incoherence of no particular meaning

hallllloooween

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:47:51 GMT

wah great halloween even thorough beginnginw as uneventful
(%&($#*&%($#*ahsfjsdaklfjaslf ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

HOMEPAGE FINALLY

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:26:18 GMT

After nearly 7 years of stalling, I've finally put out a homepage I am proud of: xtine.net

Simple, clean, just the way I like it. I haven't plugged it into Django yet, but now it'll be immensely easier. And honestly if I don't, there's not much reason to. But finally a nice showcase of projects I do in the future.

Sign of the Times

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:39:04 GMT

New York Times Opinion Piece: Wall Street Smarts

Very interesting article about why the economy collapsed because of the influx of smart people to the market.

It somewhat reminds me of Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

I'm not sure if there is an eponymous law which can correlate to what came to my mind after reading this article: Never automatically assume that an intelligent person is going to do The Right Thing.

another year ahead

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:11:24 GMT

If 24 was me going through mistakes, difficulties, successes, growing pains, and eye-opening experiences, then I predict 25 will probably be more of the same. Hurray?

an interesting hypothesis

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:48:02 GMT

I am less concerned with feelings than I am with behavior. I don’t think we have much control over our immediate emotional responses. However, all behavior is a choice. Therefore, Behavior is the Real Truth.

school's out?

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:06:14 GMT

Last night I had a dream that I was still in college... except at least, it was commencement again. Although it was different, since it first started off being held outdoors but somehow morphed into a gym-like setting. Strange thing was that even though I was "graduating" in my mind I kept thinking about the calculus class I never went to that I probably failed (although there was this reassurance that I graduated because I didn't need to pass that class). Then I kept thinking how great it was being a senior since I didn't need to go to any of the final exams of my classes in the final quarter.

Moreover, majority of my peers in attendance were my high school classmates. From time to time I have these dreams that I'm still in college and I freak out. Usually they involve a dilemma like not knowing I've been registered for a class, miss all of them and suddenly show up for the final exam not knowing anything, or suffering through a really hard test that will make or break me.

But every time I wake up from the dream, I INSTANTLY feel so relieved and I remind myself that yes, I did graduate from college for reals I don't have to deal with those scenarios again. Guilt much?

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:08:06 GMT

Lately I don't feel like myself at all.

I also miss West LA.

Streetlight Manifesto - Somewhere In The Between

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:25:40 GMT

You were gone when we found you
You were practically surrounded, you were trapped
But the opposition stalled, their blood ran cold
When they saw the look of love in your eyes

Maybe the times we had, they weren't that bad
And everything else was part of the plan
We sang: "I don't know where we go from here"
This is the alpha, omega, beginning and the end
And we all just idolize the dead

So you were born, and that was a good day
Someday you'll die, and that is a shame
But somewhere in the between was a life of which we all dream
And nothing and no one will ever take that away

You had a love and that love had you
And nothing mattered, you were fine
And some will complain, they're just bitter, what a shame
They know that loving and losing is better than nothing at all

Maybe the times we had, they weren't that bad
And everything else was part of our path
We sang: "I don't know where we go from here"
This is the anthem, the slogan, the summary of events
And we all just idealize the past

So you were born, and that was a good day
Someday you'll die, and that is a shame
But somewhere in the between was a life of which we all dream
And nothing and no one will ever take that away

Yea the times we had, they were not that bad
And everything else was part of our plan
We sang: "I don't know where we go from here"
This is the alpha, omega, beginning and the end
And we all just idolize the dead

So you were born, and that was a good day
Someday you'll die, and that is a shame
But somewhere in the between was a life of which we all dream
And nothing and no one will ever take that away

And someday soon my friends, this ride will come to an end
But we can't just get in line again

i feel great

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:28:24 GMT

For some reason I'm in a good mood. I've gotten things done, got some optimistic news for my band, and had a delicious turkey burger for lunch.

It's one of those days in which I feel like I can accomplish anything, it's nice.

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:10:51 GMT

I still, still, still need to read Freakonomoics because I find excerpts like these:

In Freakonomics they discussed a study of roughly 300,000 users from a "major online dating site":

Roughly half of the white women on the site and 80 percent of the white men declared that race didn’t matter to them. But the response data tell a different story. The white men who said that race didn’t matter sent 90 percent of their email queries to white women. The white women who said race didn’t matter sent about 97 percent of their e-mail queries to white men. Is it possible that race really didn’t matter for these white women and men and that they simply never happened to browse a nonwhite date that interested them? Or, more likely, did they say that race didn’t matter because they wanted to come across—especially to potential mates of their own race—as openminded? The gulf between the information we publicly proclaim and the information we know to be true is often vast.

Have fun, Asian guys.

Unrelated, but sorta. Next time an Asian guy complains to me about Asian girls, I'm gonna deck him.

Yet Another Quote from MeFi

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:31:43 GMT

I think the Dan Savage view of the world is that if people are not sexually fulfilled, and try to bury it rather than become fulfilled, then it will become some kind of mean ingrowing thing that eventually turns you Republican. Everyone knows that's how Teh Gey works anyhow.

In regards to one of his speeches made available on Youtube, linked from article posted on MetaFilter.

Playing Tetris for a More Efficient Brain

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:30:00 GMT

I KNEW IT -- http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/09/02/play-tetris-get-a-more-efficient-thicker-brain/

But I think it is indeed true, when I play a moderate (not addicting) amount of Tetris or Lumines, I notice I am more focused and sharp when it comes to problem solving. It's fairly obvious though; play quick problem solving skills, be more saavy in problem solving. Who'da thunk?

St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:55:12 GMT

You're a supplement, you're a salve
You're a bandage, pull it off
I can quit you cut it out
You're a patient, iron lung

You're a cast signed broken arm
You're an actor out of work
You're a liar and that's the truth
You're an extra, lost in the scene

You're a boxer in the ring
With brass knuckles underneath
You're the curses through my teeth
You're the laughter, you're the obscene

You're a supplement, you're a salve
You're a bandage, pull it off
I think I love you, I think I'm mad

You're a cast signed broken arm
You're an actor out of work
I think I love you, I think I'm mad

You're a boxer in the ring
With brass knuckles underneath
I think I love you, I think I'm mad

Socialist E-Mail Forwarding

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:13:25 GMT

I have to admit, this is pretty cute:

"This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department, and which has not been bombed to smithereens thanks to the various branches of the United States Armed Forces.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right."

Being Financially Responsible Hurts.

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:16:31 GMT

My bills hit me HARD this month since I have to pay security deposit for my new apartment, I bought a new computer for my dad, paid six months worth of car insurance, and then my Grado HF-2s that I pre-ordered in May finally shipped... so I decided to call off making a costume for BlizzCon to save some $.
A few people owe me money and I will be selling off BlizzCon swag to recoup the cost of the ticket, but it hurts to dip into my savings, since I'm the type of person that pays my credit card bills in full each month.

patience

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:57:50 GMT

I need to be more patient.

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:18:52 GMT

Everyone I know is going to Dodger games within their own groups and I have no one to go with! *cry* need to be more proactive in being social...

the aftermath

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:29:34 GMT

My body feels like it's been put through the blender... so when my alarm went off at 6:30am I was like 'fuck this, my body needs rest,' so I woke up at 11am instead. Missing DrupalConLA, oh well. Next week capoeira is gonna be interesting...

100 concerts...

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:11:58 GMT

I can't think up of a 100 bands I've seen (sad, I know), but I wanted to keep running track so this is all I can remember so far:

1. Mighty Mighty Bosstones (first concert!)
2. The Slackers
3. Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
4. The Toasters
5. Let's Go Bowling
6. Chris Murray combo
7. Oakenfold
8. Hybrid
9. Pendulum
9. The Aggrolites
10. Morrissey
11. Depeche Mode
12. Daft Punk
13. She Wants Revenge
14. Monsters are Waiting
15. The Debonaires
16. The Voodoo Glow Skulls
17. The Pietasters
18. Mustard Plug
19. The Israelites
20. Madonna
21. Franz Ferdinand
22. Sigor Ros (unfortunately..)
23. Tool
24. Portishead
25. Paul McCartney
26. James Morrisson
27. The Bird and the Bee
28. Do As Infinity
29. Thievery Corporation
30. Brazilian Girls
31. The Submarines
32. Steve Aoki
33. Kate Nash
34. Suburban Legends
35. Ken Oak Band
36. The Ataris
37. Rilo Kiley
38. Jenny Lewis
39. Westbound Train
40. Big D and the Kids Table
41. Big Bad Bollocks
42. Slapshot
43. Ladytron
44. The Faint
45. Dropkick Murphys
46. Calexico
47. MIA
48. Kanye West
49. Atmosphere
50. The Phenomenauts
51. The Aquabats!
52. La Banda Skalavera
53. Jurassic 5
54. Unwritten Law
55. Malajube
56. Snowden
57. The Go! Team
58. Go!Go!7188
59. Ore Ska Band
60. HY
61. 311
62. mos def
63. Moby
64. The Vandals
65. Radio 4
66. Have Nots
67. Roll the Tanks
68. Vagiant (unfortunately..)
69. Nobody Cares
70. The Attack
71. Dragonette
72. Does It Offend You, Teah?
73. Jukebox the Ghost
74. Go Jimmy Go
75. Buck 'O Nine
76. Maaya Sakamoto
77. Kraftwerk
78. The Killers
79. Datarock
80. Silversun Pickups
81. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
82. TRV$DJ-AM
83. Matisyahu
84. Jack Johnson
85. Death Cab for Cutie
86. Cold War Kids
87. Phantom Planet
88. Great Northern
89. Street Dogs
90. Starpool
91. The Break-Up
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.

resistance is not futile

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:33:36 GMT

Delicious foods or drinks I have resisted since the start of my diet:
- Billboards for fried chicken
- Watching the Gilroy Garlic Cooking Festival on Food Network
- Nachos and Strawberry Cheesecake brought into the office to share by coworkers
- Beers and various candies (kit-kat especially) at band rehearsal
- Looking at the advertisement for the KBBQ Festival in LA
- The brick of Belgium chocolate I still have in my fridge
- two separate invites from friends to go out to eat this week
- watching one of my bosses heat up hearty soup in the microwave
- various smells of lunch in my office that remind me of Famima!! curry pan... (sigh)

I think I'm doing well so far. The trick is to constantly snack on health foods and drink water so you don't even have "room" for the delicious-sounding things. Then if my mouth is bored, just have a piece of gum and drink water. And... saying no and just leaving the scene of temptation. If it's smells... I tend to just play music and I one sense trumps another.

Even if I don't lose weight... this has been quite an exercise in self control.

Twenty Day Detox - #2

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:39:03 GMT

Today I totally feel great, like yesterday.

Energetic, and "lighter," but not a surprise since I've basically cut out all red meat, unhealthy oils, animal fats, excess sugars.

Breakfast - slice of whole grain bread and organic peanut butter
Snack - another bread slice + PB
Snack - handful of Special K Fruit and Yogurt cereal

Before I leave work I will have 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, and have my bag of cereal when I feel hungry during band practice.

Last night for dinner I had steamed veggies and a palm sized amount of pan-fried chicken breast tender seasoned with sea salt + fresh cracked pepper. Great combo and tasty.

Since breakfast, snacks, lunch are ~120 cals, breakfast+snack+snack+lunch ~= 480, which if I cook something (like the veggie/chicken) would make a total of under 1000. Even if I am hungrier than normal it would be 1200, still under my resting metabolic rate (~1460), so as long as I continue this for 2 weeks I will be practically guaranteed to lose weight.

This also doesn't factor in the light exercising I do everyday. I'm not doing as much as I hoped to, only one set of 10 of each circuit exercise (I should be doing three and even increasing the numbers in set)... however my stomach, butt, and legs have been mildly sore so I should listen to my body and only exercise (as little or as much) to where I feel moderate soreness and not push it.

Eating under 1000 calories sounds like something so unfilling, but given the fact I constantly drink water, green tea, or chew 1-2 pieces of gum, I'm rarely hungry. And when you eat when your stomach tells you to, the natural taste comes out better. Even after the small 110 cal snacks, after a cup of water I'm full, compared to normally you would eat a *few* 110 cal snacks and then feel full. I've been eating a lot of grains today so the water is probably expanding this as well.

"Modern Love"

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:03:43 GMT

"When life’s knocked us around. And our childhood myths reveal themselves to be just that. The truth feels like the biggest sucker-punch of them all: it’s not a spouse or land or a job or money that brings us happiness. Those achievements, those relationships, can enhance our happiness, yes, but happiness has to start from within. Relying on any other equation can be lethal."

Taken from: NYT Article

Food Blogger Snapback

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:14:07 GMT

"One day I would just love to see a food blogger respond to the foodie elites with a simple "Hey, I just love food. I love to cook food. I love to eat food. I love to learn about food and why it's so motherfucking delicious. But whether something is the *right*, *wrong* or *disrespectful* is extraneous and not the point. One shouldn't 'love' something because it's proper or culturally jejune. You love because it makes you happy. And fuck you it's all going the same place no matter how you accent the vowel... in deh belleh."

Taken from the commentary of whiplash prissy cries of "Julie & Julia" movie: http://valleywag.gawker.com/5325827/prissy-food-bloggers-hate-food-blogger-movie

need more monies

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:55:24 GMT

So I've been perusing the Marc by Marc Jacobs line and now I have the urge to buy a bag and some accessories... which is bad since my credit card bills creeped up on me. Need to find ways of making cash...

trombone improvements

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:37:15 GMT

Oh my, how much better I sounded today in practice. I was feeling SO OUT of it at first but after a beer and some song warm-ups it was good. The marathons of practicing and playing has of course definitely paid off... high G nothing, now A/B comes easier and soon enough with enough blowing maybe in a month I can be able to hit C with not much problems. Once I re-connect with Sean then I can work on my scales, tone, flexibility, tonguing... just steps closer to Blue Bells of Scotland, which at my rate will probably take till end of the year if I get back on track with lessons.