The WhateveLog

Where a is the (constant) processing time per person, b is the time per item, x1 is the number of...

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:55:49 -0400

Where a is the (constant) processing time per person, b is the time per item, x₁ is the number of people in line 1, y₁ is the number of items in line 1, x₂ is the number of people in line 2, and y₂ is the items of people in line 2.

a(x₁) + b(y₁) < a(x₂) + b(y₂)
a(4) + b(11) < a(1) + b(y₂)
a(4) + b(11) - a(1) = b(y₂)
a(3) + b(11) = b(y₂)
3(a/b) + 11 = y₂
3(a/b) = y₂ - 11

That is, line 2 must have 12 more items in it than three times the processing time per person divided by the processing time per item.

Organizing Duplicate Tracks

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:22:00 -0400

Recently, I have begun the long and ardous process of organizing my massive music library in iTunes (currently at ~34 GB). As I do so, I run into the problem of duplicate tracks: the same track, from multiple albums. When albums were consumed in physical media, this made sense: the same track from different albums would never be listened to concurrently.

Now, when all the music is presented in a massive blob, there’s no point to having the same track twice. However, there’s no easy way to resolve the difference: if I delete the track, the album becomes incomplete. But if I keep both it divides information and makes things messy. If only there was some way to “tag” a track to multiple albums…

How do other people handle this?

"As to the Court’s invocation of the Lemon test: like some ghoul in a late-night horror movie..."

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:30:40 -0400

“As to the Court’s invocation of the Lemon test: like some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad after being repeatedly killed and buried, Lemon stalks our Establishment Clause jurisprudence once again, frightening the little children and school attorneys of Center Moriches Union Free School District.”

- Justice Scalia

Awakening Playlist

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:59:00 -0500

Waking up to a blaring alarm has to be the stupidest idea in the world. It’s the mechanical equivilant of asking someone to yell at you constantly. To alleviate this, I built a little playlist for myself. It autostarts at 6:00 (which is precisely 4 sleep cycles from midnight), with the help of Awaken on my Mac.

Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
You Give Me Fever – Peggy Lee
Messah. Chorus: Hallelujah – London Symphony Orchestra
Exit Music (For A Film) – Radiohead
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Sunday Morning – The Velvet Underground
Choplin
I’m Only Sleeping – The Beatles
Hallelujah – Rufus Wainwright
Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Newly Ancient

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:43:00 -0500

Newly Ancient:

This is my real blog. Read it.