little hands

i followed this link because of my interest in sign language and desire to use it with my children when they are young. well i watched the whole thing because i was impressed by the expressiveness of the voiceover.

musical timewarp

on several occasions i have found myself following link after related link on youtube following historical records of artists i know now, mesmerized by how they are at once so very different from how i know them now and at the same time i can see the essence of what they will become.i find myself searching to trace the transition to the present.  other times i run into artists i have never known but wish i had. 

the example linked above is an early genesis video with both peter gabriel and phil collins. both look so young! the music is really out there and i can only imagine how it made sense in the context of the seventies.

other interesting and similar threads to search include: steve winwood, ray charles, eric clapton, stevie wonder, eric burdon, alan price, james hunter, glenn miller, gene krupa

mechanical calculators and analog electronics

i just heard about this beautiful mechanical calculator and it kindled the spark inside me. i connected that with the news on the radio this morning about television going digital. i have always loved the power of analog electronics which i think are not appreciated enough these days in the rush to go digital. i was amazed in college to learn of the complexity of calculations that can be constructed using analog electronics, so that the system acts out the solution instead of having to take the time to calculate it. i also fear that my children will miss the magic of taking a few simple pieces of wire and electronics to capture the invisible radio waves around them. having those signals digital makes them less directly accessible.

putting both of these things together makes me believe that perhaps i am reincarnated from some early 20th century amateur scientist (tinkerer). perhaps that helps to explain my love of dances from that era too.

amateur scientist

hmm.. i listened to this talk and it really made me appreciate my experience growing up. i did fiddle with things, do thing hands-on, and hence the questions were not difficult for me. i am surprised that they are difficult for other scientists. similarly class and another comment i heard today have gotten me thinking about skills that have been lost over the last century. ones that are recorded in my boy scout handbook, old cookbooks, and similar resources.

watch all the way through the ad at the end, an interesting idea about how the culture will change once we can take the internet with us. i hope it turns out as positive as they make it seem.

go back to the beginning

okay so maybe not the beginning (the line from princess bride still echoes in my head), since i really didn't do too much latex until grad school, but it feels like going back to something essential that i love.

also, the little animations in the left margin of each page showing elegant geometric proofs just fascinate me

business creativity

i sometimes feel a conflict between my work and my artistic side. the linked article addresses some of that dilemma and is sympathetic to my struggles.