Up North

I had a really nice trip up north last weekend. There certainly is a sort of charm to visiting the old buildings and doing a spot of antique hunting with my partner. If nothing, it was certainly good exercise. I suppose the single biggest blooper in the weekend reel would most certainly be the horrendous 4 hour traffic jam that held us up at the front end.

One thing that I did notice from the trip was how different attitudes can be towards trying things out. My usual approach tends to involve going ahead into area when there is no obvious opposition (signs, barriers, etc) to my doing so. Conversely, there's the conservative approach of proceeding only when permitted. I think that issue has been covered enough, so there is little need to elaborate.

Regardless, it's always nice to bring back goodies for the family. I originally intended to have some for the colleagues, but it turns out that my parents really loved them. No gifts for the office, then. Of course, since I made no overt guarantees to actually get something for the guys, I was in no way obligated to do so. My word is my bond, which is why I would refrain from giving my word too readily.

Talking Across

Today, I got into an argument with one of my friends over an issue. The content is not of much concern to me, since such arguments can arise over just about any issue. The main issue is that it is sometimes possible to engage in talking across (or what I somewhat inaccurately term "parallel arguments") to the extent that it becomes impossible to reach a favorable conclusion even when both parties in the argument are already agreeing with the main points of an argument.

The conclusion of such a situation is often a stalemate, with both parties agreeing in principle on the main thrust of the argument but with either or both sides vehemently refusing to accept this agreement by virtue that either or both sides harbor views that run contrary to either party's idea of complete acceptance. In short, it is an unwillingness to compromise even peripheral points.

This seemingly irrational approach is so precisely because irrationality is thrown into the mix. Specifically, someone got pissed. It surprises me how easily one can inadvertently push the buttons of another in the course of sensible discussions, causing them to degrade into such parallel arguments, where passions prevent agreement where it would have been obvious in less emotionally tainted scenarios.

The challenge, it seems, is to know which buttons each individual has, and to avoid pressing them in the first place. Easier said than done, since besides the obvious ones like being overly aggressive or outright rude, people do tend to have their personal niggles. A more tenable solution, perhaps, would be to find ways to un-press those buttons. The most effective general purpose solution seems to be disengaging for sufficient time such that the other party manages to cool down, without becoming angrier about being ignored. However, it does seem certain that there are more...elegant methods in existence.

Ip Man 2

I watched Ip Man 2 today, and really...it was a film that was a wee bit too dramatic for my taste. Undoubtedly, I was expecting a flick with reasonably realistic martial arts combat (less of the extreme Chinese superhero acrobatics) and it delivered. I later learned that Ip Man was really Bruce Lee's tutor, and that was quite surprising. As for what seemed to be a biography of a master martial artist...it just seemed quite over the top.

While I can understand how the Brits look down on the Chinese, I did wonder whether the duels between a champion boxer and Chinese martial arts masters did actually happen. What certainly did not impress was the fact that the masters were going up against a boxer who clearly massively outclassed them in weight and strength, but seemed quite unwilling to use force multiplier techniques on him. If one would fight to the death against such a foe, and was highly skilled in the arts martial, one would think that one would be willing to use more desperate techniques...

Regardless, it was not an unenjoyable show. I liked it to some extent for its...culture. Yet the only thing that really impressed was the gentleness of Master Ip. That is probably something that I cannot truly comprehend, but something that I can appreciate regardless. I'd say maybe...7/10.

Death, Revisited

I write many entries on death. It is an endlessly fascinating topic, given how much weight people grant this one great unknown. Yet, the conceptualization of death's boundaries seem quite indistinct. What, exactly, constitutes the death of a person?

The common answer is unsatisfactory. There are many specific signs of clinical death, but such definitions are guidelines at best. I believe the specifics of this were covered in an earlier entry. My aunt's tasted death before, and so have I, so that much doesn't necessarily hold true.

What does fascinate me is the idea of cellular death. Now, all cells die eventually, so everyone is likely to have experienced complete cellular death at least a few times in each normal lifetime. What is there to fear from experiencing that one more time right at the end? After all, when the human is defined as clinically dead, a goodly number of the cells still live on (as cells do live) for significantly longer before they finally expire as well.

Death seems to be a fuzzy concept that is really about the gestalt of an entity. Specifics like cellular death do not matter, because the gestalt entity remains consistent even though the precise cellular composition has been nearly completely overhauled after 50 years. The gestalt of the entity goes beyond the cellular, towards the conceptual understanding (for example personal memories) of the same. As long as the gestalt endures, death as a concept does not apply. However, should any key portion of the gestalt perish, then conceptual death occurs.

Kick Ass

I'm gona say this upfront, and what I'm gona say is that Kick Ass was truly kickass. No two ways about it. If you haven't watched it already, I'd say you're missing a lot. A flick like this managed to press every single one of my Woohoo buttons. Deadly pubescent assassin girl. Check. Blood and gore. Check. Dark humor. Check. Humor...oh wait, I already said that. Regardless, some scenes had blood real looking enough that I could almost taste it. Beats a lot of spurting stuff that just looks comical. And the audio. MMmm mmm mmm. Crunch.

What's great...well, our intrepid superhero wanabe is exactly that. A wanabe. And really not terribly good at the superhero business. What I truly appreciate is that all the heroes just aren't uberpowered gods. They get hurt. Badly. Some die. Average criminal goons die (for a change). I've been waiting for flicks like these for a long time. Yet, amidst the death and gore, they managed to sneak in some Tarantino'esque humor in violence. Unfortunately, they do fall short in that regard, since the zany music in some battle scenes just seem forced rather than a true comical part of the whole spiel.

I'd say this one deserves a 9/10 from me, though somewhat to heavily influenced by a personal bent. It's really a love it or hate it kinda show. If taken seriously, it's pretty abominable. But overwise, I'd say it's near perfect. They'd get more points for getting the Tarantino humor done right.

Accessorizing

I am not a big fan of clothes, shoes and handbags. When it comes to those, I usually go with the utilitarian option as far as possible. As for tonsure, I am inclined to go with the simplest, most manageable cut. But things are somewhat different for me when it comes to accessorizing. I like accessories, and I believe the flavor of the month is...chokers. Or slave rings. I can't really decide at this point. Probably both?

Accessories are really quite remarkable. Small things that can say so much in and of themselves. I get warm pretty easily so there goes the option of layering, which does pretty much cut out a goodly number of options for making the statement of the day. On the other paw, I also do get cold so having thin materials in the office would be a bad idea. Yet a well-placed accessory can make all the difference between drab, and somewhat-drab. I like to have a dash of creepy in my stuff, or failing which at least some wolf or dark imagery. It's just a personal preference.

Necklaces, bracelets, chokers, rings, you name it. It's all pure magic. Now, while I am busy gushing over accessories, it reminds me that I have a chaos emblem enroute. What better symbol to wear than a nice spiky emblem that also happens to be the chosen symbol of the Chaos Space Marines. We have a lot in common, methinks. Along with self-destructive tendencies like wearing something that just might cause fatal injuries if one falls in the wrong direction...

A Wedding

I was at my cousin's wedding today and I did my part as the MC. Unfortunately, I slipped up somewhat on the initial presentation, and that is not something I am pleased with at all. Regardless, the rest of the ceremony seemed to proceed smoothly, so hopefully that was the only major issue with my rather sad performance.

Regardless, I had a good chat with the photographer, and it was nice having a bunch of friendly relatives (and soon-to-be relatives) attending. Overall, we did have a pretty good time from the fetching of the bride in the morning to the evening's dinner. Regrettably, I had scant opportunity to get photos taken, at least in part because of the presence of a dedicated photographer and my reluctance to be the designated GWC. The other reason of course was related to my role of the day, and the fact that I was not particularly prone to excessive wakefulness during daylight hours.

I did manage to sneak home for a nap in the afternoon, and I guess it did help somewhat. At the very least I managed to keep myself away from the pit of sleep-deprived grumpiness. It's really little to do with the quantity of sleep I get at night; I think that much is quite sufficient. It's a lot to do with the poor overall quality of sleep. Ah, well.

Time Management

Now that I have started full time work, I find that time management is ever more critical in my life. While it is very nice to be home after sundown, there are only so many hours of the night I can burn before having to head to bed in preparation for the next day. As mentioned before, I do get pretty grumpy from sleep deprivation.

Time management is best accomplished by mapping out the hours spent, and how each hour should be allocated. This can be done by first accounting for how each hour is already spent, and where there are too many hours spent on certain things where others are neglected. I already find that my gaming time is being encroached upon, and something needs to be done about that. Unfortunately, I also find myself without the luxury of spending the past-12mn hours doing what I usually do. It is a delicate balance.

While some may regard the weekends as precious, I would disagree. In fact, the only real use for the weekends would be to settle personal admin, such as warranty claims or postage, yet one would do well to recall that such services are typically closed on weekends to begin with. The other stuff like watching movies would be poorly served by the weekend, considering how obscenely crowded the cinemas can get. In fact, it would be far better to watch movies after work, then get home. Perhaps it does help that I generally feel better in the hours after work, than the hours spent at work itself (however enjoyable work itself may be). The night is young, and it is always good.

Wrongness Of Killing

Sometimes I do think that the perception of wrongness of killing is more socially constructed than it is an actual "instinct" of humans. For practical reasons, it is obviously beneficial that humans can be kept in check so that they are not perpetually at one anothers' throats. Otherwise, society would not be able to function, with its associated deleterious effects.

This sense of wrongness can be seen in how differently people treat the idea of killing for food. A city dweller well insulated from the blood and gore of meat can easily forget just what goes into the daily steak. They are horrified when shown the truth of their sustenance. Yet, humans less insulated from the roots of food have little room for such distaste: it is a matter of eating or perishing. Many do have reverence for the food, because of the difficulty of obtaining it, and showing disrespect might draw the ire of the powers that be which supply them with it.

Where the instinctual might come in is when the sense of empathy is reached with the subject, be it another animal (a pet, perhaps) or another human. This emotional attachment lends killing a strong sense of wrongness not because killing is intrinsically so, but because doing so would induce a great sense of loss. Similar urges exist when one knows that a killing would result in hurting other humans whom one feels empathy with.

These of course go out the window in any life or death situation. Where one is reduced to the lowest common denominator, survival, it is not uncommon to encounter humans at their worst. While some do become heroic in such situations, many others seem to become monstrous instead. There seems to be little to suggest that, in the absence of higher thought processes, humans are primarily inclined to be reluctant to kill. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Yet, the average person will very likely not wish to express those views, for various reasons.

Appropriate Responses

One of the many things that constantly bugs me about dealing with humans is the matter of responding appropriately to others' conduct. Specifically asshole conduct. Take for example a hypothetical situation whereby one walks past another, and one shoves the other out of the way.

Of course, the first urge that would come is my bloodlust. It would feel incredibly good to respond in kind. Yet, that is clearly not a very constructive response and I do largely have my bloodlust under control. The other option would be to voice out displeasure over the incident. This, too, may draw unnecessary aggression. It is also a more constructive option than the first considering that the shove may well have been accidental.

Then there's the option of walking away. This is the least palatable response, but is also the most logical. After all, one little shove is hardly capable of causing real damage. Other more confrontational responses may well result in injuries on either side. Unfortunately, it also entails a certain loss of prestige (a show of weakness, to some) and more importantly it is a sort of quiet acquiescence to such unpleasant conduct thus by implication rendering the conduct somewhat acceptable.

The considerations hold true to just about every kind of perceived provocation, and it is frankly very difficult to know which response is most appropriate. All have consequences, and really...my personal bent would be to just walk away. I really don't like to have to bother with humans, and unlike most animals, humans seem incapable of leaving others alone at times. Pride largely does not factor into the equation, especially since the perceptions of others weigh very little on me. Then again, there's always that constant nag to sate my bloodlust once in a while, and it isn't always easy to resist.

How To Train Your Dragon

This show is win. Yup...first line of the review pretty much sums it up. I like the narrative, the action is fluid. The show banks more on character development and dynamic action as opposed to eye-poppingly good graphics, epic lighting and Middle Earth scenery.

Regardless, Dragon somehow managed to juggle between empathy, aggression and humor. In my opinion, they did a bang up job about it. And more importantly, they decided to have a nice epic boss fight as opposed to the way too common epic battle scene. It is refreshing to have a good solid fight with minimal casualties, and a good solid underpinning of humans learning to live in harmony with nature (or rather...animals).

Admittedly I do have a strong bent towards liking any show that promotes harmony with animals/nature, and I also love it when the underdog grows up to be something great other than a plain old veteran warrior. There's plenty of opportunity for forming an illusory empathic link with our intrepid protagonist and his fearsome little dragon, and with a sufficiently grueling boss battle thrown into the mix.

It is a rare show that really does make me feel good about having watched it, and this is most certainly one of them. To the fellas who are reading this and haven't already watched this on the big screen, I say...get your ass in gear and watch it already. 9.5/10.

Iron Man 2

I watched Iron Man 2 and well...it's a wee bit over the top. That's not to say it's something I did not quite expect out of an Iron Man flick. Let's consider for a moment the possibility of a particle accelerator built in a basement just to create an entire new element, or the likelihood of a Russian basement dweller building an arc reactor based suit. Not terribly likely, and certainly somewhere beyond the realm of believability. Of course, this is Iron Man we're talking about, so believability goes out the window anyway.

There's the usual expected Iron Man humor, with Stark being that egotistical fella that he is, and quite the garage technician. I do wonder at the fascination with garage tech. Maybe it's got something to do with just how many great big firms that started off as garage tech. Hmm. Regardless, there's oodles of user interface coolness and epic deployments of the Iron Man suit. Iron Man suit in a briefcase, anyone?

Regardless, the show's chock full of special effects, Stark's egotism and the fast paced action of the Iron Man suit does not disappoint. Especially when War Machine is thrown into the mix. I really do wish they would refrain from introducing new compounded supervillains, though. It was bad enough seeing Deadpool in that other movie... Overall, though, the story does seem kind of weak alongside the special effects fest, with trying to loop in the Avengers and SHIELD while not developing either story particularly strongly. Link up movie alert.

I'd say the movie deserves maybe 7.5/10. It'd be better if there was just more War Machine action, and perhaps some elaboration on Stark's mental state.

Light

I love the light. It is beautiful. Not. No, seriously...bright light hurts the eyes like the dickens, and direct sunlight just stings bigtime. There's a good reason I stick to the shadows as far as possible. It's probably healthier that way. At least for me, that is.

I guess I'd also count as a big power saver when it comes to monitors because I wind down the brightness all the way. Environmentally friendly indeed. Regardless, it does prevent quite a bit of eyestrain from unnecessary retina searing and the associated headaches.

Regardless, I shall return to my classic gripe of office hours. While the office is full of great funny people and is overall an enjoyable place to work at, having to get up in the morning and stay up all day does take its toll. Indeed, despite coming back from a long day's work, I actually wind up feeling pretty refreshed once the witching hour comes cackling by. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my overall wakefulness during the day.

Behold The IPS

Yup I finally succumbed to the dark side (kicking and screaming, I might add). I abandoned my holy CRT in favor of the hellishly pathetic LCD. Forgive me, for I have sinned, and I now know that I am beyond redemption. Unfortunately, so was my CRT. Redemption can be such a fickle thing.

Now, why on earth would I get an obscenely expensive 24" IPS monitor that is just insanely oversized? Because. Actually it's because that's probably the only monitor that can match my CRT for color fidelity, refresh rates, input lag (sorta, but not really.) and toss in some added dynamic range to boot.

There are TN alternatives out there for easily half the price. Do not think that I was not tempted by their sheer cheapness. Unfortunately, given their comparative color accuracies and the wonderfully sad tonal depth I've seen in the samples at the store, I knew that I would simply have to settle for the best that LCDs currently have to offer.

Of course, given my usual luck with electronics and all things technological, the first model I got just so happened to have a faint but clearly distinguishable color shift from the left to the right. In a monitor of IPS stature, that really is completely unacceptable. I'd talk about all the electronics that died in my presence and my tendency to build up static charges, but that's another story for another day. Right now, it's all about waiting for new stock to arrive so that my bad new monitor may be swapped for a good one.