Playing the Neanderthal Bone Flute Music

Image via Wikipedia

The Divje Babe flute is said to be the oldest musical instrument we know of, although this is somewhat controversial.  I guess that it's not surprising that there's rather a lot of uncertainty regarding Neanderthal artifacts.

The flute is thought to have been fashioned from the femur or a cave bear.  The bone was clearly fashioned by man - no other animal leaves this sort of mark.  It took skill to put these holes in the bone without splitting it.  There is considerable speculation and controversy over the spacing of the holes, and whether it fits any recognizable musical scale.

To me, the speculation is, well, speculation.  The proof of the pudding is in the eating, after all, and the proof of the flute is in the playing.  The music here is modern, of course - the Neanderthals left no known musical inscriptions.  This recording is not the Divje Babe flute itself which is safely ensconced in a museum in Ljubljana, Slovenia/

But it is music played on a reconstruction of the flute, and it sure does sound like a flute.  What ancient man played for music, and whether this was religious or for pleasure, whether it accompanied ancient tales told around the fire - alas, no reconstruction can ever tell.

 

A note to the Jaguar dealer ...

... on Alpharetta Highway: If you are going to send someone out with one of your flash rides, you might want to make sure that there's actually gas - sorry, sorry: petrol - in the tank.  Otherwise he might die blocking the turn lane here I want to, you know, turn.

And an extra pro-tip to the guy who's bringing him some gas - sorry, sorry, petrol:  it's bad form to come up so close to me from behind that you're almost kissing my bumper.  Sure, you're trying to get Mr. Bigshot rolling again, but if you had left ten feet I could have backed up and gone around him rather than being forced to wait.

In future if you could endeavor not to live down to all my worst expectations about Jaguar - insufferable stupid rich dudes and the arrogant toadies who tend to their automobiles that are broken down on the side of the road - I'd be very much appreciative.

Love, Borepatch.

MLB Baseball teams' Facebook pages get hacked

Pretty funny stuff, actually.

Word

Jeniffer brings what it is to be fully Human:

The very genuine reaction that I’ve heard is that although the people in the LGBTQ community believe the CEO of Chick-fil-A should have every right to state what he believes.  They cannot in good conscience spend their money with an organization that will use those profits to support anti-gay causes. This is completely legitimate, and I fully support anyone voting with their wallets. It is also understandable that the out pouring of support for Chick-fil-A feels like a slap in the face. Particularly when we tweet and Facebook and write blog posts about it.  Yeah, I want to stick it to the leaders in Chicago and Boston, but I do not want my friends to be collateral damage.  As a Christian, I cannot abide the hate directed at this community.

And so, here is what I propose. I can think of no better organization serving the LGBTQ community than The Trevor Project. For every dollar I spend at Chick-fil-A, I will donate a dollar to The Trevor Project. To me, this seems like a better way to love my neighbors and support what I believe in than slapping them in the face. Join me?

This is what I love about our little corner of the 'Net - this is a simply outstanding idea, filled with the best of both sides of the argument.  I've posted at least twice on this imperfect tense that never quite becomes a present.  I can't think of a better way to try to leave the world a little better place.

Jennifer says what Dr. Donne said, these many years ago:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

That's one smart lady.

LOL

Ratus is on a roll.

Computer

A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of arithmetic or logical operations. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem.

Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit that can change the order of operations based on stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved and retrieved.

The first electronic digital computers were developed between 1940 and 1945 in the United Kingdom and United States. Originally they were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).^[1] In this era mechanical analog computers were used for military applications.

Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space.^[2] Simple computers are small enough to fit intomobile devices, and mobile computers can be powered by small batteries. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "computers". However, the embedded computers found in many devices from mp3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous.

Computer

Basic Computer Terms

Have you decided to get rid of that old paperweight and buy yourself a new computer? Good for you but before you go running out to buy the latest and greatest machine, there are some basic computer terms you should know. We will run through each of these terms for you and what they mean.

The terminology used below is the same for PCs and Macs and for desktops and laptops. If you have any doubts about the machine you are buying ““ don’t buy it! Go and do some research online to see if you can do better. We actually have a couple of desktop and laptop recommendations, check then out if you’re in doubt.

When you are looking to buy a computer you will hear basic computer terms like the following:

The Processor

This is the brain of your computer. It can also be referred to as the CPU. Processors come in many different varieties. Processor speed is measured in gigahertz or GHZ. The larger the number of GHZ the faster the computer.

I am now using a 3.2 GHZ Pentium Dual Core. Processors can also have dual or quad cores. This is essentially two or four processors in one respectively. The more cores the better but they will also be more expensive. We will also see terms like Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, and i7. It is important to know the differences between these options.

The Core Duo consists of two cores on one die but the Core 2 Duo is a more modern processor that is found in a lot of new PCs. the Core 2 Duo has two dies. Then the i3 processor is a recent release by Intel for new low end machines. Then the i5 and i7 are used with quad core processors and higher end machines. The i7 is the top of this line and obviously the most expensive.

There are different brands of processors like Intel or AMD and different levels of processors like the Pentium 4 or the Atom. The Atom processor is a much slower processor used in netbooks. Also when looking for a system you will see terms like front side bus . This is not a big yellow bus but it is the speed that data can flow from the processor to the motherboard. The higher the FSB the faster the processor can communicate with your machine. Something in the area of 266 MHz-333 MHz is fine and some faster processors sport up to 400 MHz FSB.

The RAM

The RAM or memory is what your computer uses to store information while you are using the computer. This can also be referred to as Random Access Memory. I personally would not buy a computer with less than 2 GB of RAM. Your RAM Bus speed will need to be identical to your FSB speed as to not create bottlenecks. In a pre-built system this is not something you need to worry about but if you are building your own system then you will want to get memory that matches the FSB speed divided by the number of cores that you have. For example if your system has a total FSB of 1600 and you have 4 cores (quad) then your RAM Bus speed should be 400 MHz.

Optical Drive

The optical drive in your computer should be able to read and write CDs and DVDs. If you have not purchased a computer in a while some of the newer options might seem strange to you. You can have any one of these or a combination of these formats: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-+R, DVD-/+RW, DVD-RAM, Blu-ray, HD-DVD. A CD holds 700 MB. A CD-R can read and write to a CD. A CDRW can read write and rewrite to a CD.

If you are getting a DVD burner you should try and get a drive that writes in all formats such as +R or -R. They will all play in your computer but some other hardware might require one of these formats. A DVD can hold About 4 GB of data. A DVD burner that allows you to burn a DL or dual layer will allow for double the capacity and can fit about 8 GB of data on it. A dual layer drive is required as well as dual layered media.

Then we see the newer formats like Blu-Ray and HD-DVD that allow you to burn and watch high definition videos or store even more data. A Blu-Ray disk can hold a whopping 25 GB in a single layer and 50 GB if the disk is dual layered. HD-DVD disks can hold up to 15 GB of data but I really do not see many systems or people using this format.

Wireless Network Card

If your computer has a wireless card you will be able to access the Internet without a wire connecting you to a router/modem. Wireless cards are rated by their speed.

The lowest speed starts from A and goes up through N. You will want to buy a computer with a 802.11G or 802.11N wireless connection. 802.11g can see speeds of up to 54 Mbit/s. And with 802.11n the newest iteration of wireless we can achieve 600 Mbit/s. I am using a 802.11n router personally but most of my equipment and peripherals use 802.11g. I find this to be fine for streaming video or audio and transferring files over my home network. But if you are constantly transferring huge files or folders you might want to jump right into the 802.11n game.

Network Card

Your computer should have an Ethernet port on it. This port will allow you to physically connect to the internet or your internal network by plugging it into your router / modem.

Normally any machine you will buy now has a Gigabit connection. Gigabit is represented as 100/1000 and there are also 10/100 connections. That number is how many megabits you can transfer per second.

Operating System

This is the software that makes your computer go. You can buy a computer with the Mac OS X operating system or Windows 7 or any flavor of Ubuntu Linux as well.

You can also buy a computer without an operating system to install it yourself. This is the key part of your system as well as normally the most expensive. But, if you choose Ubuntu or another flavor of Linux then your operating system is free.

Hard Drive

This is where you will store all your files whether it be music, movies or word documents. You will need a hard drive to store them on.

Hard drives are rated by size and speed. A typical new computer will come with a 7200 RPM SATA 100GB drive. This will hold approximately 28,560 digital photos or up to 25,000 songs (MP3).

If you need more space you should get a bigger drive or you can buy a portable USB hard drive to attach to your computer.

Video Card

This is the part of your computer that allows you to show what you are doing. Without a video card you would not be able to see what you are doing on your monitor.

Different video cards have different abilities like the option to use multiple monitors, have a HDMI output or even the ability to watch HD movies on your computer. This has never been important to me and I always take whatever is available. Some examples of good video card brands are MSI, XFX, Asus, Gigabyte (thanks JLT!).

Your video card does have to connect to your monitor so make sure they have a VGA, DVI or HDMI port in common.

There are also computer components like the monitor, keyboard and mouse but we’re pretty sure that you’re familiar with those basic computer terms.

Now, you have a basic knowledge of what you are looking for start shopping around. The best deals are found online and it is a fact that a PC is much cheaper than a Mac unless you arebuilding a Hackintosh! You could also build your own PC if you are feeling confident enough.