BLAST FROM THE PAST!: Retro-blog

Ok first some back-story:

I have a few fake teeth (three on the bottom row of my mouth to be exact). Some kids were admiring the low hum a metal plumbing pipe made when they swung it around and I got to close. I believe it went like this:

"WHEEWHUM"

*giggle giggle*

"Hey kids, that's an interesting demonstration of open pipe harmonics you hav--WHEWHACK!"

right in the mouth, and presto! my teeth were gone.(That'll teach you to try and explain resonance to kids with pipes)*

anyway, the first dentist I went to denied that there was anything that could be done for the gaping maw in my gums (seriously, think toothpicks in a jello-mold)

Actual photo. (of someone else)

so I wrote a bitter poem about him to make light of the situation and distract myself from the horrid pain. I posted it on another one of my older blogs, but it's kinda funny so I thought I'd repost it here. Without further adieu:

"the story of the retarded dentist done in the style of Dr.Seuss"

there once was a dentist
or so he claimed to be
though after my visit
i cant say i agree

through forests of papers
inquiring who where and why
mothers maiden name?
I fill out with a sigh

at last i'm seen
though thats about it
i wait in a chair
frankly its bull....well you know

a 10 second x-ray
and the dentist reveals
i'm imagining the pain
it just can't be real.

well that cant be true
i say im in pain
though i suppose he knows me
better than my own brain

he says he could fix it,
but decides that he will not
i think he's got dumb
i think he has a lot

so i leave the poor man
i pity him thats true
for it must be hard to live
with the I.Q. of a shoe.

To another dentist I'll go
though before I do
im tempted to play a round
of quaint peek-a-boo

Goodbye retard dentist
I'm tempted to shout
and add "dont forget"
"its breathe in then breathe out"

~Chris

*it was actually an accident. They felt bad and horrified as I bled profusely.

Deodor-cicle

So, I love camping.

With that said, it's no secret I love camping (I just told you, after all) and with that comes a certain amount of tolerance for gross things. Like smoke showers and drinking bacon grease*. It also means that sometimes I leave things in my car from camping only to discover them later (In the case of wet clothes, very soon, but not soon enough). One such item I recently found was my travel deodorant.

"Oh boy! I was looking for that"

*I go inside and put it on the counter*

*hours pass*

*I'm meeting friends for volleyball, and decide an extra coat of protection can't hurt*

*Pop the top*

Looks normal enough. But something is off, it's awful squared....

BAHAHAHAHA! I guess at some point during the heat of the Texas afternoon, it melted and took the form of the cap. Voila, perfect deodorcicle.

(for the creepy curious, it still works.)

Blogger Apps Are Out!

Here we go! MIT's admissions blogger applications are out, and I'm heatedly working on mine.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with MIT or the MIT bloggers, basically it means I would get a chance to do two things:
1.Brag about how cool MIT is, or (sparsely) how much I dislike it.
2. Get paid to do it!


But most importantly, the coolest thing about being a blogger is that I get to help people in the same way they've helped me. The bloggers really separate MIT admissions from other colleges. Hands on, constantly updated accounts of whats going on in the lives of real students. Wish me luck everybody!

(I may end up deleting this post by the time I submit my application in a few days, just so it doesn't look like I'm intentionally sucking up.)

Bye Bye Beardie!

Well, I can now cross beard off my "I've-had-it-growing-on-my-face" list. Maybe I'll change my opinion about it when it comes time for the harsh New England chill, but for a Texas summer, it's just too hot and itchy. Say goodbye everyone!
In Memoriam

iPhone 3G

Chris Mills (18) a local teen from Pearland, TX was found dead in his house today, suffering from what appears to be malnutrition and dehydration, while clutching an iPhone 3G in his hand. Preliminary reports indicate that it appears that Mr. Mills became so engrossed with his iPhone that he neglected to eat or drink, ultimately leading to his demise.

Fear not blogosphere! I'm not dead (yet anyway...)! But after using my new iPhone for a week I do have a full review to give those of you who are interested. First things first though, let's talk about that Friday.

I woke up around 3 because I couldn't sleep the night before (too excited, I know, I know, I'm incredibly nerdy). I got dressed and the plan was originally to meet my girlfriend at the AT&T store in pearland around 5. I changed it to 4 since I was up early, but she ended up not being able to go so I went alone. (Note to self: bring books when waiting in long long lines. Also, a chair.) After sweating in the early morning hours under the Texas sun, it finally came time to where I was next in line (there were some people in front of me, but not too many). I walk up to the counter at the same time the man in front of me walks away with his two new phones.

"I'm sorry sir, we've just sold out of phones"

[My lawyer says I shouldn't post the things I said then, due to a pending lawsuit]

The gist of it was that AT&T employees should be able to count and understand what those numbers mean. And they should know when or IF they get shipments. They are incompetent otherwise.

So I head home disappointed and grumpy from being up so early. I ended up crashing on the couch until about 11 when my older sister wanted to go to Freebirds for lunch. On the way, our of curiousity I call the Apple store at the mall (I'd already called all the AT&T stores, nada). They have plenty they say, and not too long of a line, so I decide to take my chances:


Not terrible, could be worse.

So I'm waiting in line, and waiting, and waiting. I made a new friend named Jorge. (it's what happens when in long lines).

As I'm sure you've heard, AT&T servers kept crashing, as did iTunes servers (never have a single point of failure, it will fail-always). So I was in line for 9 hours to get mine. But at the glorious end of the day, I walked away the proud owner of a brand new iPhone. Here's what they give you:Here you go Mr. Mills, display the fact that you just bought one of the most coveted items to the crowded mall as you exit, also we've gone through the trouble of showing them exactly where you're keeping it by printing it largely on this bag. I can in no way see how that could possibly be a bad idea.

Inside that poor idea of a bag is this:

Pictured in front of the new headphones (not really)

So you may notice that the box is white. That's because I opted for the white model (16 gB) because the black one looked cheaper, and attracted more fingerprints.

The device itself is somewhat weighty, not heavy, but the authoritative kind, the pleasant sort. It fits nicely in your hand, and the headphones are remarkably easy to keep in for extended periods of time.

If you own an iPod with video, or a touch (P.s. please help my friend recover his) then you know how good the video display is. If not, it's something that really must be seen to be believed. It's stunningly gorgeous. I don't think I'd mind watching TV shows at all. (something I used to make fun of other people for).

GPS and 3G (functional in both Boston and Houston, YES!) are welcome for me, as I like to think of myself as a bit of an internet junkie and having constant access to information about movies while in blockbuster, or reviews of nearby restaurants, youtube videos, etc. is a dream come true for me.

But the coolest feature in my opinion has been the applications. Third party apps that range from increedibly cool and useful (Box Office-reviews of movies from Rotten Tomatoes, click to buy tickets at nearby theatres; Facebook) to incredibly cool and useless (iPint-virtual beer drinking;Bubblewrap popping game; and Phonesaber-uses the accelerometer data to make lightsaber hums and clashes as you swing the phone about). The best part? a ton of the apps are free or very cheap (I haven't spent a penny on them yet).

Perhaps whats most exciting about it is where it's pushing tech though. Look at the number of imitators. It's helping to bridge the gap for connectivity, social networking. It really creates an exciting number of oppurtunities for change in the market. Maybe products have to rely more on quality because there is ready access to online reviews, maybe lines at starbucks move faster because people can touch their orders up on their phone, and even pay through an online account. Or take a picture of something, and image recognition pulls up information about it from the internet. Truly useful mobile internet pushes the envelope for what you and iCan expect from not only mobile devices, but what the internet itself can do.

at long last...

I type this to you from my brand new iPhone!! At 3g speed whilst travelling on the highway!!

still in line.

As we speak I am still in line for my iPhone. Crazy day. Big post tonight. Gotta log off before apple employees see what I'm doing.

Mint.com

Ok, if you have never heard of Mint.com please please please please take this one piece of advice from me and check it out. I know (or at least suspect (or at the very least hope)) that a lot of people who read this blog are my friends, and generally fall into the young-ish category. As such, i believe that many of them probably don't use personal finance software like quicken or microsoft money. I've been working on my budget and finance stuff all day, and the final piece for me was some software to keep track of all my spending information. I looked at a bunch (Quicken, Microsoft Money, Moneydance etc.) and very nearly settled on Quicken Starter 2008 (very good, I may end up getting it later anyway) when I stumbled upon (not the website...) mint.com.
In a nutshell it shows all your accounts informations including spending habits, budgets, etc etc that all the big programs do, in addition to making suggestions to how you can save more money by suggesting relevant deals or coupons etc. It can compare your spending with certain companies versus the US average and has support for investment firms as well. Basically, it can make managing money incredibly easy and wonderful, which is a useful skill to have. Best of all?

It's free.

Go check it out, I fully reccomend it, and give it a solid four out of four roaring Leonidas's (Leonidi?)

HI JULY!

Hey everybody, It's July you know what that means?

It's my last full month here in Texas.

HOORAY!!

Know what else it means?

iPhone 3G in 3 days.

DOUBLE-HOORAY

And Batman midnight IMAX premiere

OMG TRIPLE HOORAY.



so as you can see, July is substantially more exciting than June. (Or what could be called "the wet season" here, seriously it rained nearly every single day). 4th of July here was awesome, best one I've ever had. Houston has this

The "largest land-based fireworks show in the country" (Is it just me or does every show manage to be the biggest in some way. Biggest how? most fireworks? longest show? launched from the largest area? occupying the largest amount of space in the sky? no one knows) Unfortunately, if you want to see them you have to cough up money for parking, admission, and then fight these:



way too many people trapped in the sweltering heat. But this year, my friend James works at the neighboring Alley Theatre, and invited me and some friends to a company party. On the roof. With free food and drink. No parking fee. And an amazing view of the fireworks.
It was absolutely spectacular, the fireworks are synced with music which is always cool, and they have lots of neat fireworks like hearts and smiley faces. Combined with a skyline view from the building, it was the best show I've seen thus far.

Also yesterday I bought a bunch of stuff for my dorm. It was cool because Bed Bath& Beyond does this program where you can pick out all the stuff you want and they'll ship it for free to the Bed Bath & Beyond in wherever you're going, conveniently packed in one box for you. Very Nice.
All of my stuff is green (which, blogosphere, is my favorite color. Remember that in case of a quiz!) and soft and awesome. I think my dorm bed will be better than my bed here at home. The coolest thing I found though were these removable adhesive modern art stickers. You can stick them on your wall to make it look like it's been painted in cool ways, but it hasnt! Perfect for dorm life!

In closing, I also saw Wanted:


Which is, in a word- badass. I liked it a lot, even if it was totally over the top, it was good over the top, like shoot-people-with-exploding-arrows over the top, or drive-a-car-into-a-helicopter over the top, or believe-keanu-reeves-could-possibly-save-mankind over the top.

(Bonus points if you can name all those movies)