downstairs. Suddenly his sleepy senior self morphs into a fury of flying fur and howling. But let me tell you, I'm a softy. The site of my sorry dog's sad face as he mopes away after being rebuffed a position at my feet is just too much. And the truth is, I like having Roscoe around.
3) Decaf. Or caf, depending on how you look at it. I switched years ago from "real" coffee to the less potent stuff. Now that I need more energy to keep up with the job, I may need to switch back. Problem is, one shot of caffeine unleashes my horrible, demanding, perfectionist, darth vader-like self onto the workworld (not to mention my husband). Caffeine, for me, is something like Dr. Jeckle's potion. Then again, maybe that's a good thing... I can hear myself now: "Astroids don't concern me, account executive..."
I'm sure there are others. Like this blog(!). What to do? Hmmm.... something to think about another day, when I don't have a blog to write, emails to reply to, phone calls to make, and an IM message to answer....
1) Instant messenger. And what a huge vice IM truly is. Studies now show that if you want to drop your IQ 10 points during the day, allow yourself to be constantly interrupted by IM and email. Who knows what the developers of IM have done to our GDP with one innocent invention. I figure that my own IQ must be affected by more than 10 points, considering that my worklife is one long IM/email/phone interruption. And let's not even discuss productivity levels.
2) Roscoe. The dog that insists on hanging out in my home office, and even muscles his 95 pound way through my door so that he can lay at my feet and sleep. This is fine and good until I'm on the phone with a CEO and something goes bump downstairs. Suddenly his sleepy senior self morphs into a fury of flying fur and howling. But let me tell you, I'm a softy. The site of my sorry dog's sad face as he mopes away after being rebuffed a position at my feet is just too much. And the truth is, I like having Roscoe around.
3) Decaf. Or caf, depending on how you look at it. I switched years ago from "real" coffee to the less potent stuff. Now that I need more energy to keep up with the job, I may need to switch back. Problem is, one shot of caffeine unleashes my horrible, demanding, perfectionist, darth vader-like self onto the workworld (not to mention my husband). Caffeine, for me, is something like Dr. Jeckle's potion. Then again, maybe that's a good thing... I can hear myself now: "Astroids don't concern me, account executive..."
I'm sure there are others. Like this blog(!). What to do? Hmmm.... something to think about another day, when I don't have a blog to write, emails to reply to, phone calls to make, and an IM message to answer....
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