Subterranean By Design...
---Dick Vitale---
2003-12-03 - 11:22 p.m.
OK, so the Melrose internet jobbed me last night. So I finished this post, but couldn't post it. Luckily, I am a genius and pasted it into a word file.
Post from last night...
So I'm trying out this comments feature, that runs through a separate website. I hope that it works, but I have a feeling that things will disappear as I add new entries. We'll see. I guess it can't hurt to have it on there.
I took a closer look at my take-home final in numerical analysis and it looks like it's going to be a piece of cake (for a change). The topic is population dynamics (using the Lotka-Volterra equations, for those in the know), something I'm very familiar with. It should just take a few hours in the office and in the lab and I will be all set. Tomorrow will be my last class with Dr. Chiu, and my last meeting with my Emerging Scholars students. If I had to grade my performance as a TA this semester, I'd give myself a C. But hey, I didn't get the training session in Austin like people have in the past. Thanks, budget cuts.
I got to see a little bit of O'Reilly tonight, and found out that my uninformed self didn't even know that Hillary Clinton was in Iraq over Thanksgiving. Hah! Looks like old "W" one-upped her. There was a guy on the show who wrote an article describing the contrast of the two visits. Basically, Bush was there to boost morale, and H.C. (not Hard Core-y or Hillsdale College) used her time to criticize the administration in their effort. What a dumb broad. That's like if she had shown up at halftime of the Lions game and said "You know, you're doing all right and I'm rooting for you, but a lot of people don't like you because of the owner, and winning is going to be pretty difficult. Your coach has underestimated the Packers.” If this lady is ever president, I'll be a sad dude.
Well, my web browser is jobbing right now, so I'll see if this post works. I am in serious need of a new computer. The hamster inside mine is getting tired. Hump day tomorrow. Should be a long day of work. If I can finish my final then I'll be a happy camper.
Song Currently on WinAmp: "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg. Ahhh, Danny F. A nice folk-style singer who I've become more into in the last year. Well, I guess I only really know three of his tunes, but they're all good ones.
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And now for tonight's post...
I just about didn't make it to class today. With the Numerical take-home already passed out and this class having no bearing on my success this semester or on the qual, it was very tempting to stay under my warm covers. But alas, I arose and made the brisk drive into campus (it took me a while last year to stop referring to going to campus as "going up the hill"). Classes went pretty well. I found out at lunch that Dick Vitale was going to be in the bookstore from 12-1:30. So at 1PM, with none of my worksheet done, I walked over to see what the line was like. Boy was I in luck! There were only about ten people in front of me, so I figured I'd at least go meet the guy and possibly ask him about Drew Namick, the kid from Ske-Town that's a freshman on the MSU team. Well the TV crews show up and he does about a 15 minute interview. THEN the bookstore has him autograph about a hundred books while my place in line isn't getting any better. Finally I get to the front of the line and shake his hand, and try to say a very respectable "I enjoy your stuff" but he was looking at someone else and talking to them at the time. Oh well, I don't blame him, he was in a hurry after the half hour of b.s. Question: After using an acronym like b.s. as the last element of my sentence, do I then put another period? Like "... Hillary Clinton is full of b.s. ." That looks really wrong, but I'm not sure if the period can serve a double purpose. While I was waiting in line, I saved a spot for some lady who was there with her two kids and had to take them to the bathroom. Before the line started moving again, some dude told us that only people in line that had books would be able to get to see him so that they could get their books signed. I was like, "whatever, I've been waiting a half hour, I think I'll get to see Mr. Vitale," even though I'm not a huge fan. So I ask the lady if I can say I'm with her, in case they try to screw me, and she gives me the brush! What a ho! That's the last time I hold her spot in line, and I hope her two little brats cry all day. But I'm not bitter.
I got all the grunt work done for my take home final today. Well, tonight actually. Started at 5, took a two hour Riv break at 7, then back to the computer lab from 9-10:30. All that's left is the write-up. Had my first Alabama Slammer at the Riv, thanks to Kevin. It tasted like Hawaiian Punch, so it was all right. Kevin and Gary were in rare form tonight, checking out the waitresses. I was happy to check out the fact that the Wings put up five goals on the Ducks by the end of the second period, and J.S. Giguere got the hook.
Some lady tried to make me pay seven bucks to park in a lot that I've purchased a sticker to park in. Apparently, even though I'm a grad student and have a sticker, I get treated like dirt, like everyone else, on game day. After being denied, I let out a long "shiiiit" that was partially under my breath and drove across the street and down a half block to park for free. Seven bucks to park...so I can go study...right.
Song Currently on WinAmp: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" by the Andrews Sisters. As you might have guessed, this is a WWII era tune. It holds a special place in my heart as I was a horn blower in my day. I had always wanted to play that song. If you're looking to satisfy your WWII fix, rent or buy the Band of Brothers DVD collection. It's pretty spectacular.
Two Steps Forward - Two Steps Back
