Mind-Forg'd Manacles

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Monday 02-Mar

How You Remember Your High School Experience (0)

Friday 27-Feb

I don't think you know what bread is... (0)

Tuesday 20-Jan

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Monday 19-Jan

Countdown complete! (0)

Sunday 18-Jan

Giving (0)

Wednesday 14-Jan

Falling off a Bike (0)
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Colbert Dance Remix Interview (0)

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Welcome to Mind-Forg'd Manacles
Tuesday, September 07 2010 @ 05:16 PDT

Quote of the Day

Friday, November 13 2009 @ 02:55 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 175

"If Christianity was going to create an American society, a free and independent liberal democracy, it would have done so when Christianity had power but it didn't. People got on boats, teeny little boats, to cross the Atlantic knowing that there was a good chance that they would die along the way or shortly after they got here to get away from the civilization that Christianity created."
-Brian Dalton, aka Mr. Diety.
From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSgKVotOPo&feature=player_embedded#

But if you haven't seen Mr. Diety before the first episode is a great place to start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzf8q9QHfhI

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Riddle me this

Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 05:17 PDT
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 250

One of the arguements against public health care is that ballooning costs will cause it to eventually consume the entire federal budget within a few decades. In short, it's too expensive.

This is based on health care cost increases for the current system in recent years.

Setting aside the debate on whether or not the meteoric rise would remain true, especially with a public health care option, how is it any less expensive to keep the current system? People are paying these costs one way or another, and will continue to do so. If the government cannot afford to pay for it in the coming years, how can we expect you or I to under a private system?

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How You Remember Your High School Experience

Monday, March 02 2009 @ 01:25 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 613

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I don't think you know what bread is...

Friday, February 27 2009 @ 11:14 PST
Contributed by: EZ
Views: 390

On some advice on ingredient substitutions, and whether something should be substituted 1:1, I just read: "Yep....same...or more...or less....doesn't really matter...bread is not an exact science."

If anyone ever gives you bread advice like the above, stop listening to them and find another source. Top bread chefs will measure out ingredients by weight because volume measurements can't be trusted. It's true you can fudge the numbers quite a bit for some ingredients, but even the slightest alteration will result in a different tasting bread. Because baking bread is an exact science.

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Giving

Sunday, January 18 2009 @ 10:41 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 408

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be one-of-a-kind for you.
- It'll be done this year.
- No clue what it's going to be. It may be a drawing. It may be a short story or a poem. It may be a comic. It may be a song. It might be a video or photo. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. You can try to influence me with your comment, but it may or may not have any effect.

The catch? There is no catch. Although if you want to spread the love in your own journal, feel free.

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Do Until Others

Tuesday, December 02 2008 @ 09:49 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 365

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Black Friday indeed

Friday, November 28 2008 @ 11:57 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 289

On the way back from Thanksgiving awesomeness, all of a sudden the right most lane came to a dead stop. I got out of it, thinking it was only a matter of time before I hit a mysterious traffic jame.

But no, it was just that one lane. I wondered what horrible accident must lay ahead. Then I see it's cleary going to an exit. And wondering if there's an accident on Montague Expressway, or if perhaps that glow of light is a horrible fire.

Then I remember that today is Black Friday and that's the exit to the Great Mall. At first I thought it was people who were going to camp out until opening. I found out later that the Great Mall opens its doors at midnight, and it being just past midnight, made those people only slightly less crazy.

But at least people weren't so mad with consumer savings that there were any deaths. At least, not on this coast.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/11/28/2008-11-28_worker_dies_at_long_island_walmart_after.html

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Learning from the past

Tuesday, November 11 2008 @ 12:49 PST
Contributed by: EZ
Views: 275

Imagine, if you will, that you are the United Kingdom in 1940. Across the Channel, every free nation you knew is knuckling under to an intractable, tyrannical force. Your cities are being cratered by the Luftwaffe, and your ports are being choked by the Kriegsmarine. You realize, in your heart, that you do not have long to live, unless you can think your way out of this fix. But you have something the Nazis do not: you have Alan Turing. You see this man at Cambridge, and you watch him hypothesize a concept called the Turing machine, which could perform any conceivable mathematical calculation far faster and more accurately than anyone alive, even him. So you move him to Bletchey Park, where you surround him with more geniuses and ask him to break the Nazis' Enigma and Lorenz code machines, with their multiple encryptions and their constantly rotating keys. And so he does. He saves your lives. You give him your highest medal. But he doesn't stop there. At the National Physics Laboratory, he designs the first stored-program computers, and creates the Turing Test standards for artificial intelligence. You are on your way to becoming the greatest information superpower in the world. And then you lose your mind. On an investigation of a break-in at Turing's house in 1952, your police discover Turing is in a homosexual relationship. You've defined this as illegal, and so you threaten to imprison him (remember, he's the victim of this crime you're investigating) if he doesn't start taking your destructive hormone treatments. And so, in 1954, misshapen and addled from your drugs, he kills himself. You profess to not understand why.

You, the formerly Great Britain, lose the race to your ally, the United States. Unhindered by competition, the U.S. makes every great computational breakthrough of the 1950s and beyond. You are left behind. But what if you hadn't killed Alan Turing? What if his Manchester Mark I had led to the Manchester Mark XII? What if your later computers had not only met the Turing Test standards, but met whatever new standards his unbridled mind could create? What if? You'll never know, I guess. But you can take comfort in Santayana's rule. Our newborn empire isn't capable of being high and mighty on this subject. So maybe we'll get to watch some more tolerant country's genius bury us in the next great race.

Found here: http://selinker.livejournal.com/11872.html

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Measure B did not pass

Wednesday, November 05 2008 @ 09:14 PST
Contributed by: Alvin
Views: 221

Measure B here in Santa Clara county would have connected San Jose and Santa Clara to the BART system. Millions of of people would be able to get to BART easier, and thousands more daily with connections to the valley's light rail system and another Caltrain connection.

This in inspite of a 66.3% majority.

You see, Measure B had a 1/8% tax increase to pay for it. But because a mere 2,000 more people did not vote for it, it failed. We require a 2/3's majority on any tax increase. Because it's so important that a simple majority not be able to raise taxes. That might be a good idea.

Prop 8 did pass. It got a 52% majority. Because about 204,000 tipped the majority balance. Bigger numbers because it's not a state issue. But we have 14% less support for Prop 8 than Measure B. An iniative that amends our state constitution to take away the rights of millions was able to be passed. A measure that would have helped to fund public transportation was not, despite 14% more support from the public.

It's much harder to raise taxes than it is to take away rights. How's that for priorities?

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Congratulations Obama!

Tuesday, November 04 2008 @ 08:23 PST
Contributed by: EZ
Views: 218

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