minor thing or beginning of a new era

it’s a minor thing, we’ve been doing it for years, but there’s something remarkable to me about the SpaceX commercial space launch this weekend. Major milestone? what do you think?

this video of the rocket’s launch is really awesome though!! I got goose bumps watching the second stage separation. Does NASA publish launches like this? They should post them on youtube for every launch, this is so inspiring. Really shows you what kind of amazing things we as humans can do. Now we just need to feed everyone.

it was wild to watch the engines and their exhaust change as the altitude changes. can you imagine being an astronaut and watching all of this first hand? that has GOT to change your perspective on things. tibetan teacher trungpa rinpoche used to answer “more over it” when asked for advice near the end of his life. i’m guessing astronauts know something about what he meant.

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annoying smart guys

“as soon as this crisis is over we can give him a wedgey and lock him in his locker…”
-jay smooth

register to vote!

for those of you in the united states, please make sure you’re registered to vote! you have less than a month left for most states. only takes a minute!

here is a handy web form, which creates the necessary pdf file you can print. it resides at obama’s website voteforchange.com

accountability

a trial evidence video was posted on youtube this week, relating to buckley v. haddock in the 11th circuit appeals. it shows a policeman repeatedly tazing a suspect who is already handcuffed and subdued, though non-cooperative.

warning: this video is uncomfortable to watch.

i’m sure some people would think this is reasonable behavior for the policeman, the suspect is crying like a baby and a pain in the ass. i think it’s outrageous and a perfect example of laziness, unnecessary violence, and oppression. and secondly, if the policeman thought a hysterical suspect would be more cooperative after being tazed he’s an idiot.

RELATED: Brooklyn man falls to his death when tazed by police.

interdependence project

this weekend we’re officially launching the portland chapter of the interdependence project with ethan nichtern visiting from new york: including a thursday evening sit, all-day saturday meditation program, and a sunday launch party.

if you’re interested the details are at the launch weekend website. make sure to pre-register for the day-long.

laura ross, a fan of ethan’s podcasts, had the enthusiasm to start the group. i came on to help her as a meditation instructor and we’ve been testing the waters for the last couple months with a regular thursday night sitting group.

this weekend is the culmination of laura’s initial vision and drive, and she made this happen with tremendous effort and a courageous leap. we now have enthusiastic regular meditators like nick, stacey, mindy, alejandro, sarah and some new folks like steven, kevin, plus more each week. over twenty people are registered already for the day-long on saturday. woo hoo!

do i get a refund?

gzza over at the one city blog wrote a post about stealing, copyright and value that i found interesting.

as digital media becomes cheaper and cheaper to distribute, effectively free, then what exactly are we paying for when we buy it? you could say that we are compensating the author for their effort, for the value they have created for us. but what if the song we’ve bought is also sold to a car company for use in an advertisement. and then we hear that advertisement incessantly, ruining the value for us of the song. do we get a refund? caveat emptor?

i guess this asks the question, as things we buy become less physical and more digital - effectively free to duplicate and distribute - then how does this change our notion of value over time. in the physical product world, sometimes you can receive protection in the form of a partial refund if the price of a product is dropped shortly after you buy it, or if a new replacement product is released soon after, but in a digital world where things are more quickly updated or continuously updated, what does price protection in that context mean?

just some thoughts out loud. what do you think?

sidewalk closed

ok, how litigious a society do we live in that this is the norm?

“Sidewalk closed to through pedestrian traffic by city permit. All pedestrians must use sidewalk on other side of street.”

i seem to recall as a kid encountering all kinds of hazards, from pot holes to sidewalks that ended unexpectedly, and i survived it. perhaps it depends upon the community — some will just have a higher standard than others for ’safety’ — but still this is absurd. i saw this a few blocks from my place.