tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91104581228155854662024-03-13T13:12:47.739-04:00The Adventures of Charlemagne & The SargeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-34521180224479802542009-12-14T07:17:00.003-05:002009-12-14T07:27:10.182-05:00The beauty of opportunityAs infrequent and sporadic as my posts may be, I sometimes like to look back on them and remember all the stories I talked about, the things I got excited about, the musings about where I'd be--all that jazz.<br /><br />One thing that always strikes me is how remarkably quickly things change, all the time. It seems like every few months I'm having this epiphany, but that's because every few months I've been fortunate to have major opportunities to do something or learn something important about my life. It's never more apparent to me than it is at sunrise though. Something about the colors and the light just inspires me. It's an opportunity to do something remarkable for 24 hours, and you get that opportunity every single day.<br /><br />Today will be a good day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-36770026530882856732009-08-18T20:42:00.002-04:002009-08-18T20:58:00.529-04:00CaliforniaThis week I'll be enjoying some much demanded down time as I visit my girlfriend out in beautiful Los Gatos, CA. Astute stalkers will remember that I was just 15 minutes away from here a week ago at Stanford running some experiments for Los Alamos. For the rest of you--I was just 15 minutes away from here a week ago at Stanford running some experiments for Los Alamos.<br /><br />My impression of California is overall a positive one. At the end of the school year, my roommate and close friend Michelle took a road-trip from San Fran through all of NorCal into Oregon because I'd never been to California at a meaningful age or for a significant amount of time, and now by the end of the summer, I've flown to and fro between New Mexico and California 4 times now. In some ways I guess I got more than I asked for, but it's given me the opportunity to really get a feel for what living here must be like.<br /><br />For one thing, it's expensive. So much so that I can only afford that one thing. Tax is 9.25% and a $50,000 down payment on a crack-shack house is less than 10%. Wow. You can tell the area is pricey as well by the number of "[something]i" Italian supercars running around the streets. Honestly, after a few days, seeing a ferrari was not at all a surprise, and even lamborghinis began to look a bit cliché. But once you go outside you realize why. The weather is WONDERFUL. Easily the best weather I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Cloudless every day, roughly 75 degrees at noon, cooler at night, and little humidity. There's also a large entrepreneurial spirit still very much alive in Silicon Valley, and California is racing to be the "greenest" state first, creating a large market for solar panels, hydrogen powered cars and the ilk--you know, all the things I'm interested in. I'll be coming back for a few weeks in the winter to run some more experiments at Stanford, but so far, if I were handed a bucket of money, I wouldn't mind living here at all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-54340133395177173262009-07-22T03:31:00.002-04:002009-07-22T03:52:51.566-04:00Dust off the cobwebsBeen awhile eh? I don't know why that is. Maybe it happens to all (pseudo)writers, but I just hit this dry spell where I had nothing to talk about, nothing interesting seemed to be happening, and I had worse joke drought than the Great Depression.<br /><br />So the burning question in the internets mind is what HAVE I been up to? (or WHAT have I been up to, depending on inflection...). Well the answer is a lot, a whole lot (though I've never heard anyone say a semilot, or a hemilot or a quarter lot, so a whole lot maybe isn't as descriptive as we all think).<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://www.bandelier.national-park.com/images/bandelier.jpg" src="http://www.bandelier.national-park.com/images/bandelier.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">I live here!</span><br /><br /></div>For starters I'm working at Los Alamos National Lab in Los Alamos, NM. Fortunately, it's a job I enjoy as I get to travel to different places and do experiments, and living in the desert is a very new experience for me. Unfortunately there are lots of rules about writing about my job, one being anything I write about the lab has to go through classified security to make sure I'm not saying something I shouldn't be, so I can't talk to much about it. (but that's ok, it's not that interesting to the general masses anyway).<br /><br />I have been on a bit of an outdoor knack lately, and as I find myself window shopping REI catalogs (online, so I guess it's still "window shopping"! ok ok bad joke) I realize that being outside actually makes me really happy. You'd never guess it from my eggshell complexion and the physical build of a cadaver, but being outside resonates with something deep inside me. Maybe it's the trancendentalism from high school bubbling back up in my thoughts as I imagine living out in the wilderness. There's something comforting about the wild, it feels honest. It doesn't care if you planned to go hiking, if it's going to rain it will rain. And maybe that's what I like about it, I like feeling powerless because it means I might as well not even worry about it. Nature will do as it pleases regardless of how polite or polished I look, or how strangely I talk. It's freedom at it's finest.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I've already had my last weekend at Los Alamos, and in 3 short days I'll start the craziest travel itenerary I can imagine. I'll be several places in California (mostly around the Bay area)for two weeks, a trip to Arkansas for my sister's wedding, back to Los Alamos for a week, then back to California for a leisure visit, then back to Pearland to visit my family for a week, then back to Boston. I'll be living out of a suitcase for about a month, racking up frequent flier miles and commiting the airport security dance to muscle memory (at this point I can probably do it without exchanging a single word or look to the TSA, which frankly is an idea that makes me smile).<br /><br />In the spare time I do have I've been building my cooking skills and recipe box, and working on some (unsurprisingly) geeky projects that involve programming, mountain dew, and late nights. I have too many ideas to even begin to be able to accomplish them, but some of the stuff I'm working on include:<br /><br /><ul><li>A grocery optimizing program.</li><li>A networked door lock for my room at school. (unlockable with my phone!)</li><li>using twitter to control things like lighting, sound, etc. in my room at school.</li><li>An iPhone app (I'm a developer now!) that will make multiple website logon easier.</li><li>Learning Dvorak (way better way to type. Google it)<br /></li></ul>So I've got my work cut out for me in front of the keyboard and screen, but hey that's what layovers are for right?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-6547341166751060402009-01-12T23:36:00.003-05:002009-01-13T10:50:52.275-05:00Thought of the dayWhy is it that movies, which generally people like to watch alone or quietly with a small group, are shown in theaters; when sports games, which people like to watch on big screens in loud rowdy bunches aren't?<br /><br />Does anyone else think that playing sporting events in movie theaters would be awesome? You and your friends could get together and go watch the game on a massive screen in a surround sound with a bunch of other people who would be cheering/booing etc. It'd be like being there.<br /><br />Just a thought.<br /><br />**UPDATE**<br />Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so, though I don't know about this 3D business:<br />http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28545049/<br />(Thanks Anon!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-57214519190767091382009-01-11T19:25:00.002-05:002009-01-11T19:32:50.464-05:00Computer Issues and colossal snowmenSo as you may or may not know, I've been having big computer problems for the past month, though a thorough diagnosis shows that my computer is infected with a virus known as "Windows Vista", that's another story. The point is, I've been blog-disabled for a while, but I'm back online! And I take this opportunity to let you know that tonight will be the setting for the birth of a creature more infamous than Bigfoot, more legendary than Nessie, more ugly than Gary Busey. That's right.<br /><br />The Snow Colossus. (Or "Coldossus", get it? HA!)<br /><br />It boils down to this. I'm an engineer now, and I like to build stuff, and I love things in excess. So when MIT was involved in a snow emergency, where nearly a foot of snow fell in 24 hours with predictions for snow for the rest of the week, the idea for the snow colossus was born. I'll keep you updated.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070106/070106_snowzilla_vlg_9a.rp420x400.jpg" src="http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070106/070106_snowzilla_vlg_9a.rp420x400.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">But bigger.</span><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-32056245680668844492008-11-09T12:38:00.005-05:002008-11-09T14:15:01.683-05:00A New BeginningLet me preface this all by saying there are no words in the English language to aptly describe the state my room was in. English wasn't designed to deal with horror on such a scale. It was appalling, it would have made my mother weep. You know that feeling when you spill sugar or salt on the kitchen floor and then walk on it barefoot? You know how irritating that is? That's how my floor was <span style="font-style: italic;">all the time.</span> So yeah, it was bad.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SRchGSNOBBI/AAAAAAAAAf4/DRKRVxlJYxo/s1600-h/dirtyroom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 262px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SRchGSNOBBI/AAAAAAAAAf4/DRKRVxlJYxo/s400/dirtyroom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266714681083298834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Something like that.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now I don't consider myself to be incredibly type-A like my older sister, in fact I'm so laid back I may in fact be around type-G or H.</span> But there is a line, and having a filthy filthy room is definitely across that line.<br /><br />But believe it or not, this entry isn't about how I cleaned my room, although it sort of is, it's like a metaphor (though that sentence was a simile....) Just hang on, it'll make sense I promise.<br /><br />The way I got around to cleaning my room was by living in this terrible state for so long until I finally discovered that it was impacting my life in a very negative way. I didn't clean it before because I seemed to be getting along fine and to perhaps a larger extent, I was intimidated by the scope of it.<br /><br />That's the same way I cleaned out some parts of my old life. Without getting too terribly contrived in the backstory, for the past 7 years of my life I've been clinging to this girl in some aspect or another. For 7 years I would've given nearly anything to be with her and I held on to the idea that one day, everything would change, that it was just a matter of waiting, even long after I knew if I wanted what I was waiting for.<br /><br />Now at this point I could try and blame movies for instilling a false sense of what romance is like, but to be honest it wasn't movies. ( I can still blame movies for instilling a sense of how awesome it is to drive a car into a helicopter though.) It was me.<br /><br />It was me. All along it was me.<br /><br />So on the heels of this epiphany I realized something: I could let go. Now I don't mean to sound incredibly creepy or anything like that, but I had a box that had letters, tickets, and all sorts of sentimental knick-knacks. I can remember nights where I'd read through some of those old things and cry, and that box was so important to me that it was one of the things I shipped here to college.<br /><br />Last night I ripped up and threw away everything inside it.<br /><br />Before it sounds like I just went on a crazy rant, there is something important to realize. At no time last night did I feel angry or spiteful or anything less than resolved. It wasn't a moment of passion where I cried while burning photos or anything like that, it was just me acknowledging that part of my life as over, and getting rid of the old baggage that held me back, and what would have seemed so impossible to me not but 3 months ago was in fact so very easy once I started. I remember holding a letter in my hand and tearing it in half, and I felt relief. For seven years I'd been looking for closure on this, and last night it emerged from the scraps of paper.<br /><br />The letters were the big thing, but I also shut down my old blog that was filled with my vague musings on the situation, and I shut down my myspace that was filled with messages about the situation. In essence I've got no more chains, I'm free.<br /><br />So why now? Because I'm growing up. Because I've realized you shouldn't devote your life to someone who wouldn't be willing to do the same for you, and that you should love someone who loves you back just as much. Love isn't about not making mistakes, but it's about correcting them, and it's not about things being easy, but it's about the courage to do things that are hard.<br /><br />I've come so far in the last 2 months, I've grown up more in the last 2 months than I think I have in the last 2 years. Though to be fair it wasn't an overnight transformation, I can see that in most ways I had already let go over the course of the past year, but last night was the finale. And now that I've resolved the biggest issue of my teenage life, I can start to fix the mistakes that I've made.<br /><br />That's why you should clean your room kids, because it will change your life. =)<br /><br />(Also it's nice to not have plates serving as petri dishes on your desk)<br /></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-43817645154868444812008-11-06T20:35:00.001-05:002008-11-06T20:36:54.629-05:00McCain speech remixNo matter how you felt after watching the election results, hopefully this will make you laugh as hard as I did. Oh the wonders of modern computing:<br /><br /><div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05918253653134946 visible ontop" href="http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/DMVideoPlayer/player.swf"></a><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/DMVideoPlayer/player.swf" id="player" width="479" height="410"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/DMVideoPlayer/player.swf"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="flashVars" value="sitename=Cracked.com&video_title=If%20McCain%27s%20Concession%20Speech%20Was%20As%20Bitter%20As%20His%20Campaign&skin=http%3A//cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/DMVideoPlayer/playerskin.swf&demand_content_sourcekey=cracked.com&KEYWORDS=&URL=http%3A//cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/funpages/cms_content/16768/McCain%20Bitter%20Speech.flv&adPartner=Adap&demand_iconurl=http%3A//cdn-www.cracked.com/sites/cracked/images/favicon.gif&v=1.8.3b&height=37&DESC=%3Cp%3EWhat%20happened%20to%20two%20weeks%20ago%2C%20when%20Obama%20was%20a%20terrorist%3F%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWhen%20not%20encouraging%20you%20to%20embed%20this%20video%20on%20your%20blog%20%28find%20the%20code%20in%20the%20bottom%20right%20corner%20of%20the%20player%29%2C%20Michael%20is%20the%20writer%20and%20co-founder%20of%20%3Ca%20target%3D%22new%22%20href%3D%22http%3A//www.thosearentmuskets.com%22%3EThose%20Aren%27t%20Muskets%21%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E&demand_content_id=16768&KEY=demandmediacracked&demand_icontext=Watch%20more%20videos%20at%20Cracked.com%2C%20America%u2019s%20only%20humor%20site.&demand_autoplay=0&CATEGORIES=Entertainment%2CNews%2CLifestyle&demand_page_url=http%3A//www.cracked.com/video_16768_if-mccains-concession-speech-was-as-bitter-as-his-campaign.html&source=http%3A//cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/funpages/cms_content/16768/McCain%20Bitter%20Speech.flv&demand_iconlink=http%3A//www.cracked.com/&TITLE=If%20McCain%27s%20Concession%20Speech%20Was%20As%20Bitter%20As%20His%20Campaign&ID=16768&demand_report_url=http%3A//www.cracked.com/update.aspx"></object><br /><a href="http://www.cracked.com/video_16768_if-mccains-concession-speech-was-as-bitter-as-his-campaign.html">If McCain's Concession Speech Was As Bitter As His Campaign</a> -- powered by Cracked.com</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-68378280626414750992008-10-29T18:29:00.004-04:002008-10-29T18:45:02.385-04:00WorkSo every blog in the universe prefaces an entry after a long period of time with something like "oh man, sorry about the lack of entries, I've been SooOoOooOo0Ooo-0-00-0 busy!"<br /><br />That's pretty cliche, so I'll make something up instead.<br /><br />Oh man, sorry about the lack of entries, my laptop was confiscated by the CIA for containing unusual levels of awesome and I was only recently able to prove to them that I'm qualified to be that cool.<br /><br />Better?<br /><br />Anyway, much to the disappointment of my physics fans, this post is not about the integral of Force <span style="font-style: italic;">dx</span> (sorry guys), by work I mean actual work, like the process of expending yourself doing things you don't like because they're good for you. One of the things I've learned lately here at MIT is really what it means to work hard. I mean, I thought I knew what hard work was from high school, and to an extent that may have been true. But in all humility, I was a pretty smart kid, I didn't have to study as much as some of my friends and I never really read the books and I still did just fine. But it never really dawned on me that I didn't know how to work, I'd never really had to before.<br /><br />A few weeks ago the thorough arse-whupping that was Freshmen Hell Week gave me that epiphany. At first I was disappointed with my grades because the first thing I thought was "I'm working so hard and this is what I have to show for it?" Then I thought about it and realized, I really hadn't worked hard. I hadn't read the book. I did the psets the night before. I didn't take notes. I goofed around with my friends all night. Where was the hard work?<br /><br />So these last few weeks I've been doing something strange and applying myself, focusing on doing things when they need to be done and not just glancing through material, I've been making sleep and work schedules and going to libraries and studying and all the things I should've been doing and guess what?<br /><br />I've never been happier.<br /><br />There is nothing like making a 95 on a test where the class average is 55 and standard deviation is 10. There is nothing like getting a solid 5 hours of sleep every night (that may not seem like much, but this is MIT after all). Actually knowing whats going on during lecture and gleening some deep understanding that previously wasn't there is such a great feeling, and it's wonderful to be able to answer my friends questions. And the best part is that I didn't really need to give up anything to do it, I only stopped wasting so much time. I never realized that I wasted more time than an all day <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhIdwaxxUTQ">"Meet the Spartans"</a> marathon.<br /><br />So I guess the point amongst all this is that amidst all the great things MIT is teaching me right now, the most influential has been managing my time and improving my work habits. Who'd have thought? I love this place.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-11710169287691628122008-10-04T14:07:00.003-04:002008-10-10T11:57:14.005-04:00Cold!So now that my entry titles have completely regressed into one word grunts, I'm fairly sure you can guess what I have to complain about today. It's really cold. Really.<br /><br />Now I know there's going to be at least one or two people who read that and say "Oh just wait until the winter, then you'll see whats cold". Now that may (read:will) be true, but I'd like to bring up an important fact about weather. Temperature is relative. I'm sure the winter will be a dark bitter freezing time for all of us, but I'm at least smart enough to know to be prepared with coats and scarves etc. The Autumnal (EDIT: turns out I did NOT make that word up) temperatures took me by surprise, both by extremes and by swiftness. Seriously, in like one day it went from being 73-75, to a low off 44 degrees tonight.<br /><br />Did you read that? 44! I realize that's not "cold" by absolute standards, (or absolute cold by any standards, hehe science joke), but considering in my home town it's 83 right now, that's a bit of an adjustment. I'm off to spend my paycheck on long sleeves and wool, I'll update you all when I have something else to complain about.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-71526744930735617182008-09-30T20:29:00.003-04:002008-09-30T20:31:42.949-04:00DANG!wow this place speeds up quick, which is partially why there has been a distinct lack of posting. The other partiality (new word!) is because I've been pretty sick. But to keep you all updated, I have two tests this week, had an MRI today, blood labs yesterday and Thursday, Russell Peters is coming on Friday, and I'm a brother at Beta Theta Pi. I'll do a lengthy post about Boston in the fall this weekend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-75971326389907581802008-09-14T22:35:00.004-04:002008-09-14T22:42:34.742-04:00Awesome=Picasa + Google Earth + iPhone 3GFinally, I've been able to use one of the neglected (at least for me) features of the iPhone. The ability to make use of the geotagged metadata. (if you just said "huh?": a) you're cooler than me and b) it means the gps tags the location of where you took your pictures.)<br /><br />Luckily Picasa has the ability to interpret that data, and google earth communicates with Picasa. I couldn't be happier with the results, check it out:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SM3Kuar_ljI/AAAAAAAAAMM/NNOBBSQewoY/s1600-h/Fullscreen+capture+9142008+103229+PM.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SM3Kuar_ljI/AAAAAAAAAMM/NNOBBSQewoY/s400/Fullscreen+capture+9142008+103229+PM.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246072039743133234" border="0" /></a>That's a view of pearland with my pictures overlaid on top of their locations, and it's really accurate. It's a surprisingly cool feature that really brings your pictures to life when you look at them, they no longer appear as fragments of memories, but together as one cohesive picture, like a giant memory quilt (that's the only analogy I could think of).<br /><br />Check out this other one from Boston:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SM3LU2BOLHI/AAAAAAAAAMU/ZHZmq5mIV50/s1600-h/Fullscreen+capture+9142008+103504+PM.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SM3LU2BOLHI/AAAAAAAAAMU/ZHZmq5mIV50/s400/Fullscreen+capture+9142008+103504+PM.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246072699914955890" border="0" /></a>Super cool. I plan on utilizing this feature extensively. (i.e. I'll do this instead of pset -_-.... )Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-59700187066038225742008-09-12T17:44:00.003-04:002008-09-12T17:55:03.914-04:00Tale of the Midnight Tool!Last night I had my first tooling session. In complete honesty, it was entirely my fault, I'd taken the fact that I was pretty good with numbers for granted, and assumed having taken Calc BC (<a href="http://charsarge.blogspot.com/2008/05/most-epic-fail.html">and should've got credit for it</a>) that it would be easy. Indeed, I knew exactly what lecture was about, and glancing over the pset I saw that there weren't too many problems, no big deal right? a bit of review right?<br /><br />Oh so very wrong.<br /><br />After working all night on that pset (literally, I got home at 7.a.m. today 0_0) I've realized what exactly makes this place so hard. The problems don't test your knowledge of the subject, they test your understanding. Now if I'd heard that last year I would've said "same thing", but now I understand the difference. Knowing how to do a problem means you can quickly identify similar problems and apply the same generic formula to solve them, the difference is that none of the problems on the homework are like examples in class, but they all use ideas presented in class.<br /><br />Take the derivative for example, in class you might learn chain rule, product rule, power rule etc etc and find the derivatives for a bunch of functions. Easy huh? of course it is, it's just like what you know. But here, you might have a problem which asks you questions about the behaviour of the derivative, like this one particularly nasty problem last night. Essentially you had to find the "(p+q)th" derivative of a product of two functions raised to the P and Q respectively. The breakthrough that solved it was to realize that the nth derivative of a function with exponent n is n!, and thus the n+q derivative must be 0, because at n it's just a constant. That one little idea that was never explained meant that several terms in a series ended up as zero, and only the last term mattered.<br /><br />That's the difference, application, a deep understanding. I don't just know how to solve problems, I know how to <span style="font-style: italic;">figure out how to solve</span> them. And though it's ridiculously hard, and sometimes impossibly daunting at times, the best feeling is finally figuring out the one piece you're missing that makes it all fall in place. To make one more analogy, instead of asking you to connect-the-dots to draw a horse, MIT gives you some paper and says "draw the horse", it's up to you to figure out how you want to do that.<br /><br />In related news, no longer will I be waiting until thursday to look at the second half of the pset. =)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-21883891221827343612008-09-07T03:26:00.001-04:002008-09-07T04:07:14.967-04:00Worst.Night.Ever.Preface: Ok first, before you read any of this entry make note of the time. Go ahead, look. Assuming the timestamp is correct (which it isn't always) it should say 3:28 A.M. That's right, 3:28 A.M. exists, and it's ugly. I figured I'll try something new and explain to you first where I am and then how it happened, so as to build suspense.<br /><br />I'm wet, I'm shivering, and I've been jolted awake. I'm sitting at my computer trying to get warm. Now that I have you (and perhaps your sympathy, in which case sympathy cookies can be mailed to Simmons Hall with my name on them), you're chomping at the bit to know what happened. But rather than dive into let's have a fuzzy flashback to earlier this evening for the sake of contrast.<br /><br />Misty, my friend from Emerson came over after I went grocery shopping. I'm in a great mood, we're laughing, watching movies, eating pizza, drinking O.J.; seriously great stuff. Eventually it's time for her to go home and it's dark outside, I hear it's cold so I give her one of my jackets. I start to walk her home and it begins to rain. <span style="font-style: italic;">swell.</span> It's not really a big deal because I'm having such a good time with her, and to be honest it makes me look kinda macho to be walking her home while it's raining and me being soaking wet, I don't have my phone so I figure it's no big deal if I get a little wet. Then it starts to really rain and I begin to get very very wet, still not a huge deal, but Misty has her purse and her phone in it. Uh-Oh, better hurry up to the Z-center detour. We get to underneath the overhang and-- the door is locked. Wait what? Why is the door locked? They're doing construction everywhere, this is the only way to get to the student center without going all the way around. After trying to break the lock with my mind (note to self: I don't have telekinesis), we eventually have to walk all the way down to Mass Ave and around to get to la Verdes. Inside I buy my price-gouge-on-a-pole (seriously, who the heck charges $10 for a tiny umbrella? ugh.) and Misty gets an apple, things are getting better.<br /><br />We decide to take the tunnels as far east as we can. I'd never actually navigated the tunnels so I was fairly uncertain of where I was going but the signs made it pretty easy, plus it was nice and warm down there. We came out at MIT medical, which is literally spitting distance from the Kendall T stop. We board the train and head for Boston.<br /><br />The walk through the commons while it's raining is actually, daresay, nice. The streets and buildings look really cool disappearing into the clouds and rain. Once we get to her dorm we stay in the lobby for a few minutes while the rain dies down before I head back. I bid her farewell and head off.<br /><br />The way home is long, the trains keeps making long and random stops, and walking in the rain is far less fun alone at midnight. Simmons hall has mysteriously moved in the middle of the night to be about 12 miles away from the rest of campus, but once I get there I'm free. I get out of my soaking clothes and into dry PJ's and get to bed. Sleep comes quick and I christen it a good day before drifting off to dreams.<br /><br />Then things get bad, real bad, real fast.<br /><br />The alarm in our room goes off as the beacon flashes. A woman's voice plays over the speaker over and over:<br /><br />"There is an emergency in the building. Please head outside via the nearest stairwell, do not use the elevator"<br /><br />I, with all the grace and finesse of an elephant comind down from an acid trip, put on a shirt to supplement my shorts, and a few drops of saline into my blurry eyes. I head to the stairwell dazed and confused, uncertain of what time it is, what's going on, or what I'm doing. All my floormates are similarly herding like brainwashed cattle( or Moby fans) towards the green light at the bottom of the four flights of stairs. As I get to the door out of the building I witness the worst possible scenario for something like this. It's very cold, very windy<br /><br />and raining.<br /><br />Oh.My.God.<br /><br />The second I step out the door wind whips around the corner of Simmons carrying with it both rain and what I can only suspect are the tears of my fellow residents, soaking me in ice cold sadness. I head as quickly as I can for the overhang off the side of simmons that exists for just such terrible occasions. It's full of people, who HAVE UMBRELLAS. I stand right outside the overhang, clearly miserable and shivering as a guy in a coat with an umbrella looks at me and continues to use his umbrella to shield him from nothing. Seriously? Does it make me a bad person to think that having a coat and umbrella means you should let people who don't have your place in the dry spot? Then comes the waiting:<br />5 Minutes- I'm shivering pretty hard now<br /><br />10 Minutes- I'm very much awake and aware of how much it sucks to be outside in the rain while it's cold.<br /><br />20 Minutes- I'm searching the crowd for a virgin to sacrifice and appease the angered gods.<br /><br />30 Minutes- Appeasement is futile. God has forsaken Simmons Hall.<br /><br />45 Minutes- Fireman tells us we're clear to go back in. It was all a false alarm, someone was smoking in the gym.<br /><br />Let me repeat that. An MIT student, arguably one of the smartest people in the country, was smoking in a room that is very clearly FILLED with smoke detectors. What did they think was going to happen?<br /><br />That brings me to where I am now, cold, wet, and stalking facebook profiles to find out who lives near the gym who also smokes....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-88253902981155066042008-09-03T23:23:00.001-04:002008-09-03T23:24:35.915-04:00GIANT SCREENMy laptop is now connected to a-- ready?<br /><br />30" computer monitor.<br /><br />that's right. 30. Freaking. Inches.<br /><br />And how much did I pay for this?<br /><br /><br />FREE!<br /><br /><br />I LOVE REUSE!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-23705250338826090422008-09-02T11:38:00.001-04:002008-09-02T11:40:06.565-04:00Class Schedule<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SL1eEz4TDRI/AAAAAAAAAKs/oKXffpaIYwM/s1600-h/class+schedule.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SL1eEz4TDRI/AAAAAAAAAKs/oKXffpaIYwM/s400/class+schedule.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241448978067950866" border="0" /></a><br />Thus far. Though, 18.01 is definitely going to change to either 18.01A, or 18.014, I haven't decided which yet. Not too bad, no class before 11, one on friday, I could get used to that. =)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-40358868422764519542008-08-31T14:55:00.000-04:002008-08-31T15:20:34.470-04:00PoliticsUh-Oh. This will probably end up messy.<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, I've been hearing a lot recently about the candidates and their running mates, Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin. Of course the political atmosphere here in Boston is much different than it is in my sleepy town of Pearland, Texas; but as a college voter, disillusioned from media coverage and political speeches (no matter how nice they sound), this post is less about my support for one candidate over the other, and more about my interest in people's response to the political process.<br /><br />I grew up, like most school kids, being taught to respect other people even when you disagree with them. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>And as universally as most people agree that "everyone has their own opinion" and "respect" and all this, the second the issue becomes political, tolerance and understanding are tossed out the window. Issues have no perspective, they become either my way, or you're inbred-idiotic-communistic-death-of-america-brainwashed view. What the heck? Why?<br /><br />In any other context, most people don't feel the need to heave their beliefs on another person: "I'm a vegetarian" "I like Cauliflower" "I'm buddhist". If any of those statements were followed with "You're wrong because--" then most everyone would agree that that person is a jerk, insensitive and narrow minded. But if it becomes "I like McCain's stance on foreign policy" "I am for abortion" "Obama lacks experience" it's no longer an opinion, it's a personal attack on your values, and whoever illustrates the counterpoint is judged in favor of the majority of conversation.<br /><br />I know it's a bit ramblish (rambly? consisting of large amounts of ramblitude?) but the political system bothers me. Anything more than a vaguery can't possibly be supported by the entire country, or even the entire political party. McCain-Palin is a War Hero and Soccer Mom to some; and a Degenerate and a Greenhorn to others. The point of all this I suppose is that next time you get into a political discussion with someone, keep in mind that they don't believe what they believe solely to destroy america and piss you off. They have honest and, dare I say, VALID reasons for their beliefs, and they are just as personal to them as yours are to you. There are good arguments for both sides of every major issue, that's what makes them issues. The real way to bring about a major change in our country is to quit being so divisive, and maybe work together, novel idea eh?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-27420082325905354952008-08-27T09:43:00.000-04:002008-08-27T09:45:56.699-04:00I'm a Blogger!WOOOHOO!<br /><br />I'm a blogger!<br /><br />As in, an admissions blogger! That means I'll get <span style="font-style: italic;">paid</span> to tell people my opinion! Isn't that basically the perfect job?<br /><br />There have been so many incredibly exciting things going on here at MIT as of late, I apologize for the lack of posts. I truly, truly love this place.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-73897538984209077982008-08-22T15:19:00.000-04:002008-08-22T15:20:36.029-04:00HOORAY Internet!I've been having problems with my internet lately, being sporadic, or nonexistant. I went to Information Services & Technology, and they gave me a FREE ethernet cable. Now my internet is super-fast! Hooray!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-5942000745767382002008-08-19T00:43:00.001-04:002008-08-19T20:06:50.413-04:00Mexican, Babies, Delays, Sponge, Cake, Crowds, and Bed Bath & Disaster.Ok guys, I know you've anxiously been waiting, clicking refresh on my blog, eager to read what I have to say about MIT. Let me be brief, and honest:<br /><br />I am home.<br /><br />But more on that later, here is more of a chronological description of how and when things happened:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday:</span><br />Thursdays are crazy days for me (err, they used to be). I tutored two (horrendous) children Thursday mornings and then usually spent the rest of the day in Silverlake hanging out with friends or what have you. This particular Thursday was different because my going away party was that night, so after tutoring, I high tailed it over to Misty's house to start setting up for our party. The decorations were pretty awesome, we went to a party MEGA STORE known as Arne's where they literally have anything you've ever thought about.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKstswva8AI/AAAAAAAAAKM/xbDB_-fpjlc/s1600-h/003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKstswva8AI/AAAAAAAAAKM/xbDB_-fpjlc/s400/003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236329238769627138" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Exhibit A: Obama and McCain masks.<br /></span></div><br />Sadly, we passed on those masks and opted for balloons instead. we? oh right I almost forgot, Misty is going to Emerson so we decided to have a joint party.<br /><br />Party was fantastic, all the last people I wanted to see and say goodbye to were there, and there was this awesome cake.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKstsjhcNpI/AAAAAAAAAKE/wJLwiPtuiVo/s1600-h/003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKstsjhcNpI/AAAAAAAAAKE/wJLwiPtuiVo/s400/003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236329235221329554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">It's like eating art.<br /><br /></span></div>I got some really cool presents (drinktionary, excellent cologne, hand-made MIT mug. I repeat HAND-MADE) and then I got some.....well...surprising presents (let's not talk about that). I got home late Thursday night and was too distracted to finish packing, and instead I slept.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday</span>:<br />Friday was my last day and the day Kim left so it was all sorts of crazy, physically, emotionally, can't-find-freakin'-boxes-ally, the works. I had one huge box with all my stuff in it, only to find out it was too big to ship so then I ended up using a whole bunch of smaller boxes. I also discovered that if you roll your shirts tightly like a sleeping bag, you can fit WAY more plus they don't wrinkle.<br /><br />After all the packing, my family went out to dinner one last time. What did I eat you ask? Did I take a picture? Better my friend, I took TWO! And made a panoramic! Behold:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsttPdxbLI/AAAAAAAAAKU/Qc7S20bMXPw/s1600-h/last+supper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsttPdxbLI/AAAAAAAAAKU/Qc7S20bMXPw/s400/last+supper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236329247017102514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">mmm. Delicious!<br /></span></div><br /><br />delicious fajitas and citrus tea. With my belly full, my bags packed, my suitcase stuffed, and my contacts taken out, I was ready to leave.<br /><br />Saturday:<br />Saturday was my travel day, and I hate flying (flying coach anyway.) Thank God I had the Watchmen (Thank you Kim! That's not transitive though, Kim is not God). No joke my flights were full of babies with cries timed on par with a wet fart on match point at Wimbledon. I nearly choked one. Arriving in Massachusetts though I met Snively downstairs and we took the MIT shuttle back to campus. I'm ready to move in to my dorm, but oh no! the key to the key room has been lost. (Ironic nay?) Snively and I ate dinner at Anna's Taqueria on campus, I bought him a cookie, and moved in. Good Day.<br /><br />Sunday:<br />Everything on campus is closed on sunday, which means I had a fairly uneventful day until that night where I rode the "T" to Boston Common and saw Tropic Thunder. Raunchy, tasteless, offensive, and totally hilarious. (I should write those review quotes they play on commercials). Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant.<br /><br />Monday: Busy day for me today, I had to drop of my forms with MIT Medical, go to Student Financial Services to make a withdraw for my dorm stuff, deposit two checks, and go to Bed Bath & Beyond. Look how much I walked:<br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Vassar+St+%4042.356261,+-71.102716&daddr=Vassar+St+%4042.359504,+-71.096188+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358371,+-71.095731+to:Vassar+St+%4042.360060,+-71.095096+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358379,+-71.095980+to:Unknown+road+%4042.360945,+-71.088444+to:Carleton+St+%4042.361163,+-71.086303+to:Unknown+road+%4042.359464,+-71.091895+to:Massachusetts+Ave%2FRT-2A+%4042.351720,+-71.089900+to:42.347507,-71.105618+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358710,+-71.094740&hl=en&geocode=1232873155659004083,42.356261,-71.102716%3B5467051510903639235,42.359504,-71.096188%3B1481274698223866025,42.358371,-71.095731%3B12312500845165589422,42.360060,-71.095096%3B8022868237350863727,42.358379,-71.095980%3B1158612112830541050,42.360945,-71.088444%3B15669007387110693559,42.361163,-71.086303%3B9355788842638023212,42.359464,-71.091895%3B17634112221750877359,42.351720,-71.089900%3B8901108465542064905,42.358710,-71.094740&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=9&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9&dirflg=w&sll=42.34811,-71.107764&sspn=0.01662,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=42.34811,-71.107764&spn=0.01662,0.038624&output=embed&s=AARTsJqVsKsNSgDNqEUY4P6HZ-AZ1pchqQ" scrolling="no" width="425" frameborder="0" height="350"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Vassar+St+%4042.356261,+-71.102716&daddr=Vassar+St+%4042.359504,+-71.096188+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358371,+-71.095731+to:Vassar+St+%4042.360060,+-71.095096+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358379,+-71.095980+to:Unknown+road+%4042.360945,+-71.088444+to:Carleton+St+%4042.361163,+-71.086303+to:Unknown+road+%4042.359464,+-71.091895+to:Massachusetts+Ave%2FRT-2A+%4042.351720,+-71.089900+to:42.347507,-71.105618+to:Unknown+road+%4042.358710,+-71.094740&hl=en&geocode=1232873155659004083,42.356261,-71.102716%3B5467051510903639235,42.359504,-71.096188%3B1481274698223866025,42.358371,-71.095731%3B12312500845165589422,42.360060,-71.095096%3B8022868237350863727,42.358379,-71.095980%3B1158612112830541050,42.360945,-71.088444%3B15669007387110693559,42.361163,-71.086303%3B9355788842638023212,42.359464,-71.091895%3B17634112221750877359,42.351720,-71.089900%3B8901108465542064905,42.358710,-71.094740&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=9&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9&dirflg=w&sll=42.34811,-71.107764&sspn=0.01662,0.038624&ie=UTF8&ll=42.34811,-71.107764&spn=0.01662,0.038624&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />Dang. There was a mix-up at Bed Bath and Beyond so instead of showing up and getting my boxes of stuff, I showed up, and the manager had to print my shipping receipt, confirm my name, look for boxes, can't find them, try a different name, call the store I registered with, print out content list and shop for the things himself. He said it would take 5 minutes. It took 48.<br /><br />but I'm back in my room with all my stuff, happy as can be. Tomorrow I'll post about my dorm. Simmons Hall!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">!!!BONUS BONUS!!!<br /></div><br />Oh so you're left unfulfilled by that post, yearning for more? Ok, well since you insist (and because I love to talk about how cool MIT is) did you know MIT has an entire mobile website for folks with iPhones? Check out the pics:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsuxXjcJrI/AAAAAAAAAKk/RuHeoefqxkM/s1600-h/004.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsuxXjcJrI/AAAAAAAAAKk/RuHeoefqxkM/s400/004.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236330417419462322" border="0" /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsuxRwiaMI/AAAAAAAAAKc/QhyjJlI6p6E/s1600-h/005.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-GoaPE-UNro/SKsuxRwiaMI/AAAAAAAAAKc/QhyjJlI6p6E/s400/005.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236330415863785666" border="0" /></a><br />You can access anything you'd ever want: Shuttle schedules, maps, phone numbers, ANYTHING! and since MIT has campus-wide WiFi, you can get it anywhere! (I heard that the entire 18.blah blah IP band spectrum is owned by MIT, meaning they own 1/256th of the Internet!)<br /><br />**Double-Bonus**<br />I just found these pictures of the last trip I took to the beach, and figured they belong with this "last stuff" enjoy:<br /><a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1034293&id=516626175&op=1&view=global&subj=1537920124" id="myphotolink"><img src="http://photos-175.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v296/223/107/516626175/n516626175_1034294_6903.jpg" id="myphoto" onclick="return imageClick(event, this, 'tags_1034294');" onload="" onmousemove="findTag && findTag(event);" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30069437&id=1537920124&op=1&view=global&subj=1537920124" id="myphotolink"><img src="http://photos-175.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v296/223/107/516626175/n516626175_1034292_6290.jpg" id="myphoto" onclick="return imageClick(event, this, 'tags_1034292');" onload="" onmousemove="findTag && findTag(event);" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-53150469507938801442008-08-16T02:34:00.000-04:002008-08-16T12:25:30.990-04:00HOLY CRAP!!!!Anyone see Michael Phelps in the 100 butterfly? I thought the 400 Relay was amazing with Jason Levak (EDIT: an anonymous tipster pointed out I meant Jason Lezak. Thanks. ) pulling it in at the end, but this is ridiculous, .01 seconds, that's a HUNDREDTH of a second. Ridiculous, absolutely incredible, and now he's tied for Spitz. I hope he pulls off 8, it would be amazing.<br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-047274519184445063 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pV1ColRycZ0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></a><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pV1ColRycZ0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pV1ColRycZ0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Also, today was my last day in Texas, expect a huge blog about it tomorrow (from MIT!! AHH)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-33764858551363547852008-08-12T03:21:00.000-04:002008-08-12T03:29:22.455-04:00Meteors and the Blue Screen Of Death!so I was going to watch the meteor shower tonight (quick anecdote: I love meteor showers, though that shouldn't surprise you. I'm a nerd. I'm going to MIT) and thus prepared myself by sleeping as much as possible during the day (in other words, not changing my daily habits at all) and downing within 10% of the lethal dose of caffeine before leaving. I had a pickup truck (this is texas after all), blankets, pillows, and a red flashlight to keep my night vision from deteriorating. I'd even used a tool online to find the closest, darkest spot in the sky to watch the show from. Everything was set up to be an amazing display of the Perseids, and then:<br /><br />clouds.<br /><br />everywhere.<br /><br />Damn. I tried watching for a little while just to make sure, but you can't see a blessed thing. Oh well, theres always next year.<br /><br />Since I've been up and scourging the internet though, I found this picture and nearly laughed myself silly (I blame the caffeine). <img src="http://gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/08/bsod_nest_main2.jpg" style="display: block; float: none;" width="530" height="367" /><br />Some of you may not recognize that that is the Olympic "Birds Nest" Stadium. (Anecdote #2: I think it's the most hideous piece of architectural crap I've ever seen). Others may not even recognize what is so remarkable about that photo. But look closely.<a href="http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/08/bsod1.jpg"><img src="http://gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/08/bsod1_600.jpg" style="display: block;" /></a><br />OMG! It's the windows Blue Screen of Death! AT THE OLYMPICS! Guess one of the computers couldn't do it's one job right.<br /><br />OLYMPIC FAIL!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-85625416170780416282008-08-10T21:55:00.000-04:002008-08-10T21:58:44.652-04:00More eBay goodness!So you're reading my blog and you think to yourself "my that droll chris mills, what charm, what wit, I just wish I could own his clothing!"<br /><br />Fear not my creepy little friend, because I'm here to make your dreams come true!<br /><br />head on over to eBay and check out my auctions. My username is cmills90.<br /><br />Your fetish is my profit! (wasn't that the original pokemon slogan?)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-70593084434753898102008-08-09T19:37:00.000-04:002008-08-09T19:42:19.808-04:00Lego Mindstorms for saleHey blog readers! Have I got a deal for you*! It's my Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. All the lego stuff I used to build countless robots and machines. It made me love engineering and science, and helped me get into MIT**.<br /><br />If you're interested you can check out the auction <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=170249117471">here</a>.<br /><br />Buy it for the legos, buy it for the coolness, buy it because you're a creepy stalker who has a shrine of my things in a closet somewhere, I don't mind!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*sort of<br />**not really</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-67962733433728707782008-08-08T19:38:00.000-04:002008-08-08T19:40:47.256-04:00Bye Bye Beardie Part 2: The New HairdoI try and rhyme as much as possible. But as you may or may not have known, I no longer have a beard, and now I no longer have long hair. Check it out:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30067987&id=1537920124&op=1&view=global&subj=1537920124" id="myphotolink"><img src="http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v264/230/82/1537920124/n1537920124_30069437_8801.jpg" id="myphoto" onclick="return imageClick(event, this, 'tags_30069437');" onload="" onmousemove="findTag && findTag(event);" width="453" height="604" /></a><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110458122815585466.post-56360978130773834862008-08-08T08:10:00.000-04:002008-08-08T08:25:49.430-04:00Very Likely to be the Coolest Thing You See Today<a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-04235867251159713 visible" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kI1d7DMbco&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-04235867251159713 visible" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kI1d7DMbco&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-04235867251159713 visible" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kI1d7DMbco&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></a><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kI1d7DMbco&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7kI1d7DMbco&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Unless of course you work on NASA's Phoenix lander crew or something.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12673828289754941206noreply@blogger.com1