Significant

I've started following a new webcomic that I stumbled across the other day, called XKCD (which, to all accounts, does not stand for anything). And in it, I found this gem of a quote:

"Communicating badly and then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness."

It actually reminds me of one of Niven's Laws For Writers, from some years ago:

"If you've nothing to say, say it any way you like. Stylistic innovations, contorted story lines or none, exotic or genderless pronouns, internal inconsistencies, the recipe for preparing your lover as a cannibal banquet: feel free. If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible. If the reader doesn't get it then, let it not be your fault."

I seem to be running into far more opaque and/or shitty writing lately, where the content is damn near incomprehensible. These quotes above are important to anyone trying to communicate.

That is all.

Looking Back

It's been a long year.

It doesn't always feel like it; the default state is to pause and think, "My, how the year has flown by. Why, it seems like only yesterday..." But it ain't so this time around. Because every time I start to think that, I think about all the things I've done this year, and that stretches the time right back out.

Less than a year ago, I was up in Minnesota, sick, very cold, and generating massive amounts of mucus and static electricity.

Two months later, I was out in Dallas, TX, rooting for the Colorado Avalanche at a playoff game.

One month later, living it up in Beverly Hills, CA, visiting tar pits and roundly cursing the time difference between the east and west coasts. And that trip only got more weird.

In June, I accurately predicted the playoff fate of the evil Edmonton Oilers, and Sarah and I went to D.C. to visit my brother.

In July, I was just weird.

September saw my return to school, entering the pre-engineering program at Chattanooga State; in the end, Vector Statics went acceptably well*, with a B. Let's not discuss Calculus I, other than to say that online classes are far harder for me than I expected. Oh, and I saw Samuel L. Jackson fight Snakes On A Plane.

October was nothing but crazy, with my first real vacation in a while, a week-long jaunt through Germany and other parts of Europe, and then a long series of work trips a couple of weeks afterward:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five

It's the more recent months that are hazy to me for some reason, despite trips to Chicago and back to D.C. (which I still have not posted about). I was down with a cold for a couple of days, no fun. But overall it has not been a dull year by any stretch of the imagination, even when you consider that I only took about half as many work trips this year as the year before (yikes!).

I'm happy about some things, mind you. I think my health has been better this year than in quite a few years past, just in terms of general fitness. I'm sticking with my aikido classes, training hard, and getting ready to take my 4th kyu test in February (I was originally scheduled to do it in August, but I just wasn't ready). I've also been visiting a chiropractor** on a regular basis, which has given me some respite from my back problems.

I've been trying to be more aware of my diet, and I've just about cut my caffeine intake down to nothing; drinking a lot less soda, and a lot more water. I sleep better at night, and my acid reflux issues are greatly reduced.

I've been taking more and better photographs, and that's one of the things that pleases me the most. The temptation is strong to run out and buy a better, more expensive camera, but that would cost money I don't currently have; in the meantime, I've got a decent camera as it is, and I'm going to make the most of it.

I've kept up with my damn weblog. That makes me feel good, given that my track record with such things isn't great. But I've kept at it***. I've averaged about one post a week; it's not much, but it's a starting point for more. There's far more that I can do with this than I have been.

The time for resolutions isn't just yet, but that'll come soon enough. And now, a picture of Java:


*(Getting a B in a class qualifies as acceptable to me; actually being happy about it requires an A.)

**(I'm no convert to the idea of chiropractic medicine being a panacea for all the world's ills, but getting my back and shoulders adjusted feels good, has reduced some aches and pains, and helps my aikido. It also, most importantly of all, has made me more aware of my own posture--traditionally bad--and helps me correct it on a daily basis. I think that will be far more important in the long run.)

***(For the five or so people that actually read it. Har! Hey, I'm grateful that someone does.)

Day Of The Ninja 2006

I woke this morning to discover that today is the official Day Of The Ninja. I'm limited to my clever "office worker" disguise at the moment, of course, but I'm still more ninja than my co-worker in the canary yellow golf shirt.

I have two things for this auspicious day, other than the above link which will take you to useful ninja-related information regarding impromptu masks and throwing stars.*

First, a picture of something I found at the Freer Gallery in D.C. this past weekend: Sparkle Ninja chewing gum.

With a blurb on the retail box billing him as "The deadly assassin with a keen sense of fashion," well, one can only (carefully!) point out that he does not have an equally keen sense of stealth. The chewing gum itself is unremarkable; coated tablets like elongated Chiclets, with an unmistakeable but unoffensive Artifical Strawberry flavor, the recommended serving of two tablets stands up to about four minutes of steady chewing before losing its flavor. At which point I'm sure you could use it as part of a ninja booby-trap if necessary.

But, you know? It's not about the gum, dammit. It's about ninja, more specifically one so secure in his ninja-ness that he wears a sparkly hot pink bodysuit (rhinestones, perhaps?), and is ready and willing to wonk you with his nunchaku if you give him any shit about it.

Second, about a year and a half ago, I went to Knoxville Aikikai for a seminar; one of the guest instructors was the widow of the late, great Akira Tohei shihan. At one point, while we were resting after a couple of hours of practice, she started talking about some of the old martial arts traditions; stuff you don't really see much of anymore. She talked about how a lot of the old martial artists would avoid sitting or lingering on the lines between the tatami, as, back in the old days when Japanese homes were built on raised platforms with space under the floor, someone could crawl under there ("Like a ninja," she said. "You know ninja?") and stab through a gap with a sword.

So, yeah. Day Of The Ninja.

*(I used to make those in elementary school; it's a wonder I didn't put someone's eye out.)