Moments, by Jorge Luis Borges

If I were able to live my life again,
next time I would try to make more mistakes.
I would not try to be so perfect. I would be more relaxed.
I would be much more foolish than I have been. In fact,
I would take very few things seriously.
I would be much less sanitary.
I would run more risks. I would take more trips,
I would contemplate more sunsets,
I would climb more mountains,
I would swim more rivers.
I would go to more places I have never visited.
I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans.
I would have more real problems, fewer imaginary ones.
I was one of these people who lived prudently
and prolifically every moment of his life.
Certainly I had moments of great happiness:
Don’t let the present slip away.
I was one of those who never went anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle,
an umbrella, and a parachute.
If I could live over again,
I would go barefoot, beginning
in early spring
and would continue so until the end of autumn.
I would take more turns on the merry-go-round.
I would watch more dawns
And play with more children,
if I once again had a life ahead of me.
But, you see, I am eighty-five
and I know that I am dying.
(Queens Quarterly, Autumn 1992 Ed.)

Hat tip reelyredd.com and F_J_H on Hacker News

Who gives a f--- about an oxford comma?

Always wondered what the heck the lyrics here meant:

Luckily songmeanings.net is there to save the day, thanks to HoppyChris:

Why would you lie about how much coal you have? Lying about how much coal you have can easily be done through the omission of an oxford comma.

An oxford comma is the comma right before the and in a series.

I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel, and coal.
I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel and coal.

In the first example, the amound of coal is not specified, while in the second example there are clearly 50 pounds of coal. By omitting the oxford comma, you can let people think that you have 50 pounds of coal, even if you do not, as the oxford comma is often viewed as optional.

But why would you lie about how much coal you have? why would you lie about something dumb like that? 

Apparently the sentence above is the most commonly used example to explain how the oxford comma works. LOL

William Deresiewicz on Finding your own reality

From Solitude and Leadership in the American Scholar:

“Your own reality—for yourself, not for others.” Thinking for yourself means finding yourself, finding your own reality. Here’s the other problem with Facebook and Twitter and even The New York Times. When you expose yourself to those things, especially in the constant way that people do now—older people as well as younger people—you are continuously bombarding yourself with a stream of other people’s thoughts. You are marinating yourself in the conventional wisdom. In other people’s reality: for others, not for yourself. You are creating a cacophony in which it is impossible to hear your own voice, whether it’s yourself you’re thinking about or anything else. That’s what Emerson meant when he said that “he who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from travelling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, reading, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions.” Notice that he uses the word lead. Leadership means finding a new direction, not simply putting yourself at the front of the herd that’s heading toward the cliff.
via theamericanscholar.org

Hat tip Tony C Yang

Game Dev Story creators turn their sights on new worlds and new lessons

Game Dev Story is one of my favorite iPhone games ever. 

It's a super-addictive simulation style game in the vein of Sim Tower. You've got to build a game development house from scratch -- hire people, train them, get licenses for new game consoles, choose the genres and approaches, and someday get a game into the Hall of Fame, or even win Game of the Year.

The game dynamic hits the perfect level of casino-style addiction. They've recently released one new game out now -- Hot Springs Story, where instead of games, you're dealing with customer service and trying to run the best hot springs resort in the land.

I can't help but wonder, can these games ultimately turn educational? The Game Dev Story moral was pretty clear: invest in your people, and your product gets so much better. Which turns out to be true in real life as well.