I just performed a little surgery on my guitar and wanted to share the results which might eventually be useful to someone else.

The problem with my electric guitar: it’s old and cheap, the 5 position switch (used to select combinations of the three pickups) was acting up, as were the three potentiometers (volume and two tone knobs). By acting up, I mean they were adding noise, cutting in and out and generally being pains. In addition, I can’t stand where the volume knob sits as I’m touching it half the time when palm muting (causing yet more unwanted noise).

I had purchased a replacement Fender 5-way pickup selector switch (Fender part #099-1367-000), standard fare on most strat type guitars, but was hesitant to actually open the instrument up. However, tonight was more annoying than ever so I opened it up. A peak inside revealed that it was a big mess of wire with gobs of solder everywhere.

Call me barbaric but I decided to cut the crap and hook the pickups directly to the output–volume be damned, I’m always at 10 anyway, and the tone pots needed replacement. So I had a look at this very informative page about the 5-way switch and went to work.

My solution involved simply tying the ground leads from all three pickups together (black wires, in my case), along with the cable out ground and a nice little wire tied to the guitar’s bridge. Then I took other lead from the neck, middle and bridge pickups and tied them to positions N-A, M-A, and B-A as shown on the guitarnuts graphic at the bottom of the page. Finally, the common terminal was tied to the other cable out wire.

Done and done. Testing it was a breeze, just plug the guitar in and scrape a quarter against the pickups as you play with the switch. The guitar works great, without any noise or cutting out and the volume nicely maxed out. Huzzah.

I am appalled and disgusted by the recent attacks by Israel on Lebanon. For the first time I am leaning towards the position that Israel has no place in the middle-east, other than that of a general shit-disturber and destabilizer, and should just go away (or at least, cease getting such boundless support from the civilized world).

I am also extremely disappointed with the Harper government, putting Canadians a the position which supports this unwarranted attack (more than 300 civilian deaths to date–supposedly in retaliation for *two* professional soldiers: insanity!) against a sovereign nation, thanks to its unending U.S./Bush ass kissing.

I invite all Canadians to write the Prime Minister’s office (pm AT pm dot gc dot ca) and to speak out publicly so the world will know we’re not as stupid as the (minority) government that supposedly represents us.

Here is a letter, written by Helene, that might be useful to all the frenchophones out there.

---

Monsieur Harper,

Vous avez la responsabilité, en tant que le chef d’un état *souverain* et civilisé, de condamner les bombardements au Liban.

Le Québec et le Canada ont exprimé leur opposition à la politique américaine en Irak et au Moyen-Orient. En tant que représentant d’une société démocratique, vous avez le devoir de parler pour la majorité des canadiens.

En tant qu’être humain responsable, vous avez l’obligation de défendre les droits et les valeurs fondamentaux de tous contre les intérêts de quelques individus.

Les actes présentement commis sont terribles et scandaleux. Ne devenez pas un criminel dont les méfaits resteront inscrits à jamais dans notre mémoire collective, comme le président Bush le sera sans doute.

Monsieur Harper, rendez-nous notre fierté: condamnez fermement les bombardements au Liban.

Agissez en canadien.

One month ago today I was in the middle of one of the most difficult weeks I’ve ever experienced, watching my father waste away at a palliative care unit in Longueuil, Qc.

Frank Deegan passed away January 18th 2006, at the age of 75. Dad gave us a final gift for which I will always be grateful: time. Time for his entire family to get to know each other better than ever before and grow together. Time for all of us to show him all our love and say goodbye.

In honor of my father, and for all who missed the memorial and others who requested them, I’m adding the text of my November letter to dad which I read as well as a transcription of Shannon’s thoughtful and touching words.

---

Letter to my father, Patrick Deegan

Who is Frank Deegan? I’m not certain…

He was a boxer, a salesman, a people person, a professional scout, at times a conman, he was "the machine". Frank Deegan is the father of five, he is my father, and many other things. But what are his passions, his unfulfilled dreams, what worries wake him in the night? In the more than three decades that I’ve known him, there’s much I regret I’ve never learned. What I do know best of my father are the things he’s given me: what he taught me and, more importantly, the man he made me.

I am a very different person than he. I’m not an athlete or even a sports fan. I’m not a parent. I can hardly put a name to a face. And yet, I am very much my father’s son. The lessons he taught me, through his stories and his actions, are a part of me every single day.

Frank could be stone cold with others but at the same time his heart would melt at the sight of our dog pleading for a snack. For the lucky few in his inner circle, his family, he would make any sacrifice. He showed me that, no matter where you go or what you do, family comes first.

Since my earliest memories Frank has been the definition of worry, always thinking of his next move or anxious about his children’s well being. And yet, in the toughest of times he’d lay down his last dollar—literally—with no regard for the future so we could have some measure of fun. Smiling, he’d say "Between having $10 and nothing… what’s the difference?" and we’d go and spend it on something frivolous and enjoyable. In this, he taught me to cherish the now and live each day to the fullest.

With a wink, he’d profess "What your eyes see, your heart must believe" and then proceed to show me how the world was in fact a subtle, multi-layered place where most things actually aren’t what they appear.

He taught me a formula to ground me when things are going well and to bring joy in hard times: "This, too, shall come to pass." It was a reflection of his unending tenacity and it taught me to never surrender.

More than all else, Frank was always a boundless reserve of absolute, unconditional love and confidence. Though I’ve done my share of admittedly stupid things, in his eyes I could do no wrong. Ever. What some might believe a recipe for spoiled brats turned instead into a cornerstone of my personality: a limitless inner store of strength and self assurance. It unlocked the greatest secret of life that I know, embodied by the constant echo of his voice saying "You can do ANYTHING." It is the foundation on which all my past and future successes lie. For that, more than anything, I thank him.

Frank Deegan is my father and you will always be able to see him here, standing behind the best parts of me.

I love you dad.

---

Reflections on Uncle Frankie, Shannon Deegan

I would like to first offer my sincerest condolences to Dallas and all of Uncle Frankie’s children. And to his brother and sisters. I had so hoped to be there to celebrate Uncle Frankie’s life and am disappointed I had to be in Vancouver today.

Fortunately, like many of us, I feel I had an opportunity to celebrate Frankie’s life on boxing day, where Uncle Frankie became the only person I know who had the opportunity to attend his own wake. What a wonderful evening that was. To be successful in anything, I think a person needs encouragement and the confidence of a strong network of supporters who offer advice, encouragement, and the knowledge, that should things go wrong, or should someone have a bad game, there’s always another day, another game. In life, we are lucky if we have a friend who offers that unconditional support, and while I have had the tremendous fortune of having parents who offered me that, I was doubly blessed to reap special love and support from Uncle Frankie.

Everyone no doubt has an anecdote about Uncle Frankie, and no doubt we’ll be telling them for the rest of our lives. But more than a story or two, I have a lifetime of memories of the man who had a tremendous impact on my childhood and, because it was such a major part of my childhood, on my hockey career, and my life. Anyone who spent time with Uncle Frankie quickly realized that he had an amazing ability to be completely blind when it came to the people he loved. They could do no wrong, and they could do anything. After my first exhibition game with the LA Kings skating alongside Wayne Gretzky, I rushed to the hotel to phone my folks, then Uncle Frankie. I relayed the awe of the several shifts I played on arguably the greatest player in history’s line. Cutting me off, in all sincerity and with deeply held conviction, Uncle Frankie gave me the following most amazingly ridiculous advice ever. Advice that makes me laugh to this day: Don’t be in awe of Gretzky, he barked, you’re as good as he is!

From the age of probably seven or eight until I went off to Vermont at age 17, Uncle Frankie was at my every game. Every time I stepped on the ice I would look up into the stands to find my mom and dad, and Uncle Frankie. While my parents were usually sitting quietly, I would usually spot Uncle Frankie up in the corner behind the last row off seats. He would be pacing up and down, talking in his famous "bop-bop-bop" style to the rink rats that owned that section of every rink. As I got older, those rink rats were more often than not, scouts. Eventually, Uncle Frankie joined their ranks, becoming a junior scout and then, to his and my great delight, an NHL scout working for the Buffalo Sabres’ Scotty Bowman.

A couple of years ago in New York, I attended a dinner for former pro-hockey players living in the city. I was delighted to see Scotty Bowman sit opposite me at the round table for ten. When we each introduced ourselves around the table, upon hearing my name, Scotty said: "Shannon Deegan from Verdun who played at Vermont?" "Yes," I replied, shocked that he remembered. After a few nice comments about seeing me play, Bowman turned to the rest of the table and declared: "This young man’s grandfather was the greatest left-handed pitcher I ever saw. I grew up watching Lefty Deegan play at Atwater Park in Montreal." Continuing, Scotty said, "And this young man’s uncle, Frankie, was one of the best scouts I ever hired. The guy would watch a hockey game, giving a running commentary on every player in the league while studiously watching the game. He sent me some of the best unsung players I ever had. He had a hand in building some of my Stanley Cup teams."

I relayed that story to Uncle Frankie when I last spent time with him at the hospital. He too beamed proudly and reached over and squeezed my hand. Suddenly, I found myself choking back tears. "Thank you for everything Uncle Frank. You have had a tremendous impact on my life. Thank you so much," I repeated, squeezing his hand.

And I repeat today: "Thank you so much, Uncle Frankie".

---

Francis James Deegan, 1930 - 2006
Notice published in the Montreal Gazette on 1/24/2006

DEEGAN, Frank.

Peacefully after a courageous battle with cancer on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at the age of seventy-five. Beloved partner of Dallas Cuco. Devoted father of Julie (Dr. Gordon Miller), Brendan, Patrick (Helene), Marie-Pascale and Jonathan. Loving grandfather of Mathew, Erin, Christopher, Gabriel and Charlie. Will be sadly missed by his step children and step grandchildren. Survived by his brother Brendan (Katie) and his sisters Madeline and Kathy (Dan) and many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents Sarah and Frank (Lefty), brothers Fred (Helen), David (Rita), Kevin (Roberta) and sisters Margaret (Ed) and Joan (Lu). The family will receive condolences at a Memorial Get-Together on Friday, January 27 from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Verdun Lawn Bowling Club, 6000 LaSalle Blvd. Verdun, Quebec.

Having recently moved to a very high-traffic area, we became interested in augmenting the quality of our indoor air through the use of plants. Presented here are our motivation and the preliminary results of our search.

To start, we found that:

• It isn’t uncommon for indoor air to be many times more polluted than outdoor air (up to 70 times!);
• Traffic isn’t the problem: most of this indoor pollution is due to chemicals we use within home and office and to out-gassing;
• Much of it is carcinogenic and causes short term discomfort and disease. Indoor air pollution is considered the main culprit for a 60% increase in asthma over the last decade.

We can reduce the toxic baddies by making informed choices when purchasing, thanks to helpful sites such as Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia’s Guide to Less Toxic Products.

Out-gassing, on the other hand, is more problematic. There are tons of materials in use that release toxic gas for months or years after fabrication. These include carpeting, polish, glues, vinyl and all sorts of plastics… basically anything that gives off something resembling "new car smell". These gasses contain things like:

• Formaldehyde
  Found in plywood, grocery bags, waxed paper, fire retardants, etc.
• Benzene
  Found in inks, oils, plastics, paints, detergents, synthetic fibers, etc.
• Trichloroethylene
  Found in inks, varnishes, adhesives

These and other chemicals commonly released into indoor air can cause joint pain, depression, headaches, chest pains, asthma, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, recurrent sinus infections, mood swings, loss of sleep, cancer and other goodies.

The chemicals may also act as "sensitizers", causing people to begin reacting to exposures to other substances that had never been bothersome before (for instance perfumes, paint, felt tip marking pens, cigarette smoke, etc.). This chemical sensitivity is caused by an inability to metabolize or detoxify the extra burden of chemicals.

Making informed choices will help reduce the sources of out-gassing in your environment (for instance, you can replace vinyl or PVC blinds with bamboo or curtains) but getting rid of all toxic sources is next to impossible. One easy and potentially enjoyable way of removing these substances from the air is the house plant.

A NASA study, aiming to find plants for air purification on a future off-world base, identified a number of plants that are quite efficient in removing formaldehyde, benzene and other nasties. Another NASA study (1989) showed that houseplants were able to remove up to 87 percent of toxic indoor air within one day and later work showed that one spider plant could detoxify a 100 cubic foot room polluted with formaldehyde, within six hours.

To be truly effective, you need numerous plants: a potted plant per 100 square feet is recommended (though some sources suggest more than seven per room!). You also need a complete ecosystem… It was found that the plants don’t perform the detoxification work wholly on their own: the combination of soil, plant and helpful bacteria was much more effective at removing toxins than an isolated plant (for instance, in a hydroponic system). The plant must therefore be potted, ideally in a way that maximizes the plant root-soil area’s exposure to air.

The following is a list of plants that are known to function as efficient air detoxifiers (as well as producing yummy oxygen, of course). There are other house plants that have similar impact on air quality. We chose these because of their high efficiency and low maintenance, although points were also awarded to plants with low light requirements or were esthetically pleasing.

Name – Sci.	Lighting requirements	Notes	Look & Feel
Chinese Evergreen – Aglaonema sp.	Tolerate full shade.	Removes Formaldehyde. Large leaves, happy in the shade. Avoid cold water when watering.
English Ivy – Hedera helix	Partial Shade	Removes Benzene. Enjoys indirect sunlight but will be happy in lower lighting conditions. Non-variegated varieties tolerate more shade. Has a lower temperature range than most (down to 7 degrees C, doesn’t enjoy temps greater than 18C), avoid placing near heat source. Water moderately and regularly.
Golden Pothos, Devil’s Ivy – Epipremnum aureum	Partial Shade	Removes formaldehyde (one of the top three removers). Water regularly. Leaf drop == over watering.
Sansevieria / Snake plant / Mother-in-law’s tongue – Sansevieria trifasciata	Wide range, full sun to partial shade.	Removes formaldehyde. Tough plant, handles extremes. Growth will slow but is ok in partial shade. Comfortable at room temp (18-21C) but can deal with 12-30C. Prefers a dry spell to being overly watered: water sparingly.
Spider Plants – Chlorophytum comosum	Partial shade, bright but indirect.	Removes formaldehyde (in the top three plants for this purpose).
Schefflera / Australian umbrella tree – Schefflera actinophylla	Bright, indirect light.	Grows quickly in light. Ok with slightly lower temperatures (though never below 13C).
Dracaena – Dracaena deremensis	Bright, indirect light.	Removes Benzene and Trichloroethylene. Keep between 18 - 24 degrees C. Well-drained soil, let dry between wartering.
Ficus – Ficus sp.	Full sun	Removes formaldehyde. Tough plant but doesn’t like change – select a location and avoid moving. Likes well-drained soil, water moderately. Avoid cold drafts.
Aloe Vera – Aloe barbadensis	Full sun	Very efficient formaldehyde absorber at lower concentrations. Well-drained soil, let dry between watering.

Happy breathing to you all.

Copyright © 2005 P. Deegan, All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2005, Patrick Deegan. All Rights Reserved

This document presents my current personalized supplementation schedule (version 2.0), along with the rational behind it in the hopes it will be useful to others researching or fine tuning their own.

• Introduction
• Supplementation schedule
• Supplement information
• Organizing everything

Introduction

Having been doing a lot of research on health and nutrition lately, I’ve refined a personalised supplementation schedule based on my requirements and health goals. Though this program is based only my own analysis (and I am in no way a health care professional) and specifically targeted to my own needs, I believe sharing it might be useful, if only to encourage others to begin their own exploration.

The first thing you may notice is that just about all the supplements listed here go over the FDA Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for vitamins and some other elements. The reason is simply that the RDA is calculated for healthy people in the United States such that the vast majority (~ 98%) avoid deficiencies–so the RDA isn’t an optimal amount, only the minimum requirement (to avoid things like scurvy) and, according to numerous studies, the optimal quantities of various vitamins and elements greatly exceed the RDA.

One must be careful, however. Certain supplements, such as water soluble vitamins like vitamin B or C, aren’t harmful as overconsumption mainly leads to expensive urine (the excess is eliminated). In these cases, it is a simple matter to ensure your body has more than enough at all times. For fat soluble vitamins and numerous minerals, the situation is more delicate. For instance, excess vitamin E can lead to dangerous blood thinning while over consumption of iron can lead to death. Thus, many people should be able to follow these guidelines as-is but careful research should be made before increasing dosage and consulting a doctor or nutritionist would be prudent in any case. Remember that the goal is to get and stay healthy–not to make things worse!

Daily Supplementation Schedule

Daily Supplementation Schedule

Omega 3 Arganine Selenium

Breakfast

Vitamin B+C Ginko GSPE

Folic Acid Vitamin E Garlic

Lunch

Omega 3 Vitamin C Vitamin D

Calcium/Magnesium CoQ10 B50 Complex

Supper

Multivitamin Omega 3

Vitamin C Vitamin E Selenium

Bed

Yes, this is a lot of little pills for one day. But I have found a way to make things much easier, which is described in the Organizing section. Below are a few details concerning the dose and use of each of these supplements.

Supplement Information

Supplement Information
Supplement	Dose	Notes	Related Reading
Vitamin B+C	B1/15mg,B2/10,B6/5, B12/10mcg,C 500mg	Nervous system, homocysteine (cardiovascular disease risk) reduction, metabolizing carbohydrates/energy production, skin health	B6 fact sheet (NIH), B12 fact sheet (NIH)
Vitamin B50 Complex	B1/50mg,B2/50,B3/50, B6/50,B12/50mcg, Folic 0.4mg	Nervous system, homocysteine (cardiovascular disease risk) reduction, metabolizing carbohydrates/energy production, skin health	B6 fact sheet (NIH),B12 fact sheet (NIH)
Vitamin C	500mg	Super antioxydant. Proven to increase the human lifespan when taken in doses that exceed dietary levels. Prevention of cataracts, cancer, cardiovascular disease, aneurysms, gall stones, stroke, brain disease and more. A study published by the NIH in the year 2000 showed that adults whose blood plasma concentrations exceeded the 73.8 micromole level experienced a 57 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 62 percent reduced relative risk of dying of cancer when compared to adults who consumed low amounts of vitamin C (28 micromole). [Am J Clinical Nutrition 72: 139-45, 2000]	Vitamin C Foundation, The Vitamin C Fanatics Were Right All Along, Vegetable Soup Fights Cell Damage
Vitamin D	1000 IU	Skeletal strength, cancer prevention, arthritis prevention	Vitamin D fact sheet (NIH), Fighting arthritis with vitamin D
Vitamin E	400 IU	Antioxydant. Heart disease and cancer prevention, cataract prevention,	Vitamin E fact sheet (NIH)
Arganine	L-Arganine 500mg	Amino acid. Nitrogen donor, Thymus gland stimulation, artery/vein flexibility, muscle growth, reduces platelet aggregation (risk of heart attack)
Calcium/ Magnesium	333mg/167mg	Calcium is related to skeletal health, body fat regulation, muscle contraction. Magnesium is involved in the absorption of calcium and other mineral, regulating blood pressure, heart disease prevention, carbohydrate metabolism, energy production, muscle relaxation.	Calcium and Magnesium fact sheets (NIH)
CoQ10	CoEnzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) 30mg	Fat-soluble vitamin-like substance, antioxydant, important in treatment and prevention of heart disease, possibly responsible for cancer regression	Intro to CoQ10, Cancer Facts: Coenzyme Q10 Q & A (NIH)
Folic Acid	1000 mcg (i.e. 1mg)	Reduced atherosclerosis/stroke/Alzheimer’s through homocysteine reduction, utilization of sugar and amino acids, healthy skin, prevention of neural birth defects (e.g. spina bifida), cancer prevention (colon/breast/pancreatic), improve depression	Benefits of Folic Acid, Folic acid ‘cuts blood pressure’ (BBC News), Folic Acid Fortification: Fact and Folly (FDA)
Garlic	1250mcg allicin	Heart disease prevention, cancer inhibitor (particularly prostate, stomach and colon), cholesterol reduction, blood thinner, reduce blood pressure	Does Garlic Prevent Cancer?
Ginko Biloba	40mg 1-50 extract (9.6mg flavoneglycosides)	Improve microcirculation in the brain, slow progression of dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, reduce claudication (peripheral vascular disease),antioxidant, platelet aggregation inhibitor, possibly enhance memory and brain function	Ginkgo Biloba for Memory Enhancement
GSPE	Grapeseed proanthocyanidin extract, 37.5 mg	Antioxidant protection against heart disease and cancer, prolong life span of vitamin C and E, protection from atherogenesis (development of hardened arteries), hair loss prevention, possible nigh vision aid and prevention of macular degeneration.	GrapeSeed Details (UofM),Proanthocyanidin Power
Multivitamin	Strong Centrum Type multivitamin w/lutein	RDA of most required vitamins and minerals
Omega 3	fish 1000mg (EPA 300mg, DHA 200mg)	Reduced all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, Reduction of silent inflammation, lowering of triglyceride levels (coronary disease risk factor), lowering of blood pressure, prevention of inflammatory and auto-immune diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, osteoporosis, gum disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s).	When "Fatty" is Good: Omega-3 Oils and Fatty Acids, Effects on Cardiovascular Disease, Effects on Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Selenium	50 mcg	Trace mineral required in small amounts. Antioxidant, lowered risk of lung/colorectal/prostate cancers, heart disease and rhumatoid arthritis prevention, induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, possible link between HIV/AIDS and selenium depletion (e.g. "CD4 tailspin").	Selenium - what it does, Selenium fact sheet (NIH), Selenium May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk, Selenium’s Value to Prostate Health

Organizing everything

In order to manage all these pills, I began by sticking the schedule above inside of the cupboard containing the vitamins and other supplements. Playing musical chairs with bottles quickly became annoying, as there are numerous supplements that are to be taken two or three times a day. In addition, eating out meant foregoing the supplements or having a pocket full of pills.

In order to simplify things and allow for quick getaways without forgetting any supplements, I purchased two weekly pill organizers. Merging the two sets provides up to eight separate compartments per day:

By using this system, I need only retrieve all the various vitamin and supplement bottles once a week and prefill all the compartments in a very mechanical manner by referring to the schedule above. For 8 minutes of effort, I get to spend the week carefree and secure in the knowledge that I’m following the schedule I’ve set out exactly. It makes traveling or going to the restaurant a lot easier as well.

Enjoy.

I set up a mailing list for interested members of our extended family. It’s a place where holiday plans are discussed and minor flame wars sometimes erupt. I had the pleasure of starting one myself recently, in response to a message from my uncle. For those who can’t read french, especially my homegrown accent-free version that google seems to have difficulty translating, well… sorry translating this would be too much work but you can get a lot from the various english quotes.

The email I recieved containd this quote from some book by Philippe Roth:

On lutte contre sa propre superficialité, son manque de profondeur, pour essayer d’arriver devant autrui sans attente irréaliste, sans cargaison de préjugés, d’espoirs, d’arrogance; on ne veut pas faire le tank, on laisse son canon, ses mitrailleuses et son blindage; on arrive devant autrui sans le menacer, on marche pieds nus sur ses dix orteils au lieu d’écraser la pelouse sous ses chenilles; on arrive l’esprit ouvert, pour l’aborder d’égal à égal, d’homme à homme, comme on disait jadis. Et, avec tout ça, on se trompe à tous les coups. Comme si on n’avait pas plus de cervelle qu’un tank. On se trompe avant même de rencontrer les gens, quand on imagine la rencontre avec eux; on se trompe quand on est avec eux; et puis quand on rentre chez soi, et qu’on raconte la rencontre à quelqu’un d’autre, on se trompe de nouveau. Or, comme la réciproque est généralement vraie, personne n’y voit que du feu, ce n’est qu’illusion, malentendu qui confine à la farce. Pourtant, comment s’y prendre dans cette affaire si importante—–les autres —– qui se vide de toute la signification que nous lui supposons et sombre dans le ridicule, tant nous sommes mal équipés pour nous représenter le fonctionnemet intérieur d’autrui et ses mobiles cachés? Est-ce qu’il faut pour autant que chacun s’en aille de son côté, s’enferme dans sa tour d’ivoire, isolée de tout bruit, comme les écrivains solitaires, et fasse naître les gens à partir des mots, pour postu ler ensuite que ces êtres de mots sont plus vrais que les vrais, que nous massacrons tous les jours par notre ignorance? Le fait est que comprendre les autres n’ est pas la règle, dans la vie. L’histoire de la vie, c’est de se tromper sur leur compte, encore et encore, encore et toujours, avec acharnement et, après y avoir bien réfléchi, se tromper à nouveau. C’est même comme ça qu’on sait qu’on est vivant: on se trompe. Peut-être que le mieux serait de renoncer à avoir tort ou raison sur autrui, et continuer rien que pour la balade. Mais si vous y arrivez, vous? alors vous avez de la chance.

My response, which it seems I felt was worth sticking here, is included forthwith.

J’imagine que je me suis tromper, et que ton but n’etait pas d’inciter une tirade de ma part… mais la voici neanmoins

Bon, que ceux et celles qui sont pas ben ben intelligent levent la main!

J’imagine (j’espere!) qu’il n’y a pas eu trop de volontaire. Le fait est que la plus part des gens se croit ben smatte.

“Unfortunately, your self-perceived excellence makes you remarkably ordinary: In general, psychologists have found, whether the category is driving skills, looks, intelligence, or charm, people rank themselves above average, usually substantially above. In one typical study, 70 percent of high school students reported that they possessed better-than-average leadership ability, while only 2 percent thought they were below average. In another, 94 percent of professors said their own scholarship was better than the norm.” (The Power of Positive Illusions)

Cette tendance n’est pas negative–c’est une adaptation utile. L’explication simple, c’est que la vie est remplie de “non-zero sum games” (des scenarios ou l’on gagne a cooperer)–voir: Memes & Cooperation – et que pour des animaux sociaux etre confiant c’est utile. Dans The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins decrit la co-evolution de plusieurs mechanism en utilisant un exemple simple. Trois individus se veulent chef de notre tribu. Le premier dit “franchement, je ne crois pas qu’on va s’en tirer”. Le deuxieme recherche le gain personnel et tente de fourrer tout le monde avec des promesses vides. Le troisieme croit franchement qu’il est le meilleur choix pour diriger la tribu pour le bien de tous.

Les tribus qui choissent un defaitist se tire dans le pied. En 1532, Francisco Pizarro et 168 hommes plante une armee de 80,000 Peruviens, entre autre parce-qu’il avait l’audace de croire en leurs capacitees. Le chef qui n’est pas sure de lui sera en moins bonne sante mentale (Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind et sera moins enclin a prendre des risques pour le bien de tout le monde (Overconfidence and War : The Havoc and Glory of Positive Illusions).

Les desavantages du deuxieme choix sont evidents et nos expressions faciale, universelles et innees (The Inner and Outer Meanings of Facial Expressions), sont la preuve que dans cet univers de “non-zero sum” il est en general plus profitable de pouvoir se comprendre que de pouvoir cacher ses propre pensees. Il y a eue, et se poursuit, une “arms race” entre les menteurs et les detecteurs de mensonges mais l’important c’est que nous cherchons a deceler la tromperie volontaire chez les autres et agissons en consequence quand nous la detectons. Tous ca, c’est suffisant pour qu’il y ai une pression contre la selection de leaders menteurs (cyniques et autres, inserer commentaires sur Paul Martin ici).

Le troisieme chef potentiel croit scincerement en lui-meme. Il se trompe probablement, mais ce n’est pas important. Le fait est, par l’inverse des arguments a l’encontre du chef defaitist, qu’il est avantageux pour la tribu de se choisir un chef un peu trop confiant.

Par ce mechanism, avec le temps, la tendance au illusions positives se repend a travers le pool genetique et la culture.

C’est ben beau tout ca mais: “rapport, man?”. Le rapport c’est qu’on est tous mauditement pareil, le “self-perceived excellence” n’est qu’un example.

“Chimpanzees share 99.4 percent of functionally important DNA with humans and belong in our genus, Homo, according to a recent genetic study” (Study: Chimps Belong In Human Genus). Quoique tout le monde n’est pas d’accord avec cette conclusion, le fait est que les chimpanze on 95-99.X % de similarite genetique avec nous.

A l’interieur de cette petite difference genetique entre nous et les chimpanze, il faut coder pour deux choses:

A) Code Genetique Chimp.
+ 0
————————
chimpanze

B) Code Genetique Chimp.
+ une steppette pour devenir humain
+ un grain de sel pour devenir un individu
——————————————
toi

La difference entre individus, quoique bien importante pour nous, est infime–du moins du point de vue genetique. Donc, y a-t-il une grosse difference entre les individus malgre leurs similitude biologique?

La lecon de notre epoque sur cette question est que le “Social Science Standard Model”–avec son idee que le cerveau humain est une tabula rasa ou le software de la culture est inscrit par apprentissage (A Rising Stare: Evolutionary Psychology)–se met le doigt dans l’oeil.

Un bon exemple est fourni par Steven Pinker (un livre excellent: The Language Instinct : How the Mind Creates Language) qui decrit l’evolution et le fonctionnement des circuit grammatical chez l’humain (voir Natural Language And Natural Selection pour une bonne intro). Il n’est simplement pas possible pour un humain d’apprendre *n’importe quel* language, arbitrairement concue. Les ‘variables’, telles que la prononciation des mots, peuvent bien etre n’importe quoi mais la constance de la structure de la langue et la facon que les concepts sont organiser sont ce qui permet a l’enfant d’apprendre a parler et a tout le monde de se comprendre efficacement.

Une conclusion qu’on retire de la psychologie evolutionnaire est que l’esprit humain n’est pas une machine a calculer generale, comme un ordinateur, mais plutot une collection de module specialiser, adapter pour des taches distincte–coder des la conception par nos genes et commun a tous les humains. Bien des differences que l’on percoit, comme celles entre les langues, ne sont qu’une tres mince couche par-dessus une vaste fondation universelle (supporte par ces modalite neural). Il existe une grammaire universel, fondee dans la biologie humaine, et on realise qu’il existe un peuple universel–l’evolution nous a fournis une batch de modules qui s’occupe d’une grande part de notre pensee, de notre perception et interaction avec le monde.

Oui, on peut quand meme se tromper… et pas seulement sur les motifs specifique qui pousse X a faire Y. Le fait est que l’etre humain n’a aucune experience directe de l’univers. Nous sommes enferme dans nos cranes respectifs et tous nous vient par l’entremise de nos sens–quand je fais une tournee du musee, je suis en fait en train de me promener dans mon cortex visuel. Les trois conclusions possible sont:

1) Il n’y a rien, tout n’est qu’illusion.

2) J’existe, mais je ne sais rien du tout concernant le monde exterieur avec certitude (demon de Descartes)

3) Il y a un monde exterieur objectif, et une certaine correspondance entre cet univers et ma representation.

Les point 1 et 2 sont bien zen et meme possible, mais completement inutile a considerer (jusqu’a ce que le “vrai” univers nous soit revele, du moins).

Pour le 3, la correspondance entre l’univers et ma representation interne peut diverger… ce n’est pas important ici. Ce qui compte, dans ce cas, c’est que :

- J’existe
- Vous existez
- Nous avons tous une representation de l’univers
- Notre representation de l’univers depend surtout des modalités sous-jacentes de notre cerveau
- Le hardware de nos cerveau est a peu pres identique, du moins en ce qui a attrait au module perceptifs, analytiques et fonctionnels.

Ergo, nous avons tous a peu pres le meme model du l’univers. On passe notre temps a se chicanner a propos de notre diversite d’opinon sur A,B et C mais le fait qu’on puisse meme en parler demontre notre similitude fondamentale.

Finalement, si je fais une grosse erreur c’est d’assumer que mon propre “stream of consciousness”, et par consequence celui dans la boite cranienne de “l’autre”, a un rapport quelconque avec “qui je suis”. Des etudes demontrent que la conscience n’est peu-etre qu’un echo, un “log” de ce que l’organisme a deja decide sans intervention consciente. Selon ce model, on se raconte tous une histoire, qui rationalise nos actions et les ordonnes:

“consciousness appears to be a delayed log of your thoughts, a sort of reverberating echo of obnoxious memes, rather than being the actual process of thinking. Neuroscientists have done experiments asking people to press a button and to note what time it was when they pressed the button. Meanwhile, the scientists measured at what time the brain actually sent the irreversible signal to the hand to press the button. Can you guess how it turned out?

The signal left the brain before the person reported thinking about it.

In other words, the subconscious decided to press the button, and only then did the conscious mind report it dutifully in its log. ‘Have decided to press button.’ But like all logs, it is a historical recording of what was, not a live broadcast of what is. Your consciousness is always a bit behind what is actually happening.” (Cet extrait vient d’un petit article, issue du monde sportif, qui merite vraiment d’etre lu:
IN THE ZONE: Consciousness, Basketball, and Team Chemistry).

Mais bon, de facon pratique ce qui compte c’est que j’ai l’impression d’etre conscient et de prendre des decisions. Si c’est faux, ca ne change pas mon experience subjective. Et si vous existez vraiment en fin de compte, vous etes probablement pareil.

En gros je crois qu’on profiterait tous si on cessait de traiter “l’autre” comme un alien incomprehensible, surtout quand c’est un autre primate.

:-)

Free Software (that’s free as in free speech, i.e. a matter of liberty and not price) can be a powerful ally for businesses and individual users. Its advantages have been largely discussed. Free software can provide enhanced security and reduce costs. It gives you control over your destiny, leaving the very source code that makes up the program in your hands and keeping you from vendor lock-in and planned obsolescence. But is it possible for creators of free and open source software to find a sustainable model, where we can afford to continue maintaining and distributing software in this manner?

I started off as a Math/Physics double major, at McGill university. I’d always enjoyed programming but it turned into a passion when I discovered Linux. After my first Linux install, weeks of cutting classes turned to months of cocooning as I went through what I later found out is a common larval stage for fledgling hackers. During this period, I discovered the joys of exploring the Free Software world (that’s free as in free speech, i.e. a matter of liberty and not price), pouring over in-depth documentation on everything from compilers to modems. Having the power of a professional class Unix machine–with web and email servers, databases, compilers and programming libraries–was awesome.

Years later, Linux systems are the foundation on which Psychogenic Inc–a company I co-founded–is built and all my personal systems run the OS exclusively. Almost all the websites and programs we create run under Linux. I feel indebted to the community which built these amazing tools, for everything I’ve learnt and the path my life has taken.

That’s one of the reasons why we, at Psychogenic, have created and continue to sponsor a number of open source/free software projects (some of which we maintain at sourceforge). The VOCP voice messaging system project, for instance, has had over 600,000 page views and over 25,000 downloads since it’s inception and has an active user base and mailing list.

On the other hand, the VOCP project hasn’t been updated in a good while… The reason is that we run a business and as such require that our day-to-day activities generate profit. Indirectly, the project has been great for our name and has generated "good will". It has brought about some revenue through minor service contracts such as remote installations and configuration–but the simple fact is that you can count these on a hand or two. Is there a manner in which we could make this system, or any other free software based project, profitable enough to warrant further development?

There are examples of open-source/free-software companies making money. The big names–RedHat Linux, MySQL and others–tend to concentrate a lot of interest, have large developer communities contributing back to the project and have focused on providing service or multiple licensing schemes to create income. For a small company such as ours with projects that haven’t generated large momentum, responsibility for development rests squarely on our shoulders. Though we get many requests for support, any mention of service fees tend to clear the room almost immediately. Our focus is now turning to service based models or actual physical products (such as pre-configured systems).

Shipping hardware would be a major change of direction for Psychogenic. Our value, to date, has all been grey-matter bound–we expend time using specialized skills to meet client needs by producing software solutions. Moving to hardware is a whole new ballgame, one which requires a good deal of capital to be frozen into components, and then also spent on handling and related overhead.

In the service model we either provide added value, for instance hosting and bandwidth, or we keep a portion of the system (the remote back end) proprietary. In the first case, we’re only using the free software as a teaser, to attract clientele, and should therefore consider development costs to be equivalent to marketing expenses–with the additional downside that others may come along who offer the same services but don’t have to bear the burden of development. In the latter case, where a portion of the system is maintained exclusively by the service provider, much of the benefits of free software are lost (users no longer have access to the source code, losing their guarantees against vendor lock-in etc. and needing to simply trust the provider concerning issues like security).

At this stage it is still unclear how we can go about continuing to create free software in a professional capacity. To be continued in a future entry…

Karl Swann, of the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff, and his team have recently discovered that injecting an enzyme produced by sperm into human eggs can trick them into dividing (as if they have been fertilised). You can check the New Scientist "Zapped human eggs divide without sperm" article for more info.

The article describes the discovery as one that "could provide a source of embryonic stem cells that sidesteps ethical objections to existing techniques" and includes the statement:

This could eliminate one of the main sources of ethical controversy in this research

from a representative of Advanced Cell Technology, a cloning company.

Though the discovery is interesting in its own right, proving that phospholipase C-zeta (PLC-zeta) is indeed the "spark of life" that starts eggs dividing, the discussion is completely framed in the "ethical dilemma of stem cells" non-issue. It even includes a quote from some religious group representative to the effect that

[she’d] be happier if it was beyond all reasonable doubt that it could not become a human life

Giving the discovery this type of spin is counter productive. The fact is that this technique actually forces the egg to keep two complete sets of chromosomes (the egg normally jettisons one upon fertilisation)–though they both come from the mother, this is still a complete human cell and there is no reason it shouldn’t develop into a complete human being if coaxed into doing so.

What is worse is treating the request that it should be beyond all reasonable doubt that it could not become a human life as valid. This is insanity. If this is something we should be considering, then we are in trouble… When we understand biology well enough, we will eventually be able to convince any cell to behave as a fertilized egg, thus creating a human being from any cell. Under these circumstances, having dandruff or washing your hands will be equivalent to sacrificing countless cells that "could become human life".

Framing scientific progress in simple two-sided "controversies" and giving equal sound-bite space to the scientists who make the discovery and to some random person with an opposing view misses the point of scientific discovery and puts schizoid opinions on equal footing with actual knowledge. I’ve come to expect more from New Scientist and hope things won’t get worse.

A few discoveries, combined with the realization that certain joints have become a good deal more creaky than they used to be, have recently sent me on a quest for health-related info. Here are a few of the conclusions I’ve come to and the actions taken in response. Please note that I’m a healthy adult and these results apply to my own situation–your mileage may vary.

A person’s first heart attack normally occurs when their heart is perfectly healthy: the real culprit is artherosclerosis. In North America, up to 70% of the population has some degree of artherosclerosis–obstruction of the arteries from the deposit of hardening fatty material.

Much of the evidence concerning the 930,000 yearly heart disease related deaths in the U.S., points to the overabundance of fat in the average diet: on average, about 37% of calorific intake is from fat. There are also findings that link high fat intake to numerous other causes of death, including cancer (colon, breast, prostate, and others), stroke and diabetes.

A proposed solution, which is abundantly discussed and documented, is Kurzweil’s 10% Solution, the gist of which is ”eat as much as you need to, just reduce the proportion of calories you get from fat down to 10% of your total intake”.

This is way below the average person’s intake and even quite below the values recommended by the American Heart Association (a whopping 30%). The inflated percentage recommended by the A.H.A. is actually a compromised value, as their calculation was that a less stringent diet would be adopted by a greater number–the idea being that even if following their prescription to the letter actually saves a smaller percentage of people, this will be outweighed by the greater number of adopters, and thus the sheer number of lives saved. Of course, having a larger absolute number of lives saved means very little to you after your own painful death… which is why you want to have a go at the 10% Solution or at least the Ten Minute Guide to the 10% Solution.

The author is upfront about who he is, he isn’t trying to sell anything and, unlike me, he actually provides complete references to his facts. I read Kurzweil’s Solution over 3 days, about two months ago, and he managed to convince me.

I have made some drastic changes in my eating habits. It can take a while to get used to a new shopping pattern but it’s actually quite easy if you follow this rule of thumb:

1 gram of fat for every 100 calories

Because there are 9 calories in each gram of fat, if you stick to foods that are at or below 1g fat/100 calories you assured success. Obviously, you can go over this amount on certain foods so long as your total average remains at 10% calories from fat.

Fruits and veggies are required and pretty much free! Just eat as many as you want (be careful with fatty olives and avocadoes). Carbs, like those in pasta and such, are fine (Atkins and such followers are insane–check the ingredients and nutrion facts on any Atkins approved item and it will usually contain a ton of fat… these people are on the road to coronary failure) though you don’t want to go overboard on processed sugars of course. Meats are more difficult, as there aren’t usually any labels to inform you. Lean chicken and turkey, fish are all great. Vegetarian dishes are often ok, but you’ll notice that many have a tendency to pile on the fat as well. I’ve renounced on a few items completely, like butter/margarine/mayonnaise, but not many and have discovered a good deal more (think couscous, chick peas and loads of exotic vegetables).

After two months, friends and family have already commented on the changes they’ve noticed–everything from fat-loss to better coloration.

In terms of getting all required nutrients, I’ve established a baseline amount using supplements that nears the daily recommended values. Counting on vitamin pills to get everything your body needs is surely a mistake, but I wanted to ensure a bare minimum in certain areas. Here is my vitamin intake schedule–it looks complex but it revolves around meals, is easy to maintain and ensures I’m not just overdosing on vitamins once a day (which only leads you to invest in expensive toilet water as the excesses are flushed out through urine).

* Omega 3-6-9
* Selenium (50 mcg)
+ breakfast
* Vitamin C (500 mg)

* Vitamin E (400 IU)
+ lunch
* Vitamin D (1000 IU)

* Calcium + Magnesium (333/167 mg)
+ supper
* Omega 3-6-9
* Vitamin C (500 mg)

* MultiVitamin
+ bed

You can see that everything is spread out over the entire day, there are numerous types of anti-oxidants in the schedule.

Vitamin C is touted as a wonder-vitamin by increasing numbers and recent studies seem to concur: vitamin C fights cell damage and may increase the human lifespan. Vitamin C is triply important if you smoke.

Vitamin D is useful in absorbing calcium but the reason I’ve included it is that it’s thought to keep your immune system from attacking your own joints, as happens in cases like arthritis and other immune system blunders that run in my personal gene pool.

The calcium is taken just prior to supper as this is often the meal with the highest proportion of fat and some findings have suggested that calcium may play a role in encapsulating fat and removing it from the system. On the off chance this is true, the calcium is taken with supper. Don’t go overboard though, as high levels of calcium are also linked to prostate cancer.

Vitamin A is notably absent from this schedule. There are in fact a few thousand IU of vitamin a and beta-carotene in the Multi-Vitamin but the main reasons I don’t overindulge in Vitamin A are:

• Vitamin A is cheap–a handfull of carrots is more than sufficient for one day’s allowance
• Beta-carotene increases the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke.

The multivitamin itself is a generic strong vitamin and mineral supplement. Compare a few of these, drug store brands vs Centrum vs whatever, and you will find they’re all very close.

That about sums up the current state of nutritional affairs on my end. Don’t take these conclusions at face value: have a look at the Kurzweil document, go over the dietary reference intakes for vitamins and minerals, do some research and get involved in expanding your own lifespan.

Further reading:

Scientific American: Rebuilding the Food Pyramid – The dietary guide introduced a decade ago has led people astray…

A Fatally Flawed Food Guide – …when our version of the Food Guide came back to us revised, we were shocked to find that it was vastly different from the one we had developed. As I later discovered, the wholesale changes made to the guide by the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture were calculated to win the acceptance of the food industry.

The 10% Solution For a Healthy Life – As a matter of fact, reduction in heart disease risk is just the first in a long list of benefits. I mentioned it first because it is the primary health risk in our society and is by far our biggest killer…

U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the NIH.

To paraphrase Sturgeon’s Law: Sure, 90% of blogs are crap. That’s because 90% of everything is crap.

So, to start this blog–that may well fall into the 90% of crap category, my hopes to the contrary notwithstanding–with a sputter if not a bang, I would like to enunciate the reasons I think this effort might be worthwhile.

There’s a good chance that logging the vagaries of my mind in this manner appeals to an innate quest of legacy, like raising children does for others, and is nothing more than an attempt to quell looming fears of mortality. But I maintain that this effort, and others like it, can do much more by contributing something real to shared pool of knowledge.

The Parable of the Broken Window tells of a boy who breaks a store owner’s window. The town people offer some consolation to the shopkeeper by stating ”it is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Everybody must live, and what would become of the glaziers if panes of glass were never broken?”. The argument is a fallacy because it only considers the visible economic stimulation and ignores the hidden costs–in this case the shop keeper would eventually have spent the same amount on other goods, say by commissioning the tailor for a new suit, and the world would then contain a window + a new suit. Instead, thanks to the little boy’s vandalism, after the repair the world is unchanged (it contains a window but no new suit) even though equivalent effort has been expended. The lesson is that it what is important has little to do with work in itself but with acts of creation.

I am very fortunate, as my role in society is that of wizard. Arthur C. Clarke stated that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic and to some, like my father, my work as a software architect and developer certainly qualifies. But that isn’t what I mean. I spend most of my day creating, conjuring useful systems that have never existed in the history of humankind–out of thin air. I am not alone… a vast array of professions fall into the same creative category or support them. But software is unique in that it plays such a pivotal role in our world yet involves little more than organizing electrons and produces only heat as a waste byproduct.

The infrastructure that enables all of this–electricity, transistors, computers, phone lines, the Internet–has ruptured the old broadcast pyramid model, where a select few can afford to express their views to the many. We haven’t completely broken away from this structure, as a sudden increase in popularity and few repeated storms of traffic can bring a system down or break your hosting budget. But we are definitely getting there, moving towards completely distributed systems and open wireless mesh networks. In this new World of Ends, we can speak to each other instead of being spoken to, irrespective of distance or economic standing. In this world, all the value is generated at the edges by people like you and I.

The reason we have electricity and computers is because scientists like to discover new things and sharing knowledge accelerates the process–you don’t have to discover the atom on your own, you can learn it from someone else and stand of the shoulders of countless others to peer into the distance and make your own advances. Value, in all fields of human endeavor, is constantly being created. Web logs are a means of sharing this value, of actually increasing its worth and insuring against its loss. I encourage you to begin organizing electrons as well–all acts of true creation, no matter how small, contribute to making a better world. I also encourage you to partake in these bits of creation by making an occasional trip to this site and letting me know what you think.