What’s with the ‘e’ hatin’?

Tumblr is like the good old days of blogs: designed to be short, simple and to the point. And yes, I have one (it’s a cut above twitter or whatever, dammit)

It’s funny, in Internet 1.0, there was ‘e’ everywhere, usually before any applicable noun. Web 2.0 is adjectives (or verb-ish nouns?) without ‘e’s…. =)

New Feautre: Comment editing

I’ve just put in a plugin which should allow you guys to edit your comment, for at least 10 minutes after putting your comment in. You shouldn’t have to be registered or anything! Have a play and report any issues =)

Removed; was causing some oddness on mine, and kirsty mentioned it screwed her system so i’m guessing it’s indicative of bigger problems in the plugin.

Pearls after breakfast

Pearls before Breakfast, the article I was talking about yesterday, got me thinking about the why and how. I’m convinced it’s bad experimental design (let alone any considerations about the playing style), and to have taken the single instance (a.k.a. “stunt”) as the representative result is a clear example of confirmation bias: they went in with a hypothesis, and in single stroke of brilliance, proved it! (asking the symphony orchestra director was merely a play to setting up the fall, I say – the article starts cynical and stays that way).

There’s two main flaws:

  • He’s standing outside the station exit and inside the doors; it’s a commute area, not one which a group can easily gather
  • It’s morning and turning up late at work is rarely an option

A more representative experiment would have included:

  • Playing in the evening rush home (less time pressure)
  • Playing at lunchtime (open wallets)
  • Playing somewhere other than at the station (location influence neutered)
  • Playing at a different station (comparative sample)
  • Playing on the platform (captive audience of those waiting)
  • A female expert playing (different to “standard” by visual)

There’s a hundred other variables to the experiment, naturally, but these are some obvious ones that wouldn’t be difficult or time consuming to test; they’re things which any ordinary busker would also need to take into account. Finally, the comparison needs to be done: if an “ordinary” violin player had been at the same spot at the same time of day, would the result have been the same, or less? or even more, as people appreciated the attempt? One factor to consider is that if the performance is exceptional, it may blend, in a curious way, with something the people have already heard before.

If you’ll indulge, what if the skill meant that people filed it away, unconsciously identifying it as pre-recorded and ignoring it much as they would a stereo system? :)

Movie Reviews

Deja vu: Good police-case movie with a sci fi twist that is totally unbelievable if you actually care to think. Still, the tension is good. ★★★

Blood Diamond: Brilliant and visceral movie with some great acting and engrossing albeit predictable plot. Leo goes from strength to strength and Jennifer Connolly just looks good :) Djimon Honsou really needs to find different roles though… ★★★★

Smokin’ Aces: Gun action turned up to 11. Mostly a by-the-numbers Mafia movie, but does have its moments. Alicia Keys does surprisingly well, and Ryan Reynolds shows he can act serious convincingly. Still, let down by some needless violence and bland predictable characterisation. ★★☆

TMNT: Oh why-oh-why couldn’t they just call it Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? To sound like they are part of the SMS generation? Half the people in the audience were late teens to mid twenties – they don’t buy the pretentious crap. The movie though? Kicks ass! Serious ass! (Don’t get bogged down in details, dude) Good laughs and decent animation, only slightly let down by blatant foreshadowing of “TMNT 2” (please don’t!). One for the fans. ★★★★

Dilemma

You’ve sent a birthday wish to someone via SMS. But since it’s been a while since you last called, you have a little doubt that they may not have got it.

They haven’t responded.

Do you try to contact them some other way? Especially as the birthday is now slipping further into the past? Do you take it as a subtle hint that they don’t wish to talk? Tell me what I should think, dear internet!

If you’d care to look closer, you may notice the angels dancing the Waltz

What is happening? Stuffs. (I.e. not much to report)

A couple of stories on the boil. I have no idea how to bring them to any semblence of conclusion, but the core of the ideas are there. If anyone would care to suggest a theme to write on, some distracted rambling would perhaps spark some creativity.

Um.

Man, I wish I’d taken time off after the Singapore trip and travelled.

Addicted in a sense to Facebook now – check it daily.

How dull is politics these days? Wow, so bored with that too.

Youtubin’: Pretty Intense Japanese Lesson has got me hankering for some Japanese conversation/lessons… I miss uni, sometimes. Not the lack of money though :)

How are you though? I don’t hear from you much these days. Maybe I just need to post some more random stuff.

Woo 4 day weekend! =)