The Feltron Annual Report is one of the craziest things I’ve seen on the Internets. If this doesn’t define Obsessive Compulsive behavior. I don’t know what does.
Each day in 2009, I asked every person with whom I had a meaningful encounter to submit a record of this meeting through an online survey. These reports form the heart of the 2009 Annual Report. From parents to old friends, to people I met for the first time, to my dentist… any time I felt that someone had discerned enough of my personality and activities, they were given a card with a URL and unique number to record their experience.
I kept track only of who I gave survey invitations to, the number of the card and where it was given. The surveys answers were submitted via text forms, allowing the respondee to write whatever they desired, and leaving the task of making comparisons between the data up to me. I have used only this information to create the report, however accurate it may be. I have strived to sort and collate the data in a clinical and repeatable manner that could be reproduced by someone looking for the same stories I have selected.
That said, it makes for some compelling reading.
If you were to name an information related project with a Greek name from mythology, history or literature, what would you call it? I initially thought of Hermes, the God of Information, but that’s too obvious. It should be something far more obscure and much cooler sounding, so Athena or Atlas will not work either. I thought of Delphi, which might, but I’m not convinced. Maybe Perseus? Sophocles? Daedalus? Morpheus? Orpheus? Any help?
Take that, Sarah B. Hickman, you callous bitch!
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!
It’s amazing that you can actually read this steaming pile of gobledigook, but there it is and the faster you read it, the easier it to comprehend. Fucking inconceivable. Now spelling might not be important to understanding, but it sure is you don’t want people to think you’re a complete idiot. Let the researchers at Cambridge suck on that for a while. Thanks to Jason for providing this little nugget.
This afternoon, the phone rang. I picked it up. The voice on the other side said, “Can I speak to Andrew.” I said, “This is Andrew.” Then the phone went dead. And then nothing. No call back to say something like, “Hey, sorry about that, the phone just went dead,” or whatever.
Now, I’m not really paranoid. It’s just weird. My guess is that either they got disconnected and lost my number or I am about to be served.
My brother sent me this picture today. Have a look at it and tell me what, if anything, you see in there.
Now read the caption from Yahoo:
Tens of thousands of people have come over the last several days to view this image in a hospital window that many believe resembles the Virgin Mary at Milton Hospital in Milton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Faced with a rush of pilgrims, the hospital said on Thursday it will cover the shimmering image to avoid further disruption.
I love that Mary is popping in odd places like suburban shopping malls like a fucking a ufo, but seriously, what the fuck is wrong with these people?
And this is not just a handful of people. This is Tens of thousands of people.So many that they are disrupting the operation of this hosptial.
Where are these people coming from? Are they that depsparate for something even this small to grasp onto to bolster their faith? I don’t understand it. Perhaps someone can explain it to me. Then again, there are a lot of things I don’t understand.
And why is it alway Mary who appears? Perhaps it’s someone else. Maybe it’s Jane Russell. I’d be more willing to believe that.
Well, April 15th is here and I, umm, don’t have my taxes done. Not a big deal since people living overseas have an extra 2 months to file without penalty. I am missing some vital documents, that are going to make it hard to file accurately. Hopefully everything will show up soon, if not, I’ll wing it.
I’d also love to get my hands on a copy of Turbo Tax. I’ve never done my taxes without and they don’t exactly have H&R Block in Apia.
I heard a news story today on the radio that the amazing Samoan/Tokelauan music group Te Vaka will never again return to the shores of Samoa to perform. The reason given: It’s just too expensive for them to lug their equipment and retinue to this country.
The population here is probably too small for them to put on more than one show. That’s really sad news. I’m guess I’m going to have to go to New Zealand if I want to catch them live.
Te Vaka played a concert in Apia Park last year to kick off the Teuila Festival. It was a huge event. They just pressed a DVD with several hours of footage from the concert. I need to get my hands on it. Hopefully I can get my computer working again so I might be able to watch it.
For more information, check out their website.
Usually I get woken up with a face full of kitten whiskers. This morning I jolted upright out of bed as my entire fale was shaking around 6 in the morning.
We’ve had a few quakes since we arrived in Apia in October of last year, but nothing like this. My house is built of concrete and cinder blocks and is a seriously solid structure. But this morning it was blowing in the breeze like a reed.
I’ll admit it. I’m scared of the dogs here. I’ve been bitten once. I’ve nearly been killed multiple times by dogs coming out of nowhere and attacking me while I’m on riding by on my bike. Today, when I was riding to work, I saw something that I had never seen before. This medium sized yellow dog, obviously deranaged, was in the middle of the road, waiting for cars to drive by, and would lunge at the tires as the vechicles would pass by.
I drove over to the other side of the street to escape the dog, but I think I was too small a morsel to even concern him.