Procrastination

Isn't it ironic how procrastination almost always leads to something less productive than the thing you are avoiding?  For example, I just spent the last 2 hours browsing Facebook, downloading music, and talking about things that can't yet be decided.  Not that any of these things are necessarily bad, but I could have easily done something that is actually worthwhile instead of wasting time.  Oh well.  Such is life.

So this weekend I decided to start running.  Evidently (obviously?) I need to increase my stamina for swim, because although I am a pretty beastly sprinter, anything more than a 50 terrifies me.  Not really, but I just can't keep up on long sets.  So I've decided to run a mile or two every day before swim and on the weekends.  Hopefully I'll be able to gradually increase the pace until I'm back to April 2010 status.

Geez, I don't know why I'm writing this.  I mean, the chances of anyone actually caring about this enough to read all my pointless points are almost laughable.  Did I mention the irony of procrastination?  Oh well, I just need to remember that this is for my own references, not for anything else.  Now I see how Blogs pull you into their little trap...

Actually, that reminds me: existentialism.  Not only is it impossible to spell, but it is absolutely brilliant.  Although I don't subscribe to many of the core beliefs, I've found that simply knowing and understanding has helped me to clarify and organize my own thoughts.  It's like removing the veil of preconceived notions from your life.  I mean, obviously you still have to make an effort to follow society's rules, but it is quite refreshing to look at life as if every avenue is a choice.  Quite frankly, I think it is the things that we choose not to do that define us more than the few things that we actually do.  I mean, think about it.  The things that you do don't even reflect your thoughts, since most people will wish to do something that they would never actually do.  I suppose this is where I differ from existentialists.  Your thoughts make up more of you than your actions.  They, in fact, they are the only things that you can verify as real because they ARE you.  I don't know, there are an infinite possibilities to human interpretations of the world.  There is an old saying that goes, "Any man can come up with an ends to the means."  I've always found this to be true.  If you have a fact, you can always reverse engineer a reason for that fact.  It might be completely and utterly wrong, but human imagination allows for that possibility.

And finally, I don't understand why people choose to believe that Macs are better than PCs or whatever.  I mean, it all depends on the user and their purpose.  I've used almost every OS extensively, and still believe that each have their pros and cons.  From Facebook:

Look, you really can't say any one operating system is better than another, it depends on how you use it.

For example, Macs are great if you just want something that can get the job done quickly and doesn't break. But they don't have the customize-ability that PC's have. And PC's don't have the customize-ability that Linux has, but it has a wider user base. I mean, if one OS was better than another, EVERY other OS would just copy the one that is the best. But that isn't the case, is it? Each OS has it's own specific purpose, and those that use their chosen system are undoubtedly pleased with it.

I could say,
"Macs are film cameras and PCs are digital cameras.

Which one would you prefer for everyday use?"
(terrible example I know)

While most might say the digital camera because of the easy customize-ability, Macs aren't intended for that. They are intended for different things.

Thus, you can only argue what is best for you, not what is best for everyone.

You have no idea how much I want to break out existentialism right now.

"I believe I am becoming an existentialist."

Day 2: Rambles

So I've decided that I really don't know what I'm going to use this blog for.  I mean, my original goal was simply to track my progress, but I suppose it also has the added benefit of forcing me to keep my word when it comes to projects.  I mean I have like 10 unfinished projects going right now, and that's not even including the ones I 'said' that I'd touch up.  And then there's the Minecraft-esque thing that I want to get going here soon.  Geez, so much to do, so little time.  I really should just commit to one thing.  But I won't.

Speaking of the hundreds of projects that I have going, I am, as I write this, downloading the Ableton Suite 8 trial.  Fancy, eh?  You see, I've been wanting to produce mixes of music for a while now, and I figure why not start now?  Ignore that question.  But in all seriousness, I really want to get into this and hopefully now I'll finally have the chance to try.  For a 30 day period (I actually don't know how long since it hasn't finished downloading).  If you'd like to take a look at this renounced program, here it is.  And for the ungodly price of $699 + tax, it can be yours!

Up next, evidently my birthday is coming up.  I didn't even realize it until my Grandma sent me a message asking for gift ideas (how nice of her!).  So I'll be browsing the interwebs here for any sign of something that might interest me this March.  Hey!  How about the Ableton Suite 8!

/sarcasm

But I did realize last time I went snowboarding that my board was a wee bit smaller than I remember, so I'm looking into this beauty.  It placed first in the Best of Test 2011, so it must be pretty good.  And if I actually do end up going to college in Colorado, I'll need a fun board to take with me.

Wow.  Looking at this has really made me realize how much more expensive 'toys' get as you get older.  My little brothers are thrilled with army men and I'm checking out a $500 board.  How many army men could I get with $500...

Scratch that, maybe I DO want army men after all.

And almost finally, I know I mentioned adding all of my school assignments to this blog, but I think I'm going to start a new blog and just add them all to that one.  That way I don't have to worry about cramming this one.  So I'll be looking forward to that sometime in the near future.  It should be interesting.

Also I am adding this:

...so that hopefully I can add it to the background straight from blogger.  We'll see.  I don't hold out much hope...

Adieu!


EDIT: I really don't know who I'm writing this to, since the only person who (I believe) even knows this is here is Tom (Hi Tom!).  Maybe all those future people who will flock through my history when I finally do open this blog to the public?  Who knows.  Just an odd thought that I really didn't consider.

End Day 1

Alright, I'm ending it here.  Almost got the gradient in, but for some reason it won't let me resize it.  Oh well, I'll figure it out tomorrow.  As for now, I'm just going to attempt to post the song I was mostly listening to all night.

Also, I'm pondering doing videos.  There's just too much to do with school!  Oh well, until another day...

And with that, adieu!

Progress?

I've got to admit, this is probably more work than just doing a new website from scratch.  I mean, with Blogger, you have to fit all of your images into set templates, while when you are designing your own website you have the privilege of complete control.  There's no scrolling through several different lists of predefined settings that completely change what images you must produce.

Of course, all this is beside the point since I also don't want to code my own blog from scratch.  Way too much work.  No, I'm perfectly happy spending the extra time on some images so that I don't have to recode everything.  Although I am going to have to jump into the Blogger code in a second here to see if I can set up a gradient and shadow for this post background.  Quite annoying that you can not replace colored backgrounds with images in the UI.  Or maybe you can and I just can't find it.  Oh well.  We'll see.  But for now, I think the images I've created will do.  I think the most fun I'll have with this blog is simply creating new pictures to throw up in the background and title.

Also, I think I'm going to start going through my essays from years ago and gradually working my way towards the current, posting each one with my commentary as I go.  That way future students can have the guidance that teachers never seem to give.  Who knows, I might as well just post all my work up here.

Speaking of which, I have a nice little Existential thought activity that I came up with while reading through the packets that I received.  Very interesting stuff.  For once I think I can actually appreciate a thought process that I learned in English.

Here is my 'thought activity:'

"Imagine this scenario: You have no sense of self. You are simply a brain. And you are surrounded by wires which feed you a predefined set of impulses. You have been fed these impulses since 'birth,' but since you have no other form of senses to verify these impulses, you must assume that they are accurate. These impulses feed you everything that is going on right now. They tell you that you are staring at a screen, what you are reading, the sensation of your behind on your chair. All of these impulses are predefined. It's like watching a movie, you cannot control the events, only your own interpretation of them. And all of these impulses are being fed to you through wires and they aren't really happening. How would you know?

"You might say, 'Well, I'll think to raise my right arm, and I raise my arm, then nothing is predefined and this scenario cannot exist.' But tell me, how do you KNOW, without a doubt, that you actually tried to raise your arm? It is simply a memory, and a common saying is that 'We remember what we want to remember.' If the input sends us the sensation of raising our arm, we will have the memory of raising our arm, even if we never thought it. There is no present, everything we know is noting but a memory. Since there is no way of verifying our thoughts, or more accurately, memories, how can we perceive truth?

"So let me ask you: if this situation was real, and you were armed with the knowledge that you were nothing more but memory strapped to predefined input, would anything change? Would you do ANYTHING differently? Or would you simply continue on with the same actions and decisions as before, since you are unable to change them? Has the lie become reality?"

This experiment is basically to force one to examine the laws and truths that govern them in an unbiased manner.  It proves that since there is no real evidence, one must accept the 'truth' that is 'most true.'  Since we are never able to act on proof (since it doesn't exist), we must act on a sort of faith in what is most likely.

Here end-eth my first day on Blogger.  At the very least, this is quite interesting.

My Reasons For Creating a Blog

My status on Facebook earlier today:

"Is considering setting up a blog, not because of some misguided sense that it will provide a small income (although that would be nice) or out of an even more naïve need to become known (because anonymity is always better), but because I believe that it has some value in allowing one to watch oneself progress and change over time.

That and because all the cool kids are doing it."

Although I was initially intending to poke fun at the prospect of such an endeavor, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  I mean, I've heard journals are great, but I've never been able to so much as entertain the thought of starting one because of the common excuse "I won't have time."  But now, as I realize that I already whittle away more time at this key board than anywhere else, I figure I might as well spend my time doing something useful... -ish.

So without further adieu (and to the great chagrin of everyone who knows me), I present to you "RoRRe wen a."