C'est la vie, c'est la mort.
Carpe diem!

In Seattle this week only, Artifacts of Consequence:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/85816
(saw it last night. wow.)

and a Wall Street Journal conversation with a guy named Cormac McCarthy who wrote a post-apocalyptic book called The Road:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572.html

© Jacob Lucas

Know what is enough - abuse nothing.
Know when to stop - harm nothing.
- Lao Tzu (#44, trans. Addiss & Lombardo)

I once gave a talk entitled "The Role of Ignorance in the Creation of a New Species." I'm basically an ignorant person who knows very little, because I don't have a good memory. The good thing, though, is that if you're ignorant, you don't know what cannot be done. All my life - professional life, university life and so on - I always took advantage of that, by not knowing what couldn't be done. That's how I've been able to think outside of the box. Because I am ignorant, I just start by making or designing things.
- Ugo Conti
"A Feel for Engineering: Ugo Conti's Proteus boat reflects a unique instinct for design" by Todd Lappin, O'Reilly's Make magazine, issue no. 19

Hope is as hollow as fear.
Have faith in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking
The whole world belongs to you.

- Lao Tzu (trans. Stephen Mitchell)

Last night, I met a guy with Othello's "Love Too Well" tattooed in braille on his forearm.

Scott Westerfeld, the famous author of the young adult series Uglies and Midnighters, also wrote a 2 book adult space opera series that I'm in love with. If you liked Ringworld by Larry Niven, I highly recommend The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld.

He also insisted on expanding my vocabulary pretty significantly.

ablative the case of nouns and pronouns indicating an agent, instrument of location (... what? context: "The ablative suit was mostly gone now...." I was thinking maybe the heat tiles that fall off on shuttles during re-entry are ablative, but maybe I made that up)

analysand a person undergoing psychoanalysis

celerity archaic or literary swiftness (esp. of a living creature)

colloid substance consisting of ultramicroscopic particles; a mixture of such a substance uniformly dispersed through a second substance, esp. to form a viscous solution; a substance of a homogeneous gelatinous consistency

coruscate give off flashing light; sparkle

corpulent satrap bulky-bodied subordinate ruler or colonial governor

diaspora the dispersion of a people

effulgent radiant; shining brilliantly

egress exit, a way out

insensate without physical sensation, unconscious; without sensibility; stupid

phatic used to convey general sociability rather than to communicate a specific meaning, e.g. "How do you do?"

pointillism a technique of impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors, which become blended in the viewer's eye
    Ex. p. 22 The Killing of Worlds: "The sharp, determinate math of trajectories and wind smelled like camphor, rang in her ears with vibrato-free, pointillistic notes on a handful of flutes, one for each variable."

quotidian daily, of every day; commonplace, trivial

simoom a hot, dry, dust-laden wind blowing at intervals esp. in the Arabian desert

sirocco a Saharan simoom reaching the northern shores of the Mediterranean; a warm rainy wind in Southern Europe

tattoo evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters; elaboration of this with music and marching, presented as an entertainment; a rhythmic tapping or drumming

vertiginous of or causing vertigo

To Do:
• boloid [ocean]
• lamina cribrosa
• mesopause
• mycoid
• telomere decay
• whisketter

Unless otherwise noted, definitions are from my Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, which I lovingly deface every time I have to look up a new word. :>

when i look around
i think this, this is good enough
and i try to laugh
at whatever life brings
cuz when i look down
i just miss all the good stuff
when i look up
i just trip over things
- "as is", ani difranco

Self-reliance conquers any difficulty.
- Yogi tea tag.

My brother is having a baby.

It's due in November.

Why, why?
Tell them that it's human nature.
- Michael Jackson, "Human Nature"

---

You know how when Tori Amos did "Smells like Teen Spirit" suddenly the song was a whole new song, the same song but with its soul reunited?

Jason Webley Trio's tribute of "Human Nature", same thing. Poignant far beyond its initial release.

I haven't found a recording from Oregon Country Fair, but here's what I found from his 11th Anniversary show at Seattle Town Hall.

If some part of him stands out as if a superior representation of his nature,
he will not surrender the rest of his nature to it.
- Lao Tzu (#2, trans. Bahm)

"Spurning all honours for himself, Faraday disparaged inventors with mercenary aims, declaring that the pursuit of truth should be a reward in itself."
- Patricia Fara, Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment

It seems to me that the open source community is filled with Faraday romantics.

An Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment by Patricia Fara

acrimonious bitter in manner or temper
American Philosophical Society http://www.amphilsoc.org/ founded by Benjamin Franklin
consonant consistent; in agreement or harmony
contravene infringe (a law or code of conduct)
contrivance
  1. something contrived, esp. a mechanical device or a plan
  2. an act of contriving, esp. deceitfully
  3. inventive capacity
corpuscle a minute body or cell in an organism, esp. the red or white cells in the blood of vertebrates
hagiography the writing of the lives of saints
inculcate urge or impress (a fact, habit, or idea) persistently
Leyden jar an early form of capacitor consisting of a glass jar with layers of metal foil on the outside and inside
The London Electric Dispensary WikiPedia doesn't have an article on this place. Someone should write it. The name alone makes me want to write stories, and re-watch Return to Oz.
mastoid a conical prominence on the bone behind the ear to which muscles are attached
mezzotint a method of printing or engraving in which the surface of a plate is roughened by scraping so that it produces tones and halftones
phlogiston a substance formerly supposed to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion
polemic
  1. a controversial discussion
  2. a verbal or written attack, esp. on a political opponent
rationcinate go through logical processes of reasoning, esp. using syllogisms
    syllogism a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises)
sophistry the use of sophism
    sophism a false argument, esp. one intended to deceive
tetanus a bacterial disease affecting the nervous system and marked by tonic spasm of the voluntary muscles
    tonic anything serving to invigorate
torpor torpidity
    torpid sluggish; inactive; dull; apathetic; numb; dormant
torsion twisting, esp. of one end of a body while the other is held fixed
valetudinarian a person of poor health or unduly anxious about health
vitreous of, or of the nature of, glass
The Young Gentlemen's and Ladies Philosophy p. 12 "In each chapter, the knowledgeable Cleonicus patronisingly explains the rudiments of a different branch of natural philosophy, the study of nature. By using terms so simple that even [his sister, Euphrosyne] can be expected to understand them, this artificial dialogue implicitly advertises that natural philosophy can be understood by everyone."

© 1998 DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary

Can you give me an example of a syllogism? I'm not sure I understand that one yet.

A good friend of mine of faith posted this. Thank you, S!

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”
- Mary Anne Radmacher