Just a note about my music rankings: I do grade on a curve. That is, I think these ratings should be distributed on a Bell Curve. See, I've listened to maybe like three 1s in my whole life. Maybe 6 or 7 10s, but then I'm actively seeking good music, not bad. In general, most of my ratings are going to be 5.5-6.5, since I'm actively seeking out good music, the average value of my ratings necessarily will be slightly above the 5 average of the general music population.

That's all.

I listened to three new albums today. Nothing too exciting. Here's a breakdown:

• The Plastic Constellations, Mazatlan. Entirely average indie rock. Not bad by any means, but nothing exciting. 5.5.
• The Free Design, Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love. They say these guys influenced Stereolab. And I dig Stereolab. While fairly good 60's sunshine-happy-rock, there are far too many lyrics about butterflies. All in all though, not bad. 6.
• Jason Forrest, The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash. This is more like it. Pitchfork called it "maximalist" electronic music. Think Basement Jaxx or maybe Daft Punk, but a lot more strange. It's got this sort of post-modern lack of focus that sadly strips of it of just about all emotional appeal, but it's quite interesting to listen to. 7.5.

Just finished my first lab report for my physics lab. Oh boy.

Let me just make this emphatically clear: I hate physics lab.

That's all.

I think of myself, in many ways, as a philosopher. I've never taken a philosophy class, let alone declared it as my major. And I'm woefully under-read in the area. But I find thinking about philosophical questions to be extremely enjoyable.

Over the years, mostly since I started college, I've developed, what seems to me, a fairly consistent philosophical world-view. In talking with my friend Lane, among the the brightest individuals I know, I've found myself able to support my claims with pretty good arguments. (Though she may not be pressing me hard enough!)

So, I feel the need to sort of formalize my ideas, write them down, and fill in the gaps. For now, let me make explicitly public some of my basic claims, and later, talk about some areas in my thinking that still need more thought.