It's not madness if you have a chart

This entry was posted in philosophy, sickness.

[You never know. Or do you?] Dilbert is great, but when it comes to pure brain teasers and real laugh out loud, Indexed is having a good run this summer.

This one takes a nice twist on one of my favorite quotes - the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and expecting different results - by adding chaos theory.

As Nate Silver pointed out in Signal and Noise - sometimes the changes are so small that you think you're doing the same thing, but it is just enough to give a different outcome (page 118 paper version, since that is searchable on amz but the kindle isn't...). Because chaos theory isn't about chaos as we normally think about it - it is not really random, it is just that there are some many things involved that we are unable to map them and model it all. And it all ties into the flow and effect. 

Twisted tales of Buffy meets Donnie

This is not a review, but some musings that I wrote down after watching Southland tales - definetly on my top ten mental movies list. But still a must see. In a way. 

IMDB says people who liked it also liked Brazil and Bladerunner. Which makes a twisted kind of sense. My summary is simple;

Faster, bigger, better, MOOOOOOORE

Picking up the ideas from the last post on convergene and pace of change;
then again - like the brilliant The Pace of Modern Life shows, we have felt for a long time that the past was a lot simpler, the pace more bearable, the interactions more meaningful and deep.

Perhaps it is like Agent Smith implied in the Matrix, feeling a bit miserable and nostalgic is part of the core of the human spirit and our underlying "OS". We fill whatever time is available to the brim and then some, and then we look at change as something unnatural when it is the only constant.

Reboot?

Quick meta note; this should go out as post 26 for June, and 46 in total - making the first half of 2013 match the total for 2012 - meaning also that we are on good track to finish on par with the 06-08 run of around weekly post on average, at the very least.

Summer reading - comic; Looking for Group

That’s right boys and girls, we are pleased to announce that LFG Volume 5 (in beautiful hardcover action) is now available for pre-order.

For the last books (vol 3 and 4) I re-read the previous collections before diving in. This time I've just left it a bit to really enjoy it during what will hopefully be some leisurely summer days. Have pre-ordered all five as they became available, so a signed collection

If you are new to Looking For Group, it is a webcomic, available to read for free - or you can pick up an omnibus edition for a mere $40 and support the artists. It is an epic fantasy comedy / parody / slightly twisted telling - and often "laugh out loud" funny, in a literal sense, not just LOL tweet.

...and I'll be forced to tell you no lies

Picking up the thread from last post on "lies to children";

People mean well, especially friends and family, but they're going to give you bad advice. ... PS the irony of this post is not lost on me.

As often a great mind-bender from Seths blog - how he gives advice about people giving bad advice.

There is something so simple about it, how most advice is in a way bad, because we can only ever give advice based on our own understanding, and not the 'real' situation. Nor can we (most of the time) decipher and understand the drivers for someone else, really see where they want to go, who they want to be.

And thus, our advice is more or less a story about how we think the situation should be handled to reach the resolution that fits our narrative - not necessarily for ourselves, but our narrative of the current and future state of whomever we are talking to.

Does that mean we shouldn't give, or ask, advice?

Or just that when we decide what to do, advice and "seven ways of" or "top ten tips" should be a set of inputs to calibrate our path?

I'm certainly not telling...

Ask me no questions

xkcd - Sky Color

A quick note, the xkcd strip on the left [src] reminds me of one of the underlying premises in the Science of Discworld books, "lies to children".

How we often make narratives more important than the actual facts, so as to make it easier to understand, remember and repeat.

And in part how even those who "get" a field have a hard time explaining it in terms that a kid can relate to.

The devils in the details - like the human body being at the same time 70% water, and 90% microbes...

Stop paying attention

(c) Dilbert - Scott Adams 

[Dilbert]
Is a nice way to round of this batch of posts - and for the schedule to round off the week with it.

Do you ask "what is less important" every time some one comes and says "this is urgent"? 

Not the best way to get a rep for being a team player. But certainly a good way to remind people that there is very little slack built into any company or position in 2013.

If something new comes along, it needs to be instead of, not in addition to. At least for a given unit of time.

Thankfully digital tools like Trello makes it easy to show the assorted lists of priorities, and swap things around (with a note saying why).

So how is the week ahead stacked up? 110% load and a backlog until Xmas?

Can't have it both ways, so get to it

Go back up the hill, kid.

[src] - via Indexed

I really love the simple yet profound style of Indexed - mind beding simple "comics" (art pieces? visual haikus?) fitting in on a single index card, lines and all. They are all visualizations in the fullest meaning, either a line chart or overlapping circles.

Often, like in the sledding example embedded above, there is an implied X-Y scale to the circles as well - maybe comfort vs excitement  And with sledding just crossing the red line, into the "clear" field above you can read in a bit more even without reading the full tag line.

Or am I reading too much into two arrows, three circles, four words?

Opinionated by nature

Dilbert 2012-10-07, (c) Scott Adams as always

Wonderful jedi mind trick by Wally 

"Your whole life is a lie"

- is the point of having an opinion that the facts take too much effort to find? And by extension you might as well just make it up as you go and feel fine about it. 

By taking a stand - for whatever reason - at least you get to feel empowered and involved. 

And isn't that a value in and of itself?

Or is it just the opposite? That making calls based on "gut feelings" is just about not wanting to have your biases exposed, your assumptions clarified and your process defined?

"There is no spoon"

That last panel could be the base for a whole book, or a line of zen meditation. 

Show me the likes!

A great Dilbert strip - the some expert.

Various and vague? How can that possibly go wrong? And just to clarify, it is not a dig at any specific people, more the attitude of "hire someone to do something so that you can say that you are doing something". Be it web, wap, web 2.0, mobile, social, big data and so on.

Somehow it seems that there are three cultures in terms of "buzz" handling;

1. explain it to me - why do we need a website, we go mobile first - handholding more than anything
2. oooh shiny - or everybody else is doing it (or saying they are), we should to - no goals, no metrics or KPIs, just taking action is seen as enough
3. just do it - we don't need to shout about it, but we do it, step by step, learning, iterating and moving on

Where does your business fall, and does it depend on the wave or stay constant time and time again?

Dilbert, 09.30.2012 - (c) Scott Adams

[src] via Dilbert Daily Strip - originally September 30th, 2012

Natural 11

Wired 18.11 - the "natural" breast issue caused a bit of a stir. But what got my attention was something completely different.



Phineas & Ferb mainly. The piece was just around the same time as they started airing big time on Disney Channel over here. I must admit to being  pleasantly surprised to hear that the were Disney made (or paid, same distinction).

Became a fan watching it with junior (who wanted to hear the songs over and over and over and over... especially the "big tune" #1 song - he has since moved on to Dora as the main "want to see")

I had some fun with the ToonTips - short clips showing how to draw one character in one simple pose, using the stylus and the iPad to sketch out some simple characters (heads at least). The simple style makes it both memorable and replicable even for a simple dabbler such as me. Even downloaded and printed out a four page guide for when junior gets around to drawing somewhat planned.

Then there was the launch (?) of wired.com/rawfile - photoblog with a twist. Which is still going strong, actually ended up there a few days ago for the 'screaming' images (one seen left - worth reading and seeing the whole piece)


And finally, WDYDWYD. What a fun acronym, impossible to sound out compared to saying it in full. And so simple to understand when you have heard or read it once.

What is it that motivates you? Makes the blood pound a little bit more, makes you get out of bed in the morning?

Seeing it's been taken a step further with a .com - get some text on an image to express it - WHY do you do what YOU do?

Sometimes just asking it makes things clearer. And sometimes if you really dig into the answers you might find that it is time to change. 

Be it a pivot or a "war" - or a FLINCH! (still free, still awesome, still nagging me)




- ...and the sun is probably shining today, so I'm out at the swings, while the nice servers pushes this out there for you. Yes YOU.

Never again

XKCD Never:
 


Sometimes looking back makes for happy thoughts. And sometimes you get happier thinking about what isn't anymore.

Memory, truth or insight. We shape ourselves by our stories, and move on.

Manhattan state of mind

One of the few comics I have on close to pre-order at Amazon is DMZ by Brian Wood, following the trials and tribulations of journalistic-hopeful Matthew Roth inside the hot-zone of Manhattan (the DMZ - civil war more or less rages in and across the US)

So reading the interviews over at Live from the DMZ is both great and a little sad, since it is in a way counting down to the end of the series (issue 72 in december). Volume ten of the trades just came out (and is making it way in my direction really soon), and if you haven't read any the first trade used is less than a latte at $3.35 right now in the affiliate box ;D

Interesting concept as well - a DVD style commentary to supplement each trade, giving room for more in depth than the normal page or two of intro in the printed edition.


The other mainstay of my comic diet, Freakangels, is also winding down - just a few more 'issues' to go. Being a webcomic has made the interaction and commentary directly available, with the Whitechapel Forum "to discuss this week's installment." creating a community along the way.


Side note of the post; the site is based on tumblr - a really good alternative for small and quick set-ups. Just like here on blogger you can adjust the template and add inn additionally custom html and css, but the post-types, dashboard, app and tablet (iPad) use takes things to another level.

Also the API looks like a real 'killer' for reusing tumblr content in a larger editorial setting (such as a full scale CMS)... just saying (and playing for now)

FreakAngels -still ongoing

Episode 0043: was amazing in it's weird way. With page 3 clearly a moment to remember. A bit more is revealed about the 'angels and their powers, and also some of the 'blast from the past'.

Somehow the series pulls me in for huge burst, then spits me out and hides in plain sight for a month or so. Then it is back in for an hour or more of solid amazement. Creativity first. Commerce second. Story above all.

Makes me believe that this online thing has something going for it. Bringing back the direct relationship and the storyteller / minstrel tradition, spinning the tale a bit at a time - stretching the canvas so to speak.

"FREAKANGELS is a free, weekly, ongoing comic written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Paul Duffield."

- 44 episodes of 6 pages, some interludes and a holiday greeting.


FreakAngels is TM and ©2009 Warren Ellis, and is recommended for mature audiences.

...and the sun shone brightly between the snowflakes...

Tell the story - live the dream?

"Mass Effect was the most grandiose while Rock Band had the most subtle. The difference in the three games, he noted, was embodied by the different ways in which each approaches its narrative". [Dice discuss]

Games span from huge sandboxes, via story-oriented with a potential for sandbox (like the module editor for NWN - the narrative can both be made and used outside the confines of the basics of the game itselg), to more linear bite-sized levels and tasks. And then back again to the endless tasks of something like tetris or zuma.

So why do we play - most likely for a different reason at different times, and for a quite varied set of reasons compared to someone else's list. Games and gaming is no longer one thing, any more than 'music' is a single activity and direction. It is high and low. Easy and complex. Loud and quiet. And so on. Games are starting to truly reach that same level - of breadth of offering, of quality of selection and most certainly of scope of users. It is just something you do.


"If you want to read books that tackle profound philosophical questions, then the best — and perhaps only — place to turn these days is sci-fi" Clive Thompson over at Wired sings the gospel of Cory Doctorow (mostly well deserved) and ponders the challenge of dealing with 'issues' in writing. One oversight is possibly the ethical side of philosophy, having migrated quite a bit into the crime section - notably in works along the lines of American Pshyco.

He also mentions various authors on the edge, like Susanna Clarke (of Norrel fame) - whom I personally found rather long winded and a bit dull compared to a proper novel by Dickens, since his work was serialized and had to keep the tempo at all times. So, a better place to start looking is in the games section - and then nip over to the media section in general, and have a look at the 'universes' still expanding and finding their multiple shapes. Be it the Buffyverse in comic form for Season 8, Discworld branching into stories for older, younger and on tv - or the many faces of Star Wars in printed, drawn, animated and game form. Neither of the three sit comfortably inside a 'sci-fi' cordon, yet all take their fans on journeys of the mind as well as the dreams.

(on a side-note, Bioware has recently put a date for the first mini-expansion for Mass Effect - a sidequest on a different planet, with some 90 minutes of playtime. Look for it on XBL)

Adorable fwoosh

Looking For Group - Page 95
the Mini-Richard is just too much... "or Ye Be Adorable" as it is said - truly a great comic, mixing in adventure, comedy and some sombre themes. And sometime next year i'll be the joyful recipient of a figurine. (Listening to Live - Night of nights, of the Songs from Black Mountain album)

It's just TOO

Sinfest strip for 2007-08-10: Write 2

Cerebus - last thoughts

It is done
The last page of the last book, turned over
Just about 300 issues covering 6000 pages (not counting the notes and essays/ rants) - collected in 16 rather massive trades

Yes, I have finished reading The Last Day - volume 16 of the Cerebus books, issues 289-300


From a rather fun and care-free Conan style character - to an old shade wasting away inside a system that he himself started but never controlled. For along the way Cerebus has held many positions and wielded power - but more often than not the dog has wagged the tail, with C falling prey to the system and those that adapt within it.

And the books changed from pure comics to illustrated manuscripts with extensive essays in the back giving the reasoning and setting for the subjects (be they Big Papa or the Creation) - with Sim partially gushing forth his ideas and partially poking "fun" at himself .

Had I know when I started how the later part of the story arch and books turned out, I'm not so sure I would have given it a shot. For, just like Bone (in my opinion at least) turned a bit from the original path - and in part became better for it and in part became something else, so Cerebus is a journey, a path and a life. I'm just not sure if it is a trip worth taking.

Sim started in 1977 and finished just before xmas of 2003 - so 26 years in total. So perhaps it should have been read over that same period, rather than starting in 2002-3 and reading it in huge chunks until today - with the feelings and events of the age adding more sense and context than the view from Europe in post-Iraq times.

Religion and Sims conversion / awakening / revelation plays a big part in the later books - with the duality of male-female, God and Spirit casting a different light on the old stories and even cosmology. His mixture of the assorted prophets puts me in mind of the Bahai - making a step forward into a modern age but keeping the spirituality. Perhaps the story had turned out a bit more readable and less rambling if he had found a pre-packaged religion like that, rather than try to make all the pieces himself.

Was it worth it? A marginal yes - somewhere down the road the ideas might inspire additional insight, and the various author-profiles were interesting in their own strange way. For now it is back to Megatokyo in terms of comics


On a short side note - for the BSG fans and Lucas'es in spee - SciFi is holding a contest to make your own fan video and they are providing a good set of sounds and clips to play with. Get downloading and then head over to Strager Things to be inspired to even greater efforts!

...and on April 24th 2007 the sparrow finished his work of reading Cerebus ...