Author: Nick Kempinski

  • And……done.

    Some 600 or so pages, some laughing and crying, I’m done the newest installment of Harry Potter. I’m starting
    to think that there is some sort of addiction there. I actually used up some bank time at work, so I could go
    home early to finish it…is that a problem? I guess the problem would be if I didn’t even call into work and
    just stayed home.

    Part of the homework from The Chrysalis is that we are to come up with 10 things that resonate
    and encourage our creativity and then do 3. The timing for the new book was almost kismet because 1 down and
    2 to go. Sure, I’m haven’t quite figured out what they are…I’ve still got 9 things besides reading to come
    up with…but, when I do, I’ll do 2 of them and homework done. i’ve only got, what, 3 days left to do them?

  • The Half-Blood Prince and I

    Yes, I’m one of the billions hooked on Harry Potter. And unlike those pretentious people who buy the “adult”
    cover books, I’m not afraid to admit it. When I first saw the photographic like covers on the shelves I was
    slightly disturbed. Isn’t there a phrase…hmm…let me think. It’s something about judging…and covers. I think
    this is very appropriate because it also has something to do with books. Now what was that phrase? Oh anyway,
    I’m once again delving my attention into J.K. Rowlings’ world.

    It’s funny really. I seem to have a very select handful of topics that I can actually read through without
    falling asleep: quantum physics, leadership and harry potter. Yeah…it baffles me too.

  • The Unconscious Machine

    “These sudden inspirations… never happen except after some day of voluntary effort which has appeared
    absolutely fruitless and whence nothing good seems to have come, where the way taken seems totally astray.
    These efforts then have not been as sterile as one thinks; they have set agoing the unconcious machine and
    without them it would not have moved and would have produced nothing.”

  • Who are we…?

    The warthogs? No. I started a small group class about tapping into our creativity and about creative writing.
    It’s held by a wonderful woman ( of which I probably will be referencing her as time goes by ) named Dari.
    With each class she has them come up with a name for themselves. With a little work and thought, we are
    The Chrysalis. Considering the definition I would say it’s
    a very fitting name.

    wikipedia has pretty much the same definition, but
    I thought I would connect to it…it’s looking a little barren. Know something? Share

  • The Way [they] see it

    So I’m drinking my starbucks and I read on the back of their cup

    Chances are you are scared of fictions. Chances are you are only fleetingly happy. Chances are you know
    much less than you think you do. Chances are you feel a little guilty. Chances are you want people to lie
    to you. Perhaps the answer lies on the side of a coffee cup. You are lost. – David Cross, Comedian

    This is from a comedian…so…is this supposed to be funny?

  • Formin Normin

    Like any group of people, the swing band that I am in is going through the stages of becoming a performing
    teams. I think anytime you get a group of people together they inherently “want” to be a performing team, but
    whether they can go through the phases is a test of character and dynamics

    1. Forming
    2. Norming
    3. Storming
    4. Performing

    Right now we are at stage 2: Norming. Right now the group is getting to know more about each other, jokes are
    starting to fly a little more and we are getting to know more about each others stories. Now, the trick is
    this next stage…can we do it? The Storming stage is were people start to talk about others behind their backs
    like “Nick’s Solo completely sucked ass!” I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s a part of life. What
    needs to really happen at this stage is someone says to me “Nick, you solo completely sucked ass!”, in which
    my response would either be “@$)& you!” ( note: for the group to stay together this must be an accepted form
    of response ) or “I didn’t know that, where did it chomp?” The storming phase is all about being able to talk
    about the bad with the good. And if a group of people can successfully get there, then they are definitely on
    the road to bigger and better things.

  • The place was packed!

    Last night was the first public gig for the Blue Morris 6! If I do say so myself, we kicked! Half way
    through I was in a little pain ( long story involving canada day celebration, beer and a big step…) but I stood like a flamingo on one leg and played away.

    There were a few small flubs, but that’s the beauty of swing, no one noticed. If if they did, they didn’t
    care because they were dancing away. It was great to see people swing dancing in a little cafe. Can’t wait
    for the next gig. I’ll keep you posted.

  • Now I can say … it’s the coolest!

    Been playing around with 10.4 all night. Some minor alteration needed after I installed it: needed to re-set
    apache to my liking, and I’ve got this unknown user in my user list…I must have been screwing around with it?
    But other then that I can now officially say that 10.4 kicks!

    widgets

    when 10.4 originally came out and widgets where explained I wasn’t personally hyped about them. They really
    aren’t anything special. And from my perspective, they are totally outside of the “Mac Design”. And after
    playing with them, I still don’t think there is anything special. Nothing a good RSS feed or homepage
    couldn’t answer.

    safari rss

    I’m pretty much hooked on syndication. I’m not going to say RSS because not everyone is using that format,
    there are also older flavours like RDF or the newer Atom
    Safari handles these like a dream! the xslt they’ve got running to transform these are beautiful, searchable
    and practical. Plus something really cool! If you’ve got FOAF, pay close attention to the bottom right
    corner…it’s awesome!

  • I’m a 10.4!

    So, fingers were crossed, eyes squint like Clint Eastwood in his westerns…and go! I’ve now upgraded to OSX
    10.4 Tiger. Does this mean I can now say “I’m Grrrreat!”?

    Still new for me so I’m going through and figuring all the wonderful features and tools out. So far, I like
    the safari RSS reader. Need to look into it some more to but so far I likes it.

  • My Personality 2

    It’s been about 6 months since I did my previous personality test. Let’s see what’s
    changed…almost nothing

    Jung Type: ENFP (the same)

    “Journalist”. Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total
    population.

    Enneagram: 9 sx/sp/so (the same)

    Type 1 Perfectionism |||||| 26%
    Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||| 66%
    Type 3 Image Awareness |||||||||||||| 60%
    Type 4 Sensitivity |||||||||||| 46%
    Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||||| 66%
    Type 6 Anxiety |||||| 30%
    Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 63%
    Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||||| 60%
    Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||||||||| 90%

    (table above: pretty much the same)

    Nines are calm, laid-back, and optimistic. They are able to see everyone’s point of view and have a natural
    desire for peace. Nines are effective mediators. Fearful of conflict and separation from others, they may be
    too accommodating.

    Your variant is sexual: sx/sp/so

    Overall, you score highest on assertive traits (sx), followed by withdrawn traits (sp), and lowest on
    complaint traits (so)