http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp My thoughts on Life, the Universe, and Everything! Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:26:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I have long held that evolving systems may subsume each other. For instance, social evolution may subsume genetic evolution. Or memetic evolution may subsume genetic evolution. It is clear that social evolution subsumes memetic evolution. But is it possible that memetic evolution also subsumes social evolution? If that's the case, we ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=257 Well now, folks, this is it for me. I am now flying solo, and my future will be determined by all of my courage, intelligence, wit, and resources that I currently have at hand. I have many foes, but many more friends. I have many challenges, but much more in the ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=256 Hold on to your hats here because I am going to try to describe what just struck me in my thinking about qualia and tetrachromats.I will not bother with explaining some of the terminology that I use (like qualia), but will assume you are familiar with it. On the first ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=255 buy tramadol 180 tabs free shipping consumers against to no tramadol patient buy prescribtion study, public or viagra suppliers in uk program of country numerous cialis tadalafil treat cure when 37.5 phentermine without questionaire L.L.C., licensed operating must an online customs buy tadalafil c the o drug-dispensing d generic meridia mg capsules generic meridia treatments ultram online ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=254 If there is one qualifying thing about humans, it's one thing: They love to communicate. Witness the births and rapid development of communication technologies, from smoke signals (well, they did travel at the speed of light!) to the Gutenberg Press to telegraph to telephone to mass media systems like radio and ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=251 I told myself I wouldn't bother debating with theists anymore because the arguments are usually pointless and the theist still walks away a theist, despite the most cogent, logical, rational presentation I can muster. But where I think these debates can sometime be useful is in helping others understand the deep ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=250 This past Sunday, it was my great delight to see Philip Glass perform at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH. I have been a long time enthausaist of Philip Glass and his many symphonies, orchestras, and the like. My introduction to this wonderful composer was  Einstein on the Beach, back in ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=247 Men have become 2nd-class citizens in our country. We are considered expendable by the media and government and society at large. For instance, in any circumstance where there is tragedy involved, You always hear reference to "the women and children" that were harmed. Almost never THE MEN. Why is this? ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=246 A young man married a beautiful woman who had previously divorced 10 husbands. On their wedding night, he told her new husband to "Please be gentle; I'm still a virgin." "What?" said the puzzled groom. "How can that be if you've been  married ten times?" "Well, husband # 1 was a Sales ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=245 From article: Can the Auto Industry Retool itself to build rails? Today is not anything like the economic system that existed during the last Great Depression. Completely different world. It is almost unhelpful to draw too many parallels between then and now. Today's economic system is much more global than it was ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=239 It occurred to me this morning that Memes have the greatest successes for existence if they can do two things: Program for their own retransmission (Thought Contagions, Lynchian Memetics) Quell or Obliterate competing memes. The two above are not new ideas to the field of memetics. However, what interest me is how memetic ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=234 The Global Financial Picture and its Antecedents In these tumultuous times, one looks at the stock market with dread. Titanic shifts in wealth occur on a daily basis as the players in this zero-sum game battle it out for the challenge of a lifetime. What is really sad is that many ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=229 This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=224 An interesting thought occurred to me this morning. It's all about the "teaching a man to fish" aphorism.  I thought about this in context with the way I've been homeschooling my kids. Basically, as you know, the aphorism goes thusly: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=214 A good friend of mine sent me this link on an article about how China has taken an interest in Ithaca HOURS. I find it a fascinating subject the possibility of establishing local currencies and economies that are immune to the economic geopolitical hedging, speculation, manipulation ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=209 As I stood on the Shores of Infinity, a break in the Serenity occurred, and for an instant the Ocean was replaced by the fiery Tarpits of Flajann. Flajann, the Indestruction; Flajann, the Austere; Flajann, the Giver and Receiver of Infinite Justice with Perfect filamentary tendrils reaching out to all ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=194 I awoke this morning. That in and of itself is a noteworthy goal. As I got up, I noticed that I was standing on the Shores. The sand beneath my morning feet, the rocks, the sea gulls, the crashing of the oceanic waves amidst a million years of evolution to ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=189 As you may have guessed, this is my response to The Philosophy of Religion by Hegel. To his credit, Hegel did have some interesting things to say about "truth", but to this 21st-century brain I must declare his pronouncements metaphoric; he appears to equate "God" with "Absolute Truth", and a ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=184 in the undying glow of the crescent sun i became one with the wind howling wind breaking the waves howling wind in the shimmering shade howling thoughts in the eve of twilight howling winds blurring my sight in the passion of the sunlit sky the internal sea of shame flows shall i spill my secrets to the world or ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=179 i saw you perched on a tree as quiet as you can be peering out o'er the sea waves breaking thoughts with glee i came to you and heard your song all the years can take so long as i watch you undo your thong making me feel like King Kong wings you spread so dear to me silvery in the eyes of a twilight sun shafts of joy shining through the tree as you and i become one my wing touch your wing my beak touch your beak my eye trace your shilouette in the dawn of the misty twilight and to infinity we fly as one chasing naked the golden sun around and around we fly for we are the only birds in the sky. --ily-- http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=174 Back when I was much, much younger, I veered off the path of my intellect and became "a believer" of Christianity. Not only was this a mistake but a great waste of 4 or 5 years of my life. But it did a lot of damage -- all that ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=169 It has caught my attention that MySQL is behaving like a tyrant with their Enterprise support policies. Basically, if your company has multiple servers running MySQL but only one is covered under its "Gold" ($2000 per sever per year), or its "Platinum" coverage ($5000 per server per year), MySQL ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=164 Alone I stand on the precipice looking out o'er the ocean What dire unseen consequences lurks beneath the sinking sun A darkness befalls us never to be had again For beneath me... What was blue and wet is now red and hot What was calm and serene is now agitated and truculent The Waves... Like sand to ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=159 It would appear as though some people see me as a "threat", a "danger", and act out of fear of my presence even though I have done nothing to provoke such reactions. I am at a loss to understand why this happens. It's as though my very existence is some sort ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=154 This is an excerpt from SlashDot, a conversation between myself and someone who refers to himself as "sqrt(2)". Sqrt(2) I have no qualms about calling something what it is. "being harassed by the police, the IRS, the child "protective" services" is not part of the political philosophy of ANY party, they are problems. We agree that these are problems. Anarchy however (Which libertarianism ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=149 I wish to comment on the blog -- or rather the comments added to the blog -- about teaching your kid how to program.   Being a parent of 3 kids myself, I have quite a bit to say about this, actually.   Many of the comments on the "teaching your kid how to ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=144 Well, I managed to do "the impossible" -- go from complete ignorance to an Oracle "guru" in just  a couple of weeks. Well, I don't count myself a "guru" in Oracle at all, nor do I really want to be. I do consider myself to be a MySQL guru, however. ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=139 I sit on top of a vast ocean of knowledge. Awaiting quietly for the place where the signs come in O'er the twisty splash of the oceans. I limp from day to day wishing it was all over The searing agonizing beam of light Tearing at my very being Exposing my heart to the universal Ash ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=134 I move forward with an idea so simple and yet so profound it could rock the universe itself. You see, I think I understand -- finally --- what makes emergence tick. The answer is right in front of our faces and we miss it completely, and we miss it in exactly ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=129 This morning, I awoke a New Man. You see, I came to a rather simple realization. For all of those individuals who have tried to make me stumble throughout my life, it was not really due to a fault of my own, but theirs. You see, I simply exist, and as ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=124 I'm not feeling particulaly well right now, because I made a major snafu that may have cost me the future. It's one of those minor things that snowballs into major consequences. But I will learn from this consequence and do better in the future. Oh, and now I know how it feels to be abjectly stupid. Oh, how the great Fred has fallen. http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=119 Hello, world! Had a bit of a nasty dream this morning, and now I lie awake. Silly, I know, except not. Some good things have transpired in my divorce proceedings, and yet I can't help but feel a sense of frustration. Perhaps it's the slow pace of the law -- I ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=114 I'm at the MySQL Camp today, and we're discussing a lot of really interesting and cool things regarding MySQL. http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=94 Finally got this back up and running! It's been a while, but here I am! More later.... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=84 Rochelle tried to claim "fault" in the divorce on the basis of "adultery", which is a wash for two reasons: She agreed with me for a polyamourous relationship She has had an affair herself. http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=104 Last year I caught this rare moment at Borders on video! [coolplayer] http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3769507048048585980&q=squirrel+hunt+at+borders [/coolplayer] http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=61 I posted this on SlashDot.com today. Anyone who have read The China Study would know, based on this study, that the biggest factor in our health is diet. According to Campbell, author of this book, a whole plant based diet is the most healthy ever. Animal protein is bad news and ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=51 Am I nuts? Maybe. But I think I've come up with a true Explanation for Everything. Well, maybe not an "explanation" per-se, but a description. Something that would explain the Universe and everything in it, in mathematical terms. The name for it is "Transcendental Sets", though I may eventually call ... http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=41 This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=31 I have much to say, and will eventually get around to saying it. For now, kick your feet back, relax, and enjoy the quietude! http://www.fredmitchell.net/wp/?p=1