"One of the functions of art is to offer a more desirable reality; a model as it were, of another style of existence with its own pace and its own cultural reference."

--Peter Schmidt

Well the IFHI Member Maps are now live. You can zoom around or click on a link for a particular member. If you click on the little pointy thing it will give you the specific information on the person. I also did a redesign of the IFHI site. Especially cool is a neat navigation technique called sliding doors that provides a very intuitive interface but does not use Javascript, which a lot of knowledgeable geeks turn off and a lot of non-geeks don't implement properly. Instead the tool uses CSS, which everyone has as part of the basic guts of their browser. Just for kicks I also added an attenuated implementation of Eno's Oblique Stategies which appends a random, changing aphorism after the prefix "Individuality:". Amazing how prescient this thing is.

I've made a note to feature or otherwise mention parts of the website which are obscure or difficult to access but have incredible value. Today's feature is the now-inactive blog of Pumpkin King Jim Garland. Jim is a very bright guy with a lot on his mind. You'll find some cool stuff over there.

Have been playing around with fractals. Although arithmetic, they yield surprisingly organic results. Here are a few images that I developed using a variety of fractal algorithms:

Starburst.



Scarab.



Meditation.



Conception.



Growing Things.

Congratulations to my dear friend and colleague Dr. Paul Mittman, who received some well-deserved recognition as the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) ‘Physician of the Year� for 2007. Paul is just a great guy and a true asset to the profession. Without his early support The Institute for Human Individuality (IfHI) would have been impossible. Sadly, Paul also recently suffered the loss of his father.

Sometimes it's just nice to know how many people love and admire you, especially at times like these and (if you are reading this) Paul, know that Martha and I love and admire you very, very much.

Paul Mittman getting his Physician of the Year plaque at the 2007 AANP convention. I got one in 1990. Mine had a dent in it.

Speaking of IfHI, I just finished the new practitioner lookup page. If you are looking for someone who uses these types of principles in their practice this database can be a great resource. It is now searchable by name, state/province or country.

Link to Practitioner Lookup

I was watching the news on TV and these two commentators were tossing the word ‘terrorist' around. If you were to believe these guys, everyone in the Muslim world was a terrorist. However, as any decent historian will tell you, today's terrorist is often tomorrow's freedom fighter. During the American Revolution patriots often tarred and feathered neighbors who were loyal to England or who just wanted to be left alone and not have to choose sides. Many of these people were hounded out of their homes (which were often grabbed by deserving 'Sons of Liberty') and exiled.

Now these same terrorists get microbrewery beers named after them.

Calling someone a ‘terrorist' is a lot like calling something ‘unscientific.' It almost never adds anything to the discussion and likely tells you more about the accuser than it does about the accused.