Aquagirl

I had read about Tula, aka Aquagirl, in some old Adventure comic books. Then in an issue of New Teen Titans, Marv Wolfman retconned her into being a member of that distinguished team of teens, presumably in some untold adventure.

I more recently learned that there was another Aquagirl, a blonde lady named Lisa Morel who appeared in Adventure #266. She predated Tula by several years. She was an Atlantean whose powers had been dormant and were reawakened. She lost her powers by the end of the story though, and she has not reappeared since then.

Supposedly, there was also an Aqua-Girl named Serena who appeared in one issue of World's Finest Comics. I've never read the story, though.

There is a new Aquagirl named Lorena Marquez. She was initially depicted as having developed water-breathing capabilities, but is now shown as having extraordinary strength as well.

On Batman Beyond, there was another Aquagirl played by Jodi Benson. Since Jodi provides the voice of Disney's Little Mermaid, this was strangely appropriate.

Michelle Nicastro

I discovered that Michelle Nicastro is on Facebook. I don't know if she's still performing or not, but apparently, she's doing some charity work nowadays.

She was great as the voice of the Swan Princess, and she did a wonderful job on the very first Unsung Musicals CD. I love to hear her sing.

Randy Disher

Did you catch last night's episode of "Monk"? The buffoonish Randy Disher demonstrated his worth as a police officer by protecting three young boys from a pair of gunmen in the woods. This was without a firearm on his person. He waited for the gunmen to pass, then using a piece of wood, he knocked one of them out, grabbed his shotgun, and trained it on the other fella. Randy for the win!

I've always felt that the writers went overboard in portraying Randy as an incompetent buffoon. Moments like this demonstrate how useful he is as a police officer.

It's also great that both he and Monk noticed a vital clue -- namely, how one of the gunmen would twist peanut shells open instead of opening them along the seam. I remember one previous episode in which he solved this mystery at the same time that Monk did. And of course, one of his shining moments was when he and Monk needed evidence to put a bad guy away, and Randy was the one who realized that they could get his fingerprint off of a truck's ignition key.

Loving it.

V, the new TV series

So, in order to appreciate the new V television series, do I need to first watch I through IV?

And do I need to watch the first twelve movies in order to appreciate Apollo 13?

That's not science!

I've encountered an amazing number of people who pride themselves on being "scientific," and yet have a very poor idea what science is all about.

Consider the fellas who insist that science is the only way that we can know truth. If you think about it though, that's a self-refuting statement; after all, what manner of scientific test can possibly show that science is the only possible path to truth?

Another fella said (and I paraphrase only slightly),

"There are many people who would have better lives if they used the scientific method in relationships. 'Your girlfriend loves you' is the hypothesis. If she does indeed love you, then she will say so, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well. If she seldom comes home until 5 am, we might falsify the hypothesis that she loves you, right?"

A few people pointed out that this was NOT an example of the scientific method, and that the conclusions did not logically follow from the tests. Among other things, the results are subjective and not replicable. I like what one fella said (again, paraphrased slightly):

"If we say that any scientific results must objective (that is, all researchers get the same results), replicable (i.e., the experiment produce the same results every time), and quantifiable (i.e., the results are precise measurements rather than vague assessments), then none of the approaches that you're describing involve the scientific method. In fact, they fail on all three counts.

"To take the girlfriend example, your description shows exactly why the scientific method won't work in that situation. You say: 'If she does love you, she will say it, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well.' But it's wrong it both directions. Firstly, a woman could say she loves a man, spend time around him, treat him reasonably well, and yet not love him. Second, a woman might love a man but not do any of those things if circumstances intervened, or if they had the kind of relationship which didn't center on those things. The point is that the experience of the love between two people cannot be quantified, cannot be replicated, and cannot be objectively assessed by outsiders. In other words, it is not subject to the scientific method. It is a unique experience between just those two people, and it may be vastly different from what any other two people in love experience. Anybody who searched for love by trying to exactly replicate some sort of average of what others did would be setting him/herself up for failure."

Still so very, very tired

I am still so utterly tired. I wish there was a place here where I could stretch out and just relax for a while -- maybe catch a nap.

I'm sitting in a rocking chair in a busy building. Where? Let's just say that it's a public place of commerce and leave it at that.

I am very, very, very tired. I know that this is getting repetitive, but the bottom line is that my brain isn't working very well right now. I could use some Zs. I'd take a nap right here, except that i need to watch over my stuff.

German

I've often wished that I understood German. That way, I could make sense of pages such as this one. German is a very logical language, or so I've been told. It might be nice to learn.

BTW, in my younger days, I received a bit of ridicule for wanting to learn a foreign language. My classmates were relatively bright, so they understood, and my parents were very supportive. A lot of other people just couldn't understand why anyone would want to do such a thing, though.

I don't think I'll ever really learn German, though. I just don't have the time. Heck, I'd love to learn Latin, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

TBBT

I recently discovered The Big Bang Theory on TV and DVD. This show cracks me up! Howard's vocal expressions are hi-larious, and even Penny, the least cartoonish character on the show, is still very funny.

I loved that bit where the four geeks were dressed up as the Flash, and where Raj suggested that they walk right behind each other in order to simulate the Flash's after-images. Wow.

I won't go into the Christmas episode, the key scene of which is an extremely popular YouTube video. Let's just say that it's also extremely funny.

I hope that this show remains on the air for a long, long time to come.

So tired. So very, very tired.

I am so groggy. I had to get up very early in the morning in order to get together with someone. Ugh. I am exhausted as a result, and I could use a nice long nap.

I've been pushing myself so hard to do stuff -- work, yard work, housework, exercise and so forth. I could use a long vacation.

Halloween costume thoughts

Here are a few thoughts regarding Halloween costumes. I think that most of these apply in all costume situations, mind you.

First, store-bought costumes usually look cheezy. This is especially true of Batman costumes. Oh, and anything with fake muscles looks kinda dumb.

There are exceptions. For example, I saw an Imperial stormtrooper costume that was great. It was obviously store-bought because it consisted of molded plastic. Still, it was terrific.

Second, store-bought costumes are boring. Why? Because anybody can buy a costume and put it on. There's no creativity involved. That's why even when the costume looks awesome (such as the aforementioned stormtrooper getup), they don't particularly impress me. People tend to appreciate costumes that involved some more personal effort.

Which leads to my third point. Store-bought costumes can still look good if we invest some personal effort into them. If you're going to dress up as the Joker, for example, you can add the kind of facial make-up used in "The Dark Knight." Or if you want to dress up as Superman, carry a fake lead box with some green rocks inside.

The fourth point: Try to be creative. I'm always disappointed when I see women dress up as witches and then try to compete in a costume contest. You're not going to win, folks, not unless the winners are selected based on popularity. Dressing up as a witch takes no imagination.

Instead, why not pick some non-obvious choices? Dress up as Captain Stubing, for example, or as The Six Million Dollar Man. Dress up as Alan Scott instead of Hal Jordan (though Hal Jordan would still be an awesome choice, given that he's not as obvious as Superman or Batman).

Why doesn't the Great Pumpkin arrive?

So why hasn't Linus ever been successful in watching the Great Pumpkin rise out of his sincere pumpkin patch?

Personally, I think he should try offering a sacrifice. Perhaps a crabby older sister? Or the annoyingly lovestruck sister of a close personal friend?

Another lindy move

I just remembered another lindy move that I learned: the rollaway. It's really eas, and I should use it more.

I wish that I could learn these dance moves more easily. One problem is the lack of a dance partner. My friends tend to be very non-athletic, and they get tired very easily.

Actually, I've found that a lot of people can't do even simply moves. Obviously, I'm not talking about experienced dancers here. I've attended a lot of dance events recently where the people just kinda jiggle themselves around, which is frustrating. Showing them how to do a simple turn is like pulling teeth; they just can't manage to complete a turn.

The thing is, it's not about being overweight. I know a lot of overweight people who can still move. Rather, the problem is that a lot of people are just used to moving very sluggishly. They're not used to stepping in a lively fashion, and so when it comes to dancing, they just kinda plod along. As a result, it's easier for them to just kinda stand in a circle with a group of friends and shake their booties or sway to the music.

There's nothing wrong with that, and by that, I mean that there's no moral culpability in that. Still, it's like preferring hamburger over a fine steak.

Lindy moves

Here is a list of the lindy moves that I've learned as of late:

Swingout from the open position
Swingout from the closed position
Lindy circle
She goes
He goes
Outside turn
RJ
RJ with a turn
RJ with follow-through
Texas tommy
8-count tuck turn
Reverse swingout
"Mark's pretzel"
Basic dip

Hiro and Charlie

I like watching Hiro and Charlie on TV. It's rare to see an Asian man involved with a white woman, especially one who's very attractive. And Charlie was a very beautiful woman indeed.

This show has its good and bad points, its highs and lows. This episode that I'm watching right now is pretty darned good.

A worthless 'physics' DVD

I like educational DVDs. That's why I like to borrow the various Cerebellum teaching DVDs from the public library. Ditto the DVDs from the Teaching Company.

That's why I checked out "What the #$*! Do We Know!?" from Netflix. It was simply no good, though. It was terrible. It purported to be about quantum mechanics, but it was simply an exercise in spewing incoherent, unscientific psychobabble. Talk about worthless.

It's gotten some pretty terrible reviews, such as the one here. Don't waste time on this one, folks.

Nervous woman laughing during a dance lesson

I was attending a beginner's salsa lesson in which this one woman kept on laughing and laughing. Apparently, she didn't feel confident about doing the moves. She must have felt nervous, and so she'd start laughing when it came time to try the moves.

This got to be a little annoying.

I understand that some people have a harder time than others. Heaven knows that I'm not a natural dancer. I also understand that some people can get nervous. If you're an adult though, you should know enough to squelch the laughter at inappropriate moments. Being nervous is understandable, and to some extent, even the laughter is understandable. Adults should know self-control though, and they should know that laughing doesn't help.

This reminds me of the ladies in my cardio gym class who'd start giggling when the instructor would ask us to do a move that they had trouble with. I don't think that's excusable either -- not unless you're a little girl. If you can't do the move, then either adapt the moves, leave the class, or take a break. Giggling and laughing are not excusable in mature adults.

More on Holiday Inn dancing

In yesterday's post, I mentioned these two ladies that I asked to dance. One tried, but didn't really know how. Her friend was pretty rude, though I'm trying to be gracious and not think too harshly of that person. (I won't be asking her to dance again though, that's for sure.)

When some latin music came on, I asked this one woman if she knew how to dance salsa. She said that she could try. It was difficult, though. I'm no salsa expert, and heaven knows that my own style needs work. However, it didn't seem to me that she had ever done it before, or maybe had done it once or twice. Apart from the basic salsa step, she couldn't really follow either.

I'm not saying these things to rail against people who don't know how to dance. I'm not expert myself, and I understand that everyone has to start somewhere. It's just frustrating when you want to dance and you don't want to just shake yourself around. Sigh. I'd like to do something more sophisticated, but there are seldom a whole lot of people around who can follow or who know any real dance.

Dancing at the Holiday Inn

So I visited one of the local Holiday Inns last night. They had a great local band playing, so I figured that I'd sit and listen. I was also hoping to find some nice people to dance with.

I was disappointed. As often happens at these events, scarcely anyone knew how to dance. They were just kinda shaking it around. I don't begrudge people enjoying themselves that way, but complete freestyling seldom looks good, and I personally don't think that it's very satisfying.

I did ask a few ladies to dance, with mixed results. First, I asked this Latina lady if she knew the Hustle, a simple dance style that's suited for a lot of 70s music. She said that she did, but when I brought her onto the dance floor, it became clear that she had never done it before. Thankfully, she was able to follow well enough to make it work, which was pretty good; after all, most people would completely flounder, even with these simple steps. So the experience was a little disappointing, but still better than what you'd expect with most people.

A few minutes later, I asked her friend to dance. I did this mostly to be polite; however, her friend fixed me with a steely gaze, as though unsure about what I was asking. After repeating myself a few times, asking if she'd like to try the same dance that her friend (sorta) did, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

I held up my hands in front of myself as though to say, "Okay, okay. No need to get mad." Inwardly though, I was thinking, "Boy, this gal is a piece of work. If you're going to turn down an invitation, then just say so politely. A non-verbal reply is pretty rude." Heck, I'd even say that it's rather arrogant.

I found myself thinking that this woman was a real bitch. I did catch myself though, and I've chosen to remind myself that she might be a much better person in general. I don't want to judge her too harshly based on this one encounter.

Software agility

Have you ever heard someone try to excuse the use of sloppy software design techniques -- y'know, the "code as you go" types? What astonishes me is that some of these guys even take pride in this approach, justifying it on the grounds that they're being "agile."

Some guy wrote an article on this phenomenon. The article says that agile programming techniques should not be used as an excuse for foregoing design. That is absolutely correct.

This reminds me of those bozos who write C++ code, and then claim that they're using object orientation because they're keeping data private and access functions public. They don't know their stuff. They savor as much of this design philosophy as a vessel savors the food it contains.

It's enough to make a computer science instructor cry.

Diogenes

There's this fella on a message board who goes by the name "Diogenes the Cynic." He takes tremendous pride in his intelligence which, quite frankly, is tremendously overrated.

Don't get me wrong. He is bright and he's very knowledgeable. The problem is that he has no concept of his limits. He prides himself on his knowledge of religion, for example; indeed, many posters admire his expertise in this regard. His actual depth of knowledge, however, is appalling. He also takes a tenacious view of matters both religious and political, to the point where he ignores and any all facts that contradict his views.

He used to be more respected. In more recent years though, I think that people have come to see through his bluster. It didn't help that he predicted that he could write a high-quality TV script on the first try, even though he had never written for that medium before and had never experienced the challenges that actual TV writers encounter.

Diogenes is an empty suit.