Human echolocation

I know, that's what I said. WHAT?

But apparently it's real. There are documented cases of blind people using echolocation, much like dolphins and bats would, to navigate their worlds. These people make clicking sounds with their mouths, and are able to decode the sound of the reverberations to determine the spatial locations of objects. Interestingly, they seem to be using the visually oriented parts of the brain to accomplish this distinctly auditory feat.

Here's a journal article on the subject.

POSH as hell - 05/08/2011

I'm about to drink port wine on the left side of an airplane. No one is here to appreciate this with me.

Whiteout - 05/08/2011

Hudson Bay, it turns out, is frozen. All of the water for a while now has been icy. The progression north through Canada has shown the emergence of Cold as a salient presence. Where it was, at first, largely implied, it is now ineluctable fact. The world is whited out: heaven and earth are difficult to distinguish, as though G-d's second proclamation was not heard here. It's no surprise: there's no one up here to hear it.
We humans like to congratulate ourselves on our ability to adapt to any circumstance. Whereas the other creatures fill their ecological niches, we are unbound by the laws of survival. It's true, but in our case it's not survival that keeps us out of northern Canada. I surmise, from my warm perch at 40k, that the region has nothing to offer the human intellect. Even Thoreau would be bored with the monotony. It would take another Byrd, intrepid for the sake of primacy, to prove him, and me, wrong.

Google Earth - 05/08/2011

I have an interactive map of the world to my right, and THE WORLD to my left. I am living Google Earth.

GeoNerd - 05/08/2011

By the way, dear diary, the screen informs me that we'll be flying over Point Barrow. YESSSS.

Edit: here's a picture of Point Barrow, the northernmost point in the US. I took it from the plane!

Edit 2: On this flight, I set a new personal record for the furthest north I'd ever been (right around here), and the furthest west and east (the international date line). On the next flight, I went further south than I'd ever been: Bangkok. Crazy.

Epiphany - 05/08/2011

I've recently come to realize that there's no such thing as an epiphany. Wisdom isn't attained in an instant; I'm convinced Gautama's 40 days were really 40 years. Acceptance comes with time, not the insistence of an impatient mind. So, I'm not going to find myself on a bus from Surat Thani. But maybe I'll come back to Atlanta, Georgia a bit more at peace with the life I've half chosen, half drifted into; my relationship with a girl I find more amazing daily; and, of course, with myself, from whom there is no escape.

A Single Step - 05/08/2011

We finally made it! In business class no less - we're flying in style. As I sipped my mimosa I realized that I couldn't reach the seat in front of me with my toes outstretched; the same mimosa I ended up having to pound entirely too quickly as the plane, a 747 (The Whale, to those in the business) left the gate. The flight attendant politely asked if she could take my half-full (!) cup. I looked at her, nonplussed. I looked at my cup, heartbroken. I looked back at her, resolute. I drained my glass, choked, and have been coughing throughout the taxi. This bodes well for Koh Phangan.