Friday, August 21, 2009

A world within a world

I was reading one of my old posts, "I know why the caged bird owner sings," and I was thoroughly confused. Was this an attack on zoos, or a defense?

At the time I wrote the post, I couldn't quite put my finger on why a caged animal, or pet, is so endearing. I think it's because it's like a world within a world. Just like Harry Potter.

That doesn't really explain anything. But I never claimed to do so in the first place.

They hating on me just because they couldn't be this fly

My last post was very controversial, and after receiving a lot of angry fan mail from my imaginary readers, I've decided to address it. Do I think life sucks? That's irrelevant. What I do think is that one's perception of life may skew to the notion of one's life sucking. Why? Nostalgia.

The way memory works, supposedly, is that events are remembered more fondly than they actually are. Coupled with the experience of aging, the glow of youth - it's a pretty potent effect.

So regardless of what actually happens, one might perceive an inevitable descent into nothingness.

"Correcting" a quote

So I'm spending my summer idling, and as we all know, idleness is the only true good. Today, while finishing the season 1 finale of Mad Men, I realized, "Gee, that guy's life really sucks. Hmm... life sucks. Enjoy it. That sounds pretty cool."

Now, I decided to look this quote up on Google to see who else shares this sentiment, a lo and behold I read this quote, "Life sucks. Enjoy it anyways." That's stupid and not the point. That's why I decided to correct this quote with this blog post, just as I corrected those twins in the hotel. How can I enjoy something that sucks?

With stupid quotes like, "life sucks! enjoy it ANYWAYS," I can't. Now with the corrected version, we can revel in the suckitude of life.

Speaking of Google, netlava.co.nr is now the top search result under 'netlava'! Youtube is still trying to take over though.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Fortune cookie say...

Today, I was eating at panda express. As usual, panda express comes with a fortune cookie. So I opened up my fortune cookie and it said, "You have a blah blah blah and you bring out the best in everyone." So I thought about this and wondered: if I bring out the best in everyone, then why does everyone suck?

Oh yeah, that's because without me, they would suck more. Obviously.

(Disclaimer: I do not actually think people suck)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Hello, goodbye!

Hello! Long time, no see. Uh, the only reason I posted in this blog was to see how I would sound if I were to make a blog. Now that I know how I sound I guess there's no need to post.

I also posted too much in the beginning, since I was a firm believer in a consistent stream of useless ramblings. Little did I know that I would soon unsubscribe to this blog that I read because of "too many updates."

Anyways, I think the purpose of life is to enjoy it and not worry about other stuff like self-improvement. THE END.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Why you should use "she"

In a previous, I addressed the issue of grammar. In that posted, I insisted on using the words, "she" and "her," as my pronouns as opposed to "he" or "him." I think this is the better way to go. Using the female equivalent of the pronoun makes your sentences more abstract, because it does not imply exclusivity. For instance, the sentence, "A student has to decide which of her backpacks to discard first," seems to imply that the student could be either male or female. "A student has to decide which of his backpacks to discard first," seems to imply that the student is male.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It's process, not substance

That was the title of the paper I wrote today. Basically, I was saying, "It's okay for my paper to suck. At least I wrote it."

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Do we get a refund?

Yesterday in math class, the math professor messed up the example problem he was trying to do, thus losing the entire lecture in an act of futility. He then announced that next lecture he planned to redo that same problem. Now, at the time, it didn't bother me, because I was sleeping, and I had just woken up to this announcement. So naturally I felt quite pleased (at the nap, not the announcement).

As I was leaving class, though, my initial pleasant state of mind wore off. How can the professor just expect to get away like this without any fear of consequences? In any business, I would have gained some sort of compensation for this mishap. Why should school be any different?

Oh, and the upcoming quiz date for that class was also left unchanged.

Oppressing the minority

I think that in a disagreement (over facts, not opinions), people taking the lesser taken side should stop and reevaluate. Are you really suggesting that you're right and everybody else is wrong? That is a bold claim, and chances are, the majority opinion, or should I say, "fact," is correct.

And if the majority opinion happens to be wrong, then we're all in the same boat. So it's a win-win situation. I like win-win situations.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Inactivity on purpose

One might ask, "What is the purpose of this blog?" And one would receive no answer. The purpose, in fact, is far more sinister and self-serving than you might think. It cannot be revealed. Not now, at least.

Firstly, though, let's assume that there is a purpose, that a purpose exists. Now let's suppose that this hidden purpose is violated by some turn of events. In order to restore the sanctity of this blog, concessions must be made. And these concessions themselves are violations of the hidden purpose, but with the long-term intent of restoring the original purpose.

Perhaps, someday I may reveal the purpose of this post, or this blog. But until then, consider the lack of activity you have seen as part of my hidden agenda.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Hard work

People often seem to portray hard work and talent as different ends of the same spectrum. For instance, a gifted athlete who never lives up to her potential because of questionable work ethic is said to be talented. She is not. And by she, I mean she, even though she's probably a he... You know what I mean. I like to adhere to grammar conventions.

But people seem to forget how hard it is to work hard. It is truly is difficult. It takes inhuman discipline.

That's why when people question why I don't work hard, well, it's because I just don't have the talent!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Proof of futile resistance

I think our "stupid" mistakes are less stupid than we think. For instance, I took a math test today. On the test, I managed to see the same exact problem that I anticipated in preparation for the test. Never mind how I manage to "anticipate" that problem...

On that very problem, I made the same arithmetic error (in my head) that I did when solving it the first time around.

I guess the moral of the story is: just because something can be easily avoided, doesn't mean it will be easily avoided.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Self-proclaimed optimists

I used to be an optimist. In fact, I still might be. Who knows? Who cares. But the thing about optimism is that self-proclaimed optimists want to be happy. In my opinion, people should be unhappy for a change. Be sad. Be indifferent. Be carefree. But don't be happy all the time. That just sickens me.

I know why the caged bird owner sings

There is something awfully endearing about an animal in a cage. Not so much a tightly packed cage with no room to roam, but a spacious and comfortable enclosed area. In this way, the animal is like a toy that can be played with. It is especially endearing when one toy interacts with another toy of a different type. In the wild, though, an animal is observed. It because a visual phenomenon - one that can be appreciated for its beauty, but not as fun to play with as a toy.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Procrastination

I think procrastination breeds more procrastination. For instance, I am procrastinating right now because I am lamenting how much time I have lost.

But this brings up an interesting consideration. If I were to increase the size of my workload by several manifold, would that lessen the amount I procrastinate? The answer is yes, but only due to necessity. After all, the alternative is to simply collapse epically under the workload.

But, if I were to then reduce my workload after toiling away for some amount of time, would I retain my new work habits? I think the answer could possibly be yes, but we will have to wait and see first.

Something's not right

The line, "Something's not right," must be the scariest line ever. This isn't saying much, because a single line cannot be too scary in itself, but if a line were to ever be considered scary, this would be it.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Initial value conditions

Sometimes, I think on, say, a math test for example, I could have done better (a purely hypothetical situation). Perhaps I made some "stupid" mistakes or didn't study or didn't know about the test... It bothers me when that occurs. And I don't like being bothered, at least not by myself.

So my new way of thinking about such matters is this: given a set of surrounding conditions a.k.a the "initial value conditions," the probabilistic outcome of me performing the exact same way as I did is very high. When you think about it, it makes sense. If you were to revisit a past event, would you have acted differently? I think the chances of us behaving the same way are very high, influenced largely by the initial value conditions that were lost in translation.

That's why I also don't bother correcting my grammar in previous posts.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Unflushed

Yesterday night, when I was trying to sleep, I had trouble getting out of my mind the image of an unflushed turd that I had seen shortly earlier. As much as I tried shaking this thought, it piqued my interest why I could not shake the image from my head. Seeing a picture of a turd in itself is not bothersome to me - I see turds all the time. It was the fact that no one had flushed it. Because the piece of excrement was forever ingrained in a photo, never to be flushed, it was just so bothersome.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Expectations

I think that when a person claims to be an optimist, that person is lying to herself. Let's call this person Jane, by the way. Jane, is not an optimist because she claims to be one. By doing so, she forces herself into thinking a certain way. Whereas, one who is neither a pessimist nor an optimist would revel being both.

Should we be held accountable?

Consider this: a math professor assigns HW that is due on Friday. On that same day, he also announces that there will be a quiz on Monday. Except that the quiz on Monday contains problems related on the homework due Friday. So why would the homework be due Friday then?
"ANSWER ME!" - Cormag.