types of schools

and I don't mean fish

public
charter
private
religious
online
home

I like being self-taught, self-directed, with access to multiple libraries.
And you can of course post questions online, and ask people (like librarians), as you go.

I went to Santa Cruz yesterday, and saw the UC campus, including the McHenry library.
So nice!

I saw the Grateful Dead archive exhibit, and went on the Great Dipper roller coaster.
Good stuff. 

Fine-tuned universe

26 parameters

from wikipedia's article, "Fine-tuned Universe"
"The current standard model of particle physics has 25 freely adjustable parameters with an additional parameter, the cosmological constant, for gravitation."

I just listened to the previous Philosophy Talk (at www.philosophytalk.org)
the March 17 show, titled "God and the fine-tuned universe"
I was hoping to get a list of what those parameters were, and post them here.

anyway,
my personal belief is that both time and space are, quite obviously, both infinite.
there is no beginning, and there is no end (to Reality)
logic tells us this, it's a self-evident truth (to me)-
of course, we each have our own reality, our lives,
which have beginnings (conception) and ends (death), but
Space goes on and on and on, infinitely and forever, in all directions
Time goes on infinitely, too, in both directions, past and future,
whether humans are in it or not:
(past -previous to- the big bang, and beyond all possible outcomes or fates ahead of us)
which is to say:
There is no End of Time
or
End of the Universe (outer border or limit) (where there could be a restaurant, lol)

but,
like our lives, analogous to our lives-
the universe, as we know it, began at the Big Bang
and I guess ends, (as we know it)
according to whatever results the recent Higgs boson research tells us,
"coming at us at the speed of light"

of course, Chris, a friend from Kaiser, and a quantum physics expert, believes in tachyons, which go faster than the speed of light, and tells me (physics is/physicists are) currently unsure whether time itself even exists.  (the eternal now is how i think of it)

anyway,
it seems to me a God, faced with the news of impending doom, would want to ensure that life continues, and would program reality (the next big bang, maybe in a series of expanding and contracting universes?) to keep the goodness (life, existence) going along for as long as possible.

which is obviously another level way of saying orgasm (big bang) and having children (the next universe), in a reference to Monty Python's movie, 'the meaning of life', in which the universe is depicted as a female body, made into a grid, such as the universe/space is oft-imagined, by scientists.

But if there IS another big-bang in the future, after the demise of our current universe, I imagine an intelligent agent, like me, (or group, like a bunch of physicists)(aside: how could there possibly be an "unembodied" agent??, except maybe as I would envision the combined wisdom of humanity, etc., collected, such as the internet of the future) would or could tweak (the "terraforming of a universe") the creation of the next generation to be as heavenly as possible, acting in effect as a Creator God.

Maybe I do believe in God.
(from before the Big Bang, that is)

But we probably won't have to worry about being universe-creators.
If you want to survive your death, the best bet is to make money and have kids.
KISS (keep it simple stupid).

a few silly thoughts i had that i'd like to include on my speculation about the nature of the universe is:
1)maybe it's like a russian nesting doll (matryoshka), and universes are contained within our heads, with little beings living inside us, and so on.  And, going the other way, getting larger, maybe we are all living inside the head of a (much!) larger being, which we could call God.  For example, referencing Clifford Pickover's musings on dmt (di methyl tryptamine) machine elves: we're the elfs in God's head!

2)i don't believe in parallel universes, or a multiverse, because infinity engulfs everything.  It's in the word: UNIverse.  Just one.  etymology question: is the 'verse' part of the word a reference to something written?  I'm told infinity is necessary to mathematicians to make their equations work. But that doesn't make sense to me.  It doesn't work for me.  I can't see (black holes, for example) being infinite.  Nothing but reality is infinite.  Which is why "reality is all the god there ever is."  Which makes us humans minutely infinitesimal (a fancy way of saying teensy-weensy).  Actually, maybe not.  Infinity can keep getting smaller, just as it can keep getting larger.  Everything is both infinitely large and infinitely small.  Big me, big me, yeah.  Big up yo'self!  Right?

3)If "God" set the values for the 26 parameters of our universe, how do we believe in God without playing god ourselves; i.e. how do we know other values (for each parameter) couldn't produce life if we don't test them, first?  We're not that smart, and neither is God.  He created hell, after all.  But childbirth, for example, while painful, can also be heavenly.  Maybe that's how Jesus felt on the cross.  Hell is just another way of saying pain, and pain can be good, to tell us when we need to heal, so we don't hurt ourselves even more. Nothing lasts forever.  This too shall pass, as they say.  I don't actually believe in hell (as eternal punishment).

Hodgepodge of Goodness!

Everything I Like

-satisfaction, contentment, right with the world
-dance and romance, dating, love
-hiking, camping, birdwatching, walking, horses
-fun, play, games, kid-energy, teaching, learning
-laughter, telling a joke
-positive, optimistic, hopeful, happy, glad, joy, bliss
-goodness (think, say, do, be), feel good
-endorphins, exercise, strength, fitness, cardio/swim
-health, mental and physical, beauty
-meditate, pray, talk, write, create, blog
-good food, good conversation, good company
-family, friends, community, citizen of world
-stimulus: read, watch, listen; see, hear, taste, smell, touch
-nap, rest, sleep, decompress, don't oversleep, vivid dreams
-never bored, flow state, action/activity, busy, occupied, engaged
-sushi, thai, indian, chinese, pizza, burgers, bar-b-q, ethiopian
-sweets -it's its, kerns, frozen yogurt
-improved diet, eating healthy
-restaurants, cooking a favorite meal, trying something new
-libraries: books, magazines, comics, movies, shows, music, audiobooks, lectures
-computer: background music, pandora, college radio, gdradio
-knowledge, wisdom, understanding, truth, educated, informed, curious, awake, aware, sharp, smart, intelligent, brilliant, genius, listening, vicarious experience, perspective
-new york times, economist, christian science monitor
-berkeleyside, berkeleyx (local news)
-foreign affairs, people, psychology today, mad (magazines)
-yahoo, cnn, wikipedia, washington post, huffington post
-joe frank, philosophy talk, the onion, ted, j!archive, funtrivia
-book list "1001 books you must read before you die" (fiction)
-award-winning books, librarian recommendations, new books, bestsellers
-new vocabulary, slang, other languages
-practice speed-reading, a book-a-day
-reference books (history, atlases, encyclopedias)
-children's books, perusing art books, lit, poetry
-crime/war/terrorism/spying (ref.) and mysteries, horror, fantasy
-youtube, netflix
-juggling, cirque, magic, martial arts, bloopers, popular trending..
-comedy/standup/satire, e.g. laurel and hardy, monty python
-louis ck, steven wright, al madrigal
-documentaries, animation, nature shows
-boating, whitewater rafting, canoeing, hobiecraft
-volunteering, helping, plant trees, clean beach
-new toys, technology
-garage sales, flea markets, getting a bargain, selling
-comfort, security, wealth, prosperity
-job, career, income, pay, cash
-pleasantry, relaxation, leisure
-freedom, liberty (from jail, prison, incarceration, slavery)
-creativity, craft-projects, pottery, ceramics, origami, art
-birthdays, holidays, fireplace, decorations, gift-giving, x-mas
-meeting people, warmth, social, belonging
-companionship, camaraderie, cooperation
-fantasy, flirting, massage, intimacy
-redwood forest, russian river, ocean beach, yosemite, sierra nevada, pt. reyes
-culture: ballet, opera, symphony, chamber music
-shows, performances, recitals, concerts, plays, musicals
-museums, aquariums, zoos
-roller coasters, theme parks
-spectator: baseball, mma, gymnastics, dance-offs
-participant: ultimate frisbee, wrestling, bowling
-travel, variety, new experiences, adventure
-occasionally outside comfort-zone, risk
-enlightenment, nirvana, (no attachments, craving, aversion)
-asymptomatic (no voice, headshocks, pain, resentment)
-clear, clarity of thought/expression, mindfulness, discernment
-persistence, perseverence, unperturbed, equanimity
-take things in stride, like water off a duck's back
-helping, charity, altruism, sharing, development
-basic needs: food, clean air/water, shelter, clothing, sanitation
-chips: comfort, health, in peace, sustainably
-lessen suffering, increase happiness
-set/achieve goals, motivated, inspiration, purpose, ambition, drive
-perspiration, sweat, just do it, success
-aim high, be all that you can be, not afraid to fail
-innocent, forgiven, moral, ethical, law-abiding, eschew evil
-human, humane
-sympathy, empathy, caring, compassion, gentleness, patience
-impingement, tough-love
-sacred, holy, blessed, faithful, pious, godly, good
-love everything, respect, gratitude, love life
-just, fair, merciful, benevolent
-solid, responsible
-virtue, be a man for others, be prepared, do a good turn daily
-be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent
-set an example, leadership, humility, service, integrity, honor
-cool, calm, collected, tranquil, at ease, at peace, grounded
-mix it up: mellow, intense; dour/analytical, jolly
-authentic, genuine, real, honest, sincere
-new year's resolution, growth, self-improvement, attainment
-steady, unyielding change, gain
-winning, champion, fulfillment
-do your best, try your hardest, goals, objectives, discipline
-humor, smiles, don't take yourself too seriously
-paradise, heaven, love-bliss

Godizzle in the house!

religious slang

'God's flesh' is psilocybin or psilocin (drug slang)

'God's medicine' is opium.

A 'Jesus-piece' is hip-hop slang for a chain with a crucifix on it.

'love' is drug slang for crack.

'SATAN' is net-speak slang for 'Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks' (used for finding vulnerabilities in firewalls)

'God squad' are the federal officials who decide which endangered species will be protected.

'god box' is the remote control device for the tv

'godly' is cool, in teen slang

'Jesus nut' is war slang for the bolt that holds the rotor blade to a helicopter.  

'heaven dust' is heroin or cocaine   '

church key' is a beer-can opener (in food/drink slang) (a bit outdated, before pop-tops)

syllogism

an example from a recent Jeopardy!

God is love
Love is blind
I am blind

therefore,
I am God

ha!
It may be a "faulty" syllogism, but it's still true!
(actually, my vision is fine -with glasses)
(but I'm blind "on many levels", I suppose)

two songs

by Derek and the Dominoes, and The Beach Boys

D&D sing "Why does love got to be so sad?"
Maybe because choosing one love excludes all the other potential loves...
-at least in the eros sense of the word-
(in the context of GLEE -god loves everyone equally)

The BB's sing "God only knows (where I'd be without you)"
which seems to imply God is without everyone...
which is also why love (aka God) is so sad.

I watched a funny video on netflix the other day, standup comedy by Norm Macdonald, in which he made a joke about "doing that thing which makes me feel like God", a reference to murder.

I think we need to stop thinking of God as Death, although it's true (s)he's 'hated'.
(hated is death rearranged)(god hates sin, and the price of sin is death)
eat words: great, heat, meat, death
gr words: burger, yogurt.

I like Yogurtland.  Froyo is yummy.
Yo! Fro! (froyo sounds like it should be an ebonic word)
Iams cat food is made from godmeat?

In other word news,
erity words: temerity and celerity
reckless behavior or rashness
and
alacrity, dispatch, or briskness of speed
respectively

ugh?

random bad news

1) Only 4% of crimes are ever solved in Mexico.

2) hungry Hungarians? 2/3 are overweight or obese.
(I hope this doesn't mean germans are germy, or russians are in a rush)

3)The U.S. Federal budget is 3.55 trillion.
The debt ceiling is 16.4 trillion.
the sequester is 85 billion
(I don't actually know exactly what is bad about this, but the reports seem to always be gloomy and/or alarmist)

Syria stats

an ugly situation (of course, it's a civil war)

not so civil-

from the economist:
70,000 lives lost
10's of thousands missing
150-200 thousand locked up
2m homeless (inside Syria)
almost 1m living in squalor, over the borders (JLT, my initials: Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey)
4m + lack fuel, electricity, telephone, and food
thousands of homes, factories, schools, and hospitals razed

Bashar al Assad, the dictator, has 50k loyal, well-armed troops
the opposition is not united, and occasionally fight one another, too.

Positivity

Stuff I like

-Music (listen= list ten (radio): kalx, whrb, wmbr, kcpr, kzsu, kzsc, kcsb, ksmc, pandora, gdradio.net); also: concerts, shows, musicals, taiko drums, library cd's, online (by song or artist)

-Video (movies, netflix, ted, the onion, youtube)
(e.g. documentaries, comedy/satire/standup, animation, mma/martial arts, juggling, cirque, magic, etc..)

-News (csmonitor, economist, new york times, berkeleyside, wikipedia, foreign affairs, yahoo, cnn, huffington post, washington post)

-Nature (hiking, camping, horses, fishing, photography, boating)
(e.g. canoe, white water rafting, hobiecraft)

-Endorphins/Health/Fitness/Strength (stretch, walk, bicycle, cardio: swim/elliptical/stationary bike, free weights), Napping

-Food (Cooking: new or favorite recipes, Restaurant meals, e.g. sushi, thai, indian, chinese, mexican, ethiopian, burgers, pizza, sweets) e.g. gumbo, frozen yogurt, bbq.

-Reading books, magazines, websites (a book-a-day +, ideally) (1001 list ("books you must read before you die") (!)-fiction-, slang dictionaries, new languages, atlases, history, encyclopedias, mags (like People, Psychology Today, Mad magazine), children's books, etc.)
-Writing (my blog)

-Travel and Exploration (around the world, the country, california, the bay area, or even just my neighborhood) e.g. the ocean/beach, the zoo, aquarium, museums, parks, great america, boardwalk, exploratorium, planetarium, lawrence hall of science, Be a kid.  have fun!   Bars/clubs/restaurants.  Culture: opera, ballet, symphony.

-Religion & Spirituality: 1)meditate with Berkeley shambhala, 2) chat up the JW's, LDS, Scientologists, etc. 3)attend the occasional Catholic mass. 4)read religious literature (such as Adi Da's 'Aletheon'). Considered a hobby.

-Intellectual fun: philosophy talk (online, or weekly on the radio), Joe Frank, online classes (no credit), new vocabulary, practice speed reading, enroll in an actual class (paid), or audit one (free), J! -archive (the online collection of most all the Jeopardy questions/answers).  Mensa, maybe.

-People: family dinners, telling an apt joke, finding bargains, dancing, meeting people, okcupid, getting a massage, email, going to sports games (e.g. Giants), bowling, billiards, pee-wee golf, trip to toys-r-us.

-routine: walk the dogs (twice a day, weekdays), kaiser cbt (an hour, every tuesday), daily shower, library, Y.  the occasional cleaning house.  "weekly structured activities"

Catholic conglomerate

who will be the new CEO?

115 cardinals are convened to select the next pope.
The pope is held to be the "vicar of christ" and the direct successor of Peter.

(Isn't vicar just a fancy word for priest?  I picture a vicarage as an english priest's home..)
Christ's priest?  Jesus' personal priest? Ha.
Anyway,

There are 1.2 billion catholics.
The NY Times said,
"Popes are not just spiritual leaders, but chief executives managing the vast international conglomerate that is the church, with its franchises around the world and headquarters in the vatican state."

Which is another way of saying "body of christ", I suppose.
'catholic' means "universal", but I suppose this has less meaning with physicists/scientists who believe in a "multiverse."  And 1.2B people is hardly "universal"...
What about the Ewoks?  Or the Vulcans?  The Glorgs of Galacticon X?  Ha.

okay, cardinals: May the force be with you.
The winner must/will have 2/3 of the vote.  That's 66.6%, lol.
Funny link from the Onion