Up and About

I started physical therapy at the Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital on Wednesday and went back this morning. I'll be going for physical therapy three times per week until I'm back to 100%. My ankle is sore, but not sharply painful, as if I have been walking on concrete all day although I'm only walking a few yards at a time. Walking is getting easier the more that I do it.

This afternoon I made it outside to take photos. It's almost summer in Arizona. I didn't want to miss my opportunity to photograph the spring flowers. With the help of a tripod, I managed to make it across the gravel and dry run to the back of the yard to photograph the oleander bushes and Hong Kong Orchid trees. The red oleanders and one of the Hong Kong Orchids are in full bloom. The second year after we planted the Hong Kong Orchids they were badly damaged by frost. This is the first time in years that either of them has been in full blossom. There was a light breeze this afternoon, so it was a challenge to get matching multiple exposures to create HDR images, but I managed to with a bit of patience, then came back in, processed them and posted them to Flickr.

Sphere: Related Content

Walking!

Today is a great day in my recovery from ankle surgery. I had a doctor's visit today. Not only was I given the okay to start walking, but I also don't have to wear the removable cast at night. I have taken my first few wobbly steps. So far, my greatest expedition has been from the front of the car to the back of the car. I can now put the roll-a-bout in the trunk, rather than hauling it over myself into the passenger seat when I drive. Tomorrow morning, first thing, I start post-op physical therapy for my ankle. I'm probably in for some torture because my physician specifically said that he didn't want to limit them in whatever it takes to get my ankle working again, including range of motion and progressive resistance. My next entry may simply be OW! It will be worth it to be back up and around normally.

Sphere: Related Content

Saving the Earth can be Sexy

Today's post is in honor of Earth Day and my Mom, who is sexy and single and such a treehugger that she hugs cactuses when she visits me in Arizona. Too often we focus on the negative, for example, Global Warming and mass extinction, when trying to save the Earth. Today I'm writing about fun, sexy ways that people can help save the Earth.

Things to look for in environmentally friendly sex toys include being biodegradable, recyclable and non-toxic. Glass dildos, like those available at Babeland and Good Vibrations, meet all of these criteria. Inhertube Harnesses makes harnesses, restraints and floggers from 100% recycled rubber. Burning Rubber produces paddles from recycled tires and street signs. Combine your new toys with some organic lube or massage oil for a full on vegan fun fest. For those who want to save the Earth, but just can't give up their electrically powered toys, there's a solar powered vibrator, or just use a solar battery charger to charge your batteries. Finally, if you just want to support the environment through your porn purchases, shop at Fuck For Forest.

Have a Happy Earth Day!

References

Getting it on for the Good of the Planet
Sustainable Sex Toys

Technorati Tags: Earth Day sex sex toys porn pornography fetish BDSM

Sphere: Related Content

Scientist

Today I took a how religious are you quiz. Not surprisingly, I came out an Atheist:

You are an Atheist

When it comes to religion, you're a non-believer (simple as that). You prefer to think about what's known and proven. You don't need religion to solve life's problems. Instead, you tend to work things out with logic and philosophy.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

I generally describe myself as culturally Jewish and religiously Atheist. I was raised Jewish and enjoy the rituals assicated with Judaism, but I do not believe. I would go even farther than that and say that I am a Scientist. Mind you, not a Scientologist, which was made up by a modern science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard. A Scientist. I believe that there is no God, that I am result of evolution from microbes to our present form (which will change in time, as eons pass, not necessarily for the better), that reproducing (if I can) will be my only enduring legacy, that I will turn to dust and nothing will survive of me when I die, and that the Scientific Method is the best way to understand the world. This does not mean that I am unethical or evil. I have free will to the extent that my biology and environment allow it. It is not magic or fate that if I am generally nice to people and respect them, i will be treated that way in return. My actions have consequences because physics and social dynamics dictate them. I respect others' choices to believe in whatever God or Gods they choose, as long as they don't pester me about joining their beliefs and their beliefs are not used to limit my choices.

Technorati tags: religion God Atheism Science Scientist

Sphere: Related Content

Apple Hype - Misuse of Statistics in News

The reason many people think that Statistics can be used to prove anything is that it is often misused, especially by people trying to write news stories. In Digg today, I came across an article, "Apple's Safari showing major growth amongst browsers," which tries to hype the great advances that Apple's Safari has made in the browser market by headlining an over 75% increase in Safari's market share. This is deceptive. Safari's market share is only about 3%, compared to Internet Explorer's 84% or IE's closest competitor, Firefox, at 10%. Also, not only is Safari only available on Mac OS X, it is distributed with Mac OS X. Most of the increase in market share is coming from increased Mac sales, not necessarily increased use of the browser for its features. Discussing the change in browser market share for Safari among Mac users would be relevant, but until Safari is available on Windows it will continue to be a marginal browser in the overall browser market. The article further distorts the situation by showing a graph of the growth. However, it only shows the Safari browser market and the Y-axis is restricted to between 0% and 2%, truncating a range that should go up to 100%. I hate it when reporters use simple statistics to mislead the public about the news. This article makes me wonder if it was written by someone working for Apple and why the Editors accepted it.

Technorati Tags: Statistics News Technology Apple Safari browsers

Sphere: Related Content

Happy Passover

This year I have been having a fun Passover season thanks to the Intel Jewish Community. They've been sending out Passover humor on the list. Here are a couple of fun sites. Visit this site for an animated Haggadah experience. Even if you don't speak Hebrew, if you've ever been to a Seder, you'll enjoy it. Here's another foreign language Passover tidbit. You don't need to understand Japanese to enjoy this video solving the age old question of how to split the Matzah. You'll need Windows Media Player to view it. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Passover Pesach humor fun animation video

Sphere: Related Content

HDR - High Dynamic Range

Today I created my first HDR image using Adobe Photoshop CS2. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. HDR images are composites of multiple exposures, generally 2 to 7, of the same subject. The best parts of each image are combined to create one properly exposed image. This technique is particularly useful for low light and high contrast situations. Scientifically, it is often used for Astronomy. HDR can also be used for artistic reasons in photography and film. The final image usually has more detail and is more luminous than the original. A disadvantage of the technique is that it can cause blurring. Although programs automating HDR usually offer auto-align options, it is best to use photographs taken using a tripod to start with the sharpest images possible. The HDR pool in Flickr has some good tips for getting started if you're interested in trying it for yourself.

Technorati Tags: photography HDR

Sphere: Related Content

Out and About

This week my mobility increased drastically. Last weekend, we went to our friends' wedding at Kiwanis Park. It was fun to be outside for a while and enjoy nature a bit in an accessible environment. The only complaint I had was that the park only had one disabled parking space and it was already taken when we got there. The day and the wedding were beautiful. I had to hire someone else to photograph the wedding instead of doing it myself as originally planned, but I still brought my camera and took a few pictures. The photographer is also going to give me the RAW originals for me to process. The Flickr set for the photographs is here. Any photos with recognizable people in them are only available to my friends and family.

This week I rented an automatic with right hand controls. Hertz is the only car rental company I found that offers disability options online. Luckily, it's also my company's car rental discount company, so I was able to get a significant discount on the rental. It'll still cost about $1000 to rent the car for 4 weeks after voluminous taxes and fees, but it's worth it to be able to get around myself. Jim was out of town for a couple of days on business this week and I was able to get myself to and from work. Also, I should be starting physical therapy in a couple of weeks and I'll be able to take myself during the day. The new controls take a little getting used to, especially after not driving for 6 weeks and using an automatic instead of my usual manual, and I have to sit differently, folding my right leg under, to avoid crushing it when I accelerate. I'm happy to be able to get myself out and about when I need to.

Sphere: Related Content

Apple Blossoms

All through undergraduate and graduate school I owned Apple computers, a Mac Plus then a Powerbook. I even managed to convince other people to buy them. It wasn't until I started working full time that I was dragged kicking and screaming into the PC world. However, once my hardware and software investment switched to PCs, I was loath to consider going back to Apple. Now that Apple is using Intel Core Duo CPUs and has officially released Apple Boot Camp public beta which allows Microsoft Windows XP to dual boot with Mac OS X, I would once again at least consider an Apple for my next computer purchase. This functionality is expected to be incorporated into the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard. This is a great business move by Apple. Officially opening themselves up to being an OEM for PCs will increase their potential market share significantly. Of course, there is continuing speculation about releasing the Mac OS to run on Windows, but that is not likely. There might be an initial rush of curiosity, but there's a big risk that Mac OS on Windows sales would not make up for their loss of hardware sales. Apple's recent decisions to use Intel processors and support Windows on Apple hardware show great potential for the company.

Technorati Tags: Apple Intel technology Mac OS business

Sphere: Related Content

Dr. Doom Backpedals

Not surprisingly, Dr. Pianka, a.k.a. Dr. Doom, is disavowing through various media that he said that 90% of the human population should be eliminated to improve the ecosystem.
The four horsemen and ebola comments were intended as a joke to underscore the grave danger that Dr. Pianka believes we pose through unchecked population growth.

This is an excellent example of how one makes one's point is as important as what one's message is. Humor can build camaraderie, but it is almost always based on shame, humiliation or danger to the subject of the joke. When the subject is the entire human race, people tend not to take things lightly. Humor is also very language and culturally specific, making it easily misunderstood. When addressing large audiences and issues that are emotionally laden, it is generally best to use humor sparingly, unless one is very familiar with the audience and one is certain that the message is very clear. Understanding is in the ear of the listener.

Technorati Tags: Pianka ebola ecology science technology humor public speaking

Sphere: Related Content

Kill 90% of humans to save the Earth?

Through Digg I found an article by Forrest M. Mims III describing a talk by Dr. Eric Pianka advocating the need for the human population to be reduced to 10% of its current level, most efficiently via airborne ebola. I can only applaud Mr. Mims for reporting on this speech which was intentionally not videotaped during the 109th meeting of the Texas Academy of Science and walking out on Dr. Pianka's award of 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist.

While I agree that human overpopulation is a problem for humans and the rest of the Earth's ecosystem, Dr. Pianka's proposed solution of genocide is both ridiculous and unethical. Never mind that Dr. Pianka's chosen method for killing 90% of humans is unlikely to work. Dr. Pianka's horrific solution would be most likely to kill the most active and gregarious people first, not improving the average level of intelligence that he apparently bemoans. If 90% of the human population were killed in a short period of time, not only would human civilization be devastated, the sheer biomass of rotting corpses would have a negative impact on other lifeforms. We have enough threats to be concerned about, asteroids, diseases, nuclear holocaust, etc., without intentionally poisoning ourselves. If humans as a whole realize that we need to control their population, there are very humane, effective ways to address the problem.

It may be that Mr. Mims' description of the talk was skewed or incorrect. Perhaps Dr. Pianka was trying to use humor or hyperbole to draw attention to the plight of the Earth's ecosystem. A course description by Dr. Pianka mentions many of the points brought forward by Mr. Mims, but simply argues that at our current rate of population growth, humans will kill themselves by destroying the ecosystem, not that we should take immediate steps to reduce the human population by 90%. Because the actual proceedings were not recorded, we must rely on Mr. Mims' report. Unfortunately, Dr. Pianka's remarks could cast an even greater pall over the already embattled field of evolutionary studies. Having an apparently respected member of the scientific community continue to espouse such hateful views without response from the general scientific community may damage the credibility of the scientific community as a whole. Worst of all, Dr. Pianka's remarks are likely to hurt his apparent goal of improving the state of the planet because it is alienating rather than inclusive.

Technorati Tags: Pianka Mims ebola ecology science technology holocaust genocide extinction

Sphere: Related Content