The Shallows

This month for book club we read The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains, by Nicholas Carr.
From a pure readability factor it was pretty good. Not too heavy, thorough enough, but not too technical. And it was a quick read.
From my personal perspective in terms of content I went back and forth with being a little bored (because I already knew the stuff) to fairly interested. I wasn't so into his whole history of the Internet, or books for that matter, and I thought he repeated himself a bit too much (and stated obvious things that anyone reading this book would already know like what Facebook is...duh.)
But some of the brain imaging experiments, special studies, anecdotes from other writers, and his personal reflections on his experiences were intriguing to me. For example studies show "...that in the long run a medium's content matters less than the medium itself in influencing how we think and act." That goes for the Web as well as T.V, radio, and cell phones as well. You could even throw in GPS units, since it appears that spatial awareness is on a decline.
A few other highlights include:
It was interesting when the author (quoting another author) said "Calm, focused, undistracted, the linear mind is being pushed aside by a new kind of mind that wants and needs to take in and dole out information in short, disjointed, often overlapping bursts- the faster the better." It really hit home for me, because that is exactly what I've been feeling lately. My mind is always running at full speed, looking for something to do.
I thought his commentary on the relationship between authors and readers was really interesting too. He says that back in the olden days when people read books there was an unspoken agreement between writers and those that read their work, namely that the author could write in a manner of full expression and be able to count on the patience and attentiveness of the reader. But now in the "faster is better" world of technology the readers attention is waning, writer must approach writing from an entirely new standpoint. They have to be quick, and exciting. It's less about what the writer wants to say (in terms of Internet reading) and more about what the readers are willing to read.
I found his discussion on the physical reshaping of the brain due to our modern technology, and the prolonged consequences to be really insightful. Reading on the web, with all it's distractions, makes it hard to focus. So our brains are becoming more able to multi-task. What we loose in the process is deep focused understanding. The author likens the modern memory to a Rolodex (for those of you who don't know what this is...go look it up!). We don't actually retain much information, but we are really good and remembering ways to find things out. And we are able to do it faster and faster all the time.
He also referenced another book I just happen to be reading at this very moment, that and that was cool.

This topic is really interesting to me on a personal level because I have lately noticed a shift in my mind, particularly a "loudness", (a scattered feeling like my attention is being pulled in many directions at once, all the time)  that I believe is the result of too much time surfing the net, and playing around with my phone etc. I'm not saying I don't love email and shopping on Amazon, but I think it would do me a bit of good to cut back. I find that I am often sacrificing the physical present for some distraction in cyberspace, and it bothers me. It's like when you get together with friends to go to dinner and then you all sit at the restaurant texting and "checking in" on Facebook....only I'm doing that to myself. For example I'll be trying to read a book, and then it suddenly occurs to me that I might want to marinade a tri-tip for dinner tomorrow, and so off I go clicking around on the Web looking for a marinade recipe. Then I decided to check the weather, then I get an email, then a couple texts, then I get a notice from Facebook so I sign in, and post a few comments of my own...You get it. Next thing you know I read for 15 minutes and was online for 45. The only time I really feel focused is when I am running or at kickboxing.
And as a side note the fact that information and technology is so portable is also changing us. I don't necessarily like that I am accessible to everyone all the time through several different mediums no matter where I am. On the rare occasions when I am focused and my mind is quiet, it is often disturbed by the ding on my phone that I have received a new email, or a text alert, and I get sucked in. Again, I am glad I have my cell phone for emergencies, but I just don't like the distraction of getting emails and texts when I am on the road.
I don't mean to sound antisocial, and I certainly do appreciate it when folks think about me, I'm just saying that it alters my focus and sometimes makes it hard to really be somewhere, doing something. Maybe the proactive thing to do is stop whining about it and just limit my internet use, and turn off my cell phone when I don't want to be disturbed.
Some people really thrive on technology and all of the amazing things it allows us to do. I am amazed by all my friends that manage it so well. But I don't. I appreciate it, but I don't "love" it.
I prefer a little more quiet.

Overall this was a good book, but I'd probably go with 3.5 starts out of 5.

Invasion

I have a love hate relationship with technology. On the one hand it's miraculous, and so handy and useful and brilliant. But on the other it is confusing and over-achieving, and so beyond my puny intellect. We have all seen movies that depict the devistation of humanity through the sentience of machines. Well, I am especially feeling that now.
I took my iPad to the coffee shop the other day. I did some stuff, and then as I was leaving I decided to put it in my purse. My phone was in there too. Suddenly I heard music playing. One of the songs I downloaded to my phone. I pulled out my phone but no sound was coming from it. I was confused. I held it up to my ear as other coffee shop patrons stared. WTF? I pulled out my iPad and realized the song was comming from it. But I never put music on there! I scrambled to turn it off. I stepped into the parking lot, and upon further inspection all the music from my phone was suddenly on my iPad! It was like there was some kind of conversation going on in my purse that I was unaware of. My phone and my iPad are apparenly very close friends. I did not know this.
Then today I was doing laundry. I threw in a load of darks. I started the machine. Then I found a few other things I wanted to add. But the machine wouldn't open! It was locked. There was a red "no" light and everything. I spent 10 minutes trying to open it, but the washer was having none of it. I was denied. And again I was like WTF? My washing machine gets to tell me what I can and can't do? How is that even possible?!?
I hate to say it, because technology is so great in so many ways, but today...right now, it's freaking me out.

Goodbye

Farewell old friend.

They say death is never pretty, and I have to agree. Even when it was never alive in the first place.

What in the Google?

I was just typing the question "Why are we supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day?" into Google, and was amused by it's attempts to anticipate my question as I proceeded though each of the first few words. Are these really the most popularly asked questions? If so I fear for humanity. I really do. 

Alps Railway Tunnel

I was perusing an issue of National Geographic at the library the other day when I stumbled upon this photo (or one really close to this, I found this one on the internet). I was quite amazed. It looked like something out of the latest Transformers movie. I've never seen such a large drill! And to think it's been tunneling for years, under the Alps, an astonishing 2 km below the surface is even more impressive. I won't go into all the details since the Nat Geo folks are much better writers than I am, but here is the article if you'd like to know more.
It definitely puts a new spin on the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" doesn't it?

SketchUp

I have been using a new program called Google SketchUp at work to do 3-D modeling of landslides. It's a pretty cool program once you get the hang of it, and best of all it's free! You can design anything from furniture to houses! It also allows you to mix and match color schemes and materials. Here is just a quick example I whipped up to illustrate what it can do:

3-D Printers, FACT! Not Fiction

Printed motorcycle by AutoDesk using AutoCAD 3-D

Printed flute

Alright, so how is it possible that there is such a thing as a 3D printer and no one told me about it? When I was informed they existed I thought my leg was being yanked. But no that was not the case! There is a printer that actually creates objects in 3D made out of plastic, metal etc. which is fed into a machine as a powder.  And I mean 3D like the food replicator in Star Trek (except they can't make anything out of  food yet) 3D!!! It's a real, existing, honest to Thor, machine that can take a 3D drawing from a computer and construct it, complete with rotating parts if necessary! AutoDesk has actually built a motorcycle this way! (Not the whole motorcycle at once, but parts were made and then put together).
Isn't that just about the craziest thing you ever heard?!?  Can you imagine? Soon (hopefully) we will be able to replicate kidneys and toes for people who need them! And one day we might actually be able to say "Tea, Earl Grey. Hot." into a speaker in a wall and pull out a printed cup filled with printed tea!
I was feeling kind of bummed about the fact that we haven't invented hover cars yet, but this incredible machine is kind of making me feel better. We haven't mastered  Back to the Future technology yet, but we're on on right path to Star Trek transporters, and warp speed!Yesssss!

Printed parts and machine gears.

My Eyeballs

I had an eye doctor appointment this morning. It took longer than I thought because they had an extensive new medical question form to fill out. I don't know why they needed to know the last time I had diarrhea, or what that has to do with my vision, but that question was not alone in the seemingly irrelevant inquiries.
The exam was typical, but there was one cool part. I guess they have a machine that can take a picture of the back of your eye to make sure everything back there is hooked up properly and not detaching or getting tangled up. It cost an extra $38 (which my insurance wouldn't cover) but I decided to do it anyway in hopes that I could snag a copy of the photos (or at least a jpg).
Success was mine! I did have to ask for a copy, but they didn't seem too put out to print them for me. I agree that 40 bucks is a little steep, but besides the fact that owning pictures of my very own eyeballs is AWESOME, they are for medicinal reasons and on nice photo paper to boot. So I could potentially have them framed and hang them in my entryway at home. Like a "Hi! Welcome! I'm watching you." Kind of thing...Hmmm...maybe not. Halloween is next week, maybe I'll just hang them on the front door to scare all the little kids away. Or I could make them into coasters...or holiday cards! There really are so many uses, I am not sure what I'll do. Who knows, if your lucky I might send you a framed limited edition print for Christmas! You'll have to wait and see:)
From a philosophical standpoint, you know how people say you can see a person's soul by looking deeply into their eyes? Well all I can say is hopefully that's a metaphor. Otherwise my soul looks like spaghetti, and that would be embarrassing.
On that note, here are some pretty cool, and pretty high tech photos of the back of my eyeballs (the dark spots are my pupils on the other side of my eye!) Enjoy!

Watch it Fly

I just read an article about a machine called an Ornithopter. The video is really quite amazing! Instead of re-phrasing the article I just thought I'd give you the link. You can check it out here.

iPhone 4...Million

I recently got a new phone. The super new iPhone 4! This is the first time I have ever been at the cutting edge of the technological world. And I hate to admit it but I think my new phone might just be smarter than I am. It knows if I have new email, what the weather will be like tomorrow, how my stocks are doing, and what the score is of every major spot on the planet. It has a library, and music store and can play videos. It can take photos and movies and do video conferencing. In fact the only thing I can do that it can't is open a bottle of wine! And who knows, maybe there is an app for that and I just haven't found it yet. I sometimes even forget it's a phone! It will start ringing and I think "What the...OH...that's right, it receives telephone calls too...neato".
My old phone was a Archosaur (they lived before the dinosaurs). It's coolest feature was that it flipped open, and maybe that it was called a "Razor" which sounds pretty neat. So when I first got my iPhone it was shocking. I mean I went from a phone that saved all my voicemails and delivered them about once a week (or whenever it felt like it), to a phone that works better than my PC! At first it was a little overwhelming. I was reminded of what I feel like when I go to an arcade and try to play video games. I end up just pushing a lot of buttons, getting overly excited and hoping something cool happens on the screen. Then I spend hours of my life trying to figure out how I did those cool things...
But after a couple days I began to get the hang of it. I downloaded apps, and set up my voice mail, and email and all that good stuff. I avoided the whole "antenna problem" by getting a case, and I have to say my phone works great! To date I have begun reading a book from my iBook library, I have watched Sports Center and checked my email...all from the comfort of my own toilet...ha ha ha...just kidding:) I could though if I wanted to.
It's great for looking up recipes while at the grocery store, and checking movie listings, and well...it kind of feels like having an external hard drive for my brain. Grocery lists and writing down directions? Pu-leeeze! That is so old-school!
I don't like that I am so technology dependent, but I figure if I have to be I may as well really take it for all it's worth. And that is what the iPhone 4 specializes in. It's like the iPhone 3 suddenly thought to itself "Why just do when you can over-do?" And thus a new generation in ridiculous awesomeness was born.

P.S. This post is dedicated to my brother Jonathon, who foot the bill for the up-grade from 3 to 4! Thanks Boy!!!!!

Terrafugia the First Flying Car!

Just read this article about Terrafugia cars that can actually fly! Not exactly the prettiest (or most aerodynamic) automobile on the road, or the fastest (they only go about 30 miles an hour), but considering it can FLY I think it's OK. All you need in order to get one is 20 hours of flying time and $200,000! If I don't think about the possibility of there being as many morons in the sky as there are on the road , it almost seems like a good idea to have airplanes for the average blue collar American. Almost.
I thought about adding it to my Christmas List but then remembered I hate flying.