#thoughtoftheday – A commonality between chess and life

It’s interesting to note that in #chess, like life, a player can have ample material but not enough time (tempo) to win or succeed. This is common in a chess game where the player with less material emerges ahead It’s an interesting but not entirely identical feature, shared characteristic between the two. (Chess games have … Read more

This couple from the bus…

It was an honor to stand behind this couple.. they were holding hands the whole time I saw them and clearly loved each other from their simple gestures. Because of their fragility, they navigated the world in a way that made our world seem Barbaric. They were dressed in absolutely pressed and formal clothing, and … Read more

Aim for the Third Frame

I’ve been thinking about the concept of a shared frame of reference as the beginning of all understanding between 2 disagreeing parties. Is agreeing on axioms and shared perceptual frames the only way to start connecting and speaking meaningfully about something usually subjective? Noticing that people usually who speak from a subjective ‘I’/my frame, may … Read more

Royal KMM Typewriter – User Manual (PDF)

Love my Royal KMM.. (as many of you know, or could easily guess). Here is the user manual, years from now, maybe this one of the extant redundant copies. Royal KMM Typewriter – Manual (PDF) Cheers’

Marriage of Libraries + Bookstores into…

With the decline of both libraries and bookstores. It makes sense to consider that: 1. Lifelong learning and retraining of skills is more important than ever 2. Bookstores often are burdened by bricks and mortar (ie. rent) for an otherwise favorable public good 3. Libraries suffer from low user bases and are becoming obsolete in … Read more

Catharsis in Art and its similarity to heat transfer

I’m amazed at how humans know when something is heartfelt/emotional and how others remarkably respond to it. When a person speaks sincerely, through whatever mechanism, we tend to understand that person all the more through an emotional lens versus, just an intellectual one. I suspect part of the reason it is so fun to watch … Read more

Photo of the Village Vanguard

A photo taken of the Village Vanguard has been up for several months now on wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_Vanguard About as sweet as the sound of Coleman Hawkins in Body and Soul.

Seismology and Market Prediction

The phenomena of both earthquakes and the stockmarket. working thesis, the dynamics which make both unpredictable is the same. A buildup and unsustainable unbalancing phase followed by the crash portion. An unlocking. A lot of people would use that analogy as obvious, but take it one step further. Can seismologist just study financial charts as … Read more

UltraMeta: Life Affirmation

This is an extremely ‘meta’ post about life and happiness. But with that said, perhaps a hard won truth. Without being too ‘abstract’ about it: Above the basics needed, the expression of courage is what brings happiness to life. It is why having kids, or giving to charity, climbing everest or making something beautiful is … Read more

Brad Melhdau – Resignation in 6/4 time (Leadsheet) – Arr.

Hi, I’ve made this for the band based on Brad Mehldau’s lyrical Resignaton from the Elegiac Cycle. Notable differences: This is in 6/4 time, whereas the original is in 7/8 (it appears my band cannot count in 7/8). This is a lead sheet meant for improvisation.  Just the first round through the A section (the actual … Read more

E Minor March

Cleaning out the harddrives. A spot test and absolutely the first file created on the beloved macbook 15′ – 2011 model. Improvised a simple march and drew the poor soldier at work on the weekend. It’s just fun and admit – there is a soft spot for this wacky guy. Enjoy.  

The Manhattan Project – Creating Open Source Audio Books

Hi – I wanted to create a project, where:   1. Creatives in NY can collaborate together towards open-source projects. Actors Reading, Writers Writing and Illustrators drawing. Namely creating audio/multimedia children’s books for the public. It will be under the Creative Commons license – attribution, no commercial, no derivative. This ensures that the participants are … Read more

Bright Lights Big City – New York

My answers are usually quite – shall we say realistic – when people ask me what it is like to live in NY. It’s tough here, but the quality which I realize and now appreciate more. True of all big cities and all wide open places, is the ability to create your own reality and … Read more

Living to Eat : Eating the Living

Isn’t it strange that we need to consume life in order to live…. Even the strictest vegans will need to eat things once alive to gain their energy. The simplest grains, beans and vegatables were all once alive. You can survive only for so long with eating rocks, mineral salts and solar power (like trees … Read more

Kiva Loan History

Here is my loan repayment history so far on Kiva. This has all been from a $100 loan. 13/16 loans already 100% paid back, 3 loan’s in the process of being paid back. I am choosing the loans and try to lend to institutions who have a great repayment history / low risk for housing, … Read more

A Trip to Mountain View

In February – I took a trip to Mountain View as a ‘3rd Rounder’ for their recruitment process. Although I didn’t get the position, it was certainly interesting to see the Internet Giant up close (and to a limited extent – to view its day to day operations from within). In preparation for my interview, … Read more

Origins of Intelligence: Humans

It seems very clear to me that the origins of human intelligence was selective pressure, especially at the group level. That unwritten history is likely bloodier than written history seems almost certain. Inter-species warfare created the ever larger brain, much like deer’s antlers or any other tool in a virtuous feedback loop. That is what … Read more

Murmur Toronto – Future’s Bakery – Blast from the Past [Audio]

Blast from the Past!! http://murmurtoronto.ca/place.php?277649 Circa 2003.. Interactive Cell Phone Audio Tours. Was recently contacted by a tourism dot com and reminded about what people like Gabe Sawhney were up to in 2003. Ahh… I recorded one for Future’s Bakery, a hang out of hangouts where my roommates used to work. A ton of chess … Read more