Confused by the art the chairs circled up with uncertain intentions.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Counting on you
I sat through several college classes which were all about statistics. These were all about the what and who of using numbers to figure out stuff like mean, mode and median and a bunch more.
We earnestly dealt with Probability axioms, Basic combinatorics, Discrete and continuous random variables, Probability distributions, Mathematical expectation, Common families of probability distributions, and the Central limit theorem.
We wrangled over logical proofs and the axiomatic method as applied to basic probability.
And we played with Graphing and tabulating data, Describing data sets, Central tendency, Variability and skew, Normal curve and standard scores, Correlation and regression, Proportions and Contingencies and Sampling and Statistical inference.
Somehow I passed these courses, and a few years later I helped write a paper about the bimodal distribution of offshore Pleistocene sand deposits. Boy, did I take a wrong turn somewhere!
Anyway, I just counted the number of blog visits I had for a one week period and I then counted the number of comments I received during that week and I came up with this:
About 2% of the people who stop by my blog leave a comment.
That certainly is a small number, discrete or otherwise and I wish it wasn't continuous.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Who do you trust?
Who's got your back?
Who can you trust?
Who believes in you?
Who writes and you believe?
Who listens to you?
Who cares what happens to you?
Who speaks for you?
Who really loves you?
Who will take a bullet for you?
Do you know?
Who can you trust?
Who believes in you?
Who writes and you believe?
Who listens to you?
Who cares what happens to you?
Who speaks for you?
Who really loves you?
Who will take a bullet for you?
Do you know?
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Why Zombies?
Movie zombies are way cool right now ...
I overheard someone saying to another, "I wonder why zombie stories are so popular?"
Here's what I think.
We're witnessing a lot of layoffs and businesses going bust or restructuring or downsizing and other practices which pink slip workers - all of which kill the souls of people ... it seems appropriate - zombie movies and people walking around, out of work, zombie-like.
I overheard someone saying to another, "I wonder why zombie stories are so popular?"
Here's what I think.
We're witnessing a lot of layoffs and businesses going bust or restructuring or downsizing and other practices which pink slip workers - all of which kill the souls of people ... it seems appropriate - zombie movies and people walking around, out of work, zombie-like.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Q and A
Ambitions?
Once it was immortality now I’m not so sure.
Regrets?
My parents.
Worse experiences?
Being robbed at gun point.
A neighbor dying while I performed CPR.
Christian Brothers High School.
Tree falling on house 15 ft. from where we slept.
Best moments?
Being with my wife.
Any other best moments?
Learning things.
Teaching myself arcane skills.
I was pleased with my second book.
I enjoyed writing video scripts & working on sets.
SCUBA diving various locales of Northern California.
Dinner at The Shadows in SF, pre-1989 earthquake.
Any thoughts about our culture or society?
Do you have an hour?
I've never understood how greatness and ignorance can co-exist.
How will you be remembered?
Unimportant question. I don't care.
Anything you would like to do that you didn’t?
PhD from UC Berkeley.
Circumnavigate the globe in sailboat.
Fluent in French, Russian and Japanese.
Play first base for Dodgers or Giants.
Other experiences you want to have?
Wealth.
Fly in a U-2.
American Orient Express.
Belle Époque travel.
Anyone famous you would like to visit?
No.
Where would you like to live?
1956 Los Angeles.
I mean right now.
Chicago’s Hancock Building or Ghost Ranch, Taos New Mexico
Three wishes?
My brain of today, myself at 25, incredible foresight.
Once it was immortality now I’m not so sure.
Regrets?
My parents.
Worse experiences?
Being robbed at gun point.
A neighbor dying while I performed CPR.
Christian Brothers High School.
Tree falling on house 15 ft. from where we slept.
Best moments?
Being with my wife.
Any other best moments?
Learning things.
Teaching myself arcane skills.
I was pleased with my second book.
I enjoyed writing video scripts & working on sets.
SCUBA diving various locales of Northern California.
Dinner at The Shadows in SF, pre-1989 earthquake.
Any thoughts about our culture or society?
Do you have an hour?
I've never understood how greatness and ignorance can co-exist.
How will you be remembered?
Unimportant question. I don't care.
Anything you would like to do that you didn’t?
PhD from UC Berkeley.
Circumnavigate the globe in sailboat.
Fluent in French, Russian and Japanese.
Play first base for Dodgers or Giants.
Other experiences you want to have?
Wealth.
Fly in a U-2.
American Orient Express.
Belle Époque travel.
Anyone famous you would like to visit?
No.
Where would you like to live?
1956 Los Angeles.
I mean right now.
Chicago’s Hancock Building or Ghost Ranch, Taos New Mexico
Three wishes?
My brain of today, myself at 25, incredible foresight.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Smoking
Candy just wrote a piece about quitting smoking and it struck a chord with me. Neither my wife or I have ever smoked but I had a long history of second-hand smoke.
I grew up with a father who smoked and it killed him. Smoking also killed a number of adults I knew in my youth. Smoking shows no mercy and it killed several uncles, cousins, family friends and neighbors. Some died early in life, some had long term health problems before they died but as certain as gambling odds favor the house, smoking was responsible for numerous deaths in the small circle of people I’ve known.
I am not a militant anti-smoker even though I lived with a mother who constantly hassled my dad because he smoked. She was a RN and knew the medical consequences so for most of my first 21 years I listened and watched as she repeatedly yelled and nagged him. I can still see her standing in the middle of the family room madly waving a magazine or newspaper, fanning the blue smoke layered in the room’s air. - But it was all to no avail.
I generally don’t sign anti-smoking petitions because I know what smokers must go through and I know it’s their burden and their decision to smoke or not to smoke.
Despite needing to gasp for air when in the car with my dad I also feel sorry for smokers standing outside in fair or foul weather while they smoke.
Oh, the stench of a home filled with the stale smoke odors. And the vileness of doing home chores and having to clean disgusting ash trays. I lived in the fumes and waste yet I can’t condemn because I understand the chemical dependence and the psychological crutch of smoking.
But here’s the stomach punch that bedeviled me for years. The utter selfishness of smoking in a house of non smokers came to a conclusion when the doctor told my dad, because of the pneumonia he had, to either quit or die.
He immediately quit simply because he finally felt his own mortality. And that angered me more than I expected. All the years of smoking around my mother and me apparently meant nothing but when his own health was in jeopardy he quit. None the less, a life time of smoking unfiltered Camels caught up with him and he died a few years later. While frustrated and angry about his addiction, I do miss my father.
Good for you Candy.
I grew up with a father who smoked and it killed him. Smoking also killed a number of adults I knew in my youth. Smoking shows no mercy and it killed several uncles, cousins, family friends and neighbors. Some died early in life, some had long term health problems before they died but as certain as gambling odds favor the house, smoking was responsible for numerous deaths in the small circle of people I’ve known.I am not a militant anti-smoker even though I lived with a mother who constantly hassled my dad because he smoked. She was a RN and knew the medical consequences so for most of my first 21 years I listened and watched as she repeatedly yelled and nagged him. I can still see her standing in the middle of the family room madly waving a magazine or newspaper, fanning the blue smoke layered in the room’s air. - But it was all to no avail.
I generally don’t sign anti-smoking petitions because I know what smokers must go through and I know it’s their burden and their decision to smoke or not to smoke.
Despite needing to gasp for air when in the car with my dad I also feel sorry for smokers standing outside in fair or foul weather while they smoke.
Oh, the stench of a home filled with the stale smoke odors. And the vileness of doing home chores and having to clean disgusting ash trays. I lived in the fumes and waste yet I can’t condemn because I understand the chemical dependence and the psychological crutch of smoking.
But here’s the stomach punch that bedeviled me for years. The utter selfishness of smoking in a house of non smokers came to a conclusion when the doctor told my dad, because of the pneumonia he had, to either quit or die.
He immediately quit simply because he finally felt his own mortality. And that angered me more than I expected. All the years of smoking around my mother and me apparently meant nothing but when his own health was in jeopardy he quit. None the less, a life time of smoking unfiltered Camels caught up with him and he died a few years later. While frustrated and angry about his addiction, I do miss my father.
Good for you Candy.
Monday, November 2, 2009
In a photograph
I’ve been snapping pictures for a long time. I easily remember my first Kodak camera and my first pictures. I remember, as a child, pouring over family albums of distant relatives and friends of parents and it didn’t matter not knowing who they were, everything I needed to know was in the photos.
I was a fan of all the magazines with pictures that came to our house but it was a moment in school which transformed photography for me. It was just another class, another teacher and another chase for a good grade but something else happened. Mr. Simms brought in a slide projector and cast giant photos of ancient cities on the wall and I was overcome by the scope, the color and the fact that a tiny slide could become majestic.
I asked my parents for a 35mm camera and they said, ”no”. When I asked about taking extra credit art classes they also said no to this. I was, of course, quite familiar with their saying no, it was just the way it was in our home so I continued on with my toy-like camera and waited.
Throughout college I didn’t have the income to purchase a camera but after college and having a job finally created the moment for an honest to goodness 35mm camera.
I suppose I was attempting to channel all the great black and white photographs I had gazed at for a decade because my first forays were with Tri-X and Plus-X. I taught myself how to develop film, how to print photos and how to see what was before me - what I later learned was referred to by Ansel Adams as “pre-visualization”.
Wanting more, wanting to understand nuance and wanting to chase the dream I left the world of what I had studied in college, oceanography and geology, for art school. Based upon my portfolio, I was accepted into an elite art school in Los Angeles. So we moved to LA and I was in photography heaven.
Very quickly, because of school curriculum, I set aside my 35mm camera and began using both a 4x5 and 2-1/4 camera. I learned techniques, survived brutal critiques and got the gist of what a professional photographer was all about.
After the whirlwind of attending two art schools I took it one step further and attempted to become a full time free lance, artistically inclined photographer.
I had some success - one man gallery shows, a few juried shows, a record album cover, a photo was used for one of those entertainment “ego” billboards on Sunset Blvd.. I hung around with an up and coming rock music group taking their pictures, did a few glam parties, a few model portfolios, shot a few nudes, got reviews in the LA times and art publications.
Alas, I finally put brakes to the dream because I wasn’t making enough income to warrant continuing. Which was slightly déjà vu of first term lectures in art school.
The first cold water words from the Intro Photography instructor:
“There have been many great artist to fail with their art because they were not good at business. And there have been many average photographers with success because they were good at business.”
And from an instructor who was also a successful fashion photographer:
“Be prepared to starve for the first ten years and if you hang in there long enough success will probably happen. But not always”
.....
I discovered woodworking and taught myself the craft. And I knew it was the right thing to do when I got that tingling sensation on the back of my neck as I built things and literally felt connected to countless workers of wood, back to the dawns of civilizations. So I set aside my cameras and began the career of my lifetime.
But I still take pictures and I occasionally wonder, “what if”.
I was a fan of all the magazines with pictures that came to our house but it was a moment in school which transformed photography for me. It was just another class, another teacher and another chase for a good grade but something else happened. Mr. Simms brought in a slide projector and cast giant photos of ancient cities on the wall and I was overcome by the scope, the color and the fact that a tiny slide could become majestic.
I asked my parents for a 35mm camera and they said, ”no”. When I asked about taking extra credit art classes they also said no to this. I was, of course, quite familiar with their saying no, it was just the way it was in our home so I continued on with my toy-like camera and waited.
Throughout college I didn’t have the income to purchase a camera but after college and having a job finally created the moment for an honest to goodness 35mm camera.
I suppose I was attempting to channel all the great black and white photographs I had gazed at for a decade because my first forays were with Tri-X and Plus-X. I taught myself how to develop film, how to print photos and how to see what was before me - what I later learned was referred to by Ansel Adams as “pre-visualization”.
Wanting more, wanting to understand nuance and wanting to chase the dream I left the world of what I had studied in college, oceanography and geology, for art school. Based upon my portfolio, I was accepted into an elite art school in Los Angeles. So we moved to LA and I was in photography heaven.
Very quickly, because of school curriculum, I set aside my 35mm camera and began using both a 4x5 and 2-1/4 camera. I learned techniques, survived brutal critiques and got the gist of what a professional photographer was all about.
After the whirlwind of attending two art schools I took it one step further and attempted to become a full time free lance, artistically inclined photographer.
I had some success - one man gallery shows, a few juried shows, a record album cover, a photo was used for one of those entertainment “ego” billboards on Sunset Blvd.. I hung around with an up and coming rock music group taking their pictures, did a few glam parties, a few model portfolios, shot a few nudes, got reviews in the LA times and art publications.
Alas, I finally put brakes to the dream because I wasn’t making enough income to warrant continuing. Which was slightly déjà vu of first term lectures in art school.
The first cold water words from the Intro Photography instructor:
“There have been many great artist to fail with their art because they were not good at business. And there have been many average photographers with success because they were good at business.”
And from an instructor who was also a successful fashion photographer:
“Be prepared to starve for the first ten years and if you hang in there long enough success will probably happen. But not always”
.....
I discovered woodworking and taught myself the craft. And I knew it was the right thing to do when I got that tingling sensation on the back of my neck as I built things and literally felt connected to countless workers of wood, back to the dawns of civilizations. So I set aside my cameras and began the career of my lifetime.
But I still take pictures and I occasionally wonder, “what if”.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
When ah said big ah meant BIG
Me holding down a Big Leaf Maple leaf.A standard wussy-sized maple leaf is the smaller one on the right.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
What's in a name - or car?
'Stankus' is a Lithuanian name. I'm not the type that gets nationalistic about countries of family origin but I did think it was cool when, back in the 1990s, the Grateful Dead furnished jerseys for the Lithuanian basketball team.
It seems there's some fun and spunk in that country so I pay attention when something from Lithuania is in the news.
Check this out, something from Lithuania.
Foam Car.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Gripes - a short list
... Big companies make it near impossible for you to complain to them about problems. Either it's a maze of recorded phone messages or their website buries links for direct emails.
... I wish TV coverage of sports events were broadcast without sport's announcers, analysts and all the goop that's pasted on the screen. I would be content just listening to the noise of the game with crowd sounds.
... For all the self-congradulations the media gives itself - they are real pussies when it comes to criticism. Not only will they not criticize themselves or one another, if a viewer or reader finds an avenue to dump some criticism on them, they will poo-poo the citizen's remarks and then do one sided rebuttals with themselves always the victor.
... Have a problem with your credit card? Perhaps someone has hacked your account and bought things at your expense ... well, getting through credit card security to talk with someone is harder than finding secrets at CIA headquarters.
... Why is is legal for mobile phone services to make customers have two year contracts with them?
... So I make a contribution to a charity or donate some used clothing and almost immediately I'm on a mailing list and getting repeating, pleading requests for more donations. Plus I also get dinner time phone calls thanking me for my donation and could I please give more? From now on all contributions are anonymous.
... Oh, how I hate the holiday season's mail delivery. How in the hell did all those catalog companies (from which I've never purchased a thing) find me and put me on their mailing list?
... I wish TV coverage of sports events were broadcast without sport's announcers, analysts and all the goop that's pasted on the screen. I would be content just listening to the noise of the game with crowd sounds.
... For all the self-congradulations the media gives itself - they are real pussies when it comes to criticism. Not only will they not criticize themselves or one another, if a viewer or reader finds an avenue to dump some criticism on them, they will poo-poo the citizen's remarks and then do one sided rebuttals with themselves always the victor.
... Have a problem with your credit card? Perhaps someone has hacked your account and bought things at your expense ... well, getting through credit card security to talk with someone is harder than finding secrets at CIA headquarters.
... Why is is legal for mobile phone services to make customers have two year contracts with them?
... So I make a contribution to a charity or donate some used clothing and almost immediately I'm on a mailing list and getting repeating, pleading requests for more donations. Plus I also get dinner time phone calls thanking me for my donation and could I please give more? From now on all contributions are anonymous.
... Oh, how I hate the holiday season's mail delivery. How in the hell did all those catalog companies (from which I've never purchased a thing) find me and put me on their mailing list?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct
Seattle has an antique (ugly eyesore) roadway named the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It was built back in 1952 and it resides on some of the most prime real estate in the city. It carries a lot of traffic but it is also crumbling and unsafe and it is shut down on a regular basis as widening gaps are measured and loose concrete pieces are removed.
Seattle politics being what they are, the replacement of the Viaduct has been a topic of conversation for at least 25 years, longer if you factor in the forever running debates and clamorings about cheapness and over-runs of public constructions.WSDOT, also known as Washington State Department of Transportation, has released an animation of what will happen to the Viaduct during an earthquake.
Animation
Oh, there are plans for getting rid of the tired old relic with it's thunderous traffic noise and falling pieces of concrete. The agreed upon (sort of) replacement is an expensive tunnel which would open the waterfront to development by mega corporations but this is Seattle so you never know for certain what will be the final, sort of, solution.Despite having a mayor and city council most, if not all, civic issues are never quickly resolved and I expect continuing ballot issues, law suits, committee meetings, public forums and such will drag out the Viaduct's fate until there really is an earthquake. Even then, expect delays while debate rages on.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Got words
Words, you want words?
Well, fuck you.
Oh, I love you so.
Get outta here, ya bum!
How are you?
Go talk to your mother.
How are things?
Can I help you?
Screw you.
Nice weather, huh.
Hey babe, wanna hang out?
Have a nice day.
Talk to the hand.
Gee, you’re so special.
Kiss me quick.
Can you loan me 20 bucks?
Taxi, taxi, oh shit.
Well, fuck you.
Oh, I love you so.
Get outta here, ya bum!
How are you?
Go talk to your mother.
How are things?
Can I help you?
Screw you.
Nice weather, huh.
Hey babe, wanna hang out?
Have a nice day.
Talk to the hand.
Gee, you’re so special.
Kiss me quick.
Can you loan me 20 bucks?
Taxi, taxi, oh shit.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Common things, series 2
Regular Wonder Bar, Wonder Bar on steroids.
Weighing on the topic of, "In the modern cordless workplace, is there still need for extension cords?"
Contemporary still life.Oops, I forgot the nudes.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Unique technology
Please click on the "Hot Dog Demo" button, located on the right side of the Saw Stop page. You don't have to be a woodworker to be impressed.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Genius Of The Crowd by Charles Bukowski
there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art
One more step towards Winter Solstice
Today's one of those Northwest days which is cold, but not too cold. It is also damp, the kind of damp that occurs while waiting for the next wave of rain. It's a day that folds anyway, forgotten as we countdown to winter.
Years ago, winter was simply a cold and wet time but recent winters have become unpredictable and wilder. December winds have roared through with jet speeds, toppling big trees and knocking out electrical power to tens of thousands of people, often for many days. December is a time when portable generators cannot be found in stores.
Then January comes and with it comes risk. Once upon a time we might have gotten a dusting of snow but recent Januarys have given us blizzard-like conditions. Instead of an overnight that looks like a Christmas card, we've had paralyzing depths of snow, all in one or two days. And, they don't sand or plow many streets because ... well, because our city governments are either broke or simply ineffective. Commuting is risky during these moments. Cars, SUVs, buses and trucks slide into each other and into ditches and are usually abandoned until a tow truck comes available or until the snow melts.
Today, is a page turning towards winter. What do I want for Christmas? I hope we don't suffer through another tree falling on the house and I pray we don't have another overnight storm leaving 20" of snow.
Winters in SoCal and Wisconsin were much nicer on the psyche.
Years ago, winter was simply a cold and wet time but recent winters have become unpredictable and wilder. December winds have roared through with jet speeds, toppling big trees and knocking out electrical power to tens of thousands of people, often for many days. December is a time when portable generators cannot be found in stores.
Then January comes and with it comes risk. Once upon a time we might have gotten a dusting of snow but recent Januarys have given us blizzard-like conditions. Instead of an overnight that looks like a Christmas card, we've had paralyzing depths of snow, all in one or two days. And, they don't sand or plow many streets because ... well, because our city governments are either broke or simply ineffective. Commuting is risky during these moments. Cars, SUVs, buses and trucks slide into each other and into ditches and are usually abandoned until a tow truck comes available or until the snow melts.
Today, is a page turning towards winter. What do I want for Christmas? I hope we don't suffer through another tree falling on the house and I pray we don't have another overnight storm leaving 20" of snow.
Winters in SoCal and Wisconsin were much nicer on the psyche.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Lunch at Quiznos
Quiznos makes a good sub sandwich. We usually go 50-50 with a large Roasted Turkey Sandwich on wheat bread, with lettuce, tomato, mayo and no cheese or onions For a bit of extra flavor and texture I add some of their pickled yellow peppers.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Rain, Seattle's version
As a start to "re-inventing" this blog, here is my first ever YouTube video
(I used my iPhone).
This is all about rain, our typical Puget Sound variety. We are driving across the Evergreen Floating Bridge on Lake Washington - from Bellevue to Seattle.
(I used my iPhone).
This is all about rain, our typical Puget Sound variety. We are driving across the Evergreen Floating Bridge on Lake Washington - from Bellevue to Seattle.
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