User: cadence Date: 2008-11-13 10:23 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

had something to post
don't remember what it was
it's a haiku now






clearly it's the best
do haiku in comments, guys
it will be awesome

(triple cross posted
as I have three journals now
for greatest haiku)

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User: cadence Date: 2008-11-11 20:09 Subject: I am a (occasionally neurotic) linguistics dork Security: Public

Somewhat predictably, my spike of outgoing productivity has been followed immediately by a minor bout of "arrgh no one likes me I am braindead everything I say is coming out wrong why did I ever think I could be clever arrgh", which is never fun even when I've identified it as such. But! I'm totally GETTING OVER IT, which is why I am posting.

...Fortunately I have something more interesting to post about than that. >_>

So! On the shuttle coming home from work today, the radio (NPR, possibly?) was talking about international politics. The part that I found kind of odd was that they kept saying things like "the next US president" - not once in the ten minutes or so I was on the shuttle did they use Obama's name. They were being ambiguous about names more generally, too, but we did get "the Bush administration" at least once.

The part that I found most interesting was this sentence (possibily paraphrased; from memory):

What should the next US president - or, for that matter, their secretary of defense... ah, what should they do, if they start hearing reports of further violent actions in Iraq?

The part that caught my attention there is the pronouns! Particularly the first one. "their secretary of defense"? That's "Obama's secretary of defense" - the gender isn't at all ambiguous, so they could have said "his" quite reasonably.

But I'm glad they didn't! I'm a big supporter of using "they" as a singular pronoun when the gender is ambiguous - and also when it's not ambiguous, but that still seems a lot more awkward to people. But this is an example of it maybe becoming less awkward!

Although it probably was caused by the fact that they were trying so hard to be ambiguous about it even though it's not, which I still don't really understand.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-11-05 12:18 Subject: Aaugh California Security: Public

First: I am ridiculously happy Obama was elected. His speech almost made me cry, and I still smile every time I see mention of it.

But ( if you don't want your election glee harshed, do not click )

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-22 22:39 Subject: so much awesome Security: Public

Guys.

Guys.

The Hob storyline in Dresden Codak just finished, finally. \o/ OMG YAY.

GO READ IT FROM THE BEGINNING NOW. DOOO IT. Only 27 (gorgeous) strips, it won't take you that long.

And then come flail with me about the last comic, where Kimiko ( spoilers )

in other news, I meant to do a serious thinky post tonight but instead I think I'm just going to sleep early. Tomorrow, maybe.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-14 16:08 Subject: My mortal nemeses (WIP) Security: Public

• John Searle (philosopher)
• Perl (programming language)

...admittedly it is a list of two so far, but THEY RHYME. Conspiracy? YOU BE THE JUDGE

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-14 11:15 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

I am "working from home" today.

...I probably will get actual work done, despite the scare quotes, but my goals for the day are accomplishing domestic responsibilities. Therefore, list! To-do lists are almost like content.

[ ] LAUNDRY OMG
    [x] wash
    [x] dry
    [ ] FOLD
    [x] wash
    [x] dry
    [ ] FOLD
[x] clean catbox
[x] write check
[x] eat lunch
[x] mail check and address update
[x] take coat to dry cleaners
[x] pick up rolls and cheese for french dips
[ ] clean room some?
[ ] not camp

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-10 17:22 Subject: 10 things meme Security: Public

Really this is a get-to-know-you meme for my recently revived personal LJ. But I'm crossposting everything between here and there, so you guys get this, too. Hopefully there's still some interesting stuff.

10 things I assume people reading this journal know about me.
plus small-text details that I do not actually assume people know, if you are interested.

( there... are ten of them )

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-10 13:04 Subject: Breaking news Security: Public

Via Shakesville, Connecticut's Supreme Court just overturned the state's same-sex marriage ban.

That makes 3 down, 47 to go! Although really I would rather our national politicians just learned to take a hint. Still: good, good, news. ♥

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User: cadence Date: 2008-10-08 15:51 Subject: It's not even really winter yet Security: Public

...although Seattle was trying really hard to convince me otherwise, on Monday. The sky was solid dark gray for the entire day, it rained a lot, and it was completely dark about an hour before it felt like it should have been. :<

Even without the weather, though, I've been really out of it lately. Yesterday and today there was sunlight! And in my new desk-position at work I get direct sun shining on me for a couple of hours in the afternoon. ^__^

And yet I'm so... bleh. ( cut for introspection! )

Anyway! tl;dr = Apologies for not commenting on things lately. I have been unfocused and antisocial.

And, because things are not actually anywhere near as bad as my brain seems to be convinced they are, a list of good things:

- I'm having ridiculous amounts of fun with Graham in camp
- Camp people are cool
- Soul Eater is amazing
- Infinite Undiscovery is pretty cool too
- I started a new fic yesterday, for probably the first time in months
and maybe when I stop hating every sentence I write, I will make more progress on it
- I got promoted! Got the official paperwork for it on Monday~
- I'm actually making impressive progress on my current project at work!
despite a) thinking it would be a big pain and b) having almost no attention span at work - witness
- Living with laylah and mahokiwi is awesome!

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User: cadence Date: 2008-09-08 15:14 Subject: but why can't I have HAPPY and interesting dreams Security: Public Mood: sleepy

So I had a sort of creepy dream last night! Not really a nightmare, because it wasn't nightmare-scare, just... creepy. And stressful. Kind of interesting, though, like a horror short story.

( Creepyness warning? )

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User: cadence Date: 2008-08-25 14:56 Subject: INSTANT RAGE BUTTON GO Security: Public Mood: infuriated

Google Closes its Soup Kitchen is a mostly tongue-in-cheek article about how Google's main campus is about to stop serving free dinner to its employees. (They'll still have free breakfast and lunch. Just not dinner.) Which is interesting news! And the article itself is mostly... not... terrible, for a fluff article. It has at least one typo, and quotes opinions from (apparently) random pseudonymous commenters from the internet, but it manages some decent snark in the process.

But this part made me hate the whole thing instantly (emphasis mine):

Some workers have complained about the "Google 20": Packing on 20 pounds in the first year or so at the company, thanks to all that free grub. It’s kind of like being married, except that you don’t have to take out the garbage.

Because of course being married == having a wife who cooks for you all the time for free.

Except sometimes she makes you take out the garbage. What's up with that, guys? Huh? Wives, such nags, huh? </bitter sarcasm>

HAAAATE SO MUCH

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User: cadence Date: 2008-08-15 23:32 Subject: It is 11:30 p.m. Security: Public

...do you know where your children are? And by children I mean... stuff. Because I know where mine is! It is not all in boxes yet aaargh

I'm taking a short break.

Things what still need packed:
[ ] mixing bowls
[ ] custard cups
[x] last four drinking cups
[x] pots
[x] pans
[ ] kettle
[x] knives
[x] baking sheets
[ ] misc kitchen things
[/] all the junk on top of the refrigerator
[x] dish towels, pot holders, etc.
[ ] other misc. kitchen drawer junk
[x] spare pillows
[x] spare quilt
Number of boxes I have left for all of the above: 2 (Slip some of it in with the below things maybe?)
[x] last medium box worth of electronic things
[x] last small box worth of misc stuff

This stuff I can do tomorrow for sure:
[x] laptop, power cord go in my bag
[x] laundry, bathroom stuff, router go in my suitcase
[x] bedding off bed -> labeled garbage bag
[x] clean litter box
[x] trash to trash chute
[x] recycling to recycling bins

This stuff doesn't even get a checkbox because I'm leaving it behind for now:
- food in the refrigerator
- cleaning supplies
- plants
- ...whatever I don't manage to pack of the above

Let's see how much of it I get done before I either collapse or run out of boxes.

The end of the day tomorrow will be so awesome.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-08-14 22:35 Subject: I swear I don't have that much stuff Security: Public Mood: dead of packing

...and yet I also swear I've been packing things since before 5pm (power outage at work meant extra free time!), and I have more things on my "to pack" list than I did when I started. orz (Due to oversights or overgeneralizations in the list rather than spontaneous generation, of course.)

Also I don't have a box big enough for Rock Band drums/guitars.

Also I am running out of boxes in general, so I'd better stop adding things to my list soon. >_>

...For now, I think, sleep. Tomorrow I will hopefully skip out of work early to finish up. >_>;;;

Remind me not to do this moving thing again any time soon. For reals this time.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-08-06 00:19 Subject: Cadence's lecture hall: The Turing test, Turing machines, and computability Security: Public Mood: teaching!

So, I studied computer science, right? And it has often come to my attention over the years that many people have no real idea what that actually is. >_> I mean, I can say "I write code," but even then, I had a teammate once who had no idea what that meant - she thought I, I don't know, knew how to work Word really well, or something. I had to work really hard to explain that no, it was more like writing the instructions that made Word (for example) or even Windows (I did take an OS class) exist.

I am going to assume that most of my flist at least knows that much - that I write code, and by that I don't mean HTML, I mean the actual instructions that make computers do things.

HOWEVER. A lot of the really cool parts of CS are the theoretical parts. I took several classes in which I wrote no code at all, and they were some of my favorites. CS theory has a lot in common with math, logic, and even philosophy - it's about what problems can be solved, and how. And I kind of miss talking about it. So, I thought I'd try to share some of the interesting bits with people.

To start, let's talk a bit about ( Alan Turing )

( the Turing test )

( and Turing machines )

Next time (if anyone is at all interested in a next time): Time bounds on algorithms. Sorting. NP-completeness.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-08-04 12:02 Subject: REVISED to-do list Security: Public

Man am I glad I'm still on vacation. >_> ...Possibly I will be less so, next week, but still.

Today:
[x] contact movers
[x] contact mother
[x] lunch
[x] dull-paint Graham's wrench so blindingly shiny
[ ] Graham full test run? :3
[x] dinner

Tuesday:
[x] get matte gray paint
[x] full coat of matte paint on wrench
[x] repaint details
[x] Graham full test run?

Before con:
[x] pack up Graham's wrench for transport
    [no] ... is there a better way than the box, which hits me with an oversize baggage charge?
[x] pack up everything else for con!

Spare time:
[ ] Start DDS!
[x] write Turing post
[ ] write fic
[x] ... work on app?

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User: cadence Date: 2008-07-30 16:04 Subject: And this is why I should never be let near a farmer's market Security: Public Tags: hi internet this is what i did today, i love fruit

Background: I had to be in downtown Kirkland at 1:30 today. Of course, given my luck with bus schedules, my choices were to get there 20 minutes early or 10 minutes late. I opted for early, figuring that I could grab something to eat/drink in the meantime.

As I was heading over I thought to myself "oh hey, isn't there a farmer's market right by the Kirkland bus terminals on Wednesdays? ...Maybe that's in the morning."

I got there and saw that I was right, and it wasn't in the morning; in fact, there was a sign saying "No sales before 2pm. Please let our vendors get set up." So I figured that, instead, I could check it out while waiting for a bus back - they would be just starting, so all the best stuff would be there.

And so I did.

( and, uh, got some stuff )

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User: cadence Date: 2008-07-28 23:31 Subject: Vacation to do list~ Security: Public

I actually slept in late today! I mean, I was up for a little bit at 6:30 this morning, but clearly that is a terrible time to be awake during vacation, so I went back to sleep until 11. There is no way I should be tired this early. I didn't even do much today! Except lay around.

... *yawn*

Well, fine. I'll go to bed. But first I'm going to make a

To do list for the week

ASAP omg
[ ] Finish Ladd/Graham KF, no seriously it's like two weeks late now
[ ] Finish Ryuk/Light KF!
[x] Clean kitchen
Tuesday
[x] Give notice to my apartment manager
[x] Drop by work and pick up new bus pass
[x] Pick up more putty for Graham's wrench
Wednesday
[x] Sign lease, omg!
[x] Get moving boxes (this is cheating, since really it is "be at my apartment when a coworker comes over to give me moving boxes")
In the relatively near future
[ ] Finish Graham's wrench
[ ] Start packing for move, omg
Thursday
[x] call moving co.
[/] get packing materials (tape, wrench box, string, packing paper?)
[x] start packing!
[ ] FINISH LADD/GRAHAM OMG
Friday
[x] get more moving boxes, packing paper, string
[/] more packing!
[x] groceries
[x] cobbler
Saturday
[x] delicious food
[x] games
[x] more delicious food
Sunday
[ ] wrench!
[ ] also help move stuff
Monday
[ ] finish packing!
Tuesday
[ ] move?!?!

Things to do other than lay around and be completely useless
[ ] Start playing DDS
[x] Watch more Persona Trinity Soul
[ ] Finish in-progress fic. Any of it.
[ ] Or write new things. I am flexible.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-07-25 19:07 Subject: Wheeeee Security: Public

I am now officially off of work until August 13! ... !!!!! ^___^

This is going to be so amazing. I don't know how long it's been since I had actual chunks of free time.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-07-22 20:27 Subject: All over the place Security: Public

Man, it's always hard to tell just how icky I'm feeling until I start getting better again. (I always feel like I'm just whining when I'm not feeling well.)

I've been sort of dizzy and vertiginous (ha I have been wanting to use that word) for the past couple of days - I spent most of the day today and yesterday just laying around staring blankly at my work laptop and feeling like a slacker. And occasionally convincing myself to get up long enough to get something to eat. And trying not to stand up quickly enough to completely black out my vision, or run into things once I was walking around. >_>

I was abruptly better this evening, to the point where I was pacing for the sake of movement while waiting for dinner to heat.

I made a few attempts at an 'euagh' post yesterday; but the only thing of substance in it was complaining about my brain's lack of focus on anything I should be working on and refusal to accept that I didn't want to write The Answer Yukari/Mitsuru fic. This seemed like a terribly useless thing to tell the internet, so eventually I gave up and just wrote the Yukari/Mitsuru. >_> So at least that's done and out of my head.

And my brain is holding thoughts much better now, so maybe I'll be able to work on kinkfest stuff tonight. Or drabbles. That would be cool too.

Whee functionality~

Speaking of which: IJ, quit being slow.

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User: cadence Date: 2008-07-14 22:19 Subject: Life is good. People are cool. Security: Public

I am feeling generally pleased with people and life in general right now. ♥

Took Thursday and Friday off work, and got both my apartment and my brain back into some semblance of order; spent Saturday hanging out with people (laylah, mahokiwi, redbird, zinjadu, and regicidaldwarf) and checking out the Firefighter Combat Challenge; spent Sunday lazing around the apartment with regicidaldwarf, who was visiting, and making her watch a whole lot of Bleach (and noting again that the anime is actually really good. at least when you skip all the parts that are terrible).

Was back at work today, but didn't actually do much; we had a division all-hands meeting, and I spent a couple hours after that just chatting with people in the hallway. Introduced a coworker to Dresden Codak; he poked at a few comics and then went "...how long is this? you may have killed the rest of my night." Hee. And then I chatted a bit with my dad and tempetecoeur on IM tonight.

And I'm working this week and next, but that includes an off-site brainstorming session Thursday and celebratory lunch Friday, and after that I'm taking two and a half weeks off. :D OMG vacation. And somewhere in that time, I will move in with mahokiwi and laylah! ♥

...I do have some things I could be doing that are more important than just sitting here going :D at things. Top of that list: today's Luck/Akihiko kinkfest. It has been partially done forever, but it's feeling really repetitive to me - mostly of my Firo/Akihiko thing, but more generally of everything I've ever written with Akihiko. >_>

But even my "arg I am not saying anything new or interesting" neurosis isn't cutting through the generalized happiness. ^_^

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