Getting Better All the Time 3.18

quote of the day

it just makes me giggle:
"...'the West Wing' was just like John Kerry fan fiction."
Stephen Colbert

resolution progress

Hey there sportsfans!
A while ago, there was a New Year, a time that people make promises to be better. I did.

progress report warning: C Major

as of yesterday, end of week three of 2006

1) resolve run twice a week average, currently at ~1.7 runs/week

2) study 15 hrs/ week average, currently around ~3 hrs/week

3) publish novel: nope

4) average 300 words/day writing novel #2, currently around 100 word/day

Well, I have some work to do, BUT if the SeaSkunks can make it to the SuperBowl, anything is possible.

Tetris failure

So we have two wonderful kitties that we spoil.
My better half and I have been searching for the perfect sky scrapper for them to play on. Finally we found one at our friendly neighborhood Costco.

Unfortunately it did not fit in the car. We tried. Several ways. I hate not being able to do something simple, like take home something I bought.

Much thanx to Zorloc for rescueing us, and helping us get the kitty tower home.

Thank you Zorloc for
all you do, and for a place
to host our blogs too.

besser spat als gar nicht

you know, after I nagged a friend today about not being punctual...

Yes sportsfans, we have it, GBatT is actually putting dots on the screen with a few New Year's Resolutions. I used to be a bit nervous about telling folks about my goals/dreams/resolutions, but I gotta say, it was helpful to have Imperium[geeks] encouraging me during NaNoWriMo.

say you want a resolution warning: C#

1) run twice a week (average)
2) study for class for 15 hours a week (average)
3) publish my NaNoWriMo project ...meaning have it printed at Kinko's.
4) write 300 words/day (average)...the thrilling sequel to my NaNoWriMo novel.

Guns, Germs & Steel

...finally I finished "Guns, Germs & Steel"
I'll give it an A-

It starts with the question, "why do white people have so much economic power?"

The basic answer: lucky geography.
I recommend reading it. Diamond is a decent writer, especially considering he's a scientist. Then lets talk.

And I have a copy of my own now. Guess I better give my boss's back to her.

I hope to post an indepth review.
:-jon

couple of movies

I saw "March of the Penguins"
It was nice enough, educational and fun at parts, sad at parts. I'll give it a B.

I saw "Miracle" a movie about a US hockey team. If you know the end, it kinda takes out the suspense. I was entertained during it, but the more I think about it, the worse the movie was. I will give it a C- before I think about it anymore.
We never got to know the players. We never saw how the coach dealt with basically abandoning his family while coaching. The games had too many shots of the crowd for crowd reaction. Look, I know it's exciting, I don't need to see the fans to realize it.
Don't see this movie. If there is a documentary on PBS about the team watch that. Or might I recommend ...

Mystery, Alaska a fun little movie about hockey. Cast contains, Burt Reynolds, Hank Azaria, Mike Meyers & Russell Crowe. This is a good hockey movie. I saw it along time ago. I'ld see it again. The worst thing about it is the name.
"This is hockey, OK? It's not rocket surgery."

good news

from our dismal friends at the Economist, pointing out a bit of good news in a troubled region

Picture warning: yes

a picture, notice how there are men dressed in urban European suits, traditional afghan clothing and also women. Yes, women in the Afghan parliament. It makes me smile that the Taliban was overthrown.

and to round out the evening

from the Buffy universe, this one surprised me, I am most like Angle. I would have thought Xander, or maybe Willow.

Angel
45% amorality, 45% passion, 72% spirituality, 45% selflessness
To shanshu in this test means to turn up guided by morals, calm and self-controlled, spiritually guided and powerfully moved by one's own destiny.

Kind of like I'd expect Angel to score, were he to take this test. You're probably sort of heroic in your own life.

TMI

I also took the Lover Style Profile Test

The Classic Lover

You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather be pursued than do the pursuing and, when it comes to physical love, you concentrate more on enjoying the experience rather than worrying about your performance.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Classic Lover.

The Classic Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is the closest it comes to the classic images of the princess in the tower, or the romantic and chivalrous knight, or the hero/heroine from a Disney film. The Classic Lover is a treasure to find, though it can be difficult to do so because they sometimes tend to be shy and/or difficult to successfully court.

In terms of physical love, the Classic Lover again can be shy, and often needs more in terms of emotional security to feel comfortable than some of the other Types. Given the right setting, and the right lover, the Classic Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Romantic Lover (most of all) or the Devoted Lover, or the Liberated Lover.

I am Patriotic

Patriotic
You scored 90% US Philosophy, 84% American Pride, 66% Involvement, and 100% Citizen Status!

this from the Are You a Patriotic American Test

This test measured you according to four criteria: Philosophy, Pride, Involvement and Citizen Status.

Philosophy reflects whether you agree with the philosophical foundations of the United States, such as: liberty, equality, democracy (though limited, not absolute), capitalism, checks and balances, constitutionalism, etc.

Pride reflects your assessment of the factual reality and history of the United States as a nation. It is your opinion as to whether the United States has been a "good" country and whether it has acted rightly or not.

Involvement reflects your level of political activism--whether you act to stay informed of what is going on in the world, and what you do on the basis of that information.

Citizen Status simply reflects whether you claimed to be a citizen of the U.S. when asked by this test.

It is the opinion of this test that, of these four factors, the only one that matters when it comes to being considered a Patriotic American is one's score in the first category--Philosophy. Therefore, if you scored between 0-33% in that category, you have been rated 'Unpatriotic'; 34-66%, 'Somewhat Patriotic'; 67-100% 'Patriotic'.

Certainly, the other categories provide interesting information for your (and others') consideration. However, they are not crucial for Patriotism, and they do not necessarily reflect a love, or its lack, for one's country. Regarding American Pride, some people will be surprised that it does not affect the outcome of the test; some people will be upset by this. However, if a person supports every military action the United States has ever engaged in, but does not really support his neighbors' right to live their lives in the ways that they see fit, then they do not truly love the United States. Further, and despite much of the rhetoric some political pundits engage in, a truly Patriotic American can be highly critical of many of the actions undertaken by the U.S. throughout history. Certainly, much of what the United States has done has been done poorly or for the wrong reasons. And while the author of this test believes that the United States has been mainly a force for good in the world (and the most-free, best nation ever to exist), he respects the opinions of those who would disagree with him and fully supports their right to dissent. For that is what America is all about.

Regarding Involvement, it has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. This is true, however it is also true that liberty means that people can be as involved, or not involved, as they want. Choosing not to vote, while perhaps unwise, is as much an exercise of political liberty as anything else. Certainly, however, a low score in involvement might mean that a person could stand to try to be more aware of current events, or more actively involved in shaping them, because sometimes they matter.

Regarding Citizen Status, I am certain that many people will believe that to truly be a Patriotic American, one must be a citizen of the United States. However, that is not so. One of the traits that sets the U.S. apart from many other nations in history, is that it is a country not organized specifically around a particular ethnicity, language, religion, culture or common historical origin, but a shared political ideology. The United States is organized around a common love of liberty, individual rights and free expression. This, in part, accounts for the unending stream of immigration starting from the very conception of the nation and continuing on to the present day. In today's United States, there are many thousands who are not citizens, and yet who live in the United States and share its dreams (and many of them will be citizens when they are able). The author would even argue that there are many Patriotic Americans who have never yet even set foot on U.S. soil. There are no requirements of language, skin color, religion, sexual orientation or particular condition of any other personal detail to be a "true American." Just a love of liberty.

I am "Pure Nerd"

Thanks to IR I found a way to waste time.
The Nerd? the Geek? or the Dork Test.

As I suspected, I don't fit in with [geeks]...

:-(

for The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.