Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
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9:18 am - 5 things
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It's been a while, so I'll do this "4 things" meme I saw...
1. When I was a teenager, I was a wannabe comic-book artist. My first stuff was Liefeld-horrible, really embarrassing and totally unprintable. But over the decades, as I've kept art journals and refined my craft and style, I've settled in as a mecha designer. That is, I'm better at *mechanical* stuff than people / animals / atmosphere. Drawing is very relaxing for me, so I keep at it. I think, had things turned out differently, I could have been a Chris Bangle.
2. I was something of a loner / outsider, and my comics heroes reflected that: Silver Surfer, ROM, and Batman. Still like Batman. :)
3. Favorite fiction? Right now, it's _Ender's Game_, after enjoying countless re-readings of _The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant_.
4. Favorite non-fiction? Nothing comes to mind per-se, although I'd recommend any of Dick Feynman's books, even to a layperson. Better than me recommending some stupid programming reference guide that will go cold in a couple years, although the original K&R is still a classic.
5. Most memorable group experience? 20th high school reunion. All older & greyer, but I'm finally able to really appreciate just how good everybody is - the very definition of "heartwarming".
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(comment on this)
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Sunday, December 28th, 2008
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2:01 am - Well, holy shit...
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Thursday, December 25th, 2008
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9:39 pm - Happy Holidays, one and all!!!
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I hope everybody is having a great holiday season with friends and family...
Merry Christmas!
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(comment on this)
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Monday, December 22nd, 2008
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12:38 am - My Meme!
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There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge
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Where you have gaps in your knowledge:
No Gaps!
Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge:
Philosophy
Religion
Economics
Literature
History
Science
Art
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(comment on this)
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Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
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9:14 pm - On Obama as President
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Wow. America has come a lot farther on race than I ever would have dreamed.
Now, the question is whether an inexperienced first-term Senator can transform himself into an effective President, or if he's just going to be rubber-stamping what the heavily Democratic House and Senate send his way.
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(comment on this)
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Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
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10:25 pm - On Spending $700 BILLION...
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If we are going to spend $700 billion dollars, I think we should get something for it.
After all, that's the average American coughing up something like $5 grand.
I dunno about you, but I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do than give $5 large to some dumb motherfucker who's already proven he can't handle money responsibly, much less manage money on behalf of a bunch of even stupider motherfuckers who signed contracts for loans they couldnt' afford.
If I buy a car that I can't afford, the repo man comes and takes it back.
So why shouldn't people lose their houses then?
And why shouldn't banks go bankrupt?
Anyhow, if the Feds are bailing out banks, then there should be serious strings.
1. The Feds should gain super-voting stock equivalent to the lowest value that was reached in the month preceeding any capital infusion
2. Any executive and board contracts immediately become null and void, any stock options exercised within the last year may be rendered null and void.
3. The company is placed in Receivership, and the Feds automatically gain a majority of the seats on the Board, along with Chairmanship; remaining seats may be bid for by existing board members.
The Federal government becomes *first* in line for recaptialization, with interest.
Yeah, I think that'd work about right.
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(comment on this)
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Monday, September 1st, 2008
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10:56 am - On Sustainabilty and Charity...
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As the year takes a decidedly ugly turn, we move on to the stupidity of "Presidential" (let's be real - the blatant whoring that goes on is anything but) politics for the new few months. Possibly longer if the losing side can't "man up" and accept the facts.
Anyhow, what I'd like to see is for the majors to talk about sustainability for real:
If when the US gives "foreign aid" in the form of charity / development, does that help or hinder sustainability?
Particularly when one recognizes that globally, we're likely past the balance point of having "unlimited" resources for every man, woman, and child. Indeed, in many localities, we're past the point of having *sufficient* resources for people. Allowing people to make selfishly micro-optimized decisions by government policy default, and then governments to make similarly poor decisions is setting things up for collapse. That is, if the rest of the world consumed like Americans, we'd go up in flames like a paper-mache pinata.
So I would posit, that no, charity does not help America. That such charity is ultimately inimical to our selfish national interest in the long term. That is, it is probably *good* for millions of Africans (for example) to starve to death and kill themselves in wars, because those are millions of people who won't need to be fed, clothed, or housed.
At least, let's see a little responsibility here. I.e. if you want aid, there will be strings attached. Some kind of rational basis, please? Pretty please?
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(comment on this)
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Friday, August 15th, 2008
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11:06 pm - On Age and the Olympics...
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OMFG, the Chinese might have a couple underage gymnasts on their team.
Which means that they'd be about the same age as Nadia Comaneci (remember her? She won gold at the age of 14).
But the fact of the matter is, the US team fucked up.
The US *could* have won it. The Chinese team wasn't perfect - they made mistakes that the US could have capitalized on.
But the US girls didn't take it home.
So blame them, not the Chinese.
Really, the whole sour grapes act is extremely unbecoming.
Whatever happened to showing a little class and grace in losing?
Oh, wait.
This is America.
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Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
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10:22 pm - On going "full retard"...
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Monday, June 30th, 2008
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8:10 pm - On Castles and Homes...
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
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11:02 pm - On the language of births...
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_fe_st/odd_big_twins
It's nice that the woman carried 20+ pounds worth of babies, but can we stop saying that they were "born"?
As usual for big babies, they were *extracted* via Caesarean section, not delivered vaginally.
If she didn't squeeze them out the birth canal, I have linguistic problems counting that as a true birth.
What's next, measuring hybrid car fuel economy and cost as excluding the fact that the batteries are consumables? Oh, wait, we do that, too...
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(comment on this)
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Sunday, June 1st, 2008
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10:36 pm - Death - On OKcupid...
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Saturday, May 24th, 2008
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12:42 am - On losing weight...
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FYI, I've been working out a little bit nearly every night (or morning) for the past couple months or so. I randomly switch among bench weights, floor calisthetics, yoga & stretching, etc. So far, I've dropped over 8 pounds (about a pound a week), with about 11 more to go to reach my "fighting weight".
Life is good.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
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11:41 pm - On Hardcore Survival...
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Sunday, November 25th, 2007
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2:22 am - On Life...
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It's been over 30+ weeks since I updated last, as I've largely moved away from LJ on to other stuff.
Anyhow, I got this pointer from my Flist:
http://animalcrossingtragedy.ytmnd.com/
And I thought:
Wow.
And then I wondered - is this real?
And I spend a while searching...
And yeah, it's real(1).
Wow.
[1. it was translated from the original Korean, and even uses the original artwork.]
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
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9:04 am - A moment of silence...
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For the students, faculty, staff, and families of Virginia Tech.
current mood: somber
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Thursday, April 12th, 2007
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12:08 am - On Corporate Ethics...
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Kudos to MSNBC for doing the right thing.
It's about fucking time someone in a suit laid out actual consequences to those asshole "shock jocks".
Too bad CBS is a bunch of Old Boys Club mostherfuckers who're more interested in protecting their own (see also Dan Rather) than being responsive to the community. I hope that losing MSNBC forces CBS' hand.
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(comment on this)
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Monday, February 19th, 2007
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7:39 pm - On Celebrity Hair...
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So this weekend, Britney Spears shaves her head bald.
Before that Cristina Aguilera went all raven-haired and tangly.
I know that it's all modern to have the drapes match the carpet, where before, we old fogies were only curious to check the color.
So who wants to bet that we next see Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan sporting a short little mohawk to match the racing stripe down below?
:)
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, December 25th, 2006
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8:52 pm - Curse of the Golden Flowers
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It's really nice to see a a movie on the big screen when it's designed for the big screen.
I just saw _Curse of the Golden Flowers_, by Zhang Yimou starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, and I really enjoyed it. As always, it's just fun to watch Chow on the screen - he has such magnficent presence as an actor. And it's fun to watch him do a period wuxia martial arts film when that just isn't his background and training. Of course, the sets and costumes and fights are like what you've never seen before.
After the fact, I saw a few critics didn't enjoy it, and I'm chalking their middling reviews up to gross cultural ignorance. Make no mistake, this is a Chinese movie, tuned for Chinese sensibilities. Not ho-hum Hollywood.
It's not likely to be in theatres long, so you really ought to go check it out if it's playing in your area.
And yes, it's subtitled in English for those of you who don't speak Mandarin Chinese.
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(comment on this)
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Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
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3:17 am - On Hollywood and Race...
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So far:
- Mel Gibson reveals himself to be an Anti-Semite.
- Mike Richards reveals himself to be a black-hater.
- And now Rosie O'Donnell reveals herself to be anti-Asian.
And most of Hollywood stands by idly.
Fuck that.
Fuck Hollywood.
If this is how you really are, we don't need you.
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