The
title of this site comes from the following passage, as it
struck me as an interesting concept as well as a colourful
phrase when I came across it.
"The
techniques of autostimulation are extremely various.
Just as one can notice that stroking oneself in a certain way
can produce certain only partially and indirectly controllable
but definitely desirable effects (and one can then devote some
time and ingenuity to developing and exploring the techniques
for producing those desirable effects in oneself), so one can
also come to recognize that talking to oneself, making
pictures for oneself, singing to oneself, and so forth, are
practices that often have desirable effects. Some people
are better at these activities than others. Cognitive
autostimulation is an acquired and intimately personal
technique, with many different styles."
--Daniel
C. Dennett, Elbow Room
This
site doesn't have many visitors at the moment, but that will
hardly affect the content or frequency of posts herein.
I hope that doesn't bother you ... like it matters.
You may follow this link to add your own comment, but this is
what another "visitor" had to say
I
have been webmastering my own sites for several years now. (You
could say I've been the master of my own domain.) My
original home site entitled The
World Bri'ed Web is now in its seventh incarnation or
so. I write and record music, and use the site incessantly to
pitch the albums to all few of my visitors. I now invite you
to read my thoughts, rants, tidbits, musings, and brain-rains.*
May your stay be full of fruit.
*Brain-rain:
(n) Not as severe as a brain-storm, and hardly as vulgar as a
brain-fart, but somewhere safely in between.
March 25, 2004 IF THE FOUNDATION'S IMPURE, DO THE FLOORS NEED CLEANING?
3:48 PM March 18, 2004 UP THERE WITH THE BEST OF 'EM
Cognitive Autostimulation: Just above the World Of Crap!
1:58 AM March 17, 2004 MY WIFE GOT THE JOKE ... MY WIFE, MORGAN FAIRCHILD
My dad brought the following to my attention: there is a spelling error somewhere amongst the words of my composition; the one on precision in writing. My response to his discovery is something along the lines of, "Uh, yeah ... well, that was suppposed to be there ... like, for a joke? Get it?" It is for this reason that I will not correct the mistake. Instead, I leave you to hunt for it. It'll be fun, like a game. Sure.
After all, the best ironies in life are those that, ironically, happen unaided. 12:01 AM March 16, 2004 LOGIC NEVER HAS ANY CLASH
I try to analyze the logic in things people say. It's an exercise for my own benefit. If I find contradiction within a person's stated opinions, it is not my intent to point out where they are "wrong," nor to rub it in their face. People's emotions are too closely tied to their insecurity, and my perceived accusations won't help matters. (Few people enjoy being told they're wrong, and even fewer will appreciate having it explicitly proven where and why they're wrong.) I practice logical analysis because it strengthens my own ability to form consistency among my opinions, and to more clearly recognize faulty paths of thought so that I can form a more valid system of belief.
Recently an intelligent, well-read, down-to-earth person made a series of comments. He wasn't preaching so much as broadcasting advice. Two of the points we was trying to make were ringing in my ears as they clashed against one another. At first glance (or the aural equivalent thereof) there was nothing wrong; in fact, both sentiments are popular, common sense, learned-these-lessons-in-school type axioms. To paraphrase, they are: 1) It is important not to do or think things just because one is told to, and that one should think for oneself, creating one's own opinions. 2) Pride is a negative characteristic, stemming from Ego; and its opposite, which one should practice by valuing others above one's self, is Humility.
The reason these sentiments clash is that the first sentiment values the self, the mind, the individual; whereas the second sentiment DE-values the self, the mind, the individual. If I am to think for myself and develop my own opinions, then I must have pride in my own judgment. If I were to shun my pride and become humble and altruistic, then my own thoughts and opinions would be the last iteration of priority, and thus unimportant, making myself unable to think for myself.
And at this time, I don't believe there is a happy medium, where I both relinquish my trust in my own thoughts and embrace them simultaneously. 12:29 AM March 15, 2004 IN DEFENSE
(This is something I wrote by hand today, which is something I rarely do, and I have transcribed here for you.)
I have a fear of misrepresentation, and I am not ashamed of having this fear. However, throughout my observations of daily life, it seems that society judges such fear, or rather its symptoms, negative.
I have an admiration toward precision in language. A fine use of language will express its sentiment accurately, and with little non-intended connotation. It is for this reason that I strive always, in writing, to be precise. I trust it's beneficial to adopt such an approach; for confusion, reiteration, and back-tracking are kept to a minimum. These things are inefficient uses of time, and efficiency should be maintained if productivity is the desired goal. And as I enjoy and prefer productivity over its lack, so I refine my language.
In speaking aloud, without resort to script, I find challenge in being precise. Spoken language being linear, it has narrow margin for refinement, at least in a timely manner, for purposes of casual conversation. This provides an element of inefficiency. The result, therefore, of engaging in speech is a risk of misrepresentation.
The phenomenon of misrepresentation occurs during interpretation, an activity of the listener. Because of this, there is no immediate indication for the speaker of when misrepresentation happens. It is only through the responses of the listener that faulty interpretation can be assessed, if at all present.
It is at this point that I, being the speaker, become defensive. I do not wish to be accused for that which I did not intend to represent. This accusation may be negative, and I would be falsely defamed, so I provide a defense.
My fear, however, is in response to my presentation of defense. This presentation seems somehow unnecessary to the listener, as if I have performed without tact; when the effect, instead, was that I refined my precision. When it is not clear why a stimulus creates, not only a differeing reaction than predicted, but one that seems a direct opposite, then the basis on which precision is calculated becomes unstable. It is this instability which prompts the fear. I become unsure of my attempts at precision, and the resulting insecurity inspires a deeper, more elaborate scrutiny toward my defense.
This inefficient quagmire of cyclical thinking is that which I intend to prevent in the first place, and so a semblance of fear of misrepresentation is necessary in the approach to language.
My tendency toward being defensive is not a weakness, but a strength; for a body of text or passage of address is stronger when it is refined and precise. I am unjustly defamed, therefore, in accusations when I indulge this speaking behavior, for I admit to fallibility in the aforementioned challenge of linear speaking. Is it so bad that I should clarify myself or, dare I say, correct myself? 11:06 PM March 14, 2004 I HAVE FOUR LUKES
11:40 PM March 13, 2004 FRIDAY THE ... 12TH
What a long day it was that yesterday seemed to feel; and, technically, it's not over yet, since I haven't gone to sleep. We opened NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience at my theatre. For those readers who don't know, I will tell you that I am the Chief IMAX Projectionist at the Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21, and I had a long day. Earlier this week, I assembled the two prints (left eye and right eye) and we screened it Wednesday night. Friday the 12th we opened it. So close!
I'm by no means superstitious. I intentionally refrain from knocking on wood. I don't stick to "tradition" for tradition's sake. And though I'm aware of them, I ignore the superstitious signs and other omens that come my way. However ... Thursday night, a black cat DID in fact cross the street in front of my car on the way home (well, I was on my way home, I don't know where the cat was headed). Friday morning, I DID in fact walk under the ladder of a construction worker (well, he was by all means obstructing the path). And, though I haven't confirmed it, it's possible that one of the projector's lamphouse mirrors is no longer whole (I actuallly have no reason to suspect this, but it works with the flow, so just shut up).
The first two showings went without the proverbial hitch (oh, trust me, it's some old Chinese proverb ... aren't they all?). This was mainly due to my normal, paranoid, anal-retentive attitude when it comes to running IMAX: everything runs properly when you triple-check everything. The notion, therefore, occured to me that once I were to sit down, set my feet up, and enjoy the Hey-The-Show's-Running-With-Nothing-Left-To-Do-Right-Now relaxation that comes with the job, something would go wrong.
It is here that I let you, the reader, finish my story. You don't have to be well-versed in literary irony or foreshadowing techniques (my setup works nicely, anyway), but I trust you can have fun imagining what I would write here if I felt like finishing my story myself. 12:44 AM March 11, 2004 A RADICAL SOLUTION TO BROWSER BOREDOM!
I'm going to make things a little more exciting and interactive here, at least for now. Is your browser lonely, bored, and looking for a page so excitingly intriguing that it will want to go there and reload it every time you open it up? If so, then please visit here! 4:01 AM March 10, 2004 FORGET EVERYTHING I'VE SAID ... EXCEPT THAT ... AND THAT ...
Well, take a look at what I've done. I have become, in very few posts, the very thing that I wanted to rant about from the beginning: someone who, every five minutes, feels it necessary to find something that is not as it should be, and complain.
Do you find it fascinating, enlightening, or even entertaining to read what someone has written when they need to bitch? When I come across such rants, I may read a sentence or two, and then skim, and then get bored, and then find something else to do. It is for this reason that I expect others not to care about anything that I complain about beyond the reading of the first sentence, skimming, getting bored, and finding something else to do.
With this said, it could now be concluded that I intend to refrain, in further postings, to use the venue as a means to bitch, rant, rave, or complain. If I need the therapy, I will use my friends as my outlet. But, just to keep my avenues open and my bridges unburned, I will tell you that if you do, in fact, conclude that I will refrain from the aforementioned, you may be mistakingly doing so. If I go on tomorrow to rant about something, as a follow-up to this post, then I will then have to, in the post following that, make mention of how I hypocritically ignored what I said ...
But then, that would at least give me something to talk about; and it would keep in the very style of everything I've talked about already. Now there's an idea!
Or maybe, just forget everything I've said. It may ultimately be easier. 10:23 PM March 8, 2004 ... AND I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS OFFICE!
Okay. In an earlier post, I made a comment about how I don't wish to promote things by listing them amongst other things of their sort; namely things that I hate. I will now semi-retract that sentiment by telling you now my newest, little pet-peeve. It irks me.
Please, whatever you do, when you design a webpage, or are capable of customizing your little page on whatever account you use to tell the world about yourself and your opinions, using magnificently cogent strings of lowercase letters and ellipses with more than three periods (or ten, for that matter) and liberal usage of carriage returns (and don't forget about all the brilliant interjections of "heh" and "prolly" and "j/k") ... well, don't (I beg you) ever use the coding that turns the scrollbar a different colour!!! Animated background graphics are bad enough! 7:38 PM
IF YOU COMPLAIN, NOTHING HAPPENS; YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT BOTHER
Why, when CafePress assures me that my replacement poster will be here no later than Monday, does the poster NOT arrive no later than Monday; and thus, in fact, at best, is able only to arrive later than Monday? They said they'd ship my replacement CD's by complimentary UPS, yet they arrived by standard mail with a "Carrier: Leave If No Response" sticker, like all the rest. Why do both CafePress and the U.S. Postal Service have the gall to deny me my overpriced novelty purchases? Why do I, in my spoiled Southern Californian mentality, feel I have the right to be perfectly pleased with everything I encounter and that my complaint is my undeniable liberty, a cry which by all means should be heeded so that I, and no one I encounter if it infringes upon my own, can live a flawlessly just and fair life?
I really don't belong here in Orange County, the cultural birdbath atop an ego-driven cesspool of vanity and cognitive depravity. I'm all for things like pride, honour, justice, and ambition. I don't see how flaunting any of it serves the betterment of others OR one's self (which I'm actually prone to agree is the more important ... thanks a LOT, Rand!). Moderation and perspective are two reservoirs in which it is refreshing to swim; and I find I try to do so. 7:21 PM
MY OWN TWO EYES WORK FINE, THANK YOU
As you may have gathered, I don't talk about anything. Particular subjects don't find their way anywhere near my writing. Not that I'm vague, but my points usually center around themselves or serve to interpret lines of thinking in general. Meta-entries are also favorites of mine, as you, again, may have gathered.
My lyrics work the same way. I think it's my way of making my writing "timeless". See, as soon as I make a reference to Eminem or Janet Jackson (oops, I guess I did make that reference in an earlier post) then I have brought my thoughts and ideas into the present, into the fashionable contemporary: a realm, clear from which I try to steer myself. Sure, I have opinions on such trivial topics as what is "in" this season, but you're not going to see me writing songs explicitly about any of it (save the rare novelty occasion for effect). Or in my writing, as a whole.
For instance (and here I will defy my normal protocol), there's a certain television program currently airing that depicts a quintet of alternative-lifestyle-practicing individuals who are paid to devote their time to improve (but not, they say, to change) trivial exterior characteristics of a single individual whom these five, and supposedly, allegedly, society in general, have deemed not to be contemporarily fashionable ...
Ooh ... let's, as society, further separate the differences between gay and straight people by escalating the "sensibilities" of one and not the other, laugh at the absurdly stereotypical behavioral tendencies displayed by those who "pride" themselves in "who they are", and find ourselves eagerly anticipating the next very special episode ... Well, I say it's all a waste of time, energy, and mind capacity to indulge the commercial sponsors of such tripe by viewing what they've paid to support.
Now, do you see what I did? I brought pop culture into what I wanted to keep a cerebral excercise. The previous two paragraphs, through hyperbole and sarcasm, have expressed an opinion that, years from now, will not be of any importance to anyone, least of all myself. If I were to come back and read this I would not be sparked into any particular line of thinking, inspired to ponder the subtleties of the world's working mechanisms, or even reminded of a clever idea I once had but never developed. So do you see why I wish not to talk about anything in particular? This here's a cognitive exercise, this is!
Let's see, what am I going to talk about next time? Stay tuned for the next exciting, very special episode! 12:00 AM March 7, 2004 I LIKE "PEDANTICITY" BETTER THAN "PEDANTRY"
With as many thoughts and dreams as I have on a day-to-day basis, the notion that I went a whole day without posting something to Cognitive Autostimulation that reflects those thoughts and dreams is almost unheard of. Of course, I'm using hyperbole here to illustrate a couple things.
The sarcasm enhances the notion that I don't, in fact, have as many thoughts and dreams as you were lead to believe. I'm merely pointing out the insignificant fact that, while I intended to do so, I refrained apparently from making a post for yesterday. A simple, "Hey, I didn't post yesterday like I wanted to" would have more than sufficed in relaying this message, but I, as I am wont to do, felt I would stretch out the narrative to proportions beyond its means. I do this, often usually. It helps me gather my thoughts and arrange my ideas. It lets me work out my diction, syntax, verbosity, pedantry, etc. and you, the reader, are supposed to be impressed by it. Really, you are.
So go ahead, be impressed.
I suppose that my telling you this as such is to serve as an introduction to my style. Be forewarned (well, technically, aren't ALL "warnings" really "forewarnings"?) that I will persist in such attempts at verbose eloquence ad nauseum. Isn't it great? 3:20 AM March 5, 2004 EXERCISE IN ALIENATION
For your amusement, I will compile a list here of things I hate. (Ooh, how fun!) Most of these things, you will realize, are things that most people hate and that I am not particularly special, original, or creative in realizing that these things are hated. In fact, the purpose of compiling such a list would be for the benefit of nobody. Those who agree that the things I've listed are, indeed, to be hated, will hate them regardless of my listing them; and by my listing them, I will only achieve being interpretted as being typical of the type of person I am, which is like you, should you be a person who agrees with the list I will compile. If you find anything on the list, however, that is to your liking or is amongst those things in life you won't care to think about long enough to develop a hate, then my compiling of this list will alienate you, or myself from you, and you won't come back to read my blog; or, perhaps, you will return only to develop a hate for me, and will continue returning to persist in your hating me, a series of actions that would lead you yourself to compile a similar list to mine, but including me in there somewhere.
I have decided not to compile a list here of things I hate.
I have decided this because it will give attention to those things which by my hating them I do not think they deserve. And in the same way, it would give Google, should it search my page, some content which is the opposite of that which I would like Google to gather about me and my site, thus drawing a misguided generation through the halls of my brilliance, an honour they are not worthy of contemplating, let alone experiencing.
Whether or not I will compile a list of things which I love has yet to be a decision I have made. 3:20 AM March 4, 2004 I STILL DON'T HAVE MY "SMALL POSTER" YET!
One thing I can say about CafePress.com is that they seem to have no problem replacing items that come damaged, inaccurate, just plain shoddy, or (in fact) not at all. Another thing I can say about CafePress.com is that they tend to send out orders that come damaged, inaccurate, just plain shoddy, or (in fact) not at all.
My assessment of their business model is thus: Print up and ship out everything as fast as possible to increase productivity. Replace, without argument or inquiry, all orders for all complaints to increase customer satisfaction. Now, where the point of diminished returns lies in the productivity/satisfaction chart has yet to be determined. I would figure that a customer base would forgive, say, an extra day delay in order reception as an exchange, guaranteeing not only a flawless order, but one which arrives at the location the buyer is at all.
I find it rather amusing that this post, as such, immediately follows my CafePress.com plug, encouraging you the reader to patronize them. If you wish to read anything into this that I may or may not have intended, then you will be following the very sentiment that this Cognitive Autostimulation thing was supposed to encourage after all: the gathering of informational tidbits to inspire one to think, assess, and conclude; all for one's own sake. Don't you feel special? I made you think! 4:09 PM
GIVE ME MONEY AND GET STUFF
As the first official post advertising merchandise, this entry would like to make it known that it had no official part in deciding to sell out, and that the decision in its entirety was made by myself.
Although it's the case that the poster, technically, existed first; the Cognitive Autostimulation poster is the perfect commemorative for this brilliant Blog site. Oh, yeah, and there's a t-shirt, too. 4:32 AM March 3, 2004 START MENU MANUAL
One would think that this Blogging thing would be simple, straightforward, and generally without a sense of tedium. Unfortunately for me, I am no longer that one. If only Blogger.com's "Support" section was in any way helpful. It reads like a Windows manual: "How do I pull up the Start Menu? You can access the Start Menu, first by using your mouse and locating the hovering cursor on the screen. Next, move the cursor by manipulating the mouse. Move the cursor over the Start Menu button, labeled Start. Now click the Start button to access the Start button's Start Menu." 4:57 PM
THE LEGEND OF THE LONGBOTTOM LEAF
I didn't watch that award show. I just tuned into the website updates to confirm that A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow did not win Best Song, and Danny Elfman didn't win Best Score.
I heard that this year's broadcast was to be run with a FIVE MINUTE delay. Remarkable. Perhaps, for fear of Janet Jackson making an appearance streaking during Tim Robbins' speech, a "committee" could have five minutes to deliberate on the severity. ("Well, did you see both nipples, or just the one?" "I hardly think it matters." "Oh, but I disagree, because the world has already seen the one, so that's acceptable, but BOTH? Well, that would be just plain WRONG!") Or, perhaps, a Hobbit genocide over a 4.5 minute period would be perfectly acceptable, but Frodo's having whipped out his Longbottom Leaf in the last 30 seconds would have made the whole episode unfit to air.
The world may never know. 3:23 PM
WE ALL SCREAM
As a way of relieving myself of the stress that has over the last several hours built up, I have decided to eat ice cream. I have not yet begun to eat the ice cream, but I have begun to imagine doing so. I have a rather large tub of ice cream in my freezer and I am afraid--or have been--that I will be unable to complete its consumption before such time as the luscious dessert becomes unfit for enjoyment. I will now proceed to fill a bowl liberally with the frozen delight ...
I am now in full possession of a bowl of ice cream. Unfortunately, I am typing right now. The act of typing, while useful in explaining to you the reader what I am doing, is currently prohibiting me from beginning my ice cream savouring activity. Once I cease typing, then you will not be privy to the knowledge that I'm eating my ice cream. Instead, you will be amazingly whisked into the future, having been in a reading-deprived stasis that I will live through, seemlessly picking up where I left off as soon as I resume typing.
I, on the other hand, will enjoy living through the interim of your stasis, for I will, as mentioned, be eating ice cream. 12:24 AM March 2, 2004 A FINE DAY TO START A BLOG
Welcome to the (edited) first post to Cognitive Autostimulation: The Blogger Experience (R), a Blog by Brian M. Weidemann. This will be my own forum for posting what I claim to be original thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects that you will either agree with and come back to read more of, or disagree with and never come back again. Any musings or witticisms I write here will be added only if I believe them worthy of immortalization, which is hardly a fine standard. I will try not to update every five minutes; or if I do, it will most likely be minor points which later I will delete for sake of brevity, keeping this Blog as relevant and substantial as I can. That's the key: substance.
But then, you're not interested much in that, now are you? 11:35 PM
I
have been webmastering my own sites for several years now. (You
could say I've been the master of my own domain.) My
original home site entitled 
March 25, 2004
