On Sunday, Paul, Tim, and I went skiing at Liberty. I was worried that morning because it was snowing, and the road was already covered, but the major roads were fine and we got there a little before noon. Rather than renting skis, I borrowed Tims dads skis, which just barely fit. They were big enough to get on, but they were a little narrow at the balls of my feet. Uncomfortable, but not bad enough for me to want to pay to rent skis. I hadn't been skiing in about 6 or 7 years, and I've only been skiing twice before, so I wasn't a "competent" skier. Still, I managed to go down every slope that wasn't a black dimond or, god forbid, double-black dimond, and wasn't constantly falling down. Tim is a much better skier than I, but I was doing a little better than Paul, so that's good. I watched Tim go down a black dimond which was covered with moguls, and he made it look almost easy enough for me to try. I didn't. Chock that up to cowardace or knowing my limits, your pick. All in all, I fell down a lot, but I didn't hit anybody.
We're going to try to go on another trip sometime in February or March, so if you want to come along let us know so we can try to go when it's convinient. I may try snowboarding, or I may just stick to skiing and hone my skils, because girls only want to date guys who have great skills.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
Luck ran out
Saturday morning started out well, then quickly deteriorated. I woke up at Ninas, and left to go help Ben and Anna move in, or so was the plan. I got to the parking garage and went to pay at the machine (before returning to my car.) The machine took my ticket but wasn't accepting cash. I tried to put my credit card into the machine, and it took it, but didn't register anything and refused to give me my card back. I tried to cancel the transaction and the LCD display would lead one to think that everything was fine, but nothing came out. No credit card, and no ticket to use to get out. So after calling every phone number in sight, I called Nina thinking I could get the credit card out if she brought down a pair of tweezers. No dice; the tweezers wouldn't fit in the slot I put my credit card in. We checked the whole garage to see if the attendant (who if there wasn't at the booth by the exit) but found nobody. We checked the lot next door, managed by the same company, but nobody was there either. Eventually Nina just let me use her pass to get out (she has one of those monthly passes you just have to wave near the reader to get out.) On the way home, I tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with Ben and Anna to figure out when/where we should meet them, but they were already down at their new place, and weren't answering their cells. Maybe we can help you next weekend if you still need it. I canceled my credit card when I got back to the house, and I should be receiving a new one in the mail shortly.
We went grocery shopping before the snow got really bad, and picked up some sleds from The Sports Authority in Beltway Plaza. Later, we went sledding on the hill outside the elementary school across the street. At some point, while I was running with Angel, I heard what sounded like keys falling out of a pocket. I checked, and my pockets were empty. After looking around a little and finding nothing, I figured what I heard was just Angels leash jingling while we ran. Upon getting back to the house, I found out that my keys weren't in my room, so they were somewhere in the field across the street. I went back later that night with a flashlight and spent about an hour wandering around, not finding anything. The next morning I went back, and was looking for about a half hour before asking our neighbors if they had a metal detector. Pauls dad suggested it earlier while I was leaving the house to go look, and I had thought about it earlier as well. I was in luck (this guy has everything) and after another half hour of digging through the snow only to discover that somewhere under a half dozen spots on the ground there were probably coins, or iron-rich rocks, I found my keys.
That afternoon we watched The Lord of The Rings, all three movies, extended edition. Got started around 1ish, and wasn't done until after midnight. I spent most of the time in the kitchen washing various pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates and bowls in a pot of hot soapy water on the stove and a rubbermaid bin of rinse water on the floor. The pipes in our kitchen have frozen, so this is how dishes must be done, with water taken from the faucet in my bathtub (but not bathwater, that would be gross.) It's like I'm camping or something. We ordered pizza and I sat down to watch the last movie. Tim cleaned any cups or silverware that needed washing at some point, so we now have clean dishes.
How was your weekend?
We went grocery shopping before the snow got really bad, and picked up some sleds from The Sports Authority in Beltway Plaza. Later, we went sledding on the hill outside the elementary school across the street. At some point, while I was running with Angel, I heard what sounded like keys falling out of a pocket. I checked, and my pockets were empty. After looking around a little and finding nothing, I figured what I heard was just Angels leash jingling while we ran. Upon getting back to the house, I found out that my keys weren't in my room, so they were somewhere in the field across the street. I went back later that night with a flashlight and spent about an hour wandering around, not finding anything. The next morning I went back, and was looking for about a half hour before asking our neighbors if they had a metal detector. Pauls dad suggested it earlier while I was leaving the house to go look, and I had thought about it earlier as well. I was in luck (this guy has everything) and after another half hour of digging through the snow only to discover that somewhere under a half dozen spots on the ground there were probably coins, or iron-rich rocks, I found my keys.
That afternoon we watched The Lord of The Rings, all three movies, extended edition. Got started around 1ish, and wasn't done until after midnight. I spent most of the time in the kitchen washing various pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates and bowls in a pot of hot soapy water on the stove and a rubbermaid bin of rinse water on the floor. The pipes in our kitchen have frozen, so this is how dishes must be done, with water taken from the faucet in my bathtub (but not bathwater, that would be gross.) It's like I'm camping or something. We ordered pizza and I sat down to watch the last movie. Tim cleaned any cups or silverware that needed washing at some point, so we now have clean dishes.
How was your weekend?
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Dryer details you probably could live without
So, Tim broke the dryer the other day. His load had finished and he was taking his dry clothes out, but some articles were hanging on those shelf-like protrusions that help spin the clothes. He spun the cylinder manually (as so many of us do) and heard a loud snapping sound. Then, the cylinder wouldn't move when the dryer was on. Great.
Yesterday we disassembled the thing and found the problem: the belt that spins the cylinder wasn't connected to anything. We also found a pulley unattached, lending one to believe that this was somehow the problem. Here's the catch: The belt is, topologically, a donut. As is the pulley (with a slight fuzziness applied to forgive the fact that it's a wheel attached to a axle with a little space between, and probably some bearings. The point is, the axle forms a loop with the mounting bracket, so there's no way to get the belt to go around the pulley. It's like trying to do that magic trick where you take two separate rings and transform them to be interlocked, like links of a chain. Now, I know how that works, but this belt wasn't designed with magicians in mind. We figured out how it worked: and I will try to explain this without using pictures. Good luck understanding it. You can skip the rest if you don't care how our dryer works.
First, one should note that there was a motor near the cylinder (but not touching) with an extended drive shaft (connected to the motor at one end, but left free on the other so the belt could be attached.) It was clear that the belt should go around that. The belt should also go around the cylinder. So the only question is what the hell to do with the pulley.
There were holes near the motor, on the inner surface of the bottom of the dryer body (not the cylinder) to attach the pulleys' mounting bracket, and what you're supposed to do is push a loop of the belt through the space between the pulley and it's mounting bracket, and have that loop go around the drive shaft connected to the motor. Since the pulley is close to the motor this takes very little length from the belt. The rest of the belt (on the other side of the pulley) goes around the dryer cylinder, and the tension is enough that of the loop that got threaded through the pulley and it's mounting bracket, only one direction actually touches the pulley. So to clarify: imagine you're looking at the dryer from the front. You have a large circle (the cylinder you put clothes in), and outside it, below and to the right, there's a small circle (the drive shaft connected to the motor.) Closer to the bottom of the cylinder (to the left of the drive shaft) there's a pulley (a circle larger than the drive shaft but much smaller than the dryer cylinder.) The belt, starting from the top of the cylinder and going clockwise, goes around the right side of the cylinder until you get near the bottom Let's say 4:30. There, it departs on a tangent from the cylinder and wraps around the pulley, heading right again. This begins the loop that was pushed through that I mentioned earlier. The belt then goes around the drive shaft in a clockwise fashion (let's say from 11:00 to 6:00) and departs on a tangent from the drive shaft, now heading left. Now, this part goes through the loop formed by the pulley and its mounting bracket, but doesn't touch anything there, finishing the loop that was pushed through. It then continues to meet the dryer cylinder at around 6:00, and stays on the cylinder the rest of the way up.
Aren't you sorry you read all that?
Anyway, that fixed it, and the dryer now works. Plus, we somehow wound up with an extra screw after reassembling the dryer. That's probably not good, but I doubt one screw is going to make that much of a difference. Unless, you know, that screw was holding down the "do not randomly detonate" button.
Yesterday we disassembled the thing and found the problem: the belt that spins the cylinder wasn't connected to anything. We also found a pulley unattached, lending one to believe that this was somehow the problem. Here's the catch: The belt is, topologically, a donut. As is the pulley (with a slight fuzziness applied to forgive the fact that it's a wheel attached to a axle with a little space between, and probably some bearings. The point is, the axle forms a loop with the mounting bracket, so there's no way to get the belt to go around the pulley. It's like trying to do that magic trick where you take two separate rings and transform them to be interlocked, like links of a chain. Now, I know how that works, but this belt wasn't designed with magicians in mind. We figured out how it worked: and I will try to explain this without using pictures. Good luck understanding it. You can skip the rest if you don't care how our dryer works.
First, one should note that there was a motor near the cylinder (but not touching) with an extended drive shaft (connected to the motor at one end, but left free on the other so the belt could be attached.) It was clear that the belt should go around that. The belt should also go around the cylinder. So the only question is what the hell to do with the pulley.
There were holes near the motor, on the inner surface of the bottom of the dryer body (not the cylinder) to attach the pulleys' mounting bracket, and what you're supposed to do is push a loop of the belt through the space between the pulley and it's mounting bracket, and have that loop go around the drive shaft connected to the motor. Since the pulley is close to the motor this takes very little length from the belt. The rest of the belt (on the other side of the pulley) goes around the dryer cylinder, and the tension is enough that of the loop that got threaded through the pulley and it's mounting bracket, only one direction actually touches the pulley. So to clarify: imagine you're looking at the dryer from the front. You have a large circle (the cylinder you put clothes in), and outside it, below and to the right, there's a small circle (the drive shaft connected to the motor.) Closer to the bottom of the cylinder (to the left of the drive shaft) there's a pulley (a circle larger than the drive shaft but much smaller than the dryer cylinder.) The belt, starting from the top of the cylinder and going clockwise, goes around the right side of the cylinder until you get near the bottom Let's say 4:30. There, it departs on a tangent from the cylinder and wraps around the pulley, heading right again. This begins the loop that was pushed through that I mentioned earlier. The belt then goes around the drive shaft in a clockwise fashion (let's say from 11:00 to 6:00) and departs on a tangent from the drive shaft, now heading left. Now, this part goes through the loop formed by the pulley and its mounting bracket, but doesn't touch anything there, finishing the loop that was pushed through. It then continues to meet the dryer cylinder at around 6:00, and stays on the cylinder the rest of the way up.
Aren't you sorry you read all that?
Anyway, that fixed it, and the dryer now works. Plus, we somehow wound up with an extra screw after reassembling the dryer. That's probably not good, but I doubt one screw is going to make that much of a difference. Unless, you know, that screw was holding down the "do not randomly detonate" button.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Deep Impact
I just got back from watching the launch of the Deep Impact spacecraft. That's probably the last we'll hear about it until July 4th 2005 when it impacts the comet Tempel 1. That should be exciting, since it will be the first time we (humans) intentionally impact a body other than earth (excluding landings.) I just posted a story to slashdot about it, so we'll see if they pick it up. It's times like this that I find my work exciting. I have nothing to do with the mission yet, but once the impact occurs, astronomers from around the world will upload their findings to a collaboration site I built. I'd show you the site, but it requires a login and I can't just give that information out willy-nilly, and it's really not that exciting.
So if this comet is really some extra terrestrial spacecraft, when you find out we did this, don't come to me. Actually, come to me. I know how to find the people who did this to you. In exchange for that information, I expect a few minor privileges when you enslave the Earth.
So if this comet is really some extra terrestrial spacecraft, when you find out we did this, don't come to me. Actually, come to me. I know how to find the people who did this to you. In exchange for that information, I expect a few minor privileges when you enslave the Earth.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
How I Spent My Winter Break, by Andrew Ducore
Okay, so I wrote this post once already, but blogger done not kept it. Maybe I could just say my dog ate it.
The Thursday before Christmas, Nina and I went to Thai Farm in Rockville and then watched Clerks. It'll make sense why I mentioned this later.
Christmas Eve was lazier than I had thought it would be. I planned on going to work, but I didn't. I slept in until 3:00pm and then got breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or whatever) with Nina at IHOP. By the time we got out the sun was going down. We went to Linens & Things to get some last minute gifts, and in the checkout line I ran into this guy Eric. We took piano lessons from the same teacher back when I was taking lessons. Anyway, I went home to spend the night.
Christmas was a slow day too. The day began with me being forced out of bed by those who I guess were worried that if we didn't get downstairs in time the gifts would disappear. (run on?) I was perfectly content sleeping. But no. I got the same thing for Christmas as everyone else: presents. I stayed in my Pajamas all day except to try on some clothing I got, and all evening until around 11:30 when I got dressed so I could drive home.
The day after Christmas I went out with my parents to get an electric keyboard (a combination graduation/Christmas present.) We went to that guitar place around Cicis and the Melting Pot and picked out one that suited my needs. 88 weighted keys, a bunch of instruments, and settings out the wazoo. It even came with a pedal. Okay, so maybe that's not that exciting, but it's still nice to have a piano around. Later that evening I watched Chasing Amy with some people in the house.
Monday I went to work, then hung out with Colin and Ian in the evening. Ian wanted to watch Clerks, and after a while of searching, the DVD was found and played.
Tuesday I went up to Baltimore to get ice cream at this little Italian place Nina knew about, then we came down to CP to watch movies. We saw clerks. Again. Only this time, it was Clerks X, which had a different version of the movie (and an animated clip of what happens in the funeral parlor, Clerks Animated Series style.) So in less than a week I saw Clerks 3 times and Chasing Amy once. You'd think I liked Kevin Smith in that special way or something. But no, it's just about the sex.
Wednesday morning I drove up to New Jersey to visit family. I got to see my cousins (my moms sisters kids,) two of whom recently had kids (okay, one of them had a kid, the other was just the father... not of the same kid... some other lady had his kid.) The point is, two of my cousins are new parents with two new babies, and not twins. I got to play with one of them, Phillip Ray, and not like this is news or anything but I want to have kids. My parents say I don't need to have kids yet, and that I don't even need to be practicing either. Whatever, I'll play with dolls if I want to. Seriously, though, I want to have kids. I know I'm not quite ready yet, so I guess I'll settle with wanting to practice. I hear it's all the rage in high schools these days. I drove back to MD late Thursday night.
New Years eve was spend running errands and getting ready for the party, then the party. The party wasn't bad. More people showed up than I had thought would (Ben, Anna, where were you?) Colin came over from a party down the street with some people I went to high school with, then he brought me over to the other party. This party down the street was more "happening" than ours. They had around 50 or 60 people (I'm guessing), while ours had a couple dozen. Their house was cool too; from what I understand it was built by some architect who lived there in the 70s. I came back to our party before midnight, and stayed there. I'm surprised how little I drank: two beers, a car bomb, and a champaign flute of, well, champaign. I didn't get drunk, unlike some people whose names I won't mention, Nina.
New Years and the day thereafter were spent sleeping in and watching movies on the TV. It was fantastic.
In conclusion, Libya is a land of contrast.
The Thursday before Christmas, Nina and I went to Thai Farm in Rockville and then watched Clerks. It'll make sense why I mentioned this later.
Christmas Eve was lazier than I had thought it would be. I planned on going to work, but I didn't. I slept in until 3:00pm and then got breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or whatever) with Nina at IHOP. By the time we got out the sun was going down. We went to Linens & Things to get some last minute gifts, and in the checkout line I ran into this guy Eric. We took piano lessons from the same teacher back when I was taking lessons. Anyway, I went home to spend the night.
Christmas was a slow day too. The day began with me being forced out of bed by those who I guess were worried that if we didn't get downstairs in time the gifts would disappear. (run on?) I was perfectly content sleeping. But no. I got the same thing for Christmas as everyone else: presents. I stayed in my Pajamas all day except to try on some clothing I got, and all evening until around 11:30 when I got dressed so I could drive home.
The day after Christmas I went out with my parents to get an electric keyboard (a combination graduation/Christmas present.) We went to that guitar place around Cicis and the Melting Pot and picked out one that suited my needs. 88 weighted keys, a bunch of instruments, and settings out the wazoo. It even came with a pedal. Okay, so maybe that's not that exciting, but it's still nice to have a piano around. Later that evening I watched Chasing Amy with some people in the house.
Monday I went to work, then hung out with Colin and Ian in the evening. Ian wanted to watch Clerks, and after a while of searching, the DVD was found and played.
Tuesday I went up to Baltimore to get ice cream at this little Italian place Nina knew about, then we came down to CP to watch movies. We saw clerks. Again. Only this time, it was Clerks X, which had a different version of the movie (and an animated clip of what happens in the funeral parlor, Clerks Animated Series style.) So in less than a week I saw Clerks 3 times and Chasing Amy once. You'd think I liked Kevin Smith in that special way or something. But no, it's just about the sex.
Wednesday morning I drove up to New Jersey to visit family. I got to see my cousins (my moms sisters kids,) two of whom recently had kids (okay, one of them had a kid, the other was just the father... not of the same kid... some other lady had his kid.) The point is, two of my cousins are new parents with two new babies, and not twins. I got to play with one of them, Phillip Ray, and not like this is news or anything but I want to have kids. My parents say I don't need to have kids yet, and that I don't even need to be practicing either. Whatever, I'll play with dolls if I want to. Seriously, though, I want to have kids. I know I'm not quite ready yet, so I guess I'll settle with wanting to practice. I hear it's all the rage in high schools these days. I drove back to MD late Thursday night.
New Years eve was spend running errands and getting ready for the party, then the party. The party wasn't bad. More people showed up than I had thought would (Ben, Anna, where were you?) Colin came over from a party down the street with some people I went to high school with, then he brought me over to the other party. This party down the street was more "happening" than ours. They had around 50 or 60 people (I'm guessing), while ours had a couple dozen. Their house was cool too; from what I understand it was built by some architect who lived there in the 70s. I came back to our party before midnight, and stayed there. I'm surprised how little I drank: two beers, a car bomb, and a champaign flute of, well, champaign. I didn't get drunk, unlike some people whose names I won't mention, Nina.
New Years and the day thereafter were spent sleeping in and watching movies on the TV. It was fantastic.
In conclusion, Libya is a land of contrast.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
titles are for suckers
Last night I saw Rent for the third time. I had no idea that Darth Vader was Lukes father; I should really pay more attention when I go to plays. First time was in London sophomore year, then in New York last winter, now Baltimore. I'm beginning to think that this is the only play I'll ever see. Maybe by the time I die I can have seen it in every major city in the world. Maybe not.
Ninas cats are starting to be more friendly with me, despite my best efforts to make them hate me. I think that animals like it when you play rough, just so long as you don't actually hurt them. I know this holds for most dogs, but I always figured cats didn't like it. Maybe only kittens deal with it well, and when they get older they just want to be pet or left alone.
Today is my sisters birthday. She turned 24. That about sums that up.
Moving back in time:
Saturnight (I meant to type Saturday night, but that came out instead and I don't feel like using the backspace) I turned off my computer to make some quiet, and the next day when I turned it back on I got this nice little "Operating System not found" message. Restarted, same thing. Went into BIOS and my /home hard drive wasn't found correctly (the one with / and /boot was fine, though.) There was some other name (not WD200G or whatever) in place of the name of my 200 gig /home drive, and it had all sorts of extended ASCII characters. Somehow, opening the case and pushing all the EIDE cables connected to my hard drives against the drive fixed it. (nothing was disconnected, nor did any of the cables even move) So now my computer works again. Whatever that was. I'm beginning to think that I should upgrade my computer. I'm using the same MoBo and CPU that came with the computer, and while I have plenty of memory, my system isn't as fast as I would like, and every now and then it decides to stop working for a few days. Maybe I'll get a new computer over the summer. Maybe not.
Sunday I got to see some of Baltimore, including the National Bohemian building (I saw the face wink), Ninas school and the neighboring graveyard, the inner harbor, and some cool library. I'm not usually impressed by libraries (okay, maybe I am by the glib or libpng libraries, but that's different) but this place was different. Huge open spaces, a fountain with gold fish in the children's area... it felt like a museum, only a museum where you can touch things. I went home afterward to decorate the Christmas tree at my parents place, and despite the fact that I told them I'd be there in a half hour or so, the went ahead and started without me. Not that I was really bothered by it, hanging little trinkets on an evergreen is by far one of the most bizarre rituals in the Christmas celebrating culture.
I think we're going to try to go skiing some time next week (between Jesuses birthday and that day when, five years ago, every computer stopped working thrusting mankind into a digital ice age.) If anybody is interested in going skiing, let Tim or me know what days you're available so we can figure out an excuse for why you can't come.
Ninas cats are starting to be more friendly with me, despite my best efforts to make them hate me. I think that animals like it when you play rough, just so long as you don't actually hurt them. I know this holds for most dogs, but I always figured cats didn't like it. Maybe only kittens deal with it well, and when they get older they just want to be pet or left alone.
Today is my sisters birthday. She turned 24. That about sums that up.
Moving back in time:
Saturnight (I meant to type Saturday night, but that came out instead and I don't feel like using the backspace) I turned off my computer to make some quiet, and the next day when I turned it back on I got this nice little "Operating System not found" message. Restarted, same thing. Went into BIOS and my /home hard drive wasn't found correctly (the one with / and /boot was fine, though.) There was some other name (not WD200G or whatever) in place of the name of my 200 gig /home drive, and it had all sorts of extended ASCII characters. Somehow, opening the case and pushing all the EIDE cables connected to my hard drives against the drive fixed it. (nothing was disconnected, nor did any of the cables even move) So now my computer works again. Whatever that was. I'm beginning to think that I should upgrade my computer. I'm using the same MoBo and CPU that came with the computer, and while I have plenty of memory, my system isn't as fast as I would like, and every now and then it decides to stop working for a few days. Maybe I'll get a new computer over the summer. Maybe not.
Sunday I got to see some of Baltimore, including the National Bohemian building (I saw the face wink), Ninas school and the neighboring graveyard, the inner harbor, and some cool library. I'm not usually impressed by libraries (okay, maybe I am by the glib or libpng libraries, but that's different) but this place was different. Huge open spaces, a fountain with gold fish in the children's area... it felt like a museum, only a museum where you can touch things. I went home afterward to decorate the Christmas tree at my parents place, and despite the fact that I told them I'd be there in a half hour or so, the went ahead and started without me. Not that I was really bothered by it, hanging little trinkets on an evergreen is by far one of the most bizarre rituals in the Christmas celebrating culture.
I think we're going to try to go skiing some time next week (between Jesuses birthday and that day when, five years ago, every computer stopped working thrusting mankind into a digital ice age.) If anybody is interested in going skiing, let Tim or me know what days you're available so we can figure out an excuse for why you can't come.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Was that a date or a fig?
Nina and I got dinner and saw The Incredibles last night. I thought the movie was fairly good, and would recommend it to anybody who likes movies about superheros, computer graphics, or the thought of Samuel L. Jackson ice skating in form fitting spandex. I liked it for the superhero stuff. Now, I'm not much of a movie critic, nor am I down with the comic book superhero scene, so I'm pretty sure you shouldn't care that I liked the movie. Dinner at Duclaw was good, but the new beer they had was too bitter for me; Nina liked it, though. Man... I just realized that Nina is one letter off from Ninja. I should watch my back.
At the job I've been installing, and re-installing MySQL, php, apache, and java among a few other programs. The version of MySQL I'm running doesn't work with php out of the box, and the settings to make it work breaks phpmyadmin. I've managed to find a happy medium that supports everything, but I think the settings I came up with should be the defaults. Far be it from me to know if there's an easier way I somehow missed. That, and I've been burning CDs and DVDs. Fun.
At the job I've been installing, and re-installing MySQL, php, apache, and java among a few other programs. The version of MySQL I'm running doesn't work with php out of the box, and the settings to make it work breaks phpmyadmin. I've managed to find a happy medium that supports everything, but I think the settings I came up with should be the defaults. Far be it from me to know if there's an easier way I somehow missed. That, and I've been burning CDs and DVDs. Fun.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
who wants gmail?
Gmail has given me six invitations to dole out. If any of you bastards want a email account like biggest_looser@gmail.com, let me know. If you're some random person reading my blog, and don't know me, chances are I won't give you an invitation (I'm a bastard like that) so don't waste both of our time posting and asking for one. That goes for you, too, Tim. Also, you probably shouldn't post your email address on this blog unless you want spam, so I don't really know how to go about all this. How 'bout you throw a brick with your email address on it through a window at my house. If more than 6 people ask me for an account, I'll come up with some crazy competition to decide who gets them, or just play favorites. That's all, move along.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Laptop
I got a message from Comp USA late last week telling me that my laptop was ready to be picked up. I managed to make it out there on Saturday (going to rockville on a saturday afternoon two weeks before christmas was a dumb idea.) When I got there the guy at the service desk told me I owed them something on the order of $300 for parts and labor. This is despite the fact that Apple said they'd take care of it all for free and all I had to do was take my laptop to any AASP (which Comp USA is.) I asked about this, and they said something about having to give them a proof of purchase to prove that I have a waranty. I don't, however, have a waranty. I got a one-year waranty which has since expired, but this repair was covered by an extended waranty that Apple granted to any ibook within a range of serial numbers. Mine fell in that range. I asked about this, and they guy went back into the workshop, came back and argued some more, then let me take it without paying. So either the people at Comp USA are idiots and didn't read the form I filled out (which had all this information on it) or they figured they'd try to sucker me out of a few hundred dollars. On the plus side, I got to argue with a business over money, and tell a worker that I wanted to speak with his manager. A first for both. I've finally achieved the rank of annoying uppity customer.
Also, I saw Dodgeball. Hilarious.
Also, I saw Dodgeball. Hilarious.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
weekend update with that guy who isn't funny
Ahhh the weekend, a time when I don't have to go to work or school, or generally bathe or practice oral hygene. Seriously, though, I wash.
Friday night was uneventfull; Paul and I got high and hung out, but it was a fairly boring evening all in all.
Saturday I went up to Baltimore to see Edgar Allan Poe's house with Karen and Nina; it was a nice walk from Ninas appartment to the house, but I like walking and cities facinate me so there's no real news there. The house itself was unobtrusive and small, but Poe lived in poverty so I wasn't expecting a mansion. We got there shortly before it was going to close so we didn't have to pay to get in. The stairs are hard to navigate and the informative video playing in one of the rooms was put together, apparently, by a 4 year old with sticky fingers. If anybody wants to get drunk on cognac on E.A. Poe's birthday this year, just let me know. Oh, and bring a ski mask so we don't get caught on film. On the way back from the house we walked through this indoor food market place, can't remember the name but it a few blocks from Ninas place. It was weird in that cool circusy kind of way. When we got back to Ninas building she and Karen went up and I went home. Later, around 8ish, Paul and I went up to Ninas for her birthday party, and once everybody else showed up we went to this bar around the corner. There was this band there, and like a sucker, I bought their CD. And like me, it sucks. I'm not even going to waste time describing it. Now mind you, by the time I bought the CD I had around 3 large glasses of beer, so my judgement wasn't working full time (eventually, I think it went on sabbatical.) Most of us went back to Ninas place where the drinking and talking continued, but not before Tim and I raced up 23 flights of stairs because, for some reason, the elevator wasn't good enough for us. Running up that many stairs while drunk, only to go drink more, really does a number on ones feeling of well being. We made margaritas, then Nina and I wound up doing 4 shots each of the tequila I got her for her birthday. That's 9 drinks for me, a few more for Nina. Needless to say we were drunk. Slowly the bodies started walking out the door, and Karen, Nina, and I carried on a very drunk, meandering conversation before falling asleep... um... yeah.
The next morning Nina made us pancakes and baccon (which kicked ass, by the way) and some coffee that I think Tim gave her. Karen and I went back to the house where I showered and went home to practice piano, still hungover but wanting to do something with the day. The Gershwin pieces I used to play are a bit rusty, but the Rachmaninov Prelude in C# minor came back quite easily, which surprised me since it's a lot of complicated cords and the hands kindof get in eachothers way in parts. Some time this week I think I'm going to the piano store on Rt. 1 and check out the electric pianos. So anyway, we had dinner and I traded cars back with my dad (I had been driving his car that week so that my brother could practice on an automatic and take the driving test in something other than the van, which isn't great for parallel parking.) The next morning I get a call. It's my mom. My parking permit (which I need if I want to go to work and not get a parking ticket) was still at home, so I had to take a hour long detour on my way to work to pick up the permit. Only later did I realize that the garage door opener my dad uses was still in my car. Ah well, I'm going home later this week for Chanukah and can give it to him then.
That's about it. Some other interesting things happened, but nothing I'm going to broadcast on the internet. If you really want to know, just tie me down and put a coat hanger on the stove. It won't take long before I start talking.
Friday night was uneventfull; Paul and I got high and hung out, but it was a fairly boring evening all in all.
Saturday I went up to Baltimore to see Edgar Allan Poe's house with Karen and Nina; it was a nice walk from Ninas appartment to the house, but I like walking and cities facinate me so there's no real news there. The house itself was unobtrusive and small, but Poe lived in poverty so I wasn't expecting a mansion. We got there shortly before it was going to close so we didn't have to pay to get in. The stairs are hard to navigate and the informative video playing in one of the rooms was put together, apparently, by a 4 year old with sticky fingers. If anybody wants to get drunk on cognac on E.A. Poe's birthday this year, just let me know. Oh, and bring a ski mask so we don't get caught on film. On the way back from the house we walked through this indoor food market place, can't remember the name but it a few blocks from Ninas place. It was weird in that cool circusy kind of way. When we got back to Ninas building she and Karen went up and I went home. Later, around 8ish, Paul and I went up to Ninas for her birthday party, and once everybody else showed up we went to this bar around the corner. There was this band there, and like a sucker, I bought their CD. And like me, it sucks. I'm not even going to waste time describing it. Now mind you, by the time I bought the CD I had around 3 large glasses of beer, so my judgement wasn't working full time (eventually, I think it went on sabbatical.) Most of us went back to Ninas place where the drinking and talking continued, but not before Tim and I raced up 23 flights of stairs because, for some reason, the elevator wasn't good enough for us. Running up that many stairs while drunk, only to go drink more, really does a number on ones feeling of well being. We made margaritas, then Nina and I wound up doing 4 shots each of the tequila I got her for her birthday. That's 9 drinks for me, a few more for Nina. Needless to say we were drunk. Slowly the bodies started walking out the door, and Karen, Nina, and I carried on a very drunk, meandering conversation before falling asleep... um... yeah.
The next morning Nina made us pancakes and baccon (which kicked ass, by the way) and some coffee that I think Tim gave her. Karen and I went back to the house where I showered and went home to practice piano, still hungover but wanting to do something with the day. The Gershwin pieces I used to play are a bit rusty, but the Rachmaninov Prelude in C# minor came back quite easily, which surprised me since it's a lot of complicated cords and the hands kindof get in eachothers way in parts. Some time this week I think I'm going to the piano store on Rt. 1 and check out the electric pianos. So anyway, we had dinner and I traded cars back with my dad (I had been driving his car that week so that my brother could practice on an automatic and take the driving test in something other than the van, which isn't great for parallel parking.) The next morning I get a call. It's my mom. My parking permit (which I need if I want to go to work and not get a parking ticket) was still at home, so I had to take a hour long detour on my way to work to pick up the permit. Only later did I realize that the garage door opener my dad uses was still in my car. Ah well, I'm going home later this week for Chanukah and can give it to him then.
That's about it. Some other interesting things happened, but nothing I'm going to broadcast on the internet. If you really want to know, just tie me down and put a coat hanger on the stove. It won't take long before I start talking.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
I can't take credit for this...
...but I can post it in my blog. My dad just sent me this email; and I think I saw something like this on the West Wing once.
Subject: Dear Mr. Bush
Dear Mr President,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you have said, "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man and a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination.... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
"Patriotism means to stand by the country, it does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official...."
President Theodore Roosevelt
Subject: Dear Mr. Bush
Dear Mr President,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you have said, "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man and a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination.... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
- Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
- I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
- I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Leviticus 15:19-24. The problem is how to tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. Some have slapped me.
- When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Leviticus 1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
- I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
- A friend of mine feels even though eating shellfish is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord - Leviticus 11:10, that it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there degrees of abomination?
- Leviticus 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
- Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Leviticus 19:27. How should they die?
- I know from Leviticus 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
- My uncle has a farm. He violates Leviticus 9:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Leviticus 24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Leviticus 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
"Patriotism means to stand by the country, it does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official...."
President Theodore Roosevelt
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Nothing to see here
Man am I bored. It's not that I don't have anything to do; I have books I'm reading, classes to study for, and some side projects I'm working on with the hopes of making shit loads of money selling to the NSA. It's just that nothing really excites me anymore. This political season has left a sour taste in my mouth, so I don't feel like really following it (but I do anyway.) I don't know what I want at this point, and I'm tired of not really wanting anything. Complacency is soothing, but like Tim said, you have to want things to have excitement. So that's what I want. Excitement. Is there somewhere I can place an order?
I'm planing on volunteering for Habitat for Humanity at some point before spring. I have to figure out what things I'd be good at (apparently it isn't all hammering) and fill out the application. Assuming they work weekends, which I'm assuming they do since it's a volunteer based organization and most people need real jobs, it will give me something to do in my free time.
I've started really thinking about grad school, and I've narrowed it down to a few fields. I still like architecture, and building houses will probably increase my desire to design them. I'm also looking into meteorology (not broadcast meteorology), because honestly, who doesn't like staring at clouds? All I know at this point is that I don't want to program for a living. Don't get me wrong, I like programming, its just seems trivial lately. Maybe it's just my job. I would still like to be able to solve problems with computers, and architecture and meteorology both use computers to model things. Either way, if I don't get a job I enjoy at NASA or USGS or NOAA or some respectable company, I'll just go back to school. Then, if I still can't get a job I like, I'll teach. If I have to be miserable, at least I can pass it on to the next generation.
My laptop broke. I've been waiting for this to happen since I heard about an issue with the line of iBooks mine came from (the logic board, to be percise.) So now I have to mail my computer to Apple and have them fix it. The good thing is that if the problem is what I think it is, they'll fix it and handle shipping for free. If not, I could wind up paying through the nose. I hate computers, and if they weren't so damn efficient I wouldn't have anything to do with them.
This was kindof a downer post. Not entirely, just more than usual. I'm going to go do something fun.
I'm planing on volunteering for Habitat for Humanity at some point before spring. I have to figure out what things I'd be good at (apparently it isn't all hammering) and fill out the application. Assuming they work weekends, which I'm assuming they do since it's a volunteer based organization and most people need real jobs, it will give me something to do in my free time.
I've started really thinking about grad school, and I've narrowed it down to a few fields. I still like architecture, and building houses will probably increase my desire to design them. I'm also looking into meteorology (not broadcast meteorology), because honestly, who doesn't like staring at clouds? All I know at this point is that I don't want to program for a living. Don't get me wrong, I like programming, its just seems trivial lately. Maybe it's just my job. I would still like to be able to solve problems with computers, and architecture and meteorology both use computers to model things. Either way, if I don't get a job I enjoy at NASA or USGS or NOAA or some respectable company, I'll just go back to school. Then, if I still can't get a job I like, I'll teach. If I have to be miserable, at least I can pass it on to the next generation.
My laptop broke. I've been waiting for this to happen since I heard about an issue with the line of iBooks mine came from (the logic board, to be percise.) So now I have to mail my computer to Apple and have them fix it. The good thing is that if the problem is what I think it is, they'll fix it and handle shipping for free. If not, I could wind up paying through the nose. I hate computers, and if they weren't so damn efficient I wouldn't have anything to do with them.
This was kindof a downer post. Not entirely, just more than usual. I'm going to go do something fun.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Fantastic
Man am I glad that's over. Now I can go back to not paying attention to what the government's doing until, 3 years from now, they advertise while I'm watching my scripted reality TV. That's the great thing about democracy, you don't have to do shit. Just sit back, and let those in charge make the important decisions. That's why they're there, so you don't need to think about what's good for you. It's not so bad that the rich people have a lot of say in the government; they already have what they need, so I'm sure they have everybody else's interest at heart. Could you imagine if the impoverished were given power? They'd be all "gimme food", "gimme medicine", "at least let me sleep on the park benches". Greedy bastards; they should learn from the rich. The rich obviously know the way the system should be used; they made it. And if I hear one more complaint about dead Iraqis, I'm going to fucking loose it. They're not Americans, so our government doesn't need to care about them, and since this fine government is "for the people, by the people", you too don't need to worry about them. And nobody can complain about not having a job. The U.S. military will provide every able-bodied american with a job for life. Man, some people just don't get it.
Seriously, though, we're all doomed. My only suggestion is for every liberal to fuck like bunnies, with a member of the opposite sex of course (not to be biggoted, but homosexual sex doesn't produce babies; they can adopt, or at least they should be able to), and raise your kids right so that maybe 18 years from now we'll be able to change things (in congress at least, 20 years for the president). Assuming we make it that long.
Seriously, though, we're all doomed. My only suggestion is for every liberal to fuck like bunnies, with a member of the opposite sex of course (not to be biggoted, but homosexual sex doesn't produce babies; they can adopt, or at least they should be able to), and raise your kids right so that maybe 18 years from now we'll be able to change things (in congress at least, 20 years for the president). Assuming we make it that long.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Back from California
Going to California on business was an interesting experience. I wasn't crazy about the timing of my flights, which were early Sunday morning and late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Still, I got to meet with some decent people over at JPL and throw some ideas around. I'm working now on something called Object Oriented Data Technology, or OODT. I thought that they had it developed enough that it actually did stuff; why else would they have a conference teaching people how to use it? Unfortunately, all it does is provide a framework within which one can develop programs. So it's going to take some time to get this thing working, but that means I get to program (and in Java, nonetheless) fairly regularly for a few months. Over lunch I was talking with a few of the lead project people, and it turns out the NSA is very interested in any solution to one specific data management problem within OODT. The NSA can't say what their problem is, so they're looking into problems other groups are solving to see if any are similar enough to help them out. It looks like this problem is, and I'll be working on a solution. Now normally I don't like helping parts of our government that spy on people or in general do bad things, but this same problem is showing up almost everywhere that large amounts of poorly structured data needs to be searchable. The cancer research at NIH is another group looking into this, and I figure if I wind up helping one group of people search through emails looking for terrorists (or political dissidents, activists, whoever-the-government-doesn't-like-today, etc.), while also helping scientists organize cancer research, I'm coming out even. Plus, if nobody has come up with a solution yet, and I do, it would be a decent subject for my thesis, if I ever go that route. So for now I work on presenting pictures of comets and meteors in a usefull and meaningfull way, and if I wind up solving a huge problem in information technology along the way so be it.
As for the rest of the trip, there isn't much to talk about. It rained most of the time I was there, so I didn't get to experience typical "California weather", but I was either working, sleeping, or trying to do homework (sleeping), the whole time anyway. My hotel wasn't anywhere of note. Pasadena has some nice parts I would imagine, but not where I was staying, so I just wound up wandering the streets on Sunday looking for something... anything... interesting. Never found it, but I did get to see a lot of palm trees.
One interesting thing happened while I was there. Monday morning I got to JPL early, because I thought the conference began at 7am (which is what the email said) and found out that the visitor center doesn't open until 7:30. It was 6:30 at this point, and I started worrying that I had missed some important detail, and wouldn't meet up with the people I needed to. Now JPL has fairly tight security (unless you're a deer, then you can just wander into the facility from the hills) so I couldn't get in to talk to anybody. I called Tim to see if I could get him to log into my computer at the astronomy department and read me an email that had the information. Here's where things got interesting. I know my password based on shape; I can type it if my hands are on a keyboard, but damned if I know what the actual keys are. I went up to the security desk to ask if I could look at the keyboard the guard had, so that I could figure out my password. This guy didn't want to have anything to do with it. Now I would understand not letting someone from the outside have access to a security guards computer, but how much sensitive information is printed on the keyboard? Either way, this guy was no help. Eventually I realized that I had a laptop with me, which solved that problem, and I found out that we were supposed to meet at 7:30, so I just sat around and waited until people showed up.
One last thing... airplanes, like most other things in modern society other than perhaps pro-basketball locker rooms, are not designed with people over 6' in mind. Especially if those people happen to fly coach. Next time I need to fly somewhere, I'm just going to have wings surgically implanted on my back. That can't be any more uncomfortable than the seats they put me in.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Loan Consolidation Fun
So I'm trying to have my student loans consolidated, now that I've graduated and have a job. This job, however, lets me take a few classes per semester for free (since it's a faculty position at UMD) which means that I still show up as enrolled at the university. Now, the loan consolidation agency won't let me consolidate my loans as long as I'm enrolled. So despite the fact that I have graduated, am no longer taking out student loans or paying tuition, and by all reasonable accounts should be starting to take care of my loans, the loan agency won't let me move ahead as long as, apparently, I have an interest in learning. Now, the plus side is that as long as they don't let me consolidate my loans, I don't accrue interest on one loan (the other has been accruing interest since I was given the money, and I'll pay that one off first). The minus side is that if interest rates go up between now and when I actually can consolidate my loans, I get stuck with a shitty deal. It's not really the money that angers me, it's the stupid bureaucracy. There are probably more details that would make this post more/less interesting (you pick), like my social security number, bank account number, or various insecurities... but who wants to know those? You, 212-xx-xxxx?
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
California
So it looks like I'll be going to LA for a few days next week. I'm attending a conference at Caltech for my doings with the astronomy department, which will occupy me from around 7am to noonish Monday and Tuesday, so I'll have Sunday and Monday afternoon free. Do any of you have any idea what I should do with myself? I'd rather not spend all my free time reading in my m|hotel room. I was thinking about just wandering around the city and seeing what I could find, but chances are nothing would interest me and I would just go for an extended walk. So here's an opportunity to tell me what to do. Maybe I could throw together a crappy script and see if any producer is stoned enough to take me on. It would be about an amusement park with black jack and hookers. Actually, forget the amusement park and black jack. Ahh forget the whole thing.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
It's been a while
I haven't posted in almost a month, but what are you going to do? sue me? Anyway, my life has basically returned to normal... working at the astronomy department and going to classes, only this time it's tilted more toward work and less toward school. I'm taking a meteorology class (METO400) and a linguistics class (LING444), which on the surface don't seem to be related. That's because they aren't. They both are, however, good candidates for artificial intelligence, and I would like to have my computer speaking english and predicting the weather before I die (and really, I would like to see it prevent me from dying too). I could even try to have it do both, and I'd have my own little meteorologist on the monitor. I'm thinking simple weather forecasts, like "It's gon' rain" or something. I don't know.
I need to go on more dates, because I had no idea what I was doing last night. I'm used to knowing a woman first, and going on dates once it's apparent that we both like eachother, so when I'm put in a situation where I hardly know the woman, I'm left confused and disoriented. I have no idea what to talk about, and I forget everything I had planned on saying. That's what happened last night; I met her at a party a couple weeks ago, and this is the first time we hung out not surrounded by (and being) loud, drunk people. Still, I had a good time, and I hope we do it again. I just hope I can take all my friends advice to heart and not be an asshole. That's my brothers job.
Speaking of which, my brother's working on getting eagle (in boy scouts) and needs to do a project that benefits the community, so if anybody is interested in doing some construction for the humane society, let me know. I don't know when he plans on doing it, so I don't really have any more information.
Now go away, I ain't got nothing else to say to you.
I need to go on more dates, because I had no idea what I was doing last night. I'm used to knowing a woman first, and going on dates once it's apparent that we both like eachother, so when I'm put in a situation where I hardly know the woman, I'm left confused and disoriented. I have no idea what to talk about, and I forget everything I had planned on saying. That's what happened last night; I met her at a party a couple weeks ago, and this is the first time we hung out not surrounded by (and being) loud, drunk people. Still, I had a good time, and I hope we do it again. I just hope I can take all my friends advice to heart and not be an asshole. That's my brothers job.
Speaking of which, my brother's working on getting eagle (in boy scouts) and needs to do a project that benefits the community, so if anybody is interested in doing some construction for the humane society, let me know. I don't know when he plans on doing it, so I don't really have any more information.
Now go away, I ain't got nothing else to say to you.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Crazy?
So I'm sitting there today, in my room, just trying to calm my mind down a little. I turned off all the lights and any sound-producing device, got comfortable, and started letting my mind wander. I try counting down from 10 to zero over and over, which usually does a good job removing my attention from reality without knocking me out, and I start having a conversation with some people. Mind you, all these people are made up, but I'm half dreaming so it's excusable. I think. Anyway, I'm having a little argument with some guy and he uses the fact that he did something (what, I can't remember) on his birthday. My response was "you're lying, you never had a birthday. You don't really exist." He disappears, and I continue the conversation with everybody else. I eventually drifted into unconsciousness, and woke up groggy as all hell.
Weird.
Weird.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Not Guilty
Went to court today to contest a ticket I got from an accident this spring. It had been raining earlier and I lost control when I hit a slick spot on a curve in the road while breaking. Hit the jersey barrier, totaled the car, but didn't hit anybody else and I wasn't hurt. The cop got there afterwards and issued a ticket for driving faster than reasonable. I got to court at 8:30, which is when they told me to be there, despite the court not opening until 9:00. They say it's so that people get there on time. I figure, if "on time" is 9:00, tell people 9:00 and let them decide how early they want to get there. I was one of the last cases being heard, so I sat around for about two hours before being called up. It went very quickly; the judge asked the cop if he saw the accident, "no", he then asked if there were any witnesses, *sound of crickets*, asked me how I plead, "not guilty." Judge: "not guilty." It took all of 30 seconds. Got back to my car just as the meter expired (wouldn't that be funny, getting a parking ticket while contesting a moving violation), went home, and now I'm at work.
In other news, my sister is coming over to take a couch and foreman grill (we're getting a newer, better grill) and have me install some programs on her new iBook. She has OS 10.3, while I have OS 10.2, so I'm going to borrow her installation CD and upgrade my laptop, assuming it's compatible.
In other news, my sister is coming over to take a couch and foreman grill (we're getting a newer, better grill) and have me install some programs on her new iBook. She has OS 10.3, while I have OS 10.2, so I'm going to borrow her installation CD and upgrade my laptop, assuming it's compatible.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Lazy
That's the best word to describe my posting habits lately. Now, I'm normally lazy, so that alone isn't enough to justify not posting, but I've been lazy across the board, so I haven't got much to talk about. Anyway, here goes.
Went to NJ last weekend, going up again this weekend. I'm "working" durring the week, but between Tuesday and Friday of this week, I don't have anything to work on, so instead I read the news or play freecell. My brother and sister came back from NJ on Tuesday, and we're all heading back up Friday afternoon; my parents are staying all week. It's a little weird staying in my grandfathers house now that he's passed away, and I still feel like I can't touch or move anything (he was a little OCD when it came to keeping the house clean and in order.) I'll probably spend most of the time at the beach anyway. I'm going to Ocean City with Tim and Parker and Parkers sister and other people who I don't know for the last weekend in August, so I will have had a lot of beach this summer. Maybe it will help give me a tan; I need all the help I can get since I work in an office with no windows most of the time that the sun is out.
I'm not completely moved into my new room. I moved most of my crap a while ago, but my closet is much smaller now and I couldn't find room for a lot of my clothes (and I don't even have that many.) I managed to figure it out, and moved everything in. Then I vacummed my old room for the people moving in (when I moved in, there was dust, paint, and dry-wall chunks everywhere, and I like to leave things a little better than I found them.)
Skip this paragraph if you don't care about computers. This computer project I'm working on has hit a problem that I'm not sure how to fix. The problem is this: I need to install a compiler (a program that turns source-code into a program that can be run) on a completely blank system, but the compiler is given as source-code, which means that I need to first compile it before I can compile anything. Problem is, I have no compiler, which is why I'm trying to install one. It's like buying a screwdriver that comes in multiple pieces that need to be screwed together. Sofar I haven't had any luck finding a compiler that doesn't need to be compiled, but they have to exist.
What else what else what else... I've signed up for reinstatement at UMD and tuition-remission from the astronomy department, so i should be able to take classes in the fall for free. I'm looking at ASTR330, which is Solar System astronomy, and LING444, which is Child Language. The astronomy course is for work since it would be nice to understand the data I'm working on, and the linguistics course is to help me understand how humans learn language, in order to help me figure out how to teach computers language. I think I have a firm enough grounding in linguistics that this course shouldn't be that hard, and I'm finally looking at language in a scientific manner, which makes it a lot easier to understand. I hope those classes don't fill up by the time my application for reinstatement goes through. They said it could be a couple weeks.
I'm looking forward to more people living in my house. (Yes, my house. while I wasn't the first person to notice the house was available to rent, I was the first to actually consider it and talk to the landlord, so I am claiming it as mine. Also, I pee everywhere, so the territory is marked.) Leslie and her boyfriend are moving in in a couple weeks, and Paul should be moving back at some point in August, so the population (not including Keith, who lives in the basement and we rarely see) will double.
Oh, Bill Clinton is going to be on The Daily Show on Monday. I advise you to watch it.
Went to NJ last weekend, going up again this weekend. I'm "working" durring the week, but between Tuesday and Friday of this week, I don't have anything to work on, so instead I read the news or play freecell. My brother and sister came back from NJ on Tuesday, and we're all heading back up Friday afternoon; my parents are staying all week. It's a little weird staying in my grandfathers house now that he's passed away, and I still feel like I can't touch or move anything (he was a little OCD when it came to keeping the house clean and in order.) I'll probably spend most of the time at the beach anyway. I'm going to Ocean City with Tim and Parker and Parkers sister and other people who I don't know for the last weekend in August, so I will have had a lot of beach this summer. Maybe it will help give me a tan; I need all the help I can get since I work in an office with no windows most of the time that the sun is out.
I'm not completely moved into my new room. I moved most of my crap a while ago, but my closet is much smaller now and I couldn't find room for a lot of my clothes (and I don't even have that many.) I managed to figure it out, and moved everything in. Then I vacummed my old room for the people moving in (when I moved in, there was dust, paint, and dry-wall chunks everywhere, and I like to leave things a little better than I found them.)
Skip this paragraph if you don't care about computers. This computer project I'm working on has hit a problem that I'm not sure how to fix. The problem is this: I need to install a compiler (a program that turns source-code into a program that can be run) on a completely blank system, but the compiler is given as source-code, which means that I need to first compile it before I can compile anything. Problem is, I have no compiler, which is why I'm trying to install one. It's like buying a screwdriver that comes in multiple pieces that need to be screwed together. Sofar I haven't had any luck finding a compiler that doesn't need to be compiled, but they have to exist.
What else what else what else... I've signed up for reinstatement at UMD and tuition-remission from the astronomy department, so i should be able to take classes in the fall for free. I'm looking at ASTR330, which is Solar System astronomy, and LING444, which is Child Language. The astronomy course is for work since it would be nice to understand the data I'm working on, and the linguistics course is to help me understand how humans learn language, in order to help me figure out how to teach computers language. I think I have a firm enough grounding in linguistics that this course shouldn't be that hard, and I'm finally looking at language in a scientific manner, which makes it a lot easier to understand. I hope those classes don't fill up by the time my application for reinstatement goes through. They said it could be a couple weeks.
I'm looking forward to more people living in my house. (Yes, my house. while I wasn't the first person to notice the house was available to rent, I was the first to actually consider it and talk to the landlord, so I am claiming it as mine. Also, I pee everywhere, so the territory is marked.) Leslie and her boyfriend are moving in in a couple weeks, and Paul should be moving back at some point in August, so the population (not including Keith, who lives in the basement and we rarely see) will double.
Oh, Bill Clinton is going to be on The Daily Show on Monday. I advise you to watch it.
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