Complexity Theory and Company Management.

Here is an interesting article on what complexity theory has to say about running a company. I find it fascinating because the recomendations embody a number of ideas I've had for how I would want to run a large company, if I ever got the chance. It never occured to me that one might want to model a company as a complex dynamic system even though, in retrospect, that exactly what one is (or should be).

Grmblblbx morning...

My alarm went off at 9:00 am. I managed to drag myself out of bed by 10:00. A very hot shower and some coffee later, and I'm still only barely awake. What's more, with all of the grey and gloomy skies outside, it just doesn't even FEEL like a morning yet.

Geek Toy: the room defender.

Ya gotta see this toy. Its the Room Defender, an automated rapid-fire nerf-gun which can be set to defend a room or doorway, and is activated by movement sensors. Plus, it has a remote control for safe deactivation before entering a room. Give your cat the heebie jeebies!

Closest Hit Yet to NWO

I just came across an article about 'Aristotle' a Knowledge-Based replacement for the Web. Its the closest description I've seen yet to what _sps_ and I want to do. It even has a primitive version of first-class users in it. I point this out both because it gives an explanation of where we want to go, and proves that we're not the only ones who see this as an important and perhaps inevitable next step.

Now, where does one get funding?

Junk DNA is strongly conserved...

According to an article in Nature (Subscription required)

University of California, Santa Cruz, researchers have found more than 480 "ultraconserved" regions of "junk" DNA that are completely identical across the man, mouse and rat species implying that they are essential to the descendants of these organisms. The regions largely match up with chicken, dog and fish sequences too.

The most likely scenario is that they control the activity of indispensable genes. The sequences may help slice and splice RNA into different forms and control embryo growth.

That was written before the recent discovery that a mouse with all 'junk' DNA removed is completely normal and healthy, as far as the scientists could determine. This would appear to be a bit of a paradox, as only necessary gene sequences should be strongly conserved. As I mentioned in that post, one theory of junk DNA (for which I wish I had a pointer) is that it serves as a regulatory mechanism for the rate-of-change due to mutation. How that gets to be so tightly conserved is an interesting question though, as I can't grasp how it happens. More thought it clearly required.

In a Poetic Mood.

They walked along together
The night was stud with stars-
They reached the gate together
He lifted for her the bars
She raised her brown eyes to him
There's nothing between them now
Cause he was the hired man...
and she the Jersey Cow.