Barnson.org

Yep, you too can create your own motivational posters! For your consideration, I submit these Star Trek Inspirational Posters. My favorite is “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.”

Matthew,

Totally random question, and I’m sure that I’ll be providing nowhere near enough info for troubleshooting this, but here goes.

I’ve got a civicspace installation on a virtual server that’s been running smoothly since last November.

One of the members of the civicspace site today mentioned that when they go to the site, all they get is a blank page. No error, no unauthorized login screen, nothing. Upon further testing, I’ve discovered that going to anything in the civicspace directory on this site, including non-existant URLs, returns just a blank page.

Any idea in general what might be the problem? None of the .php files indicate that they’ve been changed since November. In fact, the most recent changes to the civicspace site are just some files uploaded about two weeks ago.

I know the virtual server host has been making some changes recently to the physical server as a whole. Is there a php or MySQL setting elsewhere on the server (like the root directory instead of the civicspace directory) that might be the cause?

Thanks.

Yes, you too can build your own fighting hamster!

So wrong… so very wrong…

I had a conversation with a particularly obtuse apologist over email today. The conversation ended when I directed him to consider his opinion in light of this image:

(August 12, 2006)

Credit: David Horsey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/photo.asp?PhotoID=97019

This one of the coolest things i’ve seen in a while with common every day objects. When adding Mentos to Diet Coke, the soda shoot out of the bottle over 3 feet. I saw this on Mythbusters last night and had to check out the site.

http://www.eepybird.com/dcm1.html

Now I must go shopping… }:)

That is correct. I’m sure it’s no secret that amongst all geeks who know each other, there is an unending, unspoken struggle for domination, to see who can claim the title of “Lord of the Geeks.”

It is an elusive title, and one that constantly changes hands, much like the coveted WWE Champion’s belt.

Battles for status are fought in many ways: attending conventions, getting such-and-such’s autograph, successfully correcting someone else on some obscure bit of role-playing lore or mechanics (“I’m sorry, but you are incorrect in your assertion that the Saving Throw Table for AD&D 2nd Edition can be found on page 97 of the Player’s Handbook. You are mistaking it with the ThacO by Level Advancement table. The Saving Throw table is found on page 101”), etc.

(BTW, those stats aren’t made up.)

But I believe this week the crown must go to me. For last Friday evening, I had the privilege of hearing the National Symphony Orchestra performing Nobuo Uematsu’s Liberi Fatali (better known as the opening to Final Fantasy VIII) AND One-Winged Angel (Sephiroth’s Theme) LIVE with a full chorus behind them. Also included in the program was the music to World of Warcraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, and of course the two original classics Super Mario and Zelda.

Again, full orchestral arrangements, performed by one of the premier orchestras in the country.

It was, in a word, glorious.

Not to worry, though. I’m sure I will be toppled from my throne by the end of this week. And thus the neverending cycle shall continue…

When SIMS meets BUFFY. ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

Ran across this article which really resonated with me today. Emphasis mine. I realize it’s a bit old, but it emphasizes something I’ve come to believe over the years: it’s much less important what you say, or what you believe, than how you say it.

http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/82/97196.htm

Math May Tell Which Marriages Last

Calculus, More Than Chemistry, Predicts Future Divorce Rates

By Sid Kirchheimer : WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD on Friday, February 13, 2004

“Chemistry” may get the credit as the foundation for a good relationship, but new research suggests that calculus may better predict whether it stays intact. Researchers say that a mathematical formula they devised can predict with at least 94% accuracy which couples will eventually divorce.

“We actually were at 100% accuracy for most of our study, but a few couples we didn’t think would get a divorce based on our formula did, which lowered our accuracy,” says mathematician James D. Murray, PhD, DSc, FRS, of the University of Washington and Oxford University. “Still, after testing it on 700 couples, it’s incredibly accurate.”

The formula, which will be officially presented Saturday at the annual of meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, predicts future divorce rates based on positive or negative numerical scores given for specific expressions or comments made as couples discussed a point of contention while being interviewed by a marriage counselor.

“It could be about money, sex, in-laws, housing — whatever,” Murray tells WebMD. “We videotaped couples during a 15-minute conversation and then tracked scores based on their actions and reactions onto a graph, so it wound up looking like a jagged-lined, cumulative Dow Jones average stock report.”

For instance, a roll of the eyes by one mate scored a negative 4 score; a nod indicting interest or well-placed use of humor when discussions got heated warranted a positive 4.

Add the scores and it comes to this bottom line: It’s not whether a couple frequently argues that predicts their success. It’s how they argue.

Masters and Disasters of Marriage

“When couples whose marriages are stable over time talk about an area of contention or disagreement, their discussions have five times as many positive comments or expressions as negative. In couples who eventually headed to divorce, ratio of positive-to-negative was 0.8 to 1,” says psychologist John Gottman, PhD, a noted marriage expert who conceived the mathematical formula and enlisted Murray’s mathematical skills to help develop it some 13 years ago.

The scores for these ratios are based on two coding systems that Gottman developed — a checklist of 13 behaviors scored for the speaker, and nine behaviors that are scored for the listener on each turn at speech, in both contentious discussions as well as any type of conversation.

“When the masters of marriage are talking about something important, they may be arguing, but they are also laughing and teasing and there are signs of affection because they have made emotional connections,” Gottman says. “But a lot of people don’t know how to connect or how to build a sense of humor, and this means a lot of fighting that couples engage in is a failure to make emotional connections. We wouldn’t have known this without the mathematical model.”

Make or Break Factors

Some of the most significant factors were the nonverbal cues. “For example, there’s a facial expression of contempt in which the left lip corner moves to the side and creates a dimple. We see it all the time in couples who are going to break up – and it’s huge in our mathematical formula,” Gottman tells WebMD. “Eye rolling and sighing in response to a partner’s comment are also very big negative behaviors.”

Scoring high on the positive end: Words or actions that show empathy, support, or just interest in what the mate expresses about contentious topics — for instance, supporting words or gestures such as an “I-hear-you-sweetie” nod.

“On the positive side, humor and affection are probably the two most important,” says Gottman, who directs the Relationship Research Institute in Seattle and is professor emeritus of psychology at UW. “But you even get some, but not many, positive points for just bringing up a problem in neutral terms, without emotion.”

In addition to predicting divorce with the 5-to-1 ratio of positive-to-negative interactions, Murray says the model can actually predict when it’s likely to occur: Couples with a steep drop from a neutral point on their “stock chart” typically divorced within five years; a more gentle downward spiral suggested a breakup after 16 years of marriage.

The 700 couples were drawn from six separate studies conducted by Gottman over the past 32 years. “They include the entire spectrum of married people — young newlyweds, couples with small children, those with teenaged kids, seniors, even same-sex relationships.” The actual mathematical formula has been tested on them for 13 years, and many couples are still being tracked.

So how do you stack the numbers in your favor?

“If I have to give one piece of advice based on this for heterosexual relationships, I’d say it’s the importance of a man honoring his wife’s life dreams, and showing his support,” Gottman tells WebMD. “For women, it’s having a gentle approach to raising issues. For instance, rather than saying, ‘You don’t pay enough attention to me’, you say, ‘Honey, I’m getting that lonely feeling because I really miss you and need more of you in my day.’

“Basically, in good relationships people pussy-foot around each other. They think about how their partner is going to react before they act or speak.”

Susan Heitler, PhD, a marriage therapist in Denver and author of The Power of Two, a book on improving relationships, tells WebMD that the mathematical formula for predicting divorce indeed adds up.

“What this does is put into mathematical form what clinicians, relatives, and neighbors see for years before people they know get a divorce,” she says. “The more negativity there is in a relationship, the less happiness. And at some point, the couple says, ‘this isn’t worth it.'”

— Matthew P. Barnson – – – – Thought for the moment: Too much is not enough.

Mel, Mel, Mel.

Oh boy, Mel. Did you ever put yourself in a corner. You were a freewheeling sarcastic action star who went serious. Then you made a religious movie that isolated you from Hollywood and put you under a microscope. The movie also had about 90 seconds of material that when taken out of context of the bigger story, made the Jewish community uncomfortable.

Then you got drunk – a bad move for a religious ICON (his production company name) – drove drunk – a bad move for a role model – chewed out an officer – a bad move for a Hollywood star – and finally, when you realized the officer was jewish.. you let the alcohol talk.

Lets give you the benefit of the doubt. Lets say you just realized there was something you could say that would offend this guy – if he had a limp you would have called him limpy. If he had a pimple, you would have called him Pizzaface. But he was Jewish.. and you made a statement about his race. Then you took it a step further and made a statement about everyone in his race.

Mel, you knew you were under scrutiny by the Jewish community. You spent a year claiming your movie wasn’t anti-Semitic. People were almost over it. People were almost ready to accept you back in Hollywood. But it will never happen now, Mel. You got too serious for Lethal Weapon 5. We might have forgiven that Mel. You’re too controversial for the Christian movies. Too Christian for the mainstream.. and Christians will reject you because you seem like a bigot. What are you going to do, Mel? You killed your career, and its too bad.

Sammy G has a major pet peeve, one that almost rivals the haute couture restricting me from wearing brown sandals with a black belt. This pet peeve is hearing those in the media industry misuse the term “independent.” I don’t think people recognize the true meaning of the term and the harmful implications of throwing that term around.

I haven’t felt the need to spout off like a discordant term-snob until The Rampant Coyote specifically featured the use of “indie” on his game development blog: http://www.rampantgames.com/blog/2006/07/what-is-indie-game.html

When most say “indie” to describe their production, concept, artistic statement, etc. they mean it to infuse a sense of hip, underground, and edgy into their operation. It’s used as a marketing term. It means to a fan or vendor or investor that your operation is rooted in core development values, pure of intent, uninfluenced by a “corporate” world driven by profit motive.

When I hear the term “indie” in association with media, I instantly think just the opposite. I think of a business that is undercapitalized, devoid of strong managerial acumen, and without strong marketing to access customers and fulfill their expectations over time in the form of customer support.

Let me explain to you why the term is misused: if you were to start a record label (“record” being another term now clearly misused!), and you file your charter documents at the Secretary of State, and you pay some bucks to register your trademark with the USPTO, and you find a couple worthy folks to sit on your Board, then there is no difference structurally between your record label and Warner Bros. None. Both corporations are in good standing with their state, both pay income and withholding taxes, both retain the capacity to sue and be sued, and both have shareholders who vote at required annual meetings to elect a Board of Directors which carries a fiduciary responsibility to oversee that management earns a return for the shareholders. Structurally, there is no difference, unless of course you organized your record label as a partnership. And even then there really is no big difference.

In reality, however, we all know there is a big difference. One label is more successful than the other. One has lots of revenue. One has lots of customers. One has distribution.

So for those of you out there who use the term “indie”, let me warn you there are those who hear that term and automatically think you have a business that does not influence or impact the market in any significant way. It means, “we’re not as successful as others.” To some it means, ““we don’t know what we’re doing when it comes to selling our product.”

The only true “independent” sector in the United States, as recognized by the IRS for tax treatment purposes, is the nonprofit sector.

Just my opinion.