Thought Patterns

My nephew Ryan received his second degree black belt.

From BBCNews:

Keith Richards 'tree fall' injury

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has been taken to hospital in New Zealand after injuring himself while on holiday in Fiji.

A band spokeswoman said Richards had suffered a "mild concussion" and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Media reports in Australia and New Zealand said Richards had hurt his head when he fell out of a palm tree.

The legendary musician is mid-way through a world tour with the famous British band.

The band most recently played in New Zealand and start the European leg of their tour in Barcelona next month.

"Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife Patti for observation," the spokeswoman said.

The incident happened earlier this week but the star was taken to hospital on Saturday.

The spokeswoman said she did not know how the injury happened.

No further details on the 62-year-old rock star's condition were immediately available.

(link to article)

I read this nearly an hour ago and I am STILL laughing! WTF was he doing in a tree??!! It took me several tries before I could tell Lorna what I was laughing about.

Something is broken
Not like the first morning
More like the rip-tide
Took me without warning

Tears without reason
Anger without a goal
Disapointment and
Pain: all out of control

Why were all my dreams
Built upon sifting sands
And gone when I wake
Not at all like I planned

From University of Pennsylvania:

Water and Nanoelectronics Will Mix to Create Ultra-Dense Memory Storage Devices, Researchers Say
April 26, 2006

PHILADELPHIA — Excessive moisture can typically wreak havoc on electronic devices, but now researchers have demonstrated that a little water can help create ultra-dense storage systems for computers and electronics.

A team of experimentalists and theorists at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Harvard University has proposed a new and surprisingly effective means of stabilizing and controlling ferroelectricity in nanostructures: terminating their surfaces with fragments of water. Ferroelectrics are technologically important "smart" materials for many applications because they have local dipoles, which can switch up and down to encode and store information. The team's work is reported in the April issue of Nano Letters.

"It is astonishing to see that a single wire of even a few atoms across can act as a stable and switchable dipole memory element," Jonathan Spanier, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Drexel, said.

Spanier and his colleagues successfully demonstrated the benefits of using water to stabilize memory bits in segments of oxide nanowires that are only about 3 billionths of a meter wide.

full article

Now, I don't understand all of it but it has great potential for AI, cyborgs, and futuristic world settings. The human(oid) body is mostly water. What would happen if this technology and our bodies were combined? Holy Pin Cushion, Batman!

With all the other fun-fun-joy-joy stuff going on, I almost forgot something important!

Got an email today from the woman who will be doing the cover art for Butch Girls Can Fix Anything. We chatted back and forth a few times and she's going to see what she can come up with.

This makes it more real. You know?

Got the final parts to the desk project I have. And, by jove, I think I've got it!

I tried two different ways to mount it and think I am close if not there.

You can see the concept and drawings at the webpage I set up. Some day, I'll get the pictures done and post them too.

I also go Friday to the DME to get some adjustments done to my chair, including putting on some arm supports.

What this means is that I will soon be able to write for long periods of time again! I used to be able to do well over 1000 words an hour including breaks for chit chat. Now, well, I can't sit here for a half hour at a time.

But all that will start to change! I am psyched, stoked, and wound up!

I'm looking for a digital camcorder that also takes digital stills.

Any suggestions?