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Damn it, I don't know what's more annoying - when my "..." gets replace with a single prone-to-break-things single character, or that my use of trailing ellipses marks me as an old Gen-Xer...

Apparently the demarcation of a trailing thought implies leaving out something ominous (or innuendo laden) to new generations who are more comfortable with fragments separated by line breaks.

Melissa and I decorated yesterday... I set up my office with my an eye to what the webcam would see (used the "folk art" tree for my dad then realized heh... there's a big tuba here so I decorated that) and then just the shot I sent my folks of our main, small tree. (Might need to get a topper for it still)


A former instructor/mentor of mine, Jeffrey Ventrella, writes:

I will be giving a Zoom talk next Friday, December 11 at 12:00 noon (Pacific time) It's free! (but donations are appreciated). If you would like to attend, kindly RSVP here: https://workpetaluma.com/lecture-fractals-on-the-mind-biophilia-in-art-design-and-psychology/ or you can email me directly. The presentation will last about 45 minutes, followed by Q&A, and then - for those who want to stick around - we will have an open-ended discussion.

Here's the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/95783627043
Fractal geometry evokes a certain visual affinity to nature in humans. "Biophilia" refers to a psychic resonance to natural stimuli that is rooted in our deep evolution. New scientific theories, mathematical modeling, and design practices are pointing the way for a more sustainable world that embraces our biophilia. It can inform architectural design, and more efficient energy distribution systems. There are even new studies on how psychedelic therapies increase the "fractal dimension" of brain activity.

Please join us for a stimulating lecture by coWORKer Jeffrey Ventrella. Jeffrey's uncommon blend of art, math, and science brings a unique perspective on the subject. This presentation will be illuminating and informative to any curious mind – especially designers, teachers, artists, and scientists.

BIO: Jeffrey Ventrella is an expert on fractals in art, which was the topic of his first dissertation. His second dissertation was on genetic algorithms in animation and graphic design, which he earned from the MIT Media Lab. Jeffrey has taught at Syracuse, Tufts, UCSD, and SFU, and has lectured internationally on artificial life, math visualization, and creative coding. For examples of Jeffrey's work, visit:

ventrella.com
fractalcurves.com
Tree Yoga - https://vimeo.com/259806661

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They're actually boxing *mittens*

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The "folk art" tree my dad made, a swarovski star from melissa's mom, a vintage Tuba Christmas scarf, a JP honk sousaphone ornament from mom, and a buncha lights...

[Sing-song] Technically correct is the worst kind of correct

A great fallacy of the world is this:
that every opinion must move to purpose.

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I think it's akin to the perpetual dissatisfaction Buddhists warn us against; we ask why merely think and categorize when we can feel and judge? How else would we be brought to right action? Why strain our selves looking for all the pluses and minuses, the reasons and results, when we can just collapse into a single thumbs up thumbs down?

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I was delighted by this mural inside the Rosebud near Davis Square-

"Al Cass FAST" was my favorite valve oil even back in Cleveland - the rocketship and the way it proudly displayed its hometown really appealed to me, along with the"ODORLESS / WEATHER CONSCIOUS / DOES NOT SEPARATE" copy on the bottle, from an era when products sold themselves as much as facts as feelings. According to Wikipedia

[Al Cass] was the manufacturer and creator of the "FAST" valve/slide/key oil combination for brass instruments, which has been considered the industry standard since inception. It was developed after 18 months of R&D at the request and final approval of Dizzy Gillespie.

which is super hip.

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If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish.

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There is no art without resistance in the material.

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I've been digging using old school (but touchscreen) e-ink Kindle - but they still have the disadvantage of not letting me use the color coding for highlights I did when the app on iPad mini was my main reader. Also it's less easy to copy and paste quotes onto my website and Facebook. Both of these problems are somewhat mitigated now with what might be a new feature (or not?) where the device can email you a nice PDF and CSV with your notes. Rant at work: "@##!@# Somehow I used some magic gesture on my touchpad, and now Slack is zoomed in - but its not the normal zoom I can adjust with cmd-+ and cmd-- and cmd-0 ; instead it's just decided that slack should be in a magic window that I can pan back and forth with two finger swiping, but I have no idea of how to make everything fit" (restarting Slack seemed to fix it though it felt like I had to do so twice.)

Gestures where an errant side of a finger creates radical behaviors violates this part of Tao of Programming: `A program should follow the "Law of Least Astonishment". What is this law? It is simply that the program should always respond to the user in the way that astonishes him least.`

BTW, the Tao of Programming is brilliant - it's weirdly authentic, like I've seen other things that parody the form of the Tao Te Ching but they generally don't also say smart things about their subject matter....

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Get your cinema nerd on about technicolor and the Wizard of Oz

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Last night in a dream I had a very specific wine recommendation:
keenan spruce ronan wine (white)
I... don't think that's a thing?

advent day 6
advent day 6

advent day 6

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So last night I kinda took a chance and only used my iPad for art class... I'm still learning how different virtual pens work, and sometimes I veer into the gimmicky, but I was happy with some of the results









advent day 6

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A neurosis is just a solution that has become a problem.

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Well, I decided that behaving ethically was the most nihilistic thing I could do.

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'Holy Infant, so tender and mild' always sounds a bit too culinary.

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Look after your health, because there is a skeleton inside you and you are the only thing holding it back.

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Oh time, you crazy thing. I had 2 days of seminar training, so Wednesday felt like Monday, but now today feels like Friday. DANG.

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My biggest fear is that this, right now, is the golden age.

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History says, ya, Romney will get the nomination, it's always the runnerup from last time. So whats that say for 2016? Newt?

--from Adam Watson's Dr. Seuss does Star Wars -- some other clever bits there!

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http://www.slate.com/id/2275155/ - Thoughts on OK. I love that word and its nuance-able usage...

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You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

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http://sketchysantas.com/ - just in time for the holidays!

first name:		Simply enter your first and last name here and our advanced nomenclatronic algorithms will compute the royal nickname that is specific to you!
last name:

The royal nicknames come from the Wikipedia List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility that gave me the idea for the project earlier this year. I wrote some scripts to strip out the names and take a guess at the "good" ones (ones that start "the" or "de", etc) You can see the full list of over 2000 nicknames here.

The names in that cleaned-up list are unique, but of course originally there were plenty of duplicates. Here are the 20 most popular royal nicknames:

the Great	162	the Rich	35
the Younger	139	the Good	35
the Saint	119	the Wise	32
the Elder	76	the Blind	30
the Old	65	the Black	29
the Young	59	the Strong	26
the Pious	57	the Surety	26
the Fat	45	the Lame	25
the Brave	40	the Barracks Emperor	25
the Red	38	the Emperor of the Army	25

You know, that's a few more Barracks Emperors than I thought history would actually need.

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One (grudgingly admitted) advantage of winter: winter coats with big pockets, less of a need for the man bag.

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http://tinyurl.com/6moyv3 , Obama citizenship "fight" Schultz:"These are scientists. They should all come to the same conclusion." HaHA!

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Firefox 3 cares not for your pixel art.

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Annoyed by how my To Read bookshelf consists of an ever increasing percentage of the tall books that aren't as subway friendly... I've been taking the advice of a friend and walking to and from Park Street station. It's only a few minutes more than waiting for a green line train, and it's a little activity since I haven't really dared my bike in this freeze.

But you know it's cold when you walk past high-end lingerie joint La Perla and your first instinctive thought about the mannequins is "Poor dears! They must be frickin' freezing!"

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Literary Bit of the Moment

They rode half a dozen blocks in silence. The chauffeur said: "Your partner got knocked off, Mr. Spade?"

"Uh-huh."

The chauffeur clucked. "She's a tough racket. You can have it for mine."

"Well, hack-drivers don't live forever."

"Maybe that's right," the thick-set man conceded, "but, just the same, it'll be a surprise to me if I don't"

The book also had an occurrence of "he's good people" -- I didn't realize the phrase went as far back as the 30s. I also learned that "Excelsior" is type of packing material, "slender, curved wood shavings" -- I thought it was just a nonsense phrase by comic writer Stan Lee. The Acela is a heck of a way to travel. People are kind of dressed up a little, like the folks who work downtown... but it's on rails! So many Blackberries.

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Raunchy Quote of the Moment

Guy #1: I'd totally hit that.
Guy #2: Dude, I'd hit that so hard whoever could pull me out would become the King of England.

Rant of the Moment

Evolution is supported by the entire scientific community; Intelligent Design is supported by guys in line to see The Dukes of Hazzard. No. Stupidity isn't a form of knowing things ... 'Babies come from storks' is not a competing school of thought in medical school. We shouldn't teach both and if Thomas Jefferson knew we were blurring the line this much between church and state, he would turn over in his slave.

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Gadget of the Moment
The Japanese Segway has no handlebars, just a little handheld controller. (Glad it's not a remote control, I'd hate to see that thing hacked.) Just lean and go... as the article points out, it makes it a lot more stowable at the office.

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Photo of the Moment

--My Dad as Superman, or at least in a Superman T-shirt. I believe this is at the Salvation Army's "School for Officer Training" (SFOT, their seminary) and this is a bit of a prank, the T-shirt there to get people to think he's gone off the deep end and might just jump.

Quotes of the Moment
(All of these are from the A.V Club's interview with Quentin Crisp)

[In response to "Why have you always lived in one room in a rooming house?"] "Well, because I've never found out what people do with the room they're not in. So I stay in one room, and it's easier to live there, to control it, to make it warm. It seems to me to a covenient way to live, and it's cheap.

I sometimes still have the urge, somewhat incompatible with my slovenly habits, of one-room-living. I think the model for me is life during college. A bed, a computer, some books, a comfy chair, a television with videogames, a designated place to go for meals, where they take care of the cooking and the clean up...it was really something.

Even a monotonously undeviating path of self-examination does not necessarily lead to a mountain of self-knowledge. I stumble toward my grave confused and hurt and angry...

"Yes, it's written into the Constitution that you're allowed to pursue happiness. In England it would be considered a frivolous objective."

The interview also quotes him as saying "in America, everybody's your friend and happiness rains down from the sky." which might be overstating it a bit, but who knows. Quote of the Moment

People generally seem to want software to be free as in speech and/or free as in beer. Unfortunately rather too much of it is free as in jazz.

(For those who don't know, the speech/beer thing is geekspeak for discerning open source and liberty (ala 'as in speech') or closed source but no cost (free as in beer). This was an amusing take on the old expression that points out the problem with too many hobbyist projects...)

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Quiz of the Moment
Although the "truly naughty" bits have protetective panels over them, prudes may wish to avoid the SeXXX or Something else Quiz, where you try to identify if a particular grimace comes from the subject "doing it" or...not.

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Site Design Issue of the Moment
Sharp-eyed readers may notice loveblender.com has returned to the "features" section of the sidebar. It all comes back to, what is the point of the "features" section, and that's to draw people's attention to what I think they would find most interesting. (Which I do because I want them to associate my site with interesting stuff.) Loveblender.com, while less kisrael-y than the other bits, is overall pretty interesting, so up it goes.

• Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg makes some amazing landscapes...they say he just draws directly in Photoshop, and the results are astoundingly photorealistic.
• Mmm...mid-90s nostalgia...remember OK Soda, and its hotline? (What was it, 1-800-I-FEEL-OK ?) I remember a 1995 Wired magazine "Scenarios" view of 2020 that had an OK Soda ad in it...guess they missed on that one. I thought it was pretty good advertising campaign/attitude. (Sort of like that Coca-Cola slogan in Japan: "Coke: No Reason".)
• Geek Programming Links: Perl Paraphernalia! Plus PHP, PHP and more PHP!
• Video Game Director's Cuts has lots of homebrew Flash movies using Video Game characters, mostly Mario, Sonic, and that lot.
• This Salon interview with Signapore's ambassador to the UN has some interesting stuff on Asian nation's struggles with modernization, though his book's title ("Can Asians Think?") raised some eyebrows.

• "The worst case scenario is to have a bunch of dummies in charge of the nuclear weapons"

  Commenting about the fact that the old generation of weapons scientists is retiring, and due to test bans there aren't enough up-and-comers to replace them. (via Ranjit)
• I first heard about the simulation Wa-Tor in a Scientific American "Computer Recreations" column. The idea is a grid (which could map onto a torus-shaped planet so the "wrap around" made sense) with shark predators and fish prey. Sharks eat too many fish, the fish population dies out, the sharks starve, the fish come back, lather rinse repeat.

• [Sung while operating on Homer] The kneebone's connected to the... something. The something's connected to the... red thing. The red thing's connected to my wrist watch. ...Uh oh.

  What a day, eh, Milhouse? The sun is out, birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them -- as is my understanding...

  Fat Tony is a cancer on this fair city! He is the cancer and I am the... uh... what cures cancer?

• I was tempted by this CD with music from recent VW commercials...I think they really picked some great tunes and made some cool videos, as longtime readers already have seen.

• Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

Went to the dentist yesterday. I was really surprised and somehow flattered that the hygienist, who had just spent like 10 or 15 minutes scraping metal in and around my teeth and gums, commented on how relaxed I was. It takes a lot of work to relax like that. I had to drum my fingers in time to the music on the radio.

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Quote of the Moment

Tell that guy the piano ain't got no 'wrong notes'.

He's speaking to the Radio Engineer regarding the DJ talking about how Monk made music by hitting the "wrong notes", via Phil Schaap.

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Random Observation of the Moment
This summer I was thinking about trying to rig up some remote controlled device that would let me squirt the cat with water from the comfort of my bed when he was noisily scratching and meowing at the bedroom door. I thought if I could get one of those battery operated waterguns, it might not be too difficult to rig up something to fire it. The thing is, they don't make that kind of watergun anymore! Almost everything is of that Super Soaker variety. Those UZI-looking battery powered guns that went click-click-click are nowhere to be found (realistic looking guns are frowned upon anyway these days.) I remember when the first supersoakers came out...there ability to deliver a solid stream of water was really impressive. Some guy brought one to jazzband and we were in awe..."that things a hose!". An arms race ensued over the next decade, and current models are quite huge. Anyway, here's an interesting piece on how they work.