Phear My Pumpkin!
Posted on 2006-10-31 at 07:21
Placed for maximum evilness...
...And carved for raw scarytude...
Your fear is natural. Embrace it. My 'leet pumpkin carving skillz are beastly and awesome.
A Halloween Followup
Posted on 2006-10-28 at 22:06
As you may know, I get the occasional comment about my blog from the provided "Make a Comment" links. The door is always open should someone really want their comment made public. This is the case today with Shep. He's requested that I include his addendum to my Origin of Halloween post. So, without editing or censoring, I present tonight's guest blog entry from Shep:
My favorite part of Holloween is when teenage kids unsuspectinly bite into an apple with razor blades stuck in it. Then they turn to you with eyes wide and a razor blade stuck between their two front teeth, like some kind of demonic dental floss. They mumble something like "Help me!" but you can't understand them because it comes out like, "Helphmpfp Muuhhh" Hahahaha! Good times.
So, now you know. If you reply to an entry of mine and want your comment known (as long as it's not just "Tom is the g@y sux0r!" or something like that) just make it known in your reply that you want it posted. As you can see, I'll post just about anything.
So Shep, now that you're famous, you'll be beating the womenfolk off with a stick! Look forward to your riches and glory.
Another story in seven words
Posted on 2006-10-28 at 14:39
If he hadn't smiled, she'd have known.
Brevity
Posted on 2006-10-28 at 14:38
I'm practicing.
A story in seven words
Posted on 2006-10-27 at 08:24
Except for those eyes, he looked alive.
Too much gray
Posted on 2006-10-19 at 07:25
Starting with a quote from John Stuart Mill's On Liberty:
"The principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That is the only purpose for which power can be rightfully excersized over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil, in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him must be calculated to produce evil to some one else. The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign."
So with that context in mind, a few questions:
- How direct must the threat be? Am I a threat when my intent is to do harm but my ability prevents action? Am I a threat when I refuse to feed a starving neighbor? Am I a threat when I refuse to share a vaccine that will save lives?
- If one person is a threat to many, is it acceptable to curtail the rights of the many as needed to prevent the one from his intent? Can we rightly have our freedoms inhibited en masse that our safegaurders might more effectively protect us from harm?
- Is it enough to say that we are all threatened by terrorism and must give up certain rights? When does the general threat become immediate enough to warrant interfering in the flow of liberty for all?
- Do you even agree with John Stuart Mill above when he says that "[t]hat is the only purpose for which power can be ... excersized over any member of a ... community ... is to prevent harm to others"? Dos that fit within your current ethic? Are there examples you can think of that would justify, to you, the exercise of control over a person when he is not a threat to another person?
I don't have answers, just questions. The world is a complex mess and it's not getting any easier.
The Origins of Halloween
Posted on 2006-10-14 at 12:31
There has been a great deal of misunderstanding about the Halloween holiday and in some cases, outright lies designed to eliminate its practice. Here is the actual history of the holiday. If you read this and still decide not to celebrate the holiday, well, then at least you've done so knowledgably. Personally, I like th eholiday. As secular holidays go, it's one of the funnest, not to mention it heralds my favorite time of year---from Halloween to the end of the New Year's celebration.
Halloween began 2000 years ago with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts of the British Isles began their year on November 1st. This was for agricultural reasons. The growing season was ended and the winter came, with it a new year dawned. As you might expect for an ancient civilization tied to agriculture for its sustenance, with winter came death. It was on the day before this "season of death" that the Celts believed the veil between this this world and the next was at its most thin. The ritual of Samhain helped the Celts ward off the evil spirits (that might otherwise cause all manner of deadly mischief) and to allow the Druids to soothsee the next year's future---thus allowing them to plan for the foreseen problems and events. They would offer burnt sacrifices to the the Celtic deities and engage is various nature rituals to appease the Gods, warn the spirits, and scry for impending dooms. Of course, they would dress as animals, which may be the origin of our costumed tradition.
Much later, during the Roman occupation, a couple fo Roman festivals began to merge slowly into the Celtic festival of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a Roman day of the dead, and the second was a holiday devoted to Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruits and trees. Though her symbol was the apple, there exists no direct proof that this might be the origin of our modern apple bobbing tradition.
...continued after picture...
As the middle ages bore close and Christianity's influence began being felt in all things across Europe, Pope Boniface IV designated the 1st of November as All Saints' Day to honor the Catholic saints and martyrs who've passed. There is some evidence that he coincided his new holiday with that of Samhain as a way to take some of the focus off the older pagan festival. The Catholic celebration was also called All-hallows and the day before, which was the day of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve or Halloween. Later, the church added All Souls' Day to it's roster of holidays on November 2nd. With a celebration quite similar to the older Samhain, the three holidays became lumped together in the minds of the people celebrating and were referred to collectively as Hallowmas.
Much later, as European immigrants began their migration to America, they brought with them the traditions they'd grown to practice---among them, Halloween. Of course, due to Puritan interests in the New World, celebration of Halloween was limited and rare, but it did not die out, particualrly in southern America, where Puritanism had no substantial foothold.
As the traditions of the colonists and the American Indians began to mix, a distinctive American holiday took shape. They would hold public parties to celebrate the harvest---remember that for early colonists, the harvest held almost the same public importance and worry that it held for the early Celts. At these "play parties", the celebrants would whisper ghost stories and soothsay, and generally revel into the late evening. All-around mischief-making became part-and-parcel with the ghost stories. Though all this was done to celebrate the harvest, and it borrowed memes from the earlier Hallowmas festivals, t was not actually a celebration of Halloween itself---not directly, at least.
By the 1850s, America was awash in immigrants, many of whom brought with them a fresh practice of the Hallowmas. Takng a cue from the English and Irish immigrants, the colonists began to dress in costume and go house to house asking for food or money. As the popularity of the Hallowmas grew, so too grew a movement to shape this "new" holiday into something more modern and less superstitious. By the end of the 1800s, the holiday had begun making its transformation into a festival that, while having the trappings of a pagan celebration, had more to do with community and fun than ghouls and goblins.
...continued after picture...
Around 1900, parents were encouraged to remove the superstition from the nightly celebrations. References to ghosts and witches were replaces with princesses and animals. By 1920, the holiday had become wholly secular in practice in the Unites States. By 1950, the practice of begging for food and money had been reborn as the more modern "trick-or-treat".
Commercially-speaking, Halloween is the second largest holiday practiced in the Unites States, with Americans spending an estimated $6.9 billion annually.
While I've left some details out (like the Soul Cakes and bowls of food and drink left out for the spirits) you should now have the gist of the history of Halloween.
Print your own graph paper
Posted on 2006-10-13 at 20:58
Ever find yourself saying, "Dude, I SO need some graph paper to work with right now!" but don't have any? Problem solved. Print your own graph paper of whatever sort you need. Now I can just print and go for my ad hoc D&D sessions. Coolness.
My Halloween Costume
Posted on 2006-10-12 at 19:55
Eat it, Bitches! I'm going as Easy Reader from The Electric Company!
Hells yeah! I'll be pimplicious, sporting my Kangol hat and plastic Morgan Freeman face. What?!?!? You don't remember Easy Reader? Or The Electric Company? Let me help:
Avoid cliches like the plague...
Posted on 2006-10-07 at 13:48
...they're a dime a dozen.
They've begun pouring in...
Posted on 2006-10-06 at 20:58
Did you hear about the congressman who lost his bookmark? He bent a page over.
What's the difference between the Library of Congress and Congress? The Library doesn't let you lick the pages.
Sure I'm going to hell for posting these jokes, but you're right behind me for laughing. Don't judge me! :-)
The Virginia Aquarium
Posted on 2006-10-06 at 09:52
Cadence and I are going to the Virginia Aquarium today. She loves the aquarium. Apparently, she is good friends with the fish, the turtles, and the seals (at least that's how she tells it). Life is good. Here's a picture I took earlier this year from the aquarium:
Notes about being a Programmer-Consultant
Posted on 2006-10-05 at 13:54
The hairiest bugbear of an independant consultancy has always been finding the next gig. I've not had any serious problems in that regard. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'm good. I don't know why I keep busy, but I do. Still, I often find myself without work for a week or two on occassion. I'm in that situation now. It's no big deal, really. I plan well. The money comes in erratic waves, but it comes in.
Even accepting that I have taken around 10 weeks off this year, my income is still on par with or better than my peers in the area. About 10 minutes ago, I found out that my next gig might not start until the 16th---meaning two weeks off without pay. Sure, I'd rather have the pay, but 2 weeks off is nice, and I'll enjoy that too.
There's no secret trick to being an independant consultant. If you want to stay employed you must do two things: do a good job and partner with others.
I have a couple of companies that I partner with. They farm me work when they have it. I make them look good by doing a good job. Between all the partnerships I foster, I keep busy. In fact, I find lately that I never look for work on my own. I no longer cold call or drill contacts for work. I just make sure that my partners know when I'm free for work. They find the work. They get the contracts. They handle the billing. I do the programming. It's a good life. It's not for everyone, but it suits me quite well. Now, I have some free time and I'm gonna go enjoy it.
Public Service Announcement
Posted on 2006-10-04 at 20:12
For those who weren't already aware, the deadline for registering to vote is fast coming (this Sunday in most states).
"But Tom," you say, "I've already registered to vote."
Yeah, but...umm...that doesn't matter. Thousands of people are mistakenly (I hope) removed from the rolls each year. Just make sure. There's an easy way to register. Takes like 5 minutes. Just go here and do it.
That's not Good
Posted on 2006-10-02 at 21:21
"It has emerged that some of Mr Foley's behaviour was known about by senior Republican colleagues - including the party's leader in the House - for a number of months."
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Posted on 2006-10-02 at 09:32
For those reading this blog by way of the feed, you will have not noticed that the site is now a (not so) pretty pink color. This entry (which will show up on the feed) is for you.
This is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know some of you will point out that there exists no National Prostate Cancer Awareness month, but you should be thankful. I mean, what color would my site be then? Either way, whether it's the breast cancer research, prostate cancer research, or the research of your choice, you should consider giving a small donation. It's tax deductable and you can give as little as $20.00. For the price of a dinner out with the spouse (or a lunch out by yourself if Work Brian is picking the location!) you can make a difference. The National Cancer Society takes donations for many types of cancer research (and you can specify which type you want to support). Seriously. Do it. It'll take a couple of minutes. Cancer is not a nice end to a full life. It's a messy and often abrupt end to a life that wasn't done. This is something we, as a species, need to eradicate. Let's give it a shot. In a decade when the cure rolls out, you can say you helped.
The shameless guilting is complete. We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog. Other than the pink motif and the top blurb, I don't intend to mention this again.