Morning adventures and Morbid musings.

Driving on the freeway is usually just an uneventful day to day activity (I drive the thing at least once a day, if not more). Although there are the few times in between that can never be short of embarrassing mis-happenings. Take this morning for example. I was driving up to the 21st south exit and went to hit the gas. I pressed and pressed without result. No change in the R.P.M.’s. I knew I couldn’t be out of gas because I had just put some in the previous night, and checked my oil just a few minutes before. There was also a lack of explosions, bangs and parts flying (without that it’s hard to make this interesting for all of you). I coasted down the off ramp where the car finally let out a cough-spurt and refused to move. The light was red, which gave me a few vein attempts to try and restart the car before the inevitable honking and yelling started. The bad noise ensued as predicted with the change to green. I put on my hazard lights that were useless to every one but the unnecessarily large truck and its hillbilly driver directly behind me (who honked as well, despite the flashing lights all but beating him over the head). So what else could I do you might ask? Well, I waited for all the other cars and the flying bird fingers to get out of the way (ok, there was only one, but still… c’mon!) I began to push and steer the car onto the shoulder. There was a nice bald man with glasses who helped me with the latter part of the task. He walked up with a ‘shirt sleeves rolled up I’m goona solve this’ attitude. We got the car onto the shoulder and he asked me to pop the hood. Well, I thought “beggars can’t be choosers, and he might be able to help”, so I popped the hood as requested. He stared at it stupidly for a moment, apologized, and walked away with an ‘oops, that was humiliating’ attitude. I am grateful however that people do stop and help- may karma be with you buddy. I phoned home and my Dad said he would be over with a tow truck (three cheers for Dad!). Unfortunately he would not be there in time to give me a lift to work. So I got my things and took my ‘Chevor-legs’ to the office (don’t feel bad- I could use the exorcize and did, plus I enjoyed all the sunshine and birds) so I could type this up and give all of you something for your reading pleasure (and vent a little bit).

On another note, I’m still doing homework off and on through out the day. That got me thinking. People stop by my cubicle and ask me what I’m doing. I say “homework” and they say “oh, what’s your major?” and I say “physics”. Then the look comes. That look like you just confessed to eating raw snails, or like you just pissed yourself. And the only thing they then say: “why did you pick that?” and I give my usual answer, and the conversation is over. Next time I will offer them a few other humorous major options I have been kicking around in my head:

a) Stamp collecting

b) Wedding planning.

c) Accelerated culinary operations.

I will let you know how those turn out.

Also in the news: there is a 9 year old kid in Hong-Kong that is some sort of snotty math prodigy. He’s in college already. And complaining that the courses are too easy. But I’m not going to go into that (my buddy Dr. Mookielove has already done so on his blog). However if we can take a lesson from the Mayans and Aztecs, there is going to be a mad dash to eat this kid’s heart to gain his strength. Me, I would just like to put his brain in a jar to preserve it for future posterity (after the before mentioned gruesomeness). That and I think a brain in a jar would look cool in a lab (I intend to have my own lab some day). But in case some one beats me to the punch on that one as well, I have some suggestions on what can be done with a brain in a jar:


1-Brain in a jar/ fishbowl

2-Play ‘spin the brain in the jar’

3-Hilarious ‘bobbing for apples’ prank

4-Pickle it. Wait for zombies. Serve snacks. Don’t get eaten.

5-The coolest snow globe ever!

6-‘Lack-of-conversation’ piece (for annoying visitors)

7-Put plastic facial features on the outside and walla!- Mr. Brain in a jar!

8-Hood ornament?

9-Staring contest (if eyes attached).

That’s just about it for me today. I hope you all were at least mildly interested in my morning adventures and morbid musings. see ya' tammarri!

T

Short & Sweet

Lets see folks, what to update. Not much today other that school. So we’ll talk about that (Don’t all jump for joy at once).

Calculus III- just vector analysis. Stuff I picked up on the fly from other courses. Pretty boring.

Modern Optics I & II- first of the labs today, and very tedious as well. Mostly reflecting light from mirrors and bending it with prisms and calculating the change. The lab actually ended in a large headache which I woke up with this morning and never really went away.

First school at noon to about 5, then work till 1am. I really can’t say more than that. And I know some people only skim over this anyway, so this short entry will be a good rest on your eyes (I’m looking at you MOM). Just kidding. Love you all!!!! - I will have more tomorrow for next weeks reading pleasure.

T

A Bump on a (B)log.

Today was a day of some much needed rest and relaxation.

After From Russia with Love woke me up at the crack of 10:30, we spent the morning pretty much doing nothing and napping, and between all of that- more nothing. Well, I spent the morning doing nothing, she was being cute as always. We had lunch on the patio and then it was off to work for her, to return later this evening.

Needless to say, it was very restful.

Also a day to reflect on the summer events (per the request of some of my readers- I love you Auntie L.)!

After a fantastic and fun week in San Francisco (I will have pictures up soon, and will send you them Auntie L) with my Aunt (the family stayed with my Aunt, I had a hotel because cats are my Kryptonite-ha ha). From Russia with Love and I went to a horse show. It was mostly an educational (and entertaining!) seminar by Pat Parelli (who before this turn of events I thought was a brand of shampoo). From Russia with Love thoroughly enjoyed herself, and as I grudgingly admit- so did I.

Horse training I will say is a lot more complicated than I thought. And the demonstrations were interesting as well- a lot more than sit, fetch, and play dead. All making From Russia with Love want to work with them more. Unfortunately our living situations do not permit her actually having one at this time, I told her as long as I don’t have to shovel up after it I will try and get her whatever she wants down the road (or trail- ha ha again).

And incase you were all wondering: I finally went to see the Halloween remake. And you have to hand it to Rob Zombie- he has talent. And his wife Sheri Moon Zombie: she can act. And act pretty well. Who would have thought? A lot of the online reviews for the movie said it was terrible, but I don’t usually trust critics as far as I can throw them (which isn’t very far). Why did he remake a horror classic you might ask? To bring new elements to a story. He re did the first half of the movie to be about the childhood of the killer to add a “Jeffery Dahmer” aspect to him. Which is weird actually having the monster as a “character” instead of a guy in a mask chasing unsuspecting teenagers. The end of the movie did follow the typical slasher movie formula, but it was suspenseful instead of just gory and laughable. So if you want to be creeped out and have your pants scared off, this is a must see.

And that will pretty much do it for me today. I plan on studying the rest of the evening and helping my Mom clean the house. (I’ sure you’re worried about how that will go! Ha ha for the third time).

Love T

I am a ROCKSTAR

That is if you believe the saying “you are what you eat.” Or in this case drink. That would imply that I am a highly concentrated cocktail of caffeine and B- vitamins, and have an odd flavor that no one can seem to put their finger on (if you have tried the stuff you will know what I am talking about).

I am not the only great mind that enjoys caffeine. Behold others:

“I have measures out the course of my life in coffee spoons” –T.S. Elliot.

“A mathematician is a person who turns coffee onto theorems.” –I forget who.

And today: school, school, school. First off is my physics lab. The class structure is basically the T.A. gives a short lecture on what we will be doing and then we do the lab. The lab today consisted of measuring the speed of sound with a variety on different equipment and figuring the error into our calculations and such. Also using a very un-user friendly computer program called “Datastudio”. It was developed by the University of Denver, and because of that I will now shake my fist at the state of Colorado for years to come.

One of the experiments we used a long cardboard tube with a microphone on the top to measure the sound speed from the top to the bottom and back up again. We finished the lab a little early and had some fun with that. Have you ever wondered what snapping your fingers, hitting a tuning fork and clapping your hands looks like on a graph? Here’s a hint: it’s a mess. Fun though (for me at least because of my nerdy leanings).

The best thing is having a competent lab partner. Unlike numb-nuts from last semester, this one doesn’t drag out the lab for unnecessarily long and irritating hours, only to arrive at the same point that the T.A. did at the beginning of class. Just study at home if you are confused. Don’t run my afternoon (in the long shot case you are reading this numb-nuts). And I know I said that I would not use real names, but his “real” name I am positive as an alias. To this day I am thoroughly convinced his parents named him Numb-nuts Clark.

After that is Optics. Being the photographer and camera lover that I am, this class also holds a great deal of potential for fun. And it’s especially fun now that we’re getting into optical systems. And guess what that is? Lenses!! (Every one together: Duh Mr. T.) JOY!!!! Though my excitement does come bitter sweet. Lenses and optical systems are a slippery slope of complication and frustration. It’s a labor of love though.

Then it was back home at about 3:30 to grab my calculus book. I let the dogs out and back in again, and I was off to Beans & Brews to get my self ready for a quiz tomorrow. Why would I study at a coffee shop you might ask? Well, yes there are people and music, but no one bothers you, and you stop noticing all of the other distractions. Every thing else melts away and you are just absorbed into a Zen of math and physics. That’s one of the problems with doing homework at home- all of the distractions are a little to hard to ignore: T.V. and all of my other things in my room and last but not least: my ever so comfortable bed. And let's not forget: thier fabulous drink, the "Mr. B." It is a mix of white coco and all sorts of other "mmmmm". Dionysus himself barely makes a better beverage.

I can do homework at work when it is slow, but when I am in the Zen of nerdy-ness and my manager walks up to me and starts asking questions it takes me a moment to realize who she is and where I am. I am not kidding. I would forget my own birthday in that Zen. But when it is slow work actually proves to also be a very beneficial place of study. But I do not want to spend too much unnecessary time there. That’s just creepy.

Then I came back home and started blogging about my day.

And Halloween in September! From Russia with Love and I are going to try and see that tonight. It took a lot of “Please! If you love me….!”- I’m just kidding about that part- I think she is mildly interested herself.

That’s pretty much the day in a nutshell. And honestly I am tired of being on the computer now, and I promise I will have a link and pictures up soon!

T

Miscellaneous mental meanderings.

At work, and it's slow again. Finished up the rest of my homework. And before you start- no I have no intention of going over it again- by brain is officially fried for the evening. In a point of fact, it may be work forcing my mind to operate at half speed. from Friday to the end of this evening I will have been here for 36 hours. I know, that's gross.


So what will I write about with such limited mental capacity? -Cartoons!! And movies!!!


The Venture bros. Third season is in full production and that has made me more giddy than I can possibly explain with words. The continuing adventures of Hank and Dean Venture and their pill popping failure father Dr. Venture can become a pivotal point in the entertainment aspect of your life. It definitely has mine. The show is probably one of my favorite cartoons, and quite possibly one of the greatest cartoons ever made. One of the shows creators and writers has a blog as well, if you are interested and a fan of the show: http://jacksonpublick.livejournal.com/

Still have not seen Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. Last night I tried very hard to convince From Russia With Love to go see it with me, but she refused (she was not under the influence of alcohol). It is very hard to convince her to see movies of that nature without the promise of a few brain cells perishing along with the unsuspecting teenagers on the big screen. Although, the brain cells suffer a less violent and a more believable fate.


The only motivation the actors would require in a movie like that is : "you don't want to die." then "Que the red corn syrup and- ACTION!" Then we get screams and gallons of fake blood and "CUT!". Ed Wood, eat your heart out (not literally, they may be saving that for the sequel). That is the making of all sorts of movies that give me that stupid grin- the kind I love. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy a good scare every now and them, but it just takes a lot (and a lot more than this movie will have to offer). - see Evil Dead 2 for further such entertainment. And Leprechaun in the hood. And Child's play 4. And The Granny. And such.


On other movie notes: Sin City 2 has been pushed back to '09. Bummer.

One thing that I have found to be beneficial about blogging is that it is highly meditative. letting ones inner monologue run rampant on miscellaneous subjects like some kind of rabid animal. And no vaccine required! Unless you are a reader of my blog, then you might want to look into a shot of penicillin after, but I do my best to make it worth the while. So that's all I can muster this evening.


And that's the show folks!


T

Just a glimpse (of school).....

Not very much to say today either. Or is there? I slept about 11 hours last night to make up for the one before and I have to say... I'm in a pretty good mood today. Came to work and chatted with Cammelot, and after she left I did some much needed homework, and now blogging.
Since I have homework on the brain, consider this my formal sinister announcement to bore all of you with some of it.

Rayleigh Scattering: basically the answer to the question "why is the sky blue?"

The molecules of air basically scatter the blue light wavelengths from the sun. The other colors are just transmitted through. This is caused by the "size" of the air molecules. The other wavelengths are too small to react, the just pass on through, and because blue is scattered, that is why we see a blue sky and not just space like at night with the sun in change of the moon.

The electrons in an atom can absorb and emit photons (light "particles") when they change energy states. The energy of the light "excites" the electrons and the move to a different energy state. But what goes up must come down, and when the electron moves to a lower state a photon is emitted. That is why metal glows when it is hot. The atoms receive energy (in this case heat) and then photons are emitted from the atoms.

That was just a topic from the reading we had to do a while ago. Most of the homework is calculating the angle change when light passes from one medium to another, and the usefullness of Snell's Law. That is actually kind of easy. The equation is below. This is not the extent of what I'm doing, or in all of it's detailed beauty, just thought I would let you in, and if you don't like it, I will stop. I just find it very interesting and fun.

Remember: the semester just got started, it will get a whole lot more complicated!









T.