Friday, August 03, 2007
Death
Nothing much to say. I think this blog has run its course, my life has taken so many turns and twists I'm not sure this style of a blog is even appropriate for me. Perhaps I will take up blogging some day in the future but probably not in this same rambling unguided format.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Metaphysics in blogs
So apparently to be a good blogger one needs to read other blogs. Alas I have been so busy that I haven't been able to read hardly anything for fun (except for my daily comics). But today I ventured over to two of my favorite blogs and found religious discussions that I found quite interesting.
The first is Scott Aaronson's blog about a conversation with a fundamentalist Christian and deducing the rules of religious inference. The topic is quite hot for I see regularly scientists and secularists being more on the offensive about the flaws of religion in books, blogs, magazines, and almost every form of print. In addition to these publications we also see that Scott recieved almost 200 comments on the post, which just goes to show how hot a topic it is.
The next blog is a friend over at Orthonormal Basis blogging about questioning acts of faith. While I realize that some may see such a questioning as an unforgivable offense to the Almighty, in my Socratic sytle I would say question on for better to be a reasoned man. Perhaps most of all these two posts have woken me up a bit to things I use to think about quite a bit before I came to this cold dead campus of eternal work. (Not cold and dead because it is secular but rather because I work too much.)
As one of Aaronson's commenter's points out, a part of the missing analysis among these blogs is Wittgenstein's idea of "aspect blindness". In my humble view, it seems that both the fundamentalist and the over-analyzed scientist are both hiding important aspects of their beliefs. Aaronson's post demonstrates how often religious people will hold contradictions solely because they are religious beliefs, this sort of analysis presumes that scientific beliefs which are held solely because they are scientific are more worthy. This shoots to the more important religion/science debate rather than merely attacking the ability of some individuals modus ponens abilities.
Let me expound a bit more on a simple example. Which is a "higher" belief, the belief that without God we would not exist or the belief that without oxygen we would die.
Of course, the second one is verifiable and the first not. Perhaps its easy to stop and say that since this is so and it appears to be true (modulo any science fiction fantasies) that is a "higher" belief. But this in itself seems to be a matter of faith, that true justified beliefs are "higher" and even qualify as "knowledge" (once again modulo the Gettier problem).
But the first belief, or some equivalent religious belief, still might strike one as a "higher" belief simple because of its subject. Such a belief will not pass for any test of "knowledge" and thus also becomes a matter of faith to hold that it is a higher belief. To some this belief does not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, it appears that very little in one's life depends on beliefs of this type. Once again a matter of faith.
Before one starts to even evaluate these beliefs an act of faith must be made. Unfortunately much of the debate about religion and science are riddled with ad hominem and other fallacies, but this essential question of how such an act of faith begins so much of our world views that it will start wars and indecencies among the most rational people.
Of course this path of logic tends to take me into much longer philosophical diatribes, but I guess I should just end my post with a question. How can we evaluate religious beliefs with such scientific reasoning that requires we take an opposite stand of faith?
The first is Scott Aaronson's blog about a conversation with a fundamentalist Christian and deducing the rules of religious inference. The topic is quite hot for I see regularly scientists and secularists being more on the offensive about the flaws of religion in books, blogs, magazines, and almost every form of print. In addition to these publications we also see that Scott recieved almost 200 comments on the post, which just goes to show how hot a topic it is.
The next blog is a friend over at Orthonormal Basis blogging about questioning acts of faith. While I realize that some may see such a questioning as an unforgivable offense to the Almighty, in my Socratic sytle I would say question on for better to be a reasoned man. Perhaps most of all these two posts have woken me up a bit to things I use to think about quite a bit before I came to this cold dead campus of eternal work. (Not cold and dead because it is secular but rather because I work too much.)
As one of Aaronson's commenter's points out, a part of the missing analysis among these blogs is Wittgenstein's idea of "aspect blindness". In my humble view, it seems that both the fundamentalist and the over-analyzed scientist are both hiding important aspects of their beliefs. Aaronson's post demonstrates how often religious people will hold contradictions solely because they are religious beliefs, this sort of analysis presumes that scientific beliefs which are held solely because they are scientific are more worthy. This shoots to the more important religion/science debate rather than merely attacking the ability of some individuals modus ponens abilities.
Let me expound a bit more on a simple example. Which is a "higher" belief, the belief that without God we would not exist or the belief that without oxygen we would die.
Of course, the second one is verifiable and the first not. Perhaps its easy to stop and say that since this is so and it appears to be true (modulo any science fiction fantasies) that is a "higher" belief. But this in itself seems to be a matter of faith, that true justified beliefs are "higher" and even qualify as "knowledge" (once again modulo the Gettier problem).
But the first belief, or some equivalent religious belief, still might strike one as a "higher" belief simple because of its subject. Such a belief will not pass for any test of "knowledge" and thus also becomes a matter of faith to hold that it is a higher belief. To some this belief does not make a difference in the grand scheme of things, it appears that very little in one's life depends on beliefs of this type. Once again a matter of faith.
Before one starts to even evaluate these beliefs an act of faith must be made. Unfortunately much of the debate about religion and science are riddled with ad hominem and other fallacies, but this essential question of how such an act of faith begins so much of our world views that it will start wars and indecencies among the most rational people.
Of course this path of logic tends to take me into much longer philosophical diatribes, but I guess I should just end my post with a question. How can we evaluate religious beliefs with such scientific reasoning that requires we take an opposite stand of faith?
Friday, April 27, 2007
DNA of Religious Faith
DNA of Religious Faith
This article has me laughing out loud. I suppose it is about like an artist reading a criticizing piece by a philosopher about her art. The philosopher might have some interesting philosophy but at the end of the day had no idea why the artist created.
The idea that there is no benefit to religion because "water hasn't been turned into wine in the last 2000 years" seems to completely miss the point. While this scientist is focusing on what religion can do for the individual, he completely overlooked the society he lives in.
This article has me laughing out loud. I suppose it is about like an artist reading a criticizing piece by a philosopher about her art. The philosopher might have some interesting philosophy but at the end of the day had no idea why the artist created.
The idea that there is no benefit to religion because "water hasn't been turned into wine in the last 2000 years" seems to completely miss the point. While this scientist is focusing on what religion can do for the individual, he completely overlooked the society he lives in.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
March unto Death
Never fear, our hero is off.
To defend today the masterpiece of his work.
A riveting essay that will surely put the most tentative audience to sleep;
nonetheless, this rite of passage must be achieved
Or else the hero fades in the dark
To defend today the masterpiece of his work.
A riveting essay that will surely put the most tentative audience to sleep;
nonetheless, this rite of passage must be achieved
Or else the hero fades in the dark
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Gaa It's been a whole month
Wow December has flown by. One would think that the follow up to a post apologizing for my absence from my blog would come before a whole month has expired, but alas I'm trying to get all my experiments to work correctly and what not for my master's defense.
Being the last day of the year, it is an excellent time to evaluate whether I should continue posting or become one of the two hundred million people who "thinks they have something to say, until they're put on stage and asked to say it." Although to be a good blogger one not only needs to write on his blog but also read other peoples blogs and comment about them. Otherwise how do we make sure that we pat someone on the back and in turn they pat us on the back for for a well written post.
Well anywho, I have decided to switch over to the new blogger format and as a result I have also changed the template. I was a bit tired of the balloon looking boxes on the pitch black abyss. I am thinking of actually designing something that looks cool for it but as usual I make no promises.
Being the last day of the year, it is an excellent time to evaluate whether I should continue posting or become one of the two hundred million people who "thinks they have something to say, until they're put on stage and asked to say it." Although to be a good blogger one not only needs to write on his blog but also read other peoples blogs and comment about them. Otherwise how do we make sure that we pat someone on the back and in turn they pat us on the back for for a well written post.
Well anywho, I have decided to switch over to the new blogger format and as a result I have also changed the template. I was a bit tired of the balloon looking boxes on the pitch black abyss. I am thinking of actually designing something that looks cool for it but as usual I make no promises.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Why I haven't blogged
hmmm I guess this is the nearest confession you get that I am a nerd. But after spending all my free time (and some time I should probably have been working) I almost beat Nethack for the first time. Alas for those who know what I am talking about, here is my dump. And yes that is me only 10 squares away from being able to finish the game.
Eowyn, lawful female human Valkyrie
Eowyn the Heroine St:25 Dx:18 Co:18 In:14 Wi:15 Ch:10 Lawful
Astral Plane $:0 HP:0(208) Pw:73(73) AC:-16 Xp:23/30043063 T:63123
Your inventory
Amulets
Z - the Amulet of Yendor named the real deal (alternate weapon; not wielded)
Weapons
a - the rustproof +1 Excalibur
b - the blessed rustproof +0 Mjollnir (weapon in hand)
Armor
r - an uncursed fireproof +2 pair of speed boots (being worn)
y - a blessed fireproof +2 T-shirt (being worn)
C - an uncursed +0 pair of levitation boots
F - an uncursed thoroughly burnt rotted +1 elven leather helm (being worn)
H - an uncursed +0 silver dragon scale mail (being worn)
N - a blessed rustproof +2 pair of gauntlets of power (being worn)
Comestibles
j - an uncursed giant beetle corpse
E - an uncursed lizard corpse
Scrolls
w - 8 uncursed scrolls of blank paper
Rings
e - an uncursed ring of teleport control
f - an uncursed ring of free action (on left hand)
q - an uncursed ring of slow digestion
M - an uncursed ring of regeneration (on right hand)
Wands
h - a wand of nothing (0:3)
k - a wand of create monster (0:15)
m - a wand of teleportation (0:0)
n - a wand of speed monster (0:5)
p - a wand of fire (0:6)
u - a wand of speed monster (0:6)
x - a wand of slow monster (0:7)
z - a wand of striking (0:5)
A - a wand of digging (0:5)
B - a wand of cancellation (0:5)
D - a wand of digging (0:0)
G - a wand of striking (0:5)
J - a wand of magic missile (0:4)
K - a wand of wishing named already charged once (1:0)
R - a wand of magic missile (0:4)
U - a wand of wishing named charged once (1:0)
V - a blessed wand of death (0:0)
X - a wand of cold (0:2)
Tools
d - an uncursed magic lamp (lit)
g - an uncursed magic whistle
i - an uncursed rusty stethoscope
o - a blessed +0 unicorn horn
t - an uncursed skeleton key
I - an uncursed towel
L - the Bell of Opening (0:2)
P - the blessed Orb of Fate (1:0)
Q - a magic marker (0:65)
S - a blessed bag of holding
T - 2 uncursed tallow candles
Gems
s - 2 uncursed luckstones
v - 2 uncursed diamonds
Contents of the bag of holding:
16879 gold pieces
an uncursed amulet of reflection
a cursed amulet of unchanging
an uncursed amulet versus poison
4 uncursed food rations
2 uncursed lizard corpses
3 uncursed lembas wafers
2 blessed scrolls of remove curse
an uncursed scroll of teleportation
2 uncursed potions of speed
3 potions of holy water
a blessed potion of object detection
an uncursed potion of object detection
2 uncursed potions of restore ability
an uncursed ring of fire resistance
an uncursed ring of cold resistance
a blessed +1 ring of increase accuracy
an uncursed ring of protection from shape changers
an uncursed ring of sustain ability
an uncursed rusty +1 ring of protection
an uncursed +1 ring of gain constitution
an uncursed ring of polymorph control
an uncursed ring of stealth
an uncursed ring of see invisible
an uncursed ring of invisibility
a wand of digging (0:7)
a wand of digging (0:6)
a cursed wand of cold (0:2)
a wand of striking (0:4)
a wand of magic missile (0:0)
a wand of striking (0:0)
a wand of probing (0:3)
a rusty wand of lightning (0:8)
a wand of striking (0:4)
a wand of striking (0:5)
a +0 pick-axe
an uncursed lock pick
a magic marker (1:33)
an uncursed oil lamp
a can of grease (0:6)
an uncursed blindfold
a can of grease (0:7)
Final attributes
You were the Hand of Elbereth
You were piously aligned
You were fire resistant
You were cold resistant
You were sleep resistant
You were shock resistant
You were poison resistant
You saw invisible
You were telepathic
You were warned
You were invisible to others
You were stealthy
You could teleport
You regenerated
You were protected
You were very fast
You had reflection
You had free action
You were extremely lucky (13)
You had extra luck
Good luck did not time out for you
You are dead (4th time!)
Spells known in the end
Name Level Category Fail
a - magic missile 2* attack 89%
b - create familiar 6* clerical 100%
c - knock 1* matter 89%
d - clairvoyance 3* divination 95%
e - sleep 1 enchantment 89%
f - extra healing 3* healing 82%
g - force bolt 1* attack 89%
h - healing 1* healing 74%
i - wizard lock 2* matter 89%
j - cure blindness 2* healing 74%
k - slow monster 2* enchantment 89%
l - charm monster 3* enchantment 95%
m - detect food 2* divination 89%
n - create monster 2* clerical 89%
o - light 1 divination 89%
p - confuse monster 2 enchantment 89%
q - dig 5 matter 100%
r - remove curse 3 clerical 82%
s - detect treasure 4 divination 100%
t - restore ability 4 healing 100%
u - jumping 1 escape 89%
Vanquished creatures
Asmodeus
Baalzebub
Orcus
Juiblex
The Wizard of Yendor (14 times)
Pestilence
Famine (twice)
a high priest
2 mastodons
Medusa
13 krakens
4 iron golems
3 storm giants
2 glass golems
5 balrogs
11 purple worms
2 gray dragons
7 silver dragons
6 red dragons
6 white dragons
an orange dragon
9 black dragons
7 blue dragons
a green dragon
5 yellow dragons
17 minotaurs
4 jabberwocks
Lord Surtur
10 baluchitheria
2 Angels
2 demiliches
Vlad the Impaler
6 stone golems
a master mind flayer
10 Olog-hai
6 Nazguls
6 pit fiends
4 sandestins
4 hell hounds
10 titanotheres
7 trappers
2 baby blue dragons
a baby green dragon
8 disenchanters
40 vampire lords
5 skeletons
12 aligned priests
5 captains
6 shades
3 liches
6 clay golems
11 nurses
10 ice devils
17 nalfeshnees
7 lurkers above
an Aleax
7 frost giants
an ettin
6 black puddings
25 vampires
7 lieutenants
39 ghosts
a valkyrie
3 queen bees
4 winged gargoyles
3 mind flayers
14 giant mimics
5 zruties
25 fire giants
9 ogre kings
6 ice trolls
11 rock trolls
14 umber hulks
6 flesh golems
13 Elvenkings
7 doppelgangers
15 hezrous
14 bone devils
11 large mimics
4 wumpuses
4 fire vortices
2 baby long worms
7 long worms
3 couatls
18 stalkers
9 air elementals
8 fire elementals
6 earth elementals
45 water elementals
6 hill giants
5 giant mummies
11 xorns
24 giant zombies
17 elf-lords
13 sergeants
7 barbed devils
9 vrocks
3 salamanders
16 wargs
2 winter wolves
12 hell hound pups
17 small mimics
3 glass piercers
9 warhorses
6 steam vortices
7 xans
6 ettin mummies
12 ogre lords
18 quantum mechanics
22 trolls
a sasquatch
6 wood golems
3 erinyes
9 mariliths
a djinni
8 sharks
14 electric eels
4 gelatinous cubes
4 pyrolisks
4 large dogs
3 freezing spheres
17 flaming spheres
18 shocking spheres
2 large cats
11 tigers
8 gargoyles
8 ochre jellies
7 leocrottas
12 energy vortices
4 mountain centaurs
5 stone giants
2 elf mummies
4 human mummies
4 red nagas
2 green slimes
5 pit vipers
3 pythons
38 cobras
59 wraiths
6 carnivorous apes
17 ettin zombies
5 leather golems
23 Grey-elves
63 soldiers
3 watchmen
10 horned devils
5 succubi
12 incubi
4 chameleons
a crocodile
68 giant beetles
5 quivering blobs
23 cockatrices
27 wolves
7 winter wolf cubs
4 lynxes
2 panthers
23 gremlins
4 spotted jellies
13 leprechauns
11 iron piercers
3 mumakil
7 giant spiders
3 scorpions
9 horses
3 ice vortices
10 black lights
12 vampire bats
2 forest centaurs
7 gnome kings
4 orc mummies
8 dwarf mummies
9 ogres
13 brown puddings
12 rust monsters
18 owlbears
4 yetis
5 gold golems
2 werewolves
14 Green-elves
9 piranhas
24 giant eels
9 lizards
8 chickatrices
2 dogs
3 dingos
3 housecats
7 jaguars
3 dwarf lords
4 blue jellies
3 gray unicorns
6 black unicorns
10 dust vortices
7 ravens
5 plains centaurs
6 gnome mummies
6 snakes
12 apes
16 human zombies
2 rope golems
20 Woodland-elves
106 soldier ants
78 fire ants
5 bugbears
2 imps
7 lemures
13 quasits
9 wood nymphs
3 water nymphs
8 mountain nymphs
2 Mordor orcs
12 Uruk-hai
an orc shaman
11 rock piercers
5 rock moles
5 ponies
7 fog clouds
14 yellow lights
a shrieker
11 violet fungi
18 gnome lords
4 gnomish wizards
4 kobold mummies
a black naga hatchling
3 gray oozes
2 barrow wights
16 elf zombies
12 ghouls
5 straw golems
3 paper golems
5 jellyfish
2 baby crocodiles
90 giant ants
3 little dogs
15 floating eyes
2 kittens
17 dwarves
8 homunculi
5 kobold lords
4 kobold shamans
11 hill orcs
22 rothes
3 rabid rats
7 centipedes
a giant bat
3 monkeys
8 orc zombies
14 dwarf zombies
3 wererats
4 werejackals
4 iguanas
138 killer bees
6 acid blobs
7 coyotes
3 gas spores
5 hobbits
8 manes
4 large kobolds
7 hobgoblins
19 giant rats
14 cave spiders
3 brown molds
4 yellow molds
2 green molds
4 red molds
72 gnomes
6 garter snakes
18 gnome zombies
9 geckos
15 jackals
6 foxes
7 kobolds
6 goblins
5 sewer rats
16 grid bugs
2 bats
10 lichens
9 kobold zombies
16 newts
2841 creatures vanquished.
Genocided species:
master mind flayers
liches
demiliches
master liches
arch-liches
5 species genocided.
Voluntary challenges
You genocided 5 types of monsters
You never polymorphed an object
You changed form 4 times
You used 9 wishes
You did not wish for any artifacts
Your skills at the end
Fighting Skills
(none)
Weapon Skills
dagger [Skilled]
long sword [Expert]
hammer [Expert]
Spellcasting Skills
attack spells [Basic]
Farvel Eowyn the Valkyrie...
You died in The Astral Plane with 2413317 points,
and 16879 pieces of gold, after 63123 moves.
Killer: Angel of Loki (with the Amulet)
You were level 23 with a maximum of 208 hit points when you died.
Eowyn, lawful female human Valkyrie
-----
...|
---------..-- --------- --- -
|.......|.$.-- -- -- 4-- 4 .| |
|.......|.%%.--- -- -+- a --- @.@| .|
|..._...-..%.%%%% % | . A%a@Aa%A.@@.._@..|
|...%...|.%..--- %%%% -- . . --- .a.| .|
|.......|...-- -- % -- | 4 1-- 14a| |
---------..-- ----%---- --.---- -
...| | %%------- ------4 |
----- | %% | | |
------- -- -- ------
| -- -- |
--- ----|---- ---
| / |
-----------------
Eowyn the Heroine St:25 Dx:18 Co:18 In:14 Wi:15 Ch:10 Lawful
Astral Plane $:0 HP:0(208) Pw:73(73) AC:-16 Xp:23/30043063 T:63123
Your inventory
Amulets
Z - the Amulet of Yendor named the real deal (alternate weapon; not wielded)
Weapons
a - the rustproof +1 Excalibur
b - the blessed rustproof +0 Mjollnir (weapon in hand)
Armor
r - an uncursed fireproof +2 pair of speed boots (being worn)
y - a blessed fireproof +2 T-shirt (being worn)
C - an uncursed +0 pair of levitation boots
F - an uncursed thoroughly burnt rotted +1 elven leather helm (being worn)
H - an uncursed +0 silver dragon scale mail (being worn)
N - a blessed rustproof +2 pair of gauntlets of power (being worn)
Comestibles
j - an uncursed giant beetle corpse
E - an uncursed lizard corpse
Scrolls
w - 8 uncursed scrolls of blank paper
Rings
e - an uncursed ring of teleport control
f - an uncursed ring of free action (on left hand)
q - an uncursed ring of slow digestion
M - an uncursed ring of regeneration (on right hand)
Wands
h - a wand of nothing (0:3)
k - a wand of create monster (0:15)
m - a wand of teleportation (0:0)
n - a wand of speed monster (0:5)
p - a wand of fire (0:6)
u - a wand of speed monster (0:6)
x - a wand of slow monster (0:7)
z - a wand of striking (0:5)
A - a wand of digging (0:5)
B - a wand of cancellation (0:5)
D - a wand of digging (0:0)
G - a wand of striking (0:5)
J - a wand of magic missile (0:4)
K - a wand of wishing named already charged once (1:0)
R - a wand of magic missile (0:4)
U - a wand of wishing named charged once (1:0)
V - a blessed wand of death (0:0)
X - a wand of cold (0:2)
Tools
d - an uncursed magic lamp (lit)
g - an uncursed magic whistle
i - an uncursed rusty stethoscope
o - a blessed +0 unicorn horn
t - an uncursed skeleton key
I - an uncursed towel
L - the Bell of Opening (0:2)
P - the blessed Orb of Fate (1:0)
Q - a magic marker (0:65)
S - a blessed bag of holding
T - 2 uncursed tallow candles
Gems
s - 2 uncursed luckstones
v - 2 uncursed diamonds
Contents of the bag of holding:
16879 gold pieces
an uncursed amulet of reflection
a cursed amulet of unchanging
an uncursed amulet versus poison
4 uncursed food rations
2 uncursed lizard corpses
3 uncursed lembas wafers
2 blessed scrolls of remove curse
an uncursed scroll of teleportation
2 uncursed potions of speed
3 potions of holy water
a blessed potion of object detection
an uncursed potion of object detection
2 uncursed potions of restore ability
an uncursed ring of fire resistance
an uncursed ring of cold resistance
a blessed +1 ring of increase accuracy
an uncursed ring of protection from shape changers
an uncursed ring of sustain ability
an uncursed rusty +1 ring of protection
an uncursed +1 ring of gain constitution
an uncursed ring of polymorph control
an uncursed ring of stealth
an uncursed ring of see invisible
an uncursed ring of invisibility
a wand of digging (0:7)
a wand of digging (0:6)
a cursed wand of cold (0:2)
a wand of striking (0:4)
a wand of magic missile (0:0)
a wand of striking (0:0)
a wand of probing (0:3)
a rusty wand of lightning (0:8)
a wand of striking (0:4)
a wand of striking (0:5)
a +0 pick-axe
an uncursed lock pick
a magic marker (1:33)
an uncursed oil lamp
a can of grease (0:6)
an uncursed blindfold
a can of grease (0:7)
Final attributes
You were the Hand of Elbereth
You were piously aligned
You were fire resistant
You were cold resistant
You were sleep resistant
You were shock resistant
You were poison resistant
You saw invisible
You were telepathic
You were warned
You were invisible to others
You were stealthy
You could teleport
You regenerated
You were protected
You were very fast
You had reflection
You had free action
You were extremely lucky (13)
You had extra luck
Good luck did not time out for you
You are dead (4th time!)
Spells known in the end
Name Level Category Fail
a - magic missile 2* attack 89%
b - create familiar 6* clerical 100%
c - knock 1* matter 89%
d - clairvoyance 3* divination 95%
e - sleep 1 enchantment 89%
f - extra healing 3* healing 82%
g - force bolt 1* attack 89%
h - healing 1* healing 74%
i - wizard lock 2* matter 89%
j - cure blindness 2* healing 74%
k - slow monster 2* enchantment 89%
l - charm monster 3* enchantment 95%
m - detect food 2* divination 89%
n - create monster 2* clerical 89%
o - light 1 divination 89%
p - confuse monster 2 enchantment 89%
q - dig 5 matter 100%
r - remove curse 3 clerical 82%
s - detect treasure 4 divination 100%
t - restore ability 4 healing 100%
u - jumping 1 escape 89%
Vanquished creatures
Asmodeus
Baalzebub
Orcus
Juiblex
The Wizard of Yendor (14 times)
Pestilence
Famine (twice)
a high priest
2 mastodons
Medusa
13 krakens
4 iron golems
3 storm giants
2 glass golems
5 balrogs
11 purple worms
2 gray dragons
7 silver dragons
6 red dragons
6 white dragons
an orange dragon
9 black dragons
7 blue dragons
a green dragon
5 yellow dragons
17 minotaurs
4 jabberwocks
Lord Surtur
10 baluchitheria
2 Angels
2 demiliches
Vlad the Impaler
6 stone golems
a master mind flayer
10 Olog-hai
6 Nazguls
6 pit fiends
4 sandestins
4 hell hounds
10 titanotheres
7 trappers
2 baby blue dragons
a baby green dragon
8 disenchanters
40 vampire lords
5 skeletons
12 aligned priests
5 captains
6 shades
3 liches
6 clay golems
11 nurses
10 ice devils
17 nalfeshnees
7 lurkers above
an Aleax
7 frost giants
an ettin
6 black puddings
25 vampires
7 lieutenants
39 ghosts
a valkyrie
3 queen bees
4 winged gargoyles
3 mind flayers
14 giant mimics
5 zruties
25 fire giants
9 ogre kings
6 ice trolls
11 rock trolls
14 umber hulks
6 flesh golems
13 Elvenkings
7 doppelgangers
15 hezrous
14 bone devils
11 large mimics
4 wumpuses
4 fire vortices
2 baby long worms
7 long worms
3 couatls
18 stalkers
9 air elementals
8 fire elementals
6 earth elementals
45 water elementals
6 hill giants
5 giant mummies
11 xorns
24 giant zombies
17 elf-lords
13 sergeants
7 barbed devils
9 vrocks
3 salamanders
16 wargs
2 winter wolves
12 hell hound pups
17 small mimics
3 glass piercers
9 warhorses
6 steam vortices
7 xans
6 ettin mummies
12 ogre lords
18 quantum mechanics
22 trolls
a sasquatch
6 wood golems
3 erinyes
9 mariliths
a djinni
8 sharks
14 electric eels
4 gelatinous cubes
4 pyrolisks
4 large dogs
3 freezing spheres
17 flaming spheres
18 shocking spheres
2 large cats
11 tigers
8 gargoyles
8 ochre jellies
7 leocrottas
12 energy vortices
4 mountain centaurs
5 stone giants
2 elf mummies
4 human mummies
4 red nagas
2 green slimes
5 pit vipers
3 pythons
38 cobras
59 wraiths
6 carnivorous apes
17 ettin zombies
5 leather golems
23 Grey-elves
63 soldiers
3 watchmen
10 horned devils
5 succubi
12 incubi
4 chameleons
a crocodile
68 giant beetles
5 quivering blobs
23 cockatrices
27 wolves
7 winter wolf cubs
4 lynxes
2 panthers
23 gremlins
4 spotted jellies
13 leprechauns
11 iron piercers
3 mumakil
7 giant spiders
3 scorpions
9 horses
3 ice vortices
10 black lights
12 vampire bats
2 forest centaurs
7 gnome kings
4 orc mummies
8 dwarf mummies
9 ogres
13 brown puddings
12 rust monsters
18 owlbears
4 yetis
5 gold golems
2 werewolves
14 Green-elves
9 piranhas
24 giant eels
9 lizards
8 chickatrices
2 dogs
3 dingos
3 housecats
7 jaguars
3 dwarf lords
4 blue jellies
3 gray unicorns
6 black unicorns
10 dust vortices
7 ravens
5 plains centaurs
6 gnome mummies
6 snakes
12 apes
16 human zombies
2 rope golems
20 Woodland-elves
106 soldier ants
78 fire ants
5 bugbears
2 imps
7 lemures
13 quasits
9 wood nymphs
3 water nymphs
8 mountain nymphs
2 Mordor orcs
12 Uruk-hai
an orc shaman
11 rock piercers
5 rock moles
5 ponies
7 fog clouds
14 yellow lights
a shrieker
11 violet fungi
18 gnome lords
4 gnomish wizards
4 kobold mummies
a black naga hatchling
3 gray oozes
2 barrow wights
16 elf zombies
12 ghouls
5 straw golems
3 paper golems
5 jellyfish
2 baby crocodiles
90 giant ants
3 little dogs
15 floating eyes
2 kittens
17 dwarves
8 homunculi
5 kobold lords
4 kobold shamans
11 hill orcs
22 rothes
3 rabid rats
7 centipedes
a giant bat
3 monkeys
8 orc zombies
14 dwarf zombies
3 wererats
4 werejackals
4 iguanas
138 killer bees
6 acid blobs
7 coyotes
3 gas spores
5 hobbits
8 manes
4 large kobolds
7 hobgoblins
19 giant rats
14 cave spiders
3 brown molds
4 yellow molds
2 green molds
4 red molds
72 gnomes
6 garter snakes
18 gnome zombies
9 geckos
15 jackals
6 foxes
7 kobolds
6 goblins
5 sewer rats
16 grid bugs
2 bats
10 lichens
9 kobold zombies
16 newts
2841 creatures vanquished.
Genocided species:
master mind flayers
liches
demiliches
master liches
arch-liches
5 species genocided.
Voluntary challenges
You genocided 5 types of monsters
You never polymorphed an object
You changed form 4 times
You used 9 wishes
You did not wish for any artifacts
Your skills at the end
Fighting Skills
(none)
Weapon Skills
dagger [Skilled]
long sword [Expert]
hammer [Expert]
Spellcasting Skills
attack spells [Basic]
Farvel Eowyn the Valkyrie...
You died in The Astral Plane with 2413317 points,
and 16879 pieces of gold, after 63123 moves.
Killer: Angel of Loki (with the Amulet)
You were level 23 with a maximum of 208 hit points when you died.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Turning 25
Oh goodness! Who thought it would be this quick. One day things are creeping along and then BAM! I'm now past the age of blaming irresponsibility and lack of major career accomplishments on the fact that I am so young. Okay so in perspective I am still pretty young, but I suddenly feel this weight on my shoulders that if I want to change the world I have to get on it.
Okay enough of that self pity nonsense. I finally got back from The Netherlands, where I was attending a conference on the FEniCS project (an automated mathematical modeling effort). The core members of the FEniCS project consists of Scandinavians and Texans with an Australian and Ohioan thrown in, but hey Australia is supposedly a lot like Texas and Matt is well ... Matt. The dynamic of these two groups are quite interesting, but needless to say the nights after the talks included lots of beer.
Spending three days with these guys was not only a lot of fun but really interesting. We shared our work they shared theirs both eagerly wanting the other to look at it and use it, or at least help out in another problem. But hanging out with this crowd really confirms how much I prefer the science world to the business world. We can talk about the concepts of global effects in physics is really a "Big Brother" approach to science, buying houses in Norway, and then solve all the problems in Africa (yeah something like that) without ever trying to look better than one another or unfair.
Alas I think I am in a good spot for the typical 25 year old, but the next 25 years are going to have to produce some more interesting results.
Okay enough of that self pity nonsense. I finally got back from The Netherlands, where I was attending a conference on the FEniCS project (an automated mathematical modeling effort). The core members of the FEniCS project consists of Scandinavians and Texans with an Australian and Ohioan thrown in, but hey Australia is supposedly a lot like Texas and Matt is well ... Matt. The dynamic of these two groups are quite interesting, but needless to say the nights after the talks included lots of beer.
Spending three days with these guys was not only a lot of fun but really interesting. We shared our work they shared theirs both eagerly wanting the other to look at it and use it, or at least help out in another problem. But hanging out with this crowd really confirms how much I prefer the science world to the business world. We can talk about the concepts of global effects in physics is really a "Big Brother" approach to science, buying houses in Norway, and then solve all the problems in Africa (yeah something like that) without ever trying to look better than one another or unfair.
Alas I think I am in a good spot for the typical 25 year old, but the next 25 years are going to have to produce some more interesting results.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
In search of the internship
Probably the thing I hate the most about my school year is finding summer funding. Sure I could do things like work as a technician for the CS IT department, but honestly how does that help my career at all? There are lots of different possibilities for the summer such as Google, gaming companies, DOE Lab, and what not, but alas I have to get off my butt and go look for them.
At the suggestion of my advisor I decided to look into an international banking firm, for an internship opportunity. I gave them my resume and they invited me to dinner ... with lots of other MBA students. Now I have nothing wrong with MBA students but I really have nothing in common with them either. But stepping into the restaurant, I was hit with a large dose of culture shock that made me thank the good Lord that I wasn't lead down that path.
As I walk in it appears to be just a huge gaggle of people drinking and "talking". I say talking what I really mean is selling themselves to the representatives of the company. One look at my long hair and beard and the lady at the name tag table states, "You must be a PhD" in a tone of voice that is either jealous or awe struck. For the rest of the night all I had to say was I was a PhD candidate and people instantly acted as if I was Einstein come to solve all their problems. It was just a bit weird.
As I went to get a beer, one of the MBA students was kind enough to explain the rules of engagement for such events. I think I would have gotten similar advice from Sun Tzu himself. So we finally get to the dinner part and I get to sit next to Steve (not his real name). Steve was extremely well dressed, I shrunk in my JC Penney suit. The more I get him to talk about his job the more I realize he knows very little about computer software, much less about the financial models he builds with that software, and really only likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Okay so he apparently makes money for his company, which by the way is his definition of merit.
It is just amazing to me. Google comes to entice people to join their ranks, they wear t-shirts, sport beards and talk shop well. This banking firm dresses in fine fashionable clothing, buy expensive food and drinks that no one eats because they want to talk about themselves so much, and seem to only touch very briefly on how they do things. Moral of the story -- Bankers, much like politicians, scare me.
At the suggestion of my advisor I decided to look into an international banking firm, for an internship opportunity. I gave them my resume and they invited me to dinner ... with lots of other MBA students. Now I have nothing wrong with MBA students but I really have nothing in common with them either. But stepping into the restaurant, I was hit with a large dose of culture shock that made me thank the good Lord that I wasn't lead down that path.
As I walk in it appears to be just a huge gaggle of people drinking and "talking". I say talking what I really mean is selling themselves to the representatives of the company. One look at my long hair and beard and the lady at the name tag table states, "You must be a PhD" in a tone of voice that is either jealous or awe struck. For the rest of the night all I had to say was I was a PhD candidate and people instantly acted as if I was Einstein come to solve all their problems. It was just a bit weird.
As I went to get a beer, one of the MBA students was kind enough to explain the rules of engagement for such events. I think I would have gotten similar advice from Sun Tzu himself. So we finally get to the dinner part and I get to sit next to Steve (not his real name). Steve was extremely well dressed, I shrunk in my JC Penney suit. The more I get him to talk about his job the more I realize he knows very little about computer software, much less about the financial models he builds with that software, and really only likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Okay so he apparently makes money for his company, which by the way is his definition of merit.
It is just amazing to me. Google comes to entice people to join their ranks, they wear t-shirts, sport beards and talk shop well. This banking firm dresses in fine fashionable clothing, buy expensive food and drinks that no one eats because they want to talk about themselves so much, and seem to only touch very briefly on how they do things. Moral of the story -- Bankers, much like politicians, scare me.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
AIDS/HIV Conference
I went to couple of really good talks about the global AIDS/HIV epidemic today put on by Amnesty International and a host of student groups here at the UofC. It was really interesting to see the doctors and lawyers in the global fight and their extreme care for all the issues and then some local activists seemingly lack of caution. But the doctors at the conference proposed a problem that is beyond them right now and until it is solved there will be no end to the amount of money needed to solve the epidemic. Let me outline the situation.
Currently, medical data shows that very few methods are very affective at prevention of the spread of disease. In most the world the position of women have made them more vulnerable and unable to prevent contact with the disease. Examples that the doctors gave were in Uganda and India.
Uganda has had one of the largest AIDS programs in Africa for the longest time, but mostly it has been focused on an abstinence only solution. But still prevalent in the country is men with the disease who marry. Then it is virtually assured that the woman will contract the disease. Not to mention that a large number of the women in the county have been raped and contracted diseases this way.
In India, female sex workers and truck drivers are considered the prime transporters of the disease. There are a large number of sex workers from villages where making a living is quite hard. It is only a matter of time before the sex workers contract a disease from a trucker and bring it back to their village and so on and so forth.
Condoms are not really the answer in most cases because they are a male controlled prevention method. Doctors would like to introduce more spermocides and microbocides into use, but women will not accept these methods because they harm their chances of having a child. These women see having children as their mandate and will be worthless to their communities otherwise.
Now to the problem. How do doctors stop the spread of this disease when the only methods they provide go against the nature of women? Empowering women by denying their nature has worked quite well in American culture but is fervently rejected in the third world. What good is the science if no one uses it?
My one thought on this matter, for whatever it is worth, is that the prevention and treatment of AIDS with drugs is futile without the reduction of poverty. This would help reduce prostitution throughout the world and at least give women a chance to be economically free enough to have more options in their lives. One of the doctors pointed out that even if we have all the right drugs and money, it is still that people can't live in their culture in a normal way. And with all these problems we see AIDS becoming more and more a disease of the marginalized and its effects being ignored by the rich and powerful. At what point does the world wake up and address these social and economical rifts that are robbing the world of so many lives to AIDS?
Currently, medical data shows that very few methods are very affective at prevention of the spread of disease. In most the world the position of women have made them more vulnerable and unable to prevent contact with the disease. Examples that the doctors gave were in Uganda and India.
Uganda has had one of the largest AIDS programs in Africa for the longest time, but mostly it has been focused on an abstinence only solution. But still prevalent in the country is men with the disease who marry. Then it is virtually assured that the woman will contract the disease. Not to mention that a large number of the women in the county have been raped and contracted diseases this way.
In India, female sex workers and truck drivers are considered the prime transporters of the disease. There are a large number of sex workers from villages where making a living is quite hard. It is only a matter of time before the sex workers contract a disease from a trucker and bring it back to their village and so on and so forth.
Condoms are not really the answer in most cases because they are a male controlled prevention method. Doctors would like to introduce more spermocides and microbocides into use, but women will not accept these methods because they harm their chances of having a child. These women see having children as their mandate and will be worthless to their communities otherwise.
Now to the problem. How do doctors stop the spread of this disease when the only methods they provide go against the nature of women? Empowering women by denying their nature has worked quite well in American culture but is fervently rejected in the third world. What good is the science if no one uses it?
My one thought on this matter, for whatever it is worth, is that the prevention and treatment of AIDS with drugs is futile without the reduction of poverty. This would help reduce prostitution throughout the world and at least give women a chance to be economically free enough to have more options in their lives. One of the doctors pointed out that even if we have all the right drugs and money, it is still that people can't live in their culture in a normal way. And with all these problems we see AIDS becoming more and more a disease of the marginalized and its effects being ignored by the rich and powerful. At what point does the world wake up and address these social and economical rifts that are robbing the world of so many lives to AIDS?
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Beauty in Simplicity
So after writing a few labs for my class on generating fractals, I went searching online for some pictures that other people came up with. I found the great video on Google Video. To tell you the truth, I think that the complexity of the Mandelbrot set (which is produced by a very simple iteration process) is just amazing and speaks volumes to what is beautiful in the sciences.
I am always at a loss when students will say they think some subject (such as Mathematics) is beautiful but have no ability to reason why. Maybe it takes a philosopher, in the rough sense, to tell why something is beautiful and only a casual observer to say it is beautiful. I really don't like this reasoning though because it lends to the fact that beauty is only in the eye of the beholder (ie relativism) and not a virtue to attain. But if I ever had to explain what beauty is in Mathematics, I think will most definitely point to the Mandelbrot set.
Anyone can generate parts of the Madelbrot set, its really easy to do. It takes a really bright person to fully comprehend all the reasons for its complexity, I mean its just about connecting all possible Julia sets which represent chaotic pattern studies in dynamics .... =D I guess to me there are few things that can be simple stated and represent so much.
I am always at a loss when students will say they think some subject (such as Mathematics) is beautiful but have no ability to reason why. Maybe it takes a philosopher, in the rough sense, to tell why something is beautiful and only a casual observer to say it is beautiful. I really don't like this reasoning though because it lends to the fact that beauty is only in the eye of the beholder (ie relativism) and not a virtue to attain. But if I ever had to explain what beauty is in Mathematics, I think will most definitely point to the Mandelbrot set.
Anyone can generate parts of the Madelbrot set, its really easy to do. It takes a really bright person to fully comprehend all the reasons for its complexity, I mean its just about connecting all possible Julia sets which represent chaotic pattern studies in dynamics .... =D I guess to me there are few things that can be simple stated and represent so much.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Third world blues
So we Chicagoans get to see the sun for the first time in three days, but I am still wrapped up about a conversation I had last night at my parish. There was a priest from the Comboni Missionaries there who had just come back from south Sudan this past June. He had lived there for the past ten years as a parish priest.
As we ate pizza, I asked what they ate in south Sudan. He said that people in the regions where he lived only ate one meal a day. The meal was composed of a some flour and water with peanuts and a sauce on top. This was the only meal you ate every day. The people could not grow very much food in the region and they didn't have the resources to raise much more than a few chickens and goats.
I then asked about disease, in particular AIDS. He said something that really shocked me. Since Sudan is an Islamic State the government will deny anything that makes it look as if the country isn't perfect. This includes AIDS. While there is obviously a growing epidemic, the government flat out denies it and medical clinics treat people with AIDS by giving them some form of aspirin.
I guess anytime you get a real description of a third world country it is a bit shaking. I knew that life in Sudan was bad, but it seems that every time I hear more about the country it is worse and worse. Of course, it also makes me question what is the use of computer science when people are out there are starving and being marginalized by a blind government.
As we ate pizza, I asked what they ate in south Sudan. He said that people in the regions where he lived only ate one meal a day. The meal was composed of a some flour and water with peanuts and a sauce on top. This was the only meal you ate every day. The people could not grow very much food in the region and they didn't have the resources to raise much more than a few chickens and goats.
I then asked about disease, in particular AIDS. He said something that really shocked me. Since Sudan is an Islamic State the government will deny anything that makes it look as if the country isn't perfect. This includes AIDS. While there is obviously a growing epidemic, the government flat out denies it and medical clinics treat people with AIDS by giving them some form of aspirin.
I guess anytime you get a real description of a third world country it is a bit shaking. I knew that life in Sudan was bad, but it seems that every time I hear more about the country it is worse and worse. Of course, it also makes me question what is the use of computer science when people are out there are starving and being marginalized by a blind government.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Trees, Fractals, and Fellowships! Oh my!
It's been a long week. Having a tree fall on my car, every bill come in with a late fee, and the city raising my property tax, has made me believe that money really hates me. But I did make what I thought to be a neat lab for my students, making fractals like the ones in the pictures. And I really hope I get this travel fellowship or else that's just more money down the drain. Goo I'm tired but I wanted to say hello to the world.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
That silly google
While avoiding the dirty dishes that have made a hostile takeover in my kitchen, I noticed that google has put me at the top of some unlikely searches. I elaborate:
I hope you enjoyed some of goggle's algorithms as much as I have.
- The importance of labor day - Okay so I am a grateful for the link but I wrote like two sentences on the topic. For crying out loud there should be whole sites dedicated to this topic not some whinny grad student who has never gotten a decent wage in his life.
- Completely useless skills - This just cracks me up. A blog about a PhD candidate is ranked number one on the search for completely useless skills. Now it would be poetic if I were a humanities major but it's still pretty funny.
- squirrel chase math - Who ever was looking this up and found my site might be a little upset but it is a nice idea. "In other news, Perelman was attacked by ten thousand rabid squirrels today. Apparently he is nuts."
- Falling off the math cliff - I didn't so much fall as take a leap like Dan Osman without a good calculation on the appropriate ropes. So I guess the link is fitting.
- Scientists jerks - ah my favorite by far. Who else to call scientists jerks other than a struggling grad student. This link represents the plight of all grad students out there who have a deep lingering feeling that their lives are much more important than a piece of paper. Alas they will never take up their swords and standards to prove their worth, they just hunch over hit their keyboards a bit harder and mutter "jerk" loud enough for their pet cockroach to hear. And some of us blog about it.
I hope you enjoyed some of goggle's algorithms as much as I have.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
My Cubicle
| my cubicle, a very funny and entertaining parody of james blunt's hit song You're Beautiful. video by Vic, song performed by JymBritton, lyrics by Morning Sidekick and musical arrangement by Scott Bennett | |
Monday, September 25, 2006
Back from California
So I have finally made it back to Chicago. Just in time to start classes. I am really glad to be back but I will miss California. Those wonderful sunny hills, exotic food at every corner, awesome lakes and parks, and of course the ability to bicycle everywhere. But hey at least I'm no longer camping in a really bad apartment.
I would like to link to a story I read from Patrick's blog. 10 rules for handling disagreement like a Christian written by the Bishop of Oakland. If there is ever a guy who has to handle disagreement a lot, he is it. There's something else I like more about Chicago than California, the Church. I could expound on this more and more but it would break rule number 1.
Anywho I have to get back to work. Being in Chicago I have a lot to catch up on. Oh and since I threw out one catholic link, if you want to hear some really great homilies check out Fr. Robert Barron at Word on Fire. You can get the podcast!
I would like to link to a story I read from Patrick's blog. 10 rules for handling disagreement like a Christian written by the Bishop of Oakland. If there is ever a guy who has to handle disagreement a lot, he is it. There's something else I like more about Chicago than California, the Church. I could expound on this more and more but it would break rule number 1.
Anywho I have to get back to work. Being in Chicago I have a lot to catch up on. Oh and since I threw out one catholic link, if you want to hear some really great homilies check out Fr. Robert Barron at Word on Fire. You can get the podcast!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Food Adventures
If you've never been to a place where nobody speaks English (or whatever language you speak) and ordered for you probably won't relate very well to this post. But today Cheryl and I ventured out into uncharted waters with my minimal experience ("just enough to be dangerous") with Dim Sum.
The place we went was absolutely packed, so you know it had to be good. As we stroll in we don't hear a word of any language we can distinguish, and the menu (which was a yellow piece of butcher paper on the wall) was written in some Oriental language as well. Avoiding the riot for the first table, apparently a group of six had been waiting for a while, we got a table right away. Maybe the fact that the restaurant wasn't the cleanest place in the world, or that the host didn't say much, or that the place looked like was a cafe from 1970 and hadn't been redecorated since wasn't enough to tip my wife off that she wasn't going to like the food, but the fish tank with green water, a really ugly carp and several dead clown fish certainly did the job.
Immediately upon sitting down the waitress shows up with a tray of food and yells something that I don't understand. Time to resort to tourist food tactic #1 - what I like to call the "Point and Grunt" method. Okay so the first item we had appeared to be some sort of pork with a really slimy noodle wrapped around it. Maybe tactic #1 is failing me, go for tactic #2 "avoid the moving things" method. Okay so it is less of a tactic and more of a hard fast rule but I guess the real guidance was "Go for the thing that looked the most normal" which happened to be some tasty mushrooms and barbecued pork. Okay that satisfied Cheryl well enough now time to make tourist food mistake #2, try something exotic (#1 was going to a place where no one knows the language spoken). Our something exotic happened to be dumplings with seafood in them which led us to retreat to tactic #3 "Always know where there is something you might really like to eat nearby". Seeing how the bill was in a foreign language I have a feeling I committed mistake #3 "Not being able to compare the price on the bill with the price on the menu."
Well it looks like funky "recommended" dim sum place won this round. But nevermind that if I overcame the fear of sushi and ghetto vegan food, I am certain I will be able to conquer more strange food adventures. But for now dim sum is off the menu.
The place we went was absolutely packed, so you know it had to be good. As we stroll in we don't hear a word of any language we can distinguish, and the menu (which was a yellow piece of butcher paper on the wall) was written in some Oriental language as well. Avoiding the riot for the first table, apparently a group of six had been waiting for a while, we got a table right away. Maybe the fact that the restaurant wasn't the cleanest place in the world, or that the host didn't say much, or that the place looked like was a cafe from 1970 and hadn't been redecorated since wasn't enough to tip my wife off that she wasn't going to like the food, but the fish tank with green water, a really ugly carp and several dead clown fish certainly did the job.
Immediately upon sitting down the waitress shows up with a tray of food and yells something that I don't understand. Time to resort to tourist food tactic #1 - what I like to call the "Point and Grunt" method. Okay so the first item we had appeared to be some sort of pork with a really slimy noodle wrapped around it. Maybe tactic #1 is failing me, go for tactic #2 "avoid the moving things" method. Okay so it is less of a tactic and more of a hard fast rule but I guess the real guidance was "Go for the thing that looked the most normal" which happened to be some tasty mushrooms and barbecued pork. Okay that satisfied Cheryl well enough now time to make tourist food mistake #2, try something exotic (#1 was going to a place where no one knows the language spoken). Our something exotic happened to be dumplings with seafood in them which led us to retreat to tactic #3 "Always know where there is something you might really like to eat nearby". Seeing how the bill was in a foreign language I have a feeling I committed mistake #3 "Not being able to compare the price on the bill with the price on the menu."
Well it looks like funky "recommended" dim sum place won this round. But nevermind that if I overcame the fear of sushi and ghetto vegan food, I am certain I will be able to conquer more strange food adventures. But for now dim sum is off the menu.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Importance of labor day
It seems that this year has been a year with more debates and news coverage on labor issues than any other. But most of these are directed at the issue of immigration. As today the US unilaterally celebrates labor day (the rest of the world celebrates labor day May 1, in response to the Haymarket Riot). So how do most people spend labor day ... doing something besides labor.
Anywho this day represents more people than any other day in the year. Almost everyone has to work (not even that many celebrate Christmas). But it represents the plight of our ancestors who would not let their living conditions be compromised to help line the pockets of the greedy business owners. I think this issue has lost a lot of steam, but it seems to me with larger businesses neglecting their workers (Even Apple for crying out loud) these issues could be coming to the front of everyone's mind in the near future. Provided that Iraq and the terrorism starts to cool down.
I wish I had more to say here since I don't really feel like I am getting any point across, but I wanted to point out that today is not just another day off work. It is a day that we should recognize the issues surrounding work.
Anywho this day represents more people than any other day in the year. Almost everyone has to work (not even that many celebrate Christmas). But it represents the plight of our ancestors who would not let their living conditions be compromised to help line the pockets of the greedy business owners. I think this issue has lost a lot of steam, but it seems to me with larger businesses neglecting their workers (Even Apple for crying out loud) these issues could be coming to the front of everyone's mind in the near future. Provided that Iraq and the terrorism starts to cool down.
I wish I had more to say here since I don't really feel like I am getting any point across, but I wanted to point out that today is not just another day off work. It is a day that we should recognize the issues surrounding work.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Crash and burn
So I crashed really bad today on my bike. Going like 25 mph, my wheel fell off the pavement and swung my handle bar into my stomach. I came out on my feet but it still feels like I got punched by Ivan Drago in the stomach.
I guess I really have a lot on my mind and I was just a bit distracted. The other day some coworkers and I were talking about Tom Cruise and Scientology. They didn't believe that being strange affects a career all that much, so I pointed out Ellen or Sinead or Boy George.
Then someone said something that I should have stuck up for. They didn't understand why "church folk" would boycott gay or lesbian actors. I calmly said that it is out of love that they do such things. It might be a self-righteous or perhaps misguided love at times but it is in fact love that drives them. They believe that there is something that will tear apart society, rip it to shreds and throw away all they have tried to make it be. To stand up and fight against what seems popular is a beautiful thing. But the same could be said for Osama Bin Ladin.
It just drives me crazy, these people determined that church folk are ruining America because their ways. I think they are ruining America for their blindness (not really talking about this issue per se). But when does the passion of activism become insanity, or how can we tell if our causes have lost their meaning?
But as my new favorite band says "I've been looking for a Ghost, I've been searching now forever and finally found it behind the door, And its changed its meaning but is still feels the same." ... maybe this is what people call maturity.
I guess I really have a lot on my mind and I was just a bit distracted. The other day some coworkers and I were talking about Tom Cruise and Scientology. They didn't believe that being strange affects a career all that much, so I pointed out Ellen or Sinead or Boy George.
Then someone said something that I should have stuck up for. They didn't understand why "church folk" would boycott gay or lesbian actors. I calmly said that it is out of love that they do such things. It might be a self-righteous or perhaps misguided love at times but it is in fact love that drives them. They believe that there is something that will tear apart society, rip it to shreds and throw away all they have tried to make it be. To stand up and fight against what seems popular is a beautiful thing. But the same could be said for Osama Bin Ladin.
It just drives me crazy, these people determined that church folk are ruining America because their ways. I think they are ruining America for their blindness (not really talking about this issue per se). But when does the passion of activism become insanity, or how can we tell if our causes have lost their meaning?
But as my new favorite band says "I've been looking for a Ghost, I've been searching now forever and finally found it behind the door, And its changed its meaning but is still feels the same." ... maybe this is what people call maturity.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Yosemite photos
So we went to Yosemite National Park this past weekend. You can see some pictures on my webpage. It was great, I think Yosemite is probably the prettiest place on earth. I really enjoy being out in "God's Country" even if I fell into the river while attempting to fish.
On another note, I know that I can never live in California. My father-in-law was looking at prices on property near Yosemite. $300,000 for .3 acres and a trailer house, which is more than an hour and a half to the nearest hospital. Real estate is unreal out here.
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