Defying Augury

Check this out, guys:

They're creating an artificial brain. Out of silicon.

Cylons, you guys! It's the Cylons! The cycle has not been broken! All of this has happened before, and will happen again...and again...and again...

This article kind of neatly summarizes up just why I think that libraries are going to be important in the post peak oil society, and why I refuse to believe it when people say that libraries are going to be obsolete.

I'm not really sure what I think society is going to look like. I know it will have to be different than what we have now, because Hello, Unsustainable to the Max!, but I don't really visualize this sort of complete societal breakdown that seems to be popular on the wackier corners of the internet. I do believe that we need to learn how to grow at least some measure of our own food, and learn how to can, and bake bread, and cook from scratch. Live closer to home, make do with less. Not bad things, not really.

I don't foresee a sudden and complete collapse unless something reeeaaaallly drastic happens, in which case we all have more pressing things to worry about.

I've been thinking about PO for a few years now, and I think I'm in an okay place mentally with it. I still have bad days, but I'm starting to think that to a certain extent, a post-peak world can be what we make it. There are certain constraints we'll be operating within, resource wise, and environmentally wise, but that doesn't automatically mean we have to grab our guns and do every man for himself. If we decide that we want to be a society where people can read, and enjoy words because that's a form of enjoyment that requires no fossil fuel and is available to all, we can do that.

Someone once told me, "A post oil society is a post literate society." No, it is not. Not unless we decide we want it to be. And if that's the case, you can count me out.

Yesterday I got a package from my friend Lola, who I haven't heard from in quite some time. I met her when I was studying abroad in Kyoto. She was just back in Japan for an extended vacation, and sent me a package of wagashi and a small packet of matcha, along with a letter. It was lovely to hear from her. I really need to stir myself and get around to writing all of the letters that I am constantly meaning to write, but then never do.

I have a lot of amazing friends. In fact, my friends group is probably among the awesome-est out there because it consists of so many intelligent, passionate, caring people who really want to change the world for the better. It's humbling.

The other day I introduced someone to Battlestar Galactica 2003. Now that the series is over and we know how it ends, it was actually kind of depressing to see how optimistic and happy everyone was at the beginning - over the course of the show there's so much heartbreak and betrayal and misery. It ends on a generally optimistic note, but this is pretty dark and gritty scifi (in contrast to Star Trek, which is pretty sanitized and optimstic). It's also really impressive at how far the writers took the characters from beginning to end - most of their stories end in unexpected ways that I don't think you'd be able to guess right at the beginning, and it's also an emotionally messy show. Sometimes the good guys make terrible, terrible choices. Sometimes they're not so good. There's a lot of moral blurring, which is nice to see, instead of the straight good/evil dichotomy.

Incidentally here is a pretty good article about the ideological differences between Trek and the re-imagined BSG, and it rings pretty true for me.

On the subject of SciFi, since the new Trek movie is a giant AU, does this mean that we will also have an AU The Next Generation? How might the anomaly affect Picard, Riker & Co., if at all? As long as Data still exists, it's fair game. But they cannot take away Data. No. Not Data.

But hey, maybe this means Voyager won't happen, although they can keep the whole Deep Space 9 story, because DS9 was awesome.

It is a rainy, misty day. My first summer class starts on Monday. Maybe this weekend I will head up to the National Cathderal, to look at gargoyles and listen to the bells.

I don't know if anyone else on this list watches Chuck, but this part of the series finale was awesome enough that I decided it needed to be shared:





You don't need to know much about the Chuck mythology to appreciate the awesomeness of watching a fight scene set to Mr.Roboto, and even though I admit to having reeeeaaallly mixed feelings about the final twist, I'm hoping it gets a season three. And you can all go watch both seasons on hulu! It's a silly show, but is also adorable, and horribly addicting. So check it out. I dare you not to smile.

Today I was stopped by a young man working for Greenpeace.  I know that canvassing is a thankless job, no matter for how worthy a cause, so I usually stop if I have the time to at least hear what they have to say.  If they're collecting signatures, I'll sign.  If they want donations, I might give some depending on how much cash I have on me.  But in this case, they were essentially recruiting members, which means monthly contributions, and they wanted credit card or checking account information on the spot.

I don't do things like that on the street or over the phone, no matter what group it is.  I just don't.  So even though I felt terrible, I apologized and kept heading for home.

I think that Greenpeace is okay, but I'm also not sure just how much giving a monthly contribution helps with global warming.  Sure, the grassroots lets Congress know that there is concern, but in all honesty I don't think Congress is really effective.  Change needs to come locally - go after the local government to put in better public transit, not wait for Uncle Sam to issue some Statute that will attempt to mandate that all communities do so.  Do what you can do personally instead of just writing a check and patting yourself on the back.  Drop the car, stop eating so much meat (the meat industry puts out so much greenhouse gas it's not even funny), shop locally, air dry your clothes, don't fly as much...  make statements with your actions, not just the checkbook.  I get that to some extent we do have this built up system that can be difficult to break out of, and I think that the government does need to play a role, but I still think that local activism is maybe more effective?

Others here are much more savvy on this topic.  Give me your insights, please.

There was a woman today at the farmer's market standing in the middle of the crowd asking if anyone could help her get a meal.  Not being very vocal about it, just sort of mumbling her request to anyone who passed close by.  No one responded.  I offered her one of my apples.  She said no, she can't chew apples since she's missing some of her front teeth, and she needed someone to take her to the breakfast buffet at the local cafe.  I said I'm really sorry, that I can't do, and went on my way.

I didn't see anyone else stop to talk to her.

I never know what to do in these situations.  What is the best thing to do?  Give time/money etc. to the organized shelters and soup kitchens in your area rather than stop for everyone who asks, or carry around some extra change and decide that the five people who ask first get one dollar?  There's a part of me that knows that there are no guarantees in life; that someday it could be me standing there asking an uncaring world for help.  So we should be kind to those who ask.  But what is the best way to do this?

What do you guys think? 

There are some moments when you realize that in spite of all of the misery and suffering and endless rounds of bad and worse news in the world today, the world still has a great deal of beauty in it.

For me, this morning was one of those moments.



( Dawn Hanami )

I can feel myself starting to slide down the worry pit again.

I always want someone to tell me that things will be okay, but I know very well that on a certain level things will not be.

I also know that to a certain extent, where I will be is where I put myself.

I'm sticking to my guns and finishing the five year plan, but I worry worry worry and on some level it's probably making me crazy.

So I'm officially on Team Epilogue in the Spring 2009 hd_worldcup. Exciting! Last year I was but an alternate (although I did end up getting called in as a player, which was cool), so it's nice to be on the team from the get-go this year.

Tomorrow I must go on an epic quest to get a Maryland driver's license. Why are all DMVs located in the middle of nowhere, away from convenient public transit? Can't they be right be a metro station? That would make sense, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it?

...Except for taking road tests, I suppose, which is when you want to be in the middle of nowhere, but still.

Speaking of transit, there are new subway cars on the Metro. Why did they put them in before Inauguration? Should've waited; those things are just going to get trashed come Tuesday.

I made some kickass potato-leek soup the other day, in sufficient quantity to set aside a container to freeze. I have a little colony of frozen soups now: potato-leek, lentil, and white bean and barley. They will come in handy once school starts, yes they will.

So when I arrived at the Metro Center subway stop the first thing I saw were all these posters of mermaids holding chunks of black rock. At first I thought it was some kind of weird fashion campaign, then I saw the enormous banners proclaiming that Clean Coal is a fantasy, then noticed other posters of aliens and bigfoot holding black chunks of rock. Ooooooh. Now I get it. I approve.

Still have some time before work/school starts, so I'm still doing my fun reading. I finished The Tattoo Artist (picked up on a whim from the library shelf and it was wonderful), and also started The Songs of Kings (I like the author. It has a promising start). I also watched the movie Slither. Oh man. Really disgusting, but I couldn't stop laughing. Nathan Fillion, I will watch you in anything and would happily have your babies. Well, maybe not, because I have a primal fear of childbirth. But the sentiment is there.

Coming from the deep freeze of Wisconsin, the weather here feels like early spring. Huh.

Merry Winter Holiday of choice, y'all.

So I am absolutely terrified of spiders (yes, I know that they are vital to the ecosystem and without them we'd be so screwed, but they need to stay out of my sight please), but this picture is just so damn cute.



It has this chagrined expression, like a small child that has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar.

Right. I need to stop procrastinating. Must make sure this paper is not too full of fail. As you were!

The movie Twilight has the dubious distinction of being both better and worse than the book. Better, because we don't have to slog through pages upon pages of extremely boring play-by-play accounts of how Bella went to school, and was clumsy, and hated being looked at, etc. And we don't have to be constantly immersed in her obsessive thoughts about Edward, thank god. (Unfortunately, there is still a voiceover in which Bella occasionally feels the need to narrate. Not sure why this was deemed necessary by the filmmakers) But it's worse because every single ridiculous aspect of the book that you could at least sort of brush aside by vaguely picturing it in your mind is now slapped onto the screen in glorious, glorious technicolor. There is no escape from the absurdity.


( My Thoughts on Twilight, let me show you them )

The Whole Country Just Got Rick Rolled.

Remember, children, that Twilight opens on Friday. If you value life and limb, don't go anywhere near a movie theatre that day. I will be going on a tour of the Library of Congress that day, so I should be safe. I am looking forward to the reviews, however.

Provided that nothing goes unexpectedly wrong, I should start working at the National Archives Library next semester, which is exciting - I'll finally be gaining actual experience in the field I intend to make my career in, I get to put the National Archives on my resume, and I might be able to make some connections. So that's one area in which things are going right. Now all I have to do is fill out heaps of government paperwork and we're in business, baby.

Thanksgiving is going to be spent trying to get this Historiography paper done. That way I can focus on this exam, which has the potential to be...fun. Fun as in, I cannot for the life of me remember how Hegel, Carlisle, Croce, Collingwood, and about fifty other pretentious philosophers differ from each other. I need to start drinking coffee and/or break my horrible procrastinating ways. The chances that the latter will come to pass are slim.

Life is difficult, but maybe this will cheer you up. Have a good night.

I was in the U Street corridor when they called it, and the town just exploded. Washington DC went Democrat by about 92% so you can imagine. Everyone was hugging and high fiving each other, the cars were honking wildly, in the subway stations the empty trains were blaring victory horns when they sped past. Just...wow.

Wow.

I know that this is a beginning instead of a guaranteed happy ending, that we are in a pretty deep hole and that things will not be magically fixed on January 20th, but we have taken a step in the right direction and that is wonderful, wonderful thing. It's impossible not to be optimistic right now.

I will be in DC for the inaugration, and you can bet that I'll be hanging out on Capitol Hill to watch Obama get sworn in, smiling all the while.

I voted today and it was epic. Epic. My absentee ballot finally arrived yesterday, and as those of you who have voted absentee know, you need to have someone witness you vote and sign off on it. Because I am in between roommates, so to speak, this morning I rushed to the neighborhood coffee shop and had some random person act as my witness. She was very nice about it. Then I rushed to the post office to send my ballot via Express Mail back to Wisconsin. It will be there Monday. It needs to be at the polling place by 8PM Tuesday. I should be good.

It's a relief. I can now legitimately say that I did everything in my power to vote, so I've done my part. Now, please America vote sanely and vote Obama.

I think I might have to impose a news blackout on Tuesday. We probably won't know until Wednesday at the earliest, anyway and Oh, My Ailing Heart. I can't take the election excitement!

Continuing on from my review of Twilight, I shall now bring you my commentary on the second book in this "saga," New Moon! I should be reading for my Historiography class, but that class sucks away my will to live. Actually, so does this series. Oh, well. It's probably that I don't have the mental energy to focus on Freud and Comte at the moment, even though it means I'm screwed in class come Tuesday!

Anyway, the drill goes like this. Everything in bold is taken from the book itself, meaning it's Stephanie Meyer's exact words. Everything else is me, me, me. So let's get started, and have fun, kids!


( Previously on Twilight... )

My hair...