Britt Frey

Friend needs work

2007-08-11T16:13:08Z

I have a friend that needs a job in ATX or Ft. Worth in copywriting, marketing, PR, or (she didn't say these two, but I think she might like them) photography or singing. I'm biased towards ATX :), but if you know of anything in either town, please let me know.

Moving, virtually

2007-08-11T05:43:07Z

I think I am moving my blog over to blogger.com. I like the text editor better (hotkeys), and the greater control of the layout and html, though I haven't messed with that yet. I might change my mind, but my updates will be at brittfrey.blogger.com for the near future.

PGA Champs?

2007-08-08T23:22:41Z

Anyone able to make it to Tulsa tomorrow or maybe Sunday to go to the PGA championships with me? I have tickets from my mom and it seems pretty cool, even if I don't care so much about golf. Obviously, sexy chicks are preferable ;)

Language and Religion

2007-08-08T05:28:40Z

I was talking to a friend yesterday about religion and mentioned that I never really talked about what I believed. I talk about my opinions about organizations or inconsistencies, but I really don't talk about what I believe. No, I'm not going to talk about what I believe now, but I am going to talk about why I don't. I know, that sounds evasive and bass-ackwards, but it's the best you're getting out of me for now; besides, have you come to expect anything else from me? ;)

When I started thinking about it, I didn't know exactly why I avoided that type of discussion. The first thought, which I have pondered a bit before, was the pointlessness of the discussions and arguments. Yeah, yeah, I argue about everything, it seems; actually, I don't. I only argue when there is something to be gained from the argument, and religious arguments rarely have any purpose; people are typically very set in their religious ideas and their justifications are usually of the sort that can't be disputed. That doesn't necessarily make the ideas or justifications wrong, or even right, but it does tend to restrict the exchange of ideas. But that only addresses arguments, not discussions.

As I was driving up to Tulsa today (I'll miss you, Austinites), I thought more on this topic. I started thinking about what I would say in a hypothetical conversation or how I would explain my beliefs. This triggered my Philosopher Sense^tm (imagine a head and shoulders panel of a comic-book me with little squigglies around my head, eyes looking up, and an arched eyebrow), of the Wittgenstein variety. The first problem is that the human mind just can't comprehend the vastness and, at the same time, all the details of the universe, being, truth, or a higher power. We might be able to understand a bit about what those things don't encompass, but not really what they are, fully. On top of that is the inherent problem of the inaccuracies of language.

Language is a great example of metaphors in life; every word and grammatical construct is only a metaphor for the idea we are trying to convey. Metaphors are a blessing and a curse; they are very convenient for conveying aspects of ideas, but they are limited to conveying only those aspects (among other problems). This necessarily introduces inaccuracies into conversations, combined with our inability to fully grasp the concepts involved to begin with, can lead to conversational problems. Let's say you start out with the idea of chocolate. Obviously, the human mind cannot fully grasp all the wonderfulness that is chocolate. Combine that with the ambiguity of what kind of chocolate you're thinking about versus what the other person is thinking about, maybe dark v. milk chocolate, and the next thing you know, you're imitating a squirrel with a top hat, monocle, and cane in a traveling circus. I don't think any of us want that, now do we? Seriously, though, I imagine monocles are pretty uncomfortable.

So, while I honestly never really thought about this before, I really don't like putting important beliefs into words; it feels like whatever words I use are a mere shadow of the actual idea, destined to give my co-locutor the wrong impression. I like to keep those sorts of ideas more formless, bounded by the legions of suspected falsehoods, rather than trying to specify the nature of their truth.

While everything I said above leads away from such conversations, I will admit that, earlier tonight, I had an intelligent conversation of just this sort with said friend, and it was quite enjoyable. It could be that our ideas, while probably different in the details, were similar enough to allow reasoned discussion. Maybe if we had come from vastly disparate backgrounds, we wouldn't have been able to have such a conversation. In any case, it was an enjoyable conversation and helped me to understand my own thoughts a little better. Perhaps I will rethink my stance on these sorts of discussions, though I'm sure I will always be hesitant. Off to bed now, I think.

HP7 Thoughts SPOILERS!

2007-07-26T08:06:34Z

Danger, Will Robinson! Spoilers! Danger!
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Overall, I felt this book felt very rushed and lacked polish. She had a lot of good plot elements and background story that she failed to connect or really show "on camera". It seemed like she had a laundry list of things that she wanted/needed to accomplish, then ran out of time or pages and had to squeeze various parts in. It feels like she wrote the middle first, spending a good deal of time there and really writing a good story, but then had to really hurry to do the first and last few chapters. I think she spent a little too much time on a few time periods in the middle and not enough time on other important parts near the beginning and, especially, the end.

- Hedwig's death lacked any emotional content whatsoever, and I always like Hedwig. Throughout all the books, it was always Hedwig that gave Harry the "What the fuck's wrong with you, you emo bitch" attitude when he needed it, but still liked him. The way she killed her was just very lackluster.

- Snape's story was good and was pretty much exactly what I expected, but I'm not entirely happy with how it was conveyed. I wanted Snape to be a bigger part in this book and his story to unfold, not be handed to us at the end. I suppose seeing it all in Snape's memories is the only way to be 100% sure he really was good, but it still feels very deus ex machina...like much of the book.

- Dumbledore's part seemed forced. It's like there was a big, intricate plot involving Albus, Aberforth, Grindelwald, the Deathly Hallows, the Horcruxes, the gifts in the will, and many other plot points, and she didn't really tie them up. They should have, and easily could have, fit together much more nicely, but she just grabbed bits of each plot element and forced them together in the end.

- Voldemort's end was definitely anti-climactic. The fact that he died due to a legal technicality is very disappointing. The plot elements of shared parts of each other's souls and the bit of him in the dream sequence just weren't worked together well enough.

- The epilogue was very trite and was obviously only there to cover any possibility of anyone else doing anything with the main characters. She included exactly enough information to blockade any use of the characters between the final fight and about the time their kids would become the new main characters.

- Dobby and Kreacher were really good characters in this book, IMO. I think Dobby's death was the most touching in the whole book.

- Neville really should have taken out Bellatrix, not Mrs. Weasley. I was not very fond of her character in this book; she seemed far too irrational considering the situations they were in. Neville was fantastic.

- I was hoping for a bit more opportunity for Draco to redeem himself. She kept giving him opportunities or setting up the situation where it could be that Draco was trying to keep from doing bad things, but she never expounded on it. That was a disappointing treatment of that character for me.

- I don't think there was enough of Ginny in this book. JKR seemed to allow Harry to sideline her as a fragile girlfriend. I was hoping for her to ignore Harry and show up when they needed help, wand blazing, and totally kicking ass. Instead, she was a meek little girlfriend that /wanted/ to do more but was content to follow Harry's orders. Boo.

- Hagrid and, probably, McGonnagal should have died; they are perfect characters for that use. They have a lot of previous face time to let readers get somewhat attached to them, but they aren't really integral to the plot. Killing them off would provide some emotional writing ammunition without really hurting the story. Both of them also didn't really do much in this book, but still took up space. That was really all I felt about them in this book: waste of space.

- Is it just me or was there a bit of retconning going on with unforgivable curses? Harry was using them left and right, a few others used them as well, and noone seemed to bat an eye at that.

Overall, I'm not really disappointed, and it's as good as I was expecting, but it could have been far, far better. I find myself wishing there were Director's Cuts of books, because this could really use an extra 200 pages and some rewriting.

Book idea...

2007-06-21T21:46:11Z

I thought of a great book idea while I was trying to fall asleep last night:
Random Ruminations of a Rodent
or
The Diary of Leonardo the Sqrl
Ghostwritten by Britt F. Frey

It will be a collection of satire, philosophy, and whatever else I want to write. It's going to be awesome. Now I need to learn how to draw a cartoon squirrel in various scenes so I can add flavorful illustrations.

There are hot dogs in my refrigerator...

2007-06-16T05:30:58Z

Cristina came into town today to hang out with me on my birthday (thanks, Mexican). It turns out that her refrigerator died shortly before she arrived in town. Good timing, I guess, as it allowed her to save most of the stuff in her freezer from the imminent second death by thawing. She immediately turned to my facilities as a backup, of course, since Britt's useful like that. So she brought over all the things she saved and put them in my refrigerator; it's not like I keep much in there, after all. Now, however, everytime I open my refrigerator, I look down in shocked disbelief as I notice that there are hot dogs in my refrigerator. Many of you probably don't know this, but I am not a fan of the franks. We had a fairly lengthy discussion recently about vegetarianism, but this is worse than that; not only are hot dogs animal and, thus, carry with them a twinge of guilt, they are also just disgusting. I mean, they are made in giant vats of churning meat, pumped out into tube shapes that are oddly shiny and plastic-looking. Now, when I open my refrigerator for some tasty bread, cheese, or a chilled glass of water (as that's all I really keep in there), I stand transfixed for a few moments, my mind trying to comprehend why these disgusting amalgamations of myriad meats are staring back at me. I think "there are hot dogs in my refrigerator...why are there hot dogs in my refrigerator?"

That lengthy, though quite humourous introductory paragraph serves as a wonderful segue into the rest of this post; as you will see, I will be covering many disjointed topics tonight. Viewed as a whole, it might appear much like a hot dog, though hopefully more appealing and the cause of fewer deaths.
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I will begin by reiterating the well-known axiom: women are crazy. No, I'm not going to clarify. I just want it stated quite clearly that insanity is housed on the X chromosome.
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Next, I have an extension on my international arbitration paper. I have it all worked out in my head, but I can't concentrate enough to put it on paper. It doesn't help that I have realized the uselessness of the paper; the completion of said paper will impact nothing in this world other than my grade. Huzzah! That really makes me want to work on it...
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About a month ago, my grandfather was up on his land in the country and fell off a log while crossing a dry creek bed, about six feet down. He's lucky that he just had some bruises and such...or so he thought. He's still lucky, but he suffered more than the bruises. He also had a slight bleed in his brain that was picked up on an MRI, showing a slight pressure in his skull. The brilliant doctors basically forgot about it until he went in to have knee surgery on Tuesday. "Hmm, you know, before we give you these blood thinners, maybe we ought to look again at that bleed you had...IN YOUR BRAIN!" They did another MRI and it turns out the pressure had increased a bit, so they have to go in next week to relieve the pressure. They will be drilling two or three small holes in the skull to attempt to drain the liquid. That's not a very serious procedure, despite what some may think; however, if the fluid has solidified, they'll have to cut off part of the skull and cut out the solid mass. That will be more serious, but still not too bad. I still worry some, but it should all be ok.
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The Saga Edition Star Wars RPG rules are friggin awesome! I am working with some others to adapt the rules back into D&D 3.5, as I think they have a lot of promise. If you want to help, go to:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/sagadd/
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Have you ever had a friend or situation that you really wanted to help, but everything you do or say has horrible and unforeseen consequences, and anything you think of to try to do seems like it would have equally horrible consequences? In the end, you are left just sitting there twiddling your thumbs, wishing you could help or do something, but knowing that you can't, which is amazingly frustrating :/
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I've been thinking about looking into editing law books as a career, but I can't fathom the pay would be high enough to justify it. I would have to be able to edit about 40 pages a day, 20 days a month, to get the cost down to about 10,000$ a book, all to make as much as I would in a large firm and pay back my debt. I could see myself getting the cost down that low, with some practice, but not much lower. I also can't imagine people being willing to spend that much to edit a book, no matter how good I am at it. The spelling, grammar, and style of law books grates on my nerves.
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There are hot dogs in my refrigerator...

Eureka!

2007-06-12T11:04:03Z

I have just had a major epiphany. I can't fully explain it, as I was in the middle of trying to fall asleep (yes, at 05:00), but I wanted to put the basics here so I don't forget.

For a long time, I've believed in absolute morality. I haven't known what that absolute morality is, just that it's there somewhere. I've believed that killing is wrong, universally, with no extenuating circumstances, for example, but I had no way to prove it and I didn't exactly know why it was wrong. For a few years, I've been solidifying my beliefs into a coherent, unified system based around the metaphysical nature of the universe. I believe that the entire universe is one giant wave field with everything in it representing perturbations within the wave field. You can have other waves within the giant wave, each with different frequencies, amplitudes, etc. Quantum mechanics is even integrated, as I believe it's all one giant quantum wave function that is locally collapsed by conscious entities. This relates to taoism, some forms of buddhism, some christianity (though I know people will argue with me), shamanism, etc, in that we are all part of the same entity, all one thing, yet all individuals at the same time; we're all part of the wave function, yet all individual perturbations within it as well. Individuality v. unification is a false dichotomy; it's all just different ways of looking at it.

Which transitions nicely into the other piece of the puzzle. One of the most important things that philosophy has taught me is that everything, everything is a metaphor. Nothing that we think, say, sense, or believe actually exists or actually is what we think; what we think is merely a close approximation that is useful for the task at hand, pragmatic. Even the highly-vaunted Mathematics is only a collection of metaphors as well; two does not exist in the universe, it is merely a metaphor that helps us understand the concept of a collection of what we label as things based on a different metaphor. Objects do not exist as we perceive them. A tree is not actually existent the way we think; it is merely that we perceive the change in density and type of molecules at a fairly distinct point in space-time, at least to our senses, as the definition of an object. Zoom out or in very much, though, and the distinctness fades and eventually disappears. The human brain works by recognizes patterns and applying those patterns to help solve problems and understand concepts. The trick is to understand that these are just self-made patterns that do not perfectly map to reality. They are merely pragmatic tools to help us understand life. It is something that has led me to believe that true intelligence is the ability to understand these points, collect metaphors, and switch between them easily. The better you are at that process, the more readily you can understand new concepts and make them useful to you. These patterns and metaphors are merely ways of interpreting the perceived relationships between various other metaphors.

All our definitions in the world are based on relationships. How we define objects, personalities, groups, actions...everything is based on relationships. We cannot define anything without referencing something other than the thing we are trying to define. I recently was talking to someone about relationships. I tried to tell her that intimate (non-sexual sense) relationships are the most important thing in life, at least to me. I didn't know why at the time, and it seemed a rather new idea to me, but I believed it whole-heartedly. I had many reasons that I gave, and they were good reasons, but none seemed to really capture the depth to which I believed this idea. (Side note: without any justification, I have believed for a long time that humans have an innate ability to sense Truth, that it somehow resonates with them or stands out, possibly as harmony with the base wave form of the universe or something. I don't know. It just is a bit relevant to the point.) I think I now know why I feel it is so true. Everything about us is defined by our relationships, and we help to define everything else through those relationships. Without relationships, we would have no definition or meaning, and the rest of the universe would have less definition and meaning. It seems that intimate relationships, where you really open up to and connect with someone help to define you even more, which is consistent with the above ideas. By becoming closer to one entity, having less separation, you each gain more definition and individuality at the same time.

How do these pieces fit together? I said I felt that there was some sort of unifying principle to whatever absolute morality is out there, and I think I have it! Relationships. Killing completely eliminates the ability to have relationships with the entity you just killed. Never again can anyone define it or themselves by relationship to that bird, ant, dog, boy, girl, elephant, etc. Similarly, I think other forms of gut reaction 'wrong' could probably be easily defined as detrimental to the ability to relate in an active way. Sure, everything relates to everything else just by existing, but conscious entities have the ability to actively relate to the universe. Their relationships are formed with our body and our consciousness, not just our body. Relationships with inanimate objects are formed with just the body, though there may be some arguments for basic conscious relationships with 'nature' or some such idea, but that would be with an idea. Think about the difference between the relationships between a human and a living dog versus a corpse (leaving aside ideas about the previously living dog). There is a distinct difference there.

It's not fully fleshed out, as I just thought of this, about 40 minutes ago, though for a few minutes, then rolled over and started typing. I'll work on it more and I look forward to comments. The key is in here somewhere, I can feel it :p

Ok, so I lied; I did end up explaining it in depth. Sue me; I'll beat you in court.

Exactly what I always say...

2007-05-31T18:20:50Z

Neutral good with lawful tendencies. I think the Neutral bit comes from me being very orderly and logical personally, following a very strict personal code, and expecting others to follow that as well, but at the same time, having very little respect for authority. If I wasn't such an elitist, I might trust the capabilities of authority figures more and be more lawful :)

It's a decent alignment test, overall; however, the phrasing of the questions makes me doubt many, if any, people would ever end up as evil.

Your Score: Neutral-Good

76% Good, 40% Chaotic

Plane of Existence: Elysium, "Blessed Fields". Description: The plane of peace. Notable Inhabitants: Guardinals - noble immortal humanoids with bestial features.

Examples of Neutral-Goods (Ethically Neutral, Morally Good)

Cloud Strife (FFVII)

Boogenhagen (FFVII)

Mother Theresa

Ghandi

Sidhartha Gautama (the Buddha)

Gandalf

Bilbo & Frodo Baggins

Samwise Gamgee

Indiana Jones

The Dali Lama

Ben (O-Bi-Wan) Kenobi

Luke Skywalker

Harry Potter

Hermionie

Dumbledore

Often goes along with the laws and desires of the group as being the easiest course of action, but ethical considerations clearly have top priority. May pursue quite abstract goals. Often aloof and difficult to understand.

Will keep their word to others of good alignment

Would not attack an unarmed foe

Will not use poison

Will help those in need

May work with others

Indifferent to higher authority

Indifferent to organizations

Neutral Good "Pure Good"

"Benefactor"

A neutral good [person] will obey the law, or break it when he or she sees it will serve a greater good. He or she is not bound strongly to a social system or order. His or her need to help others and reduce their suffering may take precedence over all else. Neutral good [people] do good for goodness' sake, not because they are directed to by law or by whim.

This alignment desires good without bias for or against order.

Other Alignments and Tendencies (Tendenices are what you would more often sway towards; esp. for Neutrals):

0-39% Good, 0-39% Chaotic: Lawful-Evil

0-39% Good, 40-60% Chaotic: Neutral-Evil

0-39% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Evil

40-60% Good, 0-39% Chaotic: Lawful-Neutral

40-60% Good, 40-60% Chaotic: True Neutral

40-60% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Neutral

61-100% Good, 0-39% Chaotic: Lawful-Good

61-100% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Good

Link: The Alignment Test written by xan81 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

EF Global Print

2007-05-29T23:54:34Z

In the vein of the recent visited countries post, you can keep track of where you have been and where you plan to go here:
http://www.efcollegebreak.com/

I know some of my readers aren't in college, but just pick 'Other' and I think you can register that way. On Facebook, there is an application that lets you put the map on your profile. I had some trouble getting logged in, but it eventually worked. Look for the 'upload to facebook' button, or something like that.

I fucking hate World of Warcraft

2007-05-28T02:51:50Z

People need to quit playing that game so damned much and realize it is just a game and a poor substitute for real life. It should be something you play when you have nothing else to do, not something you do in lieu of activities with other people. When you tell people "sorry, I can't hang out with you because I'm playing WoW", you should realize that you just passed up spending time with people for the opportunity to alter some tables in a database.

I've been there before. I used online games as a substitute for real life, mainly because it was simpler than real life and had fewer real connections, while still feeling like you were connecting with people a bit. It's the new religion; WoW is the new opiate of the masses. It gives you just enough to feel like you are living life, without any of the actual issues of life. It's like corn syrup, simple, an imitation, and bad for you in the long run. At the end of a long session of WoW, what have you really accomplished? You still have bills to pay, people are still starving all over the world, your family and friends still want to talk to you, the dog still needs to go out, you still need to eat, you still have to study, you still need to shower, eat dinner, and sleep...In the end, you've done absolutely nothing but spend money and lose some of what little precious time you have on this Earth.

Don't get me wrong, some people play it exactly how it should be played, as a game or leisure activity. People need leisure activities, and WoW can be a good one. However, many people don't understand exactly what it is they are doing; they don't think of it as a brief respite, used to unwind for a bit before getting back to real life. For many, it's an important part of their life, while not actually being a part of life. Sure, if you play a little bit at a time, maybe get together with some friends for a few hours to chat and do something while chatting, that is great. But if you are passing up time with friends for the chance to get more gold or that new tier 3 breastplate, you need to really think about what is going on.

And don't go getting all defensive. I'm not targeting anyone in particular, but the entire phenomenon. You, the reader, are surely one of the innocent WoW gamers that uses it merely as an outlet and leisure activity without letting it dominate too much of your life. Of course, this whole situation is just a current and consistent exemplification of what I view as people in general wanting to avoid real life and dealing with what really matters, searching for something to waste time on and take their mind off things that they should be thinking about but would rather not.

Sorry, I'll stop ranting now :)

Meme...better than average

2007-05-27T19:20:00Z

Would you make a fool out of yourself in public if it meant you were making your partner laugh?
Possibly. It depends on if they seemed like they needed a good laugh.

Do you judge people solely by their musical preferences?
No, not on music.

Would you ever start a relationship with someone who was still living with an ex for financial reasons?
Sure.

Do you need to know everything about someone's past?
Need, no. I want to know more than I should though.

It is more worthwhile and satisfying to improve the world or appreciate the world?
Improve.

Do you feel you have a purpose or calling in life?
See the previous question. I fix things, make things better. (when I'm not screwing them up)

Do you believe that dreams can be messages from a "higher level"?
Can? Yes. Are? No clue.

Would you rather have a great friend you could share everything with or a great lover you can't really talk to?
Friend.

Do you like kissing in public?
I don't care.

Did America really put a man on the moon?
Yes.

Would you date someone significantly (9 years or over) older than you?
If they seemed right for me.

Generally, in life, what makes you happy?
Friends, traveling, making people feel better.

How well do you handle criticism?
Not well, probably, but far better than I use to.

Is it possible for full-figured women to be equally attractive as thinner women?
Sure.

You've just met someone incredible while out with friends, and (s)he's been kind enough to cough up a phone number. How long would you wait to call?
Too many factors to be able to tell from that hypo. Likely a few days or until there is something to talk to them about or ask them to accompany you to.

Do you think the family of a murder victim should have any say in what punishment is given to the murderer?
No.

Would you have a 'Happy Button' installed on your body, connected to your brain, which would instantly make you very happy whenever you pressed it?
No.

Would you rather know everything about your mates, or be regularly surprised?
I like to know too much. So I /should/ probably know a good deal, but not everything.

Would you rather have your dream job or your soul mate for the rest of your life?
Soul mate.

Should your girlfriend/boyfriend also become your best friend?
Yes.

Have you ever posed as a nude model?
No.

Would you prefer if good things happened, or interesting things?
May you live in interesting times...

Is it better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all?
Yes.

Visited Countries

2007-05-27T09:54:16Z

This one will take a wee bit more effort. I hope to visit Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, India, and Thailand this fall while I'm in HK; plus, I'm hoping to go to the UK in the spring, possibly hitting a few continental countries while there. That's a very tentative plan, though.

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Visited States

2007-05-27T09:50:23Z

I could fill this in pretty easily, me thinks.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Apparently I look like a girl...

2007-05-11T23:17:08Z

And then there's that fucking Jeff Goldblum again.

Means, Ends, and Valuation

2007-05-11T20:37:39Z

The past few days there has been an epiphany scurrying around me; I've been grasping at it, but have had a hard time gaining full control. Ok, enough of the creature metaphor. I think I have a somewhat decent grasp of the concept, not completely by any means, but enough to share here for comments. Bear with me, as this might be long as I follow the main points in the thought process.

As many of you know, I am somewhat picky, a bit of a perfectionist if you will. (Fine, I know that's an understatement!) As I was walking aimlessly the other morning, I was examining various ideas and wondering why I placed so much emphasis on things being just so. While contemplating this, I realized that the meaning, purpose, or value of a thing cannot be judged separate from its goal. Without a teleos as a reference, how does anything have meaning?

Now, I don't want this to sound like nihilism; I do not mean this in a negative or depressing way. What I mean is more that placing a value on something, judging it without reference to a goal, is pointless. If, in a mall parking lot, there is a perfectly manicured hedge with one stray branch sticking up out of the top, why would that have any value to me? The goal of the mall owners is likely to attract customers by making their premises aesthetic and appealing to the human affinity for patterns. But that has nothing to do with me. I don't want to attract customers, so why should I judge that job at all? I have no interest in how the hedge is maintained. A well-maintained hedge, poorly-maintained hedge, and completely unmaintained hedge should all have the same value to me.

Does this mean that nothing has value or meaning? No, I would not go that far. I think that the chosen goal definitely has a value. Surely, some goals are better than others. If your goal is to feed starving children in third world countries, that must be a "better" goal than genocide. So, how do we objectively compare goals? I don't know; this goes back to my belief in an objective morality, despite my inability to state what that objective morality is. I think there is some defining characteristic of Good, but I don't know what it is.

Does this mean that means are irrelevant; that the ends justify the means? No, that cannot be true, either. If you plan on feeding starving children in third world countries by producing and shipping excess grain or the like, surely that is "better" than feeding the children by feeding murdered, unwanted babies to them, ala Peter Singer. No, the means still matter, obviously. There is likely some unifying property that would allow us to evaluate both means and ends, but I don't know what it is. I know this sounds counter to my thoughts at the beginning, but it seems to make sense in my head. This is one of the areas I am still trying to piece together or rearrange into a semblance of sanity.

From here, I began thinking something similar to what I have thought for many years, but from a different angle. As I looked across a parking lot full of cars, I wondered what all those people were thinking as they went about their daily tasks. Do any of them think about anything other than making it through the day, maintaining the status quo, or climbing the social ladder? Then I started putting this into the context of the thoughts expressed above. How many of them have an end in mind? Sure, I can't read minds or anything, but I am extremely confident that the vast majority of the human race focuses completely on means, without thinking what they are going to do with the means; they make the means into an end, without realizing that this has no value unless they accomplish something with the means. For example, many people focus on accumulating wealth, power, or status. What do any of these things mean without doing something with them? Does gaining wealth have any value unless you do something with that wealth? Our society places the emphasis on the means, encouraging us to care about things that really have no value. Furthermore, pursuit of a means has no end in itself; you can continue to pursue that means, gaining more wealth than you use to have, without ever turning your focus to an actual end. You spend your entire life as a cog in the machine of society, focusing on the same worthless concept. According to our society, that is what makes you successful, having impressive means but not doing anything with it.

What does this mean for my life? What end do I want to pursue? I do not want to become another cog in the wheel, mindlessly pursuing a means like Xeno constantly crossing half the distance to the other side of the room, without ever getting to the other side. I need an end that feels worthwhile, something that I would feel proud to accomplish. I'm not sure what that is, though. I know I like making things better, and helping people. I think I am getting quite good at transactional law, like contracts, licenses, and the like; but, helping a corporation make more money definitely does not feel like a respectable end for my life. At least I realize that in a year I will not really be constrained by location or career unless I want to be, so now is the perfect time to find that end and start implementing the means to the end.

So, thoughts, if you made it all the way through?

More Australia Flickr-ness

2007-05-08T03:38:08Z

I uploaded some more Australia pics to Flickr. I had to delete some older pictures as I reached the 200 picture limit on a free account and don't feel like paying for a Pro account just yet. I'll have to upgrade next time I go on a vacation, though, for sure. I just went through the old photos and looked for pictures that had 0 views, made sure they weren't that great, and deleted those. I will probably have to cull a few more in the near future to make room for some more Australia pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragonbritt/

Don't worry, Jill; I'm done listening to lectures, so I won't be sitting at my computer in total boredom for days on end anymore. What that means for you: no more memes.

More meme-memes

2007-05-07T19:10:52Z

who was your last
Body: Rule #1:
If you open this you GOTTA take it.
Rule # 2:
You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone
messages you and asks.

"True or False."

Q: Kissed someone on your friends? True
Q: Been arrested? False
Q: Kissed someone you didn't like? False
Q: You like someone? True
Q: Held a snake? False
Q: Been suspended from school? False
Q: Been fired from a job? False
Q: Sang karaoke? False
Q: Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? True
Q: Laughed until you started crying? True
Q: Caught a snowflake on your tongue? True
Q: Kissed in the rain? False
Q: Sang in the shower? True
Q: Sat on a roof top? True
Q: Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? False
Q: Broken a bone? False
Q: Played a prank on someone? True
Q: Had/have a gym membership? True
Q: Shot a gun? True
Q: Donated Blood? True
Q: Had your heart broken? True
Q: Broken someone's heart? True
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Who was your last?"
Just be 100% truthful

LAST PERSON:
1. You hung out with: CJ
2. Last person you texted: Vicky
3. You were in a car with? Cristina R.
4. Went to the movies with: Travis, Joe, Todd
5. Went to the mall with?: No clue.
6. You talked to on the phone? Cristina R.
7. Made you laugh?: Umm, Ema?
8. You hugged?: Vicky
9. You cried with?: With? Please, I'm a manly man. I don't cry!...

*********************************

WOULD YOU RATHER...?

1. Be serious or be funny? Seriously Funny
2. Drink whole or skim milk? Sugar-free chocolate
3. Die in a fire or get shot?: What?! I'm immortal!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY...

1. Sun or moon? Which half of the Gemini personality?
2. Winter or Fall? Why am I always presented with these false dichotomies?
3. Left or right?: Right handed, but Sinister sounds so cool.
4. Sunny or rainy?: Both, at the same time!
5. Where do you live?: Austin.
6. Do you want to get married?: Eh, if it was appropriate.
7. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?: Twirl.
8. Do You Cook?: I can, but I don't.
9. Current mood?: Frustrated, impatient, and trying to be good :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

IN THE LAST 72 HOURS HAVE YOU...
1. Kissed someone?: No
2. Sang?: Yes
3. Been hugged?: Yes
4. Cried?: ^ Manly man!
5. Like someone you can't have?: Looks like.

Repost this as whatever tf you want. You know how to think for yourself!

==================================================================

1. A cuddler? Sure.

2. A morning person? Defo not! Do not bother me in the mornings. Do not try to communicate with me. Just stay out of my way until I'm fully conscious.

3. Tall? 6'1"

4. In your pajamas? Yes

5. Left handed? No

[ LAST ]

1. person you texted: Vicky

2. Was today better than yesterday? No change really

3. Person you kissed: Don't recall

[ FAVORITE ]

1. Number: 22 for its symmetry

[ QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ]

Q: Do you like anybody right now?
A: Yes

Q: What was the first thing you did this morning?
A: Started up the lectures

Q: Do you have anything bothering you?
A: Yes

Q: What's the last movie you watched & who'd you watch it with?
A: Beauty and the Beast with CJ

Q: Where did you go last night?
A: Kerbey Lane for queso and studying

Q: Do you smile often?
A: No clue.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: No, fuck off! ;)

Q: Where did you sleep last night?
A: In my bed

Q: What color shirt are you wearing?:
A: None. Earlier I had a white shirt on.

Q: When was the last time you cried?
A: No comment, manly man.

Q: What was your last thought before going to sleep last night?
A: No comment

Q: What are you about to do?
A: More lectures

Q: Rate life as of right now 1-10?
A: 6?

Q: What do you hear right now?
A: Dzienkowski

Q: If you could drink anything right now, what would it be?
A. Water

Q: Does anything hurt right now?
A: Abs, chest, shoulders

Q: What's your favorite month?
A: None

Q: What's your favorite bottled water?
A: None

Q: Have a best friend?
A: Hmm, I'd rather not have to pick between a few.

Q: How many kids do you want/have?
A: If any, one girl.

Q: Are you on the phone?
A: No.

[ TEN EMOTIONS ]

1. Are you missing someone right now?
Yes

2. Are you happy?
Bittersweet

3. Are you talking to anyone right now?
Not at the moment, unless this counts. You could say that I am currently talking to several people by posting this. Some might argue that if they don't read it immediately, it's not talking, to which I would respond that even sound takes time to travel, as Einstein said everything did (no freaky action at a distance!). They might respond that I'm not talking, but what if I read this outloud? Would it count then?

????wheres question 4???
Right there ^, though that's an odd question to put in a quiz.

5. Are you Italian?
No.

6. Are you Irish?
No. Why don't you just ask what I am? I'm Scottish/German

7. Do you like someone right now?
Yes.

[ EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE ]

1. Do you believe in love?
Yes.

2. Why did your last relationship fail?
Not answering that.

3. Have you ever been heartbroken?
Yes.

4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?
Yes.

5. Have you ever liked someone but never told them?
Hell yeah.

6. Are you afraid of commitment?
Not anymore.

7. Have you ever kissed someone you liked?
Yes.

8. Have you ever had a secret admirer?
Yes.

[ TEN THINGS ]

1. Love or lust?
Love

2. Hard alcohol or beer?
Neither.

3. Cats or dogs?
I prefer cats for their attitude, but I like border collies for their smarts.

5. Television or internet?
Internet

6. Pepsi or Coke?
Dr. Pepper.

7. Wild night out or romantic night in?
Romantic night in for sure.

9. Night or day?
Both, at once! MWAHAHAHA Armageddon!

10. Aim or phone?
IM. Please god don't call me.

Flickr Updated

2007-05-06T22:25:28Z

I uploaded some of the Australia pics I never got around to before. I'm not done, but I uploaded two dozen or so.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragonbritt/

Ema, quit posting quizzes while I'm bored

2007-05-06T21:26:01Z

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME?
Britt Franklin Frey

2. WHAT COLOUR UNDERWEAR ARE YOU WEARING?
In the bath

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Lectures

4. ARE YOUR LEGS CROSSED?
No

5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Omellette

6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE?
Cobalt Blue

7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW?
No clue.

8. LAST PERSON YOU WERE ON THE PHONE TO?
Cristina R.

9. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Eyes and smile

10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS?
Noone sent it.

11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
Eh, not great.

12. FAVOURITE DRINK?
Sugar-free chocolate milk

13. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
I don't drink.

15. HAIR COLOUR?
Brown

16. EYE COLOUR?
Blue

17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes

18. SIBLINGS?
1 brother and 1 sister (half, but I don't pay attention to that :))

19. FAVOURITE MONTH?
None

20. FAVOURITE FOOD?
Chocolate or cheese

21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Jesus, get me some original questions! Beauty and the Beast.

22. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Don't have one.

23. SATURDAY OR SUNDAY?
Saturday

24. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
Usually

5. DO YOU LIKE MARMITE?
WTF?!?!?! Hell no!

26. SUMMER OR WINTER?
I like them all.

27. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Chocolate

28. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK?
I'm not writing to them, so that's king of a non sequitur

29. WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Natalie Portman

31. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS?
Alone

32. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
Tuesday I start examining various software licenses for MMOs, again.

33. LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Food at Hyde Park

34. DID YOU WAKE UP BEFORE YOUR ALARM WENT OFF THIS MORNING?
No alarm.

35. DO YOU MISS BIG BROTHER YET?
I only watch House and Heroes, unless you mean George Orwell's Big Brother, and he's still here.

36. FAVOURITE SMELL?
Some girls have a particular smell that is amazing. Otherwise, the smell of autumn.

37. WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Making things better.

38. BUTTERED, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN?
I don't like popcorn.

39. FAVOURITE CRISPS?
Umm, spicy nacho doritos?

40. FAVOURITE CAR?
Aston Martin

41.FAVOURITE FLOWER?
White Rose

42. ANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING?
Duh. House, locker, and mail. Car key is on a different chain.

43. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Yes.

44. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK?
None really.

45. RED OR WHITE WINE?
If I drank, a white for sure, like a muscat.

46. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST?
Yeah, what Ema said, last what?

47. DO YOU OWN A DONOR CARD?
I checked the box on my license.

48. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Ugh.

49. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ONCE THIS IS FINISHED?
More lectures.

50. WHAT SORT OF PERSON WOULD YOU LOVE TO GO OUT WITH?
Brilliant, sarcastic, beautiful, sassy, can argue with me, sexy accent, psychic ninja, you've all heard this before though.

51. FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY?
Disc golf or Ultimate

52. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
Ultimate

53. CD IN YOUR CD PLAYER RIGHT NOW?
I don't listen to CDs

54. MSN CONTACTS ON AND OFFLINE?
I'm not listing all that!

55. MSN CONTACTS ONLINE NOW?
Hard to tell, since I use Miranda IM to merge all my messengers.

56. ARE YOU SINGLE?
Yes

57. BIGGEST CRUSH?
When?

58. NICEST PERSON THAT YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?
Wow, no clue.

59. WHO IS THE NASTIEST PERSON WHO YOU HAVE ONLY MET ONCE?
No clue.

60. MOST EMBARRISING MOMENT?
Don't recall, but typing 'embarrising' on a list that went out around the world would be up there.

61. WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL IN LIFE?
Leonardo da Vinci

62. BIGGEST FALL OUT AT THE MOMENT?
What's that mean, exactly?

63. ANYTHING ELSE TO SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS?
Punk ass beazneatches! ;)

64. Who do you have a crush on?
No comment. You know, I'm tired of the word 'crush'. It feels so trivial and immature.

The Memes Strike Back

2007-05-06T20:05:55Z

Hey, it's boring sitting here listening to lectures all day long...

===========Meme 1============

The 100% scientific poshness test!

Rules are simple. If the total in the common section exceeds the total in posh section, you are working class. If visa-versa, you are posh. The larger the gap the more posh/working class you are. At the end just write down the totals for each category. Simple!!!

▪ [ ] Live in a terraced house
▪ [ ] Live in a council house
▪ [x] Don't have a back garden
▪ [ ] Shared a room with brother/sister
▪ [x] Went to a state primary school
▪ [x] Went to a state secondary school
▪ [ ] Left school at 16
▪ [ ] Own Reebok clothing
▪ [ ] Tracksuit bottoms
▪ [ ] Own Burberry clothing
▪ [ ] Own a football shirt
▪ [ ] Own Fred Perry clothing
▪ [ ] Own Puma clothing
▪ [ ] Have done graffiti
▪ [x] Used overdraft on bank account
▪ [ ] Shop in Asda/Lidl/Aldi
▪ [ ] Shopped in TK Max
▪ [ ] Shopped in Matalan
▪ [ ] Smoker
▪ [ ] Use 'prick/wanker' regularly
▪ [ ] Have a tattoo
▪ [ ] Piercing [not ears]
▪ [ ] Drink Lager/Cider
▪ [ ] Parent(s) is/are unemployed
▪ [ ] Parent who earns under £15,000 a year
▪ [ ] Both parents earn under £15,000 a year
▪ [ ] Parent(s) in Trade Unions
▪ [ ] House has less than 3 bedrooms
▪ [x] Live in an urban area
▪ [ ] Don't own a car
▪ [ ] Own a car older than K reg
▪ [ ] Support a football club
▪ [ ] Member of a Snooker club
▪ [ ] Own a bike
▪ [ ] Been on a Caravan holiday
▪ [x] Had summer holiday in Britain more than abroad (US?)
▪ [ ] Been to Lanzarote
▪ [ ] Been to Costa Del Sol
▪ [ ] Been to Blackpool
▪ [x] Have/had a minimum wage job
▪ [x] Microwave meals every night
▪ [ ] Eat GM food
▪ [x] Use the term 'Prep/Jock/Rah' as derisory
▪ [ ] Hate posh people more than chavs
▪ [ ] Parent votes Labour/Lib Dem
▪ [ ] Use the NHS
▪ [ ] Both parents vote labour/Lib Dem
▪ [ ] Believe tax system favours the rich
▪ [ ] Hate Margaret Thatcher
▪ [x] Love Karl Marx

TOTAL: 10

POSH SECTION

▪ [ ] Went to a private primary school
▪ [ ] Private secondary school
▪ [ ] Parent is a millionaire
▪ [ ] Parent owns a business
▪ [ ] Parent is a lawyer
▪ [ ] Parent is a doctor
▪ [ ] Parent who earns over £50,000 a year
▪ [ ] Both parents earn over £50,000 a year
▪ [x] Parents live in a detached house
▪ [x] En-suite bathroom
▪ [ ] Have a games room
▪ [ ] Own Jack Wills clothing
▪ [x] Designer clothing
▪ [x] Own an item of clothing worth over £100
▪ [x] Savings account with over £5,000
▪ [x] Have your own car
▪ [ ] Have your own house/flat
▪ [x] Mobile phone
▪ [ ] Designer sunglasses
▪ [x] Ipod
▪ [x] Tuxedo/Prom dress
▪ [ ] Play an instrument
▪ [ ] Expensive perfume/aftershave
▪ [ ] Shop in Sainsburys/Waitrose
▪ [ ] Drink Ale/Gin and Tonic
▪ [ ] Call your parents 'Mummy/Daddy'
▪ [x] Use 'crap/damn' regularly
▪ [ ] Have a double-barrelled surname
▪ [ ] Live in the countryside
▪ [x] Parents own a 4x4
▪ [x] Parents own a Mercedes/Jaguar/BMW/Porsche/Audi etc
▪ [x] Parents house has more than 3 bedrooms
▪ [x] Parents have a guest room
▪ [ ] Member of a gym
▪ [x] Have private healthcare
▪ [ ] Member of a golf club
▪ [ ] Support a Rugby club
▪ [ ] Do Yoga/Pilates
▪ [x] Been to America (Europe?)
▪ [x] Been to Australia
▪ [ ] Been to Africa
▪ [ ] Had summer holidays abroad more than in Britain (US?)
▪ [x] Eat some organic food
▪ [ ] Home cooked meals almost every night
▪ [x] Use the term 'Chav/Pikey/Pleb' as derisory
▪ [x] Hate chavs/pikeys more than posh people (I've been influenced by CJ though)
▪ [x] Parent votes Conservative
▪ [x] Both parents vote Conservative
▪ [ ] Believe there are too many immigrants in UK
▪ [ ] Like Margaret Thatcher.
▪ [ ] Hate Karl Marx

Total: 22

So, I'm at Posh +10? Whatever the hell that means. I have a suspicion that this was intended for UKers, for some odd reason. Not sure where I got that idea.

===========Meme 2============
1. How old will you be in five years?
35

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
Noone and I doubt I will

3. How tall are you?
6'1"

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Pirates 3, sadly. Wish I had more to look forward to.

5. What's the last movie you saw?
Beauty and the Beast

6. Who was the last person you called?
Cristina R.

7. Who was the last person to call you?
Doug G.

8. What was the last text message you received?
See other memes from earlier today.

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voice mail?
No clue.

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
Text, by far.

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Listening to lectures.

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced
Divorced

13. When is the last time you saw your Mum?
Few weeks.

14. What color are your eyes?
Blue

15. What time did you wake up today?
11:30? Went to sleep around 08:30

16. What are you wearing right now?
Still in boxer briefs and glasses.

17. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Alvin and the Chipmunks

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
Lindt Cafe in Sydney

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Oklahoma

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
Hmm, Scotland is probably the next on my list, then Egypt.

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
No clue right now

22. Do you tan or burn?
Tan

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Spiders

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Hot Fuzz

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
1

26. How big is your bed?
Queen

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Laptop

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
It depends

29. What color are your sheets?
Ruby

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
2 normal 1 body

31. What is your favorite season?
I like them all for different reasons.

32. What do you like about Autumn?
1. The smell, 2. The wind, 3. The colours

33. What do you like about winter?
1. The sound of iced trees tinkling in the wind, 2. Bright nights, 3. Cleanliness, 4. Cold, 5. Crisp smell.

34. What do you like about the summer?
1. Animals, 2. Sun, 3. Outdoor activities, 4. Colours.

35. What do you like about Spring?
1. Storms, 2. Colours, 3. Smells.

36. How many states/provinces have you lived in?
2

37. What cities/towns have you lived in
Houston, Austin, Tulsa, Stillwater, Norman

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
It depends.

39. Are you a social person?
It depends on my mood.

40. What was the last thing you ate?
Omellette

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
I don't have one that stands out as amazing in my mind.

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter, though I don't eat ice cream really anymore.

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Chocolate.

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Cheesy potato.

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
Just PB, thanks.

46. Do you like Chinese food?
Yes.

47. Do you like coffee?
No, I can't stand the black juice of death.

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
No clue, and I doubt it's consistent at all.

49. What do you drink in the morning?
Water.

50. What time do you usually go to bed?
Sometime between 1am and 8am.

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Middle or up against a wall.

52. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes.

53. Do you like to cuddle?
Yes.

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
Yes.

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Yes.

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
Home

57. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
No.

58. Do you "like" anyone?
Yes.

59. Do you want kids?
Umm, ambivalent, though I feel like I should to help the gene pool.

60. Do you speak any other languages?
German, Russian, Mandarin (a bit)

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
Yes.

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Yes.

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
Ocean for the philosophical thoughts it inspires. It really makes you think about how small we are, yet how much impact we can have on the world. It's a strange juxtaposition.

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
I prefer windows, except there usually isn't enough leg room, so I need an aisle.

65. Do you know how to drive?
Yes.

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Traveling.

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
My jade dragon necklace.

68. What is your favorite TV show?
Firefly, but current shows, House and Heroes equally.

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Yes.

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
Me, of course!

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No.

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
Man, these were hobbled together from other memes, weren't they? Just a stupid monophonic Nokia tune.

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
Middle school, yes.

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
Sheets? Otherwise, either my Animaniacs piggy bank or the base on my Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine.

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
No.

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Closed.

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
Bear.

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Don't eat them, but it used to be BBQ sauce.

80. What is your favorite food?
Chocolate or cheese.

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
I can, but don't.

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Yes, challenged it, and they haven't done anything with it. I think it slipped through the cracks.

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
No.

84. What is your preferred method of transportation?
Teleportation.

85. What was the last book you read?
Conflict of Laws by Weintraub.

86. Do you read the newspaper?
No, just the headlines, world section, and sudoku.

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
No. Used to have Discover magazine for a bit.

89. Do you watch soap operas?
No, unless you count law school.

90. Do you dance in the car?
Some.

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
I don't listen to the radio.

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you?
I don't have picture frames.

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
Reading list for Conflict of Laws, on the corner of the newspaper.

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
Jasmine or a citrus.

95. What is your favorite board game?
I like too many games to pick one.

97. When was the last time you attended church?
Long, long time.

98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Favourite was either Barnes or Phillip, but best was Smith.

99. Where did you go on vacation this past summer?
Hong Kong.

===========Meme 3============
1.Who was your first prom date?
Sarah.

2.Who was your first room mate?
Mike.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
I have yet to consume an entire alcoholic beverage.

4. What was your first job?
Mowing lawns unofficially. Summer day camp counselor officially.

5. What was your first car?
Shared a 91 Honda Accord with mom.

6. Who was the first person you texted today?
Noone loves me.

7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning?
No comment.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Hmm, lady, started with an 's', blond. Don't remember the name, but I'm bad with names.

9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Either Tulsa or Houston.

10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
That wasn't really an option with an alarm system.

11. Who was the first friend to move away?
Don't recall.

12. Where was your first sleep over?
Probably some neighborhood friend in the yard in tents.

13. Who was the first person you talked to this morning?
Cristina R.

14. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
Probably my uncle's as the ring bearer when I was tiny.

15. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Pee.

16. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Madonna

17. First tattoo or piercing?
Neither. Will have a tattoo of two dragons chasing the pearl of wisdom at some point.

18. First foreign country you went to?
Germany

19. First crush?
No clue.

20. First TRUE love?
Sarah.

21. When was your first detention?
Hah, kindergarten :)

22. Who was the first person to break your heart?
Sarah.

23. Who will be the first to repost this??
No clue if anyone will.

===========Meme 4============
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name:
Britt

Famous Artist/Band/Musician:
Beyonce

4 letter word:
Buck

Vehicle:
BMW

TV Show:
Big Brother

City:
Boston

Boy Name:
Brad

Girl Name:
Belle

Alcoholic drink:
Beer

Occupation:
Bartender

Flower:
Blue rose?

Something you wear:
Boxers

Something you do:
Bother people

Something that you like:
Brilliance

Celebrity:
Bob Hope

Food:
Bread

Something found in a kitchen:
Bread?

Reason for Being Late:
Brownies, damn them and their tricks.

Cartoon Character:
Beast

Something You Shout
Bah!

===========Meme 5============
1. last beverage→ Water

2. last phone call→ Cristina asking if I wanted review materials

4. last cd played→ I don't listen to CDs

5. last time you cried→ No comment

6. last text message→ See previous meme, was from Withey.

SIX HAVE YOU EVERS:

1. dated someone twice→ No

2. been cheated on?→ Not sure and don't really care anymore.

3. kissed someone & regretted it?→ Probably at some point.

4. lost someone special? Yes

5. been depressed→ Yes

6. been drunk and threw up?→ I've never been drunk

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

1. Blue

2. Red

3. Green?

THIS MONTH HAVE YOU

1. Made a new friend→ No

2. Fallen out of love → No

3. Laughed until you cried--> No

4. Met someone who changed your life→ No

5. Found out who your true friends were?→ No

6. Is there something you want to tell someone→ Already told most of it

7. Would you date anyone on your top friends? This isn't Myspace

8. How many people on your friends do you know in real life? No clue, most of them? Really know me though, not many.

9. How many kids do you want to have? 1, a girl, if any.

10. Do you have any pets? No :(

11. Do you wanna change your name? No

12. What did you do for your last birthday? Don't recall.

13. What time did you wake up today? 11:30?

14. What were you doing at 10:30 last night? Listening to lectures.

15. Name something you CANNOT wait for? Pirates 3

16 Last time you saw your father? A few months.

17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? No comment.

18. What are you listening to right now? Lectures.

19. have you ever talked to anyone famous? I talk to myself all the time! But yes, a Senator and I'm sure others.

23. Who's getting on your nerves right now? Hah!

24. Most visited webpage? Gmail

25. Coke or Pepsi? Dr. Pepper

Meme-time

2007-05-06T11:07:08Z

While I should not be posting long diatribes while trying to listen to lectures, I can post memes!

======Meme 1======

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Yeah, I need a haircut. Man, wtf is different about my face?

2. When is the next time you will have sex?
Hah, with my luck, I should go join a monastery.

3. What's a word that rhymes with "FUCK"?
Duck

4. Favourite planet?
That one in H.P. Lovecraft's story with the cone things.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your mobile?
I clear my missed calls everytime.

6. What is the ring on your phone?
Some stupid ringtone. Nokia is behind the times on polyphonic ringtones.

7. What shirt are you wearing?
None, laying in bed.

8. Do you "label" yourself?
Only if I'm trying to sell myself at the store.

9. Name the brand of shoes you're currently wearing?
In bed! No Shoes!

10. Bright or Dark Room?
Depends on what I'm in the mood for.

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Seems pretty cool so far :)

12. Are you a legend...??
Hells yeah! among geeks :/
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=782682
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=11931237
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=824706

13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Listening to lectures

14. What did your last text message you received on your mobile say?
I'm up. Want 2 play d.golf 2day? Or driving back early?

15. Who was the last person you saw?
CJ

16. What's a word that you say a lot?
So

17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
Familial: Mom

18. Last furry thing you touched?
Me

19. How many drugs have you done in the last four days?
I've never done drugs

20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
None

21. Favorite age you have been so far?
Whatever age I am

22. Your worst enemy?
I wish I had an enemy. That would make life so much more interesting.

23. What is your current desktop picture?
The fucking badass picture I took in Sydney Hyde Park

24. What was the last thing you said to some one?
Crap, I don't remember.

25. If you had to choose between a million pounds or to be able to fly?
Fly, easily.

26. Do you like someone?
You could say that, and you'd be right.

27. The last song you listened to?
Not counting 12 hours of law lectures, Beauty and the Beast

28. If the last person you talked to randomly got mad at you.. what would you do?
Be a bit hurt, then try to mitigate and find out why.

29. If you could punch one person in the face who's in your life then who would it be?
I'm actually a pacifist. Just don't tell anyone.

30. What is the closest object to your left foot?
My bed sheet.

=======Meme 2=======
TEN FIRSTS
First Best Friend: Lindsay
First Pet: Stash the cat
First Piercing: None
First Crush: No clue, Lindsay?
First CD: No clue
First Car: Shared a 91 honda accord with my mom
First Holiday: Damn Brits ;) Umm, probably skiing in Colorado
First School: Grissom Elementary
First Mobile: Nokia

NINE LASTS
Last Beverage: Water
Last Vehicle Ride: My Scion tC
Last Movie Seen: Beauty & the Beast
Last Phone Call: Cristina
Last Song Played: I don't play music
Last Bubble Bath: Wow, no clue
Last Time You Cried: No comment
Last food: Omellette
Last Person Seen: CJ

EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS
Have you ever dated one of your best friends: Yes
Have you ever been arrested: No
Have you ever skinny dipped: No
Have you ever been on TV: Yes
Have you ever kissed someone and then regretted it: Probably at some point
Have you ever had a sex dream about someone you knew: Of course
Have you ever been on msn for +4 hours: Of course
Have you ever punched someone: Once in second grade, so I've been told. Not since.

SEVEN THINGS YOU'RE WEARING
1. Boxer briefs
2. Glasses
3. In bed!

SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY
1. Watched B&B with CJ
2. Listened to 16 hours of lectures
3. Exercise (Situps, pushups, and a few miles of walking)
4. Hair cut
5. Deposited checks
6. Swept the sidewalk and patio

FIVE FAVORITE THINGS IN NO ORDER
1. Cheese
2. Chocolate
3. Movies
4. Friends
5. Learning

FOUR PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL ANYTHING TO
1. Mike
2. Rod
3. ?
4. ?

THREE CHOICES
1. Eat or drink: Drink
2. Blonde or brunette: Brunette
3. Pink or black: Black

TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Travel
2. Travel

ONE THING YOU WANT TO SAY
1. If there's only one thing I want to say, which there is, do you really think this is the appropriate place? No!

======Meme 3======

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
No

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
Sometimes

3. When’s the last time you’ve been sledding?
Wow, long long time.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
Depends on my mood. Right now, with someone.

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
I want to believe.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Yes.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Is this really that much more important than any other murder trial?

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Angelina

9. Do you stay friends with your ex’s?
Yes

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Yes

12. What’s your favorite commercial?
Cat herding

13. What are you allergic to?
Compazine and pollens

14. If you’re driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights?
No

15. Have you ever had a Choco Taco?
Yes

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
I don't like baseball

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Yes

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Average I guess?

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Hot Fuzz

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
Probably if I felt like trying

21. What’s the one thing on your mind now?
No comment

22. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes

23. Do you put salt on a turkey dinner?
No

24. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes

25. What cell service do you use?
Cingular

26. Do you like sushi?
No

27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Yes

28. What do you wear to bed?
Depends, fully clothed, pajama pants, boxer briefs, or nothing

29. Been caught stealing?
When I was 5.

30. Do you pee in the pool?
Hell no

31. Do you truly hate anyone?
No

32. Bluegrass or Rap?
I enjoy more rap songs on my iPod, but bluegrass in general is more talented by proportion

33. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Umm, I'd rather have a relationship than just sleep with someone. I'm weird and not really into casual sex.

34. Skim, 1%, 2%, or whole?
Cheese

35. What food do you find disgusting?
Lots :p

36. Windows or Macintosh?
Windows

37. Did you ever play, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”?
No

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Oh yeah, but only stuff I'd say in front of them :)

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
Yes

40. Have you ever sung in front of the mirror?
I'm sure, though not to watch myself sing.

======Meme 4=====
1. Are you saving yourself for marriage?
Uhh, no.

2. Have you cried today?
No comment

3. What's your favorite physical thing about the opposite sex?
Eyes, abs, legs, butt, and that part where the hip bone sticks out a bit to the right of the abs.

5. What time did you fall asleep last night?
Haven't been to sleep yet.

6. What's your favorite type of soda?
Dr. Pepper

8. What is usually the first thing you do when you wake up?
Pee

9. What is usually the last thing you do before bed at night?
Think

10. How many people do you hate, if any?
None

11. Where's one place you want to go that you haven't been to already?
Scotland

12. Do people ever spell your name wrong?
Yes

13. Do you like potato chips?
Not much

15. Do you have secrets that no one knows except for you?
Yes

16. Are you a good secret keeper?
Yes

17. What's the latest you've ever woken up?
I've woken up at every hour of the day

18. What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Vitamins and water

19. Are you good with directions?
Yes, eerily.

20. If you had to be one, would you rather be: deaf or blind?
Hmm, colors or music. I'd have to go with deaf I think, so I could look into people's eyes still.

21. What do you like to put on your ice cream?
Oreos

23. Name one word to describe your good friends:
Smart

24. Rate your personality on a scale of 1-10:
Wow. I decline, thanks.

25. What is the last thing you made fun of?
I'm sure it was idiocy

26. What is your favorite board game?
Oh, I like too many to pick one.

27. Do you like to sing?
Yes, but not in front of people unless it's a cartoon of some kind

28. Liars, cheaters, or back stabbers-- Which is worse?
Backstabbers

29. What's your favorite thing about work?
Umm, making sure things are done well?

30. What's your least favorite thing about work?
I'm broke

31. Do you use a highlighter when you do word searches?
I do sudoku

32. Would you rather spend a day with your mom or your dad?
That's just cruel

34. What is your favorite color(s)?
Blue

35. Do you have a curfew?
Hah, no.

36. What's the last thing that annoyed you?
Me

37. What is your favorite Disney movie?
B&B

38. When is the last time you vacuumed?
Today

39. Are you a fast typer?
100+ wpm

40. What subject were you best at in school?
Philosophy

42. What room do you spend most of your time in your house?
Bedroom

43. What are you going to be doing five hours from now?
Sleeping or listening to lectures.

44. Do you go tanning?
No

45. Do you like ketchup?
Eh

46. What are you doing tomorrow?
Studying

47. If you died, who would you want all your stuff to go to?
Brother

48. What was your last embarrassing moment?
No comment

49. What song are you listening to?
PR lectures

"in the past he's slow and sinking"

2007-05-06T09:58:01Z

Forgive the length of this post. I am listening to lectures and waxing philosophic, which caused me to write far more than I intended. This is also fairly stream-of-consciousness, with all the difficulties that entails.

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past week or two, not just about school either - finals are going on right now for those that don't know, and since I never go to class or do the readings until the end of the semester, it gets kind of hectic. Some of the things I've been thinking about I'm not going to post here, as I don't know who reads my livejournal :p Get me on IM if you want to know. But one of the threads has been my past, present, and future. A lot of my friends that have known me for a long time, and know me well enough to understand me, would probably say I've been far too attached to the past (see /Nothingman/, Pearl Jam). For the past several years, I would have agreed (I wouldn't have before that, as I was too surly. Yes, more than now.) The past few years I've known it and tried to stop, but it hasn't been any use; I've been better than the days of Britt 2.0, but I haven't exactly been living in the moment.

This focus has had a huge impact on my personality and interpersonal relationships, as any of my exes and some of my friends can probably attest. Part of that is I didn't want to form any new relationships; I was too obsessed with old relationships to want to be in a new one. I didn't want to move too far away from where I grew up, for fear of losing my past. I spent too many brain clock cycles (see generally CPUs) on issues that were completely irrelevant to the present and the future. After the first few years of this, I got a rough handle on things and was able to function, but it was akin to a functional drunk; I was getting by, but not nearly to my full potential, just enough to get by. Combine this with my preexisting desire for control, probably relating to my paranoia about being hurt, and it was fairly catastrophic.

Hong Kong helped, probably by getting me out of the world in which I have always lived and letting me think in new ways. As I spent more time back here, though, I started slipping back into my old ways. It wasn't nearly as bad, and I was approaching the past from a different angle than before - more insightfully, I guess? But still, it was a focus on the past. I was in Oklahoma recently, maybe two weeks ago. When I drive by myself, I do a lot of thinking...a LOT of thinking. It's actually quite nice, if it weren't for the fear of falling asleep and killing people; I've had many epiphanies on such trips. On the way out, I knew it was one of my last trips of the kind. As I was driving the last hour of I-35S, I was mentally cutting my ties and saying goodbye. Sure, I still have friends there, will communicate with them, and will visit OK again in the future, but I know it's not going to be the same.

Mayhap this has elicited a new paradigm for me. As I have thought about things the past couple of weeks, I have been coming to different conclusions than I would have in days of yore. Some of these conclusions have been quite shocking, leading some of my friends to question my sanity or whether I had perhaps been replaced by a doppelganger (1). For a secretive reason, I was just looking through all my saved belongings from the past, and I realized that I really don't care about most of it anymore. As I look at old pictures, letters, and other memorabilia, I am overcome by apathy, as much as apathy can overcome one. Some of them are humourous (like the pictures from when I was really fat) or pleasant (like the pictures of my high school friends), but they seem insignificant. I realize that I don't want memories anymore; I want a future. I want to know that I'm going somewhere and that the somewhere is going to be worthwhile. I don't want to just get by anymore, maintaining status quo amidst baby steps here and there.
------
(1) - Actually, I've been questioning my sanity some lately, as well. I do not, however, think there is any merit to the claims of doppelgangerness.
------

But whither do I go? What is the path I wish to take? This has always been an obstacle for me; I've always avoided committing to almost anything for fear of making the wrong choice. How do I deal with this problem, though? I still don't want to be wrong, even if I am looking forward rather than back. Part of the solution I found was to look at my qualifiers for selection and analyze which are legitimate and which are bunk that have been introduced to help me avoid commitment, which helped with one problem (2), not to be discussed here. A second problem has arisen, though: where do I go? One of the unforeseen side effects of cutting my ties to OK is that I have no real "home". One of the advantages to a good law degree is that I can do something almost anywhere I want. It will be more difficult in some places than others, and my choices will be more limited, but I can find something. So where do I go? I have purposely avoided making Austin my home, as I don't like this part of the country very much. I like the pacific northwest, but I'm not sure that I could make that my home. I don't know the northeast very much, but I don't have a strong impulse to move there. I love Hong Kong, but there's something about the relationships between people that seems odd to me. I love cooler, humid weather, so something more north and along a coast would be nice. Vancouver, BC was nice, but I don't have any contacts there. I just don't know where to go, and that's an important decision to make.
------
(2) - Actually, it helped with that part of one problem, the avoidance of making a decision. I probably would have been better off without having made a decision :/
------

There are some other corollaries to these thoughts, but this has gone on long enough and I'm not paying enough attention to these lectures. Besides, I doubt anyone read this far or really cares. Oh, and I am probably going to be upset later about sharing this info, but oh well; it can't really hurt anything I can think of.

HK in August!

2007-04-24T20:21:50Z

I just got my packet and I will be going to Hong Kong in August. Classes apparently start the 3rd of September (I had previously seen the 1st of August), so I won't be arriving until mid August. I need to start working out housing arrangements and stuff. I plan on traveling a good deal while I'm there, so if you're in Asia, I'll try to come see you :)

Size:Weight Ratios

2007-04-24T20:20:17Z

So I have an odd situation where I am losing size but gaining weight. I know that's not that odd in itself, but I haven't been working out either. It should indicate that I'm gaining muscle mass and losing fat, but it's hard to believe that when I haven't been doing much strenuous activity. I asked a couple of my friends that should know about this stuff (including my future wife Jill, awww, I swoon, *bats eyelashes*), and they said it's possible. I just wish it were easier to believe. I suppose I should be happy, except gaining weight isn't the best encouragement for a diet :)