Minnesota Power Falcon Cam

Peregrine falcons are my favorite birds. They always have been, since I learned that they are the fastest ( which to my young mind, meant best ).

Here is a webcam on a nest that a falcon named Bandit has been using since '92. He has raised 37 chicks there, with two mates.

This is all part of a private effort by Minnesota Power to provide safe nesting for falcons and other endangered birds.

Extropy Institute is closing its doors and opening a window for a proactive future.

whoa.

The Extropy Institute is closing. Many people may not know who they are, but they played an important part in my life, six years ago or so, when I first encountered them, my plans were very uncertain. I can honestly say that it was a major fork in the road of my planning, and that my view of the world has never really been the same since.

Transhumanism started out as a philosophy/attitude, and quickly turned into a culture. People had been taking that and adding to it for years when I encountered it, and I found it a rich vein of imagination, ideas, and scientific futurism.

I am a very different person because of it. And I think I will always identify strongly with the ideas it once espoused. the extropy institute is now gone, but I think that there are more extropians than ever.

"Those who cannot cope with mathematics are at best, tolerable sub-humans who have learned to bathe, wear shoes and not make messes in the house."
~Heinlein

Ouch.

So I'm visiting Salt Lake City next weekend, which will probably be the last time I'll be in town for a while, since Crystal will be here after that for some months. I'm going to try to see people, but my schedule always seems to be mussed.

J. Steven York's Multiplex of the Mind: Writers and other delusional people

A good article about writers and writing.

A little background is required for those of your who never wanted to be writers. What he's specifically railing against here are agents who promise to get you published, if you pay them a fee, and publishers who do that same thing. Many justify it, saying that the financial risk needs to be offset, and you will in any case, quickly recoup the fees in royalty.

As he points out, this sort of thing continues to be popular because those fees are NOT recouped in royalty, and in fact end up just being fat to a publisher or agent who does little or nothing on your behalf. It amounts to very expensive vanity publishing.

Once I thought I would primarily be a writer, and still have some plans to write, although other things have interceded. What I will end up writing may not be a book, but it will be something.

gizmag Article: Borders to Sell Digital Reading Device

I hope this works out. I've been waiting for digital books for a while now. I grab digital copies online when I can, and used to read on my PDA, but the momentum and selection just hasn't been there. If this is cheap, and has a large library, I really think the time may have come.

It's not flying cars, but I've been really waiting for this.