I just started reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and I'm enjoying it so far. There's been a few moments that have given me a slight pause...for instance, one of her action items is labelled 'eternity' (humans can't comprehend eternity, nor experience it, so I'm thinking she's going to delve into some religious nonsense in that chapter). There was also a passing reference to soul mates, which in the common parlance simply don't exist. But beyond those minor squabbles, the book is engaging, well written, and has definitely gotten me thinking.
One of the first things in the book is a short list of the author's "Secrets of Adulthood", which are little sayings, observations, or reminders that she's picked up along the way:
People don't notice your mistakes as much as you think.
It's okay to ask for help.
Most decisions don't require extensive research.
Do good, feel good.
Bring a sweater.
...
I immediately started thinking of a few of my own. Keeping with the theme of the book, I've tried to make them positive statements instead of negative ("do" instead of "don't"), but that isn't always possible. I'll be updating the list as more occur to me, and I plan on printing them out and posting them in my apartment for the constant reminder.
Without further ado (and completely ruining the last sentiment with the first item):
- People are stupid - stop being offended by it all the time. Once or twice a day is perfectly fine.
- You don't have to accomplish a task all at once. Get it done one step at a time if you need to.
- Go to sleep at a reasonable time. And don't play games with the word "reasonable".
- Accept your limitations, and don't beat yourself up over them. But don't invent additional ones.
- The only person you're capable of changing is yourself.
- Regret is only useful for future instruction. Don't dwell on it any longer than it deserves.
- Respect people, if not their beliefs.
- Make a decision every once in a while. Excessive stalling accomplishes nothing.
- Find something to laugh about.
- Don't let other people dictate or devalue your reasons or emotions.
- Write things down, even if there's no audience beyond yourself.
- Avoid seeking out things that trigger negative emotions. Unless you need something to write about.
- Go outside every once in a while. You need the exercise.
- Stand up and walk around once an hour. Sitting down shortens your lifespan.
- We don't get to decide who we love.
- The only destiny anyone has is that they will eventually die. Everything else is circumstantial.
- Keep learning new things. Stagnation is boring.
- Read a book.
- Over-analyzing and over-thinking things is a self-defence mechanism.
- Sometimes, you have to take what you want, and pay for it.
It's not hard to understand why this game undersold UFC Undisputed 2010 - the branding alone ensured that. But there are a few other things that make this game suffer in comparison.
The clinching mechanics on the surface seem ok...until you get to the point where the AI gets your fighter into a clinch that you simply can't escape from. My fighter kept getting kneed in the ribs, while my trainer is shouting "throw an elbow" or "throw a knee", which is great advice...if my fighter could actually do either of those. Every time the input was put in to throw a knee or elbow, however, nothing happened. My stamina went down the drain in no time flat, and then I was knocked out. The only solution, therefore, is to never, ever, under any circumstances let your fighter get into a clinch with an AI at the premier league level. It's frustrating and broken game mechanic.
Another issue is the submission game. I appreciate the effort in trying to remove the button-mashing aspect of escaping a submission attempt. But the approach EA took is completely non-intuitive and confusing. Finding the "sweet spot" to escape choke holds when you're red is difficult because the colouring they chose to use as an indicator is too faded to see properly. And every time I've tried escaping joint submissions, it doesn't seem to matter when I try to counter it. My fighter submits, every single time. I'm not sure if it's because I started off with a brawler, or if my stats aren't padded enough. What I do know is that the game is frustrating to the point where I'm more inclined to turn it off instead of trying to improve.
There is a core of a good game here, but with the recent acquisition of Strikeforce by the UFC, it's not very likely that this game will see a second iteration.
Just so I don't have to rush through it tomorrow, here's my advance picks for the card:
Silva over Belfort - I really, really want to be wrong on this one. The Sonnen-Silva fight showed first-hand that Silva isn't perfect and has vulnerabilities, but Belfort is primarily a striker, and Silva is has excellent stand up. Add in that Belfort has been off for over a year due to injury, and I just don't see him winning.
Franklin over Griffin - I like Griffin, but the former Light Heavyweight Champion hasn't exactly been shining lately, with only a split decision over Tito Ortiz is his last 3 fights. Franklin's been more impressive as of late, putting the nail in Chuck Liddel's career last year. Plus, I think Franklin is an overall better fighter.
Ellenberger over Rocha
Bader over Jones - Jones relies too much on unorthodox striking, in my opinion. I think he'll be a tough opponent for Bader, and I think this fight may go the distance.
Cerrone over Kelly
I honestly haven't seen enough of the other fighters on the card to make calls on the rest. I'm just hoping Silva loses - he still hasn't paid for the disgrace he put on in Abu Dhabi, and he deserves a blemish on his UFC career. His training buddy Lyoto Machida just recently lost his aura of invincibility, and Sonnen put a serious dent in Silva's. With any luck, Belfort can put the finishing touches on it, and take Silva's ego down a peg.
Recently, I've been doing some exploratory searching for replacements of books that I've owned since....actually, I can't remember a time when I didn't own them. I'm not really talking about children's books exactly, because those tend to stay readily available (or at least the good ones do). I'm talking about the entry level science books, or the hobby books that you obsessed over growing up, reading and learning as much as you can, but always coming back to that one book (or two) that made you love the subject in the first place.
Looking back at these now...they're outdated, inaccurate, and falling apart. Dust jackets are missing, the bindings are in tatters, and pages have fallen out. And in some cases, the information inside hasn't fared much better - science has expanded our knowledge beyond what was known when these books were written. They don't get reprinted - there's no market for them anymore. Anyone else would have tossed these or given them away years ago.
I can't even begin to imagine doing something so callous.
Overall, a good card, and a pretty surprising outcome in both the main event and the co-main event. Penn came out and TKO'd Matt Hughes in a stunning 21 seconds. I had actually picked Hughes to win, since BJ certainly didn't have that kind of energy either time he fought Edgar. But Hughes is at the twilight of his career, and should seriously consider retirement at this point. I had hoped for a little bit longer bout, but the outcome of this one didn't bother me - both are good fighters, and I don't like either one of them, lol.
The Machida-Rampage fight was a bit of a surprise. Again, I'm not particularly fond of either fighter, but I would say Machida is an overall better fighter. Rampage was able to hold his own, although he didn't do anything but box for the first two rounds, while Machida laid back, throwing an occasional leg kick and waiting for countering opportunities. Unfortunately for Machida, while that may be a good strategy for winning a real fight, it does not win rounds in the UFC. And though he turned it up and decisively won the third round, it wasn't enough to overcome a 2 round deficit. Machida needs to adapt his style a bit more, because the elite in the UFC are going to start figuring him out; Shogun already has, twice. In my opinion, Lyoto Machida needs to stop waiting for opportunities to attack, and start making them. On a side note, it is amusing to see all the Machida fanboys whining about their boy losing - they don't seem to realize that not doing anything for two rounds doesn't exactly help you on the score cards.
And it was nice to see Karo Parisyan lose quickly...lol, this was a good card, but it turned into a "who do I like least" for quite a few fights.
I went 3-5 on my predictions for the night, so definitely a step down from the last PPV. St. Pierre and Koscheck is up for UFC 124, and GSP is one of my favourites, and I despise Koscheck, so I'm looking forward to him going 0-2 against St. Pierre.
After waiting for quite a while to see this one, I'm sorry I bothered. Beyond a Buddy Israel name drop, the only thing that carries over into this "sequel" is the generic plot angle of multiple assassins all gunning after one target. I didn't have high hopes for this one, since the first movie wasn't exactly stellar, but did have the distinction of being somewhat entertaining. The only chance I saw at redemption was the inclusion of Vinnie Jones, who usually does well in the gangster/assassin type movies. Not in this one - there are no memorable characters, no standout scenes, and the ending is anti-climactic.
The director, P.J. Pesce, apparently did well for himself on the independent scene back in the 90's, but has mostly been relegated to making cash-in direct to video sequels for movies that didn't exactly warrant sequels in the first place. Some of his gems: Sniper 3, From Dusk Til Dawn 3, Lost Boys: The Tribe, and the Tremors TV series.
So, in summary, this movie sucks, and if you've never seen it, don't. Go watch the first one instead.
Well, not surprisingly, the Democrats lost the House, and managed to hold on to the Senate. One positive, however, is that the worst of the Tea Party was defeated. O'Donnell, Paladino, and Angle all lost; the only addition I would have liked would have been a Rand Paul defeat.
I don't think the Republicans will be too effective however...the differences in ideology between your standard Republican and the Tea Party politician will most likely lead to a bit of infighting.
