House-selling is emotional Jul 19, 2023
Having sold my house and moved recently, I was surprised how emotional the process was.  It's weird because it's essentially just a financial transaction, and if there's anyone who can have zero feelings about something, it's me.  But to work with a realtor who tells you how much money your house is worth, then to deal with potential buyers who try to low-ball offer you 80% of that price, then to haggle with a prospective buyer about all the things you should fix before they buy it, it's just a lot.  Part of it was that we were selling at sort of the tail end of the market high, so prices were naturally dropping.  But to see your neighbor's house sell for one price a month before yours, and they had literally all the same features and upgrades and everything, and then to see your house's price drop for literally no reason other than "market forces" felt like very dumb bullshit.  I almost wished I could've just paid someone to take care of all that nonsense for me and tell me the final price at the end.  But then I would've wished I'd been more involved because of my dumb emotions.  Yuck. 

I think part of it had to do with the fact that that house was sort of my dream house.  It had all the things I wanted in a house, and after moving into it I planned to live there until I died, at least partly because the moving process had been so absurdly unenjoyable.  Moving out of the house prior to that one felt like getting out of a toxic relationship.  Moving out of this house felt like losing something special.  Like breaking up with someone vs. being broken up with. 

The other thing is that a house is a physical structure you live in.  But by living in it and making improvements and remodeling and painting the walls and hanging pictures, it becomes a home.  Home is where you live, it's where you sleep, it's where you feel safe.  It's where you eat dinner, watch TV, and celebrate holidays.  A home is a house with emotions. 

This move sort of came out of nowhere, so it didn't feel like we were ready to leave.  And this isn't to say I wish it didn't happen or that I'm not happy in my new home.  But I think the magnitude of the process, and the shittiness of the experience, plus the accelerated rate sort of amplified the emotions of it all. #lifestyle
Condensed liberal arts program Jul 19, 2023
I went to an engineering school for college -- an Institute of Technology.  The majors they offered were engineering, science, or math.  I took a few mandatory electives, like English literature and whatnot.  I even had a few fun classes on psychology and philosophy, which were a nice little break from calculus and physics.  At the time I viewed college essentially as job training.  Teach me the skills I'll need to get a job in an industry.  And that's what it did.  I remember talking to some friends who went to normal colleges and took esoteric classes on the history of religion and things like that which served no purpose per se, but introduced some far out ideas that were perhaps worth considering.  I thought that sounded dumb. 

Now that I'm a little older, I sometimes find myself wishing I had a broader understanding of general topics of interest that normal people learn in normal colleges.  I sort of wish I could get a condensed liberal arts education in like a week long video course.  Ya know, art history, comparative literature, women's studies.  Things that don't serve an immediate purpose, but are just good things to know at least a little about.  There's value in knowing things, not necessarily monetary value and not necessarily immediate, but still. 

Related:  Economics vs. knowledge #education
Parking economics Jul 18, 2023
Parking is a thing that sometimes doesn't follow the normal laws of economics.  Paid parking makes sense in crowded cities where there's limited real estate and lots of potential users.  Plus the price is roughly correlated to demand.  That's how supply-side economics works.  And the price and availability are a disincentive to use the service; sort of a double-win. 

I went to a minor league baseball game recently, and it was completely the opposite.  The price for parking was constant, so it's completely unrelated to demand.  And the supply was plentiful, so it's not like they were discouraging it.  Plus it's nearly impossible to do anything other than drive to this place; there aren't other options.  I guess it was simply so they could keep their ticket prices low while still maintaining a profit.  A shitty practice. #money
Wet-bulb temperature Jul 17, 2023
Since this has been coming up a lot lately,
The wet-bulb temperature is the temperature read by a thermometer covered in water-soaked cloth over which air is passed.  The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached under current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water only.

Even heat-adapted people cannot carry out normal outdoor activities past a wet-bulb temperature of 32°C (90°F), equivalent to a heat index of 55°C (131°F). A reading of 35°C (95°F) -- equivalent to a heat index of 71°C (160°F) -- is considered the theoretical human survivability limit for up to six hours of exposure.
In other words, if the wet-bulb temperature gets too high, the human body loses its ability to cool down by sweating, so you can simply die from being too hot. #science
Dressing for work Jul 12, 2023
There's that saying:  "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."  I've always felt like that leaves out the middle case:  If I have the job I want (and vice versa), then how should I dress?  We live in weird and modern times (or maybe it's just a function of where I've worked), but my employer has never officially specified a dress code.  They'll say things like "no open-toed shoes" or "no shorts," but that leaves a lot on the table. 

Since I worked at my last job for a while, I became sort of a subject matter expert, so my "work" preceded me in the sense that people understood what I did and what I was capable of.  My attire or physical appearance was completely irrelevant, so I mostly dressed "down" unless I was meeting with customers or whatnot. 

At my new job, I've been dressing "up" because I haven't been there long enough to have a reputation.  I feel like if my "work" doesn't yet have a voice, my outfit probably should. #business
In defense of the southeast Jul 6, 2023
Call it a mid-life crisis or whatever, but I started thinking about other jobs when I turned 40.  Not for any real specific reason, but the thought that went through my head was, "If I could do what I'm currently doing but for a different overall purpose or from a different geographic area, that might be neat." 

So anyway, what this all boiled down to was:  Where do I want to live?  I lived in New Jersey forever and I've seen enough snow for a lifetime, so that rules out anywhere north.  You literally couldn't pay me enough money to live anywhere in the midwest, what with its overarching wet, gray aesthetic and general flatness.  Florida seems cool, except hurricanes.  Plus it'll be underwater in a decade or so.  Texas might be cool, except it doesn't exactly fit my ... vibe (or vice versa).  Utah and Colorado are a little too remote for my comfort.  Arizona is a literal fiery hellscape (which is very nice to visit).  California would be great, but I might not be able to afford a house, plus traffic.  Hawaii would be awesome but I probably wouldn't see any of my friends or family again (mixed feelings). 

What's left is the southeast.  I'm a new resident so this might be a little premature, but the southeast has a lot of good features: 
  • longer summers, milder winters
  • proximity to major cities (Nashville, Atlanta, etc.)
  • access to beaches (4-5 hours away)
  • near some mountains (feels like home for me)
  • low taxes
  • plenty of jobs/industry
  • friendly people
  • college football
I don't want to speak too soon, but I kinda like it here. #lifestyle
Public relations vs. propaganda Jul 5, 2023
I work at a place with a pretty active public relations department.  There's a heavy social media presence and plenty of company-wide emails celebrating events in the industry.  Most of it is pretty benign, but I can't help but question the difference between public relations and propaganda.  They both seem to be about branding and messaging and creating a story aimed at getting people to believe something about your organization.  It's not reporting or journalism, because it's not free from bias.  It's specifically biased to convince people to believe what you're telling them, not what they think they already know. 

One source says, "Propaganda is a deliberate attempt to persuade people to think and then behave in a manner desired by the source; public relations ... is a related process intended to enhance the relationship between an organization and the public."  The ellipsis actually says public relations is "a branch of propaganda," which I think sums it up nicely.  Another source says, "In the 1920's, propaganda renamed itself 'public relations' and is now an important function of every large business."  So I guess there you have it.  They're essentially the same thing, but the propaganda about public relations made us think they were different. #psychology
Internet places Jul 4, 2023
I feel like there's a pretty strong delineation between major internet places and what their primary purpose is, so it's always weird to see people wildly breaking my internal, made-up rules. 
  • Facebook is for posting pictures of your family vacations, pets, and kids.
  • Twitter is for anonymous shitposting.
  • Reddit is for connecting with other nerds who share your weird hobbies and opinions.
  • Instagram is for posting pictures of your workout, your coffee, or your ass.
  • LinkedIn is for following your employer's social media to appear engaged.
What's weird is when people shitpost on Facebook or LinkedIn using their actual names.  Or when people post an entire blog entry on Twitter one sentence at a time.  It's like watching a monkey use a typewriter.  Like, yeah you can do that, but that's absolutely not what it's for. #technology
Pete Townshend vs. Jimi Hendrix Jul 4, 2023
The Who's Pete Townshend on the stage antics of Jimi Hendrix:
When Jimi went on and started doing the same gimmicks we had done--and they were just gimmicks--I realized I had underestimated Jimi's readiness to play the fool to get attention. He didn't need to do it. We're talking crass, show business nonsense here. My guitar smashing started as a serious art-school concept with a clear manifesto.
The phrase "serious art-school concept with a clear manifesto" has to be the douchiest thing I've ever read. (via Room Full of Mirrors) #entertainment