After pondering the word “inspiration” for well over a month I think I finally figured it out:
Inspiration is immortality.
It Took a While
January 6th, 2009Processing
November 27th, 2008I discovered a little something called Processing. It’s math and art all at once!
Sample program - draws an ‘N’ - right ‘ere:
int h = 200;
int w = 200;
int thickness = 50;
void setup() {
size(w, h);
background(0);
stroke(255);
}
void draw() {
for(int i = 0; i < thickness; i++) {
// left vertical
line(i, 0, i, h);
// diagonal
line((i + 1), 0, (w - thickness + i + 1), h);
// right vertical
line((w - i - 1), 0, (w - i - 1), h);
}
}
On Fame, Fortune, and Future
November 21st, 2008Hello there.
You may have noticed some technical difficulties here recently, notably on Wednesday. I know I did - my virtual machine (VPS) OOM‘d.
To be blunt, I blame Matt Mullenweg (of WordPress fame).
See, a little while ago I was bored and made this. And then I sent the link to Matt, hoping for a chuckle, maybe. Nothing more, really. But it turns out Matt uses Twitter, and you know how those crazy tweeters (twitterers?) are.
Well, in a sneaky attempt to start garnering support ahead of time, Mr. Mullenweg twittered the link, and all 6500+ of his supporters flocked to my humble web abode. (Okay, so it may have been notably fewer than all of them, but enough to crash my VM.)
So yeah, thanks to Matt I now have fame and fortune! Well, more like just fame. Or neither, really. I have a few hundred hits and 2 comments more than I had before. (And a first-person experience with an improperly configured webserver.)
But it was fun nonetheless.
And educational, too. I learned that one shouldn’t slack off on one’s own web presence while pretending to be some sort of a web developer/designer. Thus I plan on redesigning sw33t.net in the weeks to come (winter break has perfect timing this year), and maybe even doing something with curvybox.com.
I might also expand upon the “Mullenweg’08″ idea as well. ;)
Vote
November 4th, 2008
Obama ‘08 - Vote For Hope from MC Yogi on Vimeo.
Go vote.
What if?
October 31st, 2008Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin - what if things were switched around?
Would the country’s collective point of view be different?What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?What if McCain had only married once, and Obama were a divorcee?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while still married to another woman?
What if Michelle Obama were the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
(The Keating Five were five United States Se nators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn’t read from a teleprompter?What if Obama were the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama were the one known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama’s family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes, and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational background:
Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum LaudeJoseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)vs.
John McCain:
United States Naval Acade my - Class rank: 894 of 899Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in JournalismEducation isn’t everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
(Received via email, with the original author seemingly being Ann Hassett. Edited for grammatical errors.)
Mullenweg ‘08!
October 30th, 2008I don’t know why, but for some reason I got the idea to rotate the WordPress logo and make a presidential campaign logo for its creator Matt Mullenweg.
(Several variants included.)
Meme’d
October 25th, 2008I’ve been much too busy and tired to post a proper update, so here’s something just so you know I’m still alive.
THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Nik
2. Nikola
3. Nicky-Poo (don’t ask)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my height
2. my eyes
3. my glasses
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. the extra padding
2. small-ish feet
3. I don’t look like Brad Pitt.
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Serbian
2. uhh…Bosnian?
3. uhm…Yugoslavian?
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. spiders
2. social conservatives
3. Los Angeles traffic
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. my glasses
2. my BlackBerry
3. good tunes
THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. glasses
2. boxer briefs
3. uhh…
THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Goldfrapp
2. Soulwax
3. Freeform Five
THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE SONGS AT THE MOMENT:
1. Thé à la Menthe - La Caution - Instrumental
2. Freeform Five - No More Conversations (Mylo Mix)
3. Sydney Blu - Give It Up for Me
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. meaning
2. passion
3. existence
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order):
1. I’m a player.
2. I like chocolate.
3. I don’t have a middle name.
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. height
2. glasses
3. smile+eyes
THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBIES:
1. listening to good tunes
2. driving
3. photography
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. stop being sick so I can go back to the gym
2. drive a fun car
3. not have half a quarter left before winter break
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. graphic designer
2. DJ
3. car magazine founder/editor/columnist
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. NYC
2. London
3. Sweden
THREE KIDS’ NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Emily
2. Melody
3. Max
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. meet Mélissa Theuriau
2. go on a date at Le Jules Verne
3. save someone’s life
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY LIKE A GIRL:
1. I firmly believe that wearing matching clothes matters.
2. I think Brad Pitt is hot.
3. I have feelings.
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY LIKE A BOY:
1. I love cars.
2. I love girls.
3. I have male body parts.
Undecided
October 21st, 2008Thank you, John Gruber, for the best laugh of the week so far.
Phonecallophobia
September 28th, 2008I think I’m afraid of phone calls.
If you’ve ever tried calling my cell phone, chances are you reached my voice mail. And then I called you back within 30 minutes. Depending on who you are and the circumstances of the situation, I may have actually picked up the call. That, however, is a rare occurence.
I used to tell myself that this was the case because I hate being interrupted, so I’d just handle the call at a more convenient time. This still stands (especially if I have company), but lately I’ve realized it’s far from the only reason. I now rarely answer calls right away even when I’m doing things I wouldn’t at all mind interrupting. Then, once I get around to responding, I often prefer text messages over actual calls.
This worries me a bit, frankly.
There’s also a second part to this issue: I almost never call anyone. I can’t remember when was the last time I decided to call someone and proceeded without any anxiety. Even simple things, like calling CSULA’s English department to ask about my eligibility for a class, or calling my Coffee Bean to ask what time my shift starts, or calling a friend to ask whether (s)he wants to hang out.
Even right this moment, there are a few people I should (or would like to) call. My phone is right next to me, but I’m apparently more inclined to be writing this than actually making those calls.
Much like my Health 104 professor said about drugs, it’s not a problem unless it causes a problem. Well, I think this is starting to cause some problems. I’m way too stressed out about this. Communication, on a rather basic level, is an ordeal, and I think I’ve managed to lose a friend or two by avoiding the phone so much.
It’s a bit pathetic…
It wasn’t always like this. When I first got my cell phone, right before heading to UCSD in the fall of 2004, I used it quite extensively. Once I got to campus, I called people all the time, both friends of old and new. I think with time I switched that communication to the instant messaging medium, which is not satisfactory. Some people may be OK with it, but I’m not
Now, the only real question is…what to do?