It was a much simpler fix than creating a widget. I just edited the sidebar.php file of my wordpress theme to include my Last.fm chart. The only tricky part was to make sure that the chart code was inside an unordered list, which was inside a list item for another unordered list. The WP sidebar is weird that way.
Music of the Moment:
Sæglópur
Sigur Ros
Tags: Music, WordPress, toddroyal.com
I’m currently working on developing a widget for my sidebar (over there ->) that will display my weekly top artists chart from Last.fm. I also want to eventually have a database containing information about my DVD and CD collections. So keep your eyes peeled my friends.
Music of the Moment:
Just Let Go
MAE
Tags: toddroyal.com
Christine bought me a George Foreman grill as a gift for my new apartment (I haven’t actually moved in yet, but the grill was on sale this week). I’m looking forward to being able to use it to make many tasty meals. I’m also looking forward to a bit more of life on my own, because I really haven’t experienced that yet.
Music of the Moment:
Fire It Up
Modest Mouse
Tags: Life
It looks like this:
It’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath apartment in the Palo Verde housing community at UCI. There are already two guys living there; I talked to them both and they seem pretty legit. I’m glad that I finally know where I will be living for at least the next year.
We all know the nursery rhyme, “Baa Baa, Black Sheep.” But has anyone ever stopped to question its underlying message? Or even the plausibility of such an animal? While shopping for shoes today, someone mentioned wool, which led me to consider the old rhyme and its origins. Who wrote it, and why? In the following paragraphs, I attempt to answer these questions using evidence from the text.
For those of us who can’t remember the second part of the poem, I have included it in its entirety below:
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
The rhyme brings many intriguing questions to mind:
First, who is the narrator of this story? The perspective change during the first stanza brings the identity of the speaker into question. Some may postulate that the black sheep is the speaker, and is merely repeating the question that it answered in some earlier situation. Others may argue that the narrator is none other than the inquisitor; that is, the person who poses the initial question of “Have you any wool?” Others still may propose that the speaker is an unknown onlooker who later recounted the scene to an outside audience.
I submit that the speaker is indeed the sheep-inquisitor. My reasons for making this judgment are outlined with the following question:
How could the sheep possibly answer this question? It is common knowledge that sheep (in addition to all other mammals), lack the necessary anatomical apparatuses to engage in human speech. It would be impossible for the sheep to give any indication of whether or not it is in possession of said wool. Thus it is my belief that the speaker is the individual who asks the question, and the “answers” that follow are just suppositions made by the speaker.
Having established the identity of the narrator, one question still remains: why would he/she ask such an obvious question (especially to a mute recipient)? One can surmise that this individual is none too bright to be asking a sheep whether or not it has any wool. Unless the speaker is blind, he/she can perform a quick visual check to verify the presence of the wool (and even if the speaker is blind, he/she could simply feel the sheep to answer the question). Therefore, the speaker has no reason to even ask the question in the first place. However, the speaker does indeed make an inquiry to the aphasic animal. Ergo, this individual can be assumed to be of sub-standard intelligence.
Consequently, “Baa Baa, Black Sheep” is nothing more than the daft drivel of an addled individual.
Mystery solved. And by the way, I did get that new pair of shoes.
Music of the moment:
Driven to Tears
The Police
Tags: Life
I played tonight (with real cards) with Christine, her sister, and a few others, namely Johnny. In the pivotal hand of the game, Johnny made a fairly large bet after the flop of 3 clubs, while I had the Ace in my hand as well as an off-suit King. I called him even though he had the big stack of chips. The turn was a spade, which helped no one, but to keep up my appearance I bet high into Johnny, and he called. On the river, our club came out, leaving four on the board and the Ace in my hand making the highest possible flush. I had the nut. I made a large (but not over-the-top) bet, and Johnny not only bit, but pushed all in. I smiled wide as I called him and he flipped his King of Clubs while saying, “you better not have the Ace.” Needless to say, he was disappointed, and he did not last too long after that hand.
All in all, I thought he played pretty well and I just got lucky on that hand. But it still felt good to hit that Ace-high flush.
Ironically enough, as I write this, I’m listening to a Flaming Lips song that perhaps is fitting for Johnny’s playing style towards the end of the game.
Music of the moment:
All We Have Is Now
The Flaming Lips
Tags: Life
Lately I’ve been playing poker online via Full Tilt, and let me say that I am enjoying myself. Whenever I’m at home and I have nothing to do, I just click that little icon and start playing (with play money, that is). It’s sweet. I think I’ll play some more right now.
Music of the moment:
Warehouse (Live)
Dave Matthews Band
Tags: Web
