Just a few things I want to jot down so as not to forget them.
Outlaw Torn is an immensely cool song. A lot of Metallica is bog standard hard rock, pleasant enough background noise but forgettable. And then there are these flashes of genius. Outlaw Torn jumped out at me from the radio like some kind of epiphany. (And a very cool thing about internet radio is that I can very easily go and look up exactly what is playing that has grabbed my attention so thoroughly, and with luck even write the song details down before I forget.)
pseudomonas has a nice theory about fuzzy relationships. Rather than a binary 'either we're a couple, ie pretending to be married or actually so, or else we are not in a relationship', he proposes a scale from 0 (complete strangers with no influence on eachother's lives) to 1 (actually the same person). And you map your degree of relationship with a particular person to values between 0 and 1 using a sigmoid equation. I like this. Of course, the major flaw is that it would need to be universally or at least widely adopted to be at all useful practically, but it's still a good way of thinking about these things. I am pleased with the concept that partial relationships are possible, it's not all-or-nothing.
I need to write about a dozen book reviews. And finish my series on my trip to New York before it fades from my memory. I think the main things I have left to talk about are: food, general impressions of the city, and the more personal side of the trip.
the curiously aggressive pareve bakery You've been in Israel too long, dear. Parve with one syllable, not pareve with nearly three... But yes, I should indeed include that bakery.
I've been in Israel too long? I knew *THAT* already! Honestly, apart from the convenience of kosher supermarkets, I can't think of a single reason to stay. Compound that with the fact that we'll be homeless at the end of January, and home seems an incredibly attractive prospect.
Aww, badger, are you awfully homesick? You know you're always welcome here, if you need a holiday. And I only wish the offer were of more practical use. Do you need supplies of things like tea and chocolate? Cos I'd better send them to you while you still have an address. *hugs*
(On reflection, I suspect that even if you were hanging around me as much as I'd like, I doubt you're going to pick up the sort of bizarre anglo-Yiddish that I half speak.)
Adam's sending us some tea, and we still have chocolate, and we have Sainsbury's drinking choc. We're just fed up with everything being so damned Israeli. No offence to Israelis or anything. But it would be nice not to be here. hugs.
"Outlaw Torn" is cool. Though my current favourite Metallica song is definitely "Nothing Else Matters" - it was a real epiphany to hear that used in a political rather than a romantic context, and __angela__ has kindly got hold of a copy of the first Masters of Chant album for me with the Gregorian version of that on, so bounce bounce bounce on that front.
Thing about that fuzzy relationships model that does not work for me is, it's crashing a multi-dimensional set of being close to people in different ways onto a single number.
And yay book reviews. Not that I'm, like, impatient or anything.
my current favourite Metallica song is definitely "Nothing Else Matters" I'm quite fond of that one too; maybe I should go and listen to it again.
the first Masters of Chant album... with the Gregorian version of that on It's amazing how Metallica stuff seems to lend itself to really unexpected instrumental arrangements. I wouldn't have thought of such a thing, but I can see the point.
Thing about that fuzzy relationships model that does not work for me is, it's crashing a multi-dimensional set of being close to people in different ways onto a single number. Ooh, a critique! I wasn't expecting the idea to be taken seriously enough for anyone to comment on it, but yay, with a little arguing it might develop from a cute throwaway idea into a useful concept. Or it might in fact get thrown away, if that's what it deserves, but some thinking about it before getting to that stage could be fun.
I agree with you, actually; my first reaction to the plan was to ask whether you would count mortal enemies as more or less closely related than casual acquaintances. And if you restrict the model only to sets of relationships that are reasonably comparable, you have to start picking out relationships that are 'similar', and then you're not a lot further forward than with no formula at all.
And yay book reviews. Not that I'm, like, impatient or anything. Gosh, how very flattering! This whole appreciative audience thing could definitely go to my head. More book reviews are certainly happening; any in particular that you're after?
pseudomonas has a nice theory about fuzzy relationships. Rather than a binary 'either we're a couple, ie pretending to be married or actually so, or else we are not in a relationship', he proposes a scale from 0 (complete strangers with no influence on eachother's lives) to 1 (actually the same person). And you map your degree of relationship with a particular person to values between 0 and 1 using a sigmoid equation. I like this. Of course, the major flaw is that it would need to be universally or at least widely adopted to be at all useful practically, but it's still a good way of thinking about these things. I am pleased with the concept that partial relationships are possible, it's not all-or-nothing. 
working
