What's the Matter with Kansas?

This looks like it might be a good movie, and how can you not like a film that features country liberals?





Looking forward to seeing it:
http://www.whatsthematterwithkansas.com/

New Year's Resolutions for 2009

In following one of the oldest memes, my goals for 2009:

1. Personal Fitness: Run a 7 minute mile, continue advancement in martial arts.
I think a 7 minute mile should be doable, I'd really like to push that lower, but if I aim too high, it might knock the goal altogether. For martial arts, I'd like to start doing Yoga and hit at least the rank preceding black belt.

2. Bucket List: Create new bucket list and accomplish at least 2 entries this year
I've pretty much finished my 'things I couldn't do as a JW' list, and so I'm starting now on a new bucket list. Some current entries: horseback riding, driving a race car, playing a venue, sky diving, bungee jumping, trip to Europe, skiing. Last year I managed (among other things): singing karaoke, bar/pub crawl, working at a haunted house.

3. Blog: Post more often
I think my goal will be to manage an average of 3 posts every 2 weeks.

4. Relationships: Do better than in '08
'nuff said.

5. Financial: Knock out one of my college debt accounts
'nuff said.

6. Personal Appearance: Move from "I buy clothes" to having a style
'nuff said.

7. General: Finish unpacking
I STILL have boxes I haven't unpacked from my original move to Dallas, from my move to South KC, and from my move to my new apartment. I really want to knock these out and make my current apartment feel less temporary.

8. Hobbies: Have Something to show for a writing project at the end of '09
This is straight forward. At the end of '09, I'd like to at least have something I can point to and say I'm working on for writing. I'm tired of scratching up some paper and having nothing to talk about. I should at least have the mythical "novel I'm writing" for the past year.

9. Hobbies: Release Self Hosting Microkernel
This is pure nerd that'll make most people's eyes glaze over. I'm about 25% of the way there to being self hosting, and I'd like to be able to show off this tech, especially as I've been hacking on it so long.

10. Life: Figure out what I really want to be doing in 10 years.
I'm very much burned out from doing software dev day to day. It's not the computer that bothers me, it's the general work environment that software devleopment happens in, the concerns associated with it, the egos, everything. At this point, I still have the opportunity to plan for and manage a change in my life, so need to figure out what I'd like to be. Continue in software? Make up for the day to day monotony in other ways? I don't expect to accomplish this one, but, we'll see....

2008 Resolutions Review

The nice thing about writing down resolutions is the ability to look at them in a year and see what all has changed:

10. Wake up at a consistent time every morning, instead of kicking the alarm 35 times and having to rush to work.

Fail and Success. I've been waking up at a consistent time, but am still rushing to work and kicking the alarm. However, I'm also waking up a lot earlier.

9. Care about my appearance a little more and spend at least a little every now and then on new clothes.

Success. I've actually managed to get some decent threads. I've heard my current look says "I buy clothes", which is nice compared to "I cover my body".

8. Continue progress on the whole Martial Arts thing.

Success. Moved to be an advanced student, will get my black belt either this year or next depending on my time commitment.

7. Meet some new people that like / can go out.

Fail and Success. I've determined a couple people at work that like to go out, but aren't really into the same sort of things I am. I now have some beer buddies. That said, some people I know are now going out more.

6. Finish at least 1 of my writing projects.

EPIC FAIL.

5. Finish at least 1 of my composition projects.

FAIL.

4. Reach a level on piano where I can play a venue professionally.

After hearing a few venues, I might think success. After hearing myself, I think fail. I'm definitely better than a year ago, so progress continues.

3. Donate more time to charitable projects.

WIN. Between Habitat for Humanity, and Variety's Haunted House project, I think I've managed several hundred hours. At the very least, a lot more than I've done before.

2. Better make time for updating the blog, writing projects, and hobbies.

Success and Failure. I've been doing a lot more out recently. I've been managing keeping my work hours to 40 hours a lot better too.

1. See what I am not doing well in my current relationships and improve on them.

Success and Failure. This is one of those things that's a constant area that needs improved.

The Walking Dead (originally 2/12/2007)

I'm moving some older posts on other blogs I've run before here. Mostly, because I want to keep this all archived in one place. This is a post from near a couple years back, a poem, called "the walking dead".

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K..... So, I've taken under advice that I should try to write some poetry... First try at writing something like this and actually sharing it..

The Walking Dead, by Fate

Through the upper window peering down
Across the cold glass and icy air
People I see walking lost

Slowly dying having never lived
Barren faces void of expression
So marches the walking dead

Without meaning or knowing purpose
Drinking poison of muted voices
Passionless hollow spirits

Fear binds their souls such they stagger still
Paralyzed by thoughts of suffering
Unable to raise a cry

Yet hope offers life to those who try
To feel the white flames across the heart
From the sun shining down rays

A fire that pierces through hard armor
Stirring spirit feeling life anew
The walking dead awaken

Transitory suffering passes
Leaving love, joy, peace, and happiness
Now walking in life's brightness

For a strong love may end in torment
Yet in that passion the spirit lived
And the memory endures

Without the silence there is no song
Pain fills the gaps to urge moving on
Remedy the poison now

Let loose the sorrowful cry of grief
And accept the compassion given
To live rather than to walk dead.

Another KC Shooting

Channel 5 Coverage
I've followed the stories of Kansas City violence at a distance. This has been one of the violent, bloody years in the area. And last night, that violence struck again.

I wasn't a close friend of Mr. Fopeano's, but knew him enough to say hi if I saw him out in public. Peter was a genuinely nice-guy, pleasent to be around, and will be missed by those of us that knew him.

There's not really too much more I can say than that. Maybe now, the public will be more aware of the increased violence in this city and work to cut it back.

Sonnet to Science

Reading the collected works of Edgar Allen Poe, I ran across this. I find it an interesting take given Poe's general relation to the occult and all:

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart,
Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?
How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,
Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering
To seek for treasure in the Jewelled skies,
Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?
Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?
And driven the Hamadryad from the wood
To seek a shelter in some happier star?
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?

A footnote indicates that these were written by Poe much earlier in his life. I think Poe captured something here - we sometimes despise science for killing our dreams and legends. I think that misses the point though. Science allows us to create new dreams and legends, and shape those into reality.

Observations on bars and parties

I've been to several types of parties and bars with varying levels of boredom and insanity. Too date, I don't think I've hit the "rock band" level of insanity, but I've been at a few where I feared... After a few though, I've realized that the vast majority of party goers and drunks can be grouped rather well:

1. Baby Jesus Girl/Guy - One does not often find this type at a real party. In general, they are too busy criticising gays or reading and feeling smug about themselves to join up. When they do, you can expect them to attempt to be the 'reasonable' person, and give evil glances to anyone currently holding a drink. If one is lucky enough to pull them out of their natural habitat though and even luckier in seeing them try "just one drink", they can immediately turn into the most perverted and funny drunks on the planet. Sadly, the Baby Jesus person is often averse to any alcohol or drugs.

2. "My friends are coming" guy - This is the guy that boasts to other guys that "friends are coming". Generally seen making multiple conversations on the phone, that will NOT result in new party goers. "Friends are coming" guy will repeatedly inform fellow party guests of attractive female future party goers. In reality, the best case scenario is his sister showing up with a couple of friends to ask him for cash and then leave for a better party.

3. Horny Slut and Three Beer Queer - Both will offer you sex, but you don't likely want either. The Horny Slut is seen more often in movies than real life (see 40 year old virgin). Be warned: the horny slut may seem like a hookup, but will likely pass out before 2nd base from the consumption levels of alcohol which created her. The close relative of horny slut, is the three beer queer. Note: three beer queer is often a transformed Baby Jesus Guy, who will return to his former self after the beer is gone. A real hookup opportunity, if you don't mind the whole "queer" aspect.

4. Zombie Drunk - zombie drunk appears most often in bars and parties lasting into early morning. Zombie drunk is easily recognized by the vacant stare into space and limited ability to stand and walk. The Zombie drunk will not talk much, except to say to an occasionally passerby "Buddddd", which in his own limited vocabulary means any beer type drink. (Understand, beer is too difficult a word for zombie drunk.)

5. Mad Douchebag - The result of adding alcohol to a douchebag. The mad douchebag has 2 major characteristics - 1. he is a douchebag. 2. he wants to fight you. Like dogs, mad douchebags come in several breeds. Two of the most popular are the Frat Boy - far too worried about his face and hair to fight sober, the frat boy is mostly harmless, and The Wannabe Player - generally a self-branded pickup-up-artist who's efforts result in rather humurous epic fails.

Of course, there are multiple other groups to categorize and study. The field remains open for more research, provided the right funding and environment. Of particular interest to me now are "people watcher" and "annoyed bartender".