A Real Weapon Of Mass Destruction

I came across something really scary. It seems an individual has built an Internet connected platform with a camera and rifle which can be used by a hunter in any part of the world to hunt animals. The implications of this development are mind boggling. It means that anyone, anywhere, can cause mass havoc, by constructing a camera connected to a gun on a miniature platform or even mounted on wheels that can be fired from anywhere in the world because Internet connections can also be wireless. I hope someone has a solution.

A New Way To Calculate The Number Of Primes

I got to thinking about Prime Numbers Again. A Prime Number is any number that can only be divided evenly by itself and 1. For instance the number 11 is a Prime Number because it can only be divided evenly by 1 or 11 without leaving any fractions. One of the problems associated with Prime Numbers is trying to figure out how many prime numbers come before any randomly chosen number. For instance, if we randomly chose the number 12, how many prime numbers come before 12??? The most popular method is taking any number (X) or 12 in this instance and dividing it by the number of times 2.718281828 or "e" as it is popularly known can be multiplied to make 12 (Ln 12). For instance Ln(12) is 2.48490665. In other words if we took 2.718281828 and multiplied it 2.48490665 times (2.718281828 X 2.718281828 X (2.718281828 X .48490665)) we would get 12.
Therefore (12/Ln(12)) or (12 / 2.48490665) = 4.829155253
This number 4.829155253 rounded to the next whole number (no fractions) is 5. Therefore there are 5 prime numbers before random number 12. The prime numbers before 12 are 1,2,3,5,7,11, or 6 in number. The formula appears to be quite accurate which it is for low numbers. The problem arises because as the numbers increase the Prime Numbers become less and less and this formula starts to really get inaccurate.
Here is a new method:
If you examine a Prime Number Table you will see that the number in the farthest right column of any prime number greater than 7 contains the digits 1,3,7,9. For example 11, 13, 17, 19.
To calculate the number of Primes up to that number take any random number and multiply by 10. For example (18 X 10 = 180) Add 1 or 3 or 7 or 9 to the random number multiplied by 10. For example I chose (180 + 1= 181).
Calculating Number Of Primes Up To number 181, the far right column ending in 1.
1 Divide 181 by Ln(181) =181 / 5.198497031 = 34.81775577.
2 Round (181 / 5.198497031 = 35 to the next whole number
3 Add the number found in the units position of 181 (1) to Round number (35) equals (35 + 1) 36. There are actually 42 primes up to 181.
This result may look a little ridiculous but tests have shown that the total number of primes up to any number will be within a range of +/- 7 numbers of the total number of prime numbers up to that number which is more accurate overall than the present system.
For the mathematically inclined:
Calculating Number Of Primes Up To number X with unit ending 1,3,5,7,9:
1 Divide X by Ln(X).
2 Round (X/Ln(X))
3 Add the number found in the units position of the number (1,3,7,9) to Round(X/Ln(X)).
4 The resulting number will be dead on or within +/- 7 numbers of the total number of prime numbers up to that number.

Learning How To Be Successful

In my blog "Daddy’s Advice" I mentioned that dear old dad said "If you want to be successful, study someone who is successful." After looking around I decided that the only truly successful long term person was God. God is approachable through prayer. Unfortunately, most of us only use prayer when we are in deep personal do do. If we aren’t in deep personal do do, then we use prayer to ask God to give us something that we really don’t need such as a new car or help winning the lottery. God is like everyone else, he’s not interested in giving you something for nothing unless it is going to teach you a valuable lesson like don’t do that sort of thing. God is willing to listen to you, providing you are willing to listen to him. God is something like your parents, he is not going to give you an immediate answer. God sometimes doesn’t give a verbal answer which is equivalent to your parent’s unspoken "No" so don’t get all whiny about it. God teaches us to listen. Sometimes God’s answer comes through a casual conversation with another person. Of course, people say a lot of things to you, so you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Sometimes, God starts a series of events which will take you to your goal providing you’re paying enough attention to get on board. Sometimes this series of events starts long after you have given up waiting for whatever you thought was important at the time. It is important therefore to pay attention as well as listen. Sometimes in your life, things get a little confusing, so God might just let you know he is looking after you. Sort of call you up to see how you’re doing. God tends to look after you when you do something stupid and arranges events to get you out of trouble. All this, of course, demands that you be basically trainable and constantly listening, thinking, observing and evaluating the day’s events. Does this sound vaguely familiar?????

Soulmates

Got thinking about soulmates again. In our 3 dimensional existence people come as enemies, acquaintances and friends. Enemies are people that don’t like you for some reason. Enemies are people that are hard to spot. Their reasons for not liking you don’t have to be rational. Maybe you remind them of someone they had to put up with.
Acquaintances are those people that respond to you with the personality of a brick wall. In fact, when you think about it, a brick wall has more personality. Hell, maybe that’s why you want to change your house wall to stucco. Friends are a bit harder to define. Mostly, friends are people you like, but not known well enough to spill your guts to. On the other hand, sometimes you have a friend to whom you are willing to reveal everything. A really, really, good friend can be mistaken for a soulmate if you aren’t careful. Soulmates are a different kettle of fish. Soulmates involve the soul. Souls are timeless and according to some philosophies / religions , go on forever. There can be young souls and old souls. At some time in the process of body creation a soul becomes part of our 3 dimensional being. Due to the foufou in your 3 dimensional life sometimes your soul bears no resemblance to what most people recognize in you 3 dimensionally speaking. This is why I find it somewhat amusing here in the ‘hood that some people think a 10 minute date masquerading as an interview in which you "reveal" yourself will find you a soulmate. Jeez, you can’t even find a good employee in 10 minutes!! My observation is there are several soulmates for each of us. One soulmate you will marry and other soulmates will add something vital to our life. The "rub" to misquote Shakespeare is to find them. A soulmate usually comes into your life when your brain is in neutral, your 3 dimensional persona is idling, and your soul is emoting. So the operative words are disconnect, chill , emote.!!!

Finding True Love

How do we find true love???? The problem lies in the fact that we all exist in a 3 dimensional environment and lie like hell to each other. Immediate love in a 3 dimensional environment is chiefly concerned with perpetuating us. Therefore the men look for the most gorgeous girl they can find and lie like hell. The girls, on the other hand, gild the lily, and look for the most nurturing (an oxymoron if ever there was one) male. Someone who looks like he possesses a good set of genes, has the ability to earn a living, has enough other attributes so that the girl’s friends don’t think she is nutso, etc., etc.. Unfortunately, over time gravity gets its’ grip on you and everything sags. Suddenly you wake up one morning and you don’t recognize the creature beside you. Plastic surgery doesn’t help. If you happen to have lucked out, True Love remains. True Love is soul based and occasionally, just occasionally, two compatible, loving Souls find each other. Thank God for Random Chance!!!

Morality = Faith = Mother’s Values

I thought it was interesting that most people have concluded that Bush won the election based on "morality". I don’t think that morality had anything to do with it except in the peripheral sense. I’m inclined to believe that the election was won because 9/11 generated a crisis of confidence in the American Psyche that has yet to be psychologically recognized. Let’s face it, when something physically / psychologically happens it usually scares the bejabbers out of you, and the next thing you know you are returning to something loosely summarized as Faith. Nations are no different. Bush linked morality to your mother’s down home values. Kerry didn’t and Kerry lost. Faith doesn’t automatically resolve things like the deficit, the Israeli Palestine conflict, or the North Korean nuclear problem. Most people want to take the simple route by asking / demanding through prayer that God takes ownership of the problem. I don’t think that God is going to take ownership of the problem in this instance because he gave us the brains to solve the problem. God may be open for questions should we need advice. God also gave our nation the means to accomplish the task. So quit whining and get a grip!!

God Ain’t Never Promised A Rose Garden Down Here

I got to thinking about Lions and Tigers this morning. A lot of Christians got ate by those things during Roman Entertainment Day in ancient times. One of the popular tenets / advertisements of Christianity is that if you accept Christ into your life you get the equivalent of a Rose Garden. What the Brothers and Sisters forgot to mention is that the Rose Garden is reserved for the Soul and not for our 3 dimensional existence. Oh sure, there are a few Christians that accepted God and seem to be doing quite well for themselves but the majority of us Christians have to do the grunt work down here first. Most of us are just Privates in God’s Army. It’s quite fascinating to me that God only wrote one thing down and that is the 10 Commandments. I personally have written scads of stuff, however, God and I have one thing in common. People generally ignore the 10 Commandments and people generally ignore the scads of stuff I write. It is all very depressing for the both of us. God had to send the Flood to clean up the mess. I’ve been told that I have to clean up my own mess. Sometimes I’ve even had a bit of a flood. If you believe in God then Jesus is part of the package. Jesus doesn’t appear to have written anything down including crib notes for his speeches. Maybe God dictated the speech to Jesus as Jesus made the speech. Sort of an early version of lip synching. The people, excluding the disciples, wrote their chapters 100’s of years after Jesus’ death. Their writings often reflected the social problems / culture of the period and their solutions were written invoking Jesus’ name and prestige. Sort of reminds me of politics. You’d kind of think that God doesn’t care. On the other hand, God isn’t stupid contrary to popular thought. Your 3 dimensional eyeballed existence is going to end someday and we all get to stand in front of God. I have a recurring dream that God opens my Life Book and after reading my total life’s accomplishments in ½ a page, looks me in the eye (or the soul equivalent) and says: "Geez you were a major screw up and you don’t listen either!!"

Women, God, Love, & Faith

One of the hardest things in this life is to deal with faith. You’re not going to get off this Vale of Tears with your soul in one piece without it. Faith is an abstract. You can’t see it, taste it, feel it, or even understand it. Faith is a journey. There’re no guarantees. You can’t even see what you’re getting if you choose the "faith" path. First of all you have to put your faith in something that you don’t understand and frequently it is associated with some abstract concept called "love". The 3 dimensional configuration on this earth is women. There are literally billions of them but which one is right for you??? Where is your Faith Goddess in this collection of false idols??? Heaven knows, there is a false idol for every situation that a man can dream up. Faith in God is a little different. There is only one God so that part is simple. The upside is while faith in God means his love is unconditional. The downside is that he wants you to do something for him in return. It sort of reminds me of a long dead TV program wherein the hero got someone out of his / her personal do do on the condition that he / she do something for the hero, once, sometime, no questions asked or protests made. Each episode involved the hero and someone whom he rescued in eons past that was called upon just once to help the hero rescue the latest unfortunate. God is similar. He needs someone to do something for him, sometimes, no questions asked or protests made. This means that Faith and Rose Gardens aren’t synonyms . God also works long term. God isn’t going to give you a long song and dance about the why’s and wherefore’s of your assigned task beyond setting up the events "To make it so". You can ask questions if you get confused. One of my frequent questions to God is "Are you sure you know what you are doing???"

Bush vs. Kerry (11)

I got to thinking about the election last night. On one side we have the environment, women's choices / rights, people in general, the economy, the Iraqi's, and having to send young people to fight the war. These issues are associated with Kerry. On the other side we have the terrorist problem which is primarily associated with Bush. I'm a poor student of WW11. The British (Chamberlain), Czechs, French, etc. tried appeasement, averting their eyes (Austria). Finally Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and due to alliances between the nations plus being generally fed up all hell broke loose. It then became a down and dirty war with each side being equally rude to each other. We were isolationists until the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor and then all hell broke loose. It turned out to be a down and dirty war for us too. It took the British 12 years to get rid of the insurgents in Malaysia so we're in for a long haul. I just think that the terrorists take precedence over everything else as they are quite capable of giving us a second whack. They also don’t appear to have any intention of giving in and their spirit isn’t flagging . Like it or not, I think that we have to go with Bush if you think that the terrorists take precedence over everything else. If times were normal without the terrorists I'd vote for Kerry. Bush is a known quantity and Kerry is an unknown quantity. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet!!