let's give them an air show

I read through my new issue of WIRED today. Not too much in it, except I saw an ad for an Audigy 2 for notebooks. One of my regrets in moving to a laptop was giving up my Audigy. The card is $100, which isn't too bad as computer components go, but I'm trying to be fiscally responsible so I think I'll have to put it off for Christmas or something. I still have my Monsoon speakers though.

I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark last night. That movie still rocks. I found out that at the beginning of the movie the South American that Indy goes into the cave with ("Throw me the whip!" "Throw me the idol!") is Alfred Molina, aka Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2. Who knew? For some reason, getting the futon has made me movie-crazy. Tonight I have an urge to watch Office Space. Well, I guess it's about time I started getting into my expansive - yet never watched - DVD collection. If only I could afford Band of Brothers.

I did not go out exploring today. I made a big trip to the grocery store and that was enough for me. I am still not up for cooking much so I got a frozen pizza for dinner, but I'm going to cook decent meals again this week.

I had a lot of fun playing more Generals today. I mostly used aircraft. I tried experimenting with Stealth Fighters, but they just don't get the job done (it takes four or five to blow up something one Aurora Bomber can take out). I ended up adding some Raptors to my usual contingent of Aurora Bombers. They can take out dozers and AA units better than the Auroras. (I tried playing as Air Force General, but I hate the standard U.S. base defenses. I have to have those Laser General turrets.) I might play a different game soon though. I've been reading my 'wonder weapons' book. I'm up to the use of iron to counteract the dominance of chariots. All this ancient tech makes me want to play Age of Empires II or Empire Earth.

This is the last week of the PH 211 class I TA, so I should have plenty of time to get out later this week. Hopefully I'm also getting paid. I should find out what class I'm TA'ing for the last summer session too.

the futon

Got it for $93 - a hell of a deal.

post number 2^7

Didn't get too much done today. I was hoping to get to the store, but it's getting late now and I don't feel up to it. I am making a shopping list though, so that's better than I did last week. Part of the holdup is that I need to expand my repetoire again (which I didn't do last week), but I'm not sure what the new recipe(s) should be. I made Jell-O today, but that doesn't really count. I've also been bad about cooking in general all week.

I played Generals: Zero Hour a bit today so I could try out the new 1.04 patch. (Technically, most of the new stuff is from the 1.03 patch, which I never got.) I also started the first chapter of my book on 'wonder weapons'. It's pretty interesting learning about arms races of the past. I need to finish grading all the PH 211 prelabs, just so I can get them out of the way.

I moved some stuff around so the futon fits better. I think I'm going to break it in with a movie - probably Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my exploring day. I'm not feeling up to driving anywhere, so I might just spend some time exploring campus and taking pictures. I also have to do all my grocery shopping, and I might start hitting more thrift stores for stuff now that I'm not worried about getting a futon. I think the next big thing is a desk for my computer, which shouldn't be nearly as hard to get a good deal on. (Also have to do something about my broken computer chair...)

futon

I got my futon today. I went over to Weniger Hall to try and find some help for moving it, but there was no one to be found. I had to get a damn U-Haul and move it by myself. The grand total for my futon came to about $93, which is a bargain for a futon this nice.

That was my major victory for the day. I spent the rest of the day reading the rest of Band of Brothers (yes, I'm done already) and playing a little bit of Katamari Damacy. Come to think of it, I put off trying out the new Zero Hour patch to finish that book. I also corrected some homeworks, but I am too lazy to actually assign points for them right now.

Tomorrow I'll finish off the homeworks, hit the store for supplies, and maybe clean / rearrange my apartment (the futon takes up a ton of space). In any case, it's the weekend and I'm going to sleep in tomorrow.

now playing

My top ten most played songs in iTunes currently are:

10. A Low Frequency Inversion Field (Pi Soundtrack) - 37 times
9. Air (Paul Oakenfold, Global Underground: New York) - 40 times
8. In The End (Linkin Park) - 47 times
7. Milk and Sugar (The Hard Lessons) - 51 times
6. Anthem (Pi Soundtrack) - 53 times
5. Every Time I Look For You (Blink-182) - 58 times
4. Leaving Planet Earth (Paul Oakenfold, Global Underground: New York) - 65 times
3. No Man's Land (Pi Soundtrack) - 68 times
2. Somewhere I Belong (Linkin Park) - 82 times
1. Cure For The Itch (SI) (Linkin Park) - 129 times

In a stunning move, "A Low Frequency Inversion Field" overtook a Linkin Park song and two favorites vying for its place to become the newest member of the Top Ten. My laid back mood of late has resulted in a major boost for chillout songs, especially the Pi soundtrack.

victory is mine! (sort of)

I bought a secondhand futon today. It's way better than the new ones I was looking at. It's actually made of wood instead of metal, and the mattress is super thick so I can't feel the bars underneath it. Unfortunately, it is also way too big for the Malibu. I had to leave the futon with the previous owner while I come up with a way to transport it. I will see if I can scrape anybody up from the physics department, but I don't know too many people yet and a lot of people are out of town. I will probably have to get a little U-Haul truck and move the futon by myself. But once this ordeal is over, I will have a kickass piece of furniture for my apartment.

I am also thinking about taking my broken computer chair back to Staples (sans receipt) and demanding a chair that works. Hell, it might even work.

I finished my Lewis & Clark book (Undaunted Courage, by Steven E. Abrose). It just kept getting more depressing. For example, Lewis commits suicide. Even so, I thought it was a very good book and I recommend it. It was amazing how different the world was back then. They didn't even have trains, steamships or the telegraph yet.

I found out that Band of Brothers was written by the same author, and I knew instantly it was my next book. I think I'm hooked on history books now. I went over to Borders and picked it up...but I was bad, and got other books too. (The clearance rack was too tempting!) At least it's cheaper than video games. The clearance rack books were The Far Side of the World (which the movie was partially based off of) and Science Goes To War: The Search For The Ultimate Weapon, From Greek Fire To Star Wars. They were $4 each. How could I resist? So I've got plenty of reading material to keep me occupied for a while.

Today's PH 211 lab was way better than Tuesday's, but it took a lot out of me. I guess I use a lot of energy when I teach. They only have one lab next week, so I think I'm going to take it and make the other (currently absent) TA do both recitations. Hard to believe this class is almost over already. I am supposed to be reassigned to an even shorter class for the final summer session. At least these summer classes are a good warmup for the big fall classes.

Tomorrow, the primary goal by far is to get my futon moved in. Then I can call it a weekend and laze about reading.

don't you want to know how we keep starting fires

I went over to Albany to see if their stores had anything good, but they didn't. Also, everybody starts closing at 7 PM. I did find a local classified ad selling a pair of futons, so I am going to call about them first thing after work tomorrow. They only want $50 for each futon, which is awesome. If I buy a new one it would be $200 or more.

I am tired and ready for it to be the weekend. Fortunately I just have the two labs tomorrow, and looking at the lab procedure it should be much easier than Tuesday.

I added a bunch of Newport and Mary's Peak pictures to the Yahoo site. Enjoy. Also new Facebook picture up.

I'm going to be home from 9/10 to 9/17, so if people at home want to visit me that's your chance.

I sorted a little more PJ-pirated music today. Somebody had Danger! High Voltage by Electric Six. I actually saw them live, but I didn't like them too much. That song is great though.

my program is CURSED

Just got back from meeting with Dr. Warren about my Professional Science Master's program. I feel a lot better now. I had been telling the other grads I came here for the PSM, and they just looked at me funny. It is a two year program after all, so I don't have to worry about trying to get everything done in one year. I think I even have summers off (though I still need to make money, and TA'ing in the summer is as good a way as any to get it). I'm glad I got this taken care of now because Dr. Warren is going away for five weeks on Friday.

My program does not have any graduates from it yet. Dr. Warren was hoping to have two by now. One guy was called up to Iraq...twice. The other was hit by a car and he's still recuperating. Hopefully I have better karma than them. With those guys out for now, Dr. Warren says there are going to be all of three Applied Physics PSMs in the program. I'm one of them. A second is one of the guys I met during the open house last spring, he seemed pretty cool but he is not here yet. The third is a second year physics grad who defected from the Ph.D. program. She's got some core physics classes done already, but still needs to start the business core. That sounds like the full roster for the Applied Physics track. There are three other PSM tracks at Oregon State though, and those people will be taking the same business core we take, so there will be others in the same boat.

ugh

Lab was painful today. It was an astronomy lab, so everything was on the computer (which is always a harbinger of doom). In addition, the students had to do a ton of number crunching and I had to hold their hand every step of the way. They would make the same mistake (like forgetting to square a quantity) over and over. They screwed up units left and right even after I told them they had to be converted. One guy in the afternoon session tried to get ahead by ignoring what I told the rest of the class, but he ended up being the last one to leave because he had no idea what he was doing. I tell these guys I'm not talking just to hear the sound of my own voice, I'm not writing up on the board just to amuse myself, but they ignore me anyway. The few students that did know what they were doing weren't showing their partners how they got the right numbers.

A lot of the grads are not here for some reason, so there weren't enough people for hearts for the second day in a row.

The next lab is on work and energy, a concept they should have an easier time with. The lab also has hands-on stuff, which I think helps them learn better. We'll see how things go on Thursday. Tomorrow I'm going in to meet with Dr. Warren for advising about my Professional Science Master's program, so hopefully I'll come out with a clear idea of what I'm going to be doing for the next year.

I am done teaching for the day so I am just going to read my Lewis and Clark book.

2008 Pontiac GTO

Is this a hot car or what? Apparently GM's Zeta platform has been delayed/cancelled though, so don't get your hopes up (at least for 2008). But still - daaaaamn.