| Quantum Computers |
[Jun. 6th, 2009|11:00 am] |
Yesterday I was trying to tell some folks about something I remembered that my dad told me, but I couldn't remember the name, or much else. What its called is the Quantum Computer and the technology is still very much in its infancy (though they have built some). Here is what my dad sent to me about the Quantum Computer.
"But there are many strange (in the realm of Fantasy strange) effects in
the quantum world. Did you know for instance that they have succeded in
Transporting (as in Beam me down Scotty) material. Admittly only a few
Molcules but that's how it starts. Also there is a charastic of Quantum
entangled mateial that defies Time and Speed of light limitations...
To understand how the quantum Computer can answer questions before its
asked (or exactly at the same time its asked with 0 (zero) computing
time) is that a quantum computer does not "number Crunch" like a typical
computer. A typical computer can only exist in one state at one moment
(though it changes states very very fast). Say in a memory location
where the calculations are done there might exist the binary number
10001101010100, than the next clock time this will change. It only
exists in one state at one time. A quantum computer exists in an
undefined state. It exists in ALL possible states at one time.
You've heard it said that given unlimited time 100 monkeys banging on
typewriters will eventually write Shakespere, just thru random
combinations occuring in an almost infinite amount. The probability of
this is very very low though... But not zero.
A quantum Computer does not calculate/number crunch what it does is
break down the probability function (yes it minipulates probability (or
fate as you would have it). So the probability of it "Guessing" the
right answer increases from almost impossible to 100% certain. This
isn't theory. It works. Its somehow linked to human interaction also
which is what really blows scientists mind.... Its exists in an
undefined state till its asked a question... There are some indications
that simply thinking the question triggers the answer..... Somehow
humans react with and influence reality much more significantly than
previously thought
They are not quite sure how yet though"
Here's an article from 2007 in New Scientist Magazine:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325971.500-outside-of-time-the-quantum-gravity-computer.html?full=true
and here's a really good Wiki on it:
http://www.quantiki.org/wiki/index.php/What_is_Quantum_Computation%3F
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|11:16 am] |
This is freekin' crazy... Before we know it, we will have holodecks!!
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| Uggh--getting older... |
[Mar. 31st, 2009|10:00 am] |
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So, my birthday is in a few weeks (no b-day party scheduled yet), and I figured that it might be nice to give people hints about what to give me. Anything off either of my Amazon wishlists will work: http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/31UGE1L2GBBI9http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/2ZRYY7T40NOE4Any sort of fun game is also good--I've heard good things about powergrid--and its 6 players (I think?), so thats always a plus. Of course, who knows if we will ever get tired of battlestar! For the PS3--I want to play Eternal Sonata, and could Gamefly it, but it usually takes me longer to beat a RPG. For nintendo DS--Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride... I just love Dragon Quest Otherwise, iTunes gift cards never hurt, because I can buy games for my Ipod Touch with them... |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 16th, 2009|11:17 pm] |
As most of you know, I have been seriously reconsidering career choices lately. I have been making a list of 'criteria' for what I want from a job. One of these criteria was that the job needed to be in Seattle. I've been thinking about that a bit lately... why the desire to stay in Seattle? It isn't like I enjoy the freezing cold weather!
I could definitely say that I enjoy the fact that most people here have similar political views, but that can sometimes tend towards uncomfortable political correctness and other weird hypocriticalness. There is also the fact that I think Seattle probably has one of the highest concentrations of geeky people possible, which is totally cool, but not a reason to be stuck on staying.
Then I realized that something has snuck up on me... I have made a lot of really good friends here. Because of a whole host of issues in the past, I really haven't had any close friends who haven't backstabbed me (because they didn't enjoy being around me and were only using me for my car/money or to be nice). Opening up to people and accepting the fact that they might actually enjoy my company really hasn't even been something I have allowed myself to consider; I didn't want to get hurt again. I generally just assume people hang out with me to be nice to the cripple. But that protective barrier of self-deceit really hasn't been functioning properly, and so I am finding that I have to accept the fact that people might not 'dislike' hanging out with me... in fact, they might even enjoy it, despite my many faults.
And, I think perhaps that is why I am so reluctant to consider a career that would take me away from Seattle. I feel like I belong here... I've never had much luck with friends, but perhaps I have broken that bad luck and have found a group of people who are just as (if not more) geeky than me and who are truly and sincerly good people.
This really doesn't require any response--I just wanted to let people know (at least the ones on livejournal) that I appreciate their friendship. |
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| Happy Days! |
[Dec. 29th, 2008|11:06 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  excited | ] |
Well... I did it...
I've been talking about it and saving up for it for a long time...
I bought a PS3... and its awesome! I was a little upset that the newer PS3s aren't backwards compatible, but I didn't want to buy a used for the same price as a new one off Ebay. Its not like I don't already have all the PS systems, and by having them all out I get to show off my super gamer geekyness!
I bought two games, Assassins Creed (which unfortunately makes me very motion sick--I need to see if I can take pills to fix that), and Valkyrie of the Battelfield. Valkyrie is a really amazing game... its a mix of RPG, Strategy (both real time and turn based) and FPS.
I am also excited that I can 'rent' movies from the playstation network--which will be interesting to experiment with.
Anyways, thanks to all out there who helped make this wonderful day possible!
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| Christmas... |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|08:51 pm] |
I can't believe today was Christmas... my brain just hasn't fully processed that yet. Perhaps that is because I got my largest gifts prior to Christmas day.
( I got... )
Now I am looking forward to the big New Years bash... should be extra fun since we will all have tons of presents to give (and open!). And, of course, there is the chocolate fountain! I know I'm really looking forward to it!
I'm off to play a little more Mount and Blade before bed...
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| Christmas Party ALERT |
[Dec. 20th, 2008|11:22 am] |
Its looking like the Christmas Party is going to be delayed, and will probably end up getting mixed in with our New-years party at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tavelorn's house.
There are lots of people who can't even leave their homes, and its only going to get worse after the big storm tonight and tomorrow!
Sorry all... if things change I will let you all know, but don't count on having a party tomorrow night!
On a side note with all this bad weather, my 'prepared for anything' parents are very upset that they haven't already forced me to get a kerosene heater for my house incase the power goes out. They also want me to get tire chains... *sigh* Parents...
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| Christmas Party |
[Dec. 6th, 2008|12:51 pm] |
Well, another year has passed and its Christmas Party time. Here are the details:
My place (if you don't know where it is, e-mail me).
Sunday, December 21st. Starting around 5:00 PM.
Food is sorta up in the air. tavelorn and I were thinking about doing a pot-luck style thing, but we could always order pizza or maybe go out to dinner someplace instead. Let me know what y'all are thinking.
There will, as usual, be a gift exchange.
Please let me know if you will be able to make it.
On a side note, here are gift ideas for me, I would recommend either games (or gift cards) from Gary's, or something off my Amazon wishlists:
Random stuff and more academic books wishlist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/31UGE1L2GBBI9/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go)
Historical fiction wishlist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2ZRYY7T40NOE4/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go)
There is no specific rhyme or reason to items or order of items on either of these lists--but I want everything on them, so you really can't go wrong :).
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 29th, 2008|10:22 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  thoughtful | ] |
My Thanksgiving went well--got to spend time with my caregiver/friend Brenda and her two kids (6 and 4). We had a ton of good food and definitely enjoyed the day. I even cooked up some pecan pie and stuffing, though since both were new recipes, neither really turned out as planned.
I cracked open a 'can' of dog food and split it between Hesse and Biggles--they absolutely loved it. I sure do hope my cat doesn't expect that sort of meal from now on!!
I got an add in the mail for this:
I thought about getting it for tavelorn , but I think its sorta a waste of money when the other option is a sweet sword.
**Caution--Rambling ahead**
On the day after black friday, I feel a need to write about the insanity of it all.
For those who haven't heard, a Wal-Mart worker in New York was trampled to death after a waiting crowd busted through the doors 5 minutes before opening time. A woman who was 8 months pregnant was also hurt. At other stores, there were reports of people stealing others shopping carts, people being elbowed, punched, kicked. Rampant violence and pandamonium as people desperately saught out the best deals.
( More... )
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| Vote McCain! |
[Nov. 2nd, 2008|09:20 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | hopeful | ] |
Today I realized that a vote for Barack Obama is a horrible mistake.
Why?
Well, I was thinking of an Obama cheer for election night--and made a horrible discovery.
Did you know that Barack Obama's initials are B.O., the same initials that are commonly used to refer to the Body Odor?
Every teenager, and even some grown adults live in constant fear of the ever menacing B.O.
The fight against B.O. is vital for the freedom of American noses. Every day brave Americans sacrifice their time to shower or bathe (or at least wipe their underarms with a washcloth) in order to prevent the spread of B.O.
Today we live in a relatively stink free world, thanks to the tough policies of the past... the teasing classmates and the scrunched noses of our co-workers. But a vote for Barack Obama could mean all of that hard work would be undone.
Heres a little known secret about Barack Obama's past that was uncovered by a Fox News detective. When he was in high school he refused to wear deoderant. He said that the smell of our bodies is natural and we should accept the B.O. as normal.
Do we want a president who is soft on B.O.... a president who would surrender to B.O. and accept defeat? He might even sit down with the proponents of B.O., like 'the hippies', without preconditions!!
If we elect Barack Obama, who knows what he might do. He might outlaw deodorant. And God only knows what would happen to all of those bachelors out there if he were to outlaw febreze!!
That is why I am calling all of you to vote for John McCain ... Strong on deodorant, strong for America
Oh god... I can't wait until this thing is over... 2 more days... |
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| 'Eye' see... Maybe? |
[Oct. 29th, 2008|01:23 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  lethargic | ] |
Yesterday morning I had eye surgery to fix a scar on my eye that developed while I was in the ICU recovering. Most of you know that it had become bad enough that I need(ed) to wear glasses. It also made my eye feel scratchy, because the tear glands were blocked in that section of the eye. Hopefully this surgery has corrected my vision and the scratchy-ness, though I won't probably know the full results for a few weeks.
Well anyways, the eye surgery went well--big thanks to tavelorn for giving me a ride home so that I didn't have to take a taxi while I was still drugged up. Fortunately, it turned out that the meds they gave didn't have too much of an after effect. Still, most of yesterday and today I have been feeling exhausted and just kinda blech... but at least I am mostly functional!
The post-op checkup said that there was no infection and everything looked good! Hopefully I will start feeling better soon so that I can finish up my midterms (though it has been convenient for the procrastinator in me to have an excuse to postpone working on them)!!
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| Odds on the election! |
[Oct. 10th, 2008|09:54 am] |
Stephen Colbert interviewed a guy who does baseball statistics stuff (trying to predict how people will do next season) and is now using those skills to put odds on the election!
www.fivethirtyeight.com/
Odds of Obama winning? 90.7% and rising!
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 27th, 2008|01:33 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | silly | ] |
Well I decided to go ahead and post my results to this test. Go ahead and laugh at my 'goody two shoes'-ness...
The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test |
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| Which Star Trek Character are you? |
[Sep. 19th, 2008|11:11 am] |
In order to post your results, be sure to click the "HTML" tab in LJ before copy/pasting!
Your results:
You are Data
| Data |
| 61% |
| Jean-Luc Picard |
| 60% |
| Beverly Crusher |
| 50% |
| Geordi LaForge |
| 50% |
| Will Riker |
| 45% |
| James T. Kirk (Captain) |
| 40% |
| Mr. Scott |
| 30% |
| Chekov |
| 25% |
| Uhura |
| 25% |
| An Expendable Character (Redshirt) |
| 25% |
| Spock |
| 20% |
| Leonard McCoy (Bones) |
| 20% |
| Deanna Troi |
| 20% |
| Mr. Sulu |
| 15% |
| Worf |
| 15% |
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Even though you are a genius
you are always striving to be better.
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Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test
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| Politics... |
[Sep. 17th, 2008|01:09 pm] |
As we all know, this year its time to vote for a new president! Health care, the economy, education, the Iraq war: all of these things (along with many others) are of vitally important to consider when you are thinking of who you want to vote for.
I know that some of you probably aren't all that interested in politics, or find it sorta overwhelming, which is understandable. However, as American citizens, it is really important for us to vote on election day as that is the only way we can keep our Democracy strong. And in order to vote it is important to be informed... at least in an ideal world where the issues matter.
I will be the first to tell you that I am much less informed about the issues than I would like to be. I generally just skim a bunch of articles and only get a basic idea of what is happening. So, I thought that by posting brief summaries of issues here, I could both inform myself and those of you who are interested in reading along. I hope by doing this I will be better informed so that I can do a better job of explaining why I think Obama is the better candidate. I will do my best to keep them brief, and to be neutral (though that is tough for me because I am pretty progressive/liberal). BTW--LJ Cut sucks. I have been trying to make it work for 30 minutes and just can't figure it out. Copying what I want to cut, then selecting to cut it doesn't work. I made it work once (by manually putting in the tags), then saw a typo and went in to fix it and it screwed up again. So, sorry if the cut isn't working... ( Today's Issue: Health Care )
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| Oh Craigslist... |
[Aug. 29th, 2008|10:33 pm] |
Some of us had talked a few weeks back about 'relationships' and 'marriage' on WoW... and thought y'all would get a kick out of this! *taken from: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/clg/774488152.html
Hot girl for hot guy!
Date: 2008-07-29, 8:22AM MDT
Hi! I'm a level 44 female blood elf (will be 50 this weekend) seeking my true love. Long dark red hair, sexy red lips, and I can bust a move like you've never seen. Must be from Duskwood server, where I am. Specifically looking for a male blood elf or undead to rock my world (of warcraft). Bonus points if you're a 70 and have any of your epics above teir 4. No trolls!!! Send me an email with your name and we can go on a date. There is a cute little spot in the Barrens I would love to bring a date. Maybe set up a fire and drink some volatile rum? See where things go from there. See you soon!   - Location: Azeroth
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
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| World Mapper |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|10:17 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | contemplative | ] |
I just found out about this cool website that distorts the world map based on different facts. So, for example, this is the map of world wealth in 2002:
  Or, here is a map of military spending:
Or, how about this map of quality of Health care?
There are a lot of cool categories on WorldMap. Sorta opens your eyes a bit looking at some of this stuff.
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