I am a player
I love to play
I want to win
It matters to me if I win or lose
It matters to me how I play the game
I want to win without injustice or bad luck or regret
I want to own every pleasure and disappointment
I want to get lost in play
I want time not to matter
I want to do something more important than me
I cannot win alone
I need my teammates and my opponents to make me better
I trust, because I have to trust
I forgive, because I need to be forgiven
I play a game, not only a game
I try because that matters to me
I try because it's more fun that way
I don't quit because it doesn't feel good when I do
I play with others, but I play against me
I learn when I play
I play when I learn
I practice because I like to be good
I try what I've never tried before
I fail, to fail smarter
I want to be better than I was yesterday
I dream
I imagine
I feel hard and deep
I hope, because there's always a way.
—July 21, 2003
8.10.2017
8.08.2017
8.01.2017
Biking: Summer 2017 Edition
After a good solid year of getting back on the bike, I decided to upgrade my ride. Last year I was rocking the Trek 820 (c. 1991); this summer I picked up a Surly Cross-Check (c. 2015). What a difference two-plus decades of frame engineering makes. The Cross-Check is a whole lot lighter and generally rides like a dream.
After riding it for a month or so, I started making changes. I ditched the drop bars and threw on the Nitto Albastache bars from Rivendell. Sweet thing about these bars is that they worked with all the Surly's default components. The bars have a 26mm stem clamp and also allows for the drop-bar brake clamps....meaning no new brakes (at least not yet). The bar-end shifters also fit into the Nitto handlebars—bonus! I got a more upright and angled stem...after all, I saved money by not having to get new brakes or shifters.
The next upgrade was the saddle. I found a slightly used Brooks B17 saddle on eBay for about $50. Attached to this is an Echo Trail Seat Bag from Frost River. This thing holds way more than you think it would. Lastly, at least for this year, I found a bargain on a Velo Orange Porteur Rack.
The bike is a great commuter ride.
Ultimately, I may want to spruce up the rack with some wood slats. There are several folks on Etsy that craft these (~$50 for parts, hardware and shipping). Or, I could make my own if I am feeling extra crafty. I might also get some colored tires down the road....maybe white or whitewall tires. I might upgrade the brake levers and put on some fenders as well.
After riding it for a month or so, I started making changes. I ditched the drop bars and threw on the Nitto Albastache bars from Rivendell. Sweet thing about these bars is that they worked with all the Surly's default components. The bars have a 26mm stem clamp and also allows for the drop-bar brake clamps....meaning no new brakes (at least not yet). The bar-end shifters also fit into the Nitto handlebars—bonus! I got a more upright and angled stem...after all, I saved money by not having to get new brakes or shifters.
The next upgrade was the saddle. I found a slightly used Brooks B17 saddle on eBay for about $50. Attached to this is an Echo Trail Seat Bag from Frost River. This thing holds way more than you think it would. Lastly, at least for this year, I found a bargain on a Velo Orange Porteur Rack.
The bike is a great commuter ride.
Ultimately, I may want to spruce up the rack with some wood slats. There are several folks on Etsy that craft these (~$50 for parts, hardware and shipping). Or, I could make my own if I am feeling extra crafty. I might also get some colored tires down the road....maybe white or whitewall tires. I might upgrade the brake levers and put on some fenders as well.
1.30.2017
Two University of Minnesota Disappointments Today
Two things happened today that irritated and disappointed me, and unfortunately, neither is unexpected. First, I went to the Bookstore in Coffman Union today in search of some Dance Team swag. I made a New Year's resolution that I was going to purchase non-football related UMN gear. I searched high and low and only found one Dance Team t-shirt (and it was a super generic design). When I asked, sure enough, that was all there was. Now if you want football or basketball gear, there are several designs and color combinations to choose from. And not only are there t-shirts, but sweatshirts, hats, caps, you name it.
Now I understand the whole idea of market economics and that some sports related gear is going to sell better than others. But the fact that there is only one t-shirt option is ridiculous. And not only for the Dance Team, but Swimming and Diving, Cross Country, Track, Golf, and several other University sponsored teams also only had a single t-shirt available in pretty much the same stupid generic design. How can a public university condone that?
The sad part is that this is completely not unexpected. And I have been a part of the problem...I bought football gear. I guess I will check with Goldy's Locker Room.
The second thing that was disappointing today was reading President Kaler's response to Trump's executive order. Sure, he said that the U would stand with its students and remain steadfast, but what a missed opportunity. Compare that to the language Macalester's president used, "these orders are cowardly and cruel. They make a mockery of the claim that we are a country of generosity and decency." Again, the sad part is that I have come to expect the lethargy and non-commital type of commitment that Kaler brings to governing the university. And it's not just Kaler. The Board of Regents and many other administrators give off the same kind of energy.
For all its talk about wanting to be a leader and a top 3 research university, the University of Minnesota sure doesn't act like a leader. They tend to move with the herd rather than picking up the reigns and leading the herd. We should change the motto from "Ski-U-Mah" to "Don't Rock the Boat". Maybe P.J. Fleck can adopt that as his new motto.
Now I understand the whole idea of market economics and that some sports related gear is going to sell better than others. But the fact that there is only one t-shirt option is ridiculous. And not only for the Dance Team, but Swimming and Diving, Cross Country, Track, Golf, and several other University sponsored teams also only had a single t-shirt available in pretty much the same stupid generic design. How can a public university condone that?
The sad part is that this is completely not unexpected. And I have been a part of the problem...I bought football gear. I guess I will check with Goldy's Locker Room.
The second thing that was disappointing today was reading President Kaler's response to Trump's executive order. Sure, he said that the U would stand with its students and remain steadfast, but what a missed opportunity. Compare that to the language Macalester's president used, "these orders are cowardly and cruel. They make a mockery of the claim that we are a country of generosity and decency." Again, the sad part is that I have come to expect the lethargy and non-commital type of commitment that Kaler brings to governing the university. And it's not just Kaler. The Board of Regents and many other administrators give off the same kind of energy.
For all its talk about wanting to be a leader and a top 3 research university, the University of Minnesota sure doesn't act like a leader. They tend to move with the herd rather than picking up the reigns and leading the herd. We should change the motto from "Ski-U-Mah" to "Don't Rock the Boat". Maybe P.J. Fleck can adopt that as his new motto.
1.16.2017
Three TV Shows
Over winter break I watched several TV shows. Three of them are worthy of their own blog post, and all of them I am watching on Amazon Prime.
Vikings
This show is super good. This show originally aired on the History Channel and has currently been renewed for a fifth season. I am watching it on Prime, but it is also available on Hulu. Vikings tells the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok, a bad-ass Norseman who pillages England and battles like a hellcat. Vis-a-vis Game of Thrones, the fight scenes are bloody, and the costumes kick butt. Because it airs on the History Channel, the sex scenes are not nearly as graphic as GOT. The hair, beards, and tattoos seal the deal on this show. They are unreal. Total beard envy. Vulture has a slideshow of the epic beards and hair of the characters of Vikings.
Mozart in the Jungle
Another show I fell in love with over break was Mozart in the Jungle. Following fictional characters in the New York Philharmonic, this show is loosely based on Blair Tindall's memoir about being an oboist in that orchestra. The characters in this show are lovely. Eccentric, artistic, poetic.
The two principal characters are Hailey Routledge, and aspiring oboist and Rodrigo De Souza, the passionate South American conductor the Philharmonic hires at the beginning of the series. But the complementary characters are just as delightful. Saffron Burrows portrays a cellist who was sleeping with the former conductor, played by Malcom McDowell. Wallace Shawn and Jason Schwartzman also play wonderfully funny characters in the show. After watching even a coupe episodes, it is clear why this show has won a bevy of awards.
Red Oaks
This is a show I happened on that I can't believe I didn't know about before. The show is centered around the character David Myers, a college-aged guy who works summers as a tennis pro at Red Oaks Country Club, an exclusive club in New Jersey. The show is set during the 1980s, which, I think, is why I am attracted to it. The cast also includes Paul Reiser, Jennifer Grey, and Richard Kind, who I love. Several of the episodes were also directed by Amy Heckerling, who also directed Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless. This alone makes the show worth watching. Couple that with the 80s soundtrack and outfits plus really good dialogue and acting, and you have a winner. It also doesn't hurt that the epsisodes are around 25 or so minutes long.
Vikings
This show is super good. This show originally aired on the History Channel and has currently been renewed for a fifth season. I am watching it on Prime, but it is also available on Hulu. Vikings tells the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok, a bad-ass Norseman who pillages England and battles like a hellcat. Vis-a-vis Game of Thrones, the fight scenes are bloody, and the costumes kick butt. Because it airs on the History Channel, the sex scenes are not nearly as graphic as GOT. The hair, beards, and tattoos seal the deal on this show. They are unreal. Total beard envy. Vulture has a slideshow of the epic beards and hair of the characters of Vikings.
 |
| Ragnar Lothbrok |
Mozart in the Jungle
Another show I fell in love with over break was Mozart in the Jungle. Following fictional characters in the New York Philharmonic, this show is loosely based on Blair Tindall's memoir about being an oboist in that orchestra. The characters in this show are lovely. Eccentric, artistic, poetic.
 |
| Rodrigo De Souza |
The two principal characters are Hailey Routledge, and aspiring oboist and Rodrigo De Souza, the passionate South American conductor the Philharmonic hires at the beginning of the series. But the complementary characters are just as delightful. Saffron Burrows portrays a cellist who was sleeping with the former conductor, played by Malcom McDowell. Wallace Shawn and Jason Schwartzman also play wonderfully funny characters in the show. After watching even a coupe episodes, it is clear why this show has won a bevy of awards.
Red Oaks
This is a show I happened on that I can't believe I didn't know about before. The show is centered around the character David Myers, a college-aged guy who works summers as a tennis pro at Red Oaks Country Club, an exclusive club in New Jersey. The show is set during the 1980s, which, I think, is why I am attracted to it. The cast also includes Paul Reiser, Jennifer Grey, and Richard Kind, who I love. Several of the episodes were also directed by Amy Heckerling, who also directed Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless. This alone makes the show worth watching. Couple that with the 80s soundtrack and outfits plus really good dialogue and acting, and you have a winner. It also doesn't hurt that the epsisodes are around 25 or so minutes long.
 |
| Jennifer Grey and Richard Kind play the parents of David Myers (played by Craig Roberts) in Red Oaks. |
10.03.2016
2016/2017: Year of TV
I am going to try and keep track of my television shows chronologically rather than by current, watched, etc. I will try to update this throughout the year. I will also give the medium for how I am watching the show. So, without further ado,
Fall 2016 (September/October/November)
Winter 2016/2017 (December/January/February)
Spring 2017 (March/April/May)
Fall 2016 (September/October/November)
- 30 for 30 Shorts (Hulu) — Started watching
- Ballers (HBO) — Watched the second half of Season 2
- Behind the Mask (Hulu) — Watching Season 1
- Brothers & Sisters (Hulu) — Started watching series.
- Californication (Netflix) — Finished re-watching the series
- Chance (Hulu) — Watching Season 1
- Daredevil (Netflix) — Watched Season 2
- Designated Survivor (ABC) — Watching Season 1
- Divorce (HBO) — Watching Season 1
- Gilmore Girls (Netflix) — Re-watching the series on Netflix to get ready for the new episodes that are due out in November
- Longmire (Netflix) — Watched Season 5
- Lovesick (Netflix) — Watched Season 1
- Lucifer (Fox) — Watching Season 2
- Madame Secretary (CBS) — Watching Season 3
- Manhattan (Hulu) — Finished both seasons.
- New Girl (Netflix) — Watched Season 5
- Pitch (Hulu) — Watching Season 1
- This is Us (Hulu) — Watching Season 1
Winter 2016/2017 (December/January/February)
- The Affair (Showtime) — Watching Season 3.
- 30 for 30 Shorts (Hulu) — Still watching. Only a couple episodes left.
- Brothers & Sisters (Hulu) —Watched Season 2–4.
- Chance (Hulu) – Finished Season 1.
- Designated Survivor (ABC) — Still watching Season 1.
- Lucifer (Fox) — Watching Season 2. One episode left until mid-season break.
- Madame Secretary (CBS) — Still watching Season 3.
- Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon Prime) —Watched Season 1, 2, and 3.
- Pitch (Hulu) — Still watching Season 1.
- Red Oaks (Amazon Prime) —Watched Season 1. Midway through Season 2.
- Shut Eye (Hulu) — Watched Season 1.
- This is Us (Hulu) — Still watching Season 1.
- Vikings (Amazon Prime) —Watched Season 1 and 2. Midway through Season 3.
Spring 2017 (March/April/May)
- The Affair (Showtime) — Still working on Season 3. Haven't made any progress on this. Is that a sign?
- The Americans (FX) — Watching Season 5.
- Beginning of Everything (Amazon Prime) — Watched Season 1
- Better Call Saul (AMC) — Watching Season 3
- Billions (HBO) — Watching Season 2
- Bordertown (Netflix) — Watched Season 1. Finnish crime drama. According to Wikipedia over 1/5 of the Finnish population watched episode 1 of this show when it aired.
Designated Survivor (ABC) — Why am I still watching this???? I quit watching.- Evolution of Hip-Hop (Netflix) — Four episode miniseries. Fantastic.
- Fargo (FX) — Watching Season 3
- Fields of Glory (Hulu) — Shorts on about 10 college football stadiums.
- Friends with Benefits (Netflix) — Season 1. Fun.
- The Finder (Netflix) — Watched Season 1. I like these shows with quirky characters.
- Girls (HBO) — Finished the last season of this one.
- Halt and Catch Fire (Netflix) — Watched Season 3
- Harlots (Hulu) — New series. Pretty good.
- Homeland (Showtime) — Watched Season 6
- Lucifer (Fox) — Watching the second half of Season 2.
- Madame Secretary (CBS) — Watching second half of Season 3
- The Magicians (Netflix) — Watched Season 1.
- Narcos (Netflix) — Watching Season 2
The Path (Hulu) — Watching Season 2. Getting boring. Stopped watching.- Private Sales (Amazon Prime) — Watched Season 1. Not great. Campy enough though.
- Rectify (Netflix) — Watched Seasons 1–4. This is one of the most heartbreaking shows I have ever watched.
Taken (NBC) — Started watching Season 1...same question as Designated Survivor...why?? Also quit watching this.- This is Us (Hulu) — Finished watching Season 1
Summer 2017 (June/July/August)
The Affair (Showtime) — Quit watching.- Animal Kingdom (TNT) — Watching Season 2. Boring.
- Ballers (HBO) — Watching Season 3
- Better Call Saul (AMC) — Finished watching Season 3
- Billions (HBO) — Finished watching Season 2
- Bloodline (Netflix) — Watching Season 3—The last season.
- Casual (Hulu) — Watching Season 3
- Fargo (FX) — Finished watching Season 3
- Flaked (Netflix) — Watched Season 2
- Game of Thrones (HBO) — Watching Season 7.
- Harlots (Hulu) — Watching Season 1
- Narcos (Netflix) — Finished watching Season 2
- The Night Shift (Netflix) — Watched Season 1–3
- Ray Donovan (Showtime) — Watching Season 5
- Royal Pains (Netflix) — Watched Season 1–7
- Sherlock (Netflix) — Watching Season 4
- Turn (AMC) — Watching Season 4—The last season.
- Will (TNT On Demand) — Watched Season 1. Love this.
9.26.2016
When Your Soul is Crushed by the Man
What do you do when the places you love lose their soul? I used to love Dinkytown, especially its bookstores and coffee shops. All of them just made me happy. Now, we are down to a single bookstore (which although it is smaller, still makes me happy) and only a couple independent coffee shops.
The coffee shops of Dinkytown have a special place in my heart. Expresso Royale, one of the first coffee shops I went to in Dinkytown, long before I even started at the University of Minnesota, is still one of my favorites. It has that independent coffee shop atmosphere; the aroma of freshly ground beans wafts throughout the shop, while the sounds of hipster lit majors mixes with those of the aspiring anti-establishment political science wonks. Over time their prices have risen, but given the rent in Dinkytown, I see that as a necessary evil.
The Purple Onion, on the other hand, has lost its way. Before it moved to its University Avenue location, it was a great place. Open. Loud. Full of thinkers and artists. It fit Dinkytown. The grungy artistic feel it once had has been replaced with a sterile downtown-loft like feel; more likely to be frequented by wall-streeters instead of 4th streeters. Its coffee prices, which have risen at a higher rate than any other coffee shop in Dinkytown (including Starbucks) are also more in line with wall-streeters.
Going to the PO (that's what the locals call it) just makes me feel sad; it has lost all the character it once had. It is crazy to say, and I cringe as I write it, but currently the Dinkytown Starbucks has more soul than the PO. So for now, PO, I bid you adieu. Perhaps I will see again one day. If you need to find me, I will be at Expresso Royale.
The coffee shops of Dinkytown have a special place in my heart. Expresso Royale, one of the first coffee shops I went to in Dinkytown, long before I even started at the University of Minnesota, is still one of my favorites. It has that independent coffee shop atmosphere; the aroma of freshly ground beans wafts throughout the shop, while the sounds of hipster lit majors mixes with those of the aspiring anti-establishment political science wonks. Over time their prices have risen, but given the rent in Dinkytown, I see that as a necessary evil.
The Purple Onion, on the other hand, has lost its way. Before it moved to its University Avenue location, it was a great place. Open. Loud. Full of thinkers and artists. It fit Dinkytown. The grungy artistic feel it once had has been replaced with a sterile downtown-loft like feel; more likely to be frequented by wall-streeters instead of 4th streeters. Its coffee prices, which have risen at a higher rate than any other coffee shop in Dinkytown (including Starbucks) are also more in line with wall-streeters.
 |
| The Purple Onion at its old location on the corner of 4th street and 14th Ave. This location, which was split after the move, now houses a Potbelly and a Qdoba. |
Going to the PO (that's what the locals call it) just makes me feel sad; it has lost all the character it once had. It is crazy to say, and I cringe as I write it, but currently the Dinkytown Starbucks has more soul than the PO. So for now, PO, I bid you adieu. Perhaps I will see again one day. If you need to find me, I will be at Expresso Royale.
9.03.2016
ASCII Adams
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7.24.2016
Summer of Television
It is time to give an update about my current TV viewing habits. Since last I wrote, we have adiosed DirectTV for Comcast. Long story, but the short version is that the DirectTV customer representative I was talking to made me so mad that I cancelled on the spot. Signing up with Communist-cast made me cringe but (1) it was ultimately cheaper since we already have internet through them, and (2) the X1 box gave me back DVR. I also finally junked my gen-1 Apple TV since Hulu was constantly re-setting. I picked up a Roku 3 which is a slick little machine that I primarily use for Hulu and Netflix. So, the current itinerary of programs includes (August updates, September updates):
Current Shows (in Progress)
Caught Up
Behind (but Still Watching)
Behind (but Not Really Watching...Maybe an Episode Once in a While)
Finished
Current Shows (in Progress)
- Aquarius (NBC; Season 1) — One episode to go in Season 2
- Ballers (HBO; Season 1, 2) — New episodes start Sept. 11
- Gilmore Girls (CW and Netflix) — Re-watching the series on Netflix to get ready for the new episodes that are due out in November
- Ray Donovan (Showtime; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — New episodes start Sept. 11
Caught Up
- Animal Kingdom (TNT; Season 1) — Renewed for second season
- Better Call Saul (AMC; Season 1, 2) — Renewed for third season
- Billions (HBO; Season 1, 2) — Renewed for second season
- Bloodline (Netflix; Season 1, 2) — Renewed for third season
- Casual (Hulu, Season 1, 2) — Renewed for a third season in 2017
- Elementary (Fox; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Renewed for fifth season
- Fargo (FX; Season 1, 2) — Renewed for third season
- Game of Thrones (HBO; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) — Renewed for 7th season
- Girls (HBO; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) — One season left
- Halt and Catch Fire (AMC; Season 1) — Two seasons out, renewed for third season
- Homeland (Showtime; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) — Renewed for sixth season
- House of Cards (Netflix; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Renewed for fifth season
- Longmire (A&E and Netflix; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Netflix renewed the show for a fifth season
- Lucifer (Fox; Season 1) — Renewed for a second season
- Roadies (Showtime; Season 1) — No word on whether it will be renewed.
- Sherlock (BBC; Season 1, 2, 3) — Renewed for fourth season
- Stranger Things (Netflix; Season 1) — Season 2 is in the works according to the Duffer brothers
- The Americans (FX; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Two seasons left
- The Path (Hulu; Season 1) — Renewed for a second season
- True Detective (HBO; Season 1, 2) — Maybe a third season??
- Turn: Washington's Spies (AMC; Season 1, 2, 3)
Behind (but Still Watching)
- Empire (Fox; Season 1, 2) — I am only a couple episodes into Season 2, which is on Hulu; Season 3 is coming soon
- Madame Secretary (CBS; Season 1) — Waiting for Season 2 to hit Netflix; Renewed for Season 3
- New Girl (Fox; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Waiting for Season 5 on Netflix; Renewed for Season 6
- You're the Worst (FX; Season 1, 2) — Waiting for third season to hit Hulu
Behind (but Not Really Watching...Maybe an Episode Once in a While)
- Daredevil (Netflix; Season 1) — Although Season 2 is already out, I am still only 3/4 of the way through Season 1; Finally finished Season 1.
- Gotham (Fox; Season 1, 2) — Season 2 is on Netflix, but I have only watched the first few episodes
- Hannibal (NBC; Season 1) — Show was cancelled after three seasons
- Person of Interest (CBS; Season 1, 2, 3) — I am about half way through Season 3 on Netflix; The show was cancelled after Season 5
- The Grinder (Fox; Season 1) — Show was cancelled after one season; I have watched the first 13 episodes
Finished
- 11.22.63 (Hulu) — Eight episode mini-series
- Hart of Dixie (CW; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Show was cancelled after Season 4
- House of Lies (Showtime; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) — Show was cancelled after Season 5
- Last Chance U (Netflix; Season 1) — One season documentary mini-series
- Lipstick Jungle (NBC; Season 1, 2) — Show cancelled after two seasons
- Mad Men (AMC; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) — Show ended after 7 seasons
- Making a Murderer (Netflix; Season 1) — One season mini-series
- Nashville (ABC; Season 1, 2, 3, 4) — Show cancelled after Season 4
- Parenthood (NBC; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) — I watched all six seasons this spring on Netflix
- The Bridge (FX; Season 1, 2) — Show cancelled after Season 2
- The Good Wife (CBS; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) — Show ended after 7 seasons
- The League (FX; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) — Show ended after 7 seasons
- Suits (USA; Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) — Quit mid-way through Season 6. Mike in prison is a dumb premise.
3.23.2016
Some Good Advice on Writing
“Cut out all these exclamation points,” he said. “An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
 |
| Photograph of F. Scott Fitzgerald c. 1921, appearing "The World's Work" (June 1921 issue). Photo in the public domain from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F_Scott_Fitzgerald_1921.jpg |
F. Scott Fitzgerald, near the end of his life, began a love affair with Sheilah Graham. In her memoir “Beloved Infidel”, she describes the advice Fitzgerald gave to her. after reading one of her radio scripts:
“You don’t mind if I reword it here and there?” he asked. And though tired from his own writing at the studio, he sat down with a stubby pencil and a pack of cigarettes and painstakingly—and completely—rewrote my copy. He worked with the utmost concentration and as he worked he twisted the hair above his forehead so that a tuft stood up, as on a kewpie doll. It gave him a strangely boyish appearance. “Cut out all these exclamation points,” he said. “An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” He underlined words I should emphasize, corrected my grammar.This is good advice for any writer. A well-structured sentence will emphasize all the content it needs to without shouting at people.
2.25.2016
How I Spend My Money
Lauren sent me this comic which pretty much is a super-accurate depiction of where my money goes.
The original is from Sarah Anderson's book Adulthood is a Myth. Her stuff looks pretty funny, so it will probably be on our bookshelves soon!
1.31.2016
Using Unix to Change Filenames
I have recently been trying to standardize my file names to keep a better consistency. I have decided to use all lowercase letters rather than the title case that I have been using.
I knew there must be a quick way of making these changes using Unix commands in Terminal. After a quick Google search, I found this site. After using the cd command to get in the directory, the syntax to change everything to lowercase looks like this:
for f in * ; do mv -v $f `echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`; done
To understand how this works, let's parse the syntax. First the semicolon is how we put multiple commands on a single line. It is akin to hitting <enter>. So it may be a bit easier to understand if we format this in a different manner.
for f in *
do mv -v $f `echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`
done
The first and last lines are executing a FOR loop. The f in * just says do something (in this case the something is the commands issued in the second line) for each filename in the directory, that is where the * comes in. The f is an arbitrary variable name.
The do command of the second line tells Unix to actually do what follows it. The heart of this command is mv. In Unix-speak, mv can either be used to move files or rename files, depending on what comes after it. In this case, we use it to rename files. The -v is an optional flag that tells Unix to print to the screen everything that mv is doing (verbose mode). In general the structure of using mv to rename files looks like this:
mv old_filename new_filename
From the FOR loop, the name of each file is stored in the variable f. Thus we can get that name by accessing $f (the old filename). Notice the new filename is not given explicitly, but is a series of Unix commands. This is enclosed in a set of backticks (`commands`). Everything typed between backticks is evaluated (executed) by the shell. (The mathematical equivalent would be enclosing this in parentheses so order of operations is followed.)
The series of commands executed is
echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'
This echos back the filename ($f) and then pipes it into the translate (tr) command. This is like a pipeline, where the output of a one process is fed as input into a subsequent process. This is that vertical bar (|). SO the output of echo (the filename) is fed into the tr command.
The tr command translates the first thing into the second thing. Since these are characters, they are both enclosed in quotation marks. Both the first and second component are calling regular expressions. The first component, [A-Z], looks for uppercase letters, which are then translated into lowercase letters, [a-z], the second component.
After executing the command, the verbose flag outputs the following:
Andy -> andy
Dad -> dad
Fractals-and-Chaos-Workshop-Pamphlet.pdf -> fractals-and-chaos-workshop-pamphlet.pdf
Grandpa -> grandpa
Soccer -> soccer
The result is all the filenames (or folder names) are now lowercase
There are other ways to do this as well. For example, the regular expressions can be changed so the commands are:
echo $f | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
Be careful if you use these commands. You can accidentally write over a file if it has the same name. For example if your directory contained two files,
myFile.doc
myfile.doc
and you issued this command, you would write over the 'myfile.doc' file.
 |
| View inside a folder that has file and folder names using title case (combination of upper- and lowercase letters. |
I knew there must be a quick way of making these changes using Unix commands in Terminal. After a quick Google search, I found this site. After using the cd command to get in the directory, the syntax to change everything to lowercase looks like this:
for f in * ; do mv -v $f `echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`; done
To understand how this works, let's parse the syntax. First the semicolon is how we put multiple commands on a single line. It is akin to hitting <enter>. So it may be a bit easier to understand if we format this in a different manner.
for f in *
do mv -v $f `echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`
done
The first and last lines are executing a FOR loop. The f in * just says do something (in this case the something is the commands issued in the second line) for each filename in the directory, that is where the * comes in. The f is an arbitrary variable name.
The do command of the second line tells Unix to actually do what follows it. The heart of this command is mv. In Unix-speak, mv can either be used to move files or rename files, depending on what comes after it. In this case, we use it to rename files. The -v is an optional flag that tells Unix to print to the screen everything that mv is doing (verbose mode). In general the structure of using mv to rename files looks like this:
mv old_filename new_filename
From the FOR loop, the name of each file is stored in the variable f. Thus we can get that name by accessing $f (the old filename). Notice the new filename is not given explicitly, but is a series of Unix commands. This is enclosed in a set of backticks (`commands`). Everything typed between backticks is evaluated (executed) by the shell. (The mathematical equivalent would be enclosing this in parentheses so order of operations is followed.)
The series of commands executed is
echo $f | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'
This echos back the filename ($f) and then pipes it into the translate (tr) command. This is like a pipeline, where the output of a one process is fed as input into a subsequent process. This is that vertical bar (|). SO the output of echo (the filename) is fed into the tr command.
The tr command translates the first thing into the second thing. Since these are characters, they are both enclosed in quotation marks. Both the first and second component are calling regular expressions. The first component, [A-Z], looks for uppercase letters, which are then translated into lowercase letters, [a-z], the second component.
After executing the command, the verbose flag outputs the following:
Andy -> andy
Dad -> dad
Fractals-and-Chaos-Workshop-Pamphlet.pdf -> fractals-and-chaos-workshop-pamphlet.pdf
Grandpa -> grandpa
Soccer -> soccer
The result is all the filenames (or folder names) are now lowercase
 |
| The same directory after running the commands. |
There are other ways to do this as well. For example, the regular expressions can be changed so the commands are:
echo $f | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
Be careful if you use these commands. You can accidentally write over a file if it has the same name. For example if your directory contained two files,
myFile.doc
myfile.doc
and you issued this command, you would write over the 'myfile.doc' file.
1.03.2016
Read-a-Thon (c. 1982/1983)
Going through some more old stuff, and came across the list of books I read for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Read-a-Thon. According to the "Book List Record", I read 35 books and had 9 sponsors. (The sponsor bit was not copied by my mom, so I do not know whether they donated per page or per book.) I also don't know how long this read-a-thon took place, but my guess is that it happened over Christmas break. Here is the list of books:
I clearly liked mystery, Encyclopedia Brown, McGurk, and The Three Investigators books appear in this list. The classics were the Great Illustrated Classics, so while the page count was almost always 238, about half of the pages were pictures.
| Title | Author | Pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Littles to the Rescue | Peterson, John | 95 |
| 2 | The Littles Take a Trip | Peterson, John | 95 |
| 3 | The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood | Pyle, Howard | 238 |
| 4 | The Littles and the Big Storm | Peterson, John | 80 |
| 5 | The Littles Give a Party | Peterson, John | 96 |
| 6 | The Case of the Snowbound Spy | Hildick, Edmund Wallace | 120 |
| 7 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Twain, Mark | 238 |
| 8 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Dumas, Alexandre | 238 |
| 9 | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Twain, Mark | 238 |
| 10 | The Secret of the Rosewood Box | Orton, Helen Fuller | 120 |
| 11 | Mystery in the Pirate Oak | Orton, Helen Fuller | 120 |
| 12 | Socks | Cleary, Beverly | 156 |
| 13 | Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight Visitor | Sobol, Donald J. | 112 |
| 14 | Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead Eagles | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 15 | Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 16 | Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 17 | Crazy Horse, Sioux Warrior | Meadowcroft, Enid LaMonte | 104 |
| 18 | May I? Please? Thank You | Wilt, Joy | 146 |
| 19 | The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes | Heyward, DuBose | 46 |
| 20 | Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 21 | Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues | Sobol, Donald J. | 86 |
| 22 | Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Exploding Plumbing | Sobol, Donald J. | 73 |
| 23 | The Great Rabbit Robbery | Hildick, Edmund Wallace | 101 |
| 24 | Encyclopedia Brown Carries on | Sobol, Donald J. | 72 |
| 25 | Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes | Doyle, Arthur Conan | 95 |
| 26 | A Bear Called Paddington | Bond, Michael | 128 |
| 27 | Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective | Sobol, Donald J. | 75 |
| 28 | Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 29 | Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 30 | The Case of the Nervous Newsboy | Hildick, Edmund Wallace | 131 |
| 31 | (Copy cannot be read) | ||
| 32 | Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace | Sobol, Donald J. | 96 |
| 33 | Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds | Adler, David A. | 58 |
| 34 | The Mystery of the Dead Man's Riddle | Arden, William | 45 |
| 35 | Pirate Island Adventure | Parrish, Peggy | 120 |
I clearly liked mystery, Encyclopedia Brown, McGurk, and The Three Investigators books appear in this list. The classics were the Great Illustrated Classics, so while the page count was almost always 238, about half of the pages were pictures.
12.15.2015
Toooooooooo Much TV
It is time to update all of my faithful readers (1–2 of you max) about what I have been watching on TV.We got a new mini-genie receiver for our DirecTV setup this fall. This is awesome in that it takes up less space, but it also doesn not have a built-in DVR. Because of this I have completely switched to watching TV shows via apps on Apple TV, namely Hulu, Netflix, FX/Now, HBOGo, and the Showtime app.
Here are some shows that I don't go out of my way to watch anymore, but once I have some down time (maybe never) I might start re-watching.
Shows I quit watching since my last post on this. Several of these have wrapped, were cancelled, or were mini-series. I also cut the cord on several shows this fall when I made the switch to the genie-lite, including, the Vampire Diaries, and The Originals—two shows I have watched for years.
- Ballers
- Better Call Saul
- Billions
- Fargo
- Game of Thrones
- Girls
- Gotham
- Hart of Dixie
- Homeland
- House of Lies
- Madame Secretary
- Nashville
- New Girl
- Ray Donovan
- Suits
- The Americans
- The Bridge
- The Good Wife
- The Grinder
- The League
- True Detective
- Turn: Washington's Spies
Here are some shows that I don't go out of my way to watch anymore, but once I have some down time (maybe never) I might start re-watching.
- Arrow
- Big Bang Theory
- Black Mirror
- The Blacklist
- Criminal Minds
- Elementary
- Jessica Jones
- Longmire
- Luther
- Person of Interest
- Rita
Shows I quit watching since my last post on this. Several of these have wrapped, were cancelled, or were mini-series. I also cut the cord on several shows this fall when I made the switch to the genie-lite, including, the Vampire Diaries, and The Originals—two shows I have watched for years.
- Battle Creek (cancelled)
- Bloodline (mini-series)
- Dallas (new series; cancelled)
- Daredevil (mini-series)
- Gang Related (cancelled)
- Graceland (quit watching)
- Mad Men (wrapped)
- Making a Murderer (mini-series)
- Masters of Sex (quit watching)
- Narcos (mini-series)
- Rookie Blue (wrapped)
- The Glades (wrapped)
- The Jinx (mini-series)
- The Killing (cancelled and wrapped)
- The Originals (quit watching)
- The Slap (BBC version; mini-series)
- Tyrant (quit watching)
- Vampire Diaries (quit watching)
11.18.2015
Ray Bradbury's Poem Inspired by the Exploration of Mars
In May of 1971, NASA launched Mariner 9 to take picture of the planet Mars. Just prior to Mariner 9 coming into Mars' orbit, Bruce Murray hosted a public lecture and discussion at Caltech that featured a panel of authors and scientists, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, and Walter Sullivan. These lectures were later turned into a book of essays entitled "Mars and the Mind of Man".
Ray Bradbury's contribution to this panel was a short poem entitled "If Only We Had Taller Been". It is poignant and haunting, linking, as blogger Jurgen Wolff puts it, the dream of conquering space with that of immortality. The words of Bradbury's poem are printed below.
If Only We Had Taller Been
The fence we walked between the years
Did bounce us serene.
It was a place half in the sky where
In the green of leaf and promising of peach
We'd reach our hands to touch and almost touch the sky,
If we could reach and touch, we said,
'Twould teach us, not to ,never to, be dead.
We ached and almost touched that stuff;
Our reach was never quite enough.
If only we had taller been,
And touched God's cuff, His hem,
We would not have to go with them
Who've gone before,
Who, short as us, stood tall as they could stand
And hoped by stretching, tall, that they might keep their land,
Their home, their hearth, their flesh and soul.
But they, like us, were standing in a hole.
O, Thomas, will a Race one day stand really tall
Across the Void, across the Universe and all?
And, measured out with rocket fire,
At last put Adam's finger forth
As on the Sistene Ceiling,
And God's hand come down the other way
To measure man and find him Good,
And Gift him with Forever's Day?
I work for that.
Short man, Large dream, I send my rockets forth
between my ears,
Hoping an inch of Good is worth a pound of years.
Aching to hear a voice cry back along the universal Mall:
We've reached Alpha Centauri!
We're tall, O God, we're tall!
Recently Brain Pickings posted a YouTube video of Bradbury reading the poem. Hearing it read by Bradbury is goosebump worthy.
Update
Last night I was listening to a podcast that was reviewing several papers and presentations from the 2015 IEEE conference on visualization, and one of the papers mentioned was related to examining the sonic topology of a poem. The authors have made their software, called Poemage, for this examination freely available. There is also a paper available here.
Anyhow, I decided to examine Bradbury's poem. Pretty pictures, although I don't know if I fully understand them. The colors have to do with the sounds, rhyming, etc. I may need to re-listen to see if the aural experience conforms to the model proposed below.
Ray Bradbury's contribution to this panel was a short poem entitled "If Only We Had Taller Been". It is poignant and haunting, linking, as blogger Jurgen Wolff puts it, the dream of conquering space with that of immortality. The words of Bradbury's poem are printed below.
If Only We Had Taller Been
The fence we walked between the years
Did bounce us serene.
It was a place half in the sky where
In the green of leaf and promising of peach
We'd reach our hands to touch and almost touch the sky,
If we could reach and touch, we said,
'Twould teach us, not to ,never to, be dead.
We ached and almost touched that stuff;
Our reach was never quite enough.
If only we had taller been,
And touched God's cuff, His hem,
We would not have to go with them
Who've gone before,
Who, short as us, stood tall as they could stand
And hoped by stretching, tall, that they might keep their land,
Their home, their hearth, their flesh and soul.
But they, like us, were standing in a hole.
O, Thomas, will a Race one day stand really tall
Across the Void, across the Universe and all?
And, measured out with rocket fire,
At last put Adam's finger forth
As on the Sistene Ceiling,
And God's hand come down the other way
To measure man and find him Good,
And Gift him with Forever's Day?
I work for that.
Short man, Large dream, I send my rockets forth
between my ears,
Hoping an inch of Good is worth a pound of years.
Aching to hear a voice cry back along the universal Mall:
We've reached Alpha Centauri!
We're tall, O God, we're tall!
Recently Brain Pickings posted a YouTube video of Bradbury reading the poem. Hearing it read by Bradbury is goosebump worthy.
Update
Last night I was listening to a podcast that was reviewing several papers and presentations from the 2015 IEEE conference on visualization, and one of the papers mentioned was related to examining the sonic topology of a poem. The authors have made their software, called Poemage, for this examination freely available. There is also a paper available here.
Anyhow, I decided to examine Bradbury's poem. Pretty pictures, although I don't know if I fully understand them. The colors have to do with the sounds, rhyming, etc. I may need to re-listen to see if the aural experience conforms to the model proposed below.
10.08.2015
NFL Trades
The old adage that teams should trade players to teams outside their division seems to be followed by NFL teams. The data used are the 275 traded NFL players from 2010–2015 (from http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/transactions).
Of the 275 traded players, only three were traded within the same division. Two of those players were traded from the San Francisco 49ers—Kentwan Balmer (to Seattle) and Isaac Bruce (to St. Louis). Donovan McNabb (from Philly to Washington) was the only other player traded to a team in the same division. Curiously, all three of these trades took place in 2010.
It doesn't look like particular divisions trade to any other particular division. The distribution of trades seems to be equally spread out to the other divisions. It also appears as though divisions are trading players away at about the same rate as they are acquiring players (rather than trading players for draft picks).
10.06.2015
Minnesota Football
Here is a plot of the winning percentage by year (since 1986) for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. The trend lines are the estimated polynomial (quadratic) best fit lines.
Tim Brester....yikes! Jerry Kill has definitely improved the team, but it is unclear whether the Gophers are better off now than when we were in the Mason era. We will see if Jerry's trend line continues to rise, or whether he is also on the decline.
8.30.2015
Books and Typography
I love reading the note that appears in some books about the font in which the book was typeset. I wish it gave more information; for example the font size and line spacing. I have a type ruler that measures in picas and points (in addition to inches and centimeters), so, over time, I might try to add some of my favorites here. Note: Here the line spacing refers to the distance between the baseline of a line of text and the ascender line of the subsequent line of text. Note 2: There may be some measurement error, especially in measuring the inner margin.
Title: The Children Act
Author: Ian McEwan
Publisher: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday
Font: Garamond 3 (based on adaptation by Morris Fuller Benton)
Size: 10pt.
Line spacing: 10pt.
Line width: 9.7 cm
Inner Margin: 1.5 cm
Outer Margin: 2.5 cm
Title: Bridge of Sighs
Author: Richard Russo
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Font: Janson
Size: 6pt.
Line spacing: 6pt.
Line width: 11.5 cm
Inner Margin: 2 cm
Outer Margin: 2.4 cm
I really liked the weight and feel of the font in The Summons. Unfortunately there was no information provided, so I used the WhatTheFont! app to try and identify it.
Title: The Summons
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Font: Garamond Premier Pro
Size: 6pt.
Line spacing: 12pt.
Line width: 11 cm
Inner Margin: 2 cm
Outer Margin: 2.4 cm
Title: The Children Act
Author: Ian McEwan
Publisher: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday
Font: Garamond 3 (based on adaptation by Morris Fuller Benton)
Size: 10pt.
Line spacing: 10pt.
Line width: 9.7 cm
Inner Margin: 1.5 cm
Outer Margin: 2.5 cm
Title: Bridge of Sighs
Author: Richard Russo
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Font: Janson
Size: 6pt.
Line spacing: 6pt.
Line width: 11.5 cm
Inner Margin: 2 cm
Outer Margin: 2.4 cm
I really liked the weight and feel of the font in The Summons. Unfortunately there was no information provided, so I used the WhatTheFont! app to try and identify it.
Title: The Summons
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Font: Garamond Premier Pro
Size: 6pt.
Line spacing: 12pt.
Line width: 11 cm
Inner Margin: 2 cm
Outer Margin: 2.4 cm
8.24.2015
Fall (sigh)
It's almost fall. For academics fall begins not with the autumnal equinox, but with the week of orientation meetings and welcome-back faculty meetings. For me that is next week, which means this is the last week of summer.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. This is in part because I don't feel particularly satisfied with this summer.
I "accomplished" a lot this summer: Rewrote the undergraduate curriculum that we teach; published two books—the book I was co-editing and the third edition of our undergraduate textbook; put on a workshop for high school teachers from 14 different schools who will be teaching our undergraduate course this academic year as part of the College in the Schools program; had two papers that were co-authored with students accepted for publication; gave a keynote address at a conference; taught an undergraduate course; and managed to read 18 books since the beginning of June. I also watched a good bit of TV, did some gardening, and took a few naps.
Yet, I do not feel particularly ready for fall. I usually look forward to the beginning of a new semester, especially fall semester. It always feels like a fresh start—a chance to change things up. This year doesn't quite feel that way (yet). Perhaps because in order to have a start, there has to be an end. The work from the spring semester never really felt like it ended, it just continued into the summer.
So, while I feel good about what I did accomplish this summer, I am not quite emotionally ready for the semester to begin. Fall. Sigh.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. This is in part because I don't feel particularly satisfied with this summer.
I "accomplished" a lot this summer: Rewrote the undergraduate curriculum that we teach; published two books—the book I was co-editing and the third edition of our undergraduate textbook; put on a workshop for high school teachers from 14 different schools who will be teaching our undergraduate course this academic year as part of the College in the Schools program; had two papers that were co-authored with students accepted for publication; gave a keynote address at a conference; taught an undergraduate course; and managed to read 18 books since the beginning of June. I also watched a good bit of TV, did some gardening, and took a few naps.
Yet, I do not feel particularly ready for fall. I usually look forward to the beginning of a new semester, especially fall semester. It always feels like a fresh start—a chance to change things up. This year doesn't quite feel that way (yet). Perhaps because in order to have a start, there has to be an end. The work from the spring semester never really felt like it ended, it just continued into the summer.
So, while I feel good about what I did accomplish this summer, I am not quite emotionally ready for the semester to begin. Fall. Sigh.
5.04.2015
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