http://math.berkeley.edu/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=118

"English as a Programming Language"
Wednesday, March 5
"The Axiomatic Derivation of Absolute Lower Bounds"
Friday, March 7

Both are 60 Evans Hall - 4:10pm-5:00pm

http://math.berkeley.edu/index.php?module=calendar&module=calendar&calendar[view]=event&id=2700

John Conway. Later the same day.

Might go. Any of the rest of you interested?

---

Thursday, March 6
10:10am-11:45am
714C University Hall, UCB Campus

So Help Me God: A Social Cognitive Approach to God-Mediated Control
Doug Oman, School of Public Health, UCB

Experiences of divine assistance are one of the primary phenomena of religious and spiritual life. Most early social scientists tended to question or dismiss the truth-value of perceptions of divine assistance. But applying major well-established social scientific theories allows non-reductive approaches to clarifying the functions of perceived assistance from a divinity or other spiritual being. In this paper, we systematically compare and analyze several facets of how assistance from human and divine/spiritual agents is experienced. The approach is concretized using the concept of proxy agency from Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, resulting in a recommended spiritually integral theory of efficacy (SITE) perspective. Implications are discussed for measuring self-efficacy for religious and spiritual activities, for interventions, and for the broader scientific study of religious phenomena.

David Gortner from Church Divinity School of the Pacific (GTU) will respond and present some of his own work.

Directions:

University Hall is on the south-west corner of University and Oxford. To get to 714C you ride the main (north) elevators up to the top (7th) floor and then head to room in the north-east corner of the building by (after stepping off the elevator) turning right, walking about 10 feet, then turning left and walking about 50 feet down the hall.

Map:

http://www.berkeley.edu/map/maps/BC12.html

Hope to see you there.

Mark
--
Mark Graves
Scholar in Residence, Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA 94709
mgraves@jstb.edu

denist is moving to Seattle within a month for an Amazon gig.

I know some of you live there, or know others who live there. He's a good guy but uber shy and I'd like to ensure that he has some Good People (like y'all) to talk to and socialize with that'll help him get out sometimes.

Please ping either me or him with contacts.

Thanks!

I'd like to make something like the No Contact jacket. teh_munchkin may help, since he's way more an EE geek than I.

My question to all you hackers in the audience: how could this be done?

Requirements:
* tazer-grade effect (i.e. severe pain and/or neural fucking to anyone touching it when armed)
* securely and easily armable and disarmable
* always safe to wearer
* always safe to touchers when not armed
* works multiple times in rapid succession (at least 10x), very low or nil drain when not armed
* made from easily available parts (possibly kludged from something else? E.g. a fencing lamé AFAIU wouldn't work, but is readily available and would otherwise make a good thing to convert)
* crumpleproof (either electrically or by construction)
* graceful failure (i.e. component failure does not cause undesired shocks & is user-evident)

Bonuses:
* rainproof (in terms of shock, not as in 'will I get wet')
* light, comfortable, flexible, pretty
* fancy jacob's ladder or visible sparks for "I'm armed, don't fuck with me" visibility
* crackling sound when armed
* electrified gloves attachable
* arming mechanism concealed or clever (e.g. dependent on some motion or position rather than a in-sleeve switch; accelerometer/gyro based?)
* cheap (<$100) in terms of new parts at least (e.g. retrofitting an existing shirt or jacket counts as free)
* not really hot (e.g. not using thick neoprene insulation)
* wearer self-contact has no effect (e.g. touch hand to chest when armed)
* disarmed, half-armed, and armed settings (half-armed = full visibility but only mild pain effect)
* selective disabling of shorted areas
* only one discharge per short
* resistant to combat-level physical abuse (e.g. punches, knife attacks, etc)


So - how would you make this, and with what?


ETA: It's US Patent #6,961,227

http://icbs.berkeley.edu/news/story.php?rid=26&fh=1

Wed 1-5, Thur 9-5, Fri 9-1. Free, but TANSTAAFL.

Alex and I will be there.

I'll translate whatever cogscily references are made if you want, but I expect it to be fairly accessible and interesting.

So come.

SHARE THIS LINK --> http://makeyourlaws.org <-- (it has all of the below & more)

I've been thinking a bit about the current state of politics & laws, and have a few concerns. My government is failing me in various ways, and not addressing issues that I believe to be important.

Traditionally, getting a proposition onto the ballot requires hiring door-to-door people, a multimilliion dollar budget, etc... but this is the age of the internet meme and viral marketing. I suspect that, for a popular idea and with a context to do it, this could be done almost enitrely by volunteers. In California, it requires only 434k votes in 150 days to get an initiative on the ballot, and 695k to get a constitutional amendment. We can do this.

So, to those of you who have an interest in both politics and computers, I hereby request your assistance.

I want to create a website, http://makeyourlaws.org, that allows people to create laws in a truly democratic fashion - that is, through direct vote rather than delegation to representatives.

To summarize, there are three stages and areas of the site:
1. Idea voting a la BillWatch.us
2. Fleshing-out, analysis & review a la wikipedia, Secretary of State / Attorney General, and factcheck.org
3. Signature gathering & proposition submission a la petitiononline.com, except on paper with real legal validity


I have one proposition with universal appeal to start with:

All voting machines used in the state or created by companies doing business in the state must:
a) create a voter-verifiable paper trail
b) be completely open source in every aspect of their design, including blueprints and source code (companies may however retain other copyrights)
c) be publicly audited for security & other concerns, and pass in the version used
d) be accessible to voters with disabilities
e) be secure against all tampering (i.e. if anybody can find and demonstrate an exploit, then it is immediately invalid)

Additionally, companies that knowingly attempt to produce voting machines that have security flaws, back doors, or the like, are subject to heavy penalties.


If you are interested in participating or just think it's a good idea, post a comment here describing how you could contribute, and spread a link to http://makeyourlaws.com far and wide.


Help me put lawmaking back in the hands of ordinary people.

SHARE THIS LINK --> http://makeyourlaws.org <--

Thanks,
Sai Emrys
saizai@makeyourlaws.org

Dr. Sidney M Schwab's Cutting Remarks.

All I know is he's got an excellent blog which I've mentioned before. Hopefully the book should be interesting (though I currently have no intention of going into surgery...)

And I have no idea whom it's from. The username 'sucinen' is on the receipt, and while I'm fairly sure I've seen that before, I can't remember any context at all, nor do I see any relevant logs / emails / accounts. A new WP account that doesn't overlap with my edits at all, an inactive OKC account, and that's it.

So, whoever you are, thanks. :) I'll post my thoughts about the book once I've read it.

( Background info & facts )

So, O Internets, I humbly request an answer to these questions:

1. Can I deposit the check WITHOUT waiving my rights to sue them for the $743.17 they owe me? (I need the cash.)

Suppose for example I write on the check:

"This check is deposited under protest, without prejudice, and with reservation of all rights of the payee against the drawer of this check pursuant to UCC § 1-207 for an unpaid remaining debt of $743.17, and explicitly denies any accord or satisfaction to waive this remaining debt."

... and then deposit it WITHOUT endorsing it, either at my own bank or at theirs (Citibank).

1b. Can I write that, and deposit it WITH an endorsement, and preserve my rights to sue?

2. Can they conditionally refund my deposit in the first place? IIRC there are laws requiring that deposit be fully returned within a certain period of time; that I dispute the amount they have given me should not waive this requirement.

3. Can they legally countersue me for the ENTIRE amount of carpet installation that they admit had only 25% life expectancy remaining, despite a) not having given me receipts, and b) having not listed the full amount on the itemized deposit deduction statement? According to http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml citing Civil Code Sections 1950.5(e), "normal wear and tear" cannot be charged; this includes specifically a "useful life remaining" rule.

4. According to http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml citing Civil Code Section 1950.5(g)(2), they are required to have given me copies of all receipts unless I explicitly waive that right, which I did not do. I did not receive any even when I explicitly asked for them. Does this increase their liability to me?

5. According to http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml citing Civil Code Section 1950.5(b)(3) and 1950.5(e), it is illegal to routinely charge each tenant for cleaning carpets (among other things). However, my lease contains a clause EXPLICITLY requiring this as a nonnegotiable deduction from the deposit. I believe this also falls under 1950.5(m). Does this create an additional liability, openness to injunction to cease, or liability for punitive damages?

6. According to http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml citing Civil Code Section 1950.5(l), if they act in "bad faith", then the court can order payment of the full amount of the deposit plus double that amount as a "bad faith" penalty. (This would total 3463.17 in my case, still under the $7500 limit of small claims court.) Do the events described here constitute "bad faith"?

7. Their letter to me a) does not include the receipts I requested; b) claims that they could countersue me for the entire amount of the carpet installation [contrary to #3 above]; and c) is obviously intended to initmidate me against suing them for the amount I believe I am owed. Is this illegal, and if so, does it create a liability?

8. They are located in a different county than I. Can I sue them from a local small claims court, and/or can I do so entirely by written declaration?

9. Is it worth taking them to small claims court over this, all told? How likely am I to collect the amount I believe they owe me; collect more for damages, interest, punitive damages, etc; or to contrariwise be ordered to pay THEM additional money for what they claim? (Which, AFAICT, is exclusively the full amount of the carpet.)

10. Anything else I should take into consideration?

Thanks in advance,
Sai

P.S. On the moral question: they've been total assholes to me and others throughout my tenancy. The only qualms I might have had about suing would be about the two former managers who were total sweethearts, and who were forced to resign recently by the aforementioned assholes. So I have no qualms whatsoever about this; my question is exclusively one of whether it would backfire on me.

( CA Civil Code 1950.5 )

It looks like Ryan & I finally found a place to move to, in Foster City. All our stuff is still in Oakland however.

So, anyone interested in:
a) helping move stuff from point A to point B (esp. if you have a vehicle)
b) helping unpack / sort / set up stuff at point B (esp. if you have organizational or screw-stuff-together ability)
c) helping get rid of / donate / barter stuff that we could use (esp. a loft bed / futon / shelving or the like)

... let me know.

Probably do most of it this Sunday, some Monday.


Also, I'd like to have a post-movein party, probably the following weekend (just need to first confirm with roommates). Again, if interested, ping me. Bring geektoys & food; I can cook, but you might not be adventurous enough to eat it. ;)

Not at all a comprehensive list, but rather what's come to my mind in the last few minutes while writing this up. Came up while discussing with Ryan what we might rent to watch, figured I might as well blog it.

I'll add only short comments, since you can look 'em up on IMDB.

( Read more... )

Generally my taste in movies is for the beautiful and intelligent, just like with everything else, but I'm willing to settle for one or the other. I'm also willing to watch some movies just as light entertainment, but it seems kinda random which ones I'll like and which not.

So, I'd like some recommendations for other movies I would *really* like, whether currently out or recently or really old or whatever I don't care. Please only recommend things that aren't of the peanuts or cotton candy variety. I'm sure there are lots of things I *could* watch and not feel my brain cells screaming in terror as they die, but I am asking you to recommend ones that I would consider 'time well spent', and (preferably) would be suitable to watching amidst smart-sensual folk as discussion fodder.

00:52-6:22 PDT
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2007Aug28T.GIF

Bay Area locals: Want to come to Hill and watch? IM or call me. The view should be awesome.

... teh_munchkin (my bf) has a Clerical Errata set (treasure cards w/ door backs) he'd like to sell. Mint condition, unopened.

Ping him on his LJ if you're interested; he says the going rate is ~$50-60, though of course better if it doesn't have to get shipped and we know it gets put to good use. ;-)

... that I could have?

If yes, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Someone from OKC asked me this on IM just now.

I have no idea how to answer it.

So: what is it for you? (Both what draws you to me, and what draws people in general to you.)

If any of you have Scott eVest type uber-pocket pants or shorts (or upper wear that has pants type pockets)... I'd like pictures.

Preferably very close-up pictures of the construction and layout of the pockets, from inside and out, inverted and regular (i.e. both with the whole garment inverted so it's wrong side out, and with the pocket just pulled inside out)... whatever you can give me that would let me do it myself.

Ditto for any other features that would be interesting for me to add to my kilt.

Or even better, would be a pair that I could borrow for a week or so.

Also, if you've actually worn such pants for a while, I'd like some feedback on exactly what you actually use / don't use / what could be better / etc. E.g. are the little zippered 'secret' pockets useful? The tiny inside-at-hip ones? The in-pocket partitions? Etc.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: To clarify, the specific pics I would like are:
* the entire deep cargo pocket, and whatever other ones it's layered with
* how/where they're connected to the rest of the garment - is it just at the pocket opening and the waistband?
* the pocket-in-pockets of the slash pocket & the deep pockets
* closeup of the magnet enclosures, and approximate size of magnets used
* closeup of insides and outsides of external cargo pockets

If possible, an overlay of a ruler / tape measure would be awesome.

And questions:
* Especially for the deep pocket, is it connected to anything along the sides? How are they connected to the back pockets or seams?
* does the deep pocket actually extend *back* from the bottom of the pocket entrance?
* how is the deep pocket connected to the regular pocket? is the front panel of the regular pocket the same piece of fabric as the back panel of the deep pocket, or are those two separate pieces? (i.e. a total of four primary layers of fabric or three?)


( What I've found so far, and a long brainstorming about what I may do )
( More thoughts on pocket design, sporran, etc )
( Further thought on hidden belt )

Edit 4/14: hot water, cheescake, milo
Edit 4/16: checkmarking, nuzzles

There are basically two critical factors to what I enjoy: physical and emotive/empathic. I'm highly sensitive to both; the former is more relevant for sensuality, the latter more for sexuality. I'm not going to discuss sex in this post; that's for the TMI filter.

Sensually speaking, I'm pretty easy to please and very very highly reactive. Enough so that once people realize how strongly I react it becomes a sort of party trick... most people don't realize it though, or don't take advantage of the opportunity. So here's your guide. ;-)

Skritches around my head are very nice; particularly in the area around the ears, the occipital crest, under the chin (along the grain of hair, i.e. inwards). Medium strength but harder than most people do it (though not too hard - I don't like pain); nails is more cat-inducing and more intensely pleasurable and likely to make me twist in amusing ways to follow it, finger stroking is more relaxing and emotive and likely to make me curl up in your lap. Skritching belly or back or neck is also quite nice but not usually as intense & requires more strength.

To stop skritching, shift to fingers and pause a second after a stroke with a full flat palm; otherwise I'll keep trying to follow it and feel disappointed when you stop ('cause nail-skritching keeps me on edge - a very pleasant one but not one I like to have suddenly stop). This is a nearly reflexive thing; skritching makes me react semi-automatically (I don't regulate it much - more pleasant that way) so don't think I'm necessarily doing it on purpose.

If you want me to be able to carry on conversation while being skritched, you'll need to briefly pause (or switch to something less nail-y) when I'm speaking or trying to; otherwise I'll stutter, if able to talk at all - quite amusing no doubt but not very efficient for communication. Otherwise no need to pause; I'm probably fully capable of paying attention to others' speech, just don't expect me to necessarily always be looking right at you if I'm being made to contort. If you know ASL that helps, as usually I can sign okay despite distractions (though it may come out a bit stuttery).

I like massage a lot. Particularly my shoulders, under-scapulae trapezius, and very low back. It's hard to say what style of massage I prefer. I know a fair amount of technique so I usually just coach people on what to do if they're not already skilled. I like giving massage, particularly to people who are pliable or have the right sort of easily (to me) bypassed tenseness. I usually give more than I get, though I prefer 50-50 balance.

I like dark chocolate. Peaches. Spicy chocolate. Curry chocolate. Whole fresh blueberries are godly (other forms are just okay). Good salads, like with walnuts and goat cheese and light vinegar. Lots of foods really. Anything I can savor.

I like hugs. I like people who use hugs as the standard greeting and parting.

I like cuddles a lot. I really like hugging & being hugged from behind. I like sitting leaned against/into someone or curled into their lap, especially if it means I'm being stroked or held. I like it when others do so with me. I like holding hands, interlacing fingers, lightly stroking fingers with the back of a nail (that can be extremely intense, if done right).

I like stretching. This isn't something you can help me with but you can probably amuse yourself at it, or skritch my back during, though that needs to be strong not light and nail-y or it'll make me flinch.

I extremely like sleeping cuddled up close to someone, under the right circumstances. It's one of the only ways I ever get real rest. Like with massage, I'm usually the cuddler, though I prefer 50-50. I really like feeling body warmth, until it gets hot or sweaty - that's not pleasant. So having appropriate levels of ventilation, air temperature, & covering is important.

I really like being sung to. Or told stories. Or taught interesting new things. I find contact juggling quite mesmerizing.

I very rarely like dancing but I may occasionally make exceptions. If I do, it's probably going to be some form of swing dance, since it's the only thing I know, and I'm not comfortable dancing without a partner. I don't particularly care whether I lead or follow (or some mix).

I like listening to someone's heartbeat. I like hearing their voice resonate through their chest.

I like lying in grass that's just sunny enough to not be hot. I like feeling grass on my skin, on my feet. I like watching the ocean. I like sunsets. I like hills. I like pausing to smell flowers and look at neat things and touch willows and ferns and other stuff with good texture.

I like cooking together. I can give directions, or you can; whatever so long as it is participatory.

I like playing renga and Scrabble and other smart but not excessively taxing games. I like having renga conversations via IM. I like making up new games or new ways to play with language with friends.

I like having long detailed conversations about interesting topics. I like when people tell me about the research they do even when it's partially over my head, because it's almost surely something they find interesting and that makes it almost certainly interesting to me. I like having long detailed conversations about the people I'm talking to, having them tell me more about themselves than they've told anyone else before, just because I was the only one to ask and want to know and notice all the places they glossed over and specifically follow up on them. It's very rare that anyone does that with me though.

I like lying beneath the stars on the Hill cuddled up with friends under blankets and talking.

I like my cat coming up and sitting on my chest and purring when I'm going to sleep and waking up.

I like being grounded by someone else. I like playing with energy; turning the main up-spine-down-front loop into a figure-8 with a partner. I like feeling it enter at my mid-neck and low back.

I like playing music with others. I'm not a particularly good singer but I don't mind (others may); I am a fairly good pianist and I like it when

I really like hot showers. Hot tubs are awesome. Hot pools are awesome.

Good cheescake is very very good. Bad cheescake is enh.

I really enjoy hot cocoa. Flavored cocoas. Hot Milo. It make me feel warm n' cozy n' relaxed. Can be slightly sleepy-comfort or can be stimulating, depending on how I choose to feel it.

I like cheek-marking things/people. This is one of my more explicitly catlike behaviors; while I’m perfectly aware that I lack scent glands, it’s something I do when I’m feeling catlike and affectionate or transitioning to at-home. It feels good - relaxing mostly but a bit of a skritch feel as well. I like nuzzles too; that’s not so outright catlike but is still a sort of affectionate friendly happy thing.


The above is all 'comfortable friends'-class stuff for me, and not particularly sexual. If you're my friend, chances are I would like doing any of that with you. I mostly hold back from initiating, for various reasons; I don't like being selfish, I know others usually have different thresholds than I do, I don't have the same sensuality/sexuality distinction as others (and others are more likely to react sexually to stuff I wouldn't, which can cause very awkward situations).

It's important to know some nonverbal signals for them though - primarily tapping (double tap anywhere = non-emergency stop now, triple tap = stop NOW, single tap = limit reached but continue at that). ASL helps though, as most sensual things are capable of making me unable to talk. Knowing how I emote also helps a lot, but usually takes training; my emotes tend to be pretty subtle and easily misunderstood. If you ask I'll train you.


There are also more intensely emotional things; more for really close friends or lovers:

I really really like mutual lotus position. Taller person (usually) sits cross legged, shorter person sits in their lap, facing them, legs wrapped around. Helps for the one or the other to have a good backrest (usually the bottom person) because there's a bit of counterbalancing required. Also helps for bottom person to hold the top person around the low back.

I like sharing breath. This is most easily done from mutual lotus; either both breathing in and out at the same time, or alternating so it's a cycle. Best done with slow, deep breaths. (And good ventilation. :-P)

I really like having my cheek stroked and being kissed on the forehead or eyes or cheek, and doing the same. That's less sensual than very intensely affectionate.

I like taking showers together w/ a lover, washing each other, having my back scrubbed.

I like sleeping entwined facing each other. Only difficulty is getting comfortable and ensuring everyone has air.

I like licking cheescake off a partner. ^^