gdp's Comments

Full Time Ink : This rain is as plain as our senses

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:54:45 +0000

Here's an article on that exact implant and its effects: http://gizmodo.com/5895555/i-have-a-magnet-implan... I hadn't thought about an extra-limbs scenario for humans, though I've long believed that four walking legs plus two arms is an ideal configuration for a sentient creature.

Full Time Ink : This rain is as plain as our senses

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 07:04:59 +0000

Hi there! Yes, the sense is called "proprioception" (hundreds of years ago, it was called the "sense of locomotion") — and it is managed by little packets of nerve endings mostly in muscle tissue, which perceive the amount of compression in the muscle. (There are also some of these packets in joints and skin.) This (with some practice) allows us to sense our body position. In microgravity, such as in orbit, this sense has to be retrained, as it costs little or no muscle tension to hold an arm in position. In order to create a truly natural-feeling artificial limb, this sense (with feedback to the brain) has to be supported as well. But there's nothing in principle that says that a Kyra-like electroception couldn't be wired up to feed to the brain. We've already done work to feed a mouse cursor's position in directly, and that's not a sense that people normally have. Artificial proprioception has been successfully field tested in stroke victims with success. A number of creatures, not all in water, sense magnetic fields. This is usually done with tiny magnetic metal particles inside the cell itself, generally involved in navigation. Many plants directly sense gravity. Octopuses have an extraordinarily developed sense of up and down and acceleration, but interestingly only a poor proprioception sense, we think. Perhaps the flexible arms are too much for the central octopus brain to keep track of, and each arm has its own brain tissue in any event. We can eventually augment or create almost any sense and feed it in to a human brain. Imagine having a "feeling" that your most recent thought gets a lot of Google hits. So Kyra shouldn't give up on humans, even though it will take some artificial tinkering. After all, she is herself (apparently) the result of human tinkering, demonstrating that it can have good results. Or at least impressive results, depending upon one's notion of "good." I'm enjoying your work, and imagining that Kyra is for some folks a sort of therapod therapy. Best wishes!

Big Hollywood : Follow the Yellow Brick Road Back to 'Oz'

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:21:09 +0000

The political aspects of this story have long fascinated me, and I am looking forward to your presentation. The "Oz is political" debate is peculiar. The early productions of the book as a stage play (which Baum was involved in) often simply used the politicians' names in speeches of the characters. The political retelling was "rediscovered" relatively recently — and now the argument used to suggest that Baum was really for McKinley was the fact that he wrote a poem that seemed to be rooting for McKinley. Modern readers don't realize that this satirical poem "When McKinley Gets the Chair" came out right as the notion of executing criminals with the electric chair became the new Progressive style: This is about that poem: http://level-head.livejournal.com/468432.html And this is about Bryan, the only man to run against himself for President. He lost: http://level-head.livejournal.com/467780.html ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

Big Hollywood : Follow the Yellow Brick Road Back to 'Oz'

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:17:59 +0000

Not true. In fact, the early productions of the book as a stage play (which he was involved in) often simply used the politicians' names in speeches of the characters. The political retelling was "rediscovered" relatively recently — and now the argument used to suggest that Baum was really for McKinley was the fact that he wrote a poem that seemed to be rooting for McKinley. Modern readers don't realize that this satirical poem "When McKinley Gets the Chair" came out right as the notion of executing criminals with the electric chair became the new Progressive style: This is about that poem: http://level-head.livejournal.com/468432.html And this is about Bryan, the only man to run against himself for President. He lost: http://level-head.livejournal.com/467780.html ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

Big Hollywood : On Reagan's Birthday, Let's Remember the Gipper's Film Career - Part 2

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 03:47:14 +0000

The Iran Contra affair does not trouble me. I've looked into it extensively, and while it was somewhat mishandled by the administration, it was not illegal, simply covert. The Boland amendments violations did not convict Col. North, it was a minor issue over the security system installed to protect his family. That conviction was later vacated, and Congress looked foolish indeed pursuing this.

http://www.bluecollarphilosophy.com/ : Jules Manson Calls For Obama And Family To Be Killed Along With Racist References; Evil; UPDATE: Tha

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:06:01 +0000

I put up a couple of posts about the fellow, with some links to background: http://www.dehavelle.com/2011/12/follow-up-on-jul... http://www.dehavelle.com/2011/12/evolution-of-a-p... ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

http://www.bluecollarphilosophy.com/ : Jules Manson Calls For Obama And Family To Be Killed Along With Racist References; Evil; UPDATE: Tha

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:10:13 +0000

Jules Manson is an atheist libertarian who apparently despised the Tea Party. He was removed as editor of SupportAtheism.org because of a racist private comment, according to the current editor of that website. He is apparently a "9/11 Truth" conspiracy enthusiast, he officially favors rent and price controls on his web page, and he says that he dislikes both main political parties but has been a member of both. He was (he says) motivated to run for "office" (the town's City Council) because his landlord raised the rent on his trailer, among other things. His positions are an odd mix; he seems as good or better a fit with the Occupy movement. But in any event, the "Tea Party Leader" and "Tea Party darling" and "Republican politician" statements are all evidently fabrications. It would be good to deal with the facts as they are, especially as this fellow could be as easily portrayed on one side of the aisle as the other. There are not too many militant, anti-Christian ranters in the Tea Party, for example, but Manson's posts at SupportAtheism contain that sentiment. ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

Breitbart.tv : Newt Flashback 2003: I'm An Eisenhower Republican, Government Has To Lead On Healthcare

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:59:54 +0000

Well, Newt Gingrich here didn't propose That he'd put on those Socialist clothes He wanted regs and IT While these things aren't for free They are smart. That's as far as he goes Note that Romney, Obama, and Hill Made us swallow the still-bitter pill Of us paying for millions Who'd soon cost us trillions This is what Newt has promised to kill But a system for tracking the data And the role of healthcare regulator Isn't foolish or dead There's some place for the Fed (Though the info we'll talk about later...)

Big Hollywood : Kyle Smith: 'Things Take a Turn For the Gay' in 'Happy Feet Two'

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:10:17 +0000

WALL•E's "message": Government nanny-states dehumanize us all — and it's time to go back to working for a living, faming, and building cities. Not too bad a message, actually. Our friends on the left saw the trash scenes and jumped to Global Warming (despite the movie showing no rise in sea level), but the actual story was far more interesting. ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

Big Government : EXCLUSIVE: Financial Documents Suggest GOP Rep. Bachus Profited from '

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:24:29 +0000

Hmm. To keep it fair, we need to look carefully at this. I expect that this is what the investigative report will accomplish. For example, if in fact Bachus checked with the ethics committee and got clearance before embarking upon his financial dalliances, or we learn that this was a long-accepted practice by the committee, then our ire really needs to be focused on understanding why it's considered acceptable, and changing it as (is almost certainly) appropriate. It certainly looks terrible from here, and I'm reminded a bit of the British MP expense-padding scheme revealed last year. That was winked at, but not officially accepted — and a lot of the bums were thrown out. This trading may be officially accepted! And if so, we would start by reviewing, and probably throwing out, the ethics committee and starting that process over from scratch. The big question: How do we create a system that incentivizes good behavior? Our current scheme, unfortunately, tempts even good people to play along, and many of them are far from good people. ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

TEA in Space : A Quick Note On STS-135

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:59:02 +0000

I was on your side many years ago, before the Tea Party in Space was conceived. While the vapor trail from Columbia's ill-fated last re-entry still hung in the sky over my office, I walked inside and wrote this: Push On! The Shuttle, the Columbia, is lost The world is shocked, and frozen now in place Already timid souls bemoan the cost And feel we should not once more challenge space Debris will be discovered, gathered, probed And theories will spark, then burst in flame Though causes might not ever be disrobed Too many will just search for who's to blame The seven lost this February morn Of many countries scattered 'round the Earth, Would wish to see our spirit now reborn And keep exploring—go for all we're worth! The NASA Shuttle program has been stopped It may be years before we can advance But we can't let this ball be simply dropped! For future's sake, we have to take the chance The veterans Husband, Chawla, Anderson, And rookies Brown, Ramon, McCool and Clark Add their names to the journey just begun And for them, and for us, we'll keep the spark More tragedies will challenge our resolve And some will shy away from tempting fate But there's no problem here we cannot solve, Though risks we cannot all eliminate I sorrow for the loss of Shuttle crew; The seven who have blazed a path to space But for the future lost, I sorrow, too Inertia seems to petrify our pace It troubles me; I know what we can do And yet we don't; the reason's partly fear Three decades past, the future seemed in view, But thanks to timid minds, it's now unclear The NASA folks need mandates to explore! The planets and the stars await our call But they're reduced to "trucks" and little more The Station's just a building, after all These things should be by private enterprise; The costs would be reduced to less than half Let NASA look with visionary eyes, Beyond the needs of bureaucratic staff Let's grab an asteroid and make it ours! The metals in it would transform our world! Let's use the Sun, and redirect its powers With mighty space-borne wings that we've unfurled The Global Warming business goes away! Sunshine in space is not a fossil fuel And up in space, it's always "sunny day" Which much improves the solar power tool It costs too much to lift the mass from here On Earth we're at the bottom of a well But grab a passing rock, and now it's clear The task becomes much easier to sell The Asteroids and Moon have what we need To build enough to power us for good And whether we are moved by faith or greed At least we'll move beyond the neighborhood For one day we’ll be visited again By rocks like those that ended ages past And if we're only here, then it's the end Humanity would then have breathed its last Please join with me to tell our team "Push on!" We'll bind our wounds, and grow despite our scars We cannot falter, 'ere the chance is gone Our destiny is out among the stars ===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle — February 1, 2003

Frontpage Magazine : Sanity Is Not an Option

Mon, 1 Nov 2010 21:26:41 +0000

How in the world do you have it turned around where it's somehow Obama's fault and Republcans "reported" it. What report..WTF are you referencing..anything real?

It's rather like the situation with Fannie and Freddie; the Republicans worried about the impending crisis caused by Democrat policies, and Democrats kept insisting that everything was fine and fighting any improvements. Republicans have their share of problems -- because bureaucracies, separate from parties, are always problematic. It is the huge increase in bureaucracy that has cost me personally this year, and will cost all of us. From the report I mentioned, published in 2009 (before the spill, of course):

DERELICTION OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AT THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT “The Interior Department has breached its fiduciary duty to the American people. It is charged with holding our natural resources in trust, but instead, it has squandered billions and cheated the American people. Over two years have passed since Congress conducted serious oversight of the Minerals Management Service. This is a government program that brings in tens of billions of dollars in non-tax revenue. We knew over two years ago that MMS was corrupted with severe ethical lapses and that it did not exercise accountability over revenues due to the federal government. We knew then that MMS did not have the ability to track how much oil was being produced or the revenues due the American taxpayer. It is time for Congress to overhaul the Minerals Management Service.” – Darrell Issa, Ranking Member

Perhaps you have only been listening to one side of the story.

Frontpage Magazine : Sanity Is Not an Option

Mon, 1 Nov 2010 10:45:16 +0000

What have you had to do different in the last two years. How is the Federal Government micro-managing your life?

It is interesting that you've chosen this moment, late 2010, to ask these questions. Most of the new regulations don't start kicking in until January, unless you're from one of the many industries already affected such as banking, auto, health care, et cetera. But soon every transaction must be tracked and reported by small business, more employee information reported to the government, small capital is harder to raise because of federal micromanagement -- it's as though the Feds were dead-set against minority small businesses, which had been rising at a rate much faster (by about three times) than majority small businesses. All of these add cost to every aspect of people's lives. And they intrude into -- and micromanage -- things never considered part of the government's purview. It is unnecessary, and essentially a power-trip. As an aside, BP was a big buddy of the Left. Who do you think had given the largest donation on the planet to leftist universities? So their track record was largely ignored -- until the Republicans came out with their massive report on the corrupt practices of the MMS and warnings of the consequences -- six months BEFORE the BP oil spill. The Democrats ignore it. So did the news media; you were probably not aware of it. The role of the federal government has been, especially in the last two years, to create many more MMS-type fiascos-in-the-making.

Big Government : LA Times: Jerry Brown or Aide Caught on Tape Calling Meg Whitman a 'Whore'

Fri, 8 Oct 2010 12:36:07 +0000

It's worth noting that this transcript is STILL being misquoted. Brown is described as saying: "What about saying that she's a whore?" What he actually says is two sentences: "What about saying that? She's a whore!" There's a pause and voice tone shift in the middle.

Big Hollywood : For Conservative Movie Lovers: James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, and ‘Aliens’ Part 1

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:07:11 +0000

Some years ago in Florida, a sixteen-year-old girl was riding her little motorcycle on a Florida rural road -- and was run off the road by a group of six bikers. This was extremely hard on her, as she ultimately had to balance the most badly injured biker (they were all unconscious) on her own motorcycle to get him to a hospital. They'd rushed her.

Big Hollywood : WE LOVE PIXAR: Why Conservative Critics Were Wrong About 'Wall-E'

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 06:34:36 +0000

The "counter narrative" is what I saw, to my surprise, when I first saw the film two years ago. It struck me as a movie that we conservatives SHOULD like. We almost couldn't say that aloud, as our Hollywood friends are convinced that it's a movie about global warming and corporations. It is the latter, but with a twist: A global government has taken over every business on the planet--so that there is no longer a distinction between government and business. And the results are bad. We aren't surprised, of course. They portray it as Wal-Mart, but they predicted in a sense some of the actions of the United Nations -- and the Obama administration. Secondly, the film's treatment of global warming is interesting: The Earth in 2805 (along with a globe model of it from 2105) is visible several times in the film. Global Warming never happened. Or at least, had no appreciable effect on sea levels, which would be obvious from the Florida coastline. The Great Lakes water level has substantially dropped by eight hundred years from now (the bridge that Wall•E lives on is now over a dry lake bed, and the Axiom's cradle is no longer on an island). But lake water levels are a different issue. What they showed as the problem is trash--knowing that this is something in real life that we aren't likely to have a problem with. It is safe enough. And the story of pure love, told without sex, profanity nor potty humor? Delightful and charming.

Big Government : From JournoList to Shirley Sherrod: The Left's Default Response Is Fascism

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:41:05 +0000

I'd make one comment on the "balanced budget" bit: It wasn't. When George Bush took office in 2001, the economy was collapsing. The DOW had been falling from its peak in March 2000, NASDAQ had lost tens of percent of its value just in the previous several weeks, and the much-vaunted "surplus" was based on a projection that the economy would continue for years at the peak that was already long-gone by the time the numbers were published. It amazes me that the "Bush recession" was allowed to be called that, since the collapse dates from the middle of Bill Clinton's last year. Moreover, the spending spree from a Congress eager to take advantage of the new wealth had not yet kicked in: 1998 and 1999 were among the few times that the economy outran Congress's ability to spend. The Internet bubble was a one-off sort of thing, and Bill Clinton's forced-centrist policies (after the Republican takeover in the dismal economy of 1994) allowed it to happen. A pity that we could not restrain our spending. But at least, under the Bush tax cuts, the Clinton recession of 2000 was short-lived.

Big Hollywood : WE LOVE PIXAR: How 'Ratatouille,' and 'The Incredibles' Turned Me Right

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 22:44:48 +0000

Although WALL•E received some negative comments by some conservatives, it is one of the best cautionary tales in favor of conservative ideas. Consider: (1) Global warming never happened in this film: the Earth from space (and the globe in the captain's den) show that sea levels did not rise significantly. (2) The Axiom represented the problems that happen in society when a socialist government takes over all business. There was no longer a distinction, and no competition. (3) The Axiom also demonstrates the degradation of society as a result of living in the ultimate nanny state. No one worked, no one accomplished anything, and people became utterly helpless and existed at the whims of the system. (4) One clue--everyone switched to blue when told by the government/corporation -- but when their eyes were opened, their garb became red. And at the end, when everyone was dumped out of their complacency (and their chairs) they ALL wore red--and cheered in the battle against the government/corporate system. Plus, the film's central theme was love, loyalty, and friendship -- a marvelous story told completely without potty humor or profanity. Few films for ANY age could make such a claim. The director, Andrew Stanton, is a Christian who worked elements of the Adam and Eve story as well as Noah's Ark into WALL•E, and did so without satire or denigration. And Mr. Stanton was clever enough to get Hollywood critics on board, without ever agreeing with what they thought it meant.