The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Archives for December 2005

Music of The Evening

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For those who are wondering this is what I listened to this evening. Here is the list.

Fins Jimmy Buffett Songs You Know By Heart
Stuck in a Moment You can’t get out of U2 All that you can’t leave behind
Time Stand Still Rush Retrospective II (1981-1987)
Disarm Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream
Diamond Dogs David Bowie Changesbowie
Ruby Ray Charles Ray Charles Super Hits
Watching The World david broza David Broza
In God’s Country U2 Joshua Tree
Down On Me Big Brother And The Holding Company Sony Music 100 Years
Under The Sea Samuel E. Wright Classic Disney Vol. 1:
Pretty Thing Bo Diddley Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You Sting Ten Summoner’s Tales
Nice Work If You Can Get Billie Holiday Jazz Masters 12
Open Letter (To A Landlord) Living Colour Vivid
Mothers Talk Tears For Fears Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92)
Same Old Song And Dance Aerosmith Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
Kolhaoloam Moshe Skier Band Moshe Skier Band
That Smell Lynyrd Skynyrd Skynyrd’s Innyrds
Boom Boom John Lee Hooker Urban Blues (Bonus Tracks)
Behind Blue Eyes The Who Who’s Next
Who Said I Would Phil Collins No Jacket Required
Get Up (Sex Machine) James Brown 20 All Time Greatest Hits!
I Shot the Sheriff Eric Clapton The Best Of Rock ‘n Soul
Non Ti Scordar Di Me Luciano Pavarotti The Three Tenors In Concert 1994
Subdivisions Rush Retrospective II (1981-1987)
For Whom The Bells Tolls Metallica S&M (Disc 2)
Secret World Peter Gabriel Secret World Live
Ripple Grateful Dead American Beauty
Insanity Oingo Boingo Boingo
Crazy Train Ozzy Osbourne The Ozzman Cometh
W*O*L*D Harry Chapin The Gold Metal Collection
What’s The Matter Here? 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe
Double Trouble Lynyrd Skynyrd Skynyrd’s Innyrds
Isadora david broza David Broza
The Leave Taking Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers)
One Step Beyond… Madness Just Say Yesterday (Vol. VI Of Just Say Yes)
I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby Barry White
New York State Of Mind Billy Joel The Essential Billy Joel (Disc 1)
Take A Chance On Me ABBA Gold
Shooting Star Bad Company 10 From 6
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals The Best Of The Animals
The Painted Desert 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe
China Girl David Bowie Changesbowie
Anakin vs. Obi-Wan John Williams Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Piper’s Welcome Various Artists Celtic Bagpipes
Beds Are Burning Midnight Oil Rock: The Train Kept A Rollin’
Rebel Yell Billy Idol Greatest Hits
Always On My Mind Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson VH1 Storytellers:
Don’t Give Up Peter Gabriel So
Crystal Ship The Doors Best Of The Doors (Disc 1)
Those Were the Days The Three Tenors The Three Tenors In Concert 1994
Conviction Of The Heart Kenny Loggins Outside: From The Redwoods [Live]
Sweet Thing Van Morrison Best Of Van Morrison
Lean on Me Bill Withers Bill Withers: Super Hits
Tight Rope Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble Greatest Hits
Have I Told You Lately Van Morrison Best Of Van Morrison
Tomorrow People Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers Conscious Party
Yesterday The Beatles 1
Where The Streets Have No Name U2 Joshua Tree
Mexicali Blues Grateful Dead The Best Of Skeletons From The Closet
Synchronicity II The Police Synchronicity
Here Comes The Night Van Morrison Best Of Van Morrison
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window The Beatles Abbey Road
It Should Have Been Me Ray Charles The Birth Of Soul Vol. 1
Golden Slumbers The Beatles Abbey Road
King For A Day The Thompson Twins Greatest Mixes:
Roller Derby Queen Jim Croce Greatest Hits
Cry Faith Hill
San Jacinto Peter Gabriel Shaking the Tree
Angel Sarah McLachlan Surfacing
The Diva Megamix Bonus Track Pure Disco, Vol. 2
Sorrow The Lyndhurst Orchestra Gladiator Soundtrack
Givin The Dog A Bone AC/DC Back In Black
(You’re The) Devil In Disguise Elvis Presley Elv1s 30 #1 Hits
New Years Day U2 Under a Blood Red Sky/Live
Black Coffee In Bed Squeeze Singles 45’s And Under
Baby Please Don’t Go Van Morrison Best Of Van Morrison
Going Back to Cali LL Cool J iTunes Originals – LL Cool J
Peace Train Cat Stevens Greatest Hits
Sweet Home Alabama Lynyrd Skynyrd Goin’ South
O-o-h Child The Five Stairsteps The First Family of Soul
Walk Away Renee Left Banke 1966: The Beat Goes On
Delta Lady Joe Cocker Joe Cocker
Athair Ar Neamh Enya The Memory Of Trees
Wild Sex (In The Working Class) Oingo Boingo Best O’ Boingo
Everlasting Love Carl Carlton Pure Disco, Vol. 2
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin [Disc 2]
When We Dance Sting Fields Of Gold: The Best Of Sting 1984-1994
A Night In Tunisia Ella Fitzgerald Ken Burns Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald
Tom Sawyer Rush Retrospective II (1981-1987)
Unchain My Heart 1961 Ray Charles His Greatest Hits uh huh (Disc 1)
Theme From Mortal Kombat Utah Saints Mortal Kombat Soundtrack
Time Has Come Today Chambers Bros. Sony Music 100 Years –
All Of You Tony Bennett Unplugged
Jumpin’ In The Morning Ray Charles The Birth Of Soul Vol. 1
Please Don’t Go K.C. & The Sunshine Band The Best Of KC And Sunshine Band
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill The Beatles
Come Together The Beatles Abbey Road
Battle Of The Heroes John Williams Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
I Don’t Wanna Talk about it Indigo Girls Philadelphia Soundtrack
Californication Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication
All I Ask of You The Three Tenors The Three Tenors In Concert 1994
My Way Frank Sinatra The Very Best Of Frank Sinatra (Disc 2)
Ain’t That a Kick in the Head Dean Martin Swingin’ With Dino

Math- What Is It Good For

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Math- What Is It Good For. It reminds me of Edwin Starr singing War. I suppose that I could write a good parody of this using math as the topic but I am not that motivated.

In school I found math to be less than interesting. It could be because I reached a point at which it became relatively hard and the struggle to keep up impacted my desire to learn or it could be because some of my math teachers were less than stellar.

I suspect that it was a combination of the two. I wasn’t the best student but I wasn’t horrible either. Early on I figured out how to job the session or in plain English I was smart enough to be able get by with relatively little studying. Most the courses were easy and unless I was really challenged I coasted.

It was a mistake but that is part of growing up, learning from your mistakes that is. The ease with which most of my courses came to me was not useful for math because I found that I couldn’t coast and it irked me. My fragile male ego was bruised by this and in conjunction with some instructors who were less than dynamic I found those classes to be difficult.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It is easy to look back at our mistakes and say that given the same scenario we would have handled things differently but I am honest enough to say that if I had to do it all over again I would still struggle. But I can also say that my struggles would be different.

One of the things that is very important to me is that my children not struggle in the same way. I can’t say what kind of math ability they will receive. I got an ‘A’ in Algebra and muddled my way through Geometry and Algebra II receiving a ‘C’ in those courses. Had I had more motivation I could have done better, but I didn’t and here I sit now.

My children have two uncles who can provide solid examples of what math can do for you. One is an astrophysicist and the other and MD. They both love math and find it very simple to provide real world examples of the benefits of math and that is a key area.

Had someone really spoken to me about the ways in which math could make life easier I would have most likely paid closer attention, or maybe not. What I know now is that I can get by the rough spots and to do fairly well with everything else

I Must Not Be Symmetrical

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Live Science has an interesting article about dancing.

“Many people are attracted to hot dancers, and a new study suggests part of the reason is because their bodies are more symmetrical than those of the less coordinated.

The researchers found that men judged to be better dancers tended to have a higher degree of body symmetry, a factor that has been linked to overall attractiveness and health in other research .

The new study involved 183 Jamaican teenagers, ranging between 14-19 years old, who danced while their movements were captured using motion-capture cameras similar to those used in video games and movies to give computer-generated characters fluid movements.

Women watching the recordings preferred the dances of men who were more symmetrical, while men were more impressed by the dances of more symmetric females.

Women are pickier

Interestingly, the male preference for symmetric females was not as strong as that of the female preference for symmetric males. This seems to confirm the theory that women are pickier when selecting a mate, since they bear most of the burden of raising a child, the researchers say.

According to the researchers, their study is the first of its type.

Regular videotape or film can’t separate the dance from what the people look like, said study member Lee Cronk, an anthropologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “With motion capture, we can do that and get just pure dance movements.”

All of us have asymmetries in our bodies. The index finger on one hand might be longer than the other, for example, or the left foot may be slightly larger than the right. Researchers call these fluctuating asymmetries, or FA.

According to one hypothesis, FA is an indicator of an individual’s ability to cope with the stresses and pressures associated with body development.

“As you’re developing, all sorts of things come at you, like diseases and injury,” Cronk told LiveScience. “If you’re able to develop symmetry despite all of that, then that would indicate to others that you have what it takes to make a go of it in that environment.”


Blogging With Reckless Abandon

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That is me. I blog with reckless abandon. I wade out into the surf and brave the swells. Out in the mighty blogosphere I float weightlessly, stare at the sky and let the current take me where it may.

Sometimes the posts are political and some are personal. Some are funny and some are sad and the worst part is that sometimes the posts are these things but the intent is otherwise.

My father used to be a fan of photography. In truth I suppose that he is still is but I don’t see him engaging in it as much as he used to. Not that it matters. The point of mentioning this is that I remember being about ten and listening to him advise me on how to take pictures.

Among the many things that he taught me was to remove the bad pictures from the album as it was a way to help maintain me appear to be a better photographer. Of course at that time he was kind enough not to point out that a large number of my photos had fingerprints, or should I say my fingers in them even when they were not part of the shot.

I could apply the same concept here. I could remove posts that don’t maintain a certain level of quality but that doesn’t feel right to me, there is something that rubs me the wrong way. It is probably because this is my virtual fortress of solitude and I come here to be honest. I share my real feelings about everything.

From that perspective I should add that I am finding my end of the year recap to be tough. I am having trouble narrowing down the posts that will be included and even then I am finding that I don’t like a lot of what I am reading.

Earlier this evening my son decided that he wanted to blog. He sat down in my seat and pretended to type. It is my understanding that he and I went on a number of adventures together. We helped Shaggy, Scooby and Don Knotts solve a few mysteries.

I helped Spiderman capture bad guys. It seems that Spiderman was really tired so he asked me to fill in. One bad guy was brought to justice because I punched him in the nose and made him cry. Another got a potch and a swift kick in the pants. I would have gotten the other guy but according to the little boss the bad guy is friends with Wally Gator so he is actually a good guy.

Thanks to the wonders of Boomerang my son is indeed familiar with a few older cartoon characters such as the aforementioned Gator, Wonderbug, Johnny Quest, Magilla Gorilla and Scooby Doo. And thanks to Scooby Doo he is familiar with Big Mama Cass, Don Knotts, Jerry Reed and a host of other celebrities last seen finishing their careers on The Love Boat.

A few more random notes.

The Shmata Queen has some fun stuff you can find linked on my blog but more importantly the woman is desperately searching for a new camera. I’ll be taking a short vacation soon. I am not sure yet whether I will be blogging my way through it or if I’ll be taking a short break.

I’ll keep you posted as to what happens.