connect.

"People have an innate desire to connect with other people and share information."

~ Mark Zuckerberg, founder/CEO of Facebook

When I first read this line in an article in this month's GQ I found sticking out of my mailbox this evening I wanted to dismiss it. No they don't. But yes we do. Case in point = this blog. And the millions of other blogs. But maybe less obvious, writers of all sorts. The kind writing about their own life experiences centuries past and still today. And on and on. It is quite literally endless the different ways we display this need to share and to connect. We are human afterall. And of which of course we all do in our own ways and up to our own defined limits. There are those who share everything (and not just thoughts but their IM, email even physical addresses, mobile numbers and the like) and those who are less inclined. This is obvious and well-known.

What struck me a bit later in the article was Zuckerberg's confession to somehow trying to harness all this sharing and shape people's willingness to share even more in the future so much in fact that the future of Facebook (in other words, to keep it from becoming the next Friendster) depends on it. Case in point here would be the News Feed feature, which broadcasts user's activity on their friend's home pages. This actually was met with widespread user protest when it was first implemented, but is now in fact one of the most touted features on the site. What Zuckerberg has on his hands with his social experiment (on the scale of 115 million users and counting – fast) – what he calls the "social graph" – is quite possibly the most valuable database of consumer information in the history of mankind: everything that is, and ever has been, posted to his site by its users.

It reminds me of nuclear power, and how Carl Sagan points out how the same technology that allowed us to walk on the moon and send spacecraft four billion miles into our galaxy and realms of which we had only ever dreamt is the same technology that was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In other words, this unbelievably vast treasure trove of consumer data could be used rather harmlessly or even perhaps in a way that benefits those same users (Amazon's and Netflix's recommended lists, Apple's Genius feature in iTunes, and on and on – targeted marketing is by no means a new concept). On the other hand, it could also be used – in the wrong hands or with the wrong intentions – to create some sort of Orwellian scenario in which all web content we view is completely determined by user targeting. We would find ourselves in a world dominated by advertising, where advertising would play a key role in the creation of most of what we see and by extension the information put in front of us.

That may be extreme, or it may not. Zuckerberg is launching (albeit gradually, on the heals of his last disaster Beacon) Connect. What Connect is promising to do (and so far it only works with a handful of sites, such as CNN, MoveOn, CBS and others) is – by logging in to Facebook once – everywhere you go on the web after that your login will travel with you. Websites will be able to use your Facebook info (of course, only what you provide) to tailor its content to suit you. Of course, this could be awesome - the potential of course is to have just one sign-on point and seamless access to your data everywhere you go. Or it could find itself encroaching on privacy ideas of which we have not yet or cannot let go. How much is too much? Or, how far is too far? What information would Connect provide who knows who? Granted, as I already mentioned, it can only provide as much as you provide. And to Zuckerberg's credit, he does say he intends to allow users a granular level of control of what information is shared (as is evident currently on the site). But he has also – in the past, with experiments like Beacon – displayed a tendency to interpret privacy as he sees fit and deals with the consequences after they are incurred.

Regardless of any opinion one way or another, the kid makes some interesting arguments and it is interesting stuff. But irregardless –  I will never, ever bring myself to update my FB status.

ode to winter.

I love winter. While I was in Hawaii for work a few weeks ago and after having gotten used to waking up to warm breezes and days in the eighties I was slightly afraid I would miss it coming back to Seattle. And I did, but only for a little while. I have now adjusted back to what is normal at this time of year for anywhere I would want to live (the requisite need being a change of seasons) – cold. And today, while biking around town with Julian as the fog settled in from a sort of warm day cooling off rapidly and the kind of light that is only had on perfect late autumn or early winter afternoons as the sun dropped below the horizon and everything shone pale. And back inside, warming up under a few layers about to relax on the couch to read a bit of a book before dinner (just put in the oven, the dryer going in the background on the last load of laundry) I am reminded of what I love about this time of year.

I love layers. I try to fake it during the summer but cannot really. But now I can layer away, usually three if it's a good day.

I love scarves. Ever since seeing the remake of Alfie a couple of years ago I have loved scarves. And my sister Kathy somehow perceived this without knowing it by surprising me with my first wool scarf right after that. Now I own several, and they are all my favourite.

I love sweaters. Particularly really thick cable knit wool sweaters that fit really well and have super long sleeves that hang over my hands. Love those. But just about any v-neck sweater will do (argyle is always a classic), layered over one or two shirts of course one typically being a button-down.

I love peacoats. Preferably wool. Black. Of which I own one and cherish walking around frigid winter nights hands in pockets scarf around neck iPod headphones in ears thinking and looking into coffee shops and wine bars and restaurants at people warm inside laughing over food or drinks while I walk by outside.

I love socks. Especially warm Smartwool socks that are had for a great deal after standing in line forever at a sample sale last week stocking up for the coming season.

I love warm drinks. I could never do anything coffee cold, so during the summer I definitely do not drink as much coffee. But this winter I plan on really getting some mileage from my espresso machine, making all sorts of espresso drinks along with mugs of hot chocolate (I saw in the Williams-Sonoma catalog today this super fancy hot chocolate that I will have to get for Kathy but try first for myself). They even have sixteen dollar marshmallows – those have got to be amazing for that price! But I like holding hot mugs with both hands (wearing a scarf – I do not try to pull this look off at the office but can get away with it at home) while it steams away too hot to drink for a few minutes first.

I love being cozy. This means that while it is cold outside I am warm inside. I like wrapping up in layers and a blanket on the couch and reading. Granted, it's perfect reading on the couch in the summer windows open breezes coming through the house but something different entirely in the context of winter. Or watching a movie. Or cooking and baking away in the kitchen. For some reason, it is neater mixing something up and baking it during the winter I don't know why but maybe because then after it is done I can leave the oven door open and sit on my kitchen countertops with a book and a mug of hot espresso and read wearing a scarf and three layers. No blanket. Part of this, too is waking up on cold mornings completely wrapped in down the furnace just kicking on to warm up the house and there's a certain smell of it in the air.

I love snow. Especially the first snow on Rainier, which I always look for with as much earnest as I do for the rising of Orion in the east. We don't get nearly enough down at sea level in Seattle, but yes it is never more than an hour's drive away in the Cascades. But still, it is extra special when we beat the odds and it does snow down here and I can walk around in it while it's coming down and after either way and just marvel at the brightness of it and the freshness of everything. And of course I'll go to the mountains, more so this winter with my truck to snowshoe and maybe learn to cross-country ski but to just get out in it all and see the mountains I love under a completely different scene.

I love quiet. And for some reason winter just seems quieter. I think maybe because people tend to hibernate, but there's that half hour before sunset on clear days when the pale light is everywhere and the world seems to hush. And the quiet and stillness of course after the first snow.

I love Orion. And here in the northern hemisphere Orion is visible in the evening from October to early January, thus being synonymous with winter.

I love the holidays. Not necessarily for any particular religious slant but more so because all of humanity takes on a more eloquent existence where we are generally happier and there is a certain lightness to the air. And the holidays just wouldn't work in a climate where it was warm. All the above have to be true (or at least a possibility) for it to seem like the holidays for me.

I love running. Especially in the cold, when you start off cold and work up your own warmth so halfway into it despite it being freezing you are rolling up sleeves and feeling warm.

I love cold. I suppose this is one of the many reasons I love the mountains. I enjoyed the warmth in Hawaii and of basking under the sun by lakes far away deep in the Sierras under granite towers but cold is invigorating and inspirational to me.

I love certain music. That only works in the winter. Do not try to guess why but it includes a good bit of Loreena McKennitt and Enigma.

I think that mostly covers it. Just a diversion from other loftier thoughts.

hr8799.

From the W.M. Keck Observatory site tonight ~

ASTRONOMERS CAPTURE FIRST IMAGES OF NEWLY-DISCOVERED SOLAR SYSTEM

Kamuela, HI (November 13th, 2008) Using high-contrast, near-infrared adaptive optics observations with the Keck and Gemini telescopes atop Mauna Kea, astronomers for the first time have taken snapshots of a multi-planet solar system, much like ours, orbiting another star.

The new solar system orbits the dusty young star named HR8799, which is 140 light years away and about 1.5 times the size of our sun. Three planets, roughly 10, 10 and 7 times the mass of Jupiter, orbit the star. The sizes of the planets decrease with distance from the parent star, much like the giant planets do in our system.

And there may be more planets out there that scientists just haven't seen yet.

Astronomers have known for over a decade that there are planets orbiting other stars by watching the light output of certain stars – when they would briefly dim, it was supposed the reason was because a planet or other orbiting object had just passed in between it and us. In some ways, planetary system HR8799 seems to be a scaled-up version of our own solar system orbiting a larger and brighter star. The host star is a bright blue A-type star, which is also young – less than 100 million years old. This means its planets are still glowing with heat from their formation.

The planets have been extensively studied using adaptive optics on the giant Keck and Gemini telescopes in Hawaii (the one place in Hawaii that I would have loved to visit but only glimpsed high up on the summit of Mauna Kea from back down by the ocean at Waikoloa). Adaptive optics on these enormous telescopes (the largest ground-based telescopes in the world) enable astronomers to minimize the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere and produce images with unprecedented detail and resolution. An advanced computer processing technique is then used to extract detail from the dim planets orbiting this vastly brighter star HR8799. What is so amazing about this optical system is that it was conceived back in 1953 but could not be realized until the 1990s when computer technology had finally caught up to the human mind that envisioned it.

There is a high probability that there are more planets in this distant solar system. What is remarkable about this system from others discovered is that its giant planets lie in the outer parts like in our solar system and so it has 'room' for possible smaller, terrestrial planets closer to the star which are still beyond our current ability to see.

As an astronomer on one of the two teams that was able to take the first images says ~

"It's only a matter of time before we get a dot that's blue and Earthlike."

herodotus.

"The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance."

In light of a conversation had earlier today centered around the state of affairs of this country and then reaching deeper, a point was made about a possible solution being eradicating all debts of ownership of all citizens (it was only considered for this country, but for the sake of argument consider all of humanity). From this it was brought up that a change in how human beings think would be necessary – away from the notion of acquiring and retaining wealth, something each of us is raised to believe is the path to security and stability (and others may add happiness and comfort but I contest such ideas for I believe it is not in wealth that happiness and contentment are found). But then an argument was made that it was not this notion, but rather a deeper, more rooted idea need be eradicated before any progress to our human state that I've mentioned in the past can be made – it seems we would need to relinquish the idea of ownership.

And as we talked, I thought back to history seemingly ancient in human terms but a blink in a larger perspective, of how human beings have evolved with the idea of needing possessions. To own. There are innumerable institutions and examples of this – from such basic principles as marriage to slavery to buying a home, property and to corporations and so on. Ownership is defined at least in one way as "the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land or real estate, intellectual property or some other kind of property." There are those who believe exclusive ownership of property underlies much social injustice, and facilitates tyranny and oppression on an individual and societal scale (the basis of socialism), while others consider the striving to achieve greater ownership of wealth as the driving factor behind human technological advancement and increasing standards of living (the basis of capitalism). There is then the ideology known as Vedanta which believes that the root of ownership is the feeling that one is separate from the rest of the Universe. Given this understanding then, it can be surmised that one disconnects oneself from the Universe, and then attempts to reconnect with objects through a relationship which is called ownership. Vedanta believes that the feeling of ownership is an illusion, which remains with oneself as long as one considers oneself as separate from the Universe. When one understands the fundamental reality that there is only one entity called the Universe, there is no need for ownership and one gets rid of this illusion.

And this is where the discussion ended but my thinking continued. I imagine as Carl Sagan has envisioned in his novel Contact and proposed in others a civilization much more highly advanced than what we are now, one that is peaceful and wise. One that has overcome the need of ownership and is deeply rooted in a sense of purpose higher than such flimsy desires. One that is connected with the Universe in a holistic way that we cannot grasp at this moment. I wonder if we as a human race are not at a crossroads, a precipice where perhaps our very existence is in great peril and we must collectively move forward in a delicate way that preserves what we now take for granted (that being this planet and our freedoms) while allowing us to redefine our technologies and ideologies in such a way that we can break free from the constraints we have imposed upon ourselves from centuries past? We must use the knowledge gained from those centuries before us, combined with our great potential, to overcome the odds we face.

as the rush comes.

The soundtrack for the night ~

Apparently, this song by Motorcycle has been remixed nearly a dozen times by the likes of Tiësto, Paul Van Dyke and – in the case of the mix I'm listening to – Gabriel and Dresden (one of the more mellow ones).

m31.

So one more post tonight. I think I'll periodically come and write posts on the stars.

So the story goes .... Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia (which will be my next post I'm thinking – Cassiopeia) who ruled over the Phoenician kingdom Ethiopia. Andromeda was incredibly vane and boasted of her own beauty (taking after her mother), and because of this the Queen Cassiopeia upset the sea god Poseidon who then sent a sea monster named Cetus to terrorize the shores of Cepheus' kingdom. In order to make peace with Poseidon, the King was forced to sacrifice his daughter by chaining her to rocks at the shore of the sea. But just as Cetus was about to take her into the depths of the sea, the hero Perseus (as in, the one who slayed Medusa) happened by and killed Cetus. He later wed Andromeda.

The Andromeda galaxy is a spiral galaxy, one of the showpiece objects of the northern heavens. It is indeed like our own, though much larger (roughly 150,000 light years in diameter). I find myself fascinated by the mythology of the stars, and Andromeda is a beautiful word that Michael Cretu references periodically in his songs. It is linked in the sky to the constellation Pegasus, and the leading star Alpha Andromedae forms the northeastern corner of the Square of Pegasus.

I am going to continue to read about the stars and being fascinated by their presence and their mysteries.

the veils.

Um, trying to think of what to say except to say simply this band is the second best band of all time (at some point I will write a post about the best band of all time but that is for another night) and that they played in Seattle as close as I can surmise on September twenty-six of this year of which I did not hear about until sometime last week when I also stumbled across the news that they are just beginning mixdown on their third album which is due out in March of next year and that in case anyone is interested their third go of a website is temporarily up here and there are some cool streaming covers of Nina Simone and REM that are quite intoxicating in a very Veilsesque sort of way and a good bit of information about the band but of course only if anyone is interested most likely just for me as a sort of bookmark but I think that is all I have to write tonight.