To Inspire
Galileo Galilei, 1982 Italian 500 lire 12:01am comments?
August 29, 2009
Quote
Fallacies about Christianity must always be faced as deterrents to right living, and not merely as mistakes in the mind, for it is the effect they have on our actions which matters most. So soon as we abstract them from our lives and think of them only as faults in our mental machinery, we tend to embrace the greatest fallacy of all — which is to think of Christianity as a way of looking at life instead of a way of changing it.
Minutes of Fun Translation Party takes an English phrase, machine translates it to Japanese, then back to English, etc. until equilibrium is reached (the same English phrase pops up twice). 12:02am 1 comment
Not Quite as Casual
On August 16, 2009, I wrote in my iPhone Notes the prediction, “It will all fall into place.” And on the 19th, 21st, and 24th, I added those dates at the tail of that statement, to signify that yes, things are indeed doing just that. But on the 24th, something happened. The “greater” theory of AI that I had written down back in January — I finally understood what it means. I’d been trying to wrap my head around it lo these last 7 months, and it finally made sense. Such beautiful sense. And then, on the 26 (it had just turned the 26, at about 1am I came up with this), I figured out something to add to the implementation plan I’d been working on. And now I don’t know whether to add the date to the string of that prediction.
The rest of the implementation plan is keeping it pretty simple. Things I’m pretty sure I can get in a week or two’s worth of work, which I broke down into 5 parts. Some of those are interconnected, having a common solution. But this new thing... Well, the only reason I’m considering it is that if I do implement it, it will blow the socks off anyone who knows the capability of technology. I mean, it would be seriously cool to get it working; but I really don’t know if I can do it in the space of the 2 weeks I had been planning to spend implementing before I’d be ready to demo it to investors. That and all the other stuff I need to do, to figure out, to be business ready. So I’m going to mull over it for the next couple three days. Maybe the prediction will bear me out, and even in this will all things fall into place. We’ll see.
In other news, in my spare time I’m looking into doing an iPhone application. I’ve done some research on ads, and compiled and ran the “Hello World” example that I downloaded as part of the iPhone development book I’m going through. No big deal so far. The app is for a friend’s idea called iTaxiNYC, and it will have some limited functionality, at least for the first release. But big plans for it, he has, for the future. So I’ve also been reading up on my Objective C. Like I have said before, it’s kinda casual. What else? I still have the feeling that the ex will contact me sometime. It’s been several months that I’ve felt this, and nothing, but something inside me keeps hope alive. Perhaps it is a curse. But as I’ve found them to be, perhaps the curse is the blessing. Something to chew on.
In which sometimes, I don’t know what to believe. But it’s all good. 12:01am comments?
Hi Ho Silver
Got this silver 1957 dime in my change at the Starbucks inside the local Barnes & Noble.
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Quote
We were made for action, and for right action — for thought, and for true thought. Let us live while we live; let us be alive and doing; let us act on what we have, since we have not what we wish. Let us believe what we do not see and know. Let us forestall knowledge by faith. Let us maintain before we have proved. This seeming paradox is the secret of happiness. Why should we be unwilling to go by faith? We do all things in this world by faith in the word of others. By faith only we know our position in the world, our circumstances, our rights and privileges, our fortunes, our parents, our brothers and sisters, our age, our mortality. Why should religion be an exception? Why should we be unwilling to use for heavenly objects what we daily use for earthly?
Casual
OK, eased up a little on everything since I’ve actually gotten something to work. Had a talk with my friend Bob over this last weekend about the business of it all, and it came down, basically, to having a compelling demo. So that’s where my focus is going to be from now until I get something good working, now. In other news, I love my iPhone and I cracked open my book on developing for it, but I haven’t written any code yet for it. Probably will in the near future. In still other news, that Korean radio station never called me after I got in touch with them saying that my cell number had been out of commission. Which is quite fine with me; I’m glad the whole bru-ha-ha over my name is over with. Definitely not what I want to be known for. And that’s about all for now, here in the badlands. 12:01am comments?
New York, Baby!
This is where I had my “pinch me” moment, the view out the exit of my local Barnes & Noble. Not bad for an iPhone camera.
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August 15, 2009
remember
remember
light is not a dream
darkness does not exist
and the game of life can be won
when you decide never to be defeated 12:01am comments?
It’s Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
Yes, picture me as Dr. Frankenstein, with the wild eyes and everything, screaming this. OK, granted it doesn’t do that much right now (this is about it, for the time being), but heck, it actually does SOMETHING! That means that my model is viable, baby! I have not been just spinning my wheels for the last eight years. Holy crap, what a relief that is. Been taking it a bit easier since then, cleaning up the code a little bit, but mainly thinking about the next step in all this. Namely, what would be most impressive to show off in a live demo to investors in a presentation? Simple syllogistic logic’s not going to cut it there. There are several directions that I could go, and I might have an idea of what exactly I should try for in these next couple months, but we’ll see how things go. Right now, I’m basking in quite the glow.
In other news, I am so unpopular that it took me almost a week to realize that my new iPhone was not receiving any calls. It got fixed straightaway when my cousin (whom I like to refer to as my “uncle” since he’s actually my dad’s cousin, though he’s a year younger than me) when he told me that he tried to call and only got voice mail, when none appeared on the aforementioned phone. I missed many calls, apparently, of someone from a Korean radio station here in New York who wanted to contact me about doing a spot about my name. Yes, that New York Times article seemed to stretch out for a little bit. That would be the third radio show I’d be doing. Plus it appears that more than one Korean newspaper stole the photo from the NYT piece and photoshopped out the background, with pieces of my head along with it. Horrible. At least my parents now understand what it means, “John Doe”, and why total strangers know what the name of their son is. Tra la la la.
So what now? Like I said about the investors, I need to begin to think of the business end of this project. Literally. What will the first practical application(s) be? How many people am I going to need to hire to accomplish this? What other type of personnel am I going to require? What will the development time be? Basically, how much stuff (read: money) am I going to need to get something out the door, and in the world doing whatever it’s supposed to do? I think the next couple months are going to be the most casual it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. If and when I have someone’s money involved in this, it’s going to get crazy. CRAZY crazy. Like an injection of money does for anything involved. But this is what I signed up for. Better rest while I can, and gear up for when the rubber really hits the road. And hopefully the screech won’t be too deafening. Hi ho.
In which I realize a lot of stuff just doesn’t hit me immediately. 12:01am comments?
Quote
The first service one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love of God begins in listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him.
Nirvana
First photo taken with my new iPhone. The Apple store elevator.
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August 6, 2009
transience
how memory descends into the unknown depths, into
fathomless reaches
the shadow of my true self sifts through me,
disintegrating into dusts of light
i become as ghostly as the hush inhaled before the sky
explodes in rain
desiring here where moonbeams bloom to ignite
some new stars, up, up
and the clouds gather murderously grim tonight,
drifting like dark thoughts
(we wait in anticipation of apocalyptic cataclysm, or
to become blind with joy)
time wanders on, changes wind and altitude, solemn
as a candle, then holds
the dalliance of dawn’s first pale reaches shall color
the world in minor keys
we wake from the dreaming numb and erased, tasting
palimpsests of motion
moments dip into wondering and leave traces behind
to collect as aromas
and nothing shall remain of us but the memory of
footsteps, walking away 12:01am comments?
Exactly
OK, I got sidelined by this whole quasi-fame thing that happened when I decided to call that nice New York Times reporter back. I didn’t realize what absolute concentration was required for me to be able to do what I do, as far as the project goes. After the article, in both the web & print editions of the paper (freakin’ front page of both), I did a little radio interview on Thursday, which I guess was OK. I said “Uh” a lot, which I only noticed hearing myself in the podcast afterwards. Hopefully I’ll do better on the BBC show “Americana”, which is going to happen in their New York studio later today. I was saying to my friend Doug, “You know what this is like? When Bart Simpson got famous for saying ‘I didn’t do it,’” and he was like, “Exactly.” 12:01am comments?
Since I Can’t Get Enough of This Story
What the New York Times front page looked like with me on it.
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August 1, 2009
Quote
Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.
