“Our character is measured by our desires.”

“Our character is measured by our desires." 

Emanuel Swedenborg   from the ARCANA COELESTIA 5128

Interesting to contrast this with basic Buddhist philosophy:

• Suffering is universal,
• It is caused by desire and yearning
• Suffering can be prevented and overcome and
• Eradication of desires can lead to removal of suffering.

(from http://www.hindunet.org/avatars/buddha/index.htm but available in many places)

Swedenborg is a bit more optimistic: in his view, we can't really eliminate desires so much as focus desires -- focusing on the desire to do good, the love of the use (desire to be of service), and the love of God.

 

Reading skills of tech support

Actual correspondence with regard to equipment for an "absolutely top priority" project:

August 09, Dan:    Attached is an exception request requesting two 500Gb external hard drives.

Sept 13: Dan:    Steve, an external hard drive was delivered to me today. My exception request was for two 500Gb drives. I received one 80Gb drive. Do you know what happened?

Sept 13: Steve, Tech VP:    Sorry, Dan, the people who transcribed the request form got 300 Gb from the exception request form and not 500Gb. Send back the incorrect part and we'll try to get the right one ordered and delivered.

So, we asked for TWO 500Gb drives. This was "transcribed" to ONE 300Gb drive, and they sent an 80Gb drive -- five weeks later. 

Best Buy has larger drives (600Gb) for $349 with one day delivery, or available for pickup at 4 of their stores within 10 miles. 

The worst part is, there's a decent chance that when Dan returns the 80Gb drive, there will be further disruption because he didn't return the 300Gb drive.  There's also a decent likelihood we will have to go through the whole approval process again.

Who is Uranus really named for?

The planet Uranus, forever the butt of jokes, might have had a different name.

"William Herschel tried to name his new planet ``Georgium Sidus" for King George III, but the international astronomy community would have none of that, calling it Uranus instead." writes Owen Gingerich in the Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/09/03/planet_politics/?page=full 

Given that George III has been the butt of many jokes in America, that's not surprising.

The recent controversey about Pluto has brought many of these jokes back out of the closet. Consider today's Brewster Rocket comic:

"Sorry O-Dor, the other planets voted that Uranus jokes don't get old."

O-dor: "You mean the planet formerly known as Uranus. We got a corporate sponsor to buy naming rights to our planet. No longer will Uranus be the butt of jokes."

"Who is your sponsor?"

O-Dor: "Preparation H"

http://www.comicspage.com/brewster/brewster.html

This will be my fourth mention to Uranus being the butt of jokes, so perhaps it's time to end this entry.

What Wine Goes with Peanut Butter and Jelly?

Bill Daley, in the Chicago Tribune's food section, ponders the issue of what wine to serve with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-0609060019sep06,1,1620992.column?coll=chi-leisuregoodeating-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

A top entry is this one:

"Rare Wine Co. Madeira Boston Bual

Made from the bual wine grape, this Madeira is an especially pleasing tribute to the city of Boston (a major consumer of Madeira back in colonial days) plenty of oak, leather, figs and spice. The wine gave the peanut butter a boost and some tasters thought it added kick to the jelly, too. $40 (3 corkscrews)"

I sent this to a colleague in France, who has just been over for some collaboration. During that time, the phrase "peanut butter sample" came up, as a description of a particular type of statistical sampling philosophy. He'd never had peanut butter, so another colleague introduced him.  His French palate was unimpressed, probably similar to an American trying that Australian concoction, Vegemite.  Now he will truly think Americans have no taste buds.

A $40 wine is great with PB&J -- especially if you leave out the PB&J.

But even PB&J can go upscale: "Chef Grant Achatz's take on "PB&J," a single peeled grape coated with peanut butter and wrapped in the thinnest toast wafer, was a sensation when the Lincoln Park restaurant [Alinea] opened in May 2005.

Joseph Catterson, Alinea's wine director and sommelier, approached that PB&J with a half-dozen possible pairings before deciding a glass of Sercial "Charleston" Madeira "

Now THAT sounds more French!

Death, Where Is Thy Stingray?

Yes, that's the actual title of a memorial article on Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, on SOMA

http://www.somareview.com/deathwhereisthystingray.cfm

repeated on Beliefnet:

http://www.beliefnet.com/nllp/Inspiration.aspx?WT.mc_id=Inspiration03&date=09-06-2006

I don't get cable, so my exposure to Steve Irwin was limited. Still, I don't think he'd mind the joke much. Probably would tell it himself, if he could.

Toyota Prius tops 500,000 mark

I bought a Prius earlier this summer. I hesitated because (1) I hate spending that much money on an asset that depreciates, and (2) I really wanted to wait until the technology was proven in a larger number of cars.  I bought a Ford Windstar the first year out, and let's just say it was lucky for me I got the extended warranty.

But Toyota has sold a lot of these. According to http://www.toyota.com/movingforward/2006/july/prius.html?url=image_button they've now sold over half a million, over half of these in the U.S.  This (and the good quality reputation) have made me feel better about the purchase. 

Germany interested in Czech territory again?

Der Spiegel reports with some glee that a right wing group in Germany has been trying to attract young people with a campaign featuring an attractive woman and the slogan "Germany is hot" (Deutsch Ist Geil!)

Problem #1: The young woman is actually Czech. An attractive Czech model, but still a Czech. Not ... a ... German.  Didn't this issue get settled in the 1940's?

Problem #2: The image is "hot" in more than one way -- as in stolen. The owners of the image are starting legal action for copyright infringement.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,434760,00.html