Vaio III is here!
He’s 750 GB. He’s got a back-lit keyboard. He’s compact and cool.
WOO!
I’mma go set him up.
I ALMOST DIED not really but that got your attention, eh?
Last night I dreamt about my elementary school graduation. Which is funny, ‘cause I actually didn’t attend my elementary school graduation. I was in the hospital getting my appendix removed.
I actually remember those few days quite well. I went to St. Mary’s, for those of you who don’t know, which is a small Catholic school for grades 1 through 6. There were approximately 100 students in the whole school and about 22 or 23 in our class by graduation time.
Anyway, being a small dink of a school, it was tradition for the graduating class to, two days before graduation, have a big picnic on the school grounds with their parents and then spend the night in the school. I’m actually surprised how much free reign they gave us during the “spending the night” portion. They opened up the cafeteria (which was really the “multipurpose room” because it was also the band room/choir room/P.E. room, stage, after school room, and any other room we really needed) and we spent most of the night watching Christian-oriented shows (Veggie Tales, McGee and Me) and overdosing on cookies, then we kind of sprawled ourselves out across the building to sleep.
The next morning (which was Saturday?) I woke up feeling kind of crappy. My stomach kind of hurt and I felt “off.” I figured it was just a sugar/adrenaline crash, so I thought nothing else of it.
It must have been a Saturday now that I’m remembering, ‘cause my dad took me to the mall that morning. It was our Saturday tradition; he’d give me $20 and an hour and set me free to wander. This was usually fun, but that day I remember feeling super nauseous (plus in pain) so I spent most of the time in the bathroom trying not to vomit.
For whatever reason I didn’t think this was a big deal, and neither did my dad ‘cause we actually went out to see a movie that afternoon (Big Momma’s House. Yeah, I know, I know.). I felt terrible through the whole thing, but I stuck it out.
Things started getting worse all afternoon and that night I threw up like five times before finally passing out to sleep for about three hours. But the next morning was graduation, so my mom was very insistent* that I went to church/graduation/Big Catholic “Jesus Helped You Get Through School!” party time. So even though I couldn’t stand up straight or barely walk I got dressed up and in the car and to the church.
Luckily, one of my friend’s mother was a nurse and she could tell pretty easily that I probably had appendicitis. So before the ceremony even started I had to leave so that I could go to Gritman (and wait around for another 5 hours or something until they could schedule a surgery).
Fun times.
Anyway. That’s what I dreamt about. I don’t know why I felt it necessary to divulge that little story to y’all, but I did. So there.
*She was insistent because she knew I was getting a writing award during the ceremony and didn’t want me to miss it.
TWSB: Hot n’ Spicy Pi
Today’s science blog is about pi!
But why? It’s not pi day or casual pi day or tau day.
Well, because today’s date occurs in pi as well: at position 336 (not counting the “3.”). In fact, you can easily find if any sequence occurs in pi (and if so, where) using this cool tool:
http://www.angio.net/pi/piquery (searches the first 200,000,000 digits).
Anyway.
I found that cool site by reading an article by the Mathematician at askamathematician.com. The question asked was, “Since pi is infinite, do its digits contain all finite sequences of numbers?”
The answer: while pi is infinite and does not contain an infinitely repeating sequence, it has yet to be proven that every digit from 0-9 occurs an unlimited umber of times in pi’s decimals. Thus, it hasn’t been determined that pi contains every single finite sequence of numbers.
However, though pi isn’t random, its digits appear to show up randomly in sequence such that any given chunk of pi has approximately equal numbers of digits 0 through 9 (I tried this out, it’s true!), which indicates that if that’s the case throughout and pi is indeed infinite, then according to the Mathematician, “there is a probability of 100% that such a number contains each and every finite sequences of digits, and pi has the appearance of being statistically random.”
How did I live without YouTube?
It might just be the sleep deprivation, but both of these are just hilarious. Again, if excessive (yet hilarious) angry cursing offends you, do not watch.
Title?? WHY?!?!?!
All my friends are Earth signs. Haha, I’ve been reading zodiac stuff all morning.
Also:
http://5secondfilms.com/watch/going-postal
http://5secondfilms.com/watch/operation_mistletoe
The “THE END?!” makes it.
Short blog. I’m insanely busy.
What are the odds?
Holy freaking crap, you guys.
HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP.
I beat some incredibly ridiculous odds today.
I was in the library this afternoon writing my lecture. This week we’re talking about random variables, so I wanted to create an example of both a discrete random variable and a continuous random variable. I wanted to show that a continuous variable can take on ANY value in a given interval, so I decided to just mash the number pad on the keyboard to come up with a number with a bunch of decimals. So I mashed away and got this: 128.3671345993.
Satisfied with this as an example, I turned the page in our textbook to keep working. And what was the book’s example for a continuous variable? 128.3671345993.
WHAT.
What the hell are the odds of that? (0.0000000001:1 discounting the decimal point).
Ridiculous odds are ridiculous. I had a little heart attack in the library.
I’m mourning
Bad news, all.
Vaio II is no more.
His hard drive had a serious mental breakdown, so I took him in to see if someone could fix him up. Nope.
Thank god for external hard drives, eh?
Big Compy’s still up and running, so I’m not totally helpless and curled up crying on the floor due to lack of internet.
But I’m sad. Vaio II was family.
Edit: His successor, Vaio III, has been purchased. He looks like this.
I freaking love my job.
LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE.
Love x 10 billion.
I can’t believe how lucky I was to get this job. I guess the exceedingly horrible luck I had in Vancouver is finally balancing out.
It’s like I’m not even working, dudes. Each time I get a paycheck I’m like “WOAH FREE MONEY!”
I know everyone’s probably sick of me blah-blahing about my job, but hey. I finally have something to blah-blah about. So I’m going to enjoy it.
This Week’s Science Blog: Taking You to a Higher Dimension
Okay. So this week’s science blog is really, really awesome, but I think if I try to summarize it and put it in my own words here it’ll lose a lot. So I’ll just copy down a few highlights. This is another question answered by the Physicist at AskAMathematician.com: What would life be like in higher dimensions?
Seriously. Really cool answer.
Highlights:
- In 4 or more dimensions orbits are always unstable, and in 1 dimension the idea of an orbit doesn’t even make sense.
- f you set off a firecracker in 3, 5, 7, etc. dimensions, then you’ll see and hear the explosion for a moment, and that’s it. If you set of a firecracker in 4, 6, 8, etc. dimensions, then you’ll see and hear the explosion intensely for a moment, but will continue to see and hear it for a while…it may not even be possible to understand people when they speak.
- Which elements are stable, and the nature of chemical bonds between them, would be completely rearranged.
- Every element after helium would adopt weird new properties, and the periodic table would be longer left-right and shorter up-down.
I feel lousy.
Bleirgh.
So today I had my first migraine since last December. Totally lost my vision for a bit. Miraculously made it home.
Then I willed the migraine away with MIND POWERZ!
Actually, it probably was the Excedrin.
But I like to think it was MIND POWERZ!
Then I spent the rest of the night doing math, which is usually fun but much less so when your head wants to fall off.
Soooooo…you get this.
Tonight…
…I feel very, very alone.
There’s a dude in one of my classes that I sort of dig, but I’m not sure if he digs me back. It could just be my “I have no social intuition at all so I live in a world completely disconnected to any sort of reality” situation. SUCH IS MY LIFE.
Mmm, I love your stripes
Hahaha, this is fantastic.
I’m surprised Libya’s flag isn’t in the bottom 10.
It makes me happy that people are starting to be comfortable being people
Today I went to campus to work on my lecture material for next week. I hung out in the library for like six hours before packing up my crap and heading to Winco. As I was walking down the hill past Ag Sci there was this little trio of people walking the opposite direction on the other side of the street. One of the dudes in the trio was wearing heels, leggings, and a little skirt. And he was just walking along, no big deal.
That made me happy. I know that Idaho’s certainly not the most “accepting” state in the country, but it gives me hope that this guy felt comfortable enough to confidently strut his stuff down the street.
But then I saw this pair of frat boy-type guys walking in the same direction as the trio, but on my side of the street. They spotted the guy and I thought they were going to make some snide remark to him, but one of the frat-boy types shouted “I dig your style, man!” very sincerely and gave him a thumbs up from across the street.
This made me even happier. People can be surprisingly awesome. :)
And to the gentleman in heels: I want those leggings.
This just in: I need a life
This is what happens when I doodle on my stats notes while waiting for SAS to load.
It’s probably my absolute dumbest (and only?) atmospheric joke/pun yet, but what’re you going to do?
Man, look at the air quality today
I missed the “early” bus this morning and was going to walk to campus, but last time I walked in this much smoke my eyes hurt for like three days straight. Since I have to proctor my students taking their exam today, I decided I would kind of prefer to have my eyesight for the morning and just waited for the “late” bus.
But tomorrow is WALKING DAY! I love Fridays for that reason alone. I should go to the fair, too. Anyone want to go to the fair with me?
I used to think triangles without a right angle were “wrong triangles”
I’m digging this trig class. It’s only one credit, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s pretty sad that I avoided all math in high school after Algebra II just because of one horrible, horrible math teacher, but considering I used to break out in hives when I walked down the math wing of the building, I don’t know if trig and calc would have been possible for me back then.
Anyway.
I like to think the six trig functions each have their own personalities.
Sine is the smart one. He’s quiet and clever and knows the secrets of the universe.
Cosine is an average kind of dude, but somehow is incredibly lucky and is almost as knowledgeable as Sine just because they hang out with each other.
Tangent is like the quiet, gentle mother figure of the functions.
Cosecant is the super-socially-connected function. He’s the no-nonsense business type who likes to get things done.
Secant is a jerk. He’s super jealous of Cosine and is bitter that his own derivative involves Tangent.
Cotangent is somewhat misanthropic and resents being the inverse of Tangent. He’s not very fun. Even his derivative is a square (HA!).
Yes, this is what goes on in my brain.
Dear Universe:
I am stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.
The end.
This Week’s Science Blog is Sweet!
Well this is about the coolest study ever.
Windisch, Windisch, and Popescu (a trio of badass Austrian scientists) wrote a paper detailing the best way to enjoy spherical candies like M&Ms and Skittles.
The researchers placed whole and fractured candies into bowls of tap water (tap water has approximately the same pH as saliva) and mechanically agitated the water slightly to mimic movement in the mouth. They videotaped the candies from above to observe their dissolve rates.
As might be expected, they concluded that to maximize the life of the candy, consumers should try to maintain the candy’s spherical shape for as long as possible. Fracturing the shape increases the surface area, causing the pieces to dissolve faster.
But the best part is their conclusion: “Even though we now know how candies dissolve in time we stress that the best thing to do when eating a candy is to forget about these considerations, since they draw your attention away from what candies are made for: enjoyment.”
Read their paper and stats here.
It’s the Ninth! Which Means Absolutely Nothing Special.
Woah, just thought of something.
I wrote about numbers for NaNoWriMo 2009.
I should write about the English alphabet for this year.
OOH OOH OR FONTS!
IDEAS! THEY FLOW!
Take a look at this ad:
Does this make anyone else laugh like crazy?
RUNNING GROOM LINCOLN!
“Running Groom Lincoln” would be a fantastic alt band.
It would also be a good name for a webcomic.
Or we could just make Lincoln appear randomly in everything.
My Photoshop skills are damn horrible.
Oh, and there’s this ad, too.
HELL YEAH HICKEYS!
That dude on the far right looks waaaaaaay uncomfortable.
Yes, I had some free time tonight. This is why such a thing is dangerous.
Good stuff
Ah, test anxiety. I’ve forgotten how you feel. I’ll bet you $20 that I’ll be throwing up all morning tomorrow before I get to campus.
But aside from that…
I’m experiencing a feeling that I haven’t genuinely felt in a long, long time: happiness. Sure, obviously I’ve had SOME little bits of happiness, but for the past three years or so I’ve felt like I haven’t had a purpose or haven’t had a goal worth working for.
But now that’s gone. And I’m…I’m happy. For the first time since like 2009, I’m actually genuinely happy.
I don’t really know how to handle this.
TWSB: Nosy Mice
OH, WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?!
Researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a way to restore the sense of smell in anosmic mice!
Experimenting on mice that had lost their sense of smells due to a type of cilia dysfunction, researchers at the University of Michigan infected the mice with a modified strain of the common cold virus. The virus, containing the desired DNA sequences, rewrote the mice’s cells as the infection worked through their bodies. Once the mice had recovered, they were once again able to smell.
Dr. Jeffrey Martens explains that the virus was used to reintroduce neurons that transmit the sense of smell to regrow the cilia that the mice had lost. Unfortunately, though, the lack of cilia in the mice was due to a specific birth defect that affected a specific protein. A similar birth defect occurs in humans, but is usually fatal. So for now, there are no immediate applicable cures for human anosmics from these researchers’ findings, but hopefully the techniques and approach they’ve employed will lead them down the road that will one day allow those of us who lack olfaction to finally smell.
Five more of these, you guys!
FIVE MORE!
4401. Do online relationships actually work?
I don’t know.
4402. Did you know who Nora Jones was before the grammys?
I did indeed.
4403. In Maine school teachers are being told by the board of education that cannot criticize the possible upcomming war in front of students because those kids with military parents were getting upset by it in a few cases. What do you think of this?
“Upcoming war?” Wow, this survey is old. Or clairvoyant. I don’t know where educators would even get the opportunity to criticize something like that if they’re sticking to the regular curriculum, unless they’re drawing analogies or something.
4405. Should a convicted murderer have the same right to be on the organ donor waiting list as anyone else?
I don’t know.
4406. Is there a difference between american rights and human rights? If so what is the difference?
There shouldn’t be, no.
4407. What is the only completely instrumental album ever to be labeled as having explicit lyrics?
I have no idea.
4408. Who would you rather put in a box and mail to abu dabbi, Tipper Gore or Hilary Clinton?
Haha. I don’t know anything at all about Tipper.
4409. What are your top three favorite comic strips?
Get Fuzzy, Piled Higher and Deeper, and xkcd (webcomics totally count)
4410. Can you name anything that sucks more than Creed?
Yes.
4411. Is eminem a genius?
Eh.
4414. Is there a difference between crisps and crackers?
It probably depends on the region of the US. Or world.
4415. If you were going to download three movies that you wouldn’t have paid for but you’ll watch since they’re free what would you download?
Anything Pixar, yo.
4416. If you had a ferret what would you name it?
Parrot. Parrot the Ferret. Confuse the hell out of people.
4417. What do you think of peta?
I agree with what they’re trying to do, but I think they really suck at trying to do it.
4419. Is there a difference between a musical artist and an entertainer?
Entertainers don’t necessarily have to have anything to do with music, so yes.
4420. How would you rank the following people, artist or entertainer?
(1 = best)
Wierd Al: 1
Britney Spears: 4
David Bowie: 3
Eminem: 6
Moby: 2
Marilyn Manson: 9
Tiny Tim: 5
The Monkeys: 7
The Sex Pistols: 8
4421. Why does Polly Pocket no longer fit into your pocket?
That sounds crazy dirty.
4422. Would you eat a cereal called Mud & Bugs?
That sounds awesome.
Yes, there is such a cereal.
MUST OBTAIN!
4423. If you were a mythical creature which one would you be?
Well, my Chinese zodiac sign is a dragon, so I’ll just say dragon.
4424. What do you think of the new pregnant barbie (called happy family barbie)?
I had no idea there was a new pregnant Barbie.
4425. What is one thing you know is a lie?
That I’m funny.
4426. How is your soul today?
I HAVE NO SOUL
4427. Are you into sci fi?
Only GOOD sci fi. Like Verne and Wells.
4428. What’s a ‘poppet’?
Isn’t it just an alternate word/spelling for “puppet”?
4429. How’s the name Shane?
Meh.
4430. What is expected of your gender that you don’t quite live up to?
Makin’ babies.
4431. Koolaid. ifr it’ll dye your heair, try to imagine what it does to your stomach:
Gotta love those food dyes!
Do people still dye their hair with koolaid?
Maggie did!
4433. What would you never do to get attention?
Anything sexual.
4434. Should we try to control nature?
No.
4435. Who is the most powerful villain in the universe?
DR. APATHY!
4436. Invent a superhero to deal with that villain?
CAPTAIN GIVE-A-CRAP!
4437. Who are you desperately missing?
My mom. Sean.
4438. What gives you a feeling of perfection and peace?
Organization.
4439. Are you already whole and complete or does something make you whole and complete?
My passions make me whole and complete.
4440. Do you prefer the word mankind or humankind?
Humankind.
4441. Do you look good in yellow?
I have no idea. I like yellow, though.
4442. What do you want to win?
The lottery?
4444. What question do you really want to know the answer to:
in general?
Of course, the meaning of life.
about yourself?
How much I’m capable of knowing.
4445. The lamest Disney movie ever was:
I haven’t watched much of “new” Disney, but of the old movies I never really liked Sleeping Beauty. I thought it was boring.
4446. One thing you thought you would never miss but do is:
Vancouver. Not grad school, but Vancouver.
4447. In what ways are you a role model?
I’m a hard worker. I seek knowledge. I’m nice.
In what ways are you a bad example?
I have anger issues. I’m not very good at hiding them sometimes.
4448. How is your blood pressure?
On the low side, but not nearly as bad as it was for awhile.
4449. What was your last horrble nightmare about?
That dream in which I had to set off the nuclear bomb to destroy the western half of North America.
4450. Hey you. What do you say?
Yo!
4451. What is your favorite waste of time (BESIDES this survey)?
My life. HA!
4452. How would you like to die?
Early. I have no desire to grow old.
4453. What are three words or phrases used in your area/dialect that many other areas/dialects wouldn’t be familiar with?
“Palouse”, “Coeur d’Alene”, “Spokane.” I’ve heard “Spokane” pronounced spo-CAIN and SPO-kuh-nee in my many travels across North America this past year.
4454. What are the ages of the oldest and youngest person you’ve ever had sex with?
These values do not exist.
4455. What is the wierdest place you have ever woken up?
On the Orgy Couch.
Did you remember how you got there?
;)
4456. How do you feel when your partner is talking to an ex?
I don’t have a “partner.”
4457. Is there an unrequited (unreturned) love in your life?
Always.
4458. What is the most expensive gift you have ever given?
I bought Sean a new laptop, if that counts. He paid me back over time, though, so maybe it doesn’t.
received?
Oh man. Probably Vaio. Maybe Vaio II?
4459. List three traits that might help you to fall madly in love:
1) a kind, nonjudgmental nature
2) an enjoyment for philosophical discussion/debate
3) the ability to turn on and off their maturity switch at a moment’s notice.
4460. Do children like you?
I try to avoid them, so I’m not sure.
4461. If you found your child’s diary would you read it?
Yes, ‘cause I’d want to know if they knew how I ended up with a child.
What if you found the diary of one of your parents?
I’d leave it alone. I’ve had bad experiences reading the journals of my family members.
4462. Have you ever stalked or killed a wild animal?
No. Unless flies count.
4463. True or Fales.
You are moody in the morning:
False.
woman first:
False.
baby corn freaks you out:
Hahahahahaha. False.
Life is fair:
False.
4464. Name something you are now prepared to reveal about yourself that you weren’t ready to talk about in the past?
I’m pretty open about myself. I can’t think of anything new.
4465. Name a talent someone has of which you are jealous:
Not psyching themselves out before a test. I’ve been in school about 300 years now and I still get major test anxiety.
4466. What would you think if you met yourself at a aprty?
“Who’s this loserpalooza?”
4467. What would you most likely complain about in a Hotel?
Temperature control. Hotels always feel either way too hot or way too cold for me.
4468. Agree or disagree.
men need to be treated like children:
Disagree.
it is possible to be in love with more than one person at the same time:
Agree.
you often feel pressured by others:
Agree.
couples should live together before marriage:
Disagree.
4469. If you owned a restraunt what kind of cuisine would you serve?
I’d like to serve really plain, simple food. For people like me who don’t season their food or anything. I know nobody’d come, but that’s what I’d serve.
4470. Three words that describe your ideal day in bed are:
“Not in bed.”
4471. If you had a ticket for a month in paradise where would you go?
Where do you think? Antarctica!
4472. All men like to hear:
“You’re awesome!”
All woman like to hear:
“You’re awesome!”
4473. If you are a woman what is your most masculine or macho trait or ability?
I have MENERGY!
4474. How would you feel attending the wedding of an ex?
Fine.
4475. Fiction or nonfiction.
You can lie with a straight face:
Nonfiction.
You pee in the shower:
Fiction.
you prefer honesty even when it hurts:
Nonfiction.
uncapped toothpaste causes problems:
Nonfiction.
4476. What is the longest lust can last?
FOREVER!
4477. What would you like to experience while blindfolded?
It’s not actually being blindfolded, but I’d really like to experience one of those restaurants where the food is served to you in complete darkness, usually by a blind wait staff. The idea is that losing a sense will help enhance the other four (or three in some of our cases, haha) and make the experience of the food different, if not more intense.
4479. Name three things you have experianced that would shock your parents:
Haha. I don’t know of much I’ve experienced that I haven’t told at least my mom.
4480. The oddest thing you have ever put in your mouth is:
Aneel’s credit card?
4481. Lie or truth.
love is a battlefield:
True.
you watch too much tv:
False.
woman enjoy sex as much as men do:
True?
you are often tired:
False.
4482. What is the craziest thing you’ve done for attention?
Can I just insert my entire senior year of high school here? I used to “entertain” people during lunch by doing crazy ass stuff. Like finding old cardboard tubes and fashioning them into stilts and walking through the men’s bathroom. Or shoving my clarinet case down my pants and running up and down the hall pretending I had gangrene.
Yeah.
4483. Do you believe in using the silent treatment?
I think it’s pretty immature.
4484. Your most embarrassing thought:
We’re not going to talk about that.
4485. Your most prejudiced thought:
I have no idea.
4486. A shameful moment for you:
We’re not going to talk about that either.
4487. The biggest gamble of your life:
Grad school.
(I lost.)
4488. What is your greatest weakness as a friend?
I really suck at getting back to people when they contact me. And answering the phone. Communicating in general.
4489. Yes or No.
complaining is a release:
Yes.
James Bond movies are sexy:
No.
You feel better when you have a tan:
No.
4490. Do you sometimes enjoy being mean?
Not really. It’s draining.
4491. Are you high maintenance?
I try not to be.
4492. Would you rather assume the role of sexual student or teacher?
Haha. Neither.
4493. How many lovers do you consider to be too many?
That calculation’s up to the lovers, not me.
4494. What fortune would you want to find in a fortune cookie?
“Your tenacity and hard work will get you what you want.”
4495. Nothing says lovin’ like:
A little Leibniz in your pants. If it’s not painfully obvious to those just passing by, I love that man.
4496. Have you seen Bowling for Columbine?
No.
4497. Do you overuse the word genius?
No.
4498. Are you proud of the history of your people?
I think “my people” are band geeks.
So yes.
4499. Do you think about world destruction?
Sometimes. I like to think about what will take out the human population.
4500. What object could completely symbolize maleness?
XY chromosomes? (In terms of sex, not gender, of course)
How about famaleness?
XX!
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