Nothing Up My Sleeve

Book Review: The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill

David Ovason's The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill: A Closer Look at the Hidden Magic and Meaning of the Money You Use Every Day is a fun book of trivia and esoterica related to our most familiar form of currency.

Many people know about the easy to spot design features of the bill, such as the 13 arrows clutched by the eagle on The Great Seal. Or, perhaps, the Star of Solomon arrangement of the constellation above the bird's head. But Ovason goes much deeper than that, bringing out geometric arrangements and deep background on the unfinished pyramid, the treasury shield, and the Omega that surrounds Washington's portrait. (And much more.)

Unfortunately, the book is arranged in an awkward style that numbers each "secret" separately. Because so many of the observations are linked, and only make sense when considered in context with others, there is a fair amount of repetition throughout the book. This makes it frustrating to read, and contributes to the feeling that some of it might be padding to make the book more substantive than it really is.

I was prepared to dismiss the book as fun, but unsubstantiated, until I reached the very end. There I discovered a series of footnotes and sources that lend credence to some of Ovason's more obscure assertions. The book would have benefited greatly by giving an indication--any indication--that these existed in the main body of the text. If you read this book, be sure to read the notes in the back as you go along, I think it will significantly enhance your enjoyment of the book.

Overall, while the book is flawed and could have benefitted from a proofread, it's a comprehensive reference that brings out aspects of the dollar's design that are not easy to find elsewhere. In the end its low price makes it a worthy addition to a library of obscure knowledge.

The master who made the grass green

I am very sad to hear the Robert Anton Wilson appears to have left this mortal coil. As I've written before, his work has been tremendously influential in my life.

Edward Abbey. HST. Abbie Hoffman. Frank Zappa. RAW.

Nearly all my favorite artists have gone.

Fnord.

Robert Anton Wilson needs your help

I've written before about Robert Anton Wilson (RAW), an amazing author whose work has profoundly influenced me. His many books are not only entertaining, but they lead you down ontological rabbit holes that, without exaggeration, change the way your brain works. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but I assure you it is not.

Well, RAW is sick and dying, and desperately needs financial help. Douglas Rushkoff provides details about how to contribute and calls RAW one of his heroes. Mark at BoingBoing echoes the same sentiment, as do the many comments on Rushkoff's post.

When I moved to California in 1996 I was thrilled when I realized that I'd be living less than 100 miles away from RAW. I thought for sure I might happen to meet him, and over the years my fantasy was buoyed by learning that several of my co-workers and friends either already knew him, or knew someone in his inner circle. But I was determined not to try to make the meeting happen; leaving it to fate or dumb chance. So it goes.

If you've never read any of his books, visit the Robert Anton Wilson bookstore. (Cosmic Trigger is a good one to start with. If you prefer fiction, then The Illuminatus Trilogy is your best choice.) If you have read his work, then I'm confident you'll join with me and help a brother out when he needs it most.

Automated Hallowe'en Hijinks

I think that Hallowe'en is probably the most popular holiday among home automation enthusiasts; it's certainly the source of a lot of neat ideas for (temporarily) haunting your house.

One of the best "tricks" is to activate your mechanized ghouls, or start creepy sound effects, when the kids approach your home. It's easily accomplished using a variety of Motion detecting switches.

If you've ever been on the receiving end of Hallowe'en pranks, and this year you want to turn the tide, a good solution is the Scarecrow Animal Repeller from Smarthome. It'll blast water towards anything that moves into the area that you want to keep clear. That'll teach the little hoodlums, right?

And it almost goes without saying that you can otherwise utilize these items for plain ol' home automation throughout the rest of the year.

Praise Eris!

Who says astronomers don't have a sense of humor? The space rock that caused the demotion of Pluto from planetary status has been
named Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord. Wholly Chao!

123456 coming soon

My friend Joe pointed out that a once-every-thousand-years moment will be occurring later this week. Just after one in the morning on Wednesday the date and time will be:

01:02:03 04/05/06

Seems like a good occasion to stay up and celebrate. Certainly more unique than the regularly occurring new years and eclipses. Cheers!

Mind, meet Brain

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the bookstore at San Francisco International Airport (a suprisingly good bookstore, by the way) and discovered a really neat book. It's about how our brains work, and how our sense of self, or "the mind" is created; a fascinating study of both biology and philosophy. Here's part of the blurb from the back cover:

"How does the three pounds of electric sponge stowed in the top of your head allow you to experience enchantment in front of an evening landscape, and them make you remember the shopping, say "Damn!" and head off to the supermarket?"

The name of the book is Introducing Mind and Brain and I found that it is part of series, published in the UK, that tackles heady subjects by combining authoritative text with delightful, and intelligent, graphic design. It's a case study in the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" and the sort of book that's fun to show to others, and of course to enjoy yourself. I really dug this one, and now I'm trying to decide which of the many topics I'll try next: quantum physics, marxism, time, ethics, Foucault, or one of the others. (See the link for a list of more titles.)

Productivity Boosters

I'm an advocate for the application Sciral Consistency, for me it's the perfect solution for keeping track of reoccurring tasks. It's inexpensive, pleasant to use, and available for both Mac and Windows. If your New Years resolutions include getting things done, check it out. (You can read more about it at Merlin's site, first, if you'd like.)

But even if you're not looking for yet another piece of software (a feeling I completely understand), you will probably dig these Calendar Freebies from Sciral. Using nothing but a web browser, you can generate a few useful pages that are a pleasure to print and use. Choose from a Month view that's perfect for tacking onto a fridge or bulletin board, a Year-at-a-Glance page that will be useful for keeping track of any resolution you intend to tackle in 2006, or the life-at-a-glance page that is certain to either enchant, or disturb, your point of view. Good stuff, indeed, and you can't beat the price.

The present-day composer refuses to die

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Happy Birthday, Frank. Wish you were here.

Santa and Mac OS X

Over the holiday I had the "pleasure" of visiting Denver's Colorado Mills mall on the busiest shopping day of the year. It's a very nice mall, but perhaps the most lasting impression that I left with was the Mac OS X-based photo software used by Santa's elves at the obligatory North Pole annex. It's called Teps-X. In all my years with the Mac, it's an app that I've never encountered before, what a nice surprise.