Look at all the dancers...
Friday, May 11, 2001
04:49 p.m.
I had wondered why there was a DDR machine around when it seemed like no one played. I see why today. We had some nice freestylers on the machine...I did a double with one guy (a little better than me)...beat one song on normal, but failed on the second :/
Yeah...the dancers today were quite good...playing on Expert mode ^^;; (they were Asian, but that's not a real issue, although I think I heard one of them say that they'd been playing since high school ^^;). Some of the others that followed weren't too bad. My only comment is that busty people playing the game should be well supported when they're playing stuff like "Afronova", or "Stomp to the Beat", etc. O_o.
There are other summer students?! ;)
Friday, May 11, 2001
07:54 a.m.
Wow...yesterday was the orientation for summer students and I finally got a chance to kind of meet the others working up here. There are four of us returning from last year...the others are new. Most of them are from the U of S...two others from the U of R, a lot from UVic, one from Simon Fraser and one from Memorial. There are actually a number of males this time (4 or 5 I think), though more females than males again (unlike last year, where out of the summer students proper, there was one male and about 12 females ^^;;;;;.
A very good day playing DDR. I managed to beat a round on normal ^__^. Just barely, but I still cleared it. "So Many Men" was the song...with a B rating. Overall rating was B though ^^;; (4 beginners with A...no 'Boo's up to that point...long combo of about 65 on "Stomp to the Beat").
Tin: Good idea for the reward challenge. Myself, I'd suggest making them drink water from Lake Wascana (only S-san would get the joke here)...let's just say, it's not the most appetizing stuff here ^o^.
The vulgarities of mail
Thursday, May 10, 2001
07:54 a.m.
When you're expecting some, it takes forever...when you're expecting it to arrive, it takes forever to get there. A truth of life it is. Oh yes, WMC: make sure you check the address next time =P
In today's news, Toronto MP Tom Wappel (Scarborough Southwest) is in hot water for refusing to help a constituent because the constituent didn't vote for him. Now, the guy (81 year old war veteran, legally blind, partially deaf) didn't even tell his wife who he voted for yet the MP found out >_<. It makes me wonder how secure my ballot was (though I'm pretty sure about it though). Well, if this MP is able to determine voter intent in some sort of legal way (he refuses to say how he found out)...why the hell wasn't he in Florida during the elections last year? =P.
I'm dealing with the sores on my knuckles right now. I've been wearing a lot of rubber gloves recently, and repeatedly putting them on and taking them off has aggrevated the injuries some what...so now, my right index knuckle bleeds at times :/. At least the gloves aren't latex as those manage to cause an allergic reaction :|. I think I'll have to go get some Desitin or something like that...
I don't really know any of the summer students this year; I know the three others that returned from last year, but the others I haven't really met. Normally, I'd meet them at coffee time, but they don't usually take coffee apparently ^^;;;; {shrugs}
MCAT: Physics review continues.
I'll probably archive this set of posts up at the beginning of next week I believe.
Another day
Wednesday, May 9, 2001
07:51 a.m.
Wow...today I was up early and made it to work earlier than normal...more time to do e-mail and write here. It figures though that I don't have much to say right now ^^;;.
Yesterday, I actually had a bit of free time to paw through the issue of Nature I brought with me ^^;; (the genome issue)...quite interesting material. I only wish I had enough time to read through every issue of that, and the other journals I try to follow ^^;;; (what I found scary was that I could actually read "Clinical Chemistry" without much problem at all o.o;;).
I made my lunches for a while...that took some time ^^;; (freezing sandwiches). However, this time instead of using the processed turkey I normally use, I used fresh ham...should be good ^_^.
Word of the day: monogatari (tale). {I have evil plans for this word [cue laughter]}
MCAT: Finished physics section...will continue to review over the rest of the week.
WMC: I'll reply to your recent e-mail really soon :/
Cleaning up a few loose ends
Tuesday, May 8, 2001
07:55 a.m.
A hodgepodge of comments in no order whatsoever.
A. Excellent, DDR USA allows Double in Beginner ^^;;
B. Catalogue #COCC-14459-64 (want boxed set for cheap ^^;;;;).
C. It just came to me that in my earlier ancedote about S and K talking about social biology and relationships, I had left out a few details (surprise, surprise? ^^;;). I'm not putting them in, as I'm embarassed by them ^^;;;;;.
D. MCAT Review: I went about half way through physics. I'll finish tonight (I think...depends on how long making lunches takes). I'll spend the rest of the week going over Physics again...and I'll do a practice exam this weekend (probably Sunday as I've got to do some things on Saturday).
E. Things to do: E-mail WMC, check J's trading list.
F. My theory on what the DRE in Dr. DRE stands for...Digital Rectal Examination =P. [conversation with Boy:
(Boy: Digital...I thought that meant with computers or something. Stephen: That's what I initially thought...not quite though)]
To Tin
Monday, May 7, 2001
05:20 p.m.
^^;; Someone actually gets a full entry devoted to them (well actually to their comments). I lied about saying everything about Survivor II apparently. Just wanted to say the final live sequence took place in New York. Secondly Tin, I'm not sure about Survivor IV being that way ^_-. I liked Survivor IV: The Prairie Winter...tell you what, we'll have to talk...either I'll take IV or V...but I'm not sure which would be more challenging though. Oh yes...I forgot to mention that to make it interesting, skimpy clothing is a requirement (evil grin)...I suppose skin would freeze in only a couple of seconds (depending on the temperature), but I'm sure for a million bucks (US ^^;;), they'll just 'suck it up'. May be the winter'd be mild (at 0 C (32 F for you Imperialists :P), shorts are possible (not that I'd do it, but that's beside the point).
Oh yes Tin...since I'm guessing you read blogs more than e-mail (^_-)...could you get back to me about my recent e-mail (if applicable) ^^.
I was going to mention another future topic for general blogging here, but I decided to strike it.
What an interesting weekend
Monday, May 7, 2001
07:45 a.m.
Well, this has been an interesting weekend for a number of reasons. Firstly, on Friday, after spending about 45 minutes-1 hour preparing my PCR samples, I put them in the thermocycler. About two minutes later, the power went out (making the samples garbage). So be it. So, the lab spent some time just talking (as none of us could do anything without power). When we heard the announcement that power would be back at 3:30...we all decided to head home for the weekend. ^^;;. Making it back home, I was surprised to find power ^^;;;. It turned out well...I went for a long walk downtown and got a couple of books from the library ^_- (1 fun, 2 work).
Later that night, I saw Iron Chef for the first time ^__^. Good show it is; I saw two battles (actually 2.5) over the weekend...one was the Giant Eel, other was yogurt...and saw the OT battle featuring scallions. ^^;; I'm embarassed to say that I've been cheering for the challengers (though I won't cheer for the guy in the OP who comes in wearing a medal; that's too pretensious for my liking o.o;)
Let's see...amusement at the news. My MLA (provincial) will be headed to court on fraud charges ^^;;;. Next up, a substitute gym teacher in CA was fired for teaching in a sports bra, no shirt. Now, I might be able to see that in something like a chemistry class, but for a gym class? Oi oi...give me a break here.
MCAT review continues: I wrote practice tests (not the full sitting as that's a 8.5 h day...this weekend I'll start the runs)...good in verbal reasoning; not talking about the sciences right now. :( Focus this week is physics and biology.
Played through DDR on Beginner ^^;;; I tried initially trying to do Boys on Regular mode...failed so badly, it wasn't funny -_-;; However, I know know where to find the dance patterns online, so that'll help. Brief summary of my complete Beginner mode is that I got a D on Silent Hill (1) O.o;;;;;, B on Boys (2), A on Dub I Dub (3), B on I Believe in Miracles (4) and A in Stomp to the Beat (Final). Final letter was B, score about 80 000. I need more practice...but I'd love to have a PS to practice on (to save money ^^;;;)
Final results for this term are in. My lowest mark was the Metabolism course ^^;;;;; (and that's my major o.o;). I did a little calculation and I'm doing slightly better in my biology courses than my biochemistry ones...though if I include the chemistry courses with the biochemistry ones, I think it'd be a little higher. All in all, I'm not too upset at the term...it went decently although I'm disappointed at that Metabolism course. Ah well, life goes on. I'm through two.
Anything else to say...nope, I can't think of anything (though I left my little scrap of paper at home saying what to mention). Oh yes...something else. I decided to watch the OP of the Escaflowne dub...that almost made me cry :(...bad is an understatement. Called home yesterday...they miss my leftover disposal abilities ^_-. I'll be taking advantage of the long distance plan we have...free calls in Canada after 6 PM and on weekends ^_^...I'll use it appropriately ^_- (evil laughter).
Why doesn't anyone believe I curse? -_-
Friday, May 4, 2001
07:56 a.m.
For some reason, when anyone meets me for the first time, they're surprised when I use vulgarities...normally, the line is "That's the first time I heard you swear. I never thought you swear". Why does everyone think this? ^^;;;; Admittedly, I have some strange thing against cursing in writing, but verbally, no problem (and I try to be creative...and avoid the known vulgarities {read, the less bad swearing equivalents} though I can use the standards quite well...normally directed at inanimate objects mind you.
Watched Survivor II yesterday...correctly guessed that Tina would win. My favourite part of the show was the last sequence with Jeff Probest leaving via helicopter and coming back in to the studio (live). Hearing the opening performed live (with orchestra ^_^) was very pleasant. That's about all I'll say on it...though this fall, the next round comes (in Africa)...when they come and try a SK winter, ~then~ we'll see the real Survivor ^_-
MCAT review: Frantically trying to extract knowledge from the Kaplan books before I have to return them >_<. I'm getting a replacement mailed to me though, but I wanted to make sure that I get everything that I can. I'll try and mail it away this weekend :/. A bit inconvenient. I really want to go through Physics and the biological systems again in detail. I'll do that probably this weekend I think.
Ah...I see (in my Telnet window) that I'm indirectly mentioned on another blog ^^;;;;; Well, I don't particularly care if people read this thing...as almost no one reads it anyhow...(probably a good thing) though I don't think I'll openly advertise it...if someone stumbles across it (or knows me, for better or worse ^_-) that's fine.
Ah yes...got to e-mail WMC about my page design ^_^.
Anything else to say...yes. On Wednesday, I watched an episode of "Cardcapters". Yes...it's the dub. I consider this a sacrifice for science BTW (just like watching the Super Bowl half time show to test my hypothesis that the shows get worse every year)...for the cause of science! I saw the episode dealing with Sakura (bad pronunciation mind you) being shrunk (Little Clow Card). Madison is a bad name ^^;; I think of a furniture store in my home town, and of Madison WI ^^;;;.
Ummm...it's cute and I might actually watch the subbed version. The dub is ~okay~, but not stunning. Side comments, Sakura's brother looks superficially like Tamahome/Taka while his friend looks like the scientist (guy Tamahome's seiyuu voiced) in the Black Rose saga of Shoujo Kakkumi Utena.
Haven't decided if I'll watch any more...not sure what time it's on.
NB: Jackie...I think I already had your mirror link...might have to change my links to the pages I mention directly...which I'll probably do at the end of the summer o.o;;
Ayashi no Ceres for Neophytes is coming along well...I only have 2 character summaries to write (Aya, Yuuhi)...referencing comes later, but I still need graphics and character stat charts :(...and then I need to code it. ^^;; I figure that if I can get the first 7 or so characters online, I can open the site as it'll be ahead of Viz.
Not too much to say today
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
08:07 a.m.
I'm a bit behind today in reading/responding ^^;; to e-mail. Just a few highlights today. Firstly, I went to the post office and sent a whole whack of mail off ^^;; (mutters darkly something about oversized envelopes)
Yesterday, I saw my first dub episode of S (as the place I'm staying in right now has cable ^^;;).
Anyhow...a few very brief comments here. Firstly, new opening...ripping off from the movies hard-core...but it kind of worked. Added the S to the opening splash screen. Hmmm...episode I watched was the episode with the plants and the unplugging of the TV at the beginning (I'm not sure which episode number...and I can't remember names that well ^_-)
Voices...Serena = bad >_<. Hotaru, Trista, Pluto = okay. Prof Tomoe = good, pronunciation is bad o.o;.
Mini Moon is ludicriously bad..."Is that your final answer" poor line. Ending uses S animation, dub music.
Not horribly bad, but not horribly good either. I'll stick to the sub.
Oh yes WMC. Just because I like Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon doesn't make me a fan boy :P If you want to use that definition, go and tell Hitoshi Doi that =P.
In response to a question I got...I'd like to take a moment or two to explain exactly what the orders mean. Firstly, and this is VERY important, there is no ranking present in the listing of people or in the order that the person is classified in...the people are just added in chronological order and the classification is explained below.
First order: People I know and interact with directly fairly frequently. People in RL are automatically here.
Second order: People I know less well than those in the First order. I may interact with them somewhat, but less frequently.
Third order: People I know of...but don't usually interact with.
Fourth order: People I don't really know, but am still reading their blog ^^;;;;
Got another comment about the chibi ^_^...which I'll have to forward to the artist (also have to e-mail her too.. ^^;;;;;;;). The hair is different, but I'm wearing a lab coat here though (unlike last year)...so just use your imagination. I'm a tad annoyed that I chose the wrong type of timer from Stores (wanted the one with a clock, just got a plain timer)...but that's minor.
Yesterday's progress: Finished biology. Started organic chemistry. Will have to review biology greatly again (especially systems...I know the fundamental biology fairly well I think though).
Time to start work now ^^;;
Without understanding the past, we have no hope of understanding the present
Tuesday, May 1, 2001
07:59 a.m.
That's right...this is a flashback blog...and we all know how much people like these ones ^_-. I start off with a few more details from Thursday; after the meal, S, M and I headed out to a children's playground and explored the structures. Swinging was fun, though the swing crushed my hips. The monkey-bars were also good too, and I made the smart remark about how they were feeling: "Stop, my ass hurts". I think Priya might be proud of me on making this infamous connection ^^;
Friday...I ran around the town doing various things. I dropped my course transfer form off (I think I said that already), and went to pick up my Ani-Ex at the comic book store. Unfortunately, they only had the April issue in my file. On Sunday, in Saskatoon, I saw the May issue on the shelf o.o; My store in Regina could have easily had my sale...but I don't know what happened.
The trip on Saturday was hot and tiring. I think it was because I was up until about 1:30 AM that night, fixing up the computer and sending important information, via e-mail, to my accounts (so I can access up here). Much of this information was mailing addresses, so I can sent out the stuff that I've been meaning to send ^^;; I just need to stamp them now, and they'll be off (today or tomorrow I think).
The lab has gotten a lot more crowded this year; 3 part of the lab proper, one other person working here, myself and someone from one of the tech colleges here for a month. Bench space and work space is at a premium here ^^;;
My summer mailing address is available for those who want it...just e-mail me for it.
What else to say...nothing really. Review yesterday was okay, but not the greatest...I was looking over biological systems and got some material out of it, but not at the level I want. I'll probably have to go through it again. o.o; (I haven't taken the Animal Physiology course yet...that's coming up next semester).
As for yesterday's DDR USA session, here's the songs I attempted (I'm not entirely sure about 1) (on beginner mode, mind you, but I have to start somewhere ^_-).
1._Boys_: Smile.dk (A) CLEARED. [5/1/01--SC]
2._Put Your Faith in Me_: Uzi-Lay (A) CLEARED.
3._Stomp to my Beat_: JS16 (A) CLEARED.
4._Paranoia Rebirth_: 190' (E) FAILED.
Oh...looking at the FAQ, I realise that Beginner is pretty crappy actually (all songs at 1 difficulty level). It did tire me out though, and I had a blast doing it...I'll probably play on that mode for a little while, until I better know the game--only my second time playing. I'll also try and read up on which songs are easy and hard ^^;;[5/1/01 SC]
Start the clock
Monday, April 30, 2001
05:14 p.m.
Today was my first day up in the lab...the weather is pretty good, and I'm doing pretty well. I'm trying to actually get my mail out soon...just have to copy the mailing addresses that I emailed to myself earlier.
Still getting used to my place now...have a room in a house that I am sharing with 2 others (one M, other F).
At the arcade, they had DDR American mix there ^__^. I played, obviously ^^;; ($1) and did okay. I played on the beginner mode ^^;;;; but managed to make through the first 3 rounds successfully with As. I failed on the last song...I chose the Paranoia remix...and couldn't stomp fast enough (though I managed to put together a good string at the end). Cost was $1 CDN, but I lasted a while...so I had a lot of fun.
I'm headed home for supper...I'll see if I can get around to blogging tomorrow. Oh yes, the start the clock refers to the MCAT preparations, which start today o.o;
Somewhere between a rock and a hard place
Friday, April 27, 2001
08:13 a.m.
More on the title topic later.
Some miscellania I failed to deal with in my last entry. Firstly, I only received one comment about the chibi...I guess either a) no one looked at it, or b) the image was so repulsing that no one dares to remember it at all...I'm guessing b ^_-.
Secondly, in the news earlier this week. There is a court case going on over custody of children. Apparently, the mother feeds the kids junk food all the time, and the father wants to give them healthy food. These kids (one boy, one girl) are 3.5 years old and weigh...wait for it...145 lbs O_o. Hell, that's more than I weigh. Ugh ugh ugh >_<. That's insane. I think more details of the case included that the kids lost about a pound or two when they were at the father's house, but managed to gain 3-4 pounds when at the mother's house. I think some national medical association was speaking out about this case...can't remember.
In local news, His Royal Highness Prince Charles was visiting here yesterday. I didn't show up...I had other things such as a) getting a hair cut (so my hair doesn't look anything like the chibi) and b) going to my friend's birthday (it turned out to be a rather small thing as only M showed up as a guest.
The party wasn't too bad...we played the Canadian (groans) edition of Trivial Pursuit, and M surprised by winning. We went to Montana's for supper, where their chicken dinner is pretty good. M and I were tempted to tell the staff that it was S's birthday that day, to force her to wear the hat and be sung to :D. She threatened to hurt us, so we didn't (also it wasn't actually her birthday). Happy birthday today S. You're now US legal ^^;;
{looks at his watch} Ah good...the office I need to head to is now open (I'm at the university to drop off a course transfer form...to get into another section of stats...this prof I'll be going with instead is known for how well the students do ^_-.
Let's see what else to talk about before talking about the title topic. I made a few additions to the link list on the side. Nothing special here...made a few URL corrections also ^^; Oh yes...yesterday's massive conversation was quite fun, for those who know what I'm talking about. The domain names were quite amusing, although thebunnies.com is taken :P WMC was in an interesting mood where unfortunately, I got the role as whipping boy ^^;; It's a job here. ^^;;. Yeah...everyone was in a somewhat interesting mood yesterday...for a variety of reasons.
Gah...my e-mail went down last night; it's back up now, but there are no messages (which isn't right ^^;;)
To the title topic. I have been dealing over the past with an ethical dilemma along with another friend of mine. I'll try to describe it, without giving anything, that shouldn't be told, away. Due to an unfortunate situation my friend was dealing with, I helped her out a bit. In this helping, I discovered some very significant information that could cause a lot of trouble if certain people got a hold of it. I've been torn between what I should do...causing chaos, or being a nice person...I think though that I'll probably be nice...but I'll wait to see how my friend's course of action turns out.
NB: Katelynne...I do read your log you know :)
Jackie...I know in an earlier entry, you talked about how pop songs were getting more risqué. I'll cite a current example: "Lady Marmalade" [5/1 SC] with the lyrics "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi" by the tandem of female pop singers (Agulara is one of them). The song isn't great...my brother (I call him Boy) talks about how the good singers are in the background and how the French is bad and it's edited to make them sound correct. Why is this song so risqué? Well, I'm not sure of your French experience, but it translates to "Will you sleep with me tonight?". It apparently is from a movie coming out this summer. Something rue (street). Boy guesses that the movie has something to do with hookers...he may not be too far from the truth o.o;;
Packaging various topics into a single entry, and somehow getting the net result on to the market
Wednesday, April 25, 2001
2:13 p.m.
My last examination was yesterday afternoon from 2-5...I'm clear now (while others still have to write up to Saturday o.o;). I have a lot of things to blog about here...so where should I begin? Ah yes...let's start off with why WMC and Kourin are bad girls (I see that you just noticed my reference WMC hmm :D). Take a look at the tracker code, and take a look at the agreement for using the tracker code...I think that is sufficient enough for an explanation.
Throughout the exam session, I had been writing little notes on things to blog about on a piece of paper. Being free now, I can finally address all of the points. The question is now...where ~did~ I put that scrap of paper (I saw it today, so it's around). Ah yes...right in front of me...who would have thought?
About the time of my last entry, I wasn't in the greatest of moods, yet I forgot to mention one of the things that cheered me up during that time. In the miserable excuse for an arcade on campus, there was a free credit on the South Park pinball game (I don't like South Park, save for the Chinpokomon episode, but I like pinball). I played it...did pretty bad (about 5 million or so, 25 million for reply)...and managed to match the number at the end (I want to use the emoticon that Priya always uses, but I can't remember which one it is...I know there's a D in there, but I can't remember the eye (X, x or something--I'm too lazy to look). {Oi...what a tangental train of thought}. On the second game, I managed to hit the multiball shot (which is very difficult o.o;) and scored high enough to actually earn a free game. That pleased me ^_^.
Still on the topic of pinball, I'm going to look forward to the better arcade in Saskatoon ^^;;. I'll have to play some more Samurai Showdown III (only a quarter/play) and try to get better at the "Theatre of Magic" pinball game (it's cool, but tricker than it looks). I like the Jurassic Park pinball game, but the Star Wars Special Edition game was cheap. I'd love to play the Mario pinball game and the Street Fighter II one again (especially the Mario one). I'd also love to get a chance to Dance Dance Revolution again. I played once at the arcade, sucked hard core, but had a great time sucking ^_^;;. I think it's just practice that's the key--and I know now that marching isn't the way to go...I'm going to try and step when and if I play again.
I think I saw this on another blog, but I couldn't find it again though. May be I'm just not looking in the right place. Anyhow, for any male that can correctly spell and define 'spelunking', there may be an offer for you O_o. Two thoughts came into my mind when I saw this (after looking up to see if what I thought it meant was correct--and it was). Firstly, I think a better screen procedure is needed in this case as to who makes it into this person's bed (the letters SF and FM come to my mind for some strange reason). ^^;;;; Secondly, S inspired (or did she come up with this comment) "I wonder which cave is going to be explored" ^^;;;;;;. Enough with this point...though it was amusing to me.
In yesterday's paper...apparently, this European popstar is selling his girlfriend for the equivalant of about $350 000 CDN to a millionaire for a year. As well, Boris Becker is now a father after 5 s of indescretion. (that's right, s as in seconds). Incidently, Becker now claims to be disgusted at women...definitely hypocritical to the extreme. A commentator wrote that if that's called a relationship, what the hell is a one-night stand called? ^^;
This Saturday, I had the 'pleasure' of seeing 15 minutes of the new FOX TV show "Chains of Love". For those of you who have mercifully not been tainted yet, it involves a guy being chained to 4 girls (I think). The guy gets rid of a girl every so often and gives her money o.o;. It's as wrong as it sounds...and I don't care that the guy claims he's looking for a relationship...I think the real reason he's doing this is much more base (which ironically relates to earlier comments).
On the last day of classes before the end of lectures, K, S and I were having a discussion (or more so, K and S were talking, I was commenting rarely) about social biology and how it explains relationships. Basically, S was saying that according to the theory, females are glorified recepticles for DNA. K created the great rejection line "I'm sorry, but your DNA didn't meet my quality control." <sniggers>
Hey Priya...what are you headed to hell for ^o^ (NB: I actually don't know what that show is you mentioned on the Cartoon Network). Remember, we're all headed for hell ^o^ (see archives for that entry ^_-).
Those are all of the comments on my sheet thus far. Only a few other little details. After the exam yesterday, we headed out to the pub on campus (I didn't drink) where we relaxed for a little. I got around to checking out my marks...3 are reported...2 are okay, 1 is less than I would of liked (Metabolism--and it's a required course for my major >_<). B, G and I had a bit of fun annoying K3, though I was talking to her a while about the two biochemistry courses we were both in...hee ^_^. We were planning to go and see "Crouching Tiger", but it was a late show, so we scrapped it. Instead, B and I went to Boston Pizza (on Pasta Tuesday) where we had a meal and chatted a while. After that, I went to go and attempt to pick up S' birthday gift, but the store I checked didn't have it ^^;;. Gah...that's tomorrow's agenda.
My clinical biochemistry paper turned out very very well. My prof really liked it ^_^. I was impressed that apparently, he actually checked out every person's reference o.o; (24 papers, average 20-30 references (I had 80ish ^^;;;;;). Some people did manage to fail the paper as they apparently handed it in late (and he gave a weekend extension?!).
You know what, I think I've said everything I was going to say. Wow...I blab long (28 minutes thus far typing).