Viewing Actions

A thought came to mind as the recent ``smack everyone with tariffs'' kicked off---do we really know the difference between

1. Good outcomes from some action; and
2. Good outcomes in spite of some action?

Because it seems to me that most people seem to conflate the two, and end up attributing the wrong cause, therefore learning the wrong lessons, only to be doomed to repeat the same wrong cause once more.

It's hard to know from the get-go which of the two is happening, for the simple reason that all these action/consequences are neither isolated, nor static. Not isolated in the sense that there are always run-on effects that cause a web (not a chain!) of other decisions to be made, with their own consequent action/consequences, and not static in that just because a decision is currently made for a particular thing does not mean that it is the final decision to be made for the said thing as the web of consequences returns as a form of feedback, positive or otherwise.

In other words, I think that it is hard to claim that a certain action A (or in this example, ``smack everyone with tariffs'') is a ``good'' one or a ``bad'' one. It isn't something that relates to directly to morality and ethics, in which case God's Word is silent, and even considered from an indirect perspective, it primarily involves the allocation of resources rather than as a moral quandary. At most, it can be made into an argument about whether proper stewardship of resources was exercised, but then again, as long as it does not involve spreading the Gospel, it technically ``belongs to Caesar'' and is out of the ambit of God's Word.

So where does this leave us?

I would say that it is best to not pass judgement on whether it is good or if it is not good right now, especially if it is about something which is not within our locus of control. While cathartic to bitch about the situation, it is also important to think more about how it can affect one, and how one should adapt to the situation, privilege notwithstanding. This broadly means the need for one to make up their own damn mind, and more importantly, to take action according to their decision, to effect a consequence they are more happy with, while also be willing to take the risk to get there.

The notionally successful are so because they have been willing to take the risks needed through their actions, and despite failing more than many who have tried, they have eventually succeeded through being in the right place at the right time.

Musician Earplugs

Response to a post on Flute Forum about visiting an ENT for hearing test & exam, and asking about suggestions/thoughts on earplugs:

Since you are going to the ENT, I suggest getting a referral to an audiologist to do a proper mould of your ear canal for your earplugs. At least in my part of the world, the person making those moulds for earplugs and the doctor are not the same people.

Consider getting one where you can change the flat-frequency response filters. I use the -25dB ones when playing piccolo and high dizi, and they work well. I think there's also -10dB and -15dB as well, but I've not used them personally.

Usually only the right ear needs the heavier protection, and that changeable filter set up means that you can tweak what you use on your left ear if you are finding it tough to hear through it with the same -25dB filters.

Speech is always a little harder to understand when people speak normally, because you are attenuating them by at least 10dB, roughly the same difference between whispering and talking normally (apparent loudness).

Hope these help!

That last part is something that I only realised recently, when Elicia (who plays the sheng) was trying to talk to me in a whisper when I had both ears shoved in with my -25dB musician ear plugs---I couldn't hear shit. Because a 25dB difference is akin to the difference between a whisper and a shouting match, and so when she was whispering, I definitely couldn't hear shit.

Interesting how it sometimes takes a little real-world experience and thinking in order to realise something.

Bye Bye NaNoWriMo, and Nanashi Mumei of hololive EN

NaNoWriMo is now truly dead. The news was to have been sent out via email with an attached YouTube video, but I never did receive that email, and I will not watch the video that is said to be 27+ minutes of ranting by the last and acting Executive Director.

The implosion that led to the collapse of NaNoWriMo is well-documented, and if you are reading this in the far future where the link is dead, know that it was a pathetic fall from grace that could be saved at every step of the way, should the management pay attention to what the community is saying. Not that the community knows best, but that the community that was formed around the NaNoWriMo concept as the rallying call, and thus the community is not just some filthy casual tourist who cares not about the direction and enjoyability of NaNoWriMo.

To be had, NaNoWriMo had a good run. Founded back in 1999 on a whim by Chris Baty who wanted to challenge the concept of novel-writing as a one day event (as in, ``one day I will write a novel''), it survived twenty-five years. And of those twenty-five years, I had winning entries for fifteen of them. For a hobbyist programme, that is a damn good run.

So many nice memories from the past. I remembered first meeting Dylan and Mint back in one of the TGIO (Thank God It's Over!) parties, and then there's of course Joelyn, Max, Sarahcoldheart, Raven Silvers, Shermine, and quite a few others whom I would recognise by face but almost never by name. Almost always winning the early bird prize (for being early on venue at the Kick-off and the TGIO parties), and then having all kinds of discussions with them; the write-ins on Saturdays at various parts of the CBD that I would never have gone on my own; the different rooms at different National Libraries that our Municipal Liaisons (MLs) Sarahcoldheart/Raven Silvers/Joelyn would book for the two main parties; meeting and chatting with random irregulars who wrote at one or two of the NaNoWriMos (Valdimire---you're remembered and hope you are doing well!); inspirations from a now-forgotten writer after the forums were ``updated'' (but made worse) who would consistently churn out 1 Mwords per NaNoWriMo; word wars with the different sections of SIN city; convincing folks like Chara to join in the writing mess; the 2 kword lunch hour sprints during November, and being well-known at where I work for doing it; and of course, fourteen publicly available first draft manuscripts of stories from different settings (one of them is not quite right, and so I didn't release it).

And now, the era is over.

I've honestly done all my grieving last year, when I decided to not take part in NaNoWriMo. The writing's been on the wall for quite a while---just read the linked to document for a concise summary of the downfall of NaNoWriMo the organisation. It's just that I always feel a little wistful when something comes to a close.

...just like how Nanashi Mumei of hololive English has announced her graduation.

While I'm more selective about watching what Mumei puts up as compared to Ina/Fauna/Vesper, she does have a lovely voice. And her original music has got that interesting mix of wonder and power behind it that is hard to explain. It is sad that she has to leave hololive primarily due to her health issues, and more specifically, the fact that her voice is in trouble.

One cannot be a streamer/content creator with an avatar with voice troubles---that is literally the most important part of being a VTuber, the other being a generally acceptable avatar to work with.

I can keep going on, but damnit it is April already---the months of being maudlin are more in January for crying out loud!

(sigh)

We cannot keep looking back and wondering how to go back---moving forwards is already hard as it is. We should allow ourselves to look back every now and then as a means of reminding us of how we got to where we are, to give thanks to those who helped us along the way, and to pray for the very same souls who helped us then, but whom we have lost touch since.

But we can never go back to how things were. No matter what we try.

Till the next update.