Thursday, September 27, 2007
Skeptical Scrutiny
An homage to skepticism.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Will you still love me....
...when I'm 34?
Today is my birthday. Only a couple of people, other than my family, remembered (and,besides my mom and grandma, that was under duress).
Most of my friends get lots of birthday greetings on their Myspace pages. Clearly they don't reciprocate. I got a funny comment from one of my HS pals, a dorky message from one of my ex boyfriends and otherwise zilch. It's only 9 pm but I don't think I'm going to hold out hope for more than that.
Don't you all know I'm terribly shallow? Popularity is important to me and things aren't working out on this front.
I did get a nice card from a family friend who I hardly ever see but who always remembers.
Once you get past 21, it's all downhill. :(
I feel like crying.
Today is my birthday. Only a couple of people, other than my family, remembered (and,besides my mom and grandma, that was under duress).
Most of my friends get lots of birthday greetings on their Myspace pages. Clearly they don't reciprocate. I got a funny comment from one of my HS pals, a dorky message from one of my ex boyfriends and otherwise zilch. It's only 9 pm but I don't think I'm going to hold out hope for more than that.
Don't you all know I'm terribly shallow? Popularity is important to me and things aren't working out on this front.
I did get a nice card from a family friend who I hardly ever see but who always remembers.
Once you get past 21, it's all downhill. :(
I feel like crying.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
I got my Ravelry invite!!!!!!
Wheeeeee whooooo!!!!! woot woot woot!!!
I'm on the run this weekend so I won't have time to explore for a couple of days but I'm so excited I could pee myself!!!!!!Labels: knitting ravelry
Thursday, September 13, 2007
sooooo tired
I haven't posted all week 'cuz I'm just too dang tired.
I returned to corporate-whoredom on Monday and I quickly realized just how spoiled I had become out in the cold, hard world of consulting.
It sucks to sit at a desk all day when there are better things to do.
I returned to corporate-whoredom on Monday and I quickly realized just how spoiled I had become out in the cold, hard world of consulting.
It sucks to sit at a desk all day when there are better things to do.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Forensic Evidence #2
It's been a long day. Long story that I won't go into but I have had 12 or so hours on my hands so I made a buncha photoshop manipulations w/ recent photos.
Go here for the whole set.
I start work tomorrow. Argh. Boo. Hiss.
Friday, September 07, 2007
I couldn't have said it better, yo.
Wired's how to wiki - Write a Perfect Email.
If only everyone who sent me obtuse, worthless, spammy email over the course of my life had adhered to the rules here... well, gosh, think of all the extra time I would have on my hands.
If only everyone who sent me obtuse, worthless, spammy email over the course of my life had adhered to the rules here... well, gosh, think of all the extra time I would have on my hands.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Am I the only one who takes issue with this?
I remember the news coverage earlier this year about the two African American football coaches taking teams to the Superbowl. I didn't give it more than cursory attention... not because I don't care about the achievements of hard working minorities but because I simply don't give a crap about football.
Alas football season is encroaching again and even though I don't watch it, ESPN seems to play endlessly on the gigantor television my other half bought himself during March Madness.
Tonight, mid-knit, I caught one of the announcers from the Colts/Saints game talking about Tony Dungy (the coach for the Indy Colts who won SB XLI). Apparently his daughter recently graduated from college and some of her professors likened Dungy's Superbowl success to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other great civil rights leaders....
Excuse me???? WTF? By no means do I mean to diminish the accomplishments of this man but ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How on earth can someone reasonably compare the success of a leader in sports (which, come on people, is ENTERTAINMENT) to people like MLK and other civil rights leaders? People who risked their lives to change
the future of millions of people??
Let's see... Civil Rights Act of 1964... Beating the Chicago Bears 29 - 17... Oh, OK, yeah... I totally see how they are the same. [uh, that was sarcasm, btw.]
Alas football season is encroaching again and even though I don't watch it, ESPN seems to play endlessly on the gigantor television my other half bought himself during March Madness.
Tonight, mid-knit, I caught one of the announcers from the Colts/Saints game talking about Tony Dungy (the coach for the Indy Colts who won SB XLI). Apparently his daughter recently graduated from college and some of her professors likened Dungy's Superbowl success to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other great civil rights leaders....
Excuse me???? WTF? By no means do I mean to diminish the accomplishments of this man but ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How on earth can someone reasonably compare the success of a leader in sports (which, come on people, is ENTERTAINMENT) to people like MLK and other civil rights leaders? People who risked their lives to change
the future of millions of people??
Let's see... Civil Rights Act of 1964... Beating the Chicago Bears 29 - 17... Oh, OK, yeah... I totally see how they are the same. [uh, that was sarcasm, btw.]
Labels: rant
Questionable ad campaigns...
So I'm driving down Reisterstown Road (aka Talladega Speedway) when I see this on the back of an MTA bus....
I'm an Aggressive Driver
STOP
or get tickets, fines and points
It's one of the ads for Smooth Operator - a Maryland/DC partnership to reduce aggressive driving. Necessary here in this lawless land of the mid-Atlantic where we have the worst drivers and most atrocious traffic west of Calcutta. I'm all for it. It's a great thing.
However, the irony of the thing is the font sizes and graphic design layout of this particular outdoor advertising (click the link to see the real dealio) and the fact it was on the back of a city bus. At first I thought it was a real warning about the bus and not an advertisement.
You see, the bus drivers here in Harm City are required not only to be blind and obstinate, they must also be aggressive drivers. They will pull away from a bus stop and cut your ass off with no regard to oncoming traffic. Always. It's the law.
Labels: hee-hee ha-ha
Shexy shexy feeshnets
Just finished this weekend - very quick knit.
Pattern is from Knitting Lingerie Style and yarn is Cascade Fixation.
Important note: the instructions in the book are totally wrong.... in Rnd 1, " *K1, yo,k2tog, repeat from * around ", should actually read: "K1 * yo,k2tog, repeat from * around ".
And the ribbing should be " k1,p1 " instead of " k2, p2"
Otherwise, the book is a lovely book (although I haven't actually tried any of the other patterns!)
Pattern is from Knitting Lingerie Style and yarn is Cascade Fixation.
Important note: the instructions in the book are totally wrong.... in Rnd 1, " *K1, yo,k2tog, repeat from * around ", should actually read: "K1 * yo,k2tog, repeat from * around ".
And the ribbing should be " k1,p1 " instead of " k2, p2"
Otherwise, the book is a lovely book (although I haven't actually tried any of the other patterns!)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Praise. The. Lord.
I got the job offer I had been hoping for.
Unless something drastic happens in the next week, it looks like old Steffie Cake is heading back to the corporate grind.
Unless something drastic happens in the next week, it looks like old Steffie Cake is heading back to the corporate grind.
Labels: news
oh, yeah.... by the way... I'm officially published
I did some lesson plan writing for a guy - Ed McCormick - who is the proprietor of ArtMolds. He was great to work with but I thoroughly expected that I was just ghost writing for a few bucks. (I gotta pay the bills and you all know my mantra: "will-write-for-food")
However, as it turns out, I get credited. In the frikkin' BY LINE no less. And, like, searchable on AMAZON. Holy Schmokes. Is this my 15 minutes of fame???
Anywho. Check it out here. Better yet, go type my name in an Amazon search for books. (it's the little things in life that are gratifying, no?) It isn't going to be a New York Times Best Seller or a Pulitzer Prize winner but it was an honest day's work and I'm kinda proud, ya know?
Oh, and a pox on anyone who leaves less than a 5-star rating for this book. Muhahahaha!
However, as it turns out, I get credited. In the frikkin' BY LINE no less. And, like, searchable on AMAZON. Holy Schmokes. Is this my 15 minutes of fame???
Anywho. Check it out here. Better yet, go type my name in an Amazon search for books. (it's the little things in life that are gratifying, no?) It isn't going to be a New York Times Best Seller or a Pulitzer Prize winner but it was an honest day's work and I'm kinda proud, ya know?
Oh, and a pox on anyone who leaves less than a 5-star rating for this book. Muhahahaha!
Labels: news
I'm having a quandry
Thinking too much again. Darn me and my lack of middle-class American interest in banal topics like Rachel Ray and Pringles.
So I've been reading Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and its Uses by Tom Clark (honestly I should be done with it, it's a short book)... and I'm torn. Really torn.
Let me first say that I can really get all up on naturalism as a world view. It jives with my sensibilities. It compliments the psychology stuff I taught for the past 2 1/2 years. It's all good. And one of the things that had been nagging me - the concept of spirituality - actually works out quite nicely in my mind.
BUT. BIG BUT. I'm still really stumped when I get to the ideas about free will vs. determinism. At first I thought I was just having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the concepts. Because really, it's a pretty abstract thing and the explanation, for the uninitiated, goes something like this: "We aren't robots. But we don't have free will. But we can make decisions and act on impulses. But we are pre-determined." It seems contradictory at first.
Suffice it to say, it all goes back to "contra-causal free will" which is very different from making decisions and acting on impulses. When you look at specific social examples it makes much more sense... like alcoholism - is it a disease w/ a genetic disposition or do people make the decision to be lousy drunks? Well, obviously modern medical science has proven without a doubt that alcoholism is a disease and very surely has genetic markers. So a person can't really help it if they are pre-disposed toward addiction. And there you have a textbook examples of determinism.
But... here's where the BUTBUTBUTBUT comes in. Tom Clark seems to be advocating a pablum puking sort of lefty left liberalism when he gets to the political and social implications of determinism. And he takes a few sucker punches at "Conservative Libertarianism", which I take issue with. Libertarianism is a very broad topic... just as virtually all the "-isms" are. But the topic of personal responsibility is a somewhat important concept in the world of Libertarians (I would not consider myself a conservative Libertarian, by the way. In fact I'm not sure if I could even consider myself a capital L libertarian.... but I digress.)
Clark seems to hint at the idea that we should give people (and ourselves for that matter) a break for their poor upbringing, their socio-economic ills, their lack of intestinal fortitude. That we should have a more understanding society that works with people and focuses on dealing with the determinants of these issues. Ok, yeah, so I agree with this. He also says that when we fully subscribe to the idea of determinism, we no longer fall victim to guilt and shame, yadayada. Alright, that's fine. But maybe a little guilt isn't such a bad thing all the time.
Perhaps I'm not evolved or advanced enough to work out the kinks. Maybe I'm a wishful thinker and I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too. And again, I am totally with the concept of determinism because I believe in it whole heartedly but what the hell is wrong with some dang personal responsibility?!
Of course I believe in preventative "medicine" for societies ills. It is better to educate and prevent than to deal with the aftermath of poverty, abuse, neglect, criminal acts and all that stuff. But I guess where I can't get it all to connect is where I beg the question.... When SOMEONE doesn't pick up the slack with personal responsibility, then we go around and around in circles!!! You know, "I can't help the way I am because I'm a fully caused human being so you need to be more understanding of me.... but you're a fully caused selfish human being so I'm going to keep behaving badly because you don't understand me and I'm a fully caused human being...." And on and on and so on.
Do you get my point? Personal responsibility has to fall in there somewhere for us to climb over all the chaos and the "not-playing-well-with-others". It simply has to. I'm not talking about selflessness or or even self righteousness. It's just one of those decisions we should make even though we don't want to. It's called conflict management. I guess my problem is that my view is one that is fully determined too.
Through my upbringing and adult experiences, I have formed a pretty firm stance to take responsibility for my actions, admit my mistakes and pick my battles wisely so perhaps I'm just arguing my own circles. Well, damn, Stephanie! Bob's yer uncle, I think you answered your own question.
So I've been reading Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and its Uses by Tom Clark (honestly I should be done with it, it's a short book)... and I'm torn. Really torn.
Let me first say that I can really get all up on naturalism as a world view. It jives with my sensibilities. It compliments the psychology stuff I taught for the past 2 1/2 years. It's all good. And one of the things that had been nagging me - the concept of spirituality - actually works out quite nicely in my mind.
BUT. BIG BUT. I'm still really stumped when I get to the ideas about free will vs. determinism. At first I thought I was just having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the concepts. Because really, it's a pretty abstract thing and the explanation, for the uninitiated, goes something like this: "We aren't robots. But we don't have free will. But we can make decisions and act on impulses. But we are pre-determined." It seems contradictory at first.
Suffice it to say, it all goes back to "contra-causal free will" which is very different from making decisions and acting on impulses. When you look at specific social examples it makes much more sense... like alcoholism - is it a disease w/ a genetic disposition or do people make the decision to be lousy drunks? Well, obviously modern medical science has proven without a doubt that alcoholism is a disease and very surely has genetic markers. So a person can't really help it if they are pre-disposed toward addiction. And there you have a textbook examples of determinism.
But... here's where the BUTBUTBUTBUT comes in. Tom Clark seems to be advocating a pablum puking sort of lefty left liberalism when he gets to the political and social implications of determinism. And he takes a few sucker punches at "Conservative Libertarianism", which I take issue with. Libertarianism is a very broad topic... just as virtually all the "-isms" are. But the topic of personal responsibility is a somewhat important concept in the world of Libertarians (I would not consider myself a conservative Libertarian, by the way. In fact I'm not sure if I could even consider myself a capital L libertarian.... but I digress.)
Clark seems to hint at the idea that we should give people (and ourselves for that matter) a break for their poor upbringing, their socio-economic ills, their lack of intestinal fortitude. That we should have a more understanding society that works with people and focuses on dealing with the determinants of these issues. Ok, yeah, so I agree with this. He also says that when we fully subscribe to the idea of determinism, we no longer fall victim to guilt and shame, yadayada. Alright, that's fine. But maybe a little guilt isn't such a bad thing all the time.
Perhaps I'm not evolved or advanced enough to work out the kinks. Maybe I'm a wishful thinker and I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too. And again, I am totally with the concept of determinism because I believe in it whole heartedly but what the hell is wrong with some dang personal responsibility?!
Of course I believe in preventative "medicine" for societies ills. It is better to educate and prevent than to deal with the aftermath of poverty, abuse, neglect, criminal acts and all that stuff. But I guess where I can't get it all to connect is where I beg the question.... When SOMEONE doesn't pick up the slack with personal responsibility, then we go around and around in circles!!! You know, "I can't help the way I am because I'm a fully caused human being so you need to be more understanding of me.... but you're a fully caused selfish human being so I'm going to keep behaving badly because you don't understand me and I'm a fully caused human being...." And on and on and so on.
Do you get my point? Personal responsibility has to fall in there somewhere for us to climb over all the chaos and the "not-playing-well-with-others". It simply has to. I'm not talking about selflessness or or even self righteousness. It's just one of those decisions we should make even though we don't want to. It's called conflict management. I guess my problem is that my view is one that is fully determined too.
Through my upbringing and adult experiences, I have formed a pretty firm stance to take responsibility for my actions, admit my mistakes and pick my battles wisely so perhaps I'm just arguing my own circles. Well, damn, Stephanie! Bob's yer uncle, I think you answered your own question.
Labels: naturalism
Monday, September 03, 2007
me & Dan "BanjerDan" Mazer from The Wayward Drifters
It was a wacky night w/ the gang in SoMd. After mucho drinko in Solomon's (Tiki Bar...yup, I know... that's all I had to say, right?), William & I randomly headed to The Green Door. Expecting to find the usual St. Mary's college antics, such as beer pong, we were pleasantly suprised to find JB Beverly and the Wayward Drifters playing. These dudes ROCKED (go find 'em on MySpace and listen to their music dammit). Good old roots country, a la Johnny Cash/Merle Haggard/Hank Williams (SENIOR, people!).... banjo, upright bass, the whole shebang. It was sweet. There was also beer pong going on but you can't have it all, can you?
Labels: good times
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