Again, I am making an exception to my "No New York Times" articles policy for an exceptional article that I don't think will be found elsewhere for a while.
This article contains within it what is essentially the testimony of Senator Barack Obama, detailing his upbringing, his early life, and how he came to his faith. It gives a glimpse (albeit a glimpse not without spin) of the character of this man who would be the democratic nominee for president, and the priorities in his life. His story is far more political than most I have heard/read - he does not speak of a movement within his heart convicting him of his sin, but rather a sudden sense of connection between Israel of old and the black communty in modern imes - but it seems genuine to me. I know the heart of no other human being, but the words are right and the sentiment is there. I hope he speaks more about this in the future.
30 Nisan 2007 Pazartesi
Superchick Speaks Out About Virginia Tech
A Christian punk band named Superchick is offering a free copy of their song "Hero" along with a response to the Virginia Tech shooting. The song talks about how just by reaching out to others, we can be a hero and prevent tragedies such as Columbine and the Virginia Tech shooting. Based on my reading of the Virginia Tech incident, I don't know how much reaching out would have helped as Cho didn't respond to the attempts that people made, but it is important to be on the lookout for people that need us to come alongside them and encourage them.
Be Nice to Animals With Sharp Teeth
One boy learned this lesson the hard way. According to the article, animal rights is not a big thing in China, so perhaps that boys really didn't know better than to hit the crocodiles with sticks and a catapult. Crocodiles can move quite surprisingly, so you should always beware of them.
Of course, the crocodiles may have learned a lesson too
Of course, the crocodiles may have learned a lesson too
Snipers used pork to lure them out of their pool and shot dead the first animal to lumber on to the bank.Guess it's not always good to be the early bird that catches the worm.
29 Nisan 2007 Pazar
PhotoRescue Saved My Bacon!
I have a photographer friend who gave me some sage advice. "Don't invest in high volume memory cards for your digital cameras," he said. "Instead, but a lot of smaller cards which add up to the number of gigabytes you need. That way, if one goes bad, you haven't lost a full day of shooting." I noted the wisdom, but thought there was no reason for ME to follow it. After all, I thought, when have I *EVER* had a memory card become corrupted?
Well, last night, it happened! This weekend has been the Districts Quiz for the Bible Quiz Team I coach. I am sort of the unofficial photographer for the whole event, taking team pictures of all of the other teams as well as candids all the day long. I took over 600 pictures with my Digital Rebel XT, and was looking forward to getting them into iPhoto in preparation for uploading to Flickr overnight. Well, I got back to the hotel and had some problems with an old memory card reader (which is now bound for the trash). In a few easy steps, it managed to COMPLETELY corrupt the memory card - my single 4 gigabyte memory card. Suddenly, the whole weekend was lost!
In panic, I went to Google and typed in "rescue photos from a compact flash card" and prayed that there would be something other than the $200/hour data recover services. There was! I found Photo Rescue, which is a piece of software for both MacOS X and Windows which can pull the data off of damaged cards for $29 (one-time registration fee). I was desperate, so I gave it a try. It took HOURS to reconstruct the data on the card, but once it did... IT WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS!!! It not only recovered the 600+ photos from yesterday, but another 300+ photos previously deleted from the card by my purposeful action! At this point, I highly recommend this piece of software if you wind up with a similar disaster.
Well, last night, it happened! This weekend has been the Districts Quiz for the Bible Quiz Team I coach. I am sort of the unofficial photographer for the whole event, taking team pictures of all of the other teams as well as candids all the day long. I took over 600 pictures with my Digital Rebel XT, and was looking forward to getting them into iPhoto in preparation for uploading to Flickr overnight. Well, I got back to the hotel and had some problems with an old memory card reader (which is now bound for the trash). In a few easy steps, it managed to COMPLETELY corrupt the memory card - my single 4 gigabyte memory card. Suddenly, the whole weekend was lost!
In panic, I went to Google and typed in "rescue photos from a compact flash card" and prayed that there would be something other than the $200/hour data recover services. There was! I found Photo Rescue, which is a piece of software for both MacOS X and Windows which can pull the data off of damaged cards for $29 (one-time registration fee). I was desperate, so I gave it a try. It took HOURS to reconstruct the data on the card, but once it did... IT WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS!!! It not only recovered the 600+ photos from yesterday, but another 300+ photos previously deleted from the card by my purposeful action! At this point, I highly recommend this piece of software if you wind up with a similar disaster.
27 Nisan 2007 Cuma
Supreme Court on Partial-Birth Abortion Stirs Anti-Catholic Bigotry?
We here at Mod-Blog have applauded the Supremes' decision to uphold the Partial Birth Abortion ban, while maintaining that philosophically abortion should be placed back in the hands of the states rather than being a Federal issue. Overall, most of the reaction I have heard has been positive, but apparently the Justices who voted to uphold the ban are being attacked by the insinuation they only did so because they are Catholic. I have not read the various attacks on this basis, but as a Protestant I need to tell these critics that it is possible to think this decision is a good idea without being Catholic! I think that I hold a reasoned, considered opinion about abortion and especially partial birth abortion, which I believe I would hold even if I were an atheist.
Too bad. But ever since I first spoke up as Pro-Life in high school, most of my arguments with the other side wound up with them calling me names or spouting unreasoned, unexamined assumptions. I am told that is the experience of logical reasoned people on the Pro-Choice side, as well. Apparently, the vast majority can't talk about this issue without resorting to pure emotion. I am glad the Justices seem to NOT be cut from that cloth.
Too bad. But ever since I first spoke up as Pro-Life in high school, most of my arguments with the other side wound up with them calling me names or spouting unreasoned, unexamined assumptions. I am told that is the experience of logical reasoned people on the Pro-Choice side, as well. Apparently, the vast majority can't talk about this issue without resorting to pure emotion. I am glad the Justices seem to NOT be cut from that cloth.
Democratic Debate Thoughts
I enjoyed watching the Democratic debate last night. Even as a Republican, I thought it was entertaining and informative. It was a good event for introducing our country to the candidates. MSNBC did a nice job of keeping the discussion moving and asking relevant questions.
As to my reactions to specific candidates. I believe that the biggest loser last night was Bill Richardson. I had thought that he would be a good candidate for the Democrats who could bridge the party and country back to the Clinton years without having all the negative baggage that Hillary Clinton has. But Richardson looked tired and unmotivated last night. He did not look like someone who would be a legitimate presidential nominee. I’m not saying this ended his presidential run, but he needs to turn around his campaign after that poor performance last night. I thought the wisest answers came from Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich. Biden did a good job of answering the questions that were asked of him, but didn’t feel like he had to fill his 1 minute of allotted time. If the answer to a question took him 45 seconds, he ended there. If it could be answered in a sentence, then he ended there. Dennis Kucinich’s answers were the most well thought out and consistent with what he professes and is know to believe. (Except his assertion that he is the known for being a healer. Has anyone ever heard of him being someone who can bring people of different points of view together for the common good?)
Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama each did fine, but neither were fantastic. The one thing I would have liked to have seen out of Obama is for him to have a moment where he was inspiring. That is his reported strength and last night, he was not able to come across as inspiring. Chris Dodd did a nice job and his best statement, which should become his theme, was “We don’t need another President who needs years of on the job training.” Mike Gravel played an important American political role. He was decidedly politically left of everyone else on stage, but he is a true believer who is consistent in his ideology. He is a good tool for the other Democratic presidential candidates to use to sharpen their own words and positions as they react to his. Gravel did come off as “not mainstream” enough to be a serious contender, but that is not his role. John Edwards did fine, but did nothing to distinguish himself from the other candidates.
Tune in to MSNBC next Thursday to see the Republican candidates for President.
As to my reactions to specific candidates. I believe that the biggest loser last night was Bill Richardson. I had thought that he would be a good candidate for the Democrats who could bridge the party and country back to the Clinton years without having all the negative baggage that Hillary Clinton has. But Richardson looked tired and unmotivated last night. He did not look like someone who would be a legitimate presidential nominee. I’m not saying this ended his presidential run, but he needs to turn around his campaign after that poor performance last night. I thought the wisest answers came from Joe Biden and Dennis Kucinich. Biden did a good job of answering the questions that were asked of him, but didn’t feel like he had to fill his 1 minute of allotted time. If the answer to a question took him 45 seconds, he ended there. If it could be answered in a sentence, then he ended there. Dennis Kucinich’s answers were the most well thought out and consistent with what he professes and is know to believe. (Except his assertion that he is the known for being a healer. Has anyone ever heard of him being someone who can bring people of different points of view together for the common good?)
Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama each did fine, but neither were fantastic. The one thing I would have liked to have seen out of Obama is for him to have a moment where he was inspiring. That is his reported strength and last night, he was not able to come across as inspiring. Chris Dodd did a nice job and his best statement, which should become his theme, was “We don’t need another President who needs years of on the job training.” Mike Gravel played an important American political role. He was decidedly politically left of everyone else on stage, but he is a true believer who is consistent in his ideology. He is a good tool for the other Democratic presidential candidates to use to sharpen their own words and positions as they react to his. Gravel did come off as “not mainstream” enough to be a serious contender, but that is not his role. John Edwards did fine, but did nothing to distinguish himself from the other candidates.
Tune in to MSNBC next Thursday to see the Republican candidates for President.
Could we prevent another Virginia Tech or Columbine with technology?
One tech writer thinks so. Cringely is normally focussed on predicting the next emerging technology, but this week he ponders the case of the Virginia Tech shooter, and compares it with his own experience with an unstable personality in his life. I also have known some people who were clearly unstable and needed care (and largely recieved it), but whom I worry about to this day. It is an interesting question to wonder if it would be possible to create a system to scan the blogs and twitter posts and etc. that people freely post in an attempt to predict when individuals enter dangerous states. Then again, it would also be a dangerous system, like the Pre-Crime of Philip K. Dick's Minority Report, because it would tempt society to act before any crime has been committed. And really, is it possible to have such a system which can act early enough to extend a helping hand, while the disturbed individual is still capable of accepting it?
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