Book Of Norm

One of the many dangers of the tampoline...

Did you know there were still about 100 uncontacted tribes? I had no idea. Mostly in the Amazon, but still, the idea that there are people living currently with no idea of the outside world is amazing to me. Though personally, I find the idea something like a living museum (or possibly The Village), I agree with the left wing anthropology majors on this one (I think thats a first..) and say that their way of life should be preserved and protected. Of course, I am not sure how long that will be able to go on. And to be honest, my interest is one of preservation and possible eventual remote study of these groups? Probably not the same way the anthro majors would look at it, but they are usually self-delusional anyway. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/30/brazil.tribes/index.html?eref=rss_topstories Can you imagine that as the plane flew over, and took a picture of the group, they looked up at the sky with bows drawn and saw what? An act of god? A sign of some kind? And that is ju...

The Fed should return to its normal practices ``as soon as that would be consistent with stable, well-functioning markets,'' Kohn said yesterday. ``Central banks should not allocate credit or be market markers on a permanent basis.''   Hmm.. yeah. You think?

Never look into the heart of a loofah.

Remeber Windows Me? You might, if you were unlucky enough to buy a computer after 2000 but before XP came out. It was a POS, with more holes in it that '98 SP2, and a clunky and terrible user interface. All of the best ideas (system restore.. and were there any others?) were used in XP. No one cares or remembers Me, the same will happen to Vista. The best things about it (which are... widgets? Multiple monitor support? Desktop search?.. if you did not have google desktop..) will all end up in Windows 7. So this came about because Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates put on a little show yesterday of Windows 7, which is supposedly only two years out, and will have the huge upgrade of multitouch support. That would be amazing, and would be one of the biggest advances in general computing in a long time (yes, iPhone touting white box lovers will claim that their enlarged track pads really set the pace, and their beloved overhyped little status symbol they carry around was the real first multi...

If nothing else makes you sad for this country of polar opposites this will: http://www.popsci.com/future-human/article/2008-05/one-eight-us-biology-teachers-teaches-creationism Amazing. Our students are already not getting the education this country should provide, they are being indoctrinated with religion in the schools at the same time.

I have a love hate relationship with my roomba. It does a good job cleaning up, but hes a needy pain in the ass sometimes, with a weak battery and a desire to get his large schnoz stuck on some room divider and lift his 1 inch wheels off the ground. I think the relationship would be a whole lot different with this little guy: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/metal-storm-iro.html In case you dont know them, metal storm is a australian company developing an entirely new way of firing a gun. Forget the hammer, pin, and moving parts generally. You stack a bunch of bullets in a barrel, and fire them electronically. You can feed more in etc, but basically it lets you fire very very rapidly, and with little maintaince etc. Now, put one of those on the back of a iRobot Warrior bot, and you have quite a weapons system. Yes, Foster-Miller has had a few .50cal equipped bots running around in Iraq, but I just like iRobot better. Because they made Norm Jr. and because they are not a typical gi...

Ok, this is not a definitive answer, but there is a new theory supported by some carbon remains that when an asteroid struck the Gulf of Mexico (a pretty widely accepted theory), its impact vaporized a huge oil reserve, which then exploded in a worldwide fireball. Sounds lovely. http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-05/fiery-extinction

As a direct result of Co2, and whether or not your believe in the causal link between global warming and Co2, it has been shown that Co2 is in fact causing the pH in the oceans to drop. This is bad news for all you little exoskeletal dudes out there, because it is going to be a lot harder to find the calcium you need to make your home. We really have no idea what effect this is going to have long term, but I dont think I need to be the one to say it would likely be better if it did not happen. http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-05/ocean-ph-and-fate-food-chain

We are reaching the age of man where machine becomes a greater party of our daily life. At first, this will be subtle. Always having the internet with you, amputees receiving advanced prosthetics, etc. As we go along, it will completely alter human society, with mechanical replacement of natural human systems, integrated cloud computing, and enhanced reality computing. In the meantime, and purely in the field of genetics, we are seeing three driving forces. 1) Rapid advancements in mechanical prosthetics 2) A massive wave of new amputees and disabled young citizens returning from the Iraq and Afghan wars 3) Breakthroughs in man machine interfaces. Developments have been made in arm and leg amputations with connections to the severed nerves. However, a line of development focusing directly on interaction with the brain has taken a major step forward. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/science/29brain.html?ref=science Monkeys in the test were able to communicate with and operate a prosthe...

I have always been interested in the great structures which have survived from antiquity, and one of the most interesting to me (for obvious reasons) is Stonehenge. Recent carbon dating shows that the henge was used as a burial site from the start. It seems likely that the burials were for a ruling elite, buried in successive generations over a long period of time. The article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/science/30stonehenge.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin This is logical to me, and helps to solve one of the two great mysteries to the site: how, and why. Though a glimpse into why, this does not give any answers on the alignment of the stones etc. How, of course, is quite an impressive challenge.

The most expensive (and one of the smallest) backhoes just touched down on Mars. Hopefully soon the communication bug is fixed and we can get down to some serious digging. The landing, needless to say, was very impressive, and amazing that everything worked well (Mars has a way of not letting that happen). Now if it could only dig up a little gold mine for NASA, the agency would have a way to survive the coming Democrat Dark Years.

Deciding that I was far too irreverent an upstart of a little brother to be the only Tallett pissing their thoughts to the wind, my older brother (James, for those of you not in the know), has started up a daily update over at: http://thefourpartland.wordpress.com/ The topics are primarily space (and in a much more detailed way than I go about looking at such things), and his own writing. His writing is good fantasy writing, and the world he has developed is the four part land (hence the name).

So EADS gave the world its first look at what a European manned spacecraft might look like, and it is an ATV (a ferry for the ISS) with 3 people inside. None too shocking. Actually, the whole thing is very evolutionary, and not at all surprising. Its not really that exciting either, because I have never really found European nationalism that compelling. Then again, a third global space power would likely be a good thing for everyone. And the Soyuz really should not be what everyone on the ISS is still relying on in 2020. That said, this is the EU and EADS we are talking about... recent notable moments: 1) Galileo. Yeah. Thats going well. The European GPS system lost private sector support, is years behind on its development, and would charge end users for the data. And this is meant to open a new world of commercial possibilities? We already have GPS. And its free. And Russia and China are building systems. I only need to know to turn left in 100 yards from one satellite system, though...

It seems the toilet on the ISS is broken. The Russian made crapper crapped out last week, but thankfully not for crap. In the words of NASA: "The solid waste disposal is still functioning," its the liquid waste disposal which has been on the fritz. Supposedly, those wishing to use the loo have been forced to head over to the Soyuz liferaft and use its "limited capacity" toilet. Ok, not as important as the phoenix landing, but entertaining nonetheless.

So the US--well Boeing specifically--recently tested its C-130H mounted laser system from the aircraft for the first time. The aircraft was on the ground, but in-flight tests are expected to follow on shortly. This one has been a long time coming, being in development for 20 years or more. The advantage to this system, unlike its much more expensive and ambitious space spaced big big brother, is that it can be used effectively in a specific theater of operations to neutralize common threats such as SCUD missiles, cruise missles, ICBM launch attemts, and the more mundane duty of blowing up stuff on the ground (which we already have a lot of options for). This tactical air-control will offer a huge advantage to the US, as well as protection for troops and to a lesser extent, citizens. The second part of the story is perhaps the more interesting. The first thing that happened after the Boeing announcement? Russia claimed it had the same technology.. in 1972! Though not officially an offic...

From Colleen: Pulse detonation is pretty interesting because it's really the first time they have thought about something really different than normal combustion for turbine engines (Brayton Cycle) that seems feasible. The biggest challenge right now for PDE (pulse detonation engines) is size vs output...which is definitely a problem for aircraft but not for power plants. Also, I guess for power plants they aren't running on a PDE but they are using the technology to increase efficiency. This is from teh GE global research blog: "During the course of our research, we have found a more near term application for this technology that is helping power plant boilers run more efficiently. In fact, GE Energy introduced a product, called Powerwave+™ this past February. Powerwave+ harnesses shockwaves created through the pulsed detonation process and directs them at problem areas in the boiler. It does a tremendous job dislodging buildup and cleaning the boiler, so that it runs mor...

Just found this, made it probably 4 years ago from a couple photos and some photoshop.

When I heard a few weeks ago that the UK plans to install 2,500 video cameras in the hats of police officers, it somewhat alarmed me, but basically seemed a little silly. Their hats? Right. But now things are getting downright scary in the mother country. A new project by the home office is effectively the last step in turning the UK govt. into big brother: they will now be able access all of your phone, internet, and email records. All of them. For the previous 12 months. Granted it is by court order, and only the terrorists should be worried blah de blah. Right. And you thought the patriot act was bad.. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1990999/Home-Office-plans-to-create-Big-brother-database-for-phones-calls,-emails-and-web-use.html

Wow. The field is smaller than a grain of rice. This little dude is tiny. Nano tech has a lot of important implications, I will get into those some other time, right now, sit back, relax, and enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAjSE_vvIO0

Beacause of beaurocracy and irrigation projects, the Aral Sea - once the fourth largest lake in the world, is now only 10% of the size it once was. This is no effect of global warming, but rather the effect of USSR planning projects which turned Uzbeckistan into one of the largest global producers of cotton. The lake split into North and South sections, with the Sout h further splitting and effectively dissapearing. Work has been done by Kazakhstan to bolster the North Aral Sea. Quote from wikipedia:"The ecosystem of the Aral Sea and the river deltas feeding into it has been nearly destroyed, not least because of the much higher salinity. The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic chemicals, which are picked up and carried away by the wind as toxic dust and spread to the surrounding area. The land around the Aral Sea is heavily polluted and the people living in the area are suffering from a lack of fresh water and other health problems, including high rates ...

Property Rights are essential to the functioning of a capitalist economy. Or any economy to be frank. Private enterprise will be what pushes development in space. The moon, with valuable resources such as helium-3, will be the first testbed for property rights beyond earth. The distinction here is that such property rights will be beyond and separated from national sovereignty. The only similar and pertinent cases are international maritime law, which is presented as relatively straightforward in the pop mechanics article, but are in fact incredibly complicated and ambiguous. To effectively develop space (which will happen sooner than people think), nations need to get together and ratify a treaty to effectively delineate property rights. An interesting wrinkle is the public/private divide: on earth, most actions that you undertake on your own property do not effect the property of others. In space, most notably because of space debris, your actions can and commonly will affect o...

Assets in the top funds were up 35%, with the top 10 managing 20% of all HF assets, and the top 100 75%. The credit crises concentrated assets in the top funds, flight to quality in a whole new way.   1 JPMorgan Asset Management $44.7 billion 2 Bridgewater Associates $36 billion 2 Farallon Capital Management $36 billion 4 Renaissance Technologies $33.3 billion 5 Och-Ziff Capital Management $33.2 billion 6 D.E. Shaw Group $32.2 billion 7 Goldman Sachs Asset Management $29.2 billion 8 Paulson & Co. $29 billion 9 Barlcays Global Investors $26.2 billion 10 GLG Partners $23.9 billion 11 Brevan Howard Asset Management $21 billion 12 Man Investments $20.9 billion 13 Atticus Capital $20 billion 13 Citadel Investment Group $20 bil...

Not sure why I had a hunch this place would prove to be of interest a few weeks back, but here you go: http://www.physorg.com/news130514852.html "Scripps Research Institute awarded patent for remarkable chemical technology The patent's diverse potential applications include the development of new drugs, bioactive nanomaterials, anti-bacterial and non-immunogenic coatings for medical implants, coatings for semiconductors, coatings and adhesives for ships’ hulls, self-healing materials, microelectronics and responsive nanomaterials, and surface-sensitive adhesives, to name a few. Of many areas where the patented technology can be used, potential applications include the production of new pharmaceutical candidates and new polymeric materials, such as glues and coatings, for use in high-tech electronics applications. Triazoles are exceptionally stable at high temperatures, which makes them ideal for use in electronics, where computers and other devices must heat up and cool down c...

Not encouraging. Just as on land the issue is always save the cute fluffy ones. Or more correctly, save the mammals and the big ones we can identify with, the oceans recieve almost no attention. The WWF recently put out numbers that the average population of the 1,477 vertebrate species it tracks in its Living Planet Index showed an overall decline of 27 percent from 1970 to 2005. They believe that marine species have been even harder hit. It is almost as if were were still in the 1800's, and the oceans were an infinite pool, too vast and powerful for mankind to ever effect (a common belief of the time). We are destroying marine habitat at a rapid rate, and have very little idea what the effect will be. A new and interesting map has been published showing the areas most affected.

Basics: Clathrates are composites in which a lattice of one substance forms a cage round another. Methane clathrates (in which water molecules are the cage) form on continental shelves. These clathrates are likely to break up rapidly and release the methane if the temperature rises quickly or the pressure on them drops quickly — for example in response to sudden global warming or a sudden drop in sea level or even earthquakes. Methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, so a methane eruption ("clathrate gun") could cause rapid global warming or make it much more severe if the eruption was itself caused by global warming. Detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_Gun_Hypothesis

Over 99% of the species which ever lived are now extinct. And yet we have a vibrant and powerful global ecology (not withstanding the mass extinction humans are bringing about). That is the natural result of a free market: only the best suited survive, but complexity brings about innumerable different possibilities. If I were to stand up as a US politician and state that 99% of all jobs which we have now will eventually disapear, to be replaced be new and different positions, there would be uproar. Human society, created in many ways to minimize the negative sides of a pure market, abhores extinction. And yet it is the most natural of processes. The only difference is that with humanity, those going extinct have the ability to change the rules, thus preserving their inefficient roles.

The field of biomimicry has always interested me. Logically, it has often been most closely associated with pharmaceuticals and architecture. However, in this case a Brazilian beetle was found which created crystals for its exoskeleton which would be ideal for use in optical computing. A suitable crystal had proven difficult to develop through other means. Nature, a purely competitive market in which competition has been forcing evolution for the last 3 billion years, has solved engineering concepts we have yet to even dream of. This case is of course most interesting because of its technological roots: its shows that bimimicry will continue to be of use beyond architecture and medicine . http://www.physorg.com/news130481875.html

growing divide of rich and poor long life - longevity of modern science and medicine education - will become increasingly exclusive enhanced mental acuity - a lot to explore there Population growth in the developing world natural disaster in overpopulated areas Food issues - read Ishmael, current crises etc eventual shift of power to the developing world China hype overblown. Will crash, and then develop. Will have its own great depression. State lead industrialization is good only to a point, and that point is usually cars and electronics - see Japan for details. Chinese diaspora will/have take over from Japanese Keiretsu as dominant force in Asia Global warming - whether warming or cooling for the moment, it is certain humanity is having an impact, what that impact is, and how we are going to deal with it will be major challenges. Productivity enhancement Incomprehensible financial markets - a system of risk and risk management completely alien to retail investors. Technology and dev...

If you have not checked this out, you need to: http://trojangames.com/ The best of the best in the Olympics..

What a total sham of a country. In the middle of a humanitarian disaster where little has been done, aid has been withheld, and tens of thousands die, the 'generals' hold a popular referendum on a new constitution which guarantees their power and protection. Amazingly, turnout was 99%, and 92% of the population supported the changes! What a crock. Sadly, we live in a world where many nations appease such dictators. Is there a difference if 50,000 die because of the govt. withholding aid and acting completely inept, or the govt. kills 50,000 directly? I would say no. All this is just so that Gen Than Shwe can keep up the charade of government. Any child could see past it, but most of the members of the UN recognize the dictatorship as legitimate. Usually, dictatorships and highly controlled nations such as Cuba are relatively good at dealing with natural disasters, as there are no protections of personal freedom, and close ties to the military. In this case, the government is s...

Recently I read an article which begged a question.The article was on the 'uninsurables' a 1.5 million strong caste of American society who cannot get private health care, usually because of pre-existing conditions. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4BEIIi_OauQ There is simply no reasonable market mechanism, as the costs are simply too high. Starting in the 80's, some states set up funds to provide healthcare for such individuals. In one such case--Oklahoma--there is a cap imposed of $500,000 for lifetime benefits. The case involves a young girl who was born very prematurely. She has many medical issues, and will use up the $500,000 by the time that she is a teenager. The question is quite simple: should further benefits be extended? Should the $500,000 be spent in the first place? I spent a while thinking about this. Sadly, I think there should be a cap. It is a terrible choice, but from a greatest common good standpoint, and from a standpoint of ...

This comes as little surprise, but China has likely passed the US as the top producer of emissions. This will continue. China's central government has little effective power to limit regional greenhouse gas producers, and regional governments are pushing as hard as possible to develop rapidly. The estimates are that China brings a new coal plant on-line every 3 days. Each of these plants is roughly equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of the state of Vermont. The flaw in Kyoto was and is the allowances given to developing nations. Along with this, the Clean Development Mechanism is deeply flawed. The Clean Development Mechanism ( CDM ), allows projects in the developing world to receive emissions credits which can then be used and traded under the Kyoto or EU ETS trading system. This is administered through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ). A WWF study suggests that 20% of carbon credit supported projects do not meet the threshold of addit...

NBC's version of TopGear: "Gear" has officially been axed for this season. Much as I love car shows, this is a good thing, because there is no way they could do justice to the format. Now if I only got BBC America...

Out of season now, with everything becoming green, but I really like this shot from the old quarry near home in Stockton.

Quote from a financial white paper. It was specific in nature, but can be applied universally. "As such, the Commission has a responsibility to balance self-regulatory rules and needs while simultaneously promoting market innovation. One possible means of achieving this balance would be to use principles based rule making where possible and save the prescriptive rule promulgation for only the more difficult issues." I would posit that there are very few cases where a prescriptive rules system would b more effective or efficient than a principles based one.

Ship Type and Capability Status Serendipity Fully rigged 43' ketch. 17 tons, three main berths with room for a crew of 10. Capable of any journey, with a 1500nm range inboard diesel as a supplement to sail power Operational in one week. Fully upgraded with the latest in GPS mapping and forward-looking sonar. Possible future upgrades include a fully powered winch in the cockpit. Located in Stonington CT Dizzy Lizzy Lake cruising 23' power boat. 260HP inboard mercury engine. Tow-boat capable. Small cabin for overnight or shorter stays. No head or galley. Recently purchased. Pending review, assumed to be fully operational. Location unknown, but likely in or around Meredith NH AppleJack 19' Racing sailboat. No cabin, designed for a crew of three, with one on a trapeze. Fast at certain points of sail, unstable at others. Large sail area. Light, with a flat bottom and centerboard. Unknown. Repairs were progressing last summer, but may or may ...

A rabbithole, not as deep or complicated as it looks http://www.deepcapture.com/ Our whole financial system in ruin? Hardly. FTDs are common and need to be dealt with, as do naked shorts. The main thrust of this writers article is that a number of hedge funds front-run articles by prominent stock columnists. This is illegal, but hardly surprises me. As for fails, no one should be allowed to naked short, and we need a stronger locate requirement. This should coincide with the development of an electronic market for securities loans. As usual, transparency in the financial market is a good thing.

Biofuels, in their current form, are a plague. They have contributed to global rises in commodity prices, hitting the poorest first, and are inefficient in their production of energy. They are not 'green,' they will not solve our problems, and they are not going to be the way of the future. At best, cellulosic ethanol will come to provide for some of the US' energy needs, but corn-based ethanol, along with other varieties such as switchgrass, are a sham. Though protected by that impenetrably dense cloud of liberal self-righteousness, it would be interesting to see if any member of greenpeace or other pro-ethanol group (some of which have now changed sides), would accept the blame for children starving to death in Haiti and Southeast Asia. Unlikely. In the US of course, it is a combination of PR, flyover zone politics, and corporate interests which created the ethanol industry. It is simply amazing to me that it has been accepted and supported as part of the 'green' ...

The party line has certainly become the oft stated 'truth' that climate change is warming up the earth because of human greenhouse gas emissions. Here are two important articles which show that fundamental mantra is deeply flawed. It is simply logical that mankind is having an impact on the environment, and reducing our impact is certainly a beneficial goal, but the current religious acceptance of 'green' climate change ideology is not the correct solution. If we wanted to really go green, we would built nukes and carbon scrubbers... but appearances as usual are more important than reality. Article 1 A notable story of recent months should have been the evidence pouring in from all sides to cast doubts on the idea that the world is inexorably heating up. The proponents of man-made global warming have become so rattled by how the forecasts of their computer models are being contradicted by the data that some are rushing to modify the thesis. Read more from Christopher ...

The natural growth of complexity: biological self regulation and the financial industy with its balance sheet funding and lending - hedge funds, and derivatives and securitization.

Recently we have been through a complete fiasco in the student loan market. The end result has been the fed allowing banks to use these positions as collateral against repo loans, which basically moves high-risk student loans onto the balance sheet of our central bank. The anti-market SNAFU was, with no surprise, engineered by Capitol Hill democrats. The self-righteous idiocy is pretty appalling in this one: "Guess who's asking Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal ReserveChairman Ben Bernanke for a bailout now? Hint: They are members of anexclusive club who bet wrong on the credit markets last fall. No, it'snot a cabal of Wall Streeters, but Democrats in Congress. We're referring to the "student loan crisis" now appearing in a mediaoutlet near you. In September, Congress vowed to make education moreaffordable by passing the "College Cost Reduction and Access Act." Thelaw reduced the interest rates borrowers pay on federally insuredstudent lo...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2008/04/21/st_womenexplorers.xml&page=1 Article on three women houswives who explored an area of the Himalayas where no Westerner had gone before. It is a very impressive story, not the least because of the wonderful British trait of simply following through on impossible ideas. The role of women in exploration and development is too often ignored.

Email to Fed Boston employees. There was a series of emails, mine was the last reply. Sorry for the lack of context. But yeah, that does smack of paranoia. To go a little english major on it, what actually impresses me is that there is no central body of the government which understands and plans this stuff. The whole thing only holds together if people dont question the idiocy. Instead they fight over whether Obama really thinks small town folks are narrow-minded little followers or whether they really should be forced to lose that house they bought with a 110% ARM. English majors/professors/writers, not exactly well known for their deductive reasoning, generally assume that the govt, major corporations, and media all work together in a big brother kind of way to make sure everyone ignores reality. Its rather impressive to me that they dont, but it often seems to work that way anyway (especially in the case of the govt.) "Supporters of Congressman Ron Paul are organizing peaceful...

I love the idea of this. It is a total anachronism, it is slow, big, and impractical for passenger travel. But I love it. The attraction of cruise ships is usually the places you visit. The beauty of this will be the places you fly over. Granted, it will largely appeal to the same crowd as cruise ships: families and retired couples, but the idea of floating over the Okavango in June.. amazing: The FAA has accepted the Aeroscraft Aeros ML866 for certification, the aircraft which is neither an airship nor a dirigible or an airplane or an helicopter or a UFO, but is "classified as a fourth type of air vehicle, a buoyancy assisted air vehicle." However, don't hold your breath for a pleasant trip in this long-range, 210-feet-long, 5,000-square-feet cruise liner of the skies: the company told the Giz that the "ML866 is preliminary scheduled to begin the flight test activities in 30-36 months."

Great Article. Not mine. Innovation and foresight will always be the tools of a great trader: Best hedge fund? Recently I visited the home of the world's best-ever hedge fund manager and I often re-read his writing on investment topics. On my way to his house I saw some black swans on a lake which seemed appropriate and later ate at a restaurant that had run out of rice which appeared even more significant. It is sometimes the minor data points that lead to major opportunities. How does one define "best" in the fund manager universe? I have looked at lots of funds, both traditional and alternative. Here is the performance chart of one I analyzed a while back: Seems pretty good. It is a real fund and you could, if you want, invest in it. No lemon apparent with this product; the fund exists and that chart and performance numbers have been audited many times. A 20% compound annual return with ten consecutive winning years. Heavily regulated and open to investors everywhere. ...