I Have This One Somewhere... Maybe In the Basement?

For some reason it just speaks to me....

T

Crispy!

Good evening (morning actually),

Well, finals are done and I am just waiting for the grades to roll in at this point. So what else have I been doing? Well, aside from work, not much. Except last night was an interesting sight.

I was fast asleep with From Russia with Love, and it was about 4:30 in the morning, and my mom knocked on my door:

“M.S.! Look out your window!”

And of course the adrenaline was going at this point, and I sat up and looked out my window. The view was normal, houses, trees and snow, all in the nights quiet. Then I looked just above the tree line of the houses across the street. There was billowing clouds of smoke and huge flames coming from someone’s roof!

(I forgot to grab the camera in the midst of the excitement, but thanks to today’s computer technology, I have managed to re-create the scene with a huge amount of accuracy):

Don’t worry, it was the fire engines that woke everyone, so we did not have to make any calls. We just watched the show, and hoped everyone got out ok.

The next morning, I found out the house was vacant and had been for sale for quite some time. So, fortunately, no one was hurt and there was no significant loss… except for the house of course. But being the fact that it was vacant, doesn’t that raise any eyebrows!?! Just thinking out loud of course… any way; here was the sight this morning:

T

Ha ha ha ha... Oh, Mercy!

Mid-Last Stretch

Ok everyone, here's what's left:

• 1 Test in Quantum Mechanics
  
• 4 Make up assignments in Computational Physics (3 of them are pretty much done)
  
• 1 Final Project in Computational Physics
  
• 1 Electronics lab (maybe another for extra credit)
  

Almost there...

T

Last Stretch

Good evening everyone,

Here are the contents of my last week of school this semester:

• 2 Homework assignments in Quantum Mechanics
  
• 1 Test in Quantum Mechanics
  
• 4 Make up assignments in Computational Physics (3 of them are pretty much done)
  
• 1 Final Project in Computational Physics
  
• 2 or 3 Labs in Computational Physics
  
• 1 Electronics lab (maybe another for extra credit)
  
• 1 Test in Electronics
  
• Maybe an assignment in P.D.E.’s (he hasn’t told us yet).
  

And then we move to finals week. Holy crap, I can’t wait to be done with this semester.

T

An Explanation

My goodness, I have been getting lazy here. And to go a little further with that thought: I will be getting lazier. Remember: there are only a couple of weeks left in the semester (crunch time), then a week of finals. So sorry to say, but there will not be a lot of posts for a while. In fact, crunch time has already begun, and as all the people I work with know, I have been on a bit of a marathon for a while with school.

You know, the 8 to 15 hours a day nonstop for weeks at a time. My buddy Steve-O called me the other day, and I’m sorry to say that I did not even notice until about an hour ago (his missed call was stacked up with all the other ones I miss on a regular basis- sorry buddy).

As a matter of fact, he left a comment on my last post. Here it is (to save you from scrolling down):

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I can't believe that you've abandoned the ranks of film users. I'm disgusted really!

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Naturally he is talking about the recent purchase of another digital camera. And I do feel that I have to explain my actions here, being as pro film as I am.
Yes, I do prefer film to digital. Here is why:

• There is no playing in the darkroom with digital. I love the dark room.
  
  
• With black and white photography, there are real problems with digital. First, if you want to use external filters, you have to mess with the white balance to get them to work. That is a pain in the ass. The contrast is hard as hell to control, unless you photoshop them after. And I don’t get to use the darkroom. Again.
  
  
• Film looks better when printed well. By me. In the darkroom.
  
  

There are a couple more reasons to put down, but I am going to just mention those here, so I can now justify why I have digital:

• Film is expensive. Both to purchase and more so to process. And I can’t justify the cost when I want to take pictures just for the hell of it (i.e. when I’m bored). And digital allows the ‘clicking away’ free of charge.
  

That is the only reason right? Well, no. I have others, but for the sake of the explanation here that will be sufficient to support my digital purchase. Now as for the SLR, mentioned in my last post. I have a very ‘pro’ type of point and shoot (as pro as you can get without going to an interchangeable lens system). But point and shoot has its issues too. I will not go into specifics in great detail now, just the biggest: lag time, battery life and lens limitations.

Those are the primary reasons I purchased the DSLR. I also wanted a back-up digital in case one bit the dust. And for the price I got it for, it was not a big investment for me by any means. So, sorry for the nausea Steve-O, but my digital acquisitions are merely a financial measure, and not a personal preference (like I would give up film! WTF! How long have you known me?!- hahaha!).

And if it makes you feel any better, here is my next purchase (if I can get the funds together, because this one is by no means cost effective (you know more than anyone)):

T

The Goings On Recently

Good afternoon everyone,


To be quite honest, not much exciting has happened. Except that on my way to work today I was listening to the BBC. They were playing some international music, and doing some stories on the regions they were from and such. And what did I learn you might ask? Well, the only thing that makes rap music worse is rap music in a foreign language.


It was awful. Really. You can not be a 'thug' and have a Russian or French accent. It's not hip or tough, it's just silly.

Oh, but I did get a new toy! And here it is (que 2001 Space Odyssey music):

Oooh yeah. Now if I just had time to use it…

T

On Prop 8

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, I think it is official: I have failed at NaBloPoMo. I will do it as much as I can, but alas, not every day. Anyway, this is something that I have found interesting in the news since the election. It has gotten about as much attention as the new president. And this is, of course, the passing of Proposition 8. Not just the passing of Prop. 8, but the protests that have followed. There was a massive protest outside of the LDS Temple yesterday, for their role in the passing of this. I found a story online here, but I did not put it up on this blog due to copyright requests. However, I do have a copy of the LDS church's statement regarding the protests:

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It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election.

Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States – that of free expression and voting.

While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.

Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information.

---

Yes, I am for gay marriage. No, I am not gay. The reason I am for this is because I believe it is a rights issue (and they are being denied unfairly), and I have yet to hear a convincing argument otherwise. The only arguments I have heard that are logical at all are religious ones, and last I checked we do not enforce religion by law here in America. It's just part who we are; you know- the whole "Separation of Church and State" thing? Remember that? And the fact that we have an ideal here that people can live free without religious persecution. Just the silly little fine print that makes us the great nation that we are. So if the only "logical" arguments that I have heard against gay marriage are religious, then why is it illegal? Granted, there are other reasons that are not religious in nature, but those problems can be solved without denying rights to others.

As far as the statements above in the article go, I disagree. It is absolutely appropriate to go to your "sacred places of worship" and protest, because your involvement in this issue invades the homes and lives of private citizens and their private and personal lifestyle choices, and if that is not sacred to you, then why should your "sacred places of worship" be off limits to us? And, yes, whatever rights you have in a democratic free election I respect, and the right to express your views I respect, your freedom of speech I respect, but that does not mean you do not have to answer for them- especially as an organization.

Some are calling for a complete boycott of the state of Utah. That is a little over the top, because as you can see there are plenty of other people here that are on the other side of the argument, and 'punishing' them is not sane at all, even though about half of the financial support for ProtectMarrage.com came from Utah.

I do also agree that it is unfair to single out the LDS church on their involvement on this, as any protests should include everyone involved. Here is a short list of them (just to be fair): The Roman Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the LDS Church, and various other evangelical Christians. Other organizations include, but not limited to: American Family Association and Focus on Family. That is of course, if you want to protest or boycott or do anything else of the like (peaceful please. Make your voice heard, not felt).

Sadly, I do not think that protests are not going to do any good, no matter how many of them are picketed and chanted at. The fact of the matter is, that most churches believe that homosexuality is a sin, and not a lot, if nothing, will change their mind. I am not against their preaching of that. They can say to their followers what ever they choose, and the followers can believe whatever they choose, and I will not hold that against them for believing that certain "activities" are wrong, unhealthy or immoral. But pushing that on others who do not follow that creed by any sort of law is absurd to me. I look at it like this: if you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with them I have no problem with that. If they want to enjoy the legal benefits that come with marriage, I have no problem with that. I just don't like to see a couple who love each other very much denied rights and other privileges because of what is between their legs.

So protest, shout, picket (or in my case blog) if you must. Because the only thing that is going to change this is time. People will not stand for injustice long. That is another thing that makes our nation great, and I have full confidence that we will go the other direction in time. But if there is one message I would like to get across here, it that we need to be tolerant of other people. And remember: it's tolerance, not approval. Let others be as they will, as long as it is not causing you any harm.

T

Outcome

Well everyone, the results are in, and history has been made:


… and my favorite Waste-Of-Carbon person was also popped up in the news here.
The headline was:

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Diddy votes: 'It was a joyous moment'

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Voted? I did not know he could read?!?!? How is that news anyway?!?!

No one interviewed me after I voted. Then again, for him the fact that he can talk and walk at the same time is an achievement.

… or the fear of death. That has to be it. That is what was news worthy there. He has been saying so much about that for so long…

T

Nov. 4

“The stretch of North and South araou’d- sea board and inland- Texas to Maine- the Prairie States- Vermont, Virginia, California,

One final ballot-shower from East to West- the paradox and conflict, The countless snow flakes falling- the peaceful choice of all,

Or good or ill humanity- welcoming the Darker odds, the dross: -Foams and ferments the wine? It serves to purify- while the heart pants, life grows:

These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships, Swell’d Washingston’s, Jefferson’s, Lincoln’s sails.”

~Walt Whitman

Lotto and NaBloPoMo

Good evening everyone,

Well, it is time for something called NaBloPoMo. What is that? It’s a phrase meaning ‘National Blog Post Month’. And apparently that phrase is constructed for people who don’t like entire words, or are just too lazy to finish them. The goal of this month is to do a post every day. That might be a challenge for me, but I have been making good so far (2 down, lots to go).

And what am I doing today?

...Working -till’ midnight. And unfortunately, I have to work for a living still, as I did not win the lottery. I had my parents pick me up a lotto ticket on their last trip to Idaho. Being a science minded person (and a sore loser), I thought maybe I will take a look at the last 45 results, sort them, and make a histogram of occurrences for the lottery. I will let you know the results (even though I already know them too: random.. I’m just curious).

I am going to spend the evening mostly waiting for From Russia with Love to return from her trip to Boulder, CO. that she took with some co-workers to party for Halloween, and hear the crazy stories of her travels.

Music today: "N.W.O". by Ministry

That will do it for me tonight folks.

T

A Saturday Night With Mom

The night started out slow. I went to GrayWhale C.D. Exchange and purchased a DVD collection of the three Die Hard movies (I know there are four, but I now own the three good ones). Observe:

Then Mom and I went to my cousin Len's place for a Halloween party. I know, it is technically the day after, but that's just how it worked out. First off, I am going to go over some events that will not be covered in this post:

a) Family controversy about adoption

b) A shouting match over Cheetos

c) The 'prick in the poncho'

First, I had about 20 minutes to come up with a costume (as my cousins party was a costume party), so I quickly went through my closet to find something. I eventually settled on a bad “Che” costume. We arrived at the party and when we realized they had only hard booze and no beer, Mom suggested that we went for a beer run.

After getting past all the odd stares that were noticeably the “Halloween was yesterday” kind, we purchased about $70 worth of beer from Smith's and headed back to the party. By the time we had got back more people had shown up, and all of them were friends of my cousin and not family, so I did not know any of them. So I hung with Mom and my cousin Jer, who dressed as a construction worker, and regretted it due to the frequent requests to sing “YMCA”. Observe:

Yes, Jer- “YMCA” indeed (he was obviously a bit camera shy). And here is Mom with cousin Len, both rather drunk at this point:

Notice cousin Len has a nurse costume. Part of her costume was some test tubes filled with shots (mostly vodka I think). Cousin Jer and another douche at the party had taken a few and said that they were quite good... until anther person arrived at the party and asked if cousin Len had washed tham out before she used them. Of course the answer was no, then the follow up question of why. Apperantly, the type of test tubes she had are factory coated with a chemical to keep them sterile, and that chemical can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Naturally we started taking bets on how long it would take for those two poor souls to start oozing at both ends. But before we could observe the comical inevitability, my other cousin Chaz called Len and said he had been in a car wreck. Not bad though, in fact he had hit a parked car. Unfortunately, it was a rather nice Mustang. He said that his brakes had problems, he could not see it, it came out of nowhere etc. but really, he was probably playing with his iPod or texting or something. Here is the truck that he was driving (owned by cousin Len):

And here is the poor Mustang:

Sad to see, I know. The funniest part was her trying to be serious talking to the cops in a skimpy black nurses outfit; stethoscope, fishnets and all.

Then Mom wanted to see my recent widower Uncle K. On the way there, Mom wanted to go shake the shipping doors at her place of employment to set off the alarm, and thereby shaking her bosses nerves, because he is apparently quite paranoid of getting robbed. Fortunately, we drove on.

So I drove my intoxicated mother and about $70 worth of beer to uncle K's place. We then arrived at my uncle's place, more beer was consumed and I returned home, to type this post. And the best thing? Spending my entire night dressed like 'Che':

Awesome.

T

On this Eve,

The skies are grey, and the leaves are yellow and brown. There is morbid gore abound; and the celebrated ghouls and eerie undead stalk our imaginations. Yes my friends, this is All Hallows Eve - my favorite time of the year.

Enjoy everyone.

T

In Borders and Shiny Nails

Good evening everyone,

Being that I could not think of anything to post for a while, no witty observations, no 'happy moments' of scientific discovery, and no other real things that would make an interesting post; I thought I would give a rundown of today's events.

After attending the Friends of the Library Book Sale, I am in need of some book-ends. And not just those metal wedges- real big gaudy pretentious things. So, I went to Borders. Of course you would think a bookstore would have such a device, but alas, they did not. In fact, they have become quite a challenge to find. Since they did not have what I was looking for, I decided to wander around a bit. I looked at C++ books, books on electricity and electric circuits, books on math and anything else that caught my nerdy eye. Nothing that is going to assist me with school however, indeed I fear that my browsing those particular types of books was to remove some kind of guilt that I may have had in not doing some amount of homework.

I then made my way down to the fiction section where I overheard this conversation between a mother, daughter and son; all in another isle and invisible to me:

Son:" what was her name mom?"

Mom:" who?"

Son: " his girlfriend.. "

Mom: "you are talking to loud; keep your voice down."

Daughter: "ugghhh…"

Son: "what was her name?"

Mom: "you are talking too loud. You are embarrassing me."

Daughter: "yeah, everyone!"

Mom: "Keep your voices down!"

Son: "but what was her name?"

And it went on in that circular manner until I could handle no more, and left to go to the Mall. I always liked wandering the Mall when I was a kid. I was a bit of a Mall Rat. My friends parents would always ask why we were going there, what point there was in it, and how it was just a waste of our time. I would counter that by saying that it was not a waste of time, but when one wanders the Mall, we are out of the house, we are keeping in touch with culture and current events, expanding our social horizons, and getting some much needed exercise. Especially us heathens there shopping on Sunday- a small sanctuary of superficiality and decadence. Except this time I went with a purpose. Here was my shopping list (and budget):

~Sunglasses: $20

~Boots: $100 (good boots are expensive)

On my way to procure these items, I noticed there has been one thing that has popped up more and more since I used to frequent Malls, and that is the kiosk. Not just a kiosk, bit populated with high pressure sales people. I passed one, and the girl slightly approached me and said:

"excuse me, could I talk to you for a moment?"

To which I replied:

"No."

And went on my merry way. When I looked back at her, I noticed she had a little disappointed sigh, and I felt a little bad. So I decided to myself that I would not be as rude to the next sales associate who approached me… aaaand that was a bad decision.

I was approached by a girl with an accent who looked younger from farther away. She started showing me some fingernail care products that she was selling. She took my hand and began sanding away on my finger while she was talking about how this 'cube' uses silk available from only Israel, and until now we could not use it to unlock the hidden oils in our finger nails, and she went on and on like that for quite some time. then she showed me my finger nail- I looked down with surprise; it was indeed quite shiny!

Then she tried to sell that crap to me, it was about $60, and I was forced to be even ruder than before to get out of there. Nothing eventful happened in getting the items I was originally after. So here is what I ended up with (and what it cost):

~Sunglasses: $10.

~ Boots: $40 (sale… I blame/thank the economy)

~Sad look from sales girl: $A small piece of my soul.

~Shiny finger nail: $A small piece of my self respect.

And there you have it. A long dragging post essentially about nothing, and what I actually spent my time doing: getting an absurdly shiny fingernail.

T

Election Coverage 08’

Good afternoon everyone,

I will not even bother with this crap. I had a witty, cleaver and funny post outlined, specifically regarding alternative party choices. But like I said- now I am not going to even bother. And why is that you might ask?

The election has now centered around a proverbial doofus who can’t keep his ass in his pants.

… well, shit.

Yes, America- that is what they think of you. Also, the fact that they need to put this out into the open to try and relate to us? Insulting if you ask me.

Not to mention that there is a candidate who screws up on an interview so bad, she gave Saturday Night Live enough material to get record ratings (repeatedly)… and thinking that being near Russia gives her foreign policy experience (trust me- I am around a Russian all the time, and I still do not understand her). And abusing her authority to have an ex-brother in law fired (just for being an ‘ex’). And last but not least, there is the candidate who thought she would be a good running mate (thus putting her an ‘old-mans-heartbeat’ away from being president).

I am laughing too hard to actually make my own jokes. To recycle the old saying: “Truth is stranger than fiction”.

To turn this on a serious note, there is a dark and horrible fact that is right in front of everyone’s faces. And that is the fact that this is actually a close race.

Sends chills down my spine… every time.

T

An Accomplishment Electric

Good afternoon everyone,

For those of you who I see on a regular basis, you all know about my irritations with my electronics class, especially the lab section. Here is a glimpse of what I have been doing in there:

This mess took me 2+ hours to wire de-bug. Guess what is does?

Drum-roll please......

Tah-Duh! It counts from 0 to 9! That's right! Not 8, or that whimpy 7- but 9!

Truely a Miracle of Modern Technology (basically, I have built myself an obnoxious 2 year old. But at least I can take it apart without going to jail)... I just fear it will become self aware-

... aaand might end up being something like a mix between this:

and this:

(If you are a fan of ATHF, that was very funny)

Or maybe thinking about this stuff is the only thing that gets me through that time in that miserable hole they call the electronics lab. But so I don't end on a bad note, the view from the physics buildings is quite spectacular:

... Ahhh- Fall Break has begun. Time to relax.

Fair Follies and Fall Break

Good afternoon everyone,

How do you spell relief?- F-A-L-L B-R-E-A-K. That is coming up right after my Electronics Lab and Lecture tonight. I will update the R&D Pages with more of my school work over the break, because I do plan on spending the entire thing studying. I know, for as excited as I seemed in sentences before, it will give me a nice opportunity to do some much needed catching up. Not only that, but I may have time to read other things than text books... finally...

In other news; I went to the campus Science and Technology Career Fair. Being a Physics Major, I thought that would be an excellent place to seek out future employment and opportunities. To my dismay, this was not exactly the case. There were a few places that seemed promising, but I did not appreciate the eye-rolling and laughter because you are looking for a "(insert type here) Engineer", and not anyone who has any type of physics degree... Oh, and get this- I was told by a nuclear power plant company that, and I quote: " we are not really looking for physicists. There might be a job you can do here or there, but we generally don't look for physics majors."- Really? Are you kidding? You dunces deserve all of your hippie protestors.

And the two old biddies who actually laughed at me, and I quote again: "Applied Physics! Ha-ha, oh... what on earth were you thinking you could do with that? Good luck! Hah-ha" Well, hag, here is my answer: a lot more than you, because remember; you are working at a career fair! That is the high point of your professional life!

I would like to thank those who were patient, even though I was not their ideal employee, and a special thanks to everyone who actually helped out with career options (3 total, including the F.B.I., N.S.A., and the nice fellow from Dougway). To everyone else, I am sorry that I could not bring more to your company. If you should change your mind, I have prepared a special Cover Letter and Resume for you:

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Dear Giggling Biddies and Eye-Rolling Recruiters:

Sincerely,
M.S.

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The Departing

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, nothing much has been happening since my last post. For the record, my 26th year has just been busy so far. Just like number 23, 24 and 25.

I am not going to go into any details of my classes, because it is mostly just boring. If you ever have the morbid urge to do something tedious and frustrating, nothing will fill that need like circuit analysis… or C++ programming… or whatever else fills my time nowadays.

The primary reason for this post, other than letting everyone know I have not totally forgotten about this thing, is that I would like to congratulate my buddy, Dr. MookieLove on his new position in Denver. He will be moving quickly, and will be missed… sorely.

But I am happy for him (he has been wanting something like this for a while), and now I have a connection in Denver. Hoora!

Anyways, back to the books.

T

Induction Into The Latter 20’s

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, it’s official. I am embarking on the latter half of my 20’s. That’s right- I am the big Two- Six. How does it feel you might ask? Well, the same as 25 really. But yesterday was a freakin’ good day. From Russia with Love got me a very interesting gift. She got the idea from someone else, and that is the idea of giving an ‘experience’ to someone. The day started out with me getting up at about 7:30 (yes, I was up before 10am voluntarily) and heading out to the point of the mountain. What was the experience you might ask?- Paragliding! It was actually more fun than I thought it would be, and was a fantastic way to start off a day. I looked something like this:



Good times… definately worth it. Love you honey! The rest of the day was spent with From Russia with Love hanging out, getting lunch, shopping at the mall, and Barnes & Noble. Then of course it was to class, then back home to take part in my family’s festivities.

And a big thank you to everyone who showed me love on my B-day, making it so great. Whether it be a text message, a phone call (if I got it or not- sorry Steve-O) or spending time with me, it was a great day knowing I had so many people who cared about me:

Mom and Dad

Bro and CheeseCake

From Russia with Love

Dr. MookieLove

Lillie

Double-A

Mr. And Mrs. B-Dawg

Steve-O

Aunt L. and Cousin B

Mr. Fink

That list was quick, so if I forgot you, don’t take it personal. Love you all!

T

Math Applied To Life

Good evening everyone,

In some time I have between classes here, I thought I would share an interesting mathematical deduction that I stumbled across:

Suppose time is equal to money:


And work is proportional to time and money:



That leads to:



But if money is the root of all evil, then:



And substituting that into the equation for work, leads to:



No wonder my job gets on my nerves so much…

T

Unicorn Found (Kind Of)

Good afternoon everyone,

I am coming to you with a little bit of weird news. I mentioned before that I am not one to follow Cryptozoology, but I have some interesting advancements in that pseudo-science. They have found a unicorn! I am not kidding- this is not like the other news story I found with the Chubacabra where it is a 'may or may not be' kind of thing. They have photographed this unicorn in Africa, and the locals call it an "Okapi". Now, without further delay, here is the photo captured by scientists:

Just kidding. here is the real one:

Looks more like a deer than a horse to me. But whatever... a horn on the forehead is a horn on the forehead. if you don't believe your eyes, here is the story I found on Yahoo! News:

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British team capture first pictures of Africa's 'unicorn'

Wed Sep 10, 7:24 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - The okapi, an African animal so elusive that it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn, has been photographed in the wild for the first time, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said Thursday.

Camera traps set by the ZSL and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) captured pictures of the okapi in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The pictures have dispelled fears that the species had died out in more than a decade of civil war.
Dr Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programme Manager, said: "To have captured the first-ever photographs of such a charismatic creature is amazing, and particularly special for ZSL given that the species was originally described here over a century ago.

"Okapi are very shy and rare animals, which is why conventional surveys only tend to record droppings and other signs of their presence."

The okapi, which have a black, giraffe-like tongue and zebra-like stripes on their behind, were last spotted in the Virunga National Park nearly 50 years ago on the west bank of the Semliki River.

The new ZSL survey revealed a previously unknown okapi population on the east side of the river.

Thierry Lusenge, a member of ZSL's Democratic Republic of Congo survey team, said: "The photographs clearly show the stripes on their rear, which act like unique fingerprints.

"We have already identified three individuals, and further survey work will enable us to estimate population numbers and distribution in and around the park, which is a critical first step in targeting conservation efforts."

The exact status of the okapi is unknown as civil conflict and poor infrastructure makes access to the forests of DRC difficult.

But ZSL warned that even the newly-discovered okapi population was under threat from poachers.

Okapi meat, reportedly from the Virunga park, is now on sale in the nearby town of Beni and ZSL warned that if hunting continues at the current rate, okapi could become extinct in the park within a few years.

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Like I have said before, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Other, and most, of the time not.

T

What Am I Looking At?

Good afternoon everyone,

I know it's been a few days since I have posted. School has been pretty busy. I am not going bore you with the details (yet). So I just have some updates on other things. Mostly just one thing that I have acquired recently:

Drawn Together Season 3!!!

Hilarious! That is all that I have been doing other than school and work. And I just bought the DVD last night. Oh so busy.

T

Crude Oil News

Good afternoon everyone,

Here is some more crap I found in the news:

Hack Rapper, Hollywood Retard and all around Useless Human Sean “Diddy” Combs has had to stop taking private jets for his travel. And the reason?- Gas prices. Not only has he had to stop taking the private jets, but he is complaining that he has to fly first class when he travels commercially. Poor guy… apparently he has said in a video that is floating around the internet that we need to “tell whoever the next president is we need to bring gas prices down.” And not only that, he is pleading for free oil from his “Saudi Arabia brothers and sisters”.

Come on Diddy, really? Is flying first class that bad? At least you can afford to fly, unlike oh so many others. And do you really think they are going to give you free oil? I doubt that they will give you a discount. In fact, you are now the laughing stock of the Middle East, and most of America (except that one fan you still have).

If you do not believe me, you can read the story here, but for your conveinience, I have included it in it’s entirety here as well:

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Diddy halts private jet flights over fuel prices

LOS ANGELES - Fuel prices have grounded an unexpected frequent-flyer: Diddy.
Sean "Diddy" Combs complained about the "... too high" price of gas and pleaded for free oil from his "Saudi Arabia brothers and sisters" in a YouTube video posted Wednesday. The hip-hop mogul said he is now flying on commercial airlines instead of in private jets, which Combs said had previously cost him $200,000 and up for a roundtrip between New York and Los Angeles.
"I'm actually flying commercial," Diddy said before walking onto an airplane, sitting in a first-class seat and flashing his boarding pass to the camera. "That's how high gas prices are. I'm at the gate right now. This is really happening, proof gas prices are too high. Tell whoever the next president is we need to bring gas prices down."

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Didn’t I tell you? What a retard. Maybe he could work his magic and tell Saudi Arabia: “Diddy says oil is free.” -and then pigs will be able to afford to fly too. Diddy; do it for the pigs! We need more that one of you flying our friendly skies! Or maybe try: “Fly free or die!” that would be just as nice. It would give everybody another laugh… at his expense… again.

I was half tempted to put this as another ‘sign humanity is doomed’, but this guy is just such a numb nuts, I think everyone is used to him making an ass of himself.

At least BK is open late…

When will he just go away?

T

Signs Humanity Is Doomed

Good afternoon everyone,

I ran across an interesting bit of news that I thought I would share. My brother said he verified this on Snopes, so as far as I know- it is true. One does not even need to read the entire story- the picture is plenty. It leads to an important conclusion: Humanity is Doomed. If these types of people are breeding, we are all doomed.

I think this needs no further introduction. Behold (please click to enlarge if needed):

Yes, she is pregnant.
Yes, she is concerned that the jackhammers of all things are causing damage to her unborn child.

...and, yes, she is smoking a cigarette.

T

Illogical Deduction

Good morning everyone,

Being that I am working for the better part of this fine Thursday, I don't have much to say. So I am going to spend some time going over some business terms that I have encountered here to draw an important conclusion. This conclusion is a startling revelation coming from in the torrid depths of my psyche.

The most important phrase concerning the above mentioned terms is Efficiency. This concept is governed by one of the most fundamental laws in physics: the energy going into a system must be equal to the energy going out, or better known as the Law of Conservation of Energy. Here, for example, this translates into me needing more energy. One can also apply this law to other business terms to achieve an appropriate definition or, better yet; a situation appropriate interpretation of their meaning. Observe:

Quality Control: I need more coffee.

Consistency: I need more coffee.

Efficiency: I need more coffee.

Productivity: I need more coffee.

Conclusion: all of my higher order brain functions are absent prior to 10 am.

T

In Full Swing (Already)

Good evening everyone,

Well, school has started, and is getting into full swing. Not only that, I have two classes that are going to be project heavy. That means less time on the computer blogging, and more time on the computer working. I think for now I will do a start of the semester checklist. I know, I said the checklist was going to be on The Research and Development Pages from now on, and it will be. Consider this a plug of sorts for the other page (not that I get any money for it or anything). Just check it out if these particular subjects will interest you:

Partial Differential Equations- This is one of the last math classes that I have to take. It will be of little interest to many, so I may not post any of the nitty gritty details. However, there will be some. The professor is good (so far), and the material is not bad actually (so far).

Computational Physics- This one a may post quite a bit about, not because it is heavily interesting, just because it will already be on the computer and will make for an easy post if I am tired and feeling exceptionally lazy.

Electronics- This is actually a basic electronics course, or electronics 1. For the same reasons above, there will be a lot of posting on this one.

Analytical and Quantum Mechanics- There will probably not be a lot of posting on this one, because it will require a lot of typing. If you have seen my other course notes that I have posted before, they are actually a rather significant pain in the posterior to type up in that fashion. But if there is anything wildly interesting, I will let you know.

Other things have been great, other than school starting. And that is not a bad thing really. It just means burning the candle at both ends, but it will keep me busy. That is what matters. I really don’t know what to do with myself otherwise. It gets kinda scary…

I had coffee with my buddy Steve-O the other day at Salt Lake Roasting Co. coffee shop. Great little place if you ask me. It just reminds me how bad I really am at things in a social atmosphere. When taken into account how in-frequently I actually see my friends (the ones outside of work of course), it is surprising that most of them actually still talk to me. I’m not rude or neglectful or avoiding anyone, really! Just busy. I promise. Sorry about that rant- just felt a little guilty I guess. Speaking of guilty- I gave my buddy Dr. MookieLove a hard time about not giving my blog an award nomination that they are passing around. Honestly- it was in jest. I wouldn’t give this thing an award either…

Seeing as how I have not done much of anything else lately, I will leave you with that. Before I start to complain more…

Oh, I do have one grievance- To the lazy douche who was working the drive through at Sconecutter today: I don’t care how many tattoos you have, or how sideways you wear your hat, or how “cool” you can be at work- you suck at your job. Really. When someone orders a combo, and you fail to give them a drink, don’t look at them with your mouth open and wonder what the hell they are waiting for. And don’t act all put-out when I actually have you get one for me. Jerk…

T

What have I been up to?

You are probably wondering. The answer is:

Enjoying myself.

That’s right, schools out and I’m having a bit too much fun to be sitting in front of a computer. But don’t fret! I will be back soon, when school is in again, because this will be pretty much the only recreation that I get for a while…

T

The Great Ta-Hoe-Down

The story of the great Ta-hoe-down began as a journey to South Lake Tahoe for Cousin B’s wedding. We left at about 5 am or so, which is not a sane hour to be departing from anywhere for me. But we did none the less. It was myself, From Russia with Love, Bro and his girlfriend Cheese-Cake and my parents.

And after leaving at such an unholy hour in the morning, most of us slept all the way to Elko. I somehow managed to wake up at the break of dawn going across the Salt Flats. I have blogged about the dessert many times before, so all of you know how much I love it. And especially at these times of the day, where the weak sunlight makes you feel so detached from your environment, you might as well be in a dream. I managed to get out my camera and snap a few shots of this magnificent land:

This also gave me the idea of a photo project I could do on the way back. I decided to do a little study on the Salt Flats as viewed from the back seat of a car. I have called it the Salt Flats Project (subject to change). I will have those pictures up on the photo blog soon. Now back to the story.

After that, I went back to sleep, and woke up at our first stop: Elko, Nevada. I did not take any pictures of this place because, well, there is simply nothing there. And for those of you wondering what Elko is like, I will save you the trouble: the entire town smells like sage brush and port-o-potty.

That is all.

After switching drivers there, it was my turn at the wheel. Nothing much to say about the rest of the drive, other than the periodic construction slowing. It’s not really all that scenic. It was just a quiet drive, until we got to the next pit stop.

I don’t recall the name of this town, because it was not planned, just a potty break. We stopped at a combination convenience store and bar to stretch and what have you. This was the place:

We went in and made use of the bathrooms and looked at the mostly bare shelves, when this dog we noticed on the way in started whining at the front door. And not just whining, but almost a full on yelp as if someone had beaten him with a bat and he needed to go to the vet. It was a black and white and matted pitiful thing, and naturally we all felt bad. We asked the clerk of the store (also the bar tender next door) who this dog belonged to, and if it was ok. He said the dog is fine, in fact his owner is a regular at the bar, and the dog just cones up to customers and begs for food.

“That dog lives better than you or me” he said.

But we still felt bad and decided to buy the dog some beef jerky, just because the thing was so sad looking.

“These ones are his favorite” said the clerk.

And we should have taken that as our warning. As soon as we gave the dog the jerky, he went off to lay down in his spot in front of the bar. No tail wag, no hanging around, no petting or anything. When we left, it even turned it’s head with a look that said ‘ha-ha… suckers!’. We had just met the greatest con-artist dog I have ever seen, and he had the best of us. Don’t just ‘beware of dog’, beware of this dog:

I drove for a longer while, and then we switched again and I went back to sleep. I awoke when we parked in Virginia City, an old mining town turned campy tourist attraction. This place was kind of cool, and they even had a Mark Twain museum. Apparently, he had worked there as a reporter for a while. We did not go into the museum, but the town had plenty of other cool things to do. Our fist stop was in this old church:

Inside was pretty cool. Very old looking, and some interesting (I thought) stained glass windows:

And there was this baptismal thingy:

And I thought I would go into the confessional while I was here to loosen some of the baggage from my soul. But there was this sign outside:

Did they just give up on the people here? Or is Hell just full? Or does this Priest just not care? Or has it been moved to a near by casino? One can only wonder…

The rest of the town was pretty cool. In fact, I decided to take the pictures ‘old timey’ style to fit the ambiance of this place. So here’s the town of Virginia City, in sepia tone:

And we found one of ‘those things’, and naturally From Russia with Love and I hopped behind:

We also found this thing called the Suicide Table. It was an old card game table, and every owner had apparently killed himself after loosing everything he owned in one night. Interesting. Here is the infamous table:

And in glorious Technicolor:

Fun times. Then it was off to South Lake Tahoe, to check into the hotels and meet up with the family. We arrived at our hotel, rested up a bit and all of us decided to go to dinner. We chose a restaurant in one of the casinos there, and it was particularly hard to find. My Uncle D asked one of the employees there where we could find this eatery, and the douche in the suit said:

“No such restaurant exists sir.”

And after a bit more wandering we stumbled upon it. The great non existent phantom restaurant that was actually quite tasty; and good times were had by all.

The next day we walked about in South Lake Tahoe, looking for things to do and planning activities for the next day. We decided on doing a few things. They have a zip line thing at the top of the gondola ride there, and at the lake they also have para sailing. Both sounded great to me. We picked up our information, and after walking around town we stopped into a nice Indian restaurant for lunch. As many of you know, I have a passion for curry, and could sustain myself for the rest of my life on it. And this place did not disappoint. I stuffed myself stupid.

The next day it was time to take part in the previous day’s planned activities, and the first thing on the list was the zip line. And it was closed due to the wind. As it turns out, everything was closed due to the wind. Even the para sailing. The only thing that we could really do was rent a jet ski and ride the gondola. The gondola was pretty, it took you up high, and you could see a lot.

Naturally, with all of the planned activities I did not bring my camera, so alas: no pictures from the gondola. At the top of the ride, they have a nice bar and grill, and a few hikes that you can take if you were wondering what point there is in riding to the top of a ski resort in summertime.

Then it was back down to the beach to see if we could do anything fun there. And of course, due to the wind, the only thing that we could do is rent a jet ski, so we did just that. I did not get on the thing, because I am not a fan of jet skis in choppy water. Yes, waves are fun, but when that is all there is, it just beats the hell out of you. Bro and cheese-Cake went out first, then Bro took From Russia with Love out. I spent a nice hour relaxing in a canoe in the shade, listening to the water with the leaves right over my head. Really, I felt like I was in a Corona Beer commercial, except without the beer. Any way, here are some quick shots of around town in Lake Tahoe that I took the day before:

R.I.P. Fredo:

There was also lot to see as far as pretentious art goes. For example:

Then it was back to the hotel so we could change for Cousin B’s wedding. We changed, and she and some others got into a limo, and we all followed them up to a place called Emerald Bay. Apparently a hot spot for weddings, and not without good reason. The view was really good:

And Cousin B's Wedding Dress:

Just kidding. it was more like this:

The ceremony was sweet. I will not go into too much detail, because it really is just a family thing, and everyone who needs be concerned with the details was there. Aunt L also had organized an excellent meal afterward through our hotel, and once again, good times were had by all:

Cheese-Cake sneaks Lil' J's food...

Uncle D and Lil' J:

The next day we spent a little more time in Tahoe, then departed for Reno. It was about an hours’ worth of a drive to our next hotel. We checked in there, and rested up a bit, then it was off to downtown Reno.

Our first stop was the Circus Casino. I was hoping for the entire circus, but alas it was just the freak show. Weirdos and loosers were abound, and the whole place was one of the largest parades of the worst of humanity that I have seen in a long time. I really think that if that entire city came to a catastrophe, no one would care.

However, we did find a very nice steak house in that casino, and had one of the best steaks I have had in a long time. It was prime rib. I love prime rib. That was the same thing that I had eaten in the non-existent restaurant in Tahoe as well. Mostly I love the flavor of beef on horseradish, and when paired with a dark wine, you are in a culinary heaven…

After dinner we decided to check out a car show that was in town, the Hot August Nights celebration. Lots of old cool cars, some rather new, and all very souped up. Now, for those of you who know me well, car culture has not been something that I am usually a fan of. Yes, they are pretty, yes they are fast, yes they are expensive. But after the ‘shiny’ wears off, aren’t they just a car? If you bought one of those, and as time went on, the allure will fade, and after that, isn’t it just a car? People put way too much time into these, and I guess they must get some kind of return out of it. I don’t think I would get out the same rewarding experience. Car work just irritates me like no other. Here are a couple of pictures of the casino where the car show was:

But the point of going there was not to see the cars, even that’s what we all did, we mostly just spent some quality family time, free of our daily grinds. And as life goes on, that becomes a rarity and an eventual cherished memory.

The next day we departed Reno and went back home. I wish that I had something more to say about the drive across Nevada, but I don’t. that state is terribly boring, even just looking at it. I’m serious, you can not even play an ‘Eye Spy’ game in the car. There is nothing out there. Just dirt. Oh, we did stop in Wendover, and I lost about $4 in the video black jack machines.

That is just about the whole trip folks. Please keep your eye on The Cinema Project. I should have a review up of Pineapple Express soon. And please see the Photography page for my pictures of the Salt Flats, and other parts of Nevada (the ones worth looking at).

Ciao!

T