Water tastes better when drunk from a jar.
Author: Gene
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I’m a jerk
I’ve been called a jerk so many times I accept it as true. I have for a long time. I just recently was wondering why.
Me being a jerk is undoubtedly a complex thing, with multiple causes from the perspectives of different people. Further, my internal analysis of my being a jerk is undoubtedly biased and not really trustworthy for those who think I’m a jerk. It’s my blog, though, so I’m gonna write what I wanna.
The first thing I think when I think about how I’m a jerk is how I don’t really think I’m a jerk. If I knew me, I wouldn’t be thinking, “That guy is a jerk.” Lets examine this further.
I do admit to saying many jerky things, most of them are in the pursuit of humor, though. I think I get a lot of my jerk label from this. Some people just aren’t cool with humor at the expense of others, even if that other isn’t them. I don’t think this makes me a jerk, though. I think it’s funny. I think it brings laughter to the world. I do it to myself, I think it’s fair. This is a matter of opinion, though, so if you want to consider me a jerk for this, that’s fine. I just disagree.
The next jerky thing I do is ignore and/or argue with most advice given to me. Like, people who think I’m a jerk will say, “You should consider the feelings of others,” or, “You’re disgusting.” That last one usually refers to a belch, or my clothes, or my hair, or whatever. There’s a lot of advice about my looks I get that I ignore. I bet people don’t like it that I don’t take their advice. I mean, I don’t particularly enjoy how almost all my advice is ignored.
So, this brings up really two categories of my jerkiness. First, my disregard for some of societies rules, like don’t belch. I can’t really argue with me being defined as a jerk this way. I think the word “jerk” probably has a connotation meaning something like, “someone who disregards minor societal rules.” Now, I have my reasons, but that doesn’t matter. So, thinking I’m a jerk for this reason seems legitimate to me, but I would argue that this is a tiny offense, and should be outweighed by my other qualities.
The second is my ignoring of advice. This is also classic jerk behavior, but I think I deserve a pass. The reason is that I’m not wrong. The people giving me advice are. Now, obviously, everyone reading this is going to think of examples when they’ve been the ones giving me advice and they obviously don’t agree, and obviously most people who don’t take advice would feel as I do, but that’s just my point. Someone has to be wrong, so at least half of all advice should be ignored. I don’t just ignore all advice given to me, I consider all of it, and take that which is correct. Really, what more can you ask for?
I also brag a lot, which seems like jerk behavior. Really this falls into the joke category, because I think it’s funny. I think it’s funny because the bragging does not correspond to a feeling of superiority. I can see how it would mostly only be funny to me, though. Of all my jerk behavior, this is the one I think most deserving of correction. I think quite highly of myself, but I don’t really need to point it out all the time. Still, a couple things in my defense. One, most of the joke bragging is bragging about things I clearly have no real influence on. Like, how I’m skinny despite what I eat, or how I require little sleep. Two, I have to defend myself when I can cause everyone thinks I’m a jerk. 😛 In seriousness, though this behavior does make me a jerk, I think it’s pretty minor. And I have my reasons, again, that don’t matter.
The final jerk behavior I exhibit, at least to my own reckoning, is newly articulated in my mind. It boils down to that I don’t keep my mouth shut. I pipe up almost every time those around me say or do something I disagree with. I’m constantly putting little crimps in people’s world views, dings in beliefs, it makes me fairly disagreeable, in the literal sense. Even if I don’t actually put dings in beliefs, the fact that I try still qualifies me as a jerk. But this is wrong. This is not how the world should be. The world is not divided into separate spheres where each person gets their own bubble to do whatever they want with, only joining with those around long enough to exchange compliments and pass over disagreements. The world is interconnected and the mistakes of those around me will affect me and the rest of the world. Sitting by and letting people believe the incorrect is the real jerk thing to do. This category of my jerkiness I do not accept. In fact, I argue this jerk behavior is one of my strongest character strengths. I fight ignorance and illogicality as I can, with little support, and quite a lot of resistance, and I do it primarily for those other than myself.
I’ve not really argued against my being a jerk, and I’m not going to. I am a jerk. The point is I’m a lot of other things first. Besides all that above I do many other things. I share all I have with whoever wants it. I specifically give things I enjoy to others if they will enjoy it more. I help when asked, and when I obviously can even if I’m not asked. I donate my blood, my hair, my time, my computer cycles, and when I get some, my money. I’m on the list to donate my marrow, and if I die I’ve stated I want to donate everything I got. I’m ridiculously honest. I never do anything with intent to harm. I conserve. I write my congressman. I forgive easily. I take responsibility for my actions. I never risk compromising these qualities by altering my mind with chemicals.
My point is the things that make me a jerk are trivial compared to the things that make me a good guy. So, it’s correct to call me a jerk, but it should be more obvious, and is more correct, to call me a stand up citizen and friend to humanity.
I could start discussing the various cyclic loops in this whole subject of the jerk, but I think I should stick a fork in this post. Gonna do some homework or something.
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Sister Martha
MAR stands for Memory Address Register which is a specific piece of memory in a computer that keeps track of the memory address that holds the next instruction the computer should perform. In a way it tell the computer what to do. My sister’s nickname is Mar. I think this is especiially fitting for her computer scienctist fiancé.
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first person waiter
Mom came and brought some cake. It’s basically just Yusuke and me here this weekend. Everyone else went to Seattle to do whatever. (I bet they don’t even get trench coats like I told them to.) So, Yusuke and I are getting started on this cake so they don’t get any. Although, the cake is sorta looking like it’s going to win at this point.
Yusuke has been here playing FFXII and I’ve finished up all the Sports Night I hadn’t watched yet. I reiterate, it’s lame that show was canceled.
Anyway, hope everyone’s enjoying themselves, even if they abandoned me. Happy anniversary parents, and happy birthday John.
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Call me Captain Gene
We had a power outage tonight from about 10:20 to exactly midnight. The exactly midnight thing is kinda odd. Sidney braided my beard back when the lights were still on.
Earlier today I was hanging around the CS lab waiting for class, concidering doing some homework when I noticed this guy from my class reading about a Comadore 64. So, I jokingly asked if he was thinking of upgrading and he informed me he was doing research for his paper in 312. I thought this was odd because I’m in 312. I said, “Why are you writing a paper for 312? I’m not writing a paper for 312.” Then he informed me we had a paper due tomorrow (today now). The professor has never mentioned it, except maybe on the first day of class or something. So I bashed out a paper on the history of computers. The assignment was super vague, but I managed. Good thing I didn’t wait until say, 10:20 tonight.
Mother and Father are coming through tomorrow. I guess there might be a big dinner hoopla.
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On Vox: QotD: Picking Sides
When a couple breaks up, have you ever been able to stay friends with both parties? Submitted by, Jessmiloo
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and an updated image of yours truely
I’ve dropped ballroom dancing. I’ve never dropped a class before, but now I’ll have a W on my transcript. I think the grad school review boards will be ok with it. It’s not my fault, though. Those peeps I signed up with quit, so I couldn’t very well stay. Besides, I really didn’t need that extra stress around now.
The Central people are pretty much ready to play a session, and today would be a good day since it’s the weekend and almost all the asians are gone. Unfortunately, apparently all the players are gone, too. I don’t know where they are.
My roommates girlfriend is here for the weekend. I apparently slept through the cinnamon rolls this morning. /shrug
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true story
For the last 11 hours I have been walking, standing, sitting, lounging, and generally living with a 6 inch long piece of tape on the inside of the my underwear. It was not uncomfortable, I was not aware.
Coincidence: The last episode of Sports Night I just watched prominantly featured underwear, although in the case of Sports Night it was womens underwear.
Observation: The common phrase “There is no such thing as coincidence”, besides being obviously false, also makes no sense when one conciders the literal meaning of the word. “Co” as a prefix, meaning together, or joint, and “incidence”, meaning the plural of incident meaning multiple events. Given this examination the phrase could be restated, “No two events occur simultaneously.” I’m tempted to leave it at that, having made my point, but am compelled to say that this new translation brings up interesting philosophical questions about the nature of time. The thought of a atomized unit of time has occured to me, a chronum (or Planck time as real phycisits like to call it), but I always imagined the universe all moved a tiny bit after each chronum, like if you watch a movie in slow motion. This is of course how the Planck time theory is meant, but what if instead of a Plank time the smallest unit of time was actually the time it took for an incident to take place, and no two incidents could simultaneously occur. They were all buffered or something, waiting their turn. That would be interesting.
My waist is less than 34 inches in circumference.
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two things
Do you know what I quite enjoy? Well, the first thing is somewhat uninteresting in that it is a TV show. Specifically, Sports Night, a show of which I know of no viewers beyond myself. (Update: I’ve been informed that the mighty Host Gar enjoys Sports Night, too) It ran for two seasons back in the day and was so good I even watched it on the actual TV when it aired with actual commercials. It’s a strange kind of show in that even though I like it quite a lot I’m not surprised other people don’t. It’s not like Firefly whose cancellation makes about as much sense as majoring in Philosophy (that’s right John, I remember you).
This is getting slightly off topic but Sports Night had four major problems as I see it. First, it wasn’t the kind of show that looked special when your were flipping channels. You couldn’t distinguish it from CSI Toronto, or whatever the generic TV show of the day was, in 15 frames or less. Second, it wasn’t the kind of show most people could just jump into, even though it seems like it should have been. There’s nothing inherent in the genre or plot that made the show difficult to jump into, like is often the case with epic sci-fi, for example. I think it was just a product of the humor and pacing structure of the show. Which brings us to reasons 3 and 4, the humor and the pacing structure.
These two elements make the show for me. They are obviously interwoven, but I separate them because the pacing is so unique to the show. The dialog of Sports Night runs as if everyone in the world had my sense of humor and IQs of about 160. Maybe higher. Lines are delivered quickly and precisely, tangents are explored, jokes are made, and then the story continued as if it was scripted (novel idea I know). There are very few of the 15 second slow zooms on someone’s sad face. Frankly, I’m reminded of Shakespearean comedies, and other theatrical comedies I’ve seen but can’t name, that actually have to draw an audience with their content. It seems like the product of a writing team that wrote 3 or so hours of material and then cut it down to the required 22 minutes, as opposed to most TV which sucks ass.
The pacing and comedy, although wonderful for me, are also probably the main cause of the shows cancellation. The comedy is largely dry and/or requires the audience to take whats given a few more steps, make a few connections on their own, to get the full benefit. It also requires the audience be able to keep up with the pace, which, frankly, I don’t believe the average television watcher could.
Now that I think of it, it is kind of like Firefly, if you took out all the space and action. /shrug
Anyway, the real thing I enjoy I wanted to share with you, which I realized while watching Sports Night, are complex sentences. Throughout my writing career people have been telling me to make simple sentences, and I understand the appeal, but, as you can probably tell from reading my blog, I do so love the comma separated interjection. I bet there’s a word for that.
See, I’m not a grammar nerd really. I am a bit compared to the unwashed masses, but mostly I just like the rhythm and flow a well formed complex sentence can have. Also, they’re really nice for rants. I hope someday to be adept at forming them on the fly.
For example a sentence like the following, especially the ending piece.
It is just my way of expressing my belief that you are the lesser man, genetically inferior, with inadequate upper body strength, diminutive testicles, a feminine voice, pitiable intellect, and that any woman you have had, or ever will have, sexual contact with would be, and probably has been and/or probably will be, better served by congress with me.
I’ve got to go to class, but I have more to say about Sports Night. This post may be edited in about an hour.
Update: Just wanted to add a few small observations about Sports Night. First, and most trivial, that chick from House is on it. She’s only in two episodes, but I always like when I notice cross overs because it’s only recently started happening. Second, one of the female leads is that chick on the right, which leads me to believe that the cancellation of Sports Night has directly lead to the creation of that most deplorable of shows, Desperate House Wives (Point of Interest: I’ve never seen Desperate House Wives). Ok, I’m surrounded by people so I’m not going to update any more.