Math and Breath Noise Music

Preface:  There is a lot of text in this post and not a lot of pictures which will turn away 98% of readers.  Don't be one of those readers.  You want to make it to "breath noise".

 

 

I love math, so naturally when I found the Numberphile videos via a Twitter friend (@somechum), I simply couldn't get enough.  I spent a substantial amount of time watching each one, sometimes more than once!  I love the videos, I love the people in the videos (perhaps a small crush on a few of the guys in them), and I love all the things I've found from the videos which happens to include a book by Alex Bellos titled Here's Looking at Euclid (US).

I have found Here's Looking at Euclid immensely fascinating.  If you enjoy math, history, or both, I highly recommend the book.  Even though I already knew a lot of information in the book there was a lot of information I didn't know (Oh Pythagoras!).  Aside from that, it's a well written book that flows from subject to subject with a Henry Rollinsesqe ease. But I'm not writing today to tell you to read a book. 

I'm continuing on with my journey.  From the book I found an interesting website (this book has led me to some interesting web searches) titled The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS).

I have no doubt that if you were following what I was saying, you are gone now.  That's okay, for the one person that stumbles here and isn't completely annoyed/confused/pondering my sanity I have more to tell.

I did not go to the website to look up any sequences (though admittedly, it's right up my alley, lists of numbers!).  I went to the website because of an excerpt of Bellos' book that tells of music that can be found on the website.  The basic idea is that you take an 88 key piano and you define each key from lowest note to highest with the value of 1-88 respectively and when you reach 89 you simply start back at the beginning.  So take a sequence, play the keys, and you have music.  If you wanted to listen to what the Fibonacci numbers might sound like, there you have it!

The sequence I wanted to listen to in particular was noted in Euclid, the Recamán sequence.  As noted by Bellos, it is an interesting piece of music.

One of the other things I found interesting and fun is that not only can you listen to these sequences, you can even choose different instruments ("Breath Noise" for fuck's sake!!!).  You can guess what I've been listening to while working today!

Anyway, from OEIS I went to Music Algorithms which is fun to play with even when you have no idea what "pitch" is really about.  Music Algorithms took me to NWACC and there I stopped because I was like, "whoa, Northwest Academic Computing Consortium, you look way too official for me to be here".

So anyway, go to those sites, play around and see where the journey takes you.  It's what web surfing is all about and you might learn some cool shit along the way (Oh Pythagoras!).

Post Script: You could go Numberphile→Brady Haran→Variety of Channels  (Very cool stuff...)

Post Post Script: Breath Noises wasn't as cool as I hoped it would be, but it was still a fun discovery.  If you find a good sequence with breath noises, please share with me!

Peter Tork, John Denver, and the Accordion

The following quote is from one of the books I'm currently reading called Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez

"[...], every ounce of the Monkees' artistic merit left with Peter Tork"

I wondered as I wrote that if I had ever shared my love of Peter Tork with you, faithful reader...

Once I was intoxicated and told the world how I love Peter Tork. As a kid, he was my favorite Monkee.

I also love John Denver. Sure, he's a bit too hippie like for me, but really, I do have an affinity for him.

One day, when I had time to think and waste, I realized that both Peter Tork and John Denver where a lot alike! [I think it's the blonde hair style]

To steer the subject a bit off course, I saw a tweet about a polka band that played a version of a popular song. I replied to the tweet about my jealousy of those who can play the accordion. Yes, I agreed with @ibificus that my love of the accordion could be considered odd. I suppose that my searching for songs played by accordion makes me that much more odd. But, if you are reading this...you know I'm odd, and now even more odd because I love Peter Tork, John Denver, and accordions!

John Denver's Country Roads accordion style
John Denver's Annie's Song accordion style
John Denver's Annie's Song piano The O'Neill Brothers
Mario Brothers Theme accordion
They Might Be Giants' How Can I Sing Like A Girl (with accordion)

One day I can tell you about the time Eva and I had our photo posted on the front page of the entertainment section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch...we were polkaing!

Yes, I AM Pregnant

As many of you have heard, I'm pregnant.

Also, as many of you may know, I don't take serious things serious (unless you're talking about licensing exams, that's a whole different bucket of worms). For example, my pregnancy announcement to the world (via Facebook, heh) stated that I was parasitically infected. It's not a lie, pregnancy is in fact, until birth, just like being infected by a parasite (there is the minor difference of species variation, but for the sake of argument, just shut up and let it be).

Additionally, I compared babies to dogs. This is apparently not an accepted comparison, but think about it for a moment. You don't wash babies or dogs often as their skin is sensitive, you simply wipe them down often. There's a lot of teaching in the beginning, "don't beg for food", "don't put the knife in the socket", "go potty on the lawn", "go potty in the toilet". Dogs and newborn babies, sleep for 16-20 hours. Humans grow out of this habit, which is a bad thing. Dogs, the obviously smarter species do not grow out of this habit, though they are infinitely less productive!

For all of my current pregnancy mockery, I do not apologize, as it is after all ME. Would you expect less? Would you expect more? Didn't think so! I will however, to appease the masses (and myself just a tiny bit) share the joyfulness of this all with some images and info...

-Will you find out the gender? No

-So, are you calling the fetus 'it'? Yes, as well as 'him' out of habit, and 'Baby Yadi'

-What are you doing for the nursery? We'll be converting the sheep room (the sheep stay), it's already yellow so no need to redecorate.

-You are fairly psycho about the environment, so what are you doing about diapers? Preferably the G diapers, and even cloth, as you know, I'm opposed to destroying the environment for mere convenience. I will on occasion use what is available, but my goal is to minimize the impact of baby diapers in landfills!

-When are you due/How far along are you? I'm due around late November, early December. As of today (May 18, 2010), I'm 12 weeks (out of approx. 40 wks)

-What are you most excited about? My cousin's baby is due earlier in the year, so cousins will be of the same age; Santa Claus; school supplies; Christmas at Grandpa's.

-What about the dogs? I imagine Riley will take this all in very well. Bella, who is the baby of the house will be my problem. I anticipate carrying around a baby doll that whines to teach her what is allowed and not allowed from dogs around babies. Though stubborn (she IS a bully) she's smart, she'll learn, and she'll always be my baby girl as Riley will always be my baby boy!

-How are you feeling otherwise? Well, honestly, it's hard to be excited through all the nausea. Until Monday the 17th I had a vomit free pregnancy. It all changed with some projectile stuff accompanied by a severe headache and about 16-20 hours of sleep. I have otherwise been feeling okay. The nausea comes and goes all day long. Let's hope it passes. I want to throw out a huge thanks to Maureen for the suggestion of Greek yogurt. Others suggested it as well, but Maureen gave me some insider tips!

-Any names picked out? Nothing besides Yadier Molina.

-When are you going to start taking this seriously? What, I HAVE to do that?

-How many horror stories have you heard? Lucky for me, I avoid the people that tell me of horror stories, I can't deal with them. Instead, I hear from Maureen and Michel who are both very positive about their current and past pregnancies (respectively). SO, if you want to tell me about something good and positive, great! If you have a horror story, don't even bother!

Are you making anything for Baby Yadi? Yes, I plan on making a quilt out of all my old punk t-shirts I can't bear to toss but can't wear for one reason or another. Also, there is some scrap booking happening. Eva is drawing some stuff up for the room, I imagine Chris will make some kind of furniture, I expect at least one children's book from @ibificus, and I'm sure all my dog buddies on Twitter will work up some slimy drool kisses for me too (virtual drool works great for me)!

NOW...the images... [If you only see blobs in the ultrasounds, don't worry, that's really all they are...well that and a baby]

The image on the left is the 8 week ultrasound where you should see a blob/baby about the size of a kidney bean and the yolk sac. The image on the right is the 12 week ultrasound (bottom right is "3d") where you should see a lime sized blob/baby.

Save The Elephants

I sign petitions and then wonder if they help. For example, a world can ban whaling, but Japan will whale anyway. Five million people could sign a petition, but does it help? If a world won't stop Japan, why do we believe that 5 million signatures would mean anything more or less to them? While I use Japan as my example, the thought applies to global parameters.

Does anyone know?

Anyway, I saw this post on Twitter from @ibificus. It made me think of two friends in particular (Kelly P.-F. and Amanda S.). I care too, so I signed. I want to pass this along. Browse the site, I encourage you to sign petitions you see relevant. If you find out how much help (or how little), let me know!

SAVE THE ELEPHANTS, a petition to help prevent the breaking of the worldwide ban on ivory trading.

Alice Cake and Twitter Tea?

I've mentioned this once before via Twitter, but just saw something that made me think about it again...

When I see someone walking with scissors or a knife having the point facing anywhere but down, I begin to think, "didn't your mother ever teach you to carry sharp objects with the point facing down? You've got to be careful or you'll fall on it and die"!

Then it occurs to me that maybe the said individual doesn't have a mother! What if, his mother was carrying a knife (point up) and fell? What if she fell on her knife and stabbed herself to death?

Oh the horror!

That thought usually manages to trigger some horrible dream I had, and as always, that's what happened this time, though, a bit different, it had to do with me having to carve electronic chips out of dead bodies. I don't know why I did this, I don't know who I had to do this to, and I can't recall when I dreamt this. I just thought moments ago, "hey, I had a dream about carving out chips of bodies". The bodies were more of a cake though, like Alice in Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More" video.

Of course this gets me thinking about the new Alice in Wonderland coming out. I'm totally creeped out by the story in general, and all fabrications of it beyond the book simply intensify that which I find creepy. Irregardless of my "creep out" factor, I will be watching it! I really can't wait. Less than one month to go!

Now, to wrap it all back up, Alice made me think of tea parties, which reminds me, I've not had Twitter Tea in some time!

A Couple of Chuffing Questions

It's been a real fucked up day. My computer program hates me and is using Chinese symbols for my icons/buttons.



I was told to uninstall and re-install to fix the problem. Great! I'm so thrilled you told me that Bentley! Of course, considering some of the things that are happening around me to people I know, I should really stop bitching! I like to bitch about stuff though. I really like to bitch about China!

Here's my real point to writing today! I'm doing a gift exchange with friends. The gift needs to be generic and non-gender specific. In addition to said gift, I am including a small home made gift. What I would like are some ideas! What would you like that is small and relatively cheaply priced?? Small bottle of alcohol? Wine? Calendar? Crossword puzzles? A block of cheese? "Don't Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late" book? [Preferably something I can find that is not made in China, thanks]

So, give me some ideas while I give you some words!

rock:

1. To use. To make do with, usually to great effect.

In use: We don't need you to make the spare bed, we can rock the couch.

2.Streetball term for the basketball.
3. A form of cocaine.

V-Card: Virginity. All virgins have a "V-card" until they "cash it in" for sex.
BA: Badass, pronounced as bee-ay (as opposed to bitch being bee-ya).

NOW, a word question for you! Twitter friend @ibificus used the word "chuffed". Having never heard the word before I looked it up and found several different meanings. Now I'm curious. How do you use the word "chuff/ed"?

chuffed=adjective British Informal. delighted; pleased; satisfied. [As in, I'm chuffed by stories with sheep!]

chuffed=adjective British Informal. annoyed; displeased; disgruntled. [As in, I get so freaking chuffed when people talk to me when my body language says "get the fuck away".]

chuff (chuffed, chuffing, chuffs)=verb. To produce or move with noisy puffing or explosive sounds. [As in, I really didn't want to move those boxes, so in point I chuffed through the task so everyone knew.]

chuff (chuffs)=noun. A noisy puffing or explosive sound, such as one made by a locomotive. [As in, well, you get the idea!]

[By the way, those of you following my blogs (all One of you), you might have noticed my lack of letter writing as I noted I would do...nice of you to notice...I'm a slacker, you should know that by now]

NaBloPoMo Day 30 Post 30 - You Thought I'd Had Enough Did Ya?

It's here! Today is the last freaking day of my "post-a-day"! I never thought it would get here!

Funny to me, is that I plan on doing it all again next month! Well, sort of...

I was reading on Twitter this morning [Twitter's my new BFF] when a tweet came through from @adampknave about his blog. To cut to the chase, here is an excerpt [though I highly encourage you to read the whole thing here]...

"[...] This holiday season, whatever you celebrate, is a rough one for a lot of us in terms of money and stress. Instead of gifts I propose this:

Take the time to write the people closest to you. Send them an email, or a letter in the mail. Tell them how much they mean to you, and why. Share some history. Remind them of why they’re so close to your heart. Maybe they don’t know, maybe they do, either way a reminder is a magical thing. Thirty of them. [...] That’s it. Think of the effect it can have on the people you love, and frankly, on yourself.

Thirty emails. We can all do it. Join me.

So, Mr. Adam P. Knave, I'm in! I'm going to write! [Except, I might do 31 since there are 31 days in December, but I'm with ya anyway!]

How does this have any effect on you, my only reader? Well, on occasion, I will be sure to share some of these people, the histories, and letters with you.

So stay tuned, and maybe, join in!

Words...
keep steppin':To move on from something bad.
Christmas creep:A phenomenon where the Christmas season starts earlier and earlier each year.
skillets:Closest friends [very fitting for today's topic]
UDI: Acronym for "unidentified drinking injury". Random bruises, aches, and pains one pick up when one is drunk but can't recall exactly how it happened [yea...]

Finally, The Results Are In...

Well, it's been a while since I've written, and you can all blame work for that! I've been working 12/13 hour days most days for about a month now. I've also got a lot of personal stuff going on too. I've been wanting to get around to writing some more, but just can't seem to find time. Since we hit a deadline yesterday, I'm making time to post! Here we go...

So much for polls, they only tell me what I already know!

First the results of the brownie poll. My question was, "what is the best part of the brownie", and your choices where, "corner", "middle", or "edge".
....and the winner is....

Corner

I already knew that though!

The second of polls had to do with a dog contest I was participating in and did not win. I had asked you all to help me choose a photo to submit, your choices were the following:




As you may be aware, there was a tie between Bella as a puppy and Riley with a corncob. The whole point of this poll was to help me decide but instead the poll only narrowed my options down to the two photos I had already really decided on...oh well!

The picture I chose to submit was Riley with the corncob. As I mentioned, we didn't win, *sigh*! Thanks for participating though, that was great fun, wasn't it?!

If you read my last blog, about cat pee, you might be interested to know that I've received a nickname based upon that very true and sad story! Bernie has dubbed me "la reyenita de la gata orina" which translates to "Little Queen of Cat Pee"!

Ahead now with words...and speaking of words, I heard one today that gave me a chill along my spine! Parlance...now most of us have heard the word parley...and so parlance is just a variation on that word (which means vernacular; vernacular is the term I more commonly use in lieu of parlance). Parley comes from parle which I believe is the sourced from parable (you know, the stories told to teach us stuff, like "don't cry wolf"). I of course heard the word on Twitter [where else do I socialize?] from @ibificus: "I think it's what would be called, in modern parlance, an epic fail. http://tr.im/B61y The laughing cop makes it". Did you get a chilly spine?

Okay, off to the urban words yo (I owe you many):
microvisit: The real-world equivalent of microblogging. Stopping by to talk to someone for 140 seconds or less. [Here's a funny video about this...from @That1EBD]
renob: "Boner" spelled backwards; a less derogatory way to coll someone a boner.
less than three: The literal form of <3; which is in turn supposed to represent a sideways heart (love). [I've wondered if "<3" is love; is "< B" broken hearted?? But after entering that in, I realize the compy only sees it as bold text, oh well]
lickle: To tickle by licking.
phishing: Tricking people so you can steal their personal information. Usually done over the Internet.
askusation: A question and an accusation.

Places That Are Not Other

Ever used bit.ly to shorten your links? If you have, you might ponder where the location "other" may refer to; and if you haven't, I wonder what the hell you do to pass the time!

bit.ly refuses thus far to tell me where "Other" could consist of, therefore, I have created a list of places it could be, and places it probably is not. [In bit.ly's defense, I haven't really bugged them about this issue]

I'll be updating this every time I find a new place that is not other...please let me know if you have any leads. Thanks.

Maybe Other?	Probably Not
China	Slovenia
Principality of Sealand	US
Pentagon "Basement"	Ireland
My Brother Dusty's secret lair	Netherlands
Outer Space	Romania
Canada	Canada
Mauritius***	Peru*
	Ukraine*
	Philippines**
	Republic of Korea**
	Mauritius***
	Malta****
	Bolivia****

[* added October 1 2009]
[** added July 22 2010]
[*** added July 27 2010]
[**** added October 7 2010]

Send me ideas by commenting, or by emailing me!

[post script] Further study shows that there is not only "Other", but "Other Countries" listed in bit.ly results, as seen in this screen shot...

Ketchup Words

This is the t-shirt I bought today. Imagine if you will, the beasty creature as my dear beloved baby girl/princess Bella the Bully!


Words....

peen: A derogatory term used to denote someone who is annoying. Short for "penis".

Mormon Assault Vehicle: A station wagon, minivan, or any other kind of vehicle that is targeted at the "family" demographic. Also "M.A.V."

shoop: To have sex.

aibohphobia: The irrational fear of palindromes (words read the same forwards and backwards).

In Use:

Guy1: Hey what's your name?
Guy2: Bob.
Guy1: AAAAAAAHHHHH! (runs and hides behind sofa)
Guy2: wow
Guy1: AAAAAAHHHHHH! (runs and falls down stairs)

Cartoon Steph

I am super bitchy today, I almost feel as though the wind has been knocked out of me, as if I’ve been shoved to the floor and kicked around a bit. I want to talk about most of it so you’ll have to bear with me and endure a long and possibly boring blog. I will alternate the goods and bads.

I’ll start with bad…yesterday a coworker who shall remain nameless got some really bad news. I refuse to mention specifics of the news [I don’t gossip here] because it’s horrible and I can’t even imagine the sorrow. All you need to know is that when you hear your coworker that upset; you should realize how important people are.

A good thing, also relating to a coworker, is that Justin, my blog crush, recommended some bands I might like. One of these bands, Billy Talent, is coming to St. Louis in October. He sent the recommendation based on the fact that they play shows with a band I like Alexisonfire. Nice suggestion Justin, I thank you sincerely!

A crappy thing is that I glooped mustard all over my shirt at work, then proceeded to open my soda to have it explode all over my desk and pants. This of course is all part of the day where nothing seems to work. I can’t get my building model to behave how I would expect; it won’t mesh right for a finite element analysis, among other crappy ass things!

A good thing…for those of you that think I am too prepared [looking at you Christine], I managed to dig up another decent shirt to wear at work that is mustard-less and cola-less.

Now, I'm tired of crappy ass stuff so I am going to ignore how crabby and pissed off I am. I am going to ignore my rant on media. I am going to ignore my rant on people who think they are better than me. I am going to ignore my rant on people who ignore me. Instead I am going to show you a cartoonized version of myself that I think is adorable. It is a work in progress by Mike C. Should you feel compelled to make your very own cartoon version of me, please do so. I am very amused by the thought!


Before I go I want to send a quick thanks to Ironstef and Mike C. for dinner and a wonderful discussion of Skank Ham. I want to thank Becky for allowing us to come hang out in the pub (there really are few options in GC). I want to thank those people on Twitter to which I randomly/seldomly communicate; you all always seem to have a way to make me laugh or smile (though you probably don't know it you certainly deserve a thanks). You would be surprised how a quick step away from work and into some silly video, or even some smart article/blog can really just wake me up, clear my head, and get me back on course. If there is ever a way I could help you, I certainly hope you'd ask!

Word...
cubular: Anything that is "cool" in a "business-geek" office context; often used ironically. This is a term derived from "cubicle" and the surf-slang "tubular".

SheepDay

Today is going to be about sheep! It's going to be about sheep because I like sheep! It's also going to be about sheep in an effort to keep my mouth shut about other things! Grrr kind of things! I do however have a quick question before I move on...is there a word to define eavesdropping with the eyes? And by this I do not mean "to spy"...so, what is the word? If there isn't one, I'll be making one up!

Sheep video by people I do not know, except two of them are twitter cohorts @ibificus and @frankiep


A picture from the lovely Kelly Schmickle


This is a sheep at my desk!


A party sheep from Skweak


A picture of a picture of Irish Sheepeses


[Added later in day]
My dream job listed on sheet of paper I was doodling on while my boss was at my desk!



Words...
paper stack: Money
go Huxtable: To settle down, find a good job, and start a family.

...A Continuation...

...to finish where I left off yesterday, poor Dave and Eric are trying to figure out who would change the locks while they were both away and also clean the backyard. Come to find out, there was a house down the street that had been foreclosed. The bank sent someone out to change the locks on the house and clean the debris from the backyard. Mistakenly, they got the wrong house. I find that stories like these only happen to people I know some how.

SO, what is your crazy story??!!??

Also, Kelly's mom, the lovely Ms. Tina Fisher, is totally up on her evil paybacks by knowing what an upper-decker happens to be. So for those of you that do not know, an upper-decker is when someone takes the lid off the tank of the toilet, does their business (a nasty number two), and puts the lid back! It's weird and evil!

Today was a long rough day of meetings that resulted in yet more bad note taking!



Favor time, I have a social media acquaintance, that for the purpose of this blog I am claiming as a friend, who has a poll on his site. It's a simple single question that I hope you will take the 30 seconds to go answer. It does me a favor and it does him a favor, and he is good people! So, go here, and thank you! If you have already done so, thank you so very much for being awesome!

Now, lastly I want to say thank you to Steph(aka Ironstef), Amanda, Mike C., Sharline, and Tina F. It is very rewarding when people comment on things I have written. It means you read! So thanks for checking my stuff out, I check your stuff out too! [Ed. Note, that sounds wrong...]

I'll have to give you today's word tomorrow!

I Apologize

I apologize, it's been a few days. I'm not entirely sure anyone has missed me, but for the sake of my enormous ego, we'll pretend so. And by enormous ego, I hope you know I'm being facetious, it's not that large, just enough to fill say, an 8'x10' room.

Anyway, I have loads to say but am again choosing not to say any of it (I saw you smile about that [glaring]). I will exult on the fact that many a person that comes here looks at one of three things: KAUST Pictures; Aya-Welland; or you just look and leave (s'ok, so would I). So for those of you looking, thanks! Leave comments so I can give you the due appreciation you deserve!

I've got to run, but not before sharing a few pics (though sadly not KAUST)!

Me, and my new English Beat tee...

Me, sipping from a sculpture...

Mike, glugging from sculpture...

Me, imitating a sculpture...

Me, on a scooter! (alas a sculpture)...

Mike being thug saying, "you can't quote this baby"...

Me, and some very nice punk boy at the Bleeding Deacon...

Words...
girlfriend voice: the change in pitch or tone of a man's voice when talking to their significant other. The girlfriend voice is characterized by a higher pitch and more effeminate tone with speech patterns scattered with pet names and childish words. this type of speech is usually frowned upon when used in the presence of other men.

onion booty:Booty this looks so good it makes a grown man want to cry.

solid:

1. Interjection of approval, confirmation, or congratulations.

2. A favor done for someone.

e-maul: An e-mail assault so vicious in tone the recipient loses an eye to you. To e-maul someone is to textually assault an individual via the Internet.

Twitter Tea

So today is going fairly well! I rode my bike into work (rather to the bus stop); I've been getting loads done; my mania is a bit less severe today; and the best part of my day so far . . . I got to join in for Twitter Tea!

So for those of you that are unaware, I am on Twitter. It's a sort of micro-blogging/status feed that a whole lot of people are doing. I have an acquaintance on Twitter that (seems to me randomly) has Twitter Tea Time! Those involved talk to each other with hash tags and @replies [both twitter things]. We post pictures of us and our tea. It's a real great time. My favorite tweet to me was this one from @FrankieP: @stephysite I'm horrified at how you have to make your #TwitterTea

My favorite pic is this one! Must be some GREAT tea Allan!


Yea, so thanks to the following people for allowing me to join in today! Can't wait to join in again! @FrankieP @jamesgallagher @DaveJ @eolai @AllanCavanagh @CormacMoylan

A quick happy birthday to Skweak!

Word...
cash and prizes: Your junk, privates, twig and berries.

Oh Well, I Bought More Shoes

So I just added an automatic twitter feed for my blog. Not too excited about it because I like to add the feeds myself so that I essentially have control over encouraging what things to read. Oh well, I'll try it and if I don't like it, gone! Anyway, this will be the first test of the feed, so, do your thing you magic maker!

Yesterday I felt overwhelmingly compelled to buy a pair of shoes for which I already had one pair. The thing is, I love those pink/grey plaid loafers. So, I gave into my compulsion and bought another pair (half a size smaller) as well as a pair of plaid Converse All-Stars. Cute, wearing them today. I don't match at all either. Again, oh well!

Yea, so that's about all I have. I did want to share this one picture though, because it's just cute!


[Rude Girl by Matt Mims, to see more by this fellow, click here! Thanks to @ibificus for this introduction]

Word...
B&BJ: A seedy hotel; the kind of place that may even rent rooms by the hour; a place you go solely for sex.

Interventions

I will let you be the judge. You know I hate discussing politics or anything of any seriousness because I either have extremely STRONG opinions, things can/will get ugly; -OR- I have no strong opinion and prefer to ride the fence until I can gain a first hand understanding. In this case, not likely I'll be gaining a first hand experience, but I do have strong opinions on the topic(s) ... so, as I said, You can be The Judge.

The following paragraph was mentioned in an article brought to my attention by @ibificus (via Twitter). [ed note: I'm not being friends with the person (I swear), just following his recommended blogs (yea, I guess that's like stalking his library register, but, not really (I swear))]

Missionaries like Shari believe that sex workers are always victims, that nobody –and certainly not a decent woman, can possibly choose to sell sex willingly and that if offered with the possibility to flip burgers in a Mc Donald they would. But would they? There is little evidence that this is the case, mostly because there are not that many Mc Donald in Cambodia. Their solution? Confining women to traditional craftwork, or offering them goats a tad colonialist, demeaning and patronising but reassuringly decent.

Now, go read the article yourself (click here), and as I said, go be your own judge. Then if you feel like arguing (or not arguing) with me (or really want to know my opinion) I might share it. Curious to see what others think!

Word...
check your vitals: To check your e-mail, myspace, facebook, blog, and/or any daily essential Web sites.

[ed. note: I check my vitals so often, they should be embedded in my head to save time ... Amanda, stop shaking your head at me!]

Another Word For the Book

Another word for the Special Stephy Dictionary...

probbortunist: It's not a problem, it's an...
[via @FrankieP on Twitter]

My Twisted Traits

As you may know, I entered a contest where the only question was, "What is your most twisted trait?". I started out asking my closest friends and family to define that trait for me. I just needed an idea other than the first one that came to my own mind. I later decided to open the question to Facebook and Twitter strangers. I find it amazing what the people that did answer had to say. Below I have compiled a list of these traits that had to vie for the trait which I chose to submit!

TWISTED TRAITS
-That you looooooovvvvvvveeeeeeee pink sheep -Crystal
-Disliking nice people -Amanda
-I’m thinking that the fact that you’re an atheist who occasionally prays is pretty twisted -Christine
-And that you’re seriously prepared for the apocalypse is slightly twisted too - Christine
-Your obsession with sheep definitely borderlines twisted -Eva
-The fact that you have a traveling sheep (no help from me on that) is twisted -Eva
-The fact that you dress [the traveling sheep] up (not that he came with a tie) makes you even more twisted -Eva
-We’ll call each other at the same time and finish sentences (sharing a brain) that’s twisted -Eva
-I'd say it would probably be the way you can criticize and make a person feel bad all in the same sentence! Kind of like Mrs. Aleman! -Drew
-You are an OS [os is what exactly?] -Mike C.


FIRST REACTIONS TO QUESTIONS
-We only get to pick one? -Christine
-It might take me a while to break out the list. -Chris
-Do we only get to pick one? -Will
-Now do you mean twisted as wierd or twisted as you know, f'ed up kinda twisted? -Drew


THINGS I THOUGHT OF ON MY OWN
-I'm twisted because my dream job is to herd sheep! [first thought]
-I like to lay in bed and position myself in various "coffin positions" to see what would seem a best way to rest forever
-When I die, I want to be cremated and my ashes placed in a concrete masonry unit
-Sometimes when I can't sleep, I like to say the 50 US states in alphabetical order, some times I like to count how many of them have double vowels, an "l", etc. just to mix it up

THE TRAIT I CLAIMED
-I'm twisted because I don't trust nice people (eventually you will be chained to their basement wall, among other theories)


Word-
a and b the c of d: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Very good.

This One Is All About Words

Ah yes, we do exist, engineers that love words. We may not be poets and we may not make art, but we do love the idea of listing things out, giving them meaning, and then repetitively using them! With such great enthusiasm I got to read a blog yesterday about words. Thanks to Twitter friend @SomeChum for sending me there!

Speaking of words, I used some yesterday to blog for my employer, HOK! My enthusiasm to write is overwhelmingly high; but I find that when it comes to keeping a good name associated with my employer I hesitate on what to write about. I could honestly write about lots of things, but I fear most people would find it dull and comparatively unuseful. Those HOK bloggers are some interesting people! But this personal stuff here, it flows outta me like stink on a pig! (ha)

Also speaking about words, I've began reading my newest book by Christopher Moore titled Fool. The language is a bit hard at first because it is set in England, in the time of "a more or less mythical thirteenth century Britain". I am certain I will enjoy it for two primary reasons: 1)it is by Christopher Moore and 2) THIS MAP [Ed. Note: please make note of France!].

I have one more thing to say about words before I leave you with the word of the day (and some extras). Sometimes when you read this blog, you might feel as though there is some coded or underlying meaning that you don't get. Well, you are right. Sometimes I say things that only one or two other people will know. I don't know if those people or anyone reads these blogs, but if they do, they'll get the meaning. They will know I am talking about them or to them. Sometimes the "coding" is less evident, and sometimes it is blatant! I try to use a word that "the person" will know. Perhaps a word that only "we" use, much like an inside joke. So perhaps if you see the word puttanesca you will know I am saying hello without pointing You out. Perhaps if you see a bizarre sentence like "find a safe place, then what next?"; you'll know it was meant for You specifically! So at any rate, please enjoy, and keep your eyes peeled for a secret message!


Goodies-
Desultory: something lacking purpose
Puttenesca: prostitute sauce! A tomato and anchovy sauce for pasta
Inglenook: a nook typically near a large open fireplace
Cofishes: Other fish in a group; coworkers, cohorts, etc. Shut up, it's a word. [Ed. Note: that's from Christopher Moore]

Word of the Day-
whoadie: A friend, particularly someone from the same area of the city as you.