SQUIRRELY

Wow...I'm so proud of my school, UC Berkeley, for such a high ranking squirrel population. Maybe Oski is really a rodent.

Get a load of CSU Fullerton...LOL!!!

http://www.gottshall.com/squirrels/campsq.htm

SCREAMIN' DEAN

Was watching a thing on tv (cable) about celebrity collapses and busted up laughing when they talked about Howard Dean. Amazing how 0.25s of crazed vocalization can ruin your trip to the White House.

"He was transforming into a wolf or something. I was scared." -Anonymous Celebrity

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO LISTEN TO "EEAAAAAAAAH!!!"

SANDBALL

A conversation tonight about sports and rules...

[00:59] MichelleWie: he used to live in saudi arabia. he played on the coures there - they had no grass.
[00:59] ErnieEls: ah ok
[00:59] MichelleWie: he had to carry a piece of astroturf around w/ him to hit off of
[01:00] MichelleWie: how weird is that?
[01:02] ErnieEls: that's cheating
[01:03] MichelleWie: says legal ErnieEls
[01:03] MichelleWie: not according to saudi rules
[01:04] ErnieEls: that's not golf
[01:04] ErnieEls: not following the pga
[01:04] MichelleWie: neither is playing on sand and dirt
[01:05] ErnieEls: yes it is
[01:05] ErnieEls: haha
[01:05] ErnieEls: well that's a moot point
[01:05] MichelleWie: moo
[01:05] ErnieEls: but not following the rules is a valid point
[01:05] ErnieEls: moving the ball by hand is definitely a violation
[01:06] MichelleWie: but you're not playing on a course that follows pga regulations
[01:06] MichelleWie: so the policies served by the rules are no longer valid
[01:06] ErnieEls: so you're just proving my point more
[01:07] MichelleWie: ergo, pga rules can't apply
[01:07] ErnieEls: the point that "that's not golf"
[01:07] MichelleWie: no, you're pt was "that's cheating"
[01:07] MichelleWie: our
[01:07] MichelleWie: your
[01:07] ErnieEls: "that's not golf" i said
[01:07] MichelleWie: preceded by "that's cheating"
[01:07] ErnieEls: it's cheating if it claims to be
[01:08] ErnieEls: if someone calls it golf...then he was cheating
[01:08] ErnieEls: so if it's not cheating, it isn't golf
[01:08] MichelleWie: just bc it doesn't conform to the pga means that it's not golf?
[01:08] ErnieEls: yes
[01:08] MichelleWie: really?
[01:08] ErnieEls: yes
[01:09] ErnieEls: golf is defined as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules"
[01:09] ErnieEls: The "Rules of Golf" are internationally standardized.
[01:09] MichelleWie: courses have special rules
[01:10] ErnieEls: those are like amendments
[01:10] ErnieEls: a course cannot alter the constitution (read: Rules)
[01:10] ErnieEls: these rules are defined by the R&A and USGA
[01:11] ErnieEls: it's internationally standardized
[01:11] ErnieEls: so what you're saying is like saudi arabia claiming that a gram does not weigh a gram
[01:11] ErnieEls: so therefore it isn't a gram
[01:12] MichelleWie: so...what was golf before the pga?
[01:12] ErnieEls: he must have been playing molf or wolf
[01:12] ErnieEls: the R&A
[01:12] MichelleWie: and that is...
[01:12] ErnieEls: Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews
[01:13] ErnieEls: they rule golf everywhere except USA and Mexico
[01:13] ErnieEls: but they join with the USGA to internationally standardize the rules
[01:13] ErnieEls: i'm not making this up btw :)
[01:13] MichelleWie: but there was golf before the R&A
[01:13] ErnieEls: umm...well not really
[01:13] MichelleWie: what do you mean not really
[01:13] ErnieEls: unless you count the Society of St. Andrews Golfers
[01:13] MichelleWie: why did the R&A come into existence?
[01:13] ErnieEls: which became the R&A
[01:14] ErnieEls: ok...another point...saudi arabia didn't have golf when the R&A was formed
[01:14] ErnieEls: so it must be molf they are playing
[01:15] ErnieEls: but it ain't golf
[01:15] MichelleWie: of course it's golf!
[01:15] ErnieEls: i just proved that it isn't
[01:15] ErnieEls: it's some other similar game
[01:15] ErnieEls: with different rules
[01:15] MichelleWie: no you didn't
[01:15] MichelleWie: ahaha
[01:15] ErnieEls: the rules define the game
[01:15] MichelleWie: the game defines the rules
[01:16] MichelleWie: ok. if you're playing baseball w/ chairs for bases, are you stll playing baseball?
[01:16] ErnieEls: it's like saying you're playing basketball if you throw the ball upwards through the hoop
[01:16] ErnieEls: that's not baseball
[01:16] ErnieEls: that's chairball or something
[01:16] MichelleWie: that's basketball, sure
[01:16] MichelleWie: you're just not going to score that way
[01:16] ErnieEls: no...that's UNbasketball
[01:16] MichelleWie: and of course that baseball
[01:17] MichelleWie: soooo...if during a game, the ball goes upwards, that's not basketball?
[01:17] MichelleWie: that's just bball not in accordance w/ the rules
[01:17] ErnieEls: ok...but the difference here is that in saudi arabia it's like they are saying you score when the ball goes backwards through the hoop
[01:17] ErnieEls: so it's not golf
[01:17] ErnieEls: not if it counts as a score
[01:18] ErnieEls: not golf...sorry
[01:18] MichelleWie: it's the game of golf
[01:18] ErnieEls: no...it's the game of saudi arabia's creation
[01:18] ErnieEls: sandball i shall call it
[01:18] ErnieEls: sounds cooler
[01:18] MichelleWie: sandball
[01:19] MichelleWie: shesh
[01:19] ErnieEls: it shall now be called sandball from here until eternity
[01:19] ErnieEls: i'd like to try sandball....sounds similar to golf
[01:19] MichelleWie: *head explodes*
[01:19] ErnieEls: lol!!
[01:19] MichelleWie: lol
[01:19] ErnieEls: "ErnieEls...you are a genius"
[01:20] MichelleWie: no, you're "cool"

So the bigger question here is...why is there both Baseball and Softball?

ARID EXTRA DRY

Just got back from Scottsdale, Arizona where I was working at the medical facility which apparently is named after a thick white condiment used to make tuna salad. Snapped a quick picture on my way out of that place. It was a warm 82F today and I was loving it. The only problem with going to 'Zona (at any time of year) is the relative humidity of 0%. My nose was drying out and I had a 2-day long nosebleed until I boarded the oily air of a Ted Airbus A320. Ahhh...home.

CROWN ROYAL DRUNK

So NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has been suspended for the remainder of the season due to being caught recklessly driving while under the influence of alcohol (suspected). Read the Article.

One of Kurt Busch's sponsors is Crown Royal! That's right...the Canadian grown whiskey admired by its countrymen, Americans and Koreans all over the world. He's also sponsored by Sharpie, the permanent marker pen company. Wouldn't it be great if he ended up also being arrested for 'tagging' graffiti with a big black Sharpie marker? I love irony.

Looks like a few more drivers should be arrested soon for driving under the influence...I've seen some Bud and Smirnoff Ice cars driving around. I don't even want to imagine what irony would ensue from misuse Viagra, another sponsor in NASCAR.

VIVA LA SEX!

Was listening to a report on NPR about the recent riots taking place in Paris. I was driving whilst listening and almost crashed when I started busting up laughing over a sound-byte supplied from a French government official, speaking in English. It went something like this...

"Go to le maison and smoke le cigarettes, watch ze TV, have ze sex vith le girlfriend, but do NOT go pour le gazoil on ze automobil!"

I literally busted up laughing and people at the stoplight on A St thought I was yet another crazy person in this town. I'm all in favor of the Pro-Sex, Pro-TV and Anti-Flaming-Car policy.

--------------------
On another note...I voted! First time ever! We'll see how my selections matched the population of California. Shall be interesting. Maybe I'll post my record later.

BAKO IN THA HIZZOUSE!

This is arguably the best rap music to ever originate in Bakersfield. Mad props to the homies in the "armpit of California," my beloved home town.

http://www.tapconsulting.com/bako/

FOCUS(ED) FUSION

Picked this up on Slashdot: http://www.opensourceenergy.org/txtlstvw.aspx?LstID=95defd1e-f25c-4a33-8002-a69aca481e6a

It reminds me a bit of the research I was involved in at LBNL. At that time we were working on a compact neutron source for use in applications such as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) for radiation surgery applications. I take a lot of interest in this Focus Fusion Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) device functions. I was directly involved in the design and simulation of the electrodes in the LBNL Compact Neutron Source, and this new technology is not a giant step away from that.

I really hope that this technology gets funding. It looks like it will if it's made slashdot and the amount doesn't seem like such a great leap compared to money spent in other technologies. Now if only the politics don't get in the way. Let's let the experts, not politicians decide if it's worth pursuing.

More Links:
Focus Fusion
Compact Neutron Source Development at LBNL (pdf)
Article on my old boss/mentor
BNCT

And a photo from my days at the lab. BTW, this photo is staged if you're too naive to tell...

SYMBOLISM EH?

The best recent example of symbolism I have seen is the Flanders' Poppy. It's supposed to provoke a feeling of rememberance and honor, a symbol of Canadian (and European) veteran respect for Rememberance Day, yet it eerily reminds me of the hurricane warning flag. The two are shown below:


Almost everyone in Canada is wearing a Flanders' Poppy pin these days. If you're watching the news, every newscaster will have one buttoned to their suit. If you check into a hotel, everyone at the front desk will also sport the red/black flower. Even in Starbucks, where they make a spectacular regional Maple Macchiatto, the barristas have Flanders' poppies in contrast to their green aprons on while frothing your milk.

Oh, by the way, it snowed eh. Same picture as the previous post, one week later.