Here are 4 hours of free video that I would love for all to watch and comment on.  Let’s open up the discussion within our circles.  Communication and an open mind will bring us to new and unimagined frontiers.  No matter what your beliefs, the Zeitgeist movies present a very interesting view of our world and history.  A new angle from which to glance religion, government and the financial system.  They offer up a new way to true freedom.  Beyond the picturesque ideas of a resource based economy, I think the most important information to glean from the documentaries is that real change will only come from finding compassion in our hearts for everyone.  This includes those who may have only money and power locked in their gazes, those who lack concern for human, spiritual, animal and ecological casualties.  This may be a difficult concept to embrace, but it is often those things that seem most difficult that bring us the greatest reward.

Zeitgeist: The Movie – 2007 by Peter Joseph from ZeitgeistMovie.com on Vimeo.

Zeitgeist: Addendum – 2008 by Peter Joseph from ZeitgeistMovie.com on Vimeo.

Zeitgeist: Addendum – 2008 by Peter Joseph from ZeitgeistMovie.com on Vimeo.

Do you remember the last time you Hula Hooped? If not, it’s time to get your hoop on! Ok, the first thing everyone says to me when I tell them they should hula hoop is “I can’t do it”. The ray of hope for you…I’ve never shown a person how and had them fail. There is a subtle technique, but the real secret is in the hoop itself. The cheapy, light plastic hoops they sell in the stores are not the way to reintroduce yourself to the hula hoop. If you really want to hoop, you’ve got to get yourself a handmade hoop or make one yourself.  They are inexpensive, really simple and even fun to make.  The second key to hooping is that the movement is back and forth or side to side, not around in a circle as many people initially think.

Making a hula hoop:

1. 1″ PVC tubing 9′-13′ feet in length
2. 1- Tubing connector
3. Colorful electrical tape

Connect the ends of the tubes with the connector, tape the joint and then decorate the hoop with the colored tape and your own flare.  Easy as that.  Now get hooping!

So, I’ve recently become enamored with fractals, the mathematics of nature.  I’ve always been a bit of a closet mathie, a decorated mathlete in my formative years, but how did fractals evade my radar for so long.  And as an Environmental Engineer, how did this not show up at least somewhere along my course of study?  It seems like it would belong at the foundation of required knowledge.  Well, the good news for me is that the journey has now officially begun.

So, what am I all worked up about?  Monsters, pathological curves, measuring the CO2 absorption of an entire rain forest using data from just one leaf and the branch pattern of one tree. Think about this one dilemma for a moment, in trying to measure the length of a coastline, the number is inversely proportional to the size of the ruler you use.  The coastline becomes longer if you employ a smaller ruler to measure it.  Fractal math seems to be what will propel us forward in technology and understanding of our universe.  Already at play in some key locations such as cell phone antennas, african village structures and 3d video modeling of natural and organic shapes and textures; pondering the possible future applications is a whole hobby in and of itself.

If you’re feeling at all fractally frisky check out this video on Nova:

Hunting the Hidden Dimension

Jessie & Missy Picnik at Night

If you are looking for a way to have a few minutes of instantly gratifying, creative fun, you’ve gotta check out Picnik.  Picnik is a free web-based picture editor and a whole lot more!  It’s less about the technical perfection of a photograph and more about child-like doodling and urban graffiti for your pictures.  With tons of tools that you won’t find packaged together anywhere else, Picnik can turn an ordinary photo extraordinary!  So, go ahead, skip on over to picnik.com and have yourself a working lunch.