random notes

I had to go to Student Network Services today to work out some insurance stuff, because they threatened to put a hold on my account. While I was there I saw a magazine with BT on the cover, so I swiped it. I like BT. Apparently he has 8TB of data storage in his home studio. That's way more than even what I put in for that astro prof last year for all his astronomical (literally and figuratively) images. It is an issue of 'Keyboard' magazine, so they talked about all of his hardware and I have no idea what they are saying.

I did make-up labs today for people that didn't finish certain labs, so I had people working on several of eight different setups at once. Fortunately everything worked. One of my students left their calculator behind though, and the TA that came after me was an ass and wouldn't take responsibility for it in case the student came back, so I had to take it with me and email the student. I have to drop it off in the physics office tomorrow morning. It's a TI-89 Titanium, and I have no damn clue how it works. An 83 just isn't good enough for people anymore? For me, it's TI-30X Solar for life! My trusty physics sidearm.

This morning I found a link to massive (like 500GB) hard drives that were like giant Lego blocks. I was amused. I don't remember at all where I found that though. Jim and I think it would be even cooler if you had hundreds of little brick flash drives you could piece together to act like one big hard drive, and you could make Lego sculptures out of them.

I have also been cruising ytmnd.com, I am amused at its randomness. My favorites:

http://katametroiddamaci.ytmnd.com/
http://joneskatamari.ytmnd.com/

Man, now I want to play some KD/WLK. Which reminds me, Vincent still has my copy of KD...

I joined a forum for identifying songs from Top Gear episodes (they don't publish a playlist). It's an interesting source of new music, and trying to remember obscure songs I have heard before can be fun. iTunes is great for that kind of surfing through my entire music collection. When it's working. iTunes + iPod have been acting up a bit and it's been getting on my nerves.

I made some good headway on tomorrow's quantum HW, but I'm just going to finish it tomorrow morning. as usual. read some more of my new book and go to bed. I am reading The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought. It is worded a little fancifully, they use the word 'modern' pretty loosely, and has lots of those little historical details I don't particularly care about (like Voltaire's stock exchange transactions), but I think it still brings up some interesting points. The next chapter is Adam Smith so I am looking forward to that.

turkey break

Somehow I made it to Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately, my brain seems to have mistaken it for winter break and has wandered off somewhere. I know there are things I should probably be working on, but I have spent the past few days playing The Sims 2, watching entire series of Top Gear and generally spacing out. I've also been reading a book about Alfred Loomis, but the middle section reads entirely too much like my very good book on radar.

I didn't go anywhere for Thanksgiving. At least it has been quiet around here. There's only one other car in my parking lot, and I haven't heard my idiot neighbor in a few days.

I gave my biodiesel presentation for my PSM seminar on Wednesday. It was marred by the fact that I was only borderline coherent and I was the third of three presentations on very similar material. On the feedback forms someone said if I had such similar material I should have gone first. Brilliant. You don't have do be a physics major to know we can't all go first.

I tried signing up for winter term classes today, but fully half of them I could not get into for various reasons. Outstanding.

A day or two ago I finally got a packet from the American Solar Energy Society. I've been so busy running around doing other crap I'd almost forgotten that I want to go into solar power. I wish something I did in school would relate to that. I'm going to have to put together my program of study this week so Dr. Warren can check it out. I have to put together what the PSM people want me to do, what the physics department wants me to do, and what I want to do.

an evident lack of light tonight

Last week I had a craving for a Papiano's pizza, and found that it was closed. It turns out they might have just moved, or so Vincent says. I don't see anything wrong with their previous location, and I don't actually know where they new place is yet. It doesn't show up on the Papa John's locator. You don't do too much business if no one knows where you are.

It's finally the weekend. I am so wiped that I don't really have the energy to waste my Friday night gaming. Instead, I have been watching episodes of Top Gear, a car show on BBC. They are greatly amusing, have awesome cars, and their cinematography and music can be stunning. Watching those shows just make me want a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO more and more. I actually recognize a lot of the songs they use, which shows how well I've picked my electronica collection. The latest shows have been drawing a great deal from Hybrid's latest album, which I hadn't really delved into. I am now listening to "Blackout" on loop, though I did cut something like 70 seconds from that song. I hate it when it takes nearly a minute to get to the good part of the song, and it had a really annoying ending. I love Sound Forge - it's like audio Photoshop.

I have been getting some odd "delayed write" errors on my external hardrive. If it dies I am going to be very sad. My iPod also has been giving some minor but weird errors when synching.

I talked with my major professor today, and felt a little better about my program but not terribly much so. The things that have been causing gripes in the PSM program aren't under his control at all, so bitching about that doesn't do much good. There is supposed to be some kind of major PSM meeting on Tuesday anyway. I have the feeling that if I didn't have a designated goal for my program it would just kind of wander aimlessly. I am chucking classical mechanics and probably statmech so I can work in solid state and optics. I would also like to squeeze some EE in if I can. And I would love to take that cryptography class, if they would ever offer it...

So yeah, I am still geeked on solar power. I joined the American Solar Energy Society, to no noticeable effect except to my credit card bill. I am pretty skeptical about battery technology though. I can never keep the damned things charged, and they die over time, and I want something that will last forever. Just in case of the end of civilization as we know it or something. So I figure, how about a flywheel? It sounds pretty good for a system that isn't going anywhere, like powering houses. I guess I'm not the first person to think of this though.

I finished reading Body of Secrets. That last few chapters seemed more like a collection of trivia than a proper book, but it was a good read overall. Quite a long book. I don't know what I'm going to read next.

This weekend I have to prep my PSM seminar presentation and get ready for an EM exam I really need to pass. I have been doing ok, but I haven't really had my edge in classes so far. (Except for destroying the quantum exam I suppose. I'm an exam-taking machine.) And I don't know how to get my edge back.

I also need to get out and run errands tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be able to participate in tomorrow's revelry. Tomorrow is the Oregon-Oregon State game. I'm definitely going to sleep in all morning. I'm also getting sick of PB&J every day for lunch, so I'm going to have to figure something out at the grocery store.

high class

freeman goes to campus

Major coups in our favor at the Biodiesel Initiative meeting tonight. Lisa, Vincent and I presented the content for the pamphlets we're making for when the Governor's aides tour next week, everybody was impressed. Then I got to bust out my secret weapon, the website I've been working on for the biodiesel project. The others were all stunned, they loved it. Definitely paid off to have a laptop today. Found out that I get wireless network on campus, which makes my life easier. Lisa and Vincent liked my desktop wallpaper, a La Jolla Cove pic I took when I was in San Diego. Probably the best picture I've taken with this camera.

We finally got new partners in badminton today. Suddenly I enjoy that class again. My ass of a partner is dragging someone else down now. My new partner and I got to 14-14 (coming back from a 0-9 deficit) on our first game and won our second game. I didn't win a single game with that other guy. We started to play a third team, but ran out of time. They were being real sneaky about net drops, but I think we can just outright overpower them. I was really on my game with smashes and blocks.

Labs tomorrow, and lots of work. Have to write another stupid comm paper, do some quantum, write a cover letter for my resume, lots to do.

to do

Only three more weeks left of class in the term. My Thursday section of lab will be doing the last experiment in the series, so after that I will just be doing make-up labs.

I do not have anything specifically due tomorrow, so I am getting a leg up on the week. I got my prelabs for Tuesday graded, something I usually do Monday night (at the earliest) so my brain is confused and thinks it is Monday or something. And with that out of the way I can use tomorrow night to take a crack at the quantum homework...after the Biodiesel Initiative meeting, of course. Vincent, Lisa and I are presenting something at the BDI meeting tomorrow night, I am not quite sure what role I am playing in that though. I am going to try to work on some BD project stuff before then.

This week is going to be busy, but I think I'll at least be able to get everything done. Unlike last week, which was ridiculous.

I got up at 1 PM today because I broke my internal clock. I graded exams until 2:40 two nights ago, and last night I played The Sims 2 until almost 5 AM. It is an entertaining little game. Hopefully I can get readjusted quickly.

week in review

I went on campus last night to grade at 6:00 PM. I left at 2:40 AM. I was really starting to lose coherency around then. Good news about exam grading: I was about 40% faster in grading than last exam. Bad news about exam grading: I'm pulling double duty this time. I did the longer problem first though, so I am probably about 60% done altogether and hopefully I have no more than 6 hours of grading ahead of me. I probably won't do it until tonight though so I can enjoy this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

It has been an utterly crazy week, all the days blurred together. I didn't do any quantum homework this week, I just didn't have time to even attempt it. I should have gone to the grocery store last weekend, but I didn't have time to hit it until Thursday so trying to find something to eat was getting interesting. Fun fact: you can't make Mac & Cheese without milk. I tried ordering pizza on Thursday, but it turns out nobody is open for pickup after 9:30 PM. What the hell? Then I tried ordering a Papiano's pizza yesterday...but they didn't pick up their phone. Guess what? They closed that store. Unless they're preparing to open a new store, the nearest Papiano's is in Salem. With the nearest Best Buy. So that was week 7 out of 10, I've got three more weeks of class in the term.

I did go see The Hard Lessons on Tuesday night. Portland is not the seat of their power, but it was still really great to see the band. I even managed to get back at a semi-reasonable hour that night, but I didn't have anything done for the next day and I just crashed.

I have a ton to do this weekend, including finishing grading exams, but with no classes or meetings to worry about I at least have the illusion of free time. I discovered that there is in fact a video game store within the city limits, so you had damn well better believe I'm going to patronize them later today. Even though I don't really have time for a new game. Maybe pick up a used copy of Kingdom Hearts or something. The Sims 2 is still calling my name as well. I tried playing some Gran Turismo 4 yesterday, but my Pontiac Solstice has really given me closure on that game.

broken

I finally broke down and bought a new computer chair. While it is not spectacular, it it nicer than my last chair and seems to be much sturdier. However, I noted that the warranty covers use up to users some 30lb. lighter than I am. Big guys like me just can't get a break. Or rather, get them too often. The chair needs to be broken in yet, but I thouroughly enjoy my reclaimed ability to recline.

On Friday I took a tour of OSU's new engineering building, specifically pointing out 'green' features. For example, the building collects rainwater to flush the toilets. I also got to go on the roof to see the small solar water heater and PV array they have up there. That was pretty cool, except it was pouring and cold outside, so needless to say our little rooftop excursion was brief. The tour was cool not only because it showed this stuff off, but also because the project manager told us about things that weren't going as well as planned, a reminder that things in real life never work perfectly the first time.

Lisa had a belated Halloween party last night. Not being one to celebrate most holidays, I had to scrounge up a costume at the last minute, failing miserably - especially since Vincent had an awesome pirate costume. However, I did bring my secret weapon (peanut butter fudge) which I managed to get right on the first try, and that went over well at the party. Perhaps next year I will actually make a proper costume.

I also played through Half-Life: Opposing Force over the weekend. It's pretty short so I managed to be the whole thing. The game is an interesting second look at HL1, and it's pretty odd playing it after being adapted to HL2.

Another hectic week ahead. When I plan stuff out the days are practically blurring together. It's week 7 of 10 for the term though, so I'm getting there. Another PH 211 midterm this week, so my weekend is shot again. Definitely packing my iPod for that.

The Hard Lessons play on Tuesday! That's going to be a long night, but worth it.

I'm currently reading Body of Secrets, a book about the NSA. I am up to the end of Vietnam. The book is pretty fascinating, but also makes me a little sick. The Bush administration may be very good at reckless and stupid things, but by no means are they the first to do them. Stuff like a proposal to cause terrorist attacks in the U.S. to incite a war with Cuba, almost starting WWIII by poking the USSR, and the complete lack of communication security in Vietnam causing many deaths. It just makes me want to stay away from government even more. Lisa wants to be a senator, but I'll settle for being left alone.

bond...james bond

You scored as James Bond, Agent 007. James Bond is MI6's best agent, a suave, sophisticated super spy with charm, cunning, and a license to kill. He doesn't care about rules or regulations and is somewhat amoral. He does care about saving humanity though, as well as the beautiful women who fill his world. Bond has expensive tastes, a wide knowledge of many subjects, and his usually armed with a clever gadget and an appropriate one-liner. James Bond, Agent 007 58% Lara Croft 50% Batman, the Dark Knight 50% Neo, the "One" 50% Maximus 46% Captain Jack Sparrow 46% Indiana Jones 42% The Amazing Spider-Man 33% The Terminator 29% El Zorro 17% William Wallace 17% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

busywork

So yeah, it's already November. Things are about as slow as they get around here - which means it's busy but manageable - but it's about to kick into high gear again in the near future. Stupid PSM classes are starting to make a lot of noise about papers and presentations and whatnot, and there's another PH 211 midterm next week (with a good possibility I will be grading two problems this time instead of one). Biodiesel project stuff needs to get worked on, because it hasn't really been started yet. And my badminton skills test is next week, so I need to get to the rec center over the weekend to practice.

I got tomorrow's prelabs graded already, so I am looking at E&M homework now. E&M has kind of been sidelined in favor of quantum for a couple weeks now, so I am going to try to give E&M a push now. Pollack & Stump is actually proving to be a good reference even now, although my help comes from the very last chapters of the book. I could go for some hot chocolate about now, but I have found that it makes me sleepy and I just end up going to bed.