Non-blueballs Entry

Right. So. I have a few minutes to sit down and talk about things. Yay! And I get to type it on my new keyboard. God damn this sucka is so sweet. It’s about half an inch high at its highest point and sleek as fuck. It’s basically an SR-71 in keyboard form. Oh yeah and the keys are backlit. Yeah. No biggie. I spent about five minutes just continually increasing and decreasing the level of backlight. Mmmmmesmerizing. Unfortunately the keys are super sensitive and really low-profile so it’s easy to make typos. I’ll get used to it though. I just wrote a whole lot about a keyboard. MOVING ON…

So what am I up to lately. Well, for one, I’m waiting for my credit card to get mailed to me which I just got approved a few days ago. Let the frivolous spending begin! Seriously though, it’s just so I can save money buying things online instead of having to go out to stores and such. I can buy computer parts and whatnot too. Sweeet. Or gym equipment. I need new wrist straps and I wouldn’t mind giving knee wraps a try too (not to be confused with neoprene knee sleves. I’m sure you’re all incredibly interested in the distinction so I felt I would elaborate).

So let’s see. Yes yes, well I’m saving up to buy a vehicle too. I have a reasonable amount of savings right now but I think it’s going to be another six months or so before I actually have enough to get something reasonable. I can’t remember if I touched on this before or not in a previous entry. I don’t even have my license yet so I’ve got plenty of time to save up. I was so tempted to buy a bike instead but I imagine being able to use your bike for cover in poor weather is an exercise in frustration.

I started a new book about a week ago, “The Emperor’s New Mind” by some bro named Roger Penrose. It’s pretty good but ridiculously math heavy and math is not my strong suit. It’s okay though, I usually get it all after I’ve reviewed it the following week. God damn, I’m giving myself homework. Who’da thunk it? It’s a great book though. In fact, it’s so good, I will transcribe the blurb on the back for y’all:

Roger Penrose takes us on a fascinating roller-coaster ride through the basic principles of physics, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy to show that human thinking can never be emulated by a machine.

Yeah. Fascinating roller-coaster ride is a stronger choice of wording I would choose, but whatever. I don’t really agree with what he’s trying to say, subscribing to the computational theory of mind, BUT… he talks about some cool shit that would require more entries than I care to write to elaborate on.

Also, and I know I say this every second friggin’ entry, but I’m showing good progress in the gym department. I’m slowly getting back into my regular gym-going habits. It’s not easy after having taken so long off and developing other habits to take its place, such as the pwning of noobs. Anyway, part of what’s motivated me to kick it into high gear is a couple friends of mine and I are going to be attending a powerlifting meet in mid-June and I would like to show up boasting some reasonable numbers. So, nose to the grindstone.

Also, on the topic of habits, I was reading a book called “The Mind That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, and one of the major focal points of the book was the concept of neural plasticity and its relation to what are called “brain maps”. Brain maps are basically the collection of nerves that are responsible for or have a close relationship with certain aspects of… uh… you-ness. This includes physical sensation, thoughts, emotions, and behavior. The concept of neural plasticity is that brain cells constantly compete for brain space, and the use or disuse of certain areas of the brain in relation to others governs how developed (both in size and firing efficiency, with well-developed neurons firing up to three times faster than their less-developed neighbours).

With repeated performance of certain behaviors or sensations brain maps crowd out other less-used ones… which is part of how behavioral habits happen. The more often they’re performed, the more they become a dominant part of your overall system of behavior. It’s cool. But of course, being the CEREBRAL creatures we are, we can overcome these basic instincts by being all like, “… yeah, OR I could do this OTHER thing instead!”

So fuck bad habits. Also I work a billion million trillion hours this week. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF