Updates: Del.icio.us is not workin' right. I'm trying to figure out why. seems to be fixed? Let me know of more problems.
The links to FAQ don't work, but will soon. should work now. Anyone find more bugs? If I'm going to fix things, you guys should write stuff to entertain me =)
Earlier today...
First of all, because I am amazing, I figured out how to get the read more link off of the bottom of short posts. (I stole the hack from hackosphere, which rocks my world).
Since only Greg, Rhonda and I are stuck in Maryland, should I change the title?
Joey is going to start a delicious account...all of the rest of you should too, and I'll add ya to the sidebar.
I'll play around with colors today. I'll try to find a light purple color scheme that meets everyone's needs (Ms. Medway).
Also, I updated the FAQs to explain how to use the amazing "read more" feature.
Have lovely days!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Fixing stuff...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
A Book Review slash Dating Tip
Another Bullshit Night in
So I just got finished reading the above-titled book. It is a memoir about Flynn, describing his drugged-up adolescence to his lengthy stint working at a homeless center to his present day life. At the same time, he weaves in the story of his father’s troubled existence. His father, ironically (Is anything actually ironic? I’m having some Alanis-esque trouble here, folks) ends up sleeping at, you guessed it, the homeless shelter where Flynn works.
In the end, I was happy to have read this book. But really, it took me till the end. For the first 4/5 of the book or so, I had the following assessment: yes, this is well-written, but if I am going to read yet another entertaining, yet depressing, memoir, I would rather be reading something by David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs. (On a side note, I am blown away that Microsoft Word recognizes the word “Sedaris” and does not give it a red squiggly.) Flynn's book just didn’t have enough of a story to captivate me: boozing, drugs, unhappiness; rinse and repeat.
Even though the plot didn’t really do it for me, the writing was absolutely beautiful. Really poetic. Dare I say: very PO-MO. He uses unique writing techniques to grab your attention and keep the story moving. I am a sucker for things like that, and it kept things fresh and also kept me reading.
More witty literary commentary and advice on how to get laid, after the jump!
(Haha, just joking. That would involve me knowing how to insert these magical "jumps." "Please help me," Smed pleads as she looks pointedly at mathgimp.)
The end both surprised me and prompted me to contemplate interesting ideas about family forgiveness that I think would be useful for most of us to think about, me more than anyone. Nicholas Flynn admits at the end of the novel that he wrote it in the same style as Moby Dick. He circles his father like Ahab circles the whale, but neither of them really reaches his target until the very end of each book. So the focal point of each book (the father and the whale, respectively) shape the book even though they are not really present for most of the story. We only get to know each main character under the shadow of what they are chasing after or running away from, however you want to look at it.
Nicholas Flynn is an amazing person, and he has put together a very readable account of his not-so-happy life. It only took me a few days to read, and I would recommend it. It gets the Smed Seal of Approval. Bing!
But let’s get to the important part. This book is an INVALUABLE commodity to strike up conversations with attractive and literate strangers. Here is all you have to do. Even if you don’t want to read this book, buy it anyway. Trust me on this one; it is an investment in the future of your love life. Take the book everywhere with you. I, for instance, took it to a coffee shop,
OK, now you have to respond intelligently to this potential love match. If you haven’t actually read it, and are just using the book as a love-prop, I recommend you say the following: “Yeah, great title huh? And it’s actually really engrossing. About a man working at a homeless shelter - and get this - his father is homeless. Written in a stream of consciousness, but in a good way. True story, too.”
You can all thank me when you are happily dating (or at least sleeping with) that good looking person from the coffee shop with whom you have been wanting to strike up a conversation.
If all the cool kids are angry....
So, I guess the cool thing to do is be angry. Well, I've got a few things I hate. After the jump: Irish History, math, and some other sundry crap...
First, I can't stand books on Irish History. All of the ones I have either end in 1860 (at the end of the Great Hunger) or start in 1900 (at the beginning of the sustained nationalist movement). So, I don't get a good picture of the transition there. To me, it really seems relevant that 2 million people died during the Famine, as the Queen and Parliament did nothing. That seems both remarkable, and very relevant to the later troubles. Without starting around the time of Cromwell (maybe even earlier), it seems like you can't get a good picture of what exactly the English did to the Irish. Maybe I'm way off base, but the British oppression seems relevant to understanding Irish history, and the origins of Irish Republican movement.
The real problem with the modern Irish histories I've read is that they always come across as biased and revisionist to me. This makes sense, if you start at 1900, because the British were SERIOUS assholes pre-1900 (which also pisses me off). For example, no Catholic could vote (i.e. 80% of the population were disenfranchised), and a Catholic could not hold public office. The Property act forbade Catholic landowners from willing what little land they owned to their eldest son, but had to divide it between all sons (not daughters, which also pisses me off, but isn't too relevant to my point), unless one son became Anglican, in which case he got it all. Of course, a Catholic couldn't inherit Protestant land. This eventually meant that the Irish owned only about 5% of their own island by 1900.
Post-1900, the British were just regular assholes. They rescinded most of the Penal Laws (some before the Famine), and attempted some `welfare' projects. However, most of the books I read don't mention the wrongs of the British. They talk about the glories of late 19th century Ireland, with property ownership on the rise (now that the Irish could buy property), or the apparent evils of the Catholic church (which suddenly started spending money on churches now that it was legal). They pay only lip service to the fact that all of these `changes' in Irish culture came about because real Irish culture suddenly became permissible. These post-1900 histories are probably pretty good books, but I get so pissed off when I pick one up.
On that topic, I really hate the British in the colonial period. What assholes.
To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of the Catholic church either. I just really like the Irish. And dislike the British.
And, because no post would be complete without some sort of nerdness: I currently hate the Edwards-Doi model for the time-dependent behavior of the Gaussian chain. The little bastard keeps acting wonky. I know on physical grounds that <[R(t)-R(0)]^2>~6Dt, so why does it give me O[ t^(1/2) ] as t->0. What an asshole. For now. Once I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I won't be angry anymore.
As an aside, I really hate that the number `zero' (above) comes out looking like the letter `o' on this blog.
And Maryland rain pisses me off. I had to leave work half an hour early today (because I walk), because the rain looked so bad. I get home, and there's all this lightning, but no real rain. Just a boring drizzle. Bah.
Also, I hate Water Chestnuts.
And GChat jerks.
And the British. Again.
Ahhh. I feel better.
Anger Makes You Think Better
"A recent study by psychologists at the University of California Santa Barbara found that Anger Fuels Better Decisions in 3 experiments designed to determine how anger affects our thinking. The study demonstrated how raised levels of anger increased the ability to distinguish between strong and weak arguments. In other words, when certain anger thresholds are met, decisions are filtered differently based on perceived notions about strength of arguments. The antithesis being that when we are not angry, we are more likely to consider many, and sometimes even weaker arguments."
There's a longer article here about the way we think and intelligence seeding for the future. Also, as a shameless plug, I blog every day here about virtual worlds. Some stuff is cool, some is real industry heavy and geeky. Right now you can read about Playboy's Second Life island and censorship in China. All on one page!
Invite your friends!
Get them to read! Post! Comment! Argue!
It's easy. Click here:
Fill in email addresses, and have them start readin'
"Shout on Washington!'
It has come to my attention (many moons ago) that in our hyper-driven, calorie conscious millennia there remains an evil that still lurks among us undetected... and that is the nefarious water chestnutt. You know, the slightly salty, somewhat crunchy translucent items that occupy many a Chinese delicacy? My primary problem with water chestnuts is that they in no way, shape or form resemble traditional chestnutts and, therefore, should not have the benefit of sharing a name with a delicious treat whose smell is akin to delightful holiday memories and warm woolen slippers on ones socked feet.
Read more from our newest blogger on the dangers of water chestnuts after the jump (just click Read More!)
It has come to my attention (many moons ago) that in our hyper-driven, calorie conscious millennia there remains an evil that still lurks among us undetected... and that is the nefarious water chestnutt. You know, the slightly salty, somewhat crunchy translucent items that occupy many a Chinese delicacy? My primary problem with water chestnuts is that they in no way, shape or form resemble traditional chestnutts and, therefore, should not have the benefit of sharing a name with a delicious treat whose smell is akin to delightful holiday memories and warm woolen slippers on ones socked feet. Chestnutts roasting on an open fire brings a tear to my eye, and I don't even celebrate Christmas! Simply the idea of water chestnutts, however, instigates within me the same gag reflex I have at the dentist when a tongue depressor is being ritualistically shoved past my uvula. In addition, 'je deteste' water chestnutts because they seem to be space fillers for negligence on the part of Chinese-to go restaurants. Whenever I order my favorite Pick Up Stix house special chicken with vegetables I would find one (only one!) anemic, suffering piece of broccoli, a shred of baby carrot or two, and an overwhelming sea of distasteful water chestnuts! And we wonder why Americans are among the most unhealthy people on the planet...you would be obese too if instead of delicious vitamin and mineral friendly vegetables you were conned into ingesting what is likely the bastard red-headed step child of starchy potatoes! I mean, the essential nutrients are in the name....they don't push the word water ahead of chestnut for nothing! I understand our bodies are almost 75% agua, but I for one have never heard of anyone running a marathon and recharging their body by guzzling a steamy jar of floating yellowish pickled by-products. But Sarah, some friends have jostled me, the crunchiness of the water chestnutt is what makes it good!My response is then to point out that we live in a world that is not hurting for crunchy, textured, independent entities. Why, you could always chew on a piece of cardboard, or enjoy a handful of toothpicks in your mouth...guaranteed your body would thank you more than it would after eating a single wicked water chestnutt. Okay, I guess I'm being a bit hard on the lowly water chestnutt, after all it probably gets no respect from the other members of the vegetable hierarchy, but maybe if it stopped posing as a vegetable or Christmastime snack and instead admitted it's malevolent faux-potato origins it would be accepted....until, then though, join me in the campaign to stamp out water chestnutts forever! If you order Chinese food make sure to tell them you don't want water chestnutts sparking anti-american sentiment in your noodles! Tell them your body shall not be corrupted by treacherous charlatains any longer! Eat tofu! Drink water! Enjoy leafy greens! And above all, do not accept weakness on behalf of your food...instead, march on the Capitol and remind them that what this country stands for is not betrayal but recognition of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of nutrients!!
Kikiz
Monday, June 11, 2007
Things I hate, Entry 1
I hate it when random people (herein referred to as 'the riff-raff') request to chat with me in GChat. GChat does not have all the capabilities I require for me to allow the riff-raff to monitor my online presence.
(Click read more! for more!)
First, I have to individually block each riff-raff as they contact me. I would much rather have a 'preferred contacts' list that could see me on GChat.
Second, if I don't block the person, no one respects my 'red light' status. To be fair, I do not respect anyone else's red light status. But because I am chatting with only non-riff-raffs (i.e., good friends), this is not a huge issue.
With that said, here is a message you can feel free to disperse to GChat riff-raff: I don't like most people. I probably don't like you, especially not enough to waste my time chatting with you online. I don't want to chat with colleagues, or someone I babysit for, or some girl who sat in the same row as me in Civil Procedure. There is no need to Gchat-befriend me for the sake of getting a witty Gchat Away message, because what you are likely to see is a big fat red light. That's because I don't want to talk to you. Thanks, and have a super day.
Monday, June 4, 2007
FAQs
People have questions! I have (partial) answers!
How to embed video
Right now, there are a few different ways, but hopefully it'll be streamlined in the near-ish future.
Way one: Blogger "draft" is testing an upload video function. To use it:
1. Log out of the blog
2. Go to drafts.blogspot.com
3. Log in
4. Pick "New Post" from the menu
5. There is an icon that looks like a film real on the toolbar. The problem is that it doesn't have a way to embed videos from other sites (like You Tube), but you can upload all the home videos you want (before I start deleting them.)
Way two: Sites like You Tube and Google video make it easy, because there's an "embed video" code that appears next to the video itself. So you literally just cut and paste.
If you need more advice, send/post the link and let me know.
How to add links
Easy way:
Use the toolbar! If you're in the "edit html" window, it's the third icon from the left on the toolbar. (it's green, and kind looks like a safety pin.)If you're in the "compose" window, it's thie fourth icon. While you're writing, you can just highlight the text you want linked, and then click the icon, and past the link.
Hard(er) way:
Just use link tags while you type -
Html Goodies has a good tutorial on how to add links to webpages.
Smed said...
More witty literary commentary and advice on how to get laid, after the jump!
(Haha, just joking. That would involve me knowing how to insert these magical "jumps." "Please help me," Smed pleads as she looks pointedly at mathgimp.)
Kel says...
Haha! Greg knows nothing about html or how to insert jumps. This is actually all me, believe it or not!
So, Here's what you do. When you go to type your post, Click on the "edit html" tab at the top, instead of compose. It says: "Type your summary here." That's where you write the first paragraph or so (just highlight and type over it). Then it has some random html stuff you can ignore, then it says "type rest of the post here." again, type right on over it. You can go back and forth between the edit html and compose windows if you want to add fancy colors, pictures, etc.
Does that help? It's good times!
On where to post things:
Shweenerator said...
is there somewhere else i should be posting this? [instead of comments]
nuraido said...
Since you are an administrator, you can edit the original post, which is what you should do, and just keep an ongoing list that way - There's a link to the list in the lefthand corner. Just change your color. I'll add these two for you.
Oh, and you should add it under Movie Wishlist instead of movies watched, since you want us to see them =)
How to make things pretty
mathgimp said...
This may fall into the "Greg's retarded" category, but how do I choose a color?
Kel says...
It falls in the "Kel and Greg are both retarded" category.
I can't figure out a way to let us permenantly post in different colors, but I'm working on it.
Until then, you just go to the handy little "text color" box at the top of the posting screen. Easy enough.
Add Bold, Italics, etc.
Easy way: In the "edit html" window, it's the first and second icons on the toolbar (the b and the i)
Hard(er) way: use strong and em tags
Add Block quotes
Easy way: Once again, the toolbar is the answer to your hopes and prayers: It's the giant quotes on the toolbar. Highlight text, and it makes it a blockquote.
Harder way: blockquote element in html.
Random Awesomeness
On Social Networking
Seriously, folks, open up a delicious and digg account. Do it now, do it today, do it so you don't have to email links back and forth. It could not be more easy.
This is the registration page at delicious. Go there. Open an account. Then, on any computers you use, just download the pretty little buttons to your toolbar, and bam! You have a delicious page.
Then, search for nuraido, mathgimp, forgottenfodder, and kikiz, and add us to your network. Email me or post your delicious name, and I'll add you to the blog. See? EASY.
For Digg, Go here to register.
On career advancement:
Smed said...
I'm adding this to my resume.
Kel says...
Great! I'm for hire, too.
On marketable skills:
Greg said...
"I've never been good at HTML. Does anyone want to see me code something in C, though? That makes me look smart..."
He is surprisingly brilliant in C. You should use him for all of your coding needs. He takes payment in six packs of Yuengling.
Hi, Shween, David, Tommy, Sarah, Rhonda, John -
Hi, Shween, David, Tommy, Sarah, Rhonda, John -
Welcome to the blog/website we've been working on! It's a way for all of us to stop sending links back and forth, or missing articles or videos - instead, it's a public site we can post our rants, raves, etc of the day.
At some point soon, we'll invite more people, but for now we just want a couple more to play around with it and make it better. I made all of you authors, and I'll give you admin privlidges as soon as you accept, so you can have pretty much full control over the site.
Here's what I'm hoping you'll do:
Choose a color to author in. I'm green, Greg hasn't chosen a color yet.
Add to the links of blogs/websites that you go to a lot, or send me the links and I'll add them.
Figure out more cool stuff to put on here/link to, and either send them to me or add it.
Open a del.icio.us account (look at mine and Greg's) and let us know so I can add an RSS feed. Delicious is kind of the coolest thing ever. As you're browsing, you tag interesting things from a little button in your browser, and it becomes a public bookmark that everyone else can see.
Add movie suggestions to the movies I've seen/movie wishlist posts.
Tell me if you think the idea sucks and you don't want to play.
That's it. Hope all's welll. Yay houseofnerds.com!
Kel (and Greg)