Thursday, February 26, 2004
Today the Honda reached the milestone of 150K. Thanx for the dutiful service this past 50K, ol' friend...
Thursday, February 19, 2004
wallet jacked, returned
soul jacked, ransom paid tonight
praise be to my Rock!
soul jacked, ransom paid tonight
praise be to my Rock!
Spookiness...or craziness?
Took this test and according to the results I'm an INTP. I read through the description, and it's so strikingly on target ['bout 85-90%] that it's uncanny. Some snippets of the uncanniness... [on target in bold]
-- The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner [private] world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic. For here is the central goal of the INTP: to understand and seek truth.
-- The Ti-Ne axis leads to a curious overriding desire to observe from a detached position, indicating the preference for intuitive perception with respect to external things.
-- ...the central aspect of independence. INTP's put great weight on being individuals and essentially different from other people, who they often view as being too alike and too interdependent.
-- Independence, derived primarily from strongly introverted Thinking, leads to perhaps the most difficult aspect (for others) of the INTP, namely stubbornness. If an INTP is pushed into doing something he will automatically resist.
-- ...he is therefore happy to be seen as somewhat eccentric, innovative and perceptive. In dreaming about what he would like to become or achieve, his goals are invariably highly individualistic. He must become the composer, the solo performer, the genius scientist who makes the unique discovery.
-- ...the dominant Ti function means that the INTP takes his interests and beliefs very seriously. Honesty and directness when explaining these interests are usually displayed. INTPs detest facades
and particularly dislike people who exhibit them.
-- INTPs preference for intuitive perception [rather than action] with respect to people results in them resembling a chameleon. The INTP can fit into many different modes of behaviour, even contradictory ones, in order to get into the mindset of the other person.
-- In a group situation, INTPs are sensitive to whether they believe they will be listened to or not. If a dominant [strongly extraverted and loud] person is present, the INTP will withdraw and sulk, believing the dominant person to be a brute. If an INTP speaks, he must be listened to, for he believes his spoken opinions to be important. If not, he withdraws [at least in spirit] and assumes that the people who do not listen lack intelligence.
-- The Ne-Ti axis also leads to a curious duality in the thinking of the INTP. The dominant Ti core tends to assume the role of a controller and organiser of his life, while the Ne behaves like a free spirit, almost childlike in its enthusiasm. The INTP tends to experience these two forces as an almost continuous tug-of-war, with neither ever quite gaining the upper hand. He is not disturbed by this duality and can view it with wistful humour.
-- The experience of the present is not central in itself, as with Se. Rather the focus is on how the present evokes remembered earlier experiences. The key outworking of the Si function is then a concern with memories of the past. INTPs typically have an acute awareness of the passage of past times. Sequences of past events can assume a remarkable solidity in their thinking...
-- INTPs are usually oblivious to external details unless something forces them to take notice. When an INTP goes into a new room, or walks through a city street, he is blind to much of the detail that people with an Se function would see immediately. The INTP always tries to get a feel for the big picture, using his Ne, and habitually ignores all detail. Of course, objects of interest will be seen as a matter of course and he can choose to concentrate and focus on them, but it is remarkable how much he still overlooks.
-- When he visits a place, whether new or already known, his Si function gives an overriding concern for the atmosphere or mood of the place. In his subconscious, he connects the present experiences of his surroundings with memories of his past, sometimes deep past. A sense of history, of universality, is almost always invoked. When on holiday, the INTP wants to experience above all the ambience of each location.
-- The net result of this concern for past experiences and of mood/atmosphere is that INTPs belong centrally to those types referred to as melancholic. The INTP melancholic is typically drawn to wild polar expanses, to mountain ranges and all places on the edges of civilisation. Whatever his particular yearning might actually be, it has a common root. The homeland of the INTP's psyche is a small and cozy community, isolated in the middle of a vast expanse of wilderness.
-- INTPs tend to hoard items which help solidify the connection to the past. They find it very difficult to let go of anything they have collected (or indeed created) and which may have a nostalgic meaning.
-- INTPs are usually fascinated by music and may have deep and wide-ranging tastes. Indeed, each of their three main functions (Ti, Ne, Si) plays a role in the enjoyment of music, and indeed music is a key interest for bringing out the feeling shadow of the INTP. Si itself brings a fascination for mood and atmosphere in music as well as for a strong sense of personal nostalgia. INTPs are therefore often keen on melancholic minor-key music in which an introspective and/or esoteric mood is conveyed.
-- Photography is a classic interest of the INTP, which depends strongly on the Si - Ne combination, as well as on Ti for attention to technical detail.
-- INTPs dislike being in an atmosphere of emotional disharmony. If they need to say something unpleasant to someone close to them, they would prefer to avoid this task...
-- Feelings and emotions are regarded with suspicion and perhaps fear by the INTP and he may be keen to avoid considering or showing them. At the same time, he may experience a certain fascination for the emotional world, but he is desperate to de-personalize any thoughts on that area. He is compelled to subject his emotions to continual analysis, the Ti core literally suppressing the Fe shadow, attacking Fe with accusations of irrationality. He resists letting his feelings go, fearing that to do so would be to relinquish control to an unknown force.
-- The mystery of emotion is also evidence in the INTP's use of music. He always chooses to listen to music which suits his current emotional state, be it aggression, warmth, excitement, relaxation...
[ *diamond notes ]
Evil Empire Strikes Back...
Yanks get A-Rod! =[ For M's fans at Safeco, this is another reason to lustily boo the Yankees aka the Evil Empire. The decibels are going to be unprecedented when they go head-to-head w/ the M's at the Safe...
[ *AI '04 ]
And makin' it to the top 12...Camile Velasco! Her rendition of Brian McKnight's One Last Cry almost made me shed a tear...almost. =p She's real and refreshingly unrefined, and I think that's what made her performance alluring, on top of a soothing timbre aka tone. Filipina represent!
Took this test and according to the results I'm an INTP. I read through the description, and it's so strikingly on target ['bout 85-90%] that it's uncanny. Some snippets of the uncanniness... [on target in bold]
-- The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner [private] world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic. For here is the central goal of the INTP: to understand and seek truth.
-- The Ti-Ne axis leads to a curious overriding desire to observe from a detached position, indicating the preference for intuitive perception with respect to external things.
-- ...the central aspect of independence. INTP's put great weight on being individuals and essentially different from other people, who they often view as being too alike and too interdependent.
-- Independence, derived primarily from strongly introverted Thinking, leads to perhaps the most difficult aspect (for others) of the INTP, namely stubbornness. If an INTP is pushed into doing something he will automatically resist.
-- ...he is therefore happy to be seen as somewhat eccentric, innovative and perceptive. In dreaming about what he would like to become or achieve, his goals are invariably highly individualistic. He must become the composer, the solo performer, the genius scientist who makes the unique discovery.
-- ...the dominant Ti function means that the INTP takes his interests and beliefs very seriously. Honesty and directness when explaining these interests are usually displayed. INTPs detest facades
and particularly dislike people who exhibit them.
-- INTPs preference for intuitive perception [rather than action] with respect to people results in them resembling a chameleon. The INTP can fit into many different modes of behaviour, even contradictory ones, in order to get into the mindset of the other person.
-- In a group situation, INTPs are sensitive to whether they believe they will be listened to or not. If a dominant [strongly extraverted and loud] person is present, the INTP will withdraw and sulk, believing the dominant person to be a brute. If an INTP speaks, he must be listened to, for he believes his spoken opinions to be important. If not, he withdraws [at least in spirit] and assumes that the people who do not listen lack intelligence.
-- The Ne-Ti axis also leads to a curious duality in the thinking of the INTP. The dominant Ti core tends to assume the role of a controller and organiser of his life, while the Ne behaves like a free spirit, almost childlike in its enthusiasm. The INTP tends to experience these two forces as an almost continuous tug-of-war, with neither ever quite gaining the upper hand. He is not disturbed by this duality and can view it with wistful humour.
-- The experience of the present is not central in itself, as with Se. Rather the focus is on how the present evokes remembered earlier experiences. The key outworking of the Si function is then a concern with memories of the past. INTPs typically have an acute awareness of the passage of past times. Sequences of past events can assume a remarkable solidity in their thinking...
-- INTPs are usually oblivious to external details unless something forces them to take notice. When an INTP goes into a new room, or walks through a city street, he is blind to much of the detail that people with an Se function would see immediately. The INTP always tries to get a feel for the big picture, using his Ne, and habitually ignores all detail. Of course, objects of interest will be seen as a matter of course and he can choose to concentrate and focus on them, but it is remarkable how much he still overlooks.
-- When he visits a place, whether new or already known, his Si function gives an overriding concern for the atmosphere or mood of the place. In his subconscious, he connects the present experiences of his surroundings with memories of his past, sometimes deep past. A sense of history, of universality, is almost always invoked. When on holiday, the INTP wants to experience above all the ambience of each location.
-- The net result of this concern for past experiences and of mood/atmosphere is that INTPs belong centrally to those types referred to as melancholic. The INTP melancholic is typically drawn to wild polar expanses, to mountain ranges and all places on the edges of civilisation. Whatever his particular yearning might actually be, it has a common root. The homeland of the INTP's psyche is a small and cozy community, isolated in the middle of a vast expanse of wilderness.
-- INTPs tend to hoard items which help solidify the connection to the past. They find it very difficult to let go of anything they have collected (or indeed created) and which may have a nostalgic meaning.
-- INTPs are usually fascinated by music and may have deep and wide-ranging tastes. Indeed, each of their three main functions (Ti, Ne, Si) plays a role in the enjoyment of music, and indeed music is a key interest for bringing out the feeling shadow of the INTP. Si itself brings a fascination for mood and atmosphere in music as well as for a strong sense of personal nostalgia. INTPs are therefore often keen on melancholic minor-key music in which an introspective and/or esoteric mood is conveyed.
-- Photography is a classic interest of the INTP, which depends strongly on the Si - Ne combination, as well as on Ti for attention to technical detail.
-- INTPs dislike being in an atmosphere of emotional disharmony. If they need to say something unpleasant to someone close to them, they would prefer to avoid this task...
-- Feelings and emotions are regarded with suspicion and perhaps fear by the INTP and he may be keen to avoid considering or showing them. At the same time, he may experience a certain fascination for the emotional world, but he is desperate to de-personalize any thoughts on that area. He is compelled to subject his emotions to continual analysis, the Ti core literally suppressing the Fe shadow, attacking Fe with accusations of irrationality. He resists letting his feelings go, fearing that to do so would be to relinquish control to an unknown force.
-- The mystery of emotion is also evidence in the INTP's use of music. He always chooses to listen to music which suits his current emotional state, be it aggression, warmth, excitement, relaxation...
[ *diamond notes ]
Evil Empire Strikes Back...
Yanks get A-Rod! =[ For M's fans at Safeco, this is another reason to lustily boo the Yankees aka the Evil Empire. The decibels are going to be unprecedented when they go head-to-head w/ the M's at the Safe...
[ *AI '04 ]
And makin' it to the top 12...Camile Velasco! Her rendition of Brian McKnight's One Last Cry almost made me shed a tear...almost. =p She's real and refreshingly unrefined, and I think that's what made her performance alluring, on top of a soothing timbre aka tone. Filipina represent!
Saturday, February 14, 2004
2 dueling factions
1 / 2 angel, other demon
1 soul: prize, drained, torn
1 / 2 angel, other demon
1 soul: prize, drained, torn
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Caught American Idol last night, and this episode hit me on 2 fronts. The 1st occurred during Ryan Seacrest's opening vignette where he mocks William Hung's AI audition and rendition of "She Bangs." He displayed a mockery of Asians at the US media's shady, institutionalized worst, playing on stereotypes that the Asian contingent has been trying so fervently to dissolve. It's disconcerting to say the least...
The 2nd level had to do w/ the sheer talent that has been upped since the 1st incarnation of the series. Each of last night's 8 contestants could have been finalists in the 1st go-round of AI, and here they are duking it out in this 3rd installment in the round of 32. It'll be interesting to see how things pan out, and you bet I'll be handicapping the field like in '03 when I lobbied for Ruben Studdard to win the entire enchilada, which he did. (no pun intended Rube!) =p
[*media purchases]
Stopped by Fry's on a whim, and caught R-Type Final for the PS2 sitting on the shelf priced at $24.99. Figured it'd be worthy purchase based on the recent reviews on gamespot.com and because I've always been a fan of arcade-style shooters like this and the Raiden or Gradius series. Got home, popped the disc into the PS2, and the 1st thing that struck me was the graphical polish. By far the prettiest shooter I've played...the 3-D backgrounds have an endearing trippy quality about them that immerse you in the frenetic on-screen action, along w/ the techno background tracks that're well suited to the "freneticism." The 2nd thing that struck me was the classic R-Type gameplay that remains faithful to the series, coupled w/ the trademark difficulty. If you're a nOOb to the series, you'd probably be better off initially playing the game on baby or kids mode...
Picked up Norah Jones latest offering Feels Like Home at the local Target for $9.99. Good CD that stands up well on its own. But just like a lot of sophomore offerings, this one didn't seem to quite measure up to her debut album. That first one, even though it did have its subtle scattering of rough spots, was nonetheless a diamond that went on to win five Grammy's in 2003. I doubt that this 2nd album will garner the same critical acclaim, but it's still a good album that exudes more of a country / folk influence. On the plus side, she sings at the top of her game w/ a signature voice that remains as soothing and understatedly sultry as ever. Further, it helps to note that good for her is better than the 98 percent currently floating around out there on the "OK to mediocre to wack-ness" scale...
The 2nd level had to do w/ the sheer talent that has been upped since the 1st incarnation of the series. Each of last night's 8 contestants could have been finalists in the 1st go-round of AI, and here they are duking it out in this 3rd installment in the round of 32. It'll be interesting to see how things pan out, and you bet I'll be handicapping the field like in '03 when I lobbied for Ruben Studdard to win the entire enchilada, which he did. (no pun intended Rube!) =p
[*media purchases]
Stopped by Fry's on a whim, and caught R-Type Final for the PS2 sitting on the shelf priced at $24.99. Figured it'd be worthy purchase based on the recent reviews on gamespot.com and because I've always been a fan of arcade-style shooters like this and the Raiden or Gradius series. Got home, popped the disc into the PS2, and the 1st thing that struck me was the graphical polish. By far the prettiest shooter I've played...the 3-D backgrounds have an endearing trippy quality about them that immerse you in the frenetic on-screen action, along w/ the techno background tracks that're well suited to the "freneticism." The 2nd thing that struck me was the classic R-Type gameplay that remains faithful to the series, coupled w/ the trademark difficulty. If you're a nOOb to the series, you'd probably be better off initially playing the game on baby or kids mode...
Picked up Norah Jones latest offering Feels Like Home at the local Target for $9.99. Good CD that stands up well on its own. But just like a lot of sophomore offerings, this one didn't seem to quite measure up to her debut album. That first one, even though it did have its subtle scattering of rough spots, was nonetheless a diamond that went on to win five Grammy's in 2003. I doubt that this 2nd album will garner the same critical acclaim, but it's still a good album that exudes more of a country / folk influence. On the plus side, she sings at the top of her game w/ a signature voice that remains as soothing and understatedly sultry as ever. Further, it helps to note that good for her is better than the 98 percent currently floating around out there on the "OK to mediocre to wack-ness" scale...
Saturday, February 07, 2004
[ + ]
Checked on-line account, tax return! Four digits, more than doubling 2003's!
[ - ]
Got mired in this for 3 hours. No doubt the worst jam I've had the dis-pleasure of bein' a part of in my 8+ years of navigating through Seattle's infamous traffic...
Checked on-line account, tax return! Four digits, more than doubling 2003's!
[ - ]
Got mired in this for 3 hours. No doubt the worst jam I've had the dis-pleasure of bein' a part of in my 8+ years of navigating through Seattle's infamous traffic...
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Fixed the problem... =p
I just hope this comment function [BackBlog] doesn't decide to go berserk and implode like the other 3...
I just hope this comment function [BackBlog] doesn't decide to go berserk and implode like the other 3...
Blogger's gettin' trippy... =[
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
February!...
As I jogged to the 24 Hr. Fitness entrance earlier today, a group of HS kids point me out and say, "check it out, that dude is buff! Buff guy!" Couldn't stifle the chuckles as I got to the entrance, since I hadn't hit the weights in 3 days and felt quite "mega flab-a-listic." So yeah, I felt flattered. To top it off, the cute gal at the counter starts gettin' flirtatious w/ the 51. Score! =]
[*random]
Air National Guard drill comin' up, it's usually a good change of pace from the monthly grind. Lookin' forward to firing up the ol' 93B satellite...
Catchin' American Idol tonight again at 8pm. Caught it last night, and the contestants had been wittled to 117 out of 70,000 that had auditioned to get on the "road to Hollywood." Lots of stand-out performances, both good and not-so good. Quick computation, let's see, that makes the ratio roughly 1 good / exceptional for each 700 mediocre. Out of that 117, one has a less than 1 percent chance of being the '04 AI. Looking at things half-full, lightning does strike...
On the flip slip, lookin' at it half-empty, it also kills... =p
As I jogged to the 24 Hr. Fitness entrance earlier today, a group of HS kids point me out and say, "check it out, that dude is buff! Buff guy!" Couldn't stifle the chuckles as I got to the entrance, since I hadn't hit the weights in 3 days and felt quite "mega flab-a-listic." So yeah, I felt flattered. To top it off, the cute gal at the counter starts gettin' flirtatious w/ the 51. Score! =]
[*random]
Air National Guard drill comin' up, it's usually a good change of pace from the monthly grind. Lookin' forward to firing up the ol' 93B satellite...
Catchin' American Idol tonight again at 8pm. Caught it last night, and the contestants had been wittled to 117 out of 70,000 that had auditioned to get on the "road to Hollywood." Lots of stand-out performances, both good and not-so good. Quick computation, let's see, that makes the ratio roughly 1 good / exceptional for each 700 mediocre. Out of that 117, one has a less than 1 percent chance of being the '04 AI. Looking at things half-full, lightning does strike...
On the flip slip, lookin' at it half-empty, it also kills... =p
