The Major

Blog

  • Truth

    I am very fond of things that are unquestionably true. Some things are so simple, or so well defined, that no one but a nutcase is going to argue with you about it. Despite their simplicity, once you begin to analyze things like this, they can become extraordinarily complex. I will provide a few examples.

    I thoroughly enjoy studying maps. Ironically, I am not very good at geography. There, of course, is a slight bit of ambiguity with maps, as often we will find ourselves torn between two groups of nutcases, both who provide some reason or reasons to believe that a certain territory belongs to them, such as with Israel and Palestine.

    Another great resource is CSPAN. They provide unfiltered live coverage of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. This coverage is also available online. This isn’t to say that the words coming out of the politicians’ mouths are the absolute truth. But you hear exactly what is being said, and not someone else’s analysis of it.

    And one of my favorite subjects is mathematics. A well-written proof is a truly beautiful thing. Since concepts in mathematics are so well-defined, then a proof is concrete (so long as you did it correctly).

    To me, it is so difficult to find things in life that are pure, absolute truth. So many people are trying to pull one over on you, or have ulterior motives, that it is a constant struggle to know what to believe. When you truly have trust in a person, thing, or concept, it is a very comforting feeling.

  • Happy Festivus

    Wishing you and yours a happy Festivus!

  • A Bold New Idea

    As I laid in bed a few minutes ago, unable to sleep before work like usual, I came up with an idea. Usually the reason I cannot sleep during these times, I think, is because way too many things are running through my head. Most of them are just dumb little things like “Oh I need to get my car registered in California” and “Hmm, how should I do this or that particular thing at work?” I think this stems from the fact that I generally cannot concentrate on things very well for an extended period of time. From this madness, I managed to pull one lucid idea. I am going to attempt a bit of an…experiment, if you will. I don’t have much faith that it will work, but it is worth a shot.

    What if I could concentrate on doing one (and only one) thing remarkably well each week? For instance, I currently want to buy a mountain bike. If that happens to be my goal for next week, I can attempt to forget about everything else and just do a really good job at buying a mountain bike. I can concentrate on going to several stores, meeting with one or more people off of Craigslist, reading about different mountain bikes online, et cetera. By the end of the week, the job I will have done will be so thorough that I won’t need to even think about it any more. Instead of dedicating just a few hours to buying a mountain bike, which is absolutely possible, I will have dedicated a week. I’ll not only have a mountain bike, but I will have a helmet, some hooks for the wall where I can hang the bike, and I will know the basics of mountain bike maintenance.

    But that was just an example. I could tell myself any number of things to do. It doesn’t have to be an errand-type thing. It could be something like learn how to make a new dish or a new style of food. Or it could be to read “Atlas Shrugged” (which I am currently reading at the pace of about 10 pages per week, literally).

    Now, as for the problem of my wandering mind, I think I may have already come up with a tool to help me with this. On my web server at home, I have set up some software (the same software used to run Wikipedia) to manage all of these damn ideas in my head. It has definitely helped some so far. I wrote down my to-do list, grocery list, short-term schedule, books I want to read, among many other things. It helps at least a little bit to clear my mind.

    As I said, I have little faith that this “plan” will work very well. But if I am able to pull it off I think it might just reduce my stress level, which for some reason has been going up lately. Actually, I think it is the holidays that is doing it to me.

  • Redneck

    Do you ever get the urge to feel like a redneck? Sometimes I just like cutting down some trees, driving a pickup truck, drinking Bud, or digging some holes.

  • Free Software Explained

    Here is an excellent interview explaining the free software movement.

  • Your Democracy has been Hacked

    Your democracy has been hacked.

    But, of course, this only verifies what many hackers like me have long suspected. But, we could never verify it because the Diebold machines do not run on open-source software.

  • Letter to MSNBC

    My first positive letter:
    ********************

    December 9, 2005

    MSNBC on the Internet
    One Microsoft Way
    Redmond, WA 98052

    To Whom It May Concern:
    I would like to applaud the free podcast service you provide for several of your television shows. I especially like the NBC Nightly News podcast and the Meet the Press podcast. This is a great service that you provide and it speaks highly of MSNBC that the service is provided for free.
    Having said this, I do understand that these programs cost money to produce. My free listening is currently being subsidized by cable TV and advertising revenues. I would like to let MSNBC know that I would be willing to pay a reasonable price for this podcast service. Hopefully, others will be willing to do the same, so that at the time when the podcast becomes too popular to provide for free, we can pay a subscription for the podcast rather than have it paid for through ads.
    Keep up the good work.

    Sincerely,
    Stuart Matthews
    2240 Larkin Street
    Apartment 103
    San Francisco, CA 94109

  • Thomson Prometric Sucks

    My brother Rich has started a new website – thomsonprometricsucks.com. It details his horrible experiences in dealing with Thomson Prometric testing. There is no point in me writing any more – just click the link above and read on.

  • CNN Pipeline

    CNN.com has launched a new service called CNN Pipeline. I have waited a long time for something like this. What a beautiful concept. On-demand, low-cost, commercial-free, online news. Four simultaneous video streams, three of which are unedited. It is $25 for a whole year. I will be signing up for this when I get home, especially since it has a free trial.

    I have always thought that our high-speed Internet connections weren’t really being utilized. But now we’re getting there. I think we’re really seeing the beginning of something big here. If I could get this kind of service for other shows, I would be all over it.

    Reviews here (news.com) and here (PC Magazine).

  • Holy Crap

    Holy crap – the range of things you can find online sometimes really amazes me. 2 hours of table tennis.

    By the way, if you haven’t checked it out yet, Google Video is an amazing resource.