Avatar, amendment 1

I forgot two things.

Another flaw with Avatar: Ana Lucia has still not been punched in the face. Help me, Season 6. You're my only hope.

Also, Avatar shares a lot of themes with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Loved that one. Hannah does, too.

a meal

I'm looking at recipes to cook tonight for community dinner, and I think a fun one would be pairing this vegetable hash with one (both!?) of these two breakfast hashes. Mmmm delicious and cryptographic to boot.

wierd and unwelcome

This Adobe bug is quite annoying. Does anyone else have this happen? If I use fullscreen mode on Flash player (YouTube or Hulu, e.g.) then the video freezes while everything else (like audio) continues. There's lots of forum posts out there where people discuss this, but the only fix is to disable hardware acceleration. That's a no-go for my meager Mini.

I use OS X's Screen Sharing to control the Mini from my laptop. When the video locks up, I can either connect via Screen Sharing or disconnect in order to fix it. This is a weird band-aid, but Screen Sharing is obviously related to video. It's annoying to do it every 5 minutes or so and to keep my laptop in my lap to watch video.

Some page I saw said it only happens when watching 480p content. And, for me, it only started happening when I started using 1080i. It didn't happen when I was using 720p.

This alternative suggestion did not work for me, which was sad. Took a while though, so my hopes got lifted and then squashed.

Chicago Falcon by The Budos Band

Chicago Falcon by The Budos Band just came up in my iTunes and knocked me over (which is impressive, as I'm reclined on my couch). So, I wanted to share &ndash and who better to share with than you?!

I think I'll do this often, because of how many free samplers I tend to download from Amazon.com. (They used to have a page showing all free songs, but that URL is dead now... big surprise.) So... any suggestions regarding a better way to do this sharing or an online place to catalog the list?

Dear everyone who might ever write a survey,

Consider this example question from a survey:

"You always stick to the plan."
Do you strongly agree agree slightly agree slightly disagree disagree or strongly disagree?

This irks me so very much. How can you build a severity into the statement and then ask me to assign a severity to my agreement? What does it mean to slightly agree that I always stick to the plan? Stop thinking or else you'll have an aneurysm (1'53" mark).

I've groaned out loud numerous times when taking surveys that have these on them. This sort of question, unfortunately, is not a rarity.

So if you ever write a survey, please confine adjectives of severity to the answers; leave them out of the questions. Please. For me. For rationality.

That's so recherche

As a I am a comp sci person, words that describe themselves make me giggle. Recherche's the latest. The self-reference is called recursion, and it's important. It comes in a few varieties, one of which is frustratingly simultaneously always correct but always useless: x = x. Can't argue with that. Also can't do much with it. The word examples tickle me because, for instance, recherche is recherche is non-trivially true – the word is indeed exotic and exquisite and sometimes even pretentious.

Scraping THOMAS

I thought my legislative opinion idea was pretty clever. Dani did not. She said it would be a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. I could use clarification on that waste of taxpayer dollars part. (I should add that I think this should all be electronic.) Unfortunately, I cannot disagree with her about the fact that the opinion would probably be relegated to an intern; all I can ask is for congressional peer pressure (hah!) to hold legislators to the expectation that they write their own opinions.

Dani suggested two alternatives: seek out legislators' newsletters (which I haven't yet done), and "dig around" to find transcripts of the floors' debates. For the latter option, I have found this gem. It updates once-a-day-ish to serve out the Daily Digest (=summary) of the Congressional Record. Who knew?

I used Page2RSS to setup this RSS feed for the page, since I couldn't find one. (It's the aughts people! What the hell?!) The results can be pretty cryptic, but at least I get notification whenever the site changes – that is, whenever Congress does something. If anyone can manage to scrape a better feed – or knows where to find one – please do let me know!

(I hope this is legal.)

I haven't discerned if the precise transcript of the floors' activities are available through THOMAS. That sure would be nice. Dani – maybe you can elaborate on your "digging" suggestion? Perhaps C-SPAN? Thanks for the suggestion to seek this out.

Great film, great music

It seems Big Night is referred to as a food film; apparently I need to watch more of those. It's slow at parts, but you will be soundly rewarded for mustering a little patience. The last scene is a keystone conclusion the likes of which I haven't seen recently. Simple, pertinent, poignant, and reassuring – just how I like my finales.

I recommend the film if you have the slightest romance with food. That's not to say there aren't plots running the drama gamut, you'll just need to have a soft spot for food to enjoy all of this one.

What's more, the music is amazing. I need a name for it so I can track down more of it.

For 4!

I brush my teeth for at least four minutes, most often a bit longer. That is too long. In fact it's about this long, and about that boring as well, but not nearly as frustrating. It's the compulsion of mine that I am most aware of. (Apparently I occasionally breathe in sharply through my teeth, but I very rarely am aware of it and certainly do not intend it. Not a compulsion then, is it? Right; hence the parentheses.)

My mouth is tingly and bubbly afterwards, no matter how much I rinse. I've recently begun incorporating a super-rinse where I start a run of the mill rinse, but don't spit it out until a few minutes later. Holllld it. Holllld it. I'll do something in the meantime such as put on deodorant (not antiperspirant) and jeans (not shorts) and read morning email. This has been effective. I intend to continue. Less bubbles — I cannot figure out why this works.

Please leave a comment to identify my compulsion of which you find yourself to be most aware. And even throw in your own compulsion as well if you like. Let me stress that I would like comments on this post. With a response to the question, not just with a comment. A question and a comment (2' mark) would also be welcome. Once more — please comment. Yep; a yes to comments. Thanks.

(I labeled this post quirky. It took me 40 minutes to write it.)

Crumbs

Homicidal mayhem, and no one cares.

A stunning photo.

Great commercial. "Earhole" is certainly under-appreciated.


Ben Affleck is charming? Who new?

One quarter! I knew nothing of this.

I just found a shared post! This one isn't the perfect archetype, but it was fun to realize what I was reading.

A close second for photos. (Hat tip to Garrin.)

Both found at Overcoming Bias: Dunbar's number, we wei.

Maybe that is why it tastes different. "For instance, soft drink makers like Coca-Cola use sugar internationally but use high-fructose corn syrup in their U.S. products."

1 blog + 1 blog = 3 blogs?

Note: pressing enter at the wrong time immediately publishes a blog! This is truly an atrocious interface. It is obvious that I'm struggling with it.

The most important lesson I learned from my LiveJournal account in high-school was that blogs are not the place to discuss relationships or relationship issues. A blog is not an actual journal. It should not be used as a therapeutic device for you, since you know other people are reading it! That compromises the privacy, which is essential to the positivity of therapy. The problem in high-school was the twinge of excitement associated with broadcasting feelings so personal. That sort of high comes at the expense of losing the confidence shared between you and the individuals in your audience.

For these reasons, I will never post on this blog about my relationships; it's simply antithetical. But relationships bring out the most important questions and characters--I want to share them! So what's a blogger to do? Let me share two wisdom nuggets (mmmm) before I make two suggestions.

First. In all relationships, I raise my concerns with the other person first and only then ask for others' thoughts. It demonstrates my respect for that person and my acknowledgment that it is only with them that I could ever act upon the issue. Accepting that fact is always the first step towards true resolution. (Such direct discussion is always my first suggestion when people ask for advice.) Consequence: relationship issues have no place on my blog.

Second. 1+1=3 is my favorite lesson from the controversial Human Sexuality course with Dennis Dailey. It says the relationship does not consume the two individuals (1+1=1). Instead they have created something new together (contrast with 1+1=2). (Marriage should not change a woman's last name.) Consequence: respect a relationship as you would an individual.

I see two options.

• I can post reflections inspired by my relationships. These are my thoughts about me, and hence fair game. (This line seems a thin one.)


• What if a relationship had its own blog? It'd be weird, yes, but it could be neat. The couple pair (friendships too, of course!) cooperates to write the posts after important conversations and decisions take place. Or they share happy things they did together. It'd be constructive, thoughtful, and wholesome. I am sure I would smile at my friends' blog.

Remember Thomas Paine?

I have found the words that I struggle to live by. This quote is featured on the walls at the delectable Mountain Rose Cafe (pic) in Winter Park, Colorado.

The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

Thomas Paine

I followed up at Wikipedia and discovered that I've neglected Thomas Paine all these years! He was both admirably ahead of his time and inspirational for his contemporaries.

(It is a bit disappointing that he did not write those exact words. The quote is derived from his Rights of Man (1791), "...; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good." I had no luck sourcing the brethren part.)

Jolie Holland

Jolie Holland is the most enchanting folk singer I've ever heard. A few of you have enjoyed her work while held captive in my car. Your curious inquiries rang sweet in my ears.

"Crush in the Ghetto" is so bittersweet a song I almost wish I had reason to sing it. "Mexican Blue" puts me at peace without fail. And "Faded Coat of Blue" is my new favorite Civil War song!

I sometimes find myself listening to the drums instead of Jolie. That's a credit to Dave Mihaly, who was just as ensnaring heh heh when I saw Jolie et alia perform. The live show is almost as polished as the recordings.

Ignorance is OK, indeed

Ignorance is OK. My newest mantra. It's a refreshing thought. Obviously, it can be misconstrued, but it's memorable, eh?

The notion is intended to help you relax when making decisions of any kind. It is not intended to let you claim, for example, that purposefully not reading warning labels excuses feeding puppies drain cleaner (cf. Sarah Connor's technique, 0:30 mark). I'll elaborate while you rid yourself of that visual. (The puppies are happy. Wagging tails. So trusting.)

Donald Rumsfeld said it best, emphasis mine.

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

I quote Rumsfeld just to paraphrase him. There are things that we know we don't know but we refuse to acknowledge it. There's so much pressure to make a decision nowadays. I'll take "WMDs" for the win, Peter. Take a moment and consider how awesome it would be if high ranking civil servants admitted to not know what was best for us all. Of course we ought to attempt policies, just stop assuring me that it's a sure shot.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has two popular books, Fooled by Randomness (didn't read it) and The Black Swan (did read it). This is the first place I saw the notion presented on its own. Taleb's work is rooted in the stock market, where people are payed fat cash to make decisions. There is uncertainty à gogo, but people can't resist claiming to have conquered it. (... fat cash? Who am I?)

To be fair, sometimes it's tricky to know what we don't know even in simple situations. Daniel Gilbert writes in Stumbling on Happiness about results of psychology experiments related to making decisions, big and small. One notable result: we are hard-wired to be unaware of our ignorance (à la our blind spot) about some things. Not only is it a habit to make decisions, it's an instinct. I'm sure it's served us well for millennia, but I think it helps to be aware of that automatism.

Next time you're weighing the alternatives and it's looking too close to call and they're breathing down your neck, consider shrugging your shoulders and smiling. It could be the most professional, mature, honest choice.

What do other people title their first post?

I am inspired by o t h e r s. I would be remiss if I neglected to acknowledge the longevity of Dan.

Entries will be thematic.

• research stuff that may bore everyone but me; maybe you'll see why I like it
  
• lots of whining about various sorts of decision making (personal, finance, politicals, ...)
• clever plans I probably won't remember to execute
• thoughts I'd like to share (current events, music, lifestyle, ...)
  

And crafted.

• brevity is key; I'd like to you read these after all
• thoughtfulness over frequency
• entries will be tagged according to theme, so you can easily find similar entries