***
It might just be me, but most historically informed musical performances (HIP) seem to lack body.
The recordings sound lighter and brighter (which is not altogether a bad thing, depending on where you're coming from), and don't seem to be able to display as much warmth as recordings which do not aspire to be historically informed. At first I wondered if using a different frequency for A instead of 440 Hz was responsible, but from my understanding most HIP uses a lower frequency, so that theory doesn't seem to hold much water.
The notes also sound cleaner and purer, perhaps because the sound waves have fewer overtones (forgive me if my physics is faulty). Or perhaps this is due to over-enthusiastic sound engineers.
I do appreciate, though, that the individual sections (and individual instruments, for those with more finely trained aural senses) are more easily discernable, instead of blending into an indistinct whole. Perhaps modern instruments are made to blend, or more likely, it's an effect of using smaller ensembles.
***
William Hung - 5 (?), 3 (?) Mana
Creature - American Idol Legend
When William Hung comes into play target player loses the game.
She Bangs. She Bangs.
***
Sam's Archive
"Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe.
You've seen the action movies where the bad guy threatens to destroy the Earth. You've heard people on the news claiming that the next nuclear war or cutting down rainforests or persisting in releasing hideous quantities of pollution into the atmosphere threatens to end the world.
Fools.
The Earth was built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you've had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily. So my first piece of advice to you, dear would-be Earth-destroyer, is: do NOT think this will be easy.
This is not a guide for wusses whose aim is merely to wipe out humanity. I (Sam Hughes) can in no way guarantee the complete extinction of the human race via any of these methods, real or imaginary. Humanity is wily and resourceful, and many of the methods outlined below will take many years to even become available, let alone implement, by which time mankind may well have spread to other planets; indeed, other star systems. If total human genocide is your ultimate goal, you are reading the wrong document. There are far more efficient ways of doing this, many which are available and feasible RIGHT NOW. Nor is this a guide for those wanting to annihilate everything from single-celled life upwards, render Earth uninhabitable or simply conquer it. These are trivial goals in comparison.
This is a guide for those who do not want the Earth to be there anymore."
***
Poultry Internet
"Poultry are one of the most badly treated animals in the modern world. It has been shown that they have high levels of both cognition and feelings and as a result there has been a recent trend of promoting poultry welfare. There is also a tradition of keeping poultry as pets in some parts of the world. However in modern cities and societies it is often difficult to maintain contact with pets, particularly for office workers. We propose and describe a novel cybernetics system to use mobile and Internet technology to improve human-to-pet interaction. It can also be used for people who are allergic to touching animals and thus cannot stroke them directly. This interaction encompasses both visualization and tactile sensation of real objects. The system overview is shown in Figure 1.It consists of a Office System and a Backyard System
Figure 2 shows in the Office System, where the pet owner touches the doll, and at the same time feels the movement of the doll as driven by a positioning mechanism table. Figure 3 shows the pet (we use a rooster) with a "pet dress" worn on its body. The pet dress consists of electronics that simulates touch (or haptic) sensation. It feels it when the pet owner fondles with the doll in the Office System."
Someone at NUS has a sense of humour! I also like:
Human Pacman
"Permeation of technology into everyday life is made easier when the human experience it creates is made associable with day-to-day encounters. Human Pacman, based on the popular arcade Pacman from the 1980s, is a novel and entertaining game which seeks to bring about such association through stimulating multiple human senses and perception.It is a real-world-physical, social, and wide area mobile entertainment system that is built upon the concepts of ubiquitous computing, tangible human-computer interaction, and wide-area entertainment networks. Human Pacman is pioneering a new form of gaming that anchors on physicality, mobility, social interaction, and ubiquitous computing."
***
Reefer madness - "Lock three men in a room, make them smoke cannabis, and then try to provoke them into being hostile. Thirty years ago a team of American doctors actually conducted this daring experiment. They then described it in a report called Marijuana and Hostility in a Small-Group Setting... "Marijuana produced a small but statistically significant increase in sarcastic communications.""
Scholars to speak intelligibly - "Late in January, Ms. Grande proposed a bill in the North Dakota legislature to prod public institutions of higher education in precisely that direction. Under her bill, if a student complained in writing that his or her instructor did not "speak English clearly and with good pronunciation," that student would then be entitled to withdraw from the class with no academic or financial penalty -- and would even get a refund.... [someone else] found that undergraduates' final grades slid by 0.2 points (on a four-point scale) when they had a foreign-born instructor."
They should try that too in The Premier Institution of Social Engineering! On the same page: read AcidFlask's story in full for the first time. PSC's reply is typical skittish bureaucrat-talk
***
Champions of Natural Law theory might be interested to know that in most primates are either solitary (they don't meet, except to mate) or Group - promiscuous (they live in groups and have sex with everyone). But then, most or perhaps all of them think humans qualitatively different from primates.
***
Other people seem to be ambushed by evangelists quite often, yet I remain safe. I put forward several theories for this:
- My talisman with Descartes on it protects me from evil
- My reputation has spread far and wide
- I don't look depressed - they prey on depressed-looking people
- Men with long hair are shameful
Someone suggested that NUS offer a liberal arts degree - you'd just do USP modules all the way. Interesting, but they'd probably have to charge double the school fees due to the higher faculty:student ratio for all the modules. Maybe, instead of making them do only USP modules, they could mandate some mix of USP modules, GEMs and cross-faculty modules.
I saw an old man with severe keloidosis - his whole head was filled with huge globular keloids, which meant his hair only grew in patches. Just thinking of it still makes my skin crawl.
Quotes:
real'lee'tee (reality)
spew'ryears (spurious)
Statisticians always tend to ignore the econometricians
Spear man (Spearman - this is someone's name)
A supervisor is someone you have to work with. So it has to be someone reasonably congenial.
There are some questions that you can't answer in an academic context. Where did I come from? Who am I?
I'm not a biologist but I know I'm very similar to a pig.
[On a psychological experiment] Some of them, especially the guys, were quite sad because they thought they were gonna meet a girl.
We always use American books, so we have American data. I'm trying to write a book. So maybe when your children come here to do Economics they will use my book.
fuels (fuel)
Any comments on the figures? Very exciting. You don't think so? You're all falling asleep.
How come the richer people spend less [of their income] on health? Are they healthier?
They don't have much money, you know. All around the world... Tobacco taxation is regressive... Beer and cigarettes are important sources of recreation for the lower income groups.
There are goods goods and bads goods (good, bad)
[On CPF topups and lower income groups] For them it's very important. The next day they withdraw it and it's all gone.
Hay'gern Dazs was actually a nobody. Then they changed their name to something exotic [ie 'Häagen-Dazs'] (Häagen-Dazs)
You go to Mandarin, how much is the chicken rice? $15. Whereas if you eat here [the Arts Canteen]... Here is not so good.
Even the University has a hire and fire system. So if you don't see me anymore, I got fired.
He is in search for the absolute truth (of, absolute)
Plair'toe (Plato)
We don't take things that we know are unreasonable and try to make them sound reasonable. Despite all the articles that I've given you that may make you think that, that's not what we're trying to do.
Could I possibly go out on a limb here? The terms are too broad? 'Truth'?, in an 8 page essay?
People are extraordinarily not stupid, despite evidence to the contrary.
[On an essay on robots] I'm using Nagel [which doesn't talk about robots] and that text. [Me: What does the text say about robots?]... [Professor: Good. What does this text say about robots?] The text doesn't say anything about robots.
You can laugh to your parents exponentially, where you can laugh to your boyfriend only linearly (love, while you can love)
The peak and the tr'ow (trough)
The Passion Correlation Coefficient (Pearson)
The first number is force. The second number is nice. (four, nine)
Today is our last lecture. You can celebrate after this.
Every firm in the industry is so doing. (doing so)
I don't know why it is jug'ter'pose here (juxtaposed)
impirical (empirical)
These people have no alternative use for their talent: no transfer payments... After a while Tiger Woods becomes a coach. He earns very much less, but he has already made his millions. He'll sell some clothes and all of you will buy.
See'ah'co (Seattle)
Sair'teris paribus (Ceteris)
The union can also tries (try)
[On labour unions] Singapore is a unique case. The workers are all hammered into compliance.
There are 4 short answer questions. You have no choice... Everything will be tested. *laughter from audience*
There will be 20 short answer questions (MCQs)
Make sure your calculator can do those power things. A simple calculator: plus, minus, times, divide - you will be in trouble.
Make sure that you quickly sketched it (sketch)
Do you want to switch papers? I'm writing a paper on anime, sex and pornography.
Actually you are graded on your class participation. Most of you don't talk. Now it's too late.
Viz a vihz the US dollar (Viz a viz)
When we exports goods to them (export)
There are very much details involved (many)
They let our Singapore dollar fluk'cheh'ate (fluctuate)
[After the last lecture before the final] You won't be tested on this topic [, this is how I got you to come to class and pay attention, muahaha!]
[On Singapore only controlling inflation] The whole gair'mute of things you learn in your textbook. All the monetary and fiscal policy... Singapore is a small country.
Your response paper is also due. You will get it back on the day of the exam. *cries of consternation* After the exam.
[On assignments] I know you'll stay up all night doing it. That's why my assignments are always due at midnight. It's not healthy.
[On proper replies in conversation] He could have said 'Charlemagne'. He could have juggled onions. He could have tap-danced.
