Thinking about happiness (or lack thereof). I finally understood that happiness is a mood. You can't "do" happiness anymore than you can "do" pissed off or envious. They're moods that are products of your action or circumstances.

So I've jotted down the beginnings of my own personal architectonic.

Updated: Apr/14/2016
Updated: Apr/03/2016
Updated: Feb/25/2016
Original: Aug/02/2014
Original link here.

Target: These days Blu-Ray offers very high fidelity video with multi-track audio.

This is a checklist of things to consider when building your home theater.

Source Player:

You can rip any CD with just about any software and any drive and get a good, listenable copy of the original. But how close is it to exactly what the studio recorded? And can you tell the difference? Who knows, but let's discuss how to produce the perfect rip.

Under specified datasheets and lack of understanding of ESD protection has made picking diodes a hit or miss scenario. This article will lay out a method to make your diode selection much more successful.

What is not covered:

• Lightning strike protection
• System level design

Choosing your ESD diode will require simultaneously solving the following four requirements:

I signed up for a seminar for those interested in purchasing their first home. I've seen my coworkers attempt a number of different strategies: buying a condo, buying a home and investing out of state. Let's see how those strategies stack up. Note: Income and expenses were estimated with a single individual making $100k/yr. I also used a pretty healthy down payment as most of my coworkers are a) in their 30s and b) have had ~10 years of professional work experience that includes stock options. This does not reflect my income or savings, which may be higher or lower.

This is a huge subject I'm not about to take on completely, but I've had it on my mind for some time since seeing a documentary about the Logical Positivists and reading some of Husserl's work.

Obvious questions:

To the lay person, confidence is often defined as "believing in yourself". Beyond that definition most (including myself) cannot provide much more detail. Words like "esteem" or "capable" come to mind but if I were to ask myself what are the characteristics of confidence, how to measure them and how to acquire them if you do not have them I would be at a loss. Furthermore, the subjective experience must be considered as much as the objective. What is it like to be confident? To experience confidence?

Jotting down some notes.

Metaphysics. Standard stuff. Objective description of the universe. Objects, reality, truth, epistemology and free will. Bridge to science. I consider this the "outside in" approach and it ended with Nietzsche during the Romantic period.

6 ways to travel in Iceland, from the most benign to the hard core:

1. ($$/*) Stay in Reykjavik the entire time.
2. ($$$$/**) Stay in Reykjavik, take day trips with tour bus companies.
3. ($$$/***) Stay in Reykjavik, but rent a car and explore on your own.
4. ($$$/***) Drive all or part of the ring, staying in hostels and guest houses.
5. ($$/****) Drive all or part of the ring, camping.
6. ($/*****) Stay in the interior.

Some tips for staying in Iceland:

How much are you really drinking? How much alcohol is in that 7oz pour of stout? Did you just hammer a bomber of IPA and want to know what you've gotten yourself into? Use this chart to find out.

1 beer = 12oz @ 5%

(And just for kicks a 16oz pour of Firestone-Walker Union Jack is also added.)