tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82049422012-02-03T09:56:24.158-08:00Kirby plays world gameKirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comBlogger11571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-23782442689974805362012-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:002012-02-03T09:56:24.166-08:00

We may not think of ant colonies as democratic.  We've decided they have "a queen" in some cases and that colors everything.  A Bugs Life captures a consciousness.  Ants live in monarchies. Of course that's a rather irrational chain of "reasoning", somewhat of the kind Danny Oppenheimer says you'll find if you pull any "ant" aside (say an undergrad at Princeton) and send him through Danny's

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-67616934077170124562012-01-27T02:41:00.000-08:002012-01-29T21:53:01.692-08:00

Twas my distinct pleasure to join a party of earnest high school teachers in a meeting with the PSU Middle East Center at Tarboush this evening.  I showed up late, given other pressing engagements, but one of the teachers, from Lincoln High, had decided to stay on and have a real dinner (this is a top notch Lebanese restaurant).  I joined in with Dr. Tagrid Khuri, who had invited me to this

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-29605121698697855242012-01-19T21:43:00.000-08:002012-01-20T09:22:51.858-08:00

:: opening number :: I showed up at the Unitarian Church prepared to enjoy Rabbi Michael Lerner and was not disappointed.  I did some speed reading in his book through the opening numbers and then pretty much listened in rapt attention, through the Q&A. I surprised myself in electing to drive the taxi, which I rarely do off duty, not that it's a registered commercial taxi or anything.  This

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-81996106330961672122012-01-12T10:26:00.000-08:002012-01-12T22:40:20.974-08:00

Various scene changes are in progress.  Lindsey is methodically whittling away at her stash of accumulated treasures.  She kindly donated her Gulfstream pen collection to Blue House, along with a DVD on the G650, which I filed on the top shelf next to Torture Taxi, a Gothic tale. Melody is wearing gas station looking overalls like from the movie eXistenZ, which she's seen, and agrees we should

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-21137526796701044952012-01-06T21:19:00.001-08:002012-01-08T23:23:58.310-08:00

This formula by Ramanujan is being rendered by MathJax. The equation was derived from the handwriting-to-MathML utility, Web Equation, and then hand edited a bit.  This formula served as a basis for our Python Pi Day contest last year, at OST.   1 π = 8 9801 ∑

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-80120582346231308332012-01-04T22:11:00.000-08:002012-01-05T11:01:04.942-08:00

Glenn suggested the family condo homeowner's association might sue the linoleum company, over all that asbestos, which everyone has in their bathrooms.  Property values just dipped.  The banks should adjust their mortgages downward accordingly, like finding out there's a sink hole, like in Guatemala City, but the banks never do.  They'd rather we not blab with each other about property

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-42765352142270157752011-12-29T12:14:00.000-08:002011-12-29T13:46:54.007-08:00

We were a small group this morning.  Per recent trends, we veered into an eatery, this time Tom's on Chavez / Division.  A lot of our focus was geographic, the LA area. George Hammond was teaching chemistry at CalTech.  He would later join Wanderers meetings at the Linus Pauling House on Hawthorne. He was married to Eve Menger, of Multnomah Monthly Meeting, and daughter of Karl Menger, whom I

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-51981277965149639242011-12-24T23:00:00.000-08:002012-01-12T22:29:58.078-08:00

This is a film about determinism, predestination, destiny, epiphenomenalism. She's being swept along on fast forward, life overtaking her, drowning her will.  Time to hit pause, visit a wardrobe, race down a hole or whatever.  Check into a facility if you can afford it. Being a star feels that way too, on the set, off, learn the scene, learn the lines.  Getting typecast, being born for such

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-63752500259314290652011-12-21T23:21:00.000-08:002011-12-22T00:23:01.634-08:00

I've just been making contrite phone calls, as in the thick of the action I dropped the baton at a certain place in the schedule:  I'd been invited to talk to the elders in my "church" (we don't actually call it that) about my world domination schemes (as a geek, I'm expected to have those) and about Bucky Fuller in particular, with whose plans I tend to dovetail mine. Well, wouldn't ya know it

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-55536977482625854142011-12-18T22:31:00.001-08:002011-12-25T12:12:49.545-08:00

:: burma night :: I enjoyed a somewhat optimized venue for viewing this movie.  Alex and his friends had organized a Burma Night, spontaneously conceived the week before, and shared at this Nepalese Buddhist compound that shares the same block as the Linus Pauling House. I somewhat jokingly introduced myself as being from there (the Pauling House), whereas it's not really a residence,

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-67726058792130720082011-12-13T21:29:00.000-08:002011-12-14T09:49:17.262-08:00

This was a movie about family, somewhat reliving a dream for me as so much of it was set in Italy with people speaking Italian. That was my boyhood. But the focus is a Tibetan diaspora family, which takes me back to Bhutan, and the matter of fact way in which reincarnation is dealt with there. To top it all off, I met family by happenstance at Andy & Bax earlier. Alexia and David were

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-57835953701502884562011-12-10T14:52:00.000-08:002011-12-12T08:42:52.416-08:00

Washington is our neighboring state, nowhere near Washington, DC if you're hazy on local geography. Ridgefield High has an impressive fleet of buses and gathers eligible teens from all over that area north of Vancouver. Yes, Washington has a Vancouver too, a continuation of the same I-5 corridor metro area snaking twixt here (Portland) and Seattle.I mention Ridgefield High, home of the Spudders

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-23106762972266411532011-12-06T09:18:00.000-08:002011-12-06T11:27:55.210-08:00

Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on VimeoI got this link from City Hall, Mayor's twitter feed, and find it appealing on a number of levels. The idea of time lapse is set up in broad daylight, helping make the leap to starry night. I'm reading Dava's book on Copernicus these days, and was reminded of that passage where the visiting acolyte gets a ride in some homemade Stellarium

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-59374562894838144592011-12-03T01:01:00.000-08:002011-12-05T21:05:05.714-08:00

:: pbi meetup ::Lawyers tend to be front lines advocates for something called fairness. The idea of some rule of law, other than the monarch's, is quite alien in some regions of the world. Nepal for example, a Himalayan state not far from Bhutan. The transition to more democratic forms is not being easy.My horizons were expanded by a young lawyer, Jit Man Basnet, a human rights advocate who

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-54620848823837057672011-11-30T10:17:00.000-08:002011-11-30T23:26:31.491-08:00

Tara has a cold this morning, while I'm playing hooky from Wanderers. I watched the tail end of Stupidity, and now The End of Poverty?The former is somewhat lighthearted whereas the latter just grinds it into your face that humans and their wee brains are just not that great an animal, but they're what we've got to put up with. I need more est Training I suppose, so this circumstance just

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-25715738138991530362011-11-26T23:12:00.000-08:002011-11-29T20:42:08.086-08:00

Steve and I grabbed a 14, took in the Pioneer Square giant tree, as well as the underground mall (to which Steve had never been -- we didn't buy anything then), then we queued at Fox Tower to see J. Edgar, although more theaters were running Marilyn.The film creates its own twilight zone, is deliberately "lucid dream" like, a kind of wake up call to remember history, remember the collective

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-32632322939789152092011-11-22T20:27:00.000-08:002011-11-25T10:46:07.335-08:00

I won't be able to do justice to this one. Attendance was high. I came late. Trish and her son were already sitting on the steps (the back bleachers). I ended up poking my head in and out, even sitting on the floor in the adjoining space, shades of the telekinesis lecture.However I did think of another analogy for Wanderers: we're like those taxi drivers who seem to know a lot, because we

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-82687991806464450742011-11-19T10:24:00.000-08:002011-12-11T20:32:02.464-08:00

The Mayor tweets (in part):"RT @sarahmorrigan Seemingly, the City of Portland now has an official designation of #OPDX as an organized crime/gang/mafia. @MayorSamAdams @PortlandPolicePortland's mayor is getting some idea, from his advisers perhaps, that OPDX is some organized crime vehicle, versus the self-organizing city / campus we know it to be, a City that Works.There's a dark side to any

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-12991846091251157842011-11-13T23:06:00.000-08:002011-11-13T23:06:41.113-08:00

Tonight was fairly momentous in that Portlanders kept their Occupation non-violent past a city-declared deadline. A festive New Year's like atmosphere prevailed.I had dinner with Chairman Steve at his place. He joined Walker for drinks at our favorite bar then they both came by my office to watch Livestream.Lots of civic pride in keeping it civil, and a realization that these symbolic actions

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-37912357997977567322011-11-08T08:40:00.000-08:002011-12-25T10:13:03.755-08:00

Richard Alley is an action figure scientist who gets to tell it like it is about global warming. He encounters a lot of denial and ignorance, which has worn him into a particular character, a lot like a Disney character but actually he's with PBS. I hadn't realized Gus, one of our Wanderers, was a webmaster for the show. As first webmaster for BFI (Buckminster Fuller Institute) and

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-50539663398093628672011-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:002011-11-03T13:05:09.457-07:00

Today is action packed. Sam Lanahan and Mark Martin shared the floor at Linus Pauling House. The production values were impressive, as usual. My attention was somewhat divided as I'd become exercised over the inclusion of a lot of cruft on the Wikipedia page about Synergetics. I went ballistic on Synergeo.Mark's solution to the Flextegrity problem uses like 29K lines of C++ and beaucoups

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-51236334415811326672011-10-30T00:07:00.000-07:002011-11-04T08:32:07.663-07:00

:: halloween 2011 ::If you're going to a big (small, or medium sized) Halloween party this year, tonight is probably the night, as the real Halloween is on Monday, hardly a night to be partying, given the rhythms.It seemed like at least half the people were in costume on Trimet tonight, hard to tell about the other half.I looked "plainclothes" with my silvery hair, know-it-all glasses, black

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-57703994515135335672011-10-28T15:15:00.000-07:002011-10-29T13:18:07.445-07:00

I was interviewed last night by an NPYM person regarding my role as NPYM "corp rep", meaning I'm a member of the AFSC corporation as nominated by NPYM as a kind of "agency - meeting go-between" (yes, we say "laison" sometimes). I'm not the only corp rep from NPYM: we have four. My term goes until 2014. I've been in this role before.Anyway, during that interview I wondered aloud if the role I'm

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-82415372606272821462011-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:002011-10-26T13:37:01.519-07:00

Q: I have yet to understand how we let corporations become people.A: when Lincoln freed the slaves and said "you have full rights" the railroad companies said "hey, we want our full rights too" (corporations hadn't been real people either)Excerpt from Math Forum:> "OPDX campus", PSU ?? What are they?OPDX is a temporary public simulation giving youngpeople opportunities to develop leadership

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-40655788824099351212011-10-23T17:50:00.001-07:002011-12-11T20:30:45.246-08:00

Diane Randall is the new chief of this age-old Quaker institution, one of the first religious-based lobbies on Capitol Hill. She's following John Volk in this position.We may not be as influential as the Unification Church, which has made lots of inroads, but people still say Quakers should be listened to, even if only out of nostalgia (they like our horse and buggy ways, reminds them of simpler

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-72914860693187081632011-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:002011-10-22T15:24:00.340-07:00

The biggest surprise of the day: Gordon Hoffman at Wanderers this morning. He was in good shape, talking up all his pet topics, chief among them the bankrupting of the state by state unions. You'd think Buzz, former Rush Limbaugh conservative (right Buzz?) would be hot against that position, and you'd be right. Sparks flew. I missed a lot of it, as I was rushing Jim Buxton's chantrelles back

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-20135626814407441882011-10-18T12:23:00.000-07:002011-10-20T00:13:07.875-07:00

Given last week was such a hoot, I almost tripped over myself getting here this time, with Tara. Lew Scholl called from The Bagdad, already seated. We all partook of McMenamins fare, and waited for our three Oregon-based innovators to be interviewed. Glenn joined us at the beginning, but stayed on his schedule.Eric Dishman, the sociologist with Intel was going over familiar ground, describing

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-21913086727256932842011-10-15T22:17:00.001-07:002011-10-19T23:55:57.202-07:00

While waiting for the 14 with mom, I dipped into Oasis for a cold one. The woman behind the counter, also a mom, was happy to chat about my day, so I told her about mom being this anti weapons-in-space activist, newly self-educated on the drones issue. Our signs are about drones. We're heading to the march.I yak with mom about Jerome's observation that Newsweek got a facelift and has left Time

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-28231308015792772562011-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:002011-10-13T14:40:41.105-07:00

My meetings with Trevor tend to be illuminating. I'm reminded of those meetings twixt Greenspan and the US Treasurer (Alcoa guy, O’Neill) in the Loyalty book. People are always having these meetings in these books (like Obama's Wars), working things out, like Tenet with that other guy bucking for the same job in Storm's Center. Obscure titles (esoteric). Not that I think of Trevor as

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-22370815502747843332011-10-10T09:15:00.000-07:002011-11-03T09:54:21.837-07:00

Lindsey summoned myself and her other friends to the park this evening. Not all of us could be there, but I made the time, having something of a bodyguard reflex. Of course some friends were already there. Hi Fallon... James.She was distraught that Occupy Portland might be co-opted by flag wavers, turning this into a tamer political movement with a mostly domestic focus, one that forgets all

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-63657330489693439492011-10-08T10:20:00.000-07:002011-10-08T22:34:55.102-07:00

Ironically, I forgot where Metro was and got lost looking for it. Although I have a Google Android in the company taxi, it has no thoughts on these matters, as I have no designated sponsorships earmarked for any on board GPS at the moment. The Android itself is from the Mighty Python Empire.I phoned mom and she looked up Metro's location on the web for me. I'd driven right by the place. She

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-16444970753014514712011-10-06T17:52:00.000-07:002011-10-06T17:54:53.967-07:00

:: occupy pdx ::

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-2325176175637312792011-10-04T19:47:00.000-07:002011-10-05T10:44:54.042-07:00

:: carol urner ::Carol (my mother) is regaling Friends with stories about her activism during her time in the Philippines.The Quakers are doing a series featuring people who have published Pendle Hill Pamphlets. Mom has written two (#275, #317).We have about thirteen people here.Mom has a lot of inside stories to tell.She's experienced the grief of whole peoples, which has driven her to take

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-21442977158731834272011-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:002011-10-04T13:06:40.322-07:00

:: alberta rose theater ::Having worn a prototype cuffka around town for a couple weeks, haunted households known for making bold fashion statements, I was ready to trade up for the real deal. Lots of cuffkas out there (branded elsewise) but not with a Nirel Foundation logo. With my suit coat and black leather cuff with Hebrew lettering, I look up to my old tricks again, back in Black Hat

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-77808160245752309062011-09-24T13:52:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:31:01.672-07:00

This has got to be the busiest day of the year at Lucky Lab. They're lined up at the beer and food counters, the place thick with dogs. Booths all around, a band. Somewhat heretically (in the manner of a heretic, ala Satanic Verses), I didn't bring my dog, Sarah Angel. We did have some quality time this morning though, complete with a belly rub and prolonged looking out the window together,

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-75050678241089851482011-09-07T14:33:00.000-07:002011-09-11T17:27:43.326-07:00

:: a tribe gathers ... ::I'm still sorting through impressions.The conversation at dinner was reminiscent of a Pycon, almost a case of deja vu. So where are the universities in all this? These little companies are learning institutions, little space capsules, genius astronauts / cosmonauts.Getting GeoDjango up and running: might you come to DjangoCon with the expectation of getting help with

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-57540793367207261902011-09-01T12:40:00.001-07:002011-09-04T15:46:49.899-07:00

:: clerk of the meeting :: I'm exercising my privilege as a key holder today, arriving at the meetinghouse during clerk office hours and dragging Skyblue into the social hall, parking her unobtrusively in the corner. After Rick wrapped up his duties he ambled over and opted in on a photo op. We're commemorating about one year of active collaboration with Food Not Bombs. About a year ago, I

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-1776361817307786602011-08-28T19:15:00.000-07:002011-08-29T21:26:45.943-07:00

My thanks to Nick Consoletti for inviting me to join him at Peet's with Johnny Stallings. I hadn't seen Johnny in awhile. The story about getting costumes and props inventoried at the prison, so the dress rehearsal could occur, was a fine one. Nancy had put her heart into the jester's bauble and this was the one prop that was nixed. She offered to replace the wooden handle with a cardboard

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-8786981326659572002011-08-26T20:15:00.000-07:002011-08-26T20:17:13.066-07:00

link here

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-35781595618797248162011-08-24T15:40:00.000-07:002011-09-19T21:38:20.016-07:00

Getting to meet the Caldera guy was interesting. Here's one of those youth centric facilities in the Oregon wilderness of the kind I write science fiction about, though sometimes with so much science and so little fiction it's hard to distinguish such writing from investment banking (banking on the future in various ways).My brother in law Sam (Dawn's bro) was a lead carpenter on this Caldera

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-25333494672891671812011-08-17T20:50:00.000-07:002011-08-17T21:03:32.916-07:00

Glenn Stockton raved about this one. Later, Satya brought it up at Lindsey's birthday party. With such discriminating individuals giving it a thumbs up, I queued it with rather high expectations. Tara watched it too. We were not disappointed. The foreground puppets remind us of what I have long considered: that shadow puppets and cartoons, theater more generally, are pretty much the same

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-14218345318877599592011-08-14T14:28:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:37:38.266-07:00

A lot of us gathered in Room 12 today, to discuss Marge Abbott's new Pendle Hill pamphlet #402 entitled Christianity and the Inner Life. We had about a two hour discussion, with every chair occupied, John Wish standing. When it was my turn to speak, I expressed enthusiasm for Marge's terminology, as her pamphlet mentions Buddhist Quakers, Jewish Quakers and Christian Quakers. That's enough of

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-61546569007652700842011-08-11T17:21:00.000-07:002011-08-14T09:31:33.747-07:00

My FnB Rig I can hear them singing in the kitchen. I'm cast as janitor, more "clean up monster", my role kicking in around 5:45 PM. In the meantime, I'm blogging, also ducked out to Horse Brass to radio cell mates about various doings and happenings, imbibed an Ice Ax. My philosophical remarks have been routed and filed. The Internet works well. My role also included navigating from

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-45995474563507281542011-08-07T18:28:00.001-07:002011-08-07T19:04:50.413-07:00

:: Remembering... ::We tried a new layout this year, in terms of which way things faced, which put a lot of people in the hot sun. Next year, lets shoot for evening. Mom was almost overcome. Good job anyway. Glad to be of service. Counting down...

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-38120945062891179182011-08-04T15:58:00.000-07:002011-08-30T13:36:10.648-07:00

Star date, captain's log, blah blah. Tara is on her way from OHSU. The week is frenetic. Food politics in the kitchen, with Satya, Lindsey and Aaron. I brought up some debating points, but Satya's attitude was more "what's to argue about?". I mentioned my "gringo go home" campaign w/r to Quinoa, though as Joe Snyder pointed out on Facebook, gentrification of basic food stuffs is a rampant

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-3113467136974316602011-07-28T11:26:00.001-07:002011-07-31T08:42:43.887-07:00

Eri Gentry's DIY "garage bio" talk got a lot of applause. I could see Tara enjoying it, as she's into DNA sequencing these days, at OHSU. Gabe Zichermann sent a five minute video on the topic of Diversity, bringing up the UK's official apology for the treatment of Alan Turing who was basically harassed to death for being gay. The next speaker was refreshingly open about his gayness with no

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-81130034353729888382011-07-25T11:23:00.000-07:002011-08-01T16:59:12.264-07:00

I did some chauffeur duty around OSCON last night. Chairman Steve directed me to pick up this retired Citibank CIO at DoubleTree. He'd gotten started in the punch card era with Honeywell. His agenda these days is to help Google penetrate the conservative banking world with its email service, which world is currently standardized on Microsoft's. Jumping through a few regulatory hoops is not that

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-35098771345426874472011-07-21T21:09:00.000-07:002011-07-21T22:55:16.791-07:00

David wanted to talk about Simon Benson as we peddled our way to the park, having prepped the meal at Multnomah Friends per usual. This is the Benson of the Benson Hotel and the Benson Bubblers, our public drinking fountains scattered about downtown.Later, when I got home, I shared his query with mom: what was his first name and what might we learn about the guy? She came up with an

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-68457575590678026822011-07-16T17:55:00.000-07:002011-07-21T22:30:45.060-07:00

Meal time again. I snagged a polish at Costco, while grabbing sundries, same Costco I'd missed by a long shot on July 4. So I'll just dip in for coffee, not frequent the food bars (speaking of PLU cafeteria).Hey, a trippy thing happened this morning: a government fleet vehicle followed me for many blocks, right to my disabled parking space (chauffeuring mom -- though not at the time (was

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-27180300080363065162011-07-13T00:37:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:40:26.250-07:00

Excerpt from one of my posts from earlier today (some hyperlinks added): We don't force the Amish to have a Rainbow Gathering on their land. We don't force Disney World to have Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). We don't force people in Mecca to welcome Christians and build Christian churches there. We don't force armed uniformed bossy types into every area, telling local people what to do, how to

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-44786671904989901682011-07-05T22:02:00.000-07:002011-07-15T09:45:03.867-07:00

:: from July 3-5, 2011 ::Happy birthday Julie.We left them carless at the Issaquah Motel 6, with advice from Uncle Bill about some express bus service to Seattle. Back to Centralia.On the way up, I'd caught the Vin Diesel movie. It was either that, or listen to the sound track from my lower bunk. You might think, as some kind of Quaker, that I'd be against this romp through Rio, tearing

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-23200887364080667942011-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:002011-08-31T21:29:12.807-07:00

:: Wanderers Talk, June 29, 2011 :: Accelerating acceleration is evident, as usual, tip of the hat to Toffler. "The roller coaster is normal" seems a lot like Bucky's "rest speed is top speed". Bob McGown was there today, even gave me a check in appreciation. He appreciates the significance of the polyhedronists, of tensegrity, even of flextegrity (Sam joined us, and spoke at length after my

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-51462903089165854702011-06-22T09:51:00.000-07:002011-06-22T15:51:27.808-07:00

The balance of our evening was devoted to learning from Allen Taylor about The Mad Scientist, a work in progress by his talented sons, and still raising funds. This kickstart site is pretty interesting. This is the prequel to their Evil Cult, which I saw in a movie theater in downtown Portland years ago.Craigmore Creations has done a splendid job redecorating the interior of the Linus Pauling

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-31157306800036668762011-06-15T19:34:00.001-07:002011-11-11T11:20:39.084-08:00

:: visiting Father Magnus Wenninger ::David Koski had visited Magnus before, as St. John's Abbey is only about 1.5 hours from Minneapolis where he lives and, in our little world of polyhedrons, he's a super star. He wanted me to share this experience and graciously hosted my visit to Minneapolis so I might do so.David was especially concerned that Father Wenninger's life was not well-documented

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-14170950032427236432011-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:002011-06-10T12:24:44.717-07:00

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-25463900308315046062011-06-09T16:32:00.001-07:002011-06-10T12:37:02.602-07:00

I'm here at the meetinghouse with two of the striking women of Food Not Bombs, Lindsey still on the way.The trick is to not get tricked into taking trash, yet it's a fine line and sometimes it's OK to err on the side of caution. The Village Building Convergence was a source this week. The board is always lighting up."Just in time" inventory means no, we don't want a truck load of Dave's Killer

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-58282138025154009472011-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:002011-06-07T18:38:20.761-07:00

EJA saddled me with inventor status versus this "art form" as he called it, which is similar to what Quakers call ranting, but about highly esoteric subjects in rather technical ways. You can call it polemics, but then the content tends to be rather dry. Imagine a shouting match between engineers over SQL schemas, or a steamy sex scene: either way, the "EQ" seems out of proportion to the "IQ"

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-23811495533741336292011-06-03T22:59:00.000-07:002011-06-07T14:09:16.618-07:00

Two of our celebrities, as featured in our growing archive of free on-line courseware (Global U).Victor (above) is one of the main videographers in our tribe.Joe Clinton has been a stalwart and irrepressible explorer, collaborating with many individuals.Amy isn't talking about Synergetics here, but gives a sense of what she's like.

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-64252639839157582582011-05-31T00:38:00.000-07:002011-05-31T00:39:18.267-07:00

Thank you very much Lynn.It is my fond hope to be able to share that with family members. We don't subscribe to television services at this time.I saw it myself on a big bright HDTV and thought it was well crafted and packed with interesting facts.They did a good job recreating the chem lab in the basement.So that was a rooming house run by his mother then? I could see where having all those

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-56449739150988150402011-05-24T19:48:00.000-07:002011-05-24T19:53:51.946-07:00

:: celebrating bill sheppard ::

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-26171979998029345702011-05-17T11:45:00.000-07:002011-05-20T00:24:37.157-07:00

I was anticipating Donald Trump's withdrawal from the race shortly before I caught up with the story. His reasons were different of course, but I think siding with the "birthers" against the first native son of Hawaii to become president, just reminded everyone of the tricky sick stuff people do around legal documents. If you've been on the receiving end, you know how they show up with a "title

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-73285007535229744622011-05-04T18:00:00.000-07:002011-08-31T21:28:43.481-07:00

I've repaired to TaborSpace for the weekly Wittgenstein Study Circle. Some may think I'm a naughty geek for embracing some brands of quasi-nonsense as pertinent to philosophers. Many had hoped to be free of nonsense, meaning say Heidegger, thanks to logical positivism. Wittgenstein was to be one of their heroes when, Krishnamurti-like, he turned his back on his following, or at least

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-24838104858364106762011-04-29T08:15:00.000-07:002011-05-04T14:17:13.224-07:00

:: Peter Donovan ::Looking back three days later: I'd "raced" (who with?) to Pauling House on reminder from Don, from the park where we serve, to the lap of Mt. Tabor. I hadn't remembered we had an invited speaker, from Eastern Oregon, from even beyond the high desert where Sam & Judy take care of Judy's mom (of Unity church, a New Thought manifestation of the American Transcendentalist variety

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-51621694950668973632011-04-26T14:22:00.000-07:002011-04-29T08:14:22.894-07:00

The art of movie watching has changed since the advent of the DVD and its random access through a front end menu. This one goes to the original opener, Daybreak Express, a random "documentary" set to a Duke Ellington piece that is truly a great work of art. Horse's Mouth is the filmic world making fun of the static frame oil painter's, in some degree. The movie's director is likewise teaching

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-12971585896843107032011-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:002011-04-23T10:13:47.868-07:00

From an ad campaign I've been orchestrating:

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-72099772842150657182011-04-16T18:52:00.001-07:002011-05-29T15:58:37.801-07:00

Buzz is updating me on FB re the DL on the standoff between rivals in Tibet (virtual nation). Google is reminding me it's about to pull the plug on any video content I've hosted on Google Video, news to me. Lots of downloading and uploading (to Youtube). My critic is hot on my trail.A discussion of Free Will on the Wittgenstein list probably seems like a waste of time, but I'm busy fleshing out

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-77291229588247864912011-04-12T23:38:00.000-07:002011-04-14T12:37:45.662-07:00

PPUG = Python Portland User Group. I took the bus, having a Workingman's Red at Bagdad as I awaited the 14, transferred to 9 at 6th and Main. I was pulled towards the Pauling House as well, as Duane Ray was going through telescope lore, Bob McGown in attendance (he'd been to like half of them). I almost skipped boarding.The chairman, Steve, and I texted to and fro, while in transit, stuff

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-36078750945857935912011-04-08T15:36:00.000-07:002011-07-18T13:40:26.047-07:00

For those who don't know their philosophy, Richard Stallman is one of our premier pragmatist - ethicists. His training in logic revolved around LISP, one of the more sophisticated executable notations. His work in that brought us Emacs, much as Bill Joy's research brought us vi, later updated to vim by Bram Moolenaar.At the end of his talk (I've caught it before), Richard likes to pause, walk

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-32299747457674023622011-04-05T07:53:00.001-07:002011-04-05T16:30:43.354-07:00

The local media have switched to disaster relief as the number one topic, knowing well we're not good at it. Katrina, Rita, the earlier tsunami, the floods in Pakistan, earthquakes in Italy, China, Chile, New Zealand... and now the big one in Japan, complete with out-of-control nukes.Portlanders have realized they've stashed almost all their emergency vehicles on the east side, so if only one

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-74690593875465034992011-04-03T14:00:00.001-07:002011-04-03T14:01:43.054-07:00

Akbar VersionOriginally uploaded by thekirbster. My thanks to John Driscoll and Glenn Stockton for helping me get back in the groove.

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-18288085145306397002011-03-25T21:09:00.000-07:002011-03-31T09:21:41.511-07:00

I went into this movie already biased in advance to sound critical if it didn't focus enough on what I thought was the problem: any number of obese and/or sleek Americans crowded into hotel ballrooms listening to the self appointed real estate mavens yak up the lifestyle of buying and flipping for no money down. All kinds of cable TV about it, just buy the tapes. It was a craze, sweeping the

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-59461835902925061122011-03-21T23:19:00.001-07:002011-03-21T23:26:29.376-07:00

Followup writing:Pi Day Ideas (Math Forum)

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-30800948559923345372011-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:002011-04-11T15:28:53.941-07:00

Related writing: Posting to math-teach @ Math Forum, 11 April 2011

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-47080859625006851992011-03-13T18:32:00.001-07:002011-03-13T18:42:10.101-07:00

Using Python in Education? Contribute to our brochure!Tomorrow is Pi Day!

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-50729073624021760702011-03-08T15:18:00.000-08:002011-03-27T19:53:31.230-07:00

Twas my good fortune to join with the Ben Franklin Thinking Society the other morning, just two blocks from my hotel (Club Quarters). The topic was education reform, and we came from many walks of life. One of our number was a psychiatrist who'd worked with some of the roughest kids, like that boy who'd witnessed a murder, heard gun shots at night, and slept with a knife under his pillow while

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-80586834064273450622011-03-05T08:39:00.000-08:002011-03-05T12:53:29.147-08:00

[ originally posted to the Wanderers list ]Greetings Wanderers --I'm in the "Quaker Vatican" as some wryly refer to this place, Friends Center in Philadelphia.Over lunch we (those at our table) talked some about how this myth, that slavery is a thing of the past, needs to be exploded. Human trafficking and forced labor without rights are commonplace, including in North America.Slavery is alive

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-53930501241613457102011-03-01T22:14:00.000-08:002011-03-01T22:26:16.910-08:00

Gotta head over to Fred's soon for bread, a lunch standard (PB&J). Koski: to call. File: FZ. Here at Glennspad (wifi) having checked out newest version of Global Matrix Studio in DS on Asylum Ave.Worked through a queue, basic inbox. I used to do GST in terms of PWSs (personal workspaces) with two credit wheels, like the ends of a cylinder. Inputs and outputs. In between: value added.I've

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-33718845540045563092011-02-19T13:21:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:19:58.512-08:00

:: Steve Holden in Portlandia ::Steve Holden knows how to throw a good party. Elizabeth Mazzara knows how to find a good venue. The Secret Society, as it's now called, has a long history as a HQS for fraternal organizations, i.e. mostly men. Overcoming any "color barrier" in Masons was a part of its history. Thursday evening (February 17) we were breaking new ground by inviting many digerati and

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-53103777291641823692011-02-15T14:51:00.000-08:002011-02-15T16:14:22.761-08:00

Speaking of Tahrir Square, that "square" in Mexico City, Zócalo, certainly saw crowds, during the contested elections, perhaps up to 3 million, with encampments lasting for 47 days. I had a camera's eye view of these 2006 events in an Italian production written and directed by Francesca Nava. No, not from Laughing Horse Books. This was on loan from Multnomah County Library, chosen at random as

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-14527379573383755412011-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:002011-02-13T22:23:08.428-08:00

LW is hoping Tahrir Square remains a nucleus or hub, a public HQS, a kind of clearinghouse and space for oratory, free and open debate (a forum). I see advantages in a city having like a permanent sound stage that's open to the public, a soap box. Could be a web site or coffee shop (with public oratory a variation on karaoke and/or funds-committing game playing).She also pointed out that

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-60967779283885798872011-02-11T11:39:00.000-08:002011-02-13T12:37:12.600-08:00

Nancy Cartwright's presentation was extremist in some ways. She carved out a space for symbolic expression (so-called "math"), being known as a mathematician of sorts, even though we were a lay audience. The coefficients included the Greek letters alpha and beta.Her examples were well chosen (Bangladesh, California) but were somewhat few and far between: she was somewhat relentless is keeping

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-49800937620713274482011-02-09T09:39:00.000-08:002011-02-09T17:23:08.687-08:00

Today's presentation by Kris Nelson is about applying Henry George style economics to boost "station area" communities within municipalities. We were mainly imagining single or double line train stations, like along the Max line (Portland's light rail system). Victoria Station in London would be a whole different ball game, yet similar principles might apply (as above, so below).Transit oriented

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-45338933627449491942011-02-04T15:02:00.000-08:002011-02-04T15:04:37.563-08:00

:: reading ::

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-82235648820688682132011-01-30T12:03:00.000-08:002011-08-31T21:30:10.580-07:00

My title is with reference to a workshop held yesterday at the meetinghouse. I hadn't attended; I was on call to assist with Nick's departure from the hospital. I was the acting custodian for much of his stuff. The Quaker Quest Program (QQP) appears to originate in the UK yet comes with FGC's imprimatur in some way. Lew had photo-documented the event on Picassaweb and set up the new

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-45076720262734005692011-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:002011-01-29T14:48:41.427-08:00

Our little meeting room was full again, as we welcomed some newcomers. I'd posted to the Wanderers list that Lew Scholl might be joining us. Jon Bunce brought a friend as well. We all hit if off in spatial geometry, as Lew, inspired by finding Koski's great vZome in Coffeeshopsnet, had embarked upon duplicating said embedding of several polyhedrons using Google SketchUp. Jon's friend wanted

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-31200069238055265092011-01-24T12:51:00.001-08:002011-01-24T15:14:45.378-08:00

from Pink Floyd's On the Turning Away.When the Jitterbug spins down to the first station stop, I mightcall that 'Landing on Mars'. We're at a first base camp. Theoctahedron is the next platform, everything doubling. The finalfour-fold quadrivium (a signalling) happens at the turn-around,where we flip to the other dorji or whatever we call it (go throughto the next measure, or chapter). You want

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-88860329104537320432011-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:002011-12-05T21:10:59.570-08:00

This documentary with a message recaps the movie-maker's experience in Ladakh and then proceeds to deduce lessons. An interesting aspect of this film is some of its leading activists are Buddhist monks, other Buddhist authorities.Helena Norberg-Hodge knows a lot about language and this movie is structured as a kind of language training. We need partially overlapping namespaces going forward.

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-38108363421280503982011-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:002011-08-31T21:30:57.538-07:00

Duane Ray was our presenter tonight, talking about The Creationists, a legitimate subject of anthropology. These various ethnic minorities, which may cumulatively form a kind of majority, do not all rally behind the same spokespeople, yet there's a taxonomy, a family tree (a set of lineages or pedigrees if you will, right back to the original first couple). When I got there, a little late (I'd

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-38301469264811628302011-01-17T13:55:00.001-08:002011-01-27T09:31:03.301-08:00

Glenn and I were at Oasis this morning, touching on multiple topics. I brought up Shining Path and Dr. Guzman, having seen a 1900s documentary recently, courtesy of Laughing Horse entitled You Must Tell the World... by the International Emergency Committee to Defend the Life of Dr. Abimael Guzman. Not unlike in this Ann Sang Suu Kyi bio I've been reading recently, the voice of the narrator has a

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-15682725770913210932011-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:002011-01-15T18:17:20.450-08:00

No, I hadn't seen this movie before. I took it as a work of historical fiction, even if based on real adventures, in the fashion of Logicomix, about the life and times of Lord Bertrand Russell. I watched it with a "girl scout" in training (BH/FNB LW), who provided running commentary about what she would have done in similar high stress situations. Build a debris hut? Stay on that train?Being

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-88655617170011189262011-01-06T17:10:00.000-08:002011-01-06T17:18:19.884-08:00

I was the sole FNB guy on duty today. Speaking of which, I thought Deb (at the meeting at Kell's) had a good way of using the word "guys" in a gender neutral manner. No need for "dolls". Just as easily, I could see using "dolls" but not "guys" down the road, if the guy dolls don't mind too much.I used the carrots and potatoes Cera brought by, fresh from some plot, still dripping with dirt.

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-35070020312845308862010-12-28T19:36:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:45:53.686-08:00

Dr. Bob Fuller and I enjoyed catching up, over beers and appetizers. I stayed on after he left to join family, time alone, before rejoining Sarah-the-dog and Titty-the-kitty (Barry-the-python etc.).I don't recall if I'd known that he taught school in Rangoon, under auspices of the British, a course in morals circa 1959. Aung San Suu Kyi was one of his pupils. He'd not realized her status, as

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-60390629066573129522010-12-25T20:25:00.000-08:002010-12-26T19:08:41.703-08:00

Our Xmas was low key again this year. We played with the symbolism some, allowing allusions of more ancient religions and philosophies to percolate through, augmenting the advent calendar with dragon symbols.Tara and I opened gifts from family and friends. Gayle, that's a mighty fine wooden jewelry box for Tara. Mom and Julie, those were perfect and thoughtful kindesses. Thanks to the Nally

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-42191166649409729962010-12-22T19:46:00.000-08:002010-12-23T10:49:55.947-08:00

Tara and I chose to celebrate Xmas at OMSI today. We each picked out gifts for ourselves. I got The Martians by Istvan Hargattai, while Tara selected a well-fitting OMSI hoody, black. Then I chauffered her to Alexia's apartments, which I'd not yet visited.The OMSI traveling exhibit from The Franklin Institute was most interesting. I felt almost quoted with that "there's no race gene" display,

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-22259986508497653822010-12-19T16:56:00.000-08:002010-12-20T09:31:11.266-08:00

I was reading about the Dalai Lama's priorities today, via Facebook. Politics takes a back seat to the ecosystem (= economy), not a new story. Ecosystems are the most precious, and money can't buy them back, once they're lost. We're looking at that in the movie Gasland.The cleanup industry is destined to be one of the biggest, or engineering failed us in the imagination department.Anyway, more

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-71949332710028103702010-12-15T15:59:00.000-08:002010-12-15T16:02:55.976-08:00

Buckminister Fuller Dymaxion Houseby CanonFire09

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-26151399255893600322010-12-14T13:30:00.000-08:002010-12-15T16:04:54.794-08:00

Many threads coming in around "girl scout math" versus "boy scout math". Here's what I posted to Wanderers recently:I'll repost my recent rant when I fix a typo (mine = mind). haha.in other news, the dead juniper tree behind my house, the detritusfrom Peace Garden **, is now an igloo, dubbed a "debris hut" bythe fabricator.She claims no violations of the Flextegrity patents were observed,

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-8698063785122352072010-12-12T12:29:00.000-08:002010-12-12T22:48:55.236-08:00

I just shoved Carol's mailing address across the table to Betsey. She's passing it back to Western Friend.Quakers were in my thoughts earlier today, on an archived discussion list. I've been working with Marty, Tim and, by extension, the Yearly Meeting on matters of data base design. I'd call it "membership tracking" (a well known genre, with many templates available), except "member" has a

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-8882777349601121042010-12-09T16:40:00.000-08:002010-12-09T19:59:47.321-08:00

I met with Glenn today at Oasis, across from Bagdad. Some find this intersection poetic. Glenn says he's camping out, even though he's perched in an apartment complex.Camping is the geek theme or message of the day (MTOD). Once you've been tossed out of your digs, you get to camp, and the camping laws become important. It's a public roads issue. Sisters of the Road has been at the center of

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204942.post-59408619093025596632010-12-07T15:27:00.001-08:002010-12-07T16:29:25.641-08:00

We see a pun of sorts in the title, in that "diplomats" were simply "those with diplomas" who seemed therefore more civilized and therefore better able to get closer to the court. Having higher degrees was roughly equivalent to having a powdered wig or top hat, if male, and able to lord it over others in some high horse manner (possibly literally, as equestrians tend to wear head gear for safety

Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.com