So ever since I told the “Christina” story (now edited, you dirty cockfiends) about where modern piercings get their names, people have been sending me I want to name (insert-rare-but-done-before-piercing-here) notes. The truth of the matter is that it's really rare for me to get a photo of something I haven't seen before, or at least isn't just a variation on a piercing that's already been done… That said, I just got this kooky scalp piercing from Damien at Flesh Chamber — his customer is convinced it's going to be the next big thing.
I'm not convinced it's going to take off, but you never know.
As much as I love beer, I'm not sure that I'd get the custom license plate that my next door neighbor has… It feels like a recipe for getting pulled over all the time. As much as I don't really mind paying bribes, it would probably get tiresome after a while.
Make sure to tell yourself that this is cool
And make sure to tell yourself that you have no choice
And make sure to tell your friends that they drive you to it
And that you can quit anytime
That you want, anytime
Also on the car theme, my dunebuggy got wrecked yesterday. Not destroyed or anything, but damaged to the point where it's got to be stripped down to the chassis to repair it (it's only a minor problem, but because of how buggies are built, sometimes minor problems require a complete dismantling). It's just sort of irritating when my vehicles get damaged when I lend them to other people. Not for “blame” reasons, but maybe because if something of mine gets broken, I want to be the one breaking it? I think if it was something I did to it, it would feel more “natural”… I know when I crashed my TT shortly after getting it, it bothered the guy whose bodykit-import-thing I smashed into was a lot more upset than I was.
I can only do this for a little while because it really hurts my head to do it for long (it's just a lot to concentrate on) but I've been doing a little mapping of changes in noise patterns inside π this afternoon… What I'm examining initially is how chaotic (or uniform) ranges of π are. For example, the chart below covers the first six million digits of π.
Points at the top of the chart are ranges that have high noise averages and points, at the bottom are low noise, with the heavy black line showing chaotic fluctuations over time. The fine green line is the same thing, but instead of analyzing π it's analyzing white noise (ie. a control variable), which as expected is essentially flat and has a very even distribution when looked at in these block sizes.
So in short, π is not white noise or random numbers… there is a pattern in there, and there is a signal in there (in my opinion). It's just a matter of figuring out how to extract it.
I got up this morning and discovered that the last of my Red Bulls had been drank. I thought I'd saved one for today but I guess not. Anyway, after prepping some of the BME work for the day (see the entry below this one), I hopped in the dunebuggy and drove down to the malecón to have a coffee on the beach. It's the first time I've been to the café here and it's disconcertingly like any place in Toronto… same set of drinks (at half the price though), a guy on his iMac via their wireless hotspot, and a pierced girl behind the counter taking the orders.
“Mocha grande con soya” — imbibed out on a dock overlooking the bay.
Staircase to nowhere.
Other than that, I'm trying to get some programming done, but there's yelling about some video game within earshot. To really work efficiently, I need a controlled zone… Maybe that's unfair to wish for, but it's never quiet here and I hate blasting my headphones. I have very sensitive hearing. I think some significant changes are going to have to be made in order to stabilize this environment.
I can also hear into the subsonic ranges and up into very high frequency ranges as well. Subsonic sound travels incredibly far, so if there are trucks or large equipment working even miles and miles away it drives me nuts… I think that's part of the reason why I like deserted islands and boats so much.
In order to continue to tease those of you coming down for BMEFEST (and I guess torment those of you who are not), I'd like to share four photos I took this evening of this area (La Paz, BCS, Mexico). As always with my landscape and travel-type shots, these are hereby released into the public domain and you can do anything you'd like with them as far as I'm concerned…
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| This was on a little road near El Centenario (maybe fifteen minutes from where I live). There's some kind of biological research facility protected by dudes with guns at the end of the road so we turned around! (The sign says “slowly”).
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This is a shot out the side of the car across the highway, about half way between the La Paz “International” airport and La Paz itself (which is about a ten minute drive).
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| These two photos were taken at supper time on the main waterfront of La Paz… It's always overflowing with families playing with their kids as well as people cruising and just having a good time. It's very safe, friendly, and welcoming, and has a stunning sunset. As it turns out, sunsets are arranged as a daily event, and so far they've never missed a single one here. |
