Skepticalwalrus

I hope these dudes get an avian visitation like Tippi Hedron did…..

skepticalwalrus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:13:21 +0000

Man, I gotta come up with a new category for this one. Did their moms rub their faces in the bottom of the parakeet cage when they were kids? I mean, what the hell….?

Lawrence Krauss on the practicality of cosmology

skepticalwalrus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:45:49 +0000

I’d say, well, what does a Bach cantata or a Picasso painting do for us? I think the point is we are human beings, and one of the most wonderful aspect of being human beings is being creative and asking questions and trying to understand our place in the universe. And it is absolutely true that understanding the beginning and end of the universe is not going to produce a better toaster. But I’m always amazed that people – for me, one of the great virtues of science is it’s a cultural activity, like art and literature and music. It enhances the experience of being human, and it addresses the questions that I’m sure you’ve asked about your own existence.

And if we can get new insights into our own existence and our place in the cosmos, well, that’s what happens when we attend a good play or see a good painting. It gives us a new perspective of our place in the universe. And I happen to think that is worth it for its own sake. Plus, I happen to think these ideas are among the most remarkable and astounding ideas human beings have ever come up with. And we owe it to – we scientists owe it to the people to try and explain what’s happening, and I think they enhance the quality of our existence.

The entire interview from NPR Science Friday can be found here.

Better run, better run, faster than my bullet

skepticalwalrus — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:36:04 +0000

and have some pretty good moves too! (via Wired)

The walrus may be skeptical but the horse…….

skepticalwalrus — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:05:55 +0000

not so much….

Yes Maria Yes! – David Wax Museum

skepticalwalrus — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:37:59 +0000

This song makes me want to light the barbeque, open a cold one and dance around the pool!

And have you noticed that ukuleles are everywhere in folk music now?

Some of my favorite new music….

skepticalwalrus — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:59:34 +0000

The Head and the Heart

An “Accomplished Voluptuary”

skepticalwalrus — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:45:32 +0000

It’s the two most incongruous words in that passage that point us toward Petronius’ chief insight into pleasure and abundance: “accomplished voluptuary.” How can anyone be accomplished at taking pleasure? Isn’t that something anyone can do? Yes, under most circumstances. But under decadent circumstances, such as Trimalchio’s feast or Nero’s court, pleasure becomes cheap. It must, at first, be exhilarating to find exquisite versions of the things we most want—food, sleep, sex—right at hand. But then comes the revelation that even with unlimited means, our capacity to take pleasure is itself limited. The usual enjoyments become repetitious and dull, until we can barely taste them at all, or remember how they once tasted. And it’s at that point that Trimalchio and Petronius part ways: One flails to enjoy himself while the other becomes a scientist of pleasure. Under decadent circumstances, Petronius devises ever-more-original varieties of hedonism.

And there’s the key to understanding the often anesthetic effect of the Internet. Decadence doesn’t demand great wealth: Decadence is a useful way to understand any situation in which an existing pleasure becomes cheap, and it takes the ingenuity of a Petronius to fight off the boredom.

Link to the full article here.

And now I need a road….

skepticalwalrus — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:55:58 +0000

It’s a long way up to the cleared area from the main road. It would take about 1000 ft of properly graded road. Unfortunately, no properly graded road currently exists and most of the existing road is improperly graded. Let’s say that the situation as it exists is below average, so I must grade on a curve.

Day Four of Land Clearing

skepticalwalrus — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:09:36 +0000

Brought the project to a conclusion yesterday at about 4:00. It was a challenging project but the crew was up to it and the result is a very nicely cleared area for a home site. Now it’s time to go home and ring in the new year.

Clearing toward the ravine

Trimmed oak and cedar along the back line

View to the east down the back line

View north from the back line

A liberated oak holding my pack.

Day Three of Land Clearing

skepticalwalrus — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:42:22 +0000

The stretch of road from Hunt, Texas that follows the South Fork of the Guadalupe River is death row for axis deer. Herds of these animals graze in lawns and pastures in this area and, unlike their white tail deer cousins, they are not automobile savvy. Driving along this road it sometimes seems like it’s a matter of when, not if, you will eventually hit one. Yesterday I witnessed the aftermath of a doe being struck. The car had just pulled over and the poor axis was still alive, though not for long. About 30 yards down the road, a buck lay dead on the roadside. It had not been there when I passed through an hour before. Fortunately, the animals are quickly removed and I assume, butchered for the meat but it’s a shame to see it happen in such a fashion. Harvesting wildlife is one thing, carnage by auto is ugly.

I never saw this tree in the midst of all of the cedar. It has a really nice shape and it can now thrive now that it no longer has to compete for water.

The view is now open.

Now, what to do with the brush piles that cannot be shed in the last remaining day of scheduled work?