* Mungo Says Bah * Bushcraft Blog: January 2006

Vote NDP

This Monday, voting for the NDP gives support to social justice issues, tells the Liberals they cannot sneak under the wire and the Conservatives that they suck.

Steven Harper is a dangerous person.

Today's Post Hoc checklist

Check at the end of the work day to ensure that I did not remove the cardboard shirt collar stiffener from my dress shirt when I put it on this morning - DONE.
Order a $2.00 hamburger from the newly discovered cafeteria downstairs at work today, and confirm that it has the texture and pre-stamped quality of a carboard shirt collar stiffener. Notice that the toasted buns tasted very nice and that the burger did not - DONE.
Observe that it took me 7 minutes to drive home from work and rejoice in that fact - DONE.
Prepare to watch Lost tonight and rejoice in that fact - DONE.
Encourage wife to have more than 1.5 hours of sleep tonight - DONE.

My Uncle's Old Band - The Liverpool Roadrunners

The Liverpool Roadrunners - one of Liverpool's best-loved 60s R&B bands

My Uncle John was in this band.

Segregation of the Brain into Gray and White Matter: A Design Minimizing Conduction Delays

PLoS Computational Biology: Segregation of the Brain into Gray and White Matter: A Design Minimizing Conduction Delays: "A ubiquitous feature of the vertebrate anatomy is the segregation of the brain into white and gray matter. Assuming that evolution maximized brain functionality, what is the reason for such segregation?"

Once I was dancing at Disneyland with some classmates during a trip to California in 1984 and told them 'hey, this is a Talking Heads song!' and they said 'really?' and seemed really impressed that I knew who they were and that I had the tape of Little Creatures (album), which I played them later in my Koss walkman.

A big guy didn't seem to like the way I was dancing and kept ramming into me. I kept dancing and kept my dignity. Wait. I kept dancing. I kept dancing to 'And She Was'.

And She Was

And she was lying in the grass
And she could hear the highway breathing
And she could see a nearby factory
She's making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor's house
Now she's starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
And she opens up her eyes

The world was moving and she was right there with it (and she was)
The world was moving she was floating above it (and she was) and she was

And she was drifting through the backyard
And she was taking off her dress
And she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe
Drifting this way and that
Not touching ground at all
Up above the yard

CHORUS

She was glad about it... no doubt about it
She isn't sure where she's gone
No time to think about what to tell them
No time to think about what she's done
And she was

And she was looking at herself
And things were looking like a movie
She had a pleasant elevation
She's moving out in all directions

CHORUS

Joining the world of missing persons (and she was)
Missing enough to feel alright (and she was)

David Byrne

Well this makes me quite happy - I've chanced upon David Byrne's Blog... Talking Heads was magical for me in my teen years - David Byrne is a magician now.

I never saw them live - wish I could leap into a time machine and give it a go.

I feel like they saved my soul and mind when growing up.

This is not a good fish.

Reading a story about the discovery and potential danger facing the population of coelacanths, I found a wonderful little quote:

[After the reporter went to a small village to pick up a fish that had been unintentionally caught in a net...]Making our way to Tanga, with the coelacanth in the boot, Simon, The Observer's driver from Dar es Salaam, was deeply unimpressed with his unexpected passenger. He produced a pink bottle of rose poppy perfume and sprayed it liberally around the car to mask the odour seeping in.

'Why should they save this fish?' he demanded. 'This is not a good fish. It's oily and you cannot eat this, and it's a smelly fish.' Fixing me with a puzzled look, he concluded: 'It's a bad fish.'

What a perfect piece of reasoning.

Argument: (preamble)I question those people's judgement about their intention to save this fish (preamble ends) - This is a fish not worth saving because:
P1 (Premise 1): It is an oily fish.
P2: Oily fish are not good.
P3: You cannot eat this fish.
P4: Inedible fish are not good.
P5: It is a smelly fish.
P6: Smelly fish are not good.
P7: Fish that are not good fish are bad fish
P8:(conclusion): Therefore, it's a bad fish.

On a separate note, I am interviewing for positions this week and such... I went to an interview this morning. It is a position worth getting - I have 2 more interviews today - but want this one...

Argument: I want this job because:
P1: It is close-by.
P2: Close-by companies are good.
P3: The people are professional and nice.
P4: Professional and nice people are good.
P5: It is not a smelly fish.
P6: Smelly fish are not good.
P7: These points above make for a great job.
p8: I want a great job.
P9: (conclusion) Therefore, I want this job.

Leaders' Debate

I'm currently watching the debate. Here are my first thoughts about the various players:

Paul Martin

passionate
believable
out of touch
rich experience
lots to say
confident

Steven Harper

is a victim of countless ad hominem attacks by yours truly
is a buffoon
probably smells very bad
has gas (appeared to during the debate)
clasps his hands tightly together and rocks back and forth as he realizes that his henchmen have not prepared him for reasonable arguments against all of his decidedly-unsophisticated positions
is an idiot
is actually packing a handgun in his belt beneath his jacket
petty and intellectually stunted
evasive and dangerous
possibly our next Prime Minister
God save us
God supports Harper's stand on handguns, and in fact packs a really large Smith & Wesson bigger than the Milky Way galaxy.

Jack Layton

trying to sell me a car
too much a 'politician'
good ideas
unseasoned
doesn't really connect with people well - relies on theory too much
spends a disproportionate amount of time grooming his mustache

Gilles Duceppe

I suspect Eric Idle and him were separated at birth.
seems a bit drunk
not at all sure what he wants to do for us
not sure why he talks about 'Canada and Quebec'... did anyone else pick that up?