Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 21
August 29, 2012
Joining the modern world of communication.
After resisting as long as I could, I finally FINALLY made the move to a smartphone. Like the rest of the people I know, I can now communicate without ever having to call or receive calls. (Took me hours just to figure out how to answer a call, in fact.) Heck, my new phone even comes with a voice-to-text feature, which is hilarious but interesting. Leave me a voice message and I'll see a text version of it that bears at least some relation to the words you spoke....
Here it is, a Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G, through CREDO long distance:
I kinda like the recursive nature of this shot: The phone is in the login screen, which uses face recognition (failed here because of the camera in front of my face), against a poster of a Saturn V rocket booster diagram. This replaces my Sanyo Katana phone, which hasn't rung consistently for months:
That was the hot thing in 2005 when I got it. I have an unhealthy relationship with that thing, what with its having survived two trips through the washer, one through the dryer, a night frozen in a parking-lot puddle, another night in muck that shall go unspoken beneath a bar's porch, countless drops - including a couple from my pocket at scooter speed, and so on. The vibrate function still works (mostly), and I can still call out just fine, but texting was a giant PITA (can you say tap three times and wait two seconds before entering the next letter? I can, and will not again), and it seldom let me know someone was calling.
End of an era. I'm sad about this, really. I mean, the poor little thing just kept going, despite all the abuse it survived. Notice how the photo, above, was taken atop my heavy bag? Fitting. And that was from a year ago; you should see it now, with part of a flamed Hot Rodding Magazine sticker holding the battery-cover in place.
Goodbye, sweet Katana, you have served me well. *sigh*
Anyhow, now you may feel free to text me without worrying about wearing out my fingertips. Or even call, now that I figured out how to answer ;-)
Chris
Here it is, a Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G, through CREDO long distance:
I kinda like the recursive nature of this shot: The phone is in the login screen, which uses face recognition (failed here because of the camera in front of my face), against a poster of a Saturn V rocket booster diagram. This replaces my Sanyo Katana phone, which hasn't rung consistently for months:
That was the hot thing in 2005 when I got it. I have an unhealthy relationship with that thing, what with its having survived two trips through the washer, one through the dryer, a night frozen in a parking-lot puddle, another night in muck that shall go unspoken beneath a bar's porch, countless drops - including a couple from my pocket at scooter speed, and so on. The vibrate function still works (mostly), and I can still call out just fine, but texting was a giant PITA (can you say tap three times and wait two seconds before entering the next letter? I can, and will not again), and it seldom let me know someone was calling.
End of an era. I'm sad about this, really. I mean, the poor little thing just kept going, despite all the abuse it survived. Notice how the photo, above, was taken atop my heavy bag? Fitting. And that was from a year ago; you should see it now, with part of a flamed Hot Rodding Magazine sticker holding the battery-cover in place.
Goodbye, sweet Katana, you have served me well. *sigh*
Anyhow, now you may feel free to text me without worrying about wearing out my fingertips. Or even call, now that I figured out how to answer ;-)
Chris
August 27, 2012
Remember, and give the Moon a wink.
"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment, and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the Moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."
- Armstrong's family
And if you're using a binocular or telescope, you can find where the first human beings first walked on the Moon, right here:
Click the image to see the Universe Today article about Apollo 11.
Landing people on the Moon and safely returning them - that was Kennedy's dream and goal just a few years before we did it. For a moment in time, after Armstrong spoke those famous (and oft-misquoted, due to nerves or equipment malfunction), billions around the world were joined in common elation that, yes, humankind was more than a beast, that we could dream and reach and do great things that did not involve killing or taking from others, truly great things. We could leap from our birth-world into the great unknown - and return safely! We could become an interplanetary species. This was the culmination of the promise of the Space Age, and Armstrong (and Aldrin and Collins) stood in as bearers of our own hopes and dreams.
I can hardly wait to see our next steps beyond low-orbit to other worlds and beyond. The Space Age has only just begin, in the long-term scheme of things.
In 44 more years, no one will remember much at all about the political nonsense and horrors going on today, both the ultimately meaningless things that we get so worked up over and the monstrous things we seek to resolve (and some seek to worsen).
But most of us will remember that Neil Armstrong was the first human to visit another planet on behalf of all humankind. Heck, assuming society is still intact, we'll probably remember his words in 400 years.
Chris
August 22, 2012
Astro-Porn of the Day: Huge Filament Across the Sun. Also: Camping and Perseids.
Right now, a dragon half the radius of the Sun is creeping across its surface:
Click the image to see the NASA site.
Okay, it's not REALLY a dragon; rather, a cloud of plasma. But this "cloud" above the Sun is way different than a cloud in the Earth's skies. The long feature on the left of this photo is actually a solar filament made of charged hydrogen gas held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. This filament was photographed on the Sun about two weeks ago near the active region on the right - see the sunspots. Filaments typically last for a few days to a week, but a long filament like this might hover over the Sun's surface for a month or more. Some filaments can trigger large Hyder flares when they collapse back onto the Sun. Boy oh boy do I wish that I had already gotten myself a proper Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope....
Bonus photo: After turning in final grades for summer, I took a short camping trip with some friends out to Clinton Lake. Here we are:
Dan, Alex, Anthony, Matt, and me.
On Friday night, the Perseids were pre-peak, but we still saw a few. Sadly, Saturday night (the peak), clouds rolled in, so we only caught a streak through the occasional break. Others had better luck:
Click the image to see the photographer's site (in German).
Fall semester has begun, so I'm off to meetings and my second class session!
Later,
Chris
Click the image to see the NASA site.
Okay, it's not REALLY a dragon; rather, a cloud of plasma. But this "cloud" above the Sun is way different than a cloud in the Earth's skies. The long feature on the left of this photo is actually a solar filament made of charged hydrogen gas held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. This filament was photographed on the Sun about two weeks ago near the active region on the right - see the sunspots. Filaments typically last for a few days to a week, but a long filament like this might hover over the Sun's surface for a month or more. Some filaments can trigger large Hyder flares when they collapse back onto the Sun. Boy oh boy do I wish that I had already gotten myself a proper Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope....
Bonus photo: After turning in final grades for summer, I took a short camping trip with some friends out to Clinton Lake. Here we are:
Dan, Alex, Anthony, Matt, and me.
On Friday night, the Perseids were pre-peak, but we still saw a few. Sadly, Saturday night (the peak), clouds rolled in, so we only caught a streak through the occasional break. Others had better luck:
Click the image to see the photographer's site (in German).
Fall semester has begun, so I'm off to meetings and my second class session!
Later,
Chris
August 10, 2012
Astro-Porn of the Day: Perseid Meteor Shower This Weekend!
The Perseid meteor shower peaks tomorrow (Saturday night), but you'll be able to see a bunch of meteors both tonight and Sunday night, as well. Here's where to look:
Click the image to see the Astronomy.com story.
The Perseids begin as tiny specks of dust that hit Earth’s atmosphere at 13,000 miles per hour, vaporizing from friction with the air and leaving behind the streaks of plasma and dust as they self-destruct. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot on the border between the constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus (the latter gives its name to the shower). This radiant lies about one-third of the way from the northeastern horizon to the highest point in the sky (zenith) around midnight local time and climbs higher as the Earth spins toward dawn; this is why you'll see more the later you stay up watching, because more are visible above the horizon.
The crescent Moon rises shortly after 1:00am, so it won’t ruin the show: The shower consistently produces lots of bright meteors, and the Moon's phase is pretty late-crescent (no not very bright). During the show's peak, under clear dark skies, you'll likely see 60-80 meteors per hour in the early pre-dawn hours. In the hours just before twilight, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter rise, adding to one of the finest predawn shows of 2012.
And now for the Astro-Porn! Here's a gorgeous time-exposure showing Perseid activity:
[image error]
Click the image to see the Sky & Telescope.com story.
I'll be camping outside of town tonight and tomorrow night with some friends, so should be lovely! I'll also bring a telescope or two.
Chris
Click the image to see the Astronomy.com story.
The Perseids begin as tiny specks of dust that hit Earth’s atmosphere at 13,000 miles per hour, vaporizing from friction with the air and leaving behind the streaks of plasma and dust as they self-destruct. The meteors appear to radiate from a spot on the border between the constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus (the latter gives its name to the shower). This radiant lies about one-third of the way from the northeastern horizon to the highest point in the sky (zenith) around midnight local time and climbs higher as the Earth spins toward dawn; this is why you'll see more the later you stay up watching, because more are visible above the horizon.
The crescent Moon rises shortly after 1:00am, so it won’t ruin the show: The shower consistently produces lots of bright meteors, and the Moon's phase is pretty late-crescent (no not very bright). During the show's peak, under clear dark skies, you'll likely see 60-80 meteors per hour in the early pre-dawn hours. In the hours just before twilight, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter rise, adding to one of the finest predawn shows of 2012.
And now for the Astro-Porn! Here's a gorgeous time-exposure showing Perseid activity:
[image error]
Click the image to see the Sky & Telescope.com story.
I'll be camping outside of town tonight and tomorrow night with some friends, so should be lovely! I'll also bring a telescope or two.
Chris
August 9, 2012
Today's wisdom... from the guy who invented the computer.
Today's inspirational quote by Russell Kirsch, the guy who invented the computer:
"...nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do. Most people think the opposite - that all things are withheld from them which they have conceived to do and they end up doing nothing."
Check out the full story (archived below). We all need to be open to meeting such people. Next time you're in a coffee shop and some weirdo starts talking to you, take the opportunity. You never know what you might learn.
An Unexpected Ass Kicking
By Joel Runyon
I sat down at yet-another coffee shop in Portland determined to get some work done, catch up on some emails and write another blog post.
About 30 minutes into my working, an elderly gentleman at least 80 years old sat down next to me with a hot coffee and a pastry. I smiled at him and nodded and looked back at my computer as I continued to work.
"Do you like Apple?" As he gestured to the new Macbook Air I had picked up a few days prior.
"Yea, I’ve been using them for a while." Wondering if I was going to get suckered into a mac vs. pc debate in a Portland coffee shop with an elderly stranger.
"Do you program on them?"
"Well, I don’t really know how to code, but I write quite a bit and spend a lot of time creating online projects and helping clients run their businesses."
"I’ve been against Macintosh company lately. They’re trying to get everyone to use iPads, and when people use iPads they end up just using technology to consume things instead of making things. With a computer you can make things. You can code, you can make things and create things that have never before existed and do things that have never been done before."
"That’s the problem with a lot of people," he continued, "they don’t try to do stuff that’s never been done before, so they never do anything, but if they try to do it, they find out there’s lots of things they can do that have never been done before."
I nodded my head in agreement and laughed to myself - thinking that would be something that I would say and the coincidence that out of all the people in the coffee shop I ended up talking to, it was this guy. What a way to open a conversation.
The old man turned back at his coffee, took a sip, and then looked back at me.
"In fact, I’ve done lots of things that haven’t been done before," he said half-smiling.
Not sure if he was simply toying with me or not, my curiosity got the better of me.
Oh really? Like what types of things? All the while, half-thinking he was going to make up something fairly non-impressive.
I invented the first computer.
Um, Excuse me?
I created the world’s first internally programmable computer. It used to take up a space about as big as this whole room and my wife and I used to walk into it to program it.
"What’s your name?" I asked, thinking that this guy is either another crazy homeless person in Portland or legitimately who he said he was.
"Russell Kirsch"
Sure enough, after 0.29 second, I found out he wasn’t lying to my face. Russell Kirsch indeed invented the world’s first internally programmable computer and as well as a bunch of other things and definitely lives in Portland. As he talked, I began googling him, he read my mind and volunteered:
"Here, I’ll show you."
He stood up and directed me to a variety of websites and showed me through the archives of what he’d created while every once in a while dropping some minor detail like:
I also created the first digital image. It was a photo of my son.
At this point, I learned better than to call Russell’s bluff, but sure enough, a few more Google searches showed that he did just that.
(Photo by Joel Runyon, licensed CC-BY-3.0)
Want to mess with your mind? Without the man in the photo, the photo of this man wouldn’t exist. *mind blown*
As he started showing me through the old history archives of what he did while any hope of productivity vacated my mind as I listened to his stories and picked his brain about what he had done.
At some point in the conversation, I mentioned to him:
"You know Russell, that’s really impressive."
"I guess, I’ve always believed that nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do. Most people think the opposite - that all things are withheld from them which they have conceived to do and they end up doing nothing."
"Wait," I said, pausing at his last sentence. "What was that quote again?"
"Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do."
That’s good, who said that?
God did.
What?
God said it and there were only two people who believed it, you know who?
Nope, who?
God and me, so I went out and did it.
Well then, I thought - as he finished showing me through the archives - I’m not going to argue with the guy who invented the computer. After about 20 minutes of walking me through his contributions to technology, he sat down, finished his coffee, glanced at his half-eaten pastry now-cold, checked his watch and announced:
Well, I have to go now.
With that, we shook hands, he got up, walked to his car and drove off as I just sat there trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. As I sat there thinking: two things he said reverberated in the back of my mind:
1. Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
2. Do things that have never been done.
[EDIT: And don't forget: "when people use iPads they end up just using technology to consume things instead of making things. With a computer you can make things." Smart phones and tablets are such easy ways to consume that we forget to get on a real tool and MAKE STUFF.]
The first meaning: if you’ve conceived something in your mind, decide to do it, and are willing to put in the work - nothing can stop you.
The second is fairly self-explanatory but carries the extra weight of it coming from the guy who invented the very thing that’s letting me type these words out on the internet.
"Do things that have never been done before" - The guy who invented the computer
Now I'm off to do something productive. In the words of a famous Wizard, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
What are you going to conceive of and do with your time this week?
Chris
"...nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do. Most people think the opposite - that all things are withheld from them which they have conceived to do and they end up doing nothing."
Check out the full story (archived below). We all need to be open to meeting such people. Next time you're in a coffee shop and some weirdo starts talking to you, take the opportunity. You never know what you might learn.
An Unexpected Ass Kicking
By Joel Runyon
I sat down at yet-another coffee shop in Portland determined to get some work done, catch up on some emails and write another blog post.
About 30 minutes into my working, an elderly gentleman at least 80 years old sat down next to me with a hot coffee and a pastry. I smiled at him and nodded and looked back at my computer as I continued to work.
"Do you like Apple?" As he gestured to the new Macbook Air I had picked up a few days prior.
"Yea, I’ve been using them for a while." Wondering if I was going to get suckered into a mac vs. pc debate in a Portland coffee shop with an elderly stranger.
"Do you program on them?"
"Well, I don’t really know how to code, but I write quite a bit and spend a lot of time creating online projects and helping clients run their businesses."
"I’ve been against Macintosh company lately. They’re trying to get everyone to use iPads, and when people use iPads they end up just using technology to consume things instead of making things. With a computer you can make things. You can code, you can make things and create things that have never before existed and do things that have never been done before."
"That’s the problem with a lot of people," he continued, "they don’t try to do stuff that’s never been done before, so they never do anything, but if they try to do it, they find out there’s lots of things they can do that have never been done before."
I nodded my head in agreement and laughed to myself - thinking that would be something that I would say and the coincidence that out of all the people in the coffee shop I ended up talking to, it was this guy. What a way to open a conversation.
The old man turned back at his coffee, took a sip, and then looked back at me.
"In fact, I’ve done lots of things that haven’t been done before," he said half-smiling.
Not sure if he was simply toying with me or not, my curiosity got the better of me.
Oh really? Like what types of things? All the while, half-thinking he was going to make up something fairly non-impressive.
I invented the first computer.
Um, Excuse me?
I created the world’s first internally programmable computer. It used to take up a space about as big as this whole room and my wife and I used to walk into it to program it.
"What’s your name?" I asked, thinking that this guy is either another crazy homeless person in Portland or legitimately who he said he was.
"Russell Kirsch"
Sure enough, after 0.29 second, I found out he wasn’t lying to my face. Russell Kirsch indeed invented the world’s first internally programmable computer and as well as a bunch of other things and definitely lives in Portland. As he talked, I began googling him, he read my mind and volunteered:
"Here, I’ll show you."
He stood up and directed me to a variety of websites and showed me through the archives of what he’d created while every once in a while dropping some minor detail like:
I also created the first digital image. It was a photo of my son.
At this point, I learned better than to call Russell’s bluff, but sure enough, a few more Google searches showed that he did just that.
(Photo by Joel Runyon, licensed CC-BY-3.0)
Want to mess with your mind? Without the man in the photo, the photo of this man wouldn’t exist. *mind blown*
As he started showing me through the old history archives of what he did while any hope of productivity vacated my mind as I listened to his stories and picked his brain about what he had done.
At some point in the conversation, I mentioned to him:
"You know Russell, that’s really impressive."
"I guess, I’ve always believed that nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do. Most people think the opposite - that all things are withheld from them which they have conceived to do and they end up doing nothing."
"Wait," I said, pausing at his last sentence. "What was that quote again?"
"Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do."
That’s good, who said that?
God did.
What?
God said it and there were only two people who believed it, you know who?
Nope, who?
God and me, so I went out and did it.
Well then, I thought - as he finished showing me through the archives - I’m not going to argue with the guy who invented the computer. After about 20 minutes of walking me through his contributions to technology, he sat down, finished his coffee, glanced at his half-eaten pastry now-cold, checked his watch and announced:
Well, I have to go now.
With that, we shook hands, he got up, walked to his car and drove off as I just sat there trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. As I sat there thinking: two things he said reverberated in the back of my mind:
1. Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
2. Do things that have never been done.
[EDIT: And don't forget: "when people use iPads they end up just using technology to consume things instead of making things. With a computer you can make things." Smart phones and tablets are such easy ways to consume that we forget to get on a real tool and MAKE STUFF.]
The first meaning: if you’ve conceived something in your mind, decide to do it, and are willing to put in the work - nothing can stop you.
The second is fairly self-explanatory but carries the extra weight of it coming from the guy who invented the very thing that’s letting me type these words out on the internet.
"Do things that have never been done before" - The guy who invented the computer
Now I'm off to do something productive. In the words of a famous Wizard, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
What are you going to conceive of and do with your time this week?
Chris
Astro-Porn of the Day: Full-HD VIDEO OF MARS! Also, cats falling.
Last night, a friend of mine showed me a 360-degree panaoramic HD video of Mars as taken by the Mars rover. AMAZING AND GORGEOUS! Apparently, NASA didn't release it, but others (using stitching software) created this video from HD photos. Did I mention this is FROM MARS!
EDIT: Here's the original that Megan showed me last night. It's an even better panoramic video, and this one doesn't have crappy music. GO NOW!
(Note: Turn on full HD quality and turn off sound. Egad, who picks these soundtracks?)
And in other falling-toward-planets news, here's a video that examines the physics of falling cats. Ever wondered how they always land on their feet... without continuing to spin after they rotate feet-down? This is GREAT!
Science = LOVE
Chris
EDIT: Here's the original that Megan showed me last night. It's an even better panoramic video, and this one doesn't have crappy music. GO NOW!
(Note: Turn on full HD quality and turn off sound. Egad, who picks these soundtracks?)
And in other falling-toward-planets news, here's a video that examines the physics of falling cats. Ever wondered how they always land on their feet... without continuing to spin after they rotate feet-down? This is GREAT!
Science = LOVE
Chris
August 6, 2012
Astro-Porn of the Day: Curiosity Has Landed on Mars!
Just in case you missed it, here's one of the most amazing photos of the Space Age: the new Mars lander Curiosity descending into the atmosphere of Mars by parachute, as photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in orbit around Mars.
Click the image to see NASA's Curiosity website, which has lots more photos and videos.
Think about that for a moment: A robotic explorer in orbit around the planet Mars has photographed a new robotic lander plummeting toward the surface below.
We live in an age of wonders.
Chris
Click the image to see NASA's Curiosity website, which has lots more photos and videos.
Think about that for a moment: A robotic explorer in orbit around the planet Mars has photographed a new robotic lander plummeting toward the surface below.
We live in an age of wonders.
Chris
July 27, 2012
Geekdom is love. Geekdom is sharing.
Oh, John Scalzi, I love you!
See, a few days ago, some self-appointed arbiter of geekdom wrote a piece for CNN about how "fake geek chicks" are ruining his fandom. See below:
Click the cosplayers to see Peacock's icky piece.
This misogynistic fella hates on models hired for Comic-Con, cosplayers, and women in general, because they do not meet his geek standards. Well, thank you for playing, Mr. Peacock, but you're missing the core point of what fandom is. Scalzi says it best thus:
Many people believe geekdom is defined by a love of a thing, but I think - and my experience of geekdom bears on this thinking - that the true sign of a geek is a delight in sharing a thing. It’s the major difference between a geek and a hipster, you know: When a hipster sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “Oh, crap, now the wrong people like the thing I love.” When a geek sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “ZOMG YOU LOVE WHAT I LOVE COME WITH ME AND LET US LOVE IT TOGETHER.”
Any jerk can love a thing. It’s the sharing that makes geekdom awesome.
This statement has that kind of intuitive rightness that speaks directly to one's soul. I'm not only an SF geek, but because of my love for a multitude of things and powerful desire to share that love, I'm a geek in pretty much every aspect of life:
For example, I love building machines - and then sharing photos of said machines, taking people for rides, going to car and motorcycle shows, and so on. It's pleasurable to work on them myself, and I get great satisfaction from making an engine work better, but it's sharing the results with others is where I get my real pleasure.
Click the image to see a page about the most beautiful engine of all time - that of the Vincent Black Shadow.
I love astronomy - my favorite thing to do with a telescope is to show other people things through it; one of my favorite jobs in college was running the public-viewing nights at Hobbs Observatory. Heck, I started the science club in my high school because my greatest pleasure in doing science is sharing it with others.
Click the image to see the NASA page about lightning on Saturn.
When I get student feedback on my classes, a common comment is that my enthusiasm for the topics I teach helps them get more involved in the material, even if they didn't care for it to begin with. I'm a teaching geek!
I'm a thousand kinds of geek... like most geeks. I would argue that most likable people are geeks of some kind. Though I don't like sports (and actively dislike much of the culture), one of my best friends is a huge sports-geek, so it's always fun to watch a game with him. He's also a Marvel Comics geek, so going to superhero movies with him is fantastic, because he knows the backstory that makes the movie meaningful.
And this is the core of what it means to be a geek: Loving something (often weird, but sometimes mainstream) and sharing one's love. In his mistargeted article, Peacock forgets that. If a person's geekiness is dressing up (or taking off clothes) to get attention, well, what makes that not valid geekery? The point is to share that love of *insert fandom here* with others in a way that lets them in on what you love. If you go to a convention and see a gorgeous costume, do you look away or do you watch the costumer for a while? How about if you see a person clad only in a chainmail bikini - or even just body-paint? If you find someone attractive, does that somehow invalidate the person's geekiness? If that person's greatest pleasure comes from feeling the attention of other people, can't that also be sharing one's love? So can't even Peacock's greatest villains - models - also be geeks? I have trouble imagining none of them love doing what they do and sharing it with others, but cosplayers are some of the biggest geeks out there!
Geez. Mr. Peacock: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
Wanna save the world? Wanna make it a better, more accepting place? Here's how you do it: Love things deeply and share your love for those things, one person at a time. If someone wants to share their love, give them a chance. Don't exclude people, don't dismiss their love... until they've spent an hour detailing their latest D&D adventure. There are limits ;-) However, that doesn't mean that only your geekdom is a valid geekdom.
GEEK IS LOVE. SHARE IT.
Chris
See, a few days ago, some self-appointed arbiter of geekdom wrote a piece for CNN about how "fake geek chicks" are ruining his fandom. See below:
Click the cosplayers to see Peacock's icky piece.
This misogynistic fella hates on models hired for Comic-Con, cosplayers, and women in general, because they do not meet his geek standards. Well, thank you for playing, Mr. Peacock, but you're missing the core point of what fandom is. Scalzi says it best thus:
Many people believe geekdom is defined by a love of a thing, but I think - and my experience of geekdom bears on this thinking - that the true sign of a geek is a delight in sharing a thing. It’s the major difference between a geek and a hipster, you know: When a hipster sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “Oh, crap, now the wrong people like the thing I love.” When a geek sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “ZOMG YOU LOVE WHAT I LOVE COME WITH ME AND LET US LOVE IT TOGETHER.”
Any jerk can love a thing. It’s the sharing that makes geekdom awesome.
This statement has that kind of intuitive rightness that speaks directly to one's soul. I'm not only an SF geek, but because of my love for a multitude of things and powerful desire to share that love, I'm a geek in pretty much every aspect of life:
For example, I love building machines - and then sharing photos of said machines, taking people for rides, going to car and motorcycle shows, and so on. It's pleasurable to work on them myself, and I get great satisfaction from making an engine work better, but it's sharing the results with others is where I get my real pleasure.
Click the image to see a page about the most beautiful engine of all time - that of the Vincent Black Shadow.
I love astronomy - my favorite thing to do with a telescope is to show other people things through it; one of my favorite jobs in college was running the public-viewing nights at Hobbs Observatory. Heck, I started the science club in my high school because my greatest pleasure in doing science is sharing it with others.
Click the image to see the NASA page about lightning on Saturn.
When I get student feedback on my classes, a common comment is that my enthusiasm for the topics I teach helps them get more involved in the material, even if they didn't care for it to begin with. I'm a teaching geek!
I'm a thousand kinds of geek... like most geeks. I would argue that most likable people are geeks of some kind. Though I don't like sports (and actively dislike much of the culture), one of my best friends is a huge sports-geek, so it's always fun to watch a game with him. He's also a Marvel Comics geek, so going to superhero movies with him is fantastic, because he knows the backstory that makes the movie meaningful.
And this is the core of what it means to be a geek: Loving something (often weird, but sometimes mainstream) and sharing one's love. In his mistargeted article, Peacock forgets that. If a person's geekiness is dressing up (or taking off clothes) to get attention, well, what makes that not valid geekery? The point is to share that love of *insert fandom here* with others in a way that lets them in on what you love. If you go to a convention and see a gorgeous costume, do you look away or do you watch the costumer for a while? How about if you see a person clad only in a chainmail bikini - or even just body-paint? If you find someone attractive, does that somehow invalidate the person's geekiness? If that person's greatest pleasure comes from feeling the attention of other people, can't that also be sharing one's love? So can't even Peacock's greatest villains - models - also be geeks? I have trouble imagining none of them love doing what they do and sharing it with others, but cosplayers are some of the biggest geeks out there!
Geez. Mr. Peacock: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
Wanna save the world? Wanna make it a better, more accepting place? Here's how you do it: Love things deeply and share your love for those things, one person at a time. If someone wants to share their love, give them a chance. Don't exclude people, don't dismiss their love... until they've spent an hour detailing their latest D&D adventure. There are limits ;-) However, that doesn't mean that only your geekdom is a valid geekdom.
GEEK IS LOVE. SHARE IT.
Chris
July 21, 2012
Guts, Guns, and God: What's Wrong with the USA?
There's been lots of talk in the media about banning guns and so forth since the Colorado shooting. That's nonsense, even assuming we could collect every gun (and they likely outnumber American citizens) in this country, because the bad guys are certain to not turn in their weapons. But really, this is only a symptom.
Something is fundamentally wrong in the USA: Switzerland is 2nd in the world (next to us) in gun ownership, yet they have one of the lowest murder rates in the world, about 1/6 of ours. It's clearly not the guns that are the problem, but rather something about how our nation treats mental illness, deals with violence, engages in debate, and so much more.
We have - by a wide margin - the highest citizen-incarceration rate in the world. In the 1980s, we purge our mentally ill onto the streets. Ours is a fractured and sick nation.
Our culture is painfully divided between 1) fanatical religious types who feel it is God's will to do things like bomb healthcare providers, and 2) progressives who cannot even understand why the "followers of Jesus" - a man who preached love and understanding - can spout such hatred that even politicians running for high office feel they must say things they don't believe in order to get the vote of the radical right-wing. This only proves to the religous right that "teh leebrals" are wrong-headed. The two sides are incapable of talking to one another.
Meanwhile, we're imprisoning people left and right for such minor offenses as smoking pot three times. People with mental illness are not identified and treated. Poor folks live in desperate hopelessness where selling drugs is the only bright spot. And everyone else is so terrified of losing an income and health care that they remain wage-slaves to jobs they despise.
Solving those problems is HARD. The US doesn't seem to be a nation that has patience for long-term fixes; politically, our will is shorter than two years.
What can be done for our country? How can we cure our ills? We're doing it wrong, people.
Chris
Something is fundamentally wrong in the USA: Switzerland is 2nd in the world (next to us) in gun ownership, yet they have one of the lowest murder rates in the world, about 1/6 of ours. It's clearly not the guns that are the problem, but rather something about how our nation treats mental illness, deals with violence, engages in debate, and so much more.
We have - by a wide margin - the highest citizen-incarceration rate in the world. In the 1980s, we purge our mentally ill onto the streets. Ours is a fractured and sick nation.
Our culture is painfully divided between 1) fanatical religious types who feel it is God's will to do things like bomb healthcare providers, and 2) progressives who cannot even understand why the "followers of Jesus" - a man who preached love and understanding - can spout such hatred that even politicians running for high office feel they must say things they don't believe in order to get the vote of the radical right-wing. This only proves to the religous right that "teh leebrals" are wrong-headed. The two sides are incapable of talking to one another.
Meanwhile, we're imprisoning people left and right for such minor offenses as smoking pot three times. People with mental illness are not identified and treated. Poor folks live in desperate hopelessness where selling drugs is the only bright spot. And everyone else is so terrified of losing an income and health care that they remain wage-slaves to jobs they despise.
Solving those problems is HARD. The US doesn't seem to be a nation that has patience for long-term fixes; politically, our will is shorter than two years.
What can be done for our country? How can we cure our ills? We're doing it wrong, people.
Chris
July 13, 2012
Bonus Astro-Porn: Strong auroras are likely this weekend.
[image error]
Because of a gigantic sunspot complex that recently appeared on the Sun - about 11 Earth diameters wide - auroras are likely tonight (Friday) through the weekend. Active Region 11520 (the new sunspot garden) is large enough to see without telescope assist. Be sure to use a filter, though - say, a #14 welder’s glass or mylar sunshield or so forth. It's visible now! Run out and see, I'll wait! If you don't have such equipment, just check out the images to the right in this post; the top one is natural-light, as one might see through my telescope using a reflective filter.
The auroras will be visible at high latitudes, possibly even at middle latitudes. Never seen one? It's like this near the poles:
[image error]
Click the images to see the appropriate Sky & Telescope article.
Okay, now I'm back to the CSSF Summer program. Had to share!
Chris
The auroras will be visible at high latitudes, possibly even at middle latitudes. Never seen one? It's like this near the poles:
[image error]
Click the images to see the appropriate Sky & Telescope article.
Okay, now I'm back to the CSSF Summer program. Had to share!
Chris
Christopher McKitterick's Blog
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