If I Were To Create A Language

I’m currently learning Portuguese and Spanish. Both these languages (and all languages for that matter) have quarks. I wish it was easier to learn another language.

I keep thinking if I were to create a language, I would get rid of the quarks. Here are some things I would consider:

  • No verb conjugation. I believe Chinese is the only language that has this.
  • More than one word for “we”. How annoying is it in English when you have to ask who “we” is? There are some other languages that have more than one word for “we”. Frankly, “we” should be three words:
    • We inclusive you – Me, you, and others.
    • We exclusive you – Me, others, but not you.
    • We exclude others – Me and you only.

    There should probably be other variations to be the most specific.

  • No ways to say one. It’s always the same. In English we have to say “one result.” If there is more than one result, we say “two results.” My language it wouldn’t depend on the number on if the noun is plural. So I guess no plurals. English sucks because the plurals make no sense. Houses not mouses. Goose not meese. (Check out @stage_door_johnny on TikTok for more!)
  • Past tenses/present tenses/future tenses would be simpler. It’s crazy. The conjugation plus all the tenses. It’s too complicated. I’m not sure how to make the tense simpler, but I would want it to be so.
  • No words that mean the same fucking thing over and over again. I get it. It’s cute. It shows your intelligence to know all these fancy words but come on. Let’s make it easier so it’s more inclusive.
  • No repeated words. I don’t think English is that bad. Spanish not either. It took me a little while in the Duolingo tree to find the same word used different ways. Portuguese it was like three lessons: Ela bota a bota (She wears a boot.)
  • Going off that idea, no words that sound the same. English is terrible with this: Our ore or our oar.
  • No crazy rules. In English we have a bunch of crazy rules and sometimes they don’t even apply (looking at you I before E). In Portuguese, OMG, so many crazy rules. If something is plural, it depends on what the ending letter is. (Same in English too but not THIS crazy.)
  • I think it goes without saying but NO ROMATICS. Objects shouldn’t be masculine or feminine. Why is a dress masculine in Spanish/Portuguese? Why is a window feminine?

Seriously though. Life is hard enough. Let’s all create a simple language we can all learn and stop with this nonsense. It’s like Capitalism created these languages and each word had a lobby!


The Rubble Or Our Sins?

There’s a song I like, Pompeii by Bastille. It tells a story of a city like Pompeii (or it probably is Pompeii). A city that’s so full of sin and then it’s destroyed.

I have used a few lyrics from it before in my own life. In response to why I was leaving a job, I replied, “I was left to my own devices. Many days fell away with nothing to show.” I was bored; my PM just had left so I wasn’t growing. That was one of the reasons why I left.

But I’m not blogging about that aspect of the song this time.

I’ve gotten into debates with friends about another lyric in the song; “Oh, where do we begin? The rubble or our sins?”

This lyric is powerful to me because I often think about my mother and how much she is and has struggled. I also think about those who want to change their life around or, perhaps, myself if I were to fall into a bad action or a difficult time of my own making.

I feel that you should start with your sins.

If you fall in trouble and lose what you have, if you gain what you have back, you have not learned a lesson and could repeat the same mistake again. If you get to where you’re comfortable again, what’s stopping you from falling back to the mistake? However, if you start with trying to better yourself (i.e. start with your sins), then you will have learned and can then build back from the rubble.

I probably suck at explaining that but that’s how I feel. Start with the sins then rebuild.


Solving 7×7 Rubics Cube

So I got really good at solving the 3×3 rubics cube; the regular cube like everyone is afraid of. I got so good I got Brian to get me more cubes. He got me a triangle, 2×2, 4×4, and a 5×5. As time went on, I got bored. I haven’t memorized all the algorithms for parodies but I’m still pretty good at solving them.

I had Brian advance me to a 7×7. Using the same kind of methods, I was able to solve it. Here are some pictures…

Scrambled:

Two Colors Done (I did this by lining up colors then putting them in their proper place… probably the wrong method but it worked):

Three Colors Done:

Four Colors Done:

All Six Colors Done (this was a pain to figure out… I kept playing around with it):

Somewhat Like 5×5 (this was also a pain to get… just kept playing around with it to get it like the 5×5 with three or two colors on each side):

Got The 5×5 Parody:

Solved The 5×5 Parody… Now It’s Just Solving Like A 3×3 (had to do the algorithm as well as an extra few steps for some reason):

Top Part Of 3×3 Solved (the next few photos are just a simple 3×3 solve):

Six Rows Solved:

Solving Edges (notice that the edges aren’t the right colors):

Last Part Of The 3×3 Solve:

And It’s Solved!:

I love rubics cubes but I absolutely HATE and refuse to solve the 2×2. That thing is a bitch. Funny, huh?


Position On Time Travel / Travelers On NetFlix

My friends and I had a rather interesting conversation about time travel last week… well… every conversation I have with anyone about time travel is interesting.

I used to believe that it would be like Back To The Future I, where Marty has yet to go back in time to change his parents future. Like we are still on the original time line where we don’t know about time travel because its discovery hasn’t happened yet. I thought this for years. Time travel hasn’t happened yet so we’re still getting there.

Then I kinda flip flopped and changed my thinking to more align with what average people think about time travel… like it hasn’t happened yet so we know it’s not possible. Kinda like in Back To The Future II, Lost, and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. We can’t change things by going back in time because we would have already done so.

I am able to debate either way. I wasn’t 100% on either way and I’m still unsure. It make sense way 1 in which we haven’t reached in time where we have the ability to go back in time (the original timeline theory), but it also makes sense way 2 (we can’t change time because we would have already done so).

Travelers

Over the weekend we binged watched Travelers on NetFlix (I HIGHLY recommend it). It was awesome but it got me thinking about time travel yet again. My issue with Travelers is that they take over someone’s body just as they’re about to die. Wouldn’t that change the future? To me it would create a paradox since that person didn’t die on that day or in that way so then the traveler couldn’t go back and take over that person. As the season progressed, their actions did have futuristic consequences like they intended; just not the desired outcome quite yet.

I’m optimistic about season 2 but we’ll have to wait until December I guess for a new season.

In the end I continue to remain on the fence about time travel… not that it’s not possible but that if it is, would something have already happened or are we just living the original time line?

I guess we’ll never know until we know?


Staying Away From Moonshine

The weekend before New Years we went over a friends house. We had some beers, had a nice fire, talked, etc. Then he brought out the moonshine… One shot and I was done. And that was all I had. The next day was pretty bad. I think I was useless for the entire day. Maybe that night I was good.

However the feeling kind of hung over until New Years where I couldn’t drink that much. It was a shame too. The party we went to had bourbon slushies and some nice tasting shots. They, too, also had good tasting moonshine. Unfortunately I took a sip and had to pass.

I’m staying away from moonshine. That’s all I have to say about that.


New Handle

I’ve been niles38 everywhere since I was like 12. Recently I joined instagram and found out that niles38 was already taken. I know I was late in joining but I really wanted to be niles38 everywhere. There were always a few exceptions (ebay, aim).

I have decided that niles38 isn’t for me anymore. I still like it and I will still have my email as it but I want something new and something that’s free everywhere; hence why I’m writing this blog post.

I need ideas. In another month the domain niles38.com will be available again as I will not be re-registering it. I’m looking for something short and something that’s me. I think LLTM (longlivethemonkey) is long… but maybe I’ll check around to see if it’s available in other places… hey, I have the domain, right?

Anyway internet, what you got for me?


2009 Resolutions Update II

Here’s the whole list from the previous post as well:

  • Be more soft spoken, tone it down a bit and watch what I say (done, slipping but still that most of the time)
  • Have more parties/go to more parties (I’m pretty social, need to host more parties though)
  • Don’t feel the need to say how I feel all the time
  • Get PHP certified (April 25 I received my PHP Certification)
  • Get at least 1,000 quotes next year (I might make it)
  • See Aunt Ruth and Aunt Janet more (once my dad’s stuff is worked out my weekends will be free again)
  • Get over some things that bother me
  • Keep off the 10 pounds I just lost (currently weigh 150), be healthier and eat healthier (I weigh 148, cutting back on meat and never eating until you’re full is the key)
  • Treat Brian and Candi better (always a resolution)
  • Do something good for the environment or humanity (starting to commute to work on an electric scooter but this is not enough)
  • Buy a house
  • Buy a new Prius
  • Get Candi off the cone (poor puppy) (really wish I could mark this one off)
  • Settle my Dad’s estate (not in my control) (done a little, need to order and sell Dad’s house then I’d mark this one off)
  • See a doctor and dentist (seeing a doctor in August, saw the dentist)
  • EDITED FOR SECRECY, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, JUST ASK ME; CAN’T HAVE IT ON THE WEB RIGHT NOW (not really a goal anymore)
  • Plant grass
  • Buy a grill
  • Buy a lawn mower
  • Buy a plasma TV for downstairs (not really a goal anymore)
  • Buy a sound system for downstairs (not really a goal anymore)
  • Buy another TV for the bedroom (not really a goal anymore)
  • Build a garage (in progress, check out flickr for pictures)
  • Paint the basement (not really a goal anymore)
  • Paint the bathroom (not really a goal anymore)
  • Get insurance, tags, title for the Dodge Ram (problem is actually using the truck, it’s just sitting now taking up space)
  • Get the Camero painted AND fixed (it broke, needs some work)
  • Have a house warming party (a successful party)

So I’ll go rogue a little and get something off my mind. I don’t want this to be a depressing post but I sometimes get these waves of obsession where I can’t stop thinking of an old friend I used to hang out with. The last few times we hung out I don’t think it went so well or whatever. He doesn’t talk to me and I don’t talk to him. He’s got other friends and so do I. So many things I just want to say to him to kind of get it off my chest so to speak but I know if I do he’d probably not care. I just need to get over it. He doesn’t want to hang out or anything, he doesn’t invite me anywhere though I reach out to him sometimes. I guess I just want him to miss me like I miss him sometimes. I want him to know that I am enjoying my life as I’m sure he’s enjoying his. However I just miss him and wish things went differently so I could be a part of his life. Just part of me wants to say this.


Twenty Five Random Things

Yeah, thought I’d do it too since I need a break from work. Here’s 25 things you might not know about me.

  1. I don’t like talking on the phone (unless it’s to people I know) so I get Brian to do it usually.
  2. I will always wear a T shirt and shorts swimming, no matter what.
  3. I never ever want to have kids although I have their names picked out already.
  4. I don’t speak up enough when I should and I’m a chicken, most of the time.
  5. I’m still undecided on where I stand when it comes to gun control and legalizing marijuana.
  6. A cold Keystone Light is the only beer I can drink without cringing the first few sips.
  7. I memorized the lyrics to REM – The End Of The World, Eminem – Without Me, Linkin Park – Bleed It Out, Austin Powers Dr Evil – Just The Two Of Us, Nelly – Ride With Me, and Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start The Fire. I can sing all of them successfully. Barenaked Ladies – One Week I can’t quite sing because it’s too fast; same with Blues Travelers – Hook.
  8. It makes me feel special when people copy me. I started a few trends in High School. My friends copied my TV, my TV stand, my couch, and my phone.
  9. My two favorite things are politics and football.
  10. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and however much I wanted, but now I have to cut back a little to maintain my current weight.
  11. If my work did bother to block Facebook, I probably wouldn’t get on ever. Very seldom do I get on Facebook at home. Although I always make sure whatever I post from FriendFeed services gets posted to Facebook.
  12. I will pretend to know what people are talking about just to fit in sometimes.
  13. I’ll probably never get up the nerve to leave MORI.
  14. I love getting crushes on unobtainable guys. Daydreaming is so much fun!
  15. I sometimes hang out and have a lot of fun with peeps even though I don’t collect any quotes.
  16. I do like the song MMBop by Hanson. It’s very meaningful if you listen to the lyrics.
  17. I miss a lot of things about college like sleeping later, snow days, and hanging out with Burg people; however I’d rather have the life I have now because it sucked being poor.
  18. I don’t like to go places with a lot of people. The cruise Bri and I took I was sometimes miserable because there were so many people that were taking up everything to do.
  19. I don’t use a bed frame. I probably never will again.
  20. I have to have a TV in my bedroom even though I’ll never watch it. Rooms without TV’s or computers depress me.
  21. I hate shut doors. It’s probably a childhood issue after my parents divorced. When people stay over, I’ll never have the bedroom door shut. If I had my way, there would be no doors to bedrooms.
  22. I have OCD about a lot of things.
  23. Things I would like to collect: glasses, Cuban cigars, trophies, watches, match books, and signs (like my Dad).
  24. My stripper name is Foxie Roxie.
  25. I want people to know that they should NOT mess with me. I know people who can kill them/seriously hurt them at my command. I’m 100% serious.

Codey The Blue Toyota Prius

Codey the Blue Toyota Prius, 2 (+/- 18,500 miles), a resident of Germantown for two years, died suddenly from a fire outside the home of his owner, Janis.

Codey was bought, brand new, January 28, 2007 at the Toyota of Bowie. He achieved around 48 miles per gallon in his life.

He routinely drove Brian and Janis to work everyday and was loved by all. He had a 6 CD changer MP3 enabled, smart key technology, backup camera, rear view dimming mirror, AUX (MP3 player), controls on the steering wheel, digital reads, high intensity headlights, and ABS.

A devoted car, he enjoyed driving above the speed limits, and blasting music throughout the parking lot of Safeway.

Survivors include his owners, Janis and Brian; one dog, Candi; one cat, size_t; and one brother, Brian’s car.

No memorial service will be held at this time.

————————————————

I can’t describe how much I loved this car. He was something I wanted since I first heard about hybrids in 1998. I had finally achieved the dream in January 2007. He was taken away from me so violently. I still can’t believe he’s gone.

The fire marshal said someone had put a candle under his left rear tire which started the fire. A neighbor saw the flames and tried to put it out. When it became too much for him to handle, he called 911. The fire marshal knocked on our door around 6:30 AM early Saturday morning.

The last time he was driven was Friday, November 21, 2008 from 4:35pm – 5:10pm from my work to pick up Brian to home.

I enjoyed driving that car everyday I had it. It was the best car I ever owned. He was very reliable.

I had had an accident last winter when Codey failed to stop on slippery ice and hit a car in front of him. Geico fixed him right away and everything was like the way it was before.

I loved him so much, he was my baby. He had a good life ahead of him but it was cut short by some vicious person with nothing better to do than to set an innocent Prius on fire.

Also lost in the flames was a stuffed animal that I had since I was a kid (Solvester), my late Dad’s hand made jumper cables, an air compresser my late Uncle gave me, my boogie board I had since childhood, my tackle box I had since childhood, some CD’s such as Alanis Moressette and the new Eagles album, a pair of sunglasses, my highschool and college tassles, and car mats.


Get Out And Vote! Nov 4 2008

I’m not good at writing things that are inspirational and meaningful but I would like to take a minute to try to write how important it is to vote.

Like I was telling some of my friends who are not registered to vote and aren’t political: Voting gives us a say in our country. Voting gives us the power to choose our future. Thinking that the entire system is corrupt is no excuse. Many have fought (and still fight) and died for this right we have. Many in the world do not have the opportunity to decide anything in their country. We should take advantage of the rights we have.

The 2000 election was decided by some 537 votes. That’s it. Saying your opinion, your vote doesn’t matter simply isn’t true.

Please, get out and vote TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 4, 2008. If you’re not sure where you vote visit vote411.org for your location.

A quick note on voter fraud: No, the election for Democrats is not November 5, it’s November 4, like EVERYONE ELSE, on the SAME DAY, regardless. And no, you won’t get arrested for not paying child support or if you have a speeding ticket or whatever else you may have heard if you try to vote. They are Republican scare tactics and they are UNTRUE to try to get you not to vote. Don’t let that happen.

Another quick note, don’t let poll numbers discourage you to vote either. Get out to the polls no matter what. Even if you’re 100% confident your candidate will/will not win, still get out there. Your vote DOES matter.

Furthermore, don’t let long lines to vote discourage you. Please wait it out and get your say. Maybe try to coinvince your boss to let you go early so you can get there, or try to go in the morning or during lunch. But get out there regardless.


How To Organize Things

I’m having O C D troubles with the way I organize things online.

As most of you know, I use Facebook all the time at work. However, I don’t want my entire internet life to be centered around Facebook.

I want everything to import into Facebook so I won’t have to ever log into it, basically. Here’s the stuff I currently have/want out on the internet:

  • Twitter (status updates) – My tweets updated. Facebook works with Twitter so this is fine. It updates my status. My tweets can be accessed outside by anyone.
  • Twitxr (photo updates) – I send photos to Twitxr, just random photos. I want more than this, though. I was looking into Flickr but there’s no good apps on Facebook to import all the pictures actually INTO Facebook so I can tag people. Twitxr does everything I want it to do but it’s single picture. Need to investigate more on this Flickr thing, but the app for Facebook doesn’t allow people to be tagged in photos. And what about my blog photos?
  • Digg (news articles) – Updates on Facebook. People can access what I’ve dugg online. This is great.
  • Youtube (my videos) – Facebook hasn’t come out with a good app for this that I’ve seen yet. It’s all “your favorite videos”. I want an app that will automatically import my videos into Facebook or something like that. Youtube itself is okay since anyone can access it. I just need to link to it.
  • Blog (my two blogs) – Currently I have this blog importing into Facebook. I want to change this because people comment on Facebook when I don’t want them to. I’d rather keep it outside with it automatically importing comments or vice versa. Also, this sucks because when I make changes to my blog it doesn’t update the post in Facebook. It’s just an import. I need to find an app that lets me do what I want to do with LIVE UPDATING. This is going to get dicey when it comes time to do my weekly Football Predictions.
  • About Me stuff – On Youtube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, etc always has these little “about me” sections. I want a feature on something where it updates all these “about me” sections, etc automatically on everything. Right now I just have it linking to a page on my website. I should talk to someone I know about this idea…

It’s As Good A Thing To Bet On As Any

I’m trying to get people to join my pool of bets for the V P picks for the Presidential Nominees.

If you want in, it’s $20 for two picks (Democrat and Republican). Choose who you think McCain’s V P will be and who Obama’s V P will be. Get in soon by contacting me somehow.


If It’s Sunday, It’s Meet The Press

I’m deeply deeply saddened by today’s news about Tim Russert. I can’t believe it. He is so awesome. I can’t describe.

He helped me get into politics. For the past three years every Sunday (up until my Dad died) I’d always watch Meet The Press. It was something I really looked forward to. Every Sunday. Tim would get them.

He was amazing at what he did. He did so much research and really got people. He kept them honest. He asked tough questions and did what all media should do, grill them.

I can’t help but think how much he will be missed and how much of an impact he had in the media and on politics. I know I will miss him, especially during this next election.


Typo’s In News Articles

Hasn’t anyone heard of proof reading before publishing? Check out this article.

“He’s one who made the adjustment in about 30 seconds. There’re some who had a little bit more difficulty coming back,” said Bennett, a Republican who represents Utah.

I see typo’s all the time in news articles but this one I couldn’t resist since a Republican said it, LOL.

Yes, I know it probably had nothing to do with Bennett but it’s still pretty funny. What does “there’re” mean anyway?


New Blog

I’ve started another blog about adventures and stuff with my Dad’s house. It’s at www.longlivethemonkey.com/dadshouse. I’m currently updating it from all the past and current projects we are working on.

By the way, love the new WordPress update. I didn’t know they made it more awesome now. I can actually find things!


Screen Names

So I’ve decided to try to figure out how I can get my screen name on things that I currently can not… so to speak.

I’ve had the same screen name for my entire life basically (since 1996), niles38. On some things, however, I am not niles38, I’m niles38d. I want to try to figure out a way to change it since niles38 is taken on such places. They are:

  • YouTube (niles38d)
  • eBay (niles38d)
  • AIM (niles38d)

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can change it? With AIM, I think I messed up when registering it like 10 years ago or whenever it was. I’ve never seen niles38 get on. I think I registered and it messed up or something. Back then I had other email accounts of which I can’t remember. Besides that, I was always paranoid of the internet. Now I’m more trusting. For eBay, I don’t think I can do anything. For YouTube, I guess I could message the guy and see if he’d be willing to give it up.

Doh, I hate OCD! Maybe I should just change everything to like longlivethemonkey or something.


Good To Be Out Of The Loop

Reading reviews and blogs and what not about the other nights democratic debate, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s good to be out of the political loop.

I hope this debate highlights a little more how stupid, ignorant, and undemocratic the media truly is. The media is a joke in this country and that last debate proved it (as if it WASN’T proven before in the countless bias debates held in this country). Why can’t people see this is a joke? They tell us what to believe. Look at each candidates time in these debates. It’s ridiculous. How are we supposed to get to know a candidate if they don’t get any TIME?

And the last debate, more questions were asked about Clinton and Obama’s CHARACTER versus questions about substance and adequacy for the most important job in the world. Isn’t that what they’re interviewing for? Why aren’t they asking the tough questions about policy and views of importance? With the economy being this shitty, gas prices soaring, and the war in Iraq with no end in sight, they choose questions that are of no importance.

And I love how Hillary is being hypocritical, yet again. She previously said how the questions were (tear) too hard. Now she’s complaining that Obama said something about the questions being too hard (which that’s not what he said anyway, more media spin there). Amazing how a few months ago she was the one complaining about the difficult “gotcha” questions. Another adventure of Hypocritical Hillary.

So I’m out until the Democrats choose a nominee. Of course I still pay attention to the headlines. Everyday there’s more and more reason to protest and want change and to hate the war and hate the direction this country is going; how one in five veterans from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars have a mental disorder. We really take care of our troops in this country. Everyday I become more shocked and suprised there’s not riots in the streets of every city; how there’s not massive mobs of people taking on the White House. What’s wrong with us? Why do we put up with the media, the lies, our distrustful politicians who we keep electing? What happened to the protests and protest songs of the 70’s that got motivation?

I’ll end by saying will we get fooled again? I WON’T get fooled again!


Ode To Ernie

I will miss you my constant. You have been my rock at MORI since I started. You have been a constant in my life and in my career. When everyone else left, you stayed. Even through all the puny not-even-cost-of-living wage increases. You were something I could always count on.

I will miss you my teacher. You have taught me so much. I always looked forward to Treasury and DHS projects over all else. I learned so much from them. You understood me. You finally learned my language when I have trouble putting things into words. You could explain things to me. Creating SVOMS with you was one of the most rewarding and educational experiences of my life. I gained so much knowledge and experience. Granted I did always want to tell you how much of a jerk you sometimes were, in the end SVOMS turned out to rock. Seriously, you came up with a sexy, rockin system. That’s your baby. You taught me and showed me how to create pure sexiness in PHP. You were always there when I needed algorithm, syntax, logic, personal, political, or any help.

I will miss you my leader. You are my buffer for upper management. You could talk to Masoud and tell him what crazy ideas were and what and how things should work. You showed me the way through everything. You changed my views about organized religion. You helped me become the strong liberal that I am today. You always have a come back to conservative close minded arguments. You showed me the way so much. You changed my life.

I will miss you my friend. Work will not be work without you. I like how MORI is. We are more than just coworkers. We are the people who we spend the most time with. You were my lunch buddy, you were my brother, you were my best friend. We would vent to each other about politics, work, our personal lives, everything. You shared your life with me. We shared jokes and our liberal facetiousness. You are my friend.

What I Will Never Forget:
Ernie 101
Your parlor tricks
The “bottom line” and “like” counters
Christmas lights in our cubes
Bill Brafsky
“America, eatin my lunch from a single bowl”
“Die in a fire”
The way you hate Comic Sans
“Ou, traffic jam, got more cars than a beach got sand” “heh, suck it up”
“So I heard on Blast The Right…”
Zoolander quotes
Milkshake
The way you criticized my FM tuner
Love of the Mac
Hot Pockets!
Lunch hour vents
CMMI
Funny test data
Liberal debates
Bushisms
3A
The bears

I will miss you so much Ernie.


Welcome To The Rock

Well, not really.

Welcome to my new blog. The old blog is at niles38.easyjournal.com .

Trying out this wordpress deal again. I tried it once with Bri’s votecrider.com website and I hated it. Maybe I’ll actually like it for a blog kinda thing… maybe.