Just Me and the Captain
Jul. 1st, 2009
08:45 am - Happy Canada Day!
I like Canada, but somehow it's difficult to get excited over Canada Day. Granted that mostly has a lot to do with the fact that I'm not Canadian, but I have to wonder, just a little, if they chose July 1st in an attempt to upstage the U.S. a little bit. Of course, this is the best time for fireworks; who wants to see pyrotechnics in the snow?
But, objectively speaking, Canada Day simply doesn't have the same romantic qualities as the American Independence Day. Heck, Canada didn't even become independent on the first Canada Day in 1867. That wasn't to happen until 1931. Instead, it's just a celebration of the birth of the Dominion of Canada as a unified entity. And, notably, a couple provinces didn't even want to be part of it at first, like Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
But, my real problem is that it just lacks the drama of American Independence. Instead of dressing up as Indians and throwing tea in a bay, the Canadian founding fathers met for tea and afterward, had an all-night ball. There was no, "Screw You, King George" but, actual support from Victoria and Parliament that a unified Canada would be easier to administrate than the disparate British North American colonies. The defiance came from those wanted to maintain the status quo. There was no bloodshed to speak of; just the ordinary conflict one can find while watching your favorite committee debate on C-Span.
On the other hand, I suppose there's something to be admired in the peaceful manner in which Canada was born. It was all very modern with official photographs and documentation. John MacDonald and George-Etienne Cartier deserve respect for having vision, seeking compromise from delegates and steering the whole process. It just doesn't have the same ring to it as putting their lives and sacred honor on the line.
Jun. 12th, 2009
02:19 pm - Bing
So I have to say I've found the commercials for Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, kind of intriguing. The first time I saw the commercial I was just very confused until the end, but each subsequent time I've been able to parse more and more of what they're saying so I like it in that there's enough information to be revealed in repeat viewings...and boy do they ever repeat the commercial a lot.
So, taking my cue off of Slate, I decided to test it. Frankly, I'm not sure how much more search engines can evolve, though I'm sure there's some room for improvement. Google seems to do the job I want just fine 99% of the time. And if I can't find it via Google, it's probably not there to begin with, and that's not the search engine's fault. But I wanted to test them with my own parameters, those things which I consider important. First, I tried "Quest LARP." On Google, Quest is the second entry while on Bing it's the third. Close race, but the winner of this round goes to Google. Second I tried, "Who is the Greatest President?" Wikipedia actually has a pretty fine analysis on this topic and as such was number 1 in Google's search, but still only #2 on Bing. Finally, I tried my name. Much to my delight, I've taken back first place from the father of Mary-Kate and Ashley on Google. However, Bing had me at the bottom of the 5th search page. And for this travesty, Bing is now considered dead to me.
Jun. 3rd, 2009
11:43 am - Social media venn diagram
So for those of you who are confused what the difference is between the different social networking sites (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, etc.), someone has put together a very simple diagram explaining it all. You can even get in on a t-shirt!
May. 29th, 2009
12:18 pm - Polymnia concert
Next week, I shall be singing in a concert with the Polymnia Choral Society of Melrose, along with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pantsie. The theme of this concert is about as far away as one can get from our last one which was based on Marian texts. This time, it's a pops concert focusing on Stars of the Stage and Screen!. It's all modern music with the oldest tune probably being Blue Skies from 1926, but a fair amount actually coming from the 21st century, with the most recent coming from the 2006 Broadway hit Spring Awakening.
What other goodies can you expect? Oh plenty! Did I mention that we'll be singing in Elvish (Quenya for you Tolkien geeks out there)? And that pantsie is the Wicked Witch of the West? Alright, she's not really, but she will be Defying Gravity. I, meanwhile, also have a solo. I shall be elaborating on the unfortunate acceleration of society to the detriment of our standard of living by employing an apt metaphor of a popular caffeinated beverage in a corrugated material. What the hell am I talking about? You'll just have to come to find out!
Start Time: Saturday, June 6 at 7:30pm
End Time: Saturday, June 6 at 10:30pm
Where: Memorial Hall, Melrose, MA
Hope to see you there!
11:54 am - The Fundamentals of Education
You know what I don't get? The three "Rs" of elementary education, i.e. reading, writing, and arithmetic. I just find it odd that someone would conceptualize these three without having mastered the first.
May. 21st, 2009
12:46 am - I'm sorry Richard Dreyfuss
Looks like I helped cancel Happiness Isn't Everything before it even started. Despite having 5 additional scripts ordered after the pilot, CBS isn't picking the series up. I guess I need to be less harsh when I'm in a focus group.
May. 7th, 2009
10:45 pm - Star Trek
I think the best review of the movie was given by the The Onion News Network (whom, I suspect crafted their "review" without even seeing the film), but I have my own thoughts on it as well. After thinking about it, I can't see any way to adequately talk about it without spoilers, so continue reading at your own ( risk )
Apr. 28th, 2009
03:50 pm - My ears are burning
Huh. I'm getting the strangest feeling that BATG4 is playing in Australia right now. Because suddenly, a number Australians want to be my friend.
Apr. 27th, 2009
11:02 pm - Happiness Isn't Everything
So Mitch Hurwitz is creating a new series entitled Happiness Isn't Everything. Don't get too excited: Arrested Development this is not. Yours truly has actually managed to see a cut of this show, and, sadly I found it lacking.
( spoilers )
Apr. 13th, 2009
05:42 pm - Dreaming in the 21st century
Every now and then, I have a dream that involves someone who I haven't thought about in years. I don't why my subconscious decides to suddenly put them front and center, but it does and upon waking, I find myself curious as to what happened to that person in the intervening years.
Now, when that happens to me, I just put the name in Facebook, and out pops a lovely profile picture. And, after a little while, I usually get a friend approval. Curiosity is satisfied. At times like this, I really enjoy living in the future.
Apr. 12th, 2009
02:54 pm - Not Your Typical Easter Parade
I went to the Zombie March, er, Lurch this afternoon. I find the coincidence of such an event with Easter to be kind of tacky, but I wasn't so offended as not to go. I'm honestly not sure if the timing was a bad joke or simple thoughtlessness, but I'd guess it might have cut down on attendance. As for me, I'd never been to a Zombie Protest before and besides, since I wasn't with family this year, I had nothing else to do.
So ratatosk and I ambled down to Davis Square where he took pictures and I just watched with only the occasional snarky comment. There were anti-protesters, but fortunately, they were in on the joke and weren't real ones which I thought might have been a possibility. Also, there weren't any Zombie Jesi which was probably for the best. If I was thinking properly, I could have pulled out some clerical garb and attempted to turn them, but I suppose there's always next year. I could have joined the occasional zombie fighters who tried to blow them away with limited success at best.
Apparently, Somerville is far more concerned about zombie violence than Cambridge, because the former had 5 police cars escorting the crowd of 80 undead or so (and probably just as many people just with cameras), but once we crossed the city line, Cambridge didn't seem to care less. ratatosk and I tagged along all the way to Harvard Square and even had a little conversation about the merits of giving zombies the right to vote (I'm against it, though he doesn't think the government should be defining terms like undeath). Along the way, one of the anti-zombie protesters was savagely attacked, and eventually rose again completely converted to the cause. Still, it wasn't the most organized of events as one of the lead zombies actually asked me which way Harvard was. Someone wryly commented that they wouldn't actually find any brains there, but zombies were undeterred and even scolded their brethren in the cemetery near the square for sleeping in. And the best motivation to keep the crowd moving proved to be a brain on the end of a fishing pole.
I was hoping a rendition of Jonathan Coulton's "Re: Your Brains" would spontaneously break out, but no such luck. But when the horde did arrive at Harvard Square, the pan pipes were already playing so things ended with a zombie dance-fest. Really, it was probably the best way to end the Lurch.
Apr. 10th, 2009
09:31 am - Another sad day in the world of Dungeons & Dragons
Just a little over a year after E. Gary Gygax died, it appears that D&D's co-creator has just died as well. Gygax seems to get most of the credit, but Dave Arneson was equally responsible in developing a whole new genre of gaming. Gygax had the idea of introducing fantasy elements into wargaming (e.g. let's use a wizard who can cast a lightning bolt instead of a canon), but it was Arneson's insight for players to take on a single individual instead of a whole group of soldiers. This ultimately evolved into people role-playing these characters and a new type of game was born.
Gygax and Arneson eventually had a falling out, from what I gather as to who gets the credit for the game (and, I suspect, the royalties), but they were both important to the process and now the other father of RPGs is dead. Personally, I was actually more familiar with Arneson's world of Blackmoor than Gygax's world of Greyhawk, even though the latter was far more popular.
Arneson was 61.
Apr. 1st, 2009
11:44 pm - The Wedding's Off!
Matilda and I broke up, never to see each other again. I guess my life is back to normal.
In other, completely unrelated news, today I discovered that deception is easier through typeface than in person.
01:19 am - Something I can't keep secret any longer
I haven't been advertising it much, but the reason you haven't been seeing much of me is because I've been seeing someone. She's pretty (well, obviously I think so), humorous, brilliant, and independently wealthy. Yes, I've met the perfect woman. Amazingly, she actually found me. You see, she'd been a fan of mine ever since watching BATG, and after finally tracking me down, we went out one a few dates and clicked instantly. Matilda and I are already completing each other's sentences so I've decided to strike while the iron is hot. You see, I'm engaged.
I know, I know it's pretty sudden, but it has to be this way because of this weird thing going on with her parents and a shotgun, apparently. It should be over soon, though. Unfortunately, it means I'll be missing the Quest game this weekend, and as much as I'd love to see everyone there, my wedding is just a little more important. But if anyone is free on short notice, we'd love for you to come to our marriage ceremony this weekend in Las Vegas. It's going to be pretty awesome.
Mar. 30th, 2009
11:49 am - A Parliamentarian's Ruling
This past weekend, I was asked, at the last minute, to be Parliamentarian for a number of Convention business meetings I was going to attend anyway. Honored to be considered, I gladly accepted the appointment and dusted off my old copy of Robert's Rules of Order. No contentious things really came up on the floor, and most of my job was, quite literally, whispering in the chairman's ear on how to make things run as smoothly as possible. So I consider the weekend a success.
However, one small incident did come up and I wanted to explain it here in case people wonder why I might be so anally retentive to follow the rules. At the sixth business session, it was suggested (actually, moved and seconded) that we suspend the reading of the roll call in an effort to make things go faster. Intuitively, I realized this was a bad idea and considered the motion out of order and, fortunately, the chairman agreed with me. It was only later, however, that I constructed the reason why.
While normally, one can move to suspend the rules, in order to do so, you need a quorum. The whole purpose of reading the roll call was to determine if we had a quorum, so it would be impossible to enact anything without that determination. Otherwise, a group of unscrupulous people might get together at the appointed time, suspend the calling of the roll while others have yet to return from lunch or something, and pass legislation that would normally receive resistance. Furthermore, even if this was not the case, and everyone agreed suspending the roll call would save a few minutes, someone studying the minutes at a later date might detect this anomaly and presume the worst. They could make the argument that any business transacted without ensuring that quorum was present, was, in fact, illegal thus invalidating any policies the body approved at that time.
Anyway, this was how I interpreted the rules. If anyone thinks they have a better handle on parliamentary procedure, I'd love to hear your perspective as well.
Mar. 23rd, 2009
03:12 pm - It's just so crazy, it might just work
Could I have found a job? Well, not a job exactly, but a way to make a few bucks for relatively little time commitment. Leave it to the internet to find something mind-numbingly stupid, but a legitimate business operation anyway. Oh, internet, is there anything you haven't thought of?
I'm clearly too late to sell pixels for a $1, but I can jump on another already existing bandwagon: Famous Phone! The idea is, there are all these fans desperately seeking to talk to celebrities and willing to pay money to do that. And to think I was doing this for free on Facebook. Nah, I really wasn't doing it there either.
Seriously, I can't make this up. You too can talk to some guy who's appeared on CNN once about national security for only $75 for 5 minutes! Or a guy who was stuck in an elevator for 41 hours a decade ago for only $50. Talk about obscure. I am really not bragging that if I joined this operation, I would probably be the most famous person they have in stock. Who knows? People might even be willing to talk to talk to me for $100...or more! Now, if only I could figure out some way to charge my mother that price....
ETA: Now that I think about it, I believe Abbie the Cat might actually generate more demand than some of these folks.
Mar. 18th, 2009
01:21 pm - Concert this Sunday
I bet some of you have been wondering what I've been doing on Tuesday nights. No? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. I've been participating in Polymnia, a community choir based in Melrose. I'm definitely one of the younger members (if not the youngest) member of the choir, but it also includes great folks like pantsie and a Bowdoin Alpha Delt.
Aside from a handful of hymns I sing at church every week, I haven't done any serious singing since I graduated Wesleyan...and I've actually come to miss it. Sure, I've done my fair share of karaoke, but, almost by definition, that is far from serious singing...at least for me. But once upon a time, I was very much involved in choral music, even participating in the north Jersey choir back in middle school and high school.
Well, it's nothing like jumping back in again with some challenging pieces. The theme of this concert is definitely ecclesiastical in nature, with half the lyrics being in Latin (I guess we'll be an early celebration of Annunciation Day). But it runs the gamut there, from a Gregorian-like chant to the classical Mozart and Garcia, to the nineteenth century of Rheinberger and Schubert (yes, we'll be doing the latter's Ave Maria, not to mention some less well-known ones) to the contemporary works of the modern Pinkham and melodic Rutter. Anyway, here are the details:
Polymnia Choral Society presents:
"Queen of Peace"
A Concert of Marian Texts
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
4:00 p.m.
St. Mary's of the Anunciation Church
46 Myrtle Street
Melrose, MA 02176
small reception to follow
Director: Murray Kidd
Accompanist: Dorothy Travis
Soprano Soloist: Teresa Wakim
Anyway, you should come. It's fabulous music on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Feel free to bug pantsie or myself about tickets.
Mar. 12th, 2009
11:19 pm - In celebration of Pi Day
So Pi Day is coming up on Saturday, and since I'll be in New Jersey, I probably won't have time to write anything so I'm going to say my piece about it now. I figured I should try and say something new about the number, but that's pretty hard since I don't have a degree in mathematics, let alone a Ph.D. But I was thinking about it and came upon an idea, which might be an old idea, but I haven't heard it before, so that has to count for something.
Premise: Pi is an infinite, non-repeating number.
Postulate: If you go out far enough, everything, must be contained within pi. I mean everything. My DNA sequence, tomorrow's top news stories, the path the Dow Jones will take, what's actually happening in Lost, a stereogram of a sailboat, etc. It's like Borges' Library of Babel, with the problem that there's a hell of a lot of noise, so it actually doesn't really do us any good.
But let's limit it to a problem most people are familiar with: the infinite monkey theorem. As you probably know, the idea is, that given an eternity, a monkey will eventually create the full works of Shakespeare, especially Hamlet. I don't know what the obsession with Hamlet is, but let's just go with it.
In this case, my monkey is pi. Just convert the number into base-29, and presto! Why base-29? Well, it's prime, so we don't get weird divide by 0 errors. But, that also leaves us with 26 letters of the Latin alphabet with 3 extras to help us clarify things: "end of word" (aka space), "end of sentence" (usually, a period), "end of message" (time to let the next character speak). But somewhere in there, is Hamlet. It might be buried at 10^1000 digits, but it should be there, right? With a powerful enough computer, one should simply be able to convert Hamlet to a base-29 system and just do a search.
Okay, people who read this and know more math than I do: prove me wrong! Or, better yet, prove me right!
Mar. 11th, 2009
05:38 pm - Maybe I am just a contrarian
The more negative remarks I see about Watchmen, the more inclined I am to defend it. Not that it was perfect by any stretch, but I thought it was a bloody good movie (with an emphasis on the bloody). Yeah, not everyone's cup of tea, but considering I was indifferent towards the film a week ago, I enjoyed it too much for it to be lambasted by those who don't know what they're talking about.
Hear that world? I liked Watchmen and I don't care who knows!
Mar. 9th, 2009
11:58 am - It's fun to be inspired again
Wow, it's really been four months since I've gone LARPing. That might be the longest dry spell in the past decade for me. But, it sure was a fun weekend. I got to play not one, but two annoying characters, who were each annoying in a completely different way. If I had played them at different games, I might have just used the same mannerisms for each one, but as I wanted a clear distinction between them, I found it to be an interesting acting challenge to differentiate them (aside from clothing, of course).
Perhaps, more importantly, though, I have the motivation to really start working on a game that's been floating in my head the past few months. The currently untitled project should be interesting and has 3 pages dedicated to it in my word processor so far. With a little luck I'll have a solid outline in the next few days when I'll start sharing it to get some feedback. I'm hoping to play with some of the forms we've grown used to in Quest. The biggest change being that I'm planning it around a space near Boston instead of Middletown.
Writing is so much easier when it's a delight instead of a chore.
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