Did you all remember to turn your clocks BACK one hour? If not, you’ll be early to where ever you’re going! heheh
Sunday, November 4, 2007
“What Is Intelligence, Anyway?” by Isaac Asimov
What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn’t mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP—kitchen police—as my highest duty.)
All my life I’ve been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don’t such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests—people with intellectual bents similar to mine?
For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles—and he always fixed my car.
Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself a moron, and I’d be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.
Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: “Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?”
Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, “Why, you dumb jerk, he used his voice and asked for them.” Then he said smugly, “I’ve been trying that on all my customers today.” “Did you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,” he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch you.” “Why is that?” I asked. “Because you’re so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn’t be very smart.”
And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.
All Done with a Single Stroke of the Pen
Amazing portrait of Christ (circa 1884)
drawn with only ONE penstroke!
Full size: m3.entitea.com/piles/?s=onepenstroke
Fascinating Stories: The iPod Revolution
“The iPod Revolution” is a fascinating documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel in December of 2006. It traces the evolution of the iPod from Steve Jobs return to Apple to the present day. [2006, Length 43:30]Watch video free online: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6960974522224017009
Read more on Steve Jobs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
Laugh of the Day
From my cousin Scott:
One day, Little Red Riding Hood is skipping along the forest road when she sees the big bad wolf crouched down behind a log. “My, what big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf.”
The wolf jumps up and runs away.
Further down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again and this time he is crouched behind a bush. “My what big ears you have, Mr. Wolf.”
Again the wolf jumps up and runs away. 
About ¼ mile down the road Little Red Riding Hood sees the wolf again and this time he is crouched down behind a rock. “My what big teeth you have Mr. Wolf.”
With that the wolf jumps up and screams, “Will you knock it off, I’m trying to poop!”
Editing Tip(s) of the Day
Today tips are from Christa Allan, whose excellent article: GROWING GRAMMAR: WONDER WORDS (as in…I wonder which word to use?) can be found at the following blog: ginaconroy.com/groupblog/wordpress/?p=689
T-Shirt of the Day
These t-shirts are:
Charcoal (shown), Black, Cardinal, Navy, Military Green, Red, Royal, Brown: $21.99 for Sm-XL and $24.99 for 2X-4X Large.
White: $16.99 for Sm-XL and $19.99 for 2X-4X Large.
You can order by clicking on the image.
Other colors and products with the “out of bed” design can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale/1474656
All designs can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale
Photo of the Day
I have no information on this beautiful scenic photo. I just know that I would love to spend every day exploring this gorgeous setting. I wish people would give credit to the photographer when they post pics they find elsewhere. If anyone knows anything about this fantastic photo, please leave me a comment so I can credit the photographer and possibly add a link.
Today's Words: nihilism, nomenclature
nihilism
nomenclature
nihilism: \nī'ə-lĭz'əm, nē'-\; a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake; the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal; complete denial of all established authority and institutions.
nomenclature: \nō'mən-klā'chər, nō-měn'klə-\; a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art, by an individual or community, etc.; the names or terms comprising a set or system.
Friday, November 2, 2007
11 Phenomenal Images of Earth
Amazing photos from space: deputy-dog.com/2007/11/01/11-phenomenal-images-of-earth/
The 15 Dumbest Apple Predictions of All Time!
What a great article by Rob Beschizza: blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/11/analysts-dont-k.html
New Amusement Park Coming to Grayling?
Thanks to my friend Amanda for this heads up:
Anyone been up to Grayling in awhile? No, not Gaylord where “Call of the Wild” museum is, but south of there. Well, in the past year the township council unanimously approved the concept plans of a $161-million, four-season, 1,800-acre amusement park (Cedar Point is only 364 acres)!
MainStreet America, Inc. is a newer company consisting of Rochester-based Axiom Entertainment, a private, entertainment-based marketing company that specializes in socially responsible television programming for families. It’s rumored that Disney and Universal Studio are working along with Axiom to bring the park to fruition. The new park may be called, “Four Seasons” others are reporting that it might be called MainStreet America. [1]
Mybaycity.com reports that the Ilitches are involved with Axiom Entertainment, “Mike Ilitch Jr., 48, associated with Axiom Entertainment, is one of seven children of Mike and Marian Ilitch, founders of the Little Caesar's pizza chain in 1959. They own the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and have a large interest in the Motor City Casino [2]. The couple has seven children: son Christopher Ilitch (born June 1965) is CEO and President of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.; daughter Denise Ilitch (born November 1955) is an attorney. Other children are Ron Ilitch (born June 1957), Michael Ilitch, Jr.; Lisa Ilitch Murray; Atanas Ilitch; and Carole Ilitch Trepeck.” [3]
According to residents of the depressed area, “it’s something that’s desperately needed.” 2000 new jobs will be created—700 full-time and the rest depending on the season. According to spokesman Patrick Crosson, 95% of the employees will be from a 75-mile radius of the park. Minimum wage would be $8 per hour, with many of the jobs, like theme-park ride operator requiring a college degree and paying approximately $36,000 a year.
The Gaylord Herald Times reported, “Another feature of the park included Crosson’s suggestions that the park would use several alternative energy sources including solar, wind and battery mixed with traditional sources like gas.” [4] Another report says as many as 200 windmills will be used to help power the park.
MainStreet America/Four Seasons would be built just north of the junction of I-75 and US-127. Included in the plans are three roller coasters (one open year round); a race car track doubling as a snowmobile track; a working farm with horses; indoor and outdoor water parks; rock climbing; indoor surfing; industrial, timber and military exhibits; hotels and campgrounds; and more.
Most local residents are in favor of the park to help bring money to the high-unemployment, low-income county. Seasonal or weekend residents with vacation/retirement homes (called flatlanders or downstaters by locals), have quite a different opinion. They’re worried that it will bring crowds and traffic to the quiet town. Another worry by some locals has to do with the environment. What will happen to the ground water with the new proposed park? Residents depend on wells for water and would be very upset if the wells dry up.
According to a story in the Detroit Free Press, “Other locals bristle at the criticism, especially from out-of-towners.
“We’d like to think we’re smart enough to do this on our own, rather than having people from downstate telling us how we should live,” Grayling Township Supervisor Terry Wright said. “Every time we try to do anything positive for the people up here, we get bombarded with criticism from the people who don’t live here.” [5]
What ever the case may be, in my opinion the only way this is going to succeed is if the planners have something that no one else has…be it a spectacular, ground-breaking new roller coaster or a huge indoor wave/surf pool. Something has to bring in the people. Being a year-round park just won’t cut it. Grayling is approximately 200 miles north of Detroit and over a three-hour drive, where as Cedar Point is approximately 140 miles and two to two and a half hours away with 69 rides, 17 roller coasters and a gigantic waterpark. I’m optimistic and I’ll get a group of friends to visit MainStreet America/Four Seasons when it opens in 2010. Anyone remember AutoWorld in Flint? [6] Hey, I can’t be the only one that visited it!
Interesting article: How to snare a job at Main Street America
9&10 News (Northern Michigan News) has a short video: www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=117305
Notes & References:
[1] www.mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17169
[2] Wikipedia: Marian Ilitch, one of the founders of the MotorCity Casino, purchased controlling interest from various minor stockholders and Mandalay Resort Group (Circus Circus Michigan)/MGM Mirage Resorts in 2005. Michigan gaming laws prohibit one company from owning more than one casino property in a market, so to affect the Mandalay Resort/MGM Mirage merger the publicly traded companies had to divest MotorCity Casino, choosing to keep MGM Grand Detroit. Mrs. Ilitch paid $525 million for Mandalay Resort Group's 53.5 percent interest in the MotorCity Casino enterprise.
With Mrs. Ilitch as sole owner, MotorCity Casino Hotel is reportedly one of the largest independently owned casinos in the U.S. and likely the largest and only 100 percent female-owned casino enterprise in the United States.
[3] www.mybaycity.com/scripts/Article_View.cfm?ArticleID=1628&NewspaperID=366
[4] www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2007/06/01/breaking_news/doc465d7a444fa83535338911.txt
[5] www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070902/NEWS06/709020636
[6] www.flinthistory.com/places/autoworld.shtml
Fascinating Stories: Hunt for the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones, watch out! Host, explorer and survival expert Josh Bernstein takes a fresh look at the world's greatest ancient mysteries and puts adventure back into history as he travels to some of the most intriguing, remote and physically challenging locations in the world.
Digging for the Truth is a History Channel documentary television series. The first three seasons of the show focused on host Josh Bernstein, who journied on various explorations of historical icons and mysteries. Bernstein is the president and CEO of BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) and has a degree in anthropology and psychology from Cornell University. The show airs every Monday night at 9:00 EST on the History Channel. The series premiered in January, 2005 and has since become the highest-rated series in the history of The History Channel. The third season premiered on January 22, 2007, with a 2-hour special event on the quest for Atlantis.
This episode Bernstein travels to Jerusalem and Ethiopia in search of the Ark of the Covenant. The vessel that holds the Ten Commandments. [2005, Length 41:46]
Watch video free online: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8466065381869534785
Digging for the Truth Web site: www.history.com/minisites/diggingforthetruth/
Laugh of the Day
One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering, the pastor of a small Florida church found a plain pink envelope containing $1000. It happened again the next week.
The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was collected and saw a little old lady put the distinctive pink envelope in the plate.
This went on for weeks until the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her. “Ma’am, I couldn’t help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection plate,” he stated.
“Why yes,” she replied, “every week my son sends me money, and I give some of it to the church.”
The pastor replied, “That’s wonderful, how much does he send you?” The old lady said, “$10,000 a week.” The pastor was amazed. “Your son is very successful; what does he do for a living?”
“He is a veterinarian,” she answered. “That is an honorable profession,” the pastor said. “Where does he practice?”
The little old lady said proudly, “In Nevada. He has two cat houses in Las Vegas and one in Reno.”
Photo of the Day
A single boat seemingly floats in midair in the beautiful crystal clear beaches in the Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
The Maldives (or Maldive Islands), officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is located south of India’s Lakshadweep islands, and about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The Maldives’ twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited by local communities.
The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population. It is also the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world.
Official Web site: www.maldivesinfo.gov.mv
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives
Today's Words to Define
lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
lugubrious: \lŏŏ-gōō'brē-əs, -gyōō'-\; Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree.
metamorphosis: \mět'ə-môr'fə-sĭs\; the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals; a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances; a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft.
mitosis: \mī-tō'sĭs\; cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes.
moiety: \moi'ĭ-tē\; one of two (approximately) equal parts; one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe.
nanotechnology: \nān'ə-těk-nŏl'ə-jē\; the science and technology of devices and materials, such as electronic circuits or drug delivery systems, constructed on extremely small scales, as small as individual atoms and molecules.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Fascinating Stories: Stupid in America
20/20 investigation by John Stossel entitled, “Stupid in America” highlighting some of the flaws with the education system in the United States. The story started out when identical tests were given to high school students in New Jersey and in Belgium. The Belgian kids cleaned the American kids’ clocks. The Belgian kids called the American students “stupid,” which gave the piece its name. Jay Greene, author of “Education Myths,” points out that “if money were the solution, the problem would already be solved: we’ve doubled per pupil spending, adjusting for inflation, over the last 30 years, and yet schools aren’t better.” [Length 40:45]
Watch video free online: www.viddler.com/explore/razrhog4life/videos/1
Laugh of the Day
From my friend Brian...
MY LIVING WILL
Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her,
“I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.”
She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my wine.
She’s such a bitch...
T-Shirt of the Day
The t-shirt is $16.99 for Sm-XL and $19.99 for 2X-4X Large.
You can order by clicking on the image.
Other colors and products with the “Friend of the Choad” design can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale/1728309
All designs can be found here: www.cafepress.com/jabetasresale
Photo of the Day
BROWN BEARS, by Bob Ettinger,
Geographic Harbor, AK, USA
The brown bear is a species of bear distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere. Weighing up to 130–700 kg (290–1,500 pounds), the larger races of brown bear tie with the Polar bear as the largest extant land carnivores. The grizzly bear, the Kodiak Bear, and the Mexican Grizzly are North American subspecies of the brown bear.
They’re so dang cute!
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bear
Awesome photos: www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Pictures/bears_pg01.html
Even more beautiful photos: www.katmaibears.com/bear-photos.htm
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