Weird and Quirky Habits

Because I am slightly bored, and because I like embarrassing myself in public, I thought to list some really weird habits/hobbies that I have. You might know some of these already, either from previous blog posts, or if you know me personally. Some of these habits are really old, and some are relatively new, but all of them are rather odd.

Do you have any weird/wonderful habits like these? Let me know in the comments below :)

Reading the dictionary/thesaurus

Writing this makes me feel like such a bastard. But as a young kid I didn't really have that much entertainment at home. It was either go play outside in the park (which was awesome, and I did that most of the time) or stay at home with nothing much to do. We just had a television and that did not even have many channels.

I know I sound like I was born in the 50s ("where's the fucking PlayStation, you bitch!", I hear you yelling), but my family never really integrates new things into the house. It's just something that never happens. Plus all those electronic gadgets were just random luxuries which we couldn't be bothered to afford.

So there was nothing much to do in the house except play by myself. So I found this old Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus in the drawers and just started looking up random words and greedily reading their meaning. I loved the thesaurus too, because I could see how all the words are related.

But let it be said that my vocabulary did not improve a great deal (as demonstrated by my copious use of the word "bastard" on this blog). I usually just read most of the words and forgot about them.

It sounds so odd, but I still find it entertaining to this day. I am still tempted to dig through drawers and find the old dictionary and flip through it. But I just use the online ones now.

I miss you too, Noah. 

Looking at maps

This is another thing born from childhood boredom/curiosity (see above). I found this large world map in one of the drawers and I loved spreading it out on the floor and looking excitedly at all the countries.

Mind you, this map was from the 80s (probably bought when my brother was a kid), so the Soviet Union was still on it. I always used to wonder what this gigantic red "country", which appeared to take up half of Earth's land mass, was like in real life.

Only when I had turned around nine I realised that the "Soviet Union" did not exist anymore. At eleven I realised that it hadn't been an actual country. >___<

So Mordor does not exist? :(

But I still like looking up maps every now and then. I particularly like Europe, especially looking at where all the Eastern European countries are positioned, and Central Asia.

Unable to sleep without the sound of nature documentaries

I just developed this habit during this summer vacation. I guess it's because I keep getting stressed whenever I lie down to sleep, so I need something to soothe me till I fall asleep (think of it as a lullaby, but not at all in a ridiculous, childish way).

I realised that I don't actually like watching the nature documentaries (at least not while I'm trying to sleep), I just like listening to their sound, especially when it's one of those BBC ones with a David Attenborough narration. They calm me down and make me feel relaxed.

So I ripped off the audio tracks from all these BBC nature documentaries, and put them on my iPod. I don't listen to them every night, but sometimes I like putting them on and just imagining being in some Redwood forest in northern Canada.


Unable to study without the television

I simply cannot concentrate on studying without the background noise of the television. God knows where I picked this up from, but it has been a great annoyance since I started college, because we don't have a working television in the dorms (first world pains?).

I prefer listening to something inconspicuous, like the news. Or just switching on some shitty music channel, which turns even shittier after 12 AM, when it starts playing a string of power ballads from the 80s.


Listening to movies/trailers/TV shows

I guess this habit is the result of the habit above.

I like the sound of the television while studying, but there is no television to turn on. So I do the next best thing - just play downloaded television shows on my laptop, while working, and just listening to the audio.

Mostly I listen to music while studying, but sometimes it distracts me, and I need to listen to something else. In times like these, studying with just the audio track from something makes it so much easier to concentrate.

But I find that I really enjoy listening to movie trailers. I think it's because I like putting my own images on top of the sound...?

Talking to myself

This is pretty much entering the schizophrenic zone (is this TMI for you?). Yeh, I talk to myself a lot. Does this mean that I am mental? I think if you see me around uni, you will notice me smiling to myself or having a little conversation with myself.

I think this might be another result of the stress...

Slashdot Dreams

I just had the weirdest dream. That everything I was thinking was being asked as a question on Slashdot, and people kept answering to each and every thought of mine with sarcastic comments.

I am so sleep deprived :(

The world is needlessly divided

I don't understand this "Clash of Civilisations" between the 'East' and the 'West' that people keep going on about.

I use a Pacific-centered map.

Using a Pacific-centered map gives you a whole new perspective on world affairs.

Neutrinos could possibly travel faster than the speed of light

They just released these results, and be prepared for more scientific scrutiny to come. But if this turns out to be true, then it will radically change the very foundations of Physics.

You can read more about it here: The Daily Galaxy

Thinking back

It's weird to think back to the things that mattered to you as a teenager. The crushes you had, the awful times when people spread rumours about you, the little fights you had with your friends...

At that time, those things felt like the be all and end all of things. But looking back, you feel a bit silly.

Perspective

You wouldn't think twice before stamping out a rat with your feet, while (hilariously) screaming in terror.

Yet, you will cuddle a guinea pig and keep one as a pet.

It's all about perspective :)

Thou Shall Not Quote Thy Lecture Slides on Facebook

I remember how this time last year I used to write things from lecture slides of my courses on Facebook, and then comment on them.

For example, my professors keep writing that our university will hand out PhDs to the person who solves the open problem being discussed on the lecture slide.

And I would comment on how it seems that our university has a gigantic bucket full of PhDs, waiting to dole them out.

Let it be said that I do not do lame things like this on Facebook anymore. Not because I grew out of it (I can never grow out of making fun of lecture slides!), but because I deactivated my Facebook account.

:)

Questions

It's like being a fish in the dark (photo by Roswell1947)

Here is a random lists of questions I came up with. Some of them just need a few Google searches, while others have no proper answers (yet).

Where does all the salt in sea water come from? 

How did oxygen dissolve into the oceans, and how are oxygen levels maintained? 

How do deep sea fishes adapt to the extremely high pressures? 

How do deep sea fishes deal with the very low level of oxygen? 

Why is most of the surface of the ocean "sand" (e.g. why not a hard rock)? 

How can humans use bioluminacense? 

How to deep sea creatures who migrate from the deep to the shallows on a daily basis, adapt to the extreme change in pressure? 

What were the evolutionary benefits of penguins losing their flight? Surely, flight is more beneficial in making their annual migration to their breeding sites, and being able to escape from leopard seals. There are other birds who also dive for food, but have maintained the ability of flight.  

At what point do we consider something to be "alive"? At what point is matter considered to be organic? 

How did viruses originate? What exactly is their purpose? Do they evolve?  

Why are viruses considered to not be alive?  

What biological niche do viruses fill? 

Is there a way to manipulate our human body cells in such a way that they produce useful mutations all the time? 

In parallel worlds (assuming that we use the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics), do atoms and sub-atomic particles behave in the same way, or in profoundly different ways? 

What is gravity?  

How does magnetism work? I.E. how come there seems to be a continuos source of energy when two magnets attract or repel each other?

Anyone care to answer some in the comments?

Saved by Computers

I have been saved by my computer,
this beautiful intricate machine,
it has saved me from all emotions,
and all social ills.

Now I am surrounded by bliss,
everyday,
from morning till night,
I am in this electronic funk,
my own beat,
my own tune,
booming,
out of my own little
processing machine.

Blog is 2 years Old

It has been a full 2 years since I started this blog with this first shitty post, and I have been having so much fun ever since.

I love blogging and I love doodling around my blog. Even if no one might be reading most of my posts, it still feels nice to put things out there, either as a therapy for stress, or to share things I find exciting.

To celebrate this "occasion" (oh god, I'm so lame) I thought it would be nice to do a little roundup of blog stats, from Google Analytics. I haven't had that many visitors, but it's still sort of interesting to see where things are.


General

 

US Map of Number of Visitors From Each State

Maybe Texans and Californians think like me?


Top 5 Most Viewed Posts 

Post		Page views
1	Links Ahoy! (7)	140
2	Art of Anatoly Fomenko	66
3	Big Owl	40
4	Art of Moebius (aka Jean Giraud)	39
5	Air Quotes: ultra violence	39

There are so many people who arrive on my no. 1 post searching for things like "cute penguins". Maybe I should just start a blog about pictures of penguins, and become super-rich.


Top 5 Search Keywords

Keyword	Number of visitors via keyword	Possible blog post they were looking for
richey edward	28	What the hell happened to Richey Edwards?
baby emperor penguin	19	Links Ahoy! (7)
baby penguins	19	Links Ahoy! (7)
owl pendant	15	Big Owl
cathode ray tube amusement device	12	Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device

So I guess now I know that the only thing people care about is penguins.


Funniest Search Keywords

Funny Search Keywords	Possible blog post they were looking for
www.google sexy beast gogal sexy beast googale sexy beast google sexy google sexy beast	Oh Google...you sexy, sexy beast Perhaps “Googale” is the name of a famous porn star?
and please keep in mind that i think physicists are the sexiest people on earth	God, the Universe, and Other Utterances
asian porn with english subtitles	I swear I never wrote about porn on my website :O
depressed penguin	Links Ahoy! (7)
fucking annoyed xanga quotes	Never wrote anything about being fucking annoyed with Xanga
indian fucking videos on toppv	Erm...

Ya'll need to stop looking for porn all the time. Porn, contrary to popular believe, is not the glue which holds the internet together.

Posts I am proud of

Usually this blog is a list of pissed off ramblings, but every once in a while I do write things which I am proud of. Firstly, this blog has helped me hone my poetry skills quite a bit. I am proud of all the poetry I have put up on this blog, even the ones where I come across as a pissed off 82 year old grandma. 

Secondly, here is a list of posts which are my particular favourites:

If you want a Wonderland, you need to bend your eyes

A short description of childhood games and make-believe. 

Chemistry

A post about my nightmare of having to take a Chemistry exam again.

Is Aisha the new Sharbat Gula?

An essay on Time magazine's use of Aisha on their cover, and the comparison this has with National Geographic's famous photograph of Sharbat Gula. 

How much do you swear? F**k loads.

A little essay on swearing. Fuck yeah!

Terry the Economist

My distaste of ridiculous economists, expressed the the form of an even more ridiculous surrealist short story. 

God, the Universe and other Utterances

A long essay, on me trying to act like a poor man's Sartre. Seriously though, I love Physics, and I hope those questions get answered soon. 

Richard Brautigan: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.


This is the poem from which Adam Curtis derived the title for his documentary series All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace (2011).

It's such a beautiful and poetic interpretation of technology, and it's increasingly ubiquitous influence in our lives.

Mind you, this was written in the 60s by a hippie.

I'm surprised a hippie would find technology so enticing, to the point of thinking that it will allow us to return back to nature, rather than protect us from it.

New Mechanical Drawing

Ok, the title is not exactly true - I have drawn and shared this before. But it looked like crap before, so I revamped it. Got rid of all the pixels and gave it some nice colours.

I tried to vectorise it, but somehow, Inkscape exploded and wouldn't let me do it.

Below is the "process of transformation" - to put in in terms which sound way more exciting than they really are.

The basic hand-drawn thing I did in my notebook.

Brushed over it in black and got rid of the notebook lines.
Also, got rid of all the messy pixels (very tedious process). 

The main robot, coloured in.

The final product, after colouring the background and everything.

Haikus

I dislike haikus
Can't fucking ever write one
Fuck goddamn haikus

Fuck Foursquare: I don't give a damn about where you are located

Why is everything on online social networking designed for attention whores? The number one thing which annoys me right now is Foursquare. Nothing attracts more attention whores than Foursquare (except maybe Facebook photo albums...)

Don't get me wrong, online social networks are great for interesting things. Foursquare is nice when used in moderation. For example, say that you go on a holiday, and update every now and then about which sites you are seeing, or which hotel you might be staying at. This way, if I am interested in travelling to the same country, I can know a little about where to go, and the little tid bits about places.

I can also understand when people are genuinely excited about sharing where they are, because it's a special place and it might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, like visiting Madrid or something. Or even when you are going to an exciting location for the first time, like a swanky new club, or a fancy restaurant. I will still find you boring and useless, but I understand why you would do this.

What I don't understand is people who think it is exciting to go to a fast food burger stall, and before even ordering anything, flipping out their bloody iPhone to check-in using Foursquare, hence letting everyone on their Facebook and Twitter network know that they are about to get diarrhea from that crappy burger. Or people who check-in every single time they walk into a new store in a mall, or even when they walk into a grocery store. And they do this every single goddamn time.

I don't get it - what possible pleasure could this give you? What possible practical purpose can this serve in the real world?

But even then, I can still tolerate that behaviour fairly well (even though my Facebook and Twitter get flooded with bullshit about Dairy Queen). But what really ate the cake is this: there are now people (no names mentioned) who check into individual buildings - buildings which are placed right next to each other, buildings which are not exciting in any way whatsoever.

For example, there is this one guy who lives in the college dorms, like me. The buildings are placed right next to each other, something like this:

Now this guy, every time he moves from Building 1 to Building 2, he updates his Foursquare. What. The Fuck? This absolutely defies logic to me. WHY would you want to do that?

Oh wait, I know why. Attention whoring.

Attention whores make me feel like I am infected with the rage virus.

It's all about trying to make other people know how very sociable you are, and how many friends you have. How your life is so very *exciting*. Even walking a few steps from one building to the next requires Your Majesty to let everyone know exactly where you are.

=_____________=

When will these people realise the cold, hard facts of life? No one cares about you (except your mum). No one cares about where you are. Do you hear that sound coming from your computer? Yeh, that's the deafening sound of crickets chirping, the decibels being inversely proportional to the number of people who give a damn about your location.

Anyways, inspired by Mr. Twatface above, I wondered what it would be like if I went on a Foursquare rampage. I guess it would go something like this...

There you go. This is what I would be like if I was an even bigger bastard than I am now.

Fall Semester is Here

New university semester starting on Sunday. Gonna be a Junior now (3rd year). Goodbye delicious, healthy home food, and hello to crappy pot noodles and 12 megatons of coffee per day.

I literally look like this during each semester.
Albeit, a little less cheerful.

Hmn, what to say? During this summer, when I was not suffering from a poor man's Sartre-style existential crisis or making fun of hipsters who wear skinny pants, I was going through a "what the heck am I doing in life" phase.

When it comes to college, my views are totally bipolar. Sometimes, I get really worried and feel depressed that I made the wrong decision in studying Computer Science or coming to this university. Other times, I feel really happy with my choice and excited to study new things.

Right now, I am honestly not looking forward to going back to college - the professors are all depressing (typical Computer Science professors, trust me, they are all like that) and the atmosphere in general is so dull and lifeless.

I feel like I am so unappreciative of my education, when there are kids in the world who barely have access to primary education, let alone university. But I can't force myself to appreciate something I don't find interesting.  

Not to mention that I feel drained of energy all the time, and have pretty much lost the strength to cope with any form of stress.

Then I start to worry about what will happen once I graduate. Will I find a good job? Will I even like that job, or will I end up being a lifeless lump of organic matter? My dream would be to go to graduate school, something in Physics... but I am not sure if that will ever happen, since I am doing an undergrad in Computer Science...

So all in all, just wanted to say that please ignore me if I get a bit emo on this blog for a few weeks. I will try my best to put up interesting things that I find, or make more ridiculous sarcastic posts, but you will have to bear with me for a while.

To end on a slightly more cheery note, here is a picture of a fat little seal pup:

Nothing can be better in life than a fat seal pup (via).