your world is different from mine

It rained today. That's as sure a sign as any that fall is here. Only a little over a week until classes start up again. Kind of exciting that this is my last year of school though...and not even a full academic year of classes.

Yesterday was a very car-focused day. I bought the new issues of Top Gear and Motor Trend. MT's cover story is about how GM might import another Holden, this time as the Grand Prix. It looks quite interesting. MT also had the Solstice GXP and the Aura, so I had to check it out.

I also went and test drove a Pontiac G6 GT, and I think I like it more than the Aura. I have been avoiding the G6 because I was annoyed it looked like every other Pontiac, but I found out the 2007 models are going to have GM's new six-speed automatic transmission and I've really pulled a 180. The G6 GTP is the one I really want of course. The dealer didn't have any of those, but he said there are some new ones coming. So in a few weeks it will be more test driving, Aura XR vs. G6 GTP.

I played through Command & Conquer: Red Alert. I may have only beaten the Soviet campaign once before, and I know this is my first time beating the Allied campaign. I've been playing through the whole series and the early ones are definitely harder. I never noticed before how bad the acting in Red Alert is.

Also: The MSU Physics Shirts are coming back for a third run. I know this is the third time I've claimed this, but I swear it's going to happen this time because I'm not the one handling it. My brother is looking at doing a run as part of the new improved SPS that actually does things. So if you're interested, either let Jim or me know. Not taking orders just yet though.

re-strung

I went to the print shop today to talk physics shirts. They told me they'd send details in a day or so. I started looking at colors as well - there won't be blue shirts in this run, but all the other popular colors are making a return. I have been convinced that red shirts would be a good idea (all you, Mikey) and of course green and orange are back. I liked the looks of the yellow and grey shirts last time as well. All of the shirts will be 100% cotton this time - I wasn't happy that last time some of the shirts were 50/50 polyester. This time I'm probably going to replace my 50/50's with full cotton shirts because I like the feel of the cotton shirts better.

I suppose that on today's news I can confirm a third run of Michigan State Physics T-shirts will be made, I don't have specific details yet though. I have to work out a timeline and get the production end running, and Jim has to start working some marketing magic. I'll throw up a website or something when I'm back in Oregon and have details. We're not taking orders just yet, but definitely drop me a line if you're interested.

Tomorrow I'm going over to Ann Arbor to hang out with some friends. I'm going to wear a Michigan State Physics shirt, of course. Tomorrow is also my last full day in Michigan before I fly home. It's very fortunate that I flew Southwest Airlines this time, because Northwest and Delta both went bankrupt this week.

After I return from Ann Arbor I have to pack everything up and get ready for another day on airplanes. I certainly did a good job of raiding my bookshelves - I won't have a shortage of things to read for a while. I'm wondering if I took full advantage of my week back in Michigan, but I think I did all I could for only having one week (especially for only having a car a couple of those days). I kind of want to hang around in Michigan some more, but my five month long summer is over. It was good to hang out with friends at MSU again, but it also felt clear that it's not for me anymore. Time to move on.

I finished watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I thought the series started off good, then got a little slow in the middle. Then the run up to the climax was pretty awesome, but the final episode was confusing and not quite satisfactory. I enjoyed the series overall though. Now I am trying to find Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I found out the English version won't be out until November, but I can probably find a Japanese version (subtitled in English) to watch. Penny Arcade claims Advent Children is pure condensed awesomeness. I am inclined to believe it.

I am flying back to Oregon on Saturday morning. Next week is orientation week at Oregon State, and then my classes finally start. It's been a whole five months since I had classes - I am not sure if I am ready, but it's coming anyway. The next time I'll be in Michigan will be December.

i want a tachikoma

My MSU email is acting up at the moment, so I've pretty much switched over to Gmail wholesale. I can still read MSU email but it won't let me send email for some reason, so I'm just responding to all my emails with Gmail. On a side note, I have only been using Gmail for a couple of days and I've aleady accumulated 19 invites.

I got some weird email today. One of the PSM people I talked to thought I was in applied biotechnology, and emailed me demanding to know why I wasn't signed up for some molecular bio class. I replied that on top of my being an Applied Physics student, I haven't signed up for any class yet, because they haven't yet told me all the classes I need to take. However, my remarks were to be sent by MSU email and thus got held up. The PSM person figured out I was in Applied Physics and correct themself, so I just deleted my outgoing email.

I also got bored and Googled myself. I found that Oregon State now has a list of PSM students, including profiles. Unfortunately, they completely made the profiles up - I am quoted as saying that I want to be a 'technical advisor in the aerospace industry.' Right. They also spelled my name wrong. Excellent work all around. I told the PSM people that I would be happy to write a short blurb about PSM if it meant getting rid of the crap they made up.

Since I'm home for the week I can catch The Daily Show. (No cable TV in the apartment.) It seems that their popularity has made them bolder - the joke seem a little punchier, and they dropped quite a few F-bombs in the shows I watched. I still love my Daily Show though. Kurt Vonnegut was on tonight, but it wasn't really a great interview. I like a couple of Vonnegut's books, but many of the others are just him being a dirty old man and getting away with it.

SPS is starting back up at MSU. And what's this - it's not sucking? The change in leadership (read: Sarah left) seems to have done a great deal of good. My brother is apparently even standing in as temporary VP (until they hold proper elections). SPS even ordered good pizza for their first meeting. This is a huge deal in the context of SPS. In the past, SPS has been governed by apathetic inertia so great that they couldn't even order anything other than Bell's pizza. (It is the cheapest...and also sucks. To quote Timmy, you can taste the savings.) SPS usually ordered 8 pizzas for 7 attendees. SPS was once criticized for 'not spending enough money' by the department (because they do nothing), so at the next meeting they ordered 8 horrible pizzas and a 6' sub.

At the new meeting, they ordered Papiano's. And they had enough attendees to justify 8 pizzas.

This is a very positive step for SPS. In fact, with Jim as acting VP and Josh as acting president, they may even be interested in a run of physics shirts! I emailed the print shop quite a while ago about a new run, but they haven't responded. I clearly need to go out to the shop and get the facts in person. The physics shirts are far from dead, they're just...hibernating? Waiting for a triumphant return, perhaps with the rebirth of SPS from the ashes. SPS and the physics shirts, working together - who would have thought?

Jim came home today for our mom's birthday. He brought several full episodes of Top Gear, a car show on BBC. The show is fairly amusing and I like their picks in music. For example, playing Orbital's "P.E.T.R.O.L." for a race between the gasoline and diesel versions of the BMW M5. Or playing music from Master and Commander and Batman Begins while racing a van on the Nurburgring.

In return, I made Jim watch an episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Ghost in the Shell is a cyberpunk classic and I have been enjoying Stand Alone Complex.

Tomorrow I am going to be in East Lansing. Good times.

one string to rule them all

MSU's classes started today. Jim said he wore a physics shirt, and it seems that there is interest in another run of physics shirts. I thought I'd saturated the market at MSU, but apparently not. I'm talking to my people and gauging how much interest there is, so if you would be interested in an MSU Physics Shirt drop me a line. I'm not saying that MSU Physics Shirts III is definitely underway, but I'm starting the mechanism up and it's looking favorable. Perhaps the time has come. I told Jim to stir up interest for the shirts at MSU. I also told him to poke at the wreckage of SPS. Now that most of the old officer corps is gone (and by that I mean Sarah and her lackies), there may be hope for SPS yet.

I ordered an Audigy 2 ZS Notebook. The deal was just too good to pass up. It's coming extra slow shipping though. I should get it a couple days before I fly home.

It's raining today. It hasn't rained since I moved out here. That's a big sign that we're moving out of summer. The temperature also dropped quite a bit, it's in the mid 60's right now. I don't have recitation today so I am listening to Linkin Park and generally chilling.