Dear Vancouver: 90 degrees? Really?
Edit: YES I KNOW I should be using Celsius, but screw that. I wanted that unambiguous “this weather blows” feeling from the title, not “what’s that in Fahrenheit again?”
I like the heat. I really do. But when I automatically get +50 humidity damage when I walk out the front door, things get bad pretty quickly. I’m glad I made up Friday’s not going to the rec center yesterday instead of today, ‘cause I’m pretty sure I would have died from some sort of heat-related incident there this afternoon (I don’t think they know what fans are in Canada).
I also had the dumb idea of making bread today (dumb because of the fact that my apartment was nearly 87 degrees BEFORE I preheated the oven to 400). I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks totally good. Yayzorz.
On a totally unrelated note, it’s Clock Day today! So go to newgrounds.com and check out all the good/bad/funny/serious stuff the clocks have made for today.
Yay!
Today’s song: Dancing On My Own by Robyn
This Week’s Science Blog: Haha, We’re Screwed Now
So I don’t know if anyone else has heard of this yet, but apparently there are new strains of bacteria that are resistant to every type of antibiotic we throw at them, and health officials are starting to freak out.
A new enzyme, NDM-1, has been found to enable bacteria to become resistant to all the stuff we’ve developed so far, and thus has the potential to screw over the human race, experts say. The strain is said to have originated in India and has been found in Pakistan, the U.K., and apparently Canada (back in Vancouver in February—it’s surprising not more people were infected with all the Olympic insanity going down then).
So who knows if this is going to be another Antrhax/SARS/Bird Flu/Swine Flu thing or if it’s going to turn into something out of a Camus novel. Either way, interesting stuff.
Today’s song: Naturally by Selena Gomez & The Scene
Why is prevention measured in ounces?
Well, I can certainly tell I’m back in Vancouver, ‘cause my luck has taken a turn for the worse again.
I have two other people staying in my apartment. I got a knock on my door last night from the caretaker of the building who said “hey, the guy below you has a water leak in his ceiling, so the plumbers are coming tomorrow.”
It’s now tomorrow, and they’ve been here for six hours.
They had to take my toilet out, dig around in the sewer pipe for about an hour and a half, then they left my toilet in the hall while they went to get lunch, came back, sucked god knows what out of the sewer pipe, and then attempted to install a new pipe piece (that doesn’t fit).
Did I mention I brought Annabelle up here yesterday? Do you know how bad I feel about keeping her locked in the bedroom so she doesn’t sprint out of the apartment/fall down the sewer pipe (a valid fear—we had a cat that crawled under a fireplace once)? I hope the obscenely large sewer vac thing they brought in here didn’t scar her for life.
What joy. Welcome back, eh?
Today’s song: Worried About Ray by The Hoosiers
Internet rapture
Hahahaha, oh Jesus:
Rock Band + Internet meme = greatest merge ever? I think so. This is another one of those “I don’t know why the hilarity factor is so high, but it is” videos.
1:27 and 1:40, oh my god.
Today’s song: Handle Me by Robyn
Claudia: supplying your daily dose of blogs since 2006 (at MySpace’s whim, of course)
WOO I got a new shiny!
Ignore my dumb expressions.
Leibniz is my background, of course. He’s my main man.
I’ve a Canadian plan, so I advise you all not to call me even when I’m in the States (assuming I’ll be back at some point). Either way, here’s my number just in case: 1-778-223-1345 (edit: now defunct)
I’m also fairly ashamed to admit I got a texting plan, mainly because it’s cheap and because I’m tired of people texting me, me telling them I’m unable to receive texts without getting charged exorbitant amounts, then going on to explain the reason why I don’t have a texting plan (because I think it’s dumb).
So there.
Just remember: Canada plan, no U.S. partying allowed.
Today’s song: Hey, Soul Sister by Train
And so it begins. Again.
Blah, so I got back to Vancouver today.
We had to drug Annabelle for the car ride, but she was still freaking out in her carrier so I had to keep her on my lap the whole time. I guess the drugs made her unable to work her back legs, because at one point she kind of sank down into the gap between the middle seat and my seat with only her head and front paws sticking out. It was pretty cute. I don’t think she remembers any of it.
But yeah, I probably won’t be back to Moscow until summer (if at all, it depends on what I’m doing at that point).
Now we wait around a few days until my mom’s boyfriend gets here and they go sailing for a few weeks. It’s going to be an interesting few days when they’re both here in my apartment.
Woo.
Today’s song: Rude Boy by Rihanna
I really don’t think shock tactics work for selling yogurt
1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Alan Carlson. Yeah, the one with the holes.
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Indeed. :D
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Hahahaha, Guinness.
4. What was your FIRST job?
Technically it was being an apprentice at Art Camp. My first actual PAID job (in actual currency rather than “you can use as much art supplies as you want”) was at Wendy’s.
5. What was your FIRST car?
I don’t have a car.
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
SPARTA
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
The guy I stalked liked in high school, ‘cause I had a weird dream about him last night.
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Ms. Quesnel (no relation to my second grade teacher, Mrs. Quesnell, or my 7th grade teacher, Mr. Quesnell).
9. Where did you go on your First airplane ride?
Missouri?
10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
Anastasia; I haven’t talked to her since sixth grade.
11. Where was your FIRST sleep over?
Oh Jesus, we had so many of these when I was younger. I don’t remember the first one.
12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
My mom.
13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
My after school teacher’s, Ms. Miller.
14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Went downstairs.
15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
I don’t think I’ve ever been to an actual concert.
16. FIRST tattoo?
I don’t get a tattoo until I finish my MA. But it shall be Leibniz-related.
17. FIRST piercing?
Earlobes.
18. FIRST foreign country you’ve visited
I think I went to England before I went to Canada.
19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
I recall The Little Mermaid being one of the first things I was ever exposed to on the TV.
20. When was your FIRST detention?
8th grade for making fun of perfect squares.
21. Who was your FIRST pet?
Wooder the cat (don’t ask about her name)
22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
Sean! Then Aaron, then Michael, then Lanky.
23. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
How to pilot a plane.
24. Did you marry the FIRST person to ask for your hand in marriage?
Hahaha, stalker Dave? NO.
25. What was the first sport that you were involved in?
T-ball. ‘Cause I’m that awesome.
26. What were the first lessons you ever took?
Piano. Apparently I was pretty freaking good, but I hated it, so I quit.
27. What is the first thing you do when you get home?
Look for my cat.
28. Who do you think will be the next person to post this?
I don’t know.
Today’s song: The Whistling Song by Spice and Wolf
Bangkok
Apples to Apples with you guys is superior to Apples to Apples with the grad school crowd. Much more sexual innuendo (though fewer “who invented calculus” arguments). If I hadn’t been feeling like death as soon as I got to the park, the walk to Matt’s would have been much more pleasant, but what are you gonna do?
I’ll miss you all.
Today’s song: Change of Seasons by Sweet Thing
Waiter! There’s a dead and alive cat in my box!
Here is a fun game I used to play like four years ago. I just rediscovered it because I’m cool.
Sorry, busy day.
Today’s song: Insomniac Olympics by Blockhead
Why determinism doesn’t result in us sitting on the couch doing nothing with our lives: a rant
One of my mom’s favorite things with which to counter my determinism argument is this: “if we don’t have free will and we can’t choose what we do, then why aren’t we all just lying in bed doing nothing with our lives?”
I can see where she’s coming from, of course. It’s similar to a viewpoint fought against by many of the early Existentialists (Sartre, Camus, etc.) who had to respond to people claiming that an Existential outlook pretty much doomed you to something along the lines of, “oh, well, life is meaningless, so why bother?” Similarly, when you’re someone who believes in free will, the idea that all of our actions and “choices” are predetermined (and that we have absolutely no say in anything we do) is pretty freaking distressing. Why do anything if everything that’s supposed to happen happens regardless of what we “choose” to do? Why bother with anything?
Here’s how I see it: determinism doesn’t make us brainless, opinion-free automatons who stand passively aside as the world and our actions in it are dictated to us. It’s obvious we all have opinions and make conscious choices to do things. Examples: I like the color orange, I decided to go to the rec center today. I think a lot of people who oppose the idea of a deterministic universe think that these things—choices, opinions, even indecisiveness—are incompatible with determinism. Makes sense—how can our universe be deterministic if I can’t decide whether to wear pants or streak through the backyard?
That’s the thing about determinism (the way I see it, at least): it kind of sits in the background, unnoticed as we go about our daily lives. I’m not going to use the puppet master/puppet show analogy ‘cause that doesn’t translate exactly (puppet master = god and I don’t buy that), but that’s generally the idea. In other words, our opinions and choices are all determined, even though they don’t appear as such to us (unless we think about it constantly, then things start getting weird). So what does this mean? Well, if I’m a person who buys into a deterministic universe (and I do), and I were to consciously say to myself “screw this noise, I’m going to go play Fallout 3 until I die of thirst,” I would do it—but only if I were determined to think that thought and act accordingly. But me being me, I know I won’t do that. But it’s not my own choosing that prevents me from a Fallout 3-related death—it’s determinism. I’m determined to choose (or determined to believe I’m choosing, I guess, is more appropriate) to get up and go do stuff tomorrow (apart from Fallout 3), just as I’m determined to like orange, you’re determined to read this blog (because you are if you’re reading this sentence), and my mom is determined to resist the idea of determinism.
In fact, I think that’s why so many people (at least, so many people I talk to) are against the idea of a deterministic universe. They know that they have opinions, they make choices, they grow indecisive about some things. It seems odd to consider that all such things are, ultimately, determined.
At least, that’s how I see it.
Today’s song: I Predict a Riot by Kaiser Chiefs
Liberty makes it easy
So while Aaron was drunk tonight and trying to shoot rubber bands at my boobs (some things never change), Sean and I decided that it would be super awesome to make a Flash game called “Beat the Beetis.” It would star Wilford Brimley who would ride around on his horse named Liberty Medical and fight Beetis using Quaker Oats and his insulin gun. I think it would be one of the most popular games ever.
Somehow a Tetris-related component would have to be involved.
Also, alcohol that tastes like cologne is both horrible and hilarious when Aaron accidentally drinks way too much of it.
Today’s song: Phantom by Justice
Admiral Ackbar should have worked for the Victor company
Life is weird.
Weird, weird, weird.
It’s even weirder when I try to cook and actually succeed in making something edible. I know it’s nothing too original, but I’d prefer semi-blasé over burning the house down. The stove in the basement here scares me.
Spinach scrambled eggs!
You will need:
- ¼ cup frozen chopped spinach
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp. mozzarella
Dump the spinach in a pan and cook it. Add the egg whites and scramble to desired moistness. Remove from heat and add cheese. Tasty!
Shut up, it’s a slow day. And my butt hurts because my bike seat tried to surprise buttsex me this afternoon on the way back from Pullman.
Today’s song: Devil Eyes by Qua
Dear Lord: thank you for YouTube
This is like 4,000 times funnier than it has any right to be.
Desire to get an iPhone just for this app = high.
Today’s song: Could It Be You (Punk Rock Chick) by Hwood
This Week’s Science Blog: The Kaye Mutiny
Here is a video of shampoo acting weird.
This is the Kaye effect: the piling and streamering of liquids that sheer under stress (like shampoo, hand soap, stuff like that). We normally don’t see it because, apparently, the little piles and streamers happen in fewer than 300 milliseconds.
Kaye originally described the phenomenon as, “pfft I don’t know what the hell is going on*” in 1963, but since then I guess scientists have decided to spend a bit more time checking out shampoo with a high speed camera.
So yeah. Pretty cool.
*exact quote, totally
Today’s song: Air War (PicturePlane Remix) by Crystal Castles
The Gout Saga (or, “My Family’s Final Outing before We All Disperse”)
Hahahaha, so my dad has gout in his foot.
In what was quite possibly our last family outing for a long, long time, my mom and I took him to Quick Care yesterday afternoon because he could hardly walk, and it turns out he either has really bad gout, a fracture in his foot, or both. Now he has to wear a little boot and take gout drugs.
So of course as soon as we get home my cat takes a flying leap off the couch and lands on his foot.
Fun times.
Today’s song: Chelsea by The Summer Set
July’s Song Review (or whatever I usually title these)
Hell, July’s over. Song time!
Graph of genres:
Mean song length: 3:35
The five star: Cobrastyle by Robyn
Today’s song: Coming Around Again by Simon Webbe
This Week’s Science Blog: Spin Cycle
As with most science blog material, I found this via StumbleUpon. This guy wrote an article on what the earth would be like if it slowly came to a rotational stop. I’m going to ramble about it, but read the article anyway, ‘cause it’s got cool pictures to go along with everything.
So if the earth were to slow to a stop over the course of a few decades, the length of the year would remain the same (rotation about earth’s axis is ceasing, not its revolution around the sun), but the length of the day would grow to almost the same amount of time.
Okay, cool.
Much more severely, though, a lack of rotation = lack of centrifugal force—which means that all of a sudden it’s gravity’s turn to take over the main control of the oceans. Since the earth has been spinning for quite some time now, it has taken on the shape of an ellipsoid. What does this mean? It means that the gravity of the “still earth” would be greatest at the poles. And since gravity would suddenly get promoted to Ocean Headmaster in this world of axial stillness, the world’s oceans would slowly begin to “drain” to the poles. ‘Cause gravity’s lazy like that. I like how the article, at this point, basically says “the math for this is probably freaking insane, so we don’t really know how the interplay between rotational slowdown and separating oceans would truly play out.”
So with the oceans taking a trip to the higher latitudes (and after the point where the rotational inertia decreases to the point where the oceans fully separate), the previously underwater land around the equator will start to emerge, until the earth suddenly had one big continent around it’s equatorial belt (Pangaea II: This Time It’s Circumnavigational) and two mega polar-central oceans. Again, check out the article maps for helpful visuals on how weird our planet would then look.
Snazzy? I CERTAINLY THINK SO.
Oh, here’s the article.
Today’s song: 21 by Death Metal Disco Scene
If Bishops can move diagonally, in what direction can Cardinals move?
So I’m finally not anemic (yay!), but apparently I have pretty bad hypotension and a low volume of blood plasma (hypovolemia). That explains the lightheadedness I feel every time I stand up, haha. Fun times.
BUT I’m half an inch taller than I previously was, so that’s pretty freaking awesome. I need every fraction of an inch I can get.
Today’s song: Something Good can Work by Two Door Cinema Club
Instant Prozac
This made my night, so I must share it. If this doesn’t make you happy, it probably means you’re dead.
That harp player rules the world.
Mother Teresa called — she HATES you
So because I’m me, I’ve decided to plan out a hypothetical “this is what I’d take next semester if I were still at the U of I” schedule. No Flash-made chart this time, ‘cause CS3 blows and I can’t find the CD for good ol’ Flash 5.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
STAT 507: Experimental Design (9:30 – 10:20)
PHIL 446: Metaphysics (1:10 – 2:20)
MATH 430: Advanced Linear Algebra (2:30 – 3:20)
Tuesday/Thursday
PHYS 111: General Physics I (9:30 – 10:45)
THE 305: Intermediate Acting (11:00 – 12:15)
ENGL 492: Advanced Fiction Writing (3:30 – 4:45)
Monday/Tuesday
STAT 404: Statistics for the Life and Behavioral Sciences (5:30 – 6:45)
Thursday
CASP 509: Psychometrics (5:30 – 8:20)
All week
MUSA 119: Marching Band (12:30 – 1:20; 12:30 – 1:45)
Yeah, it’s only 25 credits, ‘cause I’m sure if I’d petitioned for more than that again they’d deny me again (and because, of course, none of the physics labs would fit with this schedule, so I’d just take the lecture component). ‘Cause it just works like that. This semester would be the “let’s take the next level in all the class strings that I started (like linear algebra, writing, and acting). It’s also the “fuck anyone who gets in my way, I’m TAKING METAPHYSICS” semester.
Today’s song: Opus 36 by Dustin O’Halloran
WLlfdgjaodafulcjsafffffff
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH FUCK YOU, EMOTIONS.
Go to hell go to hell go to hell go to hell go to hell.
That is all.
Today’s song: Happy Ending by Mika
300 cc’s of survey, STAT!
Are you strong enough for this survey?
I AM JESUS
Could you forgive your best friend for sleeping with your bf/gf?
Eventually. But it would be difficult, I think.
Will you be in a relationship next month?
Pfft. I wish.
Have you ever kissed anyone with a name that started with J?
Nope.
Will you be up before 7 AM tomorrow?
Dear god I hope not.
Who is the last person you were in a car with?
My mom
What were you doing at 8am this morning?
Dreaming about weird stuff.
What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Listening to music. Playing WoW.
If you were kicked out of your house, where would you go first?
You mean if I were kicked out of my apartment in Vancouver? I’d be pretty screwed. Haha, maybe I’d go crash with Michael…
In the past week, have you cried hysterically in front of a friend?
Does my mom count?
What will you be doing in 3 hours?
Probably listening to music and/or still playing WoW.
How often do you straighten your hair?
Never.
Where is your phone?
That’s an excellent question to which I don’t know the answer.
What are you currently waiting for?
Godot.
What should you be doing?
Absolutely nothing at the moment.
What’s the last thing you drank?
Water?
Is tomorrow gonna be a good day? What are you going to do?
Tomorrow sucks. I’m doing nothing.
Are you satisfied with your life as of now?
I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.
Will you talk to someone on the phone tonight?
Doubtful.
What do you miss most about your past?
The fact that it wasn’t the present.
What do you carry with you at all times?
Usually my purse thingy ‘cause I usually need a bus pass with me.
Where was the last place you went besides your house?
WinCo, I think.
Would you rather own a snake or a rabbit?
Wasn’t this on the last survey I did?
Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night?
Sean!
Did you feel awkward at all today?
I AM awkward.
In the next 3 months, what are you looking forward to most?
There’s nothing to look forward to in the next three months. NaNo is in four.
Are any of your friends taller than you?
All of them are.
Have you ever kissed a football player?
Hahahaha.
Have you ever gone out of your way to make someone happy?
Indeed.
Is there someone who can ALWAYS make you smile?
Yes. He’s a Papin.
If you had the chance to travel back in time, would you?
Dude, you have no idea. Leibniz. Alive. Naked.
What’s on your mind?
All sorts of crazy shit.
How late did you stay up last night and why?
4 AM, ‘cause that’s pretty standard for me.
Is there anything you want to tell someone but you can’t?
Yes.
Does it bother you when people respond with one word texts?
It bothers me when people interrupt a conversation they’re having with someone in person to pull out their phone and respond to a text. Am I the only one who thinks that’s incredibly rude? If your conversation is that urgent, maybe you should go hang out with them instead.
Is there anyone who hates you?
Most likely.
What are you listening to?
Music.
Are you afraid to fall in love?
Pfft.
When was the last time you saw the person you fell hardest for?
Tuesday.
Who have you texted today?
TEXTING IS DUMB.
Who was the last person you took a picture with?
The band dorks.
Where was the last place you spent money?
Haha, on Blizzard’s site.
How many piercings do you have?
Four.
Would you ever get a tattoo in a “naughty” place?
Ouch.
Are you mad at anyone?
Meh.
Have you ever gone tanning?
Increasing the risk of cancer for vanity’s sake? HELL YEAH, LET’S GO!
Are you thinking about anyone?
Oh yes.
Do you miss the way things used to be?
Indeed.
Is there someone that you want to see?
Yes.
What age do you plan on having kids?
Kids suck.
What did you do yesterday?
Screwed around. Did research.
You’re extremely quiet, what’s it mean?
I’m upset/thinking/plotting/planning/rewriting lyrics to songs in my head.
Do you wear a belt with every pair of jeans?
I don’t wear belts. Or jeans.
What are you currently listening to?
I SAID MUSIC DAMMIT
Today’s song: The Music Scene by Blockhead
MIND TRIP
Woah, dude. This is how I see things.
Rock on.
Today’s song: Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
This Week’s Science Blog: Atmospheric Emotional Breakdown
So apparently the thermosphere just made a record collapse and is now on the rebound.
Wait, what?
The thermosphere, as you probably all know, is one of earth’s most outer atmospheric layers and lies between the mesosphere and the exosphere (for a bit more concrete perspective: the International Space Station orbits within the thermosphere). The layer helps protect the earth’s surface from ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Contractions and expansions of the thermosphere are not unheard of; in fact, the layer goes through an expansion/contraction pattern that generally follows the 11-year solar cycle—maximum solar activity = warming and expansion, lower solar activity = cooling and contraction. However, scientists have recorded the recent contraction as being the biggest one in 43 years.
Why? Many say it’s because the sun right now isn’t doing much (gearing up for those mega solar flares that we’re due to experience in 2011 and 2012, no doubt), but some suggest that the size of the collapse is too big to be caused by solar inactivity alone and can be at least partially explained by an elevated level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, even mega levels of CO2 are unable to explain the thermosphere’s dramatic shrinking, according to models.
So who knows what’s going on. It’s probably the next step in “we’ve screwed up our planet past any reasonable point of saving it.”
Today’s song: Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Eigenblogger 