So, Friday I went to AWA with Nathan, Kyle, and Jiaz. Did not manage to run into Piro, not that that suprises me, but did have a throughly enjoyable time anways. As was expected, Naruto character were everywhere, though not many were Naruto himself. As far as Cosplay goes, there were several disturbing images, mostly invoked by either eating-disorder or chubby girls wearing far less than I'd fell they should, though I think the record should show that I feel these types should wear no less than 2 layers and an overcoat. On the top of the list however was the Rose Ball attendee who decided to go as a Pikachu in a Prom dress/Wedding Reception gown. I cannot convey this in words, so I won't try; just don't injure yourselves trying to imagine it. There were also the typical cop-outs of creativity, Sound Test blocks, Tetris blocks, creative but not very elaborate. Several Vashs, Squalls, White Mages (of FFXI), an Irvine, a few Wolfwoods, a Kingdom Hearts Cloud, a few Yunas, and assorted other miscellaneous characters, Oh and a fair number of assorted Catgirls (ugh) and Sailor Scouts (actually, primarily Sailor Moon). If I had to chose my 4 favorite Cosplayer groups I'd go with:
4) Yugi from Yugioh simply because of the look when Jiaz realized that I was right when I told him who the girl with the really really funky hair was supposed to be.
3) The Keybladed Riku and Sora from Kingdom Hearts weilding the Kingdom Key (Sora) and the blade that Jiaz and I can't remember the name for (Riku).
2) Lily and Futch, complete with a tiny white dragon doll, from Suikoden III, Lily's costume was better done than Futch's, but I say that mostly because I happen to like Lily's hat more than Futch's headband, Bright was cute though.
1) The better pair of Riku and Sora complete not with Keyblades but with a Goofy doll (Sora) and a Heartless doll in her purse (Riku). In retrospect, I should've asked if she made the Heartless, it was pretty damn cute.
As far as merchandise goes, the shirts and posters and wallscrolls aren't my style, so while I looked at them, there was nothing really all that impressive. References to Hentai, Glomping, Kawaii, Geekdom, Tentacles, etc, nothing too outstanding or impressive. The Japanese Manga place that Jiaz and I favored in the dealer's room had quite an outstanding selection, including Hot Gimmick in Japanese, art books for Phantom Brave, Disgaea, and Valkerie Profile (bonus points to anyone who's even heard of that), a Star Ocean 3 figure of Cliff, Japanese Disgaea manga, and a little Yuzuyu (of Aishiteruze [Cannot spell this for the life of me, I'll fix it when I get to Tech] Baby ) keychain. It was cute and not to costly, but I'm broke and a disembodied Yuzuyu head is kinda creepy. There was an abundance of weapons, mostly swords, sais, and throwing items (cards, knives, and shurukens) as well as a few maces, axes, and hammers. Plenty of Gundam Models and some action figures. There was an asian gentleman with an extensive selection of Jpop, Video Game, and Anime Soundtracks, but at massively inflated prices. I did stumble upon both sizes of Johnathan plushies from Kaleido Star but I'm not certain if the larger one was a display or for sale, ADV didn't have their own booth. Wizzywig had a adorable selection of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronices Moogles in all 4 of the major colors (white, red, green, and blue for those who have never played the game). I saw a little girl with a moogle earlier at AWA which looked more like a Kingdom Hearts moogle but might have been from Crystal Chronicles, I didn't have a good look, but I didn't see them at any of the displays. None of the other plushies at any of the booths struck me as being kawaii enough with the exception of that Fox thing from Inuyasha.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
(Gatech) "Let's get retarded..."
Okay, no insensitivity intended by the title, just a complete Mac Hall reference and as well as a self-referential degridation. I apparently botched my latest Chemistry Lab, being off by a factor of 10 on a Lab where accuracy is 60% of the grade, so my generous TA handed it back to do again by Monday; guess what I'll be spending my Sunday doing. I'd reference my complete idiocy as to Mastering Physics, but fortunately I don't know the jpeg addresses, suffice to say, I apparently cannot read numbers and find which cancel out, really really terrible. I did discover however, much to the suprise of Mastering Physics' Tech support, that 20 incorrect guesses on a single question locks out the rest of the question, which can be really damaging to a GPA, fortunately most of my homework grades for Mastering Physics are still in the low A to high B range. As for the Diff Eq. test that I tore through faster than anyone else, I ended up with a 40.5/65 which is the C range for the Test but not too terrible for not having any clue what his tests were like. Apparently I guessed the contents rather well, but was flawed in my execution of everything. Draw my axes backwards on the graph and generally had serious issues with the "plus or minus" concept that occurs with square roots and realizing that that creates 2 seperate equations. That said, I apparently made an unmodified 17/20 on my Chemistry test and a 89/84 on Java so I ought to be fine in all my classes despite my own best efforts at sabotage.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
(Gatech) Another one bites the dust...
Another week is finally concluded, despite the best efforts of our unfriendly regional weather. Got through my two tests today in what I hope was good order, I was the first finished with Diff Eq's. We were allowed one side of a 8.5"x11" piece of paper for all the notes we wanted, I had alot less then the people around me, fortunately I anticipated most of what was going to be on the test. Unfortunately the Euler was worth alot less than I'd hoped (and was really damn easy on top of that). The phase and bifurcation diagramming I'd hoped wouldn't have made it on, but I still think I managed to convey the general idea though I concede that I suck when it comes to diagramming diff eqs. I don't know about the roots stuff, I think I had the right idea, but somehow I feel the fact that I claimed the second half of the problem was impossible doesn't seem like the greatest thing. I guess perhaps the two constant sets could have been different, but I wasn't totally sure about the process as a whole. I cribbed the formula for the Bernelli equation and the eventual simplification, but I ended up trying to solve 1/((C - 2x)^(1/4)) = -1, which doesn't occur, so I guess something went astray somewhere. Unfortunately that Bernelli accounted for the substition question as well, but the remained was just a basic diff eq that was simple enough.
Chemistry was pretty easy, no real curve balls, and for once I actually had a grip on what we were doing, not the first done this time, but among them (and for the worriers out there, yes, I checked over my work on both tests). No partial pressure question which suprised me. Pity I failed Bloch's class, I can't even get partial credit on my multiple choice this time but I should still be fine. Lab is going pretty well as well, I think my partner is very accurate, which is great. I've now got my TA's lab report preferences figured out, so the 83 Average on Lab reports should be moving up into the 95 range shortly (especially as the labs get more and more Excel intensive, I've got all sorts of Excel talents).
I went on Webwork to take a look at my CS grade so far, apparently I botched the applet badly enough to not get credit, so that was a sliver off my Homework grade, but nothing I can't balance out easily enough given the way things are headed. I apparently made a 89/84 on the test, getting everything correct and the extra credit, though I'll have to pick up my test at Recit next Tuesday to believe with my own eyes.
Chemistry was pretty easy, no real curve balls, and for once I actually had a grip on what we were doing, not the first done this time, but among them (and for the worriers out there, yes, I checked over my work on both tests). No partial pressure question which suprised me. Pity I failed Bloch's class, I can't even get partial credit on my multiple choice this time but I should still be fine. Lab is going pretty well as well, I think my partner is very accurate, which is great. I've now got my TA's lab report preferences figured out, so the 83 Average on Lab reports should be moving up into the 95 range shortly (especially as the labs get more and more Excel intensive, I've got all sorts of Excel talents).
I went on Webwork to take a look at my CS grade so far, apparently I botched the applet badly enough to not get credit, so that was a sliver off my Homework grade, but nothing I can't balance out easily enough given the way things are headed. I apparently made a 89/84 on the test, getting everything correct and the extra credit, though I'll have to pick up my test at Recit next Tuesday to believe with my own eyes.
And once again...
Just two more quick notes, again with the belated birthdays.
One to the artist/writer of Hana Kimi, just cause it seems like the obligatory admission of my pursuance of manga.
And of course, one to Kyle for being the first of all of us to break out of the teenage years. Yay for Kyle.
One to the artist/writer of Hana Kimi, just cause it seems like the obligatory admission of my pursuance of manga.
And of course, one to Kyle for being the first of all of us to break out of the teenage years. Yay for Kyle.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
A quick side note:
Happy belated sixth birthday to Google.
Happy belated fifth birthday to Blogger.
Happy belated first birthday to Kawaii Radio.
Oh, and, I think I start trying out Ad-sense, but I have no clue how they'd managed to associte ads with my posts. Given the frightening things that Gmail's tried to show me, I'm not certain that it'd work well at all.
Happy belated fifth birthday to Blogger.
Happy belated first birthday to Kawaii Radio.
Oh, and, I think I start trying out Ad-sense, but I have no clue how they'd managed to associte ads with my posts. Given the frightening things that Gmail's tried to show me, I'm not certain that it'd work well at all.
Blog Conglomorate:
Is it conglomerate? *Shrug*, Whatever, not looking it up.
Anyways, the radio was actually playing The Smithereens, I didn't know that that ever happened these days, I guess they're a bit more mainstream that I thought.
So, I've decided that watching Mexicans distribute sour cream through a large, transparent housing, caulking gun is perhaps one of the most disturbing images that I can readily recall. I guess that's one of the key signs that I'm at a college campus when it's practically industrial sized food dispensers. Having a mental image of giant food pellet dispensers like in all the cartoons that they use to feed the smart hampsters.
Anyways, as Jiaz was keen to point out, college has kinda killed both our blogs to a practical halt, and Kyle's as well, though he's freaking prolific compared to the two of us these days. Props to Kyle (yes, I did just want to use that phrase).
I have, as of now, completed all 5 Harry Potter books that Mrs. Rowling has released. Very good reads and I look forward to the books. I'm quite interested to see who they cast as Viktor, Cho, and Fleur (which still sounds like a name straight out of Disgaea though that's another matter altogether). All around there's a bit more violence than I'd expected given the intended audience of the first book, but it's all very well done (My favorite bit being, and shameful this is to say, the use of Latin roots for all the spells). I'm quite satisfied that the 5th book did not end at all as I expected, many things that I expected did not occur and many things I did expected didn't, all of which is a very good thing in my opinion.
Despite the amount of time I seem to be able to dedicate to reading (evidenced by the fact that I've finished 5 books in 4 weeks, plus all the side literature: 4 volumes of Hot Gimmick and Ha Jin's Ocean of Works) I'm doing quite well in all my classes as things stand (and I believe I'll do fine on the Tests of the coming week) mostly because instead of sacraficing schoolwork for reading, I've exchanged one vice for another, shelving anime in interest for the coming new season and patience at the reduced rate of fansubs given the start of school.
I'm thinking I ought to start flagging my titles to posts with a parenthetical note to warn my readers as to what type of post to expect. Ie: (Rant), (Comics), (Anime), (Gaming), (Gatech), (Misc), etc. So, sound like a good idea, bad idea?
Anyways, the radio was actually playing The Smithereens, I didn't know that that ever happened these days, I guess they're a bit more mainstream that I thought.
So, I've decided that watching Mexicans distribute sour cream through a large, transparent housing, caulking gun is perhaps one of the most disturbing images that I can readily recall. I guess that's one of the key signs that I'm at a college campus when it's practically industrial sized food dispensers. Having a mental image of giant food pellet dispensers like in all the cartoons that they use to feed the smart hampsters.
Anyways, as Jiaz was keen to point out, college has kinda killed both our blogs to a practical halt, and Kyle's as well, though he's freaking prolific compared to the two of us these days. Props to Kyle (yes, I did just want to use that phrase).
I have, as of now, completed all 5 Harry Potter books that Mrs. Rowling has released. Very good reads and I look forward to the books. I'm quite interested to see who they cast as Viktor, Cho, and Fleur (which still sounds like a name straight out of Disgaea though that's another matter altogether). All around there's a bit more violence than I'd expected given the intended audience of the first book, but it's all very well done (My favorite bit being, and shameful this is to say, the use of Latin roots for all the spells). I'm quite satisfied that the 5th book did not end at all as I expected, many things that I expected did not occur and many things I did expected didn't, all of which is a very good thing in my opinion.
Despite the amount of time I seem to be able to dedicate to reading (evidenced by the fact that I've finished 5 books in 4 weeks, plus all the side literature: 4 volumes of Hot Gimmick and Ha Jin's Ocean of Works) I'm doing quite well in all my classes as things stand (and I believe I'll do fine on the Tests of the coming week) mostly because instead of sacraficing schoolwork for reading, I've exchanged one vice for another, shelving anime in interest for the coming new season and patience at the reduced rate of fansubs given the start of school.
I'm thinking I ought to start flagging my titles to posts with a parenthetical note to warn my readers as to what type of post to expect. Ie: (Rant), (Comics), (Anime), (Gaming), (Gatech), (Misc), etc. So, sound like a good idea, bad idea?
Saturday, August 21, 2004
In the end of the beginning...
So, first week of Tech is finished, my schedule is now cemented as stands unless the will of a Registrar be enacted (though I don't see why that would occur, but I guess it's a possiliblity that I have to concede from the standpoint of truth). It's not exactly everything that I ever hoped for, but I should be able to survive it, assuming the book stores managed to meet my academic needs sometime before I start hurting for wont of what they lack. I do wish they'd coordinate these things though, I can't get Chem Lab Book at B&N, I can't get PRS's at Engineer's, I'm just moving back and forth between these two challenging the integrity of my impoverished savings account. So, without further ado, the present Fall 2004 lineup of courses contains:
Introduction to Chemistry - Yeah, I have to take this again, and lab as well because I managed to fail that as well, I swear that something went horribly wrong with the grading of my Lab Practicum but I really don't have a way, or the will after all this time, to try and prove that, so I guess I'll just have to suffer through both components of the class. The professor this year, whose name I don't know, is you, carefree, yet to be broken by Tech. That ought to change, should be fun to watch it happen. Either way, he's a worse teacher than Block in the sense that he teaches the book, but that's really what I need, Block just reinforced, and that didn't do me much good, since the book didn't explain it too well, and she was the one who wrote the brink. So, the up side is that I didn't have to buy a book, the downside is that this is one course I should've only had to take once.
CS 1322, Java - Oh boy, more Java. After a whole summer of the crap you'd think I'd hate to do this, but guess what, it's a requirement for the rest of my years as EE. What great fun this'll be. Even better, I have the same professor. Glad to know that my TBA materialzed as Waters again, this time I won't use Emacs though, so I won't have such a lopsided homework grade, that's a blessing I guess. This one should be rather easy, since I've seen it all before, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to enjoy it in any way, shape, form, or whatnot.
Differential Equations - Hmmm...Mark Demers is also one of those younger men to be teaching such a course. The other day he was just solving Diff Eqs to demonstrate a Theorem that is the basis for the course. So he'd throw up something and then the answer, no work, nothing. Scared the whole class cause we were all desperately trying to figure out how he was doing it. Someone actually asked, and he admitted that we'd be learning how to solve basic equations starting next week. But still, that was such an odd approach, cause he was just throwing equations on the board, commenting on how most of it was math that we'd never see, but that he for some reason felt had some usable implications despite all that. Either way, he's really damn softspoken and recovering from a cough, so despite lecturing in a Skiles classroom, it's a strain to hear what he says. Fortunately, he writes what he says verbatim, so that's not really a major issue. Class ought not to be that bad, but we'll see how hard Diff Eq's can be, since I've not done but the most basic of related rates in quite awhile.
Physics I - I don't know precisely why I put this off from last Semester, but I did, and I don't think I totally regret it. It isn't cool that I couldn't just borrow a book cause they changed it, and that they're no longer using Webwork but this vicious other online system that they use to ask all kinds of stupid questions. Either way, I don't like the book's approach of using 4 different models and diagrams for every problem (mostly because that means I have to draw them all to get credit for some of the most basic problems), but even worse, we don't even get like equations and math until the next semester. It's quite unfortunate that Tech wouldn't take AP Physics B, cause I've already learned everything that this class has to offer, but I just have to prove it, so I guess I will.
Other sundry blogging will be forthcoming, but now that academics are aside, my hands are aching.
Introduction to Chemistry - Yeah, I have to take this again, and lab as well because I managed to fail that as well, I swear that something went horribly wrong with the grading of my Lab Practicum but I really don't have a way, or the will after all this time, to try and prove that, so I guess I'll just have to suffer through both components of the class. The professor this year, whose name I don't know, is you, carefree, yet to be broken by Tech. That ought to change, should be fun to watch it happen. Either way, he's a worse teacher than Block in the sense that he teaches the book, but that's really what I need, Block just reinforced, and that didn't do me much good, since the book didn't explain it too well, and she was the one who wrote the brink. So, the up side is that I didn't have to buy a book, the downside is that this is one course I should've only had to take once.
CS 1322, Java - Oh boy, more Java. After a whole summer of the crap you'd think I'd hate to do this, but guess what, it's a requirement for the rest of my years as EE. What great fun this'll be. Even better, I have the same professor. Glad to know that my TBA materialzed as Waters again, this time I won't use Emacs though, so I won't have such a lopsided homework grade, that's a blessing I guess. This one should be rather easy, since I've seen it all before, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to enjoy it in any way, shape, form, or whatnot.
Differential Equations - Hmmm...Mark Demers is also one of those younger men to be teaching such a course. The other day he was just solving Diff Eqs to demonstrate a Theorem that is the basis for the course. So he'd throw up something and then the answer, no work, nothing. Scared the whole class cause we were all desperately trying to figure out how he was doing it. Someone actually asked, and he admitted that we'd be learning how to solve basic equations starting next week. But still, that was such an odd approach, cause he was just throwing equations on the board, commenting on how most of it was math that we'd never see, but that he for some reason felt had some usable implications despite all that. Either way, he's really damn softspoken and recovering from a cough, so despite lecturing in a Skiles classroom, it's a strain to hear what he says. Fortunately, he writes what he says verbatim, so that's not really a major issue. Class ought not to be that bad, but we'll see how hard Diff Eq's can be, since I've not done but the most basic of related rates in quite awhile.
Physics I - I don't know precisely why I put this off from last Semester, but I did, and I don't think I totally regret it. It isn't cool that I couldn't just borrow a book cause they changed it, and that they're no longer using Webwork but this vicious other online system that they use to ask all kinds of stupid questions. Either way, I don't like the book's approach of using 4 different models and diagrams for every problem (mostly because that means I have to draw them all to get credit for some of the most basic problems), but even worse, we don't even get like equations and math until the next semester. It's quite unfortunate that Tech wouldn't take AP Physics B, cause I've already learned everything that this class has to offer, but I just have to prove it, so I guess I will.
Other sundry blogging will be forthcoming, but now that academics are aside, my hands are aching.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Yeah, it's official
I have to retake Java this semster in order to qualify for ECE 2025, I asked my advisor about the conflicting details and got the worse of the two possible responses. I didn't ask if the information on Oscar was outdated or merely inaccurate of EE majors (I shudder to think of a situation where I could change majors to take ECE 2025 and then change back, but this might be the case, I mean, I really hate to think that a class should be harder to get into if it's your major, but who am I to question it, eh?). Oh well. Then to add biting insult to the injury, my advisor fired off an afterthought email reminding me that I have to retake Chem as a pre-req for another class later on (getting later all the time with having to retake Java). The bad part is that with my schedule out of wack, I don't know when I can schedule that Orchestra audition, hopefully I can pull off some last minute practicing though, hopefully I don't have to be too impressive to get in as a Bass cause I certainly haven't practiced at all over the summer. Once again it didn't occur to me that there'd be auditions for a thing like this, guess I've got to stop trying to skate through life and start putting out real effort, what a shame.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Well Jiaz, guess I spoke to soon.
Yeah, it exists:
[Spork] Pugyuru 11.avi
Worse yet, it's short for SailorSpork, this world scares me sometimes.
[Spork] Pugyuru 11.avi
Worse yet, it's short for SailorSpork, this world scares me sometimes.
It figures...
...Mac Hall is down the moment that I want to show Kyle Ian's latest rant.
...Laura is out today, so I'm called in to replace her and of course the day is so completely dead.
...The ECE class that I don't meet the Pre-reqs for, I do. It specifically says that I need a C or better either in either 1322 (Java, I got a D) or 1321 (Scheme, I made an A). So I need to talk to Tech about resolving this in a manner that keeps me with enough credit hours to be a full time student still.
...That I can't figure out what Etudes I can actually play for the Orchestra audition. I hate auditions. Why can't we have sight reading? I do so much better when I'm not expected to have practiced. Oh well, that's life for you.
...Laura is out today, so I'm called in to replace her and of course the day is so completely dead.
...The ECE class that I don't meet the Pre-reqs for, I do. It specifically says that I need a C or better either in either 1322 (Java, I got a D) or 1321 (Scheme, I made an A). So I need to talk to Tech about resolving this in a manner that keeps me with enough credit hours to be a full time student still.
...That I can't figure out what Etudes I can actually play for the Orchestra audition. I hate auditions. Why can't we have sight reading? I do so much better when I'm not expected to have practiced. Oh well, that's life for you.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
"Holding the panic button for longer than a second"...
So, I finally got my after-market Keyless entry for my CRV, looks remarkably like the one David has with his Civic except that I have a button specific to my Trunk as well, unlike him.
Damn, this Gatech situation isn't going to sit well with my Parents, but I'm not going to think about that right now, it's time to perform a ritualistic pagan sacrifice in some vain attempt to get some customers into this store. That and get someone to release some anime that I care about, I mean, a full blooming week and a whole 1 episode of Champloo (which I'd already seen the week before in French curtesy of Nerae) is all I have to show for the time passed. That's just not a good omen at all. Anyways, back to sacrificing.
Damn, this Gatech situation isn't going to sit well with my Parents, but I'm not going to think about that right now, it's time to perform a ritualistic pagan sacrifice in some vain attempt to get some customers into this store. That and get someone to release some anime that I care about, I mean, a full blooming week and a whole 1 episode of Champloo (which I'd already seen the week before in French curtesy of Nerae) is all I have to show for the time passed. That's just not a good omen at all. Anyways, back to sacrificing.
Good Grief
Rats. So according to the map of my future, I'm in trouble, but fortunately it's all kinda canceling itself out in the not-so-uncertain terms of an extra semester at Tech. Namely, according to the map if I take ECE 2025 this semester, I won't be able to take next semester's ECE class until after I've finished with Physics 2. However, that's kind of a moot issue seeing as not getting a C or higher in Java means I don't meet the prereqs for the class, so I'll take it and Physics II this Spring. So, currently I have 9 credit hours (Physics 1 - 4, Diff Eq - 4, Orchestra - 1) meaning I ought to add back in Java and Chemistry and go insane this semester but come out better for it. I mean, all I have to do is read the Chem book to pass that class (though maybe I'll delay that idea a bit later) and I can practically sleep through Java class now, not that I didn't before, especially once I install Eclipse and use that instead of Emacs, meaning I'll actually be able to do multipart applications without going crazy (which seems to be the major theme of my life at Tech). And there's still the blasted issue of getting into my LCC that I'm supposed to take this semester that's full up, what a pain. And speaking of pain, the keyboards are really in an awkward place over here, at least this one doesn't have nearly enough space.
Friday, August 06, 2004
So, on Bortz radio today, he was playing Jibjab, so I guess that puts him roughly 2 weeks behind the curve or whatever. It was interesting hearing the radio trying to censor what it found offensive (only to have the show continue on and the next topic being Bortz's talking about slang for Lesbian being used in a game of Scrabble without censorship, but that's another topic). They weren't using a beep either, but a comedic noise to try and blend with the song I guess, it didn't work.
They also had the greatest caller into the show that I've ever heard. It took all I had not to break into laughter. His statement was, and this was following Bortz's talking about all the men who served with Kerry in Vietnam arguing against all his claims of heroism and the validity of his Purple Hearts etc, "If the Democratic party nominated Jesus, how long would it take before some Republican in Texas got a group of Apostles together to say that the nails driven into Jesus's hands were only 2 inches long, not 6 inches." Needless to say, it's a nonparallel arguement, and the comparison of Kerry to Jesus is so completely laughable that I had to step into the back for a drink of water. Sean's comparison to Mother Willow is a whole lot closer to the actual situation. Bortz's answer was 2 hours 46 minutes, which seems about right although it was simply an answer for the sake of answering the question as he justifably hung up on the moron.
They also had the greatest caller into the show that I've ever heard. It took all I had not to break into laughter. His statement was, and this was following Bortz's talking about all the men who served with Kerry in Vietnam arguing against all his claims of heroism and the validity of his Purple Hearts etc, "If the Democratic party nominated Jesus, how long would it take before some Republican in Texas got a group of Apostles together to say that the nails driven into Jesus's hands were only 2 inches long, not 6 inches." Needless to say, it's a nonparallel arguement, and the comparison of Kerry to Jesus is so completely laughable that I had to step into the back for a drink of water. Sean's comparison to Mother Willow is a whole lot closer to the actual situation. Bortz's answer was 2 hours 46 minutes, which seems about right although it was simply an answer for the sake of answering the question as he justifably hung up on the moron.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Appendectomy : Appendix (from the body) :: the College Board's latest decision :
Analogies (from the SAT I).
Yes friends, it is true, the Sat I will no longer hold analogies within its pages. I, of course, really don't give a damn having already scored my score (definately could've done higher as is always the case with anything I do involving score), but this could be good news for analogy challenged future SAT takers, depending on what they replace the questions with.
Yes friends, it is true, the Sat I will no longer hold analogies within its pages. I, of course, really don't give a damn having already scored my score (definately could've done higher as is always the case with anything I do involving score), but this could be good news for analogy challenged future SAT takers, depending on what they replace the questions with.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
So, Kyle installed the language settings on Asgard, which means that most irregular text patterns have become Japanese characters. Ie: French months, such as August, have had their circumflexed o plus the following u transfigured into the symbol for, honestly, I haven't the faintest idea. However, it's less of a bother for me, and more vaguely reminiscent of Gunbound than anything else.
I had thought about a nice little compare and contrast post illustrating the differences between Kyle and my workplaces, in the long run justifying his high pay simply by the amount of responsability he manages and the amount of boredom and flak that get flung his way. I mean, the closest I come to getting customer angry is calling a mail-box holder Mr. (Insert Lastname Here) and having them ask me to call them by their first name, Kyle gets customers (or one in particular in this case I guess, and hopefully only ever this one time) completely infuriated at Kyle for something he didn't even do to the point of full blown profanity and obscene gestculations. People certainly can get ugly when they are angry, but then again, I've always maintained that humans are ultimately a rather ugly race.
Perhaps I've been brain-washed by too much Neal Boortz (perhaps it is only one o, I don't really care) but I've almost begun to think that giving Bush a second term would let him finish his part in the war on terror and bring a close to a chapter in history (not saying that he'd end the war, but...actually I don't know what I'm saying). I really don't like either candidate. Kerry is too damn wishy-washy, and I'm the authority on knowing that that approach to live doesn't solve anyone's problems. Bush is still a moron, but then again smart people don't do politics, so that doesn't suprise me. His human rights record in Texas aside, I actually can't find much fault about him besides his dearth of intelligence and his belligerance. Not saying that he didn't take the proper course, not my place to judge that, but that it was quite the means of violence. As much as Bortz (double o might be the right way, but that's faster to type so I'll stick to that one) might like to herald the chemical weapons that we found in Iraq and the intelligence that Sadaam was seeking to acquire nuclear weapons program enabling materials, I do still maintain that the American public was mislead into this war in Iraq that has been too poorly managed to give my any faith. I mean, I fail to see the logic in a deployment that has American boys dying to Iraqi guerrilas while corperate employess get paid to stand around not doing anything mere miles away.
It's time for Acirema, and yes that c is pronounced like a hard k to maintain the general idea. This is totally on the fly, so bear with me here. A nation built on the premise that an acting Republic, responsive to the people's will, can best arrange for the wellfare and happyness of those people. Ideally failure to vote should be punishable, but devoting the resources of the people to monitoring and regulating the people is a self-defeating act. Where the archiac electoral college is disbanded in favor of the pure will of the people. Where a new judical court is created purely to enact Judical Review and keep the actions of the Legislative and Executive branches in check. Where Church and State are seperated firmly and unconditionally: utterances or proclamitions of religious nature being outlawed in places of Government but morals and vitures are not left to rot. Where men who believe that they should be leaders because they are so willed by their God are not even presented with a chance at office for those whose entire plan is to rest cradled in the palm of their creator do not have the judgement and capability of action necessary to lead a nation of mixed peoples. Where lying is once again a capital offence, direly so when under oath or in office. Where those who would evade taxes or embezzel are giving as harsh of punishments as those who would rape or murder. Where ignorance of the law is no excuse. Where a compounding rule applies: if one stupid unlawful action of a person's undertaking breeds another unlawful action or result to transpire, their punishment shall be greater than the mere sum of the punishment for all the crimes combinded. Where an abortion is a matter of choice, not a matter of law. Where streamlined processes are the forefront of plans, because the less time things stay tied up in red tape the more good they can do. Where Pork Barrel spending is recoignized as a difficulty and a liablity and disbarred from it occurance, which in turn breeds a nation of constituents who do not need their incumbant to waste 20 million of taxpayer's dollars building an airport in the middle of the mountains just to provide a construction job for his voting area so that they'll vote for him over his challenger. Where decisions on candidates are made by their stances and opinions, not by how well they can sling mud. A nation where economic disparities are recoignized as a function of modern living and, while methods of minimizing them are sought, they are not so done at the expense of burdening those whose creativity, ingenuity, or hardwork has brought them to fruition. Where middle management is a relic of the past and efficency is king.
Yeah, not going to happen is it, I don't think so either.
Oh, and if my beliefs managed to offend you, don't whine to me presuming that I give a damn.
I had thought about a nice little compare and contrast post illustrating the differences between Kyle and my workplaces, in the long run justifying his high pay simply by the amount of responsability he manages and the amount of boredom and flak that get flung his way. I mean, the closest I come to getting customer angry is calling a mail-box holder Mr. (Insert Lastname Here) and having them ask me to call them by their first name, Kyle gets customers (or one in particular in this case I guess, and hopefully only ever this one time) completely infuriated at Kyle for something he didn't even do to the point of full blown profanity and obscene gestculations. People certainly can get ugly when they are angry, but then again, I've always maintained that humans are ultimately a rather ugly race.
Perhaps I've been brain-washed by too much Neal Boortz (perhaps it is only one o, I don't really care) but I've almost begun to think that giving Bush a second term would let him finish his part in the war on terror and bring a close to a chapter in history (not saying that he'd end the war, but...actually I don't know what I'm saying). I really don't like either candidate. Kerry is too damn wishy-washy, and I'm the authority on knowing that that approach to live doesn't solve anyone's problems. Bush is still a moron, but then again smart people don't do politics, so that doesn't suprise me. His human rights record in Texas aside, I actually can't find much fault about him besides his dearth of intelligence and his belligerance. Not saying that he didn't take the proper course, not my place to judge that, but that it was quite the means of violence. As much as Bortz (double o might be the right way, but that's faster to type so I'll stick to that one) might like to herald the chemical weapons that we found in Iraq and the intelligence that Sadaam was seeking to acquire nuclear weapons program enabling materials, I do still maintain that the American public was mislead into this war in Iraq that has been too poorly managed to give my any faith. I mean, I fail to see the logic in a deployment that has American boys dying to Iraqi guerrilas while corperate employess get paid to stand around not doing anything mere miles away.
It's time for Acirema, and yes that c is pronounced like a hard k to maintain the general idea. This is totally on the fly, so bear with me here. A nation built on the premise that an acting Republic, responsive to the people's will, can best arrange for the wellfare and happyness of those people. Ideally failure to vote should be punishable, but devoting the resources of the people to monitoring and regulating the people is a self-defeating act. Where the archiac electoral college is disbanded in favor of the pure will of the people. Where a new judical court is created purely to enact Judical Review and keep the actions of the Legislative and Executive branches in check. Where Church and State are seperated firmly and unconditionally: utterances or proclamitions of religious nature being outlawed in places of Government but morals and vitures are not left to rot. Where men who believe that they should be leaders because they are so willed by their God are not even presented with a chance at office for those whose entire plan is to rest cradled in the palm of their creator do not have the judgement and capability of action necessary to lead a nation of mixed peoples. Where lying is once again a capital offence, direly so when under oath or in office. Where those who would evade taxes or embezzel are giving as harsh of punishments as those who would rape or murder. Where ignorance of the law is no excuse. Where a compounding rule applies: if one stupid unlawful action of a person's undertaking breeds another unlawful action or result to transpire, their punishment shall be greater than the mere sum of the punishment for all the crimes combinded. Where an abortion is a matter of choice, not a matter of law. Where streamlined processes are the forefront of plans, because the less time things stay tied up in red tape the more good they can do. Where Pork Barrel spending is recoignized as a difficulty and a liablity and disbarred from it occurance, which in turn breeds a nation of constituents who do not need their incumbant to waste 20 million of taxpayer's dollars building an airport in the middle of the mountains just to provide a construction job for his voting area so that they'll vote for him over his challenger. Where decisions on candidates are made by their stances and opinions, not by how well they can sling mud. A nation where economic disparities are recoignized as a function of modern living and, while methods of minimizing them are sought, they are not so done at the expense of burdening those whose creativity, ingenuity, or hardwork has brought them to fruition. Where middle management is a relic of the past and efficency is king.
Yeah, not going to happen is it, I don't think so either.
Oh, and if my beliefs managed to offend you, don't whine to me presuming that I give a damn.
Monday, August 02, 2004
A)bort R)etry F)ail mode 2 is now underway.
We'll see how far I get with this before my ancient template and Blogger's recent updates manage to kill each other.
Turns out that the answer to that question was approximately 13 seconds.
Turns out that the answer to that question was approximately 13 seconds.
Another week of cross working 2 jobs, slightly shorter hours though so perhaps this one won't waste me quite so terribly. Blogging, emails, and visitation rights will, as usual, still be shot completely to hell though. So, enjoy webcomicy goodness while I'm not here Star Crossed Destiny
So, question of the moment: Why does Regal abbreviate Harold and Kumar go to White Castle as Harold and Kumar go to WR. Where do they get a R in there?
Song of the moment: Cowboy Bebop Movie OST - Time to Know ~ Be Waltz. Yes, that seriously is a song with a tilde in the actual title.
So, question of the moment: Why does Regal abbreviate Harold and Kumar go to White Castle as Harold and Kumar go to WR. Where do they get a R in there?
Song of the moment: Cowboy Bebop Movie OST - Time to Know ~ Be Waltz. Yes, that seriously is a song with a tilde in the actual title.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Harry Potter 3 Movie Spoiler
Now I know some kid is going to google the title of this blog post and read this post instead of seeing the actual movie. But I warn you, this is only a review and not a plot summary of the movie. Still, if you want to find spoilers on the harry potter 3 movie on the internet, be my guest!
Since Colin is too much of a wuss to write the spoiler (and he almost jumped out of his seat in the scene where Prof. Trelawney goes all psychotic on Potter) , I guess I will :D
Well, first off, the movie was half good, half bad. As Katan points out, the cinematography was the BEST out of all the previous HP's. Alfonso Cuarón is an AWESOME director! But due to the length and detail of the book, they had to cut out LOTS of bits and pieces from the book. But I'll explain that part later. Rants first:
Observation 1. Dumbledore
OMG Who is *that* new old guy and what happened to the old Dumbledore?? Oh yeah, he died. But still, this new Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon, will NEVER fill the old Dumbledore's shoes! Ever! Where the old Dumbledore was kind, all-powerful, and grandfatherly, the new Dumbledore was too sharp, too quick, and dresses like a retired hippie painter. Overall, I don't like him, but I guess I'll have to put up with him throughout the next 4 HP movies.
Secondly, I'd like to discuss the book/movie discrepancies (something that colin could not possibly write about because he never read the book!)
Dude, Prof. Lupin's class was supposed to be *awesome*. From what I remember of the book, they fought a lot more evil monsters and what not in Lupin's class. And their final exam was to go through some sort of obstacle course fighting monsters right? To me, it seems as though they just glossed over the book, picking out only the most crucial parts of the story to maintain a logical plot. I mean, the Harry Potter books are not just all about Harry going to school, Harry fighting evil Voldemort, Harry triumphing and moving on to the next book. Rowling actually creates a whole wizarding world. I think we as the movie-going audience should get to see what it's like to go to a school of witchcraft and wizardry. I know you get to see Prof. Trelawney's class some and Lupin's class, but come on, they had more classes than that!
And their clothes. The first two HP movies were more traditional in the fact that they pretty much stick to the book. All the students wore their little Hogwarts uniforms. But how much uniform did you see in this movie besides the bit they wore on the train?
Speaking of clothes, what's up with Hermione and wearing these bust-enhancing, butt-hugging clothes? We know she's growing up and becoming more "feminine" but there's no need to market her body to the general public. She's too young for that. Another thing she's too young for is all this hitting on Harry the second Ron's back is turned. I don't recall Hermione's character being all lovey-dovey towards Harry in the books. In fact, if any of you have read Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix, ***SPOILER AHEAD*** you would know that Ron and Hermione had relationship issues in GoF and she ends up going out with that Viktor Krum guy while Harry goes for miss priss Cho Chang as evidenced in the 4th and 5th books. ***END SPOILER***
Also, WHAT WAS UP WITH MALFOY??? He's the big boss of Slytherin! He's Mr. Tough Stuff #1 Bully of the whole series! He's not some wimpy pansy-pants okay? So why was he backed up against the tree being beaten up by a girl? I could understand his running away after Harry uses the invisibility cloak and starts throwing snowballs at Malfoy and his two stooges, but his wimping out to Hermione is either really bad, fake acting, or else it demands some justification!
Lastly, they never explained how Lupin knew that the Maurader's Map (sp?) was a map! I guess they cut that scene out and are putting it in the DVD. ***SPOILER*** Lupin = Mooney, Sirius = Padfoot, Harry's Dad = Prongs, Peter Pettigrew = Wormtail ***END SPOILER***
Don't you love how all traitors have the word 'worm' in their name? (Grima Wormtongue from LOTR)
Okay I do have some good things to say about the movie, I promise.
Like how the dementors in this movie could be distinguished from ring wraiths. Dementors have a very round, oval-shaped head, which makes me wonder if their heads are just really one large rubber balloon filled with helium and covered with black cloth. The movie really gives you the sense that these black hooded phantoms sends darkness and despair into everyone's hearts. Whereas the ring wraiths from LOTR just sat on their various beasts-of-transportation and looked scary.
I don't know if it's just me, but Ron is starting to look like the big Pete from that old Nickelodeon show, The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
The songs in this movie are wonderful! I definetly want a copy of this movie's sountrack.
Finally, there's Buckbeak the hypogriff.
The hypogriff is an AMAZING creature! And I didn't mean to steal that line from the nightelf in warcraft. They did a great job in the CG of that hypogriff. It looked much more realistic than the incredibly fake unicorn in the first book. You could actually *see* the blue feathers rustling in the wind during the flight scenes.
And that concludes Cindy's movie review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!
Since Colin is too much of a wuss to write the spoiler (and he almost jumped out of his seat in the scene where Prof. Trelawney goes all psychotic on Potter) , I guess I will :D
Well, first off, the movie was half good, half bad. As Katan points out, the cinematography was the BEST out of all the previous HP's. Alfonso Cuarón is an AWESOME director! But due to the length and detail of the book, they had to cut out LOTS of bits and pieces from the book. But I'll explain that part later. Rants first:
Observation 1. Dumbledore
OMG Who is *that* new old guy and what happened to the old Dumbledore?? Oh yeah, he died. But still, this new Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon, will NEVER fill the old Dumbledore's shoes! Ever! Where the old Dumbledore was kind, all-powerful, and grandfatherly, the new Dumbledore was too sharp, too quick, and dresses like a retired hippie painter. Overall, I don't like him, but I guess I'll have to put up with him throughout the next 4 HP movies.
Secondly, I'd like to discuss the book/movie discrepancies (something that colin could not possibly write about because he never read the book!)
Dude, Prof. Lupin's class was supposed to be *awesome*. From what I remember of the book, they fought a lot more evil monsters and what not in Lupin's class. And their final exam was to go through some sort of obstacle course fighting monsters right? To me, it seems as though they just glossed over the book, picking out only the most crucial parts of the story to maintain a logical plot. I mean, the Harry Potter books are not just all about Harry going to school, Harry fighting evil Voldemort, Harry triumphing and moving on to the next book. Rowling actually creates a whole wizarding world. I think we as the movie-going audience should get to see what it's like to go to a school of witchcraft and wizardry. I know you get to see Prof. Trelawney's class some and Lupin's class, but come on, they had more classes than that!
And their clothes. The first two HP movies were more traditional in the fact that they pretty much stick to the book. All the students wore their little Hogwarts uniforms. But how much uniform did you see in this movie besides the bit they wore on the train?
Speaking of clothes, what's up with Hermione and wearing these bust-enhancing, butt-hugging clothes? We know she's growing up and becoming more "feminine" but there's no need to market her body to the general public. She's too young for that. Another thing she's too young for is all this hitting on Harry the second Ron's back is turned. I don't recall Hermione's character being all lovey-dovey towards Harry in the books. In fact, if any of you have read Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix, ***SPOILER AHEAD*** you would know that Ron and Hermione had relationship issues in GoF and she ends up going out with that Viktor Krum guy while Harry goes for miss priss Cho Chang as evidenced in the 4th and 5th books. ***END SPOILER***
Also, WHAT WAS UP WITH MALFOY??? He's the big boss of Slytherin! He's Mr. Tough Stuff #1 Bully of the whole series! He's not some wimpy pansy-pants okay? So why was he backed up against the tree being beaten up by a girl? I could understand his running away after Harry uses the invisibility cloak and starts throwing snowballs at Malfoy and his two stooges, but his wimping out to Hermione is either really bad, fake acting, or else it demands some justification!
Lastly, they never explained how Lupin knew that the Maurader's Map (sp?) was a map! I guess they cut that scene out and are putting it in the DVD. ***SPOILER*** Lupin = Mooney, Sirius = Padfoot, Harry's Dad = Prongs, Peter Pettigrew = Wormtail ***END SPOILER***
Don't you love how all traitors have the word 'worm' in their name? (Grima Wormtongue from LOTR)
Okay I do have some good things to say about the movie, I promise.
Like how the dementors in this movie could be distinguished from ring wraiths. Dementors have a very round, oval-shaped head, which makes me wonder if their heads are just really one large rubber balloon filled with helium and covered with black cloth. The movie really gives you the sense that these black hooded phantoms sends darkness and despair into everyone's hearts. Whereas the ring wraiths from LOTR just sat on their various beasts-of-transportation and looked scary.
I don't know if it's just me, but Ron is starting to look like the big Pete from that old Nickelodeon show, The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
The songs in this movie are wonderful! I definetly want a copy of this movie's sountrack.
Finally, there's Buckbeak the hypogriff.
The hypogriff is an AMAZING creature! And I didn't mean to steal that line from the nightelf in warcraft. They did a great job in the CG of that hypogriff. It looked much more realistic than the incredibly fake unicorn in the first book. You could actually *see* the blue feathers rustling in the wind during the flight scenes.
And that concludes Cindy's movie review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!
*Kicks Blogger*
This place is getting some serious trouble, perhaps to do with the worm attacking Google though, but it definately isn't going nearly as smooth as it should. Always a bad sign when I have to load a page at least twice to get it to actually take hold.
And the answer to the $10,000,000 for this week was, the ED to FMP:F. If you didn't know the question, and anyone not reading my mind shouldn't have been able to, it was: What anime song do I know that reminds me of the song they play on the radio where the voice goes really high in the vocal range (I think it's a Michelle Branch song, but I can't swear by that, cause I'm usually working when I hear it and don't have the focus to devote to listening for the artist, or even really to the song).
I've found the inhibitor paradox of my life. I don't want to read any literature because I want to get my own ideas out and do some writing of my own, but the issue therein is that I don't really want to write, because I'd never be serious about it, it's mostly action/humor snippets as are most of my stories, that and I'm not much a writer, as seen by my frequency, or lack thereof with this.
Current musical addiction: The Melody of Oblivion OST - The spirit of FRAMENCO. An anime also getting my vote for my favorite of the season.
I'd post my opinions of the third Harry Potter movie, but I'm not certain that I can do it without spoilers, so I'll suffice it to say that it was a very good movie, and I hope I find the spirit to do some reading so I can finally read them, as well as the LotR series that I've yet to manage reading.
This place is getting some serious trouble, perhaps to do with the worm attacking Google though, but it definately isn't going nearly as smooth as it should. Always a bad sign when I have to load a page at least twice to get it to actually take hold.
And the answer to the $10,000,000 for this week was, the ED to FMP:F. If you didn't know the question, and anyone not reading my mind shouldn't have been able to, it was: What anime song do I know that reminds me of the song they play on the radio where the voice goes really high in the vocal range (I think it's a Michelle Branch song, but I can't swear by that, cause I'm usually working when I hear it and don't have the focus to devote to listening for the artist, or even really to the song).
I've found the inhibitor paradox of my life. I don't want to read any literature because I want to get my own ideas out and do some writing of my own, but the issue therein is that I don't really want to write, because I'd never be serious about it, it's mostly action/humor snippets as are most of my stories, that and I'm not much a writer, as seen by my frequency, or lack thereof with this.
Current musical addiction: The Melody of Oblivion OST - The spirit of FRAMENCO. An anime also getting my vote for my favorite of the season.
I'd post my opinions of the third Harry Potter movie, but I'm not certain that I can do it without spoilers, so I'll suffice it to say that it was a very good movie, and I hope I find the spirit to do some reading so I can finally read them, as well as the LotR series that I've yet to manage reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)