Le Blogger

I saw this on T. Tao's blog . Very creative.

MLK Jr. was so powerful with words. "...We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late."

The last quote is awesome. "Only my love of the straight line keeps me going." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/arts/design/20herrera.html?ref=global-home

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091118-lungs-amphibian-worm-caecilian.html Mother Nature never ceases to wow and amaze.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/science/14moon.html?hp http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/

Real or fantasy? http://www.joulebio.com/

Really creative way to pay tribute to a monumental moment in history 20 years ago. Here's the big version.

I know at times it may be more about the race to claim a title and not the more important issue, but at least this is one that's kind of worth it. http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/11/05/taipei-101-worlds-tallest-green-building/

This is funded research. ***** Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time Oral sex is widely used in human foreplay, but rarely documented in other animals. Fellatio has been recorded in bonobos Pan paniscus, but even then functions largely as play behaviour among juvenile males. The short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx exhibits resource defence polygyny and one sexually active male often roosts with groups of females in tents made from leaves. Female bats often lick their mate's penis during dorsoventral copulation. The female lowers her head to lick the shaft or the base of the male's penis but does not lick the glans penis which has already penetrated the vagina. Males never withdrew their penis when it was licked by the mating partner. A positive relationship exists between the length of time that the female licked the male's penis during copulation and the duration of copulation. Furthermore, mating pairs spent significantly more time in copulation if the femal

Wow..just wow.

Our concept of a static red planet is really not quite right. I didn't know about these things---Martian dust devils! http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031230.html

Pretty neat music! http://dilettantemusic.com/digital-composer-vote

Polar ice shrinkage just this summer. I think some ice will reform in the winter, but what a change. From Reuters/NASA.

Very cool. Seems to be work from Heinrich Jaeger's group!

http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/stories/dead-salmon-responds-to-photos-of-people Errr, ok maybe not.

Video a bit long, but there's some interesting demo stuff near the end. 10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo .

I've recently learned to make soap. It's pretty neat. All you need is some oils, fragrances and NaOH! Mix them together and walla, soap! It's like doing chemistry!

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo .

As part of my attempt to make the office space more visually appealing, I've added these two plants. They seem to be doing alright so far. I should probably get to work clearing the piles of papers though. The small bonsai is a ficus nitida. I hope I can manage that one alright.

Saw this rainbow as I was driving home the other night, and quickly pulled out my phone to catch it. Ever try to follow a rainbow to the end, in search of the pot of gold?

Can you believe the filth this guy spews? Despicable in every imaginable way. Makes my blood boil. The KMT needs to change its act and mindset or get the hell out of Taiwan. ***** MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Sacked GIO official in hot water again over remarks WAR OF WORDS: Web users have been quick to criticize Kuo Kuan-ying’s defense of the government’s relief efforts, while some lawmakers urged people to ignore him By Loa Iok-sin STAFF REPORTER Monday, Aug 24, 2009, Page 3 Former Government Information Office (GIO) official Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) came under fire yesterday for saying foreign aid was unnecessary in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot and that the government has done well with its relief efforts. Kuo told reporters at a New Party anniversary party on Saturday that Cabinet Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) had not been been wrong to attend a Fathers’ Day dinner at a five-star hotel in Taipei on Aug. 8, the day many areas in the south were hit by severe flooding and torren

What if a truck were really coming at you on the highway? Fortunately, this was just a huge truck being towed.

Clever clever!

Neat, but don't you like the taste of good old hard working human sweat in your ramen?

I've worked with stainless steel in the machine shop, and it isn't exactly the easiest metal to drill or lathe. So to be able to print it, wow. Another interesting company is Shapeways. Here's a video (not metal printing in this case though).

http://www.thecoolist.com/papercraft-perfection-10-amazing-master-origami-artists/

Nice art. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/5886805/The-invisible-man-Liu-Bolins-camouflage-artwork.html

Oreo? Yup, at the Fearrington Farm !

Regardless of whether you are Green, Blue, (or Red!?), I think the Taiwanese public and especially citizens of Taipei deserve an unbiased and thorough investigation. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/07/17/2003448874 ***** EDITORIAL: The limits of Ma’s achievements Friday, Jul 17, 2009, Page 8 President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has touted the Maokong Gondola and the Mass Rapid Transit system’s Neihu Line as two major achievements of his eight-year stint as the mayor of Taipei. To highlight his role as a key figure in making these projects possible, Ma was invited by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to take part in the inauguration of the gondola in July last year and the Neihu Line earlier this month. But neither project has covered itself with glory, with the former struggling to justify the massive amount invested to provide the public with a sound and safe mode of transportation. The Maokong Gondola, which cost more than NT$1 billion (US$30 million) to build, has bee

Flip to near the end to see. Awesome!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katedw/3489933430/in/set-72157617528706606 looks yummy!

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/01/video-grocery-cart-morphs-into-electric-go-kart-insanity-ensue/

Enjoying a day at the beach...which would not be complete without staying connected to the grid. Thanks to CYC for the photos!

Extreme Kung Fu: Eating Molten Lead - Watch more amazing videos here Love the music!

Get this...http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/06/27/2003447185 ***** First there was Fat Boy, the pony that fell in a pool after getting drunk on fermented apples. Then there was the squirrel that was so wasted on aged pumpkins that it couldn’t climb a tree. But in the annals of substance-abusing wildlife, nothing quite matches the latest reports on the behavior of the humble wallabies of Tasmania. A routine budget hearing on the island has conjured up images of a marsupial version of Trainspotting with the revelation that packs of the wallabies have been abusing the island’s thousands of acres of legal opium poppy fields. “We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles,” the island’s attorney general, Lara Giddings, told her colleagues yesterday on Thursday. Nor does the problem end there. Even smacked-up animals, it seems, cannot break free of the physical law that demands that what goes up must come down

Zoom into a Tooth Uploaded by Weird_Weird_Science . - Discover more science and tech videos.

http://web.me.com/dgdixon/SOHH_Project/Welcome.html

Somehow, this concept is extremely titillating. Be prepared. http://idlethink.wordpress.com/category/bookporn/

The future.

I went to Lake Crabtree Friday afternoon with Debby's lab. It was a lovely day with lakeside bbq and volleyball fun. The most exciting part for me, was renting a small beginner's dinghy sailboat (sort of like this one called the Optimist ) and learning to sail! Yeah! Two basic maneuvers for sailing: the jibe and tack . Basically, when you want to change directions, you can choose to maintain wind speed by rotating the stern (jibe), or point the bow into the wind for a safer turn but lose momentum (tack). The jibe is more dangerous as there's a greater chance for capsizing. In both cases, there's some head-ducking when the sail flips from one side to the other. But sailing's awesome...I'm hooked!

Reulf from Charlesque on Vimeo . Cute!

Ever want to knew what goes on in the milliseconds before you buy stuff on Amazon? http://www.moserware.com/2009/06/first-few-milliseconds-of-https.html

Excerpt from The President's speech. The full transcript is here . ***** That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere. (Applause.) Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more

What's missing?

Seriously cool!!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3155482#guestbook

I thought this was a neat article, written on a particularly meaningful day for me. http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=24831

What are your morals? And how do they affect your political leanings? Try some of these quizzes to find out... Go to: www.yourmorals.org You have to register, but the results can be illuminating. It's quite interesting to see how your answers compare with what is called the left or the right.

Is there a shining beacon of hope for baldness?!? [photo from taipeitimes.com]

As we don't get a lot of good Asian food in the area, we have to cook ourselves. This weekend, a couple of my friends got together to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. We cooked both 南粽 and 北粽 with the following ingredients. Yummy! 糯米 肉 香菇 栗子 蝦米 紅蔥頭 粽葉 粽繩 壽司海苔 蒟蒻 蘿蔔乾 筍乾 蔥油餅 (breakfast) 豆漿 (breakfast) 清粥小菜 (breakfast) 甜辣醬 粽子!

Yea!

Wow. http://acidcow.com/pics/2059-russian-wall-e-case-mod-110-pics.html?

Here's an article about Chief Justice John Roberts of the US Supreme Court. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/25/090525fa_fact_toobin The swing of the court's views seems to be heading rightwards, whereas the rest of the US seems to be heading center to left. Is this dichotomy good...or bad? In particular, the article focuses on Roberts extreme attention to the issue of race. On the one hand, I understand that to be truly free of racism, we need to not include race as a factor in any decision making (Roberts' view). But on the other hand, we all use race as a judging factor, whether consciously or subconsciously, and to ignore that would be to potentially deprive some people of the opportunities they otherwise would have deserved. It's a tough issue, but Roberts' take on this is somewhat troubling to me. What we don't want to see, is a ruling that might take us back to pre-Brown vs. Board days. In my mind, the question is, if at some point the court'

I just saw Angels & Demons, and I thought it was pretty good. The reviews were not that hot, but I enjoyed watching. I think having read the novel helped too, as I knew more or less what was going on. In some ways, I think the director made the movie assuming most people read the book, so some of the scenes were more about visualizing in a big way what was written. That can certainly break the flow of the storytelling, but I thought it was still pretty smooth. Overall, I had a relaxed good time. I think another factor that made the movie enjoyable was that I had only recently been to Rome, and visited most of the important movie locations in person! Recognizing all the scenes and locations was a real enjoyment booster, because in my mind, I kept going "Wow I was just there!" Angels & Demons attempts to tackle the Science versus Religion problem by phrasing it in terms of the Illuminati versus the Catholic Church. Of course, in the end, we find that the Illuminati isn&

Check out the full transcript of President Obama's speech at ASU: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/us/politics/13obama.text.html

Some of these photos are really neat. Some are just disgusting. All are worth a look. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pookhy

It's not me... http://io9.com/5241252/physicists-prove-that-vampires-could-not-exist?skyline=true&s=x

A very Descript Man .... J H Parker I am such a dolent man, I eptly work each day; My acts are all becilic, I've just ane things to say. My nerves are strung, my hair is kempt, I'm gusting and I'm span: I look with dain on everyone And am a pudent man. I travel cognito and make A delible impression: I overcome a slight chalance, With gruntled self-possession. My dignation would be great If I should digent be: I trust my vagance will bring An astrous life for me.

More sites to track flu: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ http://www.cdc.gov.tw/

Today is 5/7/09, which is a day of sequential odd numbers. Apparently this doesn't happen very often, so enjoy while you can.

Here's some information for those at Duke about the recent Mexican flu outbreak. http://www.duke.edu/flu2009/

Here are some concepts from Advanced Latin Dance class, taken in Spring 2009. Another fun semester of dancing! -the hold -footwork/foot positions -balance -connection -dance positions -leading -following -musical interpretation -advanced turns -poise -arm styling -cuban hip motion (still not that good on this!!) Dances learned: Rumba-offset breaks, open Cuban walk, back spot turn, forward spot turn, open box, Danson Samba-open box, left cross turn, flips, progressive step, progressive twinkle, cross body lead Mambo/Salsa-parallel breaks, open break to natural roll, open break to reverse turn, open box, spot turns forward/back, cape turns, swivels Merengue-mans underarm variations, wrap in and roll out, continuous tuck and roll out, right and left side switches, pivot, wrap around Tango-3 fan combo, running step, leg crawl, progressive link, Figure 4, leg hooks Cha cha-cross body lead, open box, cross triples, back spot turn, crossover break with walk around, cross body with change of h

I'm migrating my websites from Duke over to Google sites. Here's the link, http://sites.google.com/site/philwu/

View Where in the world have I been to? in a larger map

There's been a recent controversy in Taiwan over the scandalous writings of the government information officer, 郭冠英, stationed in Toronto. Here's an op-ed piece from Taipei Times. I agree with Mr. Cole that although freedom of speech is guaranteed and necessary in a democratic country, once you are employed in the government, there should be limitations to what can and cannot be said. The writings of Mr. Kuo, even though posted anonymously, breaks the trust that the public has in him as an official representative of Taiwan in Toronto, and is a breach of his responsibility to the citizens of the land of Taiwan. Frankly, I think Mr. Kuo's an idiot. ***** He said it'd be OK to kill my wife By J. Michael Cole 寇謐將 Thursday, Mar 26, 2009, Page 8 We met when I worked as an intelligence officer in Canada, part of an organization that at times risked making racism and hatred for the “other” — in that case, mostly Arabs and Muslims — a normal policy. After nearly three years in t

Here is one translation of the Bani A'dam poem quoted by Mr. Obama in celebration of Nowruz. I support Obama's gesture of good will, and do hope the Iranians also respond positively. This poem was written by the 13th century Persian poet, Saadi. “The children of Adam are all the same, since all from the same essence came. When by misfortune one limb is oppressed, the other limbs lose their wanted rest. If for others thou feelst no sympathy, A child of Adam is no name for thee.”

Here's a message I got from Youtube today (several days ago now, this being a draft I wrote at the height of my anger and distaste). We used the song Edelweiss for our American waltz dance class final. No harm done to anyone, at least I didn't think so. I don't see anyone dying because they watched our dance (gagging with discomfort possibly, though I hope not). I guess I'm not even allowed to post a dance that we choreographed for my friends and family. Surely I get to protect my creative attempt at choreographing a dance! By the way, I paid for Edelweiss on iTunes. I could certainly post the dance with no sound. I'm sure that would be just lovely. It seems almost frivolous for these music companies to go around telling people to stop showing "their" music (I did buy it). This video was not posted for profit, but rather to share a fun personal event with friends and family. I certainly believe I'm allowed to do that with things that I paid for and own

He's the fighting killing kung fu master machine, with a good heart.

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

The work they're doing is absolutely awesome. I really respect Gates for choosing to help others with his money. It's what makes him more than just a rich guy. Check out their website and his annual letter .

Awesome. http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/articles/the-uno/

Very interesting NY Times article here on the rise of Youtube as a search engine. In fact, as stated in the article, Youtube has edged out Yahoo as the 2nd most used search engine, in fact, 200 million more searches (total of 2.8 billion). That's incredible, and very interesting too.

Isn't this cool? Here's the news article I read it from. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-obama-spider-man-090108-story,0,2231909.story I'd like to be in a comic book someday!

Pretty cool, though I'm slightly puzzled why the video doesn't show the sound device and nanotube speaker at the same time...Check it out. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/nl802750z