Yay. This is nice.
This is the guy who does the United State of Pop mashups at the end of the year. His summer ones are more hit-and-miss than the end of the year ones, but this one’s pretty good.
MOON THE WALK
WALK THE MOON is now one of my favorite bands, I think.
I discovered them—as I’m sure most people did—through their awesome song Shut Up and Dance. However, they’ve got other songs that, in my opinion, are just as good and maybe even better. Here, have some!
Work This Body (I love this song, holy crap)
Oops
*hangs head in shame over the long period between blog updates*
*attempts to justify lack of updates with flimsy excuses*
*half-heartedly promises to update more frequently*
*offers Ridin’ Ritz Man as recompense for being a crappy blogger*
*disappears into the night*
Zyzzyva
Tonight I was bored so I Photoshopped the hell out of some of my art. Got some cool results.
Here’s “Chameleon” crystallized.
“Fractured Fresnel” with color halftone.
“Persistent Petals” with all sorts of things.
“Data” extruded twice (this is my favorite).
“Eyes of the Sphere” extruded once.
WOO!
Petition for General Mills to make a cereal called “Bernoulli-O’s”
Happy birthday, Johann Bernoulli!
Johnann is one of the eight math whizzes of the Bernoullis, a Swiss family that somehow kept birthing amazing mathematicians into the world over a few generations.
This particular Bernoulli spent a lot of his time studying (and teaching!) infinitesimal calculus way back when calculus was at its very beginnings. He tutored both L’Hopital and Euler in math and was specifically thanked in the very first calculus textbook (written by L’Hopital). He also worked with his brother Jakob on a lot of problems, though there was a good deal of friction and the two often fought.
Johann is extra badass, though, because he was a good friend of LEIBNIZ and a student of his calculus. He was also one of the few who took Leibniz’ side and defended him when the whole Newton-Leibniz calculus controversy began. He actually took several problems and showed that they could be solved using Leibniz’ methods, but not Newton’s. A pretty cool guy, if you ask me.
I DON’T HAVE A TITLE ALSKFAJLFKASDJG5SGA
I love living in Calgary, yo.
I mean, I loved Vancouver, but that was different. I loved the city. It was my escape from everything else (mostly school and the fact that I had zero friends and the fact that I was so, so sad there). Here, I not only love the city but I love school and I (sort of) have friends and I have Nate and I have happiness!
It’s big enough population-wise that there’s the feeling of anonymity, but it’s big enough area-wise that there are good chunks of the city that don’t feel “big city” at all, which is nice for walking.
I also feel a weird connection with Calgary. It’s probably because the 1988 Olympics were held here just a few days after I was born. Which is a weird reason to feel connected to a city, but what are you gonna do.
Finally, everything that’s happened up here so far has made this the most accurate fortune cookie fortune I’ve ever received:
Inside Out!
Nate and I went to see Inside Out today. It was very enjoyable! When I first saw the previews back in May (when we went to see Age of Ultron), I didn’t think it would be a movie that was up to Pixar’s usual standards, but the reviews are right: it’s a very good movie. I really like what they did with the geography of Riley’s brain and how it all fit together at various points in the story.
Also, the Bing-Bong part (you know what I’m talking about if you’ve seen the movie) was really freaking sad.
But yeah, it’s definitely worth seeing in my opinion. While I still haven’t seen some of Pixar’s films (Up and WALL-E are the big ones), of the ones I’ve seen, Inside Out ranks pretty high up there. Not Toy Story high, but high.
[insert nonsensical keyboard mash here]
It’s time for the not-quite-semi-yearly “Claudia feels materialistic” blog post!
(Note: I don’t actually need any of this, I just like to look at pretty things.)
Ready? GO!
iPhone 5s. I’m on the fence about getting a smart phone (not any time soon; when I can afford it, that is). I want one because they’re cool and useful, but I don’t want one because Claudia + constant access to the internet = disaster AND because I would probably damage it somehow within a month or so of getting it. Even so, I’m keeping my eye on the iPhone 5s as an option. I want the iPhone 4 because I love the shape, but no one sells them anymore and the software probably doesn’t even update anymore, either (that’s happening with my 2012 iPod, at least). So if I DO get a smart phone, the iPhone 5s is where it’s at.
The new iPod Touch. I don’t need one (and hopefully won’t for a long while), but I’ve had my current iPod since February 2012. Probabilistically, with all the walking I do (I use it as a pedometer and keep it in my back pocket), it’s going to get broken one of these days. Which would be sad. But if/when that happens, I’d like to get one of the new models. Probably in silver (since I’d just be covering it in a case, anyway). Of course, if I get an iPhone before that, I’d probably just use that as my pedometer, though I’d be really paranoid about breaking it.
I guess the one thing on this list I kind of need is a new desktop computer. Mine died like a month ago—which is okay, considering it survived like 7 moves around the continent and is old enough to still have Vista on it—but I need a new one. Preferably one that can run Fallout 4 once it comes out.
Rainbow socks! My old ones got holey a long time ago and I need replacements.
These two books on the history of statistics.
The end!
BloggiBlog
Okay, so I know we’re still like 9 months away from it, but I’m already excited about my “10 years of blogging” thing next May. That’s a decade of blogging, dudes. That’s a long time.
Here are a few things I plan on doing for the big anniversary:
- Yearly stats: which years had the most words, which years had the highest/lowest GFI scores, all that stuff.
- Category stats: which categories had the most posts, which had the least, which had the most words, which had the least, etc.
- Title stuff! I want to see how many titles I’ve repeated (and how many times) and do a list of my favorites.
- Tag stuff! When I first started using the tags I was super serious about it, but that’s quickly devolved into “can I fit a stupid joke or two in the tags of this post?”
- Graphs. THERE WILL BE GRAPHS.
And probably a bunch of other things I’ve forgotten to include here. Sorry, I started this post and then got distracted reading about Johann Bernoulli, then came back and forgot what else I was going to add to this list.
Claudia: Master Blogger.
Well…
Things to do in Calgary:
- See the Calgary Tower
- Watch a Flames game
- Go to Cross Iron Mills Mall
- Seek shelter from tornadoes
Yeah.
Apparently parts of the city were under tornado warnings this afternoon. Check out some of these pictures.
Menacing, huh? Aaaaaaaaaaaand then it was gone.
Oh, Canada.
(Sources for pics: 1, 2, 3, and 4)
Why I Walk
As you all know, walking is kind of my thing. Which is funny if you think about it, because I used to think of walking as a boring waste of time. Why not just take a car? What kind of weirdo would go walking for fun in their spare time? Why do people waste their lives doing something so dull??
Obviously my opinion has changed. And since I’ve been doing this “walking for fun” thing since late 2010, I figured it’s about time I actually explained why I do it and why it’s enjoyable for me.
The whole reason I started walking in the first place was for stress relief. In August 2010 I was just starting my second year of grad school at UBC and I was already obscenely stressed out about it. It got to the point where, one weekend, I was so anxious that I felt like I just needed to get out of my apartment. So I put my shoes on, grabbed my keys, and just went for a very brief walk. I didn’t have any sort of pedometer with me on that walk, so I can only guess that the walk was likely no longer than a mile tops, but it almost instantly calmed me down and made me forget all my school-related nonsense for the half hour or so I was out there.
Knowing that I’d likely want to go do this again, I dug out a basic pedometer I’d gotten from somewhere and just put it next to my shoes. On my next walk, which was within the same week as the first, I started tracking my steps.
Well, because I’m me, the “walking for relaxation” very quickly became the “walking so I can beat my previous step count,” which was surprisingly just as relaxing as simply walking for walking’s sake. So I kept at it. By that point I’d bought an iPod Nano ‘cause my old one finally died, and it had a built-in pedometer feature that I started using instead of the clip-onto-your-waistband pedometer. Once I bought my iPod Touch, I downloaded the pedometer app I still use today and was able to keep even better track of my walking stats.
Over the next horrible, horrible 8 months of grad school, walking was really the only thing that kept me from jumping off a bridge. Unlike nowadays, when I’ll gladly walk 7+ miles on any given day, I pretty much resigned my walking to Saturdays while I was in Vancouver (though that was mainly due to the fact that it rained about 5 out of the 7 weekdays in that freaking city). But my Saturday walks took me all around Vancouver and were the only things that would get my mind off of my impending thesis and all the other hellish nonsense that second grad school year brought me.
And I’ve been walking ever since. While I’ve never been nearly as stressed as I was in that last year of grad school, walking has consistently been the thing that’s calmed me down and given me time to just think. I always feel like my mind clears up and just works better when I’m out walking and for hours after. It allows me to explore cities (and Moscow) and to get a better grasp on directions/knowing where I am—which is super helpful, because I have the fantastic ability to get lost even with a map in my hands.
And the stats. I freely admit that I would not walk as often as I do now if I didn’t have a way to keep track of my steps/mileage/calories burned/walking time. I really, really like keeping track of things like that. It’s a nice feeling to me to be out on a 4 hour walk, for example, knowing that every step and every second is being counted and recorded and can be referenced and explored later. I just love that. Plus I can do analyses on all the old walks, which is the BEST FREAKING PART OF IT ALL.
So yeah. What began as a desperate attempt at regulating the stress of grad school has evolved into something that is very much a part of me now. I walk because it’s just what I do, and I can’t see myself wanting to cut down on it or stop any time soon.
So yay!
Oh, Garfield…
Oops, I just rediscovered Garkov, a Markov-chain-based Garfield comic strip generator.
Fantastic.
I’ve also, upon rediscovering Garkov, rediscovered Lasagna Cat. All you need to know about Lasagna Cat can be summed up in three words: live action Garfield.
Claudia’s Complete Undergraduate Classes: The Comprehensive List that Nobody Asked For
This was inspired by a conversation Nate and I had about the classes we’d taken in college. These are just the undergraduate ones, mainly because I’ve blocked out as much of my UBC experience as I can without physically removing part of the memory section of my brain. But I remember all these semesters!
There is absolutely no purpose for this list, other than perhaps as a reference sheet for myself when I’m old and gray and feel like reminiscing about school.
So yeah.
Fall 2006 (20 credits)
- CORE 116 (The Sacred Journey): The only reason I took this particular core class was so that I could get that one “international” credit or whatever the hell it was for my psych degree.
- ENGL 102 (College Writing and Rhetoric): I got to skip 101 because of my SAT scores.
- MATH 143 (Pre-Calculus Algebra and Analytic Geometry): NO. Screw this class.
- MUSA 119 (Marching Band): Awesome times!
- PSYC 101 (Introduction to Psychology): I met Sean in this class! This was also my *very first* college class, since it was the first one I went to on that first day.
- THEF 100 (Introduction to Theatre): I wrote a play for this class. It was goddamn horrible. My prof liked it though; she said it was like a weird mix between MAD TV and Chekov.
- THEF 105 (Basics of Performance): We held this class in the combat room in the old gym. Most of our time was spent pretending to be children playing children’s games.
Spring 2007 (20 credits)
- BIOL 102 (Biology and Society): UGH, BIOLOGY. Had to take this for the psych degree. My prof was cool, though.
- BIOL 102 L (Biology and Society Lab): Labs are stressful.
- CORE 166 (The Sacred Journey): Yes, this was a TWO SEMESTER THING. Blaaaah.
- ENLG 258 (Literature of Western Civilization): This is one of the most impactful classes I ever took. It introduced me to Voltaire and philosophy and how everything across all disciplines really do connect to a certain level. I’m so glad I took this class.
- ENGL 292 (Beginning Fiction Writing): Yay! I barely got into this class; I was on the waitlist until like the day before classes started.
- MUSA 121 (Concert Band): Was this the he-brides semester? I think it was.
- PSYC 310 (Psychology of Personality): Interesting class. My second one with Sean!
- STAT 251 (Statistical Methods): I was terrified of this class. I had no idea I would be teaching it in five years’ time.
Summer 2007 (6 credits)
- ENGL 208 (Personal and Exploratory Writing): This would have been a fun class, except for the fact that I was in a major writing slump at the end of the spring semester.
- PSYC 499 (Directed Study): I had to read a book. That was pretty much it.
Fall 2007 (22 credits)
- GEOG 100 (Physical Geography): I learned about clouds! This was also the first professor I had who couldn’t write tests. I think all 150+ of us failed the first one. He got better, though!
- GEOG 100 L (Physical Geography Lab): I repeat: labs are stressful.
- MATH 160 (Survey of Calculus): Also known as “business calculus.” Hated it. Why do you have a class like this at 8 in the morning? Where is the justice in the world?
- MUSA 319 (Marching Band)
- PHIL 320 (History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy): My first philosophy class! No Leibniz yet, though.
- PSYC 218 (Introduction to Research in the Behavioral Sciences): Dr. Bustamante. That is all.
- PSYC 320 (Introduction to Social Psychology): This class was surprisingly difficult, believe it or not. Probably because I no longer cared about any other aspect of psych after the glory that was Tests and Measurements.
- PSYC 430 (Tests and Measurements): YES YES YES YESYESYESYESYES. This was the class that solidified my desire to do quant psych. I would’ve married this class if I could have.
Spring 2008 (25 credits) [God, why did I do this?]
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band)
- PHIL 202 (Introduction to Symbolic Logic): This was a really difficult class for me at the time, but Dr. O’Rourke was awesome and helped me learn a lot.
- PHIL 321 (History of Modern Philosophy): I discover Leibniz and the world is forever changed.
- PSYC 305 (Developmental Psychology): Meh. I didn’t really care about this class too much.
- PSYC 456 (Psychology of Emotion): Haha, another Sean class. We had lots of fun trying to decipher the tests.
- PSYC 330 (Human Sexuality): Very chill and laid back, which is good for an 8:30 AM class.
- PSYC 499 (I/O Psychology Research): My first research experience! Got to run participants and do stats.
- STAT 401 (Statistical Analysis): I was also terrified of this class because we had to use SAS and I had no idea what that was. I still have the book we used and the topics are SO EASY now.
- STAT 422 (Sample Survey Methods): Also terrifying. My first class with Dr. Williams, though, who is awesome.
Summer 2008 (6 credits)
- PHIL 307 (Buddhism): This was a LOT of work over the summer, but fun.
- PSYC 311 (Abnormal Psychology): I wish I would have taken this in a classroom setting rather than online.
Fall 2008 (22 credits)
- MUSA 319 (Marching Band)
- PHIL 103 (Ethics): We read Watchmen, which makes this whole class worth it.
- PHIL 351 (Philosophy of Science): I really liked the material in this class, but was at 8 in the morning. Who can think at 8 AM? Not me!
- PHIL 442 (Philosophy of Mind): Dr. O’Rourke! Very interesting class. Lots of heated debates.
- PSYC 390 (Psychology of Learning): Online class. Super easy.
- PSYC 421 (Cognitive Development): There were only like six of us in this class and the prof took a lot of pity on me because he knew I was trying to graduate early and was really stressed out about it.
- PSYC 499 (I/O Psychology Research)
- STAT 514 (Nonparametric Statistics): I was the only non-graduate student in this class. I think I needed more math, though.
Spring 2009 (22 credits)
- ENGL 392 (Intermediate Fiction Writing): This class was taught by Dr. Orozco, who is super cool and really into running writing workshops.
- MATH 330 (Linear Algebra): No.
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band)
- PHIL 240 (Belief and Reality): I was very fortunate that this class was offered when it was; normally it’s just offered in the fall, so I wouldn’t have been able to complete my philosophy degree if that had been the case this year.
- PHIL 447 (Theory of Knowledge): More Dr. O’Rourke! Less debate, though.
- PHIL 490 (Senior Seminar): This was a three-hour Thursday only class. Rough.
- PSYC 499 (I/O Psychology Research)
- STAT 519 (Multivariate Analysis): YAY, my introduction to R and factor analysis and PCA and all the fun things you can do with multivariate data. Dr Lee rules.
FAST FORWARD!
Fall 2012 (12 credits)
- ENGL 293 (Beginning Nonfiction Writing): Wrote my Leibniz/Newton story in here. This was also the first class in which I made friends during my second round of undergrad.
- MATH 170 (Calculus I): I was nervous about calculus after my business calc experience in 2007, but this class was SO MUCH BETTER. My prof was amazing.
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band): Concert band was not the same without the old group of dorks.
- STAT 426 (SAS Programming): I’ve forgotten pretty much everything about SAS since I use R so exclusively and so often, haha.
Spring 2013 (15 credits)
- CS 120 (Computer Science I): Fun and useful class. I wish I had a reason to use C++ more frequently so that I don’t forget how it works.
- ENGL 393 (Intermediate Nonfiction Writing): The class in which I finally got all the Vancouver out of my system by writing a 50-ish page story about my time there.
- MATH 175 (Calculus II): This class was pretty rough, but also very enjoyable. I somehow managed to get a 100% on our second test, which doesn’t happen with me and math tests. Ever.
- MATH 176 (Discrete Mathematics): My first class with Dr. Abo! This was a super interesting and not too difficult class. This was also the first class in which I was explicitly taught summation notation (though I already knew what it was, of course, ‘cause of stats).
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band)
Summer 2013 (3 Credits)
- MATH 275 (Calculus III): Best summer class ever. I loved multivariate calc mainly because we got to write the integral symbol so often.
Fall 2013 (13 Credits)
- ENGL 492 (Advanced Fiction Writing): Easily my favorite writing class, partially because of my classmates and partially because I was able to write two of my best short stories in it.
- MATH 215 (Introduction to Higher Mathematics): OH MY GOD this was a fun class. Everyone was a total freaking nerd (including our prof) and it was fantastic. I was really nervous about this one, but it was actually pretty easy.
- MATH 330 (Linear Algebra): Yes, I took linear algebra a second time. I had to make up for that B the first time. Also, Dr. Abo taught it this time around and it was so much better and made so much more sense. It helped that half the hooligans from MATH 215 were in this class as well.
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band)
- STAT 451 (Probability Theory): This was quite difficult when I was in it, but looking back on the textbook and comparing it to grad school stats, it’s not that bad at all.
Spring 2014 (13 credits)
- MATH 395 (Analysis of Algorithms): Very laid-back and interesting class. Sorting algorithms FTW!
- MATH 420 (Complex Variables): I have such an appreciation for imaginary numbers after this class, man. It makes me feel cool.
- MUSA 321 (Concert Band)
- STAT 452 (Mathematical Statistics): I have no idea how I did as well in this class as I did. Luck and fear, probably.
- STAT 453 (Stochastic Methods): This was EASILY the most difficult class I’ve ever taken (apart from Algebra II in high school, but that doesn’t count). I got a B in this class and I was just glad it wasn’t lower, let’s put it that way.
That’s 72 classes in a total of five years. That’s a good number of classes.
(Yes, I would do it all again.)
ZipZip
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH. Have a survey.
If a loved one was to serenade you, what song would you most like them to sing?
Dude, anything they’d like! I’ve never been serenaded to, so I’d probably just sit there and giggle like a moron regardless of what was sung.
Would you ever let your parents pick out a partner for you?
Hahaha, I read that as “would you ever let your partner pick out a partner for you” and I was like, “uhhh…”
It would be hilarious to watch my dad try to pick someone for me. I have no idea what type of person he’d choose.
Michelangelo’s David…masterpiece or filth?
Why filth? Because of stone penis? BAH.
Do you like other people buying you clothes?
Nope. No one knows quite what my style is and the sizes are usually off a bit. The thought is appreciated, but I’d rather just buy my own clothes.
What one device would you want to see added to a mobile phone?
Some sort of device that TELLS THEM HOW TO WALK LIKE A CONSIDERATE HUMAN BEING WHILE THEY’RE ON THEIR PHONE. I am so done with people who weave all over the sidewalk when they’re on their phone. If cellphone use is illegal while driving, it should be illegal when walking in my opinion.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Who the hell knows? Hopefully not still in school, but there’s no way I can rule that out given my history. I’d rather be teaching. (And maybe working on another degree on the side?)
Do your dreams ever tell you to do anything?
Not really. Sometimes I try to read them as little subconscious hints to do certain things if they pertain to my actual life, but there are never any explicit directions in them.
Have you ever been to an Art gallery?
Several! I like art galleries.
Do you shout out the answers at the TV whilst watching quiz shows?
I raise my voice at Jeopardy on occasion.
Are you a valuable asset on a Pub Quiz team?
Maybe? I’ve never been on one, but I’ve got my little specialty trivia/quiz categories.
If you could bankrupt one person or company who would it be?
I don’t know if I could do this without causing unwanted consequences to other people.
If you could steal one thing without consequence what would it be?
Probably something Leibniz-related. Like Leibniz. DON’T JUDGE ME.
Book Review: Madame Bovary (Flaubert)
Hey, it’s Flaubert time! LET’S DO THIS, Y’ALL. Spoilers as usual.
Have I read this before: Long, long ago, yes. This was probably the second or third book I read off of my original list, so that was likely in 7th or (at latest) 8th grade.
Review: This book is a lot sadder than I remember it being. Maybe because back in 7th grade I had basically zero concept of what a relationship really was (apart from wanting one with a certain someone, but WE WON’T GET INTO THAT) and what it meant to be in one. But this book is basically all about how miserable it can be to be in a relationship that you don’t want but can’t seem to find a way out of. Flaubert does a really excellent job of portraying the misery of Emma Bovary and how desperate she is to really try and find happiness in a relationship—whether that relationship is with her husband or not. I certainly didn’t remember the poison-induced suicide, though.
Also, I know this was written during a totally different time than today and social standards are a bit different, especially for women, but my mind was basically screaming “YOU PEOPLE NEED COMMUNICATION SKILLS” the entire time.
Favorite part: Lots of good quotes in this book, mostly about how much it sucks being unable to find happiness in a relationship.
- Before the wedding, she had believed herself in love. But not having obtained the happiness that should have resulted from that love, she now fancied that she must have been mistaken.
- As their [Emma and Charles, her husband] outward familiarities grew, she began to be inwardly detached, to hold herself more aloof from him.
- And all the time, deep within her, she was waiting for something to happen. … She had no idea what that chance would be, what wind would waft it to her, where it would set her ashore…But every morning when she woke she hoped to find it there. She listened to every sound, started out of bed, and was surprised when nothing came. Then at sunset, sadder every day, she longed for the morrow.
- (During her affair with Leon) They began to talk more of things indifferent to their love. … She would look forward to a profound happiness at next meeting, then have to admit that she felt nothing remarkable.
Rating: 7/10
OH CRAP
I’m pretty sure hell has just frozen over, as I’ve decided to go back and edit Prime some more. I was on an editing streak way back in summer of 2013, but then I stopped because I got to a rough part at the end of one chapter and I wasn’t quite sure where to go from there to get to the next chapter I’d written. And being me, I didn’t want to just skip a part and continue editing—I wanted to edit everything in order.
So I just…stopped.
But I’ve had the urge to work on that story for about a week now, and today I finally just went back and started where I’d left off. I finished editing the chapter I’d left and then continued on. Is the edit good? Not really. But it’s better than what it was, and it’s not like there won’t be more drafts of this nonsense (if I don’t just get completely sick of it and delete it off the face of the earth) in which I can make things even better.
That is, if an 80-or-so page setup for a really horrible “divide by zero” joke is even capable of being bettered.
So yeah. Prime’s still around and it’s finally going to be worked on again. Yay for everyone.
Universal
This just in: I love Steven Universe. I haven’t liked a show this much since Metalocalypse, which is kind of hilarious to say considering how completely different the two shows are.
But seriously. I really like the premise of the show and the voice acting is great. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out. There are quite a few episodes floating around on YouTube, so give it a shot if you’re looking for something to watch.
If you’re curious about more, read a brief review of the show here!
Also, Garnet is my favorite and is pretty much a gift to the world. You might even say she’s…a gem.
Yeah, I went there. Fight me.
Edit: there is no better use of this song than in this AMV.
Leibniz vs. 2015
On occasion (read: every day), I find myself wondering what Leibniz would think of our modern world nowadays. Like, if we were somehow to manage to bring him back to life at age 40 or so and got someone (read: me) to show him around and calm him down when all the new stuff freaked him out, I wonder what he would really think of things.
- What would he think of modern calculators? His Stepped Reckoner weighed like 80 pounds and could only add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I can buy a palm-sized calculator from the dollar store that can compute any given square root in about the time it takes to blink. And what would he do with a graphing calculator?
- On the larger scale, what would he think of computers? He may have not come up with the original idea for binary, but he certainly refined it enough so that it could be easy to understand and use. Would he be surprised at how far we’ve come technology-wise just based on binary, or would that be something he may have anticipated?
- And what would he think about technology in general? Like, I’m sure if we just recreated 40-year-old Leibniz and dropped him into the modern world, he’d likely be VERY freaked out, but barring that—say we were able to calm him down and explain things to him—what would he think of our technology now? I’d bet he’d want to deconstruct EVERYTHING to see how it all works, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he just came up with a few improvements off the top of his head. ‘Cause, you know, Leibniz.
- How would he feel about the fact that now, in 2015, we still use several of his original symbols in calculus? If I were to show him a college calculus textbook, flip to the first section on integration, and point to his elongated “s” symbol, what would his reaction be? Would he think the textbook was from some previous century? Would he realize that the time he spent thoughtfully considering appropriate and intuitive symbols to describe math was not wasted? I wonder if he’d approve or disapprove of the modern calculus textbook in general.
- WHAT WOULD HE THINK ABOUT GLASSES? The poor guy was ridiculously near-sighted by the time he was about 20. Reading and writing must have been quite difficult for him. A good pair of specs would allow him to see clearly, both near and far. I wonder what his reaction to that would be.
- What would he think about his Wikipedia page, or any other brief history of his life/accomplishments? Would he feel proud seeing the long list of accomplishments that he’d achieved during his life? Would he wish he’d had more time to do more things? (Probably.) I wonder if he’d be happy with how people see him nowadays and/or how they interpret his philosophical contributions and his general view of the world.
Interesting things to think about. I also like the idea of him impulsively shunning the fashion of his day in favor of some outfit he saw at H&M or something. He’d go running through the store towards it, shedding clothes and knocking over all the displays along the way.
Everyone else: Leibniz, no!
Me: Leibniz, yes.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
I will not let my insecurities rule my thoughts.
This has been another quality blog post brought to you by Claudia!
Aria Listening? (LOL OPERA JOKE)
OH MY GOD, so in the finale episode of Daredevil, the aria Nessun Dorma is featured during a particular sequence (not going to say anything more…spoilers, you know) and for the past few days I’ve been trying to find the version that was in the show ‘cause it was freaking beautiful.
But I just found a video of Pavarotti singing it instead and it’s the greatest thing ever.
Wow.
[vacant]
I feel like garbage, so have some internet stuff instead of an actual blog post.
Haha, what am I saying? You’d probably all prefer that to my actual blog posts, anyway.
Daredevil
Y’all need to watch Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix, okay? It’s super dark and violent, but it’s really, really good. I was expecting to enjoy it when Nate and I started watching it, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Watch it, yo.
Also, the opening sequence is quite cool:
Yes, I know these blog posts suck.
Hey, so here’s a website that allows you to upload an image you like, project it onto an article of clothing like a dress or a skirt or leggings, tweak it around until you’ve got a pattern you like, and then BUY IT.
Very cool.
(Sorry, I don’t have much going on right now.)
Gwobba wubba?
I’m pretty sure we’ve screwed up the planet past the point of being able to fix it.
I mean, I’ve thought that for a while now, but the way the weather’s been acting this year (not just in Calgary but everywhere) and for the past, say, five years as well really suggests to me that we’ve gone past the tipping point.
Which is quite scary.
I didn’t think the major consequences of our destroying the planet were going to hit us in our lifetimes (the lifetimes of our children, yes, but not ours), but given what’s been going on, I’m going to say that they’ll be happening within the next 15 years or so, max.
Yup. Scary.
Wow, it’s a survey! I *never* do those!
1. What’s overdue for a good cleaning?
Since I just cleaned and moved out of my old apartment and the new condo is pretty darn clean, I’d have to say my office. I have papers in there from last fall.
2. What’s overdue for some kind of professional examination, service, maintenance, or upkeep?
Probably my body, haha. I haven’t been to the doctor in forever (mainly because there is no such thing as a “good doctor” in Moscow—trust me, I’ve seen them all) and I’m too wary of doctors to even bother finding one up here. Once I break off an arm or lose all feeling in my butt or something I’ll go see a doctor. Promise. (Maybe.)
3. Who’s overdue for a phone call or letter to you?
My dad? Haha. Though I owe him one, too.
4. What’s overdue for an appearance in your neighborhood?
I have no idea. We just moved here!
5. Who’s overdue for a good comeuppance?
A certain someone who shall not be mentioned by name.
6. What’s a gross food you like anyway?
I like escargot. That’s something most people would probably find gross, huh?
7. Who’s an unlikeable person you like anyway?
How would I know if they’re unlikeable if I like them?
8. What’s an unpleasant task you enjoy performing anyway?
I like a lot of tedious stuff most people don’t like, but I can’t think of anything specific right now.
9. What’s a dumb song you enjoy anyway?
There’s a good number of songs out there with godawful lyrics but a fantastic beat, so I can’t help but enjoy them.
10. What’s a lousy restaurant you frequent anyway?
I don’t really frequent any restaurants anymore. I do like McDonald’s though.
11. What’s your favourite Sci-fi film/program etc?
I don’t like sci-fi in general, but if you consider Sunshine to be sci-fi, then Sunshine.
12. Have you ever had a proper Tarot reading?
Nope. I have a book on how to do one, though.
13. Have you ever used the phrase “back in my time” to someone younger than you?
Only jokingly.
14. Have you ever done something really unbelievable, only to have no one around to see it?
Yes! One Saturday, back when I was teaching, I was writing up my lecture notes for the random variables/probability section. I was discussing discrete vs. continuous random variables and I wanted to show that a continuous variable could take on any value in a given interval, so I mashed the number pad and got a number with 14 or so digits. Then I turned the page in the textbook that I was referencing and they had the EXACT SAME NUMBER as their example. I am not even kidding. Even today I can’t believe that happened. That’s basically statistically impossible, but it happened, dudes.
15. If you were famous would you want a statue or a building named after you?
Gimme a building!
Eigenblogger 