You shouldn't speak to objects. Not only does it bestow undeserved personification to otherwise mundane and lifeless constructs, it's also unhealthy.
So, how much worse is it to apologise to coding? To what exists as binary finesse on a piece of silicon?
It doesn't matter.
I'm sorry blog.
I've broken my promise.
I've displayed acts of disloyalty and desertion.
I've let you down, and myself down.
But yes, back to speech of greater coherency and sanity.
Honestly enough, I've just not had the time to supply my unobserved and trivial ramblings, due to exams, Christmas, life, the usual suspects.
Regular blogging should commence soon. I can't promise that'll it'll commence very soon, but at least by January, or whenever I start school. Once I'm back to regular living, I can resume schedule.
Seeya whenever.
Tuesday 23 December 2008
Friday 5 December 2008
Get ready for a date with yourself.
My advice this week? Find an hour or so that you're not going to use productively anyhow.
Find some nice weather, and some warm, dry grass.
Have a good lie down.
For extra funsies, an iPod and a good coat/pillow is recommended.
Enjoy.
I started doing this when I noticed that nearly every day on my paper round I pass this lovely clearing, that's always dry, and dogs don't seem to poop there.
So, naturally, I decided that one day, I was going to lie there.
It's definitely good soul food, and it's surprisingly easy to fall asleep =P
Besides, if you can't make time to lie in a field, what do you have time for anyway?
Find some nice weather, and some warm, dry grass.
Have a good lie down.
For extra funsies, an iPod and a good coat/pillow is recommended.
Enjoy.
I started doing this when I noticed that nearly every day on my paper round I pass this lovely clearing, that's always dry, and dogs don't seem to poop there.
So, naturally, I decided that one day, I was going to lie there.
It's definitely good soul food, and it's surprisingly easy to fall asleep =P
Besides, if you can't make time to lie in a field, what do you have time for anyway?
Thursday 4 December 2008
From the Internet, Through Me, To You.
First off, What happens when geeks get creative. Put it this way, whatever powers a person can gain from being socially impotent for a long number of years, whilst amassing such unparalleled knowledge, hatred for people and love for Transformers must be pretty damn epic, as the link shows.
Secondly, Ten Pounds says you act like this on the internet. Which is to say, like an asshole. The powers of anonymity.
Last but not least, go and read the entire archive of XKCD. It actually makes you smarter. Or at least feel it.
Secondly, Ten Pounds says you act like this on the internet. Which is to say, like an asshole. The powers of anonymity.
Last but not least, go and read the entire archive of XKCD. It actually makes you smarter. Or at least feel it.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Let's get Ready to Raaammmble!
I was much too amused at such a simple pun.
The idea of things missing upsets me a lot for some reason. Just not having something, missing or losing something really strikes at me, and I don't know why.
Like space missions. The astronauts piss into the shuttle for a while, and eventually eject it all into space. That's not a lot, maybe a few litres of urine? That means some water, ammonia, carbon and trace minerals.
But it's gone.
We'll never have it back.
The Earth has lessened.
It's just things like that. Another example. When I was younger, I was given a load of 1/2 pennies. maybe 50 or so. That amount has whittled down to 10 that I know of over the past few years, and that makes me sad. These were the objects of childhood games and dreams, and they're gone, some where, anywhere. I'd even get upset if a shirt was missing a button, or something was missing a label.
I can remember crying whenever I had to replace furniture or clothes that i ahd had for so long.
I can't bring myself to lose things. I always seem to think I might need them someday. Various codes, documents, things of distant aspirations. And like hell I'm gonna get rid of it.
The same goes for a lot of things I have.
My school bag: Contains documents and missed homeworks from 2 years ago.
Might be useful though.
Might be useful though.
My MSN: Has contacts that I have never spoken to in my life.
But maybe I'll need to talk to them someday.
Except it's all useless.
But maybe I'll need to talk to them someday.
Except it's all useless.
Even RPGs. Despite having the best weapons in the game, beyond comparison, I'll still carry a load of elemental crap, or special armor. In case I need it. But I know I've seen everything the game has to offer, but that doesn't stop me carting 4 types of ice armor and 99 of every battle item.
As a child, I was a huge Magpie. I used to have this beanbag chair, that I would fill with things. Shiney things, plastic things, crystalline things. I had a huge obsession over "Crystals". It'd mainly be plasticy cheap stuff I stole from my sister, or some sort of lego thing or something.The most precious thing would probably be a rock with some minerals on it, that I was convinced was some sort of crystal or diamond. One thing I've always been ashamed of, was one time I visited a graveyard, and there was this grave, covered with these fake emeralds. it was beautiful. And I ahd to have one. So I took one.
I threw up for three nights, but I still didn't give it back. It was precious.
The beanbag is still perched atop my wardrobe, sinking with weight and jingling with marbles.
What worries me a lot as well, is what this says about me. Does this make me materialistic? Perhaps I value matter over the things that are supposed to matter.
I threw up for three nights, but I still didn't give it back. It was precious.
The beanbag is still perched atop my wardrobe, sinking with weight and jingling with marbles.
What worries me a lot as well, is what this says about me. Does this make me materialistic? Perhaps I value matter over the things that are supposed to matter.
You know what people should watch?
This show, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
(Interesting Note, the alternative title for this blog was going to be "Look at me, I can post the pictures now!")
Anyways, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, the show I'm going to attempt to persuade you to watch (might as well admit it) is an anime, 26 episodes long, and quite amazing. And I have quite an erection for the main guy. Quite-a-Dish.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (or, So Long, Mr. Despair for us normal-speaking people) starts out with an innocent school girl, Kafuka, skipping amongst the sakura trees, when she notices a man hanging himself. Terrified, she frantically tugs the not-quite-deceased man, who is throttled increasingly, before the rope breaks. As they tumble to the floor, the man rises angrily, and yells "What would you have done if I died just then!"
This man is Itoshiki Nozumo, a man of unlimited pessimism. A man who tries to kill himself on a whim constantly. A man who is known to yell "I'm in Despair! the cultural irrelevancy of japan has left me in despair!"
So who better to meet than Kafuka, the most pessimistic girl in the world.
After being infuriated with her unending happiness, Itoshiki leaves, returning to his job- A school teacher.
Of course, it wouldn't be an anime if ridiculous coincidences didn't happen every five minutes. So who do you think is one of his students?
Each episode typically follows the format of Itoshiki meeting a student who reveals some sort of problem. Itoshiki becomes depressed at the problem, and goes on to lead the rest of the class into his never ending gloom, often embarking on ridiculous ventures to examine or rectify such trivial matters. It may not sound it, but I can guarantee both hilarity and zaniness. The show sports brilliant music, a unique and interesting cast, and the most flair and style I have seen in an anime. And despite what it looks and sounds like, it is very much a comedy. Not even a hint of seriousness in it.
Of course, that's the problem with the show- it's an anime. that means that if you dislike hearing foreign speech, reading the subtitles or japanese things in general, this isn't for you. How ever, those with more open minds and a lot more time and their hands should watch this now, it's superb.
Interested? you can watch it here. You can find the openings on youtube, which are also amazing.
Monday 1 December 2008
Maths is Cool- Humour.
Over the last week, i have discovered possibly the greatest thing in the world; Math-Based humour. As if I'm not going to post a freaking deluge of them right here.
Three statisticians are hunting in the woods. One shoots at a pigeon, but hits a branch one foot above it. The second shoots at the same pigeon (stupid pigeon, huh?) and misses, shooting one foot beneath it.
The third one lowers his gun, and says "Well done, got one!"
A farmer is asking an engineer, a physicist and a mathematician to build the most efficient fence around his flock of sheep.
The engineer builds a square fence around the sheep and says "That's the best I can do".
The physicist wraps a fence around the equator and slowly shrinks it until it encounters the first sheep, then says "That's the best I can do".
The mathematician smirks and takes a meter-long length of fence, wraps it around himself and declares triumphantly "I define myself to be outside!"
A physicist and a mathematician were asked to remove two nails, one of them punched all the way into the wall, the other just half-way. The physicist just pulled out the one that was half-way in and then, after toiling some time, managed to pull out the second one. The mathematician started with the one that was all the way in the wall, since it was more interesting. After some considerable time and effort, he managed to get it out. Then he looked at the other one, and uttering the words "This can be simplified to an already solved case" punched it all the way into the wall.
What do you call an occupied restroom in an airplane?
A hypotenuse.
Why do Universities have Mathematics departments?
It's cheaper than institutionalizing all those people.
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary, those who don't, and those who can use induction.
Why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip?
To get to the other ... um ... *scratches head*
A physicist, a biologist and a mathematician are sitting in a street cafe opposite an empty house. They see two people go into the house. Time passes, and after a while they see three people walk out of the house.
The physicist says "The measurements were not accurate."
The biologist says "The people who went into the house have reproduced."
The mathematician says "Now, if exactly one person enters the house it will be empty again."
women = time * money
time = money
women = money ^ 2
money = evil ^ .5
women = evil
Why weren't sin and tan invited to the trig party?
Just cos.
Why do computer scientists always confuse Halloween and Christmas?
Because OCT31 equals DEC25!
What did the mathematician say after Thanksgiving dinner?
sqrt(-1/64)
Why do people get afraid at the 2501st digit of e?
Because 7 ate 9.
One day, Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x2 + 8x - 9."
A man who had just joined the disciples looked very confused and asked Peter: "What on Earth does he mean by that?"
Peter replied: "Don't worry - it's just another one of his parabolas."
...That's all for today ^_^
Three statisticians are hunting in the woods. One shoots at a pigeon, but hits a branch one foot above it. The second shoots at the same pigeon (stupid pigeon, huh?) and misses, shooting one foot beneath it.
The third one lowers his gun, and says "Well done, got one!"
A farmer is asking an engineer, a physicist and a mathematician to build the most efficient fence around his flock of sheep.
The engineer builds a square fence around the sheep and says "That's the best I can do".
The physicist wraps a fence around the equator and slowly shrinks it until it encounters the first sheep, then says "That's the best I can do".
The mathematician smirks and takes a meter-long length of fence, wraps it around himself and declares triumphantly "I define myself to be outside!"
A physicist and a mathematician were asked to remove two nails, one of them punched all the way into the wall, the other just half-way. The physicist just pulled out the one that was half-way in and then, after toiling some time, managed to pull out the second one. The mathematician started with the one that was all the way in the wall, since it was more interesting. After some considerable time and effort, he managed to get it out. Then he looked at the other one, and uttering the words "This can be simplified to an already solved case" punched it all the way into the wall.
What do you call an occupied restroom in an airplane?
A hypotenuse.
Why do Universities have Mathematics departments?
It's cheaper than institutionalizing all those people.
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary, those who don't, and those who can use induction.
Why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip?
To get to the other ... um ... *scratches head*
A physicist, a biologist and a mathematician are sitting in a street cafe opposite an empty house. They see two people go into the house. Time passes, and after a while they see three people walk out of the house.
The physicist says "The measurements were not accurate."
The biologist says "The people who went into the house have reproduced."
The mathematician says "Now, if exactly one person enters the house it will be empty again."
women = time * money
time = money
women = money ^ 2
money = evil ^ .5
women = evil
Why weren't sin and tan invited to the trig party?
Just cos.
Why do computer scientists always confuse Halloween and Christmas?
Because OCT31 equals DEC25!
What did the mathematician say after Thanksgiving dinner?
sqrt(-1/64)
Why do people get afraid at the 2501st digit of e?
Because 7 ate 9.
One day, Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x2 + 8x - 9."
A man who had just joined the disciples looked very confused and asked Peter: "What on Earth does he mean by that?"
Peter replied: "Don't worry - it's just another one of his parabolas."
...That's all for today ^_^
Sunday 30 November 2008
I really wish i was at a point I could catch up from.
So.... a missing week on a "Daily" Blog. I actually now have to start using air quotes and slight sniggers when referring to my update status -_-;
I'm pretty sure this is the feeling people are supposed to have when people draw out the crowd favourite "You've me down, Shaun, but more importantly, you've let yourself down.".
Except much more trivial and throwaway.
I've been thinking a lot about morality. It's all very taxing. It raises a lot of home truths about ourselves, as soon as you start to question why you think something is right or wrong.
A recent example. A woman was jailed for life for the murder of both her children. She claimed that God had asked her to do it.
If she believes that this was the right thing to do, is she a good person? Can you punish someone for acting out their beliefs?
The plot thickens.
A famous quote from President Bush (Not to jump on the hate-wagon); "God said to me, "George go fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did. Then he said, "George, go end the tyranny in Iraq". Which is what I'm doing."
I'm the last person who wants to begin a discussion on politics and war. Quite honestly, I'm hopeless in the field. Plus, this blog isn't about that.
But in all honesty, what's the difference between the two scenario? Aside from the obvious difference of Children and Terrorists, shouldn't this confession be tantamount to a plea of "Guilty?". And in a country that has governmental independence from any religion, as stated by the founding fathers?
The argument can be taken to further extremes. The Holocaust. An operation is the realisation of a prophet's belief. But it's wrong, isn't it? So where is the line drawn?
We need to find it should we hope for survival.
I'm pretty sure this is the feeling people are supposed to have when people draw out the crowd favourite "You've me down, Shaun, but more importantly, you've let yourself down.".
Except much more trivial and throwaway.
I've been thinking a lot about morality. It's all very taxing. It raises a lot of home truths about ourselves, as soon as you start to question why you think something is right or wrong.
A recent example. A woman was jailed for life for the murder of both her children. She claimed that God had asked her to do it.
If she believes that this was the right thing to do, is she a good person? Can you punish someone for acting out their beliefs?
The plot thickens.
A famous quote from President Bush (Not to jump on the hate-wagon); "God said to me, "George go fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did. Then he said, "George, go end the tyranny in Iraq". Which is what I'm doing."
I'm the last person who wants to begin a discussion on politics and war. Quite honestly, I'm hopeless in the field. Plus, this blog isn't about that.
But in all honesty, what's the difference between the two scenario? Aside from the obvious difference of Children and Terrorists, shouldn't this confession be tantamount to a plea of "Guilty?". And in a country that has governmental independence from any religion, as stated by the founding fathers?
The argument can be taken to further extremes. The Holocaust. An operation is the realisation of a prophet's belief. But it's wrong, isn't it? So where is the line drawn?
We need to find it should we hope for survival.
Sunday 23 November 2008
Super-Ultra-Three-In-One-Shaun-Can't-Keep-Commitments-Blog!
Ech.... One week has passed, and I have missed 4 deadlines, including this post-midnight post. I feel like a traitor. I'll be the first to admit there hasn't been enough time, special circumstance and all, but I feel as though this is going to be that "Just one more.... And another...." kind of scenarios.
SO.
Three quick internet links-
Why the World is crazy, Awesome beauty tips and a game where you play with yourself- ten times.
I'd go into more detail, but guess what I don't have? More time
Advice
Get Chrome and Firefox.
Chrome is the fastest browser on the web, Firefox lets you have awesome things like Stumble, as well as being safer.
If you need just one, get Chrome for those of you un-internet savvy, Firefox for those who like to customise.
Both way better than Internet Explorer.
My Life:
Coursework. Fur Cereal, that's all it's really been. Might put some anecdotes or something as an edit, but for the most part, my social life has been more or less destroyed by the combined forces of Business, Stats and Drama.
Sayonara.
SO.
Three quick internet links-
Why the World is crazy, Awesome beauty tips and a game where you play with yourself- ten times.
I'd go into more detail, but guess what I don't have? More time
Advice
Get Chrome and Firefox.
Chrome is the fastest browser on the web, Firefox lets you have awesome things like Stumble, as well as being safer.
If you need just one, get Chrome for those of you un-internet savvy, Firefox for those who like to customise.
Both way better than Internet Explorer.
My Life:
Coursework. Fur Cereal, that's all it's really been. Might put some anecdotes or something as an edit, but for the most part, my social life has been more or less destroyed by the combined forces of Business, Stats and Drama.
Sayonara.
Wednesday 19 November 2008
I'm going to take a stroll.
Wednesday is General Ponderings Day (apparently), so I feel obliged to give it a try.
I get a lot of time to think. A paper round was a blessing for someone like me- a chance to simply zone out for an hour, in fresh air, with good music and my thoughts. And on a good day, maybe a patch of grass to lie on, and take a break from existing. It's good.
Anyway, one thing I think a lot about is how other people feel. Sometimes, I just like to run through my head how someone might feel about things that happened to them. It's a good exercise in understanding. I feel as though I'm a very good reader of people (Not to demean a person to 1-2 dimensional media), so long as it doesn't concern myself. For instance, I can see who likes who from a mile away. That stuff''s easy. As soon as I place myself in the equation though, I argue. Contradict. Become confused.
Is it right for me to think of someone's feelings toward me? Is it right to ignore? Is that just my modesty speaking? Paranoia? Ego?
I feel as though when thinking about someone else, it's a unified voice, a unanimous decision. As soon as it's me, there's several. I second guess, trying to play some sort of moral-jenga. I'm trying not to think the wrong thing, but I can't decide what kind of "Wrong". It's strange, but I can't be alone. Surely.
I tend to find myself having to self-assure myself that my friends like me. I had a weird dream once, where I found out I was a paralytic shell of a human being, practically part-wheel-chair. And the big revelation was that I had been projecting the personality of my helper upon myself, the boy who so loyally carted me around. I had trouble coming to terms with what that would make me were that situation real. Fake? A copy? It was the whole clone debate, but with another cruel twist. It got me paranoid too. Was that the dream?
Sometimes I revisit that nightmare, but merely as a grounds for brain-food. But it doesn't stop me making up friendship balance sheets in my head, trying to think of what people do to me, and how they treat others, as some sort of test as to whether I'm some sort of pity friend, or something.
As cliche as it sounds, the doubts wash away when I'm with people, but they can return when I have time to think.
I suppose such blessed time to think has its cons too.
I get a lot of time to think. A paper round was a blessing for someone like me- a chance to simply zone out for an hour, in fresh air, with good music and my thoughts. And on a good day, maybe a patch of grass to lie on, and take a break from existing. It's good.
Anyway, one thing I think a lot about is how other people feel. Sometimes, I just like to run through my head how someone might feel about things that happened to them. It's a good exercise in understanding. I feel as though I'm a very good reader of people (Not to demean a person to 1-2 dimensional media), so long as it doesn't concern myself. For instance, I can see who likes who from a mile away. That stuff''s easy. As soon as I place myself in the equation though, I argue. Contradict. Become confused.
Is it right for me to think of someone's feelings toward me? Is it right to ignore? Is that just my modesty speaking? Paranoia? Ego?
I feel as though when thinking about someone else, it's a unified voice, a unanimous decision. As soon as it's me, there's several. I second guess, trying to play some sort of moral-jenga. I'm trying not to think the wrong thing, but I can't decide what kind of "Wrong". It's strange, but I can't be alone. Surely.
I tend to find myself having to self-assure myself that my friends like me. I had a weird dream once, where I found out I was a paralytic shell of a human being, practically part-wheel-chair. And the big revelation was that I had been projecting the personality of my helper upon myself, the boy who so loyally carted me around. I had trouble coming to terms with what that would make me were that situation real. Fake? A copy? It was the whole clone debate, but with another cruel twist. It got me paranoid too. Was that the dream?
Sometimes I revisit that nightmare, but merely as a grounds for brain-food. But it doesn't stop me making up friendship balance sheets in my head, trying to think of what people do to me, and how they treat others, as some sort of test as to whether I'm some sort of pity friend, or something.
As cliche as it sounds, the doubts wash away when I'm with people, but they can return when I have time to think.
I suppose such blessed time to think has its cons too.
Maybe you should listen to The Pillows. Also, I Failed.
Damn. Few days in, and I've already missed a blog. Right. I'm gonna try and make up for today's post later, so here's yesterday's. I'm going to try and not make a habit out of this, as I've (painfully) learnt, as soon as you start doing things for good reasons, you start doing them for bad ones, too.
Anyways, The Pillows.
I could play my pretentious "Oh, I bet you don't know this band, 'cos they're too cool. And Foreign." card. But then I'd actually have to shave off an eyebrow, become a hermit and learn how to not be an obnoxious plebeian on top of a mountain until my eyebrow grew back.
The Pillows are extremely interesting to me as they're a Japanese band that is mainly influenced by Western Music. So you get this great Best-of-Both-Worlds deal without having to be some creepy cow-girl-child-star. Solid Western Tunes meets Eastern Innovation. Awesome.
But the main reason I like them is because they're awesome. Plus, as a bonus, you don't have to go online and find a translated lyrics sheet if you want to know what it is they're saying- they're one of the few Japanese bands that have English lyrics. Musically, they sound like a really good rock band. There's no easy way to put it. It's hard to single out a few bands they sound like. My easiest suggestion is a good combination of everything that's less heavy than metal, more tuneful than pop, smushed into one band.
So, being the charitable gentleman I am, some of their best/most approachable songs. In Youtube form. There is much, much more I could put down, but if you must listen to one song (Read: You must listen to one song) then you should really listen to Advice. It's superb. One of my favourite songs ever. And this blog is all about me pushing my opinion on you innocents.
(I'm sorry a lot of these are AMVs and fan works, but I couldn't find anything else. All the songs should be the originals though, I can't tell, I have no sound >_<)
Advice
Carnival
Skeleton Liar
Hybrid Rainbow
White Ash
(Another post to follow)
The Pillows are extremely interesting to me as they're a Japanese band that is mainly influenced by Western Music. So you get this great Best-of-Both-Worlds deal without having to be some creepy cow-girl-child-star. Solid Western Tunes meets Eastern Innovation. Awesome.
But the main reason I like them is because they're awesome. Plus, as a bonus, you don't have to go online and find a translated lyrics sheet if you want to know what it is they're saying- they're one of the few Japanese bands that have English lyrics. Musically, they sound like a really good rock band. There's no easy way to put it. It's hard to single out a few bands they sound like. My easiest suggestion is a good combination of everything that's less heavy than metal, more tuneful than pop, smushed into one band.
So, being the charitable gentleman I am, some of their best/most approachable songs. In Youtube form. There is much, much more I could put down, but if you must listen to one song (Read: You must listen to one song) then you should really listen to Advice. It's superb. One of my favourite songs ever. And this blog is all about me pushing my opinion on you innocents.
(I'm sorry a lot of these are AMVs and fan works, but I couldn't find anything else. All the songs should be the originals though, I can't tell, I have no sound >_<)
Advice
Carnival
Skeleton Liar
Hybrid Rainbow
White Ash
(Another post to follow)
Monday 17 November 2008
Why Maths is Cool- Music
The acceptance of the following fact may be impossible for some. This I can understand, it's not their fault. It's stupid people's fault, for slandering maths and trying to make it ugly. But this isn't about stupid people. This is about music. And how it's maths.
For this next bit, I'm going to have to borrow the infinite intellect of the late Douglas Adams, the genius behind Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy.
Imagine a ball being thrown at you. Assuming you're prepared and fit, you can easily catch that ball. But think about it.
That ball is traveling at a good speed, and is making an arc. And arc your mind has to calculate in order to get your hand where it should be. Now, although your average athlete could have trouble audibly dividing a couple of three digit numbers, they are able to (subconsciously) predict and define the movement and target of an object at high speeds in a matter of seconds. People call it instinct, and leave it at that. But this is high level mathematical thinking. This is nature. This is what we are. Maths is our organic, nonpolluting petrol that doesn't cost a pound a litre.
What is music? Audible art. What is art? A reflection of nature (Be it in the literal, physical or meta-physical sense) that appeals to our senses. And the thing that we conceive in nature is maths. (I'll touch upon this another time)
What do we look for in music? Sequence, dynamics patterns. All of which can be expressed with numbers. Exponentials, Pythagoras, ratios- they're all in musical theory. Hell, an obvious example (yet crude in my opinion) would be the construction of violins to the Golden Ratio. Better yet would be the exponential rates of the harmonic identities and octaves, or the ratios in tuning.
Now this is where it goes to interpretation. The Blue Pill/Red Pill Moment.
Blue Pill: Continue to believe that music, nature and all art are "Free" and "Spiritual", and that maths is "Unnatural" and "Ugly", and comparison of the two media lessens and insults all art.
Red Pill: Realise the beauty in such intricacies and patterns that stems from the mathematical qualities of music, which therefore creates our understanding of music.
Take it as you will.
For this next bit, I'm going to have to borrow the infinite intellect of the late Douglas Adams, the genius behind Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy.
Imagine a ball being thrown at you. Assuming you're prepared and fit, you can easily catch that ball. But think about it.
That ball is traveling at a good speed, and is making an arc. And arc your mind has to calculate in order to get your hand where it should be. Now, although your average athlete could have trouble audibly dividing a couple of three digit numbers, they are able to (subconsciously) predict and define the movement and target of an object at high speeds in a matter of seconds. People call it instinct, and leave it at that. But this is high level mathematical thinking. This is nature. This is what we are. Maths is our organic, nonpolluting petrol that doesn't cost a pound a litre.
What is music? Audible art. What is art? A reflection of nature (Be it in the literal, physical or meta-physical sense) that appeals to our senses. And the thing that we conceive in nature is maths. (I'll touch upon this another time)
What do we look for in music? Sequence, dynamics patterns. All of which can be expressed with numbers. Exponentials, Pythagoras, ratios- they're all in musical theory. Hell, an obvious example (yet crude in my opinion) would be the construction of violins to the Golden Ratio. Better yet would be the exponential rates of the harmonic identities and octaves, or the ratios in tuning.
Now this is where it goes to interpretation. The Blue Pill/Red Pill Moment.
Blue Pill: Continue to believe that music, nature and all art are "Free" and "Spiritual", and that maths is "Unnatural" and "Ugly", and comparison of the two media lessens and insults all art.
Red Pill: Realise the beauty in such intricacies and patterns that stems from the mathematical qualities of music, which therefore creates our understanding of music.
Take it as you will.
Sunday 16 November 2008
Stop using the word "random". No, stop it. Please.
This is going to be petty, this is going to be a little over-reactive. Hell, I might as well go the full however-many yards, and say this is just an example of my anal-retentiveness. Ned bless Freud and his whackiness.
But back to the topic at hand.
Imagine a terrible personal profile. Female, uses that weird font, compensates for bad spelling mistakes by adding extra "y"s.
Theyy call hur : Sarahh
Luks Thruu: Green Eyyes
...And so on, until...
She is: 100% random!
Bam. You might as well have been Miss Lapin trying to tell me you make something a percentage by multiplying by 100 (I have a problem with percentages at the moment, huh?).
You are not random.
Not the fictional girl I made up, not that "crazy gurl" (another pet peeve), not you.
Are you consistently variable? Are you deduced through Brownian Motion? Is there only one machine in the world powerful enough to run intense algorithms that can just about create a string of you, if you're not too fussy about the source of your random figures?
I'm being pedantic. I know. But let's look at it with a little more context. Let's say you were random, in a more conventional sense. That'd make you a completely different person every second. There'd be no coherency, no context, no connection. You'd be, as a person, nothing.
The person we are is not about what we are, it's the growth. It's why we're endeared to the hero who starts as the runt, and grows. That's character development. "A journey of a Thousand Miles...." and all that.
The things that make you you is an incredibly large (or small if you're particularly dull) set of responses. Let's get that cliche out of the way; that's what makes you, you. There is, granted, levels of variability in people's reactions, but nonetheless, you're programmed.Or rather, programming. Everyone grows, that's something you should remember. To an extent, our growth as a person might possibly may be concieved as a random variable, but the point remains.
You're not random. And that's fantastic.
(I'd just like to add as a side note, two things.
1. I don't want to hear anything about how calling people "Programmed" takes away the magic and spirituality of the human soul, and whatnot. Anyone who can't see that as beauty is, in my opinion, close-minded. They're usually the same kind of people who thinks maths is ugly, and can't see that high art forms such as music are merely beautiful applications of maths. God my boner for numbers isn't even funny.
2., does anyone ever feel that there needs to be a form of 3d writing? From the line that ended ".... you're programmed", I wanted to write three different paragraphs. Although, 2d writing could work just as well, it'd just be a bit cluttered. Damn linear medium.
But back to the topic at hand.
Imagine a terrible personal profile. Female, uses that weird font, compensates for bad spelling mistakes by adding extra "y"s.
Theyy call hur : Sarahh
Luks Thruu: Green Eyyes
...And so on, until...
She is: 100% random!
Bam. You might as well have been Miss Lapin trying to tell me you make something a percentage by multiplying by 100 (I have a problem with percentages at the moment, huh?).
You are not random.
Not the fictional girl I made up, not that "crazy gurl" (another pet peeve), not you.
Are you consistently variable? Are you deduced through Brownian Motion? Is there only one machine in the world powerful enough to run intense algorithms that can just about create a string of you, if you're not too fussy about the source of your random figures?
I'm being pedantic. I know. But let's look at it with a little more context. Let's say you were random, in a more conventional sense. That'd make you a completely different person every second. There'd be no coherency, no context, no connection. You'd be, as a person, nothing.
The person we are is not about what we are, it's the growth. It's why we're endeared to the hero who starts as the runt, and grows. That's character development. "A journey of a Thousand Miles...." and all that.
The things that make you you is an incredibly large (or small if you're particularly dull) set of responses. Let's get that cliche out of the way; that's what makes you, you. There is, granted, levels of variability in people's reactions, but nonetheless, you're programmed.Or rather, programming. Everyone grows, that's something you should remember. To an extent, our growth as a person might possibly may be concieved as a random variable, but the point remains.
You're not random. And that's fantastic.
(I'd just like to add as a side note, two things.
1. I don't want to hear anything about how calling people "Programmed" takes away the magic and spirituality of the human soul, and whatnot. Anyone who can't see that as beauty is, in my opinion, close-minded. They're usually the same kind of people who thinks maths is ugly, and can't see that high art forms such as music are merely beautiful applications of maths. God my boner for numbers isn't even funny.
2., does anyone ever feel that there needs to be a form of 3d writing? From the line that ended ".... you're programmed", I wanted to write three different paragraphs. Although, 2d writing could work just as well, it'd just be a bit cluttered. Damn linear medium.
Saturday 15 November 2008
Oh My God I'm 12 minutes away from already failing the blog-scedule
Holy crap, it's 12 to 12, and I've been procrastinating this all day. Huge coincidence that this blog is about my week, because my week has been about slacking.
Seriously, I wonder if I'm a self-saboteur when it comes to responsibility. I seem to have a complete problem with doing things right.
Any school morning for instance. I turn on the PC at half seven, knowing it will amke me late for school. "But hey", that persuasive creature on my left shoulder whispers, "You have some self discipline, right? You could maybe just check your blogs, read your web comics, and leave, right?".
An hour later, half-aware that school is starting without me, I sit dumbly at my PC, under the tyrannical imprisonment of the StumbleUpon tool bar. It is both a blessing and a curse.
5 minutes till Sunday. Crap.
It's affecting my work. I've given up my fresh air to do coursework I could've done long ago, had I actually sat down and done it. I'm being chased up by 5 subjects at time of speaking. That's practically all my coursework-hungry ones.
I really wonder if I can actually do well in the future. Not worry, because I lack the sense to worry- but wonder nonetheless. I'm a great person for on the spot bull-shitting. Tests are great, I can just sit them unprepared. But things I actually have to work at? Willingly? When there's a copy of Final Fantasy X to finish? I scoff in the face of hard work.
Maybe a minute left.
Some say it's a gift. me? I reckon it's a really versatile disability, like having a shoulder that dislocates really easily. Maybe I have a brain that dislocates really easily. It'd explain a lot.
I'll stop while it's still Saturday.
[Edit:
So it turns out that it's time-stamped from the moment you start writing, rather than when you stop, I was in the clear all along.
Even ignoring the fact that this is American, and set at roughly 8 hours before midnight.
Fuck you, blogging software and timezones, with your numerous conspiracies.
Point stands, I made the post. Last minute, as all my work is. Rushed, too. Shaun Standard.
Seriously, I wonder if I'm a self-saboteur when it comes to responsibility. I seem to have a complete problem with doing things right.
Any school morning for instance. I turn on the PC at half seven, knowing it will amke me late for school. "But hey", that persuasive creature on my left shoulder whispers, "You have some self discipline, right? You could maybe just check your blogs, read your web comics, and leave, right?".
An hour later, half-aware that school is starting without me, I sit dumbly at my PC, under the tyrannical imprisonment of the StumbleUpon tool bar. It is both a blessing and a curse.
5 minutes till Sunday. Crap.
It's affecting my work. I've given up my fresh air to do coursework I could've done long ago, had I actually sat down and done it. I'm being chased up by 5 subjects at time of speaking. That's practically all my coursework-hungry ones.
I really wonder if I can actually do well in the future. Not worry, because I lack the sense to worry- but wonder nonetheless. I'm a great person for on the spot bull-shitting. Tests are great, I can just sit them unprepared. But things I actually have to work at? Willingly? When there's a copy of Final Fantasy X to finish? I scoff in the face of hard work.
Maybe a minute left.
Some say it's a gift. me? I reckon it's a really versatile disability, like having a shoulder that dislocates really easily. Maybe I have a brain that dislocates really easily. It'd explain a lot.
I'll stop while it's still Saturday.
[Edit:
So it turns out that it's time-stamped from the moment you start writing, rather than when you stop, I was in the clear all along.
Even ignoring the fact that this is American, and set at roughly 8 hours before midnight.
Fuck you, blogging software and timezones, with your numerous conspiracies.
Point stands, I made the post. Last minute, as all my work is. Rushed, too. Shaun Standard.
Friday 14 November 2008
Advice; Download StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is with doubt the greatest web-tool I've ever used.
By putting in your interests, you can hit a button and find a random web page that will match your interests, with an archive of- well, the whole internet.
I click the button. I'm struck with this powerful page on how Islamic girls are real girls. Bookmark it. Click again. A page on final meal requests on Death Row. Bookmark. Stumble again. The most hilarious mixture of Nietzsche's social commentary mixed with Newspaper comics.. Bookmark. Stumble. Ad Infinitum.
Right kids, for this one you're gonna wanna download Mozilla Firefox, which is a safer, faster and better internet browser. I'll tell you why you need it some other time.
Now, if you've followed my advice, proceed to download StumbleUpon. You can work out the rest.
Just so you can get a feel of how diverse it is, my current interests are;
American Lit.
Anime
Atheist/Agnostic
Beauty
Bizarre/Oddities
British Literature
Buddhism
Chaos/Complexity
Cyberculture
Ethics
Evolution
Firefox
Futurism
Genetics
Ipod
Japan
Literature
Logic
Mathematics
Neuroscience
Online Games
Philosophy
Photography
Poetry
Psychology
Self Improvement
Shakespeare
Shareware
Sociology
Soundtracks
Video Games
Yeah- It's that awesome.
By putting in your interests, you can hit a button and find a random web page that will match your interests, with an archive of- well, the whole internet.
I click the button. I'm struck with this powerful page on how Islamic girls are real girls. Bookmark it. Click again. A page on final meal requests on Death Row. Bookmark. Stumble again. The most hilarious mixture of Nietzsche's social commentary mixed with Newspaper comics.. Bookmark. Stumble. Ad Infinitum.
Right kids, for this one you're gonna wanna download Mozilla Firefox, which is a safer, faster and better internet browser. I'll tell you why you need it some other time.
Now, if you've followed my advice, proceed to download StumbleUpon. You can work out the rest.
Just so you can get a feel of how diverse it is, my current interests are;
American Lit.
Anime
Atheist/Agnostic
Beauty
Bizarre/Oddities
British Literature
Buddhism
Chaos/Complexity
Cyberculture
Ethics
Evolution
Firefox
Futurism
Genetics
Ipod
Japan
Literature
Logic
Mathematics
Neuroscience
Online Games
Philosophy
Photography
Poetry
Psychology
Self Improvement
Shakespeare
Shareware
Sociology
Soundtracks
Video Games
Yeah- It's that awesome.
This is a Blog. Also, Rules.
( I apologise for the slightly melancholy tone, it's late and this post needs to be cereal.)
I've been told before that I'm not a deep person. I'm not going to lie; I was insulted. I'm not going to be modest; I reckoned they were dead wrong. Somewhere along the long history of words becoming dissected and disassociated from their original meaning, "Deep" has somehow come to mean that someone simply spills out everything that is wrong with their life, without a seconds hesitation. I've stated before, this is a blog of honesty. It's set in stone (inter web-stone?). My problem is, however, is I have no problems. No issues. Nothing really genuinely upsets me. I have a distinct lack of qualms. Does this make me shallow? Unformed? Is an experience not enough to shape one's ego, if it is not unhappy?
∴ Blog.
I've decided to rear a blog of my own, if not as a testament to the naysayers to my depth as a person, then one unto myself. It of course will fill other needs- I'll make it daily, in order to encourage schedule and discipline. It'll be my One-To-Many communication tool. And maybe years from now, I can look at this blog, and marvel at what an over-wordy idiot I was.
I don't want this to be the same post every day. Therefore, I'll make a schedule of posts.
Monday: Reason number n "Why Math is Cool.".
Tuesday: I want to talk about a piece of media.
Wednesday: Ponderings, wonderings and thoughts.
Thursday: Things from the internet.
Friday: General advice for the public.
Saturday: I suppose one day should be a record of my life. What happened in the week.
Sunday: Ramble.
As it's a Friday, I'll follow up with an advice post.
I've been told before that I'm not a deep person. I'm not going to lie; I was insulted. I'm not going to be modest; I reckoned they were dead wrong. Somewhere along the long history of words becoming dissected and disassociated from their original meaning, "Deep" has somehow come to mean that someone simply spills out everything that is wrong with their life, without a seconds hesitation. I've stated before, this is a blog of honesty. It's set in stone (inter web-stone?). My problem is, however, is I have no problems. No issues. Nothing really genuinely upsets me. I have a distinct lack of qualms. Does this make me shallow? Unformed? Is an experience not enough to shape one's ego, if it is not unhappy?
∴ Blog.
I've decided to rear a blog of my own, if not as a testament to the naysayers to my depth as a person, then one unto myself. It of course will fill other needs- I'll make it daily, in order to encourage schedule and discipline. It'll be my One-To-Many communication tool. And maybe years from now, I can look at this blog, and marvel at what an over-wordy idiot I was.
I don't want this to be the same post every day. Therefore, I'll make a schedule of posts.
Monday: Reason number n "Why Math is Cool.".
Tuesday: I want to talk about a piece of media.
Wednesday: Ponderings, wonderings and thoughts.
Thursday: Things from the internet.
Friday: General advice for the public.
Saturday: I suppose one day should be a record of my life. What happened in the week.
Sunday: Ramble.
As it's a Friday, I'll follow up with an advice post.
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