Pink Floyd and the desktop DJ


OK, so I’m at work listening to the second disk of the Echoes compliation.  I’ve heard it a hundred times and I love it.  But I need something a little more fast-paced to keep me from falling asleep as I crunch numbers and interpret code.  I need something a little more intense than “Shine on You Crazy Diamond parts 1-7″.

 So do I switch albums?  No way, Jose!  (and that goes for you too, Pedro!)

Abandoned Places


Have you ever stood in the middle of a old, weathered, rotting, overgrown structure and thought to yourself “This is the destiny of nearly every work of man“?   

Some of my favorite works of art depict “glorious ruins” (a phrase I picked up from Alistair Begg - he used it in reference to man in his fallen state).  Abandon churches overgrown, remnants of stained glass bearing witness to the complete cycle of faith.  Abandon industrial complexes, the hopeless victims of an economy that has passed them by or technological advances that have rendered the facilities obsolete.  Abandon barns, farms, and sheds that gave man and beast a place to call their own - now failing from disrepair.

 When I was younger, we’d pass by an empty building that used to house a Winn-Dixie, Food Lion, or some type of textile mill, and I always wondered what it would be like to inhabit such a marvelous structure.  I thought to myself that I could call that whole space my own, because nobody else wanted it.  I fantasized about climbing up on the roof, or where the restroom facilities would be.  I’d think about where my sleeping quarters would be, and what fantastic things I could do with the ladders, windows, loading docks, etc.  It would be my ‘fortress of solitude’, my sanctuary, my castle.  To be quite honest, I had those same thoughts about whatever school I visited as well - how cool would it be to have this whole building to myself!?!?

 There’s something about repurposing industrial refuse to enhance or facilitate domesticity.  Private industry spends so much in the name of business, MUCH more than any one individual could.  Is it wrong to want to take the failings of a corporation and benefit from them?  People do it all the time at auctions - you can take the spoils of economic war to build your own palace, if you had the funds to do so.

Life has brought me to the point where I have become a scavenger.  Just like goats, hyena, catfish, vultures, and crawfish, I’ll take whatever is available.  My kids eat first, and they know whatever they don’t finish they bring to me to eat - I can’t stand food to be wasted.  I can’t remember the last shirt I bought myself, but right now I’m wearing my latest hand-me-down.  I’d prefer to go to a used music shop over purchasing a brand new disc.  While pawn shops are a rip-off, I do enjoy the occaisional indulgence there.  I never understood what the end of aluminum crutches are supposed to be once the patient recovers - the aluminum product lasts a LONG time, even if the pads don’t.  I’ve never owned a new car, and my house is over 50 years old.  I’ve never purchased a new computer - mine have always been refurbished or a display model as far as I can remember.  I hate throwing away plastic bags because I know that (unless they rip) they can be used again for something.  In fact, I hate throwing anything away (well, except for biodegradable stuff that will be reused by nature like banana peels or whatever).  I hate waste.   

There are a lot of efficiency gains in being a scavenger.

 I guess you could call it “reclamation” or “recycling”, but it’s still scavenging.  It’s essentially taking would-be waste materials and creating something beneficial from it.  I know that very few things in this world are 100% efficient, but I guess people like me take up the slack that others miss.  But would I be a scavenger if efficiency wasn’t so necessary to my family’s continued survival?  Probably not, but I think at this point in my life efficiency is ingrained in my very soul.  Even if I was a millionaire, seeing a half-empty soda bottle would still very much aggravate me.

And while I could continue writing, I’ll spare you the pity party.  Suffice to say that even though birds and flowers don’t spin or toil, they aren’t expected to drive a car (with an air conditioner), go to college, or maintain the plumbing in their place of residence!

 In closing, here’s an exerpt from Percy Bysshe Shelly’s poem Ozymandius:  

“…and on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings -
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains.  Round the decay
of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

2009- BRING IT ON!


You know what?  I’m tired of what/who I’ve been.  Not that what I am is bad or anything, I’m just tired of this version of me.  It’s time for a new, improved “GhostLemur”.  A GhostLemur with a little more of that confidence that comes from repeated hard-fought victories, a little more of that fire in his eye that springs from an intense desire to make things better, and a little more of that creative intensity that gushes from some psychological flaw God gifted him with.  A GhostLemur that takes comfort in knowing that he can make things happen, and does so on a regular basis.

 Why this need for more?  I’m not sure.  Maybe it’s just because in a couple months I’ll be 30 years old, and still don’t really know what on earth I’m doing here (or anywhere, for that matter).  If there’s one thing a man has in life, it’s his sense of accomplishment.  And you’d think with all that I’ve done here at my job (I’ve been recognized many times this year alone, and in Feb I’ll have been with the company 10 years!) that I would be satisfied with my accomplishments.

Nope.

You ever been hungry?  I mean really hungry.  Perpetually hungry.  You eat, and 30 minutes later your stomach is saying “More please!”.  So you eat again.  An hour later…”More please!”.  And you’re like “Geez, I just ate!” but your stomach is saying “How long do you think that was supposed to last, a week?  Come on, we’re burning calories here, I need FUEL!”  So you start eating protein bars to try to stave off your appetite, knowing that eating too much isn’t good for you, but the appetite doesn’t abate.  You snack all day to keep from gorging yourself, but that only whets your appetite.  You end up drinking Slim-Fast WITH your lunch.  Eventually…”More please!”  You go to a buffet thinking “This should take care of it!”  And it does.  Until the next day…”More please!”  You spend hours cooking a gourmet meal, and eat it.  But only a couple of days later you realize that your regular intake - though substantial - is insufficient.  It won’t be long before the hunger returns…

That’s how it is with me and my accomplishments.  Each one is great for the moment, but just like food, I burn through it pretty quick and it’s not too long before I NEED more.  Maybe that’s why I play video games - they give me a quick “accomplishment fix” (just a snack) to get me through the periods where NOTHING IS HAPPENING.  But lately those small victories are becoming less and less satisfying, and I’m getting hungry.

 I don’t think this is “ambition”, although I wouldn’t exactly mind if it was.  It seems everyone admires ambition, but to be honest I’ve never really want fame, power, etc.  I just want to look at something and say “How can I EVER top that?” and not have an answer 5 seconds later.  And then I want to do something that completely crushes it with something so over the top NOBODY could have imagined it, much less thought it was possible - including me.  I want to do something so tremendous that when it’s complete tears of joy flow uncontrollably down my face.  At that time I will feel proud to be me.  I will know that my life - to that point - would be a summed positive.

 But even then I know down deep in my soul that those victories, those huge gourmet meals - even as incredible and intense as they were - will eventually fade away leaving me hungry once more.  And unlike appetites for food, this appetite doesn’t diminish as I get older.  It grows.  Today’s need far exceeds yesterday’s provision.

Maybe it’s just the season (in all its inevitable disappointments), or the expectation that 2009 has to be so much better than 2008.  But here’s hoping that next year will bring more challenges, engagement, and intense victories and less disappointments, neglect, and permanent losses.

In a “Yo Momma” state of mind


For the past week and a half I’ve been in a “Yo Momma” state of mind. 

You know, anytime someone says anything to me, the first thing my brain feeds me is a “Yo Momma” statement.  For example:

Kid 1: “Daddy, will you get me something to drink?” My brain: “Yo momma will get you something to drink!”  My mouth: “Yo mom…errr…yeah.  How about some tea?”

or

Wife: “Did you have a good day at work?”  My brain: “Yo momma had a good day at work!” My mouth: ”Yep.  Very productive.”  Wife: ”How about some sausage for dinner?” My brain: “Yo momma wants sausage for dinner!”  My mouth: “Yo momma wants sausage for dinner!…ummm…sure, that sounds good.  How about some Ranch Style Beans to go along with it?”

or

Boss: ”Have you been able to perform that research and make a determination?”  My brain: “Yo momma performs!”  My mouth”…ummm…not yet.  I’ve penciled in some time this afternoon to finalize it.”  My brain: ”Yo momma pencils in time to finalize!  OH YEAH!”

or

Bible Study leader: “So what do you guys think we can learn from friendship?”  My brain: “Yo momma learns from friendship!”  My mouth: (silent)

So you can see, common everyday communication can be very difficult and fraught with danger one is in a “Yo Momma” state of mind.  The hard part is getting over it.  It’s kind of like an earworm…you can’t get rid of it until you find a replacement.  But what is there to replace the “Yo Momma” retort?  It’s a reflex, kind of like stretching your toes when you take off your socks. 

Wish me luck.

Diablo 3 announced!


Diablo has launched the official Diablo 3 site.

First impressions: We’ve seen this *type* of game before, most notably Neverwinter Nights, but this looks to have significant improvement in these areas:

Another beef with broadcast radio


So I’m beboping in my hooptie to work yesterday, listening to a local pop station, Movin’ 107.5.  They were playing “Waterfalls” by TLC, a 90’s tune that brought back a lot of memories from high school.  Reminds me of Gerald “T-Bone” Tibbins.

 But as I got about 2/3 of the way through the song, I remembered that there’s something I ABSOLUTELY HATE about broadcast radio: they take out the “bridge” on a lot of pop songs.  They completely do away with LeftEye’s rap part (which makes the song, in my opinion), and replace it with a shorter instrumental break. 

Off the top of my head, I can’t remember a lot of other songs this happens to, but there ARE others.  I get all excited, and I’m like “LOOKS LIKE IT’S TIME FOR THE BREAKDOWN!” and then I get some wimpy instrumental break or they’ll cut right to the final chorus.  IT TOTALLY SUCKS!!!

I can understand a “radio edit” version when the content is objectionable, but editing a song to make it shorter so that you can play a higher number of songs?  Come on!  If you’re gonna cut anything, why not cut a few of the numerous repeated choruses at the end of the song? 

If you can think of other songs on the radio (any genre) that are egregiously edited (maybe a whalin’ guitar solo removed, a bridge taken out, etc), please leave them in the comments.

More POWAH! to ya -

GhostLemur

Sweeney Todd - the review


I FINALLY got to watch it last night on DVD, And boy, is it dark! I didn’t get a chance to explore any of the special features, so I can’t comment on them.

There were a few bad things, the first one is …

1980s Professional Sports - MTV style


It seems like every child star on the Disney Channel these days is an actress/singer/fashion designer.  It’s something that’s been going on forever.  Somebody becomes famous for doing one thing well, then tries to do something completely different - counting on their accumulated fame to carry the new product.  Scott Baio’s self-titled release should be proof enough.  And Shaq, how did Kazaam work out for ya? 

Apparently, someone in 1984 decided that athletes should be able to make that leap.  They’re already like rock stars, so in somebody’s awesome logic (heavy sarcasm there), they should try to actually BE like rock stars. 

Everyone knows the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle, but did you know it wasn’t the first?  Do you know these classics performed by other sports teams of the 1980s?

Robocop vs. Terminator


OK, I don’t know how many of you enjoy either one of these series, but I really enjoy both.  Even when I was a kid, I wanted to be Robocop.  Why?  Because he didn’t waste time.  He got the job done, regardless of the cost to the private sector.

And Terminator.  Not even human, yet smart enough to *almost* act human. 

But I have a problem with both series.  As one who is “technically mindful” (that’s my way of saying that I have a good scientific imagination to the point of being a bit of a nerd), neither series fully grasps what science is/can be capable of regarding software.  For instance, why can’t Robocop run?  Don’t tell me that he weighs too much either.  Gyroscopes should be able to assist with balance, and battery enhanced mechanical gears in his robotic legs should be able to produce extra speed.  Remember the Six million dollar man, or that kid on “Not Quite Human”?  Not to mention that show Small Wonder…

I have less of a problem with Terminator, but it doesn’t get off scott-free.  Both series have this problem…WHY CAN’T THEY SHOOT A MOVING TARGET?  Robots have software that should be able to assign targets and HIT THEM.  Shoddy aiming software would render such an expensive investment pretty much worthless. 

But I do get picky.  So for all you Terminator fans here is good news.  And for you Robocop fans here is bad news.

So by now you’re probably asking “SO WHERE DO WE GET TO SEE THEM FIGHT!”

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and part 4.

(Part 2 is my favorite)

New American Gladiators show wastes time


The new version of the show is SO BORING!  Most of the events are still pretty enjoyable, but they only total about 14 minutes of the hour-long beating that is the show. 

Why do we need to interview the contenders before and after every event?!? 
Why is Laila Ali even ON the show?!?
When is the Hulkster gonna tear off his shirt?!?