When a coyote barks at the moon and misses.
Thank You. I'll be here all week. Don't try the veal.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Gift Cards - Not So Much
What the hell is the deal with Gift Cards?
You can walk into a grocery store (for example) and get a gift card for Target, Chili's, Toys R Us, or even frikkin' Bass Pro Shops. It's the gift that says 'I cared about you enough to think about the vague area you might be interested in, but not enough to actually go there and get something.'
Seriously.
WTF?
You pay extra for something that the recipient can use almost as easily as cash. Which brings me to the Generic Gift Card. Visa, MC, Amec, they've all got them. Why would we want them? If you want to give someone money, give them money. Or, if you have to send it, send an effing check fer cripe pete. It costs more money to give someone somethig they can use almost as easily as actual money. What's the benefit? Wallet thickness?
Faugh.
You can walk into a grocery store (for example) and get a gift card for Target, Chili's, Toys R Us, or even frikkin' Bass Pro Shops. It's the gift that says 'I cared about you enough to think about the vague area you might be interested in, but not enough to actually go there and get something.'
Seriously.
WTF?
You pay extra for something that the recipient can use almost as easily as cash. Which brings me to the Generic Gift Card. Visa, MC, Amec, they've all got them. Why would we want them? If you want to give someone money, give them money. Or, if you have to send it, send an effing check fer cripe pete. It costs more money to give someone somethig they can use almost as easily as actual money. What's the benefit? Wallet thickness?
Faugh.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Gotta Love It
Putting CEO Pay In Perspective
Hank McKinnel, Chairman & CEO of Pfizer, will get paid $6.5 MILLION A YEAR AFTER HE RETIRES.
That's the equivalent of 1,624 doses of Viagra a day.
Schwing!
Hank McKinnel, Chairman & CEO of Pfizer, will get paid $6.5 MILLION A YEAR AFTER HE RETIRES.
That's the equivalent of 1,624 doses of Viagra a day.
Schwing!
The Problem with Actually Knowing What You're Doing
The problem with actually knowing what you're doing is that if you really do know what you're doing, and you're doing something that effects other people, people will start to assume that you know what you're doing in general, instead of in relation to the specific thing where you actually DO know what you're doing. The problem is a lot worse if you happen to actually have some expertiese in more than one area. The problem becomes exponentially worse if the areas of expertiese in question happen to be diverse and unrelated.
The problem, in case you've lost track, is that people will just assume you know something about any given random subject. The worst case scenario is when the random subject just happens to be in a previously unknown area of expertise.
There's a couple of ways to approach the situation. You could a) bullshit, or b) fess up and admit lack of knowledge. I don't like option a). I won't deny having used it, on more than one occasion even. But I don't like it. Option a) sets you up for a fall. Potentially a big and embarassing one- which is why it shows up in sitcom plots so often. Unlike sitcoms, in real life the end result, while sometimes a font of hilarity, is more often than not just the source of a reputation as a bullshit artist. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There is great artistry to be had in bullshit, and artistry in this area is a skill in its own right, which can serve one well if one chooses to go into politics, for example. Not so useful for everyday, tho.
On the other hand, option b) is not without difficulty. If enough demontrations of Actually Knowing What You're Doing have actually occurred, when you do fess up to know knowing, the audience might juist assume you're lying, or blowing them off because you just don't want to deal. (Which happens too, sometimes.)
In the end then, the best approach seems to be to be a stone cold fuckup. You'll get to be president one day.
The problem, in case you've lost track, is that people will just assume you know something about any given random subject. The worst case scenario is when the random subject just happens to be in a previously unknown area of expertise.
There's a couple of ways to approach the situation. You could a) bullshit, or b) fess up and admit lack of knowledge. I don't like option a). I won't deny having used it, on more than one occasion even. But I don't like it. Option a) sets you up for a fall. Potentially a big and embarassing one- which is why it shows up in sitcom plots so often. Unlike sitcoms, in real life the end result, while sometimes a font of hilarity, is more often than not just the source of a reputation as a bullshit artist. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There is great artistry to be had in bullshit, and artistry in this area is a skill in its own right, which can serve one well if one chooses to go into politics, for example. Not so useful for everyday, tho.
On the other hand, option b) is not without difficulty. If enough demontrations of Actually Knowing What You're Doing have actually occurred, when you do fess up to know knowing, the audience might juist assume you're lying, or blowing them off because you just don't want to deal. (Which happens too, sometimes.)
In the end then, the best approach seems to be to be a stone cold fuckup. You'll get to be president one day.
Friday, May 19, 2006
They Might Be Particle-ular
They might not be. But, since triangles were up for discussion, why not segue?
Kryptonic Analysis of Particle Man
In this song, we have Particle Man, Triangle Man, Universe Man, and Person Man. I believe that these represent four approaches, or outlooks, if you will, to the state of man, or more succinctly, philosophies.
Partilce Man. Who is particle man? Particle Man represents the scientific community- and/or realists/factualists/scientific athiesm, that sort of thing. The references to dot and speck, and the appearent play on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle are what lead me to this conclusion.
Triangle Man. Next up is Triangle Man. Funny thing- Triangle Man hates Paricle Man. They have a fight, Triangle wins. Triangle Man also hates Person Man. More on this later.
Universe Man. Universe Man is a powerful man, and seems immune to Triangle Man. Universe man seems to have an inclusive philosophy, and as such, I think this points to Deism, or a more generic belief in oneness or wholeness, as in "the oneness of the universe." Universe Man doesn't cause Triangle man heartburn, but There could be cause for strife betyween them, althoug this remains unexplored in the song.
Person Man. Lastly, we come to the poor wretch that is Person Man. He's seriously put upon-= being hit in the head with a frying pan and living his life in a garbage can. I think that this is a derisive take on secular humanism. Person man never looks up. Never sees anything larger than himself.
Triangle Man also hates Person Man. They have a fight, and, naturally, Triangle wins. This is the final clue as to who Triangle man is: Organized Religeon, specifically Christianlty, possibly as specific as Catholicism. In the case of Particle Man, there is a natural tension between those that must live by faith and those that must find out how things work. Additionally, there will be tension between those who live by faith in a higher being, and those who deny the existence of such a being.
The cautionary tale of the song is this: Triangle wins.
Kryptonic Analysis of Particle Man
In this song, we have Particle Man, Triangle Man, Universe Man, and Person Man. I believe that these represent four approaches, or outlooks, if you will, to the state of man, or more succinctly, philosophies.
Partilce Man. Who is particle man? Particle Man represents the scientific community- and/or realists/factualists/scientific athiesm, that sort of thing. The references to dot and speck, and the appearent play on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle are what lead me to this conclusion.
Triangle Man. Next up is Triangle Man. Funny thing- Triangle Man hates Paricle Man. They have a fight, Triangle wins. Triangle Man also hates Person Man. More on this later.
Universe Man. Universe Man is a powerful man, and seems immune to Triangle Man. Universe man seems to have an inclusive philosophy, and as such, I think this points to Deism, or a more generic belief in oneness or wholeness, as in "the oneness of the universe." Universe Man doesn't cause Triangle man heartburn, but There could be cause for strife betyween them, althoug this remains unexplored in the song.
Person Man. Lastly, we come to the poor wretch that is Person Man. He's seriously put upon-= being hit in the head with a frying pan and living his life in a garbage can. I think that this is a derisive take on secular humanism. Person man never looks up. Never sees anything larger than himself.
Triangle Man also hates Person Man. They have a fight, and, naturally, Triangle wins. This is the final clue as to who Triangle man is: Organized Religeon, specifically Christianlty, possibly as specific as Catholicism. In the case of Particle Man, there is a natural tension between those that must live by faith and those that must find out how things work. Additionally, there will be tension between those who live by faith in a higher being, and those who deny the existence of such a being.
The cautionary tale of the song is this: Triangle wins.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
I'm Not Puh-Sychic
To be clear, I have no idea what the internal dialog of a gay cop actually would be. The entry below contained an idea which was a supposition only. No actual police were harmed in the filming of this episode.
No, Really. They Don't
For simplicity's sake, let's assume that everything in flatland is either material X (which is flexible enough to resonate), or air (which has no resonant frequency), and that both have the same rate of propagation of pressure waves. Let's also assume that there's constant temperature and pressure, and that the speed of propagation is therefore always 100m/s, a nice round number that's easy to work with. (The actual speed of sound in air is 331.4 m/s + 0.6 m/s per degree C. FYI at freezing, that's just a bit faster than 1000 ft/sec). Lastly, let's assume that in Flatland, pressure waves are able to propagate from air to material X, but will tend to prefer to remain in whatever substrate they're in, and will lose energy when changing substrate.
So, with those assumptions, we can concentrate on the geometry.
Let's begin with an open figure- a line segment. The reason to start here is because it's easy to think about. The length of the line segment is also it's wavelength, and therefore the only thing effecting the resonant frequency. If the line segment is 100 meters long, then the resonant frequency is 1 Hz. This works to scale, too- if the line is 10m long, the resonant wavelength is 10 meters, or 10Hz. A 1 m line segment resonates at 100Hz, and so on. (0.1m at 1kHz, 1cm at 10kHz, 1mm at 100kHz). This is not unlike the arrangement of strings on a Greek harp- where the length of string is doubled to halve the frequency.
Let's start closed figures with an open square- that is, the same shape as if one were to draw a square on a sheet of paper, drawing only the edges; i.e. 4 line segments. Let's draw the square so that it's 100m on a side. In this case, it's going to resonate at 1Hz, since the wavelength at 1Hz is the same as the side (100m).
Next, let's consider an open triangle. In this case, the same rules apply for the basic resonance. A 1m to a side equilateral triangle in Flatland will resonate at 100Hz.
Now, if we fill these shapes in, things get more complicated. In the examples above, there's only one path for the pressure wave to take, so it's easy to tell where a resonance will occur, and what the frequency will be. In the case of a filled in object, there are multiple paths for pressure waves to take, a situation that has 2 effects: 1) There are resonances available in any direction that the wave can propagate, and the wave will propagate in any and all available directions equally, which means that instead of a single resonant frequency, there will be multiple resonant frequencies; and 2) because the pressure wave is free to propagate in any direction, the available amplitude and power in any given direction will be much reduced, which makes the resonance far less noticeable.
The next logical question is, "Why is this so?" To answer this, you have to think about what a mechanical resonance actually is. A mechanical resonance with a pressure wave occurs when the wavelength (or a whole number multiple of the wavelength) of a pressure wave is equal to the distance between opposing boundaries that the wave can reflect off of. When a pressure wave encounters a boundary, it reflects back from the boundary at the reciprocal of its angle of incidence. When the angle is 90 degrees, and the wavelength is a whole number multiple of the distance between the reflecting surfaces, the reflection of the wave tends to reinforce the wave, so that it loses power and amplitude at a slower rate. This is because the peaks and troughs of the reflected wave match the peaks and troughs of the original wave. When the wavelength is not a whole number multiple of the distance, the peaks and troughs of the reflected wave don't meet with the original, and the result is interference, causing the wave to lose power and amplitude more quickly. In extreme cases, the reflection can nearly cancel out the original wave. This is the effect employed by those Bose noise cancellation headphones- by inverting the incoming wave, they cancel it out, producing a quieter environment.
Going back to our triangle, no matter where the original pressure wave comes from, there are multiple complex paths through the object. Further, pressure waves reflecting off the boundaries at various angles will intersect and interfere with each other. The net result is that the triangle will probably have resonances in certain cross sections at certain frequencies, but wouldn't really have a definite centered frequency we'd call a resonance per se. In 3 dimensions, the problem naturally becomes worse.
So, with those assumptions, we can concentrate on the geometry.
Let's begin with an open figure- a line segment. The reason to start here is because it's easy to think about. The length of the line segment is also it's wavelength, and therefore the only thing effecting the resonant frequency. If the line segment is 100 meters long, then the resonant frequency is 1 Hz. This works to scale, too- if the line is 10m long, the resonant wavelength is 10 meters, or 10Hz. A 1 m line segment resonates at 100Hz, and so on. (0.1m at 1kHz, 1cm at 10kHz, 1mm at 100kHz). This is not unlike the arrangement of strings on a Greek harp- where the length of string is doubled to halve the frequency.
Let's start closed figures with an open square- that is, the same shape as if one were to draw a square on a sheet of paper, drawing only the edges; i.e. 4 line segments. Let's draw the square so that it's 100m on a side. In this case, it's going to resonate at 1Hz, since the wavelength at 1Hz is the same as the side (100m).
Next, let's consider an open triangle. In this case, the same rules apply for the basic resonance. A 1m to a side equilateral triangle in Flatland will resonate at 100Hz.
Now, if we fill these shapes in, things get more complicated. In the examples above, there's only one path for the pressure wave to take, so it's easy to tell where a resonance will occur, and what the frequency will be. In the case of a filled in object, there are multiple paths for pressure waves to take, a situation that has 2 effects: 1) There are resonances available in any direction that the wave can propagate, and the wave will propagate in any and all available directions equally, which means that instead of a single resonant frequency, there will be multiple resonant frequencies; and 2) because the pressure wave is free to propagate in any direction, the available amplitude and power in any given direction will be much reduced, which makes the resonance far less noticeable.
The next logical question is, "Why is this so?" To answer this, you have to think about what a mechanical resonance actually is. A mechanical resonance with a pressure wave occurs when the wavelength (or a whole number multiple of the wavelength) of a pressure wave is equal to the distance between opposing boundaries that the wave can reflect off of. When a pressure wave encounters a boundary, it reflects back from the boundary at the reciprocal of its angle of incidence. When the angle is 90 degrees, and the wavelength is a whole number multiple of the distance between the reflecting surfaces, the reflection of the wave tends to reinforce the wave, so that it loses power and amplitude at a slower rate. This is because the peaks and troughs of the reflected wave match the peaks and troughs of the original wave. When the wavelength is not a whole number multiple of the distance, the peaks and troughs of the reflected wave don't meet with the original, and the result is interference, causing the wave to lose power and amplitude more quickly. In extreme cases, the reflection can nearly cancel out the original wave. This is the effect employed by those Bose noise cancellation headphones- by inverting the incoming wave, they cancel it out, producing a quieter environment.
Going back to our triangle, no matter where the original pressure wave comes from, there are multiple complex paths through the object. Further, pressure waves reflecting off the boundaries at various angles will intersect and interfere with each other. The net result is that the triangle will probably have resonances in certain cross sections at certain frequencies, but wouldn't really have a definite centered frequency we'd call a resonance per se. In 3 dimensions, the problem naturally becomes worse.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Triangles Don't Resonate
A 2 dimensional equilateral triangle, cut from a sheet of tin, say, cut in outline only, doe *not* have a single resonant frequency.
The varying distances from any given point on the surface of such an object to an edge vary with the angle of the path of the pressure wave taken. Naturally, this assumes we're discussing a mechanical system, specifically, the intersection of pressure waves at an unknown angle with the object, even is the object is a completely regular object, and the incidence of the pressure wave is assumed to be perpendicular to the object.
If the objective is to simple cause the triangle to vibrate, this can be easily accomplished by the application of the pressure wave using a suitable transducer, or even by using a large speaker and amplifier.
Who wants pie?
The varying distances from any given point on the surface of such an object to an edge vary with the angle of the path of the pressure wave taken. Naturally, this assumes we're discussing a mechanical system, specifically, the intersection of pressure waves at an unknown angle with the object, even is the object is a completely regular object, and the incidence of the pressure wave is assumed to be perpendicular to the object.
If the objective is to simple cause the triangle to vibrate, this can be easily accomplished by the application of the pressure wave using a suitable transducer, or even by using a large speaker and amplifier.
Who wants pie?
Aside of Bacon
I was in a parking lot at agas station this morning, and a cop drove past me. In front. Right to left across the hood. All slow-motioney like. Probably because it was a parking lot, but still.
I looked at him going by. He may or may not have looked at me. You can never tell with cops. They're always looking where their heads aren't pointing, just to confuse you. I don't think he looked at me. There wasn't any 'guy nod' or anything. Not that one would be expected. The internal dialog of a cruiser patrol could be "I am the Terminator. I show no emotion. I show no reaction. I am a void. I am a study of blankness. I cannot be surprised. I am the Terminator." Of course, if the cop was gay, then the internal dialog would be more like, "I am so hot. I look just like Freddie Mercury. With these shades, I sizzle." But I digress.
So anyway, he drove by. I thought, "I wonder if everyone thinks about driving differently around a cop." Then, I thought "Well, DUH. I am thinking about driving differently around a cop because I am wondering about thinking about driving differently around a cop."
I looked at him going by. He may or may not have looked at me. You can never tell with cops. They're always looking where their heads aren't pointing, just to confuse you. I don't think he looked at me. There wasn't any 'guy nod' or anything. Not that one would be expected. The internal dialog of a cruiser patrol could be "I am the Terminator. I show no emotion. I show no reaction. I am a void. I am a study of blankness. I cannot be surprised. I am the Terminator." Of course, if the cop was gay, then the internal dialog would be more like, "I am so hot. I look just like Freddie Mercury. With these shades, I sizzle." But I digress.
So anyway, he drove by. I thought, "I wonder if everyone thinks about driving differently around a cop." Then, I thought "Well, DUH. I am thinking about driving differently around a cop because I am wondering about thinking about driving differently around a cop."
Friday, May 05, 2006
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
I Just Had To Share
"Cats are a form of animal based on carbon chemistry, dogs are a form of animal based on carbon chemistry, so aren't dogs a form of cat?"
It's so cool to quote things out of context.
This one's from http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html#isatype
"All of Elmer Cogan is dead, but only some of the class of dead people is Elmer Cogan."
-John Cleese
It's so cool to quote things out of context.
This one's from http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html#isatype
"All of Elmer Cogan is dead, but only some of the class of dead people is Elmer Cogan."
-John Cleese
Pobre Diablo
To the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
Estoy puro gringo entonces
Estoy puro gringo, estoy
Estoy puro gringo entonces,
No puedo hacer nada hoy.
Es-toy, Es-toy, estoy puro gringo enton-ces, pues.
Es-toy, Es-toy, estoy puro gringo estoy.
La cosa maravillosa es que yo no puedo hablar ninguna palabra de Espanol.
Pues.
Estoy puro gringo entonces
Estoy puro gringo, estoy
Estoy puro gringo entonces,
No puedo hacer nada hoy.
Es-toy, Es-toy, estoy puro gringo enton-ces, pues.
Es-toy, Es-toy, estoy puro gringo estoy.
La cosa maravillosa es que yo no puedo hablar ninguna palabra de Espanol.
Pues.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
If you know who these people are
Then you may or may not have had a life around 1987. Which makes you old.
Also, you might want to check your lease on life, and possibly renew your contract.
A Hamlet-esque Moment
I could blog about it.
I could wring out my innermost emotions for all the public to see (figuratively, of course- it's not like anyone reads this blog.)
The technology exists. For the time being, anyway. A few keystrokes, and anyone's innermost bloviatings become fodder for the great washed and unwashed masses.
I could wrench my emotional guts out, and figuratively splatter them across the Infobahn, or other dated cutesy terms for the Internet.
"Oh, but could these too too solid emoticons melt and page refresh themselves into a bitstream..."
I could blog about it.
But I won't.
I could wring out my innermost emotions for all the public to see (figuratively, of course- it's not like anyone reads this blog.)
The technology exists. For the time being, anyway. A few keystrokes, and anyone's innermost bloviatings become fodder for the great washed and unwashed masses.
I could wrench my emotional guts out, and figuratively splatter them across the Infobahn, or other dated cutesy terms for the Internet.
"Oh, but could these too too solid emoticons melt and page refresh themselves into a bitstream..."
I could blog about it.
But I won't.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Yes, the checks are ready.
Look. Right there on the desk. I already made out the deposit slip. Yes, they're endorsed. Yes, it would be really good if you could deposit them today. Thanks. Thank you. Bye.
Now I'm Drunk With Power
Everybody Sing!
Cows too cows ellay to Chi Lahrgo; love for snails...
Not to worry. I'm sure this'll wear off soon.
Sing!
Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Oh, you, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Too...
Turn on the blender and-
Sing!
O! Canada, our fine four fendered friend,
Post Office Box, the Maple Leaf to Send
Cows too cows ellay to Chi Lahrgo; love for snails...
Not to worry. I'm sure this'll wear off soon.
Sing!
Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Oh, you, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Too...
Turn on the blender and-
Sing!
O! Canada, our fine four fendered friend,
Post Office Box, the Maple Leaf to Send
The Second (And Therefore Newer than the First) Post
A dog came by and sniffed my garbage. Wha-ev. Panda Bear needs a nap.
Actually, points to Blogger for making the page templates editable & pretty easy to customize. When it works, it seems to work pretty well.
Unless, of course, your keyboard sticks, and you don't bother checking your typing, because you're frikkin lazy.
(Title edited for clarity and missing keystrokes.)
Actually, points to Blogger for making the page templates editable & pretty easy to customize. When it works, it seems to work pretty well.
Unless, of course, your keyboard sticks, and you don't bother checking your typing, because you're frikkin lazy.
(Title edited for clarity and missing keystrokes.)
No, really. Nothing to see here.
This is the first blog entry in a blog that exists solely because I wanted to be able to post in Glenn Greenwald's comment section, so I went to make a Blogger identity, and just kept going.
Huzzah.
Pues.
Huzzah.
Pues.
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