allogenes

Did it today and yesterday. Helps to make my wife wake me up as she is leaving for her work.

Alas, I will not be able to attend the very cool class this upcoming quarter as I am just too damn busy to sit through it. Hopefully I will move somewhere else where stats classes are available to audit. I want to take a class on dependencies in data someday.

This most recent class was good, in that I plan on studying more on the advanced theory of the linear model and its extensions.

I have finally found the ideal (for me anyway) Task List Program. It is called ToDoList and from AbstractSpoon Software. And it is free (CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.5). It is straightforward but allows the needless complexity that makes me happy sometimes. All tasks can have sub tasks, there are priorities and levels and colors and … well you get it. PS: You can turn most of that off if it is not something you like.

http://abstractspoon.com/tdl_resources.html

I think I want my life to be more like this so this is a long-term goal, a deep change in behavior. So I need to try to do this for a while until I can do it everyday, then it should be more automatic.

Basically I hate a lot of what I have to do these days and I would just like to try to do at least one thing each day that is not part of the long hard slog that is my life for the next year or so.

I daresay I really relax too much!

Well the class I sat in on this quarter has been pretty good. Not sure how much I will remember in 6 months, but it did give me some good solid foundations for further studies of Generalized Linear Models. I think I need to read a good book on mathematical statistics sometime. And re-read my big fat book on linear models.

Need to spend some time getting training procedures for this!

It has been about a year since my last publication. I need another quick! As usual my boss is dragging his feet. Need something else to work on that leads to a publication…quick!

Update:

1. Flying Saucer Mystery (1950) Short (10 minutes) vague documentary on UFOs mixed with other footage.
2. Cat-Women of the Moon (1953) Cat women on the moon hypnotize a chick on a spaceship, the guys on board get screwed (not in a good way!) and the usual happens. Actually this movie looked a lot like another we saw. Just can’t recall which one.
3. The Mysterians (1959) Japan invaded from space by alien who want our women!
4. The Eye Creatures (1965) This movie should have been called “Frame up from space” as the aliens replaced one of their own, who had been hit by a car, with a human dude they killed. They even bent the radiator of the car to make it look like the car hit the guy! The driver was even arrested…for a while.
5. Creature of Destruction (1967) Hypnotism, sea creatures, women, murder, etc.

Rejects for the usual reasons:

1. Zontar: Thing from Venus (1966) Repeat. It is already on the list!
2. UFO Target Earth (1974) An electronics expert searching for evidence of aliens picks up signals from a UFO. And the aliens seem to live under a local lake!
3. The War in Space (1977) Too late to count, otherwise fits right in.

When things are going well I get stuff done and seem to make real progress. The problem is that it is way way too easy to not get stuff done around here. People goofing off, unimportant things that fill up your days, management issues, staff issues, student problems, weather, dental work, etc.

Gotta get more focused and more efficient!

This may be the hardest goal on my list. I have to go to a statistics class two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday, at 9:30 am. I have to work on Mondays starting from about 10:30 am. No problems with getting to those (although for the statistics class, I have achieved my on time arrivals in part because the professor was late). But getting out of bed and going on the other two days is a real challenge. I have countered this with dental appointments, but I certainly hope that I won’t need any more of those for a while!

In a few months I have a gig where I will be at work at full speed by 9 am three days a week. I may need something for the other two!

Still, at least I can always get to where I need to be when I do have to be there, it is the days that there is no demand that go badly…

I have given up on Python for sound for the time being and will be using MATLAB as much as I hate it. So technically I am done with this one. But a new mutation will re-appear at some time.

First the ones that count. (I.) Some 50’s/60’s horror junk that fits the profile:

1. Screaming Skull (1958) – Woman haunted by image of her mother dying is almost killed by her evil husband.
2. I Eat Your Skin (1964) – Radioactive snake venom is good for what ails ya.
3. The Embalmer (1965) – Creepy guy living under Venice likes to kill and stuff pretty girls.

And (II.) just one SF film:

1. They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1963) – Oh fecking come on! They saved Hitler’s brain! Saved it! In a bottle! A bottle!

Some more that is close but no cigar, all not counting for the usual technical reasons:

1. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
2. The Giant Spider Invasion (1975) – Space spiders, revivalist preachers, infidelity, pot, diamonds, inbreeding, The Skipper(!), a middle aged babe with an awesome butt, and vodka vodka vodka!
3. The Wicksboro Incident (2001) – Interesting film, but slow and has a lot of problems. The Blair Witch Project it ain’t.

To eliminate the meetings my boss wants. They are a waste of time!

I think that before I go to bed tonight I will have gotten the main room downstairs in order.

The kitchen needs to be re-arranged and sprayed for bugs.

Despite having advanced degrees in mathematics and statistics; despite being previously formally trained in cognitive science, psychology, religion, computer science, chemistry, and art history (with a couple of additional degrees in there as well); despite being well read in art, history, physics, engineering, and neuroscience; and despite actively finishing my PhD in Cognitive Sceince…

...despite all of this, I still consider semiotics and anthropology to be my “home” disciplines.

Got the Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian and De Buck’s Egyptian Reading Book (a set of lessons for beginning/intermediate students). Now find some time and get to work!

(Added benefit of these two particular books: they are hand written! Gives me a good sense of how to hand write my own work!)

Let me review my last entry and see where we are.

[1] Downstairs we still need a nice piece to put behind part of the couch. It should have shelves or drawers or cabinets (or some combination). With this we can place correctly the last of the clutter that is keeping the downstairs from being labeled as done.

Mostly done! We bought it last night and my wife, who assembles drawer based furniture will build it tomorrow morning, so I can almost see the end of the major rebuild of the downstairs! Still outstanding: new smaller chairs. Soft but straight-back.

[2] Upstairs in the extra room we need the new digital TV or need to decide that we will not buy one. We need to rearrange things a lot to eliminate the clutter. Also we need to find a new home for the paper shredder.

Paper shredder is now downstairs but needs yet another home. We are on the verge of deciding against a new TV for the upstairs, as we just don’t have space for it. But it is still open to a major discovery. The big new thought on it is that we need shelves or organizers for the closet in the upstairs room. That may help with a lot of outstanding problems.

[3] Kitchen needs serious rearranging.

Still does!

[4] Bedroom needs something but I do not know what.

Still don’t. Maybe art and dusting is all that is left to do there!

Almost have a real home! ;-)

It will be five months down at the end of December. Not a lot of progress so far. But I have done some serious work in different areas for the last few months. Must remain fearless and steadfast for a bit longer.