Wow, speaking of aliens

You can see below, only a few days ago I posted about the two TV shows, The Event and V, and how it might in a conspiracy theorist world point to a future disclosure about extraterrestrial contact. I mentioned how I'm a huge fan of the idea; I think our civilization has really stalled in advancements since the Apollo program, the Internet, and the iPhone. What's next? Better, smaller, faster iPhones? Maybe electric cars, maybe hydrogen power, maybe better solar and wind generators?

These are all great, but we need something revolutionary. We need something that will free us from the chains of gravity. And these aliens could provide it. Anyway, in the last week there have been two hot articles floating across the internet:

1) A fiasco about Mazlan Othman, head of UN's Office for Outer Space Affairs, being nominated as the single representation to future contact with aliens. She's supposed to speak soon about the implications of first contact.

2) The discovery of the first exoplanet falling within a habitable zone of its star. While the planet cannot yet be considered Class M until its atmospheric composition can be determined, this is still incredible news: the first plant that can sustain life as we know it. You can read all the stories on the internet about it, but this planet was found in a small subset of a few hundred sampled, which suggests that the universe is absolutely teeming with habitable planets, as most of scientists already suspected at this point, but now we have our first confirmation.

If there is some global conspiracy to soften up the public to the idea of announcing extraterrestrial contact, I think we're ready for it.

Bring on the Aliens

Interesting that two TV shows in the last year involve the arrival of an alien species to Earth: V and now The Event. It's also interesting to note that the president in The Event is black, and he has not been told about the aliens until the last moment. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, and I know how terrible the government is at keeping anything quiet, but there does seem to be an increasing amount of alien-related media popping up.

I would love to hear of such an announcement. Any modern scientist would be very cautious to say that we are alone in the universe, especially as time progresses and the recipe for life seems simpler and simpler. At the same time, they'd be cautious to admit that extraterrestrial intelligence is here on earth given the distance of travel and the sheer size of the universe. (obviously they assume both that these aliens have a long way to go, and that the speed of light is a universal speed limit; neither of which we can say for sure)

We need antigravity! I want my own starship, dammit. I want a Star Trek world. It's funny about Star Trek -- Gene Roddenberry a long time ago was worried that humans would fail to recognize that a Star Trek world isn't terribly tough to achieve:

"I have a great fear that our human leaders will fail to understand that a world such as Star Trek is possible, that all the glorious things- not that Star Trek represents but the human being represents- will fall on deaf ears. That frightens me. There is always the chance that not enough humans will understand and appreciate themselves enough to make a great change in the human equation."

Plant vs. Primal? How about Primal Plant?

In the last few years I've dabbled with several dietary lifestyles, but the most prominent of the three were vegan, raw vegan, and paleo/primal (I go with primal because I like butter). Raw vegan is actually a subset of both primal and vegan. There are some overlapping themes between these and also some major diverging concepts. As a short summary:

• All of the above think dairy overall is bad. Primal is OK with butter and some cheese, but it doesn't advocate drinking milk.
• All of them advocate whole, real foods, preferably organic, non-genetically modified.
• All of them claim that eating their way will help you lose lots of weight and prevent heart disease and a host of auto-immune disorders.

In my own experience, primal is the easiest of the above to follow in the modernized world. You can eat lots of veggies, fruits, animals, and nuts in most meals, and overall one feels good on them. However, that doesn't mean it's the best for everyone.

Both vegan and raw vegan believe that cholesterol = bad. Vegan thinks that high fat = bad, high carb = good. Primal thinks high fat = good, high carb = bad. Raw vegan thinks that anything that is animal or cooked = bad. Primal thinks anything with grains = bad, vegan loves grains, and raw vegan hates grain.

So anyway, how do I get to this post. I've been doing primal at around a 95% level for about 3 months now, and overall I like it a lot. It's simple to maintain, I am enjoying learning how to cook, and I've been getting excited over the uses of almond flour and coconut flour. But there are some things about vegan/raw vegan I miss:

• The use of the bathroom. On a vegan/raw vegan diet, dropping a deuce is the nicest feeling in the world, and it takes under a minute.
• My skin was always so much nicer on purely plant-based diets. My sister, at one point while she was entirely raw vegan, had people stopping her on the street commenting on her skin.
• I sometimes had these bursts of energy on raw vegan that would last for hours. No mid-afternoon sleep trough. On primal, I still do feel somewhat tired and have to nap. This isn't a bad thing, if you have a nap room.
• Quinoa was amazing. I still think it should be considered primal since it's closer to spinach than to grain.
• Despite whatever Loren Cordain, Mark Sisson, or Robb Wolf tell you about cholesterol, there is still the compelling story of Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, as relayed by Dr. Colin Campbell in The China Study, where all patients who had suffered heart attacks were entirely cured by plant-based diets.

Furthermore, human anatomy suggests we started as herbivores (long stomachs, hands for grabbing fruits instead of claws for slashing prey, and eyes that detect colorful fruits). We may have evolved to process meat, but I highly doubt our paleolithic ancestors were eating meat all the time, especially in equatorial climates.

I also don't like eating so much meat all the time. It seems a little excessive to have bacon and eggs each morning, and I miss the raw vegan days where my breakfast would consist of grapefruits and apples or maybe a green smoothie. On the flip side, primal seems to work really well with intense workouts (CrossFit).

There's also a darker side to primal.... I feel like my chest gets tigher when I'm eating primal. I don't know how to describe it--and it may just be anxiety, after having read research on vegans vs. omnivores... but something doesn't feel right, even at the moment while I type this.

So, what to do? Well, on some days, especially recovery days, I may just stick to plants! Eating raw vegan a day or two per week is super easy, and it's easier than intermittent fasting (IF). But I don't want to start eating lots of grains, since both raw vegan and primal agree that grains = bad.

Then, over the last few days, I've pondered -- why hasn't anyone tried a combination of both plant and primal diets? Call it Primal Plant (P2). The P2 diet. Basically you would still eat a primal diet, except you'd minimize most of the animal products you consume (the only exceptions might be fish oil, and maybe actual fish from time to time). This diet would then consist of:

• Veggies
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Some fish oil

I'm in New Zealand now where I have bought tons of nuts since they are so cheap at the local stores. These nuts are all high in protein and good fats (cashews, brazil nuts, almonds). If we are concerned about maintaining high levels of protein and fat levels, then why not just eat lots of nuts and avocados? This also keeps calorie levels sufficiently high.

Well anyway, this is a relatively new idea that I wanted to float to the intertubes so I can get it off my mind. I have another 2 weeks in NZ before my short trip back to the states, and I have about 4-5 days' worth of animal products left in my fridge. What I may do is keep rocking primal but stop restocking anything animal-related, then try out a purely primal plant diet for a week or so and notice any differences I feel. I made a stir fry the other day, but left out the meat -- and I didn't even notice the difference. Eating all of those veggies lightly stir fried with a little bit of tamari -- delicious.

I do like the idea of primal living -- walking around barefoot all the time feels great, sprinting a couple of times per week has tons of benefits (just google "HIIT"), and hanging outside in the post-5PM sun with my shirt off using my jump rope (and some day throwing a spear) feels fantastic. But I don't think primal humans were eating meat every day -- they were probably getting most of their nutrition from leafy greens, nuts, and berries.

I think I found my most recent experiment. Onward!

The Myth of iPhone Gaming

As I stated in my previous post, I love my iPhone, but Apple is boasting how its iOS devices are the leading gaming platform out there? Please. As far as I can tell, there are two types of iPhone games:

• True games that were designed to take advantage of multi-touch, gyroscopes, compasses, etc. These games are typically easy to pick up, quick to play, and encourage short games, from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. These are ADHD games, loaded with interrupts like phone calls, text messages, and calendar reminders.
• All other types of games from console/computer history, being shoehorned into the iOS ecosystem. These are the classic games.

The true iPhone games are quite fun. Some of my favorites are Flight Control, Galcon, Labyrinth, and Angry Birds. Each of these games uses iOS features in a beautiful way, they are fun, easy to understand, and you can play any level in under a minute or two. I typically play these games a lot when I have a few minutes to burn.

The other games are those which I buy but almost never play because of the interface. Any side scrolling game, racing game, street fighter game, and basically any console game designed with a controller in mind will fail to respond to the quick gestures required to play them. Sure, they have these nice on-screen controls, but I lose 25% of my screen to my two fingers pressing things and I can't respond fast enough to the inputs. Imagine if you had Street Fighter on the iPhone playing over some wireless means to another person playing on a console with a controller, and let's assume they are on equal skill levels. The iPhone player can't win, period. The console controls are so fast and responsive that the iPhone guy is going to be sweating trying to keep up.

I think the market is ripe for a Sega, Sony, or Nintendo to step in with an iPhone/iPod controller that mates to your device, provides a directional pad with 4 buttons on the right and 2 overhead, maybe with a start/select button. Think the SNES controller. Maybe it provides some extra battery power. Now imagine playing that Street Fighter game again to the guy on the console -- you'd be on equal grounds now.

But Apple probably won't be doing that anytime soon, as they think their short ADHD games are the future.

My Top Three Gripes with my iPhone

Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone 4. It is the third iPhone I have purchased in three years, and I suspect I'll buy whatever Apple offers next year. (please, please, please: Verizon iPhone!) I use my iPhone every day, countless times. I have three major gripes with my iPhone:

1. AT&T: any other options would be great, especially Verizon. I'm in New Zealand right now, where all iPhones come unlocked and you can use any network you want. It is literally illegal to only offer a phone on one network.
2. No tethering: You can't find any apps in the App Store that offer tethering, as Apple will not allow them, and if you want to tether to your machine via USB or Bluetooth, you have to pay an additional $30/month. No wifi option, no wifi hub. You're already paying for that data, why the hell does it matter where it comes from? (for the real reason, see gripe #1)
3. No lock screen extensibility: This one really angers me. Everyone who has an iPhone has the exact same lock screen, but this is ripe for customizing. We are all trying to track items on our to-do lists, or watch our caloric intake, or remember to do insert whatever every day. Imagine a customized lock screen with your top Things/RTM/etc. to-do items at the top? And below that, you're trying to restrict calories to 1,700/day with "Lose It!" and a little meter shows how many calories you have left for that day? And below that, you see your daily reminders to get 10 minutes of direct sunlight and to meditate for 10 minutes. In our noisy day-to-day lives, we forget about these things and have to come up with novel ways to remind ourselves. I unlock my iPhone probably 30-40 times/day, and having this information shown to me at all times would, I think, be a massive time save. You could even have a section of iTunes that lets you drag around the lock screen widgets, like you can with your apps (but imagine a widget module like Dashboard). Yet Apple has not shown any interest in expanding this area, despite its low overall cost. Then again, we've past three years of iPhoning and still cannot choose custom ringtones for our SMS messages, so why expect Apple to let us customize the lock screen?

I have no interest in going to Android anytime soon. The touch interface just isn't as nice as the iPhone and the apps are plentiful and varied--but buggy. However, I'm really glad they are making such a big dent in the market to keep Apple on its toes. Now with Microsoft entering the game, albeit with a flamboyant show of low status to its entrenched competitors, Apple has another front to defend.

We all benefit ultimately, but Apple should really match the status quo with the above three items.

2010.07.17 Random Notes

• DC drivers are terrifying, and the humidity here is stifling. I miss Afghanistan.
• Hulu Plus for $10/month, full seasons on-demand -- but with commercials? Fail.
• iPhone 4 - great defense by Steve Jobs, I am sold. Besides who spends much time actually talking on their phones?
• Tabata workouts continue to rock my world.
• 7 days 100% Paleo, down 10 lbs. Adding wheatgrass this week.
• Great to be back into CrossFit.

Bill Shakespeare on Beards

I recently returned from overseas, where I did not shave my face and rather grew out a healthy nearly-full beard. Upon returning to the states, I didn't want to remove my new friend -- after all, I had never gone that long without shaving, and I was excited by this new part of myself that never had existed before. So, I purchased the book The Bearded Gentleman off Amazon. I haven't finished it yet, nor learned how to best maintain my facial design, nor decided on any particular style that interests me, but I did enjoy the introduction that describes the history of facial hair. One part in particular mentions that William Shakespeare was a fan of beards (if his photo wasn't obvious enough):

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man."

One of the best things I am enjoying about my beard is something that I hadn't expected: the wildly diverse set of responses I receive from everyone! Most guys comment on it either way, positive or negative. Some are negative, but mostly I think these folks suggest it needs maintenance. Many are positive -- one guy, in fact, pulled me over at a party to say how jealous he was that I could not only grow such a beard but also have a shiny patch of grey hair. He said if he could grow a beard he would actually dye all his facial hair grey. As for women, I've had almost 100% positive reaction from passing girls that I don't know, and mixed reaction from girls I already know. I am looking forward to finding what this book teaches me about this subject of which I know so little.

This is all part of my New Year's Resolution in 2010 -- watch less movies, read more books. I love movies -- I could watch them every night, and sometimes I have. But I have a huge stack of books awaiting my attention, and as long as I am a slave to my Netflix queue I will never get through them. As such, I suspended my Netflix queue for 90 days and will continue to suspend its reactivation, probably for the rest of this year. I'd rather spend my time understanding better lifting techniques or practicing mindfulness meditation. Or improving my beard!

Project Virgle

I had forgotten about one of Google's prior April Fool's Jokes: Project Virgle. The idea was that Google and Virgin were teaming up to send a team of colonists to the Martian surface to establish the first human settlement outside our world.

It was a well done prank, with both Richard Branson and Larry/Sergey making youtube videos promoting the project. The funny thing about Project Virgle is that you'd think at least Branson would be interested in actually pursuing something like this. Furthermore, the sobering reality is that at our current rate, a wealthy private venture is the only way we're going to see human footsteps on the Martian (or lunar, for that matter) surface within the next 20 years. It took the US only 8 years to go from basically no rocket technology to landing humans on the moon, yet now our Constellation program is being redrawn from scratch. It seems hoping for China to return to space with astronauts is our best bet.

Unless....

What if Google, Microsoft, Virgin, and various other incredibly wealthy companies decided to try? What if you gathered $10 billion from across these behemoths and put them towards a single goal of actually colonizing the moon and Mars? You put the brightest silicon valley types you can at the helm who need to do it as frugally as possible, but still pay them good salaries and even equity -- perhaps the ultimate financial goal is mining lunar helium-3 or another exotic mineral? $10 billion should be fine, hell it only took the X-Prize winners $25 million to get their spacecraft into sub-orbital flight. I'm sure Paul Allen would be on board with funding this too, you just need a particularly wealthy and charismatic person like Richard Branson to get the ball rolling.

I think I may have to send Richard Branson an email...