MIT Prof Says Universe Is 'Large Quantum Computer', and Yes. I'm a nerd.

For those of you out there who are seeking a meaning to life, read this story.

MIT Prof Says Universe Is 'Large Quantum Computer'

When your done reading, consider this;

If the universe is a huge computing system (I reject the notion of a giant computer as it is too biased by our own current level of technology, I like "Mind" better), then what is the role of consciousness? Is self awareness an intrinsic component of this system? Is the "Soul" part of the circuit?

Did you know that we humans can effect change on a quantum level, just by observing quantum processes? It's true. The very act of human observation "selects" for a specific outcome, completely devoid of any physical interaction. Just ask my good buddy Albert Einstein.

Are we fragments of the Mind working out a larger destiny? Who knows. Just a question.

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Congress Working Together. Not! The Sequel

Well hell. I spoke too soon. Goes to show you what happens when you give these goons the benefit of the doubt.

I know that there are a ridiculous number of factors to consider when drafting such important legislation, but just one time I would love to see these guys accomplish something for the good of the people. It seems that the only matters that our elected representatives give any weight to is electability. Let the finger pointing begin:

"Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for the stalemate.

"It's not gone forward because there's a political advantage for Democrats not to have an immigration bill," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

He said Democrats perceive a benefit in having only a GOP-written House bill that criminalizes being an illegal immigrant. That bill has prompted massive protests across the country, including a march by 500,000 people in Los Angeles last month.

Democrats blamed Republicans for insisting on amendments that would weaken a compromise that Senate leaders in both parties had celebrated Thursday.

"This opportunity is slipping through our hands like grains of sand," said assistant Senate Democratic leader Dick Durbin of Illinois."

Lets hope that they have kissed and made up by the end of their two week recess. More likely our trusted leaders will have spent their time pointing fingers and fomenting Latino rage at political adversaries. Will the people of America end up with any meaningful immigration reform? Will illegal immigration, a subject that has been ignored for decades and has now reached a boiling point, be resolved with well thought out legislation? My bet is on NO.

I'll say it again. Break the machine. Vote for ANYONE else next time.

Jason Out.

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Congress Working Together; What A Concept..

Finally, a little productivity & compromise from our 'leaders'... If you've been tuning in to this blog for a while, you will have seen my rants regarding our federal governments inability to get anything done. I have lamented the lack of collaboration between parties and the lazy finger pointing vote harvesters refusal to simply do their jobs.

Well, there may be hope. Granted, both parties had a lot at stake in the immigration battle. Neither party wanted to be proponents of walling up America, nor did they want to give blanket amnesty to illegals. Therefore, they were essentially forced to work together to find an appropriate solution. I think they came up with a fairly decent bit of legislation.

Here it is in a nutshell:

"In general, the compromise would require illegal immigrants who have been in the United States between two years and five years to return to their home country briefly, then re-enter as temporary workers. They could then begin a process of seeking citizenship.

Illegal immigrants here longer than five years would not be required to return home; those in the country less than two years would be required to leave without assurances of returning, and take their place in line with others seeking entry papers."

A little compromise can go a long way. I feel like I'm talking about my kids here. Well kids, you may have been forced into working together towards a goal, but you proven that you could. Good job today. Did I just actually say that?Amazing.

Jason out.

Web 2.0 is here. Get on board.

I live part time on the internet. Its part of my job. It's invaluable to my personal business. It's also something I do for fun. Like many people my age, it has become a natural part of my day, and is the first tool I reach for if I am in need of information. I know I can go and find what I need. Therefore, it serves me well to be knowledgeable about the landscape of my part time home.

Lately, the internet has been changing. Have you noticed? Us geeks call this shift Web 2.0 and it will eventually change how even you use the internet. In a nutshell, the difference between what many of you know as the internet and what is being called Web 2.0 is the method of utility; that is, how do you use this tool. The days of "surfing" random pages in search of a valuable nugget may be nearly over.

As I previously stated, most of us are used to going to the web to "find" what we are looking for, like a super high-tech yellow pages/newspaper hybrid. Just let your fingers do the walking. But all that is about to change. What if you could have the internet itself "serve up" the things you are interested in?

One new tool to become familiar with is called the RSS feed. RSS simply means Really Simple Syndication. Have you seen this icon o web pages you frequent? Or something like this? These icons represent a "feed" and if you use an "aggrigator", these links will send you any updated content from the web pages you visit most, all collected into one handy window. No longer do you need to visit every website every day. Get your news, weather, comics, stocks, even this blog, whatever, fed to you automatically, without wasting time sifting through all of the "stuff" that you couldn't care less about. Its the news you choose. Here is an excellent description for the non-technical.

But RSS is just the tip of the iceberg. Another thing that is happening in 2.0 is the "cross-pollination" of web content. Web 2.0 sites are literally sharing data/content between each other to vastly increase the utility of all such sites. This may seem a bit confusing, but Wikipedia (an excellent 2.0 site) gives a very nice definition. "Web 2.0 generally refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that let people collaborate, and share information online. In contrast to the first generation, Web 2.0 gives users an experience closer to desktop applications than the traditional static Web pages."

Although I don't currently have the energy (I have a cold and don't care that much) to go any deeper into the "meaning" of Web 2.0, I want to list a few of my favorite 2.0 sites that I use. Jump in, muck around, see what works for you. I'll bet you'll be surprised.

Myspace - Find out who your friends are. If the internet were a city, this would be the club. Express yourself. But don't do anything you wouldn't want to talk about at work on Monday.

Last.fm - I like Pink Floyd & Rush. Who else should I listen to. Well, if I tell Last.fm what I like, it will create an online radio station that is tailored to my taste. But wait, there's more. Last.fm will play for me songs that other people like (if they have similar tastes as me.) Could there be more? Yes. Last.fm can even monitor what I mp3's play on my computer (secure from big brothers prying eyes), and suggest new music for me.

Platial - Map your life. Share your experiences. Or just let others know where to find the best Sushi in town. This is Web 2.0. Do what you like.

Del.icio.us - What about your favorites/bookmarks? Wanna share them or see what others have found? Try Del.icio.us. For those less technically minded, try Furl.

Flickr - What about your photos? Wanna share them or see photos from other websters? Then Flickr is for you.

I could go on, and it would start to seem like just a big list of cool sites. But here is the kicker. Most of these sites can be used together in unique and useful ways. Just look around my sites and you will see how this can be done. Well, that's it for today. I'm all out of steam.

Oh yeah. One more thing. Gmail. If it's not gmail, it's not e-mail.

I'm out.