Spring semester is now over at MCTC, giving me time to focus on a number of things:

• Beta-testing WordPress 3.0
• Preparing the framework for the revamp of City College News next year
• Cleaning my living space
• Traveling to Europe for the second time
• Registering for fall semester classes and taking care of the requisite paperwork
• Playing Steam-powered games on my MacBook Pro, finally

On the subject of WordPress 3.0, I have revised or created the pages: About, Résumé, Curriculum vitæ, Colophon and Contact.

After a meteoric rise to the top of inspirational talk-givers, I had my first and second TED talks this week.

Here’s the first:

I would like to see more of them — and all other leaders — realizing that happiness does not imply to constantly feel happy. How many of you would agree? I once had a patient where my performance was a disaster. (Laughter.) Thank you very much. But I just thought of the French intellectuals telling us what the world looks like. As an alternative, I’ll give you a sixth sense device, allowing the brain to weigh emotion and experimental evidence. You don’t have to like it, but a mirror will not get something bad fixed et cetera, et cetera. It’s therefore much better to create a choice — but of course we also need surprises. How many of you believe that I could use only data to show the difference only once you look at the details. Otherwise it’s just chunky spaghetti sauce. You could go on with this metaanalysis forever. But I would like to show you that in the middle of it all, you could see the situation running the same way that a downward spiral would. It makes you yearn for coffee sponsored for by the administration of the United States.

The second, well, didn’t go over so well. I think I’m already past my prime.

I’m here to tell you it’s not a matter of oxygen and other things. By now you’re even wondering what this has to do with girls with different names. I’m here to talk about what they have in common, namely a problem that occurs when you get too high. Then you’re going to have long-term effects on my project that I like very much. I don’t have to own a four-passenger aircraft can easily fly upside down. Earlier, completing my MBA in the United States required you to use your feet and all your troubles begin. I don’t understand why anyone would do that. So we needed more time to make sure that we get more attention on the web. And we needed a design which is going to make sure that we succeed. Furthermore, we needed help in building what I can’t have. This would neither require an evolution scientist nor a computer functioning in ways I don’t understand.

Please understand that I only followed the advice of this guy.

Tim Burton was destined to direct a take on Lewis Carroll's story of “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”, and “Through the Looking Glass.” His mastery over creat– ing fantastical environments has made him a great candidate for this undertaking, and he delivered in a phenomenal way.

Biba, Erin. What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory. Wired 2010-02-26 05:36.

Ghose, Tia. Millions of Tons of Water Ice Found at Moon’s North Pole. Wired 2010-03-01 20:24.

Kravets, David. Lawmakers Punt Patriot Act to Obama. Wired 2010-02-26 15:52.

Madrigal, Alexis. First Mirrors Polished for Next-Gen Space Telescope. Wired 2010-03-02 18:20.

Hey, y’all, this is very late as the caucuses are about to get under way in about an hour, but here are a few handy things to read and/or bring with you (this is somewhat biased toward DFL caucus-goers):

Get familiar with the candidates (Democratic, Republican, and Independent) by checking out the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s awesome and inclusive candidates’ profiles.

The agenda for tonight‡. If you stay for the caucus meeting, you will (most likely) approve and follow this to-do list. A few things on it:

• Electing precinct chair and associate chairs
• Electing delegates to the Senate District or County Unit convention in a month or two
• Gubernatorial straw poll!
• Resolutions for the party platform — see link below for form

‡The file includes a resolution form filled out that supports single-payer health care.

Parliamentary Procedure Pocket Reference (via UC Berkeley). For all you nerds who want to say “I rise to a point of parliamentary inquiry”!

Minnesota Secretary of State’s precinct caucus brochure.

DFL precinct caucus guide.

DFL Official Call — long explanation of rules and procedures — and DFL 2008–2010 Party Platform — things they support or oppose.

DFL resolution form.

Last week, my Android obsession led me to buy Google’s Nexus One, which meant that I had a G1 lying around. I didn’t really want to go through the process of selling it myself, and I delayed any action until I became sure that my Nexus One wasn’t having the 3G connectivity problems with T-Mobile.

Alas, no issues in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area, so I’m ready to part ways with my old Android friend.

I found an interesting and exciting place on the “series of tubes” called Gazelle. They’re a Boston-based consumer electronics recycling and reselling company.

If you want to get started now, head straight over to Gazelle!

The catalog of technology they will recycle and for which they will pay you is extremely extensive, and the process for doing so is very streamlined.

1. Find the item(s) you want to recycle/sell.
2. Self-evaluate its/their condition and functionality.
3. Gazelle gives you a real-time estimate of what they’ll pay you for it/them (and also the predicted value for it/them in the next few months).
4. Optionally, Gazelle will send you a box for the item(s) if it qualifies.
5. Otherwise, they will email you a shipping label to print, which you bring, with the boxed item(s), to the nearest UPS.
6. They receive your item(s), evaluate it themselves, update you on any price change, and if you accept…
7. You receive your payment via check, PayPal, prepaid Visa card, or a few other options.

Of course, you also feel good for not throwing out your old stuff! :)

Gazelle’s got a Twitter account.

If you click the link below and recycle your electronics, I’ll get a $10 referral, and you can in turn refer your friends and colleagues! Enjoy!

Get Cash For Your Gadgets at gazelle.com!

After having seen a truly scintillating and visually orgasmic (so much so, in fact, that I developed a headache) IMAX 3D presentation of James Cameron’s Avatar, I began to put together a pattern emerging, to me anyway, in works of popular art and literature. Avatar and another contributor to this pattern, Disney-Pixar’s Wall·E, are generally straightforward in packing their punch.

Humans are evil — regardless of their intentions, malign or not — and more than likely will end up destroying or depleting themselves and their resources.

I’m not really trying at verbose criticism, but why do we indulge in constructing massive, ever-more-awesome narratives to apologize for ourselves, our wars, our destruction, our sad state of existence? These and other stories are chillingly beautiful and evoke strong emotions, so I understand the appeal. The apologetics are just stupefyingly idiotic — that we might redeem our blight on the Earth through artistic acknowledgment. Let’s at least do something about our innumerable crises in addition to nostalgically memorializing them, please? Kthxbai.

Pictured left to right, Brittney (16), Kaytlyn (6), and Aaron (5).

Cross-posted on my Posterous.

Cross-posted on my Posterous.

I’m on the route 23 bus right now, and I just passed by an anti-foreclosure protest. You go people!!!

(Apologies for poor camera phone/low-light quality.)

Cross-posted on my Posterous.