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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Sighris" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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12:46 pm
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Quote of the day...
In his book "Our Friends from Frolix 8", Philip K Dick wrote :
"The measure of a man is not his intelligence. It is not how high he rises in this freakish establishment. The measure of a man is this: how swiftly can he react to another person’s need? And how much of himself has he given?"
- Philip K Dick in "Our Friends from Frolix 8"
I was inspired to share this quote by LJ user bobby1933 who wrote something pretty cool on my LJ yesterday: http://sighris.livejournal.com/233010.html
And to go along with the above, one more:
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood:  impressed
Current Music: Die Warzau
Tags: martin_luther, measure_of_a_man, philip_k_dick, quote
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09:08 am
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Population Limits
"If we don't halt population growth with justice and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity - and will leave a ravaged world."
-- Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall
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There are many studies, theories and estimates to the max sustainable population of Earth. Limiting factors for the world population include water availability, energy, carbon, forest products, nonrenewable resources, heat removal, photosynthetic capacity, and the availability of land for food production. Methods employed in the population studies include spatial extrapolation, modeling of multiple regions, temporal extrapolation, actual supply of a resource, hypothetical modeling, and dynamic systems modeling. Many (if not most) studies rely on assumptions about the level of technology we can reach, the energy intake per person, and available arable land in the future... thus I found a wide range of estimates...
If interested, a lot of good info is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation
- which says: "Scientific estimates of the carrying capacity of Earth range between one and two billion people, depending on the values used in calculations." and "World population is currently growing by approximately 74 million people per year. If current fertility rates continued, in 2050 the total world population would be 11 billion, with 169 million people added each year. However, global fertility rates have been falling for decades, and the updated United Nations figures project that the world population will reach 9.2 billion around 2050. This is the medium variant figure which assumes a decrease in average fertility from the present level of 2.5 down to 2.
More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
Some (respected) people/scientist/thinkers believe/think our planet can support between 2 Billion and 5 Billion (or more?) with good planning and execution of those plans (food & water distribution, maximum crop yields, etc.) BUT even those optimistic figures are very scary since it seems it is very likely we will soon (if not already) have TWICE as many people as the Earth can sustainably support!!!
It seems "Starship Earth" has some huge problems just ahead.
This post is a follow-up to the post I made yesterday < http://sighris.livejournal.com/232733.html > about an article I recently read in Scientific American Magazine.
I am very concerned about what lies ahead...
- Can you (my LJ friends and readers) give me any good news?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood:  irritated
Tags: 21st_century, earth, food, p_k_dick, population, poverty, sustainability, water
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05:31 pm
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In the news:
My post for today is at my NEW blog, ~please~ check it out:
http://justcauseit.com/blogs/sighris/could-food-shortages-bring-down-civilization
And let me know what you think, about the Scientific American Magazine article (water and food shortages causing problems for human civilization) or about the Just Cause website.
OK?
Thanks,
Sighris
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood:  contemplative
Current Music: Rage Against the Machine
Tags: 21st_century, civilization, food, human_rights, poverty, problems, water
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05:25 pm
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Have a good night!
Happy Halloween everyone!!!
Yes; I was at a seance in New Orleans (many years ago) which was being run by the infamous Marik ov thee Z-Cluster (I'll try anything once;) ! If you want to know more about it, ask me!
How about you?
Current Location: USA
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: DragonSeed by Mondomino
Tags: dead, ouiji, seance, writer's block
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01:06 pm
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Luck
Yes, it does seem, on a materialistic level, that some people are more fortunate than others (In My Opinion). Just look at those born into terrible conditions (poverty and violence) and those born "with a silver spoon in their moths" (as the saying goes); but I also think people create their own luck by doing things that will bring them "good luck" (such as wearing appropriate cloths during a job interview, preparing for difficult times, and having self-confidence).
It is impossible to tell how much of ones condition is due to "luck" and how much is due to making good decisions, but I feel very lucky (or loved by God/Kaos/Eris/fate/Thee_Tao/what-ever)!
How about you?
- Has your life been a blessing or a curse?
Namaste,
Sighris
Current Location: LA
Current Mood: loved
Tags: cursed, eris, faith, fate, god, life, lucky, sighris, writer's block
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12:50 pm
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movies
A friend asked me about my favorite movies, and we got talking about "Whale Rider" and "Capricorn One", two movies which I liked a lot (and have not seen in a LONG time).
Whale Rider (2002):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/
Capricorn One:
http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Capricorn-One
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/capricorn_one/
My favorite Cyber/tech Movies are: "The Matrix", 13th Floor, BladeRunner (by Philip K. Dick) and "Total Recall" (a 1990 movie by Philip K. Dick with Arnold Schwarzenegger < http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/ >).
The 1st/original "Star Wars" is one of my "all time" favorite movies.
Other favorite movies which I liked a lot are "Dances with Wolves" and "The Cube". I liked "Run Lola Run" < http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/run_lola_run/ >, Memento & "Pulp Fiction" a lot, partly because of the "time twists" in each of them.
"Donnie Darko" (which also had some time-twist stuff) gave me some stuff to ponder (which means I liked it too).
"The Usual Suspects" had a good lesson to teach, so I recommend it to those who are interested in strategy (like my Go playing friends). I laughed a lot during "Time Bandits" and "The Princes Bride".
I enjoyed "A Beautiful Mind" quite a bit, which was based on a true story... and has Go/Weiqi in the movie.
What are your favorite movies?
Sighris
p.s. more info on P.K.Dick below: (in a reply to myself)
Current Location: LA
Current Mood:  groggy
Tags: movies, philip_k_dick
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02:43 pm
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In the news:
Suu Kyi 'welcomes US engagement'
Detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she welcomes US plans to engage with the country's military rulers, her lawyers say. Ms Suu Kyi also wanted the US to engage with the political opposition. {The US has said sanctions against Burma could be eased if the junta improved its human rights record.}
Ms Suu Kyi is under house arrest and is currently preparing an appeal against an extension (18 more months) of her sentence. She has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention and if her appeal fails, the extension will keep her out of multi-party elections scheduled to be held next year.
The reaction of the world's leaders to this extension is shown here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8194767.stm
More info here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8272931.stm
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: hopeful
Tags: burma, ms_suu_kyi
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01:30 pm
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In the news:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sept. 24th 2009
From: The Yes Men <mailing@theyesmen.org>
Subject: YES MAN SPRUNG, POLICE MISCONDUCT; DIRECT-ACTION CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2009
YES MEN HONCHO SPRUNG FROM CLINK
"Balls Across America" direct-action campaign launched
NYPD abuse of authority big factor in arrest
Contact: The Yes Men < event@theyesmen.org >
Andy Bichlbaum, co-founder of activist group the Yes Men, emerged after 26 hours
in New York City's central lockup with all charges against him dismissed.[1]
"The judge just laughed," said Bichlbaum. "The police had a less well-developed
sense of humor - and, it turned out, much less regard for the law. But all in all,
I'm ecstatic that they arrested me."
At 10am Tuesday, Bichlbaum was arrested and charged with trespassing, after he and
21 "Survivaballs" [2] gathered on New York City's East River and announced they
were to going to "take the UN by storm" from the water, since all the land
approaches were sealed. Once at the UN, they would supposedly use the Survivaballs
to blockade the negotiations and refuse to let world leaders leave the room until
they'd agreed on sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, as Secretary-General
Ban Ki-Moon has demanded.[3]
The event was a "scenic and mediagenic way to call attention to what our leaders
need to do in the run-up to Copenhagen," said Bichlbaum. [4] It was also the
official inauguration of the Yes Men's "Balls Across America" series of civil
disobedience actions, inspired by the call for direct action on climate change by
website http://BeyondTalk.net.
Minutes after the balls began wading into the water, law enforcement swooped in on
the protesters by land, sea, and air. In order not to harm their attackers, the
balls admitted defeat and waddled out of the water and off the beach. Seven
participants were given tickets for trespassing, and one - ringleader Bichlbaum -
was whisked away to "the Tombs," New York's central processing facility at 100
Centre Street, due to an unpaid ticket for bicycle riding through Washington
Square Park.
Bichlbaum's arrest led to hilarious prime-time coverage on CNN.[5]
"Sleeping on concrete was a challenge, but I met a lot of interesting people, and
my arrest meant major prime-time news coverage we wouldn't have otherwise had,"
said Bichlbaum. "That's the whole point of civil disobedience. Thanks to my
momentary discomfort, our symbol of the stupidity of not taking action on climate
change was seen by tens of millions of people. It all worked out great, and I
remain grateful to the NYPD for having accidentally made our event successful
beyond our wildest dreams."
Despite Bichlbaum's gratitude, one thing stuck out for his attorney, Wylie
Stecklow: in filing his report, the arresting officer had lied through his teeth.
"The officer said he'd seen Bichlbaum jump over the fence, which was obviously
impossible, since the police arrived after the Survivaballs had all entered the
beach," said Stecklow, who defended Bichlbaum at his arraignment yesterday
morning. "And the officer said there were prominent signs posted to the effect
that entering was forbidden - also untrue." [6]
"Perhaps the NYPD thought that if an officer did not swear that he saw Andy climb
a fence, AND that there were signs providing notice that this area was off-limits,
a judge might have dismissed the case," said Stecklow.
According to Stecklow, officers swearing to facts they couldn't possibly know is
an all-too-common occurrence. "Often, during mass arrests, we see a Supervising
Officer assigning junior officers to write up the paperwork. But these junior
officers end up becoming the 'arresting officer,' requiring them to swear to facts
that are not within their knowledge. This leads to constitutional violations and
wrongful arrests, and undermines the confidence that citizens should have in the
criminal justice system," said Stecklow.
The NYPD has, in recent years, been found guilty of making numerous
unconstitutional arrests in cases of political protest, and then falsifying their
statements to fit the arrests. There have in particular been several well-known
cases involving the tackling and arrest of bicyclists, with false excuses then
written into police reports. [7]
"My case doesn't matter in itself," said Bichlbaum. In fact, I'm really happy it
turned out as it did. But I hope we can help expose the systemic and nefarious
culture of lying within the NYPD, that has had the effect of criminalizing protest
in New York City."
"The police have to be told very clearly that they can't lie and expect to get
away with it," Bichlbaum added. "The stakes are far too high."
"We need to strengthen oversight of the police by those who empower them in the
first place - you and I, the citizens of New York City," said Stecklow. "Right
now, at a bare minimum, that means giving teeth to the formerly well-intentioned,
now powerless body of the Civilian Complaint Review Board."
"Unfortunately, even when we have video proving police statements to be false, no
one seems interested in investigating," added Stecklow. "That's got to change."
After reading the arresting officer's complaint against him, Bichlbaum decided to
file a complaint with the CCRB in order to hold this officer accountable for his
false statements."It's not much, but at least this guy will have to explain his
story under oath. And then next time, maybe he'll think twice before filing a
false statement to make the crime stick."
The Yes Men hope their next actions won't depend on police misconduct to make them
a success. "With 'Balls Across America,' our goal is to get arrested fair and
square, all across this fair land of ours," said Yes Men co-founder Mike Bonanno.
"It's a great way to get attention for a crucial issue."
[1] Bichlbaum actually received an Adjournment with Contemplation of Dismissal,
which normally results in full dismissal in New York State
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjourned_in_Contemplation_of_Dismissal).
[2] The Survivaball (http://survivaball.com) made its first appearance in 2006,
when "Halliburton representatives" attended a conference on catastrophic climate
change and demonstrated the functionality of the large inflatable suits which keep
corporate managers safe from global warming
(http://theyesmen.org/hijinks/survivaball). That hoax, and many more like it, are
documented in the new award-winning documentary film, The Yes Men Fix the World
(http://www.theyesmenfixtheworld.com), which opens theatrically in New York
October 7, before opening nationally October 23.
[3] http://nypost-se.com/news/un-chief-world-heading-for-climate-abyss/
[4] http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/23/headlines#14
http://nypost-se.com/news/us_news/congress-cops-out-on-climate/
http://nypost-se.com/news/us_news/crap-and-trade/
[5] http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2009/09/23/moos.survivaball.cnn
[6] http://theyesmen.org/crimcomplaint715.pdf
[7] http://blip.tv/file/771625, http://glassbeadcollective.blip.tv/file/784711/
Current Location: USA
Current Mood: amused
Tags: nyc, police, survivaball, the_yes_men
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01:24 pm
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In the news:
Did you see the Google logo today?
I clicked on it and a few seconds later I was here:
Four Hundred Years Ago, Galileo's Telescope Changed The World
http://www.rferl.org/content/Four_Hundred_Years_Ago_Galileos_Telescope_Changed_The_World/1807134.html
Old news, but fun (interesting) to review.
Sighris
Current Location: LA
Current Mood:  okay
Tags: religion, science, tech
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06:54 am
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extinction sucks!
I often think of what Agent Smith said in the 1st Matrix movie: "You humans are a virus... you multiply and then use up all of the resources... " (or something close to that) - Sometimes I wonder if we will cause our own extinction...
From "Scientific American", edited down by Sighris:
The waste produced by coal plants is more radioactive than the waste generated by their nuclear counterparts. In fact, the fly ash (a by-product from burning coal for electricity) emitted by a coal burning power plant carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy!
McBride and his co-authors estimated that individuals living near coal-fired installations are exposed to a maximum of 1.9 millirems of fly ash radiation yearly. To put these numbers in perspective, the average person encounters 360 millirems of annual "background radiation" from natural and man-made sources, including substances in Earth's crust, cosmic rays, residue from nuclear tests and smoke detectors. Dana Christensen, associate lab director for energy and engineering at ORNL, says that health risks from radiation in coal by-products are low... but McBride and his co-authors emphasize that other products of coal power, like emissions of acid rain–producing sulfur dioxide and smog-forming nitrous oxide, pose greater health risks than radiation.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste
But there is hope... if we can switch over to solar power & other more sustainable and less polluting power sources (& maybe nuclear power is one of them).
What do you think?
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags: coal, earth, energy, future, health, nuclear
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01:00 pm
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Writer's Block: My Family's Future
A world in which they can have healthy productive lives. Is that asking too much?
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: hopeful
Tags: earth, family’s future, intel, intel sponsors of tomorrow, writer's block
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04:31 pm
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Writer's Block: Leave Room
I would have to go with "sex". ;)
Current Mood:  mischievous
Tags: writer's block
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12:50 am
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Quote of the day...
Below are some quotes I a friend shared with me, and my thoughts on them:
> To get your ideas across use small words, big ideas, and short sentences.
> ~ John Henry Patterson
Great advice!
> He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.
> ~Buddha
At 1st this quote seemed funny/strange (to me) coming from "the Buddha"... but as I thought about it... it seems like it is so... BUT I realized there is ANOTHER side to that coin, which is: The one who loves 50 people has 50 reasons to live life and enjoy life to the fullest; the one who loves no one has no emotional stake in life (and that can be depressing and/or UNhealthy)!
> Bhagavat Gita:
> Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.
I agree with that 100%
Sighris
Current Location: LA
Current Mood: thoughtful
Tags: quote
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07:07 pm
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Writer's Block: Pick and Stick
Only one? - damn, that is rough... I would have to go with Thai... Thai or Italian... but either way I would be out sushi...
Tags: food, thailand, writer's block
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12:57 am
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In the news:
It was 40 years ago today, Armstrong taught the band to play:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090720-apollo-11-moon-facts.html
The Longest Solar Eclipse of 21st Century is about to happen over in/over India and China:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aTzS1rgZfEDQ
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/opinion/21iht-eddas.html
Lyrics to "Earth, Sun, Moon" by "Love And Rockets"
Songwriters: Kevin Haskins, Daniel Ash, David J (Haskins)
I can be the sun
And I can be much fun
I could shine all over you
I'm crying to
We are the kings
Of nothing at all
We, the rich beggars
That's our role
But we can shine all over you
And we will shine
To get through to you
YOU
Earth, Sun, Moon...
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: "Earth, Sun , Moon" by "Love & Rockets"
Tags: earth, eclipse, moon, space, sun
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12:34 am
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How aware are you?
How aware are you of what we, the people who read LiveJournal (and other humans) are doing?
Artist Chris Jordan shows us an arresting view of what Western culture looks like. His supersized images picture some almost unimaginable statistics -- like the astonishing number of paper cups we use every single day.
Check this out:
http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: contemplative
Tags: america, awake, awareness, cups, disposible, earth, humans
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09:19 pm
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Writer's Block: Dream Vacations
I want to go to Germany and Scotland.
And back to India soon and Thailand someday...
Also Alaska and the Yukon.
And of course BurningMan!
How about you?
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: hopeful
Tags: dream vacations 5, intel, intel sponsors of tomorrow, writer's block
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06:58 pm
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Writer's Block: Party Time
If we can count the BurningMan event as a party, the 2004 BurningMan party/event was by ~far~ the best party to which I have ever been. BurningMan 2005 was pretty good too... I missed the last three, and at the last BurningMan many of my fellow "Bavarian Illuminati Motorcycle Cabal" members < http://www.bimc.org/bimc/ > were there, so I wanted to go badly... but I decided to work and save up money so I could move to LA instead... maybe I will go in 2009...
How about you?
BTW, for those who do not know about BurningMan, info can be found here:
http://www.burningman.com
Let me know if you plan on going... OK?
Current Location: USA
Current Mood: good
Tags: bimc, burningman, party, writer's block
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07:26 pm
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Website
This looks interesting:
http://thehurtlocker-movie.com
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood: excited
Tags: bomb, bomb_squad, iraq, movie, war
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10:05 pm
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human dietary needs
Over the last two (or 3) years I've been talking to a few friends of mine about human dietary needs (and some of it ended up on my LJ earlier: http://sighris.livejournal.com/217841.html ) some of the topics that came up were "protein needs", cooking food vs raw foods, etc. One of my vegetarian friends mentioned how gorilla are basically vegetarian (which is not 100% true) so I got curious about that and found these web-sites, which do not help much with figuring out the ideal human diet, but they do have some interesting info (IMO) so I thought I would share them:
The Weston A. Price Foundation is dedicated to restoring
nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What Can the Diet of Gorillas Tell Us About a Healthy Diet for Humans?
- By H. Leon Abrams, Jr.
Associate Professor Emeritus of Anthropology E.G.C. University System of Georgia
http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/gorilla.html
Paleolithic Diet vs. Vegetarianism:
What was humanity's original, natural diet?
http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/hb/hb-interview1a.shtml
- http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/hb/hb-interview1e.shtml (this page is interesting)
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/gorilla/diet.htm
http://www.clevermag.com/essays/gorilla.htm
Anyways, enjoy or ignore!
Sighris
Current Location: Earth
Current Mood:  curious
Tags: diet, gorillias, humans
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