You know, there's things to be done. And you can do them, and get everything all nicely ordered. The thing is, life being life, chaotic elements keep coming along at irregular intervals (they wouldn't be chaotic if they were predictable) and mess everything up again until it was before you had them all tidied up.
There's two things you can do here. You can order them up again, and fold up the socks according to colour, and archive all the papers by the alphabets, but you'll have to do that again and again, because Ol' Unpredictable will keep coming back, every time. Or you could leave them and leave them in a state of chaos, because no matter what keeps happening it will remain a mess, nothing more, nothing less.
So what do you choose, what is right or what is convenient?
I usually end up with what is convenient. Not always, of course. I do the right thing too, especially when the convenient choice has the potential to hurt someone else.
Then again, you can't always tell when you are hurting someone. Life's funny in that way, that we're always trying to discourage others from knowing our true selves, but we end up disadvantaging ourselves in the end.
There was probably supposed to be a point to this post, but it got lost along the way.
Sunday 28 January 2007
Wednesday 24 January 2007
Rhetorical Question
So... How do you acknowledge a resentful comment, without hurting their feelings or implying you are better because you have no cause to be resentful?
Yeah, you're probably right. Don't acknowledge the comment.
Yeah, you're probably right. Don't acknowledge the comment.
Monday 22 January 2007
Reverse Karma
So this morning, I was heading out towards the glass doors of the school administrative block, when I saw two people - a school attendant and a teacher - hanging around on the other side of it. By their attitude, it was plain they were locked out. My side of the door had one of those push-button things that automatically unlock the door, so I opened it and let them in.
I took the lift up to my classroom and took the usual detour to the toilet. I found it was getting washed (unusually early, I might add - normally they start about forty minutes later), so as I always do when the toilet is unreachable, I take the stairs to the next floor's toilet. (I think commissioning a lift to go down one floor is a bit too much.) I walked down and found the door was locked - another unusual occurrence. With a nasty suspicion in my mind, I headed back up, tried the door I had just come through, and found it too was locked.
No, no, I'm not writing this from the stairwell. There is a wonderful invention known as the mobile phone, and my school has not found fit to ban them (there would be an uproar if they did, anyway), so I called the right people and got out. What was counter-intuitive was that right after helping some people who were locked out, I got locked out myself.
I suppose life really is a series of independent events. It is up to you whether you want to connect them.
I took the lift up to my classroom and took the usual detour to the toilet. I found it was getting washed (unusually early, I might add - normally they start about forty minutes later), so as I always do when the toilet is unreachable, I take the stairs to the next floor's toilet. (I think commissioning a lift to go down one floor is a bit too much.) I walked down and found the door was locked - another unusual occurrence. With a nasty suspicion in my mind, I headed back up, tried the door I had just come through, and found it too was locked.
No, no, I'm not writing this from the stairwell. There is a wonderful invention known as the mobile phone, and my school has not found fit to ban them (there would be an uproar if they did, anyway), so I called the right people and got out. What was counter-intuitive was that right after helping some people who were locked out, I got locked out myself.
I suppose life really is a series of independent events. It is up to you whether you want to connect them.
Sunday 21 January 2007
One Too Many
Sluggy Freelance, 19 January 2007.
You know, it occurs to me that, in spite of being a hateful little bunny who tries killing Santa Claus every year for reasons he can't even remember, Bun-Bun isn't entirely beyond redemption.
Also, the idea of the two of them going to a supermarket with their ill-gotten gains to splurge on a pizza dinner (half alfalfa, half shinygarbage!) cracks me up.
You know, it occurs to me that, in spite of being a hateful little bunny who tries killing Santa Claus every year for reasons he can't even remember, Bun-Bun isn't entirely beyond redemption.
Also, the idea of the two of them going to a supermarket with their ill-gotten gains to splurge on a pizza dinner (half alfalfa, half shinygarbage!) cracks me up.
Saturday 20 January 2007
Oh, Be Sensible
You know if you're doing a scientific experiment, and you have a sample size of say, 200? And 170 out of them display some result? And you repeat the experiment twice more per custom, and get 171 and 173 for those trials? And you punch the numbers into a calculator to find the average?
Please, please, please do not record the average value as 171.3333333. You'll look utterly stupid. Round it down to 171 or something, but please do not imply a level of accuracy that was not present in the original results.
That goes for the people who came up with the autoclaving procedure too. Yes, I know what 250 degrees Fahrenheit converts to, but that is no excuse to specify 121 degrees Celsius as the optimal temperature for killing bacteria. I hope you're not suggesting 122 degrees C results in poorer sterilisation.
As for those of you who declare the skirt hem of the school uniform must be 3.75 cm above the knees, I have nothing to say to you. You are beyond redemption.
Please, please, please do not record the average value as 171.3333333. You'll look utterly stupid. Round it down to 171 or something, but please do not imply a level of accuracy that was not present in the original results.
That goes for the people who came up with the autoclaving procedure too. Yes, I know what 250 degrees Fahrenheit converts to, but that is no excuse to specify 121 degrees Celsius as the optimal temperature for killing bacteria. I hope you're not suggesting 122 degrees C results in poorer sterilisation.
As for those of you who declare the skirt hem of the school uniform must be 3.75 cm above the knees, I have nothing to say to you. You are beyond redemption.
Wednesday 17 January 2007
But I Don't Have a Little Brother!
Primary school was really a long time ago. Those were the days when I couldn't spell "neighborhood" or "police post", embarrassing as it is now. (On the other hand, "separate" tripped me up until recently.) Those were also the days when compositions had predictable - and highly personal - topics. "Write about your family." "Describe your favourite school teacher." "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
The intention was probably to create a topic which could easily be answered by a six-year old, since they presumably draw from everyday experiences and require little thought. I'm sure they were easy to answer for many students. The problem was the students who did not possess, in any form, the subject of the essay topic.
Take for instance, "Write about your pet." This would be easy enough for someone who owned several dogs, or someone with a little fish tank on their desk, or someone with a cat currently defacing the living-room couch. What about the children who, no matter how hard they begged, would not be allowed a pet on the grounds of commitment/smell/allergies?
There were numerous other topics which required the writer to have certain things in their life. "Describe your grandparents." Sorry, most of them passed away before I could know them, and the last one lives a third of a world away. "What is your favourite cartoon?" Actually, I watch documentaries about lions. Can I tell you about the Serengeti and wildebeest migration instead? "Write about your little brother or sister." Haven't got one.
Then there are the ones which aren't particularly fun to answer. When I get a question like "What is your favourite song?" am I supposed to confess it is the theme song from Jurassic Park? (Note: No, it isn't anymore. These days Jupiter from Gustav Holst's The Planets tops the list. ) Whenever I get, "What is the most embarrassing incident which ever happened to you?" I always give the fifth-most embarrassing. I hardly like to think of the first four, never mind describe them for the amusement of my teacher. As for the ever-popular "What will you be when you grow up?" I really should have responded with a decisive que sera, sera. I still don't know what I'm going to be, and I'm close to achieving grown-up status already.
The problem with such topics is that they try to be simple to answer, and the simplest essays to write are based on personal experience. As it happens, personal experience varies so much that it is impossible to cater to everyone with such pointed questions.
Which is why I always preferred writing fiction. Making up stuff for a fictitious theme grinds less upon the conscience than making up stuff to answer a personal question.
Why did this come up? Well, it had entirely to do with an essay theme I received today: "What extracurricular activities are you involved in or outside school?" Considering that the answer is "none"...
I really thought I was past this sort of thing.
The intention was probably to create a topic which could easily be answered by a six-year old, since they presumably draw from everyday experiences and require little thought. I'm sure they were easy to answer for many students. The problem was the students who did not possess, in any form, the subject of the essay topic.
Take for instance, "Write about your pet." This would be easy enough for someone who owned several dogs, or someone with a little fish tank on their desk, or someone with a cat currently defacing the living-room couch. What about the children who, no matter how hard they begged, would not be allowed a pet on the grounds of commitment/smell/allergies?
There were numerous other topics which required the writer to have certain things in their life. "Describe your grandparents." Sorry, most of them passed away before I could know them, and the last one lives a third of a world away. "What is your favourite cartoon?" Actually, I watch documentaries about lions. Can I tell you about the Serengeti and wildebeest migration instead? "Write about your little brother or sister." Haven't got one.
Then there are the ones which aren't particularly fun to answer. When I get a question like "What is your favourite song?" am I supposed to confess it is the theme song from Jurassic Park? (Note: No, it isn't anymore. These days Jupiter from Gustav Holst's The Planets tops the list. ) Whenever I get, "What is the most embarrassing incident which ever happened to you?" I always give the fifth-most embarrassing. I hardly like to think of the first four, never mind describe them for the amusement of my teacher. As for the ever-popular "What will you be when you grow up?" I really should have responded with a decisive que sera, sera. I still don't know what I'm going to be, and I'm close to achieving grown-up status already.
The problem with such topics is that they try to be simple to answer, and the simplest essays to write are based on personal experience. As it happens, personal experience varies so much that it is impossible to cater to everyone with such pointed questions.
Which is why I always preferred writing fiction. Making up stuff for a fictitious theme grinds less upon the conscience than making up stuff to answer a personal question.
Why did this come up? Well, it had entirely to do with an essay theme I received today: "What extracurricular activities are you involved in or outside school?" Considering that the answer is "none"...
I really thought I was past this sort of thing.
Tuesday 16 January 2007
It Takes a True Genius...
I recall an incident in primary school, which was really a long time ago. We were tasked to write a composition, and were given three themes to choose from. One dealt with a journey across the Sahara Desert (ultimately, the topic I chose). There were two others, but the one I remember had something to do with a unicorn landing in the writer's backyard.
One of my classmates at the time wrote about the quest to send the unicorn back to whatever fantasy realm it came from. Apparently, the way home was across a bridge which did not cross water and went nowhere.
The characters in the story did eventually send the unicorn home. The exit? A partially-constructed overhead bridge.
I wish I had thought of that.
One of my classmates at the time wrote about the quest to send the unicorn back to whatever fantasy realm it came from. Apparently, the way home was across a bridge which did not cross water and went nowhere.
The characters in the story did eventually send the unicorn home. The exit? A partially-constructed overhead bridge.
I wish I had thought of that.
Monday 15 January 2007
Monday 1 January 2007
Other Links
General useful links
Resources for fellow students
Resources for artists
In case you share my hobbies...
Amusing stuff
Time-wasters
Links last reviewed 2 January 2011.
- CIA World Factbook - A very useful guide to countries and territories.
- Unit prefixes - The observable universe is about 260 yottametres across. What's a yottametre, you ask? Check out the link.
- HTML colour names - Plus a lot of other interesting HTML-related stuff on the site too.
Resources for fellow students
- Google Scholar - Get scholarly (and presumably more reliable) Google returns.
- Science Daily - Find out the latest in the scientific world, in simplified terms.
- Interactive Periodic Table - I firmly believe that everyone should own a personal copy of the periodic table. EVERYONE.
- Chemguide - A useful online chemistry guide.
- Chemistry: The Science in Context - Another useful online textbook advanced level students.
- Pathways - The main pathways studied in Biochemistry. An essential resource for those studying the biological sciences!
- The Brain from Top to Bottom - A fantastic site covering the major concepts of brain function in detail. Each page has versions for three levels of difficulty: beginner, intermediate and advanced. A fascinating read, even for someone with no interest in neurobiology.
- Max Animations - Animations for an impressive list of biomedical concepts.
- Rediscovering Biology Animation Archive - More helpful animations!
- Gray's Anatomy (online edition) - The classic Anatomy volume, complete with detailed diagrams.
- Visual Basic.NET for beginners - Basic VB.net tutorial. Hey, VB is pretty useful, especially if you use Microsoft Office.
Resources for artists
- Inking Tutorial - This tutorial covers the basics of inking, perhaps one of the most fundamental art skills.
- Z Big Guide to Body Drawing - The guide if you want to draw the human figure, prepared by Cedarseed, who also authors the excellent webcomic Malaak.
- Emotions and Facial Expressions - Another comprehensive guide by Cedarseed, covering a wide range of common facial expressions.
- Manga University - Learn to draw manga...ONLINE!
- Blambot comic fonts - Comic Sans? Oh, please. Blambot has many excellent free fonts for a comic artist.
- MSPaint tutorial - Who says you need expensive tools to perform magic? This is the most useful MSPaint tutorial I have come across.
- PowerPoint Heaven - While MSPaint can create beautiful art, PowerPoint is even more capable! This site shows just what it can do.
In case you share my hobbies...
- Bionicle webpage archives - Ahh, nostalgia...
- Descent 3 walkthrough - Very extensive guide to beating the game.
- FFVII Battle Mechanics - The battle mechanics of FFVII, taken apart in a technical and comprehensive manner.
- Sword Anatomy - The parts of different types of swords. Out-of-the-way knowledge like this does come in handy for artwork and writing!
- USS Constitution Virtual Tour - A detailed look around one of the few remaining frigates in the world today. If you want to know more about the parts of a sailing ship, this is the best place to learn.
Amusing stuff
- TV Tropes - Learn about common plot conventions in TV shows and other media, then apply then to your own work. Warning: addictive. This website will ruin your life.
- Death by Caffeine - Find out how much of your favourite poison will kill you. Hilariously depressing.
- Laws of Anime - A "scientific" dissection of common Anime tropes.
Time-wasters
- Chalk - Draw your way to victory in this original take on the shoot-em-up genre. For best results, play on a tablet PC.
- Heli Attack 3 - Shoot down helicopters. Great fun.
- Indestruc2Tank - The brilliant sequel to IndestructoTank. Ram enemies, fight bizarre bosses, and stay off the ground.
- Need for Madness - A 3D cartoon banger race. Bash up the other vehicles or outrace them - all that matters is who reaches the end first.
- Panda Pang - Destroy the evil slimes, but don't let them catch you! Sortof like Asteroids, except with...pandas. And slime things.
- Portal: The Flash Version - Didn't buy Orange Box? It's okay, you can still play Portal...sorta. Spoiler: this version has a happier ending.
Links last reviewed 2 January 2011.
Webcomic Links
It all started with some fellow or another who linked Sluggy Freelance. From there I hit Kevin and Kell, which had a nice list of comic links at the bottom of the page. It all went downhill from there.
This is going to be a long list. Buckle up!
Highly recommended:
The Adventures of Dr. McNinja - Chronicling the exploits of a doctor who also happens to be a ninja. With a premise like that, how could this possibly not be funny? Plus the art is fantastic.
Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Status: Ongoing
Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman - An absolutely hilarious comic set in the world of Half-Life 2. Each comic is accompanied by extensive notes so even someone who has never played the games can follow. Consistent humour and a funny storyline. Not to be missed.
Updates: [N.A.]
Status: Complete
MSPaint Adventures - Calling this a webcomic would be an insult to its creator. MSPaint features a number of stories written in a text-game adventure format, backed up by stunning artwork and animation styled to look like MSPaint drawings (except for one page, all the art was prepared in PhotoShop or Flash). However, the greatest thing about this comic is the writing, which partners with the visuals and, in the latest story, audio as well, to deliver an epic, awe-inspiring feel. I can't recommend this enough.
Updates: Frequently, and often multiple times in a single day.
Status: is complete, and Homestuck is currently ongoing.
No Rest for the Wicked - A story which binds several fairy-tale plots into a single, coherent story. Amusing and satirical.
Updates: Sporadically.
Status: Ongoing.
Order of the Stick - Easily the best webcomic out there. It's got story, it's got accessible humour and it hardly ever gets dull. Read it!
Updates: About twice a week.
Status: Ongoing
Pirate and Alien - The weirdest premise in the world. Through a series of curious events, a deposed pirate captain, his parrot and an alien end up in Earth, twenty-first century. Naturally, misunderstandings arise, only it's double-trouble since both of them have very different views of the world. Almost unspeakably funny, yet poignant and realistic. A charming comic. Unfortunately, it seems to be on permanent hiatus, but the archives are still worth a read!
Updates: Halted
Status: On indefinite hiatus
Schlock Mercenary - A space opera about a band of mercenaries and their adventures in the outer regions. Plot, science fiction and wholesome comedy all rolled in one.
Updates: Daily
Status: Ongoing
xkcd - Another good science-related strip, though it comments on other profound issues as well. It follows a gag-a-day style, occasionally wandering off on short arcs. Thoughtful, funny of course, and completely obsessed with raptors.
Updates: Usually on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, but sometimes updates more often.
Status: Ongoing
Other comics I read:
Casey and Andy
Crimson Dark
Directions of Destiny
Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire
El Goonish Shive
Evil Diva
Freefall
Girl Genius
The Green Avenger
Gunnerkrigg Court
The Last Days of Foxhound
Lackadaisy
Lil Formers
Malaak: Angel of Peace
No Need for Bushido
Picatrix
PVP
Rob and Elliot
Roza
Sluggy Freelance
Something Positive
Tales of the Questor
Links last reviewed 1 January 2011.
This is going to be a long list. Buckle up!
Highly recommended:
The Adventures of Dr. McNinja - Chronicling the exploits of a doctor who also happens to be a ninja. With a premise like that, how could this possibly not be funny? Plus the art is fantastic.
Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Status: Ongoing
Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman - An absolutely hilarious comic set in the world of Half-Life 2. Each comic is accompanied by extensive notes so even someone who has never played the games can follow. Consistent humour and a funny storyline. Not to be missed.
Updates: [N.A.]
Status: Complete
MSPaint Adventures - Calling this a webcomic would be an insult to its creator. MSPaint features a number of stories written in a text-game adventure format, backed up by stunning artwork and animation styled to look like MSPaint drawings (except for one page, all the art was prepared in PhotoShop or Flash). However, the greatest thing about this comic is the writing, which partners with the visuals and, in the latest story, audio as well, to deliver an epic, awe-inspiring feel. I can't recommend this enough.
Updates: Frequently, and often multiple times in a single day.
Status:
No Rest for the Wicked - A story which binds several fairy-tale plots into a single, coherent story. Amusing and satirical.
Updates: Sporadically.
Status: Ongoing.
Order of the Stick - Easily the best webcomic out there. It's got story, it's got accessible humour and it hardly ever gets dull. Read it!
Updates: About twice a week.
Status: Ongoing
Pirate and Alien - The weirdest premise in the world. Through a series of curious events, a deposed pirate captain, his parrot and an alien end up in Earth, twenty-first century. Naturally, misunderstandings arise, only it's double-trouble since both of them have very different views of the world. Almost unspeakably funny, yet poignant and realistic. A charming comic. Unfortunately, it seems to be on permanent hiatus, but the archives are still worth a read!
Updates: Halted
Status: On indefinite hiatus
Schlock Mercenary - A space opera about a band of mercenaries and their adventures in the outer regions. Plot, science fiction and wholesome comedy all rolled in one.
Updates: Daily
Status: Ongoing
xkcd - Another good science-related strip, though it comments on other profound issues as well. It follows a gag-a-day style, occasionally wandering off on short arcs. Thoughtful, funny of course, and completely obsessed with raptors.
Updates: Usually on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, but sometimes updates more often.
Status: Ongoing
Other comics I read:
Casey and Andy
Crimson Dark
Directions of Destiny
Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire
El Goonish Shive
Evil Diva
Freefall
Girl Genius
The Green Avenger
Gunnerkrigg Court
The Last Days of Foxhound
Lackadaisy
Lil Formers
Malaak: Angel of Peace
No Need for Bushido
Picatrix
PVP
Rob and Elliot
Roza
Sluggy Freelance
Something Positive
Tales of the Questor
Links last reviewed 1 January 2011.
Blog Links
I don't read a lot of blogs (webcomics are more than enough poison for me, thank you very much), but there are some interesting reads out there. And of course, I'm morally obliged to link my friends, which is weird because they are the only ones reading this in the first place.
I'm pretty sure they know where their blogs are, but in the name of tradition:
(Close) Friends:
Recommended reading:
The date on this post is fake and was altered for the sake of organisation. Links last reviewed 13 November 2012.
I'm pretty sure they know where their blogs are, but in the name of tradition:
(Close) Friends:
Recommended reading:
- Retraction Watch - Features honest insights into science and research, through a study of journal articles which didn't deserve to be published.
- CakeWrecks - Cakes which should never have been made. I don't know why this blog is so funny, but it is!
- Waiterrant - If you're ever going to the US, and more importantly, if you're going to dine there, read this first. Seriously.
- Postsecret - This blog emphasises that you're never alone. A good stop for anyone feeling depressed or unwanted.
The date on this post is fake and was altered for the sake of organisation. Links last reviewed 13 November 2012.
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