Ryan T. Mahler

Posts

  • Mar 14, 2024 Gloomhaven Tracker

    I made a thing. It’s at mahler.ca/gloom-tracker.

    Interesting note, it’s quite easy to deploy GitHub repos to GitHub Pages sites using a pretty simple workflow.

    Anyway, back to not posting anything here for a few more years.

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  • Apr 2, 2020 #goals

    Well… this is awkward. I’m writing a post about setting and keeping goals, and despite my own list of goals and todos always including “write more”, this is the first thing I’ve posted in (checks notes) three years. Ahem - do as I say, not as I do.

    Recent events have meant that people are spending a fair amount of time inside. For some this is harder than others, but I can boastfully say the transition has been quite easy for me. Obviously, as a person who already worked remotely, from home, for a company based three hours ahead, I had a big head start. That transition definitely wasn’t easy, in fact, and took months for me to get it right. But this post isn’t about working from home - it’s about not-working from home.

    SMART Goals

    Okay, we’re going to talk about SMART goals. SMART is, unfortunately, an acronym. I’m not a big fan of these sort of business-speak, feel-good, personal-development-y things, but this one I’ve made an exception for. Simply put, SMART goals are:

    Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely

    Specific. Specific goals are, well, specific. “Learn more” is a shitty goal, because that doesn’t really mean anything. A specific goal would be “learn about the Halifax explosion of 1917”, or “learn to play the guitar”. The more specific a goal is, the easier it is to apply the rest of the SMART criteria.

    Measurable. Measurable goals are, well, measurable. (There’s a theme to this acronym.) “Learn to play the guitar” is a shitty goal, because when have you learned to play the guitar? When you can play a G chord? Or when you can play Bloodmeat flawlessly? By adding some sort of metric to a goal, you can set a measurable goal on it. Perhaps you want to reach 80% accuracy on Learn to Fly in Rocksmith. (This post is not sponsored. But it could be.)? Or perhaps you want to memorize 20 chords? Making goals measurable is really what allows you say “I’ve accomplished the goal”. Without it, you’re trying to score on your own moving goalposts.

    Attaintable. Attainable goals are, well, attainable. “Learn to play Bloodmeat on guitar flawlessly” is a shitty goal, because let’s be honest - if you’re just picking up the guitar for fun, is that really going to happen? A technical song written and performed by professional guitarists is unlikely to be playable by an average person wanting to learn guitar. What is attainable and what isn’t is very subjective, and will largely depend on just how far into any particular goal you want to go. If you want to play some guitar chords while sitting at the campfire, learning to play a handful of chords by memory is a much more attainable goal, and makes a lot more sense.

    Relevant. Relevant goals are, well, relevant. “Learn to play some guitar chords to play while sitting at the campfire” is a shitty goal, because what if you don’t like camping? What if you can’t stand the sound of an acoustic guitar? What if you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a guitar? If these questions are making you reconsider, it’s possible that this isn’t a very relevant goal to you. Instead, perhaps you’re really into woodwind instruments, and perhaps you only want to invest a few dollars. Maybe you should learn the recorder instead.

    Timely. Timely goals are (say it with me now), well, timely. “Learn to play some basic recorder chords so that I can annoy my friends at the campfire” is a shitty goal, because when are you going to whip that bad boy out? Next week? By 2050? Sometime before you die? Without at least some time pressure, it’s entirely possible you’ll never make the time to start working towards the goal. You don’t need to be strict here, but even an approximate timeframe can be good.

    “Learn to play some basic recorder notes so that I can annoy my friends at the campfire by our next camping trip this coming September” - now that’s a SMART goal right there!

    Drawing from my own experience, I set a SMART goal for myself back in the fall of 2019: run a 5k (specific) at under 5:00/km (measurable) - an improvement over my previous of ~6:00/km (attainable) - in order to improve my fitness (relevant) by the end of the year (timely). And guess what? …I didn’t make it. I still haven’t, in fact. But that’s okay, and leads me ever-so-nicely to the next subject…

    Wimbley-Wombley, Timey-Wimey Stuff

    Time is just like, a construct, man. It’s all in your mind. This is something I’ve found is important to remember when setting goals. I wanted to run 5:00/km by the end of 2019 and I didn’t hit that target, but… so what? Really, the “timely” part of setting goals is more about having an approximate expiration date on it. Goals are like canned soup - the expiration date is more of a suggestion anyway. (Legal disclaimer: I just ate soup that was two years out of date and I’m fine, so you probably should too.) If you don’t make it, that’s okay! Just set a new timely goal, and work towards that.

    On the other hand, don’t be too loose with your time constraints. I think this is one reason why new year’s resolutions so often fail - because doing something “this year” is just really… nebulous. Smaller, shorter-term goals are going to be easier to track and stick to than larger, longer-term ones. “Run a <5:00/km 5k” is something I can set my sights on in a few weeks or months - “run a marathon” is a significantly larger timescale, and I don’t really have any checkpoints along the way to know how I’m doing. Think of this as thin-slicing your work - by having smaller, shorter-term goals, you can constantly be checking up and checking in on what’s working, what isn’t, what needs to be adjusted, etc.

    In summary, set time limits. Then ignore them.

    Write Shit Down

    Being able to track goals is also pretty important. Without going into the boring detailed analysis of all the various goal-tracking, to-do organizing, schedule-optimizing apps and services that I’ve tried, I will simply jump to the conclusion: I use Evernote for larger, broader-scope planning, and Google Keep for quickly jotting down smaller things. Evernote is used to write down the full SMART of the “<5:00/km 5k”, Google Keep is “Go for a run; Due: today”. YMMV, but I’ve found having a quick-and-dirty app for every day stuff alongside a more journal-esque app to be what works for me.

    Motivation

    Okay, this the last part of this rambling, I promise. Motivation is a tricky, sticky subject. Some people seem to think that their inability to get things done is just because they can’t motivate themselves. Well, they’re probably right. Any SMART-goal-setting, time-limit-bending, perfect-app-using go-getter is going to get exactly shit all done without motivation. My humble (but loudly yelled) opinion is motivation is a highly personal affair, so it’s likely that reading a million blog posts about a million ways to get motivated still won’t get your ass out of the chair. Find what works for you - I used to be fairly unmotivated/lazy, but by being extremely organized and following some rigid structures, I was able to build my ability to self-motivate, and find that for me, bettering myself on a daily basis is what I find motivating.

    And if all else fails, some wise words: you may not want to exercise, but you do want to have had exercised? (Credit to Carolyn) Eyes on the prize, kid. And the prize is the you that finished that thing you always wanted to.

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  • Jan 15, 2017 Google Play Music, a music echo chamber

    Certain recent political events have brought up the topic of news bias, and how most people live in an echo chamber online - their views parroted back to them since like attracts like, so there is rarely any “outsider” input. I’m not here to talk about politics, but I have found it interesting how the same thing occurs in other, completely unrelated areas.

    A few months ago (perhaps a year), I started paying for a subscription to Google Play Music. I had uploaded my music library to it a while ago, so I’ve been using the service for years, but I finally decided to switch to relying on streaming rather than my own curated library. I must say, the experience has been fantastic! With few exceptions, all the music I had previously uploaded was available - to the point where I just ended up removing all my own uploaded content. Initially, too, I enjoyed features such as the highlighting of new releases from artists I listen to, as well as suggestions of new artists based on my listening habits.

    Recently, though, that former feature has really started to bug me, and has made me question whether services like GPM and Spotify are really music “discovery” services as they claim to be, or if they’re simply echo chambers designed to sell you more of what you like. I mean, obviously, it’s the latter - that’s what makes them money. If I only listen to RnB, why would I want to be suggested an Eric Clapton album? But what has annoyed me is just how persistent it is in trying to, effectively, narrow my musical tastes. I’m a person of wide musical interests, so I must say that - like getting news from your friends on Facebook, finding new music on GPM is probably going result to in a bit of an echo chamber. I’m probably in the minority, but, if I already listen to The Motorleague, why would I also want to listen to seven other bands that are stylistically similar?

    Feature request: give me an album or artist you think I won’t like, Google Play.

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  • Jul 26, 2015 How to be Fuel Efficient: Drive Less

    If I bought a Mazda 2 to replace my Yukon XL on the premise of saving money on fuel, it would take 5 years for me to start saving money. At least.

    Fuel cost graph

    Want to know the secret to actually saving money on gas? Drive less. If you commuted a half hour to work each way over the last year in a hatchback, you burned more fuel than I did in a vehicle that weighs 5200lbs empty and seats 9. Oh, and that includes a couple of 1500km+ road trips in it.

    A few notes about how I arrived at this:

    • 5.6L/100km used for the Mazda 2’s fuel efficiency, which is its maximum highway rating
    • 18.007L/100km used for the Yukon XL, which is the average I’ve managed over the last year (6135km driven)
    • Cost over time based on the average number of kilometres I drove per day over the last year
    • Cost of Yukon XL is about the purchase price of a 2002 model (which mine is)
    • Cost of Mazda 2 is cash price, taxes and fees not included, base model
    • No repair or insurance costs included
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  • Jan 31, 2015 Planets in JavaScript

    For no particular reason, I made a not-at-all accurate planet simulator in JavaScript, here, with the repo here. Because of its heavy reliance on CSS3 animation, some parts don’t work on some browsers. In particular, changing the orbit period doesn’t seem to work on Chrome 40 (although it does in Canary, Chrome 42).

    It’s oddly serene to watch it fullscreen.

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  • Nov 18, 2014 Sync for Toodledo

    Sync for Toodledo, an app I made in my spare time for BlackBerry 10, is now available! See my Sync for Toodledo page at the top for more details, or get the app here.

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  • Aug 7, 2014 A Whole New (Jekyll) World

    I got bored, and decided to change from Octopress to Jekyll. Octopress does a lot of things automatically that I wanted to do myself.

    But mostly I switched because I was bored.

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  • Jun 10, 2014 Five Thousand In Four

    From the 5th to the 9th of this month, I drove 5000km (a bit more, in fact) across a good chunk of Canada via the Trans-Canada Highway. Some things happened, and I tweeted about them (in a safe way, of course).

    I was guessing between 5 and 7 days to do the trip. I had to stop in Edmonton briefly, but aside from that I had no plans to visit anybody or stop unless the truck needed gas, or for sleep as required. Google Maps showed 59 hours of driving total, for an average of about 85km/h. I was aiming to average a full 100km/h, and actually came extremely close to that most days.

    Off to great start - 350km out of Yellowknife (about an hour away from cell service), a transport truck seemed to hit a corner too fast, causing his trailer to fishtail into my lane. I was able to pull right and time my passing such that I went past in between oscillations into my lane. I doubt I would have actually hit it, especially since I pulled right, but that didn’t make the experience any less… exciting, shall we say?

    Having only ever really made it to Peace River in one day before (about 300km before Whitecourt), this was what I’d consider a successful first day.

    …and then this happened, resulting in a much-less-successful day two. After only three hours of sleep I tried to drive again, but within about 50km knew I was still far too tired, so pulled over for an hour-long nap, which helped immensely (along with the second nap in the afternoon).

    Of course, waking up at such an hour did have its benefits!

    huehuehue. (Lloydminster is on the border between the two provinces.)

    It was almost surreal to see a crop sprayer tractor cruising along at nearly highway speeds (once the congestion cleared up, that is). You expect to see this out in the farm fields (and you do), but seeing it in the city was pretty… odd.

    Second close call with a transport truck, happened in Saskatoon. Started merging, but then saw me and ceased their attempt at murder. Too many witnesses, I presume. I feel compelled to mention that, despite two close calls with transport trucks on this trip, I passed hundreds of them without issue (if not thousands), and they are very generally extremely good and courteous drivers.

    It really is. It’s almost creepy.

    It was windy. I am hilarious.

    I am also not very smart.

    I don’t like to rag on cities I haven’t lived in, but this place is honestly the most kitsch, fabricated place I’ve driven through in a long time. Every second store sells bait.

    Specifically, it stated “No Parking odd calendar days between 9am and 5pm from November 15th to March 31st”. I would presume this has to do with snow removal, but goddamn. That said, since I didn’t park under a street lamp this time, I had a much better sleep. (Although I did use a suitcase full of books as a pillow.)

    Sault Ste. Marie was also windy. I am not very good at jokes.

    For context, that was 15.5 hours of driving on the fourth day, stopping at only the 6 hour and 12 hour points it was rough. Managed to do it in a day less than my least guess though, so it was worth it!

    But anyway, managed around 14L/100km in fuel consumption (which for a 2002 Yukon XL 1/2-ton isn’t bad), an average speed of nearly 100km/h, and spent $918.04 on gas along the way. Trivia: the most expensive gas was in Thunder Bay. Weird.

    This is a weird post.

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  • Mar 20, 2014 Beginner PC Builder's Guide

    Writing this as a guide for a first-time PC builder. Usually these guides are just lists of parts to put together, but I’m going to try to make this one more detailed and descriptive. Parts listed here go for about $800 on Newegg.ca. For each of these items, go to the Newegg page and click the Specifications tab; that’s where the specs I’m describing are listed.

    Some terms before we get started.

    • A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the computer’s brain. Faster CPU means faster computer, in general usage.
    • A GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is the graphics card. Better GPU means better gaming performance.
    • RAM (Random Access Memory) is memory as people know it. The more memory you have, the more you can run at a time without experiencing slowdowns.
    • An SSD (Solid State Drive) is the modern, faster replacement for the hard drives of olde. Still somewhat new, so still somewhat expensive.

    In addition, if you’re a person that is knowledgeable in this area and likes to tell people how knowledgeable you are (the term “neckbeard” comes to mind), understand that I tried to make this as simple as possible. This means there are some pretty big oversimplifications and generalizations. You can argue that CAS latency is critical to get the best performance out of your RAM all day, but the fact is that a beginner won’t give a shit. So before yelling at me, remember that.

    Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black Steel / Plastic compact ATX Mid Tower Case

    Model

    • This section is pretty self-explanatory. Just names and stuff.

    Spec

    • Type - ATX Mid Tower: ATX refers (loosely) to the physical type of motherboard that can be mounted in this case. The majority of available motherboards are ATX; other form factors exist, but are much less common. Mid Tower refers mostly to the physical size of the case, which will generally be related to the number of internal bays and space and such. Most “typical” cases are Mid Tower.
    • Color - Black: It means it’s black. Exciting.
    • Case Material - Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces: Most cases are exactly this. Steel for the structure, and plastic for accents and sometimes the internal mounting hardware.
    • With Power Supply - No: Some cases come sold with a power supply. In general, it’s cheaper to buy them this way, but be warned that the power supplies in these sorts of configurations are generally not of particularly high quality.
    • Power Supply Mounted - Bottom: Refers to where in the case the power supply is mounted. More “enthusiast” cases typically do bottom, as this means the heat from your graphics cards and CPU aren’t exhausting through the power supply, which can reduce the life of the power supply.
    • Motherboard Compatibility - Micro ATX / ATX: Related to “Type”. Micro ATX has the same mounting pattern (screw holes), but smaller boards, as ATX.
    • With Side Panel Window - No: If you want to be able to look at all the pretty internals, a side window is a good idea!

    Expansion

    • External 5.25” Drive Bays - 3: These are where CD/DVD/BR drives are mounted. Also sometimes used for fan controllers, or other front-panel accessories.
    • External 3.5” Drive Bays - No: Generally used for floppy drives. Not so common anymore (for obvious reasons).
    • Internal 3.5” Drive Bays - 4: Mostly used for mounting hard drives. The more of these, the more storage space you can install.
    • Internal 2.5” Drive Bays - 4: Mostly used for mounting SSDs. Faster storage, yay!
    • Expansion Slots - 7: These are the slots on the back of the case, where your graphics card, discrete sound card, and other expansion cards’ ports will be accessible from the outside of the case. Most mid tower ATX cases have 7.

    Front Ports

    • Front Ports - 2 x USB 3.0, Audio: Pretty obvious. These are the ports on the front side of the case, for easy access. A lot of cases now have USB 3.0 and audio connections for headphones/mic.

    Cooling System

    • Side Air duct - No: Some cases have an air duct on the side panel (the one that opens) that is intended to improve cooling.

    Physical Spec

    • Dimensions - 16.9” x 8.3” x 19.6”: 43 x 21 x 50 cm, for those of us who use a logical measurement system.

    Features

    • Not going into detail on these. These vary greatly from case to case. Some highlights of this one include tool-free design (meaning you wouldn’t need a screwdriver for a lot of the building process) and cabling management systems, which make routing the various cables an easier process.

    Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic series TP-550C 550W 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply

    Model

    Again, self-explanatory stuff.

    Spec

    • Maximum Power - 550W: Represents the maximum amount of power this can supply. 500-600W is plenty for most “typical” systems; if you’re planning on having multiple GPUs, might want to look into higher-power ones.
    • Efficiency - Up to 92%: See next point.
    • Energy-Efficient - 80 PLUS GOLD Certified: 80 PLUS certifications refer to (simply put) how efficient the power supply is. Greater efficiency means less power lost as heat; in general, there’s no reason not to go for a Gold or above certification. They’re a bit more expensive, but not by much.
    • Approvals - UL, cUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, CCC, C-Tick, BSMI, Gost-R, SABS: A bunch of acronyms letting you know it won’t set your house on fire.
    • Dimensions - 3.4”(H) x 5.9”(W) x 5.5”(D): The width and height of a power supply are standards, but length can vary. Just make sure there’s enough space in your case for it (although this typically isn’t a problem).
    • Weight - 4.6 lbs.: 2.1kg

    Features

    • Again, not going to go into these. Power supplies are even less exciting than cases in this regard. (This particular one brags about its capacitors. How enthralling.)

    Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

    Finally, getting into the interesting stuff!

    Supported CPU

    • CPU Socket Type - AM3+: The socket type is the physical arrangements of pins on the CPU. The socket of the CPU you buy and this must match, otherwise they won’t work together.
    • CPU Type - FX / Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series: List of (series of) CPUs that are officially supported. Others (with the correct socket) may work that aren’t on this list, but typically it’s a good idea to stick with what’s here.
    • FSB - 2400MHz Hyper Transport (4800 MT/s): Ehhh… not gonna explain this. Not overly important. (Well, it is, extremely, but not to most buyers.)

    Chipsets

    • Chipset - AMD 970 + SB950: Ehhhhhhh… same. Not particularly interesting or important to most buyers.

    Memory

    • Number of Memory Slots - 4×240pin: Refers to the number (and type) of RAM slots on the motherboard. More slots means more memory, but 4 is a just fine number.
    • Memory Standard - DDR3 2000(O.C.) / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066: RAM speed. RAM can run at several speeds; as long as there is some overlap between the RAM you buy and this spec, you’ll be a-okay.
    • Maximum Memory Supported - 32GB: Self-explanatory. Not many people require 32GB of RAM, so that’s a fine limit.
    • Channel Supported - Dual Channel: Most RAM is sold in Dual-Channel kits. Pages could be written on the performance implications of this, but the easy answer is use a dual-channel kit with a dual-channel motherboard.

    Expansion Slots

    This is where GPUs, soundcards, and expansion cards get plugged in.

    • PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 2 (x16, x4): Generally used for GPUs. PCI Express 3.0 does exist, and a lot of GPUs support it, but using a 3.0 card with 2.0 will be absolutely fine (since the 2.0 spec is plenty fast enough anyway). The x16 and x4 refer to operating speeds - as long as x16 is there, you’re good for running the latest GPUs.
    • PCI Express x1 - 3: Typically used for sound cards, USB 3.0 expansion cards, or eSATA expansion cards
    • PCI Slots - 2: Legacy slots. Not really used by much anymore, unless you’ve got old stuff you need to interface with.

    Storage Devices

    • SATA 6Gb/s - 6 x SATA 6Gb/s: Used by hard drives, solid state drives, and CD/DVD/BR drives. 6Gb/s refers to the maximum transfer speed, and is the current norm.
    • SATA RAID - 0/1/5/10/JBOD: Most people don’t RAID, so ignore this. However, fun trivia - JBOD stands for “Just a Bunch Of Disks”. (Seriously.)

    Onboard Video

    • Onboard Video Chipset - None: If you’re buying a GPU, “None” is absolutely fine, as the GPU replaces this. If you aren’t buying a GPU… buy a GPU.

    Onboard Audio

    • Describes the built-in audio card. Generally they’re all the same, and are decent.

    Onboard LAN

    • Describes the built-in ethernet card. Same as above; most are up to gigabit (1000Mbps) now, which is a hell of a lot faster than your internet connection anyway.

    Rear Panel Ports

    • Port list. These are where you plug stuff in. Most motherboards have approximately the same ones. On new motherboards, make sure to get one with at least a couple USB 3.0 ports, because why not.

    Internal I/O Connectors

    • These refer to the ports on the motherboard that aren’t accessible from the outside of the case. Big thing to look for here is the USB 3.0 and front panel audio connectors if your case has these connectors on the front (this is where you plug them in).

    Physical Spec

    • Form Factor - ATX: Already explained, mostly.
    • Dimensions - 12.0” x 9.6”: Obvious.
    • Power Pin - 24 Pin: Back in the day, some were 20 Pin. “Back in the day” being like… 1998.

    CPU: AMD FX-4130 Zambezi 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4130FRGUBOX

    Model

    • Brand - AMD: Really only two, AMD and Intel. Generally (and I’m being very general here) Intel aims for a slightly higher performance (and price) bracket.
    • Series - FX-Series: This is what should match the CPU Typesection under the motherboard’s Supported CPUsection.
    • Model - FD4130FRGUBOX: Try pronouncing these phonetically for fun.

    CPU Socket Type

    • CPU Socket Type - Socket AM3+: Needs to match the socket type of your motherboard, otherwise you’re going to have a bad day.

    Tech Spec

    • Core Name - Zambezi: I think they misspelled Zamboni. Not important except for the hardcore-est of hardware enthusiasts.
    • Multi-Core - Quad-Core: More cores is better, generally speaking, but more cores is also more expensive, generally speaking. Quad core is pretty much the sweet spot right now in terms of price and performance.
    • Name - FX-4130: Another fun one to pronounce phonetically. And another one that isn’t overly important.
    • Operating Frequency - 3.8GHz: Higher frequency is faster, but creates more heat. Think of the CPU like a river, and water is the work you want to do - more cores means a wider river, higher operating frequency means higher current. Both result in more water being moved, just in different ways.
    • L2 Cache - 4MB: Ignore
    • Manufacturing Tech - 32nm: All
    • 64-Bit Support - Yes: Of
    • Hyper-Transport Support - Yes: These
    • Virtualization Technology Support - Yes: Things

    RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

    I hate how convoluted RAM specs are.

    Model

    • Brand - G.SKILL: Most are somewhat ridiculous.
    • Series - Ripjaws Series: Most of these are reallyridiculous.
    • Model - F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL: Oh what the hell.
    • Type - 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM: Ah, this is important. This refers to the physical type. This should match the memory requirements of the motherboard (in general, new stuff will all be DDR3 SDRAM, which all has 240 pins).

    Tech Spec

    • Capacity - 8GB (2 x 4GB): How much RAM you’re getting. the 2 x 4GB means it comes in two 4GB modules. Remember that your motherboard has a limited number of slots for modules.
    • Speed - DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): As long as this is within the list of memory speeds supported by your motherboard, you’ll be good.
    • Cas Latency - 9: Nobody
    • Timing - 9-9-9-24-2: Cares
    • Voltage - 1.5V: About
    • ECC - No: These
    • Buffered/Registered - Unbuffered: Specs.
    • Multi-channel Kit - Dual Channel Kit: Should match the Channel Supported spec of your motherboard. Not strictly required, but I don’t want to start a flame war about the relative merits of this.
    • Heat Spreader - Yes: It’s like a radiator for your RAM, because you’re that hardcore. (Helps with heat dissipation, most have them.)

    SSD: SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5” 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

    Solid-state drives are more expensive than their mechanical counterparts (hard disk drives, HDDs), but worth the price difference.

    General

    The usual stuff.

    Physical

    • Form Factor - 2.5”: SSDs are typically 2.5”, whereas hard drives are 3.5” for desktops. Just make sure your case has enough internal 2.5” drive bays for the number of drives you want.
    • Capacity - 120GB: Amount of space. Because SSDs are more expensive, they also come in smaller sizes for their cost. That said, worth the speed tradeoff. Memory Components - TLC: Ignore.
    • Interface - SATA III: SATA III = SATA 6 Gbps. Just make sure your motherboard has some connectors for it, which most modern ones will.
    • The rest of the fields in this category can be ignored, or are obvious.

    Performance

    SSDs are fast. Some are faster, some are slower, and this is where the differences will be shown. Unless you buy a really cheap one, they’re all going to be what can only be described as “damned fast” compared to hard drives.

    Environmental

    • Power Consumption (Idle) - 0.045W: a.k.a. About 1/150th of a mechanical hard drive.
    • Operating Temperature - 0°C ~ +60°C: Don’t boil it, and don’t freeze it.
    • Operating Humidity - 5% to 95% RH: Also don’t use it in the rain.

    GPU: SAPPHIRE 100364L Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

    I take it back. GPUs are much, much worse than RAM.

    Model

    • Brand - SAPPHIRE: This is where the terms “GPU” and “graphics card” separate. This graphics card is made by Sapphire, whereas the GPU is decribed in the Chipset section below.
    • Model - 100364L: Obvs.

    Interface Interface - PCI Express 3.0 x16: This is the slot it goes into on the motherboard. Don’t be too concerned if it’s PCI Express 2.0 or 3.0 - 3.0 is faster, but very few (if any) current cards actually hit the limit of 2.0 anyway.

    Chipset

    • Chipset Manufacturer - AMD: Same company that makes the CPU!
    • GPU - Radeon R9 270X: This is the GPU model. There are tonnes of these. When somebody asks what video card you have, this is what you’d tell them.
    • Boost Clock - 1070MHz: Mostly ignore.
    • Stream Processors - 1280 Stream Processors: So, know how quad-core means a wider river? Try 1280 cores. No, the number of GPU cores is not directly comparable to CPU cores, but more is better here in the same way.

    Memory

    • Effective Memory Clock - 1400MHz (Effective 5600 Mbps): Faster is better - this is the speed of the memory on the graphics card itself.
    • Memory Size - 2GB: Size of the memory on the graphics card itself. This is faster for the GPUs to access than system RAM, so more here means better gaming performance.
    • Memory Interface - 256-Bit: Ignore.
    • Memory Type - GDDR5: Ignore. They’re all GDDR5 anyway.

    3D API

    Everything is DirectX 11.2ish and OpenGL 4.2ish now. Not particularly important.

    Ports

    Make sure any monitors you want to connect have one of these types of connectors. Typically HDMI is the easiest option.

    General

    • Max Resolution: Make sure the card you choose is capable of driving that enormous, high-resolution monitor you bought.
    • Eyefinity Support - Yes: AMD-specific technology, not overly important for most.
    • CrossFireX Support - Yes: AMD has CrossFireX and nVidia has SLI; both allow for using multiple cards together. Unless you’re a hardcore gamer that can afford two top-end cards… just don’t.
    • Cooler - With Fan: Most are fan-cooled. Really low-end ones can be passive (just a heatsink), and some are liquid cooled, but these are rare.
    • Slot Width - Dual Slot: Takes up two Expansion Slots on your case. Also beware that on most motherboards, a dual slot card will block one of the expansion slots (usually one you won’t need, but worth being aware of).
    • Operating Systems Supported: Usually Windows. Very few manufacturers make Linux/Mac drivers.
    • System Requirements - 500W (or greater) power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended: Graphics cards are the biggest power consumer in a typical desktop, so make sure your chosen power supply has enough power to run it.
    • Power Connector - 2 x 6-Pin: They all are. Well, some aren’t. But most are.
    • Dual-Link DVI Supported - Yes: 2006 called.
    • HDCP Ready - Yes: 2010 called.
    • Card Dimensions - 8.98” x 4.29” x 1.38”: Strangely enough, this one can actually be important. Some cards are extremely long and will have a hard time fitting in your case.

    Features

    Each card has about a billion features, and half of them are just marketing fluff anyway.

    Packaging

    Typically come with some cables to connect it to the power supply and monitor(s).

    Conclusion

    Holy shit, that’s everything. This is a very, very summarized view. I tried to give a brief comment on things that are relevant to beginner/novice PC builder to attempt to make it a bit simpler. But it’s still pretty goddamn complicated, so I recommend always getting a friend who has experience in the area to give you a hand!

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  • Feb 25, 2014 Hello (Octopress) World!

    In my effort to constantly be changing my site, it’s now using Octopress. Thanks to Oliver Cardoza for the tip!

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  • Oct 19, 2013 Connecting PC Headset Mic to Mixer (Steinberg CI1)

    This is what I would thoroughly classify under, “rare, but irksome” problems.

    I’ve got a Steinberg CI1 mixer that I use as an input for my guitar, and have my KRK studio monitors plugged into for output. It’s plugged into my computer as well, so I can either run the guitar to the monitors, or my PC’s sound (or both). The mixer uses either line-level or +48V phantom power for the inputs. Which is great for a guitar, or for a professional microphone, but the microphones in PC headsets (mostly condenser mics, which are fairly cheap) run at the +5V supplied by a computer’s soundcard. Which is… awkward, and since I just bought a shiny new Razer Blackshark headset, I figured I should find a way to plug the PC mic into the mixer, for convenience and whatnot.

    So, I found a way. It takes the mic signal from the 3.5mm TRS connector from the headset, amplifies it, and outputs to a 1/4” TS connector (although it could just as easily be a 3.5mm TS jack, if that’s what you required). Pretty simple, parts list as follows:

    • 3.5mm female TRS connector jack
    • 1/4” male TS connector (with some cable attached, I just used part of an old guitar cable)
    • 10uF capacitor (I’d say 16V+, the one I’ve used is 100V, but that’s overkill, just what I had)
    • 2.2kOhm resistor
    • 9V battery connector

    The circuit diagram is as follows:

    Circuit diagram for amp

    That’s uhh… That’s pretty much it. I put it into a fancy little project box, to make it fancy, as below. Aside from that, just connect the 9V battery whenever you need to use the mic, plug your headset into the 3.5mm end, then plug the 1/4” side into the mixer, and you should be good to go!

    Picture of amp

    Fancy.

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  • May 26, 2013 Psychology? That's the (easiest|hardest) degree ever!

    “Possible things, then, will be all those things that are not impossible things - that is, all those things that are either contingent or necessary. If there are no necessary things then all possible things will be contingent and all contingent things will be possible. If there is a necessary thing, however, then there will be a possible thing which is not contingent.” - Philosophy: The Quest For Truth (Pojman, Vaughn)

    This is a quote from a textbook for a first year philosophy course.

    I have long maintained that the idea that some academic programs are harder than others is preposterous. I’ve experienced this from both ends - people telling me that I “must be really smart to be in computer engineering”, since there’s “no way they could do that!”, as well as those informing me that psychology is “waaaaaay harder” than computer engineering, because it requires “hours of reading every day, and you’ve got to write a thesis and if you don’t get published your entire degree is a waste!” Both of these statements I find to be a bit… well, rather silly.

    For example: I find the textbook paragraph above extremely difficult to parse and understand, whereas a language-brain-type would have no issue doing so; that said, I am likely able to parse and understand concepts of analog signals better than they would. It’s much less a matter of the content, and more a matter of the reader or learner. Different people have difficulty with different things, simple as that.

    While anecdotal evidence is a logical fallacy (see https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/anecdotal), and I am in no way basing my conclusions off just this, my own progress and marks (most notably in my university career, although a similar analysis could be done for high school if I had the marks accessible) are a good example of how wrong this claim is. Last term - my second half of 3rd year computer engineering (honours) at the University of Waterloo - I took Psych 101 as an elective. You know, THE Psych 101 course. The one that seemingly everybody who has ever been to university has taken - and passed without any effort. Well, I got a lower mark in THE Psych 101 course than I did in my 3rd-year computer networks course, despite Psych 101 being generally recognized as a bird course for first years. In fact, I received a lower mark in Psych 101 than I received in my 3rd-year engineering economics course as well. Speaking of that, I also took Econ 102 (macroeconomics, another one of those everybody-takes-it first year courses) in the same term, and received nearly the same mark in it as the aforementioned 3rd year engineering economics course - a course that should, by it’s description at least, be much more difficult. So what gives?

    Now, you might think this breaks down to amount of effort put in. Undoubtedly, I spent more time on my engineering courses than I did my Psych 101 and Econ 102 electives. But, quite frankly, that wasn’t the root cause of the lower marks. The entire term, I knew that it wasn’t time, or studying that would enable me to get 100% in these supposedly simple, throwaway courses. I knew what would, though - nothing. Well, nothing short of a brain transplant. Thing is, I don’t have the brain required for social sciences, or economics, or (apparently) philosophy. These are topics that require huge amounts of memorization, which I am simply unable to do (unless you’re talking Arrested Development quotes, that’s an exception). They also are topics where there is, at times, very little connectedness - although this may only be from my perspective, really. I find the topics we learn about in our computer engineering courses to be very interrelated, both within topics in a course as well as within courses (even spanning multiple years), whereas I don’t see this same sort of network forming with other subjects. Adding to my perhaps skewed perception is the professors teaching these courses. My engineering economics course and Econ 102 had similar content, but the engineering one was framed in such a way that it had more of that connectedness, and I was therefore able to do just fine in it. On the other hand, Econ 102 was presented more as a loosely-connected list of concepts, without much “glue” tying them together in real-world application, making it much harder for me to really understand what was going on.

    So, am I insane? Or do I have a point here? I don’t actually know to be honest. Thing is, at this point, having been through most of a university degree, there’s really no way for me to compare. If I were to pursue a degree in psychology after graduating, it would be an unfair comparison. I already have experience with the university education system, allowing me to effectively game the system at times, much like students do in high school. (Other students, I mean. Not me. I was a workaholic for those four years. Totally.)

    In conclusion (he wrote, feeling a bit like a high school student trapped in an essay), it seems to me that while not all degrees are created equal, not all people are created equal either, and we therefore cannot judge the relative merit of degrees based on perceived difficulty. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, so we tend to take pity on ourselves and think that we’re in the roughest spot, and that everybody else has it easy. Well guess what? They don’t. Stop saying they do. Putting them down to make yourself feel better kinda makes you a jerk, and if there’s one thing I know, there isn’t a course that is designed for the jerk-brained.

    (In preparation for philosophy essay due next week, I am adding a few sentences down here to bring the word count up to 1000 words. It’s amazing that I can just braindump this much without even trying, whereas said philosophy essay is taking far, far more effort. Shoot, 989 at that last sentence. So, now I’m at 1000. Exactly, actually.)

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  • Dec 11, 2012 Winter Tires vs. Snow Tires - Who Gives a Damn? (I do, and you should too.)

    Okay folks, it’s time for me to let you in on a little secret, one that I’ve learned from living in the north for most of my life - “snow tires” and “winter tires” are NOT the same thing, and confusing the two is, to put it lightly, not a great idea.

    Snow tires are barely available anymore - see here for more information - and are meant for deep snow driving. The equivalent of a deep-paddle snowmobile track. Know what they’re terrible for? Pavement. While surface area doesn’t increase friction (actually reduces it), it’s important to have a larger contact patch on slippery surfaces, so that there is a greater chance of some part of the contact patch grips.

    Alright, so who gives a damn? They don’t make snow tires anymore, why bother with the distinction? Well, it seems that people are stuck on the term “snow tires”, and therefore think that they should only remove their “all”-season tires when the snow flies. (“All-season” is not a name that makes sense here - not for shoes, and not for tires.) This is, quite simply, wrong. Want to know when you should remove the all-seasons? When it’s below 7 degrees. Yep. Seven degrees Celsius. Above zero. (see 1, 2, and 3) This is because the composition of all-season tires and winter tires is very different. When it goes below 7, the ability of all-seasons to flex is drastically reduced, meaning they can’t properly grip pavement. Winter tires, on the other hand, are made of softer compounds, and so are more able to do so. This makes an immense difference, one that only 37% of Canadians are aware of. (Apparently, only 37% of Canadians own winter tires.) As someone who has driven with and without winter tires on snow, I can confirm that the difference is rather noticeable.

    Oh, and for the record - the last time it was consistently above 7 degrees in Waterloo was October 27th. So, 6 weeks ago is when everybody should have switched to the winter tires, and yet most cars I see are still rocking the crappy all-seasons.

    I will state that I personally don’t own a car, and so I wouldn’t have to buy them. Yes, they are expensive. But consider that since you’re switching to your winter tires for 4 months of the year, your all-seasons will last 33% longer, and not running into poles or other cars is always a good way to save money, too!

    So please, for your safety, for the safety of other drivers, and for the safety of utility poles all over - get some winter tires, and use them!

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  • Nov 23, 2012 Two Posts in Two Days? The Apocalypse is Surely Coming...

    New photos up! Also, I am now on Twitter. By which I mean, I wanted to get more SHiFT codes for Borderlands 2.

    https://twitter.com/ryantmer

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  • Jun 8, 2012 Philosophy of Life - The Future

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Some people live for the present, others in the past. I prefer to live for the future. This is because I believe that the future holds huge amount of promise, both for humanity and for myself. In fact, I often cannot wait to see what amazing things will happen in the future.

    Interestingly, I do not believe that someday in the future, all of the world’s problems will be solved. However, my outlook is nonetheless rather positive. Technological and medical advancements, along with more widespread education, are slowly but surely raising the standard of living throughout the world. Sometimes it may not seem this way, with millions dying every year of starvation, but if we look back in history, there is definitely an upward trend in people’s happiness with their lives. For example, every time a new cure is found and put into practice, hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of lives are saved. However, we must remember that these things can take time, and the one thing that the future has plenty of, is time.

    Another aspect regarding the future that people have a philosophy about is whether or not to plan for it. Some people choose to organize every moment of their lives, from dawn until dusk. Others never plan a thing, and prefer to live on the wild side. I find myself on both ends of the spectrum, depending on what it is we are talking about. For example, I think it is important to plan education. As I apply to universities for next year, I realize how important it is to stay organized, and plan ahead so that I do not miss deadlines. Conversely, there are things that I prefer to be somewhat unorganized. In the summer of 2006, my family went on a canoeing trip in Quetico Park, in Ontario. Although we knew where we going, and approximately when, most of the trip was largely unplanned. In the end, it ended up being one of the most exciting vacations I have ever been on. Living without planning, along with the fact that we were somewhat “in the wild” added a sort of excitement to the whole thing, that people who meticulously plan every detail will unfortunately never experience.

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  • Jun 4, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Happiness

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Nobody can honestly say that they do not want to be happy in their lives. Some will claim otherwise, but this is generally just a call for attention. Because this is the case, it seems only fitting to have a section on what some see as the goal of life, happiness, in my philosophy of life.

    I will start by answering the simplest question about happiness, yet possibly the most difficult to answer: what is happiness? This is a very important question to ask, as it is the answer to this that can very well decide whether an individual will ever be truly happy with their lives. For some, happiness is not easily attained. Instead, it requires a very specific set of circumstances – perhaps a family, perhaps money, perhaps love – before they can be happy. For others, like myself, happiness comes more from the simple fact that I know that I am alive and well. Maybe this seems quaint and cliche, but it is the honest truth. Because I do not believe in the afterlife, what I do in this life is very important, and because of this, what I do in this life makes me happy. According to some studies, involvement in a religion actually tends to make people happier. I personally feel that although this is possible, it may have something to do with their beliefs. If someone is not happy, perhaps they see this is a sign that they are unhappy with what their god has given them in life, which would be considered blasphemous.

    It is difficult to describe the situation in which I would be most happy. I am fairly certain that I would not be rich and famous, not be around computers, nor would I be on an island in the middle of nowhere, alone with my thoughts. I think that because I am so happy with my day to day life, it is actually very hard to describe a happier situation. On the other hand, perhaps I am afraid that if I do think of a happier place, I will spend all my time dreaming about it, and get nothing done until I find myself in that place!

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  • May 30, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Education and Learning

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Most people my age hate waking up early every morning to go to school and spend seven hours learning about things that they don’t think they will ever need to know. Excluding the waking up early part, I am of an opposite opinion. I find education very important in my life. In fact, I believe that one of my favourite things to do is learn.

    While learning seems like a rather ridiculous hobby, I very much enjoy it. There are an infinite number of things to know about our universe, and although I will never know everything, I certainly enjoy trying. I’m not really sure where my curiosity originates from, but I generally don’t waste my time questioning things like this. Instead, I spend my time learning about the world around me. I believe that education is important to further the human race in every aspect. This is why I donate to charities that help further (mainly children’s’) education in third world countries. Although I do not have the resources to help others learn in remote parts of the world, I enjoy helping them get access to the learning materials we have here in Canada. Interestingly, one aspect about school that I do not enjoy is the times when we aren’t learning something new, i.e. tests and lunch hour. It is for this reason that I come home at lunch: I sit down at a computer and read about all the new things happening in the world today. It may seem like an introverted and ridiculous thing to do, but I would much rather learn something new than socialize meaninglessly with people.

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  • May 28, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Music

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    It may seem odd that music should make an appearance in my philosophy of life. However, I believe that it has made a huge impact, both in my life and in the world in general. For me, music allows for an escape from everyday life. Perhaps this is because I play it so loud in my room that it blocks out things such as the phone and doorbell. Either way, it is nice that I can come home after a long or boring day at school/work, turn on my stereo, and listen to whatever I feel like listening to. Music has a huge ability to affect mood, and I am no exception to this. If I am feeling tired or bored, a loud, fast song does just the trick to make me feel alive once again. On the other hand, if it is late and I am still wide awake, a ballad from one of my favourite bands will help me relax. Somebody once said that music is what feelings sound like. Perhaps it is because artists put so much feeling into their music that it can have such an effect on my own.

    On a more worldly scale, music is the universal language – it brings everybody together, without the need for words or other communication. The core components of music – tempo, key, rhythm – are all universal standards, which makes creating music with people who do not speak your language incredibly easy. Although I have not had such an experience myself, one of my friends went on a world tour with his family a few years ago. He is musically inclined, and so it was only natural that he would find other musically inclined people in the places he visited. One of these places was Tanzania. When he returned, he told me the story of the song he learned in Swahili while he was there. He had no idea what the lyrics meant, but that didn’t matter, as he enjoyed the rhythm and the song was catchy. If I asked him to sing the song today, I have no doubt that he would be able to, even though it was years ago that he learned it.

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  • May 22, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Money

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Money is becoming increasingly more important in the world today. With new technology, millions of dollars can be exchanged in the blink of an eye. New commerce sectors have appeared with the advent of the Internet - people can make a living without ever lifting a finger. But does all this change money’s role in life, and in happiness? For me, no. At this point in my life, money is not the least important thing in my life, but it definitely isn’t the most important either.

    Some believe that having money or possessions will bring them happiness. This I know not to be true. Although sometimes buying something new and expensive for yourself seems rewarding, the happiness it brings usually wears off very quickly. The time and the effort we put into earning money to be able to buy something are rarely earned back in the hours, maybe only minutes of enjoyment we get from something new. I know this because there have been many things that I have spent hard-earned money on in my life that I wish I had not. A prime example of this is when I bought a computer server from someone who lives down the street. Although it was a few years old, the price at which I was buying it was much less than it was actually worth. Nonetheless, it put me back a few hundred dollars, and now I wish it had not. The problem was not that I had bought something overpriced and useless, but that I had bought something that I didn’t need. The server now sits in my room, day after day, doing nothing. I had not fully thought out why I wanted to buy the server- if I had, I would have realized that I had no real need for it and would be a few hundred dollars richer today.

    Mentioning that I would have saved money brings me to another philosophy some people have about money: earn it and never spend it. This is very strange to me. If you work hard to earn something, why not use it? Is all the time and effort you spent earning that money not going to waste when you do nothing with it? It is only a hypothesis, but I believe that people who follow this line of thinking believe that by saving their money, they are better prepared for some unforeseen disaster that may befall them. Perhaps they are right in planning ahead in this fashion, but it is reasonable? In my life, I do save some money, but this is for a specific purpose: university. After university, I will probably have something else to save for, like an apartment. However, any money that I believe I have in excess I will probably spend. Although this seems to go against my previous thoughts about spending money, they actually work very well together. For example, I have now been working for two years, and I have accumulated a decent amount of savings. I will not need all of this to pay for tuition, so I decided that I could spend some on buying a new computer. I spent many months thinking about this purchase before buying it to ensure that I was not wasting my money, and when I finally did, I felt that I had bought something that will serve me day after day for several years. In spending my money wisely, I prevented being frivolous, but I also managed to enjoy myself.

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  • May 19, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Freedom

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    To me, freedom in all its forms, is very important. Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of creativity – all of these I value dearly. Although I am generally a rule-abiding individual, I am liable to break the rules once my freedom is infringed upon. For example, if someone were to tell me that I am no longer allowed to be out past dark, I would be very upset. Although I do not generally stay out very late anyway, it is the idea that someone is trying to take away my right to do so that would irritate me.

    I also believe that freedom of thought and speech enables us to better help society by saying and doing what we want, within reasonable boundaries. A famous example of somebody who used their freedom to help the betterment of society is Gandhi. Going against all odds, it was his freedom of thought that compelled him to free India from British rule. A much less famous example, yet possibly just as influential in the modern world, is Free/Open Source Software (FOSS). Although many people are not familiar with this concept, FOSS is software wherein the code used to make it is freely available and can be downloaded, edited and shared by anybody, all for free. What does this have to do with freedom, you ask? Quite simply, FOSS gives software authors the tools and resources they need to better their skills, and to help society. For example, FOSS was used for the One Laptop Per Child project, an attempt to bring technology to some of the poorest regions of the globe. Without the freedom that is FOSS, the software engineers that were part of the project would have been held back by legal matters, corporate greed, and capitalist competition.

    An example in my own life of what freedom means to me, aside from the fact that I am avid supporter of FOSS, is that I will almost always say what I think. Without freedom of speech, people are not allowed to criticize their government, poke fun at the media, or be honest about what they think about a matter of importance. Although I do not openly insult people, I am honest, and will say what I honestly think when asked. If I were not able to do this, or if I had to fear for my life every time I made fun of Harper, I believe that my life would far too restrictive for me to handle.

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  • May 7, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Friendship

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Friendship is very important in a person’s life, no matter who they are. It is practically a human necessity to have someone’s shoulder to cry on, or to talk about absolutely inane things with. To me, friends are of great importance, even though there are aspects of friendship that one must be careful of.

    Since I was young, I have always had a smaller group of friends. I believe this is because I would rather have a few good friends than many acquaintances. Maybe I’m just cheap and don’t want to buy lots of birthday and Christmas presents. Either way, I have always believed that friends are like so many things in life: quality is more important than quantity. Sometimes, I just need someone to talk to, and I am much more comfortable talking to somebody I know well. Sure, having a lot of close friends with whom you can talk would be nice, but friendship does require a fair amount of effort, and that probably would not be easy.

    Friends are very important in my life, but there are certain aspects of friendship which can be somewhat dangerous. When you get to know someone really well, you tend to share rather personal information with them. This is why I prefer to have a smaller circle of friends: the fewer people I tell sensitive things to, the less chance there is of it becoming public. Although real friends would never reveal secrets about you, some will turn against you. This sort of action, whether done through malice, revenge, or envy, is one of the dangers of having friends. I have never had this problem. Perhaps this is because I am a very mellow person, and so are many of my friends. Perhaps it is because I rarely talk to any but my closest about sensitive things. Perhaps it is a combination of both. Either way, I have never broken up with a friend- for example, I have been friends with Johnathan since grade 2. Friendship is a very important thing to have in life, and even though it has its risks, just like everything else, it is one of the surest recipies for happiness.

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  • May 4, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Love and Marriage

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    When defining our philosophy on love, it is important to first define our philosophy as to what love is. To me, love is a deep respect and understanding between two individuals. It goes deeper than a friendship, deeper than idolization, deeper than lust. I do not believe that love conquers all odds, nor do I believe that you can only love once. I don’t even believe that it is only possible to love only one person at a time – in fact, I love many people in my life (assuming I use my own definition of love).

    For some people, love seems to be their goal in life. If they do not find a partner, get married and have a family, they will consider themselves unfulfilled. Although these things are nice, I do not believe that they are necessary. In fact, I am closer to believing the opposite, especially when it comes to marriage. I believe that marriage is an old and outdated ritual, and there really is no reason for it anymore. Hundreds of years ago, it may have made sense, but it is now obsolete. Two loving individuals should be able to be together without a ring and piece of paper to legally bind them. In fact, I see marriage as a weakness in a relationship- almost as if those involved feel they need a contract to prove that they do love each other.

    Some say that love is extremely rare, or that it only happens once in a lifetime. I hope this isn’t true, otherwise the rest of my life could prove to be loveless. Do I believe that I was in love? Yes. But again, this is according to my own definition of love. If someone else had analyzed the relationship I once had with somebody, they probably would have made a very different conclusion.

    Although I believe you can love more than one person at a time, I would not describe myself as polyamourous. I believe that love is much like friendship, in that it is possible for it to extend to several people in your life simultaneously.

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  • May 2, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Religion

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    For me, my beliefs are based on logic and facts. For this reason, I do not follow any established religion, nor do I believe in any sort of omnipresent being. I believe that the universe and our world are controlled and exist by the laws of physics and human decision. However, even though I believe this, I have no objection to what others choose to believe, so long as they do not try to convert me to their method of thinking.

    Since I was young, I have always been curious, and have always sought answers. Anytime something puzzled me, I sought to know the truth about it. In light of this, I never completely warmed up to the idea of a god. I found that a being watching over us and controlling the universe was completely absurd, and I therefore discounted it as a myth. Since then, I have not changed my views, although I have become more understanding of why people choose to be religious. Some seek safety – they believe that the afterlife will welcome them, no matter what they do in life. Some seek answers to the questions that science has not yet been able to solve.

    Others, though, are essentially forced into religion by the teachings of their parents, teachers, and peers. This irritates me. Much like advertisers, religions tend to go after youth, as they are the easiest to influence. Many people, when asked why they became religious, will simply say that it is because their whole family is religious. Is this really a reason? If my parents love to drive motorcycles, does this mean I should too? In my mind, no. In my mind, religion should not even be introduced to children until they are at least 12. By this time, they are generally mature enough to decide for themselves whether they will choose to follow a religion or not. Although this will likely never happen, I would be curious to see how the number of people who are religious would change.

    Another problem that I have with religion is the tension it creates. The Crusades, the Salem witch trials, suicide bombers. All of these are caused by misunderstandings and intolerance between religions. Even though most religions teach non-violence, there are those who misinterpret these teachings and cause suffering. Although I do believe that religion helps some people become more upstanding members of society, it has the opposite effect on others. I do not believe that godlessness is the solution to suffering, but it may help some people become more tolerant of others.

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  • Apr 27, 2012 Philosophy of Life - Introduction

    This was written as an assignment for my grade 12 religion class, which I recently re-discovered. Interesting for me to read, to see how it aligns with that which I believe now, but likely boring as hell for others. Enjoy at your own risk.

    Whether we know it or not, everyone has their own philosophy of life. What we do, think and say is guided by our views on certain matters of importance. These views are all part of our philosophy. Sometimes, these views come from a classroom, sometimes a church, but more often than not, these views come from our own experiences. When we are young, we do not have a clearly defined philosophy. We are mostly told what to do and when to do it. As we age, though, we experience more and more situations where there isn’t a teacher or parent around to tell us what to do. These situations, where we must decide things for ourselves, and ultimately hold our own fate in our own hands, are what help people more clearly define their philosophy of life. For many people, these situations begin to happen a lot more in high school. Greater liberty and more responsibilities, both at school and at home, result in youth having to make more of their own decisions than ever before. Because of this, what better time is there to organise our thoughts on specific issues into a well-organised paper?

    To be continued…

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  • Feb 29, 2012 All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't solve the world's problems – so why do you think you can?

    Every day on my way to work, I bike past an elementary school. When I’m running a bit late (which happens all too often), I bike past right before the bell rings. I hear laughing and yelling, the usual jovial sounds of youth and whatnot. I see kids running around, having fun, hitting each other with baseball bats with nails in them (it’s a tough hood). Basically, I see and hear the very definition of being carefree. I know this question has become cliché to the point that saying it is cliché is clichéd, but seriously – what happened to us? When did the world’s problems become our problems?

    I can’t isolate when it was. Sometime in high school? Maybe sometime after, perhaps before. I don’t recall. At some point, the biggest problem in our lives went from eating sand, to what that cute girl thinks of us, to applying to university, to jobs, and finally to the spread of malaria in Africa. But hold on a minute – when we moved onto these big, wide-spreading, world-changing problems, did we even bother to solve the ones we had in the first place? Did we get the sand out of our teeth? Did we find out if she likes us? Did we make a final decision on whether that’s actually what we want a degree in? Did we get the cushy job we’d always dreamed of? I’m going to venture way out on a limb here and answer all of those at once: Nope. A full and resounding negative, captain. So why not? If we moved onto other tasks at work before finishing the previous ones, we’d soon be out of a job. That, or we’d be swamped with unfinished business that would weigh us down. So why do we think we can do it in our personal lives?

    On a small scale, I see many people taking on the problems of friends and lovers as their own. Their friends are having a bad day, so they are too. Their friends are stressed, so they are too. Don’t get me wrong – it’s good to care. That’s what friendship and love are about. But don’t ever, ever, ever take other people’s problems on without first solving your own. Taking on problems when you are not completely stable and secure in yourself is a bit like loading cargo onto a sinking ship. Sure, it’ll stay dry for a while, but when that ship finally sinks, it’s all going under. For those not so metaphorically inclined, think of the number of therapists that off themselves. It’s hard to take on other people’s problems if you’re not prepared for it. So, if not for yourself, do your friends a favour, and don’t support them with weak arms, bound to fail.

    On a larger scale, I see this in entire societies. We donate money to charities to help with who knows what in who knows where. Are we blind to the problems we have right at home, or are we just stupid? Again, I’m not saying caring is bad. I’m just pointing out the irony in thinking the lives of those in another country or on another continent are miserable, when there are thousands right here who have also had their fair share of misfortune. Do I think that we are more important that people in other countries? Of course not. But again – how are you supposed to drive trucks across a bridge that’s only half built?

    This may seem like a very selfish idea. Don’t be fooled – it is. It absolutely is. It is a selfish need to feel better about yourself, so you can feel more secure, so you can go about your life being much happier. But if anybody asks, just say you’re doing it to better help people. Just to seem like a bit less of a dick.

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  • Feb 15, 2012 Why Billy (Mederbil) And I Should Rule The World

    Billy: “I see you drivin’ Round town with the girl I love and I’m like: ‘Haiku’ “

    me: I do not think that You’re a very good writer. Also, that’s not yours :P

    Billy: Hence the quotation marks, twatface. You used a haiku To send me that last message Just realized! Derp.

    me: Your quotation marks Were not to show quotation Your grammer just sucks.

    Billy: I’ll have sex with your Mother. Syllable. Syllable Syllable. Fuckface.

    me: You completely missed My bad spelling mistake Your spelling sucks too.

    Also I should note That it is five-seven-five Lurn2Haiku, bitch

    Billy: :(

    me: Don’t you frowny face This is basic high school shit- Important for life!

    Billy: :(:(:(:(:( :(:(:(:(:(:(:( :(:(:(:( Shit. five-seven-four

    me: You are just the worst Help me, I’m stuck in haiku! This doesn’t feel good…

    Billy: C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER HAHAHAHAHA NEED MOAR SYLLABLES

    me: I was going to C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER But this was too good.

    Billy: I’m bad at haikus. Don’t want become better I fear I am, though.

    me: Four six and a four Don’t make no fuckin’ haiku Count your syllables!

    Billy: That was five,sev,five! Are you counting from zero? Computer science!

    me: “Don’t” == 1 “Want” == 1 “Become” == 2 “Better” == 2 1+1+2+2 = 6

    Billy: I forgot to say A single word, ‘to’. Dammit! That middle line is fail.

    me: You are full of fail So your haikus are as well Which is no surprise…

    Billy: Could you do me favor? I need to test video for conference sys.

    Skype me in five min? Would be appreciated. Please and thank you, sir!

    me: I am going home In about 5 or 10, so Can we wait a bit?

    Billy: Yay! TYVM. May many women touch you! Or men, if you choose.

    Billy: Ready for Skype yet? Would you like to continue To speak in haiku?

    me: On my way home now So give me about 10 minutes Then I will be good.

    Billy: Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight Aight

    Billy: This is not structured As though it were a haiku. Four syllables.

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  • Feb 9, 2012 More Tumbleweeds...

    This post is mainly to address Mederbil’s concern that I don’t update my site enough. I say that is bollocks, as this is clearly an update! And even better, I’ve got a few more updates that will come in a bit! Eventually! I promise!

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  • Dec 22, 2011 A tumbleweed rolls by...

    It casts a +122 spell of indecision. Everyone in the immediate area cannot choose a way to fight back.

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  • Aug 1, 2011 Sometimes...

    Sometimes, life doesn’t go the way you want it to.

    Sometimes, you look outside, and all you see are gray skies.

    Sometimes, you want time to skip a few days, or months, or years.

    Sometimes, you want time to stop.

    Sometimes, you have to climb walls built out of the bodies of your enemies.

    Sometimes, you have to build walls out of the bodies of your friends.

    Sometimes, your head longs strongest, but your heart longs longest.

    Sometimes, you have to change direction in life.

    Sometimes, all you do is turn back.

    Sometimes, in longing for the mediocre, you turn away the best.

    Sometimes, you have to make decisions that you’re afraid of.

    Sometimes, you can’t help but think “what if?”, only to realize “what if” never would have happened anyway.

    Sometimes, you look for love in all the places you know, but it turns out that you only know the wrong places.

    But sometimes…

    Sometimes, the road straightens out.

    Sometimes, the skies clear and the sun rises on a new horizon.

    Sometimes, you just have to enjoy the good moments, and remember the bad ones.

    Sometimes, all barriers ahead of you crumble, leaving a clear path in their midst.

    Sometimes, your heart and your head agree.

    Sometimes, when you head back, you head home.

    Sometimes, the hardest decisions make themselves, and the hardest question to answer is, “Shaken or stirred?”

    Sometimes, the mediocre turns out to be best, and the best turns out to be less.

    Sometimes, “what if?” isn’t nearly as good as what is.

    Sometimes, love finds you - huddled up in the corner of a cold room inhabited by the lost and the lonely.

    And sometimes, you get bored late at night and write some artsy shit on the internet that’s all deep and whatnot.

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  • May 8, 2011 Normal isn't depressing

    Having spent the last two days at a NAPEG (http://www.napeg.nt.ca/) conference, I’ve heard some fairly inspiring, informative and motivating speeches and presentations. However, one particular sentence spoken by one presenter really got me thinking. Oddly, it had nothing to do with her presentation, and in fact was, in context, a largely meaningless phrase - “Otherwise it’ll just be normal, and normal is depressing.” Yes, this is one of those weird things that gets me thinking. In order to do a traditional thought analysis at this point, it would probably be advisable to get out a dictionary and define “normal”, as well as explore what depression is. However, I’m not a linguist, nor am I a doctor, so going into such activites would be largely pointless, since I aim to thoroughly ignore both definitions and research. (Facts? Pfft, you can use facts to prove anything!)

    In a move thought of as nearly blasphemous to anyone with a dictionary, I’m going to define normal by saying: normal is what is normal. Like the concept of quality, it is inherently difficult to define, but is nonetheless a very simple and well-understood concept.

    What struck me as initially odd about this sentence was how simply she said it. Since she was an experienced public speaker who had undoubtedly said it before, this makes sense. But to me, the novice and untrained ear, it did not land as simply as it was delivered. This concept struck me as strange initally, then flat out impossible, but I then began to realize what exactly it was she meant.

    The strangeness of the sentence came to me since it was not something I had ever considered before - if we assume that the reason for a depression brought on by normalcy would be that “normal” is usually characterised as “boring” (another word I can’t be bothered to define), then what right and reason do we have to be depressed by it? If a meeting is boring, we sit through it. If a film is boring, we stop watching it. If a conversation is boring, we change it. Why can’t we simply sit through, or exit, or change the boring part of normal? I realize the obtuseness of this question in common life - a job, a house, a family, are all things that could prevent us from exiting or changing our lives, and sitting through it (since life is, from the perspective of life, infinite) would mean we may not have a chance to escape the normal. But are these any better a reason to keep living as we do, in a normal and depressed state, than the reason we have to escape this state? In my thinking, no, but I am by no means qualified nor educated enough to make such calls for other people.

    Once this initial thought had passed, I briefly considered the impossibility of this statement (although I quickly reconsidered). Isn’t depression usually brought on by a change of state? Most common occurrences of depression occur after the death of a friend or family member, a change in job or social status, or a stock market crash. Perhaps the last example is a bit esoteric, but there is a common theme of change among all examples (trivia: the theme of the aforementioned NAPEG conference was in fact change, specifically “Professional Practice in Changing Environment”). In fact, the only counter example for which I could find depression related to lack of change was the specific case of lack of change. I realize it may sound repetitive, but what I am saying is that the only case for depression when it isn’t related to change is when the depression is brought on by lack of change - or “normalcy”. However, in being unable to really flesh out this idea beyond this inital observation, I realized that pursuing it further would therefore be pointless.

    The realization of the true meaning of what she said didn’t come until much later in day, in fact several hours after the presentation. It wasn’t an obtuse statement, nor was an impossible statement. In fact, it was an accidental statement. Sure, it seems like a copout after having thought about it for several hours, but I genuinely believe it was an accident. Not to discredit the speaker - she was both informative and engaging, a welcome break from speakers who drone worse than an MQ-9 (look it up), and those who seem to think jumping around like children is somehow productive. However, with such a well-thought and clearly conveyed oration, it seems thoroughly unlikely that she would deliver such a heavy sentence in the midst of an otherwise unrelated and light-hearted subject.

    Oh, and by the way she corrected herself afterward. I suppose that should have been a pretty good indication that it’s not what she meant to say, yeah.

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  • Nov 1, 2010 There is no such thing as free time...

    … So please stop saying it.

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  • Oct 14, 2010 100 Things

    Since everyone likes to think they’re so deep with the crap they put on Facebook, I decided to give it a shot. I decided to write 100 things about myself. Surprisingly hard.

    I am me. I am not short, but there are many taller than I am. I am a skinny white kid. I am darker than most people think, but not in the way that most people think. I am myopic. I am not shortsighted. I have good night vision. I am sometimes completely blind. I don’t not shave because I’m going for a “look”. I don’t shave because I’m lazy. I genuinely do not care about my appearance. I do care about how I feel about myself. I do care about how others feel about me. I can’t touch my nose with my tongue. I wear what I want. I don’t wear what you wear. I don’t wear what you don’t wear. I make my own decisions. I don’t make decisions based on commercials and media. I don’t make decisions based against commercials and media. I judge music based on it’s own merits. I don’t like “that new band”. I don’t like “that new band” because everybody else likes it. I don’t not like “that new band” because everybody else likes it. I walk my own path in life. I won’t go where everyone else is going. I won’t not go where everyone else is going because everyone else is going there. I enjoy possessions more than money. I know what having feels like. I know what loss feels like. I have some thoughts which are beyond comprehension outside my head. I can’t express my thoughts in words. I am simple. I seek happiness. I like a good time. I like good fun and bad fun. I mean it when I say I’m not thinking about anything. I have no rhyme nor reason – I do something because I want to. I like to think up elaborate stories in my head, but I never write them down. I am selfish, just like everyone else. I am complex, just like everyone else. I can’t see myself in 20 years. I can’t see myself in 5 years. I can’t see myself tomorrow. I don’t write poetry. I write thoughts. I don’t quote song lyrics to appear “deep” or “thoughtful”. I quote song lyrics because I want to. I don’t seek revenge. I don’t get angry. I don’t find pleasure in pain. I don’t find pleasure in the pain of others. I am happy when others are happy, and satisfied when others are satisfied. I lie to help others. I don’t hate those who hate me. I don’t hate those who love me. I don’t hate those who don’t love me back. I don’t hate. I love the military and military technology. I don’t love war. I support our troops, but not those who misled them. I am rational. I dislike irrational people. I think Ann Coulter is the most despicable person on the planet. I think people who ignore or deny climate change are as intelligent as a potato. I don’t think the free market should be allowed to rule the world. I think people should stop to think about what they think once in a while. I appreciate what religion has done for us historically. I think the time for religion has passed. I appreciate the finer things. I appreciate the finer things, but not just because everyone else thinks they do too. I like music. I like a wide variety of music. I like loud music. I dislike autotuned crap. I like good cheese. I think bacon should be a food group. I like technology that makes our lives better. I am irritated by people who misuse technology. I am irritated by people who actively disrupt the evolution of technology. I am irritated by people who actively disrupt the evolution of our species. I hope for a better future for everybody. I hope the past was not the best thing that ever happened to everybody. I don’t live in the past. I don’t live in the future. I live in the present. I learned to understand when I was very young. I will understand to learn until I am old. I sometimes say things I don’t mean to. I sometimes don’t say things I mean to. I sometimes speak without talking. I sometimes talk without speaking. I am not as crazy as you think I am. I am far weirder than you think I am. I am different than you in every way. I am better than you in every way. I am the same as you in every way. I am worse than you in every way. I am me. Deal with it, motherfucker.

    I decided that ending with “Deal with it” sounded incredibly emo/depressed/scene/whateverthefuck/{they’re all the same anyway}, so I added profanity to lighten the mood.

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  • Apr 2, 2010 Diary of a Polyphasic Sleeper, part I - Der Anfang

    So, this note is written for nobody in particular. More just a reference.

    As several people are aware, I have been sleeping polyphasically recently. For those unaware of the meaning of polyphasic, it simply means that you sleep in installments throughout the day, as opposed to once per 24-hour cycle. For example, there is a polyphasic sleep schedule called the “Uberman” schedule, wherein the individual takes six 20-minute naps in a 24-hour period. Yup, two hours of sleep every 24 hours. I am not an “Uber man”, though, so I opted for a simpler one.

    Basically, I wake up about the same time every morning, about 7:30. Yes, even weekends, and that is key. My classes end around 12:00 usually, so I come home for lunch, and take a half-hour nap (usually 12:30-1:00). I go to afternoon classes, which go to 4:30, come home, and take another half-hour nap from 5:00-5:30 or so. Finally, I sleep again from about 10:30-11:00.

    These three half-hour naps are complemented by a big 3 to 5 hour sleep ending at around 7:30am. The length of this nap is variable, and depends on how tired I am any particular day. For example, I sometimes miss a nap in the day for one reason or another. If this is the case, I usually end up being tired at around 2am, and so go to sleep at this point. If I had three excellent naps during the day (as I did today), I’ll stay awake until 4 or so. No matter how awake I am, though, this big sleep needs to be at least 3 hours.

    To be able to do this, you basically have to trick yourself into going into REM sleep almost instantly, eliminating all the tossing and turning that most people don’t realize they do. Meditation helps, looking at the clock worrying that you won’t get to sleep does not. I’ve only been doing this for a week, and I’m already getting into the swing of it. Not only do I fall asleep within a few minutes, but my body and mind are starting to feel tired right around whenever I usually take naps (this is why I don’t like skipping naps). I return to my point of waking up at 7:30 on weekends, which is because if you get out of schedule, you may have problems getting back into it.

    Some people (my mother) have expressed concerns that this is not healthy. Although I am fairly certain that doing this for extended periods of time would have adverse effects, I will only be doing this until December, and do not believe that it will cause problems. My only complaint is that my legs occasionally hurt due to lack of rest, but this is a problem I have always had, and most people will probably not experience this.

    The advantages of this sleep schedule are very apparent, and quite worth it so far. I have about 3 or 4 more hours of being awake every day, which is great. However, the biggest change I have noticed is that when I am awake, I am truly awake. I can work on programming assignments at 2:30 in the morning, and realize the next morning that I actually did them right. This, to me, is the greatest advantage. When sleeping monophasically (one big sleep every night), I would come home after lectures and be exhausted. After sitting around for a couple hours, I could get 2, maybe 3 hours of solid work done in the evening. But after this, I was again too tired to continue. Not anymore. I get about 6 to 8 hours of solid working time per day now, which is great. I can do groceries at 2am (yay 24h Sobey’s!) and not mistake Head and Shoulders for crackers. For the first time since arriving at Waterloo, I am almost on time with my assignments!

    Hard sleep, hard… awakedness? I guess that’s what this comes down to. Once you’re into it, you sleep deeply, even during naps, and you are very awake when you are awake.

    3:13am, and I can still type this. See how this works?

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  • Apr 1, 2010 Diary of a Polyphasic Sleeper, part II - Der Untergang/Das Ende

    (Originally published December 5th, 2009)

    Follow-up to the previous note about polyphasic sleeping. I have now finished my experiment in polyphasic sleep, and am ready to make some conclusions.

    As a recap, my schedule consisted of sleeping about 4 hours a night, with 3 half-hour naps during the day (noon, 5pm and 10pm). I did this for six weeks, with few exceptions. I stayed as close to this schedule as possible, only missing maybe 1 out of every 10 or 15 naps (not bad considering how random and hectic life can be).

    One weekend, I did not have any naps, as I spent it in Guelph. Fortunately, I had a good sleep on the Saturday night. However, I was still wrecked for several days afterwards. Even though at that point I had only been doing this for two weeks or so, I was already dependent on my naps - a testament to the creature of habit that humans really are. Aside from this, I would once in a while miss a nap (usually my 5pm one), which made me a bit tired in the evening, but this was generally remedied by having a slightly longer nap at 10pm.

    I also have noted that I became quite good at training myself to wake up without an alarm. Although I always set one as a backup, during my half-hour naps I would generally wake up one or two minutes before it went off. This was not the case in the morning after sleeping 4 hours, though.

    Der Untergang

    In the last week, since exams are coming up, and assignments are no longer a concern, I decided that I would stop the polyphasic sleep. However, being as I am, I decided to do a quick few experiments before I stopped. One of these includes skipping my first two naps. This was, quite simply, disastrous. I was extremely tired in the afternoon and evening, and my 10pm nap ended up being three hours (meaning I was sleeping for two hours while my clock radio was playing before I woke up - that’s how tired I was).

    Not really important, but somewhat amusing is that (as I mentioned above) I became so used to sleeping in half-hour chunks that last Saturday I woke up at 8:15am (about normal), but decided to try to sleep in. However, after falling back asleep, I awoke again at 8:45. Tried again, woke up at 9:15. Decided that my body would win this time, got out of bed, and started my day.

    Today is going to be my first day that I am not going to take a nap in nearly a month. I am quite tired right now, even though it is not even six o’clock and I woke up at 10 this morning. Unfortunately, this means that I will not have a very effective evening of studying, as I am finding it extremely hard to focus. Hopefully after a good night’s sleep tonight, tomorrow will be more conducive towards studying.

    Das Ende

    Being the scientific (well, Engineering) mind that I am, I did this not only as a way to increase available time, but as a sort of experiment. Some conclusions:

    • This did not make me any more difficult to understand/any less coherent. Usually when someone is exhausted, they tend to make less sense. However, I did not receive any comments from people around me that seemed to indicate that this was the case. To me, this indicates that I was probably as confusing as ever, but not in way that indicated exhaustion.

    • A big part of the “available time” part for me was time for assignments and schoolwork. Although I did not notice an increase in my marks in assignments and quizzes since doing this, they certainly did not drop. As is normal with any course, the later material tends to be more difficult to grasp, and my marks generally show this. However, they did not go down by any notable amount. Because I had so much time, I was able to do many of the suggested questions on assignments, read the textbook, and just generally have a better idea of what was going on in my courses.

    • As a final note, I had a lot more time to do stuff I wanted to do. In the first half of the term, I was extremely concerned that I would not have enough time to just finish assignments, so I went to few social events, and very little time for anything other than work. Since then, however, I have been to all sorts of EngSoc events, social events, extracurricular stuff, as well as having lots of time to watch movies. LOTS of movies. One might say that thanks to polyphasic sleep, I am far more cultured that I was two months ago, having watched many classic films when I would generally have been sleeping.

    If there are mistakes in here, this is most likely because, for the first time six weeks, I am tired. Must… resist… urge to nap. Maybe I’ll go for groceries, and not at 1:30am this time.

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  • Apr 1, 2010 Best of Interwebz

    (Originally published March 13th, 2009)

    Stuff I randomly found, through stumble or otherwise. None are videos, some link directly to images, though. Safe for work! Except for the stuff that is not safe for work.

    Humour (may be NSFW):

    Photography:

    Inspirational/BAWWWWW:

    Howto/Self-improvement

    Stuff that is interesting for reasons other than above:

    These are in no particular order. Browse at thy will.

    And for good measure, one YouTube video with arguably the best Rube Goldberg machine ever: OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

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