Hurricane John

Wow Wowiee

2005-11-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

So I'm back. We'll see for how long. I was looking through my post editor and I noticed that I almost made a post on the 16th of September, almost a month ago. But I just saved it as a draft and never finished it. Perhaps I just wanted my bald mug to stay near the top of the page longer. That face isn't much different from the one I made when I found out I passed the qualifier. So it looks like I might be hanging around Orlando for several more years till I get this PhD. Other than that not too much excitement in general except for lots of little things to few to name except I did move to a new house. Not too big, slightly less rent, and great downtown location.

IT'S FINALLY HERE. Perhaps I'm the only one that will get excited about it but just last Tuesday A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin was finally released. I've been waiting for four years for this book to come out. It had been delayed so often all of us fans were beginning to fear the worst. You can see it over on my bookshelf. I had to rush and finish the other two before last week so I could begin with a fresh slate. I don't count Sophie's World cause it's kind of nonfictiony and philosophy so I just kind of look into that now and again. We'll see if I take the time to write little mini-reviews about those books. So far I'm over 100 pages into AFFC. The pacing is a bit slower than the previous A Song of Ice and Fire books, but the fact that it's appeasing my buildup makes me happy.

Overall I'm a lot busier so reading time is at a premium. I watch less television and movies these days. I go to the gym every morning. I also need to work more at school because apparently I'm not doing enough, I may share that later.

I hope my proof of life is exciting enough and that my life changes will start to include this poor neglected blog.

Go MARIO!

I'm off to New York City

2005-08-26T01:27:00.000-04:00

That's Right!

2005-08-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

I completely lost it over this stupid qualifying exam.

Mystery Solved

2005-06-20T11:32:00.000-04:00

This past week I have been completely down and out of it. I was extremely sleepy and practically in a daze at times. In fact, as I type this I just want to lay down my head and nap. Well it seems as the prescription Zyrtec I'm taking is rearing it's ugly side effect head and causing drowsiness. This may not seem odd because of the fact that it is an allergy medicine, and is an antihistamine which is notorious for causing drowsiness, but I have been taking Zyrtec every allergy season for the past four years now. I cannot ever recall feeling this way or sleepy unless I just always uncorrelated the two. Zyrtec works great for putting away the allergy symptoms. It also worked a lot better than the over-the-counter Claritin stuff. So for now I'll try taking it just before bed instead of in the morning to see how that works out.

This is the creepiest scariest thing I have seen

2005-06-14T14:31:00.000-04:00

It's a neat little interactive stop animation Quicktime movie of a doll that you can play with. Let the whole movie load and then click on glowing objects in the doll's room to have her play with them. Reminiscent of Choose Your Own Adventure?

I'm back, and most of my laundry is done

2005-06-13T13:52:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I finally got everything (almost) unpacked and washed all that dirty laundry. It was great to think about nothing and relax in beautiful and warm Alaska. Yes warm. The weather in the southern reaches were great and even at times, 'hot.' Unfortunately I still do not own a digital camera so I am depending on my sisters to send me pictures. Likely my mother has already forgotten how to put them on her computer, let alone send them to me, Rachel will likely forget or just not get to it, and Rebecca doesn't really have a computer to load them to. But if they do arrive I'll select a few to post, unless the time in between has just been too great.

I also read a little bit. Mostly on the plane, but also on the cruise ship's library where Rebecca and I often sat in "our favorite seats." Sophie's World starts off interesting enough, but eventually just turns into another text book about the history of philosophy while trying to hide behind the ruse of being a novel. I'll probably finish but while reading something else as well. On the return flight I read in its entirety, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. So it only had a short lifetime on my bookshelf. Great little novel, around 120 pages. Brought up some interesting concepts like living forever through restored memories and a reputation based economics. If you're interested in reading this free downloads are available in all sorts of formats on craphound.com. Now I've begun Perdido Street Station and it's world has already begun to capture.

Anchors Aweigh, my boys,.. Anchors Aweigh

2005-05-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

So next week I'll be entirely gone on the family cruise to Alaska. Should be a lot of fun and tons of relaxing. Perfect, because when I return it will be nothing but grinding out the books to prepare for the qualifier. I plan to do a lot of reading since at least three of the days I will be confined to the boat. But then again distractions always come up. Unfortunately the book I was so excited to read has been replaced with Sophie's World. When the book arrived it was basically a hardcover book with a soft cover. Unfortunately this means it's basically as heavy and just too much for me to want to lug so I'm bringing something lighter. It should be nice to read something different. So I guess I will return next week well read into the beginnings of a philosophical mind.

I also finished the June issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Yep I read all 160 pages of it. I really enjoyed it and have considered purchasing a subscription to a magazine digest and now I know that if I ever do that will be the one.

Links you'll want to click

2005-05-18T16:40:00.000-04:00

I have been stock piling a few links that I think are pretty cool. I'm sure you'll want to click.

Now answering the greatest question on your mind, "Can you fully operate a computer completely submerged in a tank of oil?" Answers here.

To honor Disneyland's 50th anniversary, here's a bunch of crazy pointless trivia. I especially like the basketball court in the Matterhorn and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Cornell research has been working on replicating robots. They are cubed in shape and as can be seen in the videos, as long as a new piece is near by, they work to duplicate.

Ever wonder all the different objects that children ingest? Now you know.

Tell me, who doesn't like circus hamsters?

This is just how far someone will go when pushed to the limit and 'goes postal'.

Hurricane outlook

2005-05-17T10:33:00.000-04:00

So the forecast is out. 12-15 expected tropical storms, 7-9 hurricanes and at least 3-5 of those would be major hurricanes. Of course this is for the whole south east including all the countries in the Caribbean. So they do not expect as many to hit Florida, especially central Florida. But who knows? These guys aren't always the best predictors of location and path. So who knows what destruction comes my way this time? I'll let you all know when the first is spotted which will go by the name of Arlene.

Dune is done

2005-05-10T15:26:00.000-04:00

I finished Dune and it's on to the next novel. Dune was quite good and had great world-building but I think the ending was weak, or rather rushed. No resolving. It also had some dull moments but it felt almost real and historical. The imagery of the colonization of Dune was made extremely real and believable. Definitely a classic and defining for science fiction.

As you can see sitting on my bookshelf is Perdido Street Station. I hadn't heard of the author China Mieville until just a month ago but it sounds like this newer author writes stupendous stuff. The same kind of fantasy that Gaiman writes. I think the most common description of his stuff is 'horror fantasy.' His newest Iron Council is up for a Hugo and has rave reviews. I'd probably start with this one except that it's still only in hardcover. Perdido isn't his first but his second, and probably his most hailed. I recently ordered it along with another of his, The Scar so they haven't yet arrived for me to begin. In the meantime I'll probably read from F&SF and other short fiction, particularly a novella or novelette.

Micrometer madness

2005-05-10T14:25:00.000-04:00

Recently in my experiments I've had to scan across a sample by hand. This means using a micrometer for small step sizes. I've forgotten how infuriating using a micrometer can be. It doesn't help that the one micron markings wrap around the knob and out of view. They end up being tucked underneath and the table gets in the way making it impossible to see. I then have to use a mirror which isn't to helpful because depending on your point of view determines which markings are lined up. Ugh.

Here's a few more links from people who have lots of talent and inhuman patience.

SF

2005-05-05T11:46:00.000-04:00

What exactly does SF stand for? Science Fiction? Speculative Fiction? Short Fiction? Recently, to me, it stands for all three. Back in January or February the nominees for the Nebula Awards were posted. They're awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy works in primarily four categories: novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories. The difference? Typically short stories run 7,500 words or less; novelettes, 7,500-17,500; novellas, 17,500-40,000; and of course novels are greater than 40,000 words.

Fortunately the publications normally make it easy to read the nominees by making all of the short fiction available online for free. So downloaded each into Word to read on my own time. I made it a goal to read all the short stories and form an opinion for myself which one was best. As I continued to read these stories I kept stumbling upon more, reviews, suggestions, all sorts of material relating to shorter fiction based on speculative fiction. This is the mainstream that most of the best work is published. Not in longer novels but shorter works. I've enjoyed it so much I find myself reading a lot more but just quick stuff. It's nice to sit down for 10-20 minutes and finish a complete tale. I may even subscribe to one of the monthly publications in the right-hand column. So I'm enjoying all of this speculative fiction that's out there, and sure there are duds some times, but there's always a better one to pick up and push the bad one out.

Reading under trees and other reflections

2005-05-04T10:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday evening I went down to Winter Park to relax and rewind. First I went the Black Bean Deli to pick up a sandwich. Yummy. But I also received some bad news, Havana Cola is going out of business. Apparently it was a one-man operation and the guy had a major heart attack and there's no one to pick up the reins. Hopefully this is only temporary. The Deli was already out of Mojito but had some of the Cola left over so I picked up a couple to save for special times. They'll only have it until they run out and because of its popularity, that won't be long. Sure Coke has released their product with lime but it doesn't compare to Havana.

After the chit-chat, I grabbed my sandwich and took it down to Central Park. It was just a beautiful day with a cool breeze. Unfortunately there are a bit too many tame squirrels around. It was very difficult to eat in peace. It doesn't help that later when I left I saw some people feeding the squirrels. It was their sole purpose for being at the park. That really pisses me off. Anyway, after finishing dinner I read some on a park bench near the fountain. It was nice and quiet and just perfect. Even the bench didn't seem to be too uncomfortable but it started to get dark pretty quick so I had to stop.

The main reason I was in Winter Park last night was to catch the 9:30 show at the Enzian. It was very interesting documentary, Inside Deep Throat. I'll let you look up exactly what it's about. It does make me want to talk to people who lived during that time and what they felt about it.

When I finally arrived home I was pleasantly surprised to see the D'Backs and Giants locked up at two and the Backs threatening. Unfortunately I laid down on my bed and promptly fell asleep. I woke up about 30 minutes later to find the game over. I was happy to see that the Backs scored 1 in the eighth and Lyon came in and promptly saved it, but I was mad that I once again missed the scoring. This always happens. I'm listening, I lie down, doze off, wake up from just 15 to 30 minutes later to find that my team has scored. I guess I just need to sleep more and they'll score and win more.

That's about it for now.
Check this guy's demented taste in paintings. What's with the bizarre fetish with Lincoln and bunnies?

Books, books, books

2005-05-03T08:54:00.000-04:00

You may notice a new little feature in the right hand column. It has a list of the currents books/publications that I'm currently reading. Recently I've found myself watching less movies and reading more (more on this a little later). It's a nice change of pace. I still watch plenty but just not as much. I've also been watching less television. I still catch my shows and watch them when I have time. I plan on using my summer to catch up on a lot of them but reading is where it's at right now. Basically the only thing I watch now is sports related. The Suns are cooking so I watch them roll through the playoffs and the Diamondbacks are playing well and here's to them staying above .500 throughout the season. The better they play the more chances I get to watch them, otherwise I just have to hope that Baseball Tonight gives them some credit and shows a highlight once in a while.

And here are a couple of stories that are particularly interesting and disgusting:

A very cool and detailed sand sculpture

Exploding toads

Remove the caffeine

2005-04-22T16:50:00.000-04:00

I have averaged a caffeinated drink each day this week. Most likely because I have been working on some sort of project all week and I love that caffeine. I even had a jumpstart with an Adrenaline Rush Wednesday night. Anyway I need to remove all that caffeine from my diet and lay off the soda again. One week out of 52 can't be bad, right?

Revival

2005-04-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

So I'm back. Yesterday was that big day when everything was due. I wasn't to happy with my presentation. I would have liked it to go better and there were some points I forgot to talk about. I nearly pulled an all-nighter Wednesday night to finish my laser design project. Among the other many things I have going on I also had to spend some time in the lab to try to get so good results for a progress meeting, so that also extended my night into the wee morning hours. I'm actually pretty happy with the laser I designed. It's an ArF excimer for LASIK surgery. Sure it could have been better, but not bad for the few days I had to work on it. All that's left is finals next week. I was really worried about the strange scheduling of finals. I have my first at 7AM on Tuesday and then the following two on Thursday back to back. Here at UCF they give three hour finals so those back to back meant taking finals straight from 1 to 7. Well my laser engineering professor decided to surprise us with a take home final due on Monday. On one hand I'm sad that my weekend disappeared, yet now I only have one final on Thursday and I'll have two knocked off by Wednesday. Plus the take home will interfere with studying for Tuesday's final, which I must do well on.

Other stuff is bound to happen, bizarre and strange incidents, and momentary lapses in time. For example like last night.. but that's for later.

I am not dead

2005-04-16T15:05:00.000-04:00

Despite my lack of presence and though my previous post may lead to certain conclusions, I am not dead. First I thank all those who have continued to check in to see if there are new posts only to leave frustrated and questioning, "What's up with John?" Well these past few weeks have been tough, and while I did have time to post, I just didn't. It's the end of the semester here with finals just two weeks away. I know, they're very early here at UCF. Next week is also jam packed with a homework, presentation, and design project all due. Yes, those assignments all come from the same class. Also for the first time we actually have a deadline on our lab research. We need to have a paper written ready for submission by June 1st. Allowing for about a month to write it we need good data analyzed by the end of May. Unfortunately we're still having trouble getting our setup to give us usable data and I'm really busy and unable to work on it. So in about a couple of weeks my life should be back in order with only about a few things on my agenda. I don't suppose it will be any more exciting but those who want to will know about it anyway.

I think I'm sick

2005-04-06T14:55:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd say that

Just sittin' around

2005-03-30T15:07:00.000-05:00

And I thought, 'gee it's been awhile since I posted.' I've managed to crawl myself out of my depression hole that was dug for me last Saturday. Sunday's Easter picnic helped a lot. Myself and a group of friends went down to Wakiva Springs to have grilled meal out in nature. I had been meaning to get out there for some time and now I know I'll have to get back. I mostly sat around in the steamy 88 degree air but others played some ultimate and but later we went on an evening hike.

Tuesday I had an exam and it only went kind of okay. Strange thing about this place. I can never tell how well I did and I'm always surprised by the final score.

The most exciting part is that my old optics friend Shane will be in town on business the whole week for the SPIE conference and we'll being hanging out tonight. I think we're heading to the beach, which means some Dixie Crossroads!I haven't been to the beach in awhile, well actually I guess I did go to Miami beach just a couple weeks ago but I haven't been to Dixie Crossroads in a long time. I really crave some rock shrimp but I doubt I'll eat as much some previous visits. Playalinda will be closed by the time we get there so I'm not sure which beach we'll try, either New Smyrna or Cocoa. I'll leave that choice up to Shane

U of A baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-03-25T00:43:00.000-05:00

Bring on Illinois and on to the Final Four. Salim Stoudamire is the best shooter in college basketball and he's also absolutely clutch. That was one amazing game and be sure to catch the next one on Saturday. Well it's late so I'll try to say more tomorrow.

The Miami synopsis, and the close to spring break

2005-03-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

So the quick jaunt to Miami was fun. Major props goes to Troy and his friends who did the brunt of the driving, especially Troy who drove in stop and go traffic for about 2 hours on the way back. The hotel was nice and we got a pretty good rate, but we were rarely in the room so it didn't matter much. We went out wandering trying to found a random bar in Miami Beach and stumbled upon a decent one with a convenient parking slot right out front. Unfortunately it had an extremely high cover for no live entertainment. Perhaps it was for the DJ who was pretty good mixing with a decent song selection but I was expecting high cover so no real surprise. The next day we slept in a bit and left right at the scheduled check out time and then headed to the beach. We hung out there for about two hours and I caught a lot of rays. Later in the day I had the joy of discovering the areas of my body I missed with sunscreen, complete with finger marks. My spring break also became complete because I saw a lot of hot chicks and some topless babes. Thank goodness for foreign confidence, whatever. And then there was the drive home, which was extremely long. I can't remember how long but i think it was about four and a half hours with a meal sandwiched in between.

That was pretty much all I did for spring break along with the South Bend trip and I had lab work in the middle. Nothing exciting this weekend except trying to catch up on homework I put off too long. Oh and NCAA basketball. My bracket is mildly good. Not bad for as little effort as I put forth. UCF gave UConn a good fight and Arizona is kicking butt (only three seed remaining). Thursdays matchup against OSU should be excellent as should Washington vs Louisville. Honorable performances to Vermont and Bucknell and major props to West Virginia, NC State, and of course University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

All in all the break went well and felt great. Little stress except the makeup time this weekend. But it's interesting how the little things that happen can be the shining moments. I won't go into much detail but I had one of the most delightful conversations with someone the other day. Drinking over AIM can be quite the party.

Now I'm off to Miami

2005-03-17T13:43:00.000-05:00

Now comes part 2 of my spring break, the part that can be seen as more conventional. Part 1 was heading north to frigid South Bend and now I'm going south to steamy Miami. It should be crazy because it is a spring break hot spot. I'm not sure what part were headed to and not even sure we have a plan. Someone in our crew supposedly knows the area but I have a feeling we'll do a lot of wandering. That's the problem. It is pouring and will likely continue to pour throughout the day and in Miami. Driving in it will not be fun, and if we have to bar/club hop, or just wait to get in one, standing/walking in the rain will not be fun. So hopefully the experience will be good, but I'm afraid it won't turn out too well.

Getting ready to freeze my butt off

2005-03-11T11:23:00.000-05:00

I'm off to South Bend later today. It's going to be a very long flight. I leave at 4 and get in at midnight. That's the price I pay to get a cheap ticket. I'm just worried about weather and I hope the recent snow in the area will not delay my flights. I am excited about my lay-over in Cincinnati though. I'll look forward to some chili and I hear there's a good sandwich place.

It will be a lot of fun to see Brian and Megan. Of course I hung out with them a lot over break including the awesome snow board trip but it's always fun to see my really good friends. The people who know me. I promised that I would visit them at Notre Dame and I kept my promise, including visiting them when no one else would, the bitter cold of winter. I've received a couple of messages reminding me of snow and the cold. I hope I can adjust quickly. In truth I hope to relax some and just see the campus. Brian's only there a year and then he's off to Chicago. I'll definitely visit them while they're there. Until then, stay warm for me.

Now I can relax

2005-03-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

In fact I already dead a little bit by going to a baseball game but I'll get to that later. So today I had both my assignments due and got them in no problem. Spring break next week is at just the right time. I won't have homework due for awhile and I'll be able to calm down and relax. I'm still going to be working through the week of course but I'll be able to just focus on the lab work. Maybe I'll finally get some results I can be happy about. I'm also going on a few small trips. I'm escaping this weekend to South Bend to visit Brian and Notre Dame and then next week I'll be in Miami for a night and day. Probably both very and not so smart over spring break.

So, I witnessed the saddest display of a baseball game ever. St. Josephs absolutely sucks, as UCF just dominated. I could let the recap and box score just speak for themselves but here are a few highlights. The Knights had a 13 run 4th on the way to 22 runs, there was a time when I thought the Hawks would have more errors than hits, and the shortstop tripped over 2nd base on a pop fly. Super funny. I laughed pretty hard.

Frustration

2005-03-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

I was in the lab until late last night and I still didn't accomplish anything. Nothing I did seemed to improve the results, setup or alignment. The equipment I'm using just doesn't cut it when it comes to precision. I also have tons of homework to do that I still haven't completely finished. That's why I'm typing now, no time last night. In fact this should be cut short.

Stuck in a rut

2005-03-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

Lots of things have fallen apart around here and I've sunk into a sort of depression. I've hit a snag in the lab. I've gone in on the weekends two straight weeks now and haven't made much progress. The data that we're getting just doesn't seem right or even real. Results change dramatically when no changes are made and then sometimes we make perhaps even drastic changes and then the results to really change. Why don't things change when I want them to change?

I've also had all my midterms that I took these past weeks returned to me now. Not too happy. I got pretty tricked on all of them and my scores put me right at average. I might be able to argue one of them up but I doubt it since I didn't have much luck in the other two. I'm just going to have to study a lot harder. I guess I'm also going to have to visit the professors more to get a better grasp at exactly what their saying because some of it doesn't match up with the texts I've been reading. These test scores from yesterday really made me feel sick.

On the other hand I have actually managed to keep my spirits up in general. I made a pact with Troy that we must go to the gym at least three times a week. If we miss a normal day and that means we must go earlier on a class day to make it up?, so be it. I've been watching less television believe it or not. I only watch what I want to watch and if I didn't set away time to watch it, then it better be something damn special for me to see it. This doesn't exactly mean I've put more time into studies. I mean I have but I've also used the time to read more. Overall the experience is a lot more enjoyable, although Suki doesn't it like too much because the book gets in the way when he wants to curl up on me. Most of the stuff I've read recently are short stories, novelettes, and novellas. They're all the nominees for the 2004 Nebula Awards. At this time I've read all the short stories, at least the free ones, so I've already picked a favorite one I want to win. The page of nominees gives links to most of the stories where you can download them for free so check 'em out and let me know which are favorites. For short stories I think Aloha is best followed by Travels with my Cats.

It's raining here

2005-02-27T10:46:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd jump on the rain bandwagon. I felt very left out with all my friends from AZ and SoCal complaining about all the rain and I thought, "Gee, why am I not getting any rain. For goodness sakes I'm in Orlando, where in the course of just a few days we get more rain than AZ in a year." Well today it's been raining all day, as expected. So much expected that today's baseball game was preemptively played yesterday to make a double header. UCF dominated by sweeping Monmouth 6-4, and 8-3. I'm enjoying these free baseball games and I plan on going to a lot of them. Unfortunately I'm not at Arizona where their ball team is playing great and is ranked top ten in the nation. That's awesome and I expect more.

News of the Weird: TENACIOUS D
Farmington Hills, Mich., elementary school teacher Nancy Seaman, 52, on trial for murdering her husband, said it was self-defense, even though a reported autopsy said he had been stabbed 21 times and struck with a hatchet 15 times. (She was convicted in December.) And University of Virginia student Andrew Alston, on trial for fatally stabbing a firefighter after a night of bar-hopping, said the victim had actually inadvertently stabbed himself during aikido horseplay, even though there were 18 stab wounds, spread among the heart, arms, back, shoulder and face. (Alston was convicted of manslaughter in November.)

Free dinner is my reward

2005-02-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

These past few days I've been absolutely spent trying to study for a couple of midterms. One was yesterday where the professor purposely gives way too much problems to work in the allotted time and threw several curveballs. The other was today, where the test wasn't too difficult, gave plenty of time yet I think I still managed to screw up several of the problems. After today's exam I immediately went home and promptly took a nap. Very nice. The best part is, there are two visitors in Orlando that are prospective grad students for CREOL. That means tonight there is a recruiting dinner of sorts and I get to be a recruiter. Free dinner, woo hoo. I remember my own visit out here and how I got a lot of free food out of it and basically a free three day trip. Even though I'm now on the opposite end, I'll still be able to get free meals out of it. Last Friday I went to a really nice, small, quaint, neighborhood Italian place and this week I get free Mexican. So I've been starving myself today to be plenty hungry for my food and I can't wait for the rest of the weekend to come as I have lots of baseball games to attend, TV shows to catch up on, and a little homework and lab work to do. Midterms are over.

News of the Weird: KNUCKLEHEAD DEATH WISH or SOON TO BE DARWIN AWARD WINNERS
In January, a 23-year-old woman, attempting a handstand on a hotel balcony railing in North Fort Myers, Fla., fell to her death but only after shouting to friends to "watch to see what I can still do." And a 21-year-old student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was killed when, not belted in, he was ejected from the back seat of an SUV in a crash; the student was prominent for his libertarian political views, including a defiant stand in the student newspaper against mandatory seatbelt laws. (He described himself as one of "a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up.")

The Grad School Beast: Part 2

2005-02-22T13:14:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, Grad school is kind of split in two parts. On one hand you have the classes and course work, the other half is devoted to research. Now it's this second part where all the fun is, and/or stress. The course work is all fine and dandy but it is really important just for passing the qualifier. The work you do for your advisor is the important stuff. This work, can be treated like real work, just like a job. I'm getting paid for it so I guess it is a job.

The professor I work for is pretty cool. A little hard to read at times but overall he's a good guy. He doesn't loom over your shoulder all the time, but he also keeps tabs to make sure the work is getting done. As a first year grad school it can be kind of hard to get homework and studying done while also juggling the tasks at work. Most professors are understanding when you need to catch up on homework because if you don't pass the qualifier then you're no good to them. My advisor seems to be understanding when I haven't quite finished the task but because of his nature he really doesn't say much and leaves wondering whether or not it really was okay.

It's this kind of unknowing that really bothers me. At times I'm unclear what really needs to be done, yet if he comes and something isn't done it weighs on me. It's mostly a communication issue that I'm sure will work out in time, I have been working for only a month. My two main tasks in the group are to assist another grad student on one experiment and to maintain the website. That second task really sucks but I don't think it will be too bad. Right now it hasn't changed in a long time so there's a lot to do. But after I'm caught up there will only be a few changes here and there. The other task is taking polarization readings from a random media. Ever since last years senior capstone project I've been intrigued by polarization so this is right down my alley. I'm still feeling my way around what exactly we are doing with this experiment and its purpose but is pretty neat. That's why work can be a blessing and bane. My advisor is mostly cool but can be hard to read. Sometimes I have very little to do and other times I have to come in at off peak times just to get the work done. Sometimes I hate taking the same readings over and over again just to do them again with a few adjustments to fine tune data. Other times, like this past Sunday, I like coming in and fiddling with the setup and seeing what the universe has to offer.

In grad school you can't expect too much cause with each coming week the situation changes. It's an altering environment. Each new discovery leads to more questions. There will always be classes, there will always be work. I just hope that soon I can figure out exactly what I want my thesis to be and get working on it. That's the ultimate goal.

Sweep,... sort of

2005-02-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

But it was still a night the Suns dominated. Nobody really watches the NBA all-star weekend festivities, but those who did are sure to recognize the power in Phoenix. The night was set to belong to Phoenix and they nearly, completely owned it. All five starters for the Suns were there competing in four different events. The first event, shooting stars is comprised of a current player, WNBA counter-part, and a 'legend' from the team where they shoot from six varying points on the floor and best time wins. Since Phoenix had Shawn Marion, Diana Taurasi, and Dan Majerle they were a shoo in to win and they did by over 10 seconds. The next event was the skills event consisting of various running, dribbling, passing, and shooting drills. Steve Nash put the other competitors in there place after this event. Next up was the always thrilling three-point shootout. It can be fun to watch a dominate shooter struggle and another get hot. The Suns had both Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson competing here. Joe struggled a bit but Q slipped into the final round where he caught fire to hit his last nine shots and win by one with a score of nineteen, very good. SO the night was set for the Suns to dominate and sweep the contests if Amaré Stoudemire could close out the slam dunk contest. But while his creativity was the best, with the help of the well-rounded soccer skilled Steve Nash, Amaré couldn't get over the hump and outshine the electrifying Josh Smith who won the crowd and judges over with a jersey homage to Dominique Wilkins.

A beautiful day for baseball

2005-02-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

The plan was to work in the lab. The result was a day at the ballpark. I knew I had to attend the UCF baseball game because they were playing Notre Dame. my best friend Brian goes there so I had to watch for bragging rights. Weather was perfect. Low 70's, a few puffy clouds in the sky, and a soft cool breeze. The game turned out to be great as well. Great pitching and defense. There were a few errors but mostly from aggressive hardnose play and stupid things. UCF had a relatively early one run lead but in the 7th ND tied it. But right back in the bottom of the inning UCF scored the go-ahead run. The top of the ninth also featured som great defence including a hard liner and the final out was on a bobbled one-hand play where the third baseman had to throw on the run and while the throw was wide, the first baseman sacrificed his arm to make the stretch for the ball. There was also another great play where there was a hard pop fly that the runner from first thought wasn't caught because the second baseman was deking him to second, but this gave plenty of time for the center fielder who really had the ball to throw him out back at first. I'm excited about this team, they are aggresive and run a lot. They force the action and I can't wait to see the rematch tomorrow. Great game.

Linkity: Kind of a fun little link. I'm not sure how serious it is but I found it to be a little funny.

Grad school is a whole different beast

2005-02-18T18:16:00.000-05:00

Ever since I've been attending, and even with one semester behind me, I've been struggling to classify what grad school is really like. At least in my field, part of it is class and studying, with another part work. The reason it seems weird is that although I have less time and work commitment, I end up working more and spending more time at school. Maybe I've just had an attitude adjustment and value my education more or perhaps there's a hidden force that holds me here.

Classes on one hand are just like a class for any other college undergraduate experience. I attend, mostly on a voluntary effort, I complete almost weekly homework, study for midterms and ultimately take the final exam. The difference is the structure of the class. Instead of explaining the topics and gearing the direction so that the homework problems and questions can be solved, the professor is likely to present the information, give a little direction and then move on. Rather than tell you what you need to know and how to do it, it's more like, "here's what you should know, plus more. Now go learn."

It's because of this that the classes are tougher. Even though I only have three classes, it seems like more than enough. Last semester, for what seems like the real first time in my life, I thoroughly stressed out over finals. As I said before, classtime and homework is not spent on making sure you can grasp and understand the concepts, that's up to you. Rather, classtime normally overviews the topics, at times just grazing the surface. Reading the text is an absolute must. Unfortunately most classes don't have a designated text and there is no instruction on what to read or what is really helpful. Most professors often give a list of recommended reading but only bits and pieces from each book are ever very helpful. At the end the shear volume of the topics and consumed information is just overwhelming.

Last semester I didn't know how I could learn everything for the final, and it was a complete mystery as to what would show up. Although some grades suffered, I really did learn a lot. With a semester behind me I starting to appreciate this new routine of reading a lot, struggling through homework and stressing over tests. But in the end it's an educational experience and grad school proves and lives by the adage, "You get out what you put in."

It's because of this hard work and heavy study and reading that this class I have right now really pisses me off. In class the professor is very deliberate, and makes the topics pretty straight forward but with no depth. The little he tries is of no help. Due to a friend's advice I read deep into Joseph Goodman's, Introduction to Fourier Optics. First it seems that the professor has just been following along the beginning of the book, and Goodman has done a much better job at teaching me than me teacher has. My first midterm for the class and this semester was yesterday morning. I was a bit worried, he had never taught the class before so no one could prepare me for what it would be like so I just studied and prepared for it all. Bam,yup, I over prepared. It turns out that all I needed to do was memorize the homework. Each homework for the class is only three problems. We only had three homeworks before the test. The test had only three problems. Yep, each question was from different homework. Now I'm not mad that I studied, learned and was well prepared, but I've been getting used to this new experience and I'm just hoping the class will start to push me and stop being a nuisance that I have to get up early in the morning to attend.

Sometimes I wonder though how much of my learning is by my own will and from reading and how much is actually being given to me by the institution. I guess the real benefit of attending a school is the structure, being surrounded by great minds who, for the most part, are willing to help you, and the opportunities that are continually opening up.

Since this has become a rather lengthy post I shall resume the second part later.

Blogging, my escape

2005-02-18T14:09:00.000-05:00

I've started to cherish blogging. Every since I was given my own desk with my own computer in my office I've been a lot happier. The first thing I did with this computer was of course download Firefox with the essential extensions and Winamp. I'm fully prepared to tackle any obstacle ahead with my headphones on and grooving to streams from Digitally Imported. But whether I'm pounding out problems for the homework, reading the latest publications or text for class, or coding and updating the group website I'm eventually going to need/want a distraction. Normally surfing the web is fun, but I can only revisit the same sites so many times and I don't have the patience to weed through a lot of the other stuff, so now I blog. Because I spend a lot of the day behind a computer I've been very good about posting. I'm at least at and average of six posts per week. I wish I had little more returning readers, but it's not important. So to all the faithful readers, you'll have to visit more often because the updates will keep coming. And now onto some of my ongoing ever popular features that sit at the bottom of my posts.

News of the Weird: SMOOTH CRIMINAL
Jeffrey "Roofman" Manchester, 33, was finally recaptured after six months of inspired police-dodging in Charlotte, N.C., after having smuggled himself out of a previously escape-proof prison nearby. According to a January profile in the San Francisco Chronicle, Manchester (a handsome, athletic, personable man who got his nickname from a multistate series of ceiling-entry burglaries) built an ingenious home behind a cubbyhole at a Toys-R-Us, then at an abandoned Circuit City next door, outfitting both digs with various conveniences, such as a protective surveillance camera. The dashing Manchester volunteered at a church, befriending the pastor and dating a parishioner, who eventually helped police capture him. Said a police sergeant, "(W)e can learn a lot from him."

Linkity: I'm pretty big movie lover so I found this website to be a little entertaining. If you ever wondered what are the/how many specific instances of all the bad stuff, violence, and language there are in a movie, this site tells all, of course from the Christian perspective. Some of it is just plain hilarious on how anal they can be.

Wilco and WebComics

2005-02-16T15:46:00.000-05:00

First off, Wilco last night was a blast, but there are a few things that bothered me. First, I haven't attended many concerts so the continual standing for 4-5 hours straight while bumping into and standing sideways for a bunch of smelly people isn't really my idea of fun. Wilco's a great group that just doesn't play the type of music you normally hear. Unfortunately they can be pretty mellow at times, so sometimes the stage presence was a little lacking and they played a lot of slower softer songs that didn't quite work for the venue. But I totally respect them, because to them it's all about the music, and not just pleasing, so they just played what they felt. None of the songs were like what they are on the albums. To some they may not like this unexpected turn of notes, but I relish the chance to hear a unique version of the song. I could also tell that it's their more current work that I find more attractive while their older stuff is more standard common fun tunes. My overall impression is that although they can put on a pretty unique concert experience, I think I may prefer to listen to their unique brand of music on my own.

Now on to part two of my webcomics review. It's been about a week since I last reviewed, which has given me some time to check out the others. First I'd like to thank Carol for pointing out her husband's comic at drink at work.com. The comic is known as mediumlarge and although I've only seen a bit, it's hilarious. It's definitely right up my alley. Most of it seems to parody current day pop culture especially revolving around the television. Definitely click on the links from her comment posts from Thursday, February 10, "Left Handed Tidbit for the Day."

Staccato
I actually haven't seen much of this other than a few archives here and there because it seems as though the author was away for awhile. It also looks as though a publisher has stopped carrying Staccato. I don't know if this will affect the online version or not. Basically the premise is that the main character is a recent grad, semi-looking for a job. He still hangs out with his old friends, some of which are still in college. Oh, and all the characters are animals. Since the subject matter is somewhat correlated to my actual life (grad school is very different from normal college, and sometimes I feel like a recent grad) I've enjoyed what little I've seen. So if the comic doesn't have anymore updates, dip into the archives.

Megatokyo
Now if you're not looking for a daily comic or a simple funny strip, check this one out. It's actually and online manga updated M,W,F. I've enjoyed the art greatly and the story as well. Since it is a manga the story is ongoing and it can be kind of hard to pick it up as it is without starting at the beginning. But starting at the beginning is no chore since I actually think the funniest parts are at the beginning. The main audience for this is Japanese pop culture, anime/manga, and gaming, especially from the Japanese geniuses.

The next two are kind of fun, but the art/drawings aren't quite that great. They also haven't been updated much and one them seems to be on hiatus for a long while. Nuklear Power has some strong wit and will be very popular with any Final Fantasy fans. The author uses blown up sprites from the original Final Fantasy graphics and uses them as characters. Not quite sure what the overall theme is but there is plenty of satire, cliché, stereotypes, and pretty much anything you can find in a comic that occasionally offends at least one social group. The other is Spelling the Vacuum Cleaner. This hasn't been updated at all for the past couple weeks. I hear this is also an ongoing story and that catching up is more of a delight than a chore. I haven't seen it yet but perhaps putting it out there for others with more time to read can enjoy.

I hope some have checked out Sinfest. It's great and I'm really loving it now. One thing that's uncommon to webcomics is that this one is updated daily, not just M-F or periodically.

News of the Weird:TECHNICOLOR YAW
NASA announced in October it was retiring the KC-135 plane it had long been using to train astronauts for weightlessness in flight; an official told reporters that the air crews had kept track of the amount of astronaut vomit cleaned up over the years and that the total was at least 285 gallons.

I get to see Wilco

2005-02-14T14:33:00.000-05:00

So I'm pretty excited about seeing Wilco in concert tomorrow night. They're performing at the House of Blues and I'm going with Troy. Now Wilco is a relatively new group to me and Troy is responsible for introducing me. A while ago I gave him a project to compile a bunch of songs from groups I should be listening to. Apparently I wasn't listening to the right stuff and was too in the dark about a lot of musical artists. Anyway he put two songs from the album A Ghost is Born onto his compilation and I must say I enjoyed them a lot. He then gave me the entire album to check and I must say it was great, and totally different from what you normally hear. In fact that album won Wilco two Grammys including bust alternative album (category 22). They seem to have been greatly influenced by the Beatles or perhaps I'm stretching, but some of the instrumental flavor and instruments they add has a very strong Beatles vibe and I love the Beatles. Hopefully they put on a great live performance and it should be a great experience.

2005-02-11T10:21:00.000-05:00

Where did the night owl go?
So I've been going to bed at ten for the past two nights. I'm normally up past midnight but for the entire week I've been exhausted and it usually hits me right around six or seven. Luckily I've been able to finish my homework at the office and not have to actually bring it home with me. The other big factor is that there's no reason for me to stay up and watch the television. None of my sports teams are on television. I can watch any of my normal primetime television later for recordings. And Daily Show has been reruns all week.

It's actually really been quite nice getting in a good nine hours of sleep. I don't plan on making this regular but it has been nice to catch up on my sleep. See I'm not able to sleep in on the weekends. I now have a cat and at times he's just like a baby. I mean I have to feed him, take care of him, and he'll cry in the night and wake me up. He just doesn't understand that weekends are special and to him it's just any other day. He'll wake me up at the normal 7:00 AM time and think nothing of it. Sometimes he's nice and he'll just curl up next to me and allow another couple of hours but he's normally pretty ornery. Still I love him just the same and he can be quite the entertainer at times.

Linkity: Some of you may have heard of dailyconfession.com and this site is similar. People just post little comments all the time to tell the world what they've done or the situation their in. The interface is as easy as just reading and most of the posts are crazy and amusing and other stuff is just extreme.

Linkity part two: This site is just comic relief. It's old and it's not even American. Apparently it's some sort of marriage counseling for all sorts of deficiencies like communication and sex. Basically stupid questions about sex from really stupid people. But the translations are awful which means Engrish-licious.

2005-02-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

Left Handed Tidbit for the Day
According to a US study, blonds are twice as likely to be left-handed as brunets and redheads.

2005-02-09T14:21:00.000-05:00

Web Comics
Who even reads the funnies these days? I used to always just open the paper and turn to the sports section and ignore the rest. Well, since I've been in college I haven't really seen the paper and who even needs to in this digital age with all the news online. Well a couple of years ago my roommate and I chipped in to get the Arizona Daily Star, the newspaper in Tucson. I still do prefer the paper copy so I said sure. Every morning I turn right to sports and he heads straight for the comics. Well because they were always sitting out I started to read them and he pointed some of the good ones beyond those I already knew about. I've always loved Dilbert and Foxtrot is always good but I also enjoys Get Fuzzy. Well since we were only roommates for a year, that's all that the paper lasted.

Jump forward two years and I'm once again able to get the paper every weekday. Let me just say that the comics for the Orlando Sentinel suck. They suck hard. They don't have any of the great standbys. They don't have Foxtrot and they don't even have the occasionally funny but normally cute Baby Blues. I don't get to see the Sunday paper much but from my memory they don't bump up the quality by much. In fact they normally print all their comics in color so there is no benefit to the Sunday paper. Maybe that's why they don't print the others, because there isn't a color version but I think that's phooey. I did happen to discover that Dilbert is tucked in with business just like in the Daily Star but that's it. Here's a list of the crap they show:
Peanuts Classics (come on)
Blondie
Hi & Lois
Hagar the Horrible
Beetle Baily
Sally Forth
Dennis the Menace
and the every present horrible Family Circus

For some reason I thought a lot of these comics had ended but nope they're there, every day, stinking each day. I avoid them at all costs because if I read them I just get angry. The only saving grace is looking at the funny drawings for the rather unfunny Mutts and laughing at Garfield, I mean that's one fat lazy pussy, right?

The remedy? I now turn to web comics. They often aren't updated daily but they are normally pretty funny, especially someone in my age group. Because of the fact that they don't appeal to a broad audience is why they stick to the web but they all have some success. Some are ongoing stories while others are just satirical funny strips. Some appeal to gamers only while others are meant for the college folk. So every day I start up the computer I check these out to see the latest misadventures of the characters of the super information highway.

F Minus
The first plug goes to F Minus. Not really a web comic but rather an online archive of a strip that ran for the State Press, the ASU student paper. It's also authored by an old good highschool friend of mine. He recently one a MTV sponsored contest that won him a publishing deal with United Feature Syndicate, responsible for Dilbert, Peanuts, and Get Fuzzy. So while no new comics are posted definitely hit the archived comics and I'll guarantee laughter.

Sinfest
I stumbled across this last year. I haven't kept up with it too well but it normally brings good laughs. Definitely dip into the early comics. They set up the story a little and may be some of the funnier comics. The drawings are great and I love the wit.

Penny-Arcade
I'm sure a lot have heard about this. It's basically for gamers and only will the true gamers find each comic funny. But if you follow along you'll get most of it. They also keep a blog of gaming news, so that tends to be interesting as well.

There are a few more but I've only seen them recently so I'll give a few days to make sure they're any good.

News of the Weird: ISN'T IT IRONIC?
On Dec. 20, a United Parcel Service driver was involved in a crash on an icy road near Keene, N.H., suffered a head injury, and was taken to Cheshire Medical Center, where tests were to be performed, except that the required machine for them was broken (though parts were on order). After checking the status of the order, hospital personnel discovered that the parts had been shipped and were in fact in the crashed UPS truck, and someone was dispatched to the scene of the accident to retrieve them.

In December, the British parents' organization Bullywatch, which issued blue wristbands to students to publicize the campaign against school bullying, reported that any kid wearing the wristbands was immediately targeted for attack by bullies.

2005-02-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

Oops, that's not what I was supposed to do
The plan last night was to go down to the Enzian for the 9:30 showing of Vera Drake. Well I got there pretty early and found out that they were showing a different movie at 9:30, not Vera Drake. So I called up Troy and told him the bad news and that he could stay home and rest up. Well I should have gone as well, I'm kind of behind on an assignment but the film they were showing was free to film society members. Since I was planning on signing up anyway, I stuck around and watched for 'free'. It was a Sundance feature from some years ago that showed that a quality film can be made with a home camera. The Same River Twice was basically a documentary of a group of friends that lived a very free nature loving life as they rafted down the Colorado river. Then the guy who filmed their last ride in 76 decided to meet back up with them around 20 years later and see how they've lived out their lives. It was really interesting and I never thought I would enjoy watching a complete stranger's home movies. Plus it was also beautiful since half of it was filmed at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Linkity: Pimp Your Grill. My teeth were looking a little dull so I decided to glitz them up. No I didn't just get them whitened, I went a step further and went golden! Too much bling?

2005-02-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

Highlight from the History of Left-Handedness
On this day in 1964, The Beatles arrive in the United States for the first time. Half of the members of the Fab Four are lefties--Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Interestingly the only remaining living members as well.

2005-02-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

A day of John Turturro, of sorts
As I was making a very late breakfast yesterday I had an urge to watch Rounders. Not all of it, just the cool card game parts and definitely the finale against KGB. Well the movie stars John Turturro as Knish. Later that night on TCM, they were showing Quiz Show which I hadn't seen and decided to watch. It just so happens that John Turturro stars in that as well. Let me just say he played to completely different rolls and he's a pretty good actor. Now if only I'd capped the night off with another completely different movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?to go for the triple crown.

News of the Weird:LOVERS, NOT FIGHTERS
Nonlethal war tactics suggested by an Air Force research team in the 1990s were made public in December by the military watchdog organization Sunshine Project. Tactics included a recommendation to expose enemy troops to powerful aphrodisiacs in order to distract them into lustful hookups with each other (irrespective of gender). The Pentagon said the idea was dropped almost immediately, but the Sunshine Project said it was discussed as recently as 2001. Other ideas: giving the enemy severe halitosis (so they could be detected within a civilian population), overrunning enemy positions with rats or wasps, and creating waves of fecal gas.

2005-02-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

Black Bean Deli
So just as soon as I said a found a new place for good subs and sandwiches I find that I have a new favorite. My new favorite sandwich is the Cuban, and no one makes a better Cuban than Black Bean Deli. Not something you find at all in the southwest. It's the perfect combination of ham, pork, swiss, and a pickle grilled flat with a press. Black Bean Deli also serves up other Cuban sandwiches that sound pretty damn good. One is pulled pork with a garlic sauce drizzled over it, yummy. Plus they also had common Cuban sides like rice and beans and plantains. I went to the Black Bean to grab a bite just before the Popcorn Flick at Winter Park. Last night they were showing Grease. It was good fun but the best part was the sandwich. I gobbled it right up and then washed it down with a Havana Cola, based on the grand Cuba Libre.

Linkity: Eyes don't look the way you want them to? Now your eyes can look more American just like you want them to. Then just stab a pink fork into them and don't forget the glue. Watch with an open mind.

2005-02-03T22:20:00.000-05:00

The Toasters @ The Social
Last night I went downtown to see The Toasters. They're a ska band and were pretty good. I can't say the same for the two groups leading in. They were also both ska but I think only one of them really qualified. The Corks were decent, considering they were just the local central Florida group. The Supervillians had been touring with The Toasters and I didn't care for them at all. They were just a wall of sound. No balance. This may just be because of poor sound engineering but it certainly was not music. But the Toasters jammed and other than the fact that The Social was a very smoky bar/club, I had a great night.

2005-02-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Papa Joe's Pizza & Pasta
It's no East Coast Super Subs but I think I've found my new favorite sandwich/sub place. It doesn't compare to East Coast in sheer taste, fixings and value but overall suffices as a replacement. The size is right around eight inches and under six dollars. But the sesame roll they use is way better than the bread at East Coast. The sub rolls they used were hit and miss a lot and sometimes came out real chewy and sometimes hard. The rolls at Papa Joe's are toasted to perfection. They come out crispy and flakey. It can create an enormous mess but I found myself rounding up the errant flakes from my plate and gobbling them up. The cheese steak was simple; steak, onions and provolone, but was melted to perfection and sated my appetite. Next time I'll see if I can add a little hot sauce, I really miss that special peppersauce from East Coast.

2005-01-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

Nights out on the town
Recently I've been going out more. The past few weekends I've made it downtown and checked out the sights. Two weekends in a row I've to the improv to check out some comedians. Both Tammy Pescatelli and Gary Valentine were pretty good but man some of the lead-ins sure do suck. After Valentine's show, due to Troy's persistence we went to a coffee house that looked interesting with original art in the windows. It just so happened that Sunday night was open-mike night. Turns out most of the readings and solo performances were great although the coffee wasn't. This carried over into Tuesday night when we all went to the A.K.A Lounge to check out another open-mike night. This was certainly not as laid back as the coffee house and only featured musical performances but some were superior. There was one duo that featured a guitar player that really had some skills and they just jammed freestyle. Unfortunately the sound mixing wasn't great for some performers and their acts were probably not what they should've sounded like. The venue just produced loud boomy productions and this only suited some of the performers.

I've also made it to Winter Park's downtown area, better known as Park Ave. A week ago was a popcorn flick. I'd been trying to go before but everyone always complained that it was too cold. See, the popcorn flick is a free movie that is put on by the Enzian and then shown at Central Park in Winter Park. It's always a classic and there's always plenty of free popcorn. Just come prepared with a blanket and lawn chairs would definitely be a luxury. Last week was High Noon and the next one is Grease; classics.

2005-01-21T10:44:00.000-05:00

Sundance Festival
Now I've never been to a film festival mostly because I'm nowhere near any of them and also because you're never really sure on the quality. But Sundance is a major one and its premiere day was just yesterday. Imdb is doing a quick Sundance guide complete with a daily blog of the hits and misses and what is the good stuff coming out this year. I'll pay attention to find out what will be the Garden States and Napoleon Dynamites of this year because I just loved those.

2005-01-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

I just typed a significantly long post and it was deleted. Damn microsoft internet explorer and it's insane quirks with popups. Perhaps if I feel inclined I'll post it again.

2005-01-11T01:21:00.000-05:00

Vagaries and Vibe
I've just returned from my favorite theater after watching a very good French film, A Very Long Engagement. As I exited the theater, there was a very heavy fog all around. Now the theater is set in a secluded area surrounded by trees. One large giant sits directly outside the building with reaching arms and narled scars. The Spanish moss hangs low and drapes the entrance. At the base of the trunk sits a fountain. The water spout sits between three massive sandstones and continuously flows a hypnotic song. Combined with the fountain and fog, the tree creates just one of those moods and settings that inspires stories, poems and song.

Now fog is very cool, yet eery. No matter how well you know where you're going, you feel lost. You can't see what's in front of you nor what lies around the bend. And fog only gets this way at the hint of light, in darkness there is nothing. Driving along to the sounds of Wilco's Spiders, I watched the street lamps hang ominously over the street and their fuzzy glow creates a wave of light that ends suddenly at a wall of darkness. This night has faded out with the fog.

2005-01-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a lot of fun
I went swimming with manatees. That's right, those lovable, friendly, playful yet not too bright cows of the sea. Went with a small group of friends over to Crystal River where it is common to see the manatees congregate. This time I was on a guided tour where they provided the wet suits and we jumped in the water with snorkels and got to actually swim and hang with the manatees. It was really neat and they sure can be playful. One swam directly to me and as I scratched him, he rolled over to get his belly scratched. It was very affordable and other than the lengthy drive there, I'm definitely hoping I can do it again some other time.

2005-01-07T18:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit too long
Since I haven't been updating I may have a bit to say so bear with but I did notice that people still visit so I owe it to all to post.

Last time I spoke I was off on my way to Phoenix and that is wear my story of the break begins. I was pumped about flying because my mother gave me this little employee coupon that would give me a free 1st class upgrade. I was stoked and even warned the person that would be picking me up at the airport that I may be a little buzzed when I arrive. Things were perfect, I arrived at the gate and they gave me the upgrade. I got to board the plane early and ordered a drink while everyone else were still looking for their seats. It was 8 AM so I wasn't looking for alcohol yet but the guy next to me ordered a cranberry and vodka so I said, "Sounds great, I'll have one too." Little did I know that 30 seconds after I get my vodka with a splash of cranberry they would call out my name and tell me I had to move back to coach because one of the seats was 'inoperable.' I walked by that seat on the way back and all I saw was a sign that said 'inoperable' and nothing wrong with the actual seat. Well the guy next to me put it best, "At least you'll be the only guy back there with a drink."

No that wasn't the only exciting thing that happened over break, but the list is short. Just two days after I got there I went up with Brian, Megan, and friends up to Snowbowl to snowboard. Now I know Snowbowl isn't the best place but it was closest and it's not like I'm an accomplished snowboarder or anything. It was a blast and I found out that I have really improved my skills. I even went up to the black diamonds. Unfortunately the snow was not soft and I got banged up pretty nice, but no lasting injuries or bruises.

The rest of the break was pretty low key. Spent Christmas just with immediate family sans Rebecca. The cousins came the next day but we didn't do much but a little shopping and movie watching. New years was still a little lonely but not anything like last years fiasco plus it included some Texas Hold 'em where I even won a pot. I also made it down to Tucson to catch up with some old professors. I didn't get in touch with every friend but I hit most of them. All in all it was kind of weird to be home for so long. It really told how little I kept in touch with any old highschool friends and how hard it can be to meet up with the old college friends. Here's to new friends and that rare possibility of meeting up with the old homeboys and reliving the good times.

2004-12-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

Last minute shopping
Not really, I got pretty much all my shopping done a while ago. This was shopping for me and one of my presents. As I may have mentioned earlier, I'll be getting a cat and flying back with me. To be prepared I needed to by a litterbox and some litter to be ready for him. I picked a pretty good time to go, around 1 on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, I mistakenly bought a wrong item and needed to return it today, just a mess. Anyway here are some parting shots of Suki.

2004-12-18T14:27:00.001-05:00

2004-12-18T14:27:00.000-05:00

2004-12-18T01:03:00.000-05:00

Watching westcoast basketball on the eastcoast = up very late
Hells yeah. SUNS WIN!! Man this is the way basketball should be played. Kind of reminds me why I used to enjoy this game. It slowed down a bit in the second half but overall a great game. Man I'm starting to believe that they can just turn it on when they want. Down by 16 after one quarter to bring it back to a 2 point deficit at half. Hard fought all second half and even a 7 point trail with two and a half minutes to go only to go on a quick 10-1 run to take a 2 point lead. Lickety split the Sonics lead was gone just like that. Suns held on and allowed a few late threes but they drained the free throws to stay ahead and remain the best team in the league. I'm exhausted but not tired. I'm out.

2004-12-17T01:14:00.000-05:00

Now winter is gone
As quick as it arrived it left. It's warmed back up into the upper 60s and will be in the 70s this weekend. And I also found out that Phoenix has warmed up too and should be in the same range all next week. Whatever happened to the cold weather? It just seems to get warmer each year. Damn global warming. Well at least it can get nippy when the sun goes down and there are more hours of that than daylight.

2004-12-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

Winter is finally here
And I welcome it with open arms. The only question how long will it last? Recently a cold front moved and has dropped daily temperatures to the mid 40s to the mid 50s. Not really that cold is it? Well to all these pussy Floridians it is. Now being from Arizona this is exactly the cold I'm used to. After four years in Tucson I really began to like the crisp evenings plus it gave me a chance to dip into my cold weather wardrobe. I've gotten some great shirts and sweaters these past couple years and now I finally have the chance to wear them. Unfortunately this kind of attire doesn't seem to be to common in Orlando. They mostly just wear jackets and sweatshirts. So I can't wait to go home and wear this great stuff for a little while.

2004-12-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

Back to the real world
Now that finals are done I can finally start living again. Wow my last post received some 22 comments. None of them really mean anything since they were mostly left by just one person but I'm guessing that person had plenty of fun with it.

I'm pretty excited because today I start work for a new professor. Past assignments didn't quite work but this should be good. I'll be dealing with polarization in remote sensing and nano and bio scattering. Sounds like good stuff. My stress level should drop significantly as well. Without classes I won't have homework so much and I take off to head back home to Arizona on Monday so there's not too much work I could probably be forced to do this week. I'm excited to get back home cause I really miss the mountains. Too much flatness here. This is the longest I've ever been away from home and while I really miss my family and friends, I really miss the city, especially Tucson. That's right I really love Tucson so I'll definitely be making my way down there. I'll be in AZ from the Dec. 20 till Jan 8 so please make plans to see me if I can't get a hold of you.

I had a bit of fun this weekend. My friend Mike was in town from all of his residency interviews and decided to hang out. Unfortunately I was a little weather at the beginning because of the whole end of semester immune system let down. We did get to play a couple of games of Settlers, and my new game Zertz with Troy, Pete, and Laura. I took him to the CREOL holiday party for some free food and booze. We did the obligatory trip to the beach complete with dinner at Dixie Crossroads. And then yesterday we went to Universal Studios: Islands of Adventures. A pretty cool park but kind of on the small side. Not really very many attractions, but Spiderman definitely stands out and the Dueling Dragons coaster is one of the best I've ever ridden.

That should be all for now. Still have a bit of shopping to do plans to make to see my old friends.

2004-12-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

I've been bad
So I haven't been posting and updating. I've got finals next week and stress is compounding. Studying hasn't been going well so I've been bad in that area as well. And even though it hasn't been shown, I have continued to see movies but haven't posted any reviews. Hopefully this can change in the near future or at least when finals are done.

2004-11-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

A look back
Now I'm not going to restate or overturn everything that I said earlier about the Pacer-Piston fight. I clearly said everything in the heat of the moment. There is clear video showing that Artest went after the wrong guy. The only thing is whether he realized that are not. Artest is clearly an idiot and hopefully will take some of the time off to figure out what he needs. Here's that time to finish your album, punk. There should have been cool heads on the court and everyone knows Artest is a hot head. A couple of fans are going to get nice settlements. That's what is nice about video and why sentences should be given when as many of the facts are on the table. That's probably why everyone loves instant replay so much. I still have a strong anger towards the rest of the fans though. The ones on the court and the ones throwing more cups and ice on the players and coaches as they were leaving. They made the court an unbearable place to be. They had mob mentality and figured "no one can single me out if everyone is doing it." Makes it a really scary place. I hope the NBA decides to punish the Detroit fans which unfortunately means punishing the Piston organization but just as a precedent and example was made of the players the same needs to be said for the fans. This was a one time incident and should remain that way.

2004-11-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

Have you ever tried shopping with your pupils dilated?
Well it's near impossible. I was at Costco getting an eye exam with a plan to shop afterwards. Well the doctor dilate my pupils which made trying to see anything within two feet really difficult. Everything was all blurry. And the closer I brought it to my eyes the blurrier it got. Insane! I don't think I've ever had them dilated before. It was also really difficult just to put them in. Have you ever looked at your eyes after dilation? It's pretty freaky. I was all "I'm Mr. Burns, "I bring you peace.'" I've been put in charge of the spread at Thanksgiving dinner which I'm quite proud of. I'm going to have creamy and crispy crackers, gourmet cheeses, and delectable meats. So I needed to see up close to know what kind of cheese I was buying. Anyway, I spent an hour walking around until I could kind of read labels and then eventually I could see just enough to write a check. The drive home wasn't much fun either, I couldn't read the speedometer.

2004-11-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

Absolutely Disgraceful
I have just witnessed one of the worst things ever in the history of sports, at least in my lifetime. This is the worst display of fans in the world and I will forever despise the Detroit Pistons fans. Completely unprovoked they decided to throw drinks on the Pacers. You're hearing it here first.

It began with what Ben Wallace took as a hard foul on Ron Artest and proceeded to immediately shove Artest in the neck. Surprisingly Artest stayed relatively calm as a semi scuffle broke out. Stephen Jackson for the Pacers was livid but the coaches and officials kept everything together. But insanity would soon break loose. Artest was laying on the scorers table to stay out of trouble when a fan threw water and a glass of beer on him. Artest knew exactly who it was and committed the sin of sports, he went into the stands. Now I know this is wrong and he will most suredly face a long suspension but these fans were just awful. Several more players followed into the stands and a brawl broke out in the seats. The worst part is that when they got the players back onto the court the fans threw tons of drinks, water, and ice on the Pacers as they were leaving the court. Unspeakable and cowardly. So they were a little upset that they were beat in the game but it was horrendous. They had to call the game early with 45 seconds left for the safety of the players.

There are lots of instances of fans becoming involved with the game, most recently baseball and the umpire attacks. And this isn't the first time we've see fans throw things onto the playing field. But here's the difference. In know sport are the fans so close to the action. In hockey they're close and plenty is thrown on the ice, yet there is glass between them and the action. In basketball there are no barriers and they even have advantageous highground close action over the locker room entrances. This is where most of the damage took place. As the players and coaches left they just poured it on and when I say pour, I mean it. Makes me wonder why the fans had so much of their drinks left because they were certainly acting like a bunch of drunk hooligans.

I'm no expert but I expect to hear about this incident for weeks to come. It all kind of compounds why I really don't like the NBA. It's only chance that I happened to catch this game. All I can say is I'm glad most fans in all sports have a sense of restraint but I'm sorry to say that not in Motown.

2004-11-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

Fun little weekend
My cousins were in town this weekend which provided for much fun and excitement. Unfortunately I had an exam today so I really didn't have much time for study but I take the fun over it any day. Especially for this class which I am the most comfortable in. So I spent all of Saturday at Disney World. First time since I've been here. It was nice to spend Disney magic with people I have never spent it with before.

On Sunday I took my cousin Seth to the east coast to see the ocean from Florida beaches. We went down to Cocoa beach and I must say that the sand at Playa Linda is a hell of a lot nicer. We also checked out the giant well known Ron Jon's Surf Shop where I got some new sandals. Plus since we ate lunch at Dixie Crossroads we got 15% off. After a ton of driving I finally got home and did some studying but wasn't all that successful. I was exhausted and called it an early night.

It didn't matter. I feel great about the test. I spent most of the day studying and from my experiences and enlightening through the UA optical system I knew exactly how to go about preparation and I spanked that test. If only I could do the same for the others.

2004-11-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

A very good Veteran's day
It all started with a good cardio bike riding workout this morning. It's been rainy and misty all day. I've gotten my apartment all cleaned up (mostly) and getting a ton of laundry done. I've also paid all my bills and put them out in the mail. Nothing like a rainy day and a day off from classes. I also love driving in the rain. What's really cool is that when I drive in my car in a fine misty rain all the droplets collect on my windshield and fly upwards. My new windshield washer fluid puts a thin protective film on the glass that causes the water to bead up making it a lot easier to see through and wipe off. But if I don't wipe it off they all start gliding up the windshield. Very fun to watch. I'm also going out to dinner later tonight with friends and then getting together with my new girls to watch the OC.

Well enough randomness, thanks Veterans!

2004-11-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

The first day of a new beginning
I went to the gym this morning. It's been over a year since I've been and with the new re-opening of the rec center here I thought it was time again to go. Since it had been so long I began my old beginners workout, thanks Shane. And I found a partner cause I know how much that helps form two summers ago, thanks Bryan. Well things feel good and it was very difficult to get up early in the morning. To compensate I tried to go to bed early but that didn't work too well either. I guess it will all take some adjusting.

Once again I'm pounding home that you all need to download Firefox, it's the browser you should be using. Almost all my friends are using it and that's great. Spread the word to others. It's spreading like crazy and even bogged down Mozilla yesterday, but things should be fine today. IE is the devil.

2004-11-09T23:26:00.000-05:00

Suns Roll
Anyone who knows me knows that basketball is one of my least liked big sports, especially the NBA.

Anyone who really knows me knows that the only NBA team I have ever really liked is the Phoenix Suns. They won another convincing game and I'm really excited about this season. They have a legitimate chance to win their division and at the least entertain the entire NBA audience. I'll do my best to watch and follow them but I'm living in a pretty ecstatic Magic nation right now.

You may also notice a new link in the blog chain and it should be interesting read from one the loudest mouths in sports.

2004-11-05T13:08:00.000-05:00

Marry An American
My sister pointed this out to me and I think it's pretty funny.

2004-11-03T20:15:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling better now
I think I just needed a nap.

2004-11-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Why is this happening
Man a lot of crap has happened.
That's all I have time to say right now.

2004-11-02T01:04:00.000-05:00

I'm in pain
I'm probably going to need to go to the doctor. For about a week now my left arm has hurt at the shoulder when ever I lift my arm away from my side. The really weird thing is that every morning when I wake up it's fine but as the day goes on it gets a lot worse. So bad that right around 10 it can even hurt to move or use my arm and hand (yes it can even hurt to type this). It's not unbearable but when I go to bed it can throb. I've tried icing and heating to relieve the aching and taking medicine to reduce possible inflammation. But nothing seems to work. I don't know how it got this way but it sure is pissing me off.

2004-10-26T11:04:00.000-04:00

The bloody sock
First I must say that what Curt Schilling has done this postseason is absolutely courageous. He's obviously playing through a ton of pain and has performed outstanding and is very much responsible for the Red Sox and their current position. Unfortunately some fire has come with the issue of his bloody sock. This is a made for tv story. Not only is the bloody sock a red sox, but there has been question of whether it is genuine or just a prop stunt (unfortunately I can't find the news story but I heard about it on ESPN). Frankly I'm surprised and hurt that someone would suggest something like that. Schilling has already acomplished most any pitchers goal save the Cy Young and has too much to lose in Boston to pull a stunt like that. Now I did hear the argument that the blood stain on the sock looks the same at the end of the game as it did at the beginning. Now here's my theory on that. Schilling is really superstitious. Now I don't have archival photos to turn to, but my guess is that the blood on the sock is genuine and that he has been wearign the same sock since game 6 against the Yankees. I know that sounds gross but that's what ballpalyers do. I'm guessing that some of that stain is old and that he no longer has the leaky stitches. He probably even has some sort of gauze between the sock and suture but the truth is the man was hurt and he hasn't lost a game with his old lucky bloody sock.

2004-10-25T23:28:00.000-04:00

Ashlee Simpson is a hack
Did anybody catch SNL this last week? No? Well I'm not surprised. It's not quite the same as it used to be but it can still have it's moments with the politcal fury going on, especially their parodies of the debates. Anyway this last week Ashlee Simpson was the musical guest, or for better description, pretty girl with a microphone. She was caught commiting the act that all of us are sure that every pop artist commits. She was lip synching to a background vocal track. They completely played the wrong song and the whole bit was cut. Those on the west coast probably noticed something weird but didn't here the vocals. This is because NBC edited it for the reairing but here on the eastcoast I saw it all of it's horrible glory. The whole thing can be downloaded here. I think the worst part is rather than fess up she blamed the band. The only mistake they made was actually playing their instruments. Don't blame the band when you can't sing. Apparently she was using the vocal help as a one time thing because acid reflux disease gave her a raspy voice, come on. And whether or not it was the drummer or the SNL audio crew that screwed up, it was a complete disaster that shouldn't happen with professional singers, with talent, performing live.

I just hate pop singers. I've never really been a fan of solo artists, or more explicitly those who don't play and write their own songs. Only those who are really great singers deserve to be recorded. A true test to their abilities is how they perform live without the help studio magic. Clearly Ashlee Simpson has nothing to offer, this can also be likely said about her sister and everyone knows Britney can't sing. Hell, the American Idol singers have leaps and bounds more talent. Just stick to the acceptable acting Ashlee and ditch the musical career and that hideous black hair (that's another current trend that I just don't get).

2004-10-24T13:26:00.000-04:00

.torrent
This is basically my favorite file extension as of lately. It's a lot more reliable than normal file sharing methods and can often be a whole lot faster. I use it only to download television shows. Anyone who knows me knows that I love TV and try to watch a lot of the pop culture but I always had trouble trying to watch everything. I'm not always home and some things are all on at the same time, especially Thursdays. I could never find anything on Kazaa and there were never enough peers. With BitTorrent there's always somebody, at least for the new stuff. There are also sites for movies and songs but I'm just sticking to TV shows.

With all this downloading I needed to make lots of space on my hardrive and clear memory. This is mainly the reason I've been absent from my computer so much. I can't really download and do anything else at the same time. I've purchased some memory to fix that. I've also bought a ton of CD's to burn all my programs but most importantly I needed to find a video media player that was reliable and functional. Without further ado, I present to you a brief review of some of the media players I know of.

Windows Media Player
The first step is to ditch Windows Media Player. It sucks. Please tell me how to uninstall it (I really haven't taken the effort to figure out how). It has a lot of baggage without much functionality.

WinAmp
Now I use WinAmp for my music but I haven't had much luck with video. I know the newer versions have been vastly improved but there are still better options.

SlowView
Now this is more of an image viewer. It can play video files but it definitely has very little functionality. Even Windows Media Player has better usability. But it is fast and has other uses. The link above gives a nice little review and shows what it's all about. It also has little to know functionality in fullscreen mode.

VLC
This player is also for Linux and may have even been made first for it. It's very good and can play almost any video without the need for excess codecs. This can be nice and avoid having to find, download, and install enough codecs to play your entire library (although I have an easy fix to that problem). The interface is simple and self explanatory. But the easiest media player is...

Media Player Classic
Now this will probably look very familiar to old computer users. In fact, a lot of the info may be old news to you guys, but this is what the old Windows player looked like. Very simple and uncluttered. It doesn't look fancy but it gets the job done. The shear size of it is small and it has most of the same keystrokes that you're used to including alt+enter for full screen and a menu the pops up at the bottom. It also has a good scroll bar for skipping around in the file but can have trouble catching back up to the audio track. And I have had few other troubles with slow down which seems to be common with most players.

BSPlayer
This is my new player of choice. It is simple to use but does look very flashy (not the biggest fan) but it has an assortment of skins to use, and I'm sure people are always coming up with better ones. This isn't the only similarity to WinAmp. All the key strokes are by default the same. "X" is start, "C" is pause, "V" is stop, it's the complete package. If you don't like that, you can change the feature to a different key stroke or mouse gesture. It's fully customizable. The player itself consists of a video window and a separate player. With a simple punch of "F" on the keyboard it jumps to full screen. The player will pop up at the bottom of the screen even in fullscreen mode, which isn't necessary with the customizable key strokes but makes things easy. But by far my favorite feature is the desktop mode. Not the best for those running a lot of programs and hogging memory, but it makes the video run as your desktop wallpaper. Very cool for multitasking or instant messinging.

So the choice is up to you but I would only use the last two listed. As I said before, to get all the greatest in high-res videos for small file space you'll need all the correct codecs. These can all be reached at one location, K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. Not only did it come packed with every codec I needed, it was also bundled with Media Player Classic and BSPlayer so they must be the best. It looks like they may have updated it so it may not include everything that was in my version. So please share any comments or suggestions or other options for the best in viewing pleasure.

2004-10-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

I speak Haiku
I can get really bored in my class, sometimes. One class in particular. Mostly becasue today he spent one hour talking about a homework question we had just turned in that I had already spent an hour on beforehand trying to understand. Needless to say I really know that question now. Anyway often when I get bored and stop paying attention I pass a few notes to my friends. Basically I write something and they read and give me an answer. Today I decided to be a little creative and wrote only in Haiku. It took my friend until the sixth one to finally realize what I was doing. I understand that the first two aren't conventional even though the sylables are right, I'm pretty sure the others are quite obvious.

The BBQ was very good
I had the rib basket
So much food

Almost a full rack
small cup o' beans
fries
two slices of garlic toast

Then the class started to really drag

Late five o'clock start
Suffer till Moharam ends
I'm very hungry

Then my friend asked, "Are we still having Indian?"

Yes Indian food
We share tandoori chicken
and it is spicy

This is just homework
I finished it, turned it in
Let's just please move on

I can speak Haiku
Sometimes hard, other times not
I must be so bored

I do have good news
I checked my watch and it says
a quarter to six

I admit, not my best work.

On a side note: Go Cardinals and let the curse live on.

2004-10-21T16:02:00.000-04:00

My First Fog
Well, kind of. I have of course seen fog before and woken up to it but never realling where I live. There's not really enough moisture in the air in Tempe or Tucson to create a fog. I think I've seen it only once but I get a feeling that it could happen here a bit more often. But now I'm being told by some locals that it isn't common. Oh well, I guess it's best to wake up and not think the world is on fire.

2004-10-19T23:45:00.000-04:00

My Weekend
As I sat in today's class with a pounding headache I realized how my blog kind of sucks, no updates and an unchanged template. You may notice some changes to this blog over the course of this week; or perhaps not. It all depends on whether I take the time to find a new template. One this new is my little Firefox link. I said it before and I repeat, download it and use it as your browser, it is so much better. I'm also very proud of my little rotating images. My first Java script although I had a little help. To remedy the lack of posts, I began brainstorming new posts in class and rather than bombard everyone with all of them now I should have several posts over the course of the week. Expect some rants, I have emotions to vent.

My weekend was pretty good. Troy's sister arrived safely and after picking her up at the airport late Friday night we got together to watch some Scrubs. Scrubs is the best sitcom on right now and I'm proud to say I have Troy hooked. He hasn't seen any of the earlier seasons so we started at the beginning with the pilot. Saturday we went back to the beach but this time Pete and Laura joined us. We went back to Playa Linda and then back to Dixie Crossroads for dinner. I got the 4 dozen shrimp special. That actually is a lot of shrimp but I could eat more. I have an old professor that dared me to match his record of 5 dozen. Well I wasn't going to order more so the girls helped me out. They couldn't eat all of their fried shrimp so I put away another dozen and a half. In your face Nofziger. At the end of that night we played a rousing game of Settlers. And then Sunday we all got together again for a porkchop dinner and Settlers but Laura wasn't up for it so we watched more Scrubs. I'm telling you it's great and I can't get enough. Tuesday nights, check your listing.

2004-10-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

Good things to come, hopefully
One of my favorite board game to play with friends is Settlers of Catan. It's a strategy game that is cleverly disguised so that anyone can find it interesting and fun. It's not just for the hardcore gamers. Now Settlers of Catan will go online. Unfortunately it will be all Microsofted but could still be a lot of fun so check it out.

2004-10-09T20:08:00.000-04:00

A day at the beach
Last night my mother arrived and I picked her up at the aiport around 11:30. Man the Orlando airport can be confusing. Anyway, I decided it would be a lot of fun to go to the beach. So around noon today we took off east and headed towards Cape Canaveral and the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. I also invited Troy along so it was a fun little crew on a little adventure. We first went to the visitor center to get a map and the info guy there told us that the manatees were hanging around and pointed out a wellknown lookout area. So we headed out there and I got to see some of the cows of the sea up close and only 5 feet away. It's always more fun to see an animal in the wild and I'm still waiting on my first gator. Then we decided to go ahead and check out the beach.

Now I thought i would have to pay to get into the refuge, but apparently you only have to pay if you go to the beach. I thought i was told that it wasn't much more for an annual pass but it jumped from 5 to 35 dollars so I nixed that idea. The beach was pretty nice. Not really much beach or sand but not too popular so it was nice and peaceful. Not the kind of beach for babe watchin. When we first arrived everyone was running from the beach because it began to storm and the wind and rain was cold and stung like needles. Thankfully it didn't last long so we stuck it out in the car and then went to the surf. The water was extremely warm. Bath water, or at least in the 80s. Felt really nice and there were a lot of big waves. Not great for surfing although many tried. I think if you were really good there were enough waves to keep you excited. I'm thinking about investing in a little boogie board or something to ride the waves. I don't think a short board is quite for me at this point. What's really funny is that although we went to the beach my mom didn't bring her suit. I guess she thought it would be too cold, but man it was funny to see her mope about the water being warm and that she wishes she brought her suit. Silly mother. I'd post pictures but my mom didn't bring here USB cable for her camera. Really silly mother. Well Troy's sister is coming to town next weekend so maybe we can get back out to the beach or try out another one; it was so much fun.

2004-10-09T10:12:00.000-04:00

Tucson Eat Yourself
Man I love that festival. It's actually known as Tucson Meet Yourself and I highly recommend anyone in the Tucson area to check it out either today or tomorrow. I woke up this morning just thinking, "Gee I think that festival is today," and sure enough it is. I went to it a couple of years ago and unfortunately vacation plans prevented me from attending last year. Now my sister and I call it Tucson Eat yourself because there is a ton of food. The point of the festival is to expand cultural knowledge and get to know the world. All of the cultural groups and clubs set up booths and perform to expand awareness. But what happens is that every booth cooks up something great and then sells the food for a low price. We're talking way better than fair food. And if you go late Sunday just before they shutdown, they begin slashing prices left and right. When I went I had Indian samosas, lots of meats on stick including chicken, beef, pork, meatball, and lamb. There was also plenty of dessert including mouth watering baklava. I'm making my mouth water right now. So all go check it out and eat to your hearts content.

2004-10-06T13:13:00.000-04:00

Nature's reprieve
Things have been pretty calm lately, or at least in reference to weather. It looks as though the natural disaster focus has now taken to the other side of the country. St. Helens has gotten angry again and is about to blow her top and in a good way. I remember learning about the last time the mountain erupted. I was back in grade school and it was interesting that a mountain could 'become' a volcano. How after many years it never went dormant and was always active. Now it looks as though Mt. St. Helens will remain a little more active than in the past and while hopefully not the case, may erupt with more frequency. Well I am thankful that focus has turned elsewhere but unfortunately I feel for the thousands that will likely lose homes from ensuing lava and ash. Kind of makes me want to watch Dante's Peak and Volcano.

2004-10-02T21:42:00.000-04:00

Fun with a cloud hanging overhead
I've actually had a lot of fun these past two days and gotten a lot done considering I have two huge tests Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday was Friday, which is an off day for me, no classes. Unfortunately for some odd reason, I woke up early and was unable to sleep in. So I made a yummy breakfast and watched a movie. Then I went to the pool to catch some rays and swim some laps. Then I went to CREOL to study and get some questions answered but of course the professors were unavailable. At around six I went down to the rec to play some volleyball. It's always a lot of fun but I hate getting all full of sand. I can never get it out of my car. Then I got a call from Troy and I went over to his place to meet up with Pete and Laura, cook up a burger and then we watched Eternal Sunshine. I'm not quite sure they enjoyed it as much as I did but I'm still glad I purchased it. I got home around 11:30 and went straight to bed...

And didn't wake up till 11:30. Perfect, the sleep-in I wanted and just what my body needed. Went swimming again this morning and it was a great day for sun. Just a bit of clouds to shade you once in awhile but still plenty of sun. Unfortunately no girls out at the pool today and then a bunch of little kids came to the pool and took away the serene silence. I then had plans to do some hardcore studying but once again got a call from Troy. They were going to the place, Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and of course said I was interested. I love hot wings. The sauces were good but the wings could have been a bit meatier. Afterwards we all had a craving for some Ben & Jerry's ice cream so we went across the street to the mall. Now I was really looking forward for some Dilbert ice cream which I had heard was coming back but apparently it was just a ruse so I settled for Oatmeal Cookie Crunch. Very tasty and I had never had cinnamon ice cream before but it was a bit rich. And completely on another whim we decided to see a movie. Laura wasn't quite up for The Forgotten so we decided upon Napoleon Dynamite which was still playing. I thought is was great and I hadn't laughed that hard in so long. It was everything an independent film should be. I don't think it was quite what the others were expecting and therefore didn't enjoy as much as me. I'm still seeing a lot of movies, this being better than some of the others and hopefully I'll get to writing about them some time. Anyway I've had plenty of fun and I love hanging out with my new friends but I should probably be studying. I guess Sunday is my day for that. I mean what else is that day important for?

2004-09-30T22:36:00.000-04:00

The Presidential Debate
Now I watched the debates and was overall impressed. I learned a lot and had some questions answered and have more faith in my support and convictions. I will not discuss who was stronger or who is better. I'm not super political and my opinions and knowledge can not be based on one instance. What I do wonder is what network or channel you used to watch the debate? They were all pretty much the same. No network showed little excerpts during the debate and pretty much all of them showed split screens, but there was a difference. I chose to watch ABC because of one reason. At least where I was, they were first. All the other networks were slow and had delays. ABC gave it to me first and that's what I wanted. Not really important, just curious which network was watched and the reason for viewership.

2004-09-28T01:34:00.000-04:00

A taste of home
I survived the latest installment of hurricanes R us and came away completely unscathed. Once again classes were cancelled which means that the test planned for today has been moved to Wednesday. So many of my classes have been messed because of these damn hurricanes. Okay God, we get your point, please leave us alone now?

I am very happy though. Today I stopped by a little food joint near a friends house that I knew I had to check out. It was Betos and thankfully had more in common than not. The signs and logos are all the same. The menu and selection of food is pretty much the same and even the prices are similar although a little more. But here are some big differences. Tons of specials advertised on the windows to be viewed from the street. All the workers were pretty American and could understand my every word, so unfortunately not Mexicans. The menu board actually looked more like a Nico's with pictures of the food items and plates, and the menu was permanent, not the yellow marquee board with the red slide letters I've come to love and associate with Betos. The food was good though, the salsa just wasn't as good and neither was the carne asada, but overall good and filled my stomach without getting sick. So yummy.

2004-09-25T10:50:00.000-04:00

What goes around, comes around
Things just wouldn't be complete without the latest hurricane update. Hurricane Jeanne is on its way and looks as though once again it will head straight through central Florida. It's kind of pointless to say but I'm just sick of this. We'll probably have classes cancelled again on Monday since the storm is supposed to hit late Sunday afternoon. The biggest deal is power and gas. I don't think I'll experience much damage but it's very annoying when the power goes out. And thankfully I spent late last night looking for gas and filled my car up. Unfortunately I had fork over the big bucks for premium because that's all they had. I just don't get this place, one little reason to get gas and every place runs out in just a few hours. I guess they must get it shipped in by truck every day. My car better thank me for getting the good stuff.

Orlando is just crazy, and big. Anyplace that's good to go to eat is a good distance away. And most likely, even if it is just 10 miles west, I'll have to take 5 or 6 different streets just to get there. Only a very select few streets end up going straight through the city, all the others end or disappear as they try to avoid lakes. And the city planners here really love the islands in the middle of the road. I never knew just how frustrating those are. I guess they prevent a car from crossing over to oncoming traffic, but I think they disrupt the overall flow of traffic. There are not enough openings, which means that anytime I want to leave a street or strip mall I'm forced to take a right, and then drive half a mile or more to the next opening just to make a U-turn. I'm glad my car has a decent turn radius because I make tons of U-turns. I've gotten lost here a lot, so I guess I'll just have to get used to the roads and having every one named after a number that sounds the same, 434, 426, 428, etc.

2004-09-21T11:59:00.000-04:00

Firefox
If you're not using Firefox to view this webpage then you're not using the right browser. If you're using internet explorer dump it now and download Firefox. It's a simple browser that performs well exactly for its purpose, browsing without all of the other crap and all at greater speed. It also uses tabs which is far superior to multiple windows and has fully upgradability with extensions. The ones I primarily use are for maximum efficiency when browsing, Tabbrowser Extensions 1.11, LastTab 1.0.4, and All-in-one Gestures 0.12.4 (the best). They can all be easily installed from the extensions page. I'd love any of the cool extensions that you're using.

On another completely geeky topic, I went down to the store today to pick up the new Star Wars DVD. I tell you the opening sequence of A New Hope is sweet in widescreen and nothing beats the classics right? Just remember that with any new DVD release they are always cheapest the first week. Check out Best Buy or Walmart for the best prices.

2004-09-17T20:31:00.000-04:00

Fall Lineup
It's been a couple of weeks, and where there are still some shows that haven't had their season premiers, most of the new shows have already been unveiled. Unless it really catches my eye, I don't normally check out the new dramas, so LAX and Hawaii are out, but the new ABC one, Lost, does look intriguing. I of course checked out the new NBC sitcoms, the new Must See TV. First of all Joey, my Friends replacement. I was said when the show ended. I always knew what I'd do on Thursdays and at least at the beginning, Joey looks good. I had several laughs after the pilot and although a few less, plenty of laughs last night. I think LeBlanc can carry the show for awhile but the other characters are really going to have to step it up and become very important. Despite the show's title, I don't feel Joey can completely carry it and will depend on a strong supporting cast. Check it out, these early episodes should not be disappointing.

Now on to the other much hyped NBC show, Father of the Pride. I was very disappointed with its pilot. Too much celebrity voice and no substance and no laughs. The second episode wasn't much better. I was so bored I stopped watching. I was excited for the show because I like animated shows and as long as they have good to decent writing they can last a long time or have strong following ie. Simpsons, South Park and even the popular syndicated Family Guy and Futurama. SO I gave Father one more try this week and watched the third episode. Genius. If this episode shows what there is to come count me in. I laughed so much. It took a real world situation and turned it into how it would appear in the animal kingdom. They found their daughter taking Catnip. For shame. And then the side story around Siegfried and Roy was sidesplitting.

So the verdict is still up, but I suggest checking these to out. And don't forget to watch the best show out there right now. It has an unfortunate time slot and needs support to stick around but nothing makes me laugh more. That show is scrubs, check it out on Tuesday nights during the second half of the second hour of primetime.

2004-09-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

Not the weekend I expected
So it all turned into nothing. I thought I was going to the football game with a bunch of friends and people and they all bailed. Now things here are a little different. Of course the game is free for students but the stadium is not on campus. UCF plays at the Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando. Now I wasn't exactly ready to go down there all clueless and go to the game alone. And then the few people that I did meet all had company in for the weekend so I basically did a whole lot of nothing. Although I did get a chance to clean up a lot.

Okay, this for all of you out there that love reality shows and watch people at their worst. The Benefactor is your show. Basically it's a show where Mark Cuban gets to play god and all of the 'contestants' are his pawns. He basically makes all the decisions and can make them without any plan or warning. Immediately as the show began, he cut someone in the first ten minutes of the show, as everyone was arriving to the mansion. All based on first impressions. The game is on always. He's basically out there to push everyone to their limits and have fun and see just how far they will go. There is nothing wholesome about the show but I expect to be absolutely amusing.

For all of those curious minds out there, no, it looks as though Ivan will miss me. It looks like it will hit my friend in Pensacola as a category 3 but just rain for us and perhaps some tropical depression. No big deal. So it's still safe to visit and here's my little promo.

Until next time, may you kick the little piggy on the floor.

2004-09-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

Crazy thing just happened
I was walking by my television when there was a commercial for Wendy's. Then I was totally craving a Frosty but thought, "There's no way I'm driving out just for that," but then I remembered that I left my nalgene at CREOL. Ah, the perfect excuse. So I drove out and reclaimed my bottle and then purchased a Frosty. Hits the spot.

Until next time, may you get what you crave.

2004-09-09T18:17:00.000-04:00

Disappointed
So Frances wasn't as bad as Charlie. It brought a lot of rain and knocked out power for about a million central Florida residents but not mine. I was lucky and power = not as bad a storm. Unfortunately Brevard and Valucia counties got hit hard especially Daytona Beach. Cancel any soon vacation plans to that local. But guess what? Ivan is on his way, and looks to be very destructive. So once again, bring it on!

2004-09-07T00:30:00.000-04:00

My old nemesis
Honestly, who has two hurricanes? Well I meant to post this before this weekend but I thought I didn't have any webspace to post the picture but now I got it working. While the picture is a little late I hope it still holds some entertainment value.
Behold, hurricane Frances:

We'll see how long this image stays up.

2004-09-02T20:03:00.000-04:00

Just a warning
Well I don't know when everything will go out but I'm definitely going to lose power so this may be my last post for a very long time. I can't believe this. Have you seen the size of it. Although it is quite beautiful from space.

There are truly some crazy people out there. I really would like to leave and not be anywhere near this but here's someone who wants to come and shoot it. Just crazy!

Until next time, may you be alive and with power. He's not kidding about the empty gas stations and packed highways.

2004-09-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

It's back!
Well not quite. As David so nicely pointed out, Frances is now coming to me. This hurricane looks to be bigger than Charlie and frankly I could do without that. This one looks like it just might miss Orlando though, which would be a good thing. I still expect lots of rain and 60 mph winds at least, probably more. Depending on where the forecast is coming from it may go right through Orlando. Crazy thing though, I have a friend that wanted to come visit this weekend. He wanted to "check out the hurricane since he missed the last one." Well I don't think he'll want to come now. This is insane. No hurricanes here in 40 years and now two in three weeks. I've had enough of this shit.

Until next time, may you find a natural disaster to punish you.

2004-09-01T21:39:00.003-04:00

The good and bad of Orlando, Florida
Bad: it rains every afternoon
Good: I kind of like the rain

Bad: there is so much rain in Orlando
Good: at least the streets drain.

Bad: the water here really smells
Good: the city doesn't.

Bad: there aren't any fighter planes flying overhead drowning out all noise Good: unfortunately every afternoon you can count on it thundering so loud you can't think.

Bad: all the streets seem to lead nowhere and into dead ends
Good: I really don't have anywhere to go to

Bad: tons of traffic
Good: The streets are wide enough for the most part

Bad: all the buildings are really new and commercial
Good: they're not old and ghetto

Bad: all the places to eat are chains
Good: there are some good local chains to eat at

Good: there are three sports talk radio stations
Bad: every afternoon you can count on all of them to go static

Until next time, may you find the good and bad in everything.

2004-08-30T20:01:00.000-04:00

What I'm reading

Let's step back a few weeks to my recent trip to France. I'm not going to bore with those details again but I did read a bit. I happened to divulge into a great book by Neil Gaiman. American Gods had won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for fantasy and science so I trusted that it had some merit. But what I liked was its departure from typical fantasy. It was set in normal modern time but it certainly was not normal. Not until I was halfway through did I finally realize what was really going on. While I was constantly confused I kept reading because Gaiman has a very poetic way of writing that has each sentence flowing and gushing with a description that at no point becomes overwhelming. I loved Gods so much that since then I have read an additional three books by Gaiman plus a little of his graphic novels. Each reads like a dream, far away and as a whole it is beautiful or frightening and entertaining, but on close inspection you can see that each component is just a wispy strand of colour and length. He writes with such intelligence that I can't help but include my favorite passage from American Gods.

First a quick lead in. The protagonist is about to tell his female friend something so wild and crazy he doesn't think she will believe him. She says she would and convinces him with this reply:

"I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not. I can believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles and Elvis and Mister Ed. Listen, I believe that people are perfectible, that knowledge is infinite, that the world is run by secret banking cartels and is visited by aliens on a regular basis, nice ones that look like wrinkledy lemurs and bad ones who mutilate cattle and want our water and our women. I believe that the future sucks and I believe that the future rocks and I believe that one day White Buffalo Woman is going to come back and kick everyone's ass. I believe that all mean are just overgrown boys with deep problems communicating and that the decline in good sex in America is coincident with the decline in drive-in movie theaters from state to state. I believe that all politicians are unprincipled crooks and I still believe that they are better than the alternative. I believe that California is going to sink into the sea when the big one comes, while Florida is going to dissolve into madness and alligators and toxic waste. I believe that antibacterial soap is destroying our resistance to dirt and disease so that one day we'll all be wiped out by the common cold like the Martians in War of the Worlds. I believe that the greatest poets of the last century were Edith Sitwell and Com Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman. I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumblebee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself. I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck. I believe that anyone who says that sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too. I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a babys right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system. I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it."

As can be seen, he writes with a certain intelligence and shows that he puts a lot of research and effort into his novels. I highly suggest picking one up and getting lost in a dream world.

Until Next time, may you find a book to escape into.

2004-08-25T18:26:00.000-04:00

My riskiest post ever
So I know I haven't been the best about posting recently but to prove that it is important I am posting now, when I should have my computer off. It is heavily raining right now with tons of lightning. Lightning that is within a mile. Thunder that shakes the building and pounding rain that doesn't allow me to see across the street. This is all very common where I am, sitting in the 'sunshine' state. I think the greatest misnomer ever. So with all this rain it causes problems and I haven't exactly had the internet to post but that should change very soon. But of course normally you should post when there is something interesting to say and right now I think the majority would find that I'm not exactly living an interesting life.

So until next time, may it rain and keep your car clean.

2004-08-19T17:55:00.000-04:00

Where are my friends?

2004-08-17T15:41:00.000-04:00

My First Hurricane
And hopefully my last. Yes I arrived in Orlando in time to be hit by hurricane Charley. Fortunately I wasn't on the coast where it hit hardest but I still did experience winds of up to 105 mph. I'd post some links to news and pictures of aftermath but I really don't want to search for them but here's a starting point and some pictures. Most national news will focus on the hard hit areas like Punta Gorda in Charlotte county, they had the worst of it. I really wasn't concerned until everyone in the city seemed to be concerned and started to prepare for it. I mean I'm inland, hurricanes aren't supposed to hit here. My father and I knew some people so we stayed at their place to wait out the storm, it had a little better construction that a second story apartment. No biggy really, it was kind of cool to hear wind bursting, then the windows shook and trees and fences were flying everywhere. The real shock comes the next day when you see trees across the road, debris everywhere and absolutely no power. That's the worst part. Still some 100,000 in just the central Florida area are still without power. Driving is a mess, not just because of debris but also because all the lights are out and drivers can get extremely stupid. Luckily I got power back at the apartment Sunday afternoon so I've had time to start unpacking but our friends were still without power yesterday and some may not get it until Saturday. Class 4 to 2 hurricanes sure do cause a lot of problems but now I can say I've experienced one, although it was a little more exciting than your little earthquake Dave. I can also say that I think I've seen more rain in the past 5 days than I've seen my entire life. That tends to happen when you grow up in Arizona. News should be more exciting as I get accustomed to this new place. I still don't have internet access and may not for a few days as I use this school computer. This storm sure did screw everything up.

2004-08-06T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hiatus
I have no excuse to why I haven't posted in a long time but now I give warning that I may go on an even longer hiatus. Tomorrow morning I'm beginning my drive to Florida. It should be a pretty fun trip with my dad but I'm not to excited about driving a truck and pulling my car on a trailer. I have an apartment in Florida and should have electricity and water all hooked up but not cable and internet. I don't know how long it will take to get that but it could be a long time. I'll still have my cell with the same number so please feel free to give me a call. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and I'll be up and running in no time.

2004-07-30T16:37:00.000-04:00

Drink John's Alcohol Party
That's right, today is the day. It is being held in Tempe and isn't exactly a party just for me. It is actually a goodbye bon voyage party. Since everyone is leaving there will be a party to celebrate friendships and give a final chance to say goodbye. And what better way to celebrate than with drinking. Now over the years I've bought a decent amount of alcohol and sure enough, I didn't drink. I don't really want to take it with me and have a chance that it might break so I needed to have a party where everyone can help me finish it off. Thus I'm bringing all my bottles of hard alcohol to the party. Once again if you want more details give me a call or email or comment before 8 or so.

2004-07-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

France: Part 2
It's been awhile, but I'm sure there's a few more that care to know the rest of what happened.

Before heading to northern France we went to Chateau de Sedan. Now this chateau isn't like Versailles, this actually a castle not just some big palace. It was pretty cool and is supposedly the largest in all of France or even Europe.

When we finally left Karine's hometown the next day we headed back to Reims. We went shopping that day so not to exciting but the next day, we went to Notre Dame. That's right the Notre Dame in Reims. It seems that any town or city in France has an impressive and big cathedral. We actually went on the roof tour. Pretty neat except for the 250 spiral stair climb, that's never much fun. Afterwards we went on a tour of Champagne cellars. Reims is located in the Champagne region of France and is a big part of real champagne. Afterwards we got a free glass, good deal except I don't really care for champagne so I passed it on. Later that afternoon Karine's mom headed back to her place and the rest of us went to a movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. My parents even went along, not sure why. They are Bush supporters and I'm pretty sure they didn't know what it was about going in. I'm guessing that they had a big shock.

The next day we started traveling by train all over northern France. First we went to Mont Saint Michel. It's a really cool castle looking abbey that sits on an island. I suggest all to look it up. Lot's of the gift shops had fantasy theamed art and figurines. We ate at a fancy French restaurant where I handled the food the best and tasted my first rabbit. Mmm yummy. Other than the crappy, loud hotel we stayed in that night it was an all around good stop.

The next big thing was our tour of the American Normandy beaches, Omaha and Utah. So cool. I realized how very little I know about D-Day and the actual second world war. In school all the focus is basically on the concentration camps and then the nuclear bomb. They never actually teach about the battles or the resolution. After several museums I have thoroughly decided that I must see Saving Private Ryan again and The Longest Day.

Pretty much after all that we were done and spent it all traveling back to Reims and the relaxing and resting up for the trip home. Whew, a tiring trip but worth it and lots of fun.

2004-07-22T10:14:00.000-04:00

The next morning
Last night I got back from France at around 9:30 so that means this morning I'm up at 6. That's right, no sleep and I feel great. It's that weird cross country flying thing. Last time it happened my two sisters were up early as well and it was like Christmas. Getting up early and exchanging gifts.

Anyway, instead of getting all caught up with the rest of the trip I shall begin with an overview of what I am doing today. I have a lot to do before moving and today is jam packed. First car appointment. Long overdue for oil change. I probably voided the warranty after driving it to Cali but I'm just about used it up with my miles anyway. I'm getting a trip check even though I'm not driving it to Florida but rather pulling it behind a U-Haul but a good idea to get a checkup.

Speaking of checkup, I'm getting one too. First I'll have my mouth raped by the dentist. It's a new one so it may be better then last time. Every time I leave the dentist my mouth is all raw and sore, I have a bad taste, and lot's of regret. Sounds like getting raped. After that I'm off to the doctor for a physical. It will probably be thorough and I haven't been in a while and I'm going off somewhere new. I expect to be poked and prodded all over. So that's violation number two.

Later tonight I hope to connect with a lot of people and set myself up for the next to weeks before I move. I need to see a lot of people. I hope to see Greg before he takes off for Seattle on Monday and see Catharyn to. I need to call Amanda to hang out with her. Even more people in Tucson like spending a final game night. And of course a big bash with Brian and Megan and all the ASU friends. It's going to be a Drink John's Alcohol party because I don't need to take it to Florida and I rarely drank it. Since you thought it was such a great idea David, you are invited but it will be here in AZ. In fact anybody who knows me is invited.