Steven King’s Anya: everyone loves a clown

What is the cutest thing you did yesterday?

I screamed "Lights!" at a new set of Christmas lights that were erected by a neighbor. Of course, Mom thought I said "Aighz!", but that is because she is still learning to speak.
What is the nicest thing you did for your mom/dad/spouse/sibling this week?
I slept in consistently this week (>8:00 ante meridian) and capped it off with a nice ~9:00 start to Sunday. Of course, I'm sick, but that doesn't detract from the nobility of my action.
What was your favorite thing you did in the last month?
I had a rip-roaring good time with Grandma and Mindy. It effectively doubled the number of people to be impressed with my awesomeness. Attention is grand, baby.
What was your greatest accomplishment in the last year?
Single greatest? Hmm... That's a toughie. I would say exerting my dominance over Leah with an evenly balanced battle plan of violence, cuteness, and screams.

What is your favorite toy?
What is Leah playing with? If that is something boring, then I love my baby, any of them, but especially the one that has a pacifier.
What is your favorite animal?
Species? It was dogs, but since we have cats in the house, I'll play the loyalty card and say felines are my favorite. And of them, Lola wins, as she puts up with more of my abuse than that self-serving Charlie.
When do you like to go to bed?
After everyone else is asleep and the lights are out. Failing that, after a nice bath and a large snack. So long as I have my tiger-paci. After 8:00 (post meridian), I have been known to throw a tantrum or two, or to curl up on a nice patch of floor.
When are you supposed to go to bed?
Well, the sun sets at 4:30 now, so 5?

What is your favorite movie?
I have recently taken a shining to "Baby Noah", an installment of the Baby Einsteins series. It holds my attention for a good three minutes longer than anything else: about five mins.
What kind of music do you like to dance to?
There is this rhythm on the electric keyboard that I really dig: Castaway (but don't be thinking "Wilson" or anything. I have even taught myself how to turn it on.
What is your favorite song?
"Stick-, Stick-, Stick-y Bubble Gum". 'Nuff said.
When do you like to sing?
I am a choral singer, so whenever Mom or Leah starts belting, I like to join in.

If left to your own devices, what is your favorite thing to do?
Easy. Put on Leah's princess attire (especially shoes), and climb to the top of anything standing more than three feet high.
What is one thing you love to do that drives a cohabitator crazy?
See above. I have also discovered that I am very good, in my opinion, at feeding myself. Mom and Dad seem put off by my humble supplications to feed myself.
If you could wear any clothing/outfit in the world, what would you wear?
Leah's princess attire. But I like to work with layers, so it starts with my jammies, add a jacket, cover with a princess dress. I don my shoes, then cram them into Leah's glass slippers. I haven't figured out how to put those into Dad's shoes, but give me a little while to work on it; I'm only 17 months old, for crying out loud.
What do you most want to do when you visit Mamie and Grandpa for Christmas?
I suspect that I will like this "Molly" character, and I have heard rumors of a "Ranch", though everyone is being rather elusive on just what a "Ranch" entails. Barring that, Noah and Kit are always tons of fun.

Thanks all - have a great Christmas!
-Anya Natalie

A little patience, please

I am working on getting the background and the font to be syncopated/incongruent/disharmonious/whatever so you can see the words. Just give me a bit to figure out the fractal software.

Freeze tag!

I tag:
Noah (on Holly's blog)
Mark (also on Holly's blog - or his own?)
Kit (on Mapotomus Log)
Brent (on Valerie's bog - or his own?)
Leah (on Mel's blog)
Anya (on this blog)
Steve [Dad] (on Mom's blog)

Of course, I welcome Val, Holly, Mel, Mom, and me (and any other readers) to also participate.

Here's the tag:

What is the cutest thing you did yesterday?
What is the nicest thing you did for your mom/dad/spouse/sibling this week?
What was your favorite thing you did in the last month?
What was your greatest accomplishment in the last year?

What is your favorite toy?
What is your favorite animal?
When do you like to go to bed?
When are you supposed to go to bed?

What is your favorite movie?
What kind of music do you like to dance to?
What is your favorite song?
When do you like to sing?

If left to your own devices, what is your favorite thing to do?
What is one thing you love to do that drives a cohabitator crazy?
If you could wear any clothing/outfit in the world, what would you wear?
What do you most want to do when you visit Mamie and Grandpa for Christmas?

If necessary, you can get someone to help you with your blog post. :)

I've got nothing.

Seriously, I have nothing to say. I really don't want to lose the momentum I built up, which enabled me to return to blogging, but at the same time, I don't want to devalue the rest of my posts with fluff. So I won't say anything. I did change the background, though. I also changed Mel's. I suspect mine will stick around a bit longer than her's will, so go check it out, while it lasts. Limited time offer.

Just to set the record straight

I recently received an interesting email forwarded me by one I love. While I do not subscribe to forwarding messages (at least not often), I do often read them. Usually there is nothing worth correcting.
I have, however, found an exception.
Bananas, peeled from the flower end upwards, still have those fibers/hairs/yuckies (their name depends on whom you are asking). I have been practicing this form of banana nakedation since high school, when one of Mike Haymore's older brothers returned from a mission from Costa Rica.
He tried to sell me on the idea, based on the following points:
1. The monkeys eat them that way.
2. The Costa Ricans eat them that way.
3. This method provides a nice little handle for you to hold while eating the banana.
4. They grow in the direction (the stem down, toward the plant).
My rebuttals:
1. Good for them. I do not often make decisions based on what monkeys do. Except for that one time I tried to type the complete works of Shakespeare.
2. Good for them. They do a number of other things I do not. And while I acknowledge their greater experience, that was insufficient reason for me to change my habits.
3. The handle is pathetic. Even in his demonstration, Mike's banana fell sideways, while being held by its "handle". (Quote use is intentional.)
4. That's nice. I don't each apples top-down or bottom-up, based on their growth orientation. Bananas were not deserving of special attention.
"But wait," you say, "I thought you said that you eat bananas flower-to-stem as Mike suggested." (Quote use is, again, intentional, deliberate, and, might I add, correct. My use of commas, however, may be, a, little,, suspect,.)
You would be right. I do eat bananas F-T-S. I continued to ponder the issue and to make arguments to myself in favor of and against the S-T-F and F-T-S methodologies. Please allow me to summarize some of the more cogent arguments.
When peeled F-T-S, the little, yuckie, black thing at the end is swiftly and easily removed. I also find it easier to initiate the peeling process without causing contusions to the flesh of the banana.
Well, that about sums it up.
I leave you to make your own judgement calls. Know that the truth has been spoken to you, and you will one day be held accountable for it, but I leave you to your own devices and decisions. You may no longer peel in ignorance or innocence. I have torn down the fence and each reader must now make a conscious, moral, life-altering decision.
Choose wisely.



I am not sure if it is an argument in my favor or against me, but the first item to appear in Word's clip-art under banana follows the F-T-S method, as depicted here:



P.B. (Post Blog) - Just in case there are still some rumors out there, Mel once started people thinking that I bite the entire flower end off the banana. I do not engage in this heinous practice. I open a banana the same way as anyone else, just from a more enlightened end than everyone else, except monkeys and Costa Ricans. And maybe a few others.

Just a couple of things

On Thursday I signed up for the first course of my master's degree. The course is titled ISE (Industrial and Systems Engineering) 544: Management of Engineering Teams. The course might as well be subtitled "Chris, this is how you perform your job". A colleague of mine just took it as an elective in his aerospace degree (I am not sure how that works, but more power to him). The long and the short of it is that it is all about forming an engineering team and ensuring that the team performs. It is not oriented at a "manager" or "supervisor" leading the team, but at the engineer who is the team lead. I am looking forward to it. It should be good.

On a different note (but made relevant by some of my above usage), here is a blog that Mel showed me. She once mentioned that this particular trend was a pet peeve of hers, and I have come to very much enjoy finding more instances for Mel to be peeved (not creating them), and then discussing the ramifications, meanings, and lack of thinking/understanding that accompany them. My comments are likely to have made more sense if you first clicked on the link. Happy reading. Happy sighting.

Necessary and Sufficient

Leah taught me a little refresher in the principle of necessity and sufficiency this morning.
She spilled some juice in our window box in the kitchen. The contributing agents were a small sippy cup with no lid, and the placement of the sippy on the grating meant to hold plants or something in the window box. Both are necessary for the event of the spill, but neither is sufficient.
If there had been a lid on the sippy, it would not have spilled. If it had been on a level surface (or at least a surface that was continuous, and not resembling a cattle guard as the grating is), the spill would not have happened.
The sippy had no lid as there were no clean lids. Of course, I was not about to wash a lid for the few minutes which remained before we had to go to church. The other lids had all been dirtied in an accelerated fashion due in a large part to Leah's recent devotion to (read: insistence upon drinking) hot cocoa.
The juice was placed upon the grating so as to disallow Anya from spilling the juice. Leah can reach the grating, and has historically been successful in adverting spills upon its surface. Anya cannot reach the grating. Neither can the cats. Yet.
So it is that all of the conditions for the spill were met. The necessities were filled, and the sufficiency obtained.
I think that a fairly cogent argument could be made that the spill was inevitable. The enabling criteria were met in an effort to minimize the risk of spill. Since the spill occurred, even in the state of minimized potential, the spill was inevitable. The alternative was much screaming about not being able to drink juice.
The spill cleaned up quickly and easily. I think that what i should have done was just pour some of the juice on the floor in front of Leah and saved myself having to dirty a sippy cup. Too bad I didn't have the foresight to recognize the irrevocability of the spill.
Next time I know. I might even place the towel on the floor beforehand, so I can pour the juice directly onto the towel. That would, ostensibly, be the quickest way to the final state.

Publicly Private

My post is now going Private. Or Public. It depends on your point of view. Since I know Mel is going to give a hard time about it, I'll explain myself. I am going public from a business point of view, where I now offer up stock in my blog, make that stock available to all, and am consequently no longer in charge of what is posted (or who sees the posts). With the same meaning, the blog is now private from a government point of view. The benevolent dictatorship of the blog has decided to release its iron grip from about the neck of the blog, making it available for use in the private sector.
There are a number of things which influenced this decision.
1. I can't let Goober beat me out or show more Chutzpah than me.
2. I am neither prone to share, nor privy to any piece of juicy gossip which I could unwittingly share through my blog.
3. Even if I release the blog, realistically, no one more than those whom I have invited/would want to invite is going to read it. I am not that cool that people are going to stalk my blog.
4. I don't post very often. I cannot, in all fairness, expect my adoring public (or is that my adoring private?) to come, sign in, and check out my blog regularly once they have been repeatedly let down that there is nothing new to see. Mine is one of those that is perfect for google reader. It will let you know if/when I post something. In the mean time, don't hassle with going and looking. No, there is nothing wrong with your reader. I just haven't posted.
So, in light of those arguments, my blog will no longer require you to pass through retinal scans before reading it.
You're welcome.

INTJ, and you?

Test 1; Test 2
Wiki define INTJ; Wiki define INTP
INTJ commentary 1; INTP commentary 1
INTJ commentary 2; INTP commentary 2

A recent conversation prompted me to revisit the Myer-Briggs spin on the Jungian theories of personality types. I used the first link above (one of the few free administrations - with all the inherent risks - that I was able to find on the internet) to determine that I was INTJ (which is what I recalled having been in the past). Of course, my scores indicated that I was leaning in that direction, without a clear abandonment of the other options (though taking it again a few days later made me fall 'distinctly' as an INTJ; this was likely influenced by a new interpretation of the questions, based on a broader understanding of what they were trying to get at, for better or worse; I can't say which is more accurate). This was further demonstrated as I read through the assessment on the second link and compared the definitions provided by Wikipedia (3rd and 4th links). The final kicker was reading the definitions in the fifth and sixth links (7, 8 are alternatives). Mel read the INTJ with me, and really saw a lot of me in what it was saying. Having compared the two, I am inclined to say that at a younger age, I acted much more like an INTP, but maturity, age, wisdom, responsibility, who knows what, has caused me to become more of an INTJ.
Here are some items from each of the profiles that Mel or I thought rang true (she hasn't read or commented on the INTP before posting). I am curious what you think of what I have identified, if there are other traits in the descriptions that I did not pull out that you think are very appropriate, and what type you are (test is really quick - 4 a or b questions, or 72 yes or no questions). I primarily pulled INTJ from the 5th link and INTP from the 8th.
INTJ:
-appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence....is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature
-will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
-endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest
-unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
-trait combination of imagination and reliability
-Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect
-take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers.
-scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice
-many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
-While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations
-little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation
-usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand
-Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense.
-assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship
-good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression
-those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications
-value intelligence, knowledge, and competence, and typically have high standards in these regards, which they continuously strive to fulfill. To a somewhat lesser extent, they have similar expectations of others.
-mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it
-insightful and usually are very quick to understand new ideas.
-adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well
-make decisions, express judgments, and put everything that they encounter into an understandable and rational system. Consequently, they are quick to express judgments. Often they have very evolved intuitions, and are convinced that they are right about things
-value clarity and efficiency
-not overly demonstrative of their affections, and is likely to not give as much praise or positive support as others may need or desire. That doesn't mean that he or she doesn't truly have affection or regard for others, they simply do not typically feel the need to express it.


INTP:
-world of theoretical possibilities
-see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into
having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations
-seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them
-able to be objectively critical in their analysis
-love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories
-hate to work on routine things - they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others. They are intensely interested in theory, and will put forth tremendous amounts of time and energy into finding a solution to a problem with has piqued their interest
-very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance
-likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.
-no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings
-he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others.
-important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths. Sometimes, their well thought-out understanding of an idea is not easily understandable by others, but the INTP is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others
-have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways
-Precise about their descriptions, INTPs will often correct others (or be sorely tempted to) if the shade of meaning is a bit off. While annoying to the less concise, this fine discrimination ability gives INTPs so inclined a natural advantage as, for example, grammarians and linguists
-Mathematics is a system where many INTPs love to play, similarly languages
-Games NTs seem to especially enjoy include Risk, Stratego, and word games of all sorts

Well, I think that's me. Hope it was interesting/informative. Was it wordy enough for you?

i/on

Would you rather have your child make a mess on the bed, or in the bed? On a number of levels, it seems preferable that the mess be on the bed, as it would be only the one layer affected; much easier to clean.
It would then follow that breakfast on bed would be better than breakfast in bed, right?
I had occasion to try the validity of that statement and found it lacking.
While Mel appreciated the thoughts behind her breakfast on bed, she more appreciated my efforts to clean it up. I, however, was able to appreciate both Mel's thoughts/efforts and the breakfast itself. I know that it flies in the face of reason, but breakfast in bed, contrary to what you might think, is better than breakfast on bed.
Thanks for the empirical data, Mel! Science never tasted so good (cf early nurses and Diabetes).

It Takes a Village...

Leah wants to be where the action is. Wherever she thinks that may be. Case in point: this Sunday was the first time in over a year that I have heard Mel perform with the ward chior. Leah is so insitant that she go up onto the stand with Mel, that a fight ensues and we end up getting tossed into the foyer for disrupting sacrament meeting. This week, I called in back-up. Just as things were starting to escalate, I had one of her friends' mom sucker-punch her from behind with some stickers. That knocked her for quite a loop. Unfortunately, she is young and recovers quickly, and it looked like we were in for the usual lickin'. Lucky for me, the local Nursery Leader wandered by just then and clapped her in a lap hold that even Leah couldn't fight. The song was beautiful. I think even Leah enjoyed listening to it, from the stocks.
Sometimes, it takes a village to subdue a child.

The Color of Rain

What is the color of rain? Or, rather, what color ought rain to be? I will now determine the true answer by empirical methods, loosely applied and bound with flawed logic.
Right up my alley.
The majority of my experiences are with the desert (I still have a hard time calling central Utah a desert - there is just way too much precipitation and humidity for my understanding of a desert) . Therefore, I will take that as given and correct.
The sun, an orange-ish color, makes plants and the ground a tan-ish color. The rain here makes the ground and plants a green-ish color. What color, then, ought the rain to be? Deep green. I applied the same color and light conversion that is necessary to go from tan to orange to the green color of the ground and arrived at a deep green color. This is obviously the color of rain, were drops large enough to distinguish their color. This must then imply that the bond angle between the hydrogens on the oxygen is not the same in a lake, puddle, glass, etc. as it is in a drop of rain. You may now nominate me for a nobel prize in either physics or chemistry, at your discretion.
I like green. I like tan. Orange is great, too. If you feel you need a bit more greens and a bit less orange and brown, swing on by. We have some to spare.

Relative Humidity

Shortly after our arrival in Atlanta, we watched the finals of the Open division. It seemed that the officials were asked to wipe off either the floor or the ball, or both, after virtually every play. I thought to myself that this seemed mildly excessive, and must be a back-door for a mini timeout.
This sentiment was compounded as our play began. We would occasionally need to wipe something off, but nothing in comparison to the game that we watched.
Then we played a game in the late afternoon.
It turns out that humidity is relatively higher in the afternoon than in the morning.
Humidity is absolutely higher when you are playing than when you are watching.
There were a number of sweaty types on both sides who necessitated wiping of the floor and/or ball after a seemingly exorbitant number of plays.
It was quite a lesson in relative and absolute humidity, and I didn't even need a psychrometric chart.

Groupies and Rhodys

Having been raised in a general dearth of flowers, I am relatively easily impressed when it comes to flora. I seem to recall one instance when the fam was visiting fam in Grantsville and all the kids (late teens to twenties) thought that we had found some nice, pretty, sweet smelling flowers. We later found out that they were intended as a repellent and were not considered to be an aromatically pleasing flower.
You would think, then, that I would not be critical of flowers. However, I have reached my limit. I am sick of rhododendrons. I appreciate that they are hardy, grow easily, and flower well. They also come in a variety of colors. What people around here seem to forget is that they also come in a variety of species. Everyone has rhododendrons, and while they thankfully have a variety of colors, they are predominantly the same plant. I don't understand why everyone has to have botanical group think. I am not a master gardener, by any means (I think my Bougainvillea is dead, though not by my hand), but it seems that people should be able to get something else to grow. Mild winters, temperate, albeit brief, summers, and always an abundance of rain, with some good, rich dirt make me think that this is a nice place for plants.
Oh well, at least rhodys are pretty. I'm just a little sick. What else is new?

Musical Instrumentality

Random, unrelated, almost unrecalled events have recently prompted me to become more aware of some of the underrepresented instruments in the world. I would like more exposure to non-Western musical influences. I find many of the Eastern-influenced pieces to be very ethereal, with a fragile beauty. I am sure that the Western pieces once had the same effect, but I have been glutted. I am sure there are many seemingly jarring, discordant pieces from other cultures, which are deemed beautiful in their own sphere. However, I would like someone to go through the music of the world and apply my personal filters to provide me with a library of music that I could enjoy in whatever mood.
Despite my recent dismissal of Western music, I have also felt inspired by pieces with Spanish guitars. I have never been a fan of Hendrix or Santana, both acclaimed guitarists, with what I am sure is a large amount of talent. Just not my style.
On a similar, though unrelated note, who was it that got to define which frequencies are "notes" and which not? At some point, it had to be someone saying, "This sounds good. That doesn't." Why does 440 Hz correspond to A above middle C? When I sing and hit 444 Hz, it seems to me that is a very nice note and should be accepted as such, not scorned as "in-between" notes. There are infinite frequencies, and as such, infinite notes. Someone chooses eight of those infinite notes and calls it them and their multiples the winners. I submit that I sing very well to a different set of frequencies. You could say that I sing to the tone of a different drum, though it wouldn't be true. Drums and such produce a vast range of frequencies, not a single "note." Maybe I am a drum.

Would a dead horse rather be beaten or dog food?

Mel had a post a while back
(spring, I presume), where she focused on Haiku (or their not-so-near approximations). She opened the floor to anyone who wished to submit an entry by way of comment. I enjoyed the exercise so much that I think that I will extend the same invitation, always open, to anyone who would ever like to comment via Haiku. I will not require strict adherence to the rules of Haiku, but please at least approximate the form enough that an uninvolved party would recognize the submittance as a Haiku.

That being said - the more strict a poetry form, the more I appreciate it as an intellectual challenge and despise it as a distortion of meaning. There are countless songs, poems, etc where the desired meaning is vague, obscured, or unrecognizable because the author was forced to subscribe to the rules of the art form in preference to clarity. Few and cherished (even among heralded works of art) are those instances where the meaning remains clear, the imagery is inspired, and the convention followed.

Disclaimer

I have been known on occasion, to say things
that are offensive. As this blog is mostly my words, I am sure to offend again. However, should you be the offended party, please bear in mind that I intend no slight and do not knowingly harm.
In a parallel vein, I promise not be offended by whatever you may say in a comment, for I am certain that someone will eventually find my postings worthless enough to post scathing comments.