Hey all. I do not have a serious post just yet. (Those are reserved for thursday nights/friday afternoons) but just to whet your palate, here's something I found amusing and interesting.
Godwin's Law, also known as Godwin's Rule as Nazi analogies, states:
"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."
Anyway, this came about by Godwin's study of memetics; more specifically, the study of internet forums as the conversations became older. He found that there was a correlation (humorous, but true) between how old a topic was and how frequently Hitler or a Nazi analogy was introduced into the discussion.
So next time you are in a rather long winded conversation, talk about Hitler...everyone does it!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Godwin's Law
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Boogie Bandits Trailer
Boogie Bandits is a small bboy crew that started the day of Rhythmic Damage on November 18, 2006. The three members are myself, Ironik (boog), and Foxx. Ronny made the trailer in high quality youtube format. I recommend you watch it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
There is No Box - Cradle to Cradle
Please Please PLEASE watch this video! This is for anyone who does not think that they can make a difference in this world. All the people who have given up and accepted the seemingly doomed state of the planet. We CAN make a difference and we can do this in so many ways. We can think and rethink projects, design and develop mind blowing ideas, and, most importantly, stay active by showing our support for those who have taken those first major leaps for mankind.
My next stop is to buy the Cradle to Cradle book to learn more about this. Just... amazing.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ping Pong Perseverence
This video has to be the craziest most intense round of table tennis ever. But it's not what I wanted to talk about. This post is about commitment.
We may look at this video and say things like "oh that man is amazing" or applaud his intense perseverence. But some of us may call him silly and ask why he just doesn't relax a little bit. He may lose one point but at least he won't risk hurting himself.
And that's exactly what I want to talk about. He is committed. Yes, sure, to us it's just a ping pong game. But to him it doesn't matter what we think. He is 100% there. And ultimately this is what gives him the upper hand in the game. And commitment is a life attribute; it shouldn't just be applied to ping pong. You should be committed in your school work, your job, your relationship, your life. When you reach that level, it will show.
But that doesn't mean you should take life so seriously that you don't have fun. I love ping pong but I won't break my neck returning a fast serve hehe.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Should I run behind a bus?
The video above is the skyline of Beijing. It's a sunny day and, like most industrial cities around the world, there is smog in the air. However, on any given day in Beijing, some researchers estimate that the pollutant level in Beijing is five times that of normal World Health Organization standards. With the Olympics looming, this problem is being considered by both athletes and doctors around the world, as some professionals say it will be impossible to break records in this environment. However, the conclusions both came up with are at opposite extremes.
Environmentalist have long warned about the dangers of having the Olympics in Beijing due to high pollution levels. However, athletes, in a misguided attempt to conquer the hostile environment, have begun to ask doctors around the world if there is anyway to acclimate themselves to the pollution. Many have even asked their doctors whether running behind a truck or during rush hour in a busy city will give them the edge when competing. The firm answers have been no. Doctors around the country are being very careful to make sure they steer athletes' mindsets in the right direction, so as to not cause harm to them.
Some doctors have gone even further by recommending and trying to require athletes to where masks and other breathing apparatus for the duration of their stay in Beijing. This is because, the bodies natural reaction to polluted air is to breathe less of it. It is a defense mechanism, according to George Thurston, a professor of environmental medicine at N.Y.U. School of Medicine. This defense, however, can lead to severe cramping in athletes when they run, due to the deficit in oxygen. Research has shown that the risk of heart attack, as well as other allergic reactions, are also elevated due to the toxins in the smog.
The results of this madness? Many teams have decided to keep away from Beijing and train and reside in such countries as Japan and South Korea until right before their events. Other teams have decided to run with masks on during their events in order to protect their athletes' lungs. Beijing authorities have announced that it will limit traffic and factory use up until the Olympics to try clear the skies (although a portion of the smog in Beijing comes from factories in the cities and countryside surrounding the city).
But maybe the most important result will be the publicity of what pollution can do to us as a global society if we do not take steps to control it now. Because with athletes refusing to live in the city that the Olympics are held in till the day of their events, much of the business and positive attention that Beijing would have gotten will be diminished.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Thirst for Knowledge
This was an incredibly brilliant, inspirational, and lively story. Ben Dunlap inspired me to spread his story to whoever reads this blog and to say a few words on it.
I cannot say that humans are born fundamentally good but I can say that every human does have equal potential to be fundamentally good. Environment and experience shape us into who we are. I wish I had more to say on this but I am a person of few words. Which I guess makes me concise but ineloquent.
Another part of Dunlap's story rings heavily on my ear. He declares that we should strive for knowledge no matter where it may be or how hard it may be to get there. Knowledge is divinely ordained on us. Our history tells us this. Even the Adam and Eve story can be seen as humankind's "good" fall. They were not punished for seeking wisdom. It was their mission. Thank God for that snake, that tempter, for helping us along to it. To me there is no greater passion than discovery and learning. This is why I have enthralled myself in ted.com as it has exactly that.
Writing this, I could not help but think of a verse in the 20th chapter of the Quran: "O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge". It does not say "give me knowledge" because we get that everyday. It is an invocation for more, a cry to quench the unquenchable thirst. This is sapien's goal in life.
What more can I say? This entire blog has this goal in mind. I hope you have learned something new from reading each entry. I know for a fact that it has helped me play my part in the struggle for more.
Monday, January 21, 2008
God Hates Jobs
I am a huge fan of religious doubt as I feel that the more you doubt, the more you question, and the more you question the closer you will be to the truth. Now that I've gotten the semiserious and pseudodeep intermingling thoughts hidden in the far recesses of my mind out into the open, I would like to present to you a video my professor recently emailed to the class.
The course is entitled "The Devil's Pact in Literature, Music and Film".
Friday, January 18, 2008
Africa open for Business! (Mkeka Redux)
*If you do not see a video above, please go to this link to watch it(updated 1/19/2008):
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/127
I listened recently to a talk from Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a renowned Nigerian woman, who was talking about ways to help Africa as a whole. Her major topics in the talk (if you do not have the time to listen to the whole thing) were corruption and foreign investment. She started with a story of how a Nigerian man who worked for an oil company and as a politician was recently caught and jailed in London for embezzling eight million dollars worth of stolen funds into his personal accounts. However, he escaped from London (dressed as a woman), and made it back to Nigeria. Since in Nigeria politicians have immunity from certain laws, he could not be tried. However, his state legislature was so enraged that they managed to impeach then arrest him. Justice was served, and yet this is not the Africa you hear about everyday. But there is an air of change in the way that many African countries are run, and Ngozi is at the forefront of these changes.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweali is the former vice president of the World Bank, and Nigeria's first female Finance and Foreign Minister. She has dedicated her life to fighting corruption in Nigeria so that more success stories like these can become a reality. She has begun her fight against both internal corruption and a large part of corruption which comes from overseas. Many people and companies outside of Africa will make deals with corrupt Nigerian businessmen in order to gain a higher profit. To this, she says, "Is that not corruption? In this country (the united States), if you receive stolen goods, are you not prosecuted?". However, with help from a willing President, Nigeria is now putting programs in place to reclaim the money being siphoned out of the economy by corrupt dealings. Her other major argument is that Nigerians are grateful, but tired, of receiving aid. To draw on Ngozi's sentiments, the best way to help Africans, and in fact any persons from any underdeveloped country, is to help them stand on their own two feet. She calls for investment, not hand outs, in African countries that are beginning to start the long process of stabilization.
I feel that Ngozi really hits the nail on the head with this speech. For so long, Africa has been stigmatized by the "Neighborhood effect", as she calls it. This is where the conflicts and problems of one or two countries effects how the global community views the continent as a whole. In reality, many African countries are beginning the long process of rooting out corruption and stabilizing themselves. So maybe she is right and the best way to help is simply to do business with them. Invest in and buy goods from companies that invest in African countries so as new African businesses form, their expansion is not stifled by a lack of interest in their services. Not only would this bring honest and hard earned money into the economy, but it will also help the common man since more jobs would be created.
These jobs could positively impact the attitudes and practices of African peoples and governments. And if you are wondering how investing could actually do all this, well maybe the key is in Ngozi's words:
"There is no issue with fighting malaria and putting money in that and saving children's lives. That's not what I am saying, that is fine. But imagine the impact on a family if the parents can be employed, and make sure their children go to school, that they can buy the drugs to fight the disease themselves... isn't that a wonderful opportunity? Isn't that the way to go?"
It is, as with all things, not the cure all. But it is a very good start.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Why Blogging Sucks
Ok this is going to be a little different. No research. No cute pictures. No reviewing. Just straight rant.
When I started this Arcade blog I did not really know what I was getting myself into. I just wanted to write the first thoughts that came to my head and have people talk about them. I thought it would be easy. And I thought it would be extremely easy with my friends on board. But the reality of the matter is that blogging sucks!
First off there's the biggest issue of getting a decent entry out at least every two days. You can't afford to slack off, otherwise, the blog will die and you would have failed your faithful readers. Well there are four authors on this team so two entries a week should be easy to manage.
Wrong. It is hard writing good reads. I admit I put up some crappy entries but I hope the ones I spent time working on really shine through.
Second of all, you have no idea how much Java and CSS and code I had to sift through to get the blog looking the way it does. I would not have been able to do any of this without the help of other blogs out there dedicated to helping out people like me. A plug in for hackosphere, tips for bloggers, and beta blogger for dummies (that's me). Thank you so much for having these sites, they are essential to the blogging community.
Well these are two of many reasons why blogging is hard work, but... blogging really doesn't suck. I've learned and absorbed an incredible amount in these last two weeks. I've learned about writing, about science and violence, about commenting effectively, about women (hehe), about feedburning and about how the internet works in general. I can do so much more now than ever before! I urge you to start your own blogs, or at the very least to become an active voice in a blog you find interesting. Don't just read the writing. Talk about it. Be heard.
Final verdict? Blogging is tough... but way more than worth it.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Women Who Stay Together, Bleed Together
It has been discovered that when female mice are housed together and isolated from males their oestrous cycles seem to synchronize. This doesn't happen when female mice are housed alone. Synchrony has also been found in female mice isolated with bedding from a cage full of female mice. The phenomenon has been named the Lee-Boot effect and is caused by a specific pheromone found in mouse urine.
More than three decades ago, Martha McClintock - Harvard University - observed that the menstrual cycles of women who lived together in dormitories tended to synchronize and lengthen. Her findings have been some of the strongest indicators for the existence of pheromones in humans. Since then, she has started a wave of studies on menstrual synchrony.
Michael Russell exposed female subjects to a mixture of alcohol and a female colleague's underarm scent. The result was that half of the women were in exact menstrual synchrony with Russell's colleague.
So why does this happen? Menstrual synchrony makes sense in pack animals like chimps because typically, if the females become pregnant together they will most likely give birth at around the same time, allowing for the "village to raise the children". But in humans this hardly seems practical. Another interpretation could be that there are dominant women with regards to menstrual synchrony, again something found in the animal kingdom but doesn't seem to make much sense in humans today.
This has been by far one of the strangest things I have ever encountered and being a guy I have even less knowledge of individual menstruation let alone group synchrony.
The world is your oyster.
PS: I hope no one takes the title of this entry out of context and becomes offended...
Monday, January 14, 2008
"The Fastest Thing on No Legs"
I was once again reading through International News when I found another article that peaked my interest. The media calls him the fastest thing on no legs or blade runner, some officials call him trouble, but to the rest of the world, he is Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee from South Africa who is making headlines and causing everyone to question their views on the integration of science and sports.
Oscar Pistorius had to have his legs amputated when he was eleven months old due to a congenital condition. As he grew older, he was introduced to sports and learned to play with prosthetics. In the 2004 paralympics, he won his first major competition in the 200m by not only beating single amputee runners, but also setting a world record time. This was the start for the legendary "Blade Runner." Pistorius went on to be very successful in other paralympic championship races, and was able to take part in his first able bodied race in 2007 at Rome's Golden Gala, where he finished second. Most recently, Pistorius has tried to make a bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was rejected.
Criticism of Pistorius has been around for almost his whole career. Though he has yet to set a record that challenges the records of "able-bodied" runners, critics have claimed that his prosthetic limbs give him an unfair advantage in races. The International Assoc. of Athletics Federation recently performed tests that concluded that Pistorius uses 25% less energy than other athletes running at the same speed. They also concluded that there was less vertical motion and 30% less mechanical work required to lift the body. Because of this, the IAAF has declared the prosthetics technical aids, so Pistorius will not be able to participate in any IAAF event, including the Olympics. These claims are combated by other researchers and supporters who claim that the prosthetics are a disadvantage to Pistorius under adverse weather conditions (rain, wind, etc) and Pistorius needs to use more energy at the start of every race to get the legs moving. As for Pistorius, he plans to appeal any ban that is placed on him.
The question is just how far can we let science influence sports? On the one hand, Pistorius' story is almost unheard of. He beat the odds and attained something that no one ever thought he could have. On the other, if this is allowed, why are performance enhancing drugs banned and where does it end? More importantly, are Pistorius and others like him who have beaten the odds forced into a subclass of athletes where they will never be acknowledged for not only their athletic abilities, but their determination in overcoming an obstacle that would prove too daunting for most other people?
Personally, it is hard not to have sympathy for Pistorius' case. However maybe it is all a question of the true spirit of the game, as subjective as that sounds. Pistorius loves to run and he loves sports. When it seemed that he could not have either, he did not give up, but strived to not only be able to play sports, but to play them well and competitively. But even Pistorius has said that if their is conclusive proof that the legs only offer advantages to him, he wouldn't want to compete anyway.
Despite the controversy and criticism, Pistorius will stand firm and fight the ban, not only for himself, but for all disabled athletes. As he said, "You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have."
Saturday, January 12, 2008
No Numbers
Good friend and roommate Ronny Gallegos, aka bboy ironik, started a clothing line called No Numbers with two of his friends, Mike and Ryan. Their first drop was fresher than I don't know what. I'm getting a puppeteer shirt in a couple of days from him once he comes back from California but until then I wanted everyone to know about this. Show your support! Join their facebook group and add them on myspace.
If you wanna buy a shirt contact Ronik. Rumor has it that their online store will open soon.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Enta the Cypha Philly
Being a bboy you'd think I'd write more about breaking (BREAKDANCING for all those not into the bboy scene). This event - Enta the Cypha Philly - will be a special one...
Tomorrow (Saturday) from 5-10pm at MarBar (40th and walnut, Philly, 19104). $10 cover.
Ok so now that I've told you the logistics, I'll explain why I'm looking forward to this event. First some vocab. A "cypher" is an open circle where dancers jump in and just dance to the music. There is no competition, just raw dancing. And Philly is the BEST at this. Hands Down. Philly has a long history of loving music and dancing to it. The DJ always keeps the record spinning so no feeling is lost. A week or two ago I went to House Dance Conference in NYC and the DJ kept turning the music off every 2 minutes. It was the most annoying thing ever. Here in Philly, turntable masters like Skeme and Illvibe Collective will keep the breakers in the circles nonstop.
I love the Philly dance scene! Watch out for me tomorrow at MarBar.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Fruit Flies like a Banana
That's like Frasier and Ali going at it for 9 hours straight! Who would have guessed that male flies fight each other? In fact, fruit flies have a lot of weird little tidbits about them that we never get to see...
Flies get drunk! In fact it's been shown that male flies actually try to mate with other males when intoxicated. Maybe the flies get super horny and can care less who or what they mate with. Can they even tell a difference between males and females at this point?
Aside from fighting and drinking, flies (like peeps) love sex! I heard about a researcher who put six flies of both sexes in a petri dish to see what happens. You'll never guess. A male and female would start mating and the rest, instead of "doin' dey own thang", would instead make a circle and watch. Yes watch. Just watch. And some would come up and lick the mating pairs' genitalia. That's right. A fly orgy.
I hope some of this has surprised you as much as it's surprised me the first time I heard about it. I actually work in a fly lab so you'll probably hear more interesting stories. Hope you enjoyed this. Man it's getting late. Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit Flies like a banana.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Cooliris Previews and PicLens
I've been trying to find ways to give my Mozilla Firefox a new look and feel. Lo and behold, I stumbled across these two innovative add-ons.
The first one I found was Cooliris Previews which introduced me to an enchanting world where clicking is obsolete! I now have picture-in-picture browsing capabilities. There's not much to say about this but to give it a try and see for yourself. I'm still getting the hang of it but I'm sure sooner than later I'll be using it nonstop.
I was so impressed by Previews that I added PicLens (both offered by the same company - Cooliris). Again, you just have to try this to see if you like it or not. I guess if you use Google Images this would be heaven for you. It pretty much allows you to scroll through images by placing them all in a full screen slideshow. End result: no more clicking back and forth to browse through images. I haven't tried it to see if it will get me through loading page after page looking at facebook albums but wouldn't that be a treat?
I definitely recommend downloading both of these. It takes 1 minute to download each since they're both extensions and nothing that needs pesky installation. And the better part is, if you don't like it, it takes even less time to uninstall.
You'll notice blog entries like this every once in a while from me. It's just that, whenever I find something cool (and free!), I like to spread the word.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Mommy Started Her Own School
Here's a picture of my mom holding an award she got at the Sudanese Independence Day celebration this past Saturday.
Ahlam (el nombre de mi madre) started a Sudanese Saturday school for the community with her best friend Muna. The school meets Saturdays for three hours and focuses on teaching Arabic and Sudanese culture to the young kids of the community.
I actually help out by taking pictures and also teaching. In the past month, the student population has more than doubled and the school, unlike its 1001 predecessors, has not failed yet. I am personally taking charge to see that it continues to succeed by communicating with the students to find ways of (hehe) "keepin' 'em coming". So far the kids just want to have fun. Some of them understandabley hate going to school 6 days a week so I have been trying to figure out ways of making the school seem less "school-like". Kids love games and candy right?
Any other ideas, feedback, support, comments, questions: anything is welcomed!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Navigating the Internets
So I guess this means Arcade of the Scribe lies just west of Wikipedia. Nice. This'll be a short post, mostly to point you guys toward one of my favorite webcomics, XKCD... yes, I know it's a bit engineering-geeky, but it's fun anyway. Blog Out.
Mkeka is African for Mat?!
Hello all. I said I wouldn't post for a while, and I shouldn't because I am crunching numbers on an excel sheet. However, as I was flipping through the newspaper, I saw something I thought was outrageous and I had to stop myself and analyze whether I should really be offended.
My conclusion was Yes!!! But slowly something is being done about the problem.
The Article was about the Kwanzaa celebration, and in it, the author referred to everything as an African tradition, or an African word. This is small sampling of a serious problem in today's world. Africa is referred to as an entire country instead of a continent of fifty three countries, each with unique cultures. Many African cities are modern, even if they are not at the same level as American or European cities. Yet Africa's problems are referred to as just that -problems- and attempts to solve them are handled as such. Now, if you wonder why it matters, it should be noted that the problems of one country can drastically affect the stability of another, a fact that becomes more true as the world becomes more globally connected. If you are wondering how does this tie into battle, well, I will tell you.
One of the fundamental steps for successful engagement and termination of a war, battle, or even a problem is clearly defining and understanding your it. In order, to conquer a people you have to understand their culture and what they value. You are then on the right path to developing a plan of attack, whether that include actual attack, or compromise. The very first step is to understand the people. The same is true of conquering a problem. You must understand who's problem it is and how it affects them and their culture.
However, a group of teachers decided to tackle this problem and has taken action. The Teachers of Utah State University have actually developed lesson plans for teaching students about Africa at the elementary level. These include lessons on the people, the cultures, the countries, and how the US and Africa compare. The lessons are simple, yet informative, and hold a wealth of information that the common person would not know about one of the world's biggest land masses. Although these lesson plans are for elementary students, they are actually a very good starting point for anyone how has caught themselves saying, 'how can I understand or contribute to solving Africa's problems.' Because as one teacher said, "Africa is not just one big safari." And understanding the people is part of conquering the problems.
Knock Knock
"Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed.
"The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator says: ‘Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’
"There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: ‘OK, now what?’"
I admit, it's not that funny. BUT, the data doesn't lie; overall, people love this joke. Yesterday I promised that I would deliver something more serious. And, here it is.
Psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman - University of Hertfordshire - conducted the Laughlab Experiment as a scientific hunt for the world's funniest joke. Well, his team found it after reaching out to the global community. Dr Wiseman said the joke was interesting because it had global appeal. He said that jokes sometimes work for different reasons. He said that jokes "sometimes make us feel superior to others, reduce the emotional impact of anxiety-provoking situations or surprise us because of some kind of incongruity. The hunters joke contained all three elements" (full article).
I think it's a stupid joke... but I did find it funny that "Germans - not renowned for their sense of humour - found just about everything funny" (full article).
There are plenty of funnier jokes out there, so how about this idea. Share a joke with fellow readers below as a comment!
Now here is a Monty Python clip that many of you may recognize. Who's up for some 10 minutes of British comedy?
Friday, January 4, 2008
Benny Lava
change of pace... This blog had 7 serious posts since induction so how about one to make you laugh or shake your head no... a hopefully interesting post this weekend... I promise
Hope you enjoyed this 4th of Jan You Airy
Thursday, January 3, 2008
How to be Legend
Last night Will Smith interviewed with Tavis Smiley. They talked about plenty, with topics ranging from Philly gun violence to Will's latest movie "I Am Legend". During the interview Tavis asked Will what seperated him from other people and Will's response was that he is "not afraid to die on a treadmill". After some explanation, Will emphasized that he will not be "overworked"; he will work his hardest no matter what and he attributes his success to this hustle-and-you'll-make-it philosophy.
This is the American Boot Strap Dream. But what about those that do hustle and work hard, and still remain poor and underprivileged? I personally don't believe that success can solely be attributed to hard work. Why? Well just as there are those that don't succeed even after breaking their backs, there are those who are successful by doing nothing less than knowing the right people. I will exclude those who are born wealthy from this discussion because there is a fine distinction between being successful and being rich. I used to always think that if I work really really hard and did my best I would have no problems in life. And so far that has fortuneately rung true for me. But I also need to know people. This society runs on connections! Who you know is important! Just watch "The Pursuit of Happyness" and you'll see what I mean.
That being said, maybe you shouldn't have to die on the treadmill but instead... do something like a Breast Cancer Walk and talk to fellow walkers. Get to know people while you work.
Network and hustle.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Among the Thugs
First something light, but still related to my post:
Now to be more serious:
