Anchorman

OK, so I'm watching a rerun of Will Ferrel as Ron Burgundy in Anchorman on TBS and this scene comes up. Cracked me up. It's worth repeating:

Work Ethic

I had Friday off of work and really enjoyed not going in. The more I think about it I could get used to not going into work - alot. Maybe all the time. Probably wouldn't even take me all that long to get used to a non-work routine. Kindof suits my natural tendencies.

Spent the day trying to record some loops into Ableton Live, a music software I'm learning a bit that seems to offer some very cool jamming opportunities.

Here's a little sample tune I was messing around with. Here's the download link if that works better.

Gandhi quote

I was reading a blog and came across this Gandhi quote regarding happiness. I've never really seen it put this way:

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Cool word for the day - Quintessence

I saw the word "quintessence" in a forum the other day... It was used completely incorrectly there - they meant coincidence but said their spell-checker lead them to quintessence instead - but nevertheless I thought "what a cool word" when I saw it.

Here's dictonary.com on on quintessence. there are lots of definitions given, but the common theme is one of "the purest and most concentrated essence of something."

Historically it seems to have roots as the 5th and essential element that permeates everything - after earth, air, fire, and water.

op-ed by Willaim Ayers

I found this interesting. The "Bill Ayers" from the political campaign - violent Vietnam war protester on relationship with Obama from the New York Times. It's the first comment I've seen from him.

From the op-ed:

There is a long and sad history of guilt by association in our political culture, and at crucial times we’ve been unable to rise above it.

President-elect Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the bookstore. We didn’t pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better.

For reference if interested: Here's Obama's website's statement on Ayers along with lots of press sources cited.

Jupiter and Venus

If you're like me, leaving work sortof zombified and staring up at the night sky as you walk out to your car in the dark, you've noticed these two really bright stars up in the sky. Turns out they're Venus and Jupiter and there's this very cool photo on astronomy pic of the day showing them with the moon actually passing in front.

Additionally, you've probably heard about the meteor that lit up the sky over Canada that was caught on film. Here's the video. Way cool.

Depression talk

Economic depression that is...

There's lots of discussion of the 1930s and the great depression as folks muster comparisons to the current economic situation. What I find interesting and don't quite "buy" is the conclusion that somehow a war is the way out of a depression.

I find it hard to understand how if we put all our efforts into a bombs that explode, into machines that destroy each other, into lives that are extinguished - that somehow all that destruction equals good news for the economy.

I guess essentially I'm questioning the statement repeated over and over that reinforces the view that war is good for the economy, and that WWII actually brought us out of the depression.

The Danger: If it is widely believed that war spending - or any kind of spending for that matter - produces economic benefits, then we're likely to not require spending to be tied to "productive" spending or spending that is expected to have positive economic benefits.

I can fill up canisters with gunpowder all day, and sell them to someone who blows them up at the end of the day - and I've created economic growth, but I haven't really produced anything. Similarly, I'm afraid we can bail out companies all day, we can cause alot of activity, but if they all disappear at the end of the day have we really produced anything? (or even worse - what if these hulking dying companies survive only to prolong a death whose time has come?)

I hope the large economic federal spending that we'll be injecting into the economy in the coming year or years tries to remain focused on "productive" outcomes. Whatever we spend it on, make sure it exists in a viable way at the end of the day. And I'm not necessarily sure I'm against large upheaval and turnover in the economy. Creative destruction can be good and often is necessary to clear the landscape for new ideas. The dinosaurs had to go before I could be here to write this. (and I'm not making a value judgment here - maybe the dinosaur's blog could've been far more interesting if he'd have survived instead).