There was a movie out recently that purposed what it would be like if a comedian ran for president of the United States, and won. You might think that outside the real of possibility but it could happen if Al Gore ran in 2008.

Al Gore’s presentation at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) showed again what an extraordinary person he is and how far he’s come from the “cardboard Gore” days. I remember watching him speak back in the early ninety’s and again during the 2000 presidential campaign and thinking, “Geez, would this guy just lighten up.” And then when he did lighten up for the camera it seemed like he was just acting it out. He didn’t seem sincere. He’s totally different now.

He has said, both before and after the debut of “An Inconvenient Truth” that he has no intention of running for president in 2008. We’ll have to wait and see because this guy would be very hard to beat. He seems much more genuine these days, more worldly, and more at ease with himself. But most importantly he really seems to believe in himself.

From TED: Al Gore, in his own words, “used to be the next President of the United States of America” but has since changed professions. This talk is a follow-up to his now-famous presentation, featured in the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.” In it, he outlines what we can do to avert a global climate crisis. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.)

About TED

Weird Al really has his geek on for these two videos:

Weird Al-Star Wars/American Pie

White & Nerdy

And just for kicks: Amish Paradise

Peter Donnelly at TED: It isn’t often that someone can stand before an audience of highly educated, successful people and tell them that they are wrong, most of the time, when they have an opinion on a subject governed by uncertainty. Peter Donnelly, statistics professor at Oxford University, does just that during his TED presentation on statistics of uncertainty.

He uses everyday examples where uncertainty and logic are often at odds with each other. The subject is far to complex for him to elucidate us on how to think correctly about uncertainty and statistics. Instead he uses everyday examples where people have gotten the statistics horribly wrong. Thus the message is: if you are dealing with a decision based on statistical evidence of an uncertain event then you are likely to get it wrong. Therefore before making that decision you should consider that even though it seems logical you are, very likely, making a logical error and should look harder at the problem.

From TED:

Statistician Peter Donnelly explores the common mistakes humans make in interpreting statistics, and the devastating impact these errors can have on the outcome of criminal trials. Donnelly is a statistics professor at Oxford University who collaborates with biologists, applying statistical models to genetics, with the hope of shedding more light on evolutionary history and the structure of the human genome (Recorded July 2005 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 22:06)

Is there a difference in being happy because you have what you want or that you want what you have? (Read it again. It does make sense.)

Dan Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard, gave a presentation at TED where he covered just that. I don’t want to give anything away but you’ll be happier if you see this 22 minute presentation. And if you’re already happy, you’ll probably understand why.

Have you ever had a telemarketer that was desperate to end a phone call with you? You will if you do this to them.

A Mind of Their Own : Software developers have created algorithms to emulate actors in CG movies. Most of the uses so far have been for orcs, ants and such in very large numbers. I remember reading about the initial use in TwoTowers where the developers gave random characteristics to the orcs and then ran the program. Most of the orcs ran into battle but some of them ran away. The dev guys said that they were surprised at how the characters interacted and couldn’t have predicted the emergent behavior of the group.

Arctic explorer Ben Saunders recounts his harrowing solo journey to the North Pole, complete with gorgeous images, amusing anecdotes and previously unseen video footage from the Pole. At 26, Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole, updating his blog daily during the trek. He’s now planning the next journey, SOUTH, an unprecedented, roundtrip expedition across Antarctica and back. (Recorded February 2005 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:48)

TED presentation by Ray Kurzweil: I like the way Ray Kurzweil analyzes the future. He doesn’t try to predict what we will be doing but rather what we will be capable of doing. He takes an analytical look at how technology has evolved and uses that to predict when technology will reach certain milestones - like when will a $1,000 computer be capable of the same performance as the human brain.

At any rate, watching his presentation at TED has certainly bumped his two books way up on my reading list.

From TED:

Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil illustrates the exponential evolution of technology, predicting a sharp rise in computing capability, robotics and life expectancy within the next 15 years. He outlines the shocking ways we’ll use technology to augment our own capabilities, forever blurring the lines between human and machine. A prolific inventor, Kurzweil developed the first Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system, the first text-to-speech reader for the blind, one of the first speech-recognition systems, and numerous electronic instruments. He’s written several books exploring the social impact of technology, including The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. (Recorded February 2005 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 23:41)

I’m at my wits end trying to keep spam-bots off my blog. I’ve tried renaming key PHP files as these guys suggest to see if that helps.

By the way, all spammers are invited to go hiking with me in the Grand Canyon anytime. Just say the word and I’m there.

This guy may be a real amateur on the drums and piano, but he’s got game when it comes to video editing.