Digital Brainwaves

Archive for December, 2008

Digital Brainwaves listed on RocWiki

Dec 28, 2008 Blog News, Cool Links, Rochester

Taking a cue from Dave, I have now listed Digital Brainwaves as an “Everyday Life” blog on the Rochester Wiki, RocWiki.org. Go have a look at not just other Rochester area blogs there, but articles about a great many restaurants, locations, people and events in the Rochester area, with all content created by its readers.

40 years ago – Apollo 8

Dec 26, 2008 Brainwaves, In The News, Spaceflight

My previous entry notwithstanding, I do respect and acknowledge Christmas as a very important religious holiday. That in mind, and also to go along with my love of space travel and exploration, I present (albeit a couple days late) a commemoration of an important anniversary in human spaceflight.

We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

– William Anders

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

– James Lovell

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas â€“ and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.

– Frank Borman

Hope you had a merry Christmas!

Dec 26, 2008 Brainwaves

I don’t consider myself particularly religious, but Christmas is still a big deal in my family. As such, much like Eugene Volokh, I don’t celebrate it as a religious holiday (though I respect its genesis and continued existence as one). All the same, it is the holiday I choose to celebrate, and will gladly tell you “Merry Christmas” over saying “Happy Holidays” or some such.

That said, I hope you had (and will continue to have, depending when your various and sundry parties and gatherings may be) a merry Christmas!

Send Gov. Patterson a soda can (or a dozen)

Dec 22, 2008 Cool Links, New York State, Politics

Bob Lonsberry’s fed up with the state of our state government, and the proposed taxes and fees in Governor Patterson’s budget. So he’s cooked up his own little Boston Tea Party:

We need to get in their face. Young and old, black and white, Democrat and Republican. The college students and the business owners. The folks who resent a tax on downloads and the folks who resent a tax on haircuts. The ones who think an 18-percent tax on soda pop is nuts and the people who think a $1 million tax on nuclear power plants is nuts. Everyone who uses the insurance or the services or the products that have come under nuclear-tax attack by the governor.

We need to stand together – or we will hang alone.

And here’s the first step. Let’s send the governor a present. Because the insane non-diet soda-pop tax has gotten the most media attention, let’s start there. Let’s send him a can of soda.

Not a full can — that would cost us too much money in postage and packaging. We’re going to send him an empty can — that takes the weight down from just under 13 ounces to less than one. If we do it right, i’ll only cost us an envelope and 42 cents postage.

Read the whole column for details and an address to which to send your empty cans.

Stolen Glance

Dec 9, 2008 Photos

Stolen Glance
Originally uploaded by Pauley2483.

Looking through the photos I’ve got on my computer, I realize I have several sets to process and share. Here’s a particularly cute one from Yvonne’s and my trip to MontrÃ©al last May to hold you over until I get that going. Enjoy!