I have to accept that whining is counterproductive. It is the linguistic equivalent of cocaine. Everything is in place. Now I can enjoy Christmas. Yes, I'll fix it. I'll have to. What I'm becoming is unacceptable.
I hope to prove myself wrong.
Certainty is merely a lack of doubt. Recent psych tests suggest I am an INTP or an ESFP. Don't rely on clichés. Knowing which end is the business end helps.
I saw that coming.
Aww, that's nice. Hey! That dinosaur speaks Irish! Neat!
I suppose I could write up my game reviews here, maybe even start a new blog. Then I could resume where I left off.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
#31 Users manual
This week, I've mostly been writing my users manual. For me. That's right, it's a users manual all about how I work. I think it's a good idea. We used to write short documentation schrifts in college for the odd programmes we made. None of my code ever worked really, but I made up the marks on the documentation sections. Overall, I tended to break even.
The manual is going well so far. It appears I am woefully lacking in social skills. Not sure how to address this. I've been writing a lot. No change there though. I crank out 1500 words on video games easily enough. Used to be the way. I sure hope www.gamerseurope.com comes back soon.
There's a problem though. I lost faith in computers after my hard drives failed. I knew they were going, but the real issue is security. I just can't cope with the darn things breaking all the time. I can't imagine how much time and grief... It's pretty awful. I'm still stuck for something else to do. Best alternative so far is music. Mostly, writing has filled the time. I'll keep working on the few stories and the users manual. Sticktoitiveness would be nice if I could get it.
Big issue now is how to achieve success without leaving the couch. Do I have to get up? I sure hope not. Still battling with common despair of course. I've always had Christmas to look forward to. I think perhaps a fine vintage of writing will be uncorked on that day.
The sum total of my existance now appears to be one where I do nothing but fill in forms and wait for things to happen. Heaven forbid I should take action. I haven't even really been outside nor can I gauge the last time I went out. A long time ago no doubt. Net total nights out is abysmally low.
In sooth, I have yet to live.
The manual is going well so far. It appears I am woefully lacking in social skills. Not sure how to address this. I've been writing a lot. No change there though. I crank out 1500 words on video games easily enough. Used to be the way. I sure hope www.gamerseurope.com comes back soon.
There's a problem though. I lost faith in computers after my hard drives failed. I knew they were going, but the real issue is security. I just can't cope with the darn things breaking all the time. I can't imagine how much time and grief... It's pretty awful. I'm still stuck for something else to do. Best alternative so far is music. Mostly, writing has filled the time. I'll keep working on the few stories and the users manual. Sticktoitiveness would be nice if I could get it.
Big issue now is how to achieve success without leaving the couch. Do I have to get up? I sure hope not. Still battling with common despair of course. I've always had Christmas to look forward to. I think perhaps a fine vintage of writing will be uncorked on that day.
The sum total of my existance now appears to be one where I do nothing but fill in forms and wait for things to happen. Heaven forbid I should take action. I haven't even really been outside nor can I gauge the last time I went out. A long time ago no doubt. Net total nights out is abysmally low.
In sooth, I have yet to live.
Monday, December 8, 2008
#30 The other half
One half is contented with a simple answer. The other is not. The simple answer is let somebody else worry about it. That's a bit irresponsible but it's easier to do with the tiny troubles and day to day. Leaves time. Time for the half uncontented.
I wish easy and good were the same thing more often.
This week, I will try and occupy the uncontented half with helping others. I have a great means of communication and need only find those in distress to render assistance. Even within my insular world where going outside is a true adventure, there are people who might do better with a kind word.
I wish easy and good were the same thing more often.
This week, I will try and occupy the uncontented half with helping others. I have a great means of communication and need only find those in distress to render assistance. Even within my insular world where going outside is a true adventure, there are people who might do better with a kind word.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
#29 The grand problem - and the importance of memory
I suppose I enjoy writing as much as reading. Things on paper are happy to sit and leave my crowded head. The grand problem is a sort of question. I noticed IT contains a great variety of people who might otherwise be better suited to finding themselves in other domains of expertise. The loneliest man is the one with the most specialised knowledge. This leads to a fair assumption. What has us here with our ability to congently process things must be the loneliest being in existance.
Our language will require time to evolve before it can accurately describe abstract concepts like creation, life, death, all the big stuff. If I were to say a simple word like 'set', the number of meanings behind the utterance would require careful examination of circumstances to establish the intent.
That's how language works anyways. I'm quite sure someone before me has written all I've thought of and someone hence will do the same. In my own small way, writing myself perhaps even for myself is all I think I can do.
I marvelled at myself the other day. A form needed printing. I knew nothing about it, but inside 30 minutes, I had it filled out and printed. I can pretend to know so much. This is actually very bad for me. As a child, I would find myself in a state of inquiry and attempt to find an answer. The best efforts of parents and teachers often consisted of uninformed opinion. This was of course before the days of wide spread internet and wikipedia - though also before Yahoo answers, so I suppose i should be thankful.
My old University professor set us a race one day. He challanged half the class to find an algorithm in the library. The other half had to use the internet. The library team won. Books are much harder to destroy than electronic records.
My second point refers to having an ability to find yourself. Genetics chimes in here. My scant knowledge of the subject is based solely on a few documentaries I saw on TV. Marker genes appear to play a key role in our development. That whole argument goes back to Nature V Nuture though so it's a bit of a dead end.
The finest hour is almost here. Practical applicability of philosophy is something I should probably work on, though justifying faith sometimes necessitates leeway with logic. Logic fails faced with mysterious ways. We can trust it though I'd sooner trust a higher power. Logic is a tool born of mans hand.
Belief is a powerful idea.
Though I think perhaps I will be at a terrible loss someday. Even my own memory will some day succumb to senescence. I suspect Chris has hardly thought of the long term ramifications of setting up this site. These I believe are worthy writings so I'll copy them to my personal blog. I'm referring to the future of this post. Will I read it again in 20 years and smile at my simple foolishness? Maybe. If it's still here.
It might have been Freud who wrote about the death instinct. In order to give offspring a good shot at life, parents inevitably die. Life ends to begin anew. Only memory remains. But even memory fails eventually. Paper rots, magnets fade in potency, stones erode. Why do we not despair?
A head full of useless knowledge sits atop the body of the lonely man. He'll volunteer it readily to try and help. It is viewed as advice. Advice is a form of nostalgia (so says Baz Luhrman). He is dismissed, often without thanks, beneficial or otherwise. No one cares to hear it. The self, the brain and the body. All trying to work as best they can.
We simply go by as best we can. What more can be asked? I should wish for a better motivation than the pursuit of wealth though it's the best we have. People generally don't need any philosophy to toil and buy food nor should they. It is a wasteful burden. A part of me can be satisfied accepting the third option - don't worry about it. I think perhaps the grand problem might be the other part which cannot but stay active. This part wants to try and form some scaffold. Maybe an idle dalliance, but angry at being dismissed so. Written in a language few people would care to write, fewer would care to read and fewer still would care to comprehend at all.
Dense. Ha!
Our language will require time to evolve before it can accurately describe abstract concepts like creation, life, death, all the big stuff. If I were to say a simple word like 'set', the number of meanings behind the utterance would require careful examination of circumstances to establish the intent.
That's how language works anyways. I'm quite sure someone before me has written all I've thought of and someone hence will do the same. In my own small way, writing myself perhaps even for myself is all I think I can do.
I marvelled at myself the other day. A form needed printing. I knew nothing about it, but inside 30 minutes, I had it filled out and printed. I can pretend to know so much. This is actually very bad for me. As a child, I would find myself in a state of inquiry and attempt to find an answer. The best efforts of parents and teachers often consisted of uninformed opinion. This was of course before the days of wide spread internet and wikipedia - though also before Yahoo answers, so I suppose i should be thankful.
My old University professor set us a race one day. He challanged half the class to find an algorithm in the library. The other half had to use the internet. The library team won. Books are much harder to destroy than electronic records.
My second point refers to having an ability to find yourself. Genetics chimes in here. My scant knowledge of the subject is based solely on a few documentaries I saw on TV. Marker genes appear to play a key role in our development. That whole argument goes back to Nature V Nuture though so it's a bit of a dead end.
The finest hour is almost here. Practical applicability of philosophy is something I should probably work on, though justifying faith sometimes necessitates leeway with logic. Logic fails faced with mysterious ways. We can trust it though I'd sooner trust a higher power. Logic is a tool born of mans hand.
Belief is a powerful idea.
Though I think perhaps I will be at a terrible loss someday. Even my own memory will some day succumb to senescence. I suspect Chris has hardly thought of the long term ramifications of setting up this site. These I believe are worthy writings so I'll copy them to my personal blog. I'm referring to the future of this post. Will I read it again in 20 years and smile at my simple foolishness? Maybe. If it's still here.
It might have been Freud who wrote about the death instinct. In order to give offspring a good shot at life, parents inevitably die. Life ends to begin anew. Only memory remains. But even memory fails eventually. Paper rots, magnets fade in potency, stones erode. Why do we not despair?
A head full of useless knowledge sits atop the body of the lonely man. He'll volunteer it readily to try and help. It is viewed as advice. Advice is a form of nostalgia (so says Baz Luhrman). He is dismissed, often without thanks, beneficial or otherwise. No one cares to hear it. The self, the brain and the body. All trying to work as best they can.
We simply go by as best we can. What more can be asked? I should wish for a better motivation than the pursuit of wealth though it's the best we have. People generally don't need any philosophy to toil and buy food nor should they. It is a wasteful burden. A part of me can be satisfied accepting the third option - don't worry about it. I think perhaps the grand problem might be the other part which cannot but stay active. This part wants to try and form some scaffold. Maybe an idle dalliance, but angry at being dismissed so. Written in a language few people would care to write, fewer would care to read and fewer still would care to comprehend at all.
Dense. Ha!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
#28 Where am I?
Where am I really?
Geographically, my brain, body and various organs within it are at home.
But where am I?
I can answer this question with geography, lattitude and longitude but not with any actuality.
I wish I knew where I was.
Geographically, my brain, body and various organs within it are at home.
But where am I?
I can answer this question with geography, lattitude and longitude but not with any actuality.
I wish I knew where I was.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
#27 fiddling with the layout
I won't know if I'll be ok
I won't know for a long time
I won't know what I'm meant to say
I sure hope I'll feel fine
That's the trick we're on, going along, singing a song, about nothing mu7ch at all. I'm going to leave that in there even though it's wrong. Nobody's perfect!
2 broken PCs, 1 hobbling, solution on the way. My life is filling out forms. That' s all I do now. I'm a drain on society! Yay! Dammit! Why won't they buy me goose! *weeps*
Where the hell am I anyways? Is this the internet? IT STINKS! Who farted? I'm going to the bar. No I'm not. I hate the bar. It's noisy and too expensive. Fishing might be nice. Yay!
It's like I';ve hacked my own blog. Spam isn't this creaytive thoiyugh. SDcew2 speinllging! Yay!
maybe I'll bpellcheck it later. No excuse for shoddy typing. But yes there is. Caveman lawyer knows! Yay!
Slowloy falling apart. there. Deleted. Yay!
maybe yes, maynbe no, maybe y7es? maybe no. Maybe so!? Yay!
I love the internet. I hate the internet. Oh what am I doing here?!?! I shouldn't be here! I should be in Cabo or Malta. Malta is nice I bet. Not too sunny. I'm so falling apart. Yay!
Helphelp. Help. Aw man, that'll take years to fix! Nooooo! *weeps*
So are you done yet or stuff? No? Hell no! I have to fill in forms! It sucks. Yay!
Maybe I'll escape the island next year. That'd be neat. They have boats near the coast. I gotta build an escape craft to get me to america. Am I thirsty? I could love a cup of tea. Or a T with cup in it. What the hell am I on about? Yay!
did the font change? Hang on now, let's check that. How's this one? Oh no, no sefits! (what?) *weeps*
Uh yeah, I'm not quite right at all. Let's put Bowie on, that'll help. Blogblobblog. Grudges. Boo! Ah, what stops me forgetting what I don't want to remember? Memory control! Yay!
Call me when you figure it out. Yay!
Ah sure I'll fnd something. Invariably, time and providence have a way of getting me what I need. I shouldn't even bother worrying. It's not me I'm worried about. Well why would it be?
There's no turkey in Hawaii. I can neither confirm nor deny this. Yay!
Penguin bars are nice. This is total drivel, I'm surprised you're still reading it. Or rather, you've sensibly skipped a bit. Good show, good show. Gosh I hope nobody I know actually reads this trash. Yay!
It's like a bar that leaves a silly thought in your head. Aunt-Arctica? That's just below par. Fashionsed perhaps by the minds of the workers. Ah, here we go. Yay!
Please, send help!
There we are. Bowie on the speakers. 7.1 for me please. Why do I need it? No idea. 10.2 is the next for me. Not that anything is supported by that though. Shame, shame. Games aren't even coded to take advantage of the hardware they'll be running on. Nor can they be. It takes too long to code and forsee what the final rig will be. Yay!
Maybe yes, maybe yes. Wow, imagine a shruinky came across this! I'd make a great study case. Near total social isolation for almost 20 years! That's something. Ooh, shiny. Yay!
Total nonsense. That's all this is about. I didn't want to neglect my blog though. I think I'll keep writing for another hour. At least my patience hasn't failed me yet. Naw, hang on. chYes. where;s my danish! I didn't order one. Did you. Don't think so? No. Maybe no. no, definintley no. Yay!
What the juice? What was that thing I was looking for? Just going to have to keep filling in forms. If there were cameras, I'd totally act different. Woulnd't mind making tea for a living as long as the pay is alright. Sure thing chief. But you must play me good music in return.
That sounds like a good opportunity. And you get the schlip of paper qualification at the end. Go for CV. Yay! Wait... yes.
I only noticed later that he had a bionic ear. Makes sense now. Oh yeah. Smells like frying. Yay!
That hybrid in Battlestar Gallactica hasn't a patch on me
itchy knee san go she rock nana hatch queue dew. Yay! I remember it all. That's 1-10 in japanese. I'm might be able for it! Wish me luck!
Bon Channce!
I won't know for a long time
I won't know what I'm meant to say
I sure hope I'll feel fine
That's the trick we're on, going along, singing a song, about nothing mu7ch at all. I'm going to leave that in there even though it's wrong. Nobody's perfect!
2 broken PCs, 1 hobbling, solution on the way. My life is filling out forms. That' s all I do now. I'm a drain on society! Yay! Dammit! Why won't they buy me goose! *weeps*
Where the hell am I anyways? Is this the internet? IT STINKS! Who farted? I'm going to the bar. No I'm not. I hate the bar. It's noisy and too expensive. Fishing might be nice. Yay!
It's like I';ve hacked my own blog. Spam isn't this creaytive thoiyugh. SDcew2 speinllging! Yay!
maybe I'll bpellcheck it later. No excuse for shoddy typing. But yes there is. Caveman lawyer knows! Yay!
Slowloy falling apart. there. Deleted. Yay!
maybe yes, maynbe no, maybe y7es? maybe no. Maybe so!? Yay!
I love the internet. I hate the internet. Oh what am I doing here?!?! I shouldn't be here! I should be in Cabo or Malta. Malta is nice I bet. Not too sunny. I'm so falling apart. Yay!
Helphelp. Help. Aw man, that'll take years to fix! Nooooo! *weeps*
So are you done yet or stuff? No? Hell no! I have to fill in forms! It sucks. Yay!
Maybe I'll escape the island next year. That'd be neat. They have boats near the coast. I gotta build an escape craft to get me to america. Am I thirsty? I could love a cup of tea. Or a T with cup in it. What the hell am I on about? Yay!
did the font change? Hang on now, let's check that. How's this one? Oh no, no sefits! (what?) *weeps*
Uh yeah, I'm not quite right at all. Let's put Bowie on, that'll help. Blogblobblog. Grudges. Boo! Ah, what stops me forgetting what I don't want to remember? Memory control! Yay!
Call me when you figure it out. Yay!
Ah sure I'll fnd something. Invariably, time and providence have a way of getting me what I need. I shouldn't even bother worrying. It's not me I'm worried about. Well why would it be?
There's no turkey in Hawaii. I can neither confirm nor deny this. Yay!
Penguin bars are nice. This is total drivel, I'm surprised you're still reading it. Or rather, you've sensibly skipped a bit. Good show, good show. Gosh I hope nobody I know actually reads this trash. Yay!
It's like a bar that leaves a silly thought in your head. Aunt-Arctica? That's just below par. Fashionsed perhaps by the minds of the workers. Ah, here we go. Yay!
Please, send help!
There we are. Bowie on the speakers. 7.1 for me please. Why do I need it? No idea. 10.2 is the next for me. Not that anything is supported by that though. Shame, shame. Games aren't even coded to take advantage of the hardware they'll be running on. Nor can they be. It takes too long to code and forsee what the final rig will be. Yay!
Maybe yes, maybe yes. Wow, imagine a shruinky came across this! I'd make a great study case. Near total social isolation for almost 20 years! That's something. Ooh, shiny. Yay!
Total nonsense. That's all this is about. I didn't want to neglect my blog though. I think I'll keep writing for another hour. At least my patience hasn't failed me yet. Naw, hang on. chYes. where;s my danish! I didn't order one. Did you. Don't think so? No. Maybe no. no, definintley no. Yay!
What the juice? What was that thing I was looking for? Just going to have to keep filling in forms. If there were cameras, I'd totally act different. Woulnd't mind making tea for a living as long as the pay is alright. Sure thing chief. But you must play me good music in return.
That sounds like a good opportunity. And you get the schlip of paper qualification at the end. Go for CV. Yay! Wait... yes.
I only noticed later that he had a bionic ear. Makes sense now. Oh yeah. Smells like frying. Yay!
That hybrid in Battlestar Gallactica hasn't a patch on me
itchy knee san go she rock nana hatch queue dew. Yay! I remember it all. That's 1-10 in japanese. I'm might be able for it! Wish me luck!
Bon Channce!
Monday, November 10, 2008
#26 Things fall apart, computers fail, resolve leaves
Computers can do much good for this world. They can spread stories like this one.
Sometimes they break. Sometimes when they break I must fix them. Often, I am the only one around who can do this.
I am the only one.
This fact is complicated.
I am needed. Good. I am alone. Bad. I can fix it. Good. I have to learn how to fix it. Bad. I can try to explain the problem to others. Good. They won't understand. Bad. If I do fix it, people will say well done and forget about it. Bad. I can't be sure my fix will hold. Bad. I don't know if it will break again. Bad. I don't know how to fix it. Bad. I don't know how to fix it. Bad. I have to try and learn how to fix it. Only I can fix it. Bad. It's my fault. Bad. I created the problem. Bad. I didn't mean to cause a fuss. Good. Computers are wasting my life. Bad. I am wasting me life on computers. Bad. Chocolate. Good. Too much chocolate. Bad. There are too many things I don't know. Bad. I am addicted. Bad. I know. Good. I don't change it. Bad. I want to change. Good. I don't know if I want to change. Bad.
20 years stint leaves a pretty big dint. I'll need something big to fill a rather large void. Presuming of course I actually manage to pull this off. If I fix it, then the reason dies. I go back to the old ways, none the wiser. Then I stay up til 6:30am watching sub par television blogging to no one and thinking to myself - is that all there is? Don't bother watching the video here, just listen to the song.
If I am going to stick with computers, then I'll have to get smarter. It takes a lot of wherewithal to build a ladder out of a rut. I'll need tools to do it.
Any ideas?
Sometimes they break. Sometimes when they break I must fix them. Often, I am the only one around who can do this.
I am the only one.
This fact is complicated.
I am needed. Good. I am alone. Bad. I can fix it. Good. I have to learn how to fix it. Bad. I can try to explain the problem to others. Good. They won't understand. Bad. If I do fix it, people will say well done and forget about it. Bad. I can't be sure my fix will hold. Bad. I don't know if it will break again. Bad. I don't know how to fix it. Bad. I don't know how to fix it. Bad. I have to try and learn how to fix it. Only I can fix it. Bad. It's my fault. Bad. I created the problem. Bad. I didn't mean to cause a fuss. Good. Computers are wasting my life. Bad. I am wasting me life on computers. Bad. Chocolate. Good. Too much chocolate. Bad. There are too many things I don't know. Bad. I am addicted. Bad. I know. Good. I don't change it. Bad. I want to change. Good. I don't know if I want to change. Bad.
20 years stint leaves a pretty big dint. I'll need something big to fill a rather large void. Presuming of course I actually manage to pull this off. If I fix it, then the reason dies. I go back to the old ways, none the wiser. Then I stay up til 6:30am watching sub par television blogging to no one and thinking to myself - is that all there is? Don't bother watching the video here, just listen to the song.
If I am going to stick with computers, then I'll have to get smarter. It takes a lot of wherewithal to build a ladder out of a rut. I'll need tools to do it.
Any ideas?
Monday, October 27, 2008
#25 Irony it seems is not without a sense of humour
And so, in my quest to outsource those difficult life decisions to the power of the Internet, I have come across Chris Pirillo.
The Irony? Right here:
He's way ahead of me. I mean wayyyy ahead. Already has the wife and dogs.
Not much privacy though. If he goes off air for more than 5 minutes, 200 people start to wonder if he's answering a call of nature. Voyeurism if ever there was a thing. He can't even pick his nose without people making a point of it.
Not like the spire on O'Connell Street. I never got the point of that. A giant needle to get rid of a drug problem? Nahhhh....
Still, it's fairly natural to be a little envious of people with nicer stuff. Kinda gets religion involved.
Either way though, it could be a lot worse. If you have your life and your freedom, then count yourself lucky. The clothes on your back and the chair beneath your arse - along with everything else you have - are all gravy.
How then to supress the common greed? Satiate with ignorance perhaps? Defoe suggested the middle station, as he put it. The notorious B.I.G. advised 'mo money mo problems' (from the album life after death). So we are thus tasked to find a state where our material wealth offers us a state of simple comfort and nothing more. The man with the second house is left to fret and worry for its safety. To lessen this worry, there is insurance. Insurance costs money. Money costs time, unless you're lucky.
In the end then, you arrive where you started. Life is more than a defiant stand against senessence. Folks smarter than me have spent more time trying to pin it down for themselves. Still, I don't think a concrete definition of what life is and means will help, even if it is general enough to apply to the majority.
There will always be farmers. There will always be tools the farmers need, though they need not rely on others for this. You can tell where this is going. Farmers need tools, which needs metal, which needs metalworkers, who need miners, who mine ore, which is smelted by smelters, and they all need food. We also need scribes to keep track of things like how much food the farmer has and how much ore the miner has mined for the smelter who in turn will make metals for the metalworker. There will always be dishonesty and wickedness, so there will also always be laws and armies to defend the just. The just are fearful. The armies and laws do their best to minimise the fear by creating ever more complex weapons and legislation.
In only 8 lines, the complexity of the world has begun to spiral outside the comprehension of the ordinary man. It would be simpler if there were only miners and farmers, but the miners would eventually discover gold.
I'm sure the first original thought is written down somewhere. I just haven't read it yet.
The Irony? Right here:
He's way ahead of me. I mean wayyyy ahead. Already has the wife and dogs.
Not much privacy though. If he goes off air for more than 5 minutes, 200 people start to wonder if he's answering a call of nature. Voyeurism if ever there was a thing. He can't even pick his nose without people making a point of it.
Not like the spire on O'Connell Street. I never got the point of that. A giant needle to get rid of a drug problem? Nahhhh....
Still, it's fairly natural to be a little envious of people with nicer stuff. Kinda gets religion involved.
Either way though, it could be a lot worse. If you have your life and your freedom, then count yourself lucky. The clothes on your back and the chair beneath your arse - along with everything else you have - are all gravy.
How then to supress the common greed? Satiate with ignorance perhaps? Defoe suggested the middle station, as he put it. The notorious B.I.G. advised 'mo money mo problems' (from the album life after death). So we are thus tasked to find a state where our material wealth offers us a state of simple comfort and nothing more. The man with the second house is left to fret and worry for its safety. To lessen this worry, there is insurance. Insurance costs money. Money costs time, unless you're lucky.
In the end then, you arrive where you started. Life is more than a defiant stand against senessence. Folks smarter than me have spent more time trying to pin it down for themselves. Still, I don't think a concrete definition of what life is and means will help, even if it is general enough to apply to the majority.
There will always be farmers. There will always be tools the farmers need, though they need not rely on others for this. You can tell where this is going. Farmers need tools, which needs metal, which needs metalworkers, who need miners, who mine ore, which is smelted by smelters, and they all need food. We also need scribes to keep track of things like how much food the farmer has and how much ore the miner has mined for the smelter who in turn will make metals for the metalworker. There will always be dishonesty and wickedness, so there will also always be laws and armies to defend the just. The just are fearful. The armies and laws do their best to minimise the fear by creating ever more complex weapons and legislation.
In only 8 lines, the complexity of the world has begun to spiral outside the comprehension of the ordinary man. It would be simpler if there were only miners and farmers, but the miners would eventually discover gold.
I'm sure the first original thought is written down somewhere. I just haven't read it yet.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
#24 Good things end
Last day at work today. I'll miss that place. As a parting prank, I changed all the desktop backgrounds and swapped the 'n' and 'm' keys on my keyboard I was working with. The conpamy will soom be semdimg stramge enails. I also left some videos for them. The office will definitely be quieter without me.
Heheh.
'Course the real prank is the one you allude to. The one that keeps them guessing. Like the classic 3 pigs, painted '1' '3' and '4'.
Heheh.
'Course the real prank is the one you allude to. The one that keeps them guessing. Like the classic 3 pigs, painted '1' '3' and '4'.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
#23 Song about emigration and also video blogs are somewhat embarrasing
It's the classic caveat. Tape recording your own voice, looking at holiday snaps, seeing yourself on video - "I sound, look and appear terrible!" Unless you have the brass neck to pull it off of course. Otherwise it's just embarrassing.
This evening's post is a song I wrote about emigration. I didn't put any music to it because that would mean I'd need to learn the lyrics to sing it live. I might put music to it at the weekend though :)
Traditional emigration songs are full of woe and pain. They feature themes like homesickness and depression. Mine is based on disappointment and whimsy. The neat thing about songs of this type is that you can improve the lyrics with the passage of time. Have a look, suggest changes, even add verses in the comments if you like!
The Emigration Song
Oh I'm singing about emigration
Just to have something to do
Yes I'm singing about emigration
And how it may affect you
Should I be singing about emigration?
Given my lopsided views
Should I be singing about emigration?
Or is it something I should do?
Sure I'm singing about emigration,
My country's sad to see me leave
I'm tryin' to be flyin' to Australia
Ticket price, plus anudder tenner paleas (ah jayz!)
Yeah I'm signing about emigration,
Taxes and charges and fees
I'm getting the hell off the Island
I may return soon, say in 2033
Ahhhhhh, that's the thing about emigration
The country's in dire straits indeed
I'm almost down to hockin' me body parts
I've hardly any blood left to bleed!
Though the odd thing about emigration
Tis what we're taught to think and believe (Yes Minister!)
Global economic recession (loada *******)
Buy pizza, pay extra for cheese (ah for feck sake)
So I'm off on to go emigratin'
Here in Ireland I can't make ends meet
And apologies to the wife and de chiseller
Expect a cheque when I get to Tennessee!
This evening's post is a song I wrote about emigration. I didn't put any music to it because that would mean I'd need to learn the lyrics to sing it live. I might put music to it at the weekend though :)
Traditional emigration songs are full of woe and pain. They feature themes like homesickness and depression. Mine is based on disappointment and whimsy. The neat thing about songs of this type is that you can improve the lyrics with the passage of time. Have a look, suggest changes, even add verses in the comments if you like!
The Emigration Song
Oh I'm singing about emigration
Just to have something to do
Yes I'm singing about emigration
And how it may affect you
Should I be singing about emigration?
Given my lopsided views
Should I be singing about emigration?
Or is it something I should do?
Sure I'm singing about emigration,
My country's sad to see me leave
I'm tryin' to be flyin' to Australia
Ticket price, plus anudder tenner paleas (ah jayz!)
Yeah I'm signing about emigration,
Taxes and charges and fees
I'm getting the hell off the Island
I may return soon, say in 2033
Ahhhhhh, that's the thing about emigration
The country's in dire straits indeed
I'm almost down to hockin' me body parts
I've hardly any blood left to bleed!
Though the odd thing about emigration
Tis what we're taught to think and believe (Yes Minister!)
Global economic recession (loada *******)
Buy pizza, pay extra for cheese (ah for feck sake)
So I'm off on to go emigratin'
Here in Ireland I can't make ends meet
And apologies to the wife and de chiseller
Expect a cheque when I get to Tennessee!
Monday, October 13, 2008
#22 Video games eat time
Yep, been mostly playing games today. Next week, I might even post about the chart.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
#21 Gonna try make this a weekly
Alrighty, second ever podcast. Hope you like it :) I think I'll put this on youtube as well. That way more people will see it. I left the sound low enough so you can turn it up yourselves. 5 minutes might be a bit heavy, so future videos will need to be shorter, or more compressed.
Interesting observation on freedom there; sometimes you don't know what to do with it.
I put too much effort into this. Next week, I'll probably just put in audio and a picture. The reason I'm using video is because I can't find the audio uploader. I know I could probably host the files elsewhere, but meh. This is easier. Most folk have broadband these days, and someday I'll appriciate visual aides.
In fact, I'll try and take film or other pictures for the next few videos. That'll be easier. Maybe a film of a walk through the local park. You could decide for me :)
'Course I'll have to keep going to work in the meantime, but that doesn't mean I'll be entirely without free time. Hehe, free time. Nice idea. Folks earn their time by slogging it out at work. It's a crazy idea that you might spend a days pay on a ticket to a show. Once in a lifetime experience? Yeah I guess so, that would be worth the time spent abiding with drudgery.
Here's a question: how is some time spent while other time is wasted?
Interesting observation on freedom there; sometimes you don't know what to do with it.
I put too much effort into this. Next week, I'll probably just put in audio and a picture. The reason I'm using video is because I can't find the audio uploader. I know I could probably host the files elsewhere, but meh. This is easier. Most folk have broadband these days, and someday I'll appriciate visual aides.
In fact, I'll try and take film or other pictures for the next few videos. That'll be easier. Maybe a film of a walk through the local park. You could decide for me :)
'Course I'll have to keep going to work in the meantime, but that doesn't mean I'll be entirely without free time. Hehe, free time. Nice idea. Folks earn their time by slogging it out at work. It's a crazy idea that you might spend a days pay on a ticket to a show. Once in a lifetime experience? Yeah I guess so, that would be worth the time spent abiding with drudgery.
Here's a question: how is some time spent while other time is wasted?
Friday, October 3, 2008
#20 Podcast experiment
Ok, so I've made my first podcast. Hopefully you lovely people will be able to download it and listen to it. I had to make it really quiet because it's 1:30am on a school night. Not that I'm still in school or anything but you get the idea.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
#19 The future will be here tomorrow
Cows in slippers! Genius!
Hang on, all cows are free range, right? The fence keeps the predators out.
TV is very silly.
I got my work nickname today - Bundy - from the odd laugh I get when something odd happens. Show me a picture of a Hadron supercollider and you'll see why.
Oooh, the weather. Seems there's a storm on the way. There goes the weekend! Plenty of weather on the way.
Dreadful joke: What do you get when you cross the titanic with the atlantic ocean? Half way.
I really ought to start podcasting. It's probably easier than I think too.
Seems the company I work my job for doesn't pay overtime. Work the timeclock? What would you do?
Hang on, all cows are free range, right? The fence keeps the predators out.
TV is very silly.
I got my work nickname today - Bundy - from the odd laugh I get when something odd happens. Show me a picture of a Hadron supercollider and you'll see why.
Oooh, the weather. Seems there's a storm on the way. There goes the weekend! Plenty of weather on the way.
Dreadful joke: What do you get when you cross the titanic with the atlantic ocean? Half way.
I really ought to start podcasting. It's probably easier than I think too.
Seems the company I work my job for doesn't pay overtime. Work the timeclock? What would you do?
Monday, September 29, 2008
#18 Is freedom a stat or skill?
http://www.owenfitzpatrick.com/meetowen/philosophy/philosophy.php#SlideFrame_1
This guy says "Personal Freedom is your own ability to take control over the way you think and feel and decide to become happier and more successful."
Surely it can't be that easy?
Mind over matter? What about all those external stimuli?
That financial crisis for instance. A whole bunch of people are pretty frazzled after the house of representitives shot down the savey deal. It's not quite the same as congress, but I'm a little fuzzy on that.
Still, the suggestion is that happiness and freedom are linked - not a bad idea. They might even be the same thing.
So maybe personal freedom as an ability relies on mental spam filters. If all the outside stuff bums you out, the only way you can get happy again is thinking your way there. Almost a bit like other skills and stats e.g. long distance running, stamina, patience, origami or dancing.
This guy says "Personal Freedom is your own ability to take control over the way you think and feel and decide to become happier and more successful."
Surely it can't be that easy?
Mind over matter? What about all those external stimuli?
That financial crisis for instance. A whole bunch of people are pretty frazzled after the house of representitives shot down the savey deal. It's not quite the same as congress, but I'm a little fuzzy on that.
Still, the suggestion is that happiness and freedom are linked - not a bad idea. They might even be the same thing.
So maybe personal freedom as an ability relies on mental spam filters. If all the outside stuff bums you out, the only way you can get happy again is thinking your way there. Almost a bit like other skills and stats e.g. long distance running, stamina, patience, origami or dancing.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
#17 Names that would be unsuitable for a horse
Never name your horse minge.
Or do. It would be fun.
In other news, I'm starting to lose enthusiam for work. And I'll buy spore when they remove the DRM.
Or do. It would be fun.
In other news, I'm starting to lose enthusiam for work. And I'll buy spore when they remove the DRM.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
#16 Storm front approaching
Big stuff coming in next week.
Yep.
I'd better get ready.
Remember, emulation is the greatest form of flattery.
Why are wheelchair ramps so slow? Saftey?
Comm skills went up a little today, along with working memory. Practise helps in all things.
I'd like to learn how to raise my right eyebrow. I can raise the left one just fine, not sure how to work the other one.
Yep.
I'd better get ready.
Remember, emulation is the greatest form of flattery.
Why are wheelchair ramps so slow? Saftey?
Comm skills went up a little today, along with working memory. Practise helps in all things.
I'd like to learn how to raise my right eyebrow. I can raise the left one just fine, not sure how to work the other one.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
#15 Shopping around
Looks can be deceiving.
I mentioned before that time buys money.
I thought about this. Money has value. There are many different types of money. The type of money I earn has a much higher value in places like Eastern Europe. In fact, as I go east, the value of my money goes up. There are plenty of factors at play here, far too many to quantify within the system of my blog.
In a similar way, time has value. Just like money, where you are determines what it's worth. What's my time worth right now? Not a lot really. I'm spending it watching TV. Successful people don't watch TV (apparently). Tomorrow morning at work my time will be worth a wage, because I'll be spending it pushing paper.
SO, I suppose economics determines what my money is worth. Does free will determine what my time is worth?
The other thing is that you need both time and money to survive. When you run out of time, you don the wings and head up to the pearly gates (hopefully) . But when you run out of money, bad things happen.
Money buys time, time buys money. Money can buy happiness, or at least the means to attain it. Whoever said otherwise obviously never heard of buying tickets to a comedy gig, or a nice holiday, or even a rigamarole PA to find a date. Courtship can be expensive. The grand objective appears to require significant amounts of time and money, but the return on investment is well worth it.
I'm trading time for money. It's working out. Now I need to find a way of spending my time towards the current objective: Stat increases.
I mentioned before that time buys money.
I thought about this. Money has value. There are many different types of money. The type of money I earn has a much higher value in places like Eastern Europe. In fact, as I go east, the value of my money goes up. There are plenty of factors at play here, far too many to quantify within the system of my blog.
In a similar way, time has value. Just like money, where you are determines what it's worth. What's my time worth right now? Not a lot really. I'm spending it watching TV. Successful people don't watch TV (apparently). Tomorrow morning at work my time will be worth a wage, because I'll be spending it pushing paper.
SO, I suppose economics determines what my money is worth. Does free will determine what my time is worth?
The other thing is that you need both time and money to survive. When you run out of time, you don the wings and head up to the pearly gates (hopefully) . But when you run out of money, bad things happen.
Money buys time, time buys money. Money can buy happiness, or at least the means to attain it. Whoever said otherwise obviously never heard of buying tickets to a comedy gig, or a nice holiday, or even a rigamarole PA to find a date. Courtship can be expensive. The grand objective appears to require significant amounts of time and money, but the return on investment is well worth it.
I'm trading time for money. It's working out. Now I need to find a way of spending my time towards the current objective: Stat increases.
#14 What an awful prang
And so, a standard reinstall ended up with a virused machine. Not a great week.
I'll get'er done eventually. Stats though, they've changed.
Confidence took a hit because I screwed up majorly
Memory, a perceived stat, took a hit too. I'd already downloaded the software in work where it wreaked havoc. For some reason, I thought the same software wouldn't cause the same problem.
Lemme paint the bigger picture here: Sibelius 2 needed a reinstall. I uninstalled it. Silly man, don't click custom!! Oh Noes!! Now the folder with all Dads work in it has been uninstalled too!!
Oie...
Ok, so try and reinstall? Okie, where's the serial number?
Oh Noes!!!! No serial number! Uninstall again? Yes. Oh dear, where are all the work scores? Oh noes... They've been wiped! Quick, get the Helix disc! FTK or FileRecovery! Save me!!
Oh NOES! They didn't help at all! Hmmm, what to do... Other recovery software? Worth a try... Even though FTK says the folder is all zeros now.
Ok, what's the best one? Recover my files? K, let's try this... later.
Oh, the guys at work wiped a flash card. I have recover my files. Let's try it.
Eeep. That installer was virused. Now the work computer needs to be fixed.
Hm, shame about what happened at work. Let's try the same file at home.
Oh noes. Oh NOES!! Now my home PC has a virus! Damn you smit.fraud!
Oie, this isn't pretty.
But at least now I have all the tools I need to fix both infections :(
smit.fraud isn't malicious (if kaspersky is to be believed) but it's a right pain to remove.
So as you can see from the above story, I did a series of very stupid things. Worse still, I kept rushing into doing stupider things.
Both infected systems have dual boot (two operating systems - 1 good, 1 bad), so fixing them won't be completely impossible. I just need to work out a pathology to success. Everyone has problems, but very few have solutions. I should count myself lucky.
My wish for a superpower is to know the exact solution to any problem I encounter. I mean I could say scientific problem or engineering, but why limit what I might need to know? The internet already has this power. It wouldn't be beyond my powers of learning either. In the story above, I've had to learn from necessity.
Another harsh lesson.
I'll get'er done eventually. Stats though, they've changed.
Confidence took a hit because I screwed up majorly
Memory, a perceived stat, took a hit too. I'd already downloaded the software in work where it wreaked havoc. For some reason, I thought the same software wouldn't cause the same problem.
Lemme paint the bigger picture here: Sibelius 2 needed a reinstall. I uninstalled it. Silly man, don't click custom!! Oh Noes!! Now the folder with all Dads work in it has been uninstalled too!!
Oie...
Ok, so try and reinstall? Okie, where's the serial number?
Oh Noes!!!! No serial number! Uninstall again? Yes. Oh dear, where are all the work scores? Oh noes... They've been wiped! Quick, get the Helix disc! FTK or FileRecovery! Save me!!
Oh NOES! They didn't help at all! Hmmm, what to do... Other recovery software? Worth a try... Even though FTK says the folder is all zeros now.
Ok, what's the best one? Recover my files? K, let's try this... later.
Oh, the guys at work wiped a flash card. I have recover my files. Let's try it.
Eeep. That installer was virused. Now the work computer needs to be fixed.
Hm, shame about what happened at work. Let's try the same file at home.
Oh noes. Oh NOES!! Now my home PC has a virus! Damn you smit.fraud!
Oie, this isn't pretty.
But at least now I have all the tools I need to fix both infections :(
smit.fraud isn't malicious (if kaspersky is to be believed) but it's a right pain to remove.
So as you can see from the above story, I did a series of very stupid things. Worse still, I kept rushing into doing stupider things.
Both infected systems have dual boot (two operating systems - 1 good, 1 bad), so fixing them won't be completely impossible. I just need to work out a pathology to success. Everyone has problems, but very few have solutions. I should count myself lucky.
My wish for a superpower is to know the exact solution to any problem I encounter. I mean I could say scientific problem or engineering, but why limit what I might need to know? The internet already has this power. It wouldn't be beyond my powers of learning either. In the story above, I've had to learn from necessity.
Another harsh lesson.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
#13 Artsy
I drew this yesterday.
K, so the guy in the middle is a smiley pink dude with 4 legs, 1 of which is from a table, and the other 3 clad in tights. His right ear is either a hole punch or a paper clasp (you know, like those big black metal paper clips?). I was actually trying to draw an A4 punch, go for the whole pierced ear visual pun gag there. The legs are the metal bits from the paper clasps too. Above him we have a blue cloud long bed pick-up truck with a scorpion tail that also has a flame thrower for those roadside BBQ doos. Not sure why it's blue. Then in the bottom corner, we have my initials and the year of creation. Beside that, stickman wearing the badly drawn fez is asking 'eh?' because he's in the picture, but not quite getting it, and there's purple rain along the right side as a tribute to Milli Vanilli and Prince, who wrote blame on the rain and purple rain respectively.
Funny thing, art.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
#12 Halfway from the start is halfway to the finish
I'm getting the hang of this. As to work, my theory was right. I was vindicated too, so I'm glad I came clean and let everyone know where I was. Being in Ireland seems to mean you can call someone or leave them a voicemail and they won't call me back. I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I took down the voicemails this morning from the night before. Wanna know how many I called back? 2. I think. Boss wasn't happy about that. 'Course if you only leave a name and number then hang up, will I think it's important? Probably not.
Why am I putting up with this? Well, I need money. I have plenty of time, so I figure I can trade some of it for money. Time is money, remember? That also means money is time, which explains why people hire plumbers, electricians, computer repair men, driving instructors and other things, like water, gas, oil, electricity, transport and groceries.
Economics described in 2 lines. Take that Wikipedia!
Oooh Peggle!
Why am I putting up with this? Well, I need money. I have plenty of time, so I figure I can trade some of it for money. Time is money, remember? That also means money is time, which explains why people hire plumbers, electricians, computer repair men, driving instructors and other things, like water, gas, oil, electricity, transport and groceries.
Economics described in 2 lines. Take that Wikipedia!
Oooh Peggle!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
#11 Tree in the Forest
If you drop a pebble in a pool, how long will it take for the ripples to subside?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
#10 Stride
Handwriting skill improved today. Paperwork management, work habits and customer relations skills are also up.
Still working on it all. Hope you're all reading good books :)
Here's a picture of a TV oozing what might be cheese:
It's art Jim but not as we know it.
Monday, September 8, 2008
#9 Reality Intervenes
The real first day was today. Because my social stat is so low, working with customers is very difficult. The first week will be a true test. Toughness has been revealed as dangerously low. An offhand remark or angry person seems to cause a long lasting sometimes permanent confidence debuff, a stat that can't afford to go any lower. If it does, introversion will take a sharp rise, and social will plummet until confidence recovers.
The 'forget about it' ability needs to be learned. Otherwise the foibles of everyday life will eventually crush me. Toughness is low because of a long period of self imposed social isolation, largely related to the shyness trait. Why it should be that I can't take the mildest of knocks is yours to decide. Bound and retained such as these wounds are, remedied only by love. So we should hope.
Everything works out in the end. God plays dice, and the dice are loaded. Kay surah surah. Another Day another Dollar. Live to work or work to live.
Winter is coming.
The 'forget about it' ability needs to be learned. Otherwise the foibles of everyday life will eventually crush me. Toughness is low because of a long period of self imposed social isolation, largely related to the shyness trait. Why it should be that I can't take the mildest of knocks is yours to decide. Bound and retained such as these wounds are, remedied only by love. So we should hope.
Everything works out in the end. God plays dice, and the dice are loaded. Kay surah surah. Another Day another Dollar. Live to work or work to live.
Winter is coming.
#8 Time marches on
So well we are, happy and healthy, or hopefully at least so.
Stats update today.
Social is up 10%
Beermat flipping skills levelled up thanks to a successful first attempt at a stack of 10 (asynchronously sized, half aerial turn, fingertip catch, 2 witnesses). Beermat skills now stand at level 4
Hearing took some temporary damage due to all that loud music
Loneliness is on the rise, +1% every hour
Organisational skills are set to rise steadily until the end of the month
Sleepyness is rising steadily, so this post won't last much longer
Dancing abilities rose by 2D6%. Those of you playing at home should roll 2D6 now.
Maturity rose by 1 D10%. Mental age is now estimated at around 19 years.
Despondency caused by the humdrum nature of life rose slightly
Maybe next week I'll post up my alternate zodiac. It should blow traditional astrology out of the water.
Stats update today.
Social is up 10%
Beermat flipping skills levelled up thanks to a successful first attempt at a stack of 10 (asynchronously sized, half aerial turn, fingertip catch, 2 witnesses). Beermat skills now stand at level 4
Hearing took some temporary damage due to all that loud music
Loneliness is on the rise, +1% every hour
Organisational skills are set to rise steadily until the end of the month
Sleepyness is rising steadily, so this post won't last much longer
Dancing abilities rose by 2D6%. Those of you playing at home should roll 2D6 now.
Maturity rose by 1 D10%. Mental age is now estimated at around 19 years.
Despondency caused by the humdrum nature of life rose slightly
Maybe next week I'll post up my alternate zodiac. It should blow traditional astrology out of the water.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
#7 I'm lucky, but sometimes everything changes
Routine. Any freedom in that? Sure: how about the freedom from thought?
Some freedoms aren't as good as others. Heh, the freedom to choose freedoms, now that's a good one. All freedoms have limits. Bush said there ought to be limits to freedom. Not sure if he was joking, but there are.
You've the freedom of your time up to when you get hungry or thirsty. Then you lose a freedom to your body. This one loss starts the domino effect. You have to go find food and/or water (usually water).
What would life be like if we didn't need food or water? Now that I think about it Jesus said a lot about bread and water.
Let's say you could still eat and drink for fun. No famine, that's a given. Pestilence? That'd take a hit for sure. Plenty of folks died from bad food and water. War? Majorly hit too. Food competition is out of the equation so all we fight over are things like natural resources. Not sure if oil would still cause problems. Death? Hard to say. Isn't aging caused by oxidization? Call an expert in.
Most of what I'm writing about has already been written elsewhere. The difference is that I'm piecing it all together for myself from places like books and modern media.
The grand objective remains. This perhaps brings in a third need.
Love.
Some freedoms aren't as good as others. Heh, the freedom to choose freedoms, now that's a good one. All freedoms have limits. Bush said there ought to be limits to freedom. Not sure if he was joking, but there are.
You've the freedom of your time up to when you get hungry or thirsty. Then you lose a freedom to your body. This one loss starts the domino effect. You have to go find food and/or water (usually water).
What would life be like if we didn't need food or water? Now that I think about it Jesus said a lot about bread and water.
Let's say you could still eat and drink for fun. No famine, that's a given. Pestilence? That'd take a hit for sure. Plenty of folks died from bad food and water. War? Majorly hit too. Food competition is out of the equation so all we fight over are things like natural resources. Not sure if oil would still cause problems. Death? Hard to say. Isn't aging caused by oxidization? Call an expert in.
Most of what I'm writing about has already been written elsewhere. The difference is that I'm piecing it all together for myself from places like books and modern media.
The grand objective remains. This perhaps brings in a third need.
Love.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
#6 First Day
First day of the rest of my life, of Autumn, of September, of what will be. This means a lot of stats over near the relationship wall will start moving about. An odd mood dip occured earlier today but passed. Full moon I guess. The language is coming on nicely, the book has stalled and the other blog is sporadically updated.
Sickiness is up due to a rather terrible diet. I was thinking of adding Health status somehow. Life is pretty three-dimensional as is free will, so I might add Health as the floor. It'd fit nicely, because without good health, very few of the other walls matter. Religion holds up in the hopes that belief in healing has been demonstated to cure disease e.g. faith healing and the placebo effect.
Financial situation might improve in 4 weeks.
Common sense now dicates that sleepiness should be decreased. There is much to be done tomorrow.
Sickiness is up due to a rather terrible diet. I was thinking of adding Health status somehow. Life is pretty three-dimensional as is free will, so I might add Health as the floor. It'd fit nicely, because without good health, very few of the other walls matter. Religion holds up in the hopes that belief in healing has been demonstated to cure disease e.g. faith healing and the placebo effect.
Financial situation might improve in 4 weeks.
Common sense now dicates that sleepiness should be decreased. There is much to be done tomorrow.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
#5 The four walls: Philosophy
Mr T. with a cello
Anyways, Philosophy is a super broad longtall wall that nearly almost makes the floor and ceiling for freedom. Ethics, being a branch of philosophy that shares a corner wall with common sense. Its chief tennant is 'be nice'
I'm actually watching a creepy film right now about extreme right wing feminism. Made back in the 90s so it was. Seems to point out that the application of religion to free will needs to be carefully thought out. Plenty of history to back that up.
People don't fight if they think they're free. That'd be one of the ideas from the matrix. So we sort of owe science fiction a nod as a form of accessable modern philosophy. Existenialism wouldn't make a lick of sense if there wasn't a whacky film about it (sure it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining either).
Today's existential thought: if you don't work, you don't exist.
Oh bloody hell, now the film characters are playing scrabble! Damn NeoCons! (hehe, that'll look funny later)
Offhand cute thought: Baby Polar Bears!
EMERGENCY! Mam doesn't know what Pacman is! Code Blue!
.... err, yellow even. Hell, code RAINBOW!
Friday, August 29, 2008
#4 There goes my neighbourhood!
Houseflies don't have patios, shoeflies don't have laces and horseflies never whinny. But if they did...
I updated firefox like everyone else and am liking it so far. Not sure I approve of the past links thing. It seems my computer knows more about me than I do!
Anyways, my snarled up thumb is healing nicely, the midge bites have nearly stop itching and there are 2 days of summer left. And I never did have that BBQ. Ahh, large quantities of flame-throwered meat. Maybe next year.
Stats have changed as follows
Depression is up from 10% to 13% because I won't be at electric picnic (the annual music festival). Bad social planning mostly to blame here. And a complete lack of funds, though that's being addressed.
I.T. savvy is up a few more points due to my sucessful installing of windows 98 under virtual PC. I was actually trying to get Dungeon Keeper to run again with no success. The same endevour sees self worth drop a point because I still can't get the thing working. Disappointment also sees a moderate increase of 7%. Overall mood now stands at 80% (where 50% is the middle of the scale), falling slowly.
Mood may well continue to drop until I get over my game cravings. It is unlikely to occur having been an addict for so long. Probably one of the negative aspects of the gamer character trait.
Mood is now around 65%, (yeah, it flucuates fast) so even though my perceived sleepiness stat is low, actual sleepiness, established habit, cultural norm and societal expectation mean a high likelihood of sleep.
Current philosophical bent: genetical custodians.
Long term objectives: gather resources to satisfy needs as defined by Maslow and others;
contribute to the discovery of nuclear fusion.
Maudlin thought: 15 years of childhood and only a videogame collection to show for it.
Mid term objectives: Meet new people (oh the horror! A technocrat otaku meeting new people!)[mood rose 8%]
Short term objectives: Consider human behaviour and evaluate existing lexography to determine if it can be defined succintly.
I updated firefox like everyone else and am liking it so far. Not sure I approve of the past links thing. It seems my computer knows more about me than I do!
Anyways, my snarled up thumb is healing nicely, the midge bites have nearly stop itching and there are 2 days of summer left. And I never did have that BBQ. Ahh, large quantities of flame-throwered meat. Maybe next year.
Stats have changed as follows
Depression is up from 10% to 13% because I won't be at electric picnic (the annual music festival). Bad social planning mostly to blame here. And a complete lack of funds, though that's being addressed.
I.T. savvy is up a few more points due to my sucessful installing of windows 98 under virtual PC. I was actually trying to get Dungeon Keeper to run again with no success. The same endevour sees self worth drop a point because I still can't get the thing working. Disappointment also sees a moderate increase of 7%. Overall mood now stands at 80% (where 50% is the middle of the scale), falling slowly.
Mood may well continue to drop until I get over my game cravings. It is unlikely to occur having been an addict for so long. Probably one of the negative aspects of the gamer character trait.
Mood is now around 65%, (yeah, it flucuates fast) so even though my perceived sleepiness stat is low, actual sleepiness, established habit, cultural norm and societal expectation mean a high likelihood of sleep.
Current philosophical bent: genetical custodians.
Long term objectives: gather resources to satisfy needs as defined by Maslow and others;
contribute to the discovery of nuclear fusion.
Maudlin thought: 15 years of childhood and only a videogame collection to show for it.
Mid term objectives: Meet new people (oh the horror! A technocrat otaku meeting new people!)[mood rose 8%]
Short term objectives: Consider human behaviour and evaluate existing lexography to determine if it can be defined succintly.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
#3.5
Seems one of my posts got lost in the ether. Not to worry. This week, I have mostly been doing yard work. Injuries now include 2 sore thumbs, several midge bites, and some minor scarring. These should all clear up by the end of next week.
As you can see, I haven't managed to come up with a decent name for this post. Not to worry. Over the weekend, a few skills increased such as electrician (+2), DIY (+3) and lawn mowing (+2). These 3 skills currently belong to the common sense sphere, but you can choose as many spheres as you like. Remember, you're in control here!
As for current buffs and debuffs, the weekend working outdoors means I now have the mosquito temp debuff (itchyness +5), the good days work buff temp buff and the large pile of laundry debuff which doesn't really have any effect other than a time defecit (so -time I guess, and of course the random stat mods associated with doing laundry).
Unlike linear games, free will uses sliders that go both up and down. There are positive and negative. I figure most MMOs are virtualisations of real life in one form or another so it makes sense that real life has more sliders, stats and skills than you could shake a stick at. I'll list a few more in 3 days.
Friday, August 22, 2008
#2 Current Stats
Let's take a look at some of my stats:
Height: 'bout 176cm or 5'10" and a bit
Weight: 85kg or 187lbs (erring on the heavy side)
Diet: Whatever I find in the freezer
Most useful skill: Computer troubleshooting
Current attire: Pyjamas
Mood: Frivolous, Generally Positive
Current activity: Watching Olympic table tennis
Hungryness: Low (9%)
Thirtyness: Low (20%)
Personal hygene: 42%
Energy levels: 78%
Perspicasity: Normal (56%)
Confidence: Steady
Outlook: 68%
Height: 'bout 176cm or 5'10" and a bit
Weight: 85kg or 187lbs (erring on the heavy side)
Diet: Whatever I find in the freezer
Most useful skill: Computer troubleshooting
Current attire: Pyjamas
Mood: Frivolous, Generally Positive
Current activity: Watching Olympic table tennis
Hungryness: Low (9%)
Thirtyness: Low (20%)
Personal hygene: 42%
Energy levels: 78%
Perspicasity: Normal (56%)
Confidence: Steady
Outlook: 68%
#1 Welcome to Free Will!
Have you ever wondered what it might be like if you were playing a game like the Sims with real people? It'd be pretty interesting. That sort of the idea with this blog. You, dear reader, get to decide what I should do with my day. Just like a video game character, I have stats, attributes, skills and equipment. In order to gain favour, you have to suggest good courses of action. Regular players who suggest beneficial things like 'eat a healthy breakfast' or 'get some exercise' will be given more attention than players suggesting things like 'jump off a bridge' or 'stay up pask 4am playing video games'.
The ultimate goal of the game is to turn a 20something male nerd into a successful human being who goes to church, pays taxes and is a general asset to society. The game is complete when I, your character, have completed a series of objectives, such as 'hold down a steady job with good pay and prospects' and ' get married and start a family'.
As various challenges are faced, relevant abilities will become available such as social skills, technical skills, fashion sense and the all important confidence stat. It's up to you though to decide what I should do in a given situation.
On the right, we can see the free will chart. There are limits to free will of course, because without them, we wouldn't know it existed. As you can see, Laws (of man and the universe like treason and physics) restrict free will, as do relationships, common sense and religion. These restrictions are subject to change as I grow and learn.
You'll also notice that free will is encircled. This represents my comfort zone. Even though it doesn't touch any boundaries, there are many things I would not be comfortable doing such as tattoos, piercings, sky diving, eating spiders etc. Players who can make the circle bigger earn points for expanding the comfort zone, even though this objective is perhaps the most difficult to attain.
Since the game has just begun, Confidence is 0/100 and at level 2. This means I can just about order lunch in subway without getting too embarrassed and can even ask for directions when lost.
Computer skills on the other hand are reasonably good, since I have a qualification in the field. Right now, they're 22/100, level 8 and rising, since I'm learning how to use this blogging software. In particular, my computer networking skills rose recently thanks to a bit of tinkering with some RJ11 cable.
Your first task is to decide what my stats and stats should be. You can come up with as many different stat types as you like for me and I'll assign various numbers which you can then argue up or down. Do I need a bladder control stat? Should I have a yoyo skill? Should I apply for a job at the zoo as a wolverine herder? You decide!
My free will - It's in your hands!
The ultimate goal of the game is to turn a 20something male nerd into a successful human being who goes to church, pays taxes and is a general asset to society. The game is complete when I, your character, have completed a series of objectives, such as 'hold down a steady job with good pay and prospects' and ' get married and start a family'.
As various challenges are faced, relevant abilities will become available such as social skills, technical skills, fashion sense and the all important confidence stat. It's up to you though to decide what I should do in a given situation.
On the right, we can see the free will chart. There are limits to free will of course, because without them, we wouldn't know it existed. As you can see, Laws (of man and the universe like treason and physics) restrict free will, as do relationships, common sense and religion. These restrictions are subject to change as I grow and learn.
You'll also notice that free will is encircled. This represents my comfort zone. Even though it doesn't touch any boundaries, there are many things I would not be comfortable doing such as tattoos, piercings, sky diving, eating spiders etc. Players who can make the circle bigger earn points for expanding the comfort zone, even though this objective is perhaps the most difficult to attain.
Since the game has just begun, Confidence is 0/100 and at level 2. This means I can just about order lunch in subway without getting too embarrassed and can even ask for directions when lost.
Computer skills on the other hand are reasonably good, since I have a qualification in the field. Right now, they're 22/100, level 8 and rising, since I'm learning how to use this blogging software. In particular, my computer networking skills rose recently thanks to a bit of tinkering with some RJ11 cable.
Your first task is to decide what my stats and stats should be. You can come up with as many different stat types as you like for me and I'll assign various numbers which you can then argue up or down. Do I need a bladder control stat? Should I have a yoyo skill? Should I apply for a job at the zoo as a wolverine herder? You decide!
My free will - It's in your hands!
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