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LAW PUNDIT Saturday, December 30, 2006 12/30/2006 03:58:00 PM [Home]
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LawPundit is Time Magazine Person of the Year (inter alia)
The phone rang imploringly on Christmas Day.
"YOU", the voice (whose anonymity we protect) said on the phone in a definite and perspicacious tone, "have been selected Time Magazine Person of the Year in this year's Christmas issue."
"WHAT?" WHAT??"
That is the former "Man of the Year" award - it is BIG, although its selective qualities of goodness are questionable given some of the past recipients.
Of course, the LawPundit was incredulous at the news of having been granted this momentous award. The LawPundit is not the type of person that one would count as a gullible sort, never. Quite the contrary, he belongs to the category of law-trained persons whose character is marked by skepticism and autonomy - just ask the gullible archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians of astronomy and Biblical scholars of this world.
In any case, what we lacked here in the instant case were sufficient facts. We simply needed more information. Not wishing to offend the caller, we asked diplomatically:
"What was the basis for this award?"
The answer, the voice said, was found written in Time itself:
"Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?
OK, to be fair and balanced and accurate, it was actually a distant acquaintance who had the 7-foot long pet Iguana that he recently sold because it was terrifying the neighborhood on his evening walks - always on a leash, mind you - but given the recent news about the pending parthenogenic virgin Komodo Dragon "Christmas" births, he had played with idea of getting one of those cute little Indonesian Komodo Dragons as a house pet - until he saw THIS photo, so that he is now settling for a Siamese cat. We note here that the Gallup Poll on this December 21, 2006, released a (pay for play) report on Americans and their Pets, by Frank Newport, Jeffrey M. Jones, Lydia Saad, and Joseph Carroll. Generally, they conclude, things are going to the dogs.
But much of that description of the Person of the Year at Time is otherwise very true. We certainly blog about our state of mind and the state of the nation even moreso, especially since opinions on that latter subject are so diverse and divergent (see State of the Nation with Calvin Ayre of Bodog Nation, Daily Kos: State of the Nation, State of the Nation's EcoSystems, STAT-USA).
Furthermore, we are definitely among the world champions in "working for nothing" here at LawPundit. We may not be listed yet in the Guinness World Records, but we will be. Never was so much done for so little, but perhaps that is in the nature of blogging, yet.
How right Time is. Could this award be for real? And what did it all mean?
To be on the safe side, we concluded that the Person of the Year award could most assuredly have been given to LawPundit on the merits, and so we thought we would check it out by going to the original sources:
"Well, that could fit us. It surely could. We need to check this out. Can you give us an online source on that?"
And indeed, the voice told us, there was a direct online connection to Time - HERE.
In fact, it corroborated what the voice had told us on the phone when it said:
"YOU have been selected Time Magazine Person of the Year".
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/30/2006 03:58:00 PM
LawPundit is Time Magazine Person of the Year (inter alia)
The phone rang imploringly on Christmas Day.
"YOU", the voice (whose anonymity we protect) said on the phone in a definite and perspicacious tone, "have been selected Time Magazine Person of the Year in this year's Christmas issue."
"WHAT?" WHAT??"
That is the former "Man of the Year" award - it is BIG, although its selective qualities of goodness are questionable given some of the past recipients.
Of course, the LawPundit was incredulous at the news of having been granted this momentous award. The LawPundit is not the type of person that one would count as a gullible sort, never. Quite the contrary, he belongs to the category of law-trained persons whose character is marked by skepticism and autonomy - just ask the gullible archaeologists, Egyptologists, historians of astronomy and Biblical scholars of this world.
In any case, what we lacked here in the instant case were sufficient facts. We simply needed more information. Not wishing to offend the caller, we asked diplomatically:
"What was the basis for this award?"
The answer, the voice said, was found written in Time itself:
"Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?
The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you."
I was flabbergasted.OK, to be fair and balanced and accurate, it was actually a distant acquaintance who had the 7-foot long pet Iguana that he recently sold because it was terrifying the neighborhood on his evening walks - always on a leash, mind you - but given the recent news about the pending parthenogenic virgin Komodo Dragon "Christmas" births, he had played with idea of getting one of those cute little Indonesian Komodo Dragons as a house pet - until he saw THIS photo, so that he is now settling for a Siamese cat. We note here that the Gallup Poll on this December 21, 2006, released a (pay for play) report on Americans and their Pets, by Frank Newport, Jeffrey M. Jones, Lydia Saad, and Joseph Carroll. Generally, they conclude, things are going to the dogs.
But much of that description of the Person of the Year at Time is otherwise very true. We certainly blog about our state of mind and the state of the nation even moreso, especially since opinions on that latter subject are so diverse and divergent (see State of the Nation with Calvin Ayre of Bodog Nation, Daily Kos: State of the Nation, State of the Nation's EcoSystems, STAT-USA).
Furthermore, we are definitely among the world champions in "working for nothing" here at LawPundit. We may not be listed yet in the Guinness World Records, but we will be. Never was so much done for so little, but perhaps that is in the nature of blogging, yet.
How right Time is. Could this award be for real? And what did it all mean?
To be on the safe side, we concluded that the Person of the Year award could most assuredly have been given to LawPundit on the merits, and so we thought we would check it out by going to the original sources:
"Well, that could fit us. It surely could. We need to check this out. Can you give us an online source on that?"
And indeed, the voice told us, there was a direct online connection to Time - HERE.
In fact, it corroborated what the voice had told us on the phone when it said:
"YOU have been selected Time Magazine Person of the Year".
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/30/2006 03:58:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Wednesday, December 27, 2006 12/27/2006 09:16:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Happy New Year 2007 ! Our Secret Doodle !
Dear Readers,
Father Christmas!
What a wonderful holiday season, especially for J.R.R. Tolkien fans:
"It was the biggest bang in the world, and the most monstrous firework there ever has been. It turned the North Pole BLACK and shook all the stars out of place... The tap turning on the Aurora Borealis fireworks is still in the cellar of my old house. The North Polar Bear knew he must never, never touch it... Anyway he was nosing around the ruins this morning soon after breakfast (he hides things to eat there) and turned on all the Northern Lights for two years in one go."
Yes, the Sun really took a shot at us in December of 2006. It lit up the sky like the celebrations of fireworks that will be taking place on New Year's Eve.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year 2007.
In honor of the occasion, we have designed a "Secret Doodle" which contains several secrets.
1) What is the message of the "Secret Doodle"?
You should be able to ascertain this without too much difficulty as we have made it easy for you to get an Inkling. Be HAPPY. Did we not just post on Happiness? But you might have to take a NEW look. In a pinch this YEAR, you might even engage in a Gobelin count (at least in French).
2) Where do the symbols of the "Secret Doodle" come from?
Is this the writing of a prehistoric "rock art" culture of the type we discuss at some of our other websites? You may want to ask your local mainstream archaeologist or resident expert decipherer for clues to clues, which is their profession. Perhaps these symbols were used by the small, Lilliputian - previously nameless - hobbits (modernly baptized Homo floresiensis) that mainstream science recently claimed to have discovered in Indonesia? Alas, a pipedream species in an academic area of study where fantasy, fiction and myth unwillingly meet the hard hand of evidence. A story for J.K. Rowling?
Another way to find out why the LawPundit's Secret Doodle "rocks" is to consult your local linguist about rocs and orcs and arks, or as written about Noah's Ark and rocs in 1604 by Michael Drayton - who in his youth worked as a Page boy for which you have to have a Brain (well, nearly so) :
You might just try some Google search words for local color or Yahoo some other clues you have already been given to arrive at the doubled rainbow at the end of a pot of gold. What are words to the hues of nature?
Is there really any perceptible difference between a Yahoo and an Orc? and it is not far from Google to Goggle to Gobble to Goblin, now is it? But that is just a play on the alphabet.
We repeat, Happy New Year.
2007. Make this world a better place, if you can.
P.S. We will post the solution in the New Year to our LexiLine Newsletter.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/27/2006 09:16:00 PM
Happy New Year 2007 ! Our Secret Doodle !
Dear Readers,
Father Christmas!
What a wonderful holiday season, especially for J.R.R. Tolkien fans:
"It was the biggest bang in the world, and the most monstrous firework there ever has been. It turned the North Pole BLACK and shook all the stars out of place... The tap turning on the Aurora Borealis fireworks is still in the cellar of my old house. The North Polar Bear knew he must never, never touch it... Anyway he was nosing around the ruins this morning soon after breakfast (he hides things to eat there) and turned on all the Northern Lights for two years in one go."
Yes, the Sun really took a shot at us in December of 2006. It lit up the sky like the celebrations of fireworks that will be taking place on New Year's Eve.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year 2007.
In honor of the occasion, we have designed a "Secret Doodle" which contains several secrets.
1) What is the message of the "Secret Doodle"?
You should be able to ascertain this without too much difficulty as we have made it easy for you to get an Inkling. Be HAPPY. Did we not just post on Happiness? But you might have to take a NEW look. In a pinch this YEAR, you might even engage in a Gobelin count (at least in French).
2) Where do the symbols of the "Secret Doodle" come from?
Is this the writing of a prehistoric "rock art" culture of the type we discuss at some of our other websites? You may want to ask your local mainstream archaeologist or resident expert decipherer for clues to clues, which is their profession. Perhaps these symbols were used by the small, Lilliputian - previously nameless - hobbits (modernly baptized Homo floresiensis) that mainstream science recently claimed to have discovered in Indonesia? Alas, a pipedream species in an academic area of study where fantasy, fiction and myth unwillingly meet the hard hand of evidence. A story for J.K. Rowling?
Another way to find out why the LawPundit's Secret Doodle "rocks" is to consult your local linguist about rocs and orcs and arks, or as written about Noah's Ark and rocs in 1604 by Michael Drayton - who in his youth worked as a Page boy for which you have to have a Brain (well, nearly so) :
- All feathered things yet ever knowne to men,
- From the huge Rucke, unto the little Wren;
- From Forrest, Fields, from Rivers and from Pons,
- All that have webs, or cloven-footed ones;
- To the Grand Arke, together friendly came,
- Whose severall species were too long to name
- Which may be why we've waited 'til this day
Floresiensis as a species to portray!
You might just try some Google search words for local color or Yahoo some other clues you have already been given to arrive at the doubled rainbow at the end of a pot of gold. What are words to the hues of nature?
Is there really any perceptible difference between a Yahoo and an Orc? and it is not far from Google to Goggle to Gobble to Goblin, now is it? But that is just a play on the alphabet.
We repeat, Happy New Year.
2007. Make this world a better place, if you can.
P.S. We will post the solution in the New Year to our LexiLine Newsletter.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/27/2006 09:16:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Sunday, December 24, 2006 12/24/2006 01:31:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Happiness Is ... Living in the Right Country
Adrian G. White, a psychologist at Leicester University in the United Kingdom, has produced a world map of happiness by country which is called A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being (SWB) - see the map at that link.
The New Scientist explains:
"According to the analysis, a country's happiness is closely related to its wealth, along with the health and education levels of its people."
As White writes:
"The search for happiness is not new and neither is academic interest in the topic. In 1776 the American Declaration of Independence argued for “certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (The American Declaration of Independence, 1776, as cited in Hawke, 1964). As such, nations have been formed on the basis of the search for happiness, and this desire has been put on a par with the right to life and the right to freedom. In the U.K. interest in happiness was brought to widespread attention with the moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham (1789) who argued that the purpose of politics should be to bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.
Political interest in happiness has not diminished in modern times. A recent survey (Easton, 2006) found that 81% of the UK population agreed that the Government’s primary objective should be the creation of happiness not wealth. Earlier this year David Cameron, HM Leader of the Opposition, put happiness firmly on the political agenda by arguing that “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB – general well-being" (BBC, 2006). "
Just what happiness is, however, may not be so clear....
See, for example:
Finding Happiness - Sunday Times Magazine
Authentic Happiness - Dr. Martin Seligman
The Happy Planet Index by the New Economics Foundation
Interesting there is the Bhutan Study of GNH (Gross National Happiness) using these nine domains as indicators:
"living standard, health, education, eco-system diversity and resilience, cultural vitality and diversity, time use and balance, good governance, community vitality and psychological well-being".
Happiness is mostly Genetic (at Forbes.com you get an ad screen here first)
Happiness is Back - Prospect Magazine
Happiness is the Best Medicine - Wired News
Happiness and Public Policy (blog by Will Wilkinson,
commented by Tyler Cohen in Marginal Revolution)
Happiness: the hippies were right all along - New Economist
Guidelines for National Accounts of Well-Being - Edward Diener
Happiness Quotes
The Happy Guy
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/24/2006 01:31:00 PM
Happiness Is ... Living in the Right Country
Adrian G. White, a psychologist at Leicester University in the United Kingdom, has produced a world map of happiness by country which is called A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being (SWB) - see the map at that link.
The New Scientist explains:
"According to the analysis, a country's happiness is closely related to its wealth, along with the health and education levels of its people."
As White writes:
"The search for happiness is not new and neither is academic interest in the topic. In 1776 the American Declaration of Independence argued for “certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (The American Declaration of Independence, 1776, as cited in Hawke, 1964). As such, nations have been formed on the basis of the search for happiness, and this desire has been put on a par with the right to life and the right to freedom. In the U.K. interest in happiness was brought to widespread attention with the moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham (1789) who argued that the purpose of politics should be to bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.
Political interest in happiness has not diminished in modern times. A recent survey (Easton, 2006) found that 81% of the UK population agreed that the Government’s primary objective should be the creation of happiness not wealth. Earlier this year David Cameron, HM Leader of the Opposition, put happiness firmly on the political agenda by arguing that “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB – general well-being" (BBC, 2006). "
Just what happiness is, however, may not be so clear....
See, for example:
Finding Happiness - Sunday Times Magazine
Authentic Happiness - Dr. Martin Seligman
The Happy Planet Index by the New Economics Foundation
Interesting there is the Bhutan Study of GNH (Gross National Happiness) using these nine domains as indicators:
"living standard, health, education, eco-system diversity and resilience, cultural vitality and diversity, time use and balance, good governance, community vitality and psychological well-being".
Happiness is mostly Genetic (at Forbes.com you get an ad screen here first)
Happiness is Back - Prospect Magazine
Happiness is the Best Medicine - Wired News
Happiness and Public Policy (blog by Will Wilkinson,
commented by Tyler Cohen in Marginal Revolution)
Happiness: the hippies were right all along - New Economist
Guidelines for National Accounts of Well-Being - Edward Diener
Happiness Quotes
The Happy Guy
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/24/2006 01:31:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Sunday, December 17, 2006 12/17/2006 09:02:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Stanford : our Product is the Future
The December 15, 2006 Stanford Newsletter contains the following great quotation:
"-------------------------------------
HEARD ON CAMPUS
-------------------------------------
"Stanford has a product. A lot of people don't know this. We produce a product, and our product is the future."
-- Brian Carilli, lab designer in the School of Engineering, and one of two recipients of this year’s Marsh O'Neill Award."
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/17/2006 09:02:00 PM
Stanford : our Product is the Future
The December 15, 2006 Stanford Newsletter contains the following great quotation:
"-------------------------------------
HEARD ON CAMPUS
-------------------------------------
"Stanford has a product. A lot of people don't know this. We produce a product, and our product is the future."
-- Brian Carilli, lab designer in the School of Engineering, and one of two recipients of this year’s Marsh O'Neill Award."
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/17/2006 09:02:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT 12/17/2006 08:27:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
The 1-Minute History of the Middle East
Via CaryGEE, this one is really good...
the history of the Middle East shown by maps in about a minute's time at
http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/17/2006 08:27:00 PM
The 1-Minute History of the Middle East
Via CaryGEE, this one is really good...
the history of the Middle East shown by maps in about a minute's time at
http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/17/2006 08:27:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Saturday, December 16, 2006 12/16/2006 09:51:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Kristy Kay : Pop Music Star of Tomorrow
Here in our opinion is an emerging female pop music star of tomorrow, Kristy Kay:
YouTube Video "Who's That Loving You Now"
Song "When You Find Love" (our favorite) . Hothead Dance Hits - available US only
Rhapsody Online leads the user to the following VERY IRRITATING popup here in Germany:
"U.S. Only We're sorry. We have detected that you are outside of the United States. This service is currently only available to residents within the United States." Now we now what it feels like to be in China and have half the stuff you want to see blocked by the government. We expect this to be corrected there in the good old USA.
Video "When You Find Love" (for free, AOL), but we have not been able to get the AOL links to work here in Germany - here they are
http://music.aol.com/artist/main.adp?artistid=743101
http://music.aol.com/artist/kristy-kay/743101/video
http://music.aol.com/artist/kristy-kay/743101/video#top
http://videobeta2.adpqa.aol.com/video/kristy-kay-when-you-find-love/1636125
Song "Don't Break My Heart"
Video "Who's That Loving You Now"
See also
Official Kristy Kay site
Kristy Kay, Featured Artist
Song of the Month "Not So Perfect World"
Kristy Kay at FindArticles
Kristy Kay - Airbrush Artwork
Kristy Kay - Audition for Hollywood
Kristy Kay - Long Island Press: "Something about her.........you gotta LOVE when she sings! Very Happy. Her vocals are VERY GOOD, and the music iz HOT! Very Happy"
Kristy Kay - Promo Only
Remember, you read it at LawPundit first.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/16/2006 09:51:00 PM
Kristy Kay : Pop Music Star of Tomorrow
Here in our opinion is an emerging female pop music star of tomorrow, Kristy Kay:
YouTube Video "Who's That Loving You Now"
Song "When You Find Love" (our favorite) . Hothead Dance Hits - available US only
Rhapsody Online leads the user to the following VERY IRRITATING popup here in Germany:
"U.S. Only We're sorry. We have detected that you are outside of the United States. This service is currently only available to residents within the United States." Now we now what it feels like to be in China and have half the stuff you want to see blocked by the government. We expect this to be corrected there in the good old USA.
Video "When You Find Love" (for free, AOL), but we have not been able to get the AOL links to work here in Germany - here they are
http://music.aol.com/artist/main.adp?artistid=743101
http://music.aol.com/artist/kristy-kay/743101/video
http://music.aol.com/artist/kristy-kay/743101/video#top
http://videobeta2.adpqa.aol.com/video/kristy-kay-when-you-find-love/1636125
Song "Don't Break My Heart"
Video "Who's That Loving You Now"
See also
Official Kristy Kay site
Kristy Kay, Featured Artist
Song of the Month "Not So Perfect World"
Kristy Kay at FindArticles
Kristy Kay - Airbrush Artwork
Kristy Kay - Audition for Hollywood
Kristy Kay - Long Island Press: "Something about her.........you gotta LOVE when she sings! Very Happy. Her vocals are VERY GOOD, and the music iz HOT! Very Happy"
Kristy Kay - Promo Only
Remember, you read it at LawPundit first.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/16/2006 09:51:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT 12/16/2006 05:07:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Most Requested Christmas Song by Lisa Layne with Vince Vance and the Valiants
Here it is, the most requested Christmas song at Big Earl 96.3
All I Want for Christmas Is You
sung by Lisa Layne with Vince Vance and the Valiants.
You can get it at:
Amazon.com
CD Universe
See also the IndieMusicGroup
This is not an ad, just our honest opinion. This song is good.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/16/2006 05:07:00 PM
Most Requested Christmas Song by Lisa Layne with Vince Vance and the Valiants
Here it is, the most requested Christmas song at Big Earl 96.3
All I Want for Christmas Is You
sung by Lisa Layne with Vince Vance and the Valiants.
You can get it at:
Amazon.com
CD Universe
See also the IndieMusicGroup
This is not an ad, just our honest opinion. This song is good.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/16/2006 05:07:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Friday, December 15, 2006 12/15/2006 04:41:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Comets Solar Flares Global Warming CO2 and the Origins of our Solar System
Another mainstream theory bites the dust ... comet dust.
On December 13, there was a large solar flare sent toward Earth from the Sun our of Solar System, a solar system whose accepted theory of origin has recently been put into doubt by new evidence deriving from comet dust gathered by project Stardust.
As written by Warren E. Leary in yesterday's New York Times, Researchers Find Surprise in Makeup of a Comet:
"The evidence suggests that comets did not form in isolation in the outer parts of the solar system as it coalesced from a swirling mass of primal material, the researchers said. Instead, they said, some of the hot material that formed planets around the Sun seems to have spewed off into distant areas and become a component of distant comets."
Hence, the origin of the solar system can only be accounted for by a (new) theory. As Leary writes:
"Many people imagined that comets formed in total isolation from the rest of the solar system; we have shown that’s not true," said Donald Brownlee, a University of Washington astronomer who is the lead scientist for the Stardust mission.
So what accounts for current global warming?
Hiram Perry at As Maine Goes suggests to us that the increased solar flares (as signs of increased solar activity) that we have seen in recent years are the actual cause of global warming and atmospheric CO2 content increase.
Mother Earth is simply responding to "God's" solar message. It reminds us of the religion of the ancient Pharaohs where Ra was the Sungod at Heliopolis (Annu, Latvian Janis, Janu).
Ra was worshipped as the self-created Creator of all. Ra rose as Khepara (Latvian kap-ris, "the rising one") and set as Tem or Temu (Latvian tum-sa "darkness"), traveling by day by boat across the firmament and navigating without the boat by night through the underworld, the Duat.
Ra was the Solar Deity which later merged with the God of the Horizon (Horus) and then with the God of the Moon (Amun). The Sun became a trinity.
God pulls the cosmic chords.
Global temperatures fluctuate to accord with the Sun's own fluctuating activity over large periods of time, much longer than a man's life.
Global warming hits Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew and Muslim equally. Is that the coming wrath of God?
I wonder how that interpretation fits in with the religious concepts which are in vogue today?
What do the religious books - allegedly God's word - say about solar flares?
In what way could this all be a part of God's universal plan and the Maker's intelligent design?
Or, given the fact that things are warming up, has the Devil actually already taken over power?
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/15/2006 04:41:00 PM
Comets Solar Flares Global Warming CO2 and the Origins of our Solar System
Another mainstream theory bites the dust ... comet dust.
On December 13, there was a large solar flare sent toward Earth from the Sun our of Solar System, a solar system whose accepted theory of origin has recently been put into doubt by new evidence deriving from comet dust gathered by project Stardust.
As written by Warren E. Leary in yesterday's New York Times, Researchers Find Surprise in Makeup of a Comet:
"The evidence suggests that comets did not form in isolation in the outer parts of the solar system as it coalesced from a swirling mass of primal material, the researchers said. Instead, they said, some of the hot material that formed planets around the Sun seems to have spewed off into distant areas and become a component of distant comets."
Hence, the origin of the solar system can only be accounted for by a (new) theory. As Leary writes:
"Many people imagined that comets formed in total isolation from the rest of the solar system; we have shown that’s not true," said Donald Brownlee, a University of Washington astronomer who is the lead scientist for the Stardust mission.
"As the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago," Dr. Brownlee said, "material moved from the innermost part to the outermost part. I think of it as the solar system partially turning itself inside out."
Our Solar System was thus certainly much hotter in the period of its origin than it is now. Indeed, our own hellishly volcanic planet Earth is generally in a state of cooling down, as the fires within it slowly die out over the millennia.So what accounts for current global warming?
Hiram Perry at As Maine Goes suggests to us that the increased solar flares (as signs of increased solar activity) that we have seen in recent years are the actual cause of global warming and atmospheric CO2 content increase.
Mother Earth is simply responding to "God's" solar message. It reminds us of the religion of the ancient Pharaohs where Ra was the Sungod at Heliopolis (Annu, Latvian Janis, Janu).
Ra was worshipped as the self-created Creator of all. Ra rose as Khepara (Latvian kap-ris, "the rising one") and set as Tem or Temu (Latvian tum-sa "darkness"), traveling by day by boat across the firmament and navigating without the boat by night through the underworld, the Duat.
Ra was the Solar Deity which later merged with the God of the Horizon (Horus) and then with the God of the Moon (Amun). The Sun became a trinity.
God pulls the cosmic chords.
Global temperatures fluctuate to accord with the Sun's own fluctuating activity over large periods of time, much longer than a man's life.
Global warming hits Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew and Muslim equally. Is that the coming wrath of God?
I wonder how that interpretation fits in with the religious concepts which are in vogue today?
What do the religious books - allegedly God's word - say about solar flares?
In what way could this all be a part of God's universal plan and the Maker's intelligent design?
Or, given the fact that things are warming up, has the Devil actually already taken over power?
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/15/2006 04:41:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT 12/15/2006 02:21:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Google Patent Search (Beta Version)
The Official Google Blog just announced the release of the beta version of Google Patent Search, which permits the user "to search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus". This is a very useful new development, made possible by the fact that patent information is public domain and can be accessed by anyone.
What Google has done is described at the Google Patent Search FAQ:
Q. How does it work?
A. Using the same technology that powers Google Book Search, Google has converted the entire image database of U.S. patents into a format that’s easy to search. You can search the full text of U.S. patents from the Google Patent Search homepage, or visit the Advanced Patent Search page to search by criteria like patent number, inventor, and filing date.
See also
Patently-O
SearchEngineLand.com (with a list of papers about patent search at the end)
Patent Prospector
CNET News.com
Red Herring
Monkinetic
InternetNews.com
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/15/2006 02:21:00 PM
Google Patent Search (Beta Version)
The Official Google Blog just announced the release of the beta version of Google Patent Search, which permits the user "to search the full text of the U.S. patent corpus". This is a very useful new development, made possible by the fact that patent information is public domain and can be accessed by anyone.
What Google has done is described at the Google Patent Search FAQ:
Q. How does it work?
A. Using the same technology that powers Google Book Search, Google has converted the entire image database of U.S. patents into a format that’s easy to search. You can search the full text of U.S. patents from the Google Patent Search homepage, or visit the Advanced Patent Search page to search by criteria like patent number, inventor, and filing date.
See also
Patently-O
SearchEngineLand.com (with a list of papers about patent search at the end)
Patent Prospector
CNET News.com
Red Herring
Monkinetic
InternetNews.com
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/15/2006 02:21:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Saturday, December 09, 2006 12/09/2006 02:07:00 PM [Home]
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Diversity at The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
Diversity has become a hot topic in Chicago.
The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog has what appeared initially to be a harmless posting by Ariel Porat titled If You Are Not Pleased with Our Service, You Do Not Have to Pay, relating to a sign at a hotel reception desk which greets the guests with that declared policy. As Porat observes: "Legally speaking, that means that a guest can walk away without paying."
That engendered a law-related reply (our initial interest in this posting) by Jake Walker:
"Interesting. This reminds me of litigation in Germany a few years ago about the no-questions-asked money-back guarantee of American retailer Lands End (I think). The German Supreme Court held, if memory serves, that this policy was anticompetitive and therefore illegal in Germany."
(For background and discussion of the Lands End case, see in this regard the Look Smart FindArticle Internet Helps Germany Kill Restrictive Retail Laws - Government Activity, Newsbytes News Network, July 2, 2001.)
OK. That was - apparently - that.
However, in the course of subsequent comments to the original posting by Porat, one of the posters, Chris Roach, closes his contribution with the following words, the last statement of which has led to a brush fire discussion on the topic of diversity:
"The only reason this guarantee works is because most people staying at that kind of hotel have some decency to begin with and becau[s]e America is a nation, even now, with relatively high degrees of trust. You will be less likely to find such trust in diverse settings....
"Good comments, Mr. Roach, although your final sentence has a nasty punch. What constitutes "too much diversity"? Must we all be the same for peace to reign? How much heterodoxy is acceptable? Given the ever-expanding nature of our social, economic, and political connections, is it not necessary for us to strive towards reducing perceived diversity?"
The subsequent discussion on the subject of diversity, the Supreme Court, related Constitutional issues, etc. is well worth a read, hitting upon fundamental questions of national and world politics today. Take a look.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/09/2006 02:07:00 PM
Diversity at The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
Diversity has become a hot topic in Chicago.
The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog has what appeared initially to be a harmless posting by Ariel Porat titled If You Are Not Pleased with Our Service, You Do Not Have to Pay, relating to a sign at a hotel reception desk which greets the guests with that declared policy. As Porat observes: "Legally speaking, that means that a guest can walk away without paying."
That engendered a law-related reply (our initial interest in this posting) by Jake Walker:
"Interesting. This reminds me of litigation in Germany a few years ago about the no-questions-asked money-back guarantee of American retailer Lands End (I think). The German Supreme Court held, if memory serves, that this policy was anticompetitive and therefore illegal in Germany."
(For background and discussion of the Lands End case, see in this regard the Look Smart FindArticle Internet Helps Germany Kill Restrictive Retail Laws - Government Activity, Newsbytes News Network, July 2, 2001.)
OK. That was - apparently - that.
However, in the course of subsequent comments to the original posting by Porat, one of the posters, Chris Roach, closes his contribution with the following words, the last statement of which has led to a brush fire discussion on the topic of diversity:
"The only reason this guarantee works is because most people staying at that kind of hotel have some decency to begin with and becau[s]e America is a nation, even now, with relatively high degrees of trust. You will be less likely to find such trust in diverse settings....
In other words, in a world with too much diversity, expect worse service and less trust."
Poster Erasmussimo counters:"Good comments, Mr. Roach, although your final sentence has a nasty punch. What constitutes "too much diversity"? Must we all be the same for peace to reign? How much heterodoxy is acceptable? Given the ever-expanding nature of our social, economic, and political connections, is it not necessary for us to strive towards reducing perceived diversity?"
The subsequent discussion on the subject of diversity, the Supreme Court, related Constitutional issues, etc. is well worth a read, hitting upon fundamental questions of national and world politics today. Take a look.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/09/2006 02:07:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT 12/09/2006 12:43:00 PM [Home]
[Print]
Posting to Blogger via Microsoft Word
This is a test of the option of posting to Blogger via Microsoft Word, using Word as the text program for writing posts and uploading via a special Word toolbar for Blogger, which connects to the website. It appears to work and suggests itself as desirable for longer articles.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/09/2006 12:43:00 PM
Posting to Blogger via Microsoft Word
This is a test of the option of posting to Blogger via Microsoft Word, using Word as the text program for writing posts and uploading via a special Word toolbar for Blogger, which connects to the website. It appears to work and suggests itself as desirable for longer articles.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/09/2006 12:43:00 PM
LAW PUNDIT Friday, December 01, 2006 12/01/2006 10:49:00 AM [Home]
[Print]
Michael Leddy : Parmenides : U of Chicago Press : Philosophy : Homer and the Law
MANY years ago I chanced to a stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair and engaged in a long and lively conversation at the publishing company Parmenides, where I was bestowed a circular Parmenides promotional mouse pad of such exceptional quality that I still use it today. That pad is in the shape and design you see here at Parmenides, whose books are meanwhile distributed worldwide by the University of Chicago Press.
INDEED, for the philosophers among our readers, we recommend highly To Think Like God, a book from Parmenides by Arnold Hermann which is available in an illustrated as well as scholarly and fully annotated edition.
IN a bit of deja vu coincidence, after following some of the links at the blog orange crate art, which we mention in the previous posting, we found ourselves at Jacket Magazine and Michael Leddy's review of the Parmenides multi-CD audio publications of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, as translated and read by Stanley Lombardo, and where a "brief synopsis read by Susan Sarandon precedes each episode as a separate track".
WHAT interested us in terms of law is the following part of Leddy's review in Jacket Magazine, which relates directly to some of the legal issues we raised concerning punitive damages and the confusion of the roles of criminal and civil law in modern law:
"Like Aeschylus' Oresteia, in which trial-by-jury supplants revenge-killing, Homer's poem [The Odyssey] ends with a new god-made means to resolve conflict, as Ithacan culture escapes the spiral of vengeful violence that structures the world of Iliad and has threatened to turn Odyssey 24 into a replay of 22."
LEDDY is surely one of few people who have identified this crucial law-related aspect of Homer in this clarity.
That law-related aspect of Homer has immediate application to current events.
IS not the major problem today in the Middle East the reactionary status quo of inert cultures who have not learned Homer's lesson of substituting the RULE OF LAW for primitive and backward vengeance and private retribution?
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 10:49:00 AM
Michael Leddy : Parmenides : U of Chicago Press : Philosophy : Homer and the Law
MANY years ago I chanced to a stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair and engaged in a long and lively conversation at the publishing company Parmenides, where I was bestowed a circular Parmenides promotional mouse pad of such exceptional quality that I still use it today. That pad is in the shape and design you see here at Parmenides, whose books are meanwhile distributed worldwide by the University of Chicago Press.
INDEED, for the philosophers among our readers, we recommend highly To Think Like God, a book from Parmenides by Arnold Hermann which is available in an illustrated as well as scholarly and fully annotated edition.
IN a bit of deja vu coincidence, after following some of the links at the blog orange crate art, which we mention in the previous posting, we found ourselves at Jacket Magazine and Michael Leddy's review of the Parmenides multi-CD audio publications of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, as translated and read by Stanley Lombardo, and where a "brief synopsis read by Susan Sarandon precedes each episode as a separate track".
WHAT interested us in terms of law is the following part of Leddy's review in Jacket Magazine, which relates directly to some of the legal issues we raised concerning punitive damages and the confusion of the roles of criminal and civil law in modern law:
"Like Aeschylus' Oresteia, in which trial-by-jury supplants revenge-killing, Homer's poem [The Odyssey] ends with a new god-made means to resolve conflict, as Ithacan culture escapes the spiral of vengeful violence that structures the world of Iliad and has threatened to turn Odyssey 24 into a replay of 22."
LEDDY is surely one of few people who have identified this crucial law-related aspect of Homer in this clarity.
That law-related aspect of Homer has immediate application to current events.
IS not the major problem today in the Middle East the reactionary status quo of inert cultures who have not learned Homer's lesson of substituting the RULE OF LAW for primitive and backward vengeance and private retribution?
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 10:49:00 AM
LAW PUNDIT 12/01/2006 08:44:00 AM [Home]
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Improve Your Writing : Break Your Task Down into Modules : The Principle of Granularity
How much of your professional, educational or personal life involves writing?
In many cases, your answer is bound to be "a lot".
As someone who has taught legal writing at the law school level, I can affirm that good writing is one of the key roads to success in our modern world. KNOWING something is one thing. COMMUNICATING that knowledge to others is quite another thing.
David Pescovitz at Boing Boing has just made a posting about Michael Leddy (who blogs at orange crate art), a write-proven Professor of English, who recently wrote a Lifehack.org essay titled Granularity for Students.
The essense of Leddy's principle of granularity in writing is that although many writing tasks can appear formidable if viewed as a whole, they can become quite manageable if the whole is broken down into chunks, and even better, if these chunks in turn are broken down into even smaller chunks, etc.
Indeed, this strategy has always been a fundamental element for the wisdom of making an outline before writing. An outline not only "organizes" our thoughts, but it also channels our writing towards modular execution.
One good way to teach anyone, especially a student, the value of granularity in writing, is to have that person write several pages on a given topic "off the cuff", without an outline and without modular writing. THEN that same person is instructed about modular writing and asked to rewrite that same topic, first making an outline and then writing the piece modularly. Of course, the second effort is almost always far superior to the first. Q.E.D.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 08:44:00 AM
Improve Your Writing : Break Your Task Down into Modules : The Principle of Granularity
How much of your professional, educational or personal life involves writing?
In many cases, your answer is bound to be "a lot".
As someone who has taught legal writing at the law school level, I can affirm that good writing is one of the key roads to success in our modern world. KNOWING something is one thing. COMMUNICATING that knowledge to others is quite another thing.
David Pescovitz at Boing Boing has just made a posting about Michael Leddy (who blogs at orange crate art), a write-proven Professor of English, who recently wrote a Lifehack.org essay titled Granularity for Students.
The essense of Leddy's principle of granularity in writing is that although many writing tasks can appear formidable if viewed as a whole, they can become quite manageable if the whole is broken down into chunks, and even better, if these chunks in turn are broken down into even smaller chunks, etc.
Indeed, this strategy has always been a fundamental element for the wisdom of making an outline before writing. An outline not only "organizes" our thoughts, but it also channels our writing towards modular execution.
One good way to teach anyone, especially a student, the value of granularity in writing, is to have that person write several pages on a given topic "off the cuff", without an outline and without modular writing. THEN that same person is instructed about modular writing and asked to rewrite that same topic, first making an outline and then writing the piece modularly. Of course, the second effort is almost always far superior to the first. Q.E.D.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 08:44:00 AM
LAW PUNDIT 12/01/2006 08:33:00 AM [Home]
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Wesabe : Social Networking : A Web Community for Sharing Money Experiences
In the previous posting there was a reference to the December 2005 start-company Wesabe, a new type of financial web community, which "deals with real money issues".
As written at Technically Speaking by Rex Dixon:
"[Wesabe] is a community of people (social network) that share their experiences with money. The community is there to help others make better financial decisions."
Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing writes:
"I'm proud to have joined Wesabe's advisory board -- Marc's way sharp, and Wesabe's a damned cool idea. The service anonymizes your financial data and then compares it to others' and figures out ways that you can save money right away, and worked into it is a bunch of community stuff for people who are figuring out how to spend smarter. It's a little like Flickr for your money, or social Consumerist."
Wesabe also has an appropriately titled blog called Wheaties for Your Wallet, where we read that the following topics form the current top 10 of user interest:
"1. Pay Off My Credit Cards
2. Save Up An Emergency Fund
3. Lower Spending
4. Buy A House
5. Spend Money With Green Values In Mind
6. Stop Paying Late Fees, Overlimit Fees, Nonsufficient Funds Fees, ATM Fees, And Any Other Fees I Can Find!
7. Contribute To My IRA
8. Make Wesabe Better
9. Buy A MacBook Pro"
10. Don’t Panic About Money
Wesabe looks like a good idea for internet users who want to improve their money savvy and save money.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 08:33:00 AM
Wesabe : Social Networking : A Web Community for Sharing Money Experiences
In the previous posting there was a reference to the December 2005 start-company Wesabe, a new type of financial web community, which "deals with real money issues".
As written at Technically Speaking by Rex Dixon:
"[Wesabe] is a community of people (social network) that share their experiences with money. The community is there to help others make better financial decisions."
Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing writes:
"I'm proud to have joined Wesabe's advisory board -- Marc's way sharp, and Wesabe's a damned cool idea. The service anonymizes your financial data and then compares it to others' and figures out ways that you can save money right away, and worked into it is a bunch of community stuff for people who are figuring out how to spend smarter. It's a little like Flickr for your money, or social Consumerist."
Wesabe also has an appropriately titled blog called Wheaties for Your Wallet, where we read that the following topics form the current top 10 of user interest:
"1. Pay Off My Credit Cards
2. Save Up An Emergency Fund
3. Lower Spending
4. Buy A House
5. Spend Money With Green Values In Mind
6. Stop Paying Late Fees, Overlimit Fees, Nonsufficient Funds Fees, ATM Fees, And Any Other Fees I Can Find!
7. Contribute To My IRA
8. Make Wesabe Better
9. Buy A MacBook Pro"
10. Don’t Panic About Money
Wesabe looks like a good idea for internet users who want to improve their money savvy and save money.
Permalink : Andis Kaulins : 12/01/2006 08:33:00 AM
......Creative Commons License
