an argument for midwinter marking the start of winter.
the seasons are symbolic of life. so for example autumn represents decline and death. midwinter is the turning point between one life (year) and another, almost like a rebirth. in fact midwinter was called the rebirth of the invincible sun by the romans.
the ancient chinese (shang) put midwinter as the new year. January 1st is also in midwinter, if not exactly midwinter.
20050919
20050918
prototype and 4th horseman
these were the first episodes i wasnt totally happy with in 9 seasons. they were inconsistant with the previous seasons. in fact, the whole season 9 was sort of inconsistant i thought. of course the episode was still interesting. and i look forward to the season 9 finale.
my main complaint is that ascention now really has nothing to do with enlightenment, but instead with optimizing usage of certain parts of the brain. that almost sounds like knowledge not understanding.
and fact that healing power had to do with the path to ascention, added to the fact that healing had to do with the knowledge of the ancients (previous episode), suggests that ascention had to do with the knowledge of the ancients. i suppose this was already suggested with daniels descention, but i still dont like the idea.
also, the whole telekinesis thing, though neccessary for the plot of the episode, was inconsistant with previous seasons, as we never saw anything like it before, in relation to ascention (yes we had the genetic engineering thing, but it was unrelated). and Orlin didnt suffer brain damage last time he descended.
maybe it would have been better to have ended the series at 8. i really loved the finale there, with the replicators trying to reach enlightenment, and daniel explaining that their superior computing power wont help them, as enlightenment is an understanding, not knowledge.
basically i wanted ascention to have to do with enlightenment. but the writers did have a problem there with the ori being ascended and all, but obviously not enlightened.
my main complaint is that ascention now really has nothing to do with enlightenment, but instead with optimizing usage of certain parts of the brain. that almost sounds like knowledge not understanding.
and fact that healing power had to do with the path to ascention, added to the fact that healing had to do with the knowledge of the ancients (previous episode), suggests that ascention had to do with the knowledge of the ancients. i suppose this was already suggested with daniels descention, but i still dont like the idea.
also, the whole telekinesis thing, though neccessary for the plot of the episode, was inconsistant with previous seasons, as we never saw anything like it before, in relation to ascention (yes we had the genetic engineering thing, but it was unrelated). and Orlin didnt suffer brain damage last time he descended.
maybe it would have been better to have ended the series at 8. i really loved the finale there, with the replicators trying to reach enlightenment, and daniel explaining that their superior computing power wont help them, as enlightenment is an understanding, not knowledge.
basically i wanted ascention to have to do with enlightenment. but the writers did have a problem there with the ori being ascended and all, but obviously not enlightened.
harvest moon S90-16.8, 3631tjd
i look forward to harvest moon all year, because we get to sing harvest moon songs. then i go to school and no one has any idea what im talking about. harvest moon songs? so apparently my family is an exception in remembering the folk songs. of course we already knew that, as we always eat dinner together, my parents arent divorced, and weve never watched desperate housewives. is giving up our culture and our heritage a neccessary step towards modernity?
the same things is happening in other countries im sure. i think the chinese communities here in The City are more aware of the Ancient Customs then their breatheren in china. its almost like parents feel that because they are farther from their homeland, that they must cling tighter to the old ways. my friends and i probably know more chinese folk songs than the average chinese citizen of the same age. folk songs represent oral tradition quite well, as singing seems to be something all people have in common. something purely human, even older then the animal sacrifices (another wholesome custom of course).
this may have more to do with the current trend of forsaking culture to adopt "cool" american capitalism. but the america they try to emulate has no culture outside of reality tv and fast food. no one actually learns about our true culture, a culture that is already lost.
Shine on Harvest Moon in a nutshell:
one night the moon doesnt shine.
the girl gets scared and goes home.
the guy is left alone to lament, and sings to the moon, asking it to shine.
the moon is touched by the sincerety of his love for the girl, and takes pity on him.
this folk song doesnt have to be american, it could just as well be pretty much anything. i guess people are the same everywhere. were just human, thats all. this is going to sound so cliche, but why cant people ever look at the so many things we have in common instead of the few trivial things we dont?
the same things is happening in other countries im sure. i think the chinese communities here in The City are more aware of the Ancient Customs then their breatheren in china. its almost like parents feel that because they are farther from their homeland, that they must cling tighter to the old ways. my friends and i probably know more chinese folk songs than the average chinese citizen of the same age. folk songs represent oral tradition quite well, as singing seems to be something all people have in common. something purely human, even older then the animal sacrifices (another wholesome custom of course).
this may have more to do with the current trend of forsaking culture to adopt "cool" american capitalism. but the america they try to emulate has no culture outside of reality tv and fast food. no one actually learns about our true culture, a culture that is already lost.
Shine on Harvest Moon in a nutshell:
one night the moon doesnt shine.
the girl gets scared and goes home.
the guy is left alone to lament, and sings to the moon, asking it to shine.
the moon is touched by the sincerety of his love for the girl, and takes pity on him.
this folk song doesnt have to be american, it could just as well be pretty much anything. i guess people are the same everywhere. were just human, thats all. this is going to sound so cliche, but why cant people ever look at the so many things we have in common instead of the few trivial things we dont?
20050914
more jd
my birthday was Feb 6th 1989 10:30 est.
this was 2447564.64 JD.
now that doesnt seem too convienient.
but they already thought of that, and there are several shorter forms:
MJD (modified) = JD - 2400000.5
TJD (truncated) = JD - 24400000.5
in english this just means MJD leaves out the first two digits, TJD the first three. the .5 just makes days start at midnight.
so 2447564.64 JD = 47564.14 MJD = 7564.14 TJD
MJD repeats around every 300 years (almost 274 to be precise)
TJD repeats around every 30 years
so today was 53627 MJD or 3627 TJD
to calculte the jd for any date and time, visit US Naval JD Converter
US Naval JD Converter
this was 2447564.64 JD.
now that doesnt seem too convienient.
but they already thought of that, and there are several shorter forms:
MJD (modified) = JD - 2400000.5
TJD (truncated) = JD - 24400000.5
in english this just means MJD leaves out the first two digits, TJD the first three. the .5 just makes days start at midnight.
so 2447564.64 JD = 47564.14 MJD = 7564.14 TJD
MJD repeats around every 300 years (almost 274 to be precise)
TJD repeats around every 30 years
so today was 53627 MJD or 3627 TJD
to calculte the jd for any date and time, visit US Naval JD Converter
US Naval JD Converter
where there is no time
in english im reading the book, The Things They Carried, which is a profound work in my opinion. so far the only good book i can think of at the moment that ive read for school are Joy Luck Club, Song of Solomon, Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, and The Things They Carried.
the first chapter, titled The Things They Carried, talks literally about what the soldiers carried with them in Vietnam, and how these things defined who they were, be it field medic or machine gunner. but they also carried with them other things. these things they carried inside their soul, and these too defined them as a person. we are defined by the things we carried.
my first reaction to the book was it was real. and not real as in it was vivid, or it seemed real. but that is was nothing more than the truth.
my second reaction was today, when i realized that this book was in a word, eerie. just eerie. it talks about a place where once you get there, time stops, and has no meaning. there is no time. things that happen, dont stop happening. and the author Tim O'brien never came back. wow, what does this remind you of? well, this is the perfect description of hell (think Event Horizon, or Constantine).
the first chapter, titled The Things They Carried, talks literally about what the soldiers carried with them in Vietnam, and how these things defined who they were, be it field medic or machine gunner. but they also carried with them other things. these things they carried inside their soul, and these too defined them as a person. we are defined by the things we carried.
my first reaction to the book was it was real. and not real as in it was vivid, or it seemed real. but that is was nothing more than the truth.
my second reaction was today, when i realized that this book was in a word, eerie. just eerie. it talks about a place where once you get there, time stops, and has no meaning. there is no time. things that happen, dont stop happening. and the author Tim O'brien never came back. wow, what does this remind you of? well, this is the perfect description of hell (think Event Horizon, or Constantine).
why go natural, or other (2453628 or S86-12.4)
there are benefits to natural and arbitrary calendars, the first being more meaningful, the second being easier for calculations. it seems to me, if we are going to use an arbitary calendar, we might as well use a truly arbitary one, not one that pretends to be natural. if youre going to use words like month, year, week, why dont you actually use real months, years, and weeks. the gregorian calendar is not that easy to work with because of its irregular but constant, fake cycles.
so if you want the benefits of the arbitary calendar, why not use one that doesnt pretend. astronomers use the julian day, the count of days since Monday, 1-1-4713 bce. toady is 2453628. tomorrow will be 2453629. for ordinary day to day use, i would omit the first two digits, since theyre going to be 24 for the next couple hundred of years (more on that later). and by the way, julian days start at noon. and theres no need to include the day of week, just divide by 7 and look at the remainder (0=monday, 1=tuesday, etc)
so we have two preferred choices:
natural and meaningful... S86-12.4
or easy to work with... 53627
i can already imagine some dystopic future where people forgot their calendars and just use the julian day. but of course they would have to destroy the moon to destroy the natural calendar, as it cannot be forgotten.
so if you want the benefits of the arbitary calendar, why not use one that doesnt pretend. astronomers use the julian day, the count of days since Monday, 1-1-4713 bce. toady is 2453628. tomorrow will be 2453629. for ordinary day to day use, i would omit the first two digits, since theyre going to be 24 for the next couple hundred of years (more on that later). and by the way, julian days start at noon. and theres no need to include the day of week, just divide by 7 and look at the remainder (0=monday, 1=tuesday, etc)
so we have two preferred choices:
natural and meaningful... S86-12.4
or easy to work with... 53627
i can already imagine some dystopic future where people forgot their calendars and just use the julian day. but of course they would have to destroy the moon to destroy the natural calendar, as it cannot be forgotten.
20050913
continutation to the first treatise - deducing the week
i previously recommended not including the current month or week, but the day of month and day of week. as i promised, here is a continuation of that original treatise, explaining how to deduce just which week it is from the day of week and day of month:
the difference between day of month and day of week will be:
the difference between day of month and day of week will be:
- 1st week - exactly 0
- 2nd week - single digit;
- 3rd week - in the 10s;
- 4th week - in the 20s;
state rights
state rights were defined in this country for centuries specifically as a states right to legalize slavery. but people have already forgotten this. notwithstanding the fact distopic futures result when states are too powerful. if you happen to be the admin, you also become hypocrotical.
how can it be that the feds cannot control states without violating their soverignty, yet can easily violate the sovereignty of other countries?
and lets say new jersey is suffering under a cruel dictator. is new york morally obligated to right the wrongs simply because they have the capacity to do so?
i am not a liberal, but a intellectual whose favorite policy is neutrality. but sometimes one side is right based on the axiomic morals you take, and the other wrong. and based on my axioms, the south was wrong to protect slavery for the interests of the priveledged. almost by definition, objective scientists and intellectuals are typically more unbiased (remember objective=unbiased) than say a cult member.
how can it be that the feds cannot control states without violating their soverignty, yet can easily violate the sovereignty of other countries?
and lets say new jersey is suffering under a cruel dictator. is new york morally obligated to right the wrongs simply because they have the capacity to do so?
i am not a liberal, but a intellectual whose favorite policy is neutrality. but sometimes one side is right based on the axiomic morals you take, and the other wrong. and based on my axioms, the south was wrong to protect slavery for the interests of the priveledged. almost by definition, objective scientists and intellectuals are typically more unbiased (remember objective=unbiased) than say a cult member.
neutrality
i sometimes have a dream that if i were in the shoes of muhammad or jesus, what would i have done.
one thing is to introduce the idea of neutrality. it works like this, never force your beliefs onto another person. actually, this is the exact opposite of what muhammad and jesus did.
it works really nicely, because you can have any beliefs you want. so if you believe that a human sacrifice is neccessary for the sun to rise, you can only kill yourself or risk forcing beliefs.
or course it starts to get a little more difficult when someone violates neutrality (ie, tortures someone). then do you have a right to enforce neutrality, or would that itself violate neutrality. at first i am tempted to say yes, but then i think of iraq.
religion is a tricky one, because it is unlike secular beliefs. in some ways it can fulfil the same ends as say a self help book that tells you to be proactive, listen to others, and think win-win. but it is something held over from an older time, a primitive precursor to secular beliefs. unfortunatly, there is also something that comes with religion, as people cannot apply old beliefs directly to the present. religion is something you cannot touch. if a person doesn't feel like going to school, its a cut. but if they have say an animal sacrifice to attend because its the full moon, then it better not be a cut, or they will sue. see, thats the problem right there. people seem entitled to days off etc as long as they do not get to choose them. i dont think this was what the founders were getting it. its just that everyone takes the whole religion thing so damn seriously. and i measure too serious as the point at which you cannot see humor in the matter anymore. i mean, if you concentrate too hardly on the hand, you miss out on the point (as in what the hand pointed to).
though it gets a little fuzy in the fact christianity, islam, taoism, and buddhism are actually quite modern, all comming from around the start of the common era.
one thing is to introduce the idea of neutrality. it works like this, never force your beliefs onto another person. actually, this is the exact opposite of what muhammad and jesus did.
it works really nicely, because you can have any beliefs you want. so if you believe that a human sacrifice is neccessary for the sun to rise, you can only kill yourself or risk forcing beliefs.
or course it starts to get a little more difficult when someone violates neutrality (ie, tortures someone). then do you have a right to enforce neutrality, or would that itself violate neutrality. at first i am tempted to say yes, but then i think of iraq.
religion is a tricky one, because it is unlike secular beliefs. in some ways it can fulfil the same ends as say a self help book that tells you to be proactive, listen to others, and think win-win. but it is something held over from an older time, a primitive precursor to secular beliefs. unfortunatly, there is also something that comes with religion, as people cannot apply old beliefs directly to the present. religion is something you cannot touch. if a person doesn't feel like going to school, its a cut. but if they have say an animal sacrifice to attend because its the full moon, then it better not be a cut, or they will sue. see, thats the problem right there. people seem entitled to days off etc as long as they do not get to choose them. i dont think this was what the founders were getting it. its just that everyone takes the whole religion thing so damn seriously. and i measure too serious as the point at which you cannot see humor in the matter anymore. i mean, if you concentrate too hardly on the hand, you miss out on the point (as in what the hand pointed to).
though it gets a little fuzy in the fact christianity, islam, taoism, and buddhism are actually quite modern, all comming from around the start of the common era.
religion
just like people assume nationalist means bible thumping conservative. people also assume spiritual and belief in God means idol worship. i do not go to a temple every phase of the moon and participate in rituals involving idols and symbols on the wall with a bunch of other people. but i do believe in a higher power, and i consider atheistic religion not to be an oxymoron, but in fact redundant. heres why: a cult is something involving magic spells, rituals, names, symbols, places. a true religion is something more, something actually involving connection to God, and helps you see the path to both being a better person, and enlightenment, etc, etc. you can read all the details in my book when i write it (Liberty and Slavery, the Dual Nature of Religion). so a cult is what involves deities/idols and thus is theistic, while a religion instead involves God, but no deities/idols, and thus atheistic.
i think at least some aspect of enlightenment has to do with letting go of your biases, so that you may look upon the truth naked. but unbiased, or objective is the basis of science. woa! how can they be related?
first let me introduce you to a theory of mine, which classifies all thought into knowledge and understanding. knowledge being things like science and math. and understanding being things like enlightenment (which is why the replicators could not conceive of enlightenment, even though they are like so much smarter than us, as it is not knowledge, but an understanding)
so going back to my book, Liberty and Slavery, it describes higher, general, or universal spirituality as something that is shared by all of humanity. so when we reach enlightenment, it doesnt matter which path we took, we all reach the same place, unity with the universe (with God some may say). so it really is objective, because no one reaches a biased enlightenment. of course with that comes a set of similar beliefs that all enlightened individuals seem to share (this is the second aspect of universal spirituality - how to exist in humanity) including things like not taking revenge, etc.
so i guess understanding and knowledge are quite similar in that they are both pure.
i think at least some aspect of enlightenment has to do with letting go of your biases, so that you may look upon the truth naked. but unbiased, or objective is the basis of science. woa! how can they be related?
first let me introduce you to a theory of mine, which classifies all thought into knowledge and understanding. knowledge being things like science and math. and understanding being things like enlightenment (which is why the replicators could not conceive of enlightenment, even though they are like so much smarter than us, as it is not knowledge, but an understanding)
so going back to my book, Liberty and Slavery, it describes higher, general, or universal spirituality as something that is shared by all of humanity. so when we reach enlightenment, it doesnt matter which path we took, we all reach the same place, unity with the universe (with God some may say). so it really is objective, because no one reaches a biased enlightenment. of course with that comes a set of similar beliefs that all enlightened individuals seem to share (this is the second aspect of universal spirituality - how to exist in humanity) including things like not taking revenge, etc.
so i guess understanding and knowledge are quite similar in that they are both pure.
dystopia
you dont even have to wait. it already exists in a place also known as europe.
ive seen it and as ive said it is a dystopic future. there are alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons. people never change class, not even the next generation. everything is regulated, down to stove operation (they make china look like an open market bazar, this may have something to do with the fact china right now is more capitalist than us, they dont even have universal state run health care for example). there are entire classes of natural born noncitizens (which should be an oxymoron). once you get a job you are tenured instantly but you can never change that job until someone dies. i believe what went wrong in europe is that the provincial government got too powerful. see, the provincial government is just the right size so that government is far away from the people enough so that the people cannot actively participate, but close enough to control every aspect of your lives. it would be like if new york state was completly in charge in nycl. see the feds are far away enough that even though you dont have much say, they cannot come to your house and see if youre reading the right books. and the city is close enough that even though they could control your life, you can actively participate in civic affairs.
i know people who think america sucks. well honey, the rest of the world is worse. i may be ashamed of the leaders our heartland choose, but i will always be proud of what our nation was founded on, what it stands for.
btw, do you really buy the whole "they hate us cause were free" thing? or do you think it might have something to do with the whole killing their sons and daughter, mothers and fathers?
ive seen it and as ive said it is a dystopic future. there are alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons. people never change class, not even the next generation. everything is regulated, down to stove operation (they make china look like an open market bazar, this may have something to do with the fact china right now is more capitalist than us, they dont even have universal state run health care for example). there are entire classes of natural born noncitizens (which should be an oxymoron). once you get a job you are tenured instantly but you can never change that job until someone dies. i believe what went wrong in europe is that the provincial government got too powerful. see, the provincial government is just the right size so that government is far away from the people enough so that the people cannot actively participate, but close enough to control every aspect of your lives. it would be like if new york state was completly in charge in nycl. see the feds are far away enough that even though you dont have much say, they cannot come to your house and see if youre reading the right books. and the city is close enough that even though they could control your life, you can actively participate in civic affairs.
i know people who think america sucks. well honey, the rest of the world is worse. i may be ashamed of the leaders our heartland choose, but i will always be proud of what our nation was founded on, what it stands for.
btw, do you really buy the whole "they hate us cause were free" thing? or do you think it might have something to do with the whole killing their sons and daughter, mothers and fathers?
nationalism
i just read an essay by ms. cheney. her premise was that teaching biased history is wrong. and i agree. she talked about a textbook that omitted all of our achievements and only listed our mistakes (ie, talked about hiroshima without any of the reasons and the results, including the rape of nanking which was many many times worse). this of course is not conducive to objective thinking.
but i realized something. the administration has managed to convince all of us that non supporting their policies is non-patriotic and counternationalistic (sounds like a certain totalitarian state we all know). and the liberals are not resisting, in fact they are helping fuel this view. i consider myself very nationalistic. i believe in the stuggles and ideals that this nation was founded upon, and i support our troops overseas. i do not however, support the motives and decisions made by the those priveledged people in power. i do not buy the moral obligation thing when there are so many dictators in non-oil producing countries that have done so much worse. and how can i say my heart is with our sons across the sea, naturally follow from my wish that our sons did not have to die. and by the way, many of them did not choose to go, but were illegally sent after joining the millitia (aka national guard). end result - many die in the south. so of course i would be considered a non-patriot hands down.
but i also think people may be justified in feeling they live in the greatest nation. it all depends of course on what criteria you set. i for one love the idea of social mobility and opportunity regardless of birth, while other may think people are born entitled (and they are entitled to their beliefs). but if you assume caste system bad, America, Canada, and China are the places to be in my mind. if you assume a large percentage of people have access to reasources good (ie, rich country), then America is where its at. if you love caste and state sanctioned religions (which people are entitled to love), then America is not for you. sometimes liberty to choose your own destiny demands too much responsibility (ie, thinking) on one's part.
but i realized something. the administration has managed to convince all of us that non supporting their policies is non-patriotic and counternationalistic (sounds like a certain totalitarian state we all know). and the liberals are not resisting, in fact they are helping fuel this view. i consider myself very nationalistic. i believe in the stuggles and ideals that this nation was founded upon, and i support our troops overseas. i do not however, support the motives and decisions made by the those priveledged people in power. i do not buy the moral obligation thing when there are so many dictators in non-oil producing countries that have done so much worse. and how can i say my heart is with our sons across the sea, naturally follow from my wish that our sons did not have to die. and by the way, many of them did not choose to go, but were illegally sent after joining the millitia (aka national guard). end result - many die in the south. so of course i would be considered a non-patriot hands down.
but i also think people may be justified in feeling they live in the greatest nation. it all depends of course on what criteria you set. i for one love the idea of social mobility and opportunity regardless of birth, while other may think people are born entitled (and they are entitled to their beliefs). but if you assume caste system bad, America, Canada, and China are the places to be in my mind. if you assume a large percentage of people have access to reasources good (ie, rich country), then America is where its at. if you love caste and state sanctioned religions (which people are entitled to love), then America is not for you. sometimes liberty to choose your own destiny demands too much responsibility (ie, thinking) on one's part.
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