My mind. Enhanced.

I've been reading Marcus Aurelius'  Meditations for the past month, and from it I've come to appreciate accepting things for the way they are. Just let things be, good or bad; anything that happens in this universe is all part of a bigger plan. I'm also beginning to realize that all issues arise from ignorance. And that those who do others wrong, oft do not do it willingly but because they do not know any better. Those in pursuit of truth and virtue must take it upon themselves to instruct those who do harm out of ignorance. There are other levels of complex philosophical content in the book that could use further inquiry, I could dissect and lay out a methodical analysis of the axioms described but that requires more reflection and time spent doing research and such. For now, just take note, Meditations encourages good moral conduct by accepting the nature of the world, ethics and so forth.

In this world / universe we can make things an infinite amount of ways. However, which way is the most efficient? Is there more than one efficient way? If there is, how do we all agree on just that one efficient way? For engineers its a collaborative effort. Enter the International Standards Organization ( ISO)  - a leading body that develops standards to promote global technology growth. For example, the standard optical disk image file format is named after the governing body (ie, .iso image). In my experience, I've had to follow some quality control measures based on ISO policies for medical devices. The ISO is significant because we all have genius ideas of improving life through technology; and the likelihood that two people anywhere across the globe have the same bright idea nowadays is very high. The ISO is there to provide collaboration and equality among all engineers everywhere. Without collaboration we have disparity which may lead to enmity and therefore warfare. That

The kids are on spring break. My brother and I thought it a good idea to drop by and say hi to the kid cousins. I promised Jorry I would help him build his bipedal robot with his Lego Mindstorms. We ended up building the original robotic like buggy with touch sensors. Pretty cool watching the thing move after programming the NXT box. The programming part of the NXT kit is probably the trickiest. Took Jorry about an hour and a half to figure out how to program a back and forth movement by touching the front and back sensors. He learns fast though. I was busy still trying to grapple the bits and pieces of the system by going through the manual. In other news, I took a career workshop today. It was there I announced to the group that I wanted to become a biomedical engineer specializing in robotic prosthetics.

Saw "Oz the Great and Powerful" on Tuesday with Gloria, Jan, and Marielle. I like that couple. They are good people. People who don't think I'm a liar. Anyways. It was an "okay" movie. It had its moments and the visual effects were pretty good. I did like the ending, especially when Oz recruited common folk to his cause and of course concluded with a happy ending. I did note the Tinkerers, who, with all their ingenuity, helped Oz make a contraption that would ultimately turn the war to the people's favour. I like the idea of using the resources that you have, analyse and maximizing their potential uses, building something amazing, and finally using that amazing something for a good cause. That is neat. People who invent stuff are neat. People like Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla. Ingenuity is amazing.

Had some tea and donuts with my brother yesterday after church. I've been attending St Patrick's regularly lately due to its convenient 5pm mass, and its close proximity to one of my favorite donut / coffee shops  - 49th Parallel on Main St. Donuts are so good. My brother is pretty important figure in my life. He takes care of pretty much everything I lack at home. He's a homebody, taking care of chores and things at home, while I enjoy taking care of my own objectives outside of home. Imagine my father's personality split into half. Both personalities intelligent, one more compassionate the other indifferent. I'm the indifferent one. Brotherhood doesn't necessarily entail relation by blood. I've got brothers outside of my immediate family and home. It's a new thing an it may take a while getting accustomed to the idea, but I'll get there. Brother. Brotherhood. It's all about trust.

So I've been consistent with my workout routine lately. Been going at least three times a week, 30 minute cardio, 30 minute circuit. I'm starting to feel addicted to the serotonin rush after pushing my physical limits. And that clarity of mind after the rush fades feels damn good too. When I get home, after a shower, I sit and meditate, when I reach nirvana I feel like I'm in heaven. Excellent habits all around. Keeps me positive. Keeps me happy.

I ordered the original fat burger and sat down. As I munched on fat burger goodness, across the street I observed an abundance of residential and commercial growth along the Brentwood / Lougheed Highway corridor. Something big is happening and it's happening right here in this very area. I then started thinking about Intel. I remember watching this documentary on the birth of Intel (the chip r&d / manufacturing firm); the film traced the history of its core founders Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. Moore, as the common nerd would know, is credited for theorizing Moore's Law; a law that states the number of transistors on a microprocessor doubles about every two years (although evolution of the microprocessor is now reaching its apex). And Noyce, is often credited for inventing the integrated circuit (along with Jack Kilby). Their firm, prior to Intel was Fairchild Semiconductors, a company believed to have jump-started the growth of Silicon Valley. Anyway, before I go off o

Our planet is an incredible place. Gloria and I have been watching the BBC documentary series Planet Earth for about a week now and we totally love the show. From the African savannah to the polar ice caps of the Arctic, it's amazing to see animals in their natural environment (as opposed to a zoo) and their daily interactions and habits mixing with other animals. The food web is a delicate balance too, savage by nature, but necessary. Gloria tends to look away when she sees baby ducks get eaten by foxes or polar cubs dying from starvation. Earth is a good planet. So much rich organic complexities to study and observe. So much knowledge still unknown. So many good discoveries to be made. Earth. So. Awesome.

It's true when they say music is the window to the soul. As some of you know, I've had a heavy fascination with robots lately (obsession more like), so my ears and eyes have been open to everything futuristic and robots related. I came across this song entitled "Nanobots"  by They Might be Giants. It's a good song, it helps feed my  insatiable hunger for Singularity related ideas. Click the video to listen to the song (clip synced to Pinky and the Brain scenes lol) I later found this article on  buzzinemusic , in it the interviewer asks John Linnell (songwriter) the source inspiration for the song. Buzzinemusic : Just out of curiosity, is the song “Nanobots” about the theory of the Technological Singularity - the scenario where artificial intelligences start building their own intelligences and everything gets out of control. Jesse L : Oh, right, right. Well, in a way it is. I'll tell you what it's really about: it's about reproducing, which

Here is a video of Boston Dynamic's BigDog throwing a cement block with its jaw / face claw.