Welcome to 'proper admin', my bi-monthly cleanup of everything I can't quite work into its own post.
Thanks for reading these past couple of months.
Tim
Blog Admin- Winter 2017
The schedule adjustment I explained in the last 'prop admin' is going very well. With things settled on that front- I am more or less scheduled out for a month in advance- I've turned my attention to blog layout.
The obvious layout change is the subscription feature. It is a bit clumsy, I think, when compared to similar options on other sites. But what do you expect here, anyway? The relevant thing is that it works.
So, give it a try if you want to get posts mailed straight to your inbox each morning. If you need directions: enter your email in the box to the right and respond to the confirmation message. The emails go out sometime around 7am each morning.
However, the subscription concept is forcing a change to my posting time. Instead of waiting until the 11am hour on Wednesdays and Fridays, all of my posts will now go up between 5am and 6am. This change is necessitated by the subscription feature- an early morning post will reach inboxes on the same day while a late morning post would go out in the next day's email.
The 'in progress' layout change is this section. Starting April 1 (not a joke) the space at the top of the blog will highlight blog admin (also not a joke). I am optimistic that the adjustment will take advantage of that top space (this could be a joke). Just to state one anticipated benefit, the change will communicate layout adjustments faster (aka- 'immediately', a joke depending on how seriously you read that) than I do now (when I wait up to two months until this 'prop admin' post, which is a joke in a non-literal sense).
I do not think this section will be missed. Historically, I've only explained the obvious or the trivial. The change leaves open the question of how I will start the next 'prop admin'.
Stay tuned, I guess.
The word from the peanut gallery...
"Shame on you."Like anyone is surprised. I write these blogs from the highest horse I can find, so long as that horse has free wi-fi.
-anonymous commenter (respond to something I criticized very directly)
"I've started getting the TOA subscription service..."It works! GIVE ME YOUR EMAILS NOW.
-anonymous
At the very minimum, it's a good spam tester- if TOA goes straight your inbox, you need to get your filter a tune-up.
Commentary- Winter 2017 blog posts (True On Average)
*1/1- New Year’s Resolutions, Part 2
*1/6- Leftovers: Make America Debate Again
If I were to add one more thought to this post, I would investigate the relationship of voting results and victimization.
For example, if it became illegal by popular (or even electoral college) vote tomorrow to exercise on public property, does that make me the victim of an inconvenient new policy? Or does it simply give voice to those shoved aside, stepped on, or startled everyday by ignorant joggers and overzealous cyclists?
*1/9- Prop Admin- December 2016 Reading Review, Part One
The bi-monthly Moya rant is here to stay, folks. (Editor's note: Tim is desperate for Proper Admin content. Send him ideas, though food is also welcome.)
Have a look at Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador if you want to get in on the joke. Or just read the summary I wrote in this post.
*1/16- 2016 Books of the Year, Part One
I casually listed some early front-runners for '2017 Band of the Year' in the footnotes. About one-fourth of the way in, it's clear that I should have included Rubblebucket.
According to their website, Rubblebucket is an 'indie pop dance band' (which is an early front-runner for 'Least Helpful Description' of 2017). I first saw them in October as the opener for Lake Street Dive and I immediately liked the band. They have great energy on stage and have at least twice as much fun as anyone else in the room.
During the performance I saw, at one point the band fled the stage with their instruments to form a marching band that snaked its way through the aisles of the Wang Theatre. Based on some research I conducted, this appears to happen regularly during their shows (or perhaps the drummer has a flatulence problem).
I'm still going strong with Slow Club. For those seeking a four-minute distraction, I recommend their video for 'In Waves'. Rebecca Taylor uses a GoPro camera to record the kind of day she sings about. The highlights for me were a Google search ('does Victoria Beckham have collonics?'), the layout of her vegetable crisper, and 'melted cheese on fucking everything'.
The video reminded me of two soccer commercials I still remember from a decade ago. Each used the same first-person format and the style captured my imagination. The first was a three-minute Nike production, directed by Guy Ritchie, that highlighted the ascent of a young soccer star. The second was the English Football Association's parody that advertised the (perhaps) more glamorous lifestyle of an average semi-professional player.
So, go on and have a look at those videos.
(...)
Hold on, I'll be back in ten minutes.
*1/23- Prop Admin- December 2016 Reading Review, Part Two
OK- back!
I'll shorten the several hundred word (second) summary of Stoner I prepared to make up for the time you just spent watching those videos: is the acceptance of disappointment heroic or tragic?
*1/27- Leftovers: Messy…
I mentioned in my post about the 'T' that I had two additional stories. The first took place while reading this book. I was standing on the platform, waiting for a train, when a guy walked over and turned his head sideways to get a better view of the book.
I glanced at him and he nodded his head. Then I realized he was actually shaking his head, thanks to the aforementioned sideways head turn.
"Thought it was about soccer," he muttered before walking away.
For the record- like all the British- Harford calls it football.
*2/1- Prop Admin- Early Winter 2016
I am very pleased with the schedule adjustment I described here. The shorter posts allow me to schedule content in advance. This means that I rarely work on anything going up in the next day or two and that, in turn, means more time to work on the quality of the writing.
It also means that, in the unlikely event I get trampled by a flock of angry Canadian geese, there will be a month or so of posts going up here on TOA. Sounds like the plot of a movie you would come up with at three in the morning after several drinks and a pile of Chinese food, right?
No?
Oh.
*2/3- Wild Times on the ‘T’
The other 'T' story is from running into a former colleague. When this person lived in my neighborhood, I used to run into her every once in a while. But she moved a few miles north about six months ago and the chance meetings ended.
In January, I rode the Green Line to a job interview. And surprise of all surprises, we ended up on the same train. But as always is the case when running into anyone, it seemed perfectly explainable in the moment. Only afterward did I consider the long sequence of events that had to go just right for it to happen:
*My decision to ride the train instead of walk
*The speed at which I walked to the station
*Loading enough money onto my Charlie Card so I could skip buying a ticket
*The travel logistics- the car I boarded, the direction I faced, the place I stood...
And so on.
Plus, the person I run into has his or her own similar list of little details that, any single one altered, changes the course of the day and prevents the chance meeting. Sometimes, it is a wonder that I ever run into anyone at all.
*2/5- 2016 Books of the Year: Tiny Beautiful Things
So the whole 'review a book in the style of the book' idea is nothing particularly new or clever. More importantly, it does not guarantee the review becomes more interesting. But when I stumbled across a draft of an email that vaguely resembled a note to myself, I thought it might be worth a shot for this post.
The style of this post- as well as an inspiration for my 'What I Learned' post from July- came from this column (which is featured in the book). My understanding is that many rate this column as their favorite from Strayed's tenure as the 'Dear Sugar' columnist.
*2/8- But What’s the Wind Chill?
This post is a decent argument for a single-payer system. So, what's the delay?
Well, UHC's CEO took home over $100 million in 2010. In 2014, his pay was dramatically reduced- $66 million. (It's unclear if his employer also covered his health insurance plan- perhaps 'compensation' was a little higher in those years.)
Systems that produce such figures do not change very quickly. After all, in whose interest is it to change this system? Not for anyone with the power to do it, that's for sure.
*2/10- Talking Shits, January 2017
Sources for specific quotations include Hungarian proverbs, CNN, Medium, Paul Graham's essays, Brain Pickings, Mr. Money Mustache, This Is Anfield, my own nonsense, The New Yorker, Farnham Street, Thought Catalog, The Boston Calendar, IMDB, M.I.A., and The Boston Globe.
I should also note the influence of The Art of War. The book is a series of voices contributing quotes to a larger narrative arc. I thought it was an interesting coincidence that I wrote up notes for this book, started doing 'Talking Shits', and read Lincoln In The Bardo- a book written with a similar multi-narrator style- in the span of one month.
*2/12- Reading Review: Tenth of December
George Saunders's appearance on February 17 was great. I'll write about the specifics when I review Lincoln In The Bardo.
I almost skipped going to the event. Around 3pm that day, my stomach cramped up. The pain was not very intense but I felt bloated and uncomfortable. I tried to sit, then stand, then walk. Nothing helped. As the 7pm start time approached, cramping replaced my discomfort.
Finally, I walked into CVS and, for the first time in my life, bought some over the counter medicine (antacids). Surprise, this last ditch effort worked...I suppose every rule ('avoid over the counter medicine') requires an exception ('unless you paid $5 to hear an author make dick-jokes').
*2/15- Prop Admin- December 2016 Reading Review, Part Three
The poem from milk and honey explains a pillar of my learning process. I learn from bad teachers by negative example- I try to avoid making their mistakes.
*2/17- Bitter Old Man: “I’ve seen bigger.”
The best place in Boston to see the full moon is from the Longfellow bridge at moonset. A clear night sky is ideal (though a cloud or two might add an interesting dimension to the visual).
*2/19- 2016 Books of the Year: Fallen Leaves
I laughed aloud at his suggestion that a tourist is anyone who mistakes novelty for beauty.
*2/22- Boston’s Sad Squirrels
I hope this post does not come back to haunt me when I run for mayor.
*2/24- The TOA Game Show Channel Presents: Real or Fake?
FAKE
1) Honeyball: How Big Data is Changing Your Relationships
2) The Porridge Clause: The True Story Of Goldilocks and Her Flight From Justice
4) The Sphere-A-Mid Scheme: How Big Insurance Passes The Buck To Keep Their House Of Cards Upright
5) Apocalypse Tomorrow: Why So Many Predict the End- And Why It Never Comes
8) The Baby Doomers- The Generation of Waste and Excess That Failed America- and What We Must Do To Fix It
11) All Geek To Me: The Decade of Comic-Con, Star Wars, and The Rise of Silicon Valley
12) Heroes To Zeroes: Tales of Fleeting Success
14) The Sneer of the Tiger: How Animals Proved Everything Zoos Knew About Captivity Was Wrong
15) Born To Gun: The Second Amendment and How It Fulfilled Our Manifest Destiny
17) Barking at the Wrong Me: How To Recognize- And Treat- Your Aging Dog's Mental Decline
18) Dressing In Disguise: Salsa, Hummus, and Other Healthy Ways to Garnish Your Salad
19) ci2i: The Abbv Age and How It Is Changing Communication
20 ) Let Lying Dogs Sleep: How To Navigate A Modern World of Deceit, Deception, and Misinformation
REAL
3) Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It
6) The Man with the Poison Gun: A Cold War Spy Story
7) Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
9) The Great Suppression: Voting Rights, Corporate Cash, and the Conservative Assault on Democracy
10) Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
13) Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection
16) Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Explanation
*2/26- Reading Review: The Art of War
Books like The Art of War occupy space on executive bookshelves. Why this might be the case is understandable. There is a lot of wisdom in books like this for leaders of any organization.
But I remain wary of books that provide all the answers. I think time is better spent seeking questions. Leadership means diagnosing problems, not applying prescriptions.
Hubway update!
Just kidding.
A blog is different...
I took an Uber ride in February and was struck by a thought- I hate talking in these cars. It seems contradictory given
I'm not sure what the cause of my discomfort is. Perhaps the obvious presence of technology reminds me of how easy it is to record a conversation.
Or maybe I just feel rude sitting in the car and chattering on, actively ignoring the driver. I've never been fully comfortable actively ignoring others- even when it is considered normal, like having a phone conversation in front of someone else.
I did watch the Super Bowl, I swear!
If I wrote for The Onion, I would surely have contributed this headline: 'Brady finds missing jersey where he last left it'.
The Chinese food equivalent of a four-leaf clover?
I got a fortune cookie the other day which had TWO cookies in it. The heck?
I still collect fortunes but this was too much even for me to handle- I passed the cookie(s) along. I guess I was not mentally (or emotionally) prepared to process two inane
Oh no, is that Moya coming?
"Sit, Moya, sit, you remind me of the people on the train, they stand as soon as the train leaves the station, I haven't a clue why, I ask 'did Atticus Finch board?' but everyone is too busy, jostling and tweeting and shoving aside every civilized passenger who is standing, holding on for dear life, Moya, as the train hurtles down the wobbly tracks, as if it were going anywhere important, like anyone could ever be in a hurry to reach Brookline or Newton or Fenway Park, to watch a bunch of men swing a stick at a ball, a hurry to reach someplace, as the train lurches along, throwing us to and fro like loose crates scattering on the deck of a fishing boat, and for what, you wonder, sit, Moya, sit right here, the bartender is going to think you need another whiskey, it's crazy to stand before one is ready to depart and yet, here in this town, they all stand, en masse, as if the train would leave the station before every fool had disembarked, I've ridden the train so long I remember tokens, Moya, tokens, like children at an arcade, and not once has a train closed its doors before the passengers got off, if anything the train sits dumbly, doors agape, cold wind and fare dodgers and paper trash breezing aboard, but these folks have convinced themselves, they don't need to pay, no fare is fair, maybe that's why they stand, they think the train will move on with them still aboard as punishment for not paying, they stand and knock us all aside to queue at the doors, a full stop before they must get off, mumbling 'excuse me, excuse me' into their phones before barging ahead, does 'excuse me' mean 'out of the way, I am not pausing?', knocking laptops to the ground and fearing imminent arrest, while we are just trying to keep our feet as the train rattles and pitches its way down the track, just so we can all get to the game a second earlier so we can watch these 'athletes', who calls them 'athletes', Moya, no athlete in my book stands stock-still for hours in the grass, they stand there for hours, watching other men swing a stick, watching other men toss a ball, these guys aren't athletic enough to keep their balance on the train..."
Did you leave the apartment at all?
For some reason I could not quite figure out, there is something between Somerville and Everett (just next to Assembly Square) called the 'Amelia Earhart Dam'. It's obviously named for the aviator. But why?
I have no theories and could find no information. It is possibly the last fact missing from Google. Shout if you have any information!
Anything else?
I admit that I tend to like books more than most people. I'm perfectly content to read for an hour to find one good sentence, a process that mystifies people who will stop reading a book that is too dull or slow for them.
One hypothesis I have on the matter is that this is related to how I get so many books out of the library. People love to get things for FREE. And so I wonder if it is possible that those who check out a book from the library for FREE are primed to enjoy the book more than those who pay for it at a book store.
Of course, reader, if you disagree, let's run a little experiment. Each time you read a post, send me one dollar. Or just burn it. And keep track of how much you enjoy these posts...
