Sparks

Thank you, Arielle.

A somewhat over simplified game theoretical analysis of why presidential candidates move to the center:

Imagine the old left -> right spectrum of political views.  For simplicity, assume that people's views are evenly spread along the spectrum. 

Now say we have two candidates, one leaning say 27% to the left of center, and one 14% to the right.  If this is a two candidate race, people are going to vote for the candidate most similar in position to their own.  Thus, the leftist will gain all the votes from the far left all the way to halfway in between him and the rightist.  That works out to the leftist gaining 23% left 20.5 middle = 43.5% of the vote.  The rest goes to the rightist, who gains 36% right 20.5% middle = 56.5% of the vote.  Right wins if the election were held on that day.  However, Left looks at the game, and sees that if he moves towards center, he can increase the people to the left of him, and squeeze the middle (hurting himself, but also hurting right).  But wait.  If he moves right next to Right in position (1% off - right of center!), he squeezes middle even further to 0.5%, grabbing Right's share of the middle for himself.

So Left moves to 13% right of center.  63% left 0.5% middle = 63.5%.  Right then counters by moving 1% to the left of Left.  If you keep on running this, the positions converge on 50%, exact center.  Each candidate gets 50%, and nobody can improve on this result.  The one and only Nash Equilibrium of the game.

Take this one step further. People aren't distributed evenly along the spectrum.  However, this just alters the definition of "center".  Center is kinda like the center of mass along a seesaw.  Imagine a bunch of kids of various weights were sitting on either side of a seesaw.  The center in the spectrum is the position of the center of mass (or the fulcrum when the seesaw is balanced.)   There is only one spot where the fulcrum can be placed so that the seesaw can be balanced.

Of course, the left and right spectrum isn't a very good model of people's views.  You can take this two dimensional analysis and expand it into higher dimensions too.  I'm pretty sure this center strategy still holds with two people.  However, introducing extra candidates (Nader in 2000 comes to mind)  severely complicates the picture.  It exposes some flaws with the voting system.  Gore should have won over Bush easily.  Nader's base almost certainly would support Gore over Bush.  However, the 1.5 million votes that went to Nader in Florida meant 1.5 million less for Gore.  Tampered voting machines or not, this would've ensured a Gore victory, and a quite different America.  This is also reflected into the 3D projections with more than one candidate.  Its quite interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B00067F1CE/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Pretty please?  With a cherry on top?

I'm gonna have to sit down one day and just start stringing all my ideas together into a story...

My mom hugged me and jumped around the house for a few minutes.  She is 51 this year.  Still a crazy hyper teen valley girl at heart though :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5SNoYo9b_kA

I have no idea what the guy is singing about.  It sounds better that way!  The French becomes part of the music - not like oil floating on top of an otherwise pristine bay.  The ending is creepy!

This morning, while the storm raged outside,
I got up to the sound of the drumming wind, and the staccato rain.
This morning, while the storm raged outside,
I woke up to the beauty of Beethoven's 5th symphony.
Safe in my little bubble of glass and steel,
Everything was quiet in its deafening noise.
Only the music existed.
Bliss.

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/truce.asp

Whatever situation we were born into,
Whatever experience has taught us,
We all are human inside,
We all have our inner fire.

Sometimes we just need a little catalyst,
Sometimes we just need to find our common ground,
Something to help us overlook the world's bitterness.
Something perhaps, as intangible as the Christmas Spirit.

Real friends are the best thing one can have.
I love you all. 
I might hate your actions, but I love you.

Christmas is no time for bitterness!   Its a time for joy :)

Buon Natale everyone!

Was cool.  Whats even cooler...I got into English honors :)

Who should I take? (Assuming I have a choice for World Lit 2 Honors)

Part of every one of us dies every second.

Bam.

There goes another few thousand cells.

Bam.

Here comes another few thousand to replace them.

Ya know what happens when part of you doesn't die?  Mutated cells don't die off and the result?  Cancer.  When a part refuses to die, the whole does.  Interesting huh?  There are probably a ton of parallels to that...

If you don't get vaccinated for a disease, you don't produce antibodies and are defenseless.
If you don't experience little mental trial first, you probably cannot deal with a stronger trial.
If you don't ever get hurt, any pain hits a lot harder.

etc etc.

The topic came up in bio today... got me thinking.

P.S.  I'm in love with the movie...its quickly replacing the Silence of the Lambs as my favorite movie of all time.

I had a 1 1/2 page story about a "fairy hunt" I was to do over the weekend and a long grammar exercise due mods 1/2 today.  I woke up at about 6:30 realizing that I had done neither and that it would completely screw over my English grade.  Then BAM!  Deus ex machina! 

1. I was 4 minutes late for school, but Mr Arber was 5 mins late for class.
2. We analyzed A Midsummer Nights Dream all through today's class and he neither collected nor checked either assignment :)

Just for laughs, here is my story that I put together at 6:30 today - Microsoft Word's goddamn trial edition (the version my computer came installed with) expired, so I had to resort to typing it out on LJ and then printing it with textpad (also the reason why I was late):


It was a dark and stormy night.  Suddenly awoken by the strange flashes of light pulsating from the dark confines of GG forest, I, Lord Dillon His Majesty The High Lord The Almighty The 94876th, decided to investigate.  Donning my trademark cape and sombrero,  I leaped out thewindow, only to discover that the hippy fortune teller who told me I could fly was in fact, high on LSD and relied on swindling amazing heroes like me to finance his habit.  Just then, a man who looked like he weighed about 400 pounds, ejected by his vengeful boss/wife, burst through the door of his dilapidated house and came rolling down the hill towards me.  I attempted to telepathically stop him before I remembered that I was "granted these powers" in a strange ritual involving getting drunk and dancing naked in the middle of an English "futbol" (football) game with the words: "Manchester United sucks" tattooed to my ass by that same hippie who told me I could fly.  Failing in my attempt to telepathically stop him, I attempted to get out of the way of my impending doom to no avail.  CRRRRAUUUK!!  Everything turned black except for the little green fairy on my shoulder whom I had picked up in Amsterdam. 

Hours, or perhaps days later, I suddenly found myself being yanked out of the cardboard box I had rolled into while passed out by a man claiming that I had trespassed on his "home".  Looking at my sad condition though, the man felt sorry for me and gave me his "home" along with directions to the nearest homeless shelter.  Not wanting to provoke his anger, I attempted to follow his directions.  This is what I managed to decipher of what he said:


To be get to dat  shelter, alls you gotta be doin is dis.

1. Walk through da GG forest until you be gettin to da crack spot.

2. Den turn rite till you see dem johns.

3. Follow dem till you is get there.


Realizing that I was starving and needed a source free food, I decided to seriously go to the shelter.  I had no idea where the crack spot was.  After many hours wandering around the woods, I decided that maybe my fairy friends could point me in the right direction.  Following the girls with kaleidoscope eyes, I made my way to the palace of the fairy king.  The fairy festival was in session, so I patiently waited as they flew around the court in their elaborate patterns, and wove rainbow pictures of cellophane flowers on the marshmallow sky.  After they were done, they feasted on marshmallow pies and tangerines with their guests - the girls with kaleidoscope eyes, the rocking horse people, the newspaper taxi drivers and the plasticine porters.  They all took part in the traditional mating dances around their campfires, ones that looked like they were straight out of a 1950s porno from the modern art museum.

SCCREEAKAKK!

I was momentarily awoken from my trip by the screech of a loudspeaker pointed directly at me.  Before I passed out, the man at the other end of the loudspeaker said to me something about having the right to remain silent.  Ah well, at least they have free food in jail

http://artists.letssingit.com/immortal-technique-lyrics-dance-with-the-devil-33rgmw6

Pure chilling insanity.  Rap ain't all about bitches and ice anymore.

Much improved, but still wanting improvement.

English: C+ (Working my way back up from that D+ I got last grading period)
Drama: B+  (Haven't really been working in that class...can't complain)
Modern World: B+ (1% away from a 90...aghhhhh)
Italian: A  (I'm starting to enjoy the language now...motivation!...YES!)
Math:  B (Evans.  Nuff said.)
P.E:  A  (Donohue.  Nuff said.)
Bio: B (Gotta start working on making my labs legible :P)

Overall GPA:  π!  22/7 to be exact.

PS.  Didn't do a single mod of resource...and lo and behold...no new resource card :)  Gratzie mille, Dyne.

Things that I've accomplished:

1. Taught myself how to play the piano again
2.  Finished a few books that I wanted to finish but "never had the time"
3.  Realized that I am addicted to and cannot live without the internet.

I have a lot more respect for my dad now...him and his attempts to quit smoking.

Time for another test of my willpower!

So far, I've planked for 4 minutes and 30 seconds by pumping up my adrenaline through mental exercises and hardcore metal music :P

This however, is a test of pure mental endurance.  Can I kick the addiction and go a week without using my computer?

At midnight today, I will turn off my computer and it will stay off until next Saturday: December 8th, 2007.

Wish me luck! 

Today, my Modern World teacher, Mr. Conley reminded his class of the true purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday; not merely to get a bunch of friends and family together and have a great meal, but also to be thankful for life's unwaivering ability to provide us with a little spot of light no matter how bad it gets.  I used to resent having to list everything that I was thankful for because I focused only on what was missing, and not what I had.  Now after pulling through a few of the most depressing weeks of my life, every little silver lining, no matter how small, seems to have unending beauty. 

Why see only darkness when there is light?

Look around. 
What do you see? 
There is your light.
Use it.
Everyone dies, but not everyone lives.
Why not live?

There is always hope.
Its everywhere.
We just have to find it.
I did.
Why not you?

Sometimes, the worst times in life are also the best.  Once you've climbed Everest, every other mountain seems like an anthill in comparison.  The same applies to life.  Once you've gotten through hell, nothing will ever seem impossible to get through again.   Once you've seen hell, the worst in life seems heavenly in comparison.  Just keeping that in mind gives me my little spark in the dark - the strength to get back up, no matter how hard I get knocked down.  This, perhaps, is the thing for which I am most thankful. 


Here is a long overdue list of things that I am thankful for - the many sparks in my life laid out so that I can remind myself of what I already have should I ever forget to look towards the light.  (This is a work in progress!) :

1. Though my parents have quite a bit of room for improvement, they not only provide a decent life for me, but are themselves, great people who will always be there, even after everyone else abandons me. 

2.  I have my friends - people who never cease to amaze me and fulfill one of the most basic, (and in this modern age, one of the hardest to find) human needs - the need for acceptance.

3.  There are still places in the world where a small bowl of porridge puts a smile on everyone's face.  Why shouldn't I have an even bigger smile when I have all I could ever want to eat?

4.  I have access to everything I need to create a bright future for myself.

5.  My family members aren't millionaires, but we live comfortably with everything we need, and quite a bit of what we want.

Today, I did pilates for the entire 3 minute 48 second duration of No Surprises by Radiohead.  Pain really does feel good and willpower beats pain anyday.  People who cut themselves should find a better way of creating pain for themselves...if you're gonna let out your emotions by hurting yourself, do it in a positive way that will make you both physically and emotionally stronger.

Oh. My. God. 

Go out and rent it today.

Honors test today.  From what I've heard, the English department clings to their own interpretation of the poems, and discards anything else. 

Thats total bullshit! 

They should take anybody with a good supporting argument, regardless of whether they adhere to the general consensus of the teachers.  I can understand if the interpretation was off on a wild tangent, in which case there would probably be barely, if any, supporting details from the poem.  However, if the student can write a well supported essay with plenty of links to the poem, the department should definitely accept him or her over someone who adheres to the accepted interpretation but writes a crappy essay about it.

I wrote that the poem was about womens rights and how men suppressed their basic right of freedom throughout their years.

Waylon interpreted it as a poem about prostitution. 

Ryan considered writing about prostitution at first but decided against on the grounds that prostitution probably wouldn't be a subject given to 9th graders. 

Quite a few of my friends interpreted it as a metaphor for class struggles, which is actually quite close to what I wrote.

I'll see how it turns out.

Think its bad?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/magazine/15japanese.htm?pagewanted=1&_r=1


It could be worse.