Scorched Earth

Scorched Earth 2000 Main Page You remember this game! Try the multiplayer java version. I played it last night with two people and they left 'cause I was too good. Losers.

Haiku #2

rainy day jester,
makes baloons and juice for kids
watch out for that bug

Haiku #1

breath of cat quite gross,
kitty is a good licker
black heads soon be gone

Photography and Semiotics

I stumbled across this guy's blog, and he includes a quote about photography I haven't seen before. I don't claim I know a lot about photography, but this quote struck me as odd:

"Photography is the most difficult of the arts. It does require a certain arrogance to see and choose. With the camera, it’s all or nothing." - Walker Evans

I did a search, and it got me to Jeff Ward's Public Space. Contained is a very long list of photograpy links, and lots of learned banter. This web page and Uhler's small brain haven't yet found a connection. Yikes.

I then discovered that Jeff is interested in Semiotics of photography. That's interesting, becuase I know a bit of photography, and I know every one of the letters contained in Semiotics, but not what it is, and how it relates to photography. A quick Google search on Semiotics gives a very welcoming site: Semiotics for Beginners. Phew. I'm gunna get to the bottom of this one in short order. Have a look at the Introduction. Go on, I'll wait...

Who understands this stuff?

I've blogged this chain of weird events that led me to Semiotics so that I can come back to it later with a fresher mind. It got me to pick up my old textbook from an English class I took called Semantics of English. Wonder if they're related.

This is what happens when you mix Uhler's inquisitive mind with some spare time. You'll notice, too, that Uhler likes to talk about himself in the third person from time to time. Get used to it.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Around the World in Eighty Days - Microsoft Reader Catalog of eBooks

I'm reading this on my iPaq. It's been a bit slow going, as it has been a bit different than the other books I've read. I am currently around the time where he just sets off for his adventure, and people are betting on the outcome. Haven't gotten into it yet... let's hope it picks up.

Uhler, the Stupid

I love this pic. Taken at Craven, Saskatchewan, 2004. My brother's at the right, dunno who these guys are, but I guess I'm the stupid one.

Bluetech - Prima Materia

Here's an excellent ambient CD. I originally found it playing on radioio.com's ambient.

I found a rar of the CD through edonkey, listened to it for a month or so then ordered it through ebay. Wow. Amazing.

The last tune called Cliffdiving I didn't like and skipped over for months. It seemed to not fit the style of the rest of the CD. After I gave it a fair shake, I found it to be the simplist song, and the most powerful.

The only thing I find cheezy about the CD is that they used the font Kids for their title. Call me a purist, but you shouldn't use a very popular and somewhat trite font on the cover of the CD. View it, or download it now. Have a closer look at the cover to see what I mean.

Of course, I have yet to author my own CD, so maybe I should shut my mouth before I get my ass kicked by Bluetech.

There is something unsettling about not being an avant garde, being shielded by the guys at the front, and not affording enough protection for those behind. I know the money is there, but I have not the means to get it. I can see a bit of it, but not all of it.

I don’t really know where all of this stuff comes from, constantly going by, some would say relentless. Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of a familiar face as he or she wanders by. Still, the monotony of it is broken by the unpredictability of how the turmoil plays out. The randomness of the turmoil is captured over time in a soothing mist, that, with a bit of patience is quite pleasant to see. One must see the forest to appreciate its overall simplicity.

The flow is quenching to some, but not me. It serves as a waster. Sure, I’m not really gone after it takes me away, just in a different form. At this rate, I’ll probably be taken away and thrown in the river before I get down to a nub. I don’t have it as difficult as the guys ahead of me, but hey, if you can’t afford a large wake, you tend to stick around a bit longer.

Don’t let me get you down, change is good. Maybe the keeper will move me around a bit to let me see more things – I wouldn’t mind being attached to the wall for a bit. Everyone should have a turn watching, at least there is nothing that will cause harm when watching.

Why do I always have to be so wet? My bottom is almost always submerged, and the top lightly misted, maybe to see if something will grow. Still, I’ve got it better than the smaller ones always under the water. I hear that there are hordes of them up above – not watchers mind you – they get the calm waters and nothing much ever changes. Poor bastards.

The transients are amusing. They come and go – such is the life of a transient. They follow the waterfall and get taken along for the ride. He’ll be gone in a while, maybe scooped away by the keeper for a bit of tidiness. Even the transients have an avant garde. Sticking his neck out to see what’s next. Maybe it’s a she, or an it, I don’t know. Do they even have a neck? Maybe I’ll say sticking its body out to see what’s next. I have a tendency to overanalyze things, there’s nothing better to do. I’ll probably be here longer than the current keeper. The last one was nice.

I see I’ve started to ramble, so I’ll let you go.

What the hell was that? Who am I, and where was this picture taken? Leave a comment to make a guess.

Anal Uhler

My friends lovingly refer to me as somewhat anal. Not the bum kind, but the retentive kind. Their example revolves around my routine of weighing myself nearly every day. I take a measure of my weight after I get up, but before I drink my coffee. (I don't want to skew the results by drinking several ounces of fluid.)

Their anecdotal case increases by an admission of an opportunity to void and defecate before the aforementioned weigh-in. But who doesn't drop off the kids at the pool in the morning? It's only natural.

Stronger evidence comes from my self-imposed consistent attire while on the scale. One can't attain a valid weight by randomizing the attire. If integral calculus has tot me anything is that the "+ C" is required for full marks, and that the C shouldn't change. Integral calculus hasn't tot me to spel.

On introspection, my ritual of the morning weight-in is not anal. I am free to let myself miss an observation without freaking out. Good ole predictable Uhler, my friends say. Bah.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Science (The Ten-Percent Myth)

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Science (The Ten-Percent Myth)

My friends and I had a discussion about our inability to use 90% of our brain, or that we only use 10% of our brain. Pure bullspit. The above article defuncts this myth.

I had unsuccessfully argued that, no, we use all of the brain. I didn't have time to discuss that the brain is remarkably adaptable and is able to rewire itself if a part is damaged (within reason). Our discussion quickly led into a discussion of killing brain cells by various means. I blacked out and woke up again in the set of Corner Gas.

Here's the show I watched to help me to defend the truth: Scientific American Frontiers. Make Up Your Mind | PBS.