Archive for September, 2008

Twitter-pated

September 30, 2008 12:00 pm

Well, I’m finally on Twitter.

I heard about Twitter a year or two ago, through the digital grapevine, and wasn’t impressed. I have a hard enough time maintaining two blogs, a wiki, three personal projects, stupid-burning, and reading/commenting on other blogs I follow — and now micro-blogging? Please…

But when I found out that I can update it with my cell phone, and receive updates in Firefox, I decided it was feasible to do, and signed up. (Although it didn’t help that half the people in my department at work signed up the same day. Peer pressure is a bitch.)

Show me more… »

French Revolution and Modern America

September 28, 2008 9:27 pm

A while back, Melissa and I watched the movie “Marie Antoinette“, starring Kirsten Dunst as the eponymous role.

I thought the movie was pretty good — Melissa was a bit more critical, but she disapproves of most things. ( :) )

For those of you completely unaware of historical references, the movie was about the brief period of time before the French Revolution began. In a nutshell, the French Revolution occurred because the wealthy ruling class was so far divided (both financially and socially) from the servant / lower class that a Peasant uprising occurred. Other factors believed to be involved as causes were:

  • the exorbitant national debt of france (partly due to Louis XV & XVI’s warmongering / overseas military activities)
  • the “conspicuous consumption of the noble class…despite the financial burden of the populace”
  • “High unemployment and bread prices”
  • The ineptitude of the leader, Louis XVI, to deal with any of these (and many other) problems

[Source]

Show me more… »

“Time in a Bottle”

September 26, 2008 9:05 pm

I’m taking a Piano class this semester. My instructor, Barb Armstrong, is terrific — she really allows us to work at our own pace, and keeps pushing us along. My co-worker Zak had taken it the past two semesters — he learned “Toccata & Fugue in Dmin”; That was really awesome to watch. (Go Zak!)

It’s been 10 years since I had a Piano class, and while I’ve done some self-teaching, I haven’t been in a structured environment since then. I feel this burning desire to learn Piano; Like if I don’t learn to play it I’m going to die. So I find it very emotionally rewarding to be in front of the keys, even if I’m just doing Scales and Chord Drills.

Show me more… »