NASA announced a discovery today regarding a “microorganism (that) substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components.” It evolved on earth, but it can adapt to things that we consider toxic!

“The definition of life has just expanded,” said Ed Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “As we pursue our efforts to seek signs of life in the solar system, we have to think more broadly, more diversely and consider life as we do not know it.”

I have been wondering for a number of years why the search for life always seemed to discuss certain elements as being the only building blocks for life. As we look for life on other planets, it seems logical that not everything will be carbon-based, or even resemble what we understand life to be.

“The earth has its inhabitants, the water and the air contain many living beings and all the elements have their nature spirits, then how is it possible to conceive that these stupendous stellar bodies are not inhabited? Verily, they are peopled, but let it be known that the dwellers accord with the elements of their respective spheres. These living beings do not have states of consciousness like unto those who live on the surface of this globe: the power of adaptation and environment moulds their bodies and states of consciousness, just as our bodies and minds are suited to our planet.

…Beings who inhabit those distant luminous bodies are attuned to the elements that have gone into the composition of their respective spheres.”
-’Abdu’l-Baha

(by the way, Baha’u'llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote these passages over 100 years ago)

Edit: for a little humor – Arsenic-Based Life from xkcd.

(Sam Brown, explodingdog)

“Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others.” -Baha’u'llah

The media has been freaking out about privacy in social networking recently, but that isn’t my main concern, OTHER than the fact that most people who use social networks don’t know much about privacy.  I try to be careful about what I share, although I am probably not careful enough!

In my quest to become more mindful of my time usage online, I discovered some things, positive & negative.  I want to reiterate that I’m not hating on the internet, I’m merely trying to be more aware of my consumption.

1. I actually use Facebook to connect people and get information that assists me in my life.  In the last week, I introduced a friend to some folks overseas, connected with a few old friends, found out about a free concert, used it to figure out if friends were still living in the cities that I thought they were in, and introduced people to each other.  In other words, I spent more time acting as a small-scale connector than surfing mindlessly.

2. The glow of the screen at night is not helping me sleep, and it actually distracts me from reading!  My former habit was to fall asleep to a good book. In the chaos of moving so much, I did not have a library card or any of my beloved books with me, and my book consumption dropped.  I am still struggling to get back on track.

3. Being able to access other people’s lives so easily makes one susceptible to gossip & jealousy. It isn’t pretty.

4. I do not like it when people pull out a smartphone or laptop at a party, dinner, or even a casual social event, and start texting, chatting, checking scores, whatever.  Stop.  I stopped getting Twitter updates on my phone because the constant distraction was driving me (and my friends) crazy.  Whatever is happening on the internet or your phone is not more important than the people in front of you.  (I am sure I am guilty of some of this, and I’m working on it!)

5. Ramin gave me a great tip the other day: change your Facebook bookmark on your browser to go straight to your profile page.  My unthinking clicking doesn’t pull me into the newsfeed.  It has worked really well.

6. My real life has been so busy that I’ve not had much of a chance to process photos.  I’m about 250 photos behind right now, which is a lot for me and I’m struggling to catch up.  Honestly, it does not feel like a burden, which tells me that this is one of those parts of my technological life that makes me happy. I just wish I had more technical know-how!

Last night I rode my bike, went to the antique shop and chatted with the owner, got some books at the library, and spent the rest of the evening baking cookies and reading.  I highly recommend this sort of evening once in a while.

What is my action plan now? I’ve reduced consumption of Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds.  I try not to have my computer open in the evening.  Things are not usually so urgent that I can’t leave it for a little while.  My emails are being horribly neglected, but I am attempting a systematic response system.  There is only so much time in a day.  I would rather concentrate my energies on better things.

“Ours is the duty to fix our gaze with undeviating attention on the duties and responsibilities confronting us at this present hour, to concentrate our resources, both material and spiritual, on the tasks that lie immediately ahead, to insure that no time is wasted, that no opportunity is missed, that no obligation is evaded, that no task is halfheartedly performed, that no decision is procrastinated. The task summoning us to a challenge, unprecedented in its gravity and force, is too vast and sacred, the time too short, the hour too perilous, the workers too few, the call too insistent, the resources too inadequate, for us to allow these precious and fleeting hours to slip from our grasp, and to suffer the prizes within our reach to be endangered or forfeited.”  -Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America, p. 101

Let me explain that.  In the last few months, I realized that the time I spend on the internet is split into two different categories.  The first is social networking like Facebook & Twitter, random entertainment sites, and things of that nature.  The second area is blogs, Flickr, educational sources, and the news.

It is the first area that really gets me, that makes me angry.  I do not feel good when I am spending time on sites in the first category.  Every day I feel more inclined to disengage.

Now, I’ve been bumming around the internet since I got my first AOL screen name in 1997 or so. I’m not against the internet, it is marvelous.

However, there is a subtle drag on my spirit when I read the Facebook news feed.  As a friend put it today, “I just want to live in the moment!”  I am living other people’s moments, over and over, in a stream of information that just doesn’t stop.  I don’t have my own stories anymore, and the stories that I DO have are uninteresting, banal, and incredibly lame.  I feel this insatiable need to know, but I don’t really need to know!

The second category makes me happy.  I like the creative side, I love the tools and education I come across on the internet.  There are so many positive things that have come about because of the development of the web.

A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity.
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u'llah, 1938)

The internet is a tool, a piece of human creativity and knowledge, but it is becoming life for some.  We reference the collective as if it is alive, as if we are somehow obligated to keep feeding this machine simply because it exists.

I highly recommend Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not A Gadget, it is a fascinating read and a wonderful encouragement to think about the history and modern-day trends of the Internet.

“[You are Not a Gadget] delivers a powerful reminder of the limits of the Web’s capacity to meet our needs-and its power to shape us to its will . . .” -Matthew Battles, The Barnes & Noble Review

I still have not figured out where my frustration is taking me.  I have friends who limit or delete their Facebook profiles, who refuse to even get an account.  I am stuck, in a way.  I use FB to inform, advertise, keep in touch with friends, and keep track of events.  Twitter has enabled me to communicate with friends that I wouldn’t normally have time to contact.  I am so entangled that deleting profiles is almost unthinkable.  Now I must take steps each day to reduce consumption, to slowly wean myself off the flow, and to live my life away from a computer as much as possible.

Stories are not created by sitting by myself in front of screen.  Real thought and contemplation does not happen in status updates and fleeting moments.

I am utterly overwhelmed and consumed by information.

Quite frankly, I’m exhausted.

O friend, the heart is the dwelling of eternal mysteries, make it not the home of fleeting fancies; waste not the treasure of thy precious life in employment with this swiftly passing world. Thou comest from the world of holiness – bind not thine heart to the earth; thou art a dweller in the court of nearness – choose not the homeland of the dust.
(Baha’u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 34)

We take a photo on a particular subject (this month is “Texture“, for example), and the caption relates to the name of the Baha’i month.  This month is “Masá’il”, or “Questions”.

It is great to see how the contributors apply our assignments in different ways.  We’re from all over the world: New York – Amy, London – Ronnie, Paris – Thierry, Quito – Shahriar, Chicago – me, Kent – Ramez.  So go check it out!

Also, if you visit my site (all you RSS folk, come on over), you may have noticed I have changed the design a bit.  I got tired of the old one, it was buggy and impossible to manage.  I’m still ironing out some difficult spots, but so far so good.  Let me know if you run into any problems with navigation.

Speaking of design, check out DESIGN THE FAITH: Neysan Z started this site recently, and I always enjoy checking out the new stuff there. From the site: “this design showcase serves to inspire a new generation of creative minds in the baha’i community.”

EDIT: I forgot to blog about this! I can’t believe it. My dear friend Gigi interviewed me about social media for her blog/graduate studies, and you can read the interview here.

I live out of suitcases and my car, my friends’ couch and my parent’s home.  My work is so far from home that commuting is painful.  But I get to see my friends a lot more now, and being in the city is wonderful.

On the continuing theme of my clumsiness, I knocked over a glass last weekend, and promptly sliced my finger open as I tried to rescue it.  Luckily it wasn’t too bad, and thank God for medication.

I went to a lovely wedding this past weekend.  That, combined with several friends visiting from out of town and the usual weekend festivities, created the deadly combination of no sleep, crazy meal schedules, and getting nothing done on my to-do list.  My poor to-do list is feeling quite neglected.

Twitter was sending me into a spiral of distraction, so 9 days ago I took a break.  I don’t really miss it, and I’ve stopped thinking in terms of tweets.  Maybe when things settle back down I’ll get into it again, but right now I’m enjoying the silence.

I’ve added a plugin called “Now Reading”, which allows me to share books that I’ve read, that I am currently reading, and that I plan to read.  I’ve been having fun adding books to the list.  While by no means comprehensive, it does give you a taste of some of the books I like.  I have not included most of the fiction I have read, simply because it would contain hundreds of books and I’m too lazy to input all of that information. If you have any reading suggestions for me, please leave a comment!

Finally decided to add a search box to the sidebar below the links, which makes it easier to look for things.

I’ve also updated my links and about me pages in very minor ways, and added a few blogs to the sidebar: Sarah is writing about her adventures in South Korea, Tajalli talks about promotional marketing, and Lorenia is a strawberry. Also, check out the latest World Art Collective art installation…cute statues, powerful message.

A Short Love Story In Stop Motion – My friend Ana posted this on her blog, and I could not stop watching it.

Genius Dog – A few of my friends have started a webcomic, and it is funny. Go take a look.

Fleet Foxes: “He Doesn’t Know Why” – Fleet Foxes is a band from Seattle that my friend Navid introduced me to. They’ve been around for a few years now, and I am surprised that I had not heard of them before.

Ocean of His Words, by John Hatcher – I have just started reading this book, and while it can be heavy reading at times, it is very interesting to analyze the Writings from a literary perspective.

1. I now have gravatar functionality set up. Go to this post…you can see pictures by some of the comments. Those individuals have set it up (very easy!) so that their picture shows up on sites when they comment.

2. I’ve also added the ability to subscribe to specific comment threads, so you can receive emails when someone adds a comment after yours. It is at the bottom of the comment box.

3. There is now a little badge in the sidebar that indicates that I’ve joined the Baha’i Web Development Network. As stated on the site: “The Baha’i Web Development Network is a social network for Baha’is to encourage and learn from each other about using communications technology to serve the Baha’i Faith.”

4. At the bottom of each post is now a button that allows people to share the post on a variety of sites.

5. Finally, I’ve updated my links page, About me page, and cleaned up the sidebar a little bit.

Any suggestions? I’m always looking for new ideas, so feel free to comment.

(Thanks to Ramin for helping iron out some of the bugs for me.)