Seeker/Keeper

So long Steve Jobs, and thank you

2011-10-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I learned that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, has died.

The Apple Macintosh had a major impact on my life and career. I was in college when I first encountered the Mac, around 1986. The engineering lab at the University of Houston had all Macs, and a few Mac SE models. The killer Mac app that got my attention at the time was Hypercard and its Hypertalk scripting language. I was enthralled with the idea that ordinary people could create interactive applications that anyone could download and use for themselves. Those applications probably look quaint now, but they got me excited.

Before that I had little interest in computers, and even less in programming. I had learned other languages like Basic and Fortran, but I did not see programming as something that had much relevance to my life. I did not see the things that could be done with computers as cool or interesting. The Mac, and especially multimedia applications like Hypercard, changed that. I bought a Mac SE in 1988, and the rest as they say, is history.

As it turns out, I didn't use computers to make history. I didn't write a killer app. But I did use computers to make a career and a good living. That was pretty cool.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for your part in the building the personal computer industry and the other innovations you played a part in changing the world. Big changes are the work of many hands, and yours was one of them.

A very musical vacation

2011-07-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our family returned from our summer vacation at July Eliot. Eliot Institute is a camp and conference for Unitarian Universalists and their friends and families, held in Seabeck, Washington. This is the fifth summer we have gone and we had a wonderful time again this year.

The Eliot camps are unique, imagine 250 people of all ages spending a week together in a beautiful relaxed natural setting and sharing music, poetry, art, jokes, games, skits, conversation, outdoor activities, food, drink, and worship.

LeAnne enjoys working with the children during the morning program, and making new te-dye creations and knit crafts. This year she tie-dyed a set of taple napkins. Our girls enjoy seeing old friends and making new ones. Hailey's best friends are a pair of twins whose grandparents drive down from Canada to bring them, they become part of our extended family for the week. I enjoy taking my girls on boat rides, taking walks in the forest, and sharing my music as well as playing with other musicians who stay at the camp.

At the concert, I sang an original song I wrote during the past year, in front of almost 100 people. It was the first time I have performed in front of a crowd without being nervous. The song got numerous strong compliments, including from the guest speaker, who is an accomplished songwriter herself. I have been thinking of myself as more an instrumental player (I would not call myself a singer), but apparently I have a talent for songcraft. It felt really, really good to get that feedback. Not bad for a software geek and an introvert.

I left camp feeling tired but energized, and excited to develop my music and songwriting further in the next year. I have already started working on a new guitar tune that started coming to me while I was sitting by the lagoon at Seabeck.

50 years in space

2011-05-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today is the 50th anniversary of the flight of Alan Shephard who became the first American in space, only three weeks after the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

I do not remember those flights, of course, I would not even be born for another year and several months. But I do remember the excitement of the years that followed. The fact that humans could now travel into space was the number one fact of the time. Adults were talking about it. And my young boy mind soaked up that excitement like a sponge.

I did not have the mental tools then to put the achievements of space exploration in historical context. I understood that space flight must be expensive and dangerous. Still it did not occur to me that the progress of human space exploration was something that might plateau, or even reverse, that having achieved the moon landings, a nation or humanity as a whole might lose interest. I did not think that a discovery can only be made once, after all, that having journeyed to a place for the first time for reasons of curiosity or the political prestige of doing it first, different motivations were needed to return. If in my lifetime, humans were on the moon, surely that meant we would be on Mars in another decade or two, and I would be part of making that happen.

I realize now that my excitement about space was in part the normal excitement of a boy over things that were fast and powerful. But it was also a way of being connected to the vast space that is out there. Perhaps the word "space" itself was the problem. Space is everywhere the Earth is not. Space was up, Earth was down. In space you get to wear a special suit, in Earth you just breath. What is cool about that?

Today I like the word "universe" better. That which unites everything. If space is not here, the universe certainly is. It is part of me and I am part of it, always. The very act of breathing on Earth connects to me physically to every one and everything that lives here, or ever has. Not touching the moon myself is OK. Not visiting every continent is OK. I don't have to prove anything to the universe, like being the first person to do something no one else has done. If I can not touch space in my lifetime (and few of us alive today will ever get up there), I can touch the universe any time I want. In fact, I can not NOT touch the universe. Don't try this at home. Breathing turns out to be pretty cool, after all.

Still, some parts of the universe I cannot touch (in that which we call "space") are pretty cool to look it. And it is cool to think that some people I have seen with my own eyes (Buzz Aldrin, for example) have touched parts of the universe (the moon) I will never be able to touch while I am alive. I was alive when that happened. I shared the air with the people who went. That is pretty cool in itself.

Possible habitable planet found

2010-10-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

Astronomers have found a possible habitable planet 20 light years from Earth.

Called Gliese 581g, the planet is the first rocky planet in another solar system in the "Goldilocks zone", the the range of distances from the star where the temperatures could allow liquid water could exist on the surface. Of the 492 extrasolar planets found so far by astronomers, this appears to be the first one with the right conditions for life as we know it to have a chance.

Even if this planet turns out not to have life, this is an important discovery that should fire imaginations and inspire astronomers to continue the search. It inspires me to remember that I am part of an amazing universe, and to put my daily challenges into context.

See here for a larger photo of the artist's conception of the planet.

Musical debut

2010-08-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have been playing guitar for many years. At first it was for my own enjoyment and relaxation, an escape from the world's stresses. The last few years, I have been honing my skills and composing my own music. Recently I have performed at church and in other small group settings. Finally I have enough material that I have decided it is time to let my music out into the world and see what happens.

This Saturday, August 7, I will be performing at Caffe Felice in Renton. I will be doing sets at 7:30 and 8:30 PM. The owners, Ron and Kelly Stilwell, are good friends of mine, and I really appreciate this opportunity. All are welcome!

My music is instrumental fingerstyle acoustic guitar. My songs are inspired by nature, and I try to bring the joy and peace that nature brings into my life into my music.

Enter the pantheist

2010-03-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have shared a long philosophical post on this blog. As sometimes happens with me, a lot has been going on in my head, but it has taken me a while to pull it all together.

This latest thought process started in December, when I took our family to see James Cameron's film Avatar in IMAX 3D. I enjoyed the film immensely. But I was also depressed. The depression faded after several hours, but I was also acutely aware, every day, that something was missing in my life. I knew what it was.

It was not the floating mountains or other visual wonders of the Avatar movie that I missed. Yes, all that was cool. But what I really missed was plain ordinary sitting on the ground mountains. And plain ordinary forests, lakes, clouds, and birds. Except that I could no longer see them as plain and ordinary. It is not the first time I have had such feelings.

As a boy, every summer my father would take our family for Sunday drives around Canandaigua Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Carved by ancient glaciers and surrounded by forests and farms, that lake made a deep impression on me. The love of water and wood has stayed with me ever since. I even remember the price of gasoline from one of those drives.

I had similar feelings five years ago, when my wife and I first explored western Washington by car. I gasped in awe every time we saw one of the Cascade volcanoes. We felt a sense of being home as we followed along shallow inlets of Puget Sound and Hood Canal. Again, woods running down to the water. Water and wood. It was powerful, and familiar, though I did not yet have a name for it. Naming that feeling required me to dig a little deeper into the religion of Avatar.

If you have seen Avatar you know that the film takes place on a fictional moon called Pandora, in a science fiction future. The catlike humanoid aliens called the Na'vi who live there practice a religion centered on Eywa, a mother goddess who is literally the collective mind of their planet. On Pandora, all living things have spirits, and all living things are connected to each other.

The human visitors to Pandora are a mixed group of scientists, mercenaries, and their corporate overlords bent on mining Pandora's resources. To most of the humans, the Na'vi and their sacred natural places are nothing more than an obstacle to corporate profits.

“Pandora” comes from the Greek for “All gifted”. The Na'vi mother goddess Eywa is reminiscent of Gaia, the mother goddess of the ancient Greeks, literally “Mother Earth”. In modern times, “Gaia” has been used by scientist James Lovelock as a metaphor for the Earth's natural systems, the complex feedback processes which have maintained an environment comfortable for life.

In Avatar, when one of the Na'vi laments that the humans had “killed their mother”, she is referring to Gaia in the modern sense of the Earth's environment. It was the thought of a future where humans had destroyed the natural environment of the Earth that disgusted me when I saw the film. But I believe that comment was also referring to Gaia in the ancient sense, is the sense of reverence for nature. Most of the humans in the film had lost that reverence. They were the real aliens, to me. I had rediscovered that reverence in myself. What was it called? And how did it fit into my life?

I found the answer when I ran across a bizarre editorial by a Catholic conservative who condemned Avatar as an "apologia for pantheism". The Vatican released several statements condeming Avatar for the pantheist ideas depicted in the film. Pope Benedict also mentioned pantheism is his "World Day of Peace" message, warning against "a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms." Sounds yummy. Can I have some more of that please?

Pantheism. I had heard the term before. Several times I had visited a web site by Paul Harrison that laid out a set of ideas that he calls scientific or naturalistic pantheism. This time I explored more deeply. I read everything I could read about pantheism and related ideas. The more I read, the more I realized it is what I have always believed.

Pantheism derives from the Greek, meaning "All is God". It is a modern word but an ancient idea that has surfaced in many philosophical and religious traditions for thousands of years. Pantheism is the view the Universe ("All") is the only thing deserving of the deepest kind of reverence ("God"). Thus, pantheists do not believe in a supernatural God who transcends the Universe or who can hear prayers or punish humans. Pantheists also do not believe in a supernatural life after death. For these reasons, Pantheism has traditionally been considered a heresy within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by the Catholic church in 1600 for his pantheist views. The pantheistic philosopher Baruch Spinoza was excommunicated from Judaism in 1656.

Some pantheists see the Universe as an intelligent process with something like a mind or soul. Naturalistic pantheists believe the universe is a completely natural process, driven not by spirits but by matter and energy. There are many things about the universe that science does not understand, and may never understand, but that does not mean there is a supernatural intelligence behind it all. Similarly, the absence of a supernatural intelligence does not make the Universe any less awesome or sacred.

Pantheist ethics derive from our reverence toward the Universe. Because the Universe is sacred, its processes are also sacred, especially the process of life. We humans are made from stars and so are other living things on Earth. We evolved from the same natural processes, and are genetically related to animals and plants. We depend on them for food, air, and water. Humans are not separate from Nature but part of it. From that comes a strong environmental ethic and support for human rights.

"A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge." - Carl Sagan

I love that quote by Carl Sagan. It is the essence of naturalistic pantheism. If you've ever seen his Cosmos series of videos, you know that Sagan does not mean only looking up at the universe through the telescope, but also down through the microscrope. It is no coincidence that he uses a dandelion seed as a spaceship metaphor. The symbol of the World Pantheist Movement is two spirals: a spiral galaxy and a nautilus shell, emphasizing reverence for the Universe and Nature both.

Naturalistic pantheism is not the only idea laying claim to Sagan's prophecy. Ideas closely related to it are religious naturalism and humanistic religious naturalism. The differences between all these perspectives are small, largely a matter of terminology and emphasis, and there is considerable overlap. All place reverence for the Universe and Nature at the center of their concern. I am not completely happy with any of these names. But they are at least as descriptive as the names of most churches or denominations. Who could tell what a "methodist" is just from the name alone?

In a sense none of this is new to me. I have been an atheist most of my life. I still am, in the sense that I do not believe in supernatural gods.

Still, embracing naturalistic pantheism feels like a religious conversion to me. I feel more excited, and more motivated to get outside and experience nature and take action to protect it. I feel more grounded and less isolated and defensive. I feel truly at home. The best part has been discussing these thoughts with my wife LeAnne and discovering that pantheism is also what she has always believed.

I am not interested in arguing with supernaturalists. Life is simply too short for that. I am happy to explain my beliefs, even though in pantheism there are no points for converting others. The Universe does what it does. It doesn't care what we believe.

UPS helps UNICEF get emergency supplies to Haiti

2010-02-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

I don't normally crow about my employer on this blog. What I am about to say represents my personal opinion as an individual, but here goes. I think this is pretty cool.

http://www.unicefusa.org/news/releases/unicef-shipment-to-meet-basic.html

Driver speaks out

2010-01-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

I can now reveal the name of my friend and co-worker, Lory Moon, who was nearly killed when a huge tarp fell from a semi truck on I-90 last week. Here she is in an interview at Harborview with KIRO-7 this evening.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22144821/detail.html

Somewhere a truck driver noticed a tarp missing from his load this week. I hope that driver realizes what happened and finds the decency to step forward and own up to this tragedy.

Driver accident

2010-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

A co-worker was injured and her car damaged Saturday when a tarp came loose from a truck on I-90. The accident report is here. She had to have surgery and will be unable to move for several weeks and unable to work for many months. Fortunately she is expected to make a full recovery.

Employees have organized an assistance fund to help with her expenses not covered by health insurance. I work with a great group of people.

Also another reminder though how even those with "good private insurance" can be financially devastated by a major accident under the current corporate health system.

Back to school

2009-09-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

This morning our girls got on the school bus for the first time this school year. It was a long time in coming.

Teachers of the Kent Education Association went on strike three weeks ago because their contract had expired and the Kent School District was not bargaining in good faith. The district responded by filing an injunction which resulted in a court ruling ordering teachers back to work.

From the beginning we have been supportive of the Kent teachers, for one simple reason. We know them. It is the teachers who have provided our daughters with a great education the four years we have lived here.

I did not know the newly hired school superintendent, or the school board when this all started. What he have learned about them does not bode well for us supporting them in the future. The board treated concerned parents with contempt in several cases, and cancelled a scheduled board meeting on Sept 9. A Kent Parents Coalition has formed to hold the school board accountable for their actions.

I support the right of workers to organize and to strike if necessary. Exceptions are made for first responders such as police and fire who are forbidden to strike and subject to binding arbitration for that reason. But binding arbitration was not ordered for the Kent strike. The teachers were simply ordered back to work, contract or no. That was wrong.

Sunday night we attended a teacher support rally where a tentative agreement was announced. The contract was ratified Monday morning. My wife took my daughters to our school Monday to see their teacher, who was already there hard at work getting ready for school to start today.

We are glad this is over and school has started, but in one sense school started earlier, as our family has learned valuable lessons in civil disobedience these past weeks.

The price of a speech

2009-09-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

In his speech to Congress on health care reform last night, President Obama proved how valuable it is to have an orator who communicates with clarity, confidence, and power.

A CNN poll of viewers who watched the speech found that 1 in 7 who saw it changed their mind and now support President Obama's health care reform plan. In a few minutes, he reversed what it took millions of dollars in television ads and months of astroturf organizing by the Republicans and their corporate supporters to achieve.

It seems clear that this is part of the Obama playbook: let the opposition attack and exhaust themselves in unhinged attacks, remain cool, and counterstrike with a powerful speech directly to the American people that calls the opposition out for their stupidity and lies and resets the debate. That is exactly what President Obama did last night.

NASA assembles new rocket

2009-08-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

This week NASA completed assembly of the Ares 1-X test rocket.

This is a key component of the Constellation program that will NASA is developing to eventually take astronauts beyond low earth orbit.

It is always exciting when a new program like this gets to the testing stage with real hardware.

Guitar legend dies

2009-08-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Electric guitar legend and innovator Les Paul has died.

I remember seeing Les Paul at a rock concert once. I can't even remember now who the band was that brought him on stage as a surprise guest. He played an instrumental with a special guitar with a record-playback feature. He played one track, then played another track over it, then another. Before long he was performing a very complex multi-track overdubbed guitar piece. Live. It was very cool. And pure fun.

I also like the fact that Paul continued playing guitar well into his 90s. I hope I can still enjoy playing guitar at that age.

Driving happy

2009-08-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am a happy driver this week because the road construction on the Duvall Ave/Coal Creek Parkway corridor through Renton and Newcastle is finally finishing up. For over a year the corridor has been under construction as two new lanes and a bridge were added. The project has been officially done for a few weeks now, but there have been some minor lane restrictions for cleanup that also appear to be winding down.

Now my commute is only thirty minutes each way. Also the drive is less stressful and unpredictable than taking I-405 every day. I was concerned that at some point we might have to move closer to my job in order for my commute stress to be manageable. Now I don't think that will be necessary. What a relief.

Pandora One

2009-06-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

This morning I purchased a one year membership in Pandora One. Kind of an early Father's Day gift to myself, and a small investment in my mental health.

When I am in one of my black moods, music is one of the few things that can consistently lift me up. Sometimes the songs on my iPod can do that, but on the really bad days, it takes something fresh and different to engage me.

Pandora is great for listening to music similar to artists or songs I already like or to explore a particular musical direction. The sound quality is much better than the free version, and there are no ads. I especially like the fact that you can run it in its own app not only in the browser.

My workplace uses Microsoft Outlook 2003 for email with Word 2003 as the default editor. When I open a link in an email, Word prefers to hijack an open browser window. It especially seems to like to hijack my Pandora browser when I am really enjoying a song. Of course, reloading the Pandora page does not take you back to the same song. Yes, that sound you hear is me screaming. "Noooo!!!!!" No need to worry about that any more though.

If only Pandora could figure out how to deliver content from independent music sites like CDBaby and Magnatune, my musical universe would be complete.

Recovery Acts includes I-405 improvements

2009-06-01T11:43:00.001-07:00

This morning I read through a report called 100 Days 100 Projects posted by the White House last week detailing some of the projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

I found this one especially interesting.

78. Construction started at the end of March on an important highway project in Bellevue, Washington. Supported partially by $30 million in Recovery Act funding, this project will construct new multi-level “braided” ramps to separate vehicles entering and exiting northbound I-405 between NE 8th Street and SR 520 in Bellevue. The new improvements will improve safety and reduce congestion on I-405 in an area that experiences up to eight hours of traffic congestion a day.

I've driven that stretch of I-405 N many times, and this improvement is long overdue. The current "interweave" design cannot handle even moderate traffic flows. The new design should solve that problem. WSDOT has details on the project here.

Costco snubs Wall Street

2009-05-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Thumbs up to Costco for disappointing Wall Street analysts like moron David Schick who thinks that the way to run a business in tough times is to cut employees rather than profits. Costco apparently knows better.

The idea that speculator profits come first, and employees and customers second, is what got us into this current mess. America has to move past the idea that traders who merely buy previously owned shares in a company but contribute no new capital or useful work are a privileged class who are entitled to anything. They should be the lowest class, like India's untouchables. Be thankful you get anything when all you did was buy shares that were previously owned. Trading paper is not work and adds no value.

Ignoring fluctuating stock prices and focusing on business fundamentals as Costco and a few other companies are doing is what will get those companies through this recession and out the other side in decent shape.

Family bike ride

2009-05-18T10:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we had our first family bike ride of the year.

Before the ride, I had to get down all the bikes, test them out, make adjustments, and mount them on the carrying rack.

We also needed new bike helmets and bike gloves so we stopped by Fred Meyer to pick those up. Then we drove to Soos Creek Park in Kent and started the ride.

The ride started well, and our girls did better than I expected, Caitlin in particular seemed to really enjoy the nature along the trail.

LeAnne had a nasty fall while crossing a bridge, and banged up her elbow. Her bike and mine both have pedal cages which I started using a few years ago when I did a two-day charity ride in Idaho. Cages increase efficiency for long rides, but for stop-and-go riding they are not very helpful. One of the cages caught the ground which caused her fall. I will be removing the pedal cages before our next ride.

LeAnne's elbow was swollen badly yesterday and she was unable to move her arm most of the day. This morning the swelling was down and she was able to move the arm much better. She has a doctor visit scheduled today, but nothing appears to be broken at this point.

Despite the accident, the ride was a success overall. Both Caitlin and Hailey enjoyed it and did well. I also enjoyed getting the bikes ready to go. Next month we will be on a biking vacation for several days in the San Juan Islands, we'll be taking several more bike rides in the coming weeks to get ready for that trip.

Update: LeAnne is now fully recovered from her fall. And the pedal cages are gone.

Restoring balance

2009-04-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day for me.

This morning I met with my doctor to discuss my depression. Not longing after starting a different anti-depressant, I started having digestive problems, including the acid reflux of death. She thinks it is probably not related to the medication, so I hope it will go away on its own. For now I chug Maalox.

Otherwise the medication, Wellbutrin, is working for me well. I feel happier and more relaxed, I am laughing a lot more, especially at irony and silliness. My wife calls the way I used to laugh my "fakey" laugh, but now it is the real gut-busting kind. I am more at ease when meeting new people and dealing better with stressful situations at work. When I do get down, I bounce back more quickly. I am drawn again to activities I used to enjoy. All hopeful signs. My doctor renewed the prescription for another two months.

It feels like my life is coming back into balance. I find myself thinking about projects I have shelved recently like my writing and music. I know medication is not a permanent solution but I will take what it gives me for now.

Update - May 18, 2009: Unfortunately the Wellbutrin did not work out either. The digestive problems did not improve, and I was losing weight rapidly, almost 15 pounds after three weeks. It also raised my blood pressure, which was the last straw. Two days ago I stopped taking it, my blood pressure is back to normal and I still feel happy and positive. I wonder if giving up coffee and alcohol these past six weeks did more good for me than either of the medications I was prescribed.

Facebook opens up

2009-04-28T19:17:00.001-07:00

The other day when I logged onto Plaxo, a new page loaded for linking into Facebook. I hadn't joined Facebook up to now because it had a reputation for not integrating with other social networking sites. But all that has apparently changed. Not only does Facebook integrate with Plaxo, apparently it will soon support OpenID.

So LeAnne and I both took the plunge and opened Facebook accounts. We both found several invitations from friends waiting for us. We've since made connection with other friends. Some are also on Plaxo, but many are not. The nice part is our posts on Plaxo will now be visible to our Facebook friends, and vice versa.

The next thing I'm wondering is if entries on this blog, which show up on my Plaxo page, will get uploaded to Facebook. I guess I will find out.

Facing Depression

2009-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted this month because of having to deal with a difficult personal issue. Now I need to talk about it openly.

I have been diagnosed with depression. That diagnosis has been a long time coming, and I am actually relieved it is finally here.

I now realize that I have lived with depression most of my life, possibly even since early childhood. It is not the core of who I am. Deep down I am a hopeful, creative, sensitive, and caring person. Yet I am also irritable, cynical, unpleasant, and unhappy. Now I know why.

I have achieved a lot in spite of my condition: two master's degrees, good career, a successful marriage, with two beautiful daughters. It was these contrasts that made me realize something was deeply wrong, and the impact my condition was having on my family that made me determined to finally face up to it and do something about it.

Since last summer, my wife and I began working with a clinical psychotherapist on a parent training program based on cognitive behavioral therapy. One of our daughters was exhibiting extreme defiant behavior. The program was working well, but I noticed that my daughter's behavior got worse when I was home, especially on weekends. Whenever our daughter acted up, it would affect me for days, I would become excessively critical of her, even long after she returned to her normal fun and happy self. As I realized that I was feeding her defiance, and unable to stop it, I felt worthless. Then the weekend came again and the cycle repeated.

I have noticed a similar pattern in how I reacted to setbacks and challenges in my life. An unpleasant conversation with my sister over a financial issue led to a series of nasty emails that almost destroyed our relationship. Rude criticism by a manager at worked triggered anger, and fear that I was certain to lose my job despite assurances that was not going to happen. Several layoffs in the past few years, and having to quit one job I never should have taken after only three months, took their toll on me of course. But in each case I was devastated way out of proportion to what actually happened. I also found it difficult to feel much joy at my successes.

When we visited friends in Idaho last summer, I realized that I had not established many new friendships since moving to the Seattle area four years ago. The series of layoffs and job changes did not help, but really did not explain this. My wife and I have gone to the same church for the past four years, yet she has many more "church friends" than I do.

I have also found it increasingly difficult to sustain interest in things. Last year I started working more seriously on my music, then stopped. This winter I started work on a novel, then stopped. I realize that many of the changes in my life came from irritation. Something would bug me, and I would act vigorously to try to correct it, until I ran out of energy or lost interest in it. After a while something else would grab my attention and a new cycle would start. This has been going on since I was a kid. In many cases the cycles were harmless, just shifts in hobbies or interests, at other times the irritation was so intense I felt compelled to make major changes in my life such as moving or changing careers. I have been fortunate to have my wife to talk me down from these states these last few years, but it isn't fair to her to have to deal with it all the time.

I thought perhaps my problem was stress or anxiety, so I began reducing external stressors in my life, but that also served to isolate me from many things that had once been joyful and fun for me. It did make it clear that the source of my condition was internal not external.

I was prescribed Effexor, an anti-depressant. It really helped me to be calm and relaxed, but I found the side effects unacceptable. After three weeks on it, my doctor switched me to Wellbutrin XL, a once-a-day capsule I have been taking for a week. It has much fewer side effects so far, and seems to be helping me to relax, so I am hopeful. I am also looking into therapy as well.

I am hopeful that now that I am facing up to my condition, I will find more joy and happiness in my life. It will take time, and I am sure there will be bumps in the road. But I believe it will be worth it. Everyone has the right to pursue happiness. Everyone.

Hannibal the Annihilator

2009-03-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

The History Channel's new series BATTLES BC started off with a bang, covering the campaigns of Hannibal of Carthage against Rome in the Second Punic War.

I am writing a novel about Carthage, so I know a lot about this period of history. I had concerns about the graphic novel format and whether the Carthaginians would be portrayed as some kind of decadent freaks, as the Persians were in The 300. Battles BC exceeded my expectations in that regard.

The show accurately portrayed the build-up to the war, Hannibal growing up in military camps in Spain, and the types of units in both armies. The elephants were shown accurately, with a rider and archer, they were not heavily armored with battle towers as they have sometimes been depicted.

The episode covered the main battles of the war, all of them Carthaginian victories. The comparison of Hannibal to Robert E. Lee was a good one since that Hannibal won most of the battles, but lost the war against an enemy with superior resources and manpower.

The Hannibal character was excellent, I liked the fact that he was clearly portrayed as African. He did not have enough armor though, he looked a bit like a gladiator. The action sequences emphasized Hannibal's physical leadership, but the commentators were able to capture a sense of his intelligence in their descriptions of the battles. Portraying Hannibal's blind eye as uncovered was a nice touch that made the character more intimidating.

Overall a good show, I hope future episodes are done as well.

New series on ancient battles

2009-02-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

The History Channel starts a new series March 9 called BATTLES BC which will depict ancient battles in a "graphic novel" style format similar to The 300.

This trailer depicts the Battle of Cannae between Carthage and Rome in 216 B.C. The Hannibal character in the trailer is a big muscular guy who reminds me a little of Vin Diesel. Not very accurate (for example, Hasdrubal Barca was not at Cannae), but it could be great fun to watch.

Apparently Vin Diesel himself is working on a 2011 movie called Hannibal the Conqueror where he plays the lead role. I could live with Vin Diesel in that role but it would all depend on the script. What made Hannibal a great general was his intelligence and leadership, not his muscles, if that doesn't come out, the role will not work.

Darwin's legacy

2009-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

This evening our family celebration the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln with cupcakes, and a few words about the legacy of these incredible men who each left an imprint on our modern world.

When Darwin formulated his theory of natural selection in the late 1800s, he had no idea what the physical mechanism of heredity was. He knew nothing about DNA or genes or genomes. It is amazing that natural selection remains the most convincing explanation for the origin of species after all this time. Darwin got so much right with so little of what we know now.

It seems fitting that on this anniversary, scientists have shed new light on human origins by completing a first draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome. It seems that the Neanderthals, who share a common ancestor with modern humans, remained a distinct species and did not interbreed with modern humans in significant numbers. It also appears that they might have had the power of speech, or at least one of the genes necessary for it. Wow.

Humanism acknowledged

2009-02-06T10:13:00.001-08:00

President Obama gave a remarkably inclusive speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington last Thursday. He specifically mentioned the fact that secular people are part of this country, and included humanists among those who follow The Golden Rule, the basic moral precept of all religions and societies.

This small comment is a significant step forward for American political and religious life. After eight years of control by a Christian conservative president who refused to acknowledge for most of his presidency that secular people live in America or should be included among "people of good will", this is a refreshing change.

I was also pleased to see the Seattle Times running an article by Barbara Dority, president of Humanists of Washington, in its Faith and Values column today. The article discusses why humanists embrace evolution and how the understanding that life is finite actually makes life more meaningful.

Such small steps move us all a little closer to mutual understanding and tolerance.

Honda Insight specs underwhelming

2009-01-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times ran a
piece today comparing the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid to the Toyota Prius. I've been following the Insight for a while, but hadn't seen the specs before today. The official specs are now available here.

It's tough to make a full comparison yet because Honda has not yet announced its price point for the Insight, and Toyota has not released the specs or price for the 2010 Prius. It seems likely though that the 2010 Prius will get better gas mileage, and that Honda will have to price significantly lower to compete.

The EPA combined mileage for the Insight is 41 MPG, compared to 45 for the 2009 Prius. One reason for the difference may be that the electric motor of the Insight is rated at only 13 HP, compared to 67 HP for the 2009 Prius. That seems underpowered, barely a hybrid at all. On the other hand, the Times article says the Insight will run on the electric motor up to 30 MPH. I doubt that it could get up the hills around Seattle without kicking in the gas engine.

Clearly Honda is trying to carve out space between the full-featured Prius and the smaller gasoline cars like the Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit. The price will determine if they can pull that off.

NASA struts stuff at inauguration

2009-01-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

NASA showed off some new prototypes in front of President Obama at the inauguration parade, including the new Lunar Electric Rover vehicle, and new spacesuits for lunar exploration. Check out the BBC video here. Look Mom, no parallel parking!

NASA has a rover interactive feature and photos. Very cool stuff. I especially love the walk-in space suits.

Hidden history

2009-01-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

For most of my life I have wanted to write a novel. I have started many times, doing research, writing notes, even maps. Yet I have never gotten close to finishing a book. There are many reasons for this, but one reason is that my interests have changed a lot over the years.

One subject that continues to draw my interest is ancient history. I have often wondered how our modern world might have evolved differently if small changes were made in the history of the distant past. I am not interested so much in the history of kings, emperors, or battles, as in the struggle of intelligent and good people trying to cope and create lives of meaning in a sometimes insane world.

Writing alternate history seems like a difficult project, almost as difficult as building a complete fantasy world or science fiction future. I'm not sure I have the energy to start that kind of a project at my age with a full time job and a family. It also misses the deeper point of what I would like my writing to say to the world. I don't want to write about what could have been, but about what has been going on all the time but overlooked, what could be called “hidden history” or “subhistory”.

By “subhistory” what I mean is simply anything people could have done in historical times which is not supported by written records or physical artifacts but also not ruled out by them. That includes most of the history of ordinary people as well as of cultures without written records or before written records. It could also include cultures whose histories were destroyed or distorted by their enemies.

That brings me to the subject of my novel. Carthage was a city-state in north Africa near modern Tunis, which at its height was home to more than a half million residents. The Carthaginians are best known for their wars with the early Roman Republic, and for their general Hannibal Barca who marched his army with elephants over the Alps in 218 B.C. to invade Italy, dealing the Romans a series of crushing defeats but ultimately losing the war. Many questions remain, because the Romans sacked Carthage in 146 B.C., killing most of the inhabitants. Most of the Carthaginian records were lost, and the remaining histories were written by their enemies.

The Carthaginians were great mariners who controlled access to the Straits of Gibraltar and had a monopoly on the Atlantic sea trade. They are believed to have sent expeditions as far north as Britain to trade for tin and as far south as Senegal to trade for gold. I wonder if some of them survived the sack of Carthage, perhaps making it to some of the lands they know about from their trading expeditions to get well out of reach of the Roman armies. There is no evidence to support such an idea, but one thing we do know about the Carthaginians is that they were very good at keeping secrets.

The premise of my novel is that a small group of Carthaginians escape and establish a community in secret on one of the islands known to them in the Atlantic. How they survive in difficult conditions, learn to get along with their neighbors, and keep their culture and history alive for a time is what this story is about. Nothing to rewrite the history books, but hopefully an exciting and enjoyable read that will feed interest in history, and most importantly feed my need to write about this ancient culture that has fascinated me for years.

Fun revisited

2009-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday LeAnne and I watched Stargate: Continuum, the DVD movie based on the Stargate SG-1 TV series. We enjoyed SG-1 a lot, and own the first 8 seasons on DVD, so when I got it for Christmas I was excited. I haven't watched SG-1 in months, it was nice to step back into that world for a while. Continuum uses plot elements common in the SG-1 series, including time travel and over-the-top bad guys. The extras on the DVD were also fun, including a trip to the Arctic for filming.

Continuum is a treat for SG-1 fans, but might not be as enjoyable for a generic sci-fi fan who hasn't seen SG-1. I would steer those folks towards Serenity, a 2005 sci-fi film based on the Firefly TV series. I thought that Serenity stood pretty well on its own and didn't require one to have seen the Firefly series to enjoy the movie.

It's amazing to me sometimes that I enjoy the Stargate series at all. If there really were a secret government project that kept the people of the world in the dark about a global threat to humanity and committed us to secret alliances and secret wars, that would be quite outrageous. Oh, wait...

But I suppose that is part of the point, the characters of Stargate SG-1 find their situation absurd and outrageous too, part of them understands that everything will be revealed eventually, and it is only their sense of humanity and mission and adventure that keeps them going. Stargate Atlantis never gave me quite the same feeling, so I never became quite as attached to it. Yet, for me, Stargate SG-1 is a keeper and I am glad to have enjoyed it these past ten years.

Bidder 70

2009-01-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been an extended holiday for me. The week before Christmas we were snowed in so I had to work from home, then I had the entire week of Christmas off as vacation and most of the week of New Years' as well.

The rest and relaxation have been great, but I don't normally find the holidays and new year to be an inspiring time. 2008 has been a tough year for our family in many ways. While there are many reasons to be hopeful for the new year, the transition feels like that moment when you are standing on the edge of the diving board, ready to step off but not actually moving yet.

But over the holidays one person didn't just stand at the edge. He acted, and his act has kicked me out of my own holiday doldrums.

On Dec 19, 2008, Tim DeChristopher, a student at the University of Utah, realized he had an opportunity to save a small part of our precious Earth, and that he if he did not act in that moment, no one else would. His act was to disrupt a BLM auction of oil and gas leases on public lands in southern Utah. Not by shouting or screaming or hurting anyone. But by bidding.

The auction was a blatant crime by the Bush administration, a takeaway from the American people and giveaway to its energy industry pals, a fire sale done in the eleventh hour expecting that such goodies will be a thing of the past under an Obama administration, but also unlikely to be reversed by the new administration either.

When Tim arrived at the auction, he found protesters outside. Rather than joining them, he walked past them, signed in, took a bidder paddle, started bidding to drive up the price of the leases, and even won a number of bids, knowing full well that he had no money to pay for anything, and that his act of civil disobedience could land him in jail for fraud.

Why do I find Tim DeChristopher's act of disruption so inspiring? It isn't because I have a personal connection to the lands he was trying to protect. I haven't actually been to southern Utah, though I have a friend who vacations there almost every year. I find it inspiring because it is an example of one person standing up and saying no, of refusing to play along, and of being willing to take the consequences for it. I also find it hilarious since it was only possible because of the corrupt and rushed nature of the auction itself, which did not allow time for proper vetting of the bidders. And maybe because he looks a little like a younger balder version of Matt Damon to me.

But is mostly because of the last sentence of his interview on Democracy Now.

Seeing the opportunity, I could not ethically justify not taking it.

What a challenging thought. It makes me wonder how many such opportunities to act ethically each of us fail to notice in our lives, or refuse to act upon because it is not convenient at the time, or because we hope someone else will step forward to do it.

Tim is now trying to raise money to legally place a hold on the lands he won in the auction. His goal as before is to block the illegal auction of these lands until the Obama administration can take power and hopefully put a more ethical leasing process in place that protects the lands and the interests of the American people.

Update: The new Interior Secretary of the Obama Administration, Ken Salazar, will cancel the drilling-lease sale, details here. Well done.

Whole Earth

2008-12-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

Science writer and filmmaker Christopher Riley marks the 40th anniversary of EarthRise, the first photos of the Earth rising from behind the surface of the moon, taken by Apollo 8 astronauts as they orbited the moon.

It is interesting to consider that these photos almost never happened. They were not on the mission plan, and it was only because of the alertness and humanity of astronaut Frank Borman that we have these images at all.

Satellites and space probes have taken great photos of the Earth from space, but do not carry quite the same emotional impact of the realization that the images represents an event witnessed by human beings. But until humans leave low Earth orbit again they are all we are going to have.

The article also mentions the shelved Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite that Al Gore supported in the 1990s, which would have transmitted continuous video of the sunlit side of the Earth from deep space, and also investigated climate change.

A continuous video feed of the Earth from space would be a kind of spiritual nourishment for many people. For others it would be boring, the most expensive screen saver in history. But it would be a new stream of information we don't currently have, and over a long period of time, those who tune in would be changed by it.

The information streams our civilization feeds to us says a lot about our collective priorities, and the bits we pay attention to as individuals also say a lot about our individual priorities. For example, I have little interest in sports scores, less in the stock market, no interest at all in fashion or entertainment news. Amid all that noise and chatter, a continuous reminder of the wholeness of the Earth would be welcome. Maybe it would be the "killer app" that would finally get me to buy an HD television. Nothing else has up to this point.

Keeping in touch

2008-12-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

With the holidays approaching I have been looking for a better way to keep in touch with family, friends, and business contacts online.

I have had a profile on LinkedIn for several years, and it has served me well, but it isn't designed for personal contacts.

I found an old friend from high school on ClassMates. He is also on Facebook, but I have been reluctant to set up a profile on Facebook because of their proprietary attitude towards user data.

After looking at several options, I settled on Plaxo. I like their support for Open ID and OpenSocial, and the ability to connect to what people are doing on different sites like Blogger, MySpace, and Flickr. It was very easy to set up and get started.

Fixit site

2008-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I needed to reset the clock on my Clarion car CD player. I couldn't find the manual at home, and I couldn't find the manual online at first either.

I eventually found the manual and solution at Fixya, a web site with technical support and instructions for many common consumer products, especially electronics. Very useful.

Honda reveals Insight production photos

2008-12-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

Honda today released photos of the production version of the new 2010 Honda Insight as it will appear in showrooms this Spring.

The new photos look a bit flatter and rounder than the concept that has been shown in the auto shows thus far. Somewhat like a sportier version of the Prius. I like it. I hope that the mileage and price end up close to what Honda was originally promising.

The air car concept

2008-12-02T06:38:00.001-08:00

The continuing meltdown of the economy, along with the recent election, have increased my interest in the "green economy" and new technology companies that might be overlooked.

The car industry is a perfect example. While Congress and the next administration consider a bailout of Detroit auto makers, most of the real innovation is happening in smaller companies. The Tesla Roadster and Miles XS500 electric vehicles have gotten some attention. But both these companies are privately funded by venture capitalists. Neither offer opportunities for small individual investors.

One zero emission vehicle concept that does offer such an opportunity is the Air Car, a vehicle that runs on compressed air. This concept is the brainchild of a MDI, a company based in Luxembourg with a factory in France.

The concept of a car that runs on air may sound like science fiction, but the concept is simple and there is nothing in it that violates the laws of physics. Air is compressed to very high pressure and discharged gradually to run an air piston in an engine. The rest of the technology refines and improves that simple concept.

The French inventor, Guy Negre, seems to have serious engineering credentials. He has invested over 15 years in developing the technology, and has earned 13 US patents alone in his name.

The MDI web site claims that their CityFlowAir urban family car can be recharged in a few minutes at a specialized high-pressure air-recharging station (not the air pump at your local gas station today) or in a few hours using plug-in electricity to run an air compressor. It also has a small gas burner for heating the air to extend range and speed for highway driving. The air tanks are carbon fiber. MDI claims the technology to be cost competitive with hybrid and electric vehicles.

MDI also has an interesting industrial concept for regional factories that are also dealerships. A US company called Zero Pollution Motors has purchased the rights to build one of these plants and to sell the Air Car in the United States, and claims it will deliver its first vehicles in 2010.

ZPM is actively seeking investors. ZPM has also entered the Automotive X Prize competition and is seeking sponsors.

Questions remain to be answered for me about this concept. Air compressors are inefficient, so I wonder how the wells-to-wheels efficiency compared to a plug-in hybrid, electric, or fuel cell vehicle concepts. I also wonder about the safety and failure modes of the compressed air tanks. The car is also extremely light-weight so crash protection is a concern. Similar safety questions have been raised about hydrogen storage tanks though and that has not stopped many people, myself included, from investing in fuel cell technology.

The air car concept has some advantages. Many gas stations already have air compressors, so installing high-pressure air compressors at gas stations is not hard to imagine. Even where such stations are not yet available, the ability to recharge the car using electricity and the onboard plug-in seems no more onerous than for plug-in hybrids or electric cars.

Overall, the air car technology seems promising enough to watch closely over the next few years. It seems too early to predict which technology will eventually replace the gasoline car. This may be one of the contenders. Whatever the future of the air car, I commend the inventor for taking his idea as far as he has.

Planet dreams

2008-11-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

Two teams of astronomers have released photos of four planets outside our solar system, including one which is apparently the first such image in visible light, and another which is the first image showing multiple planets in the same system.

Recently I posted about an exoplanet photo taken in near-infrared light.

I find myself captivated by the ongoing developments in the hunt for exoplanets. A field that had nothing to study only a decade ago suddenly has hundreds of data points. Most of the planets found so far seem to be gas giants unlikely to harbor life. But as instruments and techniques improve, it surely is only a matter of time before a blue Earth-type planet is photographed. That will be a great moment for all of humanity, and one I hope to live to see.

When I was a boy in the 1970s I dreamed of the day when I would see humans walk on Mars. That dream seems just as distant now as it did then. But this is one space dream that just might come true in my lifetime. In a month where a mixed-race African American from Hawaii can be elected President of the United States, and where India can land a probe on the moon, I am allowing myself to believe a little bit that anything is possible.

Mysteries of Egypt

2008-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we made our first visit to the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The museum had a special Ancient Egypt day with kid activities, and a rare public display of "Nellie", Seattle's only Egyptian mummy. Our eight-year-old is really into Ancient Egypt, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity.

The mummy, about 2000 years old, is a woman who lived during the Ptolemaic period of Ancient Egypt. The wooden coffin is about 1000 years older than the mummy itself. The mummy had been roughly treated during the 1900s, but the museum has been working to stabilize and restore it for quite a while. The bright colors on paintings on the coffin were clearly visible.

We had a great time. We were also blown away by the other exhibits in the museum, including the exhibits on Native American and Asian peoples in Washington state history. We will definitely visit again.

Revenge of the belt clip

2008-10-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of the most frustrating things about owning an iPod has been trying to find a way to carry it around and use it.

I like to keep my iPod Video on my belt, but after going through three belt clips in the past year, I have reached the conclusion that iPod-specific accessories just plain suck. There are no well-made, durable see-through cases that keep an iPod safe and secure on your hip and also allow you to access it and select music.

The latest disappointment is the Incase leather sleeve. The metal clip itself is strong and well-made, but the leather that the clip attaches to is weak and poorly made. After three months, the leather backing ripped open, making the case useless.

Meanwhile the Nite Ize belt case I use for my cell phone has lasted for years. Unfortunately it uses a magnet to close the case which could damage the iPod hard drive.

Update: I found this Nite Ize sport case at the REI in Issaquah and am hopeful that it will last. It is by the same company that makes my cell phone case, is a little larger, and has velcro instead of a magnet. If it lasts a year it will have been well worth it.

Sounds from space

2008-10-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Scientists using France's COROT space telescope have used a technique called "stellar seismology" to convert oscillations in starlight into "sound". The technique has produced sound for three stars similar to our own sun. Details including sound clips here.

Some of the sounds remind me of sound tracks from 1950s science fiction films. Our own sun sounds a bit like a wine glass harmonica.

Music Notes

2008-10-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday my wife LeAnne and I performed the music in a small equinox service at our church. We performed several songs for guitar, Native American Flute, and ocarina.

Yesterday I set up an account on CD Baby which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite music sites. Music downloads come down as Zip files which include DRM-free MP3s, album art, etc. I downloaded three CDs including one from an artist I hadn't heard of before, Alan Miceli, an acoustic guitarist and composer from Canada. I love the way he plays guitar: relaxing, pure, inspirational. The next day I got a thank you email from Alan directly. Very cool.

It occurs to me that as MP3 players make listening to music an increasingly private experience, many of the social pressures to listen to popular music are becoming less important. If the popularity of an artist becomes less relevant, tools that help you find artists you might like to listen are becoming more important. The future is moving towards all the music in the world being available to all the listeners in the world. Listeners also want to be able to connect to the artists they listen to. Let businesses compete to provide the best music search tools, but the days of big corporate music collections being available only through narrow channels are numbered.

Flute quest

2008-09-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was an exciting musical day for our family.

We spent the day at Flute Quest, a gathering of musicians, students, and vendors of the Native American flute.

My wife LeAnne has been learning to play this wonderful instrument for several months, and was very excited about getting more advanced instruction. She attended a workshop by Bill Hoshal, a talented musician and composer.

During the workshop, LeAnne mentioned that she was having difficulty getting her flute to sound right with my guitar. Bill knew just what she was talking about, and walked us over to the vendor area and introduced us to Brent Haines of Woodsounds. Brent specializes in high quality flutes from rare woods, and his flutes are preferred by many professional flute players.

Later that afternoon I attended a workshop on home recording basics with Bill Hoshal and Vince Chafin. They covered the basics of audio interfaces and digital audio workstations using an M-Audio 410 and Cakewalk Sonar as examples. Even though I am a guitar player not a flute player, I still found the information very useful. I'm fairly confident that I could set up a home recording system for under $1000.

While I was in the recording workshop, LeAnne was literally trying every flute at the dozen or so vendors. She ended up buying one of the first flutes she looked at, an F# flute from WoodSounds. She has been playing it every day since and is extremely happy after playing it. Giddy is more like it.

Overall Flute Quest was a great experience. The flute player community are a helpful and welcoming group of people.

One of the challenges I am trying to work through is how to compose sheet music that I work up on guitar into notation for the NAF, an instrument I do not play myself.

One resource that has been very helpful is Flute Tree. They have an online tool for converting a simple text notation into Nakai tablature, along with fingering charts. The sheets generate and print just fine in Internet Explorer, but I have yet to find a way to save the sheets to PDF cleanly.

Our goal is to continue composing, and in a few years have enough songs worked up to record a CD of guitar and flute music. If we ever get there, CDBaby appears to be a great way to publish it. The terms for musicians seem quite reasonable.

Born in peace

2008-09-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Thom Hartmann is doing his radio talk show in Peru this week, where he visited the Caral archaeological site over the weekend.

Caral would definitely be on my list of places to visit in Peru. Nearly 5000 years old, Caral is a candidate for a "mother city" where people in the Americas first moved into urban settlement. While there is evidence of trade and religion, there is no evidence of warfare or fortifications at the Caral site.

Caral speaks to the question of how cities and civilization itself evolved. Did people first move into cities to protect themselves and to organize for warfare, or for trade and community? Caral suggests that trade and community came first.

If civilizations are born in peace, and only become warlike later either because of greedy elites or threat of invasion, it opens the door for the possibility of a more peaceful future for global civilization.

First photo of planet around "normal" star

2008-09-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting stories in science is the growing list of planets discovered in other star systems. Most of these "exoplanets" have been discovered by indirect methods rather than direct imaging.

Today a new photo was released of a planet orbiting a star called 1RXS J160929.1-210524, about 500 light-years away. The star is similar to our own sun but younger. The photograph was taken from Mauna Kea in Hawaii in near-infrared using adaptive optics. The planet, about eight times the mass of Jupiter, is circled in red at upper left.

The discovery still has to be followed up with several years of observations to prove that the planet is actually orbiting the star and not aligned by chance. If it holds up it will be an important scientific first.

I am beginning to hold out hope that in my lifetime, an orbiting telescope will take an image or video of a distant planet with an atmosphere, oceans and continents not unlike this grainy NASA video of the Earth-moon system from 30 million miles out in space. Even a single blue pixel in an image would fire the imagination to life with the possibilities.

Honda announces new hybrid

2008-09-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been on the lookout for a more fuel efficient small car. A few months ago I changed to a new job where taking the bus is no longer practical. I am currently driving a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo to work. We originally got it as a family car. My wife now has a mini-van of her own, and with gas prices rising, commuting in an SUV no longer makes sense if it ever did.

I have thought about getting a hybrid for a long time. I like the old Prius, but the newer Prius seems larger than I need and something about the look has never appealed to us.

A friend at work told me about the newly announced 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid which will be available in the U.S. starting April 2009. The original two-passenger Insight was discontinued in 2006.

The new Insight is a four-door sedan that promises 60 mpg for under $20,000. A comparison to the Prius and other small cars can be found here. We both like the styling.

I put together a spreadsheet comparing the new Insight to other small cars such as the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, and Chevy Aveo based on my actual driving patterns. I haven't heard yet if there will be a tax incentive for buyers of this hybrid but I would assume so. But even without an incentive, the new Insight would save so much more on fuel costs, it pay for itself faster than a conventional small car.

The other option I considered was the electric-gas Chevy Volt, whose production look was leaked earlier this week. The Volt will not be out before 2011 and will cost upwards of $35,000. That puts it beyond what I am willing to pay in this economy.

Honda's president said in 2007 that plug-in hybrids are unnecessary and do no better than regular hybrids to reduce carbon emissions. I'll leave that technical argument for those with more time on their hands. But it seems unlikely that Honda will, in the near term at least, be making a plug-in version of the Insight.

I'm good with that. In ten years from now, when I am ready to trade in my new Insight, plug-in hybrids and electrics will have worked out more of the details and we will know if such vehicles are practical and make sense. Such as, if you don't have a garage, how do you charge up your car? Do you have to run an electrical cord out in the open at night to recharge your vehicle? How do you prevent someone from stealing your juice at two in the morning? Just a thought.

Seeking for the keepers in life

2008-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the milestone of my 46th birthday this past week has led me to reflect on what is truly important in life.

I have a lot to be thankful for: a successful career, a beautiful wife and two wonderful daughters who amaze me every day. I am fortunate to be living in Seattle, one of the great cities of America and indeed the world.

For most of my life I have defined myself in terms of my professional accomplishments and goals, and in terms of my beliefs, what I am for and against at any given time. All of those have changed somewhat over the years, so I have been thinking about what has been constant and enduring about my life so far and going forward.

One constant has been that I am a voracious scanner of news and information. I am always wanting to know what is going on in the world and what is the next thing I need to be aware of. I also enjoy reading "idea" books that raise important issues and propose big new ways of thinking about the world.

At the same time, I "keep" very little of what I read in the sense that only a fraction of it do I feel compelled to act on. While I have been blogging for five years, I am not a journalist and do not have the time or energy to write about everything I read or have an opinion about. I try to write only when I have personal insight that can add something new.

It's like walking on a beach. So many pretty shells and rocks, but only one out a thousand really speaks to you and says "pick me up". Those are the "keepers". The others you leave alone and walk on.

There are keepers and leave-behinds in everything. In ideas, books, movies, music, games, travel, and even people. The leave-behinds you let go. The keepers you hold onto as tight as you can.

This new blog will be about separating the keepers from the leave-behinds. I hope you will find some keepers here as I put my energy into it in the years to come.

Chris Struble
SeekerKeeper