Welcome to 'proper admin', my bi-monthly cleanup of everything I can't quite work into its own post.
Blog Admin- Early Winter 2016
I'm going to try something a little different (effective tomorrow) with the posting schedule.
First, I am going to return to a twice-weekly posting schedule. Posts will now go up on Wednesday and Sunday mornings.
The Wednesday post will be business as usual. These blogs will go up sometime between 11am and noon (EST). Longtime readers will recognize the chaotic blend of reflection, analysis, and nonsense.
The Sunday morning post will exclusively cover books. Most posts will focus on just one recently completed book at a time. It's possible that these posts will eventually replace the monthly reading reviews entirely but I'm not quite sure about that yet. Look for these between 5am and 6am (again, EST).
A new feature will be an occasional third post on Fridays. The Friday posts will be much shorter than the Wednesday blogs. Like with the Wednesday posts, I'll set these to go up between 11am and noon (still EST- its the only time zone I know).
I'll use the Friday space for part twos of longer posts, leftovers, and short ideas that I used to put into this 'proper admin' post. My bet is that doing more traditional 'blog' type posts will be a positive one for both reader and writer. The most recent post, the 'leftovers' about Tim Harford's book Messy, is a good example of the type of thing you will see on Fridays.
And of course, if that damn 'Business Bro' comes back- sabbatical my foot, anyone seen him around?- maybe we'll get six hundred words of work-related nonsense on Thursdays, as well. On those weeks, I will probably just post a link to the post on Fridays.
Finally, as True On Average approaches the end of year one, I've decided to end the 'holiday posts'. It was fun while it lasted. I will instead take breaks here and there as needed. No sense scheduling those- I'll just let you know when to bug off for a couple of weeks.
So, until another pointless announcement in two months time, expect a post on Wednesdays, maybe something short on Fridays, and a 'book review' on Sundays.
The word from the peanut gallery...
"Getting better eh?"
-anonymous, in highlighting a particularly well-written (if I may say) passage from a December post.It's about time I got better, no?
"...which I look forward to reading."
-anonymous, in responding to an idea I had for a future post (that would surely get me fired from this blog, were such a feat possible).The unrestrained enthusiasm is always appreciated!
Commentary on Early Winter 2016 blog posts (True On Average)
*11/4- Prop Admin- Fall 2016
The switch to the bimonthly format here was very positive. I like doing these posts but once a month was far too frequent.
*11/9- Moneyball was my favorite book, once
*11/14- Life Changing Books- Moneyball
A Moneyball double dip! Just to be clear, I'm not ready to abandon all forms of 'data analysis'- half the jobs I apply to have that exact phrase in the description. I'm just wary of allowing my reliance on such methods to skew too far toward an extreme.
*11/18- Prop Admin- October 2016 Reading Review
Since publishing this post, Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World has drifted into my thoughts time and again. As sunsets grow paler and the daylight hours decrease, I am reminded of the mood created in his depiction of 'the shadow world'.
How it is that his fictional place exists so clearly in me remains beyond my understanding. But each time I wander beneath overhanging bare branches, squint into increasingly lower sunshine angles, and bundle up against gusts of biting wind on cold winter afternoons in downtown Boston, the world that Murakami so grimly described seems to come to life.
*11/24- I’m Thankful for Haymarket
*11/25- The Haymarket Shopping Guide
Don't worry, reader, I found my tomatoes. I always find tomatoes.
*11/30- I read the Animorphs so you don’t have to
I sure hope everyone took my advice to not read these books. Life is short (though so are these books).
It seems likely that I'll read the 'new' Harry Potter book at some point in 2017. I would hazard a guess here and say that I'll do a similar thing to this post before I read that book.
*12/5- November 2016 Reading Review
The approach I took to finding my love language is entirely my own. I could just as easily have taken and shared the results of the test or used one of the approaches created by Chapman. I decided to try it my way. It was more fun.
*12/9- The Real Reason for A Full Blog
At the risk of infuriating (or perhaps disappointing) you, dear reader, I admit that I did not watch this video in 2016. I just did not have time (too busy writing 'proper admin', I suppose).
*12/14- Leftovers: No Matter What…(Where Does Art Come From?)
I am unsure today if this song proved a turning point for T.I. I stopped following his career soon after I saw this show, mostly because my interest in his musical genre disappeared. My suspicion based on a look at some of his popular work since 'No Matter What' is that he tweaked rather than overhauled his style.
I did note a couple of months ago, however, that he was taking a greater role in advocating for causes he felt strongly about. He did this publicly through speaking appearances and by explaining the feelings underlying some of the images in his music videos. He did this privately by meeting with past icons who used their celebrity to make a positive, lasting impact on their communities.
His comments in response to one of his recent videos highlight a spirit reminiscent of what I felt 'No Matter What' was all about:
"I felt it, so as an artist we are compelled to do what we feel. We are kind of bound by an unwritten oath that when we feel something we must let it out, and this is the result."In January, T.I. took another step in this direction by releasing an open letter to President Obama in the New York Times. Is he on the verge of becoming rap's Bono? This blogger can only hope!
I'm very curious about what drove Akutagawa to write a story like 'Hell Screen'. One difference between the modern rap and Japan's short stories of the early 1900s (out of, let's say, several differences) is the extent to which artists/authors will directly criticize one another within their work. Thus, I can only read into things and compare the notes of various scholars who study this topic much more rigorously than I.
Still, despite the lack of direct implication, it seems the consensus is that Akutagawa did have an opinion or two regarding the lifestyles and commitment of his contemporaries.
*12/19- Tales of Two Cities, Vol 1: Aug ‘15 - Nov ‘15
Despite starting the writing just ten days before I posted it, the idea of writing about cycling is one I have worked on for most of the last six months. It started a week or so after I wrote a post about how little actual recollection I had of what is now the past eighteen months.
On that day, I went into my Hubway account to investigate what I thought was a bogus charge (it wasn't, because I'm an idiot and can't count to thirty minutes). I found to my surprise that the dates, times, and locations of my Hubway trips created a skeleton around which I could flesh out some very specific memories of the time period. I did not know quite what to do with it on that day but kept the concept in mind for later use.
The combination of several sources eventually pointed to an approach for the post. I would say the end result, a series of mostly out-of-focus snapshots, incorporates personal data (Dear Data) and retrospective diary (Turn) to describe the up and down process of personal growth.
The post ran too long so I cut it off where I thought best. I'm not one hundred percent sure if, when, or how I'll return with the next part. I'm not quite sure yet if what I have remaining fits into what this post became.
*12/25- New Year’s Resolutions, Part 1
*1/1- New Year’s Resolutions, Part 2
I have not forgotten about fleshing out the details of two resolutions from the 1/1 post.
Any podcast recommendations?
In December, I read Tim Harford's new release, Messy. He appeared on one of my favorite podcasts, EconTalk, to discuss this book. I enjoyed the entire appearance.
Here is a link to the hour-long episode.
If you are not a podcast type, here is a link to a story referenced in the episode. It talks about how sloppy statistical inference leads to widespread belief in untrue but interesting ideas. In this article, Harford traces the path of this phenomena and talks about how such things continue to hold the public's attention even after they have been disproved.
Not another bracket, please, no!
Got a couple of more ideas for new words over the past couple of months.
1. A word for a tree that becomes taller once all its leaves have fallen off.
2. A word for sitting or lying down, getting fully comfortable, then remembering you need to do or get something which forces you to stand back up.
3. A word for emptying the final remnants of a container of food onto your plate, usually a dip, sauce, or topping (salsa, grated cheese, etc) because leaving such a small amount for next time will make no impact on the meal it supplements.
God for atheists?
Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, led his team to a 31-24 victory over my New England Patriots in early November. After the game, he was interviewed on the field by NBC.
Regarding young teammate C.J. Procise, who surprised viewers with his standout performance, Wilson remarked that he was a good kid who 'puts God first'.
Despite my complete lack of religious belief, I really liked that expression. To me, it seemed to summarize a common theme among them all. Starting from a place like that is a good step forward in trying to find new ways to relate across one's differences with another.
I ate food this month
The coming and going of Thanksgiving reminds me of just how little regard I have for turkey. It is amusing to see how others are quick to agree if I state my feelings on the matter. It seems we eat it once a year out of obligation rather than interest.
Now, eggs are an entirely different matter. I love eggs and eat them year-round. I recently started buying eggs at CVS. Who knew that eggs there were the cheapest in Beacon Hill? Not me, until now. Once recently passed legislation comes into effect, these eggs may triple in price.
Oh no, here comes Moya...
"Moya, have a whiskey with me, Moya, order it with the barkeep, he's at the other end now but he'll be back, you'll order it like an adult too, won't you, Moya, won't you just say 'I'll have this or that, then, please,' just as any adult would, none of this nonsense where you point and grunt or say 'I'll have a whisss-keeee' or that you'll just have two parts gin and two parts tonic, none of that Moya, we are adults here, we say what we want, I thought so myself, that I was an adult just earlier today, just at lunch, when I went out to eat with Mis- oh, it doesn't matter who, Moya, they're all the same, these people, they tell you about a great new place for lunch, popular, they say it's so popular that we'll have to stand in line for hours to eat, they say, and we go, and we stand in a line out the door and around the corner, all awaiting something spectacular at the other end, a veritable culinary delight, surely, and we wait there, among a crowd of hungry fools, Moya, fools, we get to the end of the line with these fools, and its a counter, like in a cafeteria for children, children in school, and you are allowed to order two vegetables and a protein, a 'protein', I should emphasize, and only yes or no for this protein, this 'protein', to relieve me of the burden of using my brain to order the actual food I want, like I'm not capable of asking for chicken or tofu or even nothing, I have to talk about what 'protein' I'm getting, and its a yes or a no only, I get it or I don't, like I'm a nutrition label, talking about protein, 'protein', my lunch companion spent five minutes discussing his protein, as if it were oxygen, what becomes of the man who fails to ingest protein, in this cafeteria, this school lunch cafeteria full of overdressed adults, where cooks are preparing some special 'protein' that isn't merely a dry cube of chicken or some plastic week-old tofu, like this protein, this 'protein', its pro-teen, Moya, pro-teen, because the older kids might like it, they can take a photo of it, its for school lunches this place, and the line is out the door, of these adults, these adults who buy lunch like children, they can't even order a meal, they have to come into these places to point and grunt at a pepper because they can't name it, they can't name what they want rolled into a ball with their protein, Moya, a ball of protein and two vegetables, so that we can eat it with our hands like children, Moya, like children, who cannot be trusted with proper silverware, these adults that are just like little children, we mustn't allow them a fork to wave around, no wonder these lunch places are so popular, Moya, Peter Pan himself should be serving the meals here..."
Did you leave the apartment at all?
I reached a one year anniversary for Hubway in early October, marking the special occasion by renewing my annual membership. Somehow, the price remained $85 a year. I've spent more money in one sitting at late-night Chinese food (a perfect thing to ride a Hubway to, by the way).
I mentioned in this post that the impact of Hubway on me was 'beyond measure'. Not fully true, in a way- Hubway tracks all kinds of numbers.
As of December 9, the day I started writing this post, I have used Hubway for 411 hours, 38 minutes, and 28 seconds. That's almost half of a month out of the sixteen during which I've been a member. I'm not sure if that is more or less than I expected!
Other stats...
*495 total days of Hubway membership
*3069 miles traveled (estimate based on time on the bike multiplied by a speed estimate of 7.456 miles per hour)
*1449 total trips
*$22.50 'overdue' fines (each trip that exceeds 30 minutes = $1.50)
The most interesting note above is the mileage. It implies that, were I to attempt a cross-country bike ride, I am currently equipped to do so in half a month on the pseudo-cinder block with wheels that is the standard issue Hubway bike. Throw in some adjustments for sleeping, eating, and bathroom breaks (I could do at least two of the three on the bike, though) and a month is probably a realistic estimate.
Maybe I'll update you, reader, on these numbers every year. The annual Hubway user report, maybe? Who knows...
Anything else?
I posted over the holidays those resolutions that I've completed or currently have ongoing. Sounds like almost the full picture, right?
Right, almost. Success, as we all know, is built on a foundation of failure. Here are some of my resounding flops from a half-decade of New Year's resolutions:
*Stop watching TV (~2011)
This one holds up until you consider televised sport. At that point, it becomes a sand castle versus high tide.
Guess which one this resolution is!
*Learn to cook one new thing each week (multiple times, most recently February 2016)
Because what else is there to do when you lose your job, right?
I did OK for a short while. I learned how to make banana bread (which was a positive) and almost suffocated myself while eating homemade okonomiyaki (which was not a positive).
I'm facing up to reality now. My cooking style is fast, loose, and high volume. This approach does not work well with things like 'recipes', given their reliance on strict measurements.
*Stretch after running (multiple times, most recently November 2016)
This is probably the classic type of resolution that people mess up. They vow to do something that they should do, not recognizing that the reason they do not do it already is built into the structure of their lifestyle.
In Small Is Beautiful, author Ernst Schumacher writes that development requires education, organization, and discipline. He uses development in the context of macroeconomic policy but here I apply it to my resolution.
My problem is not education- I know about stretching. It's not discipline- my willpower is fine.
The problem is organization. I do not stretch because I often shower and go right out again after running. It is hard to stretch within this framework. In order to get this right, I'll need to adjust my running schedule.
*Prepare better for umbrella products (last night, when it rained)
'Umbrella products' are things that never seem all that urgent to acquire until you suddenly need them. Then, not having it is a huge problem. Umbrellas, obviously, fall into this category. Other examples (none of which apply to me, of course) include hand soap, toilet paper, and monthly train passes.
This type of resolution is perhaps best left unmade. A big issue I see with it is the possibility of going too far the other way- I might end up with ten umbrellas! The safest approach is perhaps to stop worrying about getting wet.
On the other hand, though, such a comment is easy to make when one is dry.
Oh well. Wish me luck.
Thanks for reading these past couple of months. See you again on Friday.
Tim
