July 31, 2004
The Paradox of Choice
An interesting read about how the modern superabundance of choice makes at least some unhappy rather than the happy rational economics says they should be. (A9B)
Points to a recent book of the same name by Dr. Barry Schwartz. (A9D)
It's fairly clear to me that this is a big player in my life and one of the motivating factors in getting rid of stuff (where stuff is the gamut including things, ideas, foods, people, places, passions, participations, etc.). (A9E)
July 23, 2004
Embodied Perception
In a very nice synthesis, DavePollard provides another of his excellent "this is the way the world works" pieces. He starts with a letter from a grumpy old man, crosses through a bit of Lakoff and Merleau-Ponty and ends with: (A86)
We are all born liberals. We have to be trained to be conservatives. (A87)
Please read it. (A88)
July 22, 2004
Pizza Privacy
blinc has pointed out a charming animation from the ACLU that supports their summer surveillance campaign. (A80)
July 15, 2004
From Today's Comics
I was pleased today to wake up to two comics that resonated nicely. I'm going to quote the scripts as the images are incidental. (A2U)
First one from Get Fuzzy. Rob has sponsored a howling monkey for Satchel's birthday (or something). (A2V)
Bucky: I assume you gave Satchel some breath mints for his monkey. (A2W)
Rob: What's that supposed to mean. (A2X)
Bucky: Oh come on. It is a known fact that monkeys have the worst breath in the world. Haven't you ever heard of Scope's Monkey Trial? (A2Y)
Rob: It....What? (A2Z)
Bucky: Yeah. That's right. Trial. Some chimp's breath was so bad that a mouthwash company sued him. (A30)
Rob: Where do you learn your history, dude? (A31)
Bucky: You can't trust the liberal media, Rob. You have to figure stuff out for yourself. (A32)
This reminded me of what's wrong with Bush and the ignorant Americans that support him. I was trying hard to come up with some way to say that other than that, something less aggressive, but there's really no reason not to. So though I laughed and appreciated the few days of setup that went into this comic, I went a bit moody. (A33)
But then I read some Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin's getting ready for a bath, stripping down, covered in filth. (A34)
Calvin: My elbows are grass-stained, I've got sticks in my hair, I'm covered with bug bites and cuts and scratches...I've got sand in my socks leaves in my shirt, my hads are sticky with sap, and my shoes are soaked! I'm hot dirty, sweaty, itchy and tired. (A35)
Hobbes: I say consider this day seized! (A36)
Calvin: Tomorrow we'll seize the day and throttle it! (A37)
And with that I felt much better. I lost that appreciate the dirt and pain sensation for many years. Climbing brought a lot of it back. (A38)
July 14, 2004
Terminal Grumpiness
MacMinute reports on Original Mac team members look at the 'Mac at 20'. Andy Hertzfeld, Jef Raskin, Bill Atkinson and Jerry Manock get together with David Pogue to look back on "20 Years of Innovation". A worthwhile pursuit in general methinks. (9UV)
Within, though, I find: (9UW)
Raskin said that Jobs didn't really understand interface design –- and still doesn't. He added that, as he has before, that the Mac OS has gone from "insanely great" to "insanely gross." Raskin said that Mac users are too often having to use the terminal to solve problems. PS (9UX)
This made me bristle, as I feel differently: Mac OS started out neat but fundamentally encumbered with inefficiencies, hit its height about System 6, took a nose dive with 7 and came in for a three point landing on my desktop with 10.3. What made it right? The availability of the terminal. And if I could get off my butt and do more with it the way AppleScript? is deeply embedded in so much would make it even better. (9UY)
I find Raskin's comments especially odd because they seem at odd with his goals for THE: (9UZ)
THE is designed to provide a "better and truly pleasant way for us to interact with a wide range of technology; from computers and PDAs to cell phones and other information appliances," Raskin explains in an online column. "THE is a nucleus to which commands are added. The commands are what you use to do tasks from checking email to rendering video frames. Superficially, this sounds like an operating system to which applications are added, but it is fundamentally different, especially from a human-centered point of view. By adding individual commands rather than whole applications, which sometimes have hundreds or thousands of commands, you can install only what you need and understand." PS (9V0)
(Having a task rather than application orientation is so totally the way to go.) (9V1)
Whether justified or not, his complaints about Mac OS sound like the ravings of a grumpy old man. (9V2)
July 05, 2004
Independence
It's no secret that nationalism and patriotism are two of my least favorite things. I want no part of them, especially in a time when nation building and being patriotic mean killing or ratting out your neighbor. (9IO)
That doesn't mean, though, that I won't enjoy the fireworks. (9IP)
Tonight Stan and Malinda joined me on the roof of the house to view the annual Bloomington fireworks. Bloomington puts on a small but pleasant show, launched from the parking lot of the university stadium just down the street. (9IQ)
My camera has a special fireworks mode, which seems to amount to leaving the shutter open for a while. I took it up on the roof too, with a small tripod. Of the 130 semi-random shots, about 30 can be found at FourthOfJulyThumb. Some highlights: (9IR)
Dictionaries are weird but helpful things. WordNet? defines a patriot as "one who loves and defends his or her country" and points to nationalist as a synonym. (9IT)
Webster's 1913 edition states "One who loves his country, and zealously supports its authority and interests." (9IV)
Meanwhile the Devil's Dictionary claims a patriot is "One to whom the interests of a part seem superior to those of the whole. The dupe of statesman and the tool of conquerors." (9IX)
Does one have a country, or does a country have one? When a country acts, who is acting? The country, the people of the country, the government? (9IZ)
People tell me that the fourth is a celebration of the country and its people, not the government and its actions, but when surrounded everyday by jingoistic propaganda, aren't these fireworks just another ad to maintain shareholder confidence? (9J1)
Give the people a spectacle, wave the flag a bit, be reminded that we're all part of a nice big group and while the details of our activity may be a bit bleak, don't forget: the vision is grand. (9J3)
Sublimate the rage in a sea of pretty colors. Put off the revulsion and revolution for one more year. (9J5)
And there on the roof, as the fireworks boomed on our left and the impending thunderstorm rolled in from the right, things were good: Amongst friends, in (on) a home, well fed with more entertainment and comfort in store. (9J7)
But still: (9J8)
July 04, 2004
Climbing Still in the Air
MattLiggett and I had another fine trip to TheRed. (9DU)
This time of year it is very humid and often cloudy. More than once we commented that it could be 9:30 am or 3:30 pm, no telling. The combination of heat, humidity and weird hazy lighting made us a bit lazy, but we enjoyed ourselves, the climbing, and the scenery. (9DV)
Full collection of pics (40) at TheRedJuneMattThumb, with some highlights and lessons below. (9DW)
Day one was spent at PhanTasia where we decided to have a day of moderate sport. We got on anything that had bolts and was rated a 9 or a 10. I was pleased by the easy approach to the first climb: (9DX)
Lesson one: 5 liters of water per day, while officially plenty, is not enough. (9DZ)
We sweat. We left puddles and wet spots from our congress with rock. I climbed CreepShow? leaving dampness at the opportune seated rest. (9E1)
When I climbed it again, the dampness was still there. (9E3)
Day two we squelched off to FortressWall where we planned Matt's first trad lead (his first sport lead is documented elsewhere). (9E4)
Fortress is good for this sort of thing because the climbs are well travelled, well defined and have reasonable descents. (9E5)
Matt styled up AmericanCrack?: (9E6)
(If you look at the big version (click the ++) of that pic, you can barely see Matt's helmet next to the big boulder at the top.) (9E8)
At the base of the climb we had a large collection of thirsty bugs that might sting us if they cared about us: (9E9)
I then led Route48 (9EB)
following the if-you-don't-know-what-gear-you-need-take-it-all school of thought. (9ED)
Lesson two: Not so much a lesson as a thing to work on: Selecting the right gear and economizing. Gear is heavy. Heaviness bad. (9EF)
Finally, no trip to Fortress is complete without Matt making a cheese eating grin on top of BedtimeForBonzo. Compare: (9EG)
Trip two: (9EH)
Trip one: (9EJ)
Lesson three: Don't make a big huge mess of the rope when it is your only way down. (9EL)
It's beyond lovely at the top of the cliff. (9EN)
Insolent Poutine
Maciej, over at Idle Words has this fabulous description of poutine: (9DR)
I was eating it sober, and under the watchful eye of a native (NEVER swim or eat poutine alone), so it was a great relief to find out that the stuff was delicious. The cheese curds did indeed melt and pull the dish together into one gooey mass, although the French fries stayed crispy enough to be individually discernible in the collective, giving the dish a pleasing light crunch. The brown gravy was turpid and dark, with a sturdy tannin structure supporting notes of oak, wood smoke, spice, aniseed and musk. There was the faintest hint of chocolate and raspberry in the finish, though that may have reflected a previous use of the serving dish. In the nose, the poutine was beefy and slightly insolent - I detected an almost wanton playfulness, the evanescent flavors frolicking together like young beavers in a Gaspé pond at dusk - but in the mouth it opened to reveal a velvety (or perhaps Velveeta-like) smoothness that tenaciously clung to every membrane in my mouth, esophagus, and stomach for the next three hours. Small wonder that food is renowned for its ability to enhance heavy drinking. The aftertaste was rich, dense, and interminable, returning to say hello at various times in the afternoon from its rock-hard, baseball-sized headquarters in my stomach. (9DS)
I've never had poutine, I'm not sure I want any, but I'd like to read more descriptions like this. poupou had some vegetarian poutine when she was in Montreal. I am relieved that she did not come back with a poutine baseball. (9DT)
