Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

Pi

:: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Pi
The film “Pi” is a study in madness and its partner, genius. A tortured, driven man believes (1) that mathematics is the language of the universe, (2) nature can be expressed in numbers, and (3) there are patterns everywhere in nature. If he can find the patterns, if he can find the key to the chaos, then he can predict anything–the stock market, for example. If the man is right, the mystery of existence is unlocked. If he is wrong, the inside of his brain begins to resemble a jammed stock ticker.

I’ve seen this film before and it was pretty good. What reminded me of it now is a mention it got in Slate.com’s review of The Fountain, by the same guy.

Anyway, what prompts me to post is Roger Ebert’s mention of how nature can be expressed in numbers. That’s actually true. But, as every good math student knows, the number of nature isn’t pi.

It’s e.

A Series of Unspeakably Ugly Pictures of Me

That’s one of the biggest problems with being self-absorbed. Sometimes you really REALLY don’t like what you see.

In this case, I’m referring only to some of the very…uh…unflattering pictures of me that are going up with the new RebeccaCam. Many of them show me with a sort of slack-jawed “duh” look on my face. I guess I’m concentrating on something online during those, eh?

At any rate, I feel like I should put up a disclaimer.

We Shall Not Speak Of This

That white stuff on the ground at Dana’s, I mean. Nor will we speak of the report that it’s 3 degrees in Duluth this morning.

I like this sort of weather. It separates the hardy elites from those wimpy loser sissy-boys who can’t handle anything below freezing. Whatsa matter?? Never heard of wearing a parka??

Sheesh.

Sure, Kill The Oceans — Just Don’t Give Up That Sushi

No More Shrimp Cocktail? – A Mighty Appetite
Short of giving up seafood altogether, how do we do our part to help save the oceans?

Why “short of giving up seafood”?? See, this sort of thing just annoys the hell out of me. People who are, on some level, aware of the problem and yet refuse to actually fucking do anything about it. They’re the same crowd who say they believe global warming is real, yet refuse to give up the big SUV. I’m not saying I’m the model citizen-activist. If I were, I wouldn’t drive a car at all. (If northern Virginia were designed with pedestrians in mind — you know, with maybe some sidewalks — not driving would be a hell of a lot easier.) But, “giving up” meat and fish… It’s so simple. It doesn’t hurt you in a single way. It makes you healthier. And it’s better for everyone on the planet.

It’s All Me — All The Time

And now, for the ultimate in self-absorption, it’s The RebeccaCam!

Yeah, right over there. I’ve got my MacBook’s built-in camera running with some software called EvoCam so it’s working as a webcam. Cool. For the time being I’ve got it set up to refresh every 20 seconds with a new picture. I may get tired of it, but for the time being…. This will be the evidence for how much time I really spend screwing around on my computer. (Hint: Way too much.)

And jeez… you get some really attractive pictures when you’re not paying any attention, eh? Yikes!

I’m No Solipsist

On the Internet, everybody knows you’re a dog. – By Michael Kinsley – Slate Magazine
The first person I knew who had a Web site of his own was a fellow Washington journalist. This was when many journalists were still just getting into e-mail, but the URL for this Web site quickly circulated around town and around the world. Why? Well, we were all impressed by the technological savvy. But we were absolutely astounded by the solipsism.

That really seems to me to be an incorrect usage of the word “solipsism”. Solipsism is the idea that there’s no way you can know for sure that the world outside your own mind is actually real. If someone were a solipsist, I think he’d be LESS likely to create a personal web page. After all, why spend your time reaching out to a world that may not even really exist?

Hm… and this writer (at slate.com) is an editor at the Guardian Limited! You’d think he’d know better. Solipsism isn’t the same thing as egotism — and “egotism” is most likely the word Kinsley really needed here.

Whatever.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been accused a couple of times (by people who know the difference between solipsism and egotism) of running a self-absorbed web site. My answer to that is always, Of course it’s self-absorbed! Of course it’s all about ME. It’s a blog, for Pete’s sake! The thing is, people don’t read my web site (and people DO read my site, by the way) because they necessarily care about me in any personal way. They read it because I’m occasionally interesting and/or entertaining. A blog is really more like being an actor than being an exhibitionist.

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The illustration for this slate.com article IS really cute, though.

Marketing Food

The mystery of the “short” cappuccino. – By Tim Harford – Slate Magazine
The difficulty is that if some of your products are cheap, you may lose money from customers who would willingly have paid more. So, businesses try to discourage their more lavish customers from trading down by making their cheap products look or sound unattractive, or, in the case of Starbucks, making the cheap product invisible.

This is a pretty interesting discussion of product pricing in general (and Starbucks in particular.) I try to be alert to the psychology involved in labeling and pricing stuff but I’m certainly not immune to that kind of manipulation. I realize, for example, that I tend to gravitate towards canned products with red or green labels. Those are colors of healthy kinds of food, right? They invoke memories of good flavors. White food labels don’t attract me and, in the grocery stores where I shop, the white labels are usually found on the lower-priced canned foods. (And those foods are generally found on the lower shelves where we’re less likely to see them.)

The trick is to be aware of these marketing techniques. And read ingredients on the foods you buy. I’m an old hand at that. As a vegetarian, you learn to be vigilant about reading labels. It’s amazing the number of things that have meat products in them: crackers with chicken fat, soups with chicken or beef broth, yogurts with gelatin added.

Yuck.

Anyway, my point is this: Like pretty much every other kind of retailer, grocers will happily screw you if given the opportunity. Example: the Food Lion grocery store chain is splitting into two different types of stores in our area. One of the renamed stores, called “Bloom”, is supposed to cater to a more up-scale (wealthier) customer. We’ve got one of these new “Bloom” stores near our house. The interior of the store has been painted a richer color. The display shelves are a bit nicer. The lighting is warmer. The prices are higher. About a mile away from the “Bloom” is one of the other spin-off stores, called “Bottom Dollar”. I visited that store last week and it’s not very different from the original Food Lion store. The lighting is bright fluorescent and the shelving is very basic. There are fewer choices but the prices are significantly lower. Morningstar Farms products that cost $3.99 at the old Food Lion cost only $2.99 at Bottom Dollar.

Now, I ask you, why would I buy these staple products at Bloom when I can get them for so much less only a mile further along the road at Bottom Dollar? It’s got to be a combination of things involved with self-perception and our (often flawed) idea of value: I’m wealthy enough to pay more for my food. I’m classy enough to buy the “better” brand — whether it’s actually better or not. I want to shop at a store where I don’t have to rub elbows with poorer people. I want to shop at a store where the colors are calming — and when I’m feeling calm and relaxed I’m more likely to spend more time at the store (and will probably buy more.)

Whatever. It’s something to think about.

Au Train in the Mist

From Dana’s, of course.

Deep Thoughts

Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I’ll go over to the persons house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I’m gone, but you know what I’ve left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of its head with a note that says “You.” After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done.

You may have noticed a new addition to the sidebar: Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey. Alas, the thoughts only update once a month, but still… If I get tired of it, I will remove it. For the time being, though, I am amused. Here’s another of my favorites:

Most people don’t realize that large pieces of coral, which have been painted brown and attached to the skull by common wood screws, can make a child look like a deer.

Finland Should Rule the World

• Because they must be very smart to speak that complicated language they’ve got.
• Because they live up north — and everything’s always better up north.
• Because they invented the sauna which, more and more, I’m convinced is the secret to good health.
• And, because they have a great sense of humor — as is demonstrated in this YouTube video of the Helsinki Complaints Choir.