Coding: a not-so-brief history

Since it seems that February is “interests month” on the blog, I figured I’d continue the trend and write about an interest that has been with me since the very beginning, and that currently forms a large part of my life. That interest is computers and programming. Disclaimer: This is going to be a very long, nerdy post. Most of it will probably be gibberish if you don’t know much about programming. You have been warned.

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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 | Posted in Code, Life | No Comments »

Rediscovering dance

… Dance music, that is. For most of my life I have had a strong ear for dance music. I would sit in front of my stereo for hours on end with the radio going in order to hit record on a tape deck at just the right time to get such gems as Robert Miles – Children and Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams captured for my listening pleasure. I actually listened to a few of my tapes a few years back, and one of them literally had Children on it 4 times in a row. That’s dedication right there.

Since then, I’ve gone through lots of dance music listening phases, usually centering round one particular genre at a time. In roughly chronological order, there has been:

• Hard trance
• Hardcore
• Happy hardcore
• Trance/progressive
• Electro house
• Drum and bass
• Breakbeat
• Dubstep

(Among others…) In each case, there is a period where I listen to nothing but that genre, and then eventually get a bit bored/tired of it and stray back into my wider collection for a while. Dubstep has been the latest genre to re-ignite my interest in dance music. It’s a fast developing genre, that is really starting to come into its own. It reminds me of when I originally got into drum and bass, with a similar sound that is somehow still fresh and interesting.

I think my passion for dance music largely centres around its ability to take me to another place for a while. It provides me a sort of escapism, if you will. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of turning up the volume on a stomping tune and closing your eyes for a minute or two to let it wash over you and push everything else out. Pure, unadulterated music indulgence. Love it.

Monday, February 15th, 2010 | Posted in Life | 2 Comments »

Dreaming

Since I was about 15 or 16, I’ve had something of a passing interest in Lucid Dreaming, particularly acquiring the ability to be able to bring one on by choice. A lucid dream is a dream in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming, and this awareness allows them to be “in control” of the dream and manipulate what occurs. It is said to be a very rewarding and incredible experience if one can bring them on regularly. I believe that I have had one such dream in my lifetime that I can recall (which was the one that originally sparked my interest) – in which I was able to fly as if I was “swimming” through the air (hard to explain), and I proceeded to fly around my school for a while. Whether this was truly a lucid dream, or it only felt like one is difficult to ascertain, but either way it piqued my interest.

Recently I’ve been revisiting this interest and doing some reading on the subject. Most lucid dreaming methodologies suggest keeping a dream journal, wherein you write down everything you can remember about the dream you were last having when you wake up – in effect “training” yourself to remember dreams and be more aware of them. I may start keeping one shortly to see if anything eventuates from it. The next step is usually to create “anchors” in real life – these are habitual “tests” to see if you are dreaming or not. Common examples include counting the fingers on your hands, or looking at a clock, looking away, and looking back to see if it changes. Such tests have a reasonable chance at failing if carried out in a dream (where real-world rules don’t apply) – and by making them habit in a waking state, they can become something that the subconscious might perform in a dreaming state, thereby allowing the dreamer to realise they are dreaming and enter a lucid dreaming state.

Something else I came across in my reading was Calea Zacatechichi (otherwise known as Dream Herb). This is a legal (to grow, sell and consume) plant that supposedly increases the frequency, memorability, and vividness of dreams. While it’s available in pill and dried/crushed form, I would prefer to have a crack at growing and preparing it myself. I was unable to find it for sale anywhere in New Zealand as a plant, but to my surprise there is someone selling cuttings on TradeMe (for a pretty high price, mind you). I’m seriously contemplating purchasing a cutting and giving it a go. Follow-up post if anything comes of it.

Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Posted in Life | 5 Comments »

Christmas has not been kind

Yesterday I went for a swim for the first time since Christmas. The last time I went (on the 21st December), I managed 1200m, with a time of 22 minutes to swim the first 1000m. Yesterday I could only manage 1000m, and it took me 24 minutes. So I lost two minutes and 200m… Christmas lunch was not kind on me.

Note that the above times are pretty slow – I take lots of little breaks as I swim; I’m still not fit enough to go non-stop for more than about 400m. On the plus side, this means I still have plenty of room for improvement! Watch this space etc.

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 | Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

<3 Summer

Just got back a couple of days ago from another epic beach Christmas/New Year. And tomorrow I’m flying down to Christchurch for a week-long road trip. I <3 summer. Catch you on the flipside.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 | Posted in Life | No Comments »