Ted Driver

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noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:12:00 +0000

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President Obama, do not sacrifice the future

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:56:00 +0000

President Obama,
While I believe in your vision of hope for America, bringing respect back to this nation and for tackling so many issues at once, there's something you need to hear.� Many Americans are not insured, or otherwise in financial straits. Your willingness to spend tax dollars is a burden many feel is worth it, though some do not.� Those who feel it is worth it, usually have something else to look forward to - some dream they consider for their or their kid's future.� This dream makes the current sacrifice ok.� Now, I know you are reviewing the current space program - the current tasks set forth to go to the Moon, then on to Mars - to see if it's necessary to spend so much money when we need so much help at home.�

President, Obama, I urge you, do NOT take away the dream of so many.� Do NOT take away the vision that NASA has, for so long, shared with Americans - the vision to explore where we haven't been and the satisfaction of achieving what was once thought impossible.� The many Americans that sacrifice now look to a dream, and for many millions of us that dream is the hope that we will one day escape our problems, led on by brave men and women that venture forth into the unknown.� The mystery and spark of enlightenment that come from seeing our human race expand must not be extinguished, it must go on.� We cannot sacrifice the future for our present, for once the present is gone, the future is all we have.

Backward Word Anomalies

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Some things in life are weird. �For instance, some words, when spelled backwards, make other words. �Here are a few of my favorites. �I've tried to make�them�into a short, possibly meaningful statement. I may not have�succeeded.

Dennis sinned.

Snot? Tons!

Emit time.

Dog. God?

...and dna...

Stressed? Desserts!�

Evil live!�(Maybe a new rock band?)

Gal? Lag...

Flog golf.

Faced decaf.

Brag garb!

Mined denim.

Stop! Pots!

I'm sure I'll run across more... let me know if you think of any others.

French physicist affirms the spiritual side of life

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:11:00 +0000

French physicist affirms the spiritual side of life - wins major Templeton prize.

From Reuters: French physicist and philosopher Bernard d'Espagnat has won the 2009 Templeton Prize, billed as the world's largest annual award to an individual, for his work affirming the spiritual dimension of life....Award organizers said his work in quantum physics revealed a reality beyond science that spirituality and art could help to partly grasp....
Classical physics developed by Isaac Newton believes it can describe the world through laws of nature that it knows or will discover. But quantum physics shows that tiny particles defy this logic and can act in indeterminate ways.

D'Espagnat says this points toward a reality beyond the reach of empirical science. The human intuitions in art, music and spirituality can bring us closer to this ultimate reality, but it is so mysterious we cannot know or even imagine it.

"Mystery is not something negative that has to be eliminated," he said. "On the contrary, it is one of the constitutive elements of being."

This is a monumental award - the foundations of objective based scientific discovery are starting to be covered over by the subjective nature of reality. Quantum reality shows us that nothing is guaranteed - and subjective feelings within each individual often drive the outcome of a situation - things that cannot be measured in an objective way. See "What is Real" for more info.
Copngrats Bernard d'Espagnat, you life's work has been a success and you well deserve the Templeton prize.

New Twitter account TedDriver and GPSToday

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:18:00 +0000

I opened a twitter account TedDriver, � It gets more updated than this blog. Follow me there too.

I also opened a twitter account for GPS stats, called GPSToday�follow it for daily stats on GPS. �I updated it automatically, using AGI's components to run the numbers and then using an awesome open source API framework for Twitter - twitterizer.

What if...

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:03:00 +0000

What if everyone was treated equally? What if Barack Obama was treated not as an Arab, as some McCain supporters are saying, but as a person with ideas worth trying? What if McCain was treated as a good and decent man, with ideas that his experience has led him to generate? What if Shiite's and Sunni's treated each other with tolerance and respect? What if American's treated the rest of the world with tolerance and respect?
Suppose a gay couple announced they were getting married and people applauded? What if those in power treated those without it the same? What if those of privelege treated those without it the same? What if humility was a virtue?
What if God would like people to get along instead of fighting over his supposed rules?

Summer Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:43:00 +0000

I was doing some yard work in the warm early afternoon sun this Memorial day weekend, and I spotted two Black-headed Grosbeaks in my crabapple tree. I've seen these guys occasionally at my feeder, but never in the tree. They were eating the insects surrounding the tree. Glad Summer is here.

YOU decided what your life would be before you were born

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:43:00 +0000

By YOU, of course, I mean the YOU as described in guidepost 1. Yes, YOU have always been. YOU have decided what to experience, what to do and be. YOU get to pick. As you will see in the next guidepost, we are all small pieces of God. As such, we have the ability to see different aspects of ourselves by selecting different types of lives on Earth that may represent a new aspect of ourselves not yet discovered, a new feeling not yet felt or a new angle not yet tried. YOU decided to be born to the parents you were born to because YOU thought that experience would be good for YOU and for all of US.

Now you may or may not agree with what YOU decided long ago, but that's OK. Challenge is a good thing, you'll come to find out. Once you realize that you are here to learn something, to accomplish something, you'll see the wisdom in YOUR decision. Ask yourself, what purpose am I hear to serve? What am I to learn during this life? Ask this when you are in a quiet, calm mood, or while you are meditating. The answer is already there and you will become aware of it. You will feel an urge to do something or a longing for someone or something. Concentrate on this for awhile. Experience what this feeling is telling you. As you go through the day, think about what you feel and see if it gets stronger. If this is what your purpose is, it will get stronger. It will. There is no doubt. Trust that YOU knew what YOU were doing and let that trust calm you and allow you to experience your purpose.

Some people reading this will already know what they are here for; they are born knowing exactly what they are here to do. Others do not and get caught up in day to day activities, forgetting they have something to learn if they choose. Those that already know typically have been through many physical lives (see guidepost 11) and are here to help the rest of us along. To remind us that there is more to life than reality shows and French fries.

Still not sure? Be sure to ask yourself what your purpose is as I described above, an answer will come. Just by asking you are guaranteed an answer, just be sure you are aware when the answer arrives. Many people have such a scattered mind that when the answer comes it is tossed around with all the other thoughts of the day, unable to get your attention and then dismissed when the body goes to sleep. Forgotten by the next day. Be sure to take a bit of time each day to relax, calm your mind and listen to the quiet .. and for the persistent knocking of your answer. Open the door.

GPS Satellite Outage Retriever

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Technorati Tags: GPS,NANU,satellite outage

Note: (added Oct 2009)

This service is now hosted on an AGI web server here: http://adn.agi.com/SatelliteOutageWebservice/GPSSatelliteOutageService.asmx

With a demo application available here: http://adn.agi.com/SatelliteOutageWebserviceExampleApp/

...and you can use PRN 32....

Original post:

I'm working on a demo app that let's you see what outages there were for the GPS constellation. It's not bug-proof, especially if you choose PRN 32, but give it a try. Let me know if you have ideas to make it better.

GPS Satellite Outage Retriever

The satellite outage data comes from XML-based satellite outage files (SOFs) produced by the Air Force. The data is parsed through AGI's component technology, using the Navigation Accuracy library methods for processing the SOF files. The SOF file contains data on outages from 1998 to the present. Whenever a new NANU is produced, the SOF file is updated to include the new outage information. Much more data is contained in the SOF file that is presented in this demo app, including NANU numbers, NANU references and the type of NANU for the outage.

Disk Encryption Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:43:00 +0000

If you use Windows BitLocker, Apple's FileVault or the TrueCrypt product, take heed. A new attack show how the data stored in your RAM can be read - sometimes for hours - after you computer is off. Scraping your RAM is easy once a thief has your hard drive. Computers that are on, or in the sleep mode are particularly affected.

The basic idea is that these encryption tools keep a copy of the key stored in memory so that on-the-fly encryption/decryption can occur. By scraping the RAM (see video to learn how), an attacker can easily gain access to the key in memory and unlock all encrypted data.

One point to remember if you use these types of tools. The tool is not the end of your responsibility when it comes to protecting data. First, you need to be aware of how the tool works. In this case, it's extremely important to know that the tool stores the key in memory. Secondly, you need to be aware of how attacks may occur. If someone is looking over your shoulder in a public place - what can you do? Suppose your laptop is stolen, do you often leave it in sleep mode? Physical security is just as important as the tools you use to protect your data. Don't assume the tool is doing the job for you - it's just an assistant.

If you've got a quick message to encrypt, see my encryption page.

Energy - of a different kind

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:45:00 +0000

I've long been a fan of Robert Bruce - his insight to the inner world is second to none in modern times. And his new book Energy Ways shows his skill once again. If you've never heard of Robert Bruce, if you are a complete skeptic regarding energy phenomenon, you need to see this book. I've always been what I call a willing skeptic - someone with an open mind - but I need to see/experience to believe. After reading and trying some of Bruce's methods, I'm convinced of one thing - something is going on here! His simple examples start you off and within a few minutes your experiencing what he's describing in the book. Feet tingling with energy, hands buzzing, it was quite real.
Congrats Robert - an excellent book. I look forward to practicing more!

Don't stop hugging!

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:44:00 +0000

Megan Coulter - don't you dare stop hugging!
CNN video on Megan's detention for hugging
I can't believe the idiotic decisions that some people in charge make. 13 year olds hug - plain and simple. Everyone hugs - it relieves tension and shows others we care. The superintendent in the linked video rationalizes his decision by stating that hugging leads to other things - he's right! It leads to conscientious behavior, a caring for humanity and a general feeling of well being. Depriving people of that leads to isolation, repressed anger and then who knows what. Oh, did he mean something else? He needs to get his head out of the gutter. This school board needs some education and probably - a hug.

Pope Has Gone Astray

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:36:00 +0000

In a recent statement by Pope Benedict XVI, he "reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation."
He also stated, "Christ 'established here on earth' only one church, [the other communities] cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense because they do not have apostolic succession - the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles - and therefore their priestly ordinations are not valid."

Wait for it....

Is the pope really saying that only those who have knowledge passed down from the actual disciples are allowed to form churches and designate who is saved and who is not? This takes God from each individual and puts in the hands of the few - only these special few are allowed to dispense the truth, create churches and can tell others that they must join their church or not be saved. This is not just a complete misunderstanding of what Jesus taught, but more importantly, a sign that the catholic faith is no longer tenable as a religion. Requiring your followers to adhere to specific regulations about eating, praying and worshiping is one thing (bad in itself: see number 6 here: Thomas Gospel), but not tolerating others is blatantly against the teachings of Jesus. How can the Pope stand behind such religious bigotry?

Mother's Day Selfishness

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Sun, 13 May 2007 13:19:00 +0000

Here's an interesting story. I happened across CNN's Quick Vote on Mother's day and found this question with responses:

I saw this and my jaw dropped. Could this be true? Over 100,000 people have voted in this particular Quick Vote and 58% said that Mom can do the chores on Monday, instead of them helping out and doing them on Mother's Day?
Granted these studies aren't scientifically valid and they do not represent a valid cross-section of the populace, but the results are still surprising. Looking at the article CNN has that's related to this vote, A mix of caring and capitalism, it's not clear that the subject of the vote is represented in the article - so it's weird that CNN chose to ask this question in the first place.
On Mother's day, Mother's should take the day off and do whatever they want - knowing that the things they normally take care of are being handled by those they love. Get off your high-horses people and start helping out. Your Mother deserves it and a little respect goes along way.

Brainwave Reader

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 13:26:00 +0000

Now THIS invention is getting somewhere. This new device (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070430/ap_on_hi_te/mind_reading_toys) can read your brainwaves and can tell when you're concentrating and when you're not. Of course, the first market the inventors thought of was gamers (most disposable cash I guess). But think how this device could be used! The device can give you feedback - telling you when you're concentrating. This process, known as biofeedback, helps you bootstrap yourself into a particular state of mind. If you want to concentrate more and can see feedback that says you are concentrating, it makes it easier to keep concentrating.
My first thought was to employ this toy in meditation practice. It's hard to get a good meditative state in place, but with biofeedback, it could be made easier. Unlike the brain reading device in this classic sci-fi film: ( http://imdb.com/title/tt0085271/), this toy is real and will definitely have an impact on those using it.
Bravo!

and Yahoo goes further..

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:03:00 +0000

Thanks again Yahoo!
A day after Yahoo announced that they will be offering unlimited storage for it's e-mail users, they've announced that they are opening up the Yahoo mail API - to let developers write programs that interact with Yahoo mail ( http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130243-pg,1/article.html). To top that, they say they will give $10 US to the developer for every new Yahoo mail account created as a result of the developer's tool interaction with Yahoo!
Wish I had time to write the backup software I mentioned below....

Infinite Yahoo E-Mail Capacity!

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:31:00 +0000

Well, it's finally happened. Computer storage capacity is now as cheap and prevalent as water - so Yahoo is giving it away. (http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/003943.html ). Yes, you will soon have unlimited capacity on Yahoo servers to store all your e-mail, photos, spam and more!
So, how long will it take before someone creates a utility that backs up my computer to my Yahoo mail storage? A utility already exists for Google's e-mail, GMail. The utility is called GSpace ( http://www.getgspace.com/) and works pretty well, though it isn't currently automated. I can't wait for YSpace - Automated - so I never have to think about backing up again.
Thanks Yahoo!

Presidential Budget Out

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 16:51:00 +0000

So the budget submitted by the President to Congress is here and there are some highlights I'd like to point out. First, the budget tops out at 2.9 trillion dollars; that's 2,900,000,000,000 dollars; with a revenue of 2.66 trillion dollars, leaving us with a continuing shortfall of 0.24 trillion dollars - 240 billion dollars this year!
It's funny that this is almost the exact amount Bush is asking Congress to further fund the war.
Aside from that, I noticed that Bush has increased spending on fossil fuel and nuclear development while cutting the expenditures for the Energy Department's Renewable energy lab by 3 percent. Wait, didn't we just hear him say in the State of the Union address that we need to cut gasoline usage by 20% by 2017? And we should do this in part by increasing the use of renewable fuel sources?
It's hard to take anyone seriously when they say one thing and do another - when my kids do that, they get reprimanded. So what's the deal?

Mooninites safely back on Moon

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:14:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPrm21ImpdI

I've watched Aqua Teen Hunger Force off and on for a few years now, mostly when my son has it on. Since I first saw them, the mooninites were my favorite characters. Their brashness and perceived superiority over human beings make them great fun.
Hats off to those responsible for this innovative marketing campaign - now, maybe next time you do this everyone will already know they're Mooninites and not scare the living hell out of everyone.
Wag of the finger to Turner Broadcasting as well - come on - we're all a little on edge these days. This stunt is just like jumping out from behind a wall in front of someone who just finished watching Halloween (the original) for the first time - it's only funny to the jumper and those that have seen the movie.
Boston - love your city - visited there last November (Modern pastry rocks), but tune into the current century, this didn't have to go down the way it did.
TV stations - why are you blurring out the Mooninites finger (I mean 2 pixels)? This show is rated TV14 - the same rating that's allowed on during primetime - good grief, let's have some common sense.
So, will the ATHF movie generate as much publicity as this stunt did? Let's hope so.

Chinese ASAT Event

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:21:00 +0000

Fantastic animations and pics of the recent Chinese ASAT (Anti-Satellite) event.
Celestrak site:
http://celestrak.com/events/asat.asp

and at the Center For Space site:
http://www.centerforspace.com/asat/

The Chinese have denied that they want an arms race in space, despite their actions. Reminds me of a four-year-old - their words do not match their actions. They have unilaterally put many nation's space assets at risk, not just ours. Their behavior is suspect and needs to be met with a global response. Though they say they do not want an arms race in space, they may have started one. The debris from their destroyed satellite circles still and maybe on a collision course with the humans living in space.

STK-generated images courtesy of CSSI (www.centerforspace.com).

An Amazing Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:30:00 +0000

These past few days, I've watched an amazing transformation - a transformation catalyzed by a topic gaining more and more attention. Last Thursday, Pastor Ted Haggard of the New Life church was accused of having an extra-marital gay affair. He initially denied this affair and later, in writing, agreed that many of the accusations had indeed occurred.
Ted Haggard is a font of inspiration to many thousands of people - they have over time, learned from him and loved him and his preachings. This latest event will typically have his followers reacting in one of two ways - they will retain their love for their pastor and realize that could not apply the same prejudice to him that that have applied to other gay or bisexual persons. This will lead them to begin to remove their prejudices against homosexuals in general. The other way the followers may react is to retain their prejudices and now shun the pastor himself - even as they had followed him less than a week ago. If their devotion to him and his church had been true, I expect that this outcome is less likely.
In fact, in a news interview with a parishioner this past weekend - she was crying after the service and stating that she was sorry for the prejudice she had felt towards the gay community and was re-evaluating her feelings towards all gays. This is an amazing transformation. I can't think of a better way to begin a transformation of people's value system than this.

There is no reason to hate anyone - not gays, not Arabs, not Jews, not Shiites, not Muslims, not Americans - no one. Hating a particular group is bigotry and must be avoided.

Scientific Method Must Expand - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:38:00 +0000

If you haven't read part one yet, scroll down a bit.

Since no scientist can prove we dream, yet everyone agrees that we do, our scientific method is incomplete. A scientific method must encompass all we experience, not just what we can intrepret through our five senses. None of our five senses are at work when we gain knowledge from our dreams. That knowledge comes from beyond our physical environment. What scientists currently classify as reality, is really the physical reality we live in during our waking hours. This is the reality we interact with using our five senses. There is at least one other reality, one in which we gain information in a different way - this is the dream reality.

This begs the question - how can science study areas not associated with our physical reality - and all come to agreement on what is discovered?

Scientific Method Must Expand

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:05:00 +0000

Today's scientists - trained on the same scientific principles developed 400 years ago, are observational scientists. In the experiments they perform, they, the observer, are observing some system and making measurements on that system. Astronomers view the universe and make measurements on it based on observer based reality. Einstein solidified this observer idea when he introduced Special Relativity. He introduced two observers - one traveling at close to the speed of light and another watching him pass. He then drew relationships between what these two observers would see based on their position and velocity.

In the early days of quantum mechanical experiments, it was shown that the observer can affect the experiment. This is so because at the small size scale of these experiments, the instruments used to measure observable quantities of atomic particles, relied on small particles to relay the information. For instance, when a microscope is used to look at something, we see the light reflected off of the subject back into our eyes. This light, also known as photon particles, represents the position of the subject at the time it was reflected - but the interaction of the photon with the subject has changed the subject - it is no longer in the state we just measured. So, we have known for almost a century that the observer can affect the outcome of the experiment - but few scientists have taken the step that observers affect experiments with larger objects.

The observer-based model of the scientific method works fine for classical experiments. small modifications must be made to the model when quantum affects are to be taken into account - but the expansion of the scientific model must increase again. By way of an example, I'll illustrate.

No scientist today can prove through any kind of experiment that we dream. I dream at night, I remember them vividly, though sometimes not at all. You dream at night too. We all dream - we talk about our dreams, there are hundreds of books on dream interpretation, how to control your dreams, lucid dreams etc. Universities hold college level courses on dreams. There is no doubt we dream. But no scientist, following the current scientific method can prove it. We can measure what happens during sleep, Rapid Eye Movement for example, then wake the subject up and ask "were you just dreaming?" The multitude of recorded answers then lead one to the conclusion that we dream when certain measurable effects occur. No proof, just conjecture based on statistical evidence.

More later...

Hey Jimmy!

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:34:00 +0000

Hey Jimmy guess what?
"What?"
I just realized something...
"Oh?"
Yeah, I just realized that you can't be both pro-life and pro-war!
"How's that?"
Well, if you are pro-life, you're against killing unborn people right?
"...sounds right...go on."
And if you are pro-war, your against NOT killing other people, right"
"I see where you're going..."
So how can you be both for and against killing people?
"Seems like somebody's got some thinking to do..."
That's for sure.

Meditation and Coffee Don't Mix

noreply@blogger.com (-Ted) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:23:00 +0000

Never try to meditate just after drinking a cup of coffee. It sure does keep you alert and aware, but you can't focus for an extended time on anything let alone nothing.