It's over here now...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mr. Tom Hanks!
My friend and I were talking about Tom Hanks this weekend and how we both forget that he started his career as a comedian. A lot of the movies he starred in at that time remain some of my favorite comedies to this day (well except for maybe Joe Versus the Volcano - I heard it had script problems from day one).
This conversation brought to mind what I believe to be one of the funniest movie scenes of all time - this and the entire movie The Burbs.
...wait for it...the best part is around the 2 minute mark.
This conversation brought to mind what I believe to be one of the funniest movie scenes of all time - this and the entire movie The Burbs.
...wait for it...the best part is around the 2 minute mark.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Statistics - friend or foe?
I took psychology in university and have had a love/hate relationship with statistic ever since. In one way I am fascinated by the idea of creating meaningful patterns and developing theories simply by looking at numbers. On the other hand I have sat through a plethora of graduate student meetings in which they discussed their research and then endlessly debated the best statistical theory to apply in order to get meaningful results. I never studied stats at a graduate level so perhaps I am speaking purely out of ignorance, but I never quite understood how you could analyze data one way, not have anything significant show up, analyze it a different way and BAM! There you have it, a valid correlation. It all seemed a bit blurry around the edges to me. (As a side note, I must mention that I have endless criticism about how the majority of psychological experiments are conducted so maybe I am just too biased to be writing about this.)
The reason I started thinking about this however, is because I just finished reading Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, both of whom are economists and both of whom consider stats to be their bread and butter. There has been a proliferation of books like this one in the past ten years or so, which mostly examine human behaviour and make it clear that we, as humans, are pretty irrational in our decision-making and thought processes. It is all well and good and interesting, but most of these books are based on results, which come from psychology experiments, which are based on stats. In fact, some reviews that I have read of Super Freakonomics argue that the authors' own conclusions, or the conclusions of the studies they mention, are faulty in that they twist the numbers and the wording to fit a certain model.
So where does this leave us? Especially those of us who may not know or understand the intricacies of data collection and analysis. I would argue that a highly skeptical and critical-thinking crowd is better than one that takes things at face value, but do we need to be critical to the extent that we cannot read something published by two highly educated economists without furrowing our brows and questioning each argument and piece of evidence they present? Seems like a pretty infuriatingly complex way to read something for enjoyment. I don't know where the answer lies but I can say this much - it's hard not to feel like a schmuck when you read something that you find interesting and well-researched, only to discover that there is more than a dozen people out there who can poke holes in every single premise you just accepted. I suppose that may be the real reason behind why I could never succeed in academia; sometimes reading something that makes the world make a little more sense is better left alone in my opinion.
The reason I started thinking about this however, is because I just finished reading Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, both of whom are economists and both of whom consider stats to be their bread and butter. There has been a proliferation of books like this one in the past ten years or so, which mostly examine human behaviour and make it clear that we, as humans, are pretty irrational in our decision-making and thought processes. It is all well and good and interesting, but most of these books are based on results, which come from psychology experiments, which are based on stats. In fact, some reviews that I have read of Super Freakonomics argue that the authors' own conclusions, or the conclusions of the studies they mention, are faulty in that they twist the numbers and the wording to fit a certain model.
So where does this leave us? Especially those of us who may not know or understand the intricacies of data collection and analysis. I would argue that a highly skeptical and critical-thinking crowd is better than one that takes things at face value, but do we need to be critical to the extent that we cannot read something published by two highly educated economists without furrowing our brows and questioning each argument and piece of evidence they present? Seems like a pretty infuriatingly complex way to read something for enjoyment. I don't know where the answer lies but I can say this much - it's hard not to feel like a schmuck when you read something that you find interesting and well-researched, only to discover that there is more than a dozen people out there who can poke holes in every single premise you just accepted. I suppose that may be the real reason behind why I could never succeed in academia; sometimes reading something that makes the world make a little more sense is better left alone in my opinion.
 |
| "There are three types of lies -- lies, damn lies, and statistics." — Benjamin Disraeli |
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Highschool Flashback Fridays!
No show defined my high school experience more than My So-Called Life. Despite the fact that it was only on for one season (apparently Claire Danes had had enough by then), it really struck a chord with girls my age for its brilliant portrayal of the my-life-is-total-crap-and-is-so-confusing-and-no-one-understands-me teenage turmoil. The jaded and confused Angela, the "token gay guy" Rickie, the nerd Brian, the funky but troubled Rayanne, and of course the dreamy (but dumb) Jordan Catalano. Much like The Breakfast Club, this show borrowed on the all-too-familiar tropes of high school life and brought them to life, and most importantly, up to date for the teenage viewers. I still cringe when I think of how awkward Angela is throughout much of the show, but I think it is because I am actually cringing at my memories of myself being that awkward in high school. Gosh, if I could just know then what I know now!
But for the record...this was my favorite scene of the whole show. Enjoy! *giggles*
But for the record...this was my favorite scene of the whole show. Enjoy! *giggles*
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Living Alone Without Becoming a Recluse: How to Strike the Fine Balance
I recently wrote about a book called Orchids on Your Budget by Marjorie Hillis and have just finished reading her other book called Live Alone and Like It. Although not as entertaining and helpful as Orchids (I found this one to be more dated), Live Alone and Like It was also chalk full of funny, witty, and ultimately practical advice. Some highlights below.
From the chapter "Who Do You Think You Are?"
"There are other good kinds [of self pampering]: a glass of sherry and an extra special dinner charmingly served on a night when you are tired and all alone; bath salts in your tub and toilet-water afterward; a new and spicy book when you're spending an evening in bed; a trim little cotton frock that flatters you on an odd morning when you decide to be violently domestic. The notion that 'it doesn't matter because nobody sees you,' with the dull meals and dispirited clothes that follow in its wake, has done more damage than all the floods of springtime."
From the chapter "Setting for a Solo Act"
"One of the advantages of your way of living is that you can be alone when you want to. Lots of people never discovered what a pleasure this can be. Perhaps it was because of its possibilities that the misused expression 'enjoy yourself,' came into being. The more you enjoy yourself, the more of a person you are."
From the chapter "Pleasures of a Single Bed"
"If this all sounds a little dreary, think of the things that you, all alone, don't have to do. You don't have to turn out your light when you want to read because somebody else wants to sleep. You don't have to have the light on when you want to sleep and someone else wants to read. You don't have to get up in the night to fix somebody else's hot water bottle, or lie awake listening to snores, or be vivacious when you're tired, or cheerful when you're blue, or sympathetic when you're bored. You probably have the bathroom all to yourself, too, which is unquestionably one of Life's Greatest Blessings. You don't have to wait till someone finishes shaving, when you are all set for a cold-cream session. You have no one complaining about your pet bottles, no one to drop wet towels on the floor, no one occupying the bathtub when you have just time for a shower. From dusk until dawn, you can do exactly as you please, which, after all, is a pretty good allotment in this world where a lot of conforming is expected of everyone." HALLELUJAH SISTA!
From the chapter "The Great Uniter"
"Of course the civilized place for any woman to have breakfast is in bed. We might except Mother on the Farm, or the Italian lady whose family took the prize for size at the Chicago Fair. But for you and me, who live alone and whose early mornings are uncomplicated by offspring, farm-hands, and even husbands, bed is the place."
Of course a book could be written of even greater length about the benefits of living with another person, or a whole family, but I thought this book was positive enough that even the gals who had to move out on their own due to unfortunate circumstances could still be inspired to make the best of their situation. And for just those kinds of gals who look forward to living with a special someone sooner than later, you need only look at the book jacket for the final words of encouragement: "Three years after the book's publication, at the age of forty-nine, Ms. Hillis bid a fond farewell to the live-aloners by marrying Mr. T.H. Roulston" (from the author bio)
From the chapter "Who Do You Think You Are?"
"There are other good kinds [of self pampering]: a glass of sherry and an extra special dinner charmingly served on a night when you are tired and all alone; bath salts in your tub and toilet-water afterward; a new and spicy book when you're spending an evening in bed; a trim little cotton frock that flatters you on an odd morning when you decide to be violently domestic. The notion that 'it doesn't matter because nobody sees you,' with the dull meals and dispirited clothes that follow in its wake, has done more damage than all the floods of springtime."
From the chapter "Setting for a Solo Act"
"One of the advantages of your way of living is that you can be alone when you want to. Lots of people never discovered what a pleasure this can be. Perhaps it was because of its possibilities that the misused expression 'enjoy yourself,' came into being. The more you enjoy yourself, the more of a person you are."
From the chapter "Pleasures of a Single Bed"
"If this all sounds a little dreary, think of the things that you, all alone, don't have to do. You don't have to turn out your light when you want to read because somebody else wants to sleep. You don't have to have the light on when you want to sleep and someone else wants to read. You don't have to get up in the night to fix somebody else's hot water bottle, or lie awake listening to snores, or be vivacious when you're tired, or cheerful when you're blue, or sympathetic when you're bored. You probably have the bathroom all to yourself, too, which is unquestionably one of Life's Greatest Blessings. You don't have to wait till someone finishes shaving, when you are all set for a cold-cream session. You have no one complaining about your pet bottles, no one to drop wet towels on the floor, no one occupying the bathtub when you have just time for a shower. From dusk until dawn, you can do exactly as you please, which, after all, is a pretty good allotment in this world where a lot of conforming is expected of everyone." HALLELUJAH SISTA!
From the chapter "The Great Uniter"
"Of course the civilized place for any woman to have breakfast is in bed. We might except Mother on the Farm, or the Italian lady whose family took the prize for size at the Chicago Fair. But for you and me, who live alone and whose early mornings are uncomplicated by offspring, farm-hands, and even husbands, bed is the place."
Of course a book could be written of even greater length about the benefits of living with another person, or a whole family, but I thought this book was positive enough that even the gals who had to move out on their own due to unfortunate circumstances could still be inspired to make the best of their situation. And for just those kinds of gals who look forward to living with a special someone sooner than later, you need only look at the book jacket for the final words of encouragement: "Three years after the book's publication, at the age of forty-nine, Ms. Hillis bid a fond farewell to the live-aloners by marrying Mr. T.H. Roulston" (from the author bio)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Milan Kundera Quote - made me laugh
"Kitsch is the inability to admit that shit exists"
— Milan Kundera
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Giving Thanks to Toronto
Happy Thanksgiving!
The National Post put together a little compilation of what people are thankful for about Toronto. Since I am in one of my "loving Toronto" moods, and have been for the past few days, I thought it appropriate to post this. Love ya T-dot!
The National Post put together a little compilation of what people are thankful for about Toronto. Since I am in one of my "loving Toronto" moods, and have been for the past few days, I thought it appropriate to post this. Love ya T-dot!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Things I Learned Today
What the Texas Sharpshooter Falacy is:
"The fallacy gets its name from imagining a cowboy shooting at a barn. Over time, the side of the barn becomes riddled with holes. In some places there are lots of them, in others there are few. If the cowboy later paints a bullseye over a spot where his bullet holes clustered together it looks like he is pretty good with a gun. By painting a bullseye over a bullet hole the cowboy places artificial order over natural random chance."
This comes from the most recent article from the site You Are Not So Smart: A Celebration of Self Delusion, a blog my brother introduced me to, which publishes articles about how humans tend to believe in dumb and/or irrational things (that is the psychologist in me talking).
The article on the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy also made me learn a new word!
Stochasticity: noun. the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan [syn: randomness]
I wonder how long it will take for this to turn up in pop culture? Instead of "how random!" I am going to start saying "how stochastic!" ... and they used to call me Nerdlinger.
"The fallacy gets its name from imagining a cowboy shooting at a barn. Over time, the side of the barn becomes riddled with holes. In some places there are lots of them, in others there are few. If the cowboy later paints a bullseye over a spot where his bullet holes clustered together it looks like he is pretty good with a gun. By painting a bullseye over a bullet hole the cowboy places artificial order over natural random chance."
 |
| "He's shooting at a barn! Get 'im!!!" and so on... |
This comes from the most recent article from the site You Are Not So Smart: A Celebration of Self Delusion, a blog my brother introduced me to, which publishes articles about how humans tend to believe in dumb and/or irrational things (that is the psychologist in me talking).
The article on the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy also made me learn a new word!
Stochasticity: noun. the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan [syn: randomness]
I wonder how long it will take for this to turn up in pop culture? Instead of "how random!" I am going to start saying "how stochastic!" ... and they used to call me Nerdlinger.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Working Girl...
All the jobs I have had (that I can remember)…in as much of a chronological order as I can remember. I included everything that I actually got a pay cheque for. There were some one-shifters that I ran from before they had a chance to get all of my pertinent information.
1. Cafe/Restaurant
• Total time employed: 6 years
• This was my first job! The job interview consisted of the manager asking “Will you do a good job?” and that’s it. It helped that my older sister worked here! I stayed at this job for far too long.
2. Tim Horton’s (kiosk in a hospital)
• Total time employed: 2 months
• I couldn’t call myself a Canadian if I had never worked at one of these (it was part of my citizenship agreement).
• Things that did not make this job fun:
• Quit by getting off the elevator on my floor, turning right back around and going home. My supervisor called 5 days later to ask if I knew I had missed my shifts.
4. Call Centre Two
• Total time employed: 2 months
• Cold-calling people to set up cost estimate appointments for student-run painting company – as exciting as it sounds
• I was one of the original staff at a new location which made it somewhat more exciting. Mostly worked as barista but also made all sorts of crazy deserts – that’s real whipped cream yo!
• There were days were ALL I did (that is 8 hours folks) is photocopy and/or file
7. Call Centre Three
• Total time employed: 8 months
• Verified credit card application information for major US-based bank. Paid well. Although we only called people who had applied for cards already, we would still get yelled at for asking personal questions. People are dumb. When I left this call centre I made the decision to never work in one again....not sure why it took so long.
• For a part-time student job this was pretty much as good as it gets. Could study while undergrads completed psych experiments, paid almost $20/hour, flexible schedule and would have looked great on a Grad School application (yeah, that never happened)
9. Summer temp job – head office of rental car agency
• Total time employed: two summers
• Filed keys, photocopied agreements, sorted license plates – yep, the high life!
10. Line Cook in University Restaurant
• Total time employed: 2 school years
• Probably the most fun job I ever had – really had to do with the fact that I was in university and working with undergrad hoodlums like myself.
• Lots of after work beer-drinking and/or karaoke and/or house parties that ate up all of the money I ever earned here.
11. Baker at Summer Camp
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Wish it was only 3 weeks – nice to be out in nature and on a lake for the whole summer but I still shudder when I think back to this time. My memoir will perhaps detail my time at this job in a chapter entitled “Stupid Mistakes Young People Make”
12. Cook in Tex-Mex Restaurant/Bar
• Total time employed: 3 years and counting (on and off)
• Although not the most fun job I have ever had (I am not longer a university hoodlum) it is probably one of the best overall places I have ever worked. Awesome, awesome people and lots of freedom! And that is what makes or breaks any job.
• My job interview consisted of "So you want to work here? When can you start?"
13. Line Cook at Music/Dinner club
• Total time employed: 1 shift (long enough to see the state of the kitchen)
• Lack of money makes one desperate
14. Baker - Catering company that specialized in providing healthy meals to day cares
• Total time employed: 1 year
• It was like working in a baked-goods factory - totally industrial set up. Their cause was good, most people who worked here were great, and I met would-be boyfriend of almost two years here - it did not last, but the relationship was my best yet!
15. Sandwich/Salad Prep person in Food Court lunch place
• Total time employed: 2 days
• Lack of money makes one desperate
• Lack of money makes one desperate
17. Paper-pushing 9-5 job
• Total time employed: 1.5 years – still here...
• Meh.
To be continued?
I really think I am missing some as my last "in-head" count was 21...
1. Cafe/Restaurant
• Total time employed: 6 years
• This was my first job! The job interview consisted of the manager asking “Will you do a good job?” and that’s it. It helped that my older sister worked here! I stayed at this job for far too long.
2. Tim Horton’s (kiosk in a hospital)
• Total time employed: 2 months
• I couldn’t call myself a Canadian if I had never worked at one of these (it was part of my citizenship agreement).
• Things that did not make this job fun:
- Shifts started at 6am every Saturday and Sunday
- SARS scare = paranoid hand-scrubbing every 5 minutes
- Old hospital = No air conditioning during a heat wave
- Shift supervisor position = counting the till at the end of every shift, which, at a place where everyone always comes with exact change, was a painstaking process.
3. Call Centre One
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Cold-calling to get people to switch their home phone providers. Got yelled at, hung up on, while still managing to get a few sales. • Quit by getting off the elevator on my floor, turning right back around and going home. My supervisor called 5 days later to ask if I knew I had missed my shifts.
4. Call Centre Two
• Total time employed: 2 months
• Cold-calling people to set up cost estimate appointments for student-run painting company – as exciting as it sounds
5. Café Demetres – ice cream/desert café
• Total time employed: 2 years• I was one of the original staff at a new location which made it somewhat more exciting. Mostly worked as barista but also made all sorts of crazy deserts – that’s real whipped cream yo!
6. Temp Position in fancy Bay Street financial firm
• Total time employed: 4 months• There were days were ALL I did (that is 8 hours folks) is photocopy and/or file
7. Call Centre Three
• Total time employed: 8 months
• Verified credit card application information for major US-based bank. Paid well. Although we only called people who had applied for cards already, we would still get yelled at for asking personal questions. People are dumb. When I left this call centre I made the decision to never work in one again....not sure why it took so long.
8. Research Assistant in university Psychology Lab
• Total time employed: 1 year as volunteer, 2 years as paid position• For a part-time student job this was pretty much as good as it gets. Could study while undergrads completed psych experiments, paid almost $20/hour, flexible schedule and would have looked great on a Grad School application (yeah, that never happened)
9. Summer temp job – head office of rental car agency
• Total time employed: two summers
• Filed keys, photocopied agreements, sorted license plates – yep, the high life!
10. Line Cook in University Restaurant
• Total time employed: 2 school years
• Probably the most fun job I ever had – really had to do with the fact that I was in university and working with undergrad hoodlums like myself.
• Lots of after work beer-drinking and/or karaoke and/or house parties that ate up all of the money I ever earned here.
11. Baker at Summer Camp
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Wish it was only 3 weeks – nice to be out in nature and on a lake for the whole summer but I still shudder when I think back to this time. My memoir will perhaps detail my time at this job in a chapter entitled “Stupid Mistakes Young People Make”
12. Cook in Tex-Mex Restaurant/Bar
• Total time employed: 3 years and counting (on and off)
• Although not the most fun job I have ever had (I am not longer a university hoodlum) it is probably one of the best overall places I have ever worked. Awesome, awesome people and lots of freedom! And that is what makes or breaks any job.
• My job interview consisted of "So you want to work here? When can you start?"
13. Line Cook at Music/Dinner club
• Total time employed: 1 shift (long enough to see the state of the kitchen)
• Lack of money makes one desperate
14. Baker - Catering company that specialized in providing healthy meals to day cares
• Total time employed: 1 year
• It was like working in a baked-goods factory - totally industrial set up. Their cause was good, most people who worked here were great, and I met would-be boyfriend of almost two years here - it did not last, but the relationship was my best yet!
15. Sandwich/Salad Prep person in Food Court lunch place
• Total time employed: 2 days
• Lack of money makes one desperate
16. Hostess at trendy (read: WASPY/Hipster) health food resto
• Total time employed: 2 weeks• Lack of money makes one desperate
17. Paper-pushing 9-5 job
• Total time employed: 1.5 years – still here...
• Meh.
To be continued?
I really think I am missing some as my last "in-head" count was 21...
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