I have two categories of RSS feeds that I read – one is my browser (Firefox and Opera) feeds; the other is Omea feeds. I used to use Google Reader, but I’ve gotten paranoid over what Google knows about me, so I switched to Omea instead
The browser feeds are feeds that I read really often (meaning, every hour), while the Omea feeds are those that I read less often (once every few days). Most interestingly though, the feeds that update themselves real quickly (sometimes up to 100 new items a day) are in my Omea list. Perhaps I should restate that – my browser feeds are feeds I consider important and/or good reads, while my Omea feeds serve more like an entertainment list.
So what’s in my feed reader? I have way too many (over 100 feeds) subscribed in Omea, so I’ll share with you my Firefox Live Bookmarks one:
Right. I had a local showing of my movie, Web of Lies in my house two days ago. Almost everyone I invited turned up (save a few exceptions, and 2 cast members were unavailable). Not much is needed to say. I’m not that satisfied with how the movie turned out (the boom microphone picked up way too much bass), but here is the story in pictures:
Here are some email stupidities that happened to me over the last few weeks:
Spam and Chain Mail
I was so tired with chain mail that when I received the Microsoft + AOL chain mail (see below), I fired back an inflamatory email. Here is the whole email record:
if you really believed that I know whether someone has read the mail or not, you’d have to be one of the most gullible person alive. No, I can’t embed hidden trackers within the email. And all the threats are empty threats, but many people on that list happen to be also on other religious (I get spammed by all religions) mailing lists and chain emails, so any references to souls and sins is to pander to their religious fears [↩]
Hmm, as I mentioned in How to Know If You’re A Geek, I bought Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen a few nights ago. Busy with meetings, I only managed to start and finish reading this a few hours ago (I don’t do books in more than 2 sittings, I lose interest after that).
To be frank, I was quite disappointed as I read Discover Your Inner Economist. I have been reading (and back-read every old post of) Marginal Revolution for about 2 years already, and to my initial dismay, Discover Your Inner Economist feels no different from reading the blog. In fact, plenty of the material from the blog is rehashed in the book, albeit with greater degrees of detail. That was frustrating (especially when you expect to find new material at 4 a.m.) and I almost had the incentive to put down the book and read the online version (i.e. Marginal Revolution) instead.
But the book is not all that bad. If you haven’t read the blog before, or if you’re not subscribed to its RSS, then yea, it’s a fun fun read. In fact, I did get a few good chuckles out of it too (so true about meetings and late dinners and RSVPs.). I officially retract my statement that economists cannot write well (but Ronald Coase is still in the list – who uses buttermilk and butter as analogies???!)
As I read along, the book became less and less boring. Instead, I found Tyler to be an exceedingly good writer. You see, I’m the type of reader who constantly asks questions as I read (and come up with possible retorts), but Tyler’s writing style is such that he temporarily leaves the questions unanswered and then answers those questions (and retorts that I had in mind) to later of the chapter. I would say, he ties it up all in a neat little package (or that he has a good editor). Continue reading Discover Your Inner Economist Reviewed
After several iterations of this article, I strangely shall dedicate this to zcer.
To those who do not know me well enough, here’s a confession: I keep a dream diary, and am very anal about it. I record down what I dream as well as what several other people whom I love dreams of. And yes, I dream everytime I sleep, and I dream multiple dreams, and I remember every single one of them. Because I am Superman.
I keep a dream diary because more often than not, solutions to problems I was facing come in dreams. Thanks to me keeping such a rigorous tallying of my dreams, I can tell you that 67% of my problems have been solved in my dreams, sometimes in days before I even faced the problem (don’t ask, it happens and is statistically true).
The best part? These solutions are most often (99%) the best offered solution (i.e. a solution that gives maximum utility in nerdspeak) at that point of time.
In times past, the method of solution is the main character (i.e. me) having to go through various rigorous trials and finally gains understanding of the actual problem and how to solve it.
However, in recent times (i.e. within the last 5 months), I think my mind must have gotten lazy. My dreams would be thus: the main character (played by me) would face a problem, and goes through some rigorous trials, which is then rudely (and most often very cinematically) interrupted by what I would call a Hero character.
These Hero characters are people I know and look up to in real life. They would often interrupt the routine of me having to go through the tough trials, and quite often invite me to tea or for a drink. And I would feel lazy, abandon the tough trials, and go out with these Hero charactaers, and we’d chat.
And as we chat, the Hero characters would give answers to all my problems (again, some even before the problem arose). I’d thank them, and they’d always vanish in various mysterious ways. And if it seems like my dreams have a template, I’m just extracting the 3-acts from my dreams.
Ah…time for some teasers on what’s to come in this blog (and from me in general):
As I was arranging for a local showing of my short film (with the cast and crew), I came across a trailer that I had meant to upload to YouTube, but didn’t. So here it is:
by Tyler Cowen a few nights ago. Busy with meetings, I only managed to start and finish reading this a few hours ago (I don’t do books in more than 2 sittings, I lose interest after that).
To be frank, I was quite disappointed as I read Discover Your Inner Economist. I have been reading (and back-read every old post of) 