barumonkey

PUPPY!

2009-06-17T01:32:20Z

We have our dog! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

As stated on Facebook...

2009-05-04T19:18:17Z

I am now officially Looking For a Job. My previous position was magically transformed into 2 or 3 positions in India, and I'm not willing to go halfway around the world for a pay cut.

Edit: My most recent jobs have been in Software QA and Support, so that's the vicinity in which my experience lies.
Of course, acting for a living would be ideal, but I don't think I could pull that off.

At my party there will be...

2009-03-26T19:09:55Z

Darkness!

HA! An anti-meme meme!

2009-01-30T15:41:29Z

Inspired by joyeous:

25 interesting things is too much work, so... Three boring things about me!
__________________________

1) I'm using a computer.

2) I enjoy chocolate.

3) I know how to tie my shoelaces.

Moving!

2009-01-24T12:53:34Z

All day today and tomorrow! Come help us, after noon-ish, at 134 Winthrop St., Medford! There will be pizza and beer and snacks and soda and friends for you!

...the friends are not for eating.

...unless they're okay with that.

Hey hey!

2009-01-22T14:25:01Z

Look at me! I'm POSTING! Wheeeeeeee!

Numbers? ...okay.

2007-08-09T17:05:53Z

No idea what the numbers have to do with the characteristics, but hey -- interesting quiz.

You Are 9: The Peacemaker

You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others.
Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict.

You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come.
Avoiding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm.

At Your Best: You feel connected, trusting, and fulfilled. You feel at peace with your place in the world.

At Your Worst: You compromise your values to make sure peace is maintained. You give in to bullies.

Your Fixation: Harmony

Your Primary Fear: Causing conflict

Your Primary Desire: To preserve things as they are

Other Number 9's: Marge Simpson, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Seinfeld, and Abraham Lincoln.

What Number Are You?

Whee!

2007-07-30T23:40:59Z

I finally got a Wii! Wheeeeeeeeeee!

barumonkey @ 2007-07-08T11:20:00

2007-07-08T15:21:01Z

$3840.00

Wow, dead on!

2007-03-12T22:16:16Z

I wonder if it'll be one higher if I take it again next month...?

You Are 23 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Musical Followup

2007-01-25T03:50:56Z

As a followup to the Tone Deafness test (75%, see below), I have these two, from the same site:

Rhythm, and

Pitch perception.

Some geeky ones...

2007-01-07T00:15:50Z

Which File Extension are You?

How White and Nerdy Are You?

Which Programming Language are You?

Which Website are You?

Which superhero?

2006-12-18T17:59:44Z

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		80%
Robin		63%
Hulk		60%
The Flash		55%
Catwoman		50%
Superman		50%
Iron Man		45%
Green Lantern		45%
Supergirl		41%
Wonder Woman		31%
Batman		25%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Not a quiz

2006-12-03T07:07:05Z

Yeah, not a quiz, but... this one really hit home.

Ode to the Nice Guys

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Fu-zu Jen, SEAS/WH, 2003
originally published for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal.

(Oh, and there's a similar one for the nice girls too.)

Open-mindedness

2006-11-30T17:57:23Z

You Are 72% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Caffeinated Beverage

2006-11-29T18:34:39Z

Which Caffeinated Beverage are You?

Jung Typology test (I/E S/N T/F P/J)

2006-11-28T15:18:50Z

The (probably) most famous personality test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, testing whether one is:
Extraverted (E) or Introverted (I),
Sensing (S) or iNtuitive (N),
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F), and
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

I tested as INTP (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving), but very close to ISTP (Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving).

The test can be found here.

Oh, right, all those other ones...

2006-11-20T15:16:16Z

I was apparently VERY bored one... year... and took a whole slew of quizzes. (please do read the disclaimer at the top of the page.)

CORE (Chimera Oblique Riddle Exam)

2006-11-16T18:49:44Z

I got 22/30 answers correct on this very difficult "IQ test," which apparently puts my IQ at about 140.

http://www.puzz.com/core.html

Quote: "There is no time limit, and reference materials (books, computers, internet, etc.) may be used, but soliciting or receiving help from other people is against the rules."

Taking about an hour to finish, I used the following reference materials: Google (avoiding pages that reference this test), Wikipedia, Thesaurus.com, Dictionary.com, IMDB (for one question), and a Perl script I wrote that allows me to search the dictionary via regular expressions :-)

The questions I got wrong: 4, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 26, 30.

From Massachusetts?

2006-11-14T21:56:48Z

Dude! You're 100% from Massachusetts!

Dude! Me and Sully and Fitzie and Sean are gonna hit Landsdowne tonight after the game, hang out at the Beerworks. I'll pick you up at the Coop at 6.

How Massachusetts are you?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Tone Deafness Test

2006-11-14T20:50:11Z

Things to do while in Boston

2006-11-06T19:33:09Z

I've recently come across this list of 101 things to do around here. After a short round of "Why not?", I found myself copying the list over to a file and deleting ones that I have A) already done, or B) no interest in doing.

I was left with the following list of things I'd like to eventually do. As I do them, I'll update this post until none remain! All of you who read this are strongly encouraged to assist me in this, by going with me to the ones that interest you :-D

Edit: Putting the items I"m most likely to do soon in bold.

Remaining items: 40 out of 101

~~2. Take a group of friends to Do Re Mi in Allston for a night of karaoke in your own personal room ($30/hr). Record yourselves singing and listen to it for years to come.~~

9. Examine the Newbury Street mural located at the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth. Eighty-one of Boston’s finest personalities, including JFK, Babe Ruth, and Bette Davis are included. Can you find them all?

12. Check out memorabilia from your favorite movies, have a bite to eat, and perhaps even catch a glimpse of the stars at the Hard Rock Cafe. Open from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sun. – Thurs.; 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. Fri. and Sat.

13. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name…visit the restaurant on 84 Beacon Street that inspired Boston’s most famous sitcom, Cheers. Open 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. daily,

15. Indulge in some famous Boston clam chowder. Try the No Name Restaurant located on Fish Pier Street (on Northern Avenue) on the waterfront.

20. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! See these animals and many more at the Franklin Park Zoo. Admission is $9.50. Open Mon. – Fri. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

23. Show your patriotism at the Bunker Hill Monument and Museum in Charlestown, built to commemorate the first major clash of the Revolutionary War. Admission to the monument is free, and it is open to climb 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. daily.

27. Enjoy a panoramic view of Boston from the fiftieth floor of the Prudential Building Skywalk at
800 Boylston Street. Tickets are $7.50 with college ID, and the Skywalk is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

~~28. Ice skate on the Boston Common Frog Pond. Admission is $3 and skate rental is $5.~~

30. Extra! Extra! Tour the Boston Globe’s newsroom, composing room, and printing press.

31. Ring in the New Year with “First Night Boston” festivities. Don’t miss the variety of ice sculptures, performances, and parades.

32. Take a guided tour of the USS Constitution. Explore the indestructible warship known as “Old Ironsides” that fought in the War of 1812. Admission is free. Open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tues. - Sun.

35. Visit Paul Revere’s house, the last remaining seventeenth-century Boston home. Tours explore the history of the times as well as the changing character of the North End. Open Mon. – Sun. 9:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.

37. Cruise the Boston Harbor.

40. Learn what all the downtown construction is about at the Big Dig Visitors’ Center, located adjacent to the New England Aquarium. The Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and admission is free.

46. Dress in green and head to South Boston for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

47. Enjoy an outdoor play on the banks of the Charles River at the Publick Theatre during the summer months.

51. Take a day trip to Castle Island in South Boston. Visit the legendary Fort Independence, take in the view of downtown Boston, and stroll around the “Sugar Bowl,” a circular walkway that extends over the water.

54. Discover the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge. Visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

56. Quack! Quack! Take a narrated Duck Tour in a World War II amphibious vehicle. Travel through historic Boston and then splash into the Charles River. Visit www.bostonducktours.com for more information.

58. Go antiquing on historic Beacon Hill.

59. Enjoy a relaxing ride on the Boston Common Swan Boats. Tickets may be purchased for $2.50. Visit www.swanboats.com for information.

61. Canoe or kayak the scenic Charles River.

62. Stroll along the Emerald Necklace, a scenic seven mile stretch of green that connects nine Boston parks. Visit http://www.massbike.org/eng/ for more info.

65. Indulge in something sweet at Mike’s Pastry, located at 300 Hanover Street in the North End.

66. Spend a day on Carson Beach in South Boston.

71. Witness a Civil War reenactment at the Boston Harbor Islands State Park. The ferry charge to the island is $10.

76. Take a closer look at the Green Monster. Tour Fenway Park for just $12.

77. Go shopping at the Garment District, a warehouse of both funky and functional secondhand clothing. The District is located at 200 Broadway, near the Kendall Square T stop in Cambridge.

79. Visit the Old North Church at 193 Salem Street, where two lanterns were hung on April 18, 1775 to warn Bostonians that the British were coming. Admission is free, with donations requested.

80. Learn to sail on the Charles River. Lessons and rentals are available at the dock near the Longfellow Bridge on the Esplanade.

81. Play chess with a friend at Au Bon Pain at the Holyoke Center in Cambridge. Matt and Minnie made this spot famous in Good Will Hunting.

82. Sit back and relax while enjoying great sights and great music at Bank of America Pavilion. Located on Boston Harbor, this open air amphitheater is one of the best concert venues in the city.

83. Enjoy neighborhood jazz at the weekly Sunday brunch at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, near the Central Square T stop.

85. Go in-line skating on traffic-free Memorial Drive. On Sundays, 1.5 miles are closed off for pedestrians. In-line skate rentals and lessons are offered.

88. Take a leisurely ride on the Beantown Trolley. Stop at locations of interest throughout the city. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased on board.

~~90. Create a unique meal with the ingredients of your choice at the “improvisational grill”, Fire & Ice. The restaurant has locations in Copley and Harvard Squares.~~

94. Devote a day to art appreciation at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Visit www.gardnermuseum.org.

95. Take a multimedia excursion into the world of artificial intelligence at MIT’s Robots and Beyond, located in Cambridge.

98. Take in a show at the Lyric Stage Company, located in Copley Square.

The Sublime Philosophical Crap Test

2006-11-04T20:01:41Z

N-A-O

You scored 77% Non-Reductionism, 77% Epistemological Absolutism, and 66% Moral Objectivism!

You are an N-A-O: a metaphysical Non-Reductionist, an epistemological Absolutist, and a moral Objectivist. If you are simply dying inside to figure out what all this mumbo-jumbo means, then simply continue reading.

Metaphysics: Non-Reductionism (Idealism or Realism)
In metaphysics, my test measures your tendency towards Reductionism or Non-Reductionism. As a Non-Reductionist, you recognize that reality is not necessarily simple or unified, and you thus tend to produce a robust ontology instead of carelessly shaving away hypothetical entities that reflect our philosophical experiences.

Realists deny the validity of sloppy metaphysical reductions, because they feel that there is no reason to suspect that reality reflects principles of parsimony or simplicity. Realism is the most common-sensical of the metaphysical views. It doesn't see reality as a unity or as reducible to matter or mind, nor does it see reality as divided into a phenomenal world of experience and an unknowable noumenal world of things-in-themselves. Realist metaphysics emphasizes that reality is for the most part composed of the things we observe and think. On the question of the existence of universals, for instance, a realist will assert that while universals do not physically exist, the relations they describe in particulars are as real as the particular things themselves, giving universals a type of reality. Thus, no reduction is made. On the mind-body problem, realists tend to believe that minds and bodies both exist, and the philosophical problems involved in reducing mind to matter or matter to mind are too great to warrant such a reduction. Finally, realists deny that reality is ultimately a Unity or Absolute, though they recognize that reality can be viewed as a Unity when we consider the real relations between the parts as constituting this unity--but it doesn't mean that the world isn't also made up of particular things. Aristotle and Popper are famous realists.

*****

Epistemology: Absolutism (Rationalism or Pragmatism)
My test measures one's tendency towards Absolutism or Skepticism in regards to epistemology. As an Absolutist, you believe that objective knowledge is possible given the right approach, and you deny the claims of skeptical philosophers who insist that we can never have knowledge of ultimate reality. The two types of Absolutists recognized by my test are Rationalists and Pragmatists.

Rationalists believe that the use of reason ultimately provides the best route to truth. A rationalist usually defines truth as a correspondence between propositions and reality, taking the common-sense route. Also, rationalists tend to believe that knowledge of reality is made possible through certain foundational beliefs. This stance is known as foundationalism. A foundationalist believes that, because we cannot justify the truth of every statement in an infinite regress, we ultimately reach a foundation of knowledge. This foundation is composed of a priori truths, like mathematics and logic, as well as undoubtable truths like one's belief in his or her own existence. The belief that experiences and memories are veridical is also part of the foundation. Thus, for a rationalist knowledge of reality is made possible through our foundational beliefs, which we do not need to justify because we find them to be undoubtable and self-evident. In regards to science, a rationalist will tend to emphasize the foundational assumptions of scientific inquiry as prior to and more important than scientific inquiry itself. If science does lead to truth, it is only because it is based upon the assumption of certain rational principles such as "Every event is caused" and "The future will resemble the past". Philosophy has a wide representation of philosophical rationalists--Descartes, Spinoza, Liebniz, and many others.

*****

Ethics: Objectivism (Deontology or Logical Positivism)
In Ethics, my test measures your tendency towards moral Objectivism or moral Relativism. As a moral Objectivist, you are opposed to Subjectivist moral theories and believe that morality applies to people universally and actually describes objects and situations out in the world as opposed to just subjects themselves. The two types of moral Objectivists my test recognizes are Kantian Deontologists and Utilitarians.

Utilitarians define "happiness" or "pleasure" as the sole intrinsic good, and the principle "The greatest pleasure for the greatest number" best reflects a Utilitarian view of ethics. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral theory, meaning the consequences of an action--not the intentions behind it--determine the act's moral worth. Even if you intended to do great evil with a certain act, if the act produces a net gain of pleasure and happiness for the greatest number, then it was indeed a good act because your intentions weren't realized. What matters in this scenario, obviously, is the consequences of the act. Utilitarianism, of course, can also be reduced to Hedonism. If you do not feel that the greatest happiness of the greatest number matters, but only pay heed to the greatest happiness of individuals, then you are more adequately classified as a Hedonist. But both Utilitarians and Hedonists define "pleasure" as an intrinsic good and determine the moral worth of an act through its consequences. The only difference is whether we measure the collective pleasure of a group or only an individual's pleasure. Prominent Utilitarians include Bentham and Mill.

*****

As you can see, when your philosophical position is narrowed down there are so many potential categories that an OKCupid test cannot account for them all. But, taken as very broad categories or philosophical styles, you are best characterized as an N-A-O. Your exact philosophical opposite would be an R-S-R.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 69% on Metaphysics
You scored higher than 79% on Epistemology
You scored higher than 79% on Ethics

Link: The Sublime Philosophical Crap Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid.

The Lover Style Profile Test

2006-11-04T19:01:14Z

The Devoted Lover

59% partner focus, 33% aggressiveness, 35% adventurousness

Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:

You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather be pursued than do the pursuing and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Devoted Lover.

The Devoted Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is perhaps the best Lover Style when it comes to developing a long-term, caring and rewarding relationship. The Devoted Lover is a treasure to find, though it is sometimes difficult to time establishing a relationship with one just right; usually, this is the last romantic relationship you'll need to find, so sow any wild oats first.

In terms of physical love, the Devoted Lover can be shy at first but gradually warms and eventually can be a thrilling partner who knows every need of his/her partner. Given a strong and loving relationship, and the right lover, the Devoted Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Suave Lover (most of all) or the Classic Lover, or the Carnal Lover.

Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 52% on partner focus
You scored higher than 14% on aggressiveness
You scored higher than 13% on adventurousness

Link: The Lover Style Profile Test written by donathos on OkCupid.

The Nerd, Geek, or Dork Test

2006-11-04T17:41:18Z

Pure Nerd

52 % Nerd, 21% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 49% on nerdiness
You scored higher than 23% on geekosity
You scored higher than 67% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid.