Jeeves's New Writeups

Der Geist Hilft Unser Schwachheit Auf (idea)

2002-10-25T04:48:28Z

This is one of the prettiest songs ever written. It has been alleged, to my face, by people who really ought to know better, that J.S. Bach's music is "just math" or "mechanical". People who say things like that have probably been listening to his works for the "well-tempered klavier"; even though these have a narrow style, I think they are beautiful in their own right. If you find yourself uninterested in classical choral works, you should try this one. This is song in a very pure form, a carefully thought out composition that brings the text to life shade by shade and thought by thought.

Der Geist Hilft is one of the six motets that Bach was commissioned to compose. It was written for the funeral of a man named Johann Heinrich Ernesti, the Rector of a renowned music school, which took place on October 24th, 1729 -- 271 years ago. It takes both a choir and conductor of considerable skill to pull this song off well; the recording I…

February 15, 2002 (person)

2002-02-15T19:22:32Z

Always would we
hack
track
strum
ask for drums
misplace names
blur faces
chant
sing
forget
say it's all inevitable
and keep a straight face

Never would we finish
accomplish
be free
be pure
find out the truth
live to be cool
accept the inevitable
forget
be wonderful

Someday could we
grow up
finally slip into place
question nothing
tell fewer lies
break the unbreakable
be free
own only rags
play all games
forget
dry off
give up

We must never
repent
let go
get any more humble
lose what we've learned
stop to think
drink any more blood
struggle
submit
forget
give in…

Dvorak (idea)

2002-02-13T22:42:31Z

Ever looked at the bizarre arrangement of the keys on a standard keyboard and wondered why it has to take both hands and two stretches to type several of the most common words in the English language? Get tired of typing 'teh'? Fumbling for the stupid period and comma? Ever think "Man, there has got to be a better way..." ?

Well, a long time ago, a certain Dvorak invented a more logical ("better") way. He analyzed the frequencies of the various letters in English and studied the motion of the fingers in typing, eventually devising a layout that is more systematic. He also invented several one-handed layouts to assist the disabled or ambitious.

It seems logical, at first, that such an improved layout would improve your typing speed if you switched to it, rather than the fingers-flying, ring-finger-wasting QWERTY layout. However, this probably isn't the case. Studies conducted on speed differences between Dvorak typists and QWERTY typists haven't shown much of a speed…

Dream Log: January 7, 2002 (place)

2002-01-07T20:51:12Z

Location: Parent's house. Jeeves was recovering from a severe cold at the time.

I

Large room made entirely out of red rock. A large clear lake is in the center, with rocky ledges all around.

Jeeves, srkorn, Jeeves's brother (2), and several others are sitting on one of the ledges.

Jeeves: I can't believe you guys are skipping school to come and sit at this lake.

srkorn: Well, it sure beats whatever else we'd be doing.

Jeeves falls in the lake. In the lake there is nothing, but the room is a giant cube. There is carpeting on the bottom. There are no fish or plants. Near the wall at the left, Jeeves sees his girlfriend floating in the water, smiling. Jeeves gathers her in his arms and swims back up to the ledge. Jeeves cuddles her, and they talk about swimming.

Jeeves: This place is huge, but I cannot explore it all because I run out of breath. I wish I could swim better.

Jeeves's girlfriend's eyes twinkle for a…

Predestination (idea)

2001-11-13T19:45:54Z

Assumptions
1. God exists
2. God is all-knowing ("omniscient")
3. Time is absolute and operates outside the realm of human influence

Definitions:
1. Choice
"Choice" in this description indicates one's ability to take arbitrary courses of action. It follows that, when the ability to choose ("free will") is present, no being with this ability is 100% predictable.
2. Free-will (or, "agency")
The ability to select from a number of alternatives arbitrarily, i.e., to choose.
3. Destiny
In Christian religions, there exists a concept of "salvation", wherein those who make "good" choices will go to a better place after death, and those who do not will not. Variations are commonplace.

"Proof":

Since human beings exist on Earth on a finite timeline, we can represent a person's life in terms of all of their actions taken (however minute). No notion of dependence is assumed by the following, i.e…

Cornbread (thing)

2001-10-12T02:00:45Z

Corn bread is so easy to make that even a Slovenly-College-Student Semimoron can make it. If you have an oven, you have no excuse. Cornbread is not only simple, but dirt cheap, good for you, impresses friends, goes well with meals, can be eaten by itself with honey for breakfast or dessert, etc. Lots of possibilities. Mandatory side dish with Chicken-Fried Steak.

This recipe is slightly different from those above, mainly in that it makes more, and a few ingredient substitutions. In my experience, white sugar should be avoided in some kinds of baking, as the end product is softer and less sweet when honey is used instead. Cornbread that is too sweet can suffer from the "cake" syndrome.

Ingredients

2 cups yellow cornmeal
1.5 cups white flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt (don't forget)
2/3 cup canola oil (other vegetable oils will work, but taste different)
1/2 cup

…