Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Reflecting on Legacy
March 20, 2024
legacy memory meaning life

I ought to have titled this blog “I’ve Been Thinking” since it seems each post involves me thinking about some thing and never actually doing more than that. Lately, my thoughts have been on my mother-in-law, who is currently facing medical challenges. Her children are preparing an obituary for when her time comes. Naturally, this has led me to reflect on how I’d like to be remembered and the legacy I’d leave behind.

Legacy is a weighty word, but it captures that essence – what I hope to achieve in life. As cliche as it sounds, considering what my obituary would say while I’m still alive is an intriguing exercise. It prompts thoughts about whether I’ve accomplished everything I’d hoped to and what more I have to achieve.

Rethinking My Coffee Routine
March 18, 2024
coffee morning routine

Over the past month, I’ve considered altering my coffee routine. It’s not about changing the quantity, but rather the flavor of the coffee pods I’ve been using for some time now. Previously, I had a Blue Bottle Coffee subscription, grinding their monthly roasted beans and brewing with a French press. However, due to expenses, I switched to Keurig coffee pods from the local grocery store. While affordable and decent, the taste has become monotonous.

Occasionally, I’ve enjoyed good coffee while out on trips or weekends, and I’d like my home coffee to emulate that flavor instead of the pods’. This doesn’t refer to Starbucks coffee, as I find its burnt taste unappealing. A standout example is Roosevelt Coffee Roasters in Columbus, which serves a delightful oat milk latte with honey. Their smooth coffee flavor is what I prefer over the bitter taste of locally acquired options.

Influencing Musical Preferences
March 07, 2024
tastes psychology mere exposure music AI Spotify

The Mere-Exposure Effect is a phenomenon stating that the more you are exposed to something, the more you develop an affinity for it. Lately, I’ve been using Spotify’s “Songs for You” feature, which creates a playlist of songs based on your past listening habits. I’ve noticed that it recommends earworms – catchy tunes that get stuck in my head. While these songs are somewhat similar to my usual music preferences, they’re not what I would expect to discover during my musical explorations.

This makes me wonder if there is some hidden option within Spotify’s corporate structure, or perhaps even the Illuminati, where artists can pay to have their songs promoted more frequently. As a result, listeners experience the mere exposure effect and ultimately develop a liking for the song, wanting to listen to it more.

Blog Software Update Reflections
March 05, 2024
blog Sn

Last night, I modified the blog software running this website. Now, it can load different streams of posts into separate loops on the same page display, allowing a chronological listing in the main section and a random listing of posts in the sidebar that changes with every page load. Impressively, this doesn’t affect site performance – a key goal of mine is maintaining the speed of a static site with static HTML files.

While reviewing the site and ensuring it functioned as intended, I read through some older articles and noticed they generally fall into three categories. The first category dates back to before Twitter, featuring one or two sentence posts with links to other sites – many of which are now dead or defunct, rendering these posts mostly irrelevant.

Reorganizing for Musical Habits
March 04, 2024
music habits

Taking inspiration from Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, I made a grave error when rearranging the family room to move my music production gear for our Christmas tree. I relocated everything into the living room, now dubbed the music room, filled with production equipment, a grand piano, children’s orchestra instruments, and more. But we hardly enter that room, and since removing the tree, I haven’t returned my DJ table to its original spot.

Duhigg’s book mentions learning guitar by incorporating it into his daily routine. He’d pass the guitar on his way to getting coffee each morning, strumming for a bit. Five minutes a day can lead to improvement. However, I’m not progressing in music production since my equipment is in the music room – ironically not where I produce music.