Paul's blog

Modern digital computers are clock driven.

That means that there is a clock inside your computer that ticks.  Tick, tock, tick, tock …

And at every tick (and tock) the computer DOES something. It executes an instruction (or, to be fair, in modern pipelined processors, an atomized part thereof).

From a computer program’s point of view it’s without meaning to ask what happens between tick and tock.

If the clock would miss a beat, there is, in principle (meaning, without help of external circuitry), no way for the computer program to detect that. It could have been stalled for YEARS, and it wouldn’t know it.

It’s a consequence of being a ‘digital’ computer, in which everything happens in discrete steps.

This in contrast with our own world where everything is, as we call it, analog … where everything is smooth and connected. Where there isn’t an ‘atom’ of time, and where even the tiniest piece of ‘length’ can be divided by 2.

Or is it (time)? And can it (length)?

What if there IS a smallest unit of time? And lenght? Units for which the question “what is smaller than that” is like asking “what is north of the North Pole”? If that was the case … dang .. then we WOULD be living in a digital world after all. That would almost sound as if reality as we know it, IS computer generated! As if we were living, and experiencing life, in a holographic environment simulator .. we could be someone’s misguided highschool project.

Now … guess what!

Yes … there IS a smallest unit of time. And length.

Anyone familiar with Quantum Physics knows them: They’re called Planck-time and Planck length.

This begs the question: then  … WHAT is reality?

This opens a new category for my blog, called ‘Quantum Reality’: I will soon post more on that.

But for now (leaves holodeck) .. “Computer: save program!”

 

 

I found another nominee for my NutCase Of The Week category.

I have the urge to write a long rant as to why this particular one is so dangerous. But I will spare you that. Instead I will give a brief introduction, some quotes and a link to a column where he explains his nutty and disturbing views.

The really scary part is, that comments on his column show that so many people actually agree with him. Really scary.

My NCOTW’s name is Dennis Prager, a radio show host and columnist for townhall.com.

The column in question starts thus:

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so — not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

*shakes head*

A few more gems:

What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.

*rolls eyes*

Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible

*gasping for air*

Ellison’s doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal — the Islamicization of America.

*getting sick*

If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book [ed.: the bible], don’t serve in Congress

*foam on mouth*

On that last one, let me quote here article VI from the US constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

 

Congratulations Dennis, with making it to my list. You really deserved it.

Link to Dennis Prager’s column

What’s this? Open season, or what? (all in this month)

Police shooting of elderly (88) woman

Police shooting of groom ‘unacceptable’

Police shoots 13-year-old boy who had toy gun

Police shoots unarmed man 81 times

Police shoots 19-year-old with mental disorder

 

We saw Casino Royale today.

And both my wife and I liked it. A lot.

There was some blasphemy in the movie: At the poker table Bond ordered the wrong cocktail! Instead of his trademark Vodka Martini (shaken, not stirred!), he ordered a Vesper (3 measures of Gordon’s gin, 1 measure of vodka, ½ measure of Kina Lillet. Shake until ice cold and serve in a deep champagne goblet with a large thin slice of lemon peel. Easy on the fruit).

This was probably in honor of  his leading lady Vesper Lynd.

But then a little later, when he does order a Vodka Martini, the bartender actually asks him “Shaken or stirred?”, and Bond frowns and answers — oh horror –: “I don’t care”! (Correction by commenters: He actually said “Do I look like a man who gives a damn?”)

I asked my wife if she liked the ‘new’ Bond character and she fanned herself. “YeahHeah“, she said… “He’s hot hot hot … everything about him is hot!”. (Correction here too: the adjective SMOKING was used: see comments)

I must admit, fair is fair, that he, indeed, does look a bit like me: same blue eyes and he plays a mean hand of Texas Holdem too…

 

I once bought a t-shirt with the text displayed in the picture next to this post.

I can’t find it anymore.

Drats … just now that I need it!

 

I’d like to introduce a new category for my blog: NCOTW, or, “Nutcase Of The Week”

In it, I’d like to mention a person who, in my view, deserves that label. All the combined posts in this category form my list of people to avoid at all cost.

The first person to receive this ‘honor’ here is Donald E. Wildmon.

He’s the founder and head of the American Family Association. (I expect many nominees in this category to be ‘public’ figures)

What happened?

Walmart, just like many many other companies (amazon.com comes to mind), has an affiliate program that pays you a small bonus when people order something through a so called click-through link on your website. Basically a small commission for sending buyers their way. Good business practice I think. Walmart has some 23,000 organizations signed up for that program. One of those organizations happens to be a small obscure gay community. Someone actually ordered something through that click-through link, and Walmart paid them $4.17 in commission. Read that again: Walmart paid a member of its affiliation program $4.17 for sending a buyer its way.

Enter Donald Wildmon, the founder and head of the three million member American Family Association.

He sent THEE MILLION EMAILS (how far are we with those anti-spam laws anyway?) to his flock, urging them to boycot Walmart for ‘supporting homosexuals’. Other Christian organizations are now following his example (especially after one of them found out that Walmart sold the, oh horror,  “Broke Back Mountain” DVD), but Donald started it, so, fair is fair, HE gets my vote! Not that I think he’ll make a big impact with this, after all, his earlier call to boycot Disney Corporation for allowing gay couples into Disneyland didn’t exactly bankrupt Disney, but still.

Ironic is that Walmart, not exactly the most ‘progressive’ corporation around, just announced that it will put ‘Christmas’ back into its slogans. Something Donald’s club persuaded Sears, Lowe’s and Target to do. You’d think that that outweighs paying a gay website $4.17. But no. Principles are principles and gays are scary and dangerous.

Donald, you’re one scary and dangerous fruitcake nutcase!

(I can’t help wondering what Donald’s take on Ted Haggart’s mishap is, but I fear the worst)

Link to one of the many articles on this.

1. British Zoologist Professor Richard Dawkins

2. The International Space Station

3. Martha Stewart

4. A/S Regnecentralen (A Danish computer manufacturer that I worked for in the seventies)

5. Robert Metcalfe (co-inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3COM corporation)

6. Hungary

7. The Princeton institute for Advanced Studies: Theoretical Physics

8. Seattle Symphony

9. Georgetown, Cayman Islands

 

I’m looking for the common factor … If you know it, email me at paul@paulclaessen.com (subject: blog riddle) and, if correct, I will acknowledge that fact here:

(and I DID leave a clue in this post)

 

Correct answers sofar, from:

– Paul Claessen (Duh!)

– Victor de Keijzer Himself (3rd attempt)

– Dawnell Claessen

– Rob Lagesse (with a little help from Jay Leno ;-))

–

Honorary Laureates (people who weren’t completely correct, but made a much appreciated and original attempt):

– Victor de Keijzer (Yes, THE Victor the Keijzer *proud look*, the world famous Dutch author from www.victordekeijzer.nl who, incidently, has a sister who once worked for A/S Regnecentralen as well -such a small world-)

–

People whom I fully expect to solve this:

– Dawnell Claessen 

– Bob “Injun” Cuyt

– Charles Simonyi

– Peter Westergaard

– Victor de Keijzer (on 2nd 3rd attempt)

– Rob Lagesse

Last night I have seen God.

He spoke to me. And I have closed God into my heart.

No, not Jesus. God!

I may have uttered the name ‘Jesus’ a few times, but I’m referring here to God.

When he appeared to me I was not alone: many devout followers witnessed the event with me, mostly people in their 50’s and 60’s. There was waving of arms, chanting, calling His Name and I even have seen tears. It was glorious, awesome and just plain perfect.

He did not speak many words, but he needn’t speak much, his mere appearance was close to what mere mortals like us, in this big arena in Jacksonville, could take.

Of course, God has been God for a long time.

But it was still breathtaking to witness the evidence of his divinity: even after some 40 years, Clapton is still God.

Link to the history behind this

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. An unfortunate day indeed.

President Bush signed into law bill H.R. 4954: Security and Accountability For Every Port Act or the SAFE Port Act.

Official title: To improve maritime and cargo security through enhanced layered defenses, and for other purposes.

Sounds good eh? Cost: $26 per American over a four year period. Good AND cheap!

Votes: 421 Ayes, 2 Nays (9 no votes). Good, cheap and popular.

Congress hammered this through on their last day ‘at work’. Probably noone cared to actually read the damned thing. Who cares about the details .. we all want to be safe, right?

Here’s how the American people gets screwed by an increasingly sleazy and sneaky government: the catch: look at the last four words of the official title given above!

Yes. Other  purposes.

What are those other purposes?

Well … whatever some really sneaky politician decides to sneak in there. So, if, for instance, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the Speaker of the house Dennis Hastert (yes, that guy from the Foley scandal), based on their righteous ideas of what is ‘moral’, decide that all those millions of Americans who play that wildly popular Texas Holdem Poker game online are engaging in immoral activities and therefore should be banned from doing so, then, yes, they can in fact sneak in some rules that practically bans this form of innocent entertainment. Even in a bill about protecting our sea ports!

Not only can they do that. They did do just that.

As of yesterday, I can no longer legally fund my accounts at online poker sites in order to engage in my beloved 5 cents poker games. All in the name of making our sea ports more secure.

We live in a free country. And we have many freedoms that other countries don’t have.

But make no mistake, those freedoms, even the ones that concern only what we do in our own houses, in our own time and affect noone else, are being eroded at an alarmingly increasing rate.

This war on terrorism is quickly becoming a war on our privacy.

Americans, once again (remember the Patriot Act?) … you’re being screwed!

You’re being conned out of your freedoms by self-righteous, deceptive, manipulative, insincere, dishonest, machiavellian, cheating, lying, powerhungry and zealously selfserving politicians. Considering the oaths they took, their actions border on treason.

“Reality is an illusion“

  — Paul Claessen, October 2006