Journal BlackHat's Journal: and everyone's gazing/At some body part 1
As we get to the end of the founding fathers quotes I wanted to share we finish up Benjamin Franklin: The reluctant revolutionary, as he is often called. It's indeed what he should be called. The unique world that created him and sets the path of his self-enlightenment is doomed by his very own hand[and few friends hands too]. Most of the shape of it and the way it worked to make men such as himself is destroyed. A new place would spring out of the ashes no less important to him, but a different one none the less. He'd would surely show up on threads, here on SlashDot, with a green dot for many of us here. Not just from his tone, but from his eagerness to share...
Quote:
In 1746, being at Boston, I met there with a Dr. Spence, who was lately arrived from Scotland, and show'd me some electric experiments. They were imperfectly perform'd, as he was not very expert; but, being on a subject quite new to me, they equally surpris'd and pleased me. Soon after my return to Philadelphia, our library company receiv'd from Mr. P. Collinson, Fellow of the Royal Society of London, a present of a glass tube, with some account of the use of it in making such experiments. I eagerly seized the opportunity of repeating what I had seen at Boston; and, by much practice, acquir'd great readiness in performing those, also, which we had an account of from England, adding a number of new ones. I say much practice, for my house was continually full, for some time, with people who came to see these new wonders.
To divide a little this incumbrance among my friends, I caused a number of similar tubes to be blown at our glass-house, with which they furnish'd themselves, so that we had at length several performers. Among these, the principal was Mr. Kinnersley, an ingenious neighbor, who, being out of business, I encouraged to undertake showing the experiments for money, and drew up for him two lectures, in which the experiments were rang'd in such order, and accompanied with such explanations in such method, as that the foregoing should assist in comprehending the following. He procur'd an elegant apparatus for the purpose, in which all the little machines that I had roughly made for myself were nicely form'd by instrument-makers. His lectures were well attended, and gave great satisfaction; and after some time he went thro' the colonies, exhibiting them in every capital town, and pick'd up some money. In the West India islands, indeed, it was with difficulty the experiments could be made, from the general moisture of the air.
Oblig'd as we were to Mr. Collinson for his present of the tube, etc., I thought it right he should be inform'd of our success in using it, and wrote him several letters containing accounts of our experiments. He got them read in the Royal Society, where they were not at first thought worth so much notice as to be printed in their Transactions. One paper, which I wrote for Mr. Kinnersley, on the sameness of lightning with electricity, I sent to Dr. Mitchel, an acquaintance of mine, and one of the members also of that society, who wrote me word that it had been read, but was laughed at by the connoisseurs. The papers, however, being shown to Dr. Fothergill, he thought them of too much value to be stifled, and advis'd the printing of them. Mr. Collinson then gave them to Cave for publication in his Gentleman's Magazine; but he chose to print them separately in a pamphlet, and Dr. Fothergill wrote the preface. Cave, it seems, judged rightly for his profit, for by the additions that arrived afterward they swell'd to a quarto volume, which has had five editions, and cost him nothing for copy-money. --Benjamin Franklin
Ideas sparking off in nine directions at once [much like so many here] and complaining about fowl-mod'ed posts to/in obscure journals. This is Ben at his uber-geek stage as he morphs his way thru his many stages. But this is one quote that many here would likely drag out, and wave hands at, in support. A harsher critic than I might suggest that it has taken two hundred plus years to reach that/this kind of "inventive" dialog again. I think the spirit of spinning-off of the ideas in a free and repeatable format has not been lost, it just gets muted on occasion. The flavour of the idyllic age that formed Franklin however may not come again until space colonies. Until then we'll just have to watch and flame the news from planet Earth...
News:
New Malaysian PM's first day in office and he fails to blame the jews. Slacker! Look at plucky little Martin Hohmann's not even a PM and he's
chewing his foot.
I can guess the Korean tour of the show will be a riot.
King Paul Bremer wants to speed up turn over of Iraq. Speed up the "turn-over" of capital in Iraq more like.
Mugabe to rotate the deck chairs. Overall plan to arrest all but himself and his banker still in place.
Hu and Co. busy these days setting up Chinese trade network. Looking like USA may lose the key international player tag. Blame Shrub's "ignore it" stance on trade-expansion not directly attached to his military adventures. [cue 8 second clip of Eddy Murphy laughing on the exchange-floor near end of Trading Places]
NK Valve plans.
Yet another engineer makes the news Afghan Human trade. Leaving the situation there in such a messy state is going to cost the USA and allies. Much the same way as it has the many who have tried to claim those hills. Ownership in Afghanistan is defined by how many surly people you have standing on it. Been like that there for [100's of] years.
Texttoon:
Fumetti : Stock photo of Jean Chretien standing in question period. Overlayed speech bubble has him saying; "Eii will der, be keeping yuz der, all guess-eying der. Azz-pecial'le der dat Paul Marr-ten der. He he!" Thought bubble with him thinking to himself; "Dis place eis ghon-na be sooo boring wit'out me her' der."
and if he were in boston... (Score:2)
oke, so i've a soft spot for franklin and for boston... but the Museum of Science has wonderful lightning shows, and i can't imagine that franklin wouldn't have been involved.
sol