ByteEngine: August 2012

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A true American.

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all." -- John F. Kennedy

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Boredom.

Jobs usually had little interest in public self-analysis, but every so often he'd drop a clue to what made him tick. Once he recalled for me some of the long summers of his youth. I'm a big believer in boredom," he told me. Boredom allows one to indulge in curiosity, he explained, and "out of curiosity comes everything." The man who popularized personal computers and smartphones -- machines that would draw our attention like a flame attracts gnats -- worried about the future of boredom. "All the [technology] stuff is wonderful, but having nothing to do can be wonderful, too." -- Steven Levy

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Star Trails

via australiangeographic.com.au

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Analytical Chemists in the Wild West

Thursday, August 16, 2012

If you're going to try, go all the way.

"If you???re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don???t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery ??? isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you???ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you???re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It???s the only good fight there is." -- Charles Bukowski

via brainpickings.org