Buffer Dump: I didn't do very well on that organic exam. It's depressing.
I've finally drawn a letter to my friend max, and am going to send him some things of his back at last.
The room is clean.
Ryan's bestfriend Cliff turned in an application here today.
I need another book of string figures to learn. They go so quickly.
Have to get up early tomorrow--it's Mike's bacc! He defends his thesis at a bright and shining 8 am tomorrow. The lucky boy. I hate to miss Organic :( but Mike is one of my best friends here, and you only defend your undergraduate thesis once (hopefully).
Talking to Platty sure makes me happy. :)
I should work on Revolution with Turq.
I should go hang out with Ali soon.
I want to study acoustics, write the intro to my cogpsych paper, start my interactions paper, start my ISP paper, start my manatee paper, study organic chemistry, convert those numbers for Dr. B., give my data sheets to Dr. H., make sure I have my sources for OLab in order.
I need to talk to housing, and then call my potential job.
Now for some quiet work, then sleep.
posted by Julie(lipse 22:50
Sunday, April 29, 2001
A Soundscape (Bedroom A, New College Room 102, Sunday Evening)
* The off-set rhythm of typing on the PowerBook's keyboard. Soft tapping, almost thudding, tiny keys. Everyone's typing sounds slightly different, every keyboard sounds slightly different. I want to make a recording of touch typists...
* Quiet casual talking in the other room--Cliff, Andrew, Willow. I can hear the words if I try, or not if I don't. What is it that makes each voice so distinct?
* A very high, quiet, yet vaguely irritating electronic whirr, also from the PowerBook.
* The myriad sounds produced by some form of video game being played on one of the many game stations in the other room, by the aforementioned group. Music overlayed with discordant sound effects, computerized voices occasionally joining in, all individualized, but not at all real. Tinny, rehearsed, stereotypes.
* My own body--breathing, movement, skin on cloth and hair.
* A very low murmuring outside, out back. Probably vehicular, perhaps from the airport.
posted by Julie(lipse 20:25
Friday, April 27, 2001
...
posted by Julie(lipse 18:27
Ahh. First of the O-Chem "open labs" is finished. It's Friday evening and finally time to relax. Ryan's bestfriend Cliff is coming over tonight, and I'm going to spend the weekend watching Beggar the wild dolphin. Tomorrow with my marine mammal class, and Sunday as an observer. Tomorrow evening Cliff and Ryan and I are going to spend some time canoing on Sarasota Bay, and Sunday night I'm going to the Siesta beach drum circle with Rachel. We'll chill, we'll party, we'll collect some data for cognitive psychology lab... Life is good.
posted by Julie(lipse 18:07
Thursday, April 26, 2001
About The Reedy Creek Improvement DistrictDo you know what Disney is? Yes?
Then you should also know what the Reedy Creek Improvement District is. Check it out.
posted by Julie(lipse 19:49
WDCS News Pages - The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society - Bioluminescence and dolphinsA perfect combination! And a good idea--using natural bioluminescence to see the turbulence (or lack thereof) around wild dolphins as they swim. I can't wait to see dolphins swimming through glowing water someday myself. The bioluminescence in our bay is an annual delight. If nothing else, check out that video.
posted by Julie(lipse 19:09
Platty and I have yet another discussion on IRC about technology.
(and don't get me wrong, I highly recommend "Reinventing Comics." :) )----------
Julieclipse: So what do you think of "Reinventing Comics"?
*Platypus* in what sense? the first half was kinda boring.. he makes good points, but I'd heard it before.. the second half.. heh, if nothing else, you have to dig his enthusiasm
Julieclipse: I liked the first half. Obvious, but inspiring, especially the extensive history.
Julieclipse: The first 8 revolutions are cute.
Julieclipse: The second half.... uuhhhhhhgggg.
Julieclipse: I guess the problem is the same that nonfiction futurists and readers so often have between them.
Julieclipse: The world he sketches isn't the one I want to live in.
Julieclipse: And the cloying optimism.. Yech.
*Platypus* heheh
*Platypus* what about his world don't you like?
Julieclipse: It just keeps going the way it is now.
Julieclipse: There are no downsides to increasingly powerful technology.
Julieclipse: Things can only get better. Even if there's a "disaster" it will last at most a few decades and things will keep getting better and better after that.
*Platypus* well, granted his view of the future has a somewhat limited scope.. but he's intentionally focusing on the potential for comics..
Platypus sniffs.. don't tell me you've abandoned all techno-optimism..
Julieclipse: No, but ONLY techno-optimism is deeply disturbing.
Julieclipse: He's so *dismissive*...
*Platypus* well, again, he's just talking about comics, and to a lesser extent, media as a whole..
Julieclipse: Well, media as a whole, the economy as a whole, and the market place of ideas as a whole.
*Platypus* of course there is disturbing potential even in media technology..
Julieclipse: Big, big issues.
*Platypus* right.. I think as far as economy/market place, micropayments really are a good idea.. or at least a better idea
Julieclipse: He dismisses the possibility that the system won't work out... which, while not necessarily justified overall, is justified in a discussion of the future within the system.
Julieclipse: He dismisses paper awfully quickly.
*Platypus* I don't have a problem with it because the book is a manifesto for the expansion of comics/digital media.. he paints a picture of the brightest of all possible futures to get people excited.. it's a rant, not a discussion
Julieclipse: I know. But his brightest future doesn't excite me, it scares me.
*Platypus* heh, I almost agree with him on the paper bit.. I have plenty of fondness for older media conveyances, but are they really necessary/better?
Julieclipse: I can make paper.
*Platypus* I've been waiting for someone to get the paperless office right for a decade now..
Julieclipse: I can't make a computer.
*Platypus* heh, true.. you can make paper because of thousands of years of human progress though
Julieclipse: Well, yes and no.
*Platypus* your ability to make paper is founded on the same stuff computers are.. you just need less physical infrastructure in place now for paper
Julieclipse: I can make paper 'cause people figured out how to make things to make paper and how to use those things to make paper a long time ago and passed it along.
Julieclipse: Well, I need pretty much no physical infrastructure.
*Platypus* heh, how much paper do you think you could make in a week if I dropped you off in the middle of a couple 100 square miles of forest?
Julieclipse: I think there's a point where quantitative differences might as well be treated as qualitative ones.
Julieclipse: Well, it depends on the forest.
Julieclipse: But short answer is: none.
Julieclipse: I'd use my first week to make a place to live.
*Platypus* heh
Julieclipse: I'd find a means of semi-permanent record keeping right away though.
*Platypus* I see his message as being more about not being tied to the means of distribution for a message.. if a computer is around, use that.. if computers go away, use paper, or paint on cave walls.. he's ranting about expression
Julieclipse: If I was *really* desperate, I'd start off with knotted string. I'd work up to paper and pigment from there.
*Platypus* right.. does it matter what it is? we have computers, they allow for unique forms of expression, let's use em
*Platypus* string is a pain in the ass to make raw too
Julieclipse: That's fine, as long as we don't forget about paper.
Julieclipse: Bullshit. Fiber's the one thing I can handle no matter where you put me.
*Platypus* I'd prefer to see paper become an artform in itself.. which it always was, but wasn't widely recognized as such.. change its image from conveyance to content
Julieclipse: Forgetting about paper is a serious possibility though.
*Platypus* that'll keep it around if we need it, but keep it low volume
*Platypus* which is how I treat paper now anyway.. letters go in email, paper gets folded
*Platypus* maybe.. we've done okay without cave walls or the storyteller oral tradition
Julieclipse: Depends what you mean by "okay."
Julieclipse: We're doing 'okay' without a lot of things.
*Platypus* I've been having this argument about hackers/the hacker mindset recently.. people telling me if the technological world ever crumbles, hackers will instantly be the most useless people on the planet, and the least likely to survive
Julieclipse: That's a bunch of crap.
Julieclipse: Hackers will be some of the most likely to survive.
*Platypus* right
Julieclipse: (Probably some of the most dramatic deaths too, but overall successful)
*Platypus* I think it's the same way with artists.. that is, the mindset is about what you do with tools, not what tools you use
Julieclipse: Yeah, but Scott's not just talking about artists and their media, he's talking about the culture as a whole.
*Platypus* hackers use computers because they're excellent tools for the sorts of things hackers find amusing.. but if computers were gone, hackers would still hack..
Julieclipse: And artists would still create.
Julieclipse: That's not my concern.
*Platypus* he's talking about artists and the consumer culture around them
*Platypus* the book is still focused on/aimed at the creator
Julieclipse: "the consumer culture around them"...? C'mon, that's *everyone*. Everyone in this society has access to some form of media.
Julieclipse: Well, the book is very much aimed at the intelligentsia...
*Platypus* not everyone reads comics.. some people (a lot of people actually) regard them as devoid of artistic merit..
Julieclipse: ...but if it were really targetted at the creators, he wouldn't spend so long explaining comics.
Julieclipse: But comics exist in conjunction with other artforms.
*Platypus* wouldn't he? plenty of people create without having the kind of in depth understanding of their media scott has gained.. and there's nothing quite as satisfying as 100 pages of preaching to the converted
Julieclipse: And the technological changes that he predicts for comics, he specifically predicts for those other artforms as well.
Julieclipse: Nah, 'cause he's really really serious about turning people on to comics. He's so zealous. I just can't believe he's not really writing for a general (but intellectual) audiance.
Julieclipse: He just has to make some concessions to the fact that most of the people who read the book will be comics people. I don't think that's what he wants.
*Platypus* he mentioned other artforms would be affected.. he mostly left speculation about the directions non-comic forms would take up to people in those mediums..
Julieclipse: Besides, he's saying that in this brave new world, comics won't be regarded as devoid of artistic merit...
Julieclipse: Sure, but it's not a huge mental leap to imagine the equivalent for music, movies, books, etc., and he refers to them specifically in that context.
*Platypus* he's saying he hopes that's true.. he alludes to the ~desperation of the situation more than once
Julieclipse: Mmm.. desperation's a pretty strong word...
*Platypus* comics are in a desperate state.. slowly making a comeback though
Julieclipse: Well, that comes across in the first section of the book, but his predictions in the second paint a sunnier future for those 8 revolutions.
*Platypus* how much caution do you think is necessary with information technology?
*Platypus* hmm.. I thought he made it clear that he was talking purely about potential/hope.. and trying to encourage people to help realize the potential
Julieclipse: What do you mean by caution?
*Platypus* why not just keep building better machines?
Julieclipse: That's a nonquestion. There's no way to stop the building of better machines.
*Platypus* well what do you think the dangers are?
Julieclipse: Worsening of the current symptoms of civilization.
*Platypus* I think computers/networks hold as much potential to help cure those symptoms as they do to aggravate them
Julieclipse: As much?
*Platypus* civilization has to change or die at some point.. either in a violent chaotic revolution, or through gradual changes in modes of thought.. computers represent an excellent tool for the latter
*Platypus* you have to change people's minds before you can change their lifestyles..
Julieclipse: Computers have a very secure basis in civilization.
Julieclipse: They are useful tools.
*Platypus* that or just completely remove the methods of their lifestyle..
Julieclipse: But I don't think they're any kind of end in themselves.
Julieclipse: And they either need to become drastically different things (a real possibility) or be temporary tools.
*Platypus* they have a secure basis, not a secure function... we all "know" computers are here to stay.. no one seems quite sure what they're for
Julieclipse: Since they rely on the current system.
*Platypus* different or temporary, both have potential for positive change
Julieclipse: Yes.
Julieclipse: But blindly expecting them to stay the same is dangerous.
*Platypus* if you want a society with any "high technology" (we'll say anything that requires a twice removed manufacturing process or greater?), some sort of social organization system is necessary..
Julieclipse: (I'd even go with three times removed)
Julieclipse: But I don't want a high tech society.
*Platypus* a society like that always has the potential for disaster because the tools will be so complex.. but.. uh.. that's life.. complex systems evolve and exist as long as they suit their environment.. it's not a bad thing.. nor is it necessarily bad when they eventually have to adapt or disappear
*Platypus* you'd prefer a world with twice removed or less technology?
Julieclipse: I'd prefer a *society* with twice removed or less technology.
Platypus nods.. heh, sorry, I was gonna talk about the hybrid last
Julieclipse: (:
*Platypus* heh, justin is now reading over my shoulder and trying to turn this into a discussion of the matrix..
Julieclipse: LOL
*Platypus* oh.. sorry.. he says he was just using the matrix as a metaphor..
Julieclipse: It's a charming metaphor.
*Platypus* justin argues that if we create technology more intelligent/advanced than ourselves, it deserves to replace us
*Platypus* he says to mention that he, of course, has no idea what most of this conversation was about and just jumped in with the matrix thing.. (I thought that was rather obvious..)
Julieclipse: Heh.
*Platypus* now he's calling me names.. I'll start ignoring him..
Julieclipse: I don't see where "deserving" comes into it.
Julieclipse: Whatever survives, survives.
*Platypus* heh
*Platypus* right
Julieclipse: I affirm my status, in this life, as a member of this species, to which I choose to be loyal.
*Platypus* heh
*Platypus* anyway, no matter how you slice it, techno-centric, techno-phobic, or just techno-aware, computers and networking can help get us there..
Julieclipse: The have the potential to help get us there.
*Platypus* if you wanted to remove society's dependency on complex manufacturing, you could either initiate an extremely destrucive event, or spend a couple (dozen) decades changing people's minds..
Julieclipse: The have the clear and proven ability to help individuals, like you and me, progress towards wherever our personal 'there' is.
Julieclipse: How would computers be made without complex manufacturing infrastructure?
*Platypus* they've just started to exercise their potential to connect society at large (geeks having been using them for interaction/expression for years)
*Platypus* which brings me back to Scott's book.. let's start using them as a broad means of expression
*Platypus* individual-to-individual and individual-to-society expression, rather than the current corporate-to-society expression (which Scott argues against in an indirect sort of way)
Julieclipse: But Scott's book advocated it across-the-board.
*Platypus* how would they be made? in a high-tech-free world, they wouldn't.. but it would take years for us to get there, and computers could be a temporary tool for encouraging people to thinkg that way..
*Platypus* if nothing else, by helping people to think of computers (arguably some of the highest high-tech people encounter in their daily lives) as tools at their disposal rather than random magic boxes that rule their existence
*Platypus* (you know what I miss? hypercard...)
Julieclipse: "Temporary tool" is a fine idea... that's not what *you* want though, is it?
*Platypus* well of course not.. heh.. but the potential is there
*Platypus* really, after I finish arguing for the extreme, what I want is the middle ground.. a balanced culture that uses all tools available, but ultimately depends on none at the individual level
*Platypus* of course, none is fairly impossible.. we're tool-users.. but you know what I mean..
Julieclipse: Yeah.
Julieclipse: Hard to picture though.
Platypus grins wildly.. that's 'cause no one has done it yet
Julieclipse: Quite so.
Platypus would love to build himself a life that "degrades gracefully", technologically speaking
*Platypus* unfortunately, economics get in my way more than anything else.. (well, besides social conditioning)
Julieclipse: So where does the discussion go from here?
Julieclipse: I guess we've just concluded that you're a bit more optimistic than I.
Julieclipse: And really, I've always suspected as much. :)
Platypus: more optimistic about technology.. I bet you're more optimistic about people
Julieclipse: How can you be optimistic about technology without being optimistic about people?
Julieclipse: People decide what technology is, what it does, what it means.
pellik: yeah, but generally only the smart people get to deciede that
Julieclipse: I love people, but I'm not optimistic about them within our society.
Julieclipse: Daniel Quinn's "We are not humanity" has become a personal mantra of sorts.
Platypus: heh, smart people build the technology.. they have little say it what happens to it after that(and then Platty is distracted, the the topic and participants shift...)
---------
posted by Julie(lipse 17:10
Wednesday, April 25, 2001
JimWoodring.com: Home Page One of my favorite comics artists! Ooooh--new Pupshaw apron. She's my favorite hearth godling. :-)
posted by Julie(lipse 20:21
Julia Studies Organic Chemistry...Heterocyclic compounds:
Furan is the 5-membered oxygen ring.
Thiophene is the 5-membered sulfer ring
Pyrrole is the 5-membered nitrogen ring.
Pyridine is the 6-membered nitrogen ring.Nitrogen rings are spiffy. A six membered aromatic ring with two nitrogens (at 1 and 3) is a pyrimidine. Not only does it have a cool name, better yet, the DNA bases Thymine (also Uracil) and Cytosine are pyrimidines. Their pair-partners, Adenine and Guanine (respectively) are purines, which are a little harder to describe. Essentially a pyridine fused to an imidazole. If this was graphical I could draw the base pairs and the sugar phosphate backbone from memory! There are a lot of other interesting purines too, including caffeine.
There are more special names for heterocyclics with more than one heteroatom in the ring. Pyrazole is another nitrogen ring, a 5-membered ring with N in the 1 and 2 positions. Make it 1 and 3 positions and it's called imidazole. Thiazole is a 5-membered ring with, you guessed it, nitrogen and sulfer, in the 3,1 positions. Oxazole is same deal, but nitrogen and oxygen. And then were the N and O next to each other, it would be isoxazole.
Yeesh. Why can't they make a short book of names and basic reactions that have to be memorized, and give it to us at the beginning of the course? Or slightly before the course? I think it would have served me well.
All those compounds have been fully unsaturated. Make them more saturated, guess what, more nomenclature... will it never end?
------
posted by Julie(lipse 19:54
"My head won't be still, my heart won't behave, I'm shooting the curl on a singular wave, a valence that can't be defined..." - "Photosensitivity," Grant.I'm still reading "Reinventing Comics." Section 2 now. It's very frustrating to come upon new ideas right before an OChem exam. Reminds me why I liked not being in school! Right. Better finish up my work for psychology lab so I can devote the rest of the day (and night?) to Ochem. Time to enter some survey data! The party never stops! (Don't ask why I'm doing a survey project in a cognitive psych lab. I'm lazy sometimes, what can I say?)
posted by Julie(lipse 13:33
Tuesday, April 24, 2001
I have joined the revolution. I am one of you now. I have a blog.
I am also reading Scott McCloud's new "Reinventing Comics." I should be doing school work, especially since my favorite professor just e-mailed me a reminder to focus more on classes. I have a lot of trouble devoting myself to classes. Don't get me wrong--I like my classes, that's why I'm taking them--but there are many other things to do. Read about comics, knit, write about dreams, work on the manatee survey project, learn acoustics, build a simple hydrophone, prepare meals, keep the rooms clean and the rats fed and the plants watered, talk to my friends, work on "Lathe Biosis," generic dolphin research... and yes, there's organic chemistry too. I'm not doing very well in organic chemistry, which is particularly frustrating now that it's finally getting interesting. I think one of the reasons I'm not studying it right now is that I'm afraid that I'll still be bad at it even if I do study. Most insensible. Off I go to work... Signing off -
posted by Julie(lipse 19:20