The Weekly News

Blogger is a cool system, but lately I've been using Firefox which has an extension that makes updates to livejournal blogs WAY easy. So I have started a new blog over there. It is updated much more often than this one was, just because it's so much easier. Check out the new blog here or copy and paste: http://www.livejournal.com/users/yelsohc/

I am a pretty tempered guy; it takes a lot to get me excited especially in regards to the news. But one thing that really has that potential is news about SETI (www.seti-inst.edu). Possibly because of the general social implications it would have, possibly because the potential it has to unite humans on the global level to each other and the universe, and possibly because I - like many others - have had a great interest in Astronomy and the unexplained questions of the universe since I was young.

For this reason, the SETI@home project was great. Not only did it take computer and their ability to acquire and store data and make it a social endeavors, it did this with the intent of answering one of, if not the, most important questions to human-kind - Are we alone in the universe? Distributive computing, despite the fact that the 'work' is done by hardware and software, is still a social process, but it is hidden behind machines. It is essentially the application of social structure, a phenomenon semi-unique to humans, for the purpose of aquiring knowledge, placed upon tools created by humans. Indeed, it kind of reminds me of the computer in A Hitchhiker's Guide. But I digress...

My main point is, today CNN posted this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/09/02/space.signals.reut/index.html

Upon reading it I think I actually exclaimed "YES!" and through my fist in the air like I was at a football came and my team just scored. Of course, the chances of this being anything of consequence is very slim, and there is also the possibility that inter-space contact could be very, very bad for the Earth. But those things aside, think how important it would be and indescribable consequential it would be to experience the first contact with extraterrestrial was made and to be able to see it unfold. There truly would be no comparable time in recorded history.

Finally! Something tangible from all of this effort I have been putting into school for the past 2 and a half years of my life. Over the Summer I completed my Master's thesis/degree. I'll eventually post my thesis - for those who are having trouble sleeping - but since it's not officially published yet, until then you'll have to buy NyQuil. It was rough, but it was definitely cool to see a final product which was somewhat representative of what I have learned since I have been here. But in all honesty I was most proud of the dedication, or being able to write the dedication I should say. It felt good to be able to show others that their help had a tangible product as well, and to be able to thank my parents in a formal, semi-public way.

I got me a gmail account over the summer and I've been checkin it out. I like it so far. At first it didn't work with Safari, and that was a bummer, but supposedly they got those issues fixed (However I haven't had a chance to test it becasue I am now functionally Mac-less, as you can see in a separate post). I like the fact that you can display things in conversation view, but I haven't really gotten any use out of it yet. By far the coolest feature is the large send and receive capacities - around 10mb per email. I find that really helpful with transferring articles from electronic journals (which average 3-4mb and are larger than my school email can handle) and data files. It's also great that I can again have a reliable non-spammed email address without having to add '4583623620' to the end of whatever email address I am trying to register. My 'typical' email address for that type of thing is rather unique so with my first one I had no problem with the address already being taken. I now have a few more invitations so I am anxious to see if I still don't have any problems.

...since I last posted something here. So all you you nay-sayers who told me I'd never keep up with it becam yea-sayers. ButI came back to actually post something and saw that there were comments from someone other than family members! Not that I don't love the family members of course, but I was inspired by the fact that someone was actually reading this. Alright!

Getting pictures from my family (me included) is about as easy as getting them to show up somewhere on time. But finally I have some pictures of the first individual who will be able to legitimately call me "Uncle Bryan". I think this is very cool - and I should probably start working in my bad influences. Here are some pictures of the big guy (http://webspace.utexas.edu/~bcshep75/Casa/Pages/pics.html) I can see he's already on his way to being a handful. I think its AMAZING how much he looks like both of his parents. Its like one minute its a mini-Josh and the next it's mini-April. Well, needless to say I'm pretty proud.

Since the first thing Sara does is bolt for the water when you take her within fifty yards of it, we bought her a pool this weekend. She seemed to love it. A few pictures are posted on the website. You can check them out here: http://webspace.utexas.edu/~bcshep75/Casa/Pages/pics.html.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this special report...

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Why? Well, there's the end of the semester, the nice weather, and the impending months of relative freedom. But there's also TV Turnoff Week.

I don't proselytize the social issues as much as I used to, I've learned preaching to people isn't that effective. What's best is giving people new information and hoping it either initiates or catches them on their way to a different cognitive perspective. But TV Turnoff Week is something I really support. It's basically a call to people to show their independence from the media and "for profit" interest groups behind it. And oh yeah, it's a great excuse to get out and do something healthy. It's been around for a while, but even a lot of people in the circles that you would expect to know about it don't - or they forget. So this is your new info. or reminder, whichever the case may be. TV Turnoff Week is from April 19-25 this year so don't forget; for more information you can check out www.tvturnoff.org. If you decide not to watch or to at least cut back, of course I'll be right there with you. Maybe I'll see you in the park or on the trail.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming in 5,4,3,...

(btw, if anyone - besides my dad - can tell me where the title comes from you'll get extra points or something. no internet searching allowed. Like I'd know...)

Not much to say. School is almost over for the semester so I am stressed but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

so forget all your duties...oh yeah - that's exactly what I need a the end of the semester. We went out and bought us a couple of bikes today anyway though. Beth has been wanting one (or at least using not having one) as her excuse for not doing the Danskin, and all that running for the 10 k reminded me how much I like riding a bike. I got the Trek 4300 for which you can obtain a picture by clicking here, and Beth got a Giant Cypress ST viewable here (but with a slightly different frame). We tested them out today and they seemed to work good.