Inigo Quilez   ::     ::  
1402 blog posts, written between 2008 and 2016. These are mostly short observations, funny thoughts and word playing. Some are embarrasingly corny, some more deep. I keep it here mostly a little time capsule for myself, organized by month:



<
January 2015
>
goodness and beauty
2015-01-31
when i distill the concepts of goodness and beauty to their very basics, after i remove all of the superficial (cultural) aspects that hide their true meaning, both look identical.

i should one day re-read Plato's Dialogues again.
interest shift
2015-01-29
in their teenage, boys look at girls' boobies. in their twenties, at their boobies and face. in their thirties, at their boobies, face and brain. in their forties, all they look at is their left hand's second finger.
not the right approach
2015-01-27
i was invited to attend this talk called "How to Build Habit-Forming Products".

now, one thought: instead of winning consumers' loyalty though the quality, merit or value of the product, it seems some companies prefer the fishy strategy of making them fall into the habit of using it. i'd call this "forced addiction based product growth".

i think we should build things that are useful, or pretty, or educational, or inspiring, or necessary, or in general, and leave the engineering, design and marketing effort that goes into making them habit forming aside.

anyway, of course i didn't attend the talk.
need for a word
2015-01-25
when something inexplicable happens, if it is a good thing, it is called "miracle".

now, how do you call it when it is a bad thing that you cannot explain? there's no word for it, is there?
prime service
2015-01-23
Prime Service: endless streaming of movies, largest offer of books, instant shipping and guaranteed non-divisibility by anything except for 1 and the whole.
bestestest
2015-01-21
when it's late at night you are in the bed, when she's sleeping next to you but momentarily awakes, just a little, and she reaches out looking for you, you hold her hand, and you feel she falls asleep again, breathing deeper, tranquil, peaceful. that moment.
impeccable
2015-01-19
genearlly i find "impeccable" to be an ugly adjective. i believe you certainly should not pursue it. like "purity", because often these words are very judgmental
mismatch
2015-01-17
company sponsored pretax commuter benefits, credit card cash rewards and flight miles, preferred customer cards...

you got them all. don't you feel proud and satisfied, having everything in place, all those little gifts you were able to get only because you are indeed so tidy and efficient?

you saved $500 a year. well deserved indeed, you are so smart. doesn't it feel good? good boy!

listen, we also have some 401k plans, a stock market, some investment plans, discounts for mortgages, tax refunds and other mechanisms for us to save our money. er... sorry, we mean, save your money. you might or might not understand the rules of this higher level game, but if you don't, no worries, we still got more of those company sponsored pretax commuter benefits, credit card cash rewards and preferred customer cards for you to feel good, and smart. cause, aren't you smart? yes you are. good boy!

...

our lives goals are not that sophisticated, yet life is complicated. there is a mismatch. which apparently we won't care about as long as you are happy enough.
conflict
2015-01-15
can you respect an artist for her/his work when you fundamentally disagree with his believes? say the art is fantastic, but the artist is intellectually an asshole.

it should be possible to respect the art but not the artist. shouldn't it. yet...

abacus
2015-01-13
today i used an abacus for the first time in my life. i didn't take a photo with my phone cause i felt it was disrespectful to the poor thing.
this
2015-01-11
people who go to work by car, then drive to the gym so they can walk and exercise.
grammar and me
2015-01-09
- What is 3x7?
- A multiplication?
humility
2015-01-07
speaking of what, coincidences of life, this is one block a way from my apartment



and this, three blocks away:

not a virtue
2015-01-05
it's still surprising to me that generally self-confidence is seen as a virtue here, rather than a handicap.

remember that making a fool of yourself is easier than you think

mismatch
2015-01-03
There's a mismatch between the tax rates of California and its very third worldish infrastructure. I am definitely missing something, and I should inform myself about what that is.
nostalgia
2015-01-01
Nostalgia moment of the day: when I was thinking of the year 4 BI (Before Internet), when I spent the whole summer riding my bike to the public library searching for books on programming.