The World as Seen Through Coke-Bottle Glasses

Another Month; Another Paycheck

2006-01-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a month since since my previous entry, which means I'm about due for something. I write pretty extensively on my Xanga weblog, but not so much on here. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that I paid for that, but I didn't pay for this.

So half of December and half of January are gone. December was dominated by Christmas shopping/planning and stuff. I got to spend some time with my best friend and his family, and I got to get some quality time in with my family, too. I had an unbelievably awesome time in both Madison and Atlanta. I chipped in for my cousin (Steph's) new laptop, and I got a Star Wars foosball table for my trouble! It's pure awesomeness. It currently stands in the living room; Jason (roomie) and I play it sometimes. I wish I had some better competition, but... ;)

January saw the beginning of the new year, the start of classes, the anniversary of D-Day, and a whole crapload of project planning. I've been "elected" (more like forced) into the post of team captain for the team of security "experts" we'll be sending over to Georgia in March to compete at the Southeastern Collegiate Cyber-Defense Competition (SECCDC). The SECCDC will be held from March 10 - 12, and it'll be a free trip, so it should be a lot of fun. I really shouldn't even be on the team, but since I'm learning a lot about computer forensics (my research focus these days, actually), I got suckered into joining it. Most of the hardcore project planning I mentioned has to do with that, ranging from the procurement of hardware to the division of reading material amongst team members. It's my first experience beyond high-school as the "lead" for something, and so far it seems to be considerably better than I'd thought it would be. Just wait until the latter days of February...I suspect it'll be crazy by then :)

So anyway...I've taken enough of your time with my rambling, and I feel the need to get back to Metroid. Hope you have a great month :)

Holycrapwriting!

2005-12-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, I'm really surprised Google hasn't killed this thing! I've not written on it in...1.5 months? I guess that's mostly because nothing has been happening, and what little that has been happening has been written about on my other weblog.

Finals are done. Classes are done. I spent a week in Seattle and then a week in San Diego during November. Both were cool; I like SD more than SEA. San Diego just seemed like it had more stuff to do, and there wasn't a Starbucks on every corner (I promise that is not an exaggeration). San Diego just seemed a little less corporate and a little bit more upscale, I guess.

Anyway...I'll write anew when the moon again turns blue. Maybe something of interest/import will occur between now and then :)

Rollin' on the River

2005-10-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

I'm going fishing with my Dad this weekend. We have a two-day tournament on Saturday and Sunday, and we'll be leaving tonight to travel down to the southern part of the state today so we'll already be on-site when the tournament launches at 5 AM tomorrow morning.

That said, I'll be gone until sometime Sunday afternoon/evening. If I catch anything (or if Dad catches anything), I'll post pictures. Here's hoping luck is with us, as 1st place takes home $600!

At any rate...have a good weekend!

The Amityville Sucker

2005-10-24T03:29:00.000-07:00

I watched the new version of The Amityville Horror last night with a group of friends, and let me tell you...it sucks. It isn't scary. It has a few parts designed to make you jump, but the crappy thing about them is that it's totally easy to predict when they're coming, so they're not even good at the aforementioned jump-causing. The best part of the entire movie involved a sex scene, seeing a random ghost, and C saying, "Oh my God, I can never have sex in that position again!" The acting was atrocious, the "soundtrack" sucked hard (punctuated as it was by the occasional orchestral hit to make you jump), and the only part that could have been considered scary (that whole house-possessed-by-Satan thing) was a total Poltergeist knock-off (the token built-on-top-of-an-Indian-graveyard, the mutilated ghosts coming around to haunt you, scaring off the local parish priest, "GET OUT!" coming from the house, etc.).

The only thing scary about this movie is that it actually made it into theaters, made some money, and then got onto DVD. I'm told the original version is a lot scarier, but I don't see how it couldn't be. You'd have to be doing a lot of work to be worse than this movie.

Overall rating: /

(that means don't waste your money or the spot in your Netflix queue to see this one)

So anyway, as you can see, I'm up early. I actually awoke at 4:20, but I decided I'd finally get down and dirty with Cannon's algorithm, and I knocked that out a moment ago. I've still got an assignment to do for my network programming class, but that will be comparatively easy. I've got RCIA tonight, so I'm trying to get as much done now as I can so I'll have time to do some reading, reflecting, and memorizing for that. I'm doing my best to be a dedicated catechumen, after all

I guess I'd best get to working on my UDP assignment. Later!

Die, Die, DIIIIIIEEEEE!

2005-10-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

My apartment complex is gated. It has a directory look-up so you can call the person you're there to visit and then they can open the gate for you. The directory look-up has been out of commission for the past month, though, as some idiot backed their car/truck/SUV into it and destroyed it.

The gate has thus been open 24/7 in order to allow visitors entrance.

The little look-up directory has now been fixed, and, subsequently, the gate is no longer open all the time. How do I know? I don't, at least not by looking at the thing. Some idiot was (I assume) going through the look-up this morning and calling folks to let her in because she had left her card in her apartment (#1908). Apparently, no one answered their phones at 6 in the morning. This is a wise decision.

Except for me. Kind-hearted, nice-guy me. I answered my cell phone.

This was 6:07 in the morning. I had been fast asleep, dreaming of something pleasant or other, when my phone (which is right next to my bed, as it doubles as my alarm clock) rings. Out of instinct (as I wasn't really totally awake), I answered.

Foolish, Daniel. Poor, foolish, Daniel

I didn't buzz the lady in. I simply listened to her talk for the one-minute maximum the callbox allows, and then it cut her off. Then I turned off my phone, waited about a minute, and turned it back on. That's when I got a new voicemail, which I can only assume is from The Gate Lady. I'm thinking that either:

a.) I'm going to get seriously cussed out.
b.) I've got the makings of a horror-stalker movie on my hands.

Oh well...I can hold my own against some crazy lady if she wants to bring it. Unless she has a gun. Then I'm pretty screwed.

Anyway...now that I'm absolutely exhausted (because that lady this morning totally killed my sleep), I have to go to campus for the next 12 hours. Yay. Later.

Grr

2005-10-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

There is naught more frustrating than lasting 14:59.23 in the 15-Minute Melee for Super Smash Bros. Melee, because you still fail and have to start over.

I can't help but think, "Well, that's 15 minutes of my life that were just totally wasted."

The Semi-Annual Grammar Rant

2005-10-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

(copied from my Xanga weblog)

You knew it was coming. I haven't yelled about this in a while, and I was just hopping around Xanga at random, and I became slowly more and more appalled at the state of writing in the younger generation.

It's sad, really. Saying "I go 2 [insert name] high skool" is just idiotic. Yes, we can definitely tell you're a high school student (er, "high skooler") by your writing "style." "Shorthand," you say? No, I think not. Replacing "to" with "2" saves...a keystroke. Replacing "school" with "skool" saves...a keystroke. No wonder America has problems with childhood obesity: we're so lazy that we're sitting at our computers and trying to work our fingers less so as to save keystrokes!

"wuz ^?" I have to give some credit to whomever cooked up that one, as it is an intriguing employment for the under-used carat. This carat isn't your grandma's carat, either: it isn't just for denoting exponentiation anymore! As much as I love to see the ^ getting some non-mathematical love, it just gets under my skin to think that this is how kids today seem to write. Isn't it slightly worrisome that the Future Leaders of America (TM) and her Captains of Industry (TM) will be communicating using graffiti-like garbage?

poor spelling doesn't bother me poor sentence structure is OK if you can tell the writer at least made some attempt to make it decently readable it's just annoying to read an entire paragraph with no punctuation at all to tell you where a sentence ends and a new one begins i really just hate that i mean it gives you no idea where one thought ends and another begins if i wanted stream of consciousness id pick up a william faulkner novel for crying out loud instead of hopping around on xanga as i know he's got some interesting stuff of substance not just "hey yall wuz ^ tonight is gunna suck so laters" i mean if you're going to write something like that why not just write nothing at all

Oi.

I'm ranting about the grammatical shortcomings of The Next Generation. Yep, this is what I'm doing on a Friday night. Am I at a sportsbar, watching the Angels take on the White Sox? No, because that game is already over. Am I out with my girlfriend? No, because I don't have one. I wonder if there's any connection there...?

Anyway, I've had enough of ranting. I can guarantee there's a typo or some other grammatical error in this post (discounting the intentional ones above); anti-poor-grammar rants always have one somewhere. It's just the nature of the beast. I'll catch you all later, sports fans.

Ouches

2005-10-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

I just got totally raped by the midterm in database systems.

"You always say that, yet you always come out with an A...shut up."

Definitely not this time. Note to self: go to class. Class, even though it sucks, is a good thing to attend. Oi.

The good news: I came up with an idea for my final project in the || computing class. I'm going to be teaming up with a math major (getting his masters in mathematics) to parallelize the Gauss-Seidel method of solving a system of partial differential equations. I am also lobbying for a foray into what is known as a "red-black" Gauss-Seidel methodology, which blends Gauss-Seidel methods inside of blocks with Jacobi's iterative methods in edge blocks to yield a hybrid method for efficiently forcing an iterative solution (like Jacobi's) to converge in a fashion much more speedy than observed in the Gauss-Seidel approach alone.

It sounds hard, and I'm reasonably sure it will be. I took a look at the mathematics involved, and I'm very glad I chose to team up with a math person instead of going it alone. The stuff I read really looked like a bear, mathematically-speaking, especially since the only time I've ever dealt with partial differential equations was a very brief encounter when I took physical chemistry under Dr. Hamilton.

But anyway...right now I'm sitting in the undergraduate computer lab, merrily typing away on my laptop. It's going to be a long weekend, as I am tentatively planning to spend it in ATL with my cousin Steph (who turns 21 on the 16th). I'll also be working on those stupid matrix-matrix multiplication problems that Dr. B assigned as homework. Also, on a tenuously-related note, Our Lady Peace is performing live at a concert in ATL as we speak; I really wanted to go, but the exam and my office hours proved too great a duty to shed.

Oh well...anyway, back to my lab duties. Later!

Could You Do That Transitivity Proof Again?

2005-10-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Because I sure didn't get it when Dr. Z went over it in class. And multi-value dependencies are still a mystery whose resolution is functionally determined by my opening the book and reading.

The correct book, A First Course in Database Systems, by Jeffrey Ullman and Jennifer Widom. Not Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan.

Curse me and my complete inability to put work before pleasure! I've got an exam in DB systems tomorrow night, and it is going to totally eat me alive. One never means to whittle away an entire study day involved in activities that have nothing to do with studying.

(sigh)

I sure did that today, though. The bright spot: I'm just past page 500 in Knife of Dreams, and it is proving to be every bit as awesome as I'd hoped. I said earlier that Jordan's previous book (Crossroads of Twilight) did nothing to advance the main plotline, but I was thinking of the book before that (Winter's Heart). This one will hopefully resolve a number of little subplots that have been hanging out there for a while.

Anyway...just got back from working out. I'm tired, and I need to down a protein shake before I settle down to read again. Later!

(untitled)

2005-10-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yep, definitely going with Seth to VGL on the 28th of November.

Excited? Yep...I'm really looking forward to it. I'm debating whether I could drive up to Nashville before TGiving, fly out to TX to visit relatives over TGiving, fly back into Nashville, go to VGL with Seth, and then come home Monday night.

That'd be a long drive to be taking at night after the VGL concert, though. I don't think I have any exams that Tuesday (the 29th), so maybe I could crash at Seth's that Monday night and then drive back home. I'd definitely make it back in time for DB systems and || programming, and maybe even for network/DS programming if I left the Boro early enough.

Oh well...no sense musing about that right now. I've got a lab report I need to write. Later!

Infuriating

2005-10-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'd written something, but everytime I go back and read it, I think it was pointless to worry about.

So I removed it :)

Shocking!

2005-10-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

Writings on two consecutive days?!

Heads-up...that'd be the sky you hear falling.

Just wanted to say that November 28th will see me in Nashville to watch what will probably be the coolest concert I have ever attended: VGL! Yep, the restive geek in me has finally broken those adamantine chains with which he was bound and forced his way back to the surface.

I guess a lot of people would argue that the Inner Geek really didn't have to do a lot of work to break free, as he was never really imprisoned...

...but I digress.

Go check out this link, watch the trailer (10-meg download, so don't bother if you're not on broadband), and be in awe. Then realize that Nov. 28th, Nashville, is a tour stop. If I can get tickets (they go on sale today, and Seth has got my back there), I am going to go.

November 28th is going to rock hard :)

Just Not My Day

2005-10-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today has just really not been my day. I snapped awake this morning at 4:47 AM (after having hit the sheets a little after 1). Snapping awake generally means it is impossible to go back to sleep, and so it went this morn. I was absolutely ravenous, too, despite having eaten a very full meal for dinner before I went to bed (Richard and Jason can both attest to its goodness). Since I was starving, I ate a bowl of cereal, ate a granola bar, drank a glass of OJ, had a protein shake (what better whey to start the day?), and then sat down to type my homework for database systems.

I hate that class, and I would really have rather been sleeping, so I laid back down and eventually somehow managed to go back to sleep (despite having just ingested about 1400 calories).

That was awesome.

Then I headed off to school. Yay. Nothing of interest occurred in Dr. Hyatt's class, as he just went over UDP a little more, gave us an example or two, and then let us out. This means that I could go to lunch early, but that was not to be. I had intended to go visit Dr. Nikles to request that she write me a letter of recommendation for this DoE fellowship I'm going for, but she was not in. I was planning to then meet a friend for lunch at Subway, but then I realized I'd left my wallet in the Jeep, which necessitated a trek across campus to retrieve my source of funds, whereupon I walked back to Subway to get my sub.

At least the sub was good.

After lunch, I hit my computer in my office to hop online and check my bank balance. The Internet here at home was not working (shocking, I know), so I had to check there...and, ironically, the cable company double-charged my account for Internet. That was cool...they just randomly took $30, which may not seem like much (and I suppose it really isn't), but it's the principle that they'd be dumb enough to charge me twice that annoys me.

(sigh)

I'm actually getting tired of writing. Suffice it to say that my day only improved from that point, and let it go at that.

Piece.

Few and Far Between

2005-10-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

That's what my updates have been. Not much of interest has occurred in the past...2 weeks? I played kickball yesterday, which was kinda fun. It was for a good cause, at least. I haven't played since 4th grade or so, which was forever ago...and wow, I'm getting old.

Now I'm working on homework. I've mostly sworn off writing for a while, as I need to get my act together hardcore in order to do the Ph.D. thing. As such...

Later!

Movie Gallery

2005-09-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

So I went down to the Movie Gallery close to the apartment. It's relatively new (only been there for a year or two). I fully expected to have my face plastered onto a Wanted: Dead or Alive poster or something, as it seems like every single video store from which I've ever rented anything is owed my soul in late fees. Someone told me recently, however, that Movie Gallery does not globally link its computer registration system (unlike Blockbuster); the practical upshot to this is I can rent movies from this particular Movie Gallery without having to worry about the hefty late fees I owe to other ones.

Total awesomeness.

So anyway, headed over there and rented a few movies: Shaun of the Dead, Suspect Zero, and White Noise. I'm going to wait until my roomie gets back from out of town before I watch White Noise (just in case it really is scary), but Suspect Zero (about a psychic and a serial killer, who may actually be one and the same) is on the docket for tonight. I watched SotD last night, and it is a freakin' hilarious movie. I'm going to watch it again today after I finish my breakfast and hop in/out of the shower. Shaun of the Dead is a movie that I think ought to be required viewing for anyone who's into British black humor films. It definitely falls into that genre :)

I need to finish my breakfast and take that aforementioned shower. Later!

Holycrapupdate!!!

2005-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

Current Weight: 139 lbs.

As you can see, I've not written anything on here for the past 10 days. I just haven't felt the urge, I guess. It's been really odd...it's like one second, you write and write and write, and the next $&($%!

(that's the sound my writing urge makes when it goes away)

It's kinda back now, though. I'm just about to go work out as part of my Put Weight On campaign. So far, I've gained about 4.5 pounds, which still puts me a sight away from my goal of 150 (and, later, 160). I've been hardcore at it for the past two weeks, and I'd say that I'm slowly but surely getting there. I cannot express the triumph I feel when I put myself on a scale and see my weight actually increasing. My metabolic rate has to be faster than that of a rabbit, as I have never been able to put any meat on my frame, despite my best efforts. You can only eat Thanksgiving-sized meals without results for so long before you start to think you're cursed ;) Now, however, that's changing. I'm very proud of myself, and I'm determined not to quit until I reach my goal. I guess the side effect of putting on muscle (from hitting the gym in concert with this plan) also has something of a draw. Gals seem to like guys with a bit of muscle on them, and mixing the best of both brains and brawn might prove an irresistible combination :)

Other than my goal of gaining weight, not a lot out of the ordinary has been going on. I've been doing the normal school-food-sleep thing; there isn't a whole lot of interest to say there unless you count my teaching. I can already tell, just three weeks into the term, that teaching this class is going to suck. Don't get me wrong, as I love to teach; there's something about making the lightbulb pop on that I find to be immensely satisfying. I'm pretty good at it, too :) No, the thing with which I am most dissatisfied has to do with the grading policies in the course. Since I teach the lab portion, I have no control over the grades of my students, which means I cannot require attendance at the lab. This has an obvious plus (if everyone leaves early, I leave early), but the downside is that a number of students skip lab and then email me random questions at ungodly times. I had one girl email me her source code and the request, "i'm having trouble getting this to work can you see what the problem is and fix it and then send it back to me"

Yep...that's what she said, punctuation/capitalization and all. There were two things that bothered me (totally discounting my OCD tendencies about grammar/spelling/capitalization) :

a.) she emailed me at 3:39 AM on Monday morning...with the assignment due at 10 AM that morning.
b.) she didn't give me a specific problem to address; rather, she sent me her source code (all 8 Java files) and asked me to debug it.

I am not awake at 3:39 AM, and, on the rare occasions that I am, I'm busy with my own stuff. It is not my job to fix problems at 3:39 AM. It's not even my job to fix problems at all; I simply address things when a student asks me about a portion of his/her homework. It is nowhere in my job description to take your code, find the problem with it, and then re-write in such a way that it's fixed.

That's doing someone else's homework for a class I've already taken. I talked to Dr. B about it, and he agreed with me and said that students somehow think it is my responsibility to be available 24/7 to completely re-write their code so they don't learn anything. He suggested something that I intend to take to heart: on the day before an assignment is due, I'm just not going to check my email. If peeps had questions, they should have asked them in lab, as Mr. Ranelli gives them plenty of time to pore over assignments before they're due (this simple inheritance deal was given 2 weeks).

I am still mildly irked when I think about it.

Anyway, it's 9 PM, which means I need to go hit the workout center. Later!

Been Some Time

2005-09-04T02:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since last I wrote. My previous post was not from my home PC, so it's been an even longer period of time since I've sat down here at my desk and written anything.

Actually...no, nevermind. I'm just not in a writing mood at the moment for some reason. Maybe I'll change this later. I guess we'll see if the urge takes me or not.

Bookish

2005-08-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

1. The total number of books I own.
That is an excellent question...I have absolutely no idea. My bookshelf is full of books for school and books for pleasure, and I have others at my Dad's in storage. Total? Something well past 150.

2. What was the last book you bought?
Crossroads of Twilight. That's book 10 in the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan. It was actually rather anti-climactic, to be honest; I think Robert Jordan just wrote something to write something, because it didn't actually accomplish anything in terms of the main plotline, but it was a Wheel of Time novel, so I bought/read it.

3. What was the last book you read?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Excellent overall; Rowling did an absolutely excellent job blending adolescent awkwardness with a darkening world. I loved it.

4. List five books which have been particularly meaningful for you.
One of the comes from the gal who tagged mh for this thing: The Time Traveler's Wife. That book was an excellent read (albeit somewhat mind-bending at times), and it really shows that love can transcend time and place.

Another: the entire Wheel of Time series. It's 10 books long at the moment, with the 11th due on October 11th of this year. I read the first one senior year of high school, and 3 or 4 books have been written since. Many say it is a totally derivative work, but the best way to see farther is to stand on the shoulders of giants (such as Tolkien). They're a great set of novels, and they hold a number of good memories for me, as I can pick one of them up and remember what phase of my life I was in when I first read it.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Of all the books I've ever read, this one stands out as the biggest influence on my life. My motto comes from that book: "I hate a Roman named Status Quo!"

My textbook for CS201. Had it not been for thatb book and that class, I would not be working on a Ph.D. in CS right now.

My personal journal...which is actually not this weblog! I've got a notebook at home that I write in sporadically when I get frustrated, irritated, or otherwise wound up about something that I wouldn't want to talk about on here. Sometimes the personal journal and the weblog overlap, but most often they don't. I'm a little more private than you'd think by reading some of the stuff I've written on here.

As far as people to tag for doing this now that I have...Seth, Chuck, and Richard. I suspect none of them will spring for it, but hey...it's all good :)

Get It...Get It Now!

2005-08-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

iPod. You must get one. They are freakin' awesome.

I never thought I'd make use of one if I had it, but I was wrong.

Very wrong. The ability to listen to anything you own on CD without the hassle of switching CDs makes great. There's also the shuffle thing to add infinite variety to your collection.

You can even use them as souped-up jump-drives if you want. iPods don't just hold music anymore; I moved over all my lab stuff for the labs I'm teaching since I'm going to have the thing with me all the time anyway :)

One Week

2005-08-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

First full week of classes...yay. I'm glad I don't have classes on M/W/F. If I did, I do not think I'd be able to survive this term. Those three off days will come in mighty handy, I think.

Weekend update: Sunday, went fishing with Dad...caught a 5-pound drum...and now I am sunburned. Catching the fish was neat, although it smelled to high heaven once I got it in the boat. Catching the suburn was not neat at all. The upside to 3rd-degree sunburn is that you've seared yourself badly enough that your pain receptors die, which means it really hurts for a while but then you just sort of don't feel it anymore. Whenever I start peeling, I am going to look like a mummy who escaped his sarcophagus.

Maybe that means that Rachel Weisz will get to come and try to hunt me down, because we all know she does the mummy-hunting-down thing quite well. I could deal with her hunting me down.

Sunday was the (anti)culmination of my life. We got back from fishing, so I hopped in my Jeep, headed to the apartment, sorted a load of laundry, and hoofed it over to the laundromat. I parked, got out, did my usual Jeep-exit drill (lock doors), closed the door, and then went to the trunk so I could pull my laundry out and go get it done. You'll notice two things in the previous sentence are conspicuous by their absence:

a) turn off Jeep.
b) remove keys from Jeep before locking/closing door.

That's right. I locked myself out of my Jeep...while it was still running. This was a very bad thing. Fortunately, I have Roadside Assistance with my cell phone, so I called them up and they said they'd dispatch a locksmith to bail me out within the hour. An hour doesn't sound like a long time, but when you factor in my Jeep's minor cooling system problem, it becomes an eternity. You see, the Jeep's radiator system is not the most efficient in the world; in fact, when I drive to Atlanta, I typically have to roll down the windows and run the heater to vent heat from the engine so it won't overheat. Very ghetto, but also very effective.

Anyway, so I alternate between watching the minutes tick by and watching the temperature gauge slowly move inexorably towards the Red Zone. By the time it reached the far end of the gauge, I had gotten pretty antsy, but no hoses had burst and no radiator fluid had spilled out of the system, so I was dealing with everything OK. I will say that I spent this entire time silently apologizing to my Jeep for putting it through this. Eventually, however, sitting on idle got to be too much, as the fluid in the surge tank began to boil over. Seeing the puddle of fluid under the Jeep (I had no way of opening the hood; in fact, I figured a hose had popped), I immediately called my Dad. After he totally freaked out on me, he sped down to the laundromat. I'm very fortunate he now lives close to me. I'm very unfortunate that he brought a hammer, which he immediately used to beat the crap out of my passenger-side vent window. He then hit the power lock button, whereupon I opened the driver door, turned off the Jeep, popped the hood, and retrieved my keys. Dad was still freaking out in a big way at this point (totally justifiable), but all I could do was laugh. After all...who would have thought that such a small window was comprised of so much glass? I swear there was glass everywhere inside the Jeep.

Anyway, so that was Sunday. Since I had no classes Monday, I took the Jeep to the mechanic. I had the radiator totally replaced and got the little mini-window replaced. I also have an electric fan that I knew was essentially dead (which means that I could not run the AC without seriously overheating), so I'm taking it in tomorrow to get it replaced as well. The bill? A lot more than I wanted to spend, but worth it nonetheless. I took the Jeep on a practice run afterwards to Best Buy in the middle of rush hour, and it didn't even bat an eyelash at the stop-and-go traffic (normally 280 at rush hour is my nightmare as far as the engine temp goes).

So now the Jeep runs perfectly. It doesn't appear to have suffered any lasting ill effects from that episode on Sunday, but only time will tell.

Now it's time for my shower. I have to hop in there, head up to the apartment office to tell them I'm expecting a delivery from Apple today, and then head to a meeting of the CCL (Collaborative Computing Lab) at the CS department at 10. Today comprises one half of my week of classes, so I will be on campus from 9:30 this morning until...7ish?

Anyway...catch ya later, folks!

World Market

2005-08-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

That store is awesome. Whoever had that idea about mix-and-match to create your own 6-pack ought to be crowned king/queen of their company.

I got 2 Turbodogs, a mocha Rogue Dead Guy, a Woodchuck, a Red Stripe, and a Pumpkin Ale. I can't try any of that stuff tonight, though...gotta do that teaching intro thing tomorrow.

Going to bed now. 'Night.

Day Zero

2005-08-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Like any good computer scientist, I start my numbering system at 0 ;)

Today was...hectic, mildly frustrating, and even outright infuriating at times. I am utterly exhausted, but overall I'd say the day was pretty darned good. I had all three of my classes today, which means that I am totally off (with the exception of a seminar) tomorrow. I intend to spend the day listening to some crap about bioinformatics and matching gene sequences on DNA introns. I know a little about the DNA transcription process, but I am not at all interested in biology.

If I wanted to do biology, I would have majored in it, after all ;)

So a detailed run-down of the day is in order, I guess. My first class was CS 535, from 11 - 12:15. It's taught by Dr. Hyatt (the professor I had initially chosen as my adviser), and I expected an easy first day...but that was not to be. After going over the syllabus, he lectured. That class is going to be fun, but it is going to be entirely based on ANSI C. I've not really used C before (only C++, Java, and Perl), but I do not think learning the basics will be any big thing. The hardest part will be using the imperative language programming paradigm; I'm so used to object-oriented stuff that it'll come as a bit of a change, I think.

After that class, I waited around to get a few forms signed. That was an exercise in futility, so I headed off to the chemistry building to hang out with Dr. Nikles. She is doing well, which was good to hear. She's going to be teaching two sections of organic chem this term, and I made sure to offer my services as far as test proofreading. If I lacked ethics, that might be a problem, but Dr. Nikles is awesome and I would never do anything to betray her trust in me. She asked my help on a few things involving her computer; I guess it's good that everyone has a geek around these days in order to fix their technological terrors ;) After visiting Dr. Nikles for a bit, I headed off to lunch with Ruben at the UAB cafeteria. Eating in the Dragon's Lair was not nearly so bad as it was last time I was there a while back. They finally got with the times and now take check cards! That's a big plus; one of the main reasons I always chose Subway over the sandwich shop in the Dragon's Lair was that Subway took check cards (which meant I didn't have to carry any cash in order to eat there).

Lunch was fast. Almost too fast, really...I wolfed down my sandwich and headed off to Topics in Parallel Computing (CS 710, from 2 - 3:15). That class is taught by Dr. Bangalore (my Ph.D. adviser). The really neat thing about that is that I'll get an account at the AL Supercomputer Center to run my parallel programs in truly parallel fashion (which means multiple processors!). That is going to be awesome, and he's also going to give us Ph.D. students access to UAB's new high-tech supercomputer. It's the fastest computer in the state: 128 dual-proc nodes, with some obscene amount of memory per node. That's going to absolutely rock, and the class is going to use ANSI C as well (maybe a smattering of C++), so I'll hopefully get some overlap between it and CS 535. I am going to love this class, as Dr. B is an awesome teacher and the topic is one in which I am highly interested. One thing I've gleaned today is that I am going to seriously have to become a polyglot :)

After CS 710, I trailed Dr. B down to his office so he could sign the form that let me officially drop CS 750. I decided that it would be best for me to take that next fall, right before I take the qualifier exam, so that it'll all be fresh in my mind. I'm not worried about forgetting the automata/formal language stuff, because my grading assignment this term is Dr. Johnstone's CS 350 class. It'll be a review in itself, so that's cool.

Anyway...last class of the day was Database Systems (class number escapes me at the moment). That's taught by the only female professor in the department, Dr. Zhang. She seems really nice, and her English is pretty good, so I'm thinking it'll be an OK class. The crappy thing is that Ph.D. students have to make a 20-minute presentation at the end of the term on a database management topic of their choice. This means that at term's end, I'll get to get up in front of the class and talk about some stupid database crap. It'd be one thing if I had some interest in the area...but I don't. The neat thing is that one of my classmates is the "professor" I had for my Perl class last term. He's a really smart guy, and the class lends itself to study groups, so I intend to hop on board when I get the chance. I don't want to start my own study group, because I have not yet established myself as a decent grad student. For all I know, I might be a crappy one.

I hope not.

Oh, and somewhere in there I went and bought books. I think I can take one of my database books back and get $100 in refund for it. It's not listed as a required text (or even as a recommended reference), so I'm wondering where the bookstore got the idea that it was needed. I'd be willing to bet that it's only a ploy to get more money from us already-poor students :)

Oh, and I ordered my laptop from Apple today. It comes with a coupon for a free iPod Mini, which is also coming with it. In about a week and some change, I'll have a brand new laptop and an iPod to go with it :)

At any rate, it's bedtime for Daniel. I hope to get up early in the morning and head over to the thrift store with Seth in order to get some furniture. Score on dressers and dining room tables and chairs!

Anyway...'night!

Posted

2005-08-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

They posted grades a day early! Mine:

CS 438 A
CS 481 A
CS 304 B
CS 306 A
PSC 102 A

So that's it! Definitely not an undergrad anymore...grad school, here I come! :)

Down with the Sickness

2005-08-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yep...I'm currently down with the sickness! Are you down with the sickness? I hope not, because it seriously sucks.

I suspect there's an allergen or some type of insidious viral/bacterial bug in this apartment, but I don't have the slightest inkling as to what it might be. Whatever it is happens to be killing me, though. I've got a nasty case of the sneezes, a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, itchy/watery eyes, and a runny nose. Nyquil seems to have cleared it for now; I took a dose around 6 and it knocked me out until about 45 minutes ago.

I love Nyquil, as it does its job well despite a horrific taste.

I've an interesting piece of news to report, though. Remember that final I took on Tuesday at 8 AM? Yeah, the one that totally sneaked up on me and I figured I'd done horribly on? I got my grade back on the final (and my overall grade in the class). I made a 135/135 on the final, and an A in the course.

I freaking aced the final. Not "aced" as in "did really well," but rather "aced" in the literal sense. I'm terrified by the possibility that Dr. B confused my exam with that of someone else, because there is no way on God's green Earth that I did that well. If I did, though, I'll be kinda impressed ;)

Anyway...I guess I ought to go back to eating my absolutely tasteless dinner. I say tasteless because everything I eat tastes like sand (which I imagine to be tasteless). Thank my screwed up sense of smell.

I hate being sick, but I love acing finals. Later!

The Culmination of Years of Hard Work

2005-08-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

I am no longer an undergrad! I have graduated with a B.S. in chemistry/computer science.

(it's a very sad, very telling commentary that my degree is abbreviated BS)

So...yeah. I've got a degree! I'm the first of all the grandkids to do so...and neither of my parents have one. Dad is insanely proud of me, which is cool. He brags about his son, the future doctor, to his clients all the time ;) Mom is proud, too, although she's in the "I always knew you would" mold. It'd mean more to me if she had her life a little bit more together.

So anyway...mad awesome dinner celebration or something tonight :)

God, Let It End!

2005-08-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today has been an absolutely horrific day, and it's only just begun.

That's nice to hear, isn't it?

First...worked on my final Perl project until a little before 3 this morning. I have no problems staying up late to get my work done; if I had someone else to make happy, I would not be in front of the computer at such an ungodly hour, but it's only me in the bed, so that's that. That was a very convoluted sentence, but whatever...too tired to care. Anyway...3 AM, Perl, etc. I decide at this point that sleep is not far off, so I crawl into bed. All is well for about 30 seconds, and then I think to myself, "Gee, I ought to check what time tomorrow that political science final will be." So I checked...and found out it was on Thursday. This sent a huge chill down my spine, because I had thought my CS438 final was on Thursday...so I checked that one, and that's when the bad news came: the CS 438 was at 8 in the frikkin' morning on Tuesday. And I was sitting in front of the computer at 3. And I hadn't even cracked open the CS 438 book yet.

I was a little bit scared at this point.

I grabbed my covers and a pillow off the bed, went out to the Jeep to get my book/notebook, and plopped down in the living room floor to study. That lasted all of 20 minutes before I completely zonked out. I woke up (thanks to my cell phone alarm) to find my CS 438 book still open, still in my hand, still turned to page 368. This was 6:50 in the morning, so I staggered to my feet and hit the shower. I left the apartment at 7:11, arriving at UAB and plopping down in my chair at precisely 7:29.

31 minutes to study. 31 minutes until my nightmare comes true, because this situation has been my nightmare for years. YEARS, I say! I've always feared finding out about a final on the day of the final and then not having any time to study for it...

...but I had 31 minutes.

Dr. Bangalore walked into the room at exactly 8:00 with the exams. They were still warm from the copier...I love the smell of copy toner in the morning. It smells like victory...but not this time.

No, sports fans, not this time. 21 essay questions. 150 points. 30% of my grade, now down the tubes. Oh, sure, I put something down for every question. I even smacked down the question on epidemic update protocols...but I know for a fact that I missed a lot of the systems security crap and a pretty good portion of the data replication mess.

30% of my grade. I hope I make a 75/150 on that final, because that means I'd get 15 points out of 30 towards my overall average, which means I'd pull a B (85%).

But it gets better.

I just got home, not 15 minutes ago. I check the mail. There's a new checkcard from Southtrust there for me. "How odd!" I'm thinking, "I just got my new checkcard not 3 months ago...I wonder what the deal is with this?"

That's when the non-descript little message in tiny print fell out of the envelope. It reads...

Your Southtrust Check Card has been identified as being part of a group of accounts whose account number may have been illegally obtained as a result of a merchant database compromise. There was no compromise of any SouthTrust systems, but your account may still be at risk
...
We are monitoring the transactional accounts that you maintain at SouthTrust for potential misuse. If we identify suspicious activity involving your SouthTrust account, we will contact you immediately.

Thank you for banking with SouthTrust.

WTF?!?!?! How the heck does that happen?! I mean, really...what are the frikkin' odds that out of a gazillion SouthTrust customers, my account number would be part of a small group that was potentially stolen as a result of a "merchant database compromise?" I darn well better not get screwed by some idiot...I can already see myself on one of those Citibank Identity Theft commercials.

Awesome...just abso-freakin'-lutely awesome. I'm going to bed. Screw it all.

The Law of Averages

2005-08-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

I get an assistantship = awesome.

This means the Universe has to react in an equal and opposite way in order to offset my good luck and keep the Luck Average at 0...and it has done precisely that.

My step-grandmother was just diagnosed with liver/lung cancer.

Whoa!

2005-08-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Apple has finally released a multi-buttoned mouse! At the risk of sounding geeky (is that really a risk at this point?), I want to say that the new Mighty Mouse sounds pretty darned sweet, like a force-sensitive trackball + mouse. It sounds awesome, and here's the article from Apple.

The main thing that was stopping me from getting a Mac was the lack of multiple buttons on the mouse. That's a really nit-picky reason, but it's the truth...and now that they have multi-mice, I might just have to invest in a Mac :)

(catching my breath)

2005-08-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

These last couple of days have been an absolute blur. I've moved, got an assistantship offer, finished off a final project or three, done an important software demonstration, and just been otherwise all-around busy.

So here's the item-by-item lowdown on all that...

Moving is the first item of interest. We started the "moving process" of getting stuff from Da Hiznouse (which will be sorely missed) and transferring it to The Apartment; that process began on Monday. Prior to that, however, we had to get everything packed/boxed/etc. That was a freaking pain; on Saturday and Sunday, I ended up staying up for most of the night both nights in order to get it done. By Sunday, I was so frazzled that I just stayed up that entire night in order to finish up my final project in CS438. I finished that at just past 9 AM Tuesday morning; the thing was due by 10:20 AM that same morning, so I cut it a hair closer than I would have liked.

I got it done, though it came at the cost of sleep for an already-deprived Daniel. This is where the Sleep Troubles begin.

So we got our things packed and ready to go for a move-in on Monday. Monday saw a few initial items moved into The Apartment, but the big stuff was not moved that day. It is worth noting that I managed to get this all done alone, too. I'm very proud of that fact, actually...I did it all myself :)

Tuesday night = once again, no sleep for Daniel. I ended up laying down for a bit but being unabale to sleep. I'd already been awake for the better part of 48 hours by now...go figure. It's like the longer I was awake, the less I needed sleep; I thought for a while that I was turning into the poster boy for that Barenaked Ladies song Who Needs Sleep? I spent the entire night cleaning the house, sweeping, scrubbing, taking out trash, etc, but I got it done in time for Jason's arrival Wednesday morning to finalize my cleaning. No sleep for me, though...we left Da Hiznouse for the final time, coming over to The Apartment with the intent to stay. STILL no sleep, though, as I did not have a bed. Dad came over at this point, took a look around to decide what to do as far as installing a wireless alarm system, and then deciding that I needed a bed and we'd go get me one.

We went to the mattress store and thus bought a full-size (as in, not opposed to mini-size) bed. We grabbed some lunch (from Green Acres Irondale...awesome stuff there, btw), came back to The Apartment, assembled my bed, and Dad then left. Sleep for Daniel? HA! There was to be no sleep for Daniel. I tried to take a nap, to no avail. That was frustrating. When I finally did get to sleep, I was awakened at freaking 1 in the morning by a text message. No bad feelings against the sender, but I was understandably irked at the time...and I also could not go to sleep afterwards. I tried...and I tried...ad I tried...until about 4:30, when Dad called me so I could go with him to work. We then spent a grueling 6 hours that Thursday morning doing a pre-wire (getting all the holes drilled/wires pulled for a future alarm installation). That was freaking insane, and now I totally get why Dad was always sore, tired, and grumpy when he'd come home from one. I wanted nothing more than a nice nap afterwards...but that, as you can probably guess, was not to be.

No, still no sleep for Daniel. By this time, I was probably becoming mildly psychotic...I'd have to ask Dad and Jason in order to be sure, but I know that I definitely was not "all there."

When I got home, I got ready to demo my software presentation for my last assignment in CS438. That was at 1:30. I wish it had gone even slightly according to plan initially, but it all turned out well in the end. I even got bonus points for doing the part of the project that was labeled as being for graduate students...I figured I may as well get used to that now :) Oh, and I also got an assistantship offer. I almost forgot to mention that...full tuition and a 18.5K stipend to boot. A pretty sweet deal, I think.

Anyway, so I came home with the knowledge that I'd have a final the next day (today), and I also knew that I'd have to turn in a final project for that same class (CS481). Since I was neither prepped for the final nor finished with my project, I resolved to pull another all-nighter to get studying done/project completed.

This, however, was blissfully not to be. You see, on Monday night, I'd gotten so frustrated with a few aspects of my project in CS438 that I totally nuked the hard drive and started from scratch. The practical upshot to this was that I did not reinstall any of the relevant CS481 software (my zombie-like state probably had something to do with this) before my computer was moved to The (Internet-less) Apartment. By this point on Thursday night, I'd realized belatedly that I lacked the software to finish the project...and I didn't feel like studying...so I said, "Aww, to Hell with it, I'm getting some sleep."

Surprised I busted out the H-e-double-hockey-sticks? I was too, actually, but I was too tired to care.

Sleep...blissful, deep, sank-into-sleep-faster-than-a-rock-sinks-in-a-lake sleep.

It was wonderful. No all-nighters, no packing/cleaning, no ill-timed text messages (I can already see the sender saying "well, fine, I won't text message you ever again, then!"). I woke up this morning absolutely refreshed, ready to take on anything the world wanted to throw at me...which was good, because it apparently wanted to throw a biznatch of a final my way.

Did I mention my lack of study? It soon became quite apparent as I went through the short-answer final. I'd been expecting multiple choice...but Dr. R decided he wanted to "switch things up a bit." I know I did terribly...but everyone else did too, so maybe I'll end up OK ;)

So that catches things up to now. I've got Internet again, which is great, because now I can finish writing my web app project for Perl (due Wednesday) and my template thing for C++ (due Monday).

Anyway...10:30 PM and I haven't yet eaten dinner. I'm going to go see what we have in the (very sparsely populated) pantry. 'Night, sports fans!

Finalized

2005-08-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am going to be sans Internet for the next few days as I get settled in to my new apartment.

I'll post pictures of it when things look like home and less like bunches of boxes piled everywhere :)

Holy Crap...It Worked!!!

2005-08-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

I just finished creating/deploying my first-ever entity Java bean! I was up until just about 5:30 in the morning working on it, and I finally got it working. I'm so excited...that means I can actually finish this project and maybe even make it look awesome!

Sweet, sweet, sweet!

At the Deadline!

2005-07-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

A Deadline Deal has been done in the fantasy baseball league! In order to shore up my ailing/underwhelming starting rotation, here's the trade:

The Eye of Barad Dur (Players to Trade):
Brian Giles, SD (OF)
Matt Clement, BOS (SP)

The Candyshop Inferno (Players to Trade):
Tim Hudson, ATL (SP)
Barry Zito, OAK (SP)

So I'm trading away an OF and a pretty good SP to get Zito and Hudson, two of the Big Three. If I could arrange a deal for Mark Mulder, I'd have them all re-united :) This is all assuming that the trade isn't vetoed by the league, but I'm thinking it won't be. I'm excited...my rotation seriously needed an upgrade or two, and this trade really helps me out. I hate to be letting Clement go, but I'm thinking he's due for a negative adjustment, just as I think Zito's stock is rising. Here's hoping!

I would say that I need to get some homework done, but I am tired and I really do not care about it very much at the moment. I think I am going to hit the couch downstairs for bed again tonight. As such...good night.

Required Reading

2005-07-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you're a girl, you have to read this.

Moving Stuff

2005-07-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

Moving stuff = a pain. I never realized precisely how much crap I've got until forced to pack it all in boxes and move it all some other place. I think I will run out of boxes sometime tonight, which means I'll have to hit WalMart or something hopes of getting more. I dunno...I might be too exhausted now, although me being exhausted isn't saying much these days.

Ugh.

I guess I'll get back to sorting things into the Keep Pile and the Trash Pile. That's not too hard, and I've found that I'm becoming less and less packrat-ish with each item I find. Anyway...later.

EJBs and JSPs and JNDIs...Oh My!

2005-07-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

EJB = Enterprise Java Bean
JSP = Java Server Page
JNDI = Java Naming and Directory Interface

I hate homework. That's all there is to it. It's as bad as shaving: I used to think it was cool (first step to manhood, etc., etc.), but now that I have to do it all the time, I hate it and it sucks beyond measure. Burnout is itself roughly equivalent to razorburn, which sucks too (and is something I've managed to avoid, thanks to Edge Ultra Sensitive Pro Gel). I wish there was some kind of Ultra Cool Pro Thingie that did all your work for you and then transferred the knowledge and skills gained to you automagically, but the only thing that does my homework is me, and I know I am not any kind of Ultra Cool Pro Thingie.

Grrr...at least the term ends next Monday.

Pondering

2005-07-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those thought processes that goes this way:

"This person writes really well. Color me impressed; it's not often you hop on someone's weblog and they actually have some semblance of style. I do not want to sound like an intellectual elitist; I know my own weblogs both lack much in the way of style. I wonder how old she is? Hrm...judging by her writing style, she's older than a high school kid (because she writes well), younger than a middle-aged lady (just judging by the tone), and possibly single (unless she's very quiet about her dating habits). She's a good writer...she must be hot!"

It never ceases to amaze me how much I can read into something like that. I'm no expert, but I've done the online thing before, and I've found that sometimes these sorts of deals carry a lot more meaning than intended. That's kinda like thinking that the lady that gave me the telephone interview must be hot because she sounded immensely attractive. Of course, I do have the whole female voice thing...but I digress.

Anyway...was just thinking that, and I was kinda curious to see if anyone else, in the absence of all other knowledge, has gone and read something someone wrote and automatically thought that someone might be an intriguing person to get to know. Maybe it's just me :) I really ought to be working on this JSP/EJB assignment that's due next week, so I'll get hopping on that. Later!

The Fires of 1,000 Hells

2005-07-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's that hot here. According to the weather forecast, it feel like 102 degF (that's almost 39 degC), and that is made worse by the humidity. A friend of mine once called Alabama summers "oppressively hot," and she was spot-on. It wouldn't be nearly so bad if it wasn't so blasted muggy outside.

I swear that if I took a knife out there and gave it a good swing, I'd cut out a block of air. That is what makes the heat so unbearable. "Oppressively hot," indeed...Hell hasn't got anything on Alabama during the summer.

What if WWII Was a RTS?

2005-07-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Bahahahahahahaha!

Funniest thing I have read in a very long time. I was laughing so hard that I think I woke roomies up.

/*EDIT

That was so totally the wrong link; you'll notice that there would be exactly 0 correlation between old people/heat waves and WWII as a RTS. I fixed it, though, as of 10:45 this morning. Go see what I actually meant to post (this means you, Richard, so you don't think I've got it in for old people) ;)

EDIT */

Biznack!

2005-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

I am returned from my short expedition to Madison! It was great fun to lose a couple of bucks via TX Hold 'Em the first night, get raped playing Russia during Diplomacy, and then win back my money + a bit for the second night of poker. I had an ejoyable weekend, sports fans, and I suspect that little break was precisely what the doctor ordered :)

Poker...first night, we had 8 people: Brecken, Geoffrey, Nick, Ehren, Tito, Rob, Seth, and me. I lost out relatively late in the game, but it was all good. Tito took me out on a good hand; I had a straight, but he had a full house, so that was that. I was designated dealer for the remainder of the evening, and I even recouped a buck of the three I'd lost during play (thanks to tipping the dealer). It was enjoyable, and I learned that aggressive play is good, but playing a hand for the sake of playing a hand is not. Sometimes it's just better to lay off, no matter how bored you become in doing so.

Diplomacy was crappy. I played Russia, which was the country I wanted, but my heart just was not in the game. I can't explain it, but for some strange reason I just wasn't feeling it as far as Diplomacy yesterday. I played decently, I suppose, but my lack of desire really showed through: I was very passive throughout the game, which led to Russia's reduction to a non-factor pretty early. I guess it was cool, though, as I finally got to play as Russia. I just wish I'd been a little more "there," so to speak, because I think that Russia is a really superb Power to play. It's all good, though.

After Diplomacy, we got some more poker on. This time we only had 5 peeps: Seth, Rob, Ehren, Nick, and me. I put Ehren out on what I think was the second hand; I got dealt a pocket pair of kings, and he foolishly kept in the game. It was pretty funny, so he bought back in. Nick was next to go, soon after, again at my hands, and again due to a pocket pair of kings. I was really on fire as far as luck goes last night, which rocked: I managed to take back the losses from the previous night, make my buy-in, while still swinging a profit after we finished up. It was great ;)

It was great fun. I just hopped out of the shower, and I'm chowing down on some Reese's Puffs, so I'm going to finish this cereal and then get some clothes on. Piece!

Harry Potter

2005-07-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

I borrowed the new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from a very good friend of mine earlier this week. I sat down on Wednesday and read it cover-to-cover, as I just could not seem to put it down. I even skipped my A/S/M class that day to read it :)

My review: it's an awesome read. Rowling's writings have certainly come of age, just as one might say about Harry Potter. Her world of wizardry is no longer the sunny safehaven it was back in the first few books, as we find that the Death Eaters have begun to run amok and kill not just witches and wizards, but innocent Muggles as well. Picture Tony Blair in his study when a picture on the wall talks to him and Cornelius Fudge pops out of his fireplace, and you'll see what I mean ;) You can tell as you read that JK has not at all forgotten how awkward it is to be a teenager: you're too old to be a kid, but too young to be an adult, and that limbo in which Harry finds himself shows through his frustration and just general bullheadedness throughout the entire novel. Rowling also does an absolutely magnificent job of further developing the hated Severus Snape. He's no longer the hated Potions professor; rather, he's even more of a question mark (in a plethora of ways).

!!!SPOILER WARNING!!!
Oh, and *&%@*%&;^$@&%#$!^#*^&%@^!^!&^%% dies, too ;)
!!!END SPOILER!!!

Overall, it's well-worth reading. It's hard to put it away once you've started it; as I said a moment ago, I plowed through the entire thing in just over 7 hours of straight reading. I don't know how some of my other friends are managing to read it slowly; I could not force myself to just read a few chapters and let it alone.

Whatever your reading style, though, you should see if you can get your hands on this book. It's awesome :)

I'm Going to Miss This Place

2005-07-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

I just realized that this morning. This house has been home for three years. I've had roomies come and go, but I've been here since it started, and now I'm going to leave when it ends. Three years...Kevin, Jason, Nick, Chase, Mohammed, Sun, and Brent have all come through since I took up residence here. I wasn't the first; I had to be "interviewed" by Nick and Chase before I moved in to ensure that I fit with everyone.

The last thing anyone wants is a crappy room-mate who never helps out around the house, never cleans his dirty dishes, etc.

Kevin moved out relatively early on, whereupon he was replaced by Jason. I'm not complaining about that...Kevin was a bit weird, and Jason is cool (so cool, in fact, that he and I will be rooming together at the new apartment). Last year, Nick and Chase both got married, leading to two real holes in the Fellowship of the Roomies. Mohammed and Sun moved in, which was cool. Mohammed was a nephrologist from Turkey; he was a little older than we were (and by a little, I mean he had a wife and two daughters), but he was a really nice guy. It was neat to teach him a little bit of English. He had a lot of gals from his English classes over for dinner sometimes; it made both Jason and me wish that maybe we needed English lessons. Some of those ladies were downright hot ;)

Sun has been here since Nick/Chase moved out. He started out a lot like I did: he closeted himself in his room, only to emerge to take care of something important. He really kept to himself initially, but I think that probably had something to do with his lack of confidence in English. He's come a long way, though, and he will be missed. I actually kinda enjoy proof-reading his research papers, to be honest...it lets me get a handle on medical law :)

Brent moved in a bit before Mohammed moved out. When he moved in, our total occupancy here at Da Hizzy was 5, which exceeded our maximum occupancy of 4. That made things interesting for a while, but it's all good. I took a liking to Brent almost immediately, as I determined that he and I had identical interests in a few areas: he too is a chemistry major; he too enjoys cooking (for the same reason as I do, too: ladies like a good cook!); and he loves Best Buy. That's a volatile combination (just look at me for proof). He's an interesting character, too: I don't mean to sound like I buy into stereotypes, but he's also a frat guy...which would lead you to believe that he drinks and parties all the time. We've all found that's untrue: while he does drink and party periodically, school comes first. I think that's the main reason he's such a good roomie: he focuses hardcore on schoolwork most of the time, but he cuts loose some of the time, too. I've learned a lot about that from him, too...his main focus as far as me: "settle down...don't be so uptight."

He's got me pegged on that one.

So that brings us to our final roomie: Jason. Jason has lived here the longest (next to me, of course). I've gotten to know him pretty well, and he's one of those few peeps out there who really cares about everyone else. He just graduated with a B.S. in biology from UAB this last May with hopes of entering medical school next year. As much as he'd deny it, he's a really smart guy. He is one of the very few people I know who should genuinely be a doctor: he has the nerves, the intelligence, and the drive. When I was TA-ing for organic chemistry, a lot of pre-med students came though who only had thinly-veiled desires to make a lot of money or get the hot girls/guys. I have no desire to be a doctor (well, not an M.D.), but I got a pretty good feel for the qualities that a good candidate for medical school should possess. Jason possesses them all, so I'm sure he'll be accepted somewhere. I know he'll probably read this and freak out about the things I haven't said, but so be it. I've invited him to be a team-member on this little weblog, but he hasn't accepted, so poo on him ;)

Oh...almost forgot about myself there. A lot has happened to me in 3 years. At the risk of sounding egocentric, I'm going to write this paragraph from my own, personal perspective, which means you really will see the world through my coke-bottle glasses (or contacts, as I had when this started).

I moved in here three years ago. It seems like my entire college career has been fraught with obstacles, but it also seems that for every obstacle, God kinda drops a little thing in there. Finding this house was one of them: I had put down a deposit at UAB's Blount Hall to live there in the fall of 2002, but then my uncle just happened to notice an ad in the paper for this house. It is interesting to note that this is Uncle Scott, with whom I am not very close. He has loads of money, so I'm not sure what he was doing looking in the Classifieds...but no complaints for me :) Anyway, after being "interviewed" and a bit of a Chinese fire drill moving process, I moved in here (special thanks to Samantha, who merits a mention here because she was a huge help with her truck). I started out here a lot like Sun: I stayed in my room and really kept to myself. 3 years ago, I was enough of an introvert that I look back and kinda laugh at my Past Self. :)

A lot has happened since I moved in here. I got my first car, traded in my first car, and bought my Jeep. I learned that shyness isn't really necessary, because people are going to think what they want to think about me whether I like it or not...so I may as well be the spaz that I am inside ;) I had my first real kiss. I found out from the doctor that I had been dealt a really rotten hand. I let loose my electronics obsession, building my own, personal home theatre and computer. I decided to go for a chemistry/computer science double major. I took the GRE, and then I got accepted into graduate school (starts this fall!).

And that list is only a small part :)

So in two weeks, I am going to be saying goodbye to the house that has been my home for 3 years and which has housed so many of the major events in my life to date. I was looking forward to moving, but now that it's really hit me that there is no going back, I'm kinda wishing I was able to stay here (shhh...don't tell Jason or I'll be in for some major "told ya so" action). In two weeks, a chapter in my life ends and a new one begins.

Here's to the future!

Breakdown

2005-07-19T05:52:00.000-07:00

Song from Breaking Benjamin's We Are Not Alone...go listen to it!

Anyway...

This says it all:

SCHOOL: NATRL SCI & MATH
MAJOR: COMPUTER INFO SCIE
CLASS: DOCTORAL

This means a few things:

a.) financial aid has been awarded for fall, as hoped
b.) actually going to be starting Ph.D. in the fall
c.) (that's just seriously sinking in now)
d.) this implies that I will be graduating after this term, with a degree in chemistry/CS
e.) (that's also just seriously sinking in now)
f.) I need a drink (not a Mountain Dew, either)

Whew...hard to believe that for once everything is going to work out as planned. I've had a run of very good fortune recently, which is awesome...but, as I mentioned on Xanga, that means that the inevitable run of bad luck will have to be that much worse.

Ugh.

Well...I'll enjoy the good whilst I can ;) Shower now...later!

No Escape

2005-07-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

There's no backing down now...today, at 3 of the clock, we sign the lease at our new apartment complex in Mountain Brook. It's really nice, and we're getting an insanely awesome deal on it, so I ought not complain...but I have my (admittedly small) list of items of concern.

Oh well...hopefully it'll be all good.

Anyway...just wanted to put a short blurb up about that. Later!

It Begins!

2005-07-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

The 6th and next-to-last (I refuse to say "penultimate," since everything I've read about it says that) Harry Potter book is released today. I'm seriously considering buying it, but I am a little low on funds at the moment (thanks to the new apartment), so I may just wait a couple of days to see if I can borrow it from someone. That'd save me a good $20 bucks :)

Other than that little thing, today is set to be a lazy day. I have yet to finish my assignment for C++, but I'm really not in the mood to program. I may hit the road to George Ward Park and play some disc golf...I'm not sure if I want to do that, though, as it might be a little hot.

I'll find out in a bit, I suppose, after the shower I'm about to take. Later!

Friday the 15th

2005-07-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Friday...woohoo! Not that it matters much to me; I'll still be sitting in front of my computer, working on my C++ homework and my final project in Perl. I have absolutely no other homework! Talk about a change...no midterms that need studying, no debates that need preparation...just the one homework assignment that's due Monday and that final project that's due at the end of the term.

I am happy. Oh, and I would say that we kicked butt in our debate last night :)

I also heard back on that job for which I interviewed a bit ago. They said that a fall internship was a pretty good possibility, once I determine what my class schedule will be. 9 semester hours is apparently a typical load for a graduate student, so I don't think classes will be that big of a deal (lecture-time-wise, anyway). Maybe I will be hired to a decent job with a decent paycheck. That would be pure coolness, especially since I am going to be cutting it close in the fall.

I've got A/S/M lecture later today. That's at 1, and I am debating the merits of attending. The problem with the class is that lecture seems almost pointless: Dr. R only seems to mumble about this, that, or the other, interspersed with the periodic thing that would be good to know for the final, along with a sprinkling of reflection on the nature of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Admittedly, hearing someone else's thoughts on the nature of Life, the Universe, and Everything is interesting, but I didn't pay to take the class to hear that...I took the class to learn about modeling, simulation, and animation. Dr. R is a really nice guy outside of class; he's really smart, in a Dr. Hamilton-esque way, so he just doesn't communicate well when it comes to lecturing.

The more I think about it, the less I want to go to class. I'd rather play some disc golf, which I haven't done in forever. Hmmm.......

Well, shower for now. Have a great day!

We Are the Champions

2005-07-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Scratch one midterm. I left thinking that Taps was playing in the distance, but I came out of the exam to All Hail the Chief.

Awesome...awesome, I tell you. Every single question on that test was something I hit whilst feverishly studying last night. All of them. I think I even nailed the graduate-student-only question (which was a bonus for us undergraduates). I'm thinking a 100+ score on that test is well within reach, sports fans.

(whew)

I was scared there for a bit, but not so anymore. I'm looking forward to getting that test back on Tuesday (or next Thursday), because I think I may have a triple-digit score (as opposed to a single-digit score).

I'm walking on air, at the moment, which is good, because I have to do the debate thing later tonight. That'll be neat, and I think it will go well. My groupmates are awesome, so that is beyond cool.

So anyway...seeking food. Later!

Into the Wild Blue Yonder

2005-07-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Today's the day! I have a midterm in the class in which I am (very surprisingly) not doing particularly well. I say "not doing particularly well," but we haven't got any grades yet, so I'm technically incorrect...but the midterm today is over 280 pages of distributed systems stuff, and I find myself woefully under-prepared, so I will be doing poorly in the class after said test.

You see, I spent most of yesterday in Panic Mode as far as apartment hunting...and then I headed over to Dad's so we could replace that stupid leaking power steering hose in the Jeep. That was an experience...we managed to unscrew/pull out one end of the hydraulic hose, but the other end was bolted in a most inconvenient place by a bolt that fit no English-sized wrenches. The closest fit we could find was a 19 metric-sized one...to which Dad cursed, "That's downright un-American, to have an American-made Jeep use metric-sized bolts."

(this led to the expected anti-European/Japanese tirade)

Maybe I'm the only one who finds that to be absolutely hilarious. I love having the Jeep, because it means I can actually do something with my hands (instead of programming a computer or working in a chemistry lab). Physical labor is mildly satisfying, actually...surprising to hear from a chemist/computer scientist, I know ;)

Anyway, so we were replacing the hose, and we were bleeding the power steering fluid system (to ensure the new fluid was uncontaminated by the old stuff) when the steering column totally locked on me. In my infinite intelligence, instead of reaching around the wheel to turn the ignition key to unlock the wheel, I reached through the thing...so when the wheel violently unlocked, it nearly lopped off my arm. It HURT, and now I can barely hold a pen...which sucks, because that midterm I mentioned a second ago is going to require "two hours of writing" (quote courtesy professor).

Ugh.

I guess I ought to go get dressed for what will become my own personal academic funeral...although I suppose as long as I pass the class with a C or better, I'll be OK, since I've already been accepted as a Ph.D. student ;)

Anyway...must not slack off because of that. I'm sure I'll write later. Piece out, homeskilletz!

Too Close for Comfort

2005-07-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a grueling three-hour panic session as far as housing for next year goes. Jason and I had completed and submitted our applications for a really nice townhome that's about 15 minutes off campus; we had been guaranteed acceptance if the tenants of the townhouse vacated as expected.

Need I say that the current tenants are not going to vacate as hoped/expected?

This discovery today led to a Chinese fire drill search for another apartment complex. Prior to our finding that townhouse, we had settled on another complex out in Mountain Brook, called Sharpsburg Manor. We called them up earlier today to see if they had any openings (they had none when we had checked them out near the end of May)...but it turns out that they have one apartment left. 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms...and the last one they have open.

After painstakingly going over the details involved (and haggling a bit on the rent costs), we decided to go all in and spring for it. I went ahead and paid for the security deposit, so my bank account is hurting...but accomodations for the next year are all but set (pending review of our applications). It's nice to have some sense of certainty on that front, as I had started to mildly freak out when I found that we would not be getting that townhouse.

So now our new address come August will be in Sharpsburg Manor. The cool thing about them is that they even include expanded cable in the deal, so we'll be getting ESPN and all that included in our monthly rental fee. The lease will be for a 12-month period, and the first month will only cost $99 bucks (thanks to Jason and his hard bargaining)! Rent will be $699 (plus utilities) thereafter, which will not be bad at all. I am excited. It will be cool :)

So now that all of the apartment stuff seems to have been taken care of, I am going to get my study on. I've got a midterm tomorrow in CS438, and I would like to do well on it. Later!

Three Days

2005-07-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

I think that's the longest I've gone without writing something here on Blogger! Hmmm...either I'm getting un-addicted to writing (unlikely, as I've used Blogger and/or Xanga for almost a year and a half now)...or I've just been too busy to write anything. I think the second is much more likely, to be honest; I had a midterm last Thursday (which remains as-yet ungraded) and a midterm on Friday (made a 24/20 on it). I'd like to know especially what the Thursday midterm came out to be; I thought it was a fairly simple test, but everyone else is forecasting poor scores, so I am kinda worried.

I'm kinda not, though. I think I did OK :)

Sunday...I didn't do much except drive. I came back from Atlanta after very successfully surprising Aunt Deborah for her birthday. We got the remains of Hurricane Dennis, which means it rained a lot and the wind blew pretty hard, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Outside of some coastal damage, I don't think Dennis did much, as it weakened rapidly and moved very quickly once it hit land. It was cool to see stuff, though.

One important thing did happen on Sunday, though. LaVentia had her baby...which means Brent is now officially a father of a brand spankin' new little girl. She was 6 pounds, 10.5 ounces, with a length of 19 inches. I think that she might go into the WNBA or something, as that seemed pretty tall for a baby (to me, at least...I think I was either 17 or 18 inches, although I weighed 8 and a half pounds). I don't usually think babies are particularly cute, but Latiana was pretty darned cute. She had a very full head of hair, too, which I found surprising. I know I had a very small amount of hair when I was born, so seeing a little newborn girl with a bit of an afro was something of a surprise :)

Monday saw me replace the battery in Samantha's truck. It turns out that her alternator was the offending part, which sucks, because she went to the dealership and ended up paying a buttload of cash in order to get it replaced. I could have done it, but hey...her truck is very important to her, and the last thing I'd want to do is break it, because I know that she'd break me as a result. If I pulled out the alternator and broke the truck, she'd pull my beating heart from my chest (kinda like the Temple of Doom guy) and take that as fair recompense.

(she really isn't that scary, though, for all her attempts to be...otherwise I wouldn't have stayed her friend for 5 years and some change)

Anyway, so today, I turned in some homework and prepped for the debate on Thursday. My team-mates seem pretty well-prepared, which is nice, because every group of students I've dealt with in CS (with a few exceptions) have slacked and not pulled their weight. This group is different, though; both the gals in it are very intelligent and hard-working.

It's cool.

That would bring this weblog (and its (very small) audience) up to speed. I need to seek out dinner, so...piece out!

Happy Birthday!

2005-07-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Today is Aunt Deborah's birthday! I don't know her exact age (I think she's going to be 45 or 46), but I do know one thing...she is rapidly approaching "ancient" status ;)

She also has absolutely no idea that I'm going to be visiting ATL today. I am planning to finish my breakfast (which I'm working on now), head to Dad's to change my oil, and then hit the road. She is going to be a little bit surprised :)

So anyway...happy birthday to Aunt Deborah! I'm off...see ya Sunday!

Going to Be a Good Day

2005-07-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning, and I looked at the clock, and it wasn't 9:11 (8:11, actually). That's gotta be a good omen.

Before I write anything else, though...Londoners, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Whatever idiot terrorist group that pulled this shiznit will get theirs. Just you watch. Peeps don't get away with bombing the most awesome city in the world. I think it's great how you guys pulled together after yesterday, and I'm glad that you all refuse to be intimidated into submission. Congrats on beating out Paris to host the 2012 Olympics...I'll be there :)

Go UK! You rock.

In other, less-important news...I've got a midterm today! I absolutely smacked down the politcal science one yesterday. I seriously busted out the mad writing skillz on the essay at the end of the test. The test itself consisted of 38 multiple choice questions, 5 short answers, and 1 essay. I thought it was going to be really hard (since the professor did a great job of building it up), but it turned out to be pretty simple.

This midterm today, though...I'm not so sure about it. I don't have the book for the class, which sucks, because the professor lets people use the book during his tests. This leads me to two separate (but related) conclusions:

a) This midterm is probably going to be a pain, because open-book tests are typically written to be more difficult than closed-book tests.
b) I am probably not going to do so well on this one.

I've also got an appointment with one of my professors at 11. We're going to discuss the wonders of Java multi-threading...woohoo!

(just in case you're wondering...that statement is supposed to be dripping with sarcasm)

So anyway...I am going to take care of my morning stuff, hit the shower, eat a bowl of cereal, and get working for today. Later!

Hurdles

2005-07-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

/*EDIT
Wow. That makes my complaints seem downright petty. I'll shut up now.
EDIT*/

Do you ever get the feeling that something just was not meant to be?

I do.

As many of you know, I'm to become a graduate student in the fall...but I'm suddenly wondering if this is the right path. I'm not just randomly having cold feet. I'm sitting back and trying to objectively examine the events of the past couple of months, and I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm not supposed to hit graduate school. I thought that my GRE score was an "all systems go" on God's end, but now I'm not so sure. I mean...

I made my first non-A in a CS class last spring.

My financial aid for this summer hit multiple random snags before I finally got it.

My financial aid for this fall is up in the air, because my file is "incomplete" and thus on hold (even though I have given them my completed FAFSA, a completed UAB financial aid packet, a copy of my letter of acceptance to the graduate school, and a letter from my advisor stating that I will indeed begin graduate work in the fall).

My stipend was pulled out from under me, despite it being used as a carrot to get me to come to UAB for graduate work in the first place.

It does not appear that I will be hired for that job this fall, although a springtime internship is highly likely.

The professor I want to have for my Ph.D. advisor randomly got hit by a truck whilst walking to school one morning, for crying out loud.

So what do you think? Does it look to you like maybe God is trying to tell me that I ought not pursue a Ph.D.? I hate to sound like I'm whining, but I cannot count the number of things that have gone wrong in the past week alone...and don't even get me started on the past three months.

I guess maybe I could just be going through a rough spot, one of those character-building exercises that God seems to enjoy busting out on random folks. I don't know...it just seems as though lately, everything that can go wrong has; my life recently has been the absolute fulfillment of Murphy's Law.

(sigh)

Anyway...I'm going to go hit the books. I've got a midterm in my political science class tomorrow, and I am reasonably sure that reading the textbook would be A Good Thing.

Sucky

2005-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

I almost had a run-in this morning with the Late Homework Fairy. I confused an assignment in C++ that is due next week with one for DisSys (due today), and thus went to class with absolutely no expectation of "class, your homework was due today before class." That news hit me like a ton of bricks...had you looked up "poleaxed" in the dictionary, the illustration would have been me right then. I lucked out, though, in that Dr. B was kind enough to extend the deadline to next Tuesday, since apparently no one else had it done :)

(whew)

That said, I've got assignments to do in every single one of my classes:

C++: implement an integer set (complete with union, intersection, subtraction, etc.)
Perl: implement a grade calculator, a compound data structure lister, and a tic-tac-toe game
A/S/M: "embellish" a complicated in-book model
DisSys: multi-thread that chat program we wrote for assignment #1
PoliSci: prepare for and conduct a debate on Japanese-style capitalism v. US-style capitalism (hmmm...they're the highest-ranked creditor nation, and we're the highest-ranked debtor nation...)

Every single one of them has something upcoming. I've got midterms in DisSys, A/S/M, and PoliSci this Thurs/Fri. I thought this summer would be a relative cakewalk, but I'm finding out with each passing day that I couldn't have been more wrong.

(annoyance)

Anyway...now that I've griped, it's lunchtime. Later!

What the Freakin' Heck?!

2005-07-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Why is it always 9:11 whenever I look at the clock in the morning?! That is so weird...anyway, now that you've had your dose of Daily Randomness, I'm gonna hit the shower. Later!

Today...We Celebrate...Our Independence Day!

2005-07-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

(bonus points to the first person who can tell me from whence that line came)

Happy 4th! It's going to be a crazy day. I am going to go back to getting things prepped; I'm only taking time to sit here and write this because Brent and Jason don't know I'm on my computer ;) I'll pop back on later tonight to write the thanks-to-the-peeps-who-defend-our-freedom thing, but for now, I'm just here to say...

Happy Independence Day!!!

Singularity

2005-07-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

Well...I am the last remaining bastion of singularity in my household. Brent has Crystal...Sun has Sun...and Jason has Katie. I just noticed that in each case, the names of the people involved in the couple begin with adjacent alphabetic letters or the same letter (Jason/Katie and Brent/Crystal, or Sun/Sun). Odd...anyway, Jason and Katie are news, and they are an "item" as of last night. Jason put his neck on the chopping block and told her how he feels, and she feels the same way, so...yeah.

(chipmunk voice) ...so lonely...I have nobody to call my own ;)

(normal voice) I suppose that all depends on how you quantify my relationship with Kelly...but she refuses to give it any concrete definition, and I'm completely uncertain as to what to call it.

Oi.

Anyway...the 4th is tomorrow. Ash, Steph, and Chad are staying over (they all stayed over last night), so that's cool. It gives me something to do between now and tomorrow, besides going to the grocer and buying stuff. I talked to Jason about our expected turnout, and he was really pessimistic about folks from his church being here...which means our "major shindig" might not be major at all. That's cool, I guess...there's something to be said for loads of peeps, but there's also a lot to be said about smaller groups. I'm a big proponent of smaller groups anyway :)

So now I have to go take a shower and all that. Piece!

Interesting News Tidbit

2005-07-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

My Dad bought a Hummer yesterday. Not the glorified SUV H2 crap, either...he got the real deal, loud, diesel-powered humongous Hummer.

It's awesome. The driver and passenger are so far apart that you really do have to shout in order to be heard over the diesel engine. No joke.

When Dad dies, it is mine ;)

I was supposed to make a presentation today in my A/S/M class, but I did not do so. Dr. Reilly spent the entire class today lecturing, which meant no one got to get up and present. That actually works out OK for me, since my Powerpoint presentation needs a little bit of work. The animation and simulation parts are great, but the actual Powerpoint leaves a little to be desired (in my opinion). He did have an interesting thing to say today, though:

Everything you do in life actually began at minus infinity (according to Maxwell's Equations).

I guess that's not too funny, at least in retrospect, but I thought it was an interesting commentary on things. Dr. Reilly always says that anyone who studies infinity for long enough either gets religious or commits suicide.

Dr. Reilly's been doing math-oriented stuff for a long time...

Anyway...need food. Later!

Post-Interview: the Aftermath

2005-06-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Whew. Talk about crazy. And intimidating. And not. I had planned to post a picture that would have been funny, but I am too tired. Oh well.

I skipped my A/S/M class today (for the second consecutive time) in order to get myself prepped. As you can see in the previous entry, I got suited up and ready to go. The neat thing about that suit is that it has fault-tolerance built right in: it has the standard clasp thing to close the pants, but then it has a button below it. That's gotta be there to protect against those scenarios wherein the darn pants just kinda unclasp and fall off.

You never know when your pants might just randomly unclasp and fall off, after all.

The interviews today were not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. The first interview was the really technical one. I thought it was going to be difficult, but they asked really simple stuff, like the differences between some of the various data structures (stack v. queue, singly v. doubly linked lists, etc.). I think maybe I kinda impressed the dudes a bit, but I dunno. I guess I'll find out when I see if I get offered a job :)

The second interview was really cool. The guy who did this one was the lead developer for the Utilities team...and a UAB alumnus! He was really cool, in that he did a great job of putting me at ease (UAB thing probably helped) and the questions he asked were not technical in nature. He was more focused on my goals, team play, and the like. I really hope that if I get hired, I get to work on the Utilities team...he was just awesome, and I think he'd be good to work with.

The last interview was with a lady from the Human Resources department. She didn't have a lot to ask me; in fact, she asked me a few minor questions about my class schedule, and then she said that my suit made me look "dapper." I guess that's a compliment :) Anyway, she said they'd see what kind of positions they have open that would fit me, and then she promised to give me a call/email by Monday or so. I really hope they hire me; CTS looks like it'd be a great company to work for. They've got under 100 employees (87, to be exact), and the average age is only 25 or so. I think working there would be awesome :)

So anyway, I'm going to go to bed now. I am tired, and it has been a very long, very stressful day. 'Night!

Pre-Interview

2005-06-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Daniel, pre-interview

Bodily Strangeness

2005-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here in front of my computer, writing a big Perl script, and I realized something: I can bend the last joint on my ring finger to a precise 90-degree angle with respect to my ring finger. Just that one joint, by itself...it looks like the periscope on a submarine. I'll have to post a picture of it sometime later.

And I can bend my thumb all the way back in the same fashion (on my right hand; my left thumb can do it without even forcible bending. I used to use that as a party trick to gross people out. I still think it's the coolest thing. I'll have to post a picture of that later, too.

Random?

Yep. It's 3 PM...I must be lonely.

7 Days...

2005-06-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

7 days until July 4th! We're having a pretty major shindig over here, because it will be the last 4th of July we have here in the Da Hiznouse. Kinda sad, but hey...onward and upward, I always say :)

I labeled this shindig as "major" because we're having lots of peeps over. I mean, loads of folks. Chuck was kind enough to invite everyone in the Brook Hills College RBF, and that's a buttload of people there. Even if only half of them show, we'd still have 20. Chuck says the majority of them will likely come, so something between 25 and 40 is most realistic. I'll tell you one thing, though: I'm definitely not a rich man, so I am darn sure not gonna be buying 16 pounds of hamburger meat, hotdogs, chicken, and the like. If you bring stuff, I'll happily grill it, but otherwise...NO FOOD FOR YOU! Jason, me, those folks, a few of Jason's friends, Steph and Co., and Seth all add up to a freakin' huge lot of food, but it also means we'll easily hit the 30-person threshold.

And we all know what happens when you get that many peeps...

ULTIMATE FRISBEE! Needless to say, I'm hoping we get the turnout to get a game going. I've not done anything more than throw the frisbee in a while, so a nice Ultimate match would be great. Not to mention the fact that I'd get to showcase the Gill Skillz to a relatively large segment of the populace ;)

On a side note...less than 48 hours until I run the gauntlet as far as interviews go. Cross those fingers, sports fans...I have to get this job :)

Class now. Later!

Home Sweet Home

2005-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Atlanta! It was an awesome trip. Both baseball games were great (although the second one did lack 3/9 innings), and the Braves even took them both. We watched Bruce Chen battle it out through 4.1 excellent innings against Braves rookie Roman Colon, and then we watched Andruw Jones hit a walkoff homerun in the bottom of the 9th of that game. The second game featured Braves veteran John Smoltz against the Orioles' Rodrigo Lopez. Smoltz threw his second consecutive complete game, going all 9 and giving up a stingy 5 hits and 1 run. Both games were excellent pitching performances for the Braves, and the O's showcased some offense and clutch hitting. I thought they might actually take the first game (when they tied it up late), but Jones' homerun saw to that.

Staying with Steph and Co. was...interesting. Chad's father, Gene, owns the house, and he is very anal-retentive when it comes to guests. We hid out in the basement, unbeknownst to him, sneaking around downstairs. We pulled an Anne Frank all up on him...it was awesome :) We ended up leaving Nick's poker chips after we headed to the game, though, so we had to swing by and grab those. Thankfully, Gene was not there when we did, so all was well. Had Steph not ratted us out, we could have left Gene totally oblivious to our presence overnight :)

So anyway...Braves are nearing the top of their division (as per usual). The biggest thing on the horizon for me right now is my upcoming round of interviews this Wednesday. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm kinda intimidated, but I can't let that show. Fear implies weakness, and I can't be having any of that :) I'm hoping that when they see me in the suit, they get kinda intimidated, because the suit makes me look like a giant. It's awesome ;)

Lunch for now, though. Piece out!

ATL...Here We Come!

2005-06-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

About to hit the road to Atlanta with Seth and Nick! I just hopped out of the shower and then woke both of them up for their turns. We played Trivial Pursuit last night until past midnight, which was fun (more so because I won!). I went out early in poker to Seth, which sucked. Sometimes you play a hand to completion and it's a really good hand, but the other guy has the same thing, with a higher kicker (I had a jack-high flush...but he had an ace-high flush). When you play the numbers, sometimes you lose...that's probability for you :)

Before I go, though...

Have you ever had one of those dreams wherein your deepest, darkest fear...the one you keep chained waaaaay down there so it never comes to light...just pops up? I mean, you're laying there, having a great sleep, and all of a sudden you have this dream where you find yourself in the situation you've dreaded for a very long time...and waking up still leaves you a little afraid. That's me right now...I just had that kind of dream. It sucked. At least I'll be spending the weekend hanging out with Seth and Nick (and little Sam and the rest of the ATL Crew), so maybe I'll just forget about it.

Forgetting about something definitely does not make it go away, though. I guess I need to get my hands on some adamantine chains for that dream, eh? :)

Anyway...ATL, here we come!!

Whoa, Mama

2005-06-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am mildly intimidated at the moment. I have 3 interviews next Wednesday, starting at 4 o'clock. I was thinking one at worst, but I was thrice wrong. What's mildly intimidating is that they are interviews with higher-ups, as follows:

4:00
Sr. Software Engineer
Sr. Software Engineer

4:30
VP of Engineering
Utilities Practice Lead

5:00
Manager of HR
VP of Industry Solutions

Whew! Next Wednesday is going to be kinda scary, but I really need the job, so I'd better make a really good impression. What's somewhat heartening is that maybe I won't see these guys so much after the interview process, so I can go about my business if I get hired.

(deep breath)

Ok. Back to C++. Later!

Gobstopping

2005-06-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Man, I love Gobstoppers! Everyone I know looks at me really weird when I just bite/crack them instead of letting them slowly dissolve, but I can't help that they have such delicious centers. I'm just impatient, I guess :)

I heard back on that job. I have a real interview on either June or July 29th (not sure which, but I think the lady meant June), so that's positively awesome. Daniel the Software Engineer may soon strike again, folks!

I saw a movie earlier as well. I'm not at liberty to discuss it right now, but I will say that it was awesome. I want to go see it again, to be honest...it was that good.

So anyway...dinnertime for me. Later!

Dead Day

2005-06-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned in the previous entry, Dr. Bangalore got hit by a car (it was a truck, actually...rumor has it to be a green S-10). Class was cancelled today, but I emailed my homework to the TA to get it turned in on time. This means that I am sitting at home with nothing to do! I'm a bit surprised...I have a project due tomorrow, but that's just a simple matter of sticking some stuff into my GPSS/H code to make it spit out a few model statistics to an Excel file. It'll take about 5 minutes to do, so I'm not stressing over it.

I'm planning to go see Batman Begins this afternoon. I'm told it's an excellent film, so I am really looking forward to it. Equilibrium star Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne, which will be cool, and Liam Neeson plays a ninja. He's previously been a Jedi Master (Star Wars: Episode I); a savior of WWII-era Jews (Schindler's List); a grizzled, old baron-knight (Kingdom of Heaven); a widower-Dad (Love Actually); Jean Valjean (Les Miserables); and a renowned sex researcher (Kinsey).

What could he possibly do next? Going to Disney Land seems somewhat anti-climactic after all that.

Anyway...

I actually have no idea why I'm writing. I suppose I'm just bored. I don't really have anything of interest to say (do I normally?), so I guess I ought to shut up.

(Potentially) Bad News...and Some Good News

2005-06-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Done with the technical interview...but I'm not sure how it went. I answered all of his questions (including a few he didn't expect me to know), but I feel like that interview just didn't go as well as the first. I dunno...but I'll be hearing back from them either way soon enough.

In the good news column: I'm making headway with the RMI stuff. I think I might actually have it mostly done, which would be nice. I'm a little stressed, but nothing I can't handle; I seem to perform best when under pressure anyway (at least as far as academics go).

Back to work. Just thought I'd share my feelings on the interview. Later!

Me ?= Bad Person

2005-06-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

So I have my phone interview (the technical one) at 4. Maybe I'm just building it up a tad much, but right now, my future depends on getting this job. I need a source of income to list on the rental application for the townhouse, and I need a way to cover my fall schooling.

4 o'clock is important.

In other news...

I have a big assignment due tomorrow morning in my CS 438 (Distributed Systems) class. I haven't done a whole lot of it; I still have to write a few (non-minor) things, which is bad. A strange thing, however, happened this morning: Dr. Bangalore (the prof for the class) got hit by a car whilst walking to his office. He was walking in the crosswalk, and some idiot in a truck just plowed right into him. He suffered only minor injuries (A golfball-sized knot on the head and a damaged leg), but overall I think he'll be OK. That leads me to the inevitable question:

Does it make me inherently evil to secretly wish that Dr. Bangalore is not in class tomorrow to take up the homework???

Man...something to ponder for the day. I'm going to go scarf some food down before this interview; I've had precisely nada to eat today, and I am starving. Later!

So Much for Movie Night

2005-06-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

I went out and bought Sideways earlier this week with the intent of watching it right after I got it...but things have not quite worked out that way. It may turn out that I don't have the time to sit down in front of the TV to watch a movie for 2 hours, as I have school stuff coming out of the woodwork.

Remember how I said something on Sunday about less work? I must have been on some seriously good stuff when I wrote that...I guess "altered state of consciousness" != A Bad Thing, after all ;)

In other news...I went with Jason and Chuck to have a look at that townhouse yesterday. It was awesome. I mean...dang. The bedrooms were positively massive. They were both large enough that it would be difficult to classify one as the "master bedroom" and the other as just a plain bedroom. I was seriously impressed with how open it was; the townhouse in general seemed larger because it was so open. I was also really happy to see that the kitchen has COUNTER SPACE!!! Do you know how awesome counter space would be after having to survive in the kitchen here for 3 years?!

(gosh, I've lived here for a long time)

So that's definitely on the list of things to do: fill out/submit the app for rental there. Rent is only $750 per month, which means $375 apiece (plus utilities, of course, which means we'd probably end up paying something very close to what we pay now).

I'm excited...it's off of Alford Rd. on I-65. OH, AND...it's within walking distance of that Little Caesar's!!!!! That is beyond excellent, because Little Caesar's is mad cheap and pretty darned good. It's also only about 15 minutes away from what I hope will be my new job (more on that after the technical interview on Wednesday). All in all, my rating is an EXCELLENT! :)

So now I'm going to go hop in the shower. I've got Distributed Systems a little after 10, and I need to eat my morning bowl of cereal, so...piece out, folks!

Real Entry This Time

2005-06-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

I have good news, and I have great news, and I have awesome news.

I'll start with the good news.

That intelligent routing system thing? It's now optional. I think the guy who teaches the class came to the stunning realization that he was not the only teacher in the CS department giving out programming homework (imagine that!)...so he eliminated (what I consider to be) the more difficult problem. It's been converted into a brownie-points problem (not bonus points), so if you do it, the teacher will look more favorably upon your future assignments. I may give it a little more thought, but it's not required, and I have tons of other work to do, so I dunno.

On to the great news...

Braves game this Saturday! I haven't been to a major-league ballgame in a while, so this will rock. It's going to be interleague, with the Atlanta Braves taking on the Baltimore Orioles. I'm going with Seth and Nick, and we apparently have pretty good seats ($25 bucks a pop), so it'll be fun. Maybe I'll get some autographs or something :)

And the awesome news:

Braves game this Sunday! Did I mention that I haven't been to an MLB ballgame in a while? ;) Seth and his mother were going to hit the game on Sunday (again ATL v. BAL), but she had a prior commitment to keep, soooooo...she bequeathed her ticket to me! She also refuses to allow me to give her anything for it, so I'm going to see the game for (essentially) free. In order to get Nick to go with us, I'm chipping in $10 so he can (hopefully) get a seat in the same section. These seats are positively awesome: they're right down the 3rd baseline.

So...yeah. Ballgames this weekend! Less work this week! Did I mention that things seem to be on track for the moment? It's a good feeling :)

Anyway...breakfast. Have a great Sunday, sports fans!

Hehehehehe

2005-06-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

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-.- .. -. -.. .- .-.. .. -.- . - .... . - .-. .- ...- . .-.. .. -. --.
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There Goes the Neighborhood

2005-06-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

So much for going to Jacksonville with Dad to visit Jarrod this weekend. School sucks, so bad. I mean...it really does suck. My C++ class should not have 10 homework assignments in a 9-week term. The A/S/M class needs a professor to actually show us the language instead of showing things he did that are "pretty cool," because things that are "pretty cool" do us no good in terms of learning the underlying code.

Needless to say, I am annoyed. I didn't go to bed until seriously early last night because I worked my rear off in hopes of getting to go with Dad this weekend.

*(^#)(^!(*%*%@*^$)!^&()(&#_!

(much better)

Now that I've gotten 3 hours of sleep, it's back to the grindstone for me. Later!

(liked the idea, so shameless theft)

2005-06-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

1. It's 11:45 on the night before a big project is due.
2. I probably ought to be working on that.
3. I'm not. Can you tell?
4. I seriously doubt I'm going to be able to get to 100, but I'm going to try.
5. I am a guy.
6. I'm 22.
7. I'm 6' (and some change). That 6 makes a world of difference when you look at it on paper.
8. I'm a pretty good student...most of the time.
9. I'm not being a good student right now.
10. I've been told that I have "wicked" eyes.
11. I like that people think I have weird eyes.
12. Uniqueness is good. (which is why I'm copying someone else here)
13. I am going to start working on my PhD in the fall.
14. I'm very proud of that fact.
15. I'm the first of any of "the grand-kids" to go to college.
16. I'm thus far the only grand-kid to go to college.
17. I'll graduate in a month and a half, with a BS in chemistry/computer science.
18. It never ceases to amaze me that a degree I've worked for is abbreviated BS.
19. For some reason, I think that's a very telling fact about college.
20. I am addicted to AIM (well, Trillian).
21. I haven't spoken to Kelly in a while.
22. I have a job interview next Wednesday.
23. I really need that job (don't tell the interviewing folks).
24. My future is really uncertain.
25. I have a disease. That sounds bad, doesn't it?
26. My outlook on life has changed a lot in the past 1.5 years.
27. I was ranked 8th in the world at Unreal Tournament.
28. I'm very, very proud of that fact.
29. I wish the new UT's (UT2K4, UT2K5) didn't suck.
30. I love to proofread.
31. I hate it when people mis-use its and it's. Or affect and effect. Or your and you're.
32. I have a lot of pet peeves.
33. I'm 33.3333333333...% done with this!
34. I'm taking 5 classes this summer term.
35. I didn't think that'd be a huge deal...2 meet once weekly.
36. I was wrong. Classes are killing me slowly.
37. I am going to debate Japan-style capitalism versus US-style capitalism in a month.
38. I want to get a degree in Materials Science. That'd be cool.
39. I'm a geek. Have you figured that out yet?
40. I'm still a virgin, too...
41. ...but I have kissed a girl.
42. I like older women.
43. The mail runs too slowly.
44. Baseball is the greatest sport ever.
45. GO CUBBIES!!!
46. It's going to be a long time before they win a World Series.
47. I brush my teeth twice a day.
48. I shower once a day.
49. I love when the bathroom is only lit by the rising sun.
50. I don't let my dirty laundry pile up (anymore).
51. I did Scholar's Bowl in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade.
52. I captained the team in 12th grade.
53. I won the spelling bee in 8th grade. And a geography bee that same year.
54. I skipped 7th grade. I regret that, sometimes.
55. I wonder often what might have been.
56. Having mice sucks. They're so skittish, and they make a lot of noise when they run.
57. This monitor seriously needs to be replaced.
58. Maybe I've just been starting at it for too long.
59. I do the whole fantasy sports thing with my friends.
60. It's a lot of fun. You should try it sometime.
61. I have a GameCube.
62. And an XBox.
63. I have Dance Dance Revolution.
64. I have 2 dance pads.
65. I love to play DDR.
66. I'm good at DDR, sometimes.
67. I suck at actually dancing, all the time.
68. I drive a 1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo.
69. (this after driving a 1991 Saturn SC-2 coupe)
70. I like to fish.
71. I'm very divided on my feelings towards Kelly.
72. That PhD I mentioned...it's going to probably be in computational chemistry.
73. Sounds high-tech, huh?
74. Amazing how people think I'm smart...if only they knew...
75. I had an MRI done yesterday.
76. It didn't show anything new...just the same old stuff.
77. I'm a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
78. I'm considering resigning my membership. They do some things I really don't like.
79. I've been to England, Spain, and Italy. I've also been to France (if plane landings count).
80. I hunt-and-peck, even though I'm a CS major.
81. Nonetheless, I type about 60 words per minute.
82. I love rum (Captain Morgan!) and Coke...or Jack and Coke.
83. I didn't drink until I was 21.
84. Upon reflection, I had a pretty crappy childhood.
85. I'm eating Double Stuf Oreos as I type this.
86. I'm really pretty good at Soul Calibur II (for the Cube or the XBox).
87. GPSS/H is neat and all, but I don't like having to use it.
88. (must learn how to use OpenGL)
89. There's a box of floppy disks sitting on top of the monitor.
90. And a stuffed hedgehog. And a glow-in-the-dark Martian (like the ones in Toy Story).
91. I miss my little sister. And my little brother. And my cousins. And my aunt.
92. I absolutely idolize my grandmother.
93. She rocks.
94. It seems like I'm always scared of what tomorrow might bring.
95. Carpe diem doesn't apply.
96. This 100 Things thing is 96% done.
97. Tomorrow (well, later today) is going to be interesting.
98. I'm really shy, but I'm a pretty good public speaker.
99. Being a TA for 2 years does that to a guy.
100. 'Night.

Head Check

2005-06-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

My phone interview went through today. It was pretty cool...it was only supposed to last 20 - 25 minutes, but I ended up talking to the lady for a little more than 40. I have a technical interview with one of the company's developers set for next Wednesday at 4 PM CST, so keep your fingers crossed on that. I've never really had my knowledge tested in an important non-academic setting, so Wednesday will be interesting.

I've got a buttload of work to do between now and Friday. I've got an assignment due Monday, along with an animation/simulation project to present this Friday, and two assignments due next Thursday and next Wednesday. I am so screwed if I go with Dad to visit my younger brother this weekend...but family is more important than schooling anyway, right?

...right???

Today sucked. I stayed up mega-late last night/this morning to put the finishing touches on my previous C++ assignment, whilst also finishing up an assignment for Perl. I ended up asleep around 3:30 in the morning, and I had to get up early to go turn in the darned C++ thing. Then I had classes from 11:20 - 2:30, the phone interview, and an appointment to get my head checked. It's just been a long day.

All this means that I am going to have to put my review of Cinderella Man on hold for the moment. I started to write one, but then I realized I was getting caught up in the classic plot-synopsis-instead-of-review fallacy, so I stopped writing. There's no sense in me explaining the entire movie; if you really want to know how it goes, you'll go see it :)

So anyway...I really need to go to sleep. I'd intended to stay up and fiddle around with GPSS in hopes of finishing my simulation project, but I am too tired to really think straight.

'Night!

(getting closer to the applause part)

2005-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

I've got a phone interview either Wednesday or Friday! I'm really excited.

I also got the coolest thing ever in the mail today. Little Sam made a bookmark for me. It has my initials on the front and an I (heart) U on the back.

Sam rocks :)

So now I'm going to get a haircut. Movie review coming whenever I get back!

(no applause necessary)

2005-06-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

I heard back on a possible job! A company with its base of operations here in Birmingham has requested a copy of my resume with the intent to review it and recruit me for a position (hopefully part-time)!

I am excited! A paid job at a technology firm that's close to home...that would absolutely rock!

Can you tell I'm excited?! Look at all the exclamation marks!

Hold the applause, though...because I haven't got a job there (yet).

Give me time ;)

Other than that minor development, this day has been slow. I went to the doc earlier. He told me to refrain from strenuous activity, because getting hot = bad (I already knew that from experience). I guess that means no more late nights out and about ;)

(not that I really had those anyway...my best friend is the JBuilder install on my computer)

(Trillian is a very close second)

I might go see a movie tonight with the roomies, though. We all want to see Cinderella Man, so maybe that'll be cool.

So anyway...back to writing this C++ code for now. Piece!

Problem Solved

2005-06-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Doc appointment = moved to 3

Classes = end at 2:30

Mission = accomplished! :)

Ruh Roh

2005-06-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

I've got an appointment today with the neurologist, but I'm in something of a bind: I don't remember what time the darned thing is. I suppose it would be somewhat helpful if I'd written it on a calendar or something (although the Lord of the Rings calendar I have hanging on the back of my door is from 2K3).

The problem I have is that not only do I lack any memory of the time for which I scheduled it (partially because I set it up 6 months ago), but I suspect that it'll probably be during one of my classes.

This is a problem. When I made the appointment back in January, I had no idea as to when my classes would be during the summer...so, knowing me, I probably went for an afternoonish time (because I am actually a little lazy at heart and love to sleep).

So I pose a question: when I find out the time of the appointment, and I subsequently find that it conflicts with a class...which should I do? I mean, classes this term are already shortened enough, and there are $1700 bucks saying I've already handed them over to UAB and ought to make good on that investment. There's a niggling little voice that's also saying that maybe I really ought to go to the neurologist and talk to him about things to make sure I'm still in good shape.

(annoyance)

Oh well...It's just about 8, the neurologist's office will be callable at 8:30, and the shower is callable right now. Have a great day, sports fans!

Back

2005-06-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm showered, shaved, and all dressed up...with nowhere to go! A brief rundown of my weekend...

Friday evening was uneventful. Dad and I drove up to Guntersville and checked in to our hotel room. The hotel room was small, and the bathroom reeked of sewage...but other than those gripes, it was OK. After we checked in, we went to hunt down some dinner. We went to a local restaurant called Reid's, which (supposedly) specializes in"down home, country cookin'."

They're full of crap over there. One of their main specialties was fried catfish, which I absolutely love. You'd think that bordering on Lake Guntersville would lend itself to fresh catfish, but that is apparently not the case. When you border a lake that teems with catfish, you don't get it there. You get it from points unknown, freeze it, and thaw it on demand. I mean...I was really looking forward to it, but I was left sorely disappointed.

(sigh)

So anyway, we had dinner, went back to the hotel, and made sure everything was prepped for the morning fishing expedition. We had a wake-up call set for 3:50 AM. I then sat down and wrote a program in C++ (due this Wednesday, actually). That raised an eyebrow from Dad, because he could make neither head nor tail of it. It was cool, though...I think it's a neat little program :)

So fishing on Saturday morning...we got up, made sure that everything was still set to go, and went to the marina to launch. We got launched around 5:30 AM and fished all day (until 2 PM). It was fun, but very frustrating. I threw a bone-and-chartreuse spinnerbait (which apparently is a high-tech way of saying white-and-neon-green) all day. I didn't get a fish, a bite, or even a nibble. After throwing the darned thing for 4 hours, I resolved that I would stick with that lure until I caught something or until the day ended (whichever came first). The day ended first. Dad, on the other hand, threw the same thing I did and caught two fish: a 3-pound smallmouth bass and a 3.5-pound largemouth bass. He thought it was the funniest thing ever, but I swear I wanted to shoot him ;)

After we weighed in, we found that everyone else had a terrible day as well: we only had 6.5 pounds total, but we were in 3rd place (4 pounds out of first). That was pretty neat, so we all headed to a steakhouse to celebrate (Dad + me + a bunch of other folks who were in the tournament). The name of the place was Outlaw Steakhouse, and it functioned as both a steakhouse and a bar. Dad and I hit the bar, where I tried a margarita for the first time. I may have made this point before, but I've never tried one because tequila just kills me. Anyway, that was pretty good, and the bartender lady gave me two free drinks. She threw together some strawberry thing that she said was her favorite drink, along with another item I've not had before: a Screamin' Blue. Apparently, a Screamin' Blue is similar to a Long Island Iced Tea, in that it has a little bit of everything in it. It's a good drink, but it's also pretty strong in terms of ethanolic content. The bartender lady was quite nice; I suspect she was probably aiming for a nice tip, as it isn't often (well, ever) that I get free drinks.

Saturday night we hit the sheets early. We rose again at 3:50 on Sunday morning and hit the lake, again at 5:30ish. Today's luck was similar to the luck I had yesterday, although I did catch a fish! I caught...a brim.

Yep...a single, solitary brim. It was a small fish, although it hit the lure so hard that I thought maybe I'd gotten ahold of something worth keeping. Dad caught one smallish bass, but we ended up quitting prior to the weigh-in. We both got fed up with our lack of luck and with the wind/rough waters (which I suspect had something to do with tropical storm Arlene's passage to the west).

Overall, it was a lot of fun. I just got home about an hour ago, showered, shaved, and made a few phone calls. I'm currently trying to decide what to do for dinner; I'm kinda hungry, but it's not even 5 o'clock yet. I'll figure something out :) Later!

Gone Fishin'

2005-06-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today, after class (which ends around 2:30), I'll be leaving Birmingham to head up to Guntersville. My Dad and I are going to fish a two-day tournament on Lake Guntersville, so I won't be back until Sunday evening.

Cross your fingers/toes/whatever else you can cross between the hours of 5 AM and 2 PM (inclusive) on Saturday and Sunday. If our luck is anything like it was last time, we'll need the help :)

Anyway...see ya Sunday!

There Is a Fly in My Room

2005-06-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

And it's not just any old fly, either. It's one of those big, fat, old, slow ones. The kind that has been alive for a long time (well, for a fly) and has grown complacent and obese (for a fly) as it gorges itself on food intended only for human consumption.

I'm not scared of this fly; in fact, I take it as a point of pride that I will very personally end its existence.

I just need to find a fly-swatter, or, failing that, I'll catch it manually like Daniel-San from Karate Kid.

After that, I think I am going to go to O'Henry's and study. My political science class is tonight, so I'd like to be prepared to discuss. There's one guy in there who really gets on my nerves: he's got a very nasal voice, and he really likes to hear himself talk. When we were filling in the map last Thursday, he tried to convince me that the Caspian Sea was really actually Afghanistan...

So anyway...lunch, study, class. Piece out!

The Axe Effect: an Analysis

2005-06-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

We see the commercials. We see the statuesque, mischievous-smile blondes (actually, insert your hair color of choice...I'm more of brunette kind of guy, myself) getting all over some completely random guy...and we are led to wonder: does that deodorant/body spray/body wash actually do that? Can we guys, just by going in for a specific hygiene product line, effortlessly attract such a bevy of beautiful women?

Well...

I've been using Axe (either the body spray or the deodorant) for longer than a year. I even started to use their body wash as well, just because I've found that it leaves me a lot less dried-out than simple soap-and-water. I do not, however, see any semblance of the Axe Effect working here.

I've definitely not been attracting any bevies of beautiful women. In fact, I've noticed an odd trend: the days that I'm out of Axe and instead use my back-up DO (it's Gilette's Cool Wave Gel) are the ones in which I seem to have the most luck as far as the ladies are concerned. By luck, of course, I mean actually talking to gals :)

I mean, yeah, I'll freely admit that there isn't a gal out there who'd say I'm anywhere near as good-looking as any of the guys in any of the Axe commercials...but I'd wager that I am smarter, perhaps a little more (dryly/cynically) humorous, and I'm probably a little bit taller, too :)

The Axe Effect...bunk? It couldn't be! We all know commercials (or television in general) would never lie...right?

Yep...total bunk for sure :)

So...yeah. I've got class in an hour: Distributed Systems from 10:20 - 12:25. I'm looking forward to it.

Later!

The Skizills to Pay the Bizills

2005-06-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

(fresh tomatoes) + (fresh basil) + (fresh mozzarella) + (fresh red onion) + (homemade balsamic vinaigrette) = (freakin' awesome salad)

Yep...awesome :)

Just Got Nuked

2005-06-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

Not literally or anything...I have a way with hyperbole, I'm told.

The weather just got a little bad for a bit. I unplugged my computer and all of my high-tech home theatre gear just in case. I've got one of those zillion gigajoule surge protectors on there, so it'd take a lot to fry any of my electronics, but still...just in case.

Earlier today I submitted my application and "resume" for 3 or 4 different jobs here at UAB. They all pay decently well (around $40K/year) so I should be doing OK for a single guy if I get any of them. I am well-qualified for the great majority of the jobs for which I applied, so we'll see what happens. I applied for a bunch of different positions, so surely I'll hear something back from one of them.

I'm free for the remainder of today. This is actually kinda sucky, as I'd planned to get a round of disc golf in...but then the floodgates of Heaven opened and that idea was sunk. I don't know what I'll be doing; I may (finally!) go buy my books, but I'm a little unsure on that. I'd really love to buy my books and then head down to this little coffee shop in Homewood (O'Henry's) and get a nice cup of something to keep me company as I study.

Just because I have no life and compulsively study doesn't preclude me from studying in style :)

The map quiz we had to take last night in my political science class was no big deal. I think the hardest country to identify was probably in Africa. #1, #2, and #3 on the quiz pointed to Canada, the US, and Mexico, respectively. I'm thinking (hoping) that the prof had put those on there as confidence builders, since the stuff in Africa was a bit of a pain. All of those little nations at the western hump are difficult to differentiate.

Oh, and this weekend will be pretty sweet. I'd hoped to go get my Diplomacy on, but that's now out until sometime in July (date = TBD). I'm going fishing with my Dad instead. There's a two-day tournament to be held at Lake Guntersville on Saturday and Sunday (5 AM - 2 PM on both days). My goal this time is to avoid smacking Dad in the rear with a buzzbait...aside from the (admittedly impressive) string of obscenities, it gave my poor reel the biggest backlash I have ever encountered. That mess could have easily taken the title of Rat's Nest. Anyway, I'll hopefully catch a few bass; if not, at least I'll come back with more of a tan :)

So I guess now would be a good time to call it quits for this entry. Later!

There's Always Someone Worse...

2005-06-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

At least I'm not as bad off as this guy. I mean...dang. I thought I was a geek, but it looks like someone else has taken the cake...and the frosting, and all the candles, too.

Wow. Not even I wear my pants that high ;)

There's always someone out there who's better...which implies that there must always someone out there who's worse (well, unless you're at the bottom of the totem pole) :)

The Verdict

2005-06-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Financial Aid...I think that's taken care of for this term. The lady I spoke to yesterday tried something out, but it didn't work, so I talked to her again today, she got really mad at the system, and went to talk to the Director to get an override.

She said she'd bet a bazillion dollars that it'll go through today.

Here's hoping! :)

In other news...I spoke to Dr. Bangalore today. There is no hope of getting any kind of financial support from the CIS Department as far as a stipend or tuition waivers, so I'm on my own there (so is every other incoming PhD student, actually). Apparently, they've got a backlog of international students due to graduate who have yet to do so...so they'll be going on a massive kick-out campaign this spring. I won't be able to be in the mix until then, at the earliest, at which point aid is highly possible/likely.

Here's hoping! :)

I also found out that my graduate application for financial aid from the university itself will be on hold until transcripts are released and grades are posted in August (sometime between Aug 10 and Aug 15, inclusive). This means that my application for aid next fall will remain incomplete (with nothing to do about it) until mid-August. Translation: you ain't gettin' jack from the university. There's a (tiny) chance, though, so...

Here's hoping! :)

Can you tell I'm a bit miffed? I am, but hey...such is life. Que sera, sera or something...right? All I can do is hit Monster.com and see what's up for a graduated computer geek like me. On that front...

Here's hoping! :)

An Interesting Development

2005-06-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

From the Tech News arena: this article. It talks about Apple's intention to slowly make the switch from IBM's PowerPC chip architecture to Intel. An intriguing development this is, as it'd make Macs and PCs more compatible on a hardware level. If Macs took up Intel's x86 chip architecture, though...

(shudder)

Don't worry so much about the switch happening overnight, though; it's not like you're going to have a hard time finding real Mac systems for a while. Intel-based Macs will slowly filter into the market, and, if Apple sticks with this decision, will eventually push out IBM-based machines.

Kinda sucks for IBM, and what really sucks is that the 800-pound gorilla we call Intel wins again. I guess it's something of a washout overall, though, as the profits are really only going from one conglomerate megacorp to another.

I apologize for the geekiness with which this post reeks, but...no, actually, I don't apologize at all :)

Absolutely Stunning Realization!

2005-06-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm nearly to 4K on the visitor meter! I checked up on it this morning and I was at 3,988 visits, so 12 more and I'll have 4,000. If I could do a virtual-balloon/confetti/noisemaker thing for the person who is #4,000, I would ;)

Anyway...just thought I'd share. I've got an appointment with the Financial Aid folks at 10:30; yes, I know this goes against my promise to "not bother those Financial Aid automatons again." I'm heading down there nonetheless (I'll leave my paintball rifle in the closet, even though they're just asking for someone to go in there and go postal), followed by my class in C++ and then the simulation class.

After that...I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! :)

The Countries of Diplomacy

2005-06-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here's something I wrote back in April of 2003 about the various Powers involved in Diplomacy...

In terms of placement on the board, the countries in corner positions are the most secure (because they can only be attacked from 3 ways, as opposed to 4). As such, my position rankings would be...

1) England (corner position + an island)
2) Russia (corner position + room for expansion)
3) Turkey (corner position, but only one way to expand)
4) France (semi-corner position)
5) Germany
6) Italy
7) Austria-Hungary (because they're screwed from every direction)

Now, some may disagree with my rankings of France, Germany, and Italy, but I think that most players would indeed agree with my analysis as far as the corner Powers.

In terms of military might, everyone starts off equally (although Russia begins with an extra fleet). Some see this as a disadvantage (because of the "too big, too fast" rule of thumb). However, I believe that it is still possible to rank the Powers in terms of expandability:

1) Turkey (check out the Balkans)
1) Russia (Balkans)
1) Italy (Balkans)
1) Austria-Hungary (Balkans)
5) France (Iberian Peninsula, Belgium)
6) Germany (Jutland, Holland)
7) England (Norway)

Now, you'll notice immediately that 4 countries fight over the Balkans (and it is AH's misfortune to sbe so easily accessible once a Power has established a semblance of dominance over the Balkans). France and Germany both have two easily-procured supply centers, whereas England is guaranteed only one (it could be argued that Italy is in nearly the same boat as England since it is only guaranteed Tunis, but since Italy is so conveniently located near the Balkans, I have ranked it higher).

Now, a ranking of the Powers in terms of overall strength (not an average of the above rankings, but rather more of an opinionated ranking taking the above into consideration:

1) England: although it starts off slowly with only one guaranteed supply center, it is easily defended so long as it maintains control of the seas. England must maintain relations with every Power on the board in order to succeed, since she must eventually find a way to land troops on the Continent proper. I would place England as the Power of choice for the conservative player who does not wish to grow too big too fast and thus garner the wrath of the other Powers. She is slow in the early game, but gets stronger in midgame and can easily stand steadfast til endgame.

2) France: France has not only a semi-corner starting position, but also 3 guaranteed supply centers. In terms of expandability, this is excellent, but the fact that is has to worry about incursions from Italy into its home supply centers brings France down on my list from number one (also, it is this selfsame expandability that violates the "too big, too fast" rule). Unfortunately, France is the country of choice for Germany, England, and Italy to stab in the back (as Nick can attest). France would be the Power of choice for someone who is bold-faced and doesn't mind angering allies (his expandability make him easily able to hold off both the Italians and the Germans, but either of those two Powers teamed with the English will result in his ultimate defeat). France is an excellent country for the beginning game, and as long as it can maintain some kind of neutrality with England, Germany, or Italy, it can also remain strong til the endgame.

3) Turkey: occupies a corner position. Turkey has easy access to the Balkans (which is rich in neutral supply centers, but it has to work against AH, Italy, and Russia in order to gain control of the area. Unfortunately, Turkey's only troop route is through the Balkans/Austria-Hungary (short of going through Russia, which any sane Russian would immediately disallow). Turkey is difficult to stab without pulling a two-pronged dagger (ie, being teamed up on by either the RUssians, Austro-Hungarians, or Italians). Turkey is best played by someone who can play the Austro-Hungarians, the Italians, and the Russians off on one another. Ehren did an excellent job (in my opinion) of playing the Turk, although I do not know to what extent he managed to work the Russians and the Italians.

4) Germany: Germany has France on the west and Russia to the east. It must figure out a way to secure one of those fronts if it is to succeed (it could pull a Hitler and go DMZ with the Russians, or it could attempt to ally with the French to annihilate the English). It really does not need to worry too much about AH, since AH has its hands full with Russia, Italy, and Turkey. In my opinion, the German Wehrmacht has a good chance to expand, but it really needs to seal off one border or the other. This is what makes Germany such a difficult country (for me, at least) to play. If it can secure its borders, it is at best a lone juggernaut and at worst a fierce ally (or the other way around if you find yourself facing off against him). Germany is easily stabbed by the French, Russians, English, or Austro-Hungarians (if AH can find a way to worm out of the Russian-Turkish-Italian vise).

5) Russia: I personally find Russia a difficult country to play because it is so large. Players see how big Russia is in comparison to the other Powers and they naturally freak out. This can work one of two ways:

a) "Gosh, best not tick off the Russian Bear," or,
b) "We need to cut him down, now, fast, before he can feed off the Balkans and grow meaner"

The Russians must find a way to prevent the Turks from ramming a few armies up their rear through the Black Sea and Sevastopol, while also worrying about the Germans coming through Warsaw [i]and[/] trying to gain a foothold in the Balkans. That's a lot of stuff to try to balance, but if successful, the RUssian player can easily crush his opposition. Also, a concrete Russian-Turkish alliance can easily become a juggernaut if it is not prevented by the other players. Conversely, the Russians and the Turks (if they do not trust one another) become ripe for backstabbing each other.

6) Italy: the first thing every good Italian Catholic should do is thank God for Switzerland. Switzerland secures Italy in a number of ways, making it fear only the Austro-Hungarians (if only just a little) and the French (a lot more than AH). Italy must eventually stab either AH or France (cough) that was an excellent stab on France on your part, Geoffrey (cough)... Excuse me, I must be getting tuberculosis or something. But anyway, I don't know overly much about Italy because I don't like playing it (I much prefer the English because I like ruling the seas).

7) Austria-Hungary: two words: you're fizucked. That's all there is to it. I'm sure there's a way to play this Power, but if there is, I don't know it (short of allying with Italy, Germany, Russia, and Turkey and then crushing France and England). If you're AH, just pray you survive enough turns to make your attendance at your Diplomacy party worthwhile.

Anyway, my apologies for the length of the post. Hope it helps, and hey, if you think my rankings are opinionated, then post your own.

Bored

2005-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't quite reached the point of tears yet, though. I'm considering a round of disc golf at some point in the day. It looks quite nice out, and it'd be a great thing. I've not played in a while, so a little bit of arm exercise would be good.

The annoying thing about the next week or so is that everyone with whom I normally associate is out of town. That means I will be by myself. I'll have classes to keep me occupied during the day, but a long string of cold, lonely nights is coming up.

Wait a tic...I've had a long string of cold, lonely nights for the past 22 years...

Dunno why I'm bothering to complain about normality :)

Well, anyway, this week is definitely going to be a bore. No one to go out to lunch with, go see movies with, or just generally hang out with. It's gonna suck.

On the plus side, though: the weekend will be cool. I'm going to hoof it up to Madtown and play Diplomacy on Saturday with some folks, and maybe (hopefully) get some poker in as well. That'd be awesome. Nothing like heading up to Madtown a poor boy and returning with some extra spending money!

So now I'm going to try hunting down some lunch. Later!

An Interesting Development

2005-06-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

My cousin just called to check on me. She wanted to see what was up...in addition to asking me some questions about a girl.

Apparently, she wants to hook me up with some gal she works with.

I'm not much for the whole "hooking up" thing.

We'll see how it goes; I just don't go in for all that. So...yeah.

Anyway...Nick's over, and it is Rise of Nations time. I hope Jason doesn't mind that I hijacked his laptop and installed the game, but he isn't here and I'll uninstall it before he gets back from the Grand Canyon ;)

Homework...Check!

2005-06-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first homework assignment! It's not due until next Wednesday, but...well, I wanted to get it out of the way since I'll be having a friend coming in this weekend.

I guess writing in Perl on a Friday night really excludes me from being cool, doesn't it? I mean, it's not like I care, but taking a step back and looking at it from a third-person perspective...sad, really. I think. Kinda.

But not really :)

I saw Madagascar earlier. It's a funny little flick. The best parts involve the Penguins, in my humble opinion.

"Smile and wave, boys...just smile and wave..."

Hehe, that's got me laughing just thinking about it. Suffice it to say that the Penguins are hardcore military/Navy SEAL types. It's really funny listening to them talk, walk, use hand (fin? wing? flipper?) signals, and otherwise lay the smackdown on peeps.

Even though it's a funny film, I'd recommend waiting until it comes to video to see it. As much as I like to watch Dreamworks and Pixar films (CG = cool!), I'd put this one in a Finding Nemo meets Shrek mold. It's just kinda...unoriginal, I guess.

Anyway...now that I've finished the Perl stuff, I think I am going to go for the coup-de-grace and read up on international news (even though I do that already). Staying up with international current events is a good idea, given that I'm taking a political science class and all. My apologies for the lack of French language accents and all that; I know not a lick of French, and I have absolutely no desire to learn any ;)

So anyway...later!

...Or Not

2005-06-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

You know, I'm not even going to bother with the Financial Aid automatons anymore. There's only so much "what's your student number?" and "go wait over there for a counselor" that I can take.

I mean, seriously. Need I mention that the stupid hold is back on my file? Mildly annoying, but whatever. I'll get through this term (sans books if I have to) if it kills me!

Mission Accomplished

2005-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

So I went down to the Financial Aid Office after class. Before I get into that though...CS 438 (Distributed Systems) is going to freaking rock! Class today was a lecture for 2 hours straight, so my hands were killing me afterwards from all the note-taking...but I loved every minute of it!

I've still got Comparative Politics tonight, which will also be cool. I'm excited about that for sure.

Anyway, so I went down to Financial Aid after CS 438. After discussing the matter with one of their counselors, things are cleared up. No longer is there a hold on my account, which means books will be bought (even though I'll be getting them all a couple of days later than I'd anticipated).

So, to whomever it was who wrote that comment earlier: you were right. No stress was necessary :)

Idiots...Plain and Simple

2005-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm just about to head off to class, but I am infuriated (to put it mildly) at UAB's Financial Aid Office.

THEY ARE SUCH IDIOTS!

I want to make this quick, so here's the short version (sans explanation, which I'll get to later today): I've been waiting for my financial aid to hurry up and disburse this term so I can go buy my books. It has not yet come through, and now I know why: my "award has been placed on hold" because I "have previously earned a BA/BS degree."

IDIOTS! I won't be getting my degree until after this stinking term! I am so mad right now that I could kill someone over there in Financial Aid and have no qualms or remorse.

GRRRRR! STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!

Memorial Day

2005-05-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day, which marks the beginning of summer (oh, and something about troops and sacrifices for freedom and the like), was today. That means burgers, hotdogs (or bratwurst, if you're a Yankee), and alcohol!

Yay for Memorial Day!! ;)

To be completely serious for a moment, I would like to thank all our troops (and really anyone else) who serve each and every citizen of the United States in fighting for and upholding our freedom. "Freedom" seems as though its meaning has been cheapened a bit in recent times, but it is most certainly a sacred American ideal.

So...thank you. For all the many things you do (whether it be laying it all on the line in Iraq or serving here on the homefront), you are appreciated.

(and this comes from a Blue)

So anyway...

It is "officially" summer. From major league baseball (which began a month and some change ago) to the birds and the bees and the pollen from the trees...it is here. That also means more classes, along with signifying my final undergraduate classes. Neat, huh?

My summer schedule is as follows:

M/W/F: CS 481 - Simulation, Modeling, and Animation (soooo not looking forward to this one)
M: CS 304 - Object-Oriented Programming in C++ (Eh, v1.0)
W: CS 306 - Programming in Perl (Eh, v2.0)
Tu/Th: CS 438 - Distributed Computing (my favorite of the bunch)
Tu/Th: PSC 102 - Introduction to Comparative Politics (#2 on the Favorites List)

As you can see, I don't really have any hardcore class-only days. It seems like maybe it'll be relatively laid-back, even if it is a lot of classes (5) and hours (11) to be taking over the summer 9-week term. CS 438 is going to rock out, because it is primarily involved with my hoped-for research area as a Ph.D. student; CS 481, on the other hand, is probably going to suck. The only reason I am taking it at all is because it was either that or some class on networks and security (which sounds interesting, but I don't think I am yet familiar enough with the concepts involved). It'll be one I want to take as a grad student, because distributed systems definitely entail networking, which means a good base in network security would be advisable (I think).

So enough rambling about my summer classes. Everyone I've talked to seems to think I am nuts for taking 5 summer classes, but they don't seem to understand that 2/5 of my classes meet only once weekly. That should seriously cut down on the workload (and accompanying stress level), so I think it'll be OK. I guess only time will tell.

Now I find myself back at home after driving up to Madtown this morning to hang out with Seth and everyone. It was great fun, and the drives there/back seemed much shorter than usual. We had burgers-n-brats for lunch, played 9 holes of golf (Mr. Max and Seth's uncle vs. Seth and me), and then had barbecue for dinner. Miss Alice even made dessert (dump cake), which was freakin' awesome. Allow me to state for the record: Seth and his family > *.

So here I am, at home, in my room, typing this. I'm about to go rediscover (read: play) one of the greatest RPGs of all time: Arcanum. I won't try to describe it (for you'll find me to be even more of a geek than you must already think), but let it not be said that Arcanum's plotline isn't awesome.

So off I go to play the night away. 'Night!

A Meditation on the Open Road

2005-05-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...the joys of the Open Road.

Alone.

Windows down. Music up.

The world whipping by at 80 miles an hour (nearly 130 kilometers per hour).

No one out there but you, your vehicle, and God. Talk about a feeling of solitude!

There's something cathartic about watching the scenery go past as you drive along. It's just...soothing. It's crazy to think that not 30 years ago, the speed limit was only 55. Now it's 70. What's changed? Does the world really move so fast? In our daily lives, if we sat back and just watched, would we be surprised to find that life seems to move at a pace faster than 102.667 feet per second? Whatever happened to the days when 80.667 feet per second was as fast as things went?

Is there any way to put on the brakes and slow life (and the world) down?

Sometimes I feel like the world is passing me by as quickly and easily as that ForeRunner passed me earlier. Some people know where they're going, and they drive like it. They just throw caution to the wind and go 95, state troopers and radar guns be damned! Sometimes I wish I had that same direction, that same drive. It shouldn't be so difficult to hit 95, screw the troopers, and get where I want to go, right? In moments of more rationality (or maybe just more rationalizing), I find myself thinking that maybe I'm doing the best thing in just going 10 over and keeping an eagle eye out for the cops.

So why do I find myself wishing I'd just toss it all out there, lay it all on the line, and go for the 95-mile-an-hour gusto?

The Open Road...hard to beat it, except when you finally get where you're going. The only thing you can do is drive, knowing (hoping?) that whatever waits at the end of that drive was worth driving for.

(sigh)

I dunno...the Open Road seems like it holds all sorts of interesting lessons that do not just apply to the psychologist who wants to study how humans interact in completely anonymous, high-speed encounters. Maybe the mysteries it keeps aren't really mysteries at all, but merely ideas that should be so obvious that they're hard to see.

The best place to hide something is in plain sight, after all.

Anyway...enough meditating (read: rambling) about driving. I've got 7 bucks in my pocket, and Little Caesar's calls. Later!

Returned

2005-05-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

No place is as great as home! I'm finally back in my room, at my desk, in front of my computer. There's my TV off to the left behind me, and my surround sound system's here too. My bed is waiting. I cannot wait until later tonight so I can sleep in my own room!

As far as the trip goes...I think I've done a decent job recounting most of it. There are a few things I left off for the sake of decency (like some of the prank call stuff), but it's all there for the most part.

The practical upshot to all that is that I don't have to write (and you won't have to read/otherwise tolerate) an insanely lengthy post-trip post.

Oh, one thing of note did happen yesterday: I broke my glasses. The frame is currently held tenuously together by a screw I got from an Eyeglass Repair Kit, courtesy of The Dollar Tree. I suspect that sometime in the near future I'll have to bring my specs in to America's Best to get them repaired.

Anyway, so now I'm going to go get my stuff out of my Jeep and get everything unpacked/washed. I've got a lot of dirty laundry to wash.

Later!

2005-05-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

Inconvenienced

2005-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Still keepin' it real in ATL (where the playas play), but I'll be home tomorrow. I was planning on hitting the road today, but I was convinced that it would be better if I stayed. Currently munching on this pizza I made (fresh tomatoes/basil/mozzarella, called a Margherita) and waiting for the Red Sox v. Skanks to start.

Just wanted to throw out a quick post. Later!