Lucid Dreaming

I read a very interesting article on "Lucid Dreaming" techniques and thought it would be a really fun thing to try to learn how to do. I've had lucid dreams in the past and they were amazing to experience but they have been far and few between. I would be great to be able to do it more often (if not every night). One training method is to ask yourself throughout the day "Am I dreaming?". Once you get in the habit of asking yourself this while awake you will instinctively do it while dreaming and then approach a lucent state. Apparently there are things you can do to kind of anchor your lucidity in the dream state and they all seem to involve looking at your hands or feet (I'm not really sure why). Now at night when I wake up to roll over or go to the bathroom I keep telling myself "Don't forget to look at you hands".... Anyway, as I read the article I thought up a little visual story based on some of the lucid dreaming techniques and themes.

The Lucid Dreamer

A man walks alone on a beach at twilight. He thinks to himself "Am I dreaming"?

He is illuminated by the light from the moon and the stars.

He looks at the face of his digital wristwatch and the numbers seem to float slightly. He thinks to himself "Am I dreaming?"

He feels a bright light emanating from his forehead, between his eyes. The light begins to overtake him as he realizes he is staring at the sun. He thinks to himself "Am I dreaming"?

The light fads as if occluded by a large building. The man begins to count "One, two, three.." and his gaze turns to an urban billboard that reads "Four, Five, Six..." and the man thinks to himself "Am I dreaming?"..

KG in Green?

There are some rumors floating around that Ainge is looking to get Kevin Garnett in a Celtics uniform. I am very very excited about this! Last year the Celtics were awful - arguably the worst team in the league. Aside from trading Pierce I would deal ANY player(s) on our roster for KG. I think the young guys we have aren't gonna amount to much and even if the Pierce/KG duo only lasts for one year (that's all KG has left on his contract) it would be great for Boston. And in a very weak Eastern conference we would be a lock for the playoffs.

a few thoughts....

I haven't been blogging much the past few weeks - maybe an indication of my increased work on the job. Anyway, here are a few thoughts in no particular order....

- Red Sox have been faltering of late. Cruising along until maybe the last 15 or so games. There have been some bright spots (a few close-game wins, including Schillings almost no-no) but they need to turn things around asap. Perfect timing for the Yanks to win 8 straight and seriously cut into our once double digit lead in games.

- Working from home is the best thing ever. I'm just a productive as I am at work but there is no commute and no dress code. (But ya gotta remember to shower before you start your day!)

- New job? I may be looking for a new job soon. I assume they are gonna ask me back for another year at Children's but I want to play the field and see what my options are. I like working with that recruiting firm I used to find my current job so I'll probably go back to them...

The NBA's AfterLife

Good god LeBron. I know I just proclaimed the NBA was dead but LeBron just gave me a reason to watch the NBA Finals (so I'm a hypocrite - so sue me. Maybe it wasn't that the NBA died but rather something inside ME died.) Granted I CAN'T watch the Finals becuase all the games start at 9pm so I'll be asleep before the end of the first quarter. And what's the deal with no Sunday afternoon games either! I used to love the "NBA on NBC" during the finals but this year the games are on these obscure cable networks that I can't keep track of. Anyway, after LeBron's instant classic against the Pistons he is now THE MAN. And even if he doesn't single handedly beat the Spurs he is now at that next level. He'll get the calls and he'll get the ball when it counts. I'm happy for him and I hope in a few years he'll be in the Finals facing off against Oden.

GTTH Story #7

A man asleep on bus opens his eyes and sees a person sitting across from him. He sees this stranger as would one looks at a portrait in an art gallery - a work that is interpreted uniquely. (This happens several times perhaps)

The man closes his eyes and goes back to sleep. Time passes - maybe going from night to day (but not to indicate protagonist as a homeless person living on the bus rather making a very long "commute"). He is briefly re-awoken and sees a new person across from him. This person looks mysterious (wearing sunglasses at night perhaps). The stranger is a guide and somehow takes the protagonist on a journey (out of body or perhaps physically - literally pulling him out the roof of the bus).

The NBA is Dead to Me

Last night while I was peacefully sleeping the NBA had a heart attack and died.

I woke up this morning in shock and disgust. The NBA had been sick for a while but I didn't see this coming.

How could two small market pacific-northwest teams get the first two picks in the lottery? No one cares about basketball in Portland and Seattle.

We've suffered for so long in Boston - why this? Why now!? We were bad last year but we're going to be even worse next year and the year after that. We had to suffer the indignity of watching our team prance around no-talents-washouts like Baker, Blount, Scallabrine, Telfair and others.

There are huge flaws and cracks in the NBA system. With playoffs that have become irrelevant and hard to watch, poorly officiated games, silly player suspensions and generally under performing superstar players why the hell should I watch basketball anymore?

Please, give me a reason....

Old School Internet

I was surfin around online looking for a new gmail image (the image that is associated with your email/chat for other gmail users) and I found a few animated gifs that made me laugh and reminisce. I remember back in the day on the web when animated gifs were high-tech and fancy - now I think only teenagers on myspace use them (since they are taboo among anyone with any design sense)... So here are some of my personal favs in no particular order:

Gotta love that donkey....



Comedic gold....



If you're a programmer then you know....

DJ Chicken George

I've been a fan of this guy since I heard his Beta Lounge sampler disc from a while back. I just found out that he has a radioshow on Properly Chilled called "Radio Jazztronica". Check it out!

More DnB...

I've added another Liquid Lounge set from dnbradio.com. Its pretty good chillout DnB but there are a few DJ mix mistakes including one right at the start of the set (it almost sounds like the record is scratched and skips around). Also noteworthy - at the 34min mark the music gets a little scary and paranoid for a bit but then it gets back to the good stuff. Anyway, check it out if you get a chance...

GTTH Story #6

A being is discovered on earth that is not an ordinary human. The difference isn't clear but he is easily identifiable due to gov mandated locater wrist-band. When in public the being is confronted by almost all passerby. A mixture of wonderment, expectations and mistrust. The news media distributes a wildly drastic spectrum of
opinions regarding the being ranging from paranoid mistrust to pacific wonder and praise.

GTTH Story #5

Our story's main character roughly parallels the "The Dude" from Big Lebowski but our protagonist is of college age and lives in the present. Like "The Dude" our character is an "everyman" - the embodiment of our time and place. He attends a liberal college and is politically concerned but not active. He has a penchant for smoking weed with his peers and talking about "things that matter, man" until the inevitable apathy sets in and he forgets and/or passes out.

Our protagonist learns that his best friend from home has died in a car crash and he goes home to attend the funeral and mourn. Former acquaintances from high school are about town gathering and partying but with somewhat saddened spirits due to the death. Our protagonist has a curious mind and maybe in part due to the drinking and drugs begins to suspect that his friends death was not an accident. As he attempts to solve the "mystery" he runs into more people from his past as well as members of the "hard-core straight edge" scene with whom his friend had been hanging out with before his death. Our protagonist stumbles along assembling what be believes to be clues while also attracting attention from hidden yet powerful people with interests they believe might be compromised during his investigation.

Still Working @ Home

And loving it... What a great week! I'm definitely going to try to work at home more. I guess I don't have a great "work space" but I think that concept might be a bit overrated. I got this nice cloth & wood chair with a matching ottoman, my laptop, a big cup of Dunkies, and my noise canceling Bose headphones. No need to mess up a good thing. Speaking of which, check out the new links in the right-pane: I've added a couple links to a great radio program on Drum and Bass radio. The show is called Liquid Lounge and it is a good selection of softer DnB - check it out! (Note: During the 4/16/07 set there is a hilariously bad "train wreck" at about the 62:45 mark...)

I'm looking forward to more NBA playoff basketball this weekend. Even though I'm in the habit of only watching the 4th quarter the games they are still very entertaining. Tonight is a big night for Bulls. If they win tonight I see them going to the Finals. I think they can beat Heat and, if they do, I think they can beat Detroit in the next round too. Don't get me wrong, I love Shaq, but I think he needs help from Wade and if Wade isn't %100 (which I suspect he isn't) I don't think they'll win. There, I said it. Now we wait and see...

Working @ Home

My boss is on vacation this week which means I have a full week without any meetings and since I can save three hours a day by not traveling to and from the hospital I've decided to use this as an opportunity to work from home. For the most part I've found it to be quite nice. I can concentrate just as well as being at work but I don't have to wear pants. I've spent the last few days syncing the development environment on my laptop at home with my desktop at work (which is actually an important exercise as I will have to do it again on the machine we use for our usability testing later in the summer) and have been keeping quite busy. Once I'm up and running on my laptop I'll be able to work from home whenever I feel like it. Anyway, I should get back to work!

Ozomotli Rocks!

On Saturday night I went to an Ozomotli show with Alex, Diane, Prahbakar, Chris and Jessie. This was my third Ozo show and it was awesome! I danced all night! I think they put on the best show of any group or musician I've seen. I've got a bunch of tickets to the John Brown's Body show next Friday but Alex, Prabhakar and London are all gonna be out of town so hopefully I can find enough people to come with.

Friday....

Another Friday. Just what I needed. The weekends for a working man are a sacred thing. I'm looking forward to some good food and plenty of relaxation. The NBA playoffs start this weekend and I'll definatley be watching. The best first round match-up in the East is the Bulls/Mami series. I'm predicting the Bulls are gonna surprise a lot of people but I never bet against Shaq. I think this will be a great series.

Next Year

So here is "that list for another time". So there are lots of factors to consider but I think the big issue is weather I want to live at home for another year. Lets pro/con it:

Pros:
Save money. This is huge. If I can suck it up for just one more year I'd have a pretty nice "nest egg". I'm not saying I won't be able to save otherwise but the difference is huge.

TLC from mom and dad is super nice: full fridge, access to car(s), no utility bills etc (even though I do try to pay for most of my shit) When I move out I bet I'm gonna be surprised at how many of the adult "little thing" responsibilities an errands I've forgotten.

No roommates! I have a great living relationship with my parents. Granted there is the occasional irksome "honey, what/where are you going" type questions but in terms of keeping things clean and staying out of each other's way - this is as good as it gets (unless I live alone or am shaking up w/ a girly).

Con:

Sex life. Bottom line: if I live at home I won't get laid. Obviously I can't bring girls home. Not ever. So, of course, why not just "stay at her place"? My parents know when I don't come home and I god damn know for a fact that when i do get home they are gonna want to know where I've been. This is a conversation I am not having. I don't want to lie to them and I don't want them thinking I'm some womanizing male slut.

Social life. At no fault of my parents, I just don't feel totally comfortable having friends come to my parent's house. Back in the day when I had my own space I loved having people over - I loved being a host and I loved taking care of my guest. It been a long time since that has happened and I miss it.

Undecided:

Boston. I really do love it here. Do I want to be here forever? Most likely. I want to be close to my sister, mom and dad. I think what I need is a proverbial "bachelor's party" before settling down. I'm pretty sure that a little time away will "make my heart grow fonder". But what if I actually like it more somewhere else? All for the better right? Or an experiment gone terribly wrong.. There is more to this but lets save it for another time...

Profession. This really was my first year in the profession of "computer programmer". Do I want it to become my career? I think so. I like how challenging it is and how it requires continuous learning and growth. I want job security (but I'm wary of working for a defense contractor or anyone else I deem morally ambiguous) and I want a competitive rate for my work. I'd love to get in the video game or film industry (just cuz it seems sexy and fun) but I don't want "burn out" stress. Anyway, in terms of living at home, I shouldn't have trouble finding work that is a reasonable commuting distance from my parents house.

Feeling Shitty

I always get this seasonal shitty-ness. Things get warm and then things get cold and it goes back and forth and so on - typical Boston bullshit. I'm kinda in that tricky space of "too sick to do shit" yet "not too sick to try to do shit" that becomes very frustrating. I go out thinking I'm gonna have a good time and when I get there I end up feeling crappy and wanting to go home. Anyw ay, otherwise life is good. Had a rough time last week re-adjusting from my DC trip but I just chalk it up to the natural ebb and flow of life. Some weeks you get shit done some weeks you don't. I'm getting close to the point where I need to begin to asses what I want to do next year. I'm not totally sure of it but (assuming the project finishes on time and properly) I probably will get an offer from Children's Hospital to return for another one year stint. Regardless, I still need to consider what I want to be doing next year, where I want to do it and how much I want to do it for. But thats a list for another time.... Anyway right now I'm sitting in the upstairs lobby of the Somerville Theater at The Books show waiting for the opening act to finish. From out here it sounds like this "musician" is panning in and out one long monotonous note. Its creating a sort of "sound wall" that keeps bashing against my head (resulting in a slight headache and nausea). I know the Books are gonna be doing some video art with their music but at this rate I might just stay out here.

GTTH Story #4

Success begets success while failure is infinite and bottomless. ..

A young man attending a prestigious college has everything one could want. A beautiful girlfriend, a perfect body, and a 4.0 gpa. He sees where he is headed: a life of financial success and accomplishment. A carbon copy of the people who brought him into this world. But he wonders "Am I 'missing out'?. What would it be to be someone else, anyone else? Isn't life intended to have strife and struggle? Whats the point if there is nothing to overcome?"

So our young protagonist decides to take fate into his own hands. In quick succession he destroys his body (knocking out his own teeth and becoming obese), tanks his classes (drops out of college), and disconnects from his family. His girlfriend leaves him. Time passes. He has hit rock bottom and forgotten how he had intentionally sabotaged himself. Nevertheless he finds a spark. Something from his former life - the will to succeed. Unfortunately his failure has no bottom but rather created a ceiling and our protagonist's plight is now the vicious circle of failure.

GTTH Story #3

An ER doctor at a children's hospital is miserable. He has seen things no man should see. He is on the brink of total exhaustion and decides he needs a break. He travels the world but everywhere he goes he sees the same thing: sick and dying children. He goes home realizing there is no real escape. A once brilliant young doctor becomes a drunk unable to accept the harsh realities of our modern world - "everywhere we go there is inescapable misery". The doctor settles into menial work in a rustic town mostly to support his drinking. He meets a woman at his bar. She is new to town but also seems to be trying to escape her past. The doctor likes this woman but the idea of a relationship seems only to lead to the inevitable status quo: picket fences, marriage and kids. He can't deal with her emotionally. ("Sure we'll get married and it will beautiful. We will share our love with each other. We will share our over-flowing love with the children we bring into this world. But nothing lasts and there is no equity. Good people don't win and innocence is an illusion.")

GTTH Story #2

A man is ascending to heaven - as we see him riding an escalator into the clouds a figure appears. The figure says "As you know you are going to heaven. What you don't know is that you have a choice. You can go to heaven now and remain there for eternity or you can do a mission for god and perhaps one day join him at an even higher, more transcendental place. If you do this mission that we are asking of you, you will be sent back to earth as your former self. You will begin your life again but you will retain all that you have already learned. This in itself is a gift. In return we ask that you take upon a mission for us. We can't tell you now but you will know when it has been asked. If you succeed you will join God."

The man accepts the proposal and he begins life again. He grows to become a young man in his early 20's and is very much a normal person but someone with "wisdom beyond his years". He notices that things (culturally, historically, socially) are mostly the same from his "first life" but there are some strange little discrepancies that nag at him. People are mostly the same as before but most have different names. He discovers that he has been given a new ability - he can draw beautiful pictures but all of them depict either heaven or hell.

And while his second life is fairly similar to his first life the protagonist does experience a few novel things. Particularly he meets a woman. She is someone he didn't know from his past life and he is convinced that she is god's messenger (and that he has met her because of all his divine knowledge and proper decision making) He thinks she is the conduit for the mission he had been told of. But the woman is not a messenger from god - she was sent by the devil. She easily seduces the protagonist and over time he forgets his mission. Time passes. The protagonist now has forgotten his mission and his divine gift (knowledge of his past life). Totally engulfed in the love of the temptress he leads life like a waking dream. The protagonist continues to draw pictures although he must do so in private as she won't allow it. When he looks at his private collection of drawings something gnaws at him.