What Silence

The Six Basic Pleasures Theory

2011-07-15T10:08:00.004-06:00

I don't have time to flesh this out, but I just had a thought that I'd like to explore later.

Theory:

There are six basic paths to pleasure, for a human:

enjoying a physical experience (e.g., sensory input)
enjoying a shared experience with someone else (i.e.: laughing at a joke)
enjoying a sense of accomplishment (for example, "I just jumped 12 feet, I rock!")
enjoying a sense of recognition (for example, "Dude, you just jumped 12 feet, you rock!")
enjoying a sense of connection (best example being love)
enjoying a sense of purpose (be it participation in a project, a sense of nationality, or religious experience.)

I'm not sure, as I type it out. But I have to get back to work.

Faith

2011-06-23T15:16:00.000-06:00

Paradoxically, perhaps, I am a person of faith.

According to Wikipedia:

Faith is trust, hope and belief in the goodness or trustworthiness, of a person, concept or entity. Religious faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition, "things will turn out well in the end," can be enjoyed in the present and secured in the future. Consequently, religious faith appeals to "transcendent reality," or that reality which is beyond the range of normal, physical human experience (e.g. the future). "Transcendent reality," therefore, constitutes a reality which is off limits to the rigors of scientific inquiry such as falsifiability and reproducibility. However, atheists and agnostics criticize religious faith as superstition, categorizing it with other forms of belief that are not based on measurement of material things.

I trust that the universe is on the right path... whatever that may be. I do occasionally wonder if this means I have some kind of residual theistic tendencies, but I think if that's the case, it's certainly far more pantheist than theist in a traditional sense... but the point is that I do, in fact, have faith that the universe will "end well". Since that's a completely non-scientific, unprovable notion, I must call it faith, and it's not one I can get rid of. ...nor do I have a strong desire to. Think of it this way: if I'm biologically programmed to have this kind of faith, then it's probably for a good reason, and it's not an instinct I care to shut down.

I've been giving this some thought, lately, and it occurs to me that I also believe that if I believe the universe itself is on the right path, I should logically believe that the constituent pieces of the universe (most usefully, the Earth and its inhabitants, and more proximally, me) are doing "what they need to do" to get to whatever end-point the universe as a whole is pointed toward.

Specifically, I've been contemplating whether or not this constitutes a kind of moral compass. That is, if whatever it is my life is supposed to amount to is a "good thing" in light of the "Big Picture", then I should probably continue doing what it is I'm doing.

Begging the question as that clearly is, I still find it pragmatic and useful... an interesting line of inquiry, as it were, into a deeper understanding of my own personal moral compass... my "intuitive morality," as it were. As I continued to think about this and try to hone the question a bit, what I was left asking myself was, "what qualities go into my definition of the word 'better'?"

This is, I think, a useful question. I believe every individual is entitled to their own definition of the word. ...That is to say, I don't believe there is an absolute universal (meaningful) definition of "better". ...But this line of reasoning I've found myself on does justify (fraught with fallacy as it may well be) understanding one's own definition of the word.

Of course, all the conflict in the world is borne of differences in opinion about what would be "better"... from "it would be better if the world comprised of an Aryan master race" to "it would be better if I didn't have to listen your drivel about philosophy, Jeremy." Some absolute, universal guidance on what's better would be tremendously useful in terms of quelling everyday stress, if not global violence and strife. But, alas, as someone who believes that the universe is on the right course, and there are no obvious answers as to what's ultimately "better", I'm left trying to accept that everyone has their own sense of the word, and in the grand scheme of things, that's for the best. ...ironically.

Regardless, the utility in an understanding of my own tendencies has been of tremendous benefit. (Or, at least, if feels that way.) After asking myself a series of "what would make ____ better" style questions, I found some recurring themes for what I consider "better":

parts contributing to the whole
an awareness of a system's context
steady challenge which isn't overwhelming
adequate size (leaning toward the minimal, here)
a level of diversity ...as an ideal example, I point to the biodiversity of a mixed temperate forest as an ecological model: clear order with "standards," with complex and interesting outliers that fit into the whole.
understanding a majority of salient elements, with a trickle of mystery as new elements are discovered
general comfort, with only occasional excitement
acceptance of what clearly is, with a general, low level of measured growth
maximized beauty, without ruining functionality
as much creativity as can be managed without burning out
an emphasis on future possibility, second to an enjoyable present state (and a de-emphasized history)
excellent constituent parts in the system
a (reasonable, modest) sense of meaning

...The last bullet point is perhaps key: the idea that one's personal preferences leads one toward some kind of meaningful life. I think that's what this whole thought process was about, and as such, I've found it rewarding.

Tick.

2010-08-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

Games I Would Buy if Ported to the iPhone

2010-06-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

I just bought the Carcassonne app for my iPod Touch, and I really enjoy it. They did a wonderful job capturing the experience of the physical game for just $5. Add that to Settlers of Catan (which is quite good, though I find that the computer picks on the human with the robber, and that gets old), and Hive... and three of my favorites are available in my pocket. Which is damn cool.

I also just bought the original, old-school "Prince of Persia" for a buck. Hard game! But cool to re-play. And Archon! I loved Archon as a kid, and it's a blast on the iPod.

...Now, mind you, there are some superlative new and original games for the iPhone/iPod. The best ones I've seen so far are Space Miner (hilarious), Dungeon Hunter, Red Conquest (even if it kicks my ass on the easiest settings, it's brilliant), Spider: the Secret of Bryce Manor (this is bound to be an all-time classic, favorite game), Spirit, Strategery, Tilt to Live, and Orbital. ...Not to mention the myriad Tower Defense games (which are mostly quite fun).

In all, I haven't been so excited about computer gaming since I was 10, playing on the Intellivision and Commodore 64. ...Which is to say, it reminds me of one of the happiest times of my life. I am *loving* this.

Old School Games

There are quite a few old-school C-64/Intellivision games I would love to see properly ported to the iPhone (meaning: updates to the controls, since the iPod doesn't have a normal joystick or keyboard... and possibly updated graphics, as long as they are "true to the original," as Archon managed to be). For example:

Pools of Radiance / Curse of the Azure Bond / Secret of the Silver Blades / Pools of Darkness

...I would totally play these over again, if they were in my pocket and didn't take 15 minutes to load.

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Intellivision)

Man, did I love this one. Simple, you can play it in five minutes, and it's nerve-wracking in a good way. :)

Seven Cities of Gold

Quiet, interesting game. I'd love to see a straight port of this, actually, with just a few control updates. Nothing too fancy.

M.U.L.E.

...Begging to be put on the iPhone!

Below The Root

Meditative, spiritual adventure game. Loved roaming among the treetops.

Sid Meir's Pirates!

Another one of those early, easy, open-ended games that you can waste hours in, a little at a time.

More Recent Games

It would be pushing the limits of the technology, and it would require some "dumbing down" of the graphics and possibly a bit of the play, but I'm betting they could do a reasonable job of moving some of the more recent computer games to the iPod. I'm not expecting to see Half-Life 2 anytime soon, (that would be TOO COOL), but I'm betting they could pull off some playable and enjoyable versions of a few of my better gaming experiences:

Morrowind

This would, of course, require some major dumbing-down and (in particular) much more basic models, but I'm betting they could pull it off. ...Would it be worth it, monetarily, to but six months' development into it? Probably not. So I'm not holding my breath. But, for the record, I'd definitely put $15 down on this one.

In fact, I'd pay $5 for a "developers log" app that would keep me posted with development news and help pay for it.

Knights of the Old Republic

Again, it would take some work getting the models simplified, but this would be really enjoyable.

Myst / Riven / Etc...

...Why haven't they put these kinds of games on the iPhone already?! I've seen a few, but they haven't looked particularly good (and those that did I read were really hard).

Board Games

...Of course, there are a *lot* of board games that I would like to see on the iPhone! Some that jump out at me:

Stratego

There are already a few implementations of this, but they all suck. We need a nice one.

Cathedral

Simple and effective abstract game, it's one that I really like, and could be elegantly done, quickly played, and enjoyable.

Talisman

Okay, go ahead an laugh, but I really had a lot of fun with this back in college and would like to play mindless dungeon-crawling in perpetuity every now and then. Maybe it would loose something with out the silly friends and cheap pizza, though.

Quorridor

...Waaaaay too expensive to actually buy, so I'd love to pay $3 for an electronic version. It's a simple and interesting abstract game.

Actually, there are a whole bunch of games I would pay up to $5 for to be able to play solo:

Arkham Horror, Dominion, Elfenland, Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, Pandemic, Puerto Rico, Runewars (and the new one... RuneLords or something?), Galaxy Trucker (another one that's too expensive for the real thing--and would adapt well), Dune (the '79 version--too hard to find these days), Twilight Imperium (too much of a hassle to play for real!), ZERTZ...

...And, crap, now I'm looking at Board Game Geek again. More talk about this later.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Notes

2010-05-19T21:41:00.000-06:00

These are some notes that I took while learning about Maslow's "Peak Experiences."

A peak experience involves:

Intense happiness
Heightened sense of reality
Expansion of awareness
Feeling one with the universe
Clear thinking and understanding
Feeling more powerful
Loss of placement in time and space

Hints:

Experience fully, vividly: be present.
Make a growth choice 12 times a day.
Shut out external behavioral clues.
When in doubt, be honest and take responsibility.
Be prepared to be unpopular.
Make peak experiences more likely.
Identify your defenses and give them up.
Do not do things that do not reinforce your goals. DO things that do!
Find a mentor who has achieved your goal.
Avoid nay-sayers.
User visual reminders.
Track your progress.
Focus on positive. Forgive the negative.
Find social support.

Superior Traits:

no fear of the unknown
self-acceptance
accepts reality
no unnecessary inhibitions
focus on mission in life, devoted to duty
serene
lack of worry
alone without being lonely
self-starter
owns behavior
non-stereotyped
present
has peak experiences
awe
loss of placement
expects good
kinship with good, bad, and ugly
profound relationship with few
friendly with many
humble
discriminates between means and ends
tedious = enjoyable
unhostile humor
self-depricating
creative
resists enculturation
indignant of injustice
has imperfections
impatient when stuck
resolves dichotomies
no "conflict"
wise
child-like qualities
more interested in stuff than having stuff

Pragmatic Thinking And Learning (Notes)

2010-05-19T21:27:00.000-06:00

I'm just "dumping" the notes I took while reading the aforementioned book (which I highly recommend), so as to have a copy of these online. Perhaps you'll enjoy the read, perhaps it's a waste of your time. Feel free to skip this post.

1. Consider the context.

2. Use rules for novices, intuition for experts.

3. Know what you don't know.

Dreyfus Model (1970s research):

Novices need recipes and rules, are detached observers, and erroneously consider everything as important in every situation (particularly when trouble-shooting).
Advanced beginners do not want the big picture.
Competents can trouble-shoot; are intuitive and resourceful; but are not capable of self-correction.
Proficients need the big picture, correct poor performance through reflection, learn from others, apply maxims properly. They self-correct.
Experts work from intuition, are ruined by rules, focus on relevant information, and are part of the system (rather than outside it). They show more self-doubt, know what they don't know. They usually cannot teach their craft. It takes roughly ten years of concerted effort to get to this level.

4. Learn by watching and imitating: imitate, assimilate, innovate.

5. Keep practicing to remain an expert.

6. Avoid formal methods when innovating / being creative.

8. Capture ideas constantly to get more of them.

Picasso: "computers are useless: they only give you answers"

9. Learn by synthesis ... and analysis.

10. Good designs (aesthetics) actually work better. Make the interface nice.

We learn best with a well-defined task, challenging but doable, with informative feedback you can act on, with opportunity for repetition and correction of errors.

12. Engage more senses for better cognition. (Note I skipped 11; it didn't strike me as worthwhile. There may be more skipping later, too.)

Seeing is the crucial artistic skill.
Create an R-mode, L-mode flow for learning.

13. Lead with R-mode, follow with L-mode.

"Write drunk, revise sober." - Writer's adage.
Get used to it first (get "a feel for it"), then learn the rules.
Dr. Galin, UCSF: Three responsibilities of the teacher to the student:

Train both L-mode and R-model.
Train to use the best mode suited to the task.
Train to integrate both styles.

Anne Lamott: "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor." ...Go ahead and write a really shitty first draft. Trying to do better can keep you from writing anything at all.

14. Change your routine to exercise your mind.

Use functional shifts in words to excite the mind. (changing parts of speech and adding unusual suffixes/prefixes)
Anchoring bias is when you get primed with a thought, a'la Derren Brown.
Need for closure is a bias. Keep your options open!
Fundamental attribution error ascribes personality as the cause of action, rather than context.
Confirmation bias: choose facts that fit, ignore others.
Self-serving bias: win = my fault, loose = someone else's.
Exposure effect: prefer familiar things.
Hawthorne effect: we change behavior when studied.
False memory: suggestion. "Every memory read is a write."
Symbolic reduction fallacy: bad analogies.
Nominal Fallacy: labeling something means you understand it.

19. Be comfortable with uncertainty; defer closure.

21. Hedge your bets with diversity. Your way may be wrong!

22. Allow for different approaches/biases from different people.

Bumper stickers and customization of your car are alpha markings and correlate with road agression.
"Lizard Logic":

Flight, fight, or be paralyzed with fear
Immediate gratification.
Dominance.
Territoriality.
Blame.
Moral buckets (good vs evil, no greys)

23. Be the evolved one. "Breathe, don't hiss."

24. Trust intuition. ...but verify.

Self-tests:
How do you know?
Says who?
How, specifically?
How does what I'm doing cause this?
Can you measure it?
Compared to what/whom?
Always? Any exceptions?
What would happen if you did/didn't?
What stops you from...?
Can you define it's opposite?

You are primed by your expectations. Most of perception is based on prediction!

Every decision is a tradeoff.
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." - Mestrius Plutarchos (Plutarch), 45-125 BCE
Latin "educare" means "to draw out".
SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable (not overwhelming), Relevant, Time-boxed.
Have a concrete plan over several time horizons. It will change, but "the planning is more important than the plan." (I think that was Churchill.)
Diversify your goals: "it minimizes risks... riskier projects have greater rewards, so you want both risky and non-. At least all learning investments have value, though!
By investing time regularly in learning (meaning: schedule your learning time), you average out the return on your investment: some time more valuable than others. Create a ritual of investing time into your goals. Waiting for the muse invites procrastination.
Set reminders to re-evaluate your goals periodically. ...probably in line with your time horizons. Also schedule time each week for each goal/objective. Probably 2 or 3 sessions per week.
Study groups are more effective than being self-taught, according to research.
The part of your brain that handles reading is very small. The rest of your body doesn't really "do" language, so reading is the least effective way to learn. Watching and mimicking is the most effective. When reading, read deliberately: recite important things, ask questions, use the information. Stimulate your brain.
Retrieval is key for learning. Test yourself. Best iteration is 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, then every 6 months.
"Chance favors only the prepared mind." -- Louis Pasteur.
Mental preparation which involves an inward focus of attention promotes insight.

31. Documenting is more important than documentation.

Put yourself in the problem. Anthropomorphism helps leverage experience.

37. Permission to fail is the path to success. ...give yourself a "failure permitted" zone.

38. Imagine success repeatedly. Put your mind in that groove of doing things right.

"Trying fails. Awareness cures."
Consultant's rule of three: if you don't have at least three possible solutions and at least three ways each could go wrong, you haven't understood the problem.
Study at U-Mich finds multitasking robs 3/8th of productivity. One thing at a time!

...Apologies if this was of no use to you. ...Go read the book! :D

Goodbye Facebook, Welcome Back Blogger

2010-01-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

The events of the past five months have been life-changing: I am not the person I once was. I feel the need to write about it, and so I am "returning" to the use of Blogger.

The same events have, at best, ruined my local relationships, and what made Facebook "work" for me was the ability to keep up with all of them, make plans with them, and the like... there's no use in that now, so there's little use in staying on Facebook. Sure, coworkers and family are there, but I can keep up with them by other means. C'est la vie.

The following series of posts will be intensely personal. If that's a problem for you (and for coworkers, it SHOULD be), unsubscribe to this blog and stop reading.

The End.

2009-11-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

In case it hasn't been clear: I don't really blog anymore. :)

I expect this will be my last post, barring the odd little need to put something online for some reason or another.

Thanks for watching, guys.

Don't Ask.

2009-10-27T13:52:00.002-06:00

The Padlock is an Illusion.

2009-10-14T10:19:00.004-06:00

I just found this. Since I had a (new) padlock handy, I thought I would give it a quick shot.

The first step was a little awkward, but it worked.

The second step was brain-dead easy.

The third step was too tedious for me to try without really needing to do it, so I just looked up the right block of codes, then looked at the code on my lock to see if it would work.

And it wouldn't! I was terribly upset about this.

But I tried it anyway... and it worked. Surprised by this result, I fiddled around a bit and discovered that the second number was really sloppy. For me, it worked on 11, 12, 13, and 14.

I didn't try all the variants on the first number, but I did notice that the first number was also "sloppy", and worked on other numbers than the number given on the package.

In other words, the padlock is a ruse; an illusion. It's not as "secure" as it makes you think it is.

Cool.

Master Break by Mark Edward Campos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

1kBWC Whimsy IV

2009-09-30T16:57:00.000-06:00

The bottom two are actually copies of Blank White Cards that can be found on Flickr. I did so without permission, but I did leave a comment to them later saying I'd done so...

1kBWC Whimsy III

2009-09-30T16:55:00.002-06:00

1kBWC Whimsy II

2009-09-30T16:54:00.000-06:00

1kBWC Whimsy I

2009-09-30T16:53:00.001-06:00

Yes, I've gotten somewhat carried away with the art on Blank White Cards. None of these were drawn during a game, nor do I have the skill to pull that off in such a short time. ...These cards have become, over the past month or so, an excuse to draw and to not care too much about the details. Whimsy becomes acceptable, which is something I generally don't tolerate in a sketchbook or--PTB preserve us--on sheets of good paper. But I can easily pull out half an index card, take 5 minutes, and draw up some silly idea now and then.

I've been doing almost all of these based on pictures I find on the internet. I try and find photos to work from, but sometimes I "copy" peoples' art work. That feels a little dirty... but they make excellent cards, they generally are known to "work" compositionally, and they take away the hard work of abstracting lines and forms from photos. It's sometimes a chore fitting them onto such a small "canvas", but I'm enjoying that challenge. Actually, I feel like I'm learning a lot about simplifying line-work, which has been a weakness for me.

Little doses of creativity smattered throughout the day. It's fun.

Understanding the Tea Party III: A Response

2009-09-14T13:46:00.004-06:00

This is part three in my ongoing attempt to understand the Tea Party's underlying motivations.

So, in the previous entry, I outlined what I felt were the four underlying causes for the Tea Party's stance on government:

Constitution
Capitalism
Freedom of choice
Private Industry over Public Works

So, here we have rational ground upon which to have a discussion. (...because how do you respond to "Obama's plan is just like Hitler's!")

And here, in brief, are my feelings on the subjects:

Constitution: Sorry, I only weakly support it. I agree that it was brilliant in its time, and it got us where we are today, and some of the underlying ideas still hold true. ...but I also believe in agility and adaptation, and I don't think a 250-year-old country can be run based on two pages of text which are outdated, particularly in light of what we understand about equality and social justice now. In fact, if I had my way, every law would have a sunset date established when it's signed. If it remains relevant, it will be re-enacted.
Capitalism: Well, I'd be quick to agree that it was a great way to boost a country from obscurity to super-power, but I would just as quickly point out that it leads to corruption and pathological corporations and concentrated power. So, again, I only weakly support it. And I certainly support strong regulation. Super-strong, even. Left to their own devices, corporations are designed to act amorally, and thus must be restricted.
Freedom of choice: well, this is a bit of a misnomer. I certainly believe in personal freedoms (and consequent responsibility). But in the context of mandatory health care, the argument strikes me as a little odd. ...I suppose if you prove that you'll be able to pay for your own medical expenses, I wouldn't argue against your freedom to pass on the plan, and I'd be amenable to some kind of partial kickback/tax-break for your doing so. Still, this seems like such a border case that I feel like we're wasting our breath. As for choosing where your taxes get allocated? ...Sorry, no, I don't believe you have that right. The whole point is to benefit the entire community, and your interests are necessarily biased. A brief lesson in cognitive bias will make that clear. This may seem like a personal burden to you, but that's the cost of a moral society that has the resources to help those less fortunate.
Private Industry over Public Works: whoa, nelly! This is where our opinions part in irreconcilable ways. I whole-heartedly support the Commons. I believe in externalities. I believe that a nation of people should act toward unified goals. I believe in constant improvement of the system. And when you shout "that's communism!", I may just have to shrug and say "perhaps it shares some qualities." And when you shout "the scariest thing a person in need can hear is 'I am from the government, and I am here to help'", then that's where I say we need to improve the system, not disband it. I believe that the greatest accomplishments of mankind are collaborative, public works, not private industry. Art and Science, man. Art and Science! They are the pinnacle of human potential: our collective actualization. ...Now, clearly, industry fuels public works, and I'm cool with that. ...as long a industry behaves as morally as possible, and is continuously pushing itself to be "better", in a moral sense.

...So, it seems I disagree with the Tea Party on every subject I can cull from their torrid comments. My opinion of them has changed slightly, during this process: I feel like I understand their motivations a little better, and while I still see those motivations as greedy and a bit ego-centric, at least I feel my understanding improved.

That said, I probably went into this pre-judging them, and with more than a small dose of confirmation bias, so I'm not surprised that I come out the other side feeling equally "icky". So perhaps my sense of heightened compassion is bullshit. But I'm afraid I am too far along in my self-justification of liberal beliefs. I can't grant them any more clout without losing my ideals. I'm afraid I disagree fundamentally. A society should be more about morality than "earning"... and I'm too jaded to move away from that opinion, despite its flaws. (...and I recognize at least some of my belief's flaws!)

Overall, though, I can't help but feel this exercise was worthwhile. But that's likely just a kind of "post-purchase rationalization!"

On the subject of cognitive dissonance, however, I must admit I still have some serious dissonance. I have friends and family who believe the Tea Party line. I want to continue to believe that they are good people, but I have to wrestle with my underlying assumption that their beliefs are rooted in greed.

I'm still not sure how to resolve that. So, to that end, I'm no better off than when I began. [sigh]

Understanding the Tea Party II: What Lies Beneath

2009-09-14T13:17:00.003-06:00

This is part two in my attempts to understand the motivations of the so-called Tea Party. It is based on a very limited look at what they're saying, and of course, my own personal experiences with Libertarians.

Yes, Libertarians. Though I suspect it will upset both groups of people to make the claim, I have yet to find any evidence contrary to the theory that the Tea Party is motivated by an overlapping set of ideals as Libertarians*.

What are those ideals?

The government shall hold no powers not expressly outlined in the Constitution of the United States.
America is built on capitalism, and the law should maximize those effects: particularly by taking as little in the way of taxation as possible. Notably, taking more money from the rich is biased and unfair.
Furthermore, the use of taxed money cannot be used for programs which the people do not individually support. Doing otherwise is stripping people of their freedom of choice.
Private industry should never have to compete with public works.

Put even more succinctly:

Federal government is too large.
Federal spending is out of control.

...That's my attempt to be as fair as possible. But here's what I hear, every time people make these arguments:

Stop taking my money.

...I've decided to ignore a lot of the arguments I highlighted in the previous post. Most of them struck me as being ad absurdum arguments (ie: "His actions are tyrannical despotism") or speculation ("the health care plan will put us $1 trillion further into debt"). I wasn't surprised by these fallacies (even Liberals were using them during Bush's administration), but they're easily dismissed with a little rationality, so I've left them out.

It's also worth noting that there is likely underlying-if-unacknowledged-racism (particularly to justify his lack of claim to the presidency) and hypocrisy (if they were equally upset with Bush, why not march on D.C. in the last eight years?), but I'll leave these points to those better-suited to addressing them.

* I have not found confirming evidence, notably, of the argument that taxation is, in fact, abuse. Libertarians are quick to claim that taking a person's money is, in fact, an assault on that person, period.

Understanding the Tea Party

2009-09-14T11:56:00.001-06:00

So, I'm trying to understand the argument that the "tea party revolution" has, and I'm outlining some of the arguments they make in this video and this post. The latter is specific to the health-care plan, but so be it. This will be long, and I will be using a lot of quotes, because I want to get this first draft as accurate as possible. Then, later, I'll try to characterize the ideas behind them as fairly as I can (which is to say, I can't honestly do it fairly, so it will be biased, but hey, it's my blog).

Obama represents unlimited government, which is evil.
Obama represents unlimited spending (of money the gov't doesn't have), which is evil.
The stimulus money hasn't been spent, yet we're getting back on track, and the gov't is holding on to the money.
One person said "I don't know where [the government] got the idea that you can spend yourself into prosperity".
Obama represents tyranny, which is evil. Some have said his actions are a "despotic abuse of authority".
The government must be smaller. "Reduce the size and scope..."
The government has far exceeded the scope of the Constitution.
We need to return to the ideology of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
Taxes must be lower. The government is taking too much of its people's money.
They want "smart, hard-working American people to be given the opportunity to earn, and to keep what they earn as best they can." ("That's what this country is all about.")
The government is taking away people's choice. Some have even said "he's trying to take away our way of life."
The government is getting involved in areas which it has no experience accomplishing.
Obama's allies will "attempt to destroy your business and reputation" if you "offer any [alternative] ideas" as in the case of Whole Foods' CEO recently.
Obama hasn't met with a single Republican on health care reform since April, despite calling himself bipartisan.
Obama claims to be centrist and willing to fight his own party, but only does so on straw-man points.
The health plan will destroy large businesses and force small businesses to stay small to avoid health insurance costs.
The health plan forces every American to have insurance, and doesn't allow them the choice not to have it.
Insurance companies are sure to lose money because they will have to insure those with irresponsible lifestyles.
Insurance companies are sure to lose money due to "mammograms and colonoscopies, on demand, no matter how needless your visit may be".
Government-run options "have in nearly every other arena" "crowd out" private competition, and Obama is lying when he says otherwise. Interestingly, in the same breath, they'll say things like "As we all know, if any organization has demonstrated an uncanny ability to control costs, drive innovation and foster competition, it's been government."
If a gov't-run insurance company could "pay for itself" and "change the dynamics of the competition", then, they argue, why can't a private company?
Obama is lying when he says the health care plan will cost nothing to you, and that it will not affect the deficit. They point to "the Congressional Budget Office's $900 billion estimate (and The Lewin Group's $1 trillion estimate)."
The health care plan may lead to government rationing for seniors.
It is unreasonable to expect to extract $1 trillion dollars in savings from cutting "waste" in the insurance companies.
The health care plan represents mandates, which are evil.
The health care plan represents price controls, which are evil.
The health care plan represents regulations, which are, for the most part, evil.
The health care plan represents added costs, which are evil.
Obama is acting politically, to push "his very own entrenched ideology."

Other things to note:

Most of these people are quick to say that Bush was equally guilty.
Most of these people are not pro-war.
Most of these people are not pro-life. At least, that's not their beef for now.
Most will identify as "former Republicans" and "Libertarians".

Problems with this analysis:

I am biased against it and cannot provide a fair account of their beliefs.
All of these are quotes, representing individual's ideas, not the beliefs of "the movement", which is a more slippery beast.

Derren Brown's Trick

2009-09-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

Okay, the two people actually reading this blog have both asked what Derren Brown's trick was for predicting the lottery. I doubt either of you are going to like it. He used crowd-sourcing.

He ostensibly calls it "deep maths", but explains it, quite simply, as averaging. He didn't go into details (or so I've inferred from other people's discussions on the show--I haven't watched it since it's only aired in the UK), but at the simplest level, what he did was average the predictions of 24 people.

Here's where I think he left some things out. He's said earlier that it "took a year of preparation". Given that fact, here's what I think he really did:

Got together 24 of his closest friends.
Had those friends watch the lottery very closely over the course of a year, having each person do their best to "see patterns" and "predict" what the next lottery's results would be.
Lather, rinse, and repeat this over the course of about a year (at least 50 lottery draws).
Arrange each person's predictions on a linear scale (lowest to highest), and average each participant's guess in order (so: average everyone's lowest guess, then next lowest, and so on).
Measure the results carefully, of course. I imagine the results would get better over time as people get a better "sense" for how the numbers fall, so to speak.
When the group clearly has better-than-average results, start buying one lottery ticket each week. ...You've gotta pay your participants. : )
At some point, decide that this is "working" and risk it all on one week's prediction.

Of course, I could be completely wrong!

That said, this is an experiment that is simple enough to attempt, with minimal expense and merely a moderate investment in time (30 minutes a week for each participant). I plan on trying it, actually.

Something's Gotta Give

2009-09-14T08:29:00.000-06:00

I believe in diversity. I seems healthy to have a host of competing ideas, particularly in the political arena.

Are things going too far?

Bush's behavior was completely unacceptable to me (I was calling for his removal from office), and clearly Obama's behavior is completely unacceptable to some people now (who are calling for his removal from office)... and I fail to see any common ground upon which both sides can comfortably stand. Our respective senses of morality seem too far apart to reconcile.

If the debate comes to blows, I predict the Right wins. They are stronger-willed, better-suited, and more willing to bend morality to their favor and find advantage.

I fear that time approaches.

I would prefer a more amicable separation.

But at this point: I prefer separation.

How horrible is that thought?

[sigh]

Derren Brown

2009-09-09T16:00:00.001-06:00

I'm a Derren Brown fanboy.

So I found myself more than slightly giddy tonight when he...

Predicted the UK lottery numbers. All six.

This changes things.

My Latest Obsession: Photography (Now With Lists!)

2009-09-05T15:35:00.001-06:00

Notice I said "Photography," not "Cameras."

That's key.

Truth be told, since just before my birthday, when I bought myself a Nikon D100 with a (nice) 28-70 close-up lens, my obsession was cameras. And for some time afterward, too. In fact, for a time, I was regretting the D100 and wishing I had gone with a Lumix LX3 or a Canon G10, instead. But then my musings shifted from which box had the best hole in it to a question of how to best let light into that box.

Much like with music, I have no aspirations to be "professional", whatever that means: this is just another hobby for me. Ultimately, perhaps, I would like to be able to draw/paint my own photos--recall, if you will, that I plan to retire into professional art--but that's further down the road. But as of right now, my goal is to build a portfolio of great shots. Photos that like-minded people would see and remark: "Wow. Nice."

To that end, I wanted to understand what I personally consider "great".

I've spent almost every night since my birthday drifting off to sleep looking at photos on flickr, and have amassed a rather bulky-but-well-honed collection of favorites. I've subscribed to a few photography blogs and twitter feeds, too. Typical obsessive behavior for me. : )

As a result of that study, I've noticed a few patterns in what works for me. Of course, the obvious things count: you must have the right focus/depth of field/shutter speed/exposure, and a good subject. But here are the things that really work for me, specifically:

Details: things others probably overlooked.
Remarkable subjects. That which makes me think, "I want to see that myself." Even a weak photo with an intriguing subject still works. This includes "I would like to know that person," "I would like to go there", "I would like to do that," and even "What's going on, here?" ...that last one particularly through juxtaposition.
A sense of mystery.
Relatively simple composition. Perhaps I'm just too easily distracted.
Texture.
Isolated, bold colors. Isolated, mind you. Too much is... too much.
Muted colors. I really love photos with smooth, desaturated reds and yellows.
A sense of place, context, or interaction. I like it when there are (unidentifiable) people or animals in the shot. I like being reasonably sure where the shot was taken, or at least what it's like there. These add meaning, time, zeitgeist. Of course, that meaning matters, now: I don't like aggression, for example.
Art happening: painters painting, photographers shooting, dancers dancing, crafters crafting. It makes humanity feel redeemable.
Glowing tones. This works especially well in B&W.
Narrow Depth of Field. Sure, sometimes a wide DoF is warranted, but by and large, I will be more fascinated with the narrow shot. Even tilt and shift, for example [wiki][example] works well for me. Someday I'll own a view camera.

And here are the things that really DON'T work for me (aside from the typical stuff like wrong exposure/DoF/composition, bad subject, or clipping the subject):

Tilting the camera to be "artsy". Some people really like this: I am NOT one of them.
Copyrights. Seeing a copyright, name, or logo plastered along one edge of an image makes me fume. Seriously: if you insist on posting a copyright with your photo (and I would argue pretty vehemently that cc-by-nc-nd is a far better option anyway), put it in plain text far enough OUTSIDE your image so as to avoid disturbing it. It is unprofessional to do otherwise. Some people go so far they make me violent... particularly when they have ruined a fantastic photo with this kind of bullshit. HULK SMASH!
Clichés, for the most part. There are a few exceptions for me (trees in fog, for example), but typical stock photography styles make me click "next" quickly, even if the shot is great in every other way. Sunsets, for example. It has to be a really spectacular sunset to warrant my time. ...This may be due to the fact that I live in New Mexico, though. : )
Smiling at the camera. It is exceedingly rare that I like a photo where the subject is looking at the camera and smiling.
Subjects (people, specifically; dogs too) that I probably wouldn't spend 10 minutes with in real life. Sorry: if you're shooting people (/dogs), your photo will be judged on the subject as much as on the photo. Such is life.
"Guess what this is." Thanks, no. If it's not clear from the shot, I tend to click "next" regardless of how nice the composition may seem. If you really want to do that, paint it.
Color shots that were supposed to be black and white. Call me old-school. If the color isn't fantastic, make it B&W (or sepia, sure).
Dead-center subjects. Some people do this for "symmetry", so perhaps that's what I don't really like...

My Stance on Climate Change

2009-08-18T16:50:00.001-06:00

...So much for avoiding political topics...

As I suspect is true of most of you: I have friends on both sides of the political fence.

Some of them are very ...shall we say... vocal, when it comes to "debunking" climate change.

Here's my take.

I don't care whether climate change is a reality or not.

Seriously. Don't care. Haven't read the research one way or t'other. The argument is being made to push our country into taking better care of the environment, specifically by cutting emissions, keeping forests healthy, and reducing our use of deletable resources.

I don't give a rat's ass whether or not climate change is real because ...we need to be doing these things anyway.

Now STFU and take care of your planet.

</angry>

Sick of Political Bickering

2009-08-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

As the title implies, I have become rather disenchanted with hearing people's bickering about political... stuff.

So I apologize for posting this.

But... seriously? Is this true? In short, the article implies that GWB called the Fance's Chirac to goad him into the war on religious grounds.

...'Cause if that's true, it is completely uncool with me.

Gun Control

2009-07-11T08:19:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine recently brought up the issue of gun control, about which I have several things to say. I felt the urge to write about it, and a quick search reveals that I've never actually explained my position on this blog. So here it is.

First, the exposition of my position:

People should be allowed to own guns. As many as they want, as deadly as they want.
It is reasonable (and wise) to train/license these individuals before they own such weapons. Several tiers of licenses may be appropriate.
There should be very, very strict penalties applied to crimes committed with guns (or, really, any weapons). Even an attempted crime. Even an ostensibly accidental crime. One of these penalties should be that you are not allowed to own a weapon again. Ever.
There should be very strict penalties for allowing your weapons to be used (by others) in crimes. It's up to you to ensure they never are. One of these penalties should be that you are not allowed to own a weapon again. Ever.

I am not going to make the Constitutional argument. While I think it's a fine document, I'm going out on a sacrilegious limb and saying that the Constitution should not be the end-all, be-all of legislation. It was written 200 years ago. Things change.

I think my stance boils down to two core beliefs. I am of the opinion that personal freedom should be the default stance. Namely, a person has a right to own a weapon. Secondly, preventive legislation is almost always a mistake. This is related to the first belief, but slightly different.

A few logical questions arise at this point. First, where does the line get drawn? Should I be allowed to own a bomb? A tank? A nuke!? A mortar? A flamethrower? I don't know. I agree that there should be a line somewhere, and that it has something to do with the risks involved (of accidents). But, for now, we're talking about guns... and I don't know of a gun that should be outlawed.

The second question is what I really came here to write about. The opinion that, for example, assault rifles are designed to kill. I've often heard this argument: if a gun is specifically made to kill people, why should anyone own it?

I'll admit it's a good question. I'm tempted to address this concern by saying that the design of something shouldn't affect the legality of it, but I don't think that's going to convince anyone. It's an opinion.

Instead, what I want to suggest to these people is that they're focused on the wrong thing.

First, there is media bias to consider. The people who make these arguments are probably all people who aren't "into guns", so their only real exposure to them is through the media. And thanks to the whole "if it bleeds, it leads" thang, by and large their exposure is based on people being killed by assault rifles in mass-murders. Usually, it seems, perpetrated by children. In schools. Against other children.

So here's what I suggest: what you want is not a ban on guns. What you want is to prevent mass murders. You see assault rifles as a perfect tool for this crime, and a tool that seems ill-fit for any other job than mass murder.

...And you're willing to sacrifice a personal freedom--one that you would never elect to take anyway, conveniently--to help prevent these crimes.

To this I say: noble purpose! ...But, I fear, misguided.

I think the guns used in these crimes are a convenient and iconic target for your ire. I think that your perception of the people from whom you deem fit to strip these freedoms are not people you hold in a positive light. Who cares if some hick asshole can't buy one more gun that was really made for killing people, anyway? Boo-frikkin-hoo. I can understand this point of view!

I just don't feel it's enlightened. Or, really, right.

I'll say again: I think the ultimate goal of stopping mass-murder is a noble one. And I'd love to have some intelligent people spend some amount of time analyzing what might have been most effective in identifying this risk and intervening. But until I see demonstrable proof that outlawing assault rifles (or, worse, guns in general) is going to have a dramatic effect on the number and/or severity of these crimes, I remain skeptical.

And while I'm skeptical, I stick to my [resists the urge to use a pun] position on the subject:

Personal freedom should be the default stance. Even if it's not a freedom I elect to use. Even if the people who use it are people I don't generally like.
Preventive legislation is almost always a mistake. Until it can be clearly demonstrated that it makes a profound difference, it is not worth removing people's personal freedoms. It is better, to my mind, to rely on people being accountable for their actions. ...Even if that action involves forgetting to lock their gun chest.

Anyway. I don't really mean to pick a fight. I just wanted to get my thoughts down on paper. ...so to speak. I also wanted people to know that I've thought about the subject and made what I think is a fairly rational decision, whether you disagree with it or not.

In closing, I'll just point out, if it isn't clear already that I don't own a gun. In fact, I've never even held one, let alone shot one.

That said, I don't have a problem with people who own guns. ...I have plenty of friends with large numbers of guns, and they are good people. I think it's a common mistake to think that gun-owners are universally (or even mostly) assholes.

As a last thought, I'll extend that a bit: I think a majority of people's political opinions are governed by the types of friends they've made. This is (demonstrably) why city-folk tend to be more liberal: they usually have more types of friends.

On the Tedium of Being a Scientist (or Skeptic, at least)

2009-07-09T22:11:00.000-06:00

Over the past three years, I have really tried to "up" my level of rational thinking. My skepticism. I've taken the stance that conjecture is nearly worthless; taking action without solid evidence of its efficacy is generally wasteful. Assumptions are almost always a mistake.

Note, there are some exceptions that would detract from the point if enumerated.

The inescapable problem with this attitude is tedium.

When someone asks you whether to use "which" or "that" in a sentence, you have to look it up. When you complain that something isn't working the way you expected, and someone suggests how to fix it, you question whether that's a legitimate solution. ...And if you eventually decide to "just try it", and it works, you're never satisfied that it wasn't just coincidence. When people ask interesting but less-relevant questions during decision-making meetings, you call them on information bias.

You spend inordinate amounts of time researching decisions, refining processes, and measuring progress.

You can't listen to any mass media, because it's so chock full of unverified, rushed assertions, presuppositions of guilt, and contextual bias. You can't read opinion pieces, because they are so lop-sided and single-minded. You spend some amount of time after any serious discussion looking up the other participant's claims. You discount people's stories because they are "anecdotal".

When someone asks you to confirm something you're "pretty sure of", you take the time to look it up again anyway, because you know memory is fallible. You question your decisions, because you're aware of confirmation bias. You refuse to make relative distinctions because of the contrast effect.

In short, your entire life comes into question. Everything progresses more slowly, because of your perpetual uncertainty. All in all, what you might have shrugged off and just did all become long processes with multiple steps.

The worst part about it, of course, is that there is no turning back. Ever. Because now you know that those old behaviors were wrong. Simple, biased action is rooted in falsehoods. Now you're on the path of "truth"--or some reasonable epistemological approximation of it. Nothing less is even worth considering. It's just wrong. Not. An. Option.

But it's hard. : (

The Happening

2009-06-24T12:24:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, the "team lead" on the EOL Website project had to leave the group. Suddenly. ...Like, very suddenly.

I received an email that weekend asking if I could take over the role. I accepted.

So I've spent nearly a month (not quite) working this "new job", as it were. It's a rather demanding role... I am typically putting in 10-hours days, sometimes much more. It's kind of exciting, though, and despite the extra work (and, I admit: stress), I'm actually having fun.

However, for reasons you might imagine, I'm not terribly interested in blogging by the time I'm done. : ) On the other hand, by the time I'm done, I do feel like playing a little music, so I have been (minimally) active on Twitter and my other blog, talking music.

I also try to keep current on Facebook.

So... that's the reason things are quiet here. Sorry!

I expect things will settle... but not for a few months. I'll be back.

Muscles

2009-05-01T08:37:00.000-06:00

When I was in high school, I took a weightlifting class. Technically, I was the second strongest person in the class, by the end of it. That surprises most people, since I look rather... wimpy.

There were two exceptions, though. The first was lower-leg exercises, where I was quite weak and hardly improved. But the other exception is the one I want to talk about.

On the first day of class, we tried to establish "benchmarks", so we could measure our progress. One of the first things I did was situps. ...I can't remember the details, but I did a respectable number... 60 or something, maybe. But it hurt. A lot.

The next day, my stomach was completely shot. I could hardly roll out of bed.

The next class was two days later, and I was in even more pain. I think I did, like, five, before insisting I was going to tear in half if I did one more.

But I never recovered... for the rest of the semester, I probably got up to maybe a dozen situps. It was pathetic. ...But I just couldn't get any more in, it hurt so badly.

Of late, my back has been very sore. I decided exercise was in order, and I found a nice set of back exercises to try out. A month later of doing them every three days or so, I can't say I'm much better... but it has gotten me thinking about building up my strength again.

With that in mind, I decided to do some sit ups. ...My tummy is quite a bit larger now than it was even three years ago, so I thought it might help with that.

I did eight. Eight! I was embarrassed. That was all I could muster in one set. The next set, I did three before quitting. I tried a third set, but just got through one.

The next day, I could hardly roll out of bed. : |

I knew better than to try again the following day. And it still hurt the day after that, too. In fact, it's been a week since I tried it. ...And I thought today was the right day to try again. I could still feel some pain, but not much.

I did two sit ups, and then just fell back, stomach muscles screaming.

W. T. F?!?

...How do I fix this?

Oh God! I can see forever!

2009-04-13T12:55:00.002-06:00

[via Andy Chase:]

Obligitory Map

2009-04-04T11:36:00.002-06:00

Here's the current map for the upcoming campaign. This is supposed to represent an area a bit smaller than India.

Keepin' it relatively simple.

Spheres of Magic

2009-04-03T14:25:00.003-06:00

Made this a few nights ago, I've neglected to post it. Meant for use in an upcoming RPG:

Animus: Giving life to lifeless things, or "more life" to other living things. Spells to temporarily boost attributes, to make plants move, to make inanimate objects move, and the like.
Air: Spells to create, control, or otherwise affect wind and weather.
Binding: Spells to bind non-humans (only) to a particular task.
Charm: Spells to beguile, befriend, command, or otherwise affect other human (only) minds.
Conjuration: Spells to produce short-lived but ostensibly real items.
Earth: Spells to shape, soften, harden, or otherwise affect rock, sand, and the like.
Fire: Be careful. Sure, it does lots of damage... but it often comes with collateral! Also offers spells to control or withstand fire.
Healing: Yeah, you may need a little of this. Includes curing diseases.
Illusion: Spells to create visual and auditory stimulus that has no physical reality.
Kinesics: Spells to move things (potentially even yourself).
Mysticism: See things no one else can see.
Necromancy: controlling the dead. Be careful, here, this is dark stuff.
Pathomancy: The antithesis of healing: causing wounds, inflicting diseases, leeching health. Be careful with this one, too: it is also quite dark.
Protection: creating shields or barriers, or defending against particular dangers.
Shunting: Spells that bend space, creating portals from one place to another.
Summoning: briefly conscripting the services of an Outsider.
Water: Somewhat weak offensively, but can include spells to breathe underwater, walk on water, and the like.

Observation of the Day

2009-03-23T11:44:00.002-06:00

When I see this:

I can't help but think Dave was killing this:

...I'm just sayin'.

Port - ALSO... Churchill's 20-year Tawny

2009-03-23T10:32:00.000-06:00

I hasten to add: my father-in-law poured me two half-glasses of Churchill's 20-year tawny. This is a $60 bottle of port! ...Too rich for my blood.

Perhaps that's why I walked away thinking that the Victoria was still a much better bang for the buck. ...It was good (very good), but not worth the extra money. Definitely more complex and "refined" than the Victoria, but about as enjoyable, overall.

Trader Joe's (Quarles Harris) 10 Year Old Tawny Port

2009-03-23T10:25:00.002-06:00

We don't get up to Trader Joe's that often. But the last time we went, I decided to check out their port selection.

They had several to choose from, and I chose their 10-year tawny, which ran about $15. In a nutshell, I'm disappointed by it.

First of all, it smells awful. I mean really bad. Like earth, metal, and alcohol.

Fortunately, it tastes much better than it smells, but it still isn't nearly as good as other ports in this range. It's decidedly sweet (which is good), it's a bit alcoholic (but that's the nature of the beast), and, to my novice pallate, takes more like Sherry than port: more fig than grape. Some of the smell's "earth tones" are left in the taste, but it is otherwise not very complex.

Here's another reviewer's take. But for me, the Australian "Victoria Tawny" by Buller is a much better bang for the buck.

In fact, I decided to re-try my standing favourite: Taylor-Fladgate's 2003 LBV. ...And, while it's a very good port, I'm convinced it's not so much better than the Victoria that I'm willing to pay the extra $10 for it.

UPDATE: The "R.L. Buller & Son" has apparently renamed itself to simply "Buller", so I've changed that here. In finding this out, I also became aware that they have many other offerings in the fortified-wine realm, and I look forward to trying a few.

Daily sketch, 3/4

2009-03-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I didn't do a single daily sketch for all of Feb. Oops.

But I really want to get back in the habit. So, here's today's. REALLY crappy photo. I should have taken it outside rather than trying to shoot it in this crappy office light:

Video with Mom

2009-03-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

I clled my mother last night (I am a dutiful son, no?), and she mentioned getting a new Mac. Then she asked if I had a camera on my mac... next thing we knew, we'd switched to a video conference.

It was her first time, so of course, I showed her the "effects". What I didn't show her was that you could take snapshots. I am a devious son, no?

Note to Shelf: The Gemini Incident

2009-03-01T21:30:00.001-07:00

Here's a story idea.

Suddenly, for no obvious reason, all living things on earth leap back two minutes.

Of course, all living things on earth are still *there* two minutes ago. This creates a rather gruesome catastrophe, where people who hadn't moved in those two minutes are merged with their future selves, and die some horrible convulsive deaths. People who were in planes fall from the skies, people in cars tumble in streets. It would be gruesome, so this is clearly a dark story. I'm thinkin' zombie-movie-level of gore, for the first scene.

But for the rest of the people--the ones that moved far enough--they are left dealing not only with the catastrophe, but with their doppelgänger.

What would the world be like in the aftermath?

Recursion

2009-02-27T15:56:00.003-07:00

Quake live

2009-02-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

You can now play Quake online, for free, using your browser: www.quakelive.com

...Of course, I tried this, and was greeted with the following:

In case that's still too small to read, that's saying I am #32,730th in line to play.

I closed the window. : )

Nice graphic, though!

Port: Osbourne Tawny

2009-02-21T23:03:00.001-07:00

On a lark, I decided to swing by the package store today and pick up one of the cheaper ports on my list. The store I've been going to doesn't have many things on my list (and most that they do have are the pricey ones), but they did have an Osbourne Tawny Porto. So I grabbed it (for $13).

I was going to save this one until I'd finished off one of the three (!) other bottles I've opened, since ports generally stay fresh for only three weeks or so (and I go through them slowly), but I lost patience and tried it tonight anyway.

Meh.

It is similar to and slightly better than the Fonseca Bin No. 27. A little sweeter, a little less "alcoholic". About the same complexity. But in the end, I put it in the same category: I'd drink it if it were offered, but I wouldn't buy it again.

...And now I have four (!) open bottles in the fridge, so I won't be buying any new port for a month or more.

Never know until you try.

Update: After drinking a very fine cup of ginger tea, I had another half-glass of this and the Fonseca, and enjoyed both. Again, I preferred the Osbourne, which, upon reflection, had a little more complexity. The Fonseca was a little more mellow in flavor, despite the notable alcoholic strength. The ginger tea (Yogi's--best brand I've found for Ginger) may have contributed to the change of palate. I think I'm underselling both of these: they are fine drinks. ...But, as usual, I'm looking for something even more extraordinary. And I do (still) prefer the Victoria Tawny. : )

Port: The Hit List

2009-02-13T22:10:00.001-07:00

Since I had port on the brain this evening, I decided to revamp my "hit list" with prices and quotes reminding me why they're on the list. : ) For the curious (or those who land here via Google), these are the ports that I would like to try over the next year or so (note that I skip over lots of popular ports because they were described as either "dry" or particularly "alcoholic", two traits I dislike):

Churchill's:

10-y Tawny $30-32 "delectable,fruity,warming and palatable surprise that certainly stands alone in a market burgeoned with a dizzying array of exquisite notables. The Tawny Porto is exceptional in both its aroma and texture", "Unquestionably the finest Tawny I’ve tasted in years. What makes it profound is its complex fragrance of roasted nuts and sweet fruit. There is impeccable definition and richness, a velvety texture and a long lusty finish. It is all a Tawny should be."

Faun (Californian, this could be hard to find, however):

Porto $23 "Luscious and delicious with lots of sweetness and intensity of dark fruit and chocolate flavors."

Osbourne:

Tawny $14 "It explodes with caramel on the nose and has nice concentration of fruit as well. Nice and mellow."
Ruby Porto $14 "Fruity, sweet, and smooth."
Master of Porto $18 "very easy to drink 'cause it's very sweet and light bodied. Great aroma!"
2003 LBV $14 "deep plum-prune fruit with spicy notes."

Presidential:

Ruby Porto $12 "Concentrated flavors of sweet black cherries, vanilla oak and a mellow finish", "Clean, sweet and rich.", "Youthful fruitiness with a surprisingly soft complex style rarely found in younger Portos."
10-y Tawny $15+ "Lively aromas of plum, cherry and vanilla combine with rich, full caramel flavors enhanced by a long, lush – and slightly sweet – buttery finish.", "Lively aroma of Plum, Cherry and Vanilla. Rich, full caramel flavors enhanced by a long, lush buttery finish. Slightly sweet."
20-year Tawny Porto (375ML) "Elegant and complex with intense nutty flavor joining butterscotch and oak. A wine of exceptional character with a deliciously sweet finish.", "Elegant and complex with intense nutty flavor married with butterscotch and oak. A wine of exceptional character with a nicely sweet finish."

Ramos Pinto:

2001 LBV $20 "Intense and elegant, it offers a very fruity nose of grapes and figs. Fresh and velvety form the start, this is very fruity and full-bodied with smooth tannins and a velvety aftertaste with a hint of chocolate."
Collector $15-20 "It has full aromas unveiling dry plum, fig and berry scents with a touch of pepper. On the palate, the attack is soft and succulent. This is a rich, subtle wine with a fine, generous structure and remarkable persistence."

Taylor Fladgate:

10-y Tawny $26 "Elegant and smooth, combining delicate wood notes and rich mellow fruit", "My favourite 'everyday port'"
20-y Tawny $40 (When you've got something spectacular to celebrate) "Taylor's tawny ports are the best of their type. When tasted against other tawnys, they all exhibit more aromatic personalities, greater fruit and ripeness, and a wonderful sweetness and length."

Vinzelo:

Tawny $10 "Although on the fruity side for a tawny port, this one offers exceptional depth and character for a $10 bottle. Candied cherry, subdued nut flavors, and not too "hot" despite being an inexpensive fortified wine."

Warre:

Warrior $13 "With dark, intense fruit, a deep red color, with intensely rich aromas of ripe red fruits and spices. On the palate well balanced and full-bodied, with a long and complex finish. A superb Port in the traditional style and one of the finest available for everyday drinking."

Yalumba (Another Aussie):

Antique Reserve Tawny Port $15-20 "I have had many ports, and love the stuff. One day following a hike in Yosemite I stopped in at the hotel bar and got the port sampler. This one blew me away! It's rich and has a little tang to it. This stuff is the most incredible port ever.", "Nose of raisins, molasses, allspice. Thick and heavy on the palate with raisin, honey, brown sugar."

For the record, the winners among what I've tried so far are the Taylor Fladgate LBV 2000, and this Australian R.L. Buller & Son Victoria Tawny. If I don't find anything better, those will be the two I keep in the fridge after this year of testing.

Port: Fonseca Porto Bin 27 and R.L.Buller & Son Victoria Tawny

2009-02-13T13:08:00.005-07:00

I recently got paid for some consulting work and decided I would "celebrate" by buying myself a nice bottle of a very fine port. I went to the only package store in town I was familiar with (the one that my parents took me to while they were in town... cause, you know, I've never gone to one on my own!) and they had a very large selection of ports. After talking with the guy there (who evidently knew less than I did about ports, actually), I let him convince me not to buy a nice bottle of something pricey, but instead a $15 tawny. Since I thought that was cheap, I picked up another $10 half-bottle of something I knew I wanted to try. I'll start with that one: a Fonseca, called "Bin 27".

It's good! ...It's not that good. It's like a fine, slightly sweet wine. ...Well, one can definitely taste the grape, which I guess isn't great for a wine (but I wouldn't really know), although it also has a very slight fig flavor to it. ...Overall, it's decent, but I won't buy it again. I'd rather have the Taylor Fladgate, of course. Update: I was underselling this port. It's actually quite good, though I do believe the next port was better...

The dude (yes, dude) from the package store was very nice, and enjoyed talking port, and encouraged me to continue with my little obsession. ...But he wasn't really well-versed. He'd tried a couple, but not even Six Grapes (which, I understand, is sort of a go-to port). That said, when I mentioned I had enjoyed Old Cave, and said it was Australian, he heartily recommended the Victoria Tawny, which he said was also from down under.

My first taste of it was just a sip, and it was warm, and I was unimpressed. It wasn't even as good as the Old Cave.

However, my second taste was chilled, and it was fantastic. Especially for $15. It's definitely fig-flavored, kind of like a Sherry, but with very distinct (and gorgeous) cherry "overtones" (as they say in the wine tasting community, I gather). It's not nearly as complex as Old Cave... it's less for sipping and much more drinkable. ...But, honestly, I think I like this more than Six Grapes, even. I would absolutely buy this again. Well worth the $15.

Still no contest versus the Taylor Fladgate LBV, which remains king of ports.

...So far.

I <3 Accuracy

2009-02-10T07:24:00.025-07:00

With apologies to my religulous friends, males do not have one fewer rib than females.

http://www.bustedtees.com/iheartaccuracy

Also--and this has little to do with religion--the human heart is pretty much in the center of your chest, not over to the left.

Sure, it's a little left of center, because one of your lungs is slightly larger, but I've long gotten in trouble for doing the pledge of allegience by holding my hand over the center of my chest. But that's where it lives.

Not here:

And not here:

Not even here (sorry, prez; dug your talk last night):

And probably not in this general area, either:

Pet peeve?

Port: Sandeman Founders Reserve

2009-02-01T20:52:00.024-07:00

This week, I picked up (with some appreciated help from my wife) a bottle of Sandeman "Founders Reserve" port. (The one in the background). It comes in a really nice bottle, which I'll be keeping. Nice green glass (which looks black with the port in it), nice logo, well laid-out, nice shape/size/heft. ...But that was about the only really positive thing I could say about it. : )

I'll be drinking the rest of it (slowly) over the next month... maybe it will grow on me. But I can't recommend this port. It's dry, it's not at all sweet, and it's very... strong. More like a (strong) wine than a port... and not a particularly good wine, at that.

I might try their other ports, however... I like their style a lot, and I'm such a sucker for style! ; )

Update: It has been weighed, it has been measured, and it has been found wanting. ...I actually used some of this for cooking, a few days ago, to good effect. ...Not that I would spend $17 on a port just to cook with it. : \

(Image by inspector_81, cc-by-sa 2006.)

Daily sketch, 1/30

2009-01-31T17:06:00.008-07:00

Yesterday's, really. Not entirely happy with this one: her torso is too long, I didn't leave enough room for her top hand, and her left foot totally doesn't jive with her left knee (and is sloppily-drawn). Overstated the face, too.

Still glad I did it.

Quick Sketch, Bad Photo

2009-01-29T22:23:00.006-07:00

It's late.

But one of my goals, which I plan to stick to, is to sketch something--anything--once a day, every day.

I hadn't gotten around to it today, so, here it is.

Like I said, I'm tired. The pic was taken with the built-in MacBook camera in the worst possible light (and tweaked a bit with PS to compensate):

My thoughts? Meh. Could be worse, I guess. Hands and feet are notoriously hard for beginners, and while they aren't good, they're not miserable, either.

WARNING: Previous Post NSFW (Extremely Rude)

2009-01-28T18:34:00.001-07:00

PLEASE do not let children or those easily offended by sexuality to see the previous post.

I mean it.

It's really nasty.

You've been warned.

No joke: move on.

1kBWC: You Surfed for Githyanki Porn

2009-01-28T18:33:00.004-07:00

This may actually violate my Blogger Terms of Service. : )

WARNING: VERY Rude post coming up next.

2009-01-28T18:33:00.001-07:00

PLEASE do not allow women, children, or anyone sane to see the next post.

You have been warned.

I mean it. Skip the next post.

Really.

On Republicans, Our Neighbors, Pork, and Arts

2009-01-28T06:57:00.019-07:00

From Arizona Congress Watch (via CDM):

The [eco-stimulus] bill pushes tens of billions of dollars into education, and not just for building and renovation projects, but for everything from Head Start to college loans and Pell Grants. Some Republicans ask: How does that stimulate the economy?

“For example, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts,” Flake says. “There’s no better example than that. How that stimulates the economy, I don’t know.”

Seriously? Seriously?!?

I honestly don't know what else to say, here. Of course the arts feed the economy.

...Though I will concede: there's evidently a provision in the bill that "includes $200 million to reseed the National Mall in Washington." That smells like pork to me.

But the arts?

I'd be offended if they weren't included in a stimulus package.

...DISCLAIMER: This is not to say I think the stimulus package is a good idea. I don't. I simply take exception to republicans--especially Arizonan republicans--claiming that the arts are an expendable, second-class, special-needs part of the economy.

On Blasphemy, Lord of the Rings, and Generic Fantasy

2009-01-27T13:21:00.076-07:00

This is a response, sort of, to a friend's post about my dislike of Lord of the Rings. ...In particular, I called the films "generic".

Perhaps I mis-use the word "generic", but I don't particularly want to argue semantics, so I'll rephrase: the production of LotR didn't go out on a single limb.

Perhaps this is a feature rather than a bug to some (true to the novel! true to the genre!), but to my mind, this is a tragic failing. Not once during the entire trilogy did I think to myself "oooh, neat idea". (I like neat ideas!) ; )

Perhaps that's what I mean by generic: unsurprising. LotR was like a fantastically-painted oil landscape... pretty, perhaps, but not truly creative. (Again, depending on your definition of the term.) [image source]

Detailed? Sure. I'll grant it that. But detail doesn't make a movie for me on its own. My imagination needs to be tripped in some way. I much (!) prefer more interesting interpretations. Everything is relative, of course... and when I watched LotR, I kept thinking "I'd rather be watching The Thirteenth Warrior." ...A vastly more interesting story, with a similar level of detail. [image deep-linked from IMDB, may break] I wouldn't hang a generic landscape oil, but if you make the subject more interesting... [image source]

Redundancy was not limited to the third film. Every film was fraught with lengthy close-ups of characters making generic (!) expressions. [image cropped from IMDB. Yes, from the first film.]

I dunno. I didn't really like the books, so perhaps my trying to like the movies was a lost cause. There was no nostalgia to be triggered for me. Aside from being visually stunning films with an amazing attention to detail, they hold no entertainment value for me. I considered watching them again just to give a proper reply, but I have no desire to. Zero.

LotR was not my induction into fantasy, as it was for many fans of the film. I'm the son of a role-player, so my introduction to fantasy was in the AD&D books... and when I read Tolkien's stuff, I kept thinking "this is just a story based on THE most boring aspects of D&D". I didn't want to be reading a book about orcs and elves. I wanted to be reading about Berbalangs and Githyanki! [images* from TSR Hobbies, Inc.]

And, yes, I realize that's because my chronology was perverted by my father's gaming habits... but the point is the same: I was incapable of enjoying the books. ...And, later, the films.

The ideas were not novel to me, nor was my association with the concepts therin positive enough to appreciate the work they put into expressing them.

The movies were lost on me.

Because they were generic. ; )

* I meant to find that really cool two-page spread of the gith from the Fiend Folio, but I couldn't find a copy. ...Also, does every image search always end up in porn?!?

101 Things

2009-01-26T16:41:00.001-07:00

Dear reader,

I am--believe it or not--presently using Twitter. You can find me there as JeremyRice.

I will continue to post here (and on my other blogs) as space warrants, but my typical random thoughts will migrate there.

That is all.

Blasphemy!

2009-01-23T14:55:00.001-07:00

Batman is a boring superhero. He does nothing for me.

Lord of the Rings is generic, redundant, and gratuitous.

Star Wars Episodes I - III weren't that bad.

Matrix Reloaded was the best movie of the trilogy.

Yeah, I've Got Yer Four-Way Chat RIGHT HERE

2009-01-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

I work remotely.

As such, there is a need to communicate with co-workers, some of whom also work remotely. Recently we had a meeting where someone was showing off a secret-squirrel new website and how it works and how we might integrate it into our project.

Hence, the four-way video chat:

(Identities have been hidden to protect the innocent.)

The screen on the left is actually local to the screen in the middle; the rest of us wanted to see what was on the middle guy's screen.

Not perfect, but it worked. And it was lagless, I might add.

iChat is my friend.

The New Office

2009-01-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not claiming I like this setup (I will be getting a new desk soon, I think), but this is currently what my "office" looks like, as of a bout of re-arranging yesterday afternoon:

...It is, again, an expression of the resolution to "simplify".

I think I can take it even further. We'll see.

A Confession: Rhythm

2009-01-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Part of my New Year's resolution is to simplify my life. To that end, I've been trying to formulate a few watchwords that sum up what I'm trying to achieve with my little existence.

One of those words is rhythm. What I think that word captures is an idea of persistence, with variation. It's brings to mind this idea of "keeping on a path", without sounding tedious. Not only that, but it also evokes the notion of timing, where every action has its appropriate place. I'm not sure I've been heeding the rhythm of life, so to speak. I'd like to start.

I am also paying attention to rhythm in a more literal sense. As you hopefully know, I write music, and when I do so, it is with a focus on rhythm... without any personal skills at keeping it. That is, I quantize nearly everything. It's a crutch. I'd like to change that, so I'm starting to practice keeping rhythm and quantizing less. I've even started recording myself tapping out rhythms live. (Though I admit, I've been looping those samples rather than playing long stretches!)

All of this talk is fancy padding around the admission that I've gone and done something... a little silly. You see, my son got a bunch of money for Christmas. While he initially wanted to spend this on a PSP, my wife and I convinced him that this was a bad idea (he already has a GameBoy, a DS, a Wii, a PC, and access to my PS3... he doesn't need another system). Recently, he's taken to playing Rock Band at his friend's house, and we thought it would be a better use of his money if he went and bought a copy of his own... then he'll be better when playing at the friends house, and so on.

Well... I upgraded his purchase from the basic set to the full band thing, so that it included the little drum set.

Yes, yes. I have been playing Rock Band drums. I admit it.

And, dammit, it's fun.

...And also? Really hard.

Towards a Liberal Morality Part II: Loyalty

2009-01-15T11:54:00.001-07:00

Some months ago, I touched on the idea that liberal morality may not have the "holes" in it that Jonathan Haidt suspects. I started by saying that the English meaning of "purity" is slanted toward the right. I want to expand on this broader subject.

Haidt also talks about "minimizing harm" as a moral measure, and both sides of the political spectrum subscribe to it (the left somewhat more so). I think this concept is spot-on. Not much to talk about, here.

The next interesting concept in Haidt's study is that of "loyalty", and again this is one of those morals that the Right seems to have corenered the market on.

But, again, I think a subtle shift in terminology may reveal otherwise. The Right's concept of "loyalty" seems to me to encompass the act of following one's leaders. I think Haidt's definitions includes a clause about "deserving leaders", or some-such. So, for example, it's okay to question (for example) President-elect Obama, on grounds that he doesn't deserve his role as leader.

The Right can have that definition of loyalty. It's inane.

For me, what "loyalty" means is advocating continuous improvement of the group. Loyalty requires critical analysis, self-measurement: supporting a group without improving it is empty support. I think you'll find that liberals have this "critical loyalty" in spades... so, again, Haidt's political imbalance would disappear.

So, again, loyalty is a word I would like to see the Left re-claim.

Big Mind

2009-01-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a bit of a risk in posting this, but:

...I've made a reputation for myself as a skeptic and an atheist; I am.

But Roshi's train of thought is something that I feel is remarkable. While I think he gets a few observations about "big mind" wrong, the point is still amazing, and this is a technique that I think everyone who cares about practical philosophy* should be familiar with.

* Is that an oxymoron?

Films

2009-01-12T17:30:00.001-07:00

Today, I was sick. So I played a little (more) Oblivion, slept as much as I could, and watched the last of the "Three Colors" films, Red.

(I watched White a few days ago. It was good, but didn't really do anything for me.)

It was good. Not nearly as good as Blue, but with a slightly grander scale and meaning. I recommend it, but (obviously) not as highly as Blue.

I would like to watch more movies in the vein: really well-done films, imbued with meaning, well-shot, and superbly acted. If you have suggestions, please let me know.

Currently in my queue are Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, a Hindi comedy, Léon, the classic French action film (yes, it's true, I haven't seen this yet), and Vozvrashcheniye, a Russian film about a father who returns to his sons after being gone their entire lives.

I'm not specifically looking for foreign films... it's just more likely that I haven't seen them, as opposed to the independent American films, which I've seen pretty much all of. (...and rather like, mind you!) ; )

Recommendations appreciated. Obscure is probably better (less likely to have seen), but it must be well-acted and with good cinematography. I'm not in a forgiving (of quality) mood. No "you've gotta watch Cube!", please. ; )

Thanks.

Now Try Coughing

2009-01-09T15:03:00.001-07:00

I just watched the move "Three Colors: Blue".

Best film I've seen in a long, long, long time.

Made me cry.

[sniff]

What Makes Someone A Friend?

2009-01-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Scott Adams asked the question, and answered it with insight. Please read his thoughts.

No, not psychically!

I think I will try this out.

Worst. Commercial. EVER.

2009-01-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

I hate commercials.

No, I mean I really fucking HATE commericals.

That is, I hate the bad ones. I'll chuckle at a clever commerical, and can bear the others that just get to the point. But a bad commercial has been known to evoke violence in me.

Well, now I've seen the worst commercial in history. So maybe I can finally let it go.

...But not without one last act of violence: inflicting this commercial on YOU, dear reader...

1kBWC: Fronch Fies, Fronch Bread, And To Drink, Peru (with bonus)

2009-01-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Terrifying Thought

2009-01-06T17:22:00.002-07:00

Some time ago, Seth Godin posted about Malcolm Gladwell's essay on music students. One study found that top students outperformed lesser students because of the amount of time, in total, they had spent practicing.

The magic number seemed to be 10,000 hours. That is to say, 10,000 hours of practice puts you at the top of your field. (At least for music, though Gladwell argues that it generalizes well.)

Godin came up with a few exceptions, but that's not what I want to focus on. What I want to focus on are the terrifying realizations I had after churning on this idea for a few weeks.

First, I decided that I haven't spent 10,000 hours doing anything. Not even writing code*. And maybe I should start focusing more.

Then I realized, with horror, I have spent 10,000 hours doing some things:

Playing computer games
Watching TV
Surfing the damn internet

Well, shit.

* Honestly, I've been a developer for about 11 years, which should put me around 20,000 hours! But developers spend--easily--less than 25% of their time actually writing code. ...I hope that I can add to that the many hours I spent coding for fun in my youth. Thus I'd like to think I'm close.

Korean insults?

2009-01-06T10:05:00.001-07:00

나무를 껴안는 긴장성 분열증 원숭이 먹는 사람 !

Medical Tidbit

2009-01-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a job (consulting) dealing with medical costs. While looking up some information on one of the terms, I found this interesting tidbit of information:

In 1991, the top 10 [categories for inpatient care] overall were: normal newborn, vaginal delivery, heart failure, psychoses, cesarean section, neonate with significant problems, angina pectoris, specific cerebrovascular disorders, pneumonia, and hip/knee replacement. These DRGs comprised nearly 30 percent of all hospital discharges.

...In other words, those are the everyday things that bring people to the hospital for inpatient care.

[shrug] I thought it was interesting. A day-in-the-life kind of thing.

Port Part Two

2009-01-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

After finishing my bottle of Old Cave port just before New Year's, I decided to read up on the subject. I won't bother giving details here: basically, I read the Wikipedia article. I'll start, though, with the most basic fact: port is made by adding (neutral) brandy to fermenting wine. This stops the fermentation process, leaving much of the sugar from the grapes, giving it the sweet taste... and upping the alcohol content significantly. (Brandy is distilled wine, and has a very high alcohol content.) I also did a little hunting and came up with a "to try" list of ports, ranging across the spectrum of types and labels.

I was showing this list to a friend of mine on New Years, and he decided he and I were going to each buy a bottle--this was around 10:00--and try it.We zipped over to his packing store of choice (he's a Scotch drinker and his wife like cocktails), and looked around... they had an excellent selection. He settled on a Late-Bottled Vintage (LBV), though I had to convince him that buying an actual Vintage would be (relatively speaking) a waste of money. Basically--a vintage is a "true" port: a single harvest of grapes, aged for about 18 months, then bottled. They tend to be very expensive because of their limited supply. LBVs, on the other hand, are created when a harvest for vintage wine was not in high enough demand, and so the port sat in the cask longer than 18 months. It's still a single harvest, but it has a "nuttier" taste because of the extra time with the oak.

I grabbed a sexy-looking bottle of ruby, since this meant that we'd be able to try three of the four common varieties of port (because the bottle he'd gotten me for xmas was a tawny--a mixture of several harvests, each aged for decades). Ruby is a very different kind of port: not aged in oak casks at all. It does not improve with age.

We did this because we're both aware of a very nice tawny, and wanted to try these other (common, cheaper) varieties of port.

The LBV he picked up was Taylor Fladgate 2000, which cost $23, and we opened that first because I assured him it would be the better of the two. And, indeed, it was fantastic. Both of us took our first sips and just smiled and said "wow". We immediately agreed that this was much better than the tawny (which is also superb, mind you). Much smoother, much more satisfying. Not nearly as complex, though... and nothing of, as they say, "a finish". It's just a great-tasting drink. : ) The tawny is something you drink in tiny sips over a long period of time, because the best part is the aftertaste... but this LBV was something you could drink much faster. Sipping is still appropriate, but it's not long before the taste fades.

Absolutely worth the $23. I'll certainly be buying a bottle of it when I have a chance, and I recommend it even more highly than the Old Cave. It's something everyone who might like port should try.

The second bottle (the one I bought) was a $20 Graham's Six Grapes (which is ruby. Rubies don't have a year or age designation because it doesn't really matter.) I went in expecting this to be a much simpler drink, probably with a bright red color. I was a little surprised at just how dark it poured out, though: maroon, not red, and very opaque. It was noticably thicker than the other two... really thick legs on this one. A very sexy-looking drink. : ) ...But I'll admit, it didn't impress me nearly as much as the Taylor. It was even further down the "drinkable" spectrum than the LBV: this was essentially grape juice with a kick. ; ) My friend said "I could drink an entire bottle of this"... and that's true: it's very easy to drink. I'll admit I enjoyed it (and even more so as the the glass emptied), but I won't buy this again: it lacks the intricacy of the others that are what drew me to port in the first place. My friend claimed he liked this one more than the Taylor, but I find that hard to believe. I think he was being nice. ; ) (And, as evidence, he poured himself a second glass of the LBV an hour later. Heh.)

The last thing he said was "it's hard to believe these three drinks are from the same family"... which may be slightly over-stated (they're all sweet, strong wines) but has some truth to it: they are three very different experiences. The ruby is just a great drink, the LBV's a perfect dessert drink, and the tawny is a sipping experience. And, from what I've learned, they are three very different methods to create... so I think it's fair to say they should get a bit more recognition as separate entities. There's probably as much difference between them as between any of the "types" of wine out there (of which I am ignorant, sorry).

So... one of my resolutions this year is to try a list of new ports: about one a month (my ports-to-try list is 14 items long). While I have no urge to become "a drinker" (despite more drinking in a week than I've done in my entire life, I've still never been drunk*), there are some ostensible health benefits, and I do enjoy the occasional experience. ; )

* Actually, on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day, I ended up with "a buzz"... which was a first. I doubt I'll get to that point again, though.

Sex and Film

2008-12-31T08:19:00.002-07:00

...A friend of mine recently made a comment that the scene from Titanic where the lead character slaps her hand against the steamy car window was the sexiest moment in film.

Now. ...I agree that it was sexy, but I balked at the idea that it was the sexiest moment in film. However, when I started to think about it, I came up short with alternatives. In fact, the only example I could think of (which I will place in the comments, so as not to taint your thought process) was... well... from one of the weaker movies Hollywood has produced, and I hesitate to even admit it was such a turn on.

Help me out here. There must be some really steamy scenes I'm forgetting.

Ideas?

Port

2008-12-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law introduced me to port wines not too long ago, and I found I rather liked them. Having confessed this to a friend of mine shortly before Christmas, I was given a gift of a bottle of Reynella Old Cave 12-year port.

I must say: it's quite amazing. A very complex, satisfying taste. I'm not a drinker (by any stretch of the imagination), so I can't use drinker-jargon, or even speak to it relative to other ports or wines, but I can say that, of the three or four ports I've tasted, this was the finest.

I understand that, as ports go, it's also relatively cheap ($13-16 a bottle)... and thus, I recommend it.

Do you have a favourite port I should be trying?

Purity Was Hijacked by Religion

2008-12-20T17:04:00.002-07:00

Some weeks ago, I had a series of posts about morality, based on some research by Jonathan Haidt.

I've had some time to digest those ideas, and wanted to field a suggestion developed from them.

Specifically, Haidt suggests (at the end of his TED talks) that liberals could open their doors, so to speak, to a wider number of people, if it could find a way to tap into the three morals that are usually "overlooked" by the left. Namely: Loyalty to one's group, deference to Authority, and adherence to Purity. He gives an example of the latter: most liberals actually do believe in purity. For example, many of us are vegetarians. (I don't talk about it much, but I am a vegetarian. ...Well, mostly. I eat fish.) ; ) Even better, a majority of us are green. That's a great example, actually: we do believe in purity when it comes to being green.

The first thing that strikes me when I consider this is that the word "purity" was hijacked by religion.

What do we think of when we use the word? Well, for me, the first concept to come up (so to speak) is sexuality. But when you think about it, there are only two aspects of purity that can really be applied to sexuality: avoiding harm to your partners and not letting sex consume your life. Sex is, otherwise, a pure thing. Absolutely pure: it is, in fact, the basis of all the life we see on a daily basis*. Nudity is pure: clothing is something we've added culturally.

I suggest you take a few minutes to consider your definition of purity and wonder if it's really appropriate. If you decide there are incongruities there, then perhaps you'll find you care enough about it to begin reclaiming the word "purity" to mean something more appropriate... like, maybe, decreasing the amount of poisons we're pumping into our environment. ...Or into our own bodies. Maybe it has to do with hygiene and disease prevention. Maybe purity should mean how well we act as stewards for our bodies, our environment, our families, our friends. Maybe purity is has something to do with our thoughts: how many we dedicate to creating net gains for the world, as opposed to self-indulgence.

Because I could get behind the idea of purity, if that's what it meant.

And why shouldn't it?

* No disrespect meant to the little guys who get away with budding and dividing. More power to you. But being small means we don't see you doing the nasty down there.

So disappointed...

2008-12-20T13:29:00.002-07:00

Some memories from our childhood are inexplicably prominent.

One such memory for me was of riding in the car (a VW rabbit hatch-back) with my family. Probably on our way for Pizza in Auburn... but the destination wasn't salient. We were listening, as we often did, to the Beatles.

I asked if Lennonwere singing the song. Which song, I don't recall: with the amount of Beatles we played in the car, it all bleeds together.

"No, that's Paul", they said.

The next song came up. I asked if this song was sung by Lennon.

"No, it's Paul. Paul does all of the singing. John just does some back-ups. And Ringo gets thrown a bone for the silly songs."

I wasn't convinced. But these were my parents, and I decided to trust them.

Today, I was listening, as I very occasionally do, to the Beatles. Specifically, Come Together. And I noticed some minute detail that I hadn't noticed before, and decided to look the song up on Wikipedia. An interesting article, actually: I recommend reading it. About half-way through, however, was a section that explicitly states which band-member was responsible for what voice.

And it was sung by Lennon.

Looking around Wikipedia at a few of my other favourite songs (Because, Something, I Want You, etc), I noticed that, in fact, many of these songs were sung by Lennon (or Harrison).

I feel so betrayed!

For years I have visualized these songs as sung by McCartney... and the internalizations are all false. It's like I have to re-write all of these songs in my mind. I've lived all these years with wool pulled over my eyes, assuming the lead singer did most of the singing. It's a belief system built on lies.

It's like I don't even know the Beatles anymore!

Best Demo Ever

2008-12-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Best demo I've ever seen:

...You are, of course, watching a movie, but it was rendered in realtime, folks.

Awe-inspiring.

(Cross-posted on my music blog.)

Required Watching: Decision-making Skills

2008-12-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Superb discussion about risk, reward, and (my favourite) cognitive bias:

...Extra points to the second "question" (it was really a comment) from the audience. : )

NIN: Tight

2008-12-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Ever seen NIN perform live?

Yeah, they suck.

Rather, they used to suck. I recently found a few You Tube videos which were surprisingly good performances (considering their past performance)... but, well... that's electronic music, and you can kinda fudge it.

But NIN has been working on The Slip, lately... and... well... they're tight. Like, really tight. Clearly, they have have really been working on their live performances. ...I'm surprised, but quite pleased. ...I spend quite a bit of time listening to The Slip, and I think it's great that A) they released a free MP3 version, and B) they've cleaned up the act, so to speak.

I would go to see something like this:

NIN: Echoplex - Live at Rehearsals, July 2008 from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.

Music Piracy

2008-12-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

Downloading copyrighted music is like shoplifting. (This message is cross-posted on my personal and music blog.)

...That's what most people will tell you (example), and I disagree.

Personally, I think selling MP3s is like selling water. Misguided and ultimately abusive.

I understand artists need to make a living doing what they do. I understand that thousands of jobs revolve around the existing music industry, and I understand that stealing music is stealing money from those people. I'm sorry about that.

But...

...The industry was built on a house of straw. Sad though it may be, those people's lives will have to change when it tumbles. ...just as it is with any industry that isn't sound. And, frankly, I don't think any of them will be out of a job when the dust settles: it will just look different. Well, except maybe the executives. They might suffer most. But industry executives are, in no uncertain terms, taking more money from the pockets of artists than we are. My heart will not bleed for them.

And...

No product is being stolen. There's no box, no wrapping, no store. No effective way to prevent it. It's not shoplifting, and the ananlogy is a harmful one.

What's being stolen are services, and in such minute quantities (after it reaches an adequate number of ears) that the "debt" any individual incurs from their transgression is negligible.

Pay-per-download is not an efficient economic model. MP3s could be subsidized externalities. There's an opportunity here. Music is an enormous part of our culture. Enormous! In my humble, the industry needs to stop crying foul (they can't stop it) and do something productive. There are at least a half-dozen superb ideas to accomplish this already: I won't bother repeating them*.

I have no qualms with people freely downloading music, as long as they ultimately support the artists they appreciate.

And remember: I release my music for free**.

* Not often suggested, but: what if you put MP3s in the public domain? This could be the greatest thing since the Public Library System!

** Actually, I once made a few hundred bucks, at MP3.com, which was subsidized, freely-downloadable music. That model failed: it was too early and their math was way off, but that's a story for another day.

CoolIris

2008-12-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it yet, definitely go grab the CoolIris plug in. It's only for Firefox (as far as I know), but it has that perfect combination of being functional eyecandy. It's extremely handy for finding media (images, movies) quickly, and it just looks awesome doing it.

Grab it.

...Also: one of our developers at EOL has hacked the code to allow us to feed info to CoolIris... so you'll be able to use it on our site. ...Which is sweet.

WHOA! That's GROSS! Here, smell this...

2008-12-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

(Don't you hate that?)

In the spirit of making your friends and loved ones smell things that make you wish for death, here's some some eye-gouging, brain-scrubbing Holiday cheer for you.

Retro-style:

[Kasio Kristmas]

D&D4E Game Notes

2008-12-06T12:18:00.001-07:00

Last night, I tried something new with my D&D game: I prepared a "calculated" encounter, rather than winging it. Well, sort of.

I'd noticed that this party was cutting through my made-up stats too easily, so I thought I would try an encounter one level over what the book recommends for an average encounter.

The party is third level. The book didn't have any formulae for the kind of encounter I wanted (just brutes), so I thought two brutes would be easy, four would be normal.

I browsed through the MM and found an appropriate Level 4 Brute (Orc Berserker), and that's what I used: two in the first encounter, four in the second. I added a decent stealth skill to them, to let the Orcs get the drop on the players in both cases. I also gave them throwing axes to use from the shadows before closing.

In the first encounter, the party wasted the pair of Orcs very quickly, taking only two HtH hits, and a handful of axes. Hardly any damage... they had to spend a few healing surges after the encounter. No biggie. Definitely an easy encounter.

The second encounter did not go so smoothly for the players. They ended up taking pretty massive damage. Four of them withdrew for healing surges during the encounter. One of them fell two rounds before the end, another two were down to single-digit HPs before the dust settled. Everyone used their daily (except maybe the cleric). At one point, things were looking so bad, I let a character kinda cheat: his die landed at the edge of his book with some low number, and he whisked the book away to essentially re-roll it, and it came up high. He was clearly joking (everyone laughed), but I was so worried about the characters that I gave it to him. ...Dutifully, later in the fight he expended a daily that he didn't really have to, role-playing that his character was really pissed off... which I think was a fair trade. (He's one of the most decent players I've had the pleasure of GMing for, actually.)

Defintely a Hard encounter.

So, lesson: Level (party_lvl +1) Brutes are Easy x 2, Hard x 4. ...I would imagine that means Average x 3. : )

On a personal note: I kinda like the new D&D, as long as one treats it as the hack-and-slash that it is.

That said: I am hoping we end up shy a player or two in the next few sessions, so I can run a quick game of Paladin (Star Wars setting) or Great Ork Gods.

Bloody Daleks.

2008-12-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Interrogation Without Torture (It works. Use it.)

2008-12-03T12:38:00.001-07:00

There's a story at the Washington Post which, if you haven't read already, I recommend. A snippet:

I refused to participate in [torture] practices, and a month later, I extended that prohibition to the team of interrogators I was assigned to lead. I taught the members of my unit a new methodology -- one based on building rapport with suspects, showing cultural understanding and using good old-fashioned brainpower to tease out information. I personally conducted more than 300 interrogations, and I supervised more than 1,000. The methods my team used are not classified (they're listed in the unclassified Field Manual), but the way we used them was, I like to think, unique. We got to know our enemies, we learned to negotiate with them, and we adapted criminal investigative techniques to our work (something that the Field Manual permits, under the concept of "ruses and trickery"). It worked. Our efforts started a chain of successes that ultimately led to Zarqawi.

I enjoy hearing voices like these, and wish more people would listen to them.

My Brain Hurts: Pogogirl

2008-12-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

New Drawing (Arms Folded I)

2008-11-30T12:19:00.003-07:00

This is moderately not-safe-for-work... a nude model, though you can't see the pieces-parts.

Last night, I thought about what "style" I wanted to master... something I could call "mine". I spent a lot of time looking through my favourite artwork, taking notes as to what parts of them I really liked.

First and foremost, I like the style from the Classical Drawing Atelier book that I picked up some months ago: chiaroscuro, usually in charcoal and chalk on toned paper. (examples - NSFW) I love that effect, and want to make it my own.

Second, I like the "digital drawing style" found on, say, Deviant art. The stuff that people do with tablets. (example) ...I like the "sketchy" feel of these drawings, how you can see the painting lines because of the opacity of the strokes. It's distinctly digital, and I am very much of the digital era. It suits me.

I also like artwork that seems to glow, as both of the previous examples demonstrate. ...With muted colors: monochrome, really.

And, of course, I like nudes. : ) That said, I don't like "gratuitous nudity"... I like things to be subtle. I especially like moderately-close crops of anatomy (mostly female).

One of the strongest points I realized is that, though I *love* a drawing with good line, when I am drawing, it's all about tone. Tone, tone, tone, tone, tone. Light on forms. Minimal line, if any.

So, with that in mind, I immediately started working on the following image, when I woke up this morning. It's not quite on the mark, but it's a good start:

This was mostly "Charcoal" settings in Painter, with the hair done in "2B Pencil" and "Chalk", and heavy use of belenders, to work the tones and (hopefully) bring out some of those "digital edges" that I like.

Criticism welcome, though I already realize that the arms are too thin and the musculature of the belly is too wide.

THIS IS SPARTAN!!!

2008-11-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Today, I tried to watch the movie Spartan, but it did absolutely nothing for me. So, when I was interrupted about half-way through, I didn't bother picking it up again.

I like Kilmer, but this role was bo-o-o-o-oring. Kind of like a Jack Bauer who doesn't talk much. ...And most of the dialogue was over my head.

So I say: skip it.

Psychotherapy

2008-11-29T11:00:00.003-07:00

How do you feel about psychology?

Much of my family and many of my friends have studied and/or worked in the field... but I've never been a big fan. Mind you, I'm not all Scientology about "psychology kills", but, to my mind, therapy is too focused on "what's good for me" versus what's best for everyone. And, of course "what's best" is something that varies in definition from person to person, so your therapist had better approach your world views.

I think, if I were to decide therapy would do me some good (I haven't), then I would have to ask the therapist a few questions, to be sure she believed roughly the same things I believe. Here's a first draft of such questions.

What do you think a ghost is?
Please complete the following sentence: "In the end, you have to do what's..."
Please respond freely to the following koan: "If you cannot find truth exactly where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"
What's the meaning of life?

...I think those questions would give me a clear enough picture of the therapist's beliefs, as they might affect my ability to take her advice seriously.

Would you have questions?

Nude Sketch (NSFW)

2008-11-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've drawn at all, much less sketched a figure. ...I've done a couple of studies in my sketchbook, but really only a handful. But the itch to draw is back, so tonight I did this:

...I'm moderately pleased. I didn't quite finish her right forearm (oops), but I was rushing. In all, I spent about 45 minutes on it. (Yeah, I'm slow. I'm beginning.) Overall, the proportions aren't horrible. ...Though I re-drew the head twice before it was the right scale. ; ) This was 99% done without measuring (I measured the head, roughly, with fingers at a distance), and the (photo) source was at 50% of the final sketch size. Done entirely with the "2B Pencil" setting in Painter.

I was focusing on lighting, with a minor intention of seeing if I could get proportions right just by "flowing", rather than measuring the hell out of everything. I was pleased to see that (head problems aside), I basically could. Some flaws, yeah, but not bad at all.

Hopefully, I'll have the chance (and the will) to do a few more of these this weekend.

Flash Game: Desktop TD

2008-11-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

Wow. I was looking around for flash games on a boring Friday night, and found Desktop Tower Defense. It's basically a RTS, but... well... I actually like it. : ) It's not a rush to build against the computer: the computer just constantly raids, and you constantly defend, by building a maze of "towers" that damage their units as they crawl past.

It's brutal. It's very cute. It's fun.

I've only just beaten the "normal" level... but I had a blast finding a strategy to do it! Highly recommended.

My group name is "silence", (player name JRice) if you care to compare scores.

Seth Godin on Car Companies

2008-11-21T11:29:00.001-07:00

Three words on Seth Godin's idea for fixing the economy vis-a-vis the auto-industry:

Best. Idea. Ever.

(In brief: put the big three out of business, and pave the way for a hundred-plus tiny car companies.)

Nuclear Experiment

2008-11-20T11:30:00.001-07:00

...I was looking through a list of CTs in a UK e-mag. One was suggesting the Indian tsunami was caused by and American/Israeli underwater nuclear test.

Then I wondered (nothing to do with the theory, just the science):

What would happen if you detonated a nuke at the bottom of the Pacific?

Poetry, Go, and St. John's Wort

2008-11-19T08:25:00.001-07:00

Amy Hoy just posted a rant about poetry. I hate poetry, and I wonder why.

In the beginning, I hated poetry. Girl stuff. ...Then my father pointed out that he wrote a lot of it, and suddenly it was no longer tabboo, and I tried my hand at a little. I didn't realize just how much it sucked. Coincidentally (I assume), I fell in love for the first time shortly thereafter, and boy oh boy was there ever poetry! I spewed it forth on a daily basis. It still sucked, and I knew even less how much so, thanks to this other person telling me how good it was.

My interest in poetry died a quick death, the day after she broke up with me. ...One final death throw: the break-up poem. I don't remember what became of it. I honestly don't care. Im sure it sucked just as hard-core as the sappy love poems that preceeded it. At that point, I was done.

Ever since, I've gone back to my original stance: poetry is pretentious, fluffy, and lame.

After reading Amy's treatsie on what makes a decent poem, I found myself wondering just what it was that I hated about it. It's pretentious was my first though, but I quickly had to remind myself that I was okay with pretentious fine art. ...cause I totally am. (Painting to the right is Spatial Concept by Lucio Fontana; it's a great piece [source]).

So it's not just that poetry is pretentious. It must be more than that. I don't think it's the negative association I have with my first relationship, either: there were plenty of positives that came with that time in my life.

If I had to guess, I would say that it was the forced nature of poetry that I abhore. ...Which brings me to Go.

When I was playing Go last night (and losing miserably), I refused to look ahead more than two moves. This is absurd: you cannot win the game if you don't look ahead, period. And yet I despise the idea that I have to analyze every friggin' stone I place on the board. I desperately want it to come naturally. To be subconscious. To flow.

I can want that as vehemently as I dare: it does not change the fact that I will continuously lose. Dramatically. Every time. ...You must look ahead. You must analyze. Especially toward the beginning.

I hate that.

A lack of flow seems to be a serious blocking point in my entire life right now. ...The code I'm working on is at a point where there is no more flow: I have to squeeze additional performance out of it. Drawing still intimidates me enough that I do less than three hours a week. I know enough German that I'm at the point where I need to start memorizing.

I spend a lot of time tying knots (!) because I've gotten good at the knots I know. There is flow, now. ...But it's friggin' knot tying. It feels like such a waste. ...Good skills to have, sure, one or twice a year, maybe. But not to be sitting there on a Tuesday night listening to music and practising your sheepshank.

Of course, on the whole, I've just gotten increasingly grumpy and uninspired.

So, yeah: I've started taking St. John's again. : )

First Go Game a Disaster

2008-11-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

This evening, I logged onto the "Panda Go Server" and marked myself as "looking for a game".

...This, after watching about a Half-dozen games there over the last week.

In other words, this is my first game against a human opponent. He was listed as 17th kyu (no longer a beginner, but really low-rank).

I got creamed. I mean, I didn't just get beaten, I got decimated. I didn't have a single live group on the board by move 175, after which I resigned. I did have some areas reasonably well blocked-off, but it was clear he was good enough at invasion that I would have lost these, and even if I didn't, I had maybe 1/6th of the board.

Go is hard.

Sadly, I'm really, really intimidated to try again.

...Which is exactly why I'm going to do it again right now.

Movie History X

2008-11-16T21:32:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I watched American History X.

Eesh. Another tough movie to watch.

That said, I was actually a little disappointed with it. The acting wasn't nearly as good as the past two movies I've watched (surprisingly), and I actually felt the "transformation" of the older brother from hate to compassion wasn't particularly believable or compelling. ...I recognize that the point of the movie was the "outside" story, so they had to abbreviate this aspect... but it didn't really work for me in its current form. As such, I'm not sure I agree with the 8.6 rating on IMDB. I'm not sure I would recommend the movie, frankly. Not that it was bad--it wasn't--but it was hard to watch (JEEZUZ the scene where he kills the guy on the sidewalk alone will haunt me), and thus I'm not sure if the payoff was worthwhile. Again with a message that I already fully understood. ...And, as I said already, the conversion wasn't compelling, so this isn't a movie where you can show it to people with hate problems and they'll see the light (as opposed to Requiem for a Dream, which may actually be a mildly good deterrent for drug-use). Kind of leaves you asking: what's the point?

Unfortuante. I wanted to appreciate this movie. : \

Obama's First Mistake In Office

2008-11-15T20:55:00.001-07:00

I hereby predict that President-elect Obama's first error, when he takes office, will be the full pardon of his predecessor.

1kBWC: Brig Thurdle Deg Do Gan Gels Devneggin!

2008-11-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Memoirs of Another Movie

2008-11-15T20:31:00.002-07:00

Tonight, I watched Memoirs of a Geisha.

It was good.

It wasn't as good as I wanted or expected. Again, some superb acting... no one was weak. And the cinematography (something very important to me in enjoying a film) was superlative. But... I didn't like the story. It was an American story, not a Japanese story. And for whatever reason, that bothered me. The plot was thin, the ending was dippy-sweet, the twists were predictable... it was unsatisfying on the level of the story.

That said, the filming had, I think, a pleasant Japanese aspect to it (kudos to Spielberg for that, I suppose): there was the right amount of Japanese spoken, there were no necessarily Occidentally-cast actors (think Gandhi as a counter-example) (UPDATE: I realized last night as I was thinking about this post that, in fact, most of the cast was Chinese. So much for that assertion!), and there was an efficiency to the direction that suited the setting, though I think the pace would have been more appropriate if it were a little slower.

Of course I realize I have no authority to speak of such things, so please take these comments with a grain of salt: I am not Japanese, and my affinity for their aesthetics is filtered through our American perception of Japan.

All in all, it's a film I would recommend watching. ...But it certainly doesn't make any "best" lists. Not for me. That said:

It was good.

Why Go Drives Me Insane... And Why It Rocks

2008-11-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

I am still consistently losing at Go. It puts me in a bad mood. I can't seem to figure it out: when I have a solid shape, white finds a nice attack and destroys it. I've even lost a few games with NO points (well, in honesty, I resigned before it got to the scoring). Go drives me nuts.

...And when I go looking for information on strategy, I find things like these videos... and then I remember why Go rocks. I'm just at the very beginning, and should expect to lose.

And, for what it's worth, I'm 43 games into my first 50. ; )

Requiem for a Dream

2008-11-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight I watched Requiem for a Dream.

Yeesh. What a hard film to watch.

I'm not really sure how to react to movies like this. There was some tremendous acting, some great dialogue (clearly the "I'm lonely" monologue was the standout bit), some neat cinematography... but, man, it's hard to watch a film that ends with all the characters' lives destroyed by drugs. And you know, it's the fact that it was drugs that makes it hard for me to appreciate this film as much as I could have. If the underlying message was "we all have dreams, but they often lead to our demise", multiple vehicles could have been chosen to show that. But when you make the whole movie about drugs... well, the whole message is tainted by that.

I don't do drugs; I've never touched drugs; I wouldn't dream of doing it in the future. ...So that message is completely lost on me.

Of course, there were some smaller messages ("basically good people get treated like animals if they are associated with drugs")... but I already had a firm grasp of those points.

All in all, I walk away disappointed.

...And, dammit, I wanted to know what step #3 was. : )

Go Proverb

2008-11-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

Apparently, if not surprisingly, there is a collection of Go Proverbs.

The first one is healthy: "Lose your first 50 games as quickly as you can."

...Meaning, of course, that you won't have a chance of winning the game until you are quite familiar with the flow of it.

I've heard someone say that if you can get past 50 games, you will be addicted to Go for the rest of your life... but that most people don't actually get there.

I'm presently 11 games into that litmus test (albeit 9x9 games, which are easily 1/4 the length of a full game), and still interested in learning it. Perhaps I'll make it. Perhaps that's not a good thing. : ) Part of me want to stop trying... I already claim too many hobbies. But something keeps nagging me to try again...

Anyway, I wonder how many things that rule could apply to.

Hmmmn... how about: "Hide your first 50 figure drawings as quickly as you can"?

Man, I wish I'd pay attention to that thought.

Sexy Beast

2008-11-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

...I just watched Sexy Beast. Nicely done. I'm not really into the mafia movies thang, so I probably didn't appreciate it as much as I could have. But the acting was excellent. And I suppose I appreciated it in a demented kind of way.

Kind of pissed me off that the main character lied about Don (Kingsley's character) calling him from Heathrow. ...He was far too obviously a dick to have done something like that. Should've come up with some other story. (And I'm not saying that in hindsight, I was shouting it at the screen as soon as he said it.) He would have known better than to say something like that.

The nightmare rabbit reminded me (perhaps intentionally?) of Donnie Darko. ...Which was ultimately a more gratifying film (minus the acting chops, of course). : )

...I notice that IMDB agrees with me (a 1.2-point delta)... ; )

Strange Fiction

2008-11-10T18:41:00.001-07:00

I just watched Stranger than Fiction.

Go ahead and laugh, but I believe that was the best film I've watched in several years.

My Week In New England

2008-11-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

I was in New England last week. I know, I know, I didn't tell anyone I was going. That's because I knew it would be an in-and-out, all-business week, so I didn't want anyone to even consider driving four hours out to Cape Cod for two hours of face-time. Sorry.

That said, I really enjoyed myself! I stayed with one of the other programmers and his wife, in a very nice house. They're both vegetarians, liberals, intellectuals, and have studied zen, so we had an awful lot to talk about. : ) And talk we did: it was entirely enjoyable conversation for me. ...And the food was good, too. ; )

I rode a friend's bike to work and back all days but one... which was excellent exercise and very enjoyable (the weather was incredible except that one day of rain). ...However, I learned that my body has not fully recovered from my bout with myxedema, and I ended up in a considerable amount of pain with more fun-fun cramping. Whee.

I also had a chance to hang out with a couple of the people who have been entertaining online: one highly-skilled programmer, a sysadmin and his wife. The latter two have just moved here from Australia, so I was totally geeking out (linguistics-wise) on their accents and idioms.

All in all, I really rather enjoyed myself. The whole experience had a lot of the qualities that made college so much fun.

You Take Nanci (For Me, Loretta's Fine)

2008-11-09T16:13:00.001-07:00

I just watched a very short clip of Nanci Pelosi talking about democratic control of congress. I couldn't get through 60 seconds of it, and won't bother linking to it.

I love that congress is being led by a woman.

That said, I think Pelosi has failed in almost every measurable manner. I would like to see her ousted and new leadership chosen.

Sorry, Nanci. I want someone with a backbone, and someone not beholden to corporate interests... which you very clearly are.