keeping sane, one word at a time
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Male; Age 25; Likes Ultimate Frisbee;
Here's a favorite quote of mine from Tropic of Cancer p.99, "I have found God, but he is insufficient. I am only spiritually dead. Physically I am alive. Morally I am free. The world which i have departed is a menagerie. The dawn is breaking on a new world, a jungle world in which the lean spirits roam with sharp claws. If I am a hyena I am a lean and hungry one: I go forth to fatten myself."
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Friday, May 30, 2003
I'm kind of hung up on the future lately.
CUBE
The year is 2084. After years of testing, from the simplest forms of mammalia right up to human trials the Cube was finally introduced. The Cube is capable of raising a human embryo from the earliest stages of egg-sperm fertilization the full nine month term until maturity. And it does the job better than a human. Boasting a modest neural network it carefully nourishes and with a fuel cell is never needs to refuel or worry about power outages. This represents the last great hurdle between the sexes - the ability to reproduce.
When I was younger I was very aware of the fact that men were losing their identity, in the conventional sense. Whether through equality or sperm banks, things were changing. It never occurred to me that women were losing their identity too. I'm convinced we'll look back at these turbulent times and laugh at ourselves. Racism, religous wars, they're so irrelevent. Imagine being concerned with an interracial marriage. We're becoming a unisex and people are worried about a slight mixing of ancestry.
And the irony of it all is that Men and Women will do everything in their power to strengthen their sexual image. I can't deny that a sizeable percentage of the time I spend in the gym is for that very reason. I want to be a strong, healthy male. It's undeniable. Breast implants have never been more popular; they represent the single most defining mark of the female body. So here we go. It seems to me we're in for one hell of a roller coaster ride until we come to grip this new reality. You'll still find me at the gym tomorrow;)
An afterthought that was spurred on by the above post: "Fate is always ironic, be suspicious of anything to the contrary"
10:47 PM
Been playing around with names for my blog. I think i like this one. "freeflow" was too........something, maybe pretentious and "The Diary of an Engineer"? who's going to read that?:) Anyway, this is my favorite food on the planet earth, straight from cold, crisp Lake Winnipeg waters. Served in large quantities with a slight chill and no utensils. Enjoy.
6:28 AM
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Life is so full of up and down. You're perfectly content one moment and insanely unsatisfied the next. I'm convinced my hairline is receding, but I can't tell for sure. I don't feel so invincible anymore, but i've never been stronger. This defines the "peak" of my physical existence. That's scary. Enough of that shit.
We won our frisbee game today. Lots o beginners. Gotta remember to keep my cool - way too "passionate" about these things. Winning isn't everything. Right.
I remember those cartoons and movies where a devil and angel would perch themselves on opposite shoulders. When I was younger I always thought it ridiculous, now it seems to make more sense. Two, or more personalities warring within the body. I suppose a healthy mind would contain many equally strong parties, each fighting for their own stake.
New Radiohead is good. I especially like "Go to Sleep". . . speaking of which
10:16 PM
Monday, May 26, 2003
THE KINGSTON WHIG STANDARD, May 26th, 2003:
"RadioShack Employee Slowly Cuts Head Off Store Manager; Rolls it Down Princess Street."
After an intense psychiatric evaluation, Mr. Olender was found to be quite sane during the event. Sources say he continued to sell cordless phone batteries for a good while after . . .
9:22 PM
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Just finished Fahrenheit 451. It's really neat to see how Mr. Bradbury managed to basically predict the future 50 (written in 1953) years in advance. Empty, shallow, self-destructive, speed hungry and constantly waring, these are words to describe the society found in Fahrenheit 451, but I could have easily finished the sentence by comdeming our society for such evils. I suppose things aren't that bleak. It makes me wonder if anything modern I've read or seen will be as accurate 50 years into my future. If I had to pick purely technology, ignoring pyschological and socialogical differences, it wouldn't be Star Trek, but maybe a collage of scenes from Minority Report, Blade Runner and Time Machine. A couple things that struck me in Miinority Report were the fact that all cars looked the same. As far as I can tell, all cars will eventually look the same; I'm sure most will admit to the fact that if one were to remove all the fancy name plates off any of the new floor models you wouldn't have a clue who made it. They're reaching a 'design equilibrium' that might change a little with new fuel sources and new engines, etc, but as things go on I'm positive you'll just see a sort of design oscillation around the mean - buick's will look or will have looked liked honda's will look like cavaliers will look like camry's ad infinitum. Blade Runner's got the cyborgs. And Time Machine has an interesting scene in New York (I think), that has about a zillion bicyclists. They also mention moon development. Speaking of planetary development, do I dare mention Total Recall? I think not. I'd talk about the gritty future of Aliens before I did that:) It's also interesting to note here that instead of turning to books for predictions I immediately jumped into films....
9:37 PM
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
I tried to get a "Western" sandwich at Subway today. The Western is on the breakfast menu. The breakfast menu ends at 11:00 am. It was 11:05 am when I requested the sandwich. I got an all-smiles response, "Sorry, it's 11:05". I thought he was joking - he wasn't. I went up the street to Burger King and got a Whopper:) As I was eating I looked across the street and noticed Dairy Queen was selling hamburgers. Now, if Dairy Queen can sell hamburgers, you'd figure McDonald's, A&W, Subway, and whoever else could consider keeping the breakfast menu on all day; or at least a little more flexibilty. This isn't possible, the "breakfast barrier" is too great a hurdle for the fastfood industry.
7:57 PM
Friday, May 16, 2003
Saw the Matrix sequel the other night. Damn good! A special effects bonanza. Why was it so impressive? I'd start by saying most action blockbusters seek to amaze with booming explosions and dazzling speed, and Matrix: Reloaded is no different. But all those scenes were done in such a way as to reveal every last detail of the action (as opposed to hiding it), from the gravitational physics (or lack of it) to some of the bigger structural failures; everything was researched to the nth degree. This movie allows us to see the matrix in its fullest form, as a wild playground for its elite inhabitants.
7:30 PM
Saturday, May 10, 2003
Crescent I spent most of the day replacing components and tuning of my bike. Still need to replace the front derailleur, cables and it looks like a new cassette as well - unless I can live without 4rth and 5th gears. May 24th was too long to wait. Need to pick up an extra shift at the Shack to cover these expenses.
Through the repair I spent much time loathing the crescent wrench. It's a tool designed to do everything, poorly:) It reminds me of a friend whom I used to argue with over the pros and cons of using your computer to play video games, versus buying a console like the xbox. First off, I'm a practical minimalist, who would rather carry a swiss army knife instead of a tool box. In this case your computer is the crescent wrench. Loading a video game can be a pain in the ass, it's never guaranteed. And if you want to realize the full potential of your game's graphics the latest video card is needed. The console always works, without fail; it's that 15mm wrench the crescent is posing as. And nothing else is really needed for normal play (on a side note, the accessories and games are where ALL the money is made on consoles). His main beef was just the ease of use factor. You can sit down and play a game when you want, without any driver, cpu speed, etc hassles. Well, in this case, I had to actually go out and buy a 15 mm wrench, but don't count on me buying an xbox - even if i did have the cash. My computer will continue to do everything now and into my future, it'll be my all-in-one home entertainment unit.
6:18 PM
Friday, May 09, 2003
Tunes of the Good Type: DJ ZTrip & DJ P - "Starwarsmegaphatmix", password is: my hometown.
A damn cool song for Star Wars phans...
6:37 PM
Just about every component on my bike needs replacing.... winters are far too harsh. The abrasion from the street sand is pure evil. My new plan is too wait for the police auction on the 24th and see if I can find a bike with the components I need for a steal:)
5:50 AM
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
A withdrawn celebrity, it moves in many hidden social circles. It's invited to all the hippest parties, requested to speak at many an exposition, but it rarely attends. When an appearance is made, it never goes unnoticed. A flirt, it whispers the fantastic into the ears of many wide-eyed fans. Those familiar with tracking its movements are more skeptical of its tales. The Future has many friends, but no intimate relationships.
10:16 PM
Thursday, May 01, 2003
From time to time I like to think i'm capable of devising some rules to live my life by - a super casual religon. The rules should be simple and universal. To pass they must stand up to a variety of different situations. "Balance from moderation", is an earlier example of one. I try and live my life like a mutual fund, trying not to invest in too much of the same thing, hoping all along to weather bear markets. My latest, simply put, is that you should finish what you start. This of course, isn't a revelation for most, but to actually make a point of it is important. You can never lose by finishing what you start, whether job, school or some other project. Up until now I'd constantly been arguing with myself that although finishing something you may not be interested in is good for the sake of principle, you have to also consider that it takes a lot of courage to realize you've made a mistake and move on. Cowardly wading through an uninteresting project out of the fear of change under the dillusion of principle is a terrible state of affairs. That said, it's survived a number of important periods in my life and I think it's a keeper. Besides, it goes well with my stubborn personality:)
5:49 PM
IDLE There's been extensive road repair on a small bridge connecting suburbia with downtown Kingston. The traffic congestion winds for miles and miles in either direction as people wait their turn to cross the bridge in the remaining open lane. I wait for no one; I'm fortunate enough to be able to bike to work. It's beautiful. As I zoom by all the idling cars I can't wipe the smirk from my face. SUCKERS!.... is what i'm thinking. But I can't voice my opinion too openly for fear one day of having to join them myself. It's a scary thought. I'll bend backwards to try and avoid it.
5:37 PM
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