"BRLGLGGHPH"

New blog

2009-03-23T22:49:00.002-04:00

Hey, so I have my own website now, and I am in the middle of writing a blog for it. Comments are nonexistent right now, but it isn't like that matters, as nobody comments here anyway. I'll set up comments eventually. Anyway yeah:

http://istheguy.com/blog/

From now on I will be posting there. It is made by me, for me, and allows me to do a lot of cool stuff that blogger won't, so I am switching. Goodbye!

Zattoo

2009-03-04T18:50:00.001-05:00

I just interviewed to intern at Zattoo, and the job sounds pretty sweet. I usually just do stuff on the web, but this job would have me maintaining actual software. I've wanted to get in on the software scene for a long time.

Apparently I would be helping to streamline the process of updating software, which is pretty hard to do when you constantly have people using the program. It sounds like a totally stressful (but you know, in a good challenging way, not a bad headachy way) and fun. It'd be really good for me, I'm sure.

I feel like it used to be that there was hardware and software, but now software is kind of in the middle with web applications taking its place (or further abstracting it). I wonder what will come next?

Oh and also this internship works out I probably have to go to Zurich, which would be just sick as hell. I haven't been off this continent since 2002, and I could use an opportunity to practice my French chops.

Party album

2009-02-20T15:28:00.001-05:00

Someone needs to make a party album with drunk people in mind. It is a well-accepted fact that drunk people have awful music taste, basically enjoying any exciting sounds (e.g. yelling, whooping, drums).

Problem is, you can't enjoy your favorite drunk music while sober because it sucks, and you can't enjoy your favorite sober music while drunk because it is too refined and not exciting enough. The solution is an album that starts with good music, and progresses slowly into being good drunk music. That way, you are constantly enjoying the music as you destroy your own brain.

Okay I have had enough of this people

2009-02-17T15:34:00.001-05:00

You are not racist. Okay? Why does everybody feel the need to throw around the word racist, like it is some kind of badge of humility? People!

Ronald Reagan was racist. My uncle’s girlfriend is racist. You are not. Racism is a very specific word with a very specific definition, and unless you actually believe that your race (or anybody’s race) is superior (or inferior) to other races, you are not racist. Okay?

Do you judge people you don’t know based on race? How about gender? Clothing? Weight? Height? Hairstyle? Come on people, we judge each other for all kinds of stupid reasons, and race is definitely one of them. All it means is that you are unfair and maybe judgemental, and those are things you can work on and second-guess.

But it doesn’t make you a racist! Goddamn!

twitch

2009-02-14T17:43:00.001-05:00

I feel restless.

.

My first career fair ever was today

2009-02-11T22:08:00.001-05:00

One of the guys I talked to seemed really impressed that my resume was two pages instead of just one. “Wow! A two-pager!” he said.

Marriage

2009-02-09T16:32:00.001-05:00

There are so many gay people who love each other, and can't get married. How can I get married, knowing that? How can I participate in such a system? Well, I won’t. I am not going to get married until gay marriage is legal across the US.

It’s only fair, you know?

Dear Sara

2009-02-06T14:53:00.001-05:00

Sara if you are reading this please call me.

Dear potential employers

2009-02-05T09:19:00.002-05:00

Hi!

Congratulations on finding my blog. In case you haven’t yet checked, I will save you the trouble of looking and tell you that I do not have facebook or myspace accounts. I understand if you don’t trust me, but really—I’m not into the whole friends-over-the-internet thing.

Anyway, I guess this is a disclaimer, if you will. I am not going to go through my blog, deleting entries that show less fun aspects of myself. I believe in giving you as complete a picture as possible. I will also add that if you find anything here to be concerning, please do not hesitate to ask me about it.

Thank you, I hope you find what you are looking for!
Matt

Computer Ergonomics

2009-02-03T13:53:00.002-05:00

This is all some pretty important stuff to think about when you’re at your computer, people!

Your eyes should be at or above the top of your monitor (looking down is much easier for your eyes than looking up, and you won’t have to tilt your neck to do so this way).
Which leads to: try to align your spine, all with your head and neck balanced on your torso, so you aren’t all hunched over all Igor-like.
Elbow support! Armrests or something. Also your elbows should be close to your body, with your upper-arms essentially just hanging straight-down.
Make sure your wrists and hands are in line with your forearms (that’s why those ergonomic keyboards look so weird—because if you follow this rule and the one above, your hands will be at different angles. You don’t want to have to twist your wrists to make up for this.
Get a little pad that you can put in front of your keyboard if you use a keyboard and not just a laptop. That way your wrists have support.
Obviously, make sure that your monitor is at a good distance. Make sure it is easiest to read when your head is in a good-posture position. Duh.
Ideally, your desk-height is such that your forearms are parallel to the floor.
You should put a cushion on your chair to support your lower-back.
You should be comfortable with your feet flat on the floor.

British Typesetting

2009-02-03T06:35:00.001-05:00

British typesetting is an abomination!

Things is looking up

2009-02-02T09:42:00.001-05:00

yessir yessir

Samsara

2009-01-29T01:08:00.001-05:00

I am in Samsara right now, and I guess that is okay. I need to accept where I am. Nothing wrong with a little suffering.

Maybe some day I will have a nickname

2009-01-23T13:57:00.001-05:00

Today I met someone and said that “most people call me Ace of Spades.” They proceeded to call me Ace of Spades and I just couldn’t do it, and told them that when I said “most people” I meant “nobody” and they should just call me Matt.

I want a nickname. Maybe then I would finally be cool

That’s nice

2009-01-22T08:34:00.001-05:00

I had a dream where I said a bunch of really mean things to Nora. It made me feel a lot better. It’s hard for me to feel strongly about something, and to know very certainly that I am wrong. So it is nice to be able to vent my feelings to myself, at least.

Also, now I feel weird about writing in here, because I know people read it. I assumed a while ago that everybody stopped reading this blog. If you are reading this because you want to talk to me but you aren’t sure what to say, you should probably just talk to me. I mean, you know, friendship, etc.

Anyway yeah I feel pretty good this morning.

AAAAAA

2009-01-21T22:23:00.001-05:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Heat

2009-01-21T08:37:00.001-05:00

Did you know that stormclouds release more heat than a small atomic bomb? Isn’t that cool?

Haha the internet

2009-01-19T18:33:00.001-05:00

So I am trying to refresh my memory about c-strings (in C++), and of course I type that into google and press I’m Feeling Lucky. Apparently a c-string is like a strapless g-string? Man, I will never feel lucky on the internet again.

FYI—the first correct page was third, and wikipedia

Hilarious !

2009-01-18T22:11:00.002-05:00

Have you ever been in the situation when you are sitting in a room with a couple people, and this god-awful song is playing, and eventually you are so close to saying, “so what is this bullshit music anyway, I mean fuck,” when one of the other people in the room says “man this is such a good song” and the other person agrees, and they start talking about how good it is, and you are sitting there like, “buhhhhhh” just at a loss for words?

I left the room, and am listening to some good music in my own room.

Oh, me

2009-01-17T22:47:00.001-05:00

I’m not sure what it is about my psyche that renders me incapable of leaning on friends. I guess part of it is that I am usually disappointed with how people react when I open up to them. Not that I can really expect anyone to know the right way to act—I don’t even know what I want.

I guess when it comes down to it, the only thing worse for me than dealing with something alone is opening up to a friend only to receive an undesired response. I hate that situation.

So, I guess I should rephrase the first statement here: I have a pretty good idea why I am incapable of leaning on friends. I don’t trust my friends. The only person I fully trust is myself, because I have to. On one hand, I can always count on myself to get through anything.

On the other hand, it’s pretty lonely over here. A while ago, I found out about a personality dynamic measuring system that had a category for people like me (we are apparently rare). It was nice to see that I am not crazy. To be honest, I was always a little worried.

I mean, look at supervillans in movies. They are always cold and calculating, never letting their emotions affect their actions. No friends. I mean, when I read the Harry Potter books, I always felt I related more to Lord Voldemort than anyone else.

I have plenty of friends, but I am close to few if any of them. I am perpetually trying to become more and more self-reliant, to the point that it is almost an obsession. I can talk to snakes. Reading that personality analysis was really nice, because it essentially told me that I am an okay person.

That doesn’t make me less lonely though. And if you are thinking of writing “Hey Matt you can always call me, no matter what, etc etc,” you are a truly good person, and I really appreciate it, but I will definitely not take you up on it. I never have.

People think that I’m crazy

2009-01-17T20:20:00.001-05:00

just ’cause I wanna be alone.
you can’t depend on friends to help you in a squeeze—
we all deal with shit on our own

Randall Munroe would classify this temperature as “FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKCOLD”

2009-01-15T09:47:00.002-05:00

it is -20ºC

Just curious

2009-01-14T17:18:00.001-05:00

Did anybody else grow up secretly worried that world-class hackers could see your face as if your computer screen were a window of which they were on the other side?

Of those of you who answer yes, are you terrified of Apple’s new standard of the built-in webcam for exactly this reason?

Poor Earth

2009-01-14T08:44:00.001-05:00

Man the Earth is trying just SO HARD to be a perfect absorber, but the atmosphere is just fucking everything up. The Earth could kill EVERYONE for this

Pros and cons to being single

2009-01-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

Pros:
– I can go to sleep and wake up whenever I want
– I can wake up to the Circle of Life and go watch the sunrise
– I can eat garlic whenever I want
– I get to keep all my positive energy for myself
– My clothes are the only clothes in my room
– No problems other than my own
– No more being sad about my relationship going poorly
– I can sleep on whichever side of the bed I want
– Always my music all the time

Cons:
– Lonely

I miss tall facebook pictures

2009-01-07T17:42:00.001-05:00

seriously!

Man, can somebody just walk me through this or something?

2009-01-03T18:58:00.001-05:00

I’m pretty rational—not in touch with how I feel. I feel a feeling that I haven’t felt in a long time (about breaking up with Nora): I feel empty. Haha—not like “WHO AM I WITHOUT A GIRL;” I feel devoid of emotion.

I used to be like this before I went to Toronto. I learned to deal with how I felt and stop bottling things up, and stopped having this feeling. Now I’m getting it again, which means I’m bottling things up, but I don’t know where I put the bottle and I don’t know what’s in it.

I can’t deal with how I feel if I don’t feel anything. I want to feel some goddamn pain, maybe cry a little, maybe write a silly poem. I guess I never had to deal with this before, so I reverted to an old habit. GREAT, so now what? Shouldn’t I be having crazy mood swings where I am like laughing about a comic and then calling up a friend in tears Shouldn’t I be crying onto some picture of Nora and I together, or some lame bullshit like that?

I think I should. But I don’t really care. How do I make myself care? I know I should.

2009-01-02T22:25:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of qualities that I really admire in a person, and I have very few of them. It’s about time I became the person I wish I were.

I need to watch what I say more, and basically just speak less. I should curse less too. Obviously, I should keep trying for more discipline and better time-management. I want to get fit. Partly to look better naked, but mostly to ensure that I will live healthily into middle and old age.

I will start running, three days a week, to help my heart grow strong and begin the process of making my body permanently healthy. Once that is going strong, I’ll head over to the reuse center to get a bench and some weights. It’s pretty cool because you can get full weight-training sets (complete with barbells and dumbbells) for like $15 there. That will help me look good naked and generally feel better about myself.

I’ll also start eating well. I’ll have to, to start working out, but also I should make an effort to. Again, that will make me feel better about myself. Taking care of myself, etc.

If I do that, I will feel clean and good, which will help me do my schoolwork.

Perhaps I’ll start going to the temple again on Wednesday evenings, as well. That would help me in so many ways. Among other things, it would help me practice right speech. Plus, it would be good for me to go through the humility of relearning the chants.

Breaking up with Nora has made me realise that I’ve really slowed down my attempts to improve myself. I think going out with her made me too secure in who I was. If I had self-esteem issues, that sort of feeling would be helpful, but I don’t, so it takes me in the wrong direction.

There are some things I did very diligently before I started going out with Nora, and when we started dating, I stopped doing them. I don’t think I ever even mentioned them to her. Like going to watch the sunrise from my favorite spot. I used to do that at least once a week, and now I haven’t done it in years. What happened to that?

I need to get back on track. Until now, my post-breakup thoughts had mainly been musings about finding another girlfriend, but I need to put that to rest, and build up a stronger self before I start that. I mean, yeah, time and rebounds, yeah, I know that, and I’m not stupid enough to do anything, but that was mainly what I thought about. I have this hole all of a sudden and I want to fill it—I feel like that’s pretty natural. Don’t worry though, I think I’ll leave it empty for at least a medium while.

It will be cool when people get back

2008-12-29T23:54:00.001-05:00

I’d really like to hang out with someone, even over the phone. But everybody is always busy. I wish someone would call me. Interrupting people’s movies and bar visits is getting old.

The railroad bulls are blind

2008-12-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

Oh hey

2008-12-28T16:50:00.001-05:00

I’m actually really glad Nora and I are breaking up, now that I’ve thought about it.

Okay nevermind

2008-12-27T09:37:00.001-05:00

After a good-night’s rest (actually I’m not sure that I slept at all) I feel a lot worse.

I need to be careful about how I handle this. My natural response is to figure out a way to never go through this again, but the only way to do that is to never get attached to someone again. That isn’t a road I should go down.

Now would probably be a good time to go back to my Buddhist practice. I can’t think of a more effective way to clear myself of attachments, and that is probably the best thing to do.

Man, dangit, I mean, dang, you know? Ugh.

Dang man.

2008-12-27T01:46:00.001-05:00

So Nora and I are breaking up. This is my first time ever going through this. I don’t know what to do, really.

I don’t feel very bad, because I know things will end up fine. I mean, we still like each other etc, and I mean all it takes is some time to heal this, and either we’ll start going out again or I’ll find someone else. Of course it’ll end all right.

You know that feeling you get when you know you’re missing something? That nagging sensation? Yet you’re unable to put your finger on what you don’t have. That is exactly how I feel right now. Exactly.

That said, I’m sure I have some really hard nights ahead of me.

I hope this heals quickly, as opposed to, you know, slowly.

Internet rules?

2008-12-23T14:32:00.002-05:00

Are there any websites that cover basic guidelines for websites? I mean, I know there's w3.org, but they are a bit techy. And I'm not talking about rule 34 and rule 1, etc. on ED either.

I mean basic rules like “content areas of your website should have a white background with black text, and links should be blue and underlined.” “Never require any information about a user unless your site contains features that only make sense for individual users, or your website is a porn site.” “Do not use a sitemaker program—learn html it is easy.” “etc.”

If there aren’t any, I might make one. See if anybody notices.

Simon

2008-12-23T13:04:00.001-05:00

Simon will always be the coolest person. Hanging out with him again is so cool.

Holy cold as hell batman

2008-12-21T13:22:00.001-05:00

I just tried running just now and HOLY FUCK

To page this person, press 5

2008-12-20T19:01:00.001-05:00

When you call my phone, you will no longer hear that. Unfortunately, you will still hear “Please leave a message after the tone. When you are finished recording, hang up, or press 1 for more options.”

Man, removing the page thing was a hassle, and it wasn’t even the bulk of the message. I had to go to a menu item under administration called “cut through paging” or something and I disabled paging completely. If only there were a way to disable the message. That is all I waaaant!

Sausage and Waffle and Fried Chicken Breakfast Lasagne

2008-12-20T11:26:00.001-05:00

THE PERFECT FOOD

New phone update

2008-12-19T19:48:00.002-05:00

Who knew you could just go to AT&T and just ask for a different phone and they would give you a different one? I changed it out for the much more beautiful Pantech Breeze, which is a phone designed for the elderly and handicapped.

Think about it—this means it must have a great user-interface and good sound quality. These are all I care about!

Anyway my new phone’s current name is Francis McDrunk. If things go well over the next couple weeks I will upgrade it to Francis McPatrick.

My new phone

2008-12-19T14:30:00.001-05:00

Based on reviews I've read and the 10 minutes I've spent poking around on the phone, its current name is Fuckface McDrunk. If it surprises me and does well, I will upgrade its name. If it surprises me by going lower than my already-low expectations, I will downgrade its name. Otherwise, go ahead and call me and you will hear me talking on Fuckface McDrunk.

I have to get a new phone :(

2008-12-19T12:07:00.001-05:00

I really like this old phone. It has served me very well and has never failed at the simple, most important task of allowing me to talk to people who are not physically close to me.

Phone, you have never waivered in doing a good job. You are falling apart, yet your battery is good as ever. You get wonderful reception all the time (even sometimes in Jesse’s basement). You do not force me to have a stupid instructional phrase at the end of my voice mail, informing people that they can page me by pressing 5.

Phone, you are practical. You are everything anyone could want in a phone, and nothing else. Your internet connection sucks, your camera sucks, your features suck. This is nice, because it does not distract me from your actual purpose (you are a phone, not a game boy).

You have an antenna that I can pull out. New phones do not. I don’t know why—maybe they are obsolete now. But I still like being able to have control over the reception.

Please give a moment of silence (5–10 seconds) for my wonderful phone.

I will get a new phone later today. I hope it serves me as well as you have. Even if it does, I will not forget the two years of quality service that you have given to me.

Yours,
Matt

Web Design!

2008-12-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

You know what feels awesome? Finishing up a page design, throwing it onto browsershots, and finding out that it works perfectly even in internet explorer 5.5! (and 6.0 and 7.0 and 8.0!)

I mean, it is a very simple design, but I have seen many a simple design fail these browsers.

Yaaaay!

Dieting

2008-12-17T11:56:00.001-05:00

So I am looking into dieting. It is kind of fun because basically nowhere is geared toward the type of dieting I want to do (ie I need to eat more, not less). I should be getting 2,000–2,500 calories per day depending on how active I am, and normally I think I get about 1,000. That is very unhealthy!

So yeah, I need to double my food intake somehow. Meaning I am going to start trying to count calories, etc.

Calorie-counting is hard! It’s like, I get a big ten burrito. I don’t know how many calories are in there! Is there a website somewhere where you can just enter in amounts of ingrediants, and it gives you nutrition facts? I mean that would be super.

There are a lot of websites that offer calorie information, but it is based on something someone else filled out. For example, thedailyplate.com says a burrito is 300 calories. I don’t know if you’ve eaten a big ten burrito, but I would guess that there are well over double that amout in a big ten burrito.

Back to how I am unusual in the way I am doing this, it’s fun to see sites that say, like, “How to cut calories out of such and such.” They are everywhere. You never find anything that’s like, “looking for some extra calories? Put 2 lbs. swiss cheese on top of everything you eat!”

Do people really eat so much that they need to watch their calories? I am going to have a hard time making sure that I eat enough. I just find it unfathomable that most people not only eat double what I eat, but probably eat triple what I eat, because they need to cut back on their intake.

The other thing I need to look at is actual nutrition. I think I am going to try to drink 2 cans of ensure per day, so I won’t need vitamins. They will be good snacks in between meals. Also they are 350 calories, so that takes care of one third of my food. They would also cover half of my protein and have a lot of unsaturated fats. They also have a lot of sugar, so I shouldn’t eat a bunch of other sweet things.

I think I should make a huge amount of steel cut oats regularly. Like, in a stock pot. That way I would only need to heat up however much I wanted whenever I wanted it. Oats have like, mad fiber.

I also need to eat vegetables. I think I will eat in the cafeteria a couple times a week, and pile on vegetables when I do. Otherwise, I just need to start buying vegetables and cooking them.

Anyway I’m rambling at this point, so I’ll cut this off.

Je dois écrire plus en français

2008-12-16T23:26:00.001-05:00

C'est vraiment plus difficile pour moi d'écrire en français, et je pense que je n’utilise pas la meilleure grammaire.

J’ai gagné un “B+” en une de mes classes! Je m'attendais un “C” ou “C+,” donc je suis très heureux à ce moment. Youpi!

Ma mère a trouvé mon blog!

2008-12-16T14:04:00.001-05:00

C'est en peut bizarre, n'est-ce pas? Je ne sais pas si elle peut lire cette passage (parce-qu'elle est en français, bien-sûr). Salut maman, si vous lisez ceci!

Nathan Milstein

2008-12-11T16:24:00.002-05:00

I dare you to name for me a single violinist who is greater than Nathan Milstein (you can’t).

: (

2008-12-09T14:01:00.001-05:00

The first person I ever met on my path through Buddhism is dying, and is almost gone.

: (

Grammar!

2008-12-09T12:55:00.001-05:00

Do you know what’s worse than using “who” when you ought to use “whom?” Using “whom” when you ought to use “who!” If you don’t know the difference, don’t use “whom” at all, people!

spam

2008-12-07T13:30:00.001-05:00

Why is spam worded the way it is (i.e. your manliness is to be d3termined by how many inches r inside your penis). Do spammers think I will be more likely to respond if they sound like total morons?

Math Homework is harder now

2008-12-07T13:10:00.002-05:00

I have one of those splotchy 80-sheet notebooks for math homework. Two years ago, when I did my homework, I could fit 10–15 problems on a single sheet. Now I am fitting one problem on 2–5 sheets of paper.

It’s a good thing I enjoy it.

GNALPRHGLPH

2008-12-05T00:09:00.001-05:00

God DAMMIT my life is just FRUSTRATING as HELL right now

I mean things aren’t that bad in general it is just a combination of stress, lack of nourishment, “other,” and then my now-stronger-than-ever reflex to belittle all of my own feelings to the point where I feel like there is a fucking earthquake of anger going on in my belly. I mean, I actually feel rumbling!

I guess everybody has their own way of beating themselves up when they are angry as hell—I spent a good while quietly banging my head against the wall, and it has given me a splitting headache that I still have. I hope that’s gone tomorrow.

In a few weeks, I will feel so much better. I guess that’s something. But right now I am just angry as FUCK. I just want to make a huge double-sized piñata of myself and just start completely destroying it with a bat, a golf club, and a shovel. And when the piñata is unrecogizable I would just look at it and say “HI HOW ARE YOU MATT. ARE YOU DOING FINE ON THIS FINE DAY. TODAY IS FINE. I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING AS MUCH FUN AS I AM.” Then I guess I would step on any pieces of myself that weren’t completely destroyed.

PHGAGHLGRAPPGHARL! GNLPRNHPLRGNHP!!

I have work in 6 hours, I should see if I’m capable of falling asleep right now.

The Double-Armed Yawn

2008-12-04T22:32:00.001-05:00

I was just thinking. Nobody actually wakes up in the morning and yawns with both arms. Maybe that is the secret to waking up properly. I hope I remember to try that tomorrow morning.

Wal-Mart

2008-11-30T17:24:00.001-05:00

So apparently a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death as eagre shoppers tore the doors off their hinges when the store opened.

It’s actually not the first time something like this has happened on a Black Friday. I don’t just feel that this is a sad reflection of our society’s lust for the material, but that it is horrible that stores as big as Wal-Mart continue to do nothing about it.

This was forseeable. It was even forseen. We aren’t going to change the way our culture is, but we can police crowds a little and enforce lines. People need to learn to queue up.

“Album by Artist” sorting in iTunes

2008-11-26T14:15:00.002-05:00

So there is nothing new about this feature; it has been around for quite a while. I don’t really understand the idea of not sorting like this, as it is alphabetical by artist, yet it organises albums in track order even if they have multiple artists. But for the longest time it didn’t work with one of my albums (8BP050—an awesome collection of 8-bit).

Of course I had the compilation option ticked. That is the usual issue, but not mine. Well I just figured it out: if you have this issue, make sure that the “Album Artist” field is empty for all the tracks in the album.

Therion is such a good band

2008-11-25T12:20:00.001-05:00

I don’t know why it took me this long to get back into them. I should check out some of their newer albums (there have been at least 4 in the last 4 years).

Job

2008-11-24T14:25:00.001-05:00

It looks like Nora’s managed to land herself a nice job. Yaaaayyy

I didn’t do horribly on my project!

2008-11-24T13:15:00.001-05:00

Well, to be fair, yes I did. But my grade is only a little below average!

Robot protein

2008-11-23T21:54:00.001-05:00

Apparently some computer scientists managed to simulate life on a computer, and let it evolve on its own, and it ended up forming life that was very similar to ours (it was based on something similar to protein or something like that—I don’t pretend to know what I’m talking about here).

The implications of this are pretty huge; it implies that all life (i.e. on other planets) evolves in a similar manner to ours. That said, it is possible that the way it was simulated was based on the setting on Earth all those years ago, in which case never mind the study doesn’t really say much at all.

But hey I think this stuff is pretty cool yeah

Sexiled!

2008-11-22T23:58:00.001-05:00

Hey all! Who of you have ever been sexiled from a dorm room? Did you know you can also be sexiled from a house? Even when there is no sex involved?

I know, it is pretty crazy, yet here I am, now versed in the knowledge that my gloves make a better pillow than my scarf.

Haha! Hahahahaha! Great fun!

fuck everybody

Ruckus Roboticus

2008-11-18T15:41:00.001-05:00

All you fools that haven't listened to the Everlasting Ghettoblasting Gobstopper by Ruckus Roboticus best get on y'all's game now.

Serious. This shit is dope.

Stalin, the ussr, and the Hammer and Sickle

2008-11-17T20:16:00.003-05:00

Why was history so nice to them? Stalin murdered tens of millions of his own people (I’ve seen estimates from 20–100 million people, compared with Hitler’s max of 11). The guy killed 8 million Ukrainians in one fucking year.

Plus he was sociopathic and paranoid. Now I’m not saying he was worse than Hitler—but I don’t think he was better either. I don’t think the two should really be compared. They killed different people for different reasons, so talking about who’s worse is a waste of time.

Yet, if somebody has a picture of Stalin on their wall, that is not seen as horrible. In fact, many Russians still consider the guy to be a hero. Imagine if Germans still considered Hitler a hero.

Moving onto the hammer-and-sickle. I view it exactly in the same light as a swastika. Why? Well, as the Nazis clung to the swastika, the Soviets clung to the hammer-and-sickle. Also, the hammer-and-sickle is a symbol that initially represented a very cool image (labour rising up), in the same way that the swastika is an ancient symbol representing change and impermanence. However, the hammer-and-sickle no longer means that, and now represents the ussr (as the swastika represents the Nazi party).

Trying to say the hammer-and-sickle represents the basic ideals of communism/socialism/revolution/etc. is like trying to say that the swastika represents a non-impoverished Germany, or that it is normal to die of the common cold. Perhaps you would be right if it were 85 years ago, but you are most certainly wrong now.

There are at least a few other images that represent revolution and proletariat uprising, just as there are many representing impermanence and change. Use those. If you are wearing a hammer-and-sickle because it is trendy, you are like the people who wear Che Guevara shirts when all they know about the man they got from watching the Motorcycle Diaries. In other words, if you are cool with being an idiot, whatever be my guest.

Back to Stalin, I think I have a good guess now I think about it. Stalin won. Hitler lost. Remember fairy tails? Good always wins and evil always loses. I guess we have these instincts that tell us that because Stalin was a winner, he must have been good, or at least not as bad as Hitler (the loser).

Well I have two words for you: Grow up, asshole.

The worst web page.

2008-11-14T14:22:00.003-05:00

My boss and I just had a contest to find the worst web page. I think he won.

Actually the last post was kind of a lie

2008-11-13T20:42:00.002-05:00

I am really upset right now. Who knows why! I basically feel ready to explode at any moment. I mean that is how I always feel when I bottle things up, which I guess I know I shouldn't do, but at this point I don't even know why I feel the way I do, or who I would talk to if I did.

Whatever it could be a lot worse. I am a middle class American boy with a good body and I don't have cancer or the HIV.

I guess that's the problem is that I don't really have anybody I feel like I can talk to right now. But I'll get better I always get better!

.

Spam

2008-11-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

So apparently some huge spam firm was shut down and email spam has decreased worldwide on average by about 70%. Cool! I mean, I was wondering why I was getting spammed suddenly a lot less.

That said, spammers will probably just move outside of North America where there's less scrutiny, and spam is expected to be back where it was somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am so excited. Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday for a long time. It's like, I eat a bunch of food with my two favorite families. No gifts, none of that bullshit, just basic family time. Awesome.

And lastly, I wrote a lengthy email to the captains at EQ, urging everyone to try to make EQ captains awesome again. Based on the last time I sent an email to all the captains where I opened up a little, I was really worried (I got completely shot down by everybody). But one person already responded really positively. I feel really good right now.

Guess who’s doing well in school!

2008-11-12T11:40:00.001-05:00

Actually I should rephrase that. Guess who will be able to salvage his grades in school, and end up with passing grades and be allowed to continue college!

This.

Guy.

Thisguy.

Yeah school isn't going great but it is a lot better now than ever before. I am slowly starting to reach my actual potential when it comes to getting things done. Nowhere near actually there, but you know what, when I am getting work done timely enough that I am doing my best on it, that will be enough.

That will be awesome. And I am getting there.

Optimism.

I am pro–animal-testing

2008-11-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

I bet that within the next half-century, we will gain a complete understanding of our own bodies. Naturally, we will be able to accurately simulate human reactions to anything with a computer. It probably wouldn't even be difficult to add the standard error and the triple-standard error, so as to get a complete view of our race in any circumstance.

Once we figure out how to do that, animal testing would become both too expensive and obsolete. We would stop because it would be stupid.

For now though, we can't do that, and animal testing provides the most accurate estimates we can get. I place human lives above animal lives, and animal testing has saved countless human lives (like, I bet you wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for animal testing—I mean, chances are).

So yeah, animal testing is cruel, and that sucks, but I would rather animals die in labs than humans die of diseases. I think that anybody who disagrees with me does not place human lives above animal lives, and therefore we have nothing to argue about. We just disagree.

If you asked a snake if it valued snakes more than non-snakes, I betcha it would. Difference is, snakes are not in a position to act on that preference. Humans are in that position, etc., etc., qed.

yayyyy

2008-11-05T01:17:00.004-05:00

To quote some guy I saw maybe 15 minutes ago, “I am looking at everything and I only see one of shit, which means I am not drunk yet.”

Smily icon

2008-10-30T16:48:00.001-04:00

It is amazing to me how you can write a really scathing, mean thing to somebody and then end it with :) or ;P or whatever, and they won't get upset at all. Do people really get that complacent when they see a smile? Really?

Also, when I spend a really long time doing statistics, I begin to wonder why we work that way. It's like, grab a random human, and you can't be sure how he or she will act. But grab 500, and you know exactly how they will act.

You don't know which ones will do what, but you know how many people will do what. You hear a lot of people arguing that we are individuals and sociology is bullshit, but damn. If everybody had truly free will, wouldn't we be less predictable?

Or would we? Do any of the 3 people who read this believe in free will? Please explain why you think this way.

Cheers.

Actual “Matt’s Life” update post!

2008-10-30T11:16:00.001-04:00

Hey friends!

Welcome to an episode of Matt’s Life!

Actually I shouldn't write this post because I have homework.

Thank you for being a part of today’s episode of Matt’s Life!

Oh my god

2008-10-23T00:22:00.002-04:00

How can I live without the gospel version of Правда о мечте? Spoiler: I can't.

Hi Molly

2008-10-12T22:52:00.001-04:00

HI MOLLY!

Okay so anyway today I have mixed feelings about my life because I am starting to fall behind in my homework. I am still on top of everything, but I am less on top of everything than I used to be, and am getting dangerously close to getting into a situation.

But I think I can make it right, so that's good.

That is my blog post for today!

Oh, and I am getting into typesetting. Check back soon (in two months) and I will post a pdf file that is well-typeset. Exciting!!

Lonely!

2008-10-12T02:08:00.001-04:00

Lonely!

I like this way of looking at it

2008-09-12T12:06:00.001-04:00

There is such a thing as a stupid question, and they are the easiest to answer.

Hey Molly!

2008-08-04T13:49:00.001-04:00

Want to hang out on Wednesday?

Ellipses

2008-08-04T13:46:00.002-04:00

The ellipsis, unlike the dash, should almost always have spaces on either side (and also in between periods if you aren't using a special ellipsis glyph—this . . . vs. this …). The exception is with parentheses, dashes, and quotes. Also, when quoting something that already has ellipses in it, you should enclose your ellipses in hard brackets like so: […].

If you leave out the end of a sentence, odd as it looks, you are to put your period a space away from the ellipsis … . Here's how you start a sentence with an ellipsis. … And here's the part you didn't leave out.

My own personal taste is that in both of those cases, you may as well put the ellipses in hard brackets, just so it looks more like a single entity, and not just four periods.

Slainte!

An important question of differences

2008-08-04T12:37:00.001-04:00

What is the difference between having a good thick moustache, and being a superhero?

If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be here.

The hyphen, en dash, and em dash

2008-08-01T13:41:00.001-04:00

So I just learned about the three types of dashes. In handwriting, it was a sort of unwritten rule about the uses of short, medium, and long dashes. But then typesetting came into being, and we now have different names for each dash.

The Hyphen

The hyphen is the shortest of the three and is way overused. It has three functions. In writing, it combines two words. In math, it is the minus sign. It also serves to join a series of numbers, like a phone number. For example:

Risk-taker.
5-3=2
555-5555
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century.

You can find it on a qwerty keyboard between 0 and =.

The En Dash

The en dash is so named because it is typeset to the width of a lowercase n, longer than the hyphen. It is designated for a range, but can also be used in place of a hyphen if there is already a hyphen present. For example:

Non–risk-taker.
Pages 23–48.
July 29–August 12

On a mac, it is the same key as the hyphen, but press option. On a pc, good luck.

The Em Dash

The em dash is the width of a capital M, about twice as long as the en dash. It is similar to parentheses most of the time. Think of it as an interruption. It is also used in dialogue to indicate an actual interruption. For example:

On the 12th—the day of the invasion—we will leave before dawn.

“Hey man, all I'm saying is—”
“I don't care what you're saying!”

On a mac, it is once again the hyphen key, but with shift-option. Once again, on a pc, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Rules

Never put a space next to any kind of dash, with only one exception. Look at the last hyphen example. This is called a “hanging hyphen” and is totally cool. Otherwise, never put spaces around dashes or hyphens. People who do that are considered to be wrong.

If you are in a situation where you can only use hyphens, use a hyphen in place of an en dash, and use two hyphens in place of an em dash.

Education!

History of &

2008-07-22T15:17:00.001-04:00

Did you know that & is from the Latin "et"? The upper loop is a lower case e, all with the line going down and to the right. The line going up and right used to always have a horizontal line at the tip. This went out of fashion in the age of the typewriter, kind of like how $ used to have two lines.

So yeah, that makes me like & a lot more. Incidentally, did you know that $ was born from US? The U was written over the S, and people eventually stopped writing the bottom part of the U, making it two vertical lines. Then that was too hard for typewriters, so it became one vertical line.

MAGIC

Also, Molly!

2008-07-22T13:25:00.001-04:00

Molly gets back in a week! Molly gets back in a week! Molly gets back in a week!

Is it okay when people type "tixx" instead of "tickets"?

2008-07-22T13:21:00.001-04:00

(no)

Heh.

2008-07-17T10:54:00.001-04:00

I'll know that I am famous when I get junk messages advertising me naked. So anyway I got Linux working on my mac. It is an unofficial PowerPC release of Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron). It is unofficial because Ubuntu stopped supporting PowerPC a while ago. And, since I have a PowerPC computer, I don't have much of a choice there. I'm glad though—I can use OS 9 programs on my mac, and mactels cannot do that. I'm going to be very sad when I can't play the Fool's Errand anymore.

That's all I feel like writing about right now.

My newest junk message…

2008-07-17T10:49:00.001-04:00

Subject: :)
From: Current Brackeen

Hey,

Fuck beer! Got sexy girl?
Click here [link excluded because it is probably a virus made for idiots]

ugh

2008-07-16T11:30:00.001-04:00

Why do spammers think that I want discounts on "w4tches"? I mean, do they know anything? At all?

Dual OSX-Linux project

2008-07-14T13:42:00.001-04:00

I am tired of not having Linux and not knowing how to use Linux so I am going to get Linux and install it on my laptop. This will be more than a little cumbersome, because I will have to back up everything, erase and partition the hard drive (I'll probably give Linux 20GB), clean install macosx, and then linux.

Right now I'm looking most favorably at Ubuntu, but also a little at Yellowdog and Gentoo. This will take some research, because I don't want to fuck up my computer.

I'll keep you updated, I guess.

Alucard Coat

2008-07-08T12:54:00.001-04:00

So the coat is almost finished, I am going to go in tomorrow to try it on to make sure she got it right before she stitches it back up.

Exciting!

Man I don't think I'm going to be able to not wear this coat a lot.

Junk mail

2008-07-02T14:21:00.001-04:00

I keep getting a junk message with the subject "what a stupid face you have here lachancem". I am Matt LaChance and I approve this message.

Internet Explorer

2008-06-20T13:26:00.001-04:00

I don't understand the idea of Internet Explorer. It is not standards-compliant, it doesn't even support .png picture transparency, and it is hard as the dickens to code for.

It's like, if you want to make a beautiful website these days, you have to actually make two beautiful websites, where one of them is coded for Internet Explorer and the code itself makes a lot less sense. If you are reading my blog with Internet Explorer, you yourself and me a favor and download Firefox. It's faster, it is standards-compliant, and it will let you look at every web page.

I mean, Safari has its flaws but at least it obeys the W3C standards. As a web designer, Internet Explorer is so frustrating, I hate it I hate it I hate it.

I am seriously considering not letting anyone using IE use wikifriends. Like if someone tries there will be an error message that tells them I hate them and they should switch browsers.

iClip

2008-06-06T11:26:00.001-04:00

Okay, so for a while now I've been thinking to myself, wouldn't it be great if you could copy and paste more than one thing at a time? I mean, the copy-paste feature has been around longer than I've been alive, so you'd think it would be improved, especially in macs, where they are always trying to improve things like this.

Well I just discovered iClip, and it might become the next Quicksilver in how I use my computer (i.e. I will become a lot faster and start really missing this feature on every other computer I use). It does cost $30 though, which is a pity. I mean, if it's as useful as I think it will be, I won't have a problem with paying $30, but I hope it lets you put it on multiple computers, or I'm going to have to choose between my computer at work and at home. I'm not paying $60.

You crazy cats have fun, bye.

Cane?

2008-06-04T11:27:00.002-04:00

Vote! Should I buy a classy cane?

I am actally serious about this. You see, I have always wanted a classy cane, but I don't want people to think I am trying to look like a pimp. I don't want a pimp cane, I want a classy cane. Are they the same thing? Help me out here.

Nora's back

2008-06-02T10:09:00.001-04:00

I should probably be really excited or at least relieved, but I actually just feel normal, like she was never gone. It's like the last 5 months just disappeared. Crazy.

Music

2008-06-01T12:35:00.001-04:00

I should get back into listening to music. Music is pretty cool, you know?

It's tricky to rock a rhyme to rock a rhyme that's right on time it's TRICKY! tr-tr-tr-tricky tricky trrrrrrrricky!

Relationship! Relationship!

2008-05-30T10:28:00.000-04:00

So Nora got back into the States yesterday, and she'll be in Ann Arbor late Sunday night. Last night we had a long conversation and that was cool. I'd say that I can't wait to see her, but I have to wait and I will wait (because I have to). I kind of feel bad in advance for how much I am going to not spend time with friends over the next week or so (sexsexsexsexsexsex).

Also I finally caved into the gaming world and bought a wii. I should set that up in Nora's house, you know for the summer. Oh and I don't think I ever mentioned that Jesse got me a Playstation (an original one) for my birthday. And I just got Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (hell yeah!). Looks like I will finally start playing video games.

In my math class I am currently getting 100% on everything ever. I am putting a lot of effort into the class, but also the professor is very easy. These are the combinations that lead to perfect scores. It looks like I'm going to have my first good grade in a while. And it's gonna be a very good grade. So heythatsnice.

I've been thinking a lot about my future. Lucky for me, the skills I have (programming, math) are skills that people will pay me a lot of money for. So I don't think money is going to be much of an obstacle once my life gets going. I mean, right now I've got a $15/hour webmastering job on a high school education with no related experience, and part-time. That's really nice for me.

But I want to do good in the world. Remember my plan to unite all countries in peace and end war? I still want to do that. But I don't know how. I don't have any idea where to begin, and as I develop a career and start a family, I'm not going to have time. I'm going to turn into an upper-middle-class dad who puts a couple more upper-middle-class children into the world and eventually retires and plays golf or something.

I feel like I'm at a crossroads of some sort, only instead of having to choose between two available paths, I already know which one I want to choose, but I can't figure out how to get to it. The path I'm on and the path I want to be on do not intersect at a crossroads, not that I can tell. What do I do in this situation?

I feel pretty pessimistic and hopeless about all this. And if you know me, you know that I'm a very optimistic person. I don't like being pessimistic. It doesn't suit me. Not at all.

Thanks for dropping by,
Matt

Regular Expressions!

2008-05-22T14:53:00.003-04:00

I just learned regular expressions and successfully replaced every phone number formatted like this:

###-###-####

with the same phone number but formatted like this:

(###) ###-####

and all I had to do was search for (\d\d\d)-(\d\d\d)-(\d\d\d\d) and replace it with ($1) $2-$3 and bang zoom done!

Also to clarify my previous post, I was unconsciously rubbing my eyebrows, and then I noticed all these little hairs on the table, so I kept rubbing my eyebrows and SO MANY HAIRS BECAME ON THE TABLE

my eyebrows

2008-05-21T15:36:00.001-04:00

I just picked out like ten billion eyebrow hairs.

No promises

2008-05-16T12:14:00.002-04:00

Right now I have the full intention of going back to writing here. It does me good to write for an audience, whether or not I have one, you know? It's more fun than writing in a journal. Plus, Molly reads this, and that is pretty cool.

So I bought a wii a couple days back. It should arrive in the mail any time now. It was a pretty good deal—mario galaxy, wii games, wii sports, carnival games, zelda twilight princess, two wiimotes, two nunchucks, a classic controller, battery packs and a charger for the wiimotes, memory card, and an actual wii, for $400. I'm told that that is at leas $100 less than I would normally pay for such things. So yeah, the Sylvan house now has a wii. I still need to get Brawl, but that can wait. If anything I'll play Brawl at Jesse's house with my memory card.

When I get it probably the first thing I will do is get Mario 64 on the virtual console, because that shit is bumpin'.

I finally got a key at my job, so now I don't need to ask people to let me into places. Dang, they just trust me so much here, it's so different from the cafeteria, where Sue won't even let there be a dedicated captain key.

Yesterday I fell off my bike for the first time I can ever remember doing that. I didn't get hurt, but my jeans did. I've got some sewing to do this weekend! Yeah but anyway I didn't get at all hurt, but it was bizarre. I fell off and was just like, "wait what? Is this real? Is this ... possible?" I was just kind of confused I guess.

Jesse is finally showing me Avatar episodes, and they are very cool. Good show, A+.

I am feeling good about my own life. Less so about the rest of the world, but hey if I like my own life that's something. If everybody genuinely liked their lives, there wouldn't be much for me to dislike about the world, you know?

Ta!
Matt

Updates?

2008-05-01T00:16:00.001-04:00

I am waiting until I actually feel good about myself and my life before I go back to updating. Right now I mostly feel down, and I don't like writing about that. I'd write about how happy I am, but however easy that is to talk about, I'm just not up for writing it. But do you remember when this blog was kind of fun (if only for me)? Let's bring that back.

But I'm not going to lie about how I feel here either, so we'll both have to wait.

Also, Gynelle my email address is lachancem at gmail dot com.

I feel terrible

2008-04-23T00:04:00.001-04:00

I just spent the past 30 minutes curled up under my desk, and now I have a headache and I feel terrible. I might sleep in my closet tonight. That never makes me feel better when I'm really feeling bad, but at least I actually get to sleep.

By the way, today was really not a good day. And now I have to swallow it and pretend I'm having fun all day tomorrow for my birthday. I just do not want to deal with that right now.

I am going to start updating regularly!

2008-04-01T16:55:00.001-04:00

(haha fooled you)

Hey, maybe I'll get back into this

2008-03-17T12:27:00.001-04:00

I kind of like blogging, so maybe I'll start doing it again. Why not, you know?

I am experimenting with habit-forming. Do you know about the ideas that it takes 21 days to make a habit? I think that's pretty cool. More on this in 21 days.

Right now, I am a little tired I guess. Saying that I miss my girlfriend is kind of needless I guess. In a way, I feel like the best way to handle it is to bottle it up. I mean, bottling things up is a great way to make the pain go away, and it makes everybody around you think you're fine. But nothing goes away forever until you deal with it, and I guess it's easier to do it one day at a time now than all at once later. Sigh.

How are you? I have letters that I need to write, but that can wait until after my exam on wednesday. In econ, we're starting on game theory. I love on that stuff.

But really, how are you?

Matt

This is just a test

2008-02-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

RIAA