Ataraxis Out

My friend Peter just hooked me up with Visual Thesaurus which "creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words." If you glide your cursor over the synonym hub, a short definition will appear; if you click, the map will regenerate around your new selection.

More fun for nerds!



I chose "peace" for today because I need it -- as I attempt to find serenity amidst chaos. And I like the image because it looks like someone who is successfully balancing on one leg while her hands are full and ideas are springing from her head yet she has peace in her heart.

Clearly not a self-portrait at this point in time but perhaps an aspirational vision!

I'm Still Dorky

When I was in high school, my siblings were all out of the house -- college and beyond -- and my parents worked. I would come home most days to an empty home. My mom, ever vigilant about ensuring I didn't get locked out of the house, would call out to me as I left each morning, "Don't forget your door key."

Ah yes, the daily nerd reminder from my mother!

Just kidding, mom. I know that you meant it only in a true "door key" fashion.

But it still cracks me up when I hear it -- like whenever I left the room during our recent vacation.

Yep, still dorky . . .

One Night in Bangkok & the World's Your Oyster

I know my kid is getting older when, at 7 1/2, he's almost as tall as I am (reaching my collarbone) and can do a number of things much better than I -- like playing video games and kicking my butt in chess.

Which brings me to the cutest thing ever: his first chess tournament this weekend!

That Simpson's chess set that my girlfriend gave to us years ago is paying dividends. Bangkok here we come.

Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner.

We're Through Being Cool

My girlfriend Mary just sent me this test which assesses how cool you were in High School (what crowd you ran with, etc.) vs. how cool you are now.

Share it with your friends to see if they've changed.

But first, click here to see if you're still cool!

I'm cool . . .

Getting to Know You

As a bit of a data nerd, I can fully appreciate providing as much information about myself as possible to retailers (e.g., interests, buying patterns, preferences) if it is used to make my overall customer experience better. I actually enjoy, to a minor extent anyway, swiping my Shopper's Club Card. That way the super-powers-that-be at Wegman's know that I am a profile unto myself as I purchase Avalon Organics shampoos and meatless Quorn alongside my Pixie Stix and Ho Hos. Maybe I'm conflicted but I highly doubt that anyone else fits neatly into any prescribed category.

Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of collaborative filtering -- the science of taking my self-reported preferences, matching them with the tastes of a gazillion others, and making predictions about what I would like.

According to MovieLens, the minute I have a moment to watch a non-Pixar movie (heaven forbid) I should be renting a bunch of movies that I have actually never heard of including Monsoon Wedding, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, and Gone Baby Gone. Yes, there is life beyond repeatedly watching The Sandlot or Star Wars (all episodes) with my kids.

Why is this important to me? Because I think I am one of the only people on the planet not to love oft-favored gems such as Forrest Gump, As Good as It Gets, or (dare I say) Bridges of Madison County. Puhlease. I obviously cannot trust popular opinion to dictate my tastes so I must turn to the only friend who truly knows me: a robust database in Minnesota.

By far my favorite application over the past couple of years is Pandora. I can select bands I like, Pandora plays similar bands, and I get to rate whether or not I like their selections for me.

Right now I requested bands like Rilo Kiley, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Beck, Ramones, The Psychedelic Furs, Dwight Yokum, Bowie and the Pixies. Given these selections, Pandora has just played the Clash, the Cure, INXS, the Stone Roses, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Brian Eno and the Smiths. It's like having my own custom DJ. Mind you, given these selections today, I'm not really hearing anything new but that's okay; I can switch them at any time.

Now, if only I could swipe a card carrying my preferences as I enter a bar/restaurant and have songs that I would enjoy automatically entered into the mix, that would be cool. A futuristic Pandora on steroids. It could happen.