Please call be enthusiastic, not evangelical

Are ‘Evangelical Atheists’ Too Outspoken?. All I can say to that article is amen I agree.

What is often overlooked by the critics of “evangelical atheism” is that skepticism about the existence of God does not by itself define who and what we are. For there is a commitment to the realization of human freedom and happiness in this life here and now and to a life of excellence, creativity, and fulfillment. Life is meaningful without the illusion of immortality. There is also the recognition that the cultivation of the common moral decencies—caring, empathy, and altruism—is an essential part of our relating to other human beings in our communities of interaction. Humanists have always been concerned with achieving justice in society. Many of the heroes and heroines in human history were freethinkers who contributed significantly to democratic progress and a defense of human rights. Indeed, the agenda of secular humanism is twofold: first is the quest for truth, a critical examination of the assumptions of supernatural religion in the light of science; second is the development of affirmative ethical alternatives for the individual, the society in which he or she lives, and also the planetary community at large. To label us “evangelical atheists” without recognizing our affirmative commitment to secular humanist morality is an egregious error.

Thanks Friendly Atheist.

Go Monoprice (The Truth About HDMI Cables)

It seems my comments have sparked a little blog fire.

• HDMI Ripoffs Continue: $89 HDMI Switcher Selling for $350
• HDMI Twins: Is BetterCables Selling an $89 HDMI Switcher for $350?

It started when I read a review of the Better Cables switch on the Secrets of Home Theater site. Other readers and I thought it looked familiar, and we were right. The excellent online retailer MonoPrice.com sells the same one under their house brand for almost 1/4 the price. Kyle at Geek With Family blogged this and got picked up by Gizmodo. He then looked further and found Belkin is also selling the same line for large markup.

Always use MonoPrice when possible, especially for HDMI cable. (at least until they inevitably raise their prices). When you buy a DVD player at Best Buy they will happily sell you an HDMI cable for $70 and even push you to a "better" one for as much as $300. Don't fall for it, it's all profit for them. Those $100 cables are no better than the ones MonoPrice sells for a tenth the price. Let me say that again:

Those HDMI cables are no better than the ones MonoPrice sells for a tenth the price.

You do NOT need a $200 cable to do 1080p, but the sales boy will insist you do. I take my home theater very seriously, some may say obsessively. I'm especially concerned about picture quality - you have to when you have a 100" screen. I use MonoPrice HDMI cables, MonoPrice digital audio cables and a MonoPrice HDMI switch. My analogue audio cables are from Blue Jeans Cable. It's always the engineering and science that matter, don't ever believe the "magic" that so often comes up when talking higher-end home theater.

Flames Jan 30

4 - 1 win over LA. It was Conroy's first game back with the Flames at he didn't disappoint. Just over one month for Dave to get this off his Razr:

Before you forward this to my doctor please be aware those pocket dogs were for everyone.

Software Mistakes Can Kill

Lockheed's F-22 Raptor Gets Zapped by International Date Line. A software bug shuts down the electronics of a couple $125 mil jet fighters.

It reminds me of the initial encounters in the new Battlestar Galactica miniseries where our latest Viper VII fighters are disabled electronically by the Cylons. The pilots were helpless as the enemy missiles closed in. It was an emotional moment in sci-fi, in fact I'm getting a little misty-eyed as I type this...

Non-lethal fun is the best kind of fun

First it was the Pain Gun, "Active Denial System", and now it's the Paralysis Inducer, "Aviation Applied-Technology Directorate".

In December, DailyTech reported on the USAF's Active Denial System (ADS) which shoots millimeter waves at human targets causing their skin to feel like it's on fire. The USAF likes to quip that the ADS has a "Goodbye effect" which causes its "victims" to instinctively run away from the source of the beam.

Now we hear that the US Army is working on a non-lethal weapon of its own to use for crowd control. The US Army has developed the Aviation Applied-Technology Directorate (AATD) which uses a 7.3 million candela strobe floodlight system to incapacitate crowds of people.

Don't get me wrong, if I could choose and had to get shot from something, I'd take a shot from the non-lethal option every time. But can you imagine if these were used together so you couldn't run away from the pain? Scary.

And I have to start using the phrase "Goodbye effect" in conversation.

And does anyone else notice the air force weapon is truck mounted and the army weapon is on a plane?

The iTulip article

New Road to Serfdom. This is the best post I've found yet in my search for an accessible, smart primer of the US credit bubble and housing crash.

Never before have so many Americans gone so deeply into debt so willingly. Housing prices have swollen to the point that we've taken to calling a mortgage–by far the largest debt most of us will ever incur–an "investment." Sure, the thinking goes, $100,000 borrowed today will cost more than $200,000 to pay back over the next thirty years, but land, which they are not making any more of, will appreciate even faster. In the odd logic of the real estate bubble, debt has come to equal wealth.

Money isn't free anymore

It's their default position. Great article from the L.A. Times about some real estate agents making the most of a foreclosure market. It's a nice easy read and hits all the main points. And it's highly quotable:

During the four-year boom that ended last summer, Home Center expanded from 15 agents to 80 in three offices. The roster of agents has since sunk to 52, only about half of whom are active. "The rest are looking for side jobs at McDonald's," said Home Center President Jason Bosch. "It happened overnight."

Home Center Chief Executive Ron Barnard says that personally, he finds foreclosure sad, even tragic. "But as a business owner, I think it's great."

Coming along on this afternoon's prospecting trip is Jerald Becerra, a former body-shop estimator for insurance companies who became a full-time agent in August. "I'll stay in the car, keep the engine running," he says. "Just in case someone comes out with a shotgun."

Bosch, on the other hand, thinks the residential real estate market will soon revisit the horrible days of the mid-'90s — and then get worse. "I have no doubt that we are entering the next phase of an unprecedented market," he says. "One that Southern California has never seen."

Are you familiar with the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Jupiter Deployment

Last night we deployed our biggest, most complicated version of our software (4.0) to our oldest, most complicated customer. We do the deployments in the evenings to minimize the impact to users. It went really well and here it is 9:22 AM the next morning and no frantic calls yet. Granted, it is only 8:22 there.

The only hard part is coming right back to work early the next morning. Especially when we all picked last night to try the double Big Mac® for the first time. My stomach was so loud after as it processed that pile of "beef" that it was disrupting my office-mate.

Superbowl Commercials 2007

http://www.youtube.com/superbowl

Go Korea

I just finished reading the annual report from Korea Equity Fund, Inc. The richest man who knows my name suggested to me a couple months ago to move from oil into tech, so this is the only stock I've continued to buy in my RRSP lately. It originally made my short list because I wanted a fund instead of more individual stocks to add some stability to my portfolio, and I'd prefer to stay clear of the US on long plays (except THPW). This fund is fairly diverse, but it's largest holdings are in consumer electronics like Samsung, LG, and LG Philips LCD.

The most interesting thing I found from the report is that China has passed the US as South Korea's largest export market. The fund managers also reinforced my opinion that North Korea probably doesn't have the ability to arm any of its missiles with nuclear warheads.

Warning: Do not take investment advice from me. I have the luxury of treating the stock market as a learning experience at this point in my life. As Gordon Gekko would say I'm really just throwing darts at a board.