Domingo

We all know Domingo of Santa Clara will be born today, tomorrow, and the day after
billions of times
'til the end of the universe,
where, with a smile on his face, the last of our species watches
the catastrophe.

Why / For Nothing

Why

For nothing

For nothing

Why did it have to be?

Why

Why

Why

Why

Why did she have to extert such power over me?

For nothing

Why

For nothing

For nothing

 

I need a new set of dishes

I need a new set of dishes.

I mean, I like the old ones.  They have a nice shape,
and a nice heavy earthenware feel in my hands.
But I've had them a long time, and I've broken so many,
I can't set the table for a full dinner party anymore.
I thought they'd be more rugged!
But my clumsy old hands...
And the ones remaining are kind of scratched and dull.
They say don't stack your dishes.
Now I know why!

I need a new set of dishes.
I think I'll get Corelle this time.
It has the feel of glass, but it's virtually unbreakable.
I can fumble it
You can stomp on it
I can run it through the oven and the washer ceaselessly.

I might never feel again, but I've had enough of heartbreak.

(2014-04-04)

Ozark Dirty

 

As they wheeled me through the big double doors and down the corridor of Walter Reed, past the creepy green curtains and all the expensive medical equipment, I only had one thought:

Jesus, how much did all those machines cost?  That much moolah could buy a shit-load of heroin...

And I rolled past guys who were in a lot worse shape than me -- guys missing both legs, guys missing half their torso, guys whose head seem to be hanging on by one bloody bandage...  And all I could think was:

Lord Jesus God, dude - heroin. Heroin, dude.

And suddenly a brilliant idea hit me like a rush: I realized I had an actual purpose in life!  My new mission was to get these guys the heroin they so desperately needed. Yea, deserved.  I would become their angel.  Lord God Almighty, I accept your calling!  Show me the way; Open the doors; let me be an instrument of thy mercy!

But first, um... I need a little something...

(2013-08-05)

Probabilities of drawing certain cards

This shows the probabilities of drawing two specific cards (labeled A and B) in a hand of five cards, from decks of various sizes.

All numbers are percentages.

Deck size	A & B	A & !B	A ^ B	A | B
6	66.7	16.7	33.3	100.0
7	47.6	23.8	47.6	95.2
8	35.7	26.8	53.6	89.3
9	27.8	27.8	55.6	83.3
10	22.2	27.8	55.6	77.8
11	18.2	27.3	54.5	72.7
12	15.2	26.5	53.0	68.2
13	12.8	25.6	51.3	64.1
14	11.0	24.7	49.5	60.4
15	9.5	23.8	47.6	57.1

The probabilities of other combinations can be derived from those given in this table:

• A | !B (A or not B - possibly both conditions) is the inverse of A & !B.
• A ^ !B (A or not B but NOT both conditions) is the inverse of A ^ B.
• !A & !B (neither A nor B) is the inverse of A | B
• !A | !B (not A, or not B - possibly both conditions) is the inverse of A & B.
• !A ^ !B (not A, or not B, but NOT both conditions) is logically the same as A ^ B.

Lost (a song)

(female singer)

There were dreams when I went away to Auburn
Is she coming back, or is she gone
gone
gone
A life in fashion writing
I'll find and make myself by turns
My Aunt Berta, that was her alma...
Funny how things turn
turn
turn

So there's only one me, at that's at home.
someone has to help Dad, day after day
after day
Mom can't lift him
Jim could,
But he got an associates and an apartment in town

Maybe I'll go stay with Ginny
up on the hill, under the big old oak
They say oak trees are sacred
I don't know, but Ginny has made this one sacred.

But no, everyone - everyone needs me
Except me
Except me

Poem in "Don Quixote"

We had a volume containing a certain translation at home when I was young.  I've been searching for that specific translation for many years.  This one is close, but not exactly the same.  This is only the 3rd stanza out of four.

But oh! the blessing I implore,

Not fate itself can give!

Since time elapsed exists no more,

No power can bid it live.

Our days soon vanish into nought,

And have no being but in thought.

Whate'er began must end at last;

In vain we twice would youth enjoy;

In vain would we recal the past,

Or now the future hours employ.

 

The version I know and love differed in at least the following ways:

 

Line 5 was: Time quickly passes into nought (and thus line 6 "has" vs "have")

Line 7 was: All things must have an end at last

Line 9 was: In vain would we relive the past