aaaaaa

when i was searching for ‘aaa-‘ words, i ‘stumbled’ upon a ‘funny and self-contradictory’ initialism: “AAAAAA” it stands for Association for the Abolition of Abused Abbreviations and Asinine Acronyms.

w-ord of the rings

listened recently to the fantasy trilogy. tried several times to read this but was unsuccessful. my ‘excuses’ varied from being in high school to John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a Professor of English Literature at Oxford.

the movies were ‘essentially faithful’ to the first two books: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. for ‘practical’ reasons, i was ‘surprised’ that the film adaption of The Return of the King only covered a ‘small part’ of the namesake title.

it was a ‘nice touch’ that the updated version was voiced ‘deftly’ by Andy Serkis…

Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!

have listened to the audiobook version of this and more than the previous popular culture and philosophy books in the series i’ve encountered before, this requires ‘more concentration’ on my part (is it obvious i’m not a ‘professional’ philosopher?). time permitting, might need to listen to this again to ‘improve my takeaways’,,,

luck of the draw

i’ve heard of a ‘gratitude practice numerous times before, but for the most part have a ‘knowing-doing gap. Angela and Mike discuss in this podcast a ‘luck audit’ (a ‘corollary’ of this for all intents and purposes) that IMHO seems ‘more doable:

What’s So Great About Meritocracy?

will the real Adam Smith please stand up

i’m listening to The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith in its entirety. my interest was piqued after hearing a three-part series of podcasts (see below). i never really knew he was a moral philosopher (and not what we consider in ‘modern terms’ as an economist) despite his first book; The Theory of Moral Sentiments was the one that made him initially ‘famous’, but most of us only associate him with his second work.

it’s curious to me why a Scottish philosopher who lived ‘a while back’ remains ‘popular’ in America. Strangely, both sides of the political aisle quote his book to make a point – this fact intrigued me even more.

As an aside, the book mentions the ‘the butcher, the baker, and the brewer’ – is this the ‘modern expression of the butcher, the baker, and the CANDLESTICK Maker’: if so WHEN and WHY did this change?

—

In Search of the Real Adam Smith

Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger?

Can Adam Smith Fix Our Economy?

coffee: on the ‘power’ of being able to do small things

at first i thought it was just about the coffee seeing as i enjoy the stuff. so what’s different?

my neurophysio had suggested a keep-cup several months ago since i couldn’t handle ‘traditional’ drinking vessels (straws are great for ‘cooler’ liquids but not so much for ‘hot’ beverages). i was thrilled since it had been over a decade i could partake this concoction on my own without my wife’s assistance. trouble was, although we had a coffee machine (French Presses – i had several throughout the years -work well but i can no longer safely use one) that needed pods. sometime i got in one go as you had to drop the pod manually but at times it took me several attempts (or failure to operate it all) since it required a certain ‘dexterity’ for it to function properly. looking back at it now – it might be silly – but i quit using it probably because of frustration.

my wife bought a new one for me for Christmas. i’m still getting the hang of it but it seems ‘better’ than the previous one – it must be good as it was highly recommended by her niece and the price hasn’t dropped for about two years since it was released (despite launching a more recent model).

sure, i appreciate a good cup but as i reflect on it that probably isn’t the primary reason why: it’s the ability to have one when i feel like it and not be beholden to anybody’s timetable. i only realised now it was a ‘coping mechanism’ – a way to keep my mental health (i’m probably attributing more to it but i don’t have a lot of vices). it isn’t a ‘life hack’ but impactful to me. i suspect it’s not really that others don’t share these ‘tips’ but how can you find what you need (or want) given the ‘sea of information’ available? it shouldn’t take years…

in your NDIS plan there are goals but to someone that developed ‘low expectations’ over the years, this might seem ‘big and ‘overwhelming”. aside from never being asked before, these might be difficult to achieve. i think we need help to break this down into subgoals – then those further into ‘achievable’ steps. IMHO, this doesn’t only lay the ‘groundwork’ as it builds capability but, importantly, also the confidence to try to challenge yourself. i’m sure much smarter and wiser people have come up with this idea before – the question then becomes: why don’t we know about it?

“transmogrification”: on (data) type conversion and Python

transmogrify is my favourite word i learned from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes. i like it because there are sometimes muliple “layers”.

Python has some built-in functions to do some “basic” type conversion. however, i’ve learned “recently” that sometimes additional conversion is required to “prove mastery” (aside from logic) so my next discussions should involve these to be more pragmatic.

stop, look, and listen: on the effect of temporarily stopping my daily exercise program and some “interesting: ecounters with taxi drivers

CAVEAT:  you might have noticed that my title format has slightly changed.  i’m still starting it off with what ever comes to mind and after the colon i’ve appended what i think the post is about (you might interpret it differently or have an alternative understanding when you “read between the lines”).  it has been brought to my attention that some readers may not want to go through the entire thing for the title to make any sense.  this is not an egregious attempt to increase ‘likes’  or to act as ‘click-bait’ but shouldn’t it be part of ‘sharing’ to make stuff ‘more digest-able’ – looks like i still have a ways to go.

i underwent a medical procedure recently – recovery time is typically from one to two days –  because of my age it took me three days. so i temporarily stopped my daily exercise program for about two weeks – this affected me but i didn’t notice right away.  it became first obvious to me at a speech pathology session.  i used to get through them just fine even if they were during the afternoons – i didn’t feel winded afterwords but my sound production performance faltered occasionally.  Moreover when i went to my regular neurophysio appointment, she could physically feel the difference – i found out that apparently pain can also cause your muscles to “relax”.  At first i had done this to reduce my anxiety levels (but perhaps because i now take a natural supplement for it it’s less pronounced) but, also very importantly, getting my core strength up not only helps me avoid falls (and minimises potential injury) but also helps my speech.  Suffice it to say i’ve started up again and hoping to get back to the level i once was.

these aren’t directly related but are also from recent “trips” outside my house so…

i want to whinge about the three (let me be clear: not all or even a majority of them) taxi drivers driving skills were really bad:  the sudden stops-and- starts, not slowing down enough to take a round about, or abrupt jerking of the steering wheel.  These gave me a headache despite sitting in front and having the road visible – imagine how much worse i would have felt if i sat in the back.  i was going to complain about another thing but in hindsight one of my drivers was “self-obsessed’ that he would have acted that way to an “able-bodied” passenger.

Despite using my “letter board”, some drivers (not only taxi drivers but one support worker), still misunderstood me.  i suspect it’s either because they’re not patient enough to listen or having a preconceived notion of what i’m going to say (Ding!  Ding!  Ding!:  it’s usually wrong).  i understand that my speech can be hard to understand especially since this is probably the first time we’ve talked (on a few occasions i get the same drivers) but mistakes ca be avoided:  like going the wrong direction, it’s on the other side, that’s the wrong address, accidentally running me over,  etc.

we just want to feel listened to.  here’s a video by Purple Orange (it kind of reminds me of the You Can’t Ask That format on the ABC) about diverse communication shared on Darryl Selwood(Ph.D.)’s blog:  http://darrylsellwood.com/?p=998.  While i don’t  relate to everything said, i agree with the central premise of respect and the underlying theme of “not judging a book by its cover”.

it is very easy for me to accuse the drivers of not thinking: parking too close to the incline, the ramp, or curb so it’s “tricky” for me to get into or out of the car;  dropping me off by an entrance with only stairs ; driving “far” the door so need to cross the street, walk “some” distance, or negotiate a challenging surface (like inclines, uneven surfaces, pebbles, etc.); ask me directions or instruct them where to pass or stop; or turn the meter on while i’m still trying to get in the car (i believe the law states it should be only activated when i’m seated).  sometimes they can’t be bothered or are in a rush but sometimes i think it’s because they haven’t been exposed to or educated about disability – these are tasks they take for granted so there’s a need for more “training”.

FINAL WORD (let me know if these prompt helps with readability or i should go for more “traditional” headings – i know a poll is a more suitable for this but i probably won’t get enough respondents for a truly statistically valid result and, frankly, confronting my readership numbers scares me).  There’s a tension between keeping the post short-and-sweet and making it comprehensive enough to be informative – after all like they say, perfect is the enemy of good. Moreover timing is an issue, some thoughts have an ‘expiry date’ while others not so much.  While Twitter isn’t for me (trolls aside), it take me some time to type – this has the added bonus of letting me reflect and not simply reacting, All-in-all, i’m still struggling with the balance.  Furthermore, i feel the pressure to post frequently – as evidenced by the number of “self-corrections” right after i publish – when i should learn to recheck my drafts first.

 

system of a down

they showed The Godfather series on free-to-air TV (i rewatched the first two instalments but not the third which i don’t really like.  IMHO, the second film is one of those rare gems when the sequel is as good or better than the original).  I felt bad for the character Michael.  Like Abigail in the film The Favourite (side note: the Academy recognised the Aussie screenwriter), (in my experience) it usually doesn’t really matter if you start out as well-meaning but being part of a “corrupt” system changes you accordingly.

As Trevor Noah talks about apartheid, Hannah Gadsby about marginalisation, and Dave Chappelle about #MeToo, they all point out that these issues are systemic and deeply-ingrained.  Good individuals acting independently are insufficient to effect cultural change – it takes targeted actions (sometimes done in concert) for meaningful results.

i know New Amsterdam is just a tv show (mostly involving trite Hollywood pablum) but occasionally Dr. Goodwin showcases important lessons for us all: he may be over-idealistic at times but, essentially, the key is to understand the underlying structure that causes systemic issues.  It is difficult to improve systems but a good understanding is a vital start.

 

stranger in a strangeland (2)

i’m a sucker for good food.

and most of what I ate was tasty.  It reminds me of Melbourne (where I studied for a year) in that on almost all street corners you could get a decent cup of coffee (kudos to the Italians!), it was like that with food.  Not that the food wasn’t good in Melbourne (like New York, it clearly was influenced by the plethora of immigrants) but the food in Tokyo was something else (they have the most Michelin restaurants in a city in the entire planet after all).  If possible i prefer “cheap” grub (but like my sister says:  “Nothing is cheap in Japan) but i’m known for saving so i can spend for an “expensive” meal – i just value experiences over things.  To paraphrase Antony Bourdain:  good food is often simple food.

over there they seem to like their KitKat ™ (apparently this translates to the Japanese kitto katsu, meaning good luck or surely win   which explain its popularity) .  They’ve got the most assortment of favours i’ve ever seen:  strawberry, apple, Tokyo banana (a lot of their snacks have a combination of this fruit with chocolate), ube (purple yam quite popular in the Philippines) , wasabi (a type of Japanese horseradish), maccha (two variants of green tea – a “sweeter” one for the kiddies and a more intense one for adults),  miso (fermented soybean), sake(there were two variants of the rice wine alcohol:  Masuizumi or plum), and soy sauce.   Those were the ones we saw.  Apparently, there are also cherry; lemon; kiwi; mango; pineapple; maple; cappuccino; blueberry cheesecake; cookies plus; apple vinegar; azuki bean (more commonly known as the adzuki bean); apricot seed; baked potato; chocolate and  grilled potato; white peach; white and yellow peach; chocobanana; banana minis; bitter chocolate; i-stick (frozen dark chocolate);  pumpkin; baby pumpkin; sports drink; strawberry fromage (French for cheese); blueberry fromage, strawberry milk, French Bretagne milk; French salt; salt watermelon; fruit parfait; college tater (which i assume is a form of potato); double berry (a combination of blueberries and strawberries);  anko (red ben paste) and maccha; red bean paste; sweet bean paste; Yubari melon (a type of Japanese cantaloupe); Nasu Kogen (geographic highlands in Japan) milk; soybean powder; strong soybean flour; Houji tea (Houjicha is a roasted, Japanese green tea); jasmine tea; maccha milk; Muscat of Alexandria (a white wine grape variety); and brandy & orange variants. I’m guessing not all were ‘successful’ or that some flavours were only available for a limited time.  My philosophy has always been to try food – if you don’t like something then fair enough, at least you tried it (that’s why it took me awhile to taste rabbit because growing up I had them as pets – forget that they’re technically rodents).  I found the Tokyo banana and “dark” maccha okay but found the ube, wasabi, and “light” maccha too sweet (i suspect they were blended with white chocolate).  i missed out on trying the soy sauce and sake variants because of “quantity” issues.

we tried McDonald’s there:  not because we craved the familiar but because they are prone to localisation.  In the Philippines, they’ve got Fried Chicken (with rice if you want) and Spaghetti prompted (i guess) by the local competitor Jollibee (and as far as i know, the only place in the world where they are ranked second as far as hamburger chains go).  My wife & i had the Ebi (Japanese for shrimp) Fillet and my son had the Chicken Teriyaki burger. For dessert, we tried the Choco Pie (not the “white” one, the other one tasted like the hazelnut spread) and the Cinnamon Melts(it was good and “deconstructed” but i’m a sucker for a decent Cinnamon Roll)).

we ate at two places that our niece recommended: a sushi and a ramen place.  Both were “cramped” and my wife had to feed me (as I needed both hands to hold onto the tables there).  The sushi restaurant was like a sushi train in that there were no servers.  Instead, you ordered your item from a touch screen and it was delivered on one of three “tracks” (i think they must have corresponded to the price).  It was “good” and my son had seven plates.  i had more but “stopped” myself as i’m trained to eat a lot.  It was a “cheap” meal and you could tell as the rice easily separated from the fish (but i prefer sashimi from sushi anyway, although the hallmark of great sushi is supposedly the quality of the rice and not the seafood).  On the other hand. you had to pre-order your food from the ramen place using a vending machine.  you could even order the house ramen to take away – we didn’t as we didn’t want the hassle of dealing with fairly strict Australian Customs.  Both were off the beaten path and hidden away,  prospective patrons were unlikely to just wander off the streets of Shinjuku and the restaurants probably relied on word-of-mouth for custom.

i first had my taste of Uni (Japanese for sea urchin) at the “cheap”sushi place.  i also tried it at an “expensive” place.  Frankly, i’m obsessed with the uni  they serve in Japan.  It tastes different and MUCH better than the ones in the US, OZ or the Philippines (regardless of the price-point).  My working theory is:  since a lot more people order it in Japan so any stock doesn’t have to be stored for a long time so it is much fresher and, therefore, tastier.

i gained some weight because as my wife puts it:  what i had in a day, i’d usually consumed in a week.  She noticed more as she had to push me around.  It was not until i got back to OZ that the difference was obvious to me:  i became heavier there but at least the kilos seemed “distributed”, here i get a “ponch” on my tummy first.

aside from seeing the sights, we try to “eat like locals” when we can – i think it opens your mind further.  As Andrew Zimmern puts it:  “Food is a passport to adventure”.  And to paraphrase the late, great Anthony Bourdain: Travel changes you.

TBC