tingilinde

hulu

for the tv addict - hulu seems to be up

I'm afraid I'm not a target, but some of you may like it. Why have a tv?

sign of things to come?

The "euro zone" is now a larger economy than the US...

the fisa roll call in the house

This one was super important and the President lost this round. Here is the roll call vote if you consider this important information for your voting decision in 08.

The Democrats who were pro state spying are:

Brown OK
Carney PA
Cooper TN
Davis TN
Holden PA
Schuler NC

The Republicans hung together except for 13 who didn't vote.

I'm sure people are checking into their campaign contributions at the moment.

happy pi day

For those who love numbers ...

Einstein's birthday is also a relatively major feature of the day.

(a tip of the hat to Bjarne)

the mind and all that jazz

A fascinating study that appears in PLoS ONE ... it appears musicians are shutting down neural impluses that might impeded the flow of novel ideas. One wonders if this extends to other creative activities.

Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Musical Performance: An fMRI Study of Jazz Improvisation

Abstract

To investigate the neural substrates that underlie spontaneous musical performance, we examined improvisation in professional jazz pianists using functional MRI. By employing two paradigms that differed widely in musical complexity, we found that improvisation (compared to production of over-learned musical sequences) was consistently characterized by a dissociated pattern of activity in the prefrontal cortex: extensive deactivation of dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral orbital regions with focal activation of the medial prefrontal (frontal polar) cortex. Such a pattern may reflect a combination of psychological processes required for spontaneous improvisation, in which internally motivated, stimulus-independent behaviors unfold in the absence of central processes that typically mediate self-monitoring and conscious volitional control of ongoing performance. Changes in prefrontal activity during improvisation were accompanied by widespread activation of neocortical sensorimotor areas (that mediate the organization and execution of musical performance) as well as deactivation of limbic structures (that regulate motivation and emotional tone). This distributed neural pattern may provide a cognitive context that enables the emergence of spontaneous creative activity.

olbermann on the clinton campaign

I just want to make sure McCain doesn't get in the White House.

Sadly I think Keith Olbermann may be at least partly correct. I have a strong sense that the liberal portion of the Democratic Party, the portion who do the legwork at elections, is giving up, or has given up, on Clinton. It is less Obama's flash (which may only be flash), but rather a growing disgust with Hillary. In the meantime millions and millions are being spent, and images being destroyed. A gift to the Republicans, but the Democrats have this way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

studs sues the phone company (fisa related)

Studs is a pure America -- not one of these freedom haters who are so insecure that they have to wear their patriotism in the form of a $2 lapel flag from China.

___

And a new report(pdf) from some House Judiciary members... basically they conclude retroactive immunity is not appropriate. Of course it is critically important for the Bush administration to establish immunity to act as a legal firewall for themselves once they are out of office (it is unlikely that legal action would occur sooner). They will fight this tooth and claw.

cassini's wild ride

Closing in on Enceladus(video)

really exciting stuff! The press release from JPL

sigh - a tip of the hat to Bjarne for reminding us of this.

uncle sam and your email - even wireless email and sms

An interesting piece in on c|net. The pdf from the security consultant is very interesting.

I'm guessing more than one wireless carrier is involved and that considerable monies and favors (specturm:-) are involved.

In any event hearings are necessary to expose what is going on when your democracy is at risk

a ferret named meltdown

A NY Times piece on what's in a name.

One of our ferrets was born near Three Mile Island and it seemed like the right choice.

3195 gram road bike

remarkable that it can be ridden and last more than an hour

the psychology of incompetent decisions

and W

thanks for the link Dewayne!

snip

To cover up and defend himself against his feelings of his inadequacy and incompetence, Bush developed a number of psychological defenses. In his school years he played the clown. (His ability to joke about his verbal slip-ups is an endearing adult application of this defense to public life.) His heavy drinking was a classic way to anesthetize feelings of inadequacy. Indeed, drinking typically makes the alcoholic grandiose, which has led some commentators to argue that Bush has the "dry drunk" syndrome, where the individual has stopped drinking but retains the brittle psychology of the alcoholic. Other defenses now play especially powerful roles to protect the president against his internal feelings of insufficiency.

It is sad that so much damage has been done to the country and the world.

a reason for not moving your business to oklahoma

If a bill that passed the House of Representatives in Oklahoma becomes law, standards for education will be so watered down that anyone thinking about hiring the product of its schools down the road may wish to think twice.

Faery tales may be fun, but substituting them for reality is silly and dangerous.

a tip of the hat to Bjarne for the link

electric retro microcar

Minimal seems to be the operative word. Someone is thinking about production. It makes me think about the toys Shriners love.

I wonder if my two meter friend could get in if her head when through the sunroof. I doubt her legs would fit - she can't drive many cars.

massive wind project - 4.5 gw

Southern California Edison will build a 4.5 gigawatt wind farm about 100 miles from Los Angeles. A largish nuclear reactor is about one gigawatt, so this is a massive project.

kitchen innovation

Self leveling measuring spoons

Noted on slashfood