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I was reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy when I came upon the perfect quote, something I've been wondering how to say for a few days.  It's almost word for word what I wish I had on tap when I was having a discussion on Facebook with someone who believes in Astrology.  He was trying to say that knowledge and belief were the same thing.  As the discussion went on, this person stated that Science is a belief system that required faith, and that Astronomy was science.  I wish I had these quotes a few days ago.

Apart from the revolutionary effect on cosmic imagination, the great merits of the new [Copernican] astronomy were two: first, the recognition that what had been believed since ancient times might be false; second, that the test of scientific truth is patient collection of facts, combined with bold guessing as to laws binding the facts together.

A few pages before that, Russell brings up a book that tried to discredit science by saying that the founders of modern science held crazy, Middle Aged beliefs that modern empiricist wouldn't stand for.  This is what he said to that:

I think this shows a misconception of the scientific attitude: it is not what the man of science believes that distinguishes him, but how and why he believes it.  His beliefs are tentative, not dogmatic; they are based on evidence, not on authority or intuition.  Copernicus was right to call his theory a hypothesis; his opponents were wrong in thinking new hypothesis undesirable.

I can't say it any better.  Even knowing that this was published 57 years ago reminds me that this conversation has been going on for quite a long time, and how we truly stand on the shoulders of giants.

There are times, times like when you are setting up a few flashes in the living room to test out some light designs, when after the most loving ball of fur in your life puts his paws up on your leg, looks up at you as if to say, "Hold me!" and squeaks out an almost apologetic meow, that you realize that no force on the planet will stop you from complying. Maybe it's the eye to face size ratio, maybe it's the fact that he begins to purr the moment he settles into my shoulder. I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it makes me feel like this photo.

Well, at least moments like this make up for the early morning barefoot hairballs and occasional litter box explosions.

President's day was dragging on, so I went for a drive. I noticed some interesting buildings across the bay so I went around to check them out. It is a large grey building that looked as if it was built to be a WWII battleship, surrounded by an open fence. It would be a wonderful photographic subject, but today I thought it might be wise to leave it alone and check out the jetty instead.

I've been using Wikipedia since it was released, and have downloaded and used Mediawiki for 4 years now as well. I love the idea of wiki's, and have used quite a few different programs including a good 12.8% of the software listed on this list. There are some nice features on some of them that make the better suited for different functions, like home use or sales. I liked the Ruby driven for global "ToDo" lists for (by use of a ToDo tag you could put on any page, and see all items on the "ToDo" page) as well as the Mind Map feature it has.

But, as they've never said, "Home is where the Data lives" and Wikipedia has it. Because of that, we all have to live with Mediawiki and it's way of doing things. Or do we? I've been thinking about creating a Firefox plugin for Wikipedia that will remix the page to include a live history on the page. (Click below to see the goal documentation for my Firefox plugin idea)

Oldtown brickwall setup shot
Originally uploaded by Jackal of all trades

So, early Saturday I had some ants in my pants and I just wanted to go out and do something. I took my new LP120 along with all my other gear, now packed into just my LowPro and a lighting bag (that came from my first "Strobist Kit" purchase) and I went down to Old Town to take some photos.

I've always loved the brick walls in the alley between Bon Bonier and St. Vinnie's, and I thought it would make a wonderful backdrop for some portraits. Check out the rest of the set on this slideshow

What it's for?
by Yoko Kanno

I'm not to sure I can go much further
A million not sure things are even getting better
I'm so tired of the me that has to disagree
I'm so tired of the me that's in control

I woke up to see the
Sun shining all around me
How could it shine down on me?
You'd think that it would notice that I can't take anymore
Had to ask myself, "What's it really for?"

Everything I tried to do it didn't matter
Now I might be better off just rolling over
'cause you know I tried to hard but couldn't change a thing
and it hurts so much I might as well let go

I can't really take the Sun shining all around me Why would it shine down on me? You'd it would notice that I no longer believe can't help telling myself, "It don't mean a thing"
I woke up to see the
Sun shining all around me
How could it shine down on me?
Sun shining all it's beauty
Why would it shine down on me?
You'd think it notice I can't take any more

Baby, Sepia, Dress & Cheeks

Originally uploaded by Jackal of all trades

I'm proud of how this shot turned out. I was a little worried at first, since the parent had a photo she wanted to emulate. Since this was my first true "photo shoot" for someone I didn't know before hand, I was a little nervous about how it might turn out.

It ended up better than I expected. I have to say that her wonderful smile makes this shot for me. That, and the natural reflection in her eyes of the umbrella. I'm hooked on taking portraits now.

Do a search over at Wikipedia for list of common and you'll find some interesting articles. I was really enjoying List of Common Misconceptions, and I had to share it. So I did a search for "list of common" and found lots of really amazing lists. Wikipedia is also good for looking up current TV shows, with things like List of Merlin Episodes and The Office

Also, I love how random and eclectic the list is. Where else are you going to get Common Misnomers and bean diseases in the same list? Why a list of lists, of course!

If the newspapers and websites aren't cutting it for you, I've found that Wikipedia often has amazingly comprehensive articles about on going issues. Global Financial Crisis of 2008 is Wikipedia's good history of what's been happening to the financial markets recently. It is divided in weeks, giving the details that emerged that week, as well as government reactions at the time. For a larger overview, check out the Wikipedia entry for the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Also, the chart on this page on CNBC is giving a running total of the cost of all parts of the bailout. Right now it's at $7.9 trillion, for the U.S. Government.

Click below to read my thoughts on the new form of consensus building via Wikipedia, and the social science possibilities of studying a fully archived conversation that leads to consensus.

According to the New York Times, we shouldn't be holding people with no review, making up courts as we go along, and making people disappear because we thought they might have looked kinda terroristic. Where was the sudden outbreak of common sense 7 years ago?

"If the ruling stands, presidents would be able to throw out due process, habeas corpus and other basic constitutional and statutory rights for anyone they declared to have terrorist ties. That is an intolerable reading of the law — and one that the Supreme Court should quickly reverse."