October Rant Archives
All of the daily rants from October in one neat little package. Who could ask for more? If you want to get the whole effect of my boring life, start from the bottom of the page. Gasp as I get destroyed by midterm after midterm... weep as my wallet is stolen before my very eyes... laugh at my pathetic taste in music. Yes, here at the October Rant Archives, we have it all.

Change is Good... I Suppose
October 31st, 2001 - 12:14 AM
If you've noticed (and I'm sure you have), all of my posts lately have happened after midnight. That's all well and good, but the Haiku I write today would be dated in the archives as October 30th, though it's obviously impossible for anybody to see it on the specified day. Anyway, the Haiku I write today will be archived as October 31st, since that makes sense. This means that there will only be 30 Haiku in the October archives. Just giving you a heads up. Today was an interesting day, to say the least. I made it to my AI test on time, though it only took me 25 minutes to take, so I could have gotten there 45 minutes late and I still would have had plenty of time. It was all multiple choice, so we should be getting the results back soon. I'm expecting a B of some kind... an 89 if my current trend continues. I managed to play a little EverQuest after my AI test, which was a mixed blessing, really. I got to play for the first time since Sunday morning, but since I didn't get my usual morning nap, I was very sleepy by the time I got to Greek. I fell asleep at least twice, and the teacher called on me every time. It's uncanny, how she can detect sleep with such accuracy. After Greek I went to Calculus, where I took notes, even though I never look at them. I can do all the homework in that class pretty easily if I just sit down for a few hours and learn the material from the book. Notes on the board just confuse me. And don't get me started on multiple choice calculus... After Calc, I went back to my room, took a nap, did my Calculus homework, and worked on some Greek.

After my homework adventure, it was time to go for dinner. I don't think I've ever looked forward to a dinner as much as I did this one, since I had slept right through lunch. It was Turkey Day at Redifer, which is always pretty good, even though they didn't have corn. Though the real reason I was excited had nothing to do with turkey. You see, every time you have dinner at Redifer, I get a little card punched. When the card gets punched ten times, you get a free shirt. Well, today was my tenth dinner, and I claimed my free shirt with pride. It's white, which I don't like that much, and the design is pretty lame, but it was free, so I can't complain... much. After dinner I went to a CSF meeting, which stands for Christian Student Fellowship, if you're wondering. They're the people who host Dudes, so I thought it was about time I got more involved with the group. It was pretty cool, since I actually don't mind singing praise music, and I actually agreed with the little sermon the head guy gave. I went to a few meetings last year, but the topics of the sermons were really ticking me off, so I stopped going. But I finally decided that it's important to learn about the Bible and stuff, even if I don't agree with everything they're saying about it. After CSF I came back to my room and watched Gilmore Girls, which Leah graciously taped for me. Man, that show is wonderful. Luke's nephew Jess came to visit, and he's a real troublemaker. He's stealing garden gnomes, he's smoking up a storm (Luke hates that), and he's just generally being a jerk. But by the end you like him, because the people who write the show are good like that. Anyway, I've got like four more exams in the next two weeks, and they're not studying for themselves...

Currently Listening to: Cranberries - Dying Inside
This song is from The Cranberries' most recent album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, which I don't actually own. Trebor had heard the song "Analyze" on the radio a few weeks ago, so when he visited for Fall Break, we downloaded the whole album. It's pretty good, but overall, it's not as good as their last album, which I actually own. Yes, there was a day, long, long ago, where I actually bought CDs. I don't like to think about it though.

I Didn't Even Play Any EverQuest Today!
October 30th, 2001 - 12:14 AM
Believe it or not, it's been about 32 hours since I last played EverQuest. This is an unprecedented long stretch of time for me, and I hope never to repeat it again, except during Thanksgiving break. I meant to play a little between classes today, but I fell asleep instead. After I finished all my classes, I had to study for AI, do my laundry, do some Greek, and study for AI some more. This will be the first day in a very long time that I didn't play any video games of any kind. I'll be able to play a little bit tomorrow, but I certainly won't get my recommended daily allowance of three hours or more. I'm sure you guys are all very sympathetic of me... it's like I just realized I'm in college. Yeah, I know I've been lucky with my workload for my first few semesters, but that's just the way the computer science program is designed. Llon is in an especially difficult semester of Electrical Engineering right now, and my next semester is supposed to be a tough one.

Well, as much as I like to chat about useless things during my rants, I don't got the time. I've got an exam at 8:00 tomorrow morning that I should really be well rested for. It's going to be all multiple choice, which is in my opinion, the worst kind of test you can have. I really prefer short answer or essays. I'm the king of partial credit. Well, if not the king, then at least a high-ranking baron. I'll find out the real final word on my TV tomorrow... it seems they overestimated their productivity as usual. I'm also going to write a review for Maverick one of these days... maybe after my exams are over with. It's because of that movie that I've named my fedora Commodore Mel.

Currently Listeing to: Styx - Come Sail Away
I'm not really sure why I have this song on my computer. I'm certainly not a big Styx fan, though I'm sure my dad is. I'm pretty sure the only reason I have it is because of a bunch of CDs I made for Sekna a couple summers ago. I didn't actually have any money back then, but blank CDs are cheap, and music is always a good gift.

Will the Exams Never End?
October 29th, 2001 - 12:52 AM
It seems like only a few weeks ago that I had my first round of midterms... After that came fall break... I was young then, not a care in the world. I went on for weeks in my blissful test-free state, when suddenly, the end of October hit. I've got three exams this week, and I'm not happy about it. I've got an AI test on Tuesday morning, a Discrete Math test Wednesday afternoon, and a Statistics test on Friday. And if that wasn't enough, I've got another massive Digital Systems homework to work on, and even though I've been going to class lately, I'm still quite confused. Fortunately I finished playing Lunar 2 today, so EverQuest will be the only real temptation for a while. I'm going to be smart for once, and I'm not gonna start playing Planescape again until the weekend. Neevred and I have been doing a fair amount of programming lately. Our AI project doesn't actually do anything yet, but in a few days, if we're lucky, we should be able to generate some schedules.

Speaking of my TV (and I wasn't), I'll find out for sure tomorrow if it's repairable. Apparently when I plugged it in after the fall, I short-circuited some other important parts. The people at the repair place had no way of knowing this until they replaced the picture tube. And since Sharp took their sweet time sending the part over, this has been a very lengthy repair. Tomorrow will mark the 70th day my television has been in their shop, and the way things are looking, I'll be right where I was over two months ago... out $35 and without a TV. Well, there's nothing to be done, I suppose. Leah's got his little TV up here, and Llahned, who I'll be rooming with next year, has a 19" if I'm not mistaken. It's a big drop from the suicidal 27" I only got to enjoy for a day, but it's better than no TV... that's for sure.

Currently Listening to: REM - Beachball
This is the twelfth track from REM's newest release, which Llon graciously let me rip a few months ago. It's an alright song, but hardly one of my favorites. Reveal as a whole is very good though, but since I listen to the songs at random, I usually don't associate them with their albums.

Time Travel Makes Me Sleepy
October 28th, 2001 - 2:34 AM
I am so incredibly tired right now, which is strange since I only woke up 16 hours ago. It must have been that leap backwards in time that I took a little over an hour ago. I mean, without even going 88 miles per hour, I was able travel from 2:00 to 1:00. I got to say hello to the other me, and we played Gauntlet for a little, until my past self had to go back in time an hour. I guess I never noticed before, but I look much more suave and sophisticated in person than I do in a mirror. That must be why the ladies have such an irresistible attraction to me. But enough about that... Pete and Pete made the time travel connection long before I did. Though this does remind me of an interesting paradox.

I had a really complicated story here, but I realized that there is no way I could tell the tale better than H.G. Wells himself. I managed to find the complete text for The Time Machine in quite a few places, but I'm going to link to the one over at Project Gutenberg, because I just think it's a really cool concept. There's tons of disclaimer stuff at the beginning, but the story is down there are little bit. I first read this story about 8 years ago, and I'm sure I didn't understand everything about it. I just finished reading the first chapter, and I'm going to have to read the rest of it sometime soon. This is some very good science fiction, and it's short, so you can probably read it in an hour or two. The only problem is that some people really can't handle reading something from a computer screen for a long period of time. If you have this problem, your only real option is to print it out, or head to your local library. I might also read some Dickens soon, since it might actually be pretty good if I read it for fun. But like I said before, I'm incredibly tired now, so I'm gonna peace.

Currently Listening to: Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger
This is my favorite Oasis song, I'd have to say, though I've really only heard a few of their songs. My friend Akira used to be a huge fan, so she'd be able to educate me on what's really good. This will have to do for now.

Greek, Little Kids, and Illuminati
October 27th, 2001 - 12:25 AM
As I mentioned in my last post, I had a Greek quiz this morning, and it went pretty well. I made a few small errors in each section, but I'm pretty sure I snagged either a low A or a high B. Not bad at all. After Greek I messed around on the internet for a little, until about noon, when I headed over to the HUB for lunch. I had also arranged to meet my friend Xof Neas there at 12:15 to work on some Stats homework before class. The person he got the answers from happens to hate me with the fire of a thousand suns, and she forbade him to pass the knowledge onto me. Obviously Xof doesn't care about such frivolous demands, and he ignored her request with nary a care. After solving the Statistics problems and learning the concepts (in that order), we headed over to class where I drifted in and out of sleep during Babu's lecture. I really tried my best to say awake, but the concepts were really boring, and it was rather warm in the room, so there was really nothing I could do. I'll have to really crack down on myself though, since we have an exam in that class on Friday. After stats I went back to my room and played EverQuest for a few hours. I managed to make a ton of money, which I'm very happy about. I figure that as long as I'm rich in EverQuest, I won't feel bad about being poor in real life. After my escape from reality, I headed to dinner, discussed programming with Neevred for a bit, and headed to Dudes.

Now, so much happened at Dudes tonight that it deserves its own paragraph. Right from the start a few of us went to the wrong room, so for the first fifteen minutes or so, there were 3 college students and three little kids. I made the fatal mistake of engaging in a "tickle war" with two of them. I was able to hold them of for a little while, using one hand each to alternately keep them at bay and tickle them myself. But suddenly my defenses broke, and I was overcome. For a full thirty seconds, I had two little kids trying to tickle me into submission, which didn't take much, since I'm extremely ticklish. I finally managed to get a truce out of them, but they've both vowed to continue their attacks if I show my face next week. I fully intend to show up again next week, so I'll just have to make sure I wear three sweatshirts or something. After Dudes I played Illuminati with Neevred, Llon, and Llahned, but I got knocked out early because I'm stupid. I watched the rest of them play for a little while, but when it became apparent that the game was going to be a long time, and that we weren't going to be playing another, I peaced. In the middle of writing this post, I headed back to the room just as they were finishing, and caught the end of the game. From what they told me, I missed quite a bit, but that's a sacrifice I was willing to make. Well, nothing to do now except play EverQuest and Lunar 2 until bed. The sad thing is that I'll probably beat Lunar 2 sometime this weekend. Maybe I'll send it to my brother or something afterwards. Or, I would if I had money. He'll just have to wait until Thanksgiving.

Currently Listening to: They Might Be Giants - The World's Address
I'm a pretty big fan of TMBG, mostly because they're one of the most popular nerd bands around. The only thing I don't like about them is that their songs tend to be really short. This particular one happens to be an exception, running 5:43. My favorite song TMBG song is probably "Ana Ng," which has a music video somewhere, if I'm not mistaken. I ripped a bunch of these songs from a 2-CD set my dad has, though I have downloaded a few since then.

Who Needs Sleep When You Have Verb Endings?
October 26th, 2001 - 12:53 AM
Ah, verb endings, my least favorite aspect of Latin, so it's no surprise they're my least favorite aspect of Greek. Noun endings I can handle, since there seems to be a finite number of them. With the verbs, it seems like we learn 20 new endings every week. I'm not sure how many we know right now, but it's well over 100. Of course, a lot of them are similar or identical to other endings, and a bunch of them can be derived if you know some basic rules, but learning them is still a daunting task. I don't have to learn all of them for tomorrow's quiz, but the ones I do have to memorize are going to be enough trouble on they're own. It's a good thing I'm doing well in that class, or I'd be really worried. Well, I don't have time for a long entry today. Not because I want to play video games, not because I want to read a little, not even because I want to get to bed early. I've gotta peace out because of verb endings. I love college...

Currently Listening to: Trance Control - Organic Meltdown
My friend Trebor and I discovered Trance Control a few years ago when we heard a StarCraft mix of "Atomic Dance Explosion." We immediately downloaded all of their songs we could find, and this is one of them. They're not one of my favorite bands, but they're pretty good for trance... I guess.

I'm a Complete Failure
October 24th, 2001 - 11:50 PM
Maybe I'm not a complete failure, but I did fail at calculus. To be exact, I got a 57%, which is really an F+ if you want to look at it that way. I was significantly below the average of 70%, which is my worst exam performance this year. All is not lost though, since homework and quizzes together count as much as the midterm. I'll easily be able to score above 100% that part of the class, which would put me at the C+ range before the final. If I ace the final, I can score a B+, and as long as I pass the final, I won't go below a C. And since this is a two-credit class, I'm not too worried. I will study until my hands fall off for the final though, because I like to avoid C's as much as possible.

We had a review session for Artificial Intelligence today, which ended up being pretty useless. It was just a question and answer format, so if nobody had good questions, the professor didn't give us good answers. I heckled the teacher a little bit during the review, which apparently makes me a huge jerk... at least according to the guy sitting in front of Neevred. He did give us six pages of exam guidelines to study, so I'm marking my calendar for Sunday night fun. All I have left to worry about this week is a Stats homework due Friday, and a Greek quiz, also on Friday. I should be alright, since I only have to memorize some of the verb forms, instead of all of them... On a completely unrelated note, I took a Geek Test recently, and apparently I'm only 39% geek. Though if I learn to use l337 sp33k more effectively, I can increase that to 48%. The person I got the link from claims she's 88% geek, which is total bull, since I know for a fact she doesn't even know what a l33t h4x0r is. Anyway, the description they gave me follows: "You probably work in computers, or a history department at a college. You never really fit in with the "normal" crowd. But you have friends, and this is a good thing." That describes me pretty well... except for the whole history department thing.

Currently Listening to: Enya - One by One
This is from Enya's most recent album, A Day Without Rain. Her last album before this came out in like 1996, and it was a greatest hits, so it didn't really count. As a devout Enya fan, I was suffering greatly from the lack of New Age wonderful. Of course, I wasn't suffering enough to actually go out and buy this album. I merely downloaded it the day it came out. Maybe someday when I have lots of money, I'll support my favorite artists. Maybe not.

Multiple Choice Exams Are Bad
October 24th, 2001 - 12:58 AM
Well, maybe the exams aren't really bad... I'm just bad at taking them. I usually do much better in a test that's short answer or free response, because of the possibility of extra credit. This is especially true of calculus. Since there's often so many goofy formulas to memorize, there are lots of times when I can solve part of a question, or even most of it, but I won't quite finish it. With multiple choice, it's either right, or it's wrong, and I hate that. Our exam consisted of 16 questions, and I was only sure about 11 of them. Assuming my guesses were educated and not just random, I might have scored a 13 or so, which is about an 81%. I'm perfectly happy with that, though I'll be satisfied just to be above the class average. I've got a review session for my Artificial Intelligence exam tomorrow, since the test was pushed back until next Tuesday. I seriously don't now how I'm going to study for that test. It's all on reading material that I'll have to skim over again to refresh my memory, and the test is going to be all multiple choice. I know that they're easier to grade than essay questions, but I don't care. Down with multiple choice! Up with short answer! Of course, since most of my courses are math based, it's really a losing battle.

I beat Lunar 2 last night, and it was wonderful. There wasn't a huge animated sequence to celebrate the ending, but that's just because I haven't actually finished yet. There is a gigantic Epilogue included in the game, which adds five optional dungeons. When I beat the fifth one, the game really ends, and I get a much cooler ending. I can't wait to see it, so EverQuest will have to go on the back burner for a little while. And when I'm not playing Lunar, I'll be working on some stupid AI project with Neevred. I hate school. I'm not listening to any music now, but that's because Leah is talking to some chick on the phone. He'd better get off soon though, because I'm going to bed in about ten minutes. And I get very cranky when I don't get my rest...

Do We Really Need a Middle Voice?
October 22nd, 2001 - 7:58 PM
The answer to that question, my friends, is yes. Greek is the only language I've heard of so far that has one, and it's excellent. Just by implementing middle voice, you can change make the word for "free" mean "ransom." That may not seem like much, but it's great. The middle voice also does a few other things, such as the reflexive, but they're too complicated for me to explain. While I didn't totally fall asleep in any of my classes today, I dozed off in all but one. The only class I managed to stay completely awake for was Greek, because the professor uses her "teacher radar" to call on anybody who's on their way to dreamland. The rest of my classes were boring, since they were pure notes, and all of them are getting harder. We just started mathematical induction in Discrete Math, and in Digital Systems, we're actually getting some concepts I didn't already learn in high school. Stats is the only class that isn't getting any harder, but it isn't getting any easier either. This week also sucks for exams and quizzes. I've got a Calculus exam tomorrow, a rather difficult Discrete Math quiz on Wednesday, an Artificial Intelligence exam on Thursday, and a long quiz in Greek on Friday. It could be worse though... at least they're all spread out.

I got a package from my mom today. Inside was an envelope containing pictures from my aunt's wedding a few weeks ago, and a bag of Snickers Cruncher Bars. Apparently talking about them on my site constantly has paid off, because this is the second time I've gotten their peanutty goodness as a gift. The candy is currently hanging out in my fridge, since the sauna that is my dorm room would surely melt them. I've already finished all of my homework that's due tomorrow, so I'm going to celebrate by playing games the rest of the night. I've got to go to bed by midnight or so because of my 8:00 class tomorrow, but that gives me two solid hours of EverQuest, and two hours of Lunar 2. Maybe I'll even beat the final boss, though Zophar hasn't been very defeatable lately. I really should be studying for my Calculus midterm, but it's not until 6:30 tomorrow... I've got plenty of time.

Currently Listening to: Newsboys - Love Comes True
Yes, the Christian sensation that is the Newsboys has come up on my playlist again. This is probably my favorite song of theirs, though I don't remember which album it's from. I haven't picked up any Christian music in a long time, but then again, I haven't picked up any music at all in a long time.

Two's Compliment, and Programmable Logic Arrays, and Multipluxers, Oh My!
October 22nd, 2001 - 12:43 AM
I woke up at noon today, which normally would tick me off, but since I didn't go to sleep until about four last night, I didn't really mind. I also was able to make it to brunch with Sekna and Akira, though I had to skip my daily shower. My apologies go out to all those offended by my stank today... well, they would if I cared. There are bigger things in life to worry about than whether or not I got a shower this morning. Anyway, because I'm clearly suffering from some mental condition, I elected not to do any homework after brunch this afternoon. I played EverQuest and Lunar instead, but as you can see from my Haiku, I haven't had much luck with the latter. I was playing video games until about 3:30, when Neevred called and yelled at me for not working on our AI project. So I caved in, since I was in the wrong, and visited a website he found for me. I downloaded a few C++ libraries when I remembered that the version of DevStudio I have on my computer is evil, since I haven't been able to compile with it since about 1997. So I'll have to pick up a new copy from Willard tomorrow, which is where Penn State distributes free copies of Micro$oft products. I'm waiting for Windows XP myself, which I hear will be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Thinking about Micro$oft reminded me to download the latest updates for Windows 2000, which has been haunting my computer since last January. Those took about 30 minutes to download and install, during which I read The World of Tiers, which I've been slowly working on for the last month or so.

I'm starting a new paragraph here, because dinner is just that important. I had to eat dinner at about 4:40, since I had a calculus review session to go to, and I was fully expecting to eat alone. But luckily I happened to run into Llahned, who was eating early because he had nothing better to do. He's a pretty cool guy, and except for the fact that he has approximately the same views on killing as my dad, we get along well. And we'd better, since I'll be rooming with him next year. Of course, even if I start hating him in the next few months, I'll still room with him since he goes to bed at a normal hour. With Leah, I'm lucky if he even goes to bed at all, much less at a reasonable time. Anyway, the calculus review session was pretty useless, but I did make note of a few things I need to study before the exam. After that I came back to my room to work on some Digital Systems. This proved to be a difficult task, since I had skipped two out of the last three classes held last week. Luckily the teacher keeps pretty good notes on-line, so I was able to teach myself the concepts pretty easily. It took me about three hours to learn the material and do the assignment, which isn't too bad, since we only get homework in that class about every two weeks. With Digital Systems out of my way, I headed to my personal study room to work on some Greek. I butchered the Greek-English translations, but I feel pretty good about the English-Greek ones we had to do. And if you're confused, Two's Compliment, Programmable Logic Arrays, and Multipluxers are three of the concepts I had to learn for my Digital Systems homework.

Currently Listening to: Police - Walking on the Moon
This is a pretty good Police song, but I can't say it's my favorite. "King of Pain" currently holds that spot, which is a song Llon introduced me to me last year. My dad has a Police collection called Message in a Box, which has every Police song ever made. Unfortunately it's on cassette, so I can't rip it. One of these days I'm just going to make a list and download all the songs. Hopefully they'll all be as good as the ones I already have.

Saturdays Rock!
October 21st, 2001 - 2:03 AM
I think Saturdays are my new favorite day of the week. I used to like Friday's the best, but by the time I've finished with all my classes, the day is already half over. Saturdays are the best, because from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep, I do whatever I want. Since I do all my weekend homework on Sundays, it's a totally free day. If I want to stay in bed until 4 PM, I can. Of course, I typically wake up at about 11 on weekends, but this is hypothetical. The point is, today was very awesome. I woke up at 9, read my webcomics, and fell back asleep until about 11:15. I took a shower and called Neevred, who informed me that everybody else (save Leah, who was still sleeping) had already eaten. I was a little annoyed by this, but eating alone really isn't that bad. It takes a lot less time when you have nobody to talk to. After brunch, I started a Barbarian Shaman in EverQuest and got him up to level 2. Then I played Lunar 2 for a while, ate dinner, and played Lunar 2 a little more. I've just gotten to the final boss, and I still have a huge Epilogue to play through. I spent about 30 minutes trying to beat him, but I died. I've got quite a challenge ahead of me tomorrow. After that Llon, Neevred, Akira, Llahned and I got together for a rousing game of Illuminati. Tonight's game was especially rousing since I won. I won't go into the details, since they would just confuse you if you've never played the game, but suffice it to say, it was my finest hour. After the game, we went to the video rental place to grab a movie, and came back with Memento. We watched it in Akira's room, and about five minutes into it, Sekna came back from her trip to New York to see some art museum. And let me tell you, Memento was orgasmic. It is seriously the best movie I've seen in a long time, and it's got official status as my second favorite movie. Shawshank Redemption still holds the number one spot, but that's mostly due to Morgan Freeman's awesomeness. I mean, Memento had Trinity and Cypher, but a few Matrix cameos can't even hope to top the wonder that is Morgan. I'm going to start a Movie Review section right now, but Memento will be the only movie in it for a little while.

Currently Listening to: Sting - It's Probably Me
This is another one of his songs from Ten Summoner's Tales, which I got from that music club so many years ago. It's not one of my favorite songs, but I recently decided to put the whole album on my computer, out of respect for the wonderful that is Sting. "Shape of My Heart" is my favorite Sting song, by the way... not to be confused with the Backstreet Boys song (which isn't even a cover).

Nerdy I Am... Lucky I'm Not
October 19th, 2001 - 10:05 PM
Today was probably the third-worst day this semester, ranking right behind the day I broke my TV and the day my wallet was stolen. Note, only personal tragedies qualify for "worst day" status, which excludes recent terrorist acts. I couldn't sleep at all last night, and when my alarm clock went off at 8:15, I had only gotten about four hours of sleep. I don't know what the problem is, but lately even the littlest things have been keeping me from slumber. Every drunken raving on the street, every key Leah typed, every passing conversation in the hallway... all these things kept me awake. It looks like I'll have to start taking Neevred's advice and wear earplugs. At least until I can fall asleep like a normal person again. Anyway, the lack of sleep was only the beginning of bad things that happened to me. I bombed my weekly quiz in Greek, despite the fact that I studied for about two hours. There was one verb that I didn't learn right, because I wrote it down wrong, and of course, that was the only vocabulary on the quiz. I also butchered the Greek-English translation, so I'm expecting about a 40% at best. Then I was trying to forget my failure by diligently copying down notes, when the right lens of my glasses popped out. I had been having trouble with it since the beginning of the semester, but this time the screw just wouldn't go back in. Basically I was blind in my right eye, but could see well out of my left. So unless I kept the right eye closed, or started wearing an eye patch, I wouldn't be able to take notes. And since all of my classes the semester are heavily note-oriented, I was screwed.

So I decided to skip the rest of my classes and head to Pearle Vision for a complimentary repair. I wouldn't have been able to take notes anyway, so going to class would have been pointless. I stopped by my Stats class to hand in my homework, then headed over to the mall. After a 30 minute wait and a 20-minute bus ride, with the batteries in my CD player doing their best to die, I was there. The repair was quick and painless, and now my glasses are good as new... except for a small scratch on the left lens. But I guess I can survive that. So my vision crisis was solved, and if my one friend can be trusted, my Greek problem is solved as well. He assures me that it's the professor's policy to drop the lowest quiz, but I just checked out the syllabus, and it doesn't say anything about that. I'm just going to believe him though, since blind faith is all I have left at this point.

Currently Listening to: Ace of Base - Wave Wet Sand
This is from their second album, which I own both on cassette and CD. It's not one of my favorite songs, but I don't really dislike it either. In fact, there's only about three Ace of Base songs I don't enjoy, which is a pretty good ratio, considering I have 55 of them.

Is it Hot in Here, or is it Just Me?
October 18th, 2001 - 10:05 PM
Good lord, it's warm in my room! We have nothing even resembling a thermostat in here, so in the winter the heat's on, and in the summer it's off. There is no in-between. I've got the window open, and that isn't helping at all. Supposedly there's some valve we can use to turn off the heat, but I certainly can't find it. And even if I could, my TV stand is in the way, and with my luck in televisions, I'm loath to move it. Guess I'll just sweat it out... literally. Today was pretty interesting, except for the fact that I spent far too much time in the HUB. I had to meet somebody from my Greek class to write some sentences at 10:00, and then at 5:00, I had to meet somebody from my Stats class to work out some problems. I actually ate all three meals in the HUB today, and that's not cheap, let me tell you. Anyway, I rocked my calculus quiz today, which is good, since I'm sure to have lost a few points on the homework.

I called the TV repair place today, and the picture tube is in, but they've *gasp* found more problems. I saw this coming a mile away, but it still ticks me off. They said they'll try their best to stay with their estimated cost (of $125), but it depends how much work they have to do. Considering the TV only cost $250, and I've already had some TV repair money stolen from me, I really don't want to pay any more than $125. I could maybe go up twenty dollars or so, but even that's pushing it. Who am I kidding though... as long as it works right, I'll probably pay whatever they ask me to. And with a smile on my face, no less. But I've got a Greek quiz to study for, and I haven't learned any of the new vocabulary... Oh, joy.

Currently Listening to: Young Fresh Fellows - Barky's Spiritual Store
Llon lent me a double-CD a while back, containing an album from the Young Fresh Fellows, and another one by The Minus 5. Both bands have the same lead singer, which is why they were packaged together. The songs are pretty cool, but they're hardly my favorite bands. But who am I to complain about free music?

I Hate Breaking My Own Rules
October 17th, 2001 - 5:13 PM
If you know me, you know I make rules about everything... all the time. Over the summer, I had a rule that I must see at least one movie in the theater every week. I managed to pull this off, and had quite a good time with it, but as soon as I got to school, I stopped. I also had a rule that I would see every free movie the HUB shows, no matter how bad. Well this rule failed when I refused to see American Pie. But the rule I regret breaking the most is only do homework on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday rule. I have a calculus assignment due tomorrow, and I just didn't have the stamina to finish it last night. As such, I have five questions left to do, which should take me about an hour. It's really not that much trouble, but I hate to compromise my principles... especially when it takes away from my EverQuest time.

It was cold out today, which I really don't mind, except that I forgot to bring Trenchie along when I left my room at 9:00. Not even the front page of the school newspaper could distract me from the numbing cold. Of course, that's probably because the school paper is useless. Had I grabbed the New York Times, I would have had plenty of sophisticated reading material to keep my mind off the temperature. When I left my room again for lunch, I was sure to remember Trenchie, and he did me a lot of good... especially when the wind picked up. I saw some squirrels gathering leaves today, which I found to be rather cute. I also saw two squirrels fighting over a particular pile of leaves, as if there weren't enough to go around. I think I'm going to put all of the leaves on campus into a big pile and charge the squirrels a dollar each to take leaves away. As an added bonus, I can charge small children to jump into the pile.

Currently Listening to: Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun
This song is pretty good, but it can't compare to "Dance Hall Days" which is the other Wang Chung song I have. I didn't realize they sang that song for the longest time, but then I asked my dad, and he cleared it up for me. Usually I hate songs where the artists sing about themselves, but I can make exceptions if the song is good. It's really just a way to justify my hatred of rap artists... like I need a good reason.

It's Such a Nice Day Out...
October 16th, 2001 - 5:16 PM
Well, it used to be nice out before I started doing my homework, but remember that I have a twisted definition of nice weather. I like it when it's cool, dry, and breezy. That's the way it was this afternoon, but then the rains came. I think most of us can agree that rain sucks, no matter what our views on nice weather. I know it's necessary to keep plants growing and things like that, but as I've said before, precipitation is my least favorite aspect of the water cycle. I seriously can't wait until it starts being cold on a regular basis. I got to wear Trenchie for a few days last week, but that was more a tease than anything else. When I can break him out seven days a week for 3 months straight, then we have good weather.

Enough about that... I actually made it to my Artificial Intelligence class before my teacher today, which has never happened before. Of course, he was absent that day, so even the tardiest of students made it there before him. I was about three minutes late, as usual. I personally can't stand it when I have to try to squeeze past people to get to my seat, which is why I typically sit in the front row, or on the sides. But unfortunately we have assigned seats, and since I sat in the middle of the room on the first day, I'm stuck with it. We had a pop quiz in Greek today, which I totally wasn't prepared for, but luckily I remembered most of it from doing my homework. It's not worth much at all, so even if I bombed it, it's no big deal. Calculus was boring as usual, and I seriously could not stay awake. I'm so glad I only have that torture two days a week. Of course, my limited calculus attention span doesn't help when I'm trying to do my homework, but I manage. I'm already about halfway done the assignment due on Thursday. Sorry I'm talking about my classes, which must be boring as heck to read, but nothing else happened to me today. There is a new Gilmore Girls though...

Currently Listening to: Collective Soul - Smashing Young Man
I'm not sure which album this song is from, but I think it was self-titled. I can't stand self-titled albums myself. I mean, how hard is it to think of a four-word title? Just reuse one of the song names if you have to... it's better than nothing at all. Anyway, this is like the first cassette my younger brother ever owned, which isn't saying much, since he only ever owned about 4. My dad might have it as well, but with him, I can never be sure.

Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?
October 15th, 2001 - 9:01 PM
I decided not to do my laundry yesterday, mostly because I didn't have enough money on my card, and without my wallet, I had no way to add money. Of course, the real reason I didn't do laundry is that I wanted to play EverQuest. Anyway, the point is that I borrowed a little bit of money from Saxtus and did my wash this afternoon. And man was it wonderful. I've never seen so many empty dryers in my life. As soon as my clothes were out of the washer, they went right into the dryer. No waiting for somebody to finish, no taking other peoples' clothes out. It was heaven. And to top it off, two of the three dryers I picked worked after only one cycle. My jeans are currently spinning around right now, and they'll be ready in a few minutes. No longer am I going to do my laundry on Sunday nights... that's when everybody else does theirs. Maybe Thursday nights from now, or maybe I'll stick with Mondays... who knows? But I'm sure as heck never waiting in line for a dryer on a Sunday night again!

I called the TV repair place, and I either had the wrong number, or they were all hiding in a corner watching the phone ring, because nobody picked up. I'm just going to try tomorrow, because I probably won't be able to pick it up again until Saturday anyway. I've already begun the process of replacing the things that were in my wallet, though my mom totally freaked me out by informing me that whoever has my wallet has everything they need to steal my identity. And my identity's pretty great, so there will be lots of temptation to steal it. Actually, it doesn't bother me all that much, but I'm hoping my mom will read this and feel bad for even mentioning it to me.

Currently Listening to: U2 - New Year's Day
This is probably my favorite U2 song, but that's because I only know their singles. My friend Onit Nelav has given me a list of 10 wonderful U2 songs that I've never even heard of before, but I haven't gotten around to downloading them yet. I can't talk to Onit anymore, apparently, because of a certain Stupid Thing I did. This particular Stupid Thing isn't mentioned on the site, because I'm really not at liberty to mention it. I'm still deciding if the wallet incident can be considered a Stupid Thing... keep your eyes peeled.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good Mecheraths?
October 14th, 2001 - 11:49 PM
Well so only two really bad things happened to me this semester, and they were two months apart. Unfortunately, they both involved the loss of large sums of money. First my TV swan dives off my futon, and now my wallet mysteriously disappears. The only good thing that can be said is that I learned two very valuable lessons: Never put a TV on a futon, and never keep money in your wallet. I'll be keeping my cash in my front pocket from now on, since that tends to be harder to pickpocket. Luckily most of the stuff in my wallet is replaceable. I've already called the bank to order a new debit card, and my mom will be sending me a new social security and insurance card. It's the $120 I was carrying around that worries me. Now many of you may be wondering why the heck I was carrying around so much money. Well, eight weeks ago tomorrow, I took my suicidal television to the repair shop. They estimated that it would take two or three weeks, which was obviously a lie. Since I didn't feel like making a special trip to the bank, I just figured I'd keep it with me. Well, three weeks turned into a month, and one month turned into two, and I still had the money with me. The irony of the situation is that my TV was due to be fixed on Monday. Fortunately I have enough money in the bank to cover the costs of the repair, with enough left over for next semester's books. I just won't be buying any cool toys for a while. So if any of my three readers see my wallet, return it to me immediately!

The way my luck is going, I'm due for another major catostrophe around Christmas. It's going to be on par withThe Year Without a Santa Claus and it will all be my fault.

I Love Watching Movies!
October 14th, 2001 - 2:22 AM
I had a very eventful evening today, and unlike most Saturday nights, I did more than play EverQuest or Lunar 2. After a rousing dinner with Akira, Llon, Neevred, and Leah, 60% of us went to the Hub to see The Score, starring Edward Norton and Robert DeNiro. There were two other people billed as lead characters, but they really weren't, and I can't spell their names anyway. I had already seen it over the summer, and while it's far better on the first viewing, it was still pretty darn good the second time. I won't describe the plot for you, since the commercials already gave away more than enough. If you're lucky enough to have never seen a preview, you are indeed blessed. There are tons of awesome characters in this movie, including the senior janitor, the goon, and the hacker. And as we all know, a good movie is defined by the number of awesome people it has. Just look at 10 Things I Hate About You, for instance. I don't think The Score is out to rent yet though, but see it as soon as possible. I should mention that the 40% that didn't see the movie consisted of Akira and Saxtus, but we replaced them with Llahned and Llon's next-door neighbor. After the movie, Neevred, Llahned, Llon and I played a game of Illuminati, and it was probably one of the best ones ever. There were two situations where someone was about to win, but the dice screwed them over. Unfortunately, one of those someones was me, and the victory went to Neevred. After Illuminati, I grabbed some burgers, had a philosophical discussion with Llahned, and headed over to Esor's room. They were watching So I Married an Ax Murderer, which is an extremely funny movie starring Mike Meyers. I had only seen clips of it before, but it's definitely very good. It's chock full of awesome people, like Charlie's dad, Charlie's best friend, and Haggis, the bagpipe player. So there you are, two official MVK movie recommendations, with at least six awesome people between them.

In other news, my TV should be fixed by Monday night. Since nothing the repair guys have told me has ever been true though, I'm going to assume Wednesday at the earliest. It doesn't matter either way though, since I probably won't be able to cajole Llon into driving me over there until Saturday. The TV Saxtus brought over is pretty good, but doesn't even compare to my Suicidal Sharp. Speaking of Sharp, I'm going to have to assume that they sent the part by foot, because there is no way it should take 7 weeks to send something from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Oh well, there isn't much I can do about it now... except to boycott Sharp Electronics as long as I live.

Currently Listening to: Sting - Fields of Gold
This is one of my favorite Sting songs, from his Ten Summoner's Tales album, which I actually own. I ordered it from BMG a while back, thinking it was a greatest hits collection entitled "Ten Summers' Tales", which I took to mean 10 years. So while I was expecting Sting's greatest hits from 1983-93, or something, I was pleasantly surprised with what I got. As it turns out, Sting did release a greatest hits album, called Fields of Gold: Best Of (1984-1994), so I wasn't too far off the mark.

Once Again, Worried for No Reason
October 12th, 2001 - 5:14 PM
Remember how I was freaking out about getting my grade back for last Friday's Greek exam? Well, it turns out that I worried for no reason. Just as I predicted, the only part I really messed up on was verb endings. I got most of the verb endings wrong especially the passive ones, but I managed to snag partial credit on almost every one. And I rocked the rest of the exam, except for a few errors in translating English to Greek. I got an 89% if you're wondering, which seems to be the exam score of the semester for me. And believe me, a B+ is a wonderful grade to be getting consistently, especially since I'm generally doing quite well in the homework and quiz department.

I get to play with little kids today, and I'm only half looking forward to it. It would be much better if I didn't have classes until 4:30 on Fridays. When I've finished a week of classes (or even a partial week), I'm ready to sit around and play computer games. Going to Dudes is almost like an obligation. But then I realize that I have a lot of fun doing it, and that the kids appreciate it. In fact, my only real complaint is that they insist on wearing me out with piggyback rides all the time. But if I just sit down on the gym floor, they're content to jump on me, rather than beg to be carried.

Currently Listening to: Ace of Base - Life is a Flower
This is one of my favorite Ace of Base songs, but it was never released on an American album. It was supposed to be on their third album (called "Flowers" in Europe), but the producers over at Arista thought the song was too "European-sounding." So Ace of Base changed the lyrics around and created "Whenever You're Near Me," which appeared on the "Cruel Summer" album. Don't even get me started on using a cover as a title track...

P(Mecherath = Upset | Stats = Taken) = 1
October 11th, 2001 - 9:55 PM
That title really isn't really in proper notation, but it's got the right idea. I'm pissed off because I'm taking stats. I've been taking notes in that class pretty diligently, and nothing has prepared me for the homework assignment that is due tomorrow. I even worked on it with a friend who went to Office Hours, and he was clueless. It looks like I'm set to get a 7/10 for this homework, which isn't horrible, but I'd like to do better. Well, there's not much I can do, since the problems I missed are literally impossible. I mean, if the TA can't solve it, how can we be expected to? Fromage was right... Stat 318 is more calculus than statistics. Guess when I first had to do double integrations? Not in Math 141, which I took last semester... that would make sense, since it's a prerequisite. I first had to do double integrations for Stat 318. And for some bonus fun, there was an integration by parts problem in the homework. Greek might have the most homework out of my classes this semester, but Stats is definitely the hardest.

Speaking of Greek, we get our exams back tomorrow morning. I'm torn between wanting to see how I did, and wanting to put off the pain as long as possible. Of course, it's not really my decision, so I'll find out tomorrow like everybody else. I'd be pretty happy with a B on this one, which isn't too bad, since it's only 10% of my final grade. I'm very excited because I get to play Illuminati tomorrow, after a two-week hiatus. Fromage, LLahned, and I are always up for it, but Llon might take a little "convincing" if you know what I mean. Other than that, my big plans this weekend are to hang out with little kids, do calculus, and play EverQuest. Not too bad, except for that calculus stuff.

Currently Listening to: Newsboys - Take Me to Your Leader
The Newsboys are a blatantly Christian band that I first heard at Creation in 1997 or so. If you're wondering, Creation is a Christian Music Festival, so it's no surprise that I heard the Newsboys there. Anyway, it turned out that my dad had one of their albums, so I had a listen. It's actually pretty good music, if you aren't bothered by lots of God references. I'm not myself, but I know some people are... Anyway, this is the title track of their third album. I think they have like five out right now...

School is Not Fun
October 10th, 2001 - 10:43 PM
I've decided that four-day breaks are far too short. Just as I was starting to enjoy my time alone with my computer, Wednesday was here. If a break isn't at least 9 days long, it's just a tease. Oh well, no point complaining about things I can't change. But I'll do it anyway. Greek was pretty easy today, since we only covered a little bit of new material. We'll be getting our exams back on Friday, and I must admit that I'm a little scared about that. Luckily we didn't get assigned much homework, and I managed to finish it before Discrete Math today. Stats was boring as usual, but I actually stayed awake the whole time. Copying down all of the notes really does help. We have five problems due on Friday, and from my first impressions of the assignment, it looks like I'll only be able to do two of them. Luckily I'm meeting with a friend tomorrow night, so we should be able to get those taken care of. Discrete Math is still easy, but not for much longer. We're starting to learn the basics of proofs, and it's all downhill from there. I did ace the quiz I took last week though.

Well, I'm too tired to rant about pseudointeresting things, so I'm going to call it quits. My main goal for tonight is not to fall asleep while playing EverQuest. I had to take a nap this morning, because fishing was just so darn boring. I should really work on some Calculus tonight, but there was no official assignment, so I'll probably blow it off.

Currently Listening to: Prince - When Doves Cry
This is quite possibly the only Prince song I enjoy. His videos usually repulse me, and I certainly didn't find it clever when he changed his name to a symbol. And I actually can't remember if he had the Revolution playing with him or not on this one. Not that it matters much. It's like distinguishing between Phil Collins and Genesis, or Sting and the Police... difficult to do, unless you're a big fan.

I Love Gilmore Girls!
October 9th, 2001 - 10:43 PM
Just finished watching the 2-hour season premiere of Gilmore Girls, which is the best show on television, by far. Certainly the best show on The WB. The only thing I didn't like about it was the Pop Tarts Pastry Swirl commercial I had to suffer through four or five times. It was only slightly clever the first time I saw it, and it only got worse. The next part of this rant won't make sense unless you've seen the show. First off, while I don't mind Max, I'd much rather see Lorelai get together with Luke, especially after Rachel broke up with him. But Max is out of the picture for two months, while he teaches up in Canada, so this gives Luke plenty of time to make his move. Other than that, I'm kind of disappointed that Dean didn't make a scene with Rori's grandfather. It would have been a great opportunity to harp on his elitist, more-civilized-than-thou attitude. I'm glad Lane's would-be boyfriend Henry finally had the nerve to talk to her; though it's too bad she's going to be in Korea for the summer. Of course, things like this set the stage for doing the entire summer in one episode. It's normally difficult to shoot summer scenes in the middle of the winter, though with Lorelai's fiancé and Rori's best friend out of the picture, there won't be nearly as much interaction to cover. Guess I'll just have to wait until next week.

On the EverQuest front, I did a lot of fishing, but not much else. I wish there was a better way to make money, but until there are rich characters willing to throw their money around, this will have to do. I had to give up Senka's TV today, but by the time I finished dinner, Saxtus had returned with his. My television is supposed to be fixed sometime this week, but I'm not holding my breath. Even if it gets finished on Thursday or Friday, I probably won't be able to get it by Saturday, since I'm relying on Llon or Saxtus for a ride. Well, as long as I play Lunar 2, and watch Gilmore Girls, I'm just fine. Family Guy won't be new until the beginning of November, but I'll be tuning into that as well.

Currently Listening to: REM - Beat a Drum
This is from REM's Reveal album, which Llon graciously let me rip. My dad actually has it at home, but as a cassette, which doesn't do me any good. I've currently got nine of their albums ripped, plus a few singles, putting me up to 110 songs. According to a fan site I frequent, there are 180 songs total, but these include songs from various soundtracks, as well as stuff not officially released.

Productivity is Overrated
October 8th, 2001 - 11:27 PM
If you take the normal definition of productivity, I got absolutely nothing done today. I didn't do any homework, I didn't start my AI projects, I didn't even work on my website. But if you use my definition of productivity, I got a lot done. I started a new character in EverQuest, and got him up to level 4. I also made three new friends and have most of my level 1 spells. In Lunar 2, I rescued some of the Dragon Kids from the Shadow Fist Clan, and Lucia learned a little more about what it means to be human. I also read a little of The World of Tiers by Philip Jose Farmer, where I witnessed Wolff's attempts to rescue his dryad girlfriend. So yeah... I got lots of stuff done.

I went to McLanahan's today for lunch, where I picked up a bagel sandwich. I really love those things, but at $2.75 each, I can't afford to buy them much. I also picked up a Snickers Cruncher Bar and a Whatchamacallit, to settle the debate once and for all. I had the Whatchamacallit for lunch, and I'm going to have the Snickers a little later. From what I can tell, they're very similar, but not identical. For one thing, the Watchamacallit doesn't actually have any peanuts in it. Instead, it has "peanut flavor crisp." Whatchamacallits are longer and wider than Snickers Crunchers, but they aren't as tall. The Watchamacallit weighs slightly more, though I'm not really sure if it has a greater volume. To conclude, I prefer the Snickers Cruncher Bar, but if the vending machines run out, a Whatchamacallit makes a good substitue

Currently Listening to: Bon Jovi - It's My Life
I'm not really sure why I like this song, since I'm not a huge Bon Jovi fan. The video was shown on VH1 a lot before I went to school, so I guess it grew on me.

Fall Break Spectacular
October 7th, 2001 - 3:58 PM
First off, sorry about not posting yesterday. I was busy playing Lunar 2 while Trebor used my computer, so I didn't get around to it. Luckily not too much happened, so I'll be able to catch you up pretty easily. Trebor showed up at around 5:00, since I wasn't very clear when I told him where to meet me. We stashed his car in the parking garage until 9:00, when the parking lot near my dorm became open for public use. After that, we headed to the HUB to play some Bingo. I was very excited to play this week, since there wouldn't be many people there. The Late Nite people decided to be jerks though, and they only gave Trebor one card. They also told him that he couldn't win any prizes, but we just switched cards whenever he was close. Anyway, neither of us ended up winning. And this was largely due to the fact that three different people won more than once. The first I'll is my favorite by far, because I respect his taste in women. Every time you in a prize, the Bingo caller asks you a few questions, one of which is always, "Are you single?" Well, this guy wasn't, and he proved it by asking her out. She shot him down, of course, but I've got to respect him for trying. He won again later, and I wasn't too upset to see it. I mean, he had just had his heart torn out. The second guy who won was called TJ (I do remember a few names), but the Bingo caller called him Madagascar, since that's where he was from. He was the first person to win twice, and all we really did was throw some corn at him. But my least favorite of the multiple-winners was this girl who won three times. I've never even heard of somebody winning three times in one night, but she did it. And not only that, she won a DVD every time! I only won a DVD once, and that was last year. And if that weren't bad enough, she was indecisive as heck. She couldn't even decide on a movie the first time, let alone the second or third. I think they definitely need to make a rule that prevents you from winning more than once. Or at least until I win twice.

After Bingo we headed back to my room, where I returned to Lunar 2, and Trebor went back to downloading songs from the internet. We went to bed at around 2, which is early for a Friday night, but we were tired from classes earlier that day. Saturday was a little more exciting, since we went to the arcade around 3:00. I played the same games I usually play, but I was being continuously haunted by this very annoying guy who kept trying to join in on my games. I can't stand playing arcade games with other people, but I wasn't feeling mean enough to stop him. After the arcade we went back to my room for a while, where we did the usual stuff. We headed back to the HUB around 7:00, where we grabbed some burgers and played a little pool. Yesterday was the first time I ever used the pool hall at the HUB, and I'll certainly be using it in the future. The tables only cost like $2.00 an hour if you're a student, and there's no smoking. A cheap pool hall without clouds of smoke... it's like my dream come true. After pool we headed back to the arcade for a little while, then rented a few videos. We got Kiss the Girls, which was almost as good as Along Came a Spider, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which was hilarious. That's basically all we did last night, and we did absolutely nothing today, since Trebor had to leave around 2. Fall Break is already half over, and I haven't played any EverQuest yet... I'll have to correct that.

Currently Listening to: Savage Garden - To the Moon and Back
This is a pretty decent song, but not my favorite from the album. This is actually one of the CDs I own, though I haven't listened to the whole thing in quite some time. That's four songs in a row that it's sort of legal for me to have. Go me!

Just As I Thought
October 5th, 2001 - 4:19 PM
Just as I predicted, my Greek exam was quite hard today. I was a little nauseous going into the class, and rightly so. My attempts to memorize the verb endings were unsuccessful, as I kept falling asleep while studying. So I only half knew the endings, which would have been fine if this were a normal test. But of course it wasn't, and the entire first page was all verb endings! We had to identify about 25 of them, and I knew about 12. I was literally clueless about the passive voice. But the good news is that I did well on the other three pages of the exam. I'm expecting a low B on the test, which won't hurt my grade too much. It will make it harder to pull off an A, but I can still hope for an A-.

My TV problem is solved! I got Esor's TV hooked up to the PlayStation today, and on Tuesday, Leah brings his up. I just called the repair place to see how things were going, and the part still isn't in yet. Hopefully it gets here on Monday, which would mean I could probably pick it up next Saturday. That's a little too much to hope for though... I also finally hung up my posters today! I've got a Never Been Kissed poster above my bed, which is where Drew belongs all the time. To the left of my computer is an Einstein poster with the quote, "I want to know God's thoughts... the rest are details." Directly above my computer is an EverQuest map, which isn't all that useful, since I can barely read it from where I sit. To the right of my computer is a really cool optical illusion poster in the style of MC Escher. And running along the length of my wall is a 12' long print called Metamorphose, which is also in the style of MC Escher, since he drew it. Unfortunately, my wall is 11.5' long, so it sort of bends a little at the corner. Oh well, there's not much I can do about that. Well, I've got to get going since Trebor is on his way as we speak. I've got to head outside to wait for him in about fifteen minutes.

Currently Listening to: Eyna - Boadicea
This is a really cool song that has no words, just lots of humming. It's off Paint the Sky with Stars, Enya's greatest hits album. I got that for Christmas three or four years ago, and it's great. The Fugees sampled this for a song intro on one of their CD's. I'm not sure which one though.

I Spoke Too Soon
October 4th, 2001 - 4:56 PM
I just know that my bragging about my exam scores guarantees that my Greek exam will be impossible. Whether out of a twisted desire to end my streak of B's, or just because she's spiteful, Professor Beck is sure to ruin my day tomorrow. Luckily I don't have too much homework to do tonight, and I'm prepared to spend up to three hours studying for the test. I've already transferred all the material we need to know to a study sheet, so I can carry it around with me and glance at easily throughout the day. I'm pretty good with vocabulary, and I've got the noun endings down, but it's the verb endings that I'm worried about. We currently know of 126 different verb forms, which would be difficult to memorize under normal circumstances. But luckily there are logical ways to derive most of the endings, once you know some basic rules. But enough bemoaning my fate. The test is only worth 10% of my grade, so even if I do end up bombing it, my grade will survive.

On a happier note, my TV troubles are pretty much over starting tomorrow. Esor has agreed to lend me her 13" television during the Fall Break, and by the time I have to give it back, Leah will have brought his from home. His TV is also a 13", but we should only have to deal with it for about a week. I called the Repair shop on Monday, and they're expecting the part in either today or tomorrow. After that it will take them about three days to repair it, and then they keep it in the shop for two more days to make sure everything works. So if all goes well (and it probably won't), I should be enjoying the 27" TV I was destined for in a little over a week. Of course, now I have the problem of picking the TV up. Leah had to give up his good parking spot, because it was too expensive, and now he's parked thirty minutes away. I'll probably have to rely on Llon to get my TV for me, and he's always busy with tons of homework. Oh well... I’m sure I'll manage somehow

Currently Listening to: Billy Joel - Angry Young Man
This is one of my favorite Billy Joel songs ever, and I'm kind of annoyed that it didn't make it into any of his Greatest Hits Collections. He had three, for cryin' out loud! I don't actually own this song, but my dad has it on cassette somewhere back at home. Take that, music industry!

Take That, Midterms!
October 3nd, 2001 - 5:26 PM
While I certainly didn't ace them, I did pretty darn well on all three of the midterms I've taken so far. The first one I got back was for Digital Systems, which I got an 89% on. This would have been pretty good, except that the average was like 92%. I made a lot of dumb mistakes, but I still have a pretty good shot at an A, so I'm not worried. The next test was Statistics, which I got an 85% on. The class average was a 75%, so I feel pretty good about that. Just like I had predicted, I got four of the questions totally right, and one of them totally wrong. I'm lucky I even got one point partial credit for that fifth one. And just today I had my Discrete Math test returned to me. I got an 89% on that one as well, but the class average was only 72.4%, which totally rocks. I've already got a pretty good quiz average in that class, and as long as I don't screw up the other exams, I'm set. I only have to maintain a GPA of 3.2 to keep my scholarships, but it would be nice to get a 3.5 or something. In keeping with my new routine, I'm going to play EverQuest for multiple hours after dinner, after which I'll probably do a little Greek studying. I might also do some Digital Systems homework, since all of the problems I solved yesterday were totally wrong. It turns out that I didn't understand the concept at all. Imagine that.

Currently Listening to: World Wide Message Tribe - In My Life
The World Wide Message Tribe is a lesser-known Christian band (relatively) that does a bunch of live performances, if I'm not mistaken. I picked up their CD a couple years ago when I was part of Sound and Spirit, which is BMG's Christian Music subdivision. Which means this is one of those rare MP3s that it's legal for me to have.

Twenty Different Verb Forms
October 2nd, 2001 - 5:23 PM
In case you're wondering, the above title refers to the twenty different verb forms I have currently learned in Greek. I'm not going to list them here, but so far we know six different tenses, three different moods, and two different voices. Thankfully there are only a couple tenses with different moods, or I'd be up to 36 different forms... Include the fact that every verb from has six different endings (for person and number), and that's 120 different endings! But it's not nearly as bad as I make it out to be. If you understand how the verbs are formed, you can recognize general patterns, which makes things a lot easier. I'm slowly working on the pattern identification myself, since I have an exam on Friday. Speaking of Friday, my friend Trebor Samoht is almost certainly coming up this weekend, from Friday night and leaving Sunday afternoon. He's putting the likelihood of his visit at 90% right now, which is pretty good. If he can't make it for some reason, I'll have to keep busy playing Lunar 2, EverQuest, and Planescape. Speaking of EverQuest, I'd better get started with that. I have to get a few good hours of gaming in tonight before I go back to Greek studying.

Currently Listening to: Madonna - Open Your Heart

Happy Binary Day!
October 1st, 2001 - 10:10 PM
Yep, it's the third Binary Day of the year, and I couldn't be more excited. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, if you write today’s date in mm/dd/yy format, you get 10/01/01 which uses just ones and zeroes. There are only five more Binary Days left this decade, and I'll be sure to let you know about each one. Another numerological day of note is the Odd Day, the last of which occurred November 19th, 1999. Well, enough of that nerdiness... on with my day. I actually went to Logic Design today, and got the score back on my first midterm. I scored an 89%, which would be good, except that the average was like 93%. I should have done better, but I made a bunch of stupid mistakes. Ah well... I still have an A in the class, so I'm not too worried. After that I had Greek where I got Friday's quiz back. I scored a 90%, which isn't too bad, considering I totally botched the first half of a sentence we had to translate. After that I messed around on Neopets for a while then headed to lunch. Stats was boring as usual, but at the very end of class, Babu decided to return our exams. I got a 17/20, which isn't bad, since I was expecting somewhere between 16 and 18. Of the five questions, I got four totally right, and one totally wrong. So I guess I should be glad I got any credit at all for the wrong one. After Stats I wasted over two hours of my life with this week's second Stupid Thing. This is a new feature I just added to my site, and it lists all of the insanely stupid things I've done lately. I've actually done three Stupid Things in the past few weeks, but I'm not at liberty to talk about the third one.

Currently Listening to: Asia - Heat of the Moment
For the record, I stole this feature directly from JiveJournal.com, a site that Leah makes occasional use of.