At work the (metaphorical) dark and musty cave in which I have been struggling is now lit and mostly clean of debris. For the past year I have been writing, on and off as other projects permit, a server for providing organized datasets for download in a variety of formats. When I started I was given a toolbox full of nifty tools and parts. Unfortunately the documentation did little more than simply name these tools and parts, and it was my job to build something out of it. Lots of effort was poured into deciphering what I could from the documentation, emailing the designers of this project with questions about what various tools did, and what the overall server should do, and I was almost done. Then I got a phone call. They wanted to know why I was asking all these questions, and why I was writing the server. Apparently there is a server already assembled, available for download. So what should have been a one or two day project became a year long struggle. It's like you go to get a car, and the dealer shows you the room where they keep all the parts, and leaves you there to figure it out. You read up on what you can about the parts, study other cars out on the road, and are finishing up the paint job when the dealer comes back and asks why the hell you didn't just go to the show room and purchase a prebuilt car, like a normal person. A failure of communication this was, on both ends I believe. So now I have a hand-built car sitting in the garage while I'm taking the factory-built car out for a test drive. Then I get another call. Apparently the car I just got is, let's say, a 2005 model, and they've just released the 2006 model. Two more days down the tubes. But it's all good; I know who to talk to when I have trouble, and if anything on my car breaks down I don't have to take it to the dealership since I know how the thing works inside and out. There are too many analogies here. Suffice it to say that I am no longer confused as to what I should be doing on this project.
Classes have also started, and the situation there is also somewhat muddled. I'm trying to take LING410, which has LING311 as a prerequisite. I'm also trying to take LING311 but am on the waitlist. I've talked to the LING410 professor and he says I can take LING311 as a corequisite since I have enough math background (predicate calculus.) My LING311 professor is a little more reserved. It seems the class is already oversubscribed and all the linguistics majors were allowed in. Since I'm not a linguistics major, or even an undergraduate, I'm last on the list. I may be able to just sit in on the class, but I'm not sure that my LING410 professor will let me do it that way, since I wouldn't technically be subscribed to LING311. Depending on what happens over the next few days I may wind up not taking any classes this semester, which I think would be a shame, since they're free.
I've been dating this girl, *name removed*, for a couple weeks now. I met her right after I broke up with Tracey and initially wanted some time to just be single, but we get along really well and I figure I can have some single time if and when I screw up this relationship. I am feeling a little rushed, though, since we started out rather quickly. I'm going to need to find a good balance of alone time and relationship time, but she says she's the same way as far as independence goes so I don't think it will be a problem.
I donated electronic green paper to the Red Cross but I would have rather been able to donate blood. The soonest I can do that is the 14th since I gave blood recently, but I'm not type O (I'm B+) so my blood isn't in huge demand. I'm curious to find out how much of what they say is happening down in New Orleans is factual and how much is just rumors being touted by the news media as factual. I suppose these things take time, but I'd bet when all the facts are on the table, it'll still be really shitty. I'm just a little skeptical that the police are being as brutal as they're being made out to be. This is probably the only time you'll ever hear me giving the "man" the benefit of the doubt.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
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7 comments:
WHEEEE! gotta love blog spam.
I havent really heard anything about police brutality in New Orleans. I have mostly just heard about people being neglected and left to die. The question is how much of this is unavoidable in a situation like this, and how much could be done better. with people floating numbers like 10-40 thousand possibly dead, you have to think it could have been done better.
However, it is clear that Bush hates black people.
Wow. I can't believe you just spent an entire year doing something you really didn't have to. That's gotta be incredibly discouraging. On the bright side, I guess since you know the program inside out, you can modify it to run exactly the way you need it to.
Also, where are you meeting these girls? We have them here in New York, but I just don't know any of them.
And Tim, I don't think Bush hates black people, I just think he just doesn't care about them at all. It's a small, but important, distinction. He's not going out of his way to destroy them. Instead he won't do anything to help them.
Going backwards in time and not including ones that were just a date or so:
John (Karen's BF)'s birthday party
Paul's gradiation party
"camping" trip 5 years ago
some parties (we were introduced a couple times)
some other party
theatre production dealy
cast party
Crystals birthday party
stairwell by courtyard during lunch at springbrook, I think.
Um... it looks like you should go to some parties, but most of the "party" ones wound up being mistakes, so I really can't help you without also, in some way, hurting you. Have you talked to your parents about a prearanged wedding?
That Bush hates black people was a paraphrase of Kanye West's Oh so eloquent words on the matter, if no one had figrued it out. I my self dont think Bush hates black people. It is clear that he hates anyone who doesnt provide him with large sums of money. for instance, He does not hate all brown people, merely those that dont happen to be the prince of Saudi Arabia or the leader of some puppet government or another. Oh, and also he hates anyone who is not an unborn fetus or comatose woman. Furthermore, if you combine two things he doesnt particularly like (eg. two nondescript middle class liberal men to form one gay couple) you get something he really hates. Its really just simple math.
Honestly though, I dont think he hates anyone. he's just incompetent.
Well, I don't want to get married. I just want to make-out a little. Is that so much to ask? And I go to parties on occasion, but people tend to be pretty insular at them. Most people arrive with their friends and don't make much of an effort to talk to people outside of that group.
And Tim, I see what you're saying now.
You could take a page out of my brothers book. I've seen him use this technique a few times and it's never failed.
Wait for a girl to get up to go get a drink or something, then take her seat.
When she comes back and gives you that "nice, asshole" look (as opposed to the "nice asshole!" look) pat your lap a few times.
my brother, who busted his jaw last weekend and has it wired shut now, wants to make a t-shirt that says "I cant kiss, but I can still fuck". you should try that tactic.
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