My early impressions of Google+

Some first impressions of Google+ (NYT article here http://goo.gl/3W24D):

* The UI is clean. Much easier and less cluttered than FB. “Likes” are done using the recently-introduced Google “+1″ feature.

* The “Hangout” feature is a simple group video chat webapp in a pop out window.

* The “Sparks” feature is a list of recommended things you might be interested in. It’s supposed to evolve to recommend things based on other things you like (via the Google +1 feature, I believe)

* “Circles” is how you organize your contacts. Basic Circles include “Friends”, “Family”, “Acquaintances”, and “Following” (people you listen to but don’t share with). It’s a neat way to control who you share what with. It doesn’t assume that you want to send to a certain Circle – it requires you to choose which Circles to share with on each post.

* Mobile Clients on Day 1! The Android client is nice (iPhone client waiting for approval), and the web client is really clean and usable, too.

One thing that worries me a little is that (right now) you can choose to share a post with people who aren’t on Google+, which sends them an email instead. This seems like it’s got significant potential for spamming abuse, and I hope that Google has something in place to keep an eye on that, or will be shutting it off later, when they go to full beta instead of closed trial.

All in all, pretty neat so far.

Debating Doctor Laura

Debating Dr Laura Schlesinger By Unknown Original Author Dec 19, 2009 – 7:35:16 PM

This was received in an email and a copy of it was found here.

It relates to broadcaster Dr Laura Schlessinger, about whom you can read here.

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Dr Laura Schlessinger (“Dr Laura”) broadcasts a 3 hour long, radio program each weekday on a network of over 500 radio stations in the U.S. and Canada and has an estimated audience of 20 million people. She holds a Ph.D. in physiology (study of the functions of living matter), not psychology as some assume.

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger has said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response was posted on the internet and is best regarded as an essay clearly meant for a wider audience than just Dr Laura. It is a general reminder that many belief systems pick and choose their way through biblical teachings in determining what is “right” and “wrong”. Authorship has been attributed to several, but remains unconfirmed.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination… End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbours. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath.Exodus 35:2. Clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination – Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle- room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16.Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

You Walk Wrong, and My New Shoes

Trying on Vibram Fivefingers

My New Shoes

I recently got a pair of Vibram Fivefingers shoes, and I LOVE them.

I’ve worn them walking on concrete and cement (dry and wet), on grass, gravel, hard packed dirt with little pointy rocks, and over those funny hard yellow safety bumps at handicapped ramps.

They’re super-comfy, fun, neat-looking, and good for your feet!

I bought the KSO (Keep Stuff Out!) model, available for $85 direct from Vibram. I paid $85 from my local shoe store, Santa Cruz Sockshop and Shoe Company, where at least THREE other guys were trying on Vibram Fivefingers shoes at the same time! (Then again, I live in Santa Cruz)

They *do* sell styles that are a little cheaper, and are more open-styled with your instep open to the air, or more closed (KSO Trek) made of kangaroo leather and tougher soles (I might get a pair of these also!). I love the regular KSO for lightness, and feeling barefoot.

They definitely won’t fall off if you jump around – there are people that run marathons in them, go bouldering, and do Capoeira with ‘em on – and the KSO model has a velcro strap to keep ‘em extra stayput, though I doubt you’d need ‘em unless you were walking through waves…

There’s a store locator on the Vibram site, and I strongly recommend trying on a few pairs and walking around the store for 5-10 minutes with them, to give your feet a chance to get used to the feel so you can pick the best size.

For reference – I usually wear between 10.5 and 11 in US shoe sizes, and I wear size 43 in VFF. I nearly got size 42(!), but since I have a longer second toe than my big toe (go, balance!), I needed the 43.

Note: they seem to be gaining in popularity, so some styles/colors are backordered until early December. If you have any interest, try ‘em on, then get on a list if they don’t have your style!

You can wash ‘em in a normal washing machine in cold or warm water, then air dry ‘em. I wore mine for a week straight, and at the end of the week, they started to smell a little stinky, so dumped ‘em in the wash today. There’s a company that sells thin toe socks you can wear with ‘em, but to me, that’s kinda missing the point of shoes that are nearly barefoot.

Also note: Don’t buy these if you don’t like people looking at your feet, or asking you about your cool shoes. I’ve only had mine for a week, worn them while traveling, and had at least 2 people comment/ask about them each day.

You Walk Wrong

After I got the VFFs, I did some poking around the internet, looking at sites for VFF and barefoot enthusiasts, and ran across a really interesting article in New York Magazine, linked from one, titled, “You Walk Wrong“.

It’s pretty interesting, and talks about how nearly all shoes on the market today are BAD for your feet, and keeping your very-well evolved feet and muscles from doing what they’re supposed to!

If you’re at all a fan of walking barefoot, have foot, leg, or back pain when walking, or just are interested in neat stuff like this, check it out!

Enjoy!

-Rick

My favorite new vegetarian dish: Pasta salad with peas!

I had a brain-wave a couple weeks ago while driving home from work, and got an idea for a tasty pasta salad. It was so compelling that I had to make it when I got home. Fran and I love cheese, but if you want to go vegan, you can obviously just leave it out.

Peas Pasta Salad

• 1 package multicolor/shape pasta
• 1 small package frozen peas
• Sun-dried tomatoes (to taste – I use about 1/4 cup)
• 1 large shallot
• Roasted garlic cloves (to taste – I use about 6 cloves)
• Kosher salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Hot pepper oil (you can just substitute some fresh peppers or chili powder if you prefer)
• Black pepper
• White pepper
• (optional) Asiago, romano, or parmesan cheese (to taste- I like at least 1/4 cup)

Boil your pasta until done, following package directions. Steam your frozen peas (don’t boil them, you lose all the nutrients!) – bonus points if you steam the peas over the boiling pasta water to save time, energy, and water!

Chop sun-dried tomatoes, shallot, and roasted garlic, and heat together with olive oil and pepper oil (or peppers) in small pan until shallot just begins to color. Add kosher salt, ground black pepper, and white pepper to oil mix.

When pasta and peas are done cooking, rinse them in cold water immediately, to stop them from overcooking, and keep their firmness.

Add the cooked (and now rinsed and cooled) pasta back to the pot you cooked it in, and mix in the peas, and oil/tomato/shallot/garlic mixture.

Grate cheese into pasta mix, and mix well.

Taste your creation – add more seasoning to your preference, or more oil if you prefer your pasta salad a bit more wet.

I love this dish because the peas are high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, giving a bit more of a nutritional *punch* to otherwise empty pasta salad. The pepper oil gives just enough of a buzz on the lips and tongue that it makes things really interesting.

Let me know if you try it, and what you think!

Enjoy!

Giving “Real” Support to our Troops?

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the process that the US Armed Forces uses when rotating troops out of combat and back home at the end of a tour of duty, or when a soldier leaves the military altogether. I’m very curious to learn more about the process in place, and would ask that anyone with real experience with this help inform me.

On the way into work this morning, I was listening to NPR (as usual) and heard a disheartening “preview teaser” for a story to come, mentioning an Iraq war vet who had returned home, but found the adjustment to life at home too difficult, and took his own life.

It got me thinking about how we can better serve our soldiers who have served their country… not just by sticking a ribbon magnet on our car or other patriotic gestures – but how we can give them REAL support. It’s not right that more and more soldiers who actually survive the war come home to find that they aren’t able to adjust to the home and neighborhood they once knew, and die at home by their own hand because they didn’t get the help they need to fit in again.

I’ve seen stories and interviews with the families of soldiers who have returned, and the soldiers themselves, and common threads seem to be, “my guys over there need me”, “nobody here understands what I’ve gone (am going) through”, and in some cases, “I don’t know how to do anything else”.

Again, I don’t understand all the logistics of war deployment, and I’m sure it’s a complicated puzzle to work out, especially with our armed forces already overtaxed and resorting to stop-loss measures to remain at the troop levels needed for our current level of engagement around the world…

…but why not rotate out entire “squads” (insert service-appropriate term here) together at the end of their tour, and keep them together as a group at whatever base they’re stationed at (in the US) for at least 6 months. Let them adjust to living outside of a war zone together, where they can be there to support each other, just like they supported each other out in the field. They’d still do drills or whatever sort of work their specialty would do while stationed at base, but why not make it a mandatory part of their service schedule for those 6 months to do work on “re-integration” together as a team?

For those that are going to retire from the service when their time is up, provide them the same sort of skills and job placement services that large for-profit companies do when they have layoffs.  Provide counseling, job training, resume/interview tips, and the like.  Our government should take responsibility for helping soldiers re-integrate into “normal” society, including the necessities for being able to have a life when they’ve returned.

It’s criminal that some soldiers can leave the armed forces after years of service to their country, and when looking for a job, be told they’re not employable – that they don’t have skills that companies need!  Some of these soldiers joined up as soon as they turned 18, and aren’t interested in college (not to mention how pared-down the GI Bill’s benefits have gotten!), just in getting a good job to support their families.

Why should soldiers get any less support from their government and society than we’d give someone who lost their job in a layoff?  Athletes know that you have to do a “cool down” after your high-adrenaline workout… why not support our troops by giving them the same sort of re-integration time while still on the gov’t dime, so they have a fighting chance of adjusting to being at home again?

Am I totally off-base here?

Excellent commentary on Obama’s recent speech

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/19/commentary.ashong/index.html

Good stuff.

Yahoo Embraces The Semantic Web – Expect The Internet To Organize Itself In A Hurry

Yahoo Embraces The Semantic Web – Expect The Internet To Organize Itself In A Hurry

SPECTACULAR!

New header image…

I’ve got a shiny new header image now, cropped from an excellent free image from Smashing Magazine.  I actually quite enjoyed the colorful Pantone palette default header image that comes with this theme, but I can’t exactly keep the default, can I?

A guy’s gotta customize!

My wife would say, “That’s because men can’t just leave well enough alone – they have to tinker!”

She’s not entirely incorrect…

Portable contact lists and the case against XFN | FactoryCity

Portable contact lists and the case against XFN | FactoryCity

Good stuff.

-Rick

Mmm… Freshy is quite nice!

I wish each post could be saved in the theme it was written under, so if you clicked on the permalink for each post, it would display in that theme – I expect you’ve have to save the formatting for the post in a “side-band” CSS file/folder for images.

Wouldn’t it be fun way to be able to do a sort of weblog wayback machine, though?  Instead of even the oldest of posts being re-formatted to display in the latest theme?

It’d need to be an option, of course – choice is king!