Remnant of a Supernova
An amazing composite shot of the remnants of a supernova called SN 1006, travelling at about 6 million miles an hour, roughly 7,000 light years away from Earth.
From the Top 10 Space Photos of the week.
ABOUT ME:
This is the blog of alien protocol aka Brian Villanueva.
Founder and creator of Music Happening Now.
Fueled by fine coffee and speedy wi-fi.
Enjoys trail running.
MY WEB PROJECTS:
“ Above a certain threshold, the more accomplished people are, the more humility they tend to have about their accomplishments.
My friend Michael Troiano hits the nail on the head with this brilliant quote.
An awesome video about an ant city that rivals the Great Wall of China in its sophistication and complexity.
“ I was always hallucinogenically optimistic. That’s the only reason I kept going. Not because I could take this suckiness for a long time, but that it’s going to be better tomorrow. I had all these big ideas, and I could never stop thinking about the product and the thing I was going to build next. That always being around the corner in my mind is basically what allowed me to go through all the bad stuff.
Evan Williams on why he kept going during his long struggle of trying to make something out of Blogger.
He eventually sold Blogger to Google and later quit to start Twitter.
RIAA Bans Telling Friends About Songs
It’s only a matter of time…!
jstn:
RIAA attorneys said they were also looking into the legality of word-of-mouth “favorites-sharing” sites, such as coffee shops, universities, and living rooms.
“The Franchise” Wins 2008 NL Cy Young Award
Rarely do I get a chance to say something positive about Bay Area sports in this little corner of the internet, but today I’m all over the news about Tim Lincecum winning the NL Cy Young award.
I had the pleasure of seeing this guy pitch a nooner at AT&T park this year, and he’s even more amazing to watch pitch in person. Seriously, the kid looks like a Little Leaguer out there on the field of pros. At 5’ 11” and 170lbs, it’s simply mind boggling that he can pitch in the mid 90’s for about 7 or 8 innings at a time, and even more impressive that he led the whole league in K’s this year.
So yes, finally I get to cheer about something as a Giants fan. Congrats, Tim!
Sweden in the ’70s - WTF?
Damn, what was up with Swedish dance bands in the 1970’s? This is a fascinating cultural study and is worth your immediate review.
Personally, I think the Schytts is the best band name I have seen in some time.
Edsger Dijkstra - Discipline in Thought
If you’ve got time, this is an interesting interview with Edsger Dijkstra, father of Dijkstra’s algorithm and quite possibly one of the most influential classical programmers we’ll see for awhile. I say this because I believe his methods to be out of touch with the modern world and the state of software development.
He compares two very different styles of programming - Mozart style of programming vs. Beethoven style of programming. When Mozart started to write, the composition was finished. He wrote manuscripts in elegant handwriting in one go. Beethoven was a doubter and a struggler. He started writing before he finished the composition and then glued corrections onto the page. In one place on a composition, he did it nine times. When researchers peeled them all off, the last version proved to be identical to the first one.
From the video, one can understand that Dijkstra preferred Mozart’s style of programming. Not just programming, but Mozart style of doing things. He says that the most important thing has been the daily discipline of neatly writing down his thoughts. And damn… he makes me wish I could be so ordered with my daily thoughts, brainstorms, and learning process!
As the consummate Mozart of programmers, Dijkstra finds fault with the current software release methodology, and wonders why companies can’t get everything right and complete in version 1.0. I see where he is coming from, but I believe these thoughts to be much more at home in the past rather than the world we find ourselves in today.
In my mind, users are now the creators of software. That’s right… not programmers, but USERS. The internet has shown me this time and time again. A programmer or a team of programmers can spend all the time they want devising applications and programs and they can try to think of everything. But at the end of the day, what they end up with is an incomplete application. Because no application is complete until users show up, use it, break it, find ways to use it that weren’t planned, and find all the ways that the application can be improved according to real world usage. Thus version 1.0 becomes version 2.0, etc.
I know that this might send a chill down some developers’ spines, and Dijkstra is most likely rolling over in his grave. But the proliferation of computing devices amongst the general population has changed things. Programmers are outnumbered amongst the millions of potential users roaming this planet, and they can’t be entirely responsible for predicting reality.
I’m not saying quick ‘n dirty hacking is the way to go either, there is still a need for elegance at the beginning stages of any application. But due to the changing tastes and needs of the general population of users, software applications will always be works in perpetual progress. And like it or not, it’s the users who are driving this process, not programmers.
“ You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.
John Coltrane explains why a band like Sweetride had its moments.
2008’s version of “Wassup”
For all of you sentimental types, you can view 1999’s version of “Wassup” here.
This is video of Larry Ellison taking a CNBC reporter for a ride on his Russian made MiG 29 fighter jet.
“ Late bloomers’ stories are invariably love stories, and this may be why we have so much difficulty with them. We’d like to think that mundane manners like loyalty, steadfastness, and the willingness to keep writing checks to support what looks like failure have nothing to do with something rarefied as genius. But sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.
Malcolm Gladwell beautifully tackles the subject of Late Bloomers in his essay in the latest issue of The New Yorker.
Sell A Used CD, Go To Jail…?
Excerpt from “Damn The Man!” The Ability To Sell Second-Hand CDs on thelegality.com:
The music industry, it seems, is foregoing lawsuits in favor of promoting preventative legislation. Recent legislation in Florida, Utah, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island has made it more difficult to sell used CDs in those states than it is to get a driver’s license.
In Florida, for example, anyone attempting to sell used CDs to a retailer must present identification and be fingerprinted, and any retailer looking to sell those same CDs must apply for a permit and submit a $10,000 bond with the Department of Agriculture and Human Services. Thankfully, those restrictions do not apply to online or person-to-person sales.
As each day passes, these copyright cartels behave more and more erratically. You’re telling me they want to make it more difficult to sell a CD than it is to obtain a driver’s license? Or vote in Iraq?
Erratic behavior is common at the end of empires, and the RIAA is currently observed as lurching forward, acting out, and overreaching in as many areas as possible, further alienating the blossoming participants who are either already active or becoming activated in the New Music Order.
The big question for me in October of 2008… do I want to spend time in an area that is growing? Or in an area that is dying?
The Bee Gees Know What the Hell They’re Doing
This article and tidbit struck me today:
U.S. doctors have found the Bee Gees 1977 disco anthem “Stayin’ Alive” provides an ideal beat to follow while performing chest compressions as part of CPR on a heart attack victim.
The American Heart Association calls for chest compressions to be given at a rate of 100 per minute in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). “Stayin’ Alive” almost perfectly matches that, with 103 beats per minute.
So it’s no secret that the Bee Gees and Barry Gibb in particular have a slew of songwriting and producing credits, both with the Bee Gees and other artists. Simply put, these guys know what the hell they’re doing.
Am I a conspiracy theorist for thinking that the brothers Gibb knew that in order to write the quintessential disco ode, they needed to clock it at a steady 103 beats per minute to make sure it resonated with the physical requirements of people everywhere?
Some things are just too perfect to be accidents.
“ In the end, by refusing to allow market forces to work their cure, our economy will inevitably die from the disease. Our economy will now face death by hyperinflation, which will cause a complete loss of confidence in the dollar and result in prices and interest rates skyrocketing out of sight. The evaporation of our national wealth will lead to civil unrest, food and energy shortages, and the possible imposition of martial law. If such a scenario unfolds, what is left of our Constitution will surely be completely shredded.
Cheery tidings from the guy who predicted this thing over two years ago. Peter Schiff lays it all out in his latest entry from the economic front.
