Copyrighted or Public Domain?

We know that you cannot copy a book word for word, because that is protected under the author's copyright. However, you can copy the ideas presented in the book, paraphrasing the original author's words, and that will be legal.

But what about music? If I transcribe one person's sheet music into another notation, a process that effectively transforms the original transcriber's 'words' that effectively retains the author's ideas, will that be legal? Or will the case of music have the arrangement and order of the notes be the author's implementation rather than ideas?

And what about programming? As copyrights do not extend to the ideas, that is the inherent loginc of the statement, surely I can change the variable names and the construct names and call it my own. But what is the legality of it, actually?

I am not a lawyer. D:

Answer to organizing bookmarks

Felt painful every time your bookmarks menu got over-cluttered? I feel your pain.

I have this idea. I think we should abstract bookmarks into files and mount them into the filesystem. So the directory of your (unified) bookmarks are /home/user/Bookmarks. Better yet, the bookmark files can contain data on the files for offline browsing.

One man's chicken is another man's poison

The blog is having one of those transient moments when one wake up in the middle of a deep sleep due to a bad dream. The Handsome Prince is yet to arrive.

A bad dream. The dream being me, and the badness of it being chicken. I tried to buy an egg and mayonnaise sandwich. I got a chicken one, due to the carelessness of the vendor. I thought to myself, "lucky me! A chicken sandwich for a cheap price! And since I've already bitten into it, I can't possibly return it, can I?"

And I ate the sandwich.

The previous time I ate chicken, it was at KFC. I vomited 10 minutes after eating the chicken something. (roll? Bandito?)

10 minutes later I vomited.

Inactivity

Blog is going into hibernation. Blog will not be waking up until it receives a kiss from the Handsome Prince.

Which may be never.

Opera Unite

I'm advocating it.

What is Opera Unite?

First of all I will have to explain what Opera is. Opera is an Internet suite. What this phrase of marketing jargon means is that it is a web browser (think Firefox), a mail client (think Outlook Express) and chat client (think mIRC) all in one. It also handles torrents, but I won't count on it. Opera has lovely widgets, and its interface is customizable as well, with quite a number of beautiful themes available for download (downloading them, up to applying the themes is all streamlined).

And Opera is the fastest, most responsive browser I've tried. And I've tried Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

Opera alone stands its ground for advocacy. But then there's the Unite part. What Unite provides you is a streamlined interface for hosting your own content.

First is the File Sharing tool, which allows you to share with your friends files straight from a folder on your computer. You just put your stuff inside your folder, give your friends the password, and they can offload whatever you put inside, with no interaction required from you

Next is the fridge. What this is is a notice board, where you and your friends can leave messages for each other

Then comes my favorite feature, the Media Player. Like file sharing, you put your misic and video files into a folder. But instead of downloading, you get to preview the music and pictures of your friends from your browser.

The photo sharing service is more of the same, for your photo files

The Lounge is a place like your IRC chatroom, except prettified. And your friends do not need to run IRC too!

The Web server introduces people to running their own web pages. However, there is no PHP or other scripting capability so I guess that severely limits what one can do. Still, it's awesome for a single person to host their own homepage.

Xenoglossia

I upon my island, looking at you
Yet I'm little better than one in zoos
Words from my mouth are rather squawks to ears
My coos all seem to elicit your fears

Melancholy, Vacant Hope

Crossing the bridge I feel... oh
If only I were to drift
Along the thread of blue and green
In a boat and leave

But... oh woe
I am dragged to enter, enter an Emerald City
Where people at their zenith play games with pen, paper and people
Drilling into their minds theory separated from reality
As zealots docile devour their textbooks

That we may someday ride the hot air balloon
That brings us to the clouds of success
That we may return to
That carefree life of our childhood

That is all hot air

Perl Hello script

#! /usr/bin/env perl

use strict;
use warnings;

print "Hello World!\n";
my $string = "Cloud";
my $number = 9;
my $lil_float = 2e-12;
print '"$string $number": ', "$string $number\n";
print '$lil_float: ', $lil_float, "\n";
print '$lil_float+1: ', $lil_float+1, "\n";
my @books = ( "Pride and Prejudice",
              "Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde",
              "To Kill a Mockingbird",
              "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn",
              "Oliver Twist",
              "Middlemarch",
              "Le Petit Prince"
            );
my %auth_book = ( 'Austen'  => "Pride and Prejudice",
                  'Salten'  => "Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde",
                  'Lee'     => "To Kill a Mockingbird",
                  'Twain'   => "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn",
                  'Dickens' => "Oliver Twist",
                  'Eliot'   => "Middlemarch",
                  'Saint Expuery' => "Le Petit Prince"
                );
my $bk_ref_ref = [ \@books, \%auth_book ];
print '@books: ', @books,"\n";
print '%auth_book: ', %auth_book,"\n";
print '"@books": ', "@books\n";
print '"%auth_book": ', "%auth_book\n";
print '"@books[2,3]": ', "@books[2,3]\n";
print '"@auth_book{\'Saint Expuery\', \'Lee\'}": ',
      "@auth_book{'Saint Expuery', 'Lee'}\n";
print '$bk_ref_ref: ', "$bk_ref_ref\n";
print '"@$bk_ref_ref": ', "@$bk_ref_ref\n";
print '"@{@$bk_ref_ref[0]}": ', "@{@$bk_ref_ref[0]}\n";
print '"$bk_ref_ref->[0]->[0]": ', "$bk_ref_ref->[0]->[0]\n";
print '"@{$$bk_ref_ref[1]}{\'Eliot\', \'Twain\'}": ',
      "@{$$bk_ref_ref[1]}{'Eliot','Twain'}\n";

Perl Quick Reference

There is one here

Life and NetHack

I guess that likening living to NetHack is what people call the "ultimate-geekery" think to do. But this philosophical thought came to me as while I was lying on my bed, motor skills clumsy as an infant, desire to move that of an elderly, arm over a pillow over my face in an attempt to shield my fragile eyes and even more delicate, groggy mind from the washed-out colors of the morning. That ain't exactly compelling. Enough of my physical state of being then.

Now, as to my mental state of being, I was doing what I loved best when unable to move. Making weird connections. Y'know, some scientists (psychologists? Behaviorists?) theorize that when people dream, they are making connections between their experiences, running through the branching film roll of scenarios that we call our intellect. Cool, then. But weirdly, I was thinking about how I really wanted some sincere friends who were constantly available. I was feeling bitter.

On to NetHack. In life, you start off an infant, unfamiliar with the world; in NetHack, it's the same; you start off knowing the ? button; you later discover the yubnhjkl, q for quaff, the #force and #loot, ^D for kick, e for eat, put, wear, pay shopkeeper, wield, &c.

You start off with nothing. Not even the knowledge of now to navigate your world, let along survive the obstacles and denizens lurking within. All you have are your friends to teach you the controls, or the in-game manual that will be able to teach you the basics of the game; the advanced stuff you'll still have to learn yourself or through discussion. Think parents.

As you progress, you come across items that you may benefit you, or that may harm you. Each item has a special method of effect, that may be good in some situations, bad in others and without effect in still more. Think of your opportunities in life. You can try them out blindly, but that will lead you to disaster. You can wait till some time later to try them, but your limited luggage means that you will have to leave some of them behind.

As you descend, the creatures get stronger. You can stay behind and venture slowly, but your character's Hunger dictates that you try to kill as many monsters as possible. Curiosity leads you out to try new things, but you notice that what curiosity leads you to do ultimately benefits you.

As you play the game, and die several times, you learn new paradigms, and you hear of paradigms in discussions. In this way, the knowledge you acquire is like the knowledge and advice around you in. Some are useful, some are malicious, some are dumb. But in NetHack you can learn through repetition, while in life you can only learn from the failed attempts of others.

And, what differentiates NetHack from contemporary games is that hoarding is not good in NetHack. Crises come fast and brutal, and that is when your best items will save you. Crises aren't epic or anything. Usually, a crisis is a dumb accident that would have been prevented if you were more careful, or did your research. And sometimes, they can't be prevented at all. And usually, they take either your soul, or some of the most ingenious thinking you've ever done, along with some of your most precious items. There is hardly a way to solve a crisis simply by waiting it out or just using your sword. There's nothing epic to anything to be proud about it. Your precious items are useless without an accident that requires their use. But without preparation, you are dead.

Dead.

notice


PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.


SHACKS

I'm thinking of founding a club/association. It will be callled SHACKS.

SHACKS stands for Singapore Hackers' Association for Computing Knowledge: SHACKS.

Now, this SHACKS at the end stands for something else. It stands for Singapore Hackers' Association for Cultural Knowledge: SHACKS.

Now, this SHACKS at the end stands for something else. It stands for Suzumiya Haruhi's Association for Contemporary Kids: SHACKS.

Now, this SHACKS at the end stands for something else. It stands for Singapore Hackers' Association for Computing Knowledge: SHACKS.

Now, SHACKS has goals.

1. To accumulate a library of literary classics, cultural tomes, papers and textbooks. No droll and boring stuff allowed. Computer manuals have a priority.
   
2. To fund laptops for all the members. Members must strictly use Linux, preferably Debian. Excessive use of Windows will not be tolerated. People who evangalize Windows will be banned. Minor usage of Windows for gaming purposes is acceptable, but chronic gamers will be expelled. Homebrew gaming is encouraged. Commercial games are to be hated. Games with interesting and innovative marketing strategies like Guild Wars are an exception.
   
3. To have a community where members discuss and give each other presentations on topics relevant to the contemporary hacker. Namely, Intellectual Property, Self-organization & Self-teaching, Programming, Computer Science, Applicatons of Computer Science, Linguistics, Languages, and the History of Cultures. Once again, presentations about Droll and Boring are banned.
4. To encourage people to stop debating endlessly on the ethics of helping people and Just Fucking Contribute.
5. To have a pyramid model of proselytizers to conquer the world for SHACKS.
   

Perl and Python: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War analogy

• Perl: The Orks. There's More Than One Way To Do Something. Insanely buffed infantry and head-scratching kludged-together technology salvaged from shell-scripting, awk, C and sed. An extremely idiomatic tribe. There're the Sluggas, the Shootas, the Stormboyz, the Tankbustaz and what have you in one swarm of green. And they don't get along well together.
  
• Python: The Imperial Guard. The one obvious way of doing things. Heavy Artillery built on the workhorse Guardsman-Commissar-Grenade Launchers (i.e. tuples, lists).
• I'll write about Lisp once I try it out. I'll probably parallel it to the Eldars

Even in practice. Perl is fine for small projects and scripts, while Python manages to perform for greater projects despite its awfully slow interpretation. (Think Guardsmen in early game.)

The Hacker Crackdown

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/101/101-h/101-h.htm

I was trying out the SDF

[01] WHAT IS SDF? (QUICK SUMMARY)

Welcome to the only all 64bit public access supercomputing center!

The Super Dimension Fortress is a networked community of free software
authors, teachers, students, researchers, hobbyists, enthusiasts and
the blind. It is operated as a federally recognised non-profit 501(c)7
and is supported by its members.

Our mission is to provide remotely accessible computing facilities for
the advancement of public education, cultural enrichment, scientific
research and recreation. Members can interact electronically with each
other regardless of their location using passive or interactive forums.
Further purposes include the recreational exchange of information
concerning the Liberal and Fine Arts.

Members have access to games, email, usenet, chat, bboard, gopherspace,
webspace, programming utilities, archivers, browsers, and more. The SDF
community is made up of caring, highly skilled people who operate behind
the scenes and in the underground to maintain a non-commercial INTERNET.

What can I say? This is super.

This Slashdot Post

This Slashdot post made me swing from pro-designer-children to anti-designer-children

Random vs Heuristic (Score:4, Interesting)

by ObsessiveMathsFreak (773371) Alter Relationship <`obsessivemathsfreak' `at' `eircom.net'> on Wednesday June 17, @12:54AM (#28349483) Homepage Journal

It seems to me possible that if people select their offspring intentionally based on genetic information, then we will tend to have less diversity of outcomes, which will impact evolution,

CORRECTAMUNDO!!!

Evolution is defined as natural selection of random mutations. It's surprising just how many geeks, who should be very familiar with what "random" means, will still advocate the idea of genetic selection and manipulation of offspring. I personally think it's from reading too many sci-fi novels in which "genetic manipulation" results in supermen or the like.

Once our society begins selecting and/or rejecting offspring based on their genes, or we begin manipulating our genetic codes, evolution stops. We won't have moved into another kind of evolution. We won't be make our evolution more efficient. We'll have stopped evolving altogether, at least in the only way we understand the evolution of organism.

In technical terms, we will have moved humanity from a local random search to a heuristics based local search. The difference cannot be emphasized enough. Here we have a local random search for better organisms that has delivered incredible(literally to some) results over millions of years. Yet people are proposing replacing that system with heuristics that have no other qualification other than certain people think they will lead to improvement. Genetic manipulation advocates fail Optimisation 101.

Some will argue that parents have the right to procreate in any way they choose. But as I've advocated before, rights do not scale up. Just because it seems right that one person should be able to do something, you cannot just inductively apply that logic to the entire population. And when you grant a right, that's exactly who you grant it to. Everybody.

I'd liken genetic manipulation to interbreeding. Some people think it should be moral to marry your cousin or even sibling. They can even make a good case for why they should be entitled to do so. But if you scaled that right up to the entire populations, we'd all end up inbred, sickly and probably mentally retarded within a hundred or so years. Genetic selection promises much the same outcome, except genetic homogeneity will occur on a population wide scale.

Inductively scaling procreation rights up can easily lead us to a tall, trim, blue eyed, blond haired, heap of flu-ridden corpses. The very fact that this clinic offered such frivolities as eye and hair colour screening shows that this is exactly what will happen if we replace proven randomness with such vapid heuristics.

--
May the Maths Be with you!

YouTube

Is allowing Copyright holders to remove videos that infringe on their rights. For some videos, the audio can be taken down. noticeably, a number of publishers have chosen to instead show a pop-up that allows users to find a webpage where they can but the actual content; instead of taking down the entire video. (I may be wrong in this, I'm using secondary sources.) I think this is great. The publishers show that they are aware of the futility of sticking to the old business model of the RIAA, suing every goddamn child who downloads their music. Instead, this shows that they recognize the ability of sites like YouTube to advertise their content for no cost. In fact, several reports have noticed increased sales in areas with increased rates of copyright-agnostic actions. (damn, I'd wished I'd saved the links to those reports, but just google it.) Apparently the people who post YouTube videoss are the ones who buy the most music.

Wiki

I'm making a wiki that might come useful for an ARG. Time will tell. Right now it places all my notes in a fantasy universe.

Procrastination

a.k.a. anxious avoidance disorder. Reading the PhD comic didn't help. It was depressing. Especially the procrastinator of the hero. Man.

I am breaking a contract

The other day I downloaded the OperaUSB program onto my USB drive. It appears that I'm violating the EULA.

Here's part of what the license says.

You are entitled to use the Software on all personal computers (laptops/desktops). "Use" means loaded in temporary memory or permanent storage on the computer.

You may not use the Software on non PC products, devices, or embedded in any other product, including, but not limited to, mobile devices, internet appliances, set top boxes (STB), handhelds, PDAs, phones, web pads, tablets, game consoles, TVs, gaming machines, home automation systems, or any other consumer electronics devices or mobile/cable/satellite/television or closed system based service.

1. I see that I am, in fact, not allowed to have it stored on my USB drive, as it is not part of a computer
2. I see that I am, in fact, not allowed to have it stored on my Tablet PC, as it  is also a tablet. 

 Oh well. Nobody ever uses software without breaking a contract or two. That said, Opera rocks.

 

Irksome.

Sleeping Away

When I came to
I found myself
In a hospital ward
Hooked to a respirator

When I was younger
I thought death was painful
I fantasized about the cleanest way to die
Or if I would like to be attached to the soulless abominations
Mulling over these
Gave me and others
Headaches

But on my death-bed
I didn't really care
It didn't matter if I died now
Or had some more to live

Opening my eyes a squint
I faintly saw
My daughter
Negotiating with the doctor
My elder son
Sitting beside me reading a book
I want them to smile

Everyday

Caffeine is the reason why I am unpredictable.

Totally late green haiku

Well it's just garbage
Killing trees infecting seas
Happens all the time

The Uncertainty Principle

In the physical context, it means that the product of the uncertainty of the position of an object and its momentum can never be less than half a h-bar.

In the everyday context, it means that the product of the difference in the number of times you've had sex and the difference of your penis length / pussy tastiness can never be less than the half H-ness (the bar represents the censor, but observe how it fails to cover the long stem of the 'h') of all the stuff you've fapped to.

Obviously, this is wrong in many ways.

NSPortal is fail

1. It is not standards-compliant
2. It only supports Internet Explorer, which has a reputation of being poor in security
3. From the source, it appears that quite some redundant data is delivered to users through comments, hence slowing the loading of pages < what was I thinking when I said this? >
   
4. I don't have Windows easily accessible, and hence no Internet Explorer
5. Countless other people do not use Internet Explorer as well
6. Even IE8 does not show the page well when not in compatibility mode < edit Here too?! >
   

It makes me really frustrated to see a government service poorly done. Being non-standards-compliant means that the organization is making things difficult for users to share their content and ideas. Microsoft realizes that it cannot continue being non-standards-compliant, hence it started to support web standards with IE8. I would like all other organizations to follow likewise.

<edit> NSPortal now supports Firefox. I admit I was a very pissed off at having to re-boot into Windows and use Internet Explorer. The webbie still doesn't do well in text-only browser lynx though *grin* mebbye we could try supporting that now. But good job guys; now the Mac users can use it. (And Linux users too) < /edit >

I feel.

I feel like I felt one year ago. The emotion is not something I can describe in one word. Then again, few things in the world that are not commands can be described in one word.

Freedom? Or a lack of purpose? One thing for sure, I am more easily stressed and depressed. Especially when I return to my room, isolated from my friends.

My room is fundamentally wrong. It is a spacious room that vomits at you possibilities. To the left, classic novels and scientific treatises, and a handful of manuals upon a woeful bookshelf. In front a featureless L-shaped set of two desks showcasing with pride a printer, a filing tray, my laptop, and miscellaneous items.

The bed is low, and minimal -- a pillow and three non-matching cushions, and the blanket is not done. The wardrobe has no doors, accessible from both sides. The lampshade is absent, in its place are four sheets of red paper holding up folded boats. And a standing fan.

My room is a mess of possibilities and distractions geared to a deficit soul. My room envelops and swallows me into its rich yet hollow world, screaming at me, "Do something with me! Look at me! I have blank DVDs you have yet to burn! I have books yet unread! I have paperwork yet unorganized! My floor needs cleaning! Look at me! Look at me!"

And here I live, in an uncarnate bubble of time lost helplessly chasing immaterial possibilities.

I feel that I have regressed in time, yet progressed in perspective.

I feel that I am once again in control of everything that goes around me and happens to me, and that is a very lonely thought.

I feel that it is going to be a long time till I encounter something or someone that can surprise me.

I feel that I have not much excitement to anticipate, for my ambitions now sometimes seem trivial to attain.

I feel peaceful.

And the emotions of WeFeelFine stream through my mind...

"i feel like a idiot"

"i never want to feel that"

"i feel safe though i cannot move my legs"

"i feel whenever i finish a volume and after having read volume 5 of honey and clover the waiting will be excruciating"

"i feel proud to be british"

"i feel better than you"

"i don't feel right"

"i do know that you are exactly what i thought you were it makes me feel better about myself"

"i actually feel a lot better now thanks to all the pain you put me through"

"i wanted my students to feel that i appreciated them by giving them journals"

"i was feeling blue"

"i feel like i'll have to wear rainbow suspenders and a beer hat when i scoot scoot around on this chariot"

Haha.

Windows and Linux

The car analogy

• Windows is an SUV. Linux is a hybrid.

The sex analogy

• One is like having sex with a partner who doesn't move at all. The other is like having sex with a lot of power play. Frustrating at times, but rewarding.

The religion analogy

• One belongs to a denomination that fears the number 13. The other is an atheist who pretends at times to be a Pastafarian.
  

The shoe analogy

• One is a pair of boots on the verge of going out of fashion. The other is a shoe kit that comes with a manual teaching you how to be cobbler. And how to design a shoe that stays atop of fashion.
  

The significant other analogy

• One is the kind who had looked attractive at first sight, but who you now perceive to be unreliable and emotionally distant. The other caused you immense frustration, but is always ready to learn and compromise.

The teenager analogy

• One is the party boy. The other is the introverted studious one who seems to know something about everything.
  

The pedagogy analogy

• The first one believes in "no child left behind". The other one believes in self-learning.

The young parent analogy

• One is your standard authoritarian parent. The other is overly permissive, but slightly negligent.
  

The married couple analogy

• The first is a both in work, no kids couple; he works in customer service, she works in advertising. The other one has the guy working in a home office as an indie game developer, with his fellow colleagues coming over for visits as she tends to the house and blogging actively. (well, this analogy is quite digressive)

The elderly person analogy

• One constantly nags at you because he/she has to go to the loo. The other one has a lot of moral personal experiences to tell your child.
  

Project Euler

I'm not sure if I'd mentioned this already, but if someone else is interested in solving the recreational mathematics problems over at this web page, Project Euler, I'd give you a hug or any monetary reward less than or equal to S$2.

Please? It's so lonely.


Pretty please?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ci_(poetry)

It was so beautiful I simply had to link to it.

The bus and wabi-sabi

Wabi-sabi. Or, in Japanese, 侘寂. The first letter, spelled wabi in Japanese, suggests disappointment and abandonment. The second letter, sabi in Japanese, suggests stillness and desolation. Together, these characters represent a Japanese aesthetic that cannot easily be explained without examples.

The bus sported its indiscreet uniform of orange, white and purple.Today, I boarded the bus home. Sat in the front seat on the second deck for it offered the widest view.
The plastic pane covering the tube which the driver looked through to observe the upper deck had its frame broken.
One side was missing. The others were chipped.
The window was stained with teardrops of translucent grey dust; its gray frame was yellow with dirt.
There weren't many people up on the second deck; just me and a few aging uncles performing an on-again-off-again conversation in a dialect that would probably disappear from regular usage given another generation.


Everything was incomplete, they have suffered under the hand of time.

And in it all in all the dirt and dust and rust it was beautiful.


Like the journal wrinkled from rain and dog-eared from thumbing.

Unlike the storybook protected by non-biodegradable plastic.

Like the clumps of damaged thread on your aged garment.

Unlike the dress and sash you bought just yesterday.

Like the yellowing bedsheets of five years old.

Unlike the LCD television, sleek and glossy.


The paint forced on the bus peel under rain revealing bits and portions of metal dulled white.

2 ideas

1. Bottled coffee
   
   
   
   • Well, we have bottled tea already, so why not? It might be a cultural crime, but there are lots of apathetic wage slaves who just want to get their jolt of caffeine in the office from a 500mL/1.5L bottle. Of course, research must be done on the effects of acidic coffee on plastic bottles.
   
   
   
   


2. 
   Online file storage
   
   
   
   • But we have Google Docs already! And box.net! Well, the thing I'm considering right now is not so much google docs. Imagine an online file storage service that can be opened in your file browser (or Windows Explorer). Your zip and archive files can be opened, you have thumbnails for your pictures, you have previews of your file icons, your flash files are animated, your video files too, your program code is highlighted, and, you have an integrated image editor, text editor, word processor, archiver, spreadsheet program, presentation editor, and all the office programs save in the ODT format. You can also save and open HTTP files/web pages. By the way, check out www.liondrive.com
   
   
   
   

Immature fac and nCr functions in Python

Okay, here goes nothing!

def fac(n,k=1):
 #k for multifactorials
 if n<k:
     return 1
 else:
     return n*fac(n-k)

def nCr(n,*k): #(n,k1,k2,k3,k4), no k defaults to n/2
 #negative generalization not supt for multifact
 for r in k:
     r=r//1 #get floor of r
     if r<0: #negative exception
         return 0
 if not k:
     k=(abs(n)//2,)
 if len(k)<=1: #if binomial, n*...*(n-k+1)/k!
     prod=1 #k=n-k is not used for negative considerations
     for i in range(k[0]):
         prod*=n/(i+1)
         n-=1
 else: #if multinomial, n!/k1!k2!k3, does not generalize to neg
     if n<0: #negative exception
         return 0
     prod=fac(n)
     for r in k: #for every dimension
         prod/=fac(r)
 return prod

Hehe : D

The forest-inspired cities of the future

Humans. Beings descended from apes. Beings who developed their own culture, began to understand the natural world. Began to realize the principles of the Universe. We now have cities. We now have control of our own future, well, sort of. But humans still long for the rain forests that we once roamed in. Studies have shown that greenery in offices make employees less stressed out. The familiar greenery, the familiar plants; humans still long for them.

We live in urban areas now. Be it slums or cities, more and more people are migrating to areas of high population density. The best cities have good infrastructure and tall skyscrapers.

And what better model for skyscrapers than the tree? What better model for cities than the rain forests that we once live in? The big difference lies here; while we used to be large creatures living among the branches of trees about 2 to 20 times our size, we shall, in future, live in trees about 200 times our size. As the "water" of the trees.

The roads, pavements, walkways are the roots of the trees. The lifts, the well, are the xylem and phloem. The corridors are the branches and our offices the leaves, where all the work gets done. All that is needed is to devise a system to deliver food (directly synthesized from soil) and furniture through pipes, make our living spaces more "organic" in design, and employ "green technology". The paints on the wall will not be conventional paints; they convert the unreflected light into voltage. The laminated plastic-glass walls have nanomachines in them that purify the air, transpiring noxious gases. At the tips are flowers and fruits, a metaphor for communal spaces where we interact, work, play, create. Should we need any quick transportation, recyclable, reliable parachutes provide a quick means down.

Each space will be unique, each with its own quality. All the factors; sunlight, space, atmosphere will affect the space and structure of every space. Every piece of furniture is custom-designed to your wishes. You design the furniture you want; the computer designs the furniture. Out of a vessel comes a seed, and you place it in your room. It latches onto the wall or floor of your room, and incubates; grows. In the course of a day, you have the furniture you want. Should you decide to get rid of it, throw it into the Bin room; bacteria designed to recognize the NanoID/DNA of your furniture decomposes it in an instant.

By night; here is what you see; the dull cream or orange glow from cell-shaped rooms. The reddish or bluish bloom from the flower-shaped communal spaces. Tiny lights coming and going, in a strange network of roads; these are the cars of commuters.

To build such a skyscraper, all you need is a seed, sunlight and water. And people to live in.

Yes, the future is exciting.

The cell: a fairyland

From TED talks. TED FTW. If nothing, watch the last quarter of the talk.

With great wisdom or power or love comes great responsibility

Say this pledge out loud :D

1. My life is mine because of the altruism of my benefactors.
2. My luxury is mine because of the altruism of my benefactors.
3. I shall always seek to pass my benefit to others.
4. I shall not receive thanks or thank another till all others eligible has recieved my benefit.
5. I shall always remind and encourage one another to benefit first those most in need.
6. I shall always thirst for knowledge and ideas.
7. I shall always be skeptical of the knowledge and ideas I recieve; I must always distill opinions I hears about into their building blocks and test them against the scientific method, history and literature, in that order of precedence, to see if the idea is permanent and sustainable.
8. I shall always seek real-world applications for the ideas that I discover, and attempt to benefit everybody from these ideas

A loong hiatus

And even longer for my other blog, which has just been restored! Hooray!