man 1, tomato soup 0 (but just barely)

I had an epic battle with a can of tomato soup today. Shortly after that my computer chair broke. I figured if I couldn't eat lunch or surf the web without incident, I shouldn't be out and about today. I only went out briefly to get lecture notes for the class I TA because I have to teach recitation tomorrow. The poor bastards have a midterm on Monday.

I am expanding my culinary repertoire again tonight by making burritos. Over the weekend I got some ground beef and I've already had burgers a couple of times. I still need to find a good burger seasoning though, my burgers are pretty plain. I should ask Mikey what goes into Mikeyburgers. I also had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch, the first time since I've been out here.

Here's the deal with the soup. It comes in pop top cans. The tab quickly fell off without doing anything. I stated aloud that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and pierced two holes in the lid so I could pour the soup out. However, the soup was so viscous that it resisted pouring. I then stated that there are more than two ways to skin a cat, and broke out the can opener. I soon found to my dismay that the lid of the can is set deep enough below the rim that the can opener's blade does not touch it.

I had to call a timeout to think about this for a couple minutes.

While searching my apartment for more advanced tools of the piercing or bludgeoning variety, I finally came across a solution. I jammed a pair of pliers into the ineffectual pouring-holes and wrenched the lid off, thus securing victory and a side dish for lunch.

The school paper says that a grad student (not in my department though) fell 700 feet while climbing and died over the weekend. It took another climber an hour to reach her. This is why I like terra firma. I'm not going to fall 700 feet to my death playing Gran Turismo 4.

Between Lance Armstrong and the shuttle launch, there have at least been some good points in the news recently. Political stuff just gets me upset.

Pontiac Solstice Coupe Concept '02

Pontiac Solstice Coupe Concept '02

statistical aberration

I went to the bank this morning to sort out a couple of things. First off, when I opened the account they just assumed I like to be called 'John'. So now everything I get from them has 'John R' stamped all over it. John R is a road. Secondly, my new PIN (and it has since been changed) was 1234. Seriously.

I think my MuVo is utterly fried for some reason, so I'll probably take a picture of the TV to show off my new Pontiac Solstice coupe in Gran Turismo 4. I found out that the local Meijer equivalent has PS2 games, and a good selection of them too. So at least I don't have to worry about going to Salem to find a damn EBGames. However I asked my TA counterpart today where to buy computer stuff, and he said I'm doomed. Unless people are up in Portland for some reason, they just buy stuff online. Sad.

I think I'm going to take a little siesta right now. I might do some planning or sorting or something later, but I'm tempted to go out and get Ratchet & Clank and play through it again. (I don't actually own R&C #1 or #2, my bro got them as Christmas gifts. I don't think he's even beaten Going Commando yet.)

the twilight of GT4

Went to the coast today. I'm a little singed from hanging out on the beach. It was good though.

I sat down to Gran Turismo 4 and beat the last four super license tests to get the Pontiac Solstice. Unfortunately my MuVo has taken this opportunity to crap out. It was the only thing I could get the PlayStation 2 to read. So, I will have to find another device before I can take tons of pictures. That car was the last one I really wanted to get. I am 95.4% done with GT4, and the last 4.6% is so hard to get I'll probably just leave it at that.

Nye Beach - Newport, OR

quantum properties

the news in brief

Not much happened today. I could've had a sofa - hell, I could've had two - except the Malibu is not conducive to sofa-hauling. Also, there is a Mitsubishi dealer on 9th that has a pair of Lancer Evolutions out front, a red one and a silver one. Sexy. I forget about them except when I'm driving around and pass them by. I think tomorrow I'm going to the coast.

and i've never been to boston in the fall

Today's Google Earth theme was alternative energy. I was poking around Mojave, CA trying to find Scaled Composites when I remembered that there are a ton of wind turbines around there. I had seen them on the SpaceShipOne documentary, and I think Mythbusters went out to Mojave for something as well. Anyway, if you know they are there it's hard to miss. The resolution is high enough that you can see the shadows of the blades. I also found that nearby is a spot where the power company laid out a bunch of spare blades. It's pretty cool.

I looked up some solar plants next. I found a good sized PV array outside Prescott, AZ, but it wasn't too exciting to look at. I wanted something like the solar plants in SimCity 4 that I love using. It turns out that the US only had one of those - as a test facility - and it's not running anymore. I guess I'd assumed than all you needed was 3,000 wealthy residents...In addition, the site is in a low-resolution area, so I can't even get a good look at it. Oh well.

I spent the day waiting for my DSL hardware to arrive. UPS came by yesterday between 2 and 3, but today they didn't show up until a quarter after five! I hate UPS. The hardware was pretty easy to set up except the phone company had forgotten to send me a letter with important user name and password info, so I had to call tech support and make them tell me.

Things have been going well since then. I'm on my own DSL now, so I don't have to worry about dialup, or the neighbor's DSL going down, or being kicked off the neighbor's DSL, or having problems because the neighbor's DSL isn't secure. One less thing to worry about and I'm happier for it.

The temperature has been a bit nicer recently, though the other grads are still bitching. I'm getting pretty far on sorting through the gigs of music I got from the guys. One of my favorite finds is a punk cover of 'The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything' - it amuses me, especially since it reminds me of PJ.

time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so