personal AnGoL – Page 89

October 5, 2009

rePost::Liberty, Self-Esteem and Self-Governance – Wendy Kaminer

This is both funny and scary in almost equal doses. Who watches the watchmen? Who determines what is not anti social. This is Fucked, In a world where things like women’s rights, minority rights, LGTB right’s were once considered non-sensical we have to go against things such as the one I quoted !

This is not harmless official maternalism: a government that concerns itself with the happiness or psychological well-being of its citizens is a government that will prohibit conduct or speech deemed psychologically harmful, or simply not conducive to happiness. Also known as a government actively hostile to liberty. In Britain, as Reason magazine reported two years ago, you can be served with an “Antisocial Behavior Order (ASBO) for engaging in conduct considered likely to cause others alarm or distress. This past year a woman subject to an ASBO was arrested for indulging in noisy, consensual sex in what is apparently no longer the privacy of her own home. I suppose you could call ASBO’s a form of democratization: what was once the prerogative of kings–the power to secure the arrest of people who irritated or “distressed” them–is now extended to peevish citizens who can invoke it against each other.
via Liberty, Self-Esteem and Self-Governance – Wendy Kaminer.

October 1, 2009

Opportunity Lost

I botched a Job Exam/Interview last monday.
I could make the excuse that I had less than 3 hours of sleep and my body ached all over and that I cannot concentrate with all the talking happening around me but the real reason is that I wanted to work there and that put pressure on me.
It was a programming exam and the problems were really simple, but being nervous made my mind blank for more than two hours. This was funny because the exam was for 2 hours and I spent about 3.5 hours on the exam.
Damn, I also realized that I have a problem with problem solving. The sheer number of ways that something can be done produces a paradox of choice state for me. I cannot start doing something because knowing the multitude of things , of ways something can be done starts my mind to doing seemingly intractable (at least using my very limited brain power) number of considerations.
This on quiet reflection has always been a problem for me, why I take a very long time to do seemingly simple/straightforward tasks, and why seemingly complex tasks require a minimum of time for me to do. The former because there are just too many ways to do it, the latter because of complexity reduces the possibilities to a point where I can make a decision.
I have to find a way to work around this. This has been holding me back for a very long time.

September 28, 2009

Looking Forward On Reading::Book Review – 'Logicomix' – A Comic Book About Logic, Math and Madness – Review – NYTimes.com

Written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou
Illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna
347 pp. Bloomsbury. $22.95
Multimedia
Excerpt: ‘Logicomix’
Well, this is unexpected — a comic book about the quest for logical certainty in mathematics. The story spans the decades from the late 19th century to World War II, a period when the nature of mathematical truth was being furiously debated. The stellar cast, headed up by Bertrand Russell, includes the greatest philosophers, logicians and mathematicians of the era, along with sundry wives and mistresses, plus a couple of homicidal maniacs, an apocryphal barber and Adolf Hitler.
Improbable material for comic-book treatment? Not really. The principals in this intellectual drama are superheroes of a sort. They go up against a powerful nemesis, who might be called Dark Antinomy. Each is haunted by an inner demon, the Specter of Madness. Their quest has a tragic arc, not unlike that of Superman or Donald Duck.
via Book Review – ‘Logicomix’ – A Comic Book About Logic, Math and Madness – Review – NYTimes.com.

September 16, 2009

Learned Today::Things I like to Blog About: Ritalin : Neurotopia

Ever since I read the new yorker article on cognitive enhancement drugs (ritalin adderall), I’ve been trying to finagle my way into at least trying them, sadly no go. Luckily no go, It still is tempting, but if ritalin is pretty much like cocaine, I say no go and fear for all the children who take ritalin for ADHD.

Ritalin works the same way. Really. Sub Ritalin in for cocaine here and you have the same effect on DA and NE as you would with cocaine.
Sounds scary, right? Not quite so much. There are other factors with drugs than their mechanism that determine how they will make you feel. Cocaine has a very short active period, only about 20 minutes total. That’s not a lot of time, but the first rush is REALLY intense. Ritalin has a much longer active period, between 2.5 and 5 hours, depending what kind you use. And the WAY people take it makes a difference, too. If you, say, snort cocaine, it gets through the mucus membranes in the nose and into the bloodstream very quickly, giving you a rush as it hits the brain quickly. Ritalin is taken as a pill, which means it needs to get dissolved in the GI tract, and is often dissolved over a long period of time in long release formulas. This means that it comes on to your CNS very slowly, and won’t slam your transporters and have intense effects. And keep in mind that most people taking Ritalin are taking it in very low doses, doses too low to really feel good when taken orally (snorted is another matter), though high enough to increase concentration and focus.
So that’s Ritalin. Like cocaine, but not. Sci will save the debates for later.
via Things I like to Blog About: Ritalin : Neurotopia.

September 8, 2009

rePost : : College advice, from people who have been there awhile – Chris Blattman

Read the whole thing:
the quote came from this article from nytimes.
I’ve been lucky with a lot of my friends.For them there really is that thirst for knowledge, The thing is once you’ve had that thirst you never will be sated. Normal work here in the Philippines are in most ways repetitive, and not really intellectually engaging. The secret I believe is going out of your way to find that love for learning that we have within us, and to foster this, automate as much as possible, find ways to maximize the interesting parts of your job and minimize the repetitive boring part.

It’s easy to think that college classes are mainly about preparing you for a job. But remember: this may be the one time in your life when you have a chance to think about the whole of your life, not just your job.
via College advice, from people who have been there awhile – Chris Blattman.

September 4, 2009

Ka Erdy interment set on Monday – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Ka Erdy interment set on Monday
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:33:00 09/04/2009
Filed Under: death notices, Obituary, Religions
MANILA, Philippines—The funeral of Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Erano “Ka Erdy” Manalo is set on 12 noon Monday, a spokesman for the religious group said on Friday.
via Ka Erdy interment set on Monday – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

September 1, 2009

RIP

we are sad because you no longer with us, but happy that you have finished your task. Salamat po Ka Erdy!

August 17, 2009

What if you got rid of the NYC subway?

I’d take another point of view. If we had a subway system here maybe we would have less cars and less car accidents and probably less pollution in metro manila, there probably would be more bike lanes and an overall better quality of life, hope they experiment with car-less cities for places like makati ortigas and a large part of qc, maybe in my life time

You’d need the equivalent of a 228-lane Brooklyn Bridge to move all those people into Manhattan during Monday morning rush hour.
At best, it would take 167 inbound lanes, or 42 copies of the Queens Midtown Tunnel, to carry what the NYC Subway carries over 22 inbound tracks through 12 tunnels and 2 (partial) bridges. At worst, 200 new copies of 5th Avenue. Somewhere in the middle would be 67 West Side Highways or 76 Brooklyn Bridges. And this neglects the Long Island Railroad, Metro North, NJ Transit, and PATH systems entirely.
Kinda puts the subway in perspective, doesn’t it? And don’t miss the map at the bottom that shows the size of the parking lots needed for all those cars.
By Jason Kottke • Aug 10, 2009 at 08:33 am • cities michaelfrumin NYC subway
via What if you got rid of the NYC subway?.

August 13, 2009

Marginal Revolution: Timing

I thought this was a trick question and I first thought go backward because most people would think going forward means friday, but when I realized they are the same I was thinking whatever!

Timing
Let’s say a meeting, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been moved forward two days. What is the new day of the meeting?
That’s a question from Mark Frauenfelder at Boing Boing. The answer says a lot about how you implicitly think about time.
If you think it’s Friday, you imagine time as something you move through. If you think it’s Monday, you think of time as something that passes by you.
According to this research, a bit sketchy it seems to me, Friday people tend to be angrier. FYI, I’m a Monday person (it took me some time to see the question could have another answer!).
via Marginal Revolution: Timing.

August 11, 2009

Thinking Of Oneself::Chasing after the Wind : Aardvarchaeology

I only ask the very hard question , or rather I only try to answer the HARD questions during my birthday, which as more than a week ago, I’d be lying if I thoughts like this didn’t enter my mind.

I was brought up to believe that I am special. I was told that I am unusually smart and gifted. Whether or not this is true, it has given me a deep-seated expectation of myself to do great(ish) things, to achieve a bit more than the average Joe, to stand out from the crowd, to gain recognition.
Most people of course achieve very little that is noteworthy beyond the solid humble everyday victories of a quiet life. I’m sure that most people do not have a sense that this is in any way insufficient. I’m also sure that many of these average achievers have talent and potential far beyond that needed to live a standard life. They just don’t expect of themselves to do any more than the average person. I believe they are by and large content.
The skills and training I have are not much sought after. There is very little professional demand for me. This clashes badly with my grandiose ideas about myself. I achieve things that I am proud of on a small one-man-project scale, but few care, and I gain little recognition. I am frustrated.
via Chasing after the Wind : Aardvarchaeology.