My reaction after watching parts of the 2nd half, Golden Goal time and the Penalty Competition of the Canada v. Brazil semi-final of the FIFA Under-19 women's soccer tournament. The referee certainly couldn't have gotten a good review for the game >_<...she let the game get out of control...fouls everywhere...and an apparent desire not to book people (only three bookings...likely could should have been a few more). Ick ick...I didn't like the way Brazil played either...not hard...but rather dirty and seemingly whiny...reminds me of a soccer team that I once refereed...in fact the game reminded me of one of the games that I worked that I want to forget...I think I'm going to go and take in the final and consolation final in on Sunday ^^. Should be fun ^^...at least the stadium will be pumped.

Uber-delayed reaction...Sarah...what was that plan to take over Canada hmmm?? ;D

Stephen's mutterings about Baldur's Gate...gah...wish that my party member hadn't died...then I'd be 100 more gold to the good...just have to make it to a town without getting creamed as my party didn't do very well against the ogre...(barely survived...got the XP that I want...but my character [since I dual classed Mage/Cleric] needs lots of XP to raise up a level @_@.

{deletes comment about movie that he thought would appeal to the twisted evil one as the movie might give her ideas...and for the good of humanity, Stephen decides to play it safe ^^;;}

Anyhow...trip to the university to go buy tickets for the matches and then also to try and get a paper copy of the calendar that I don't have...
Reported: Friday, August 30, 2002, 11:57 a.m..

Gentlemen, take your marks

Very short entry to say that I'm now mostly settled in to my new place although my internet access is not yet in (won't be in for a while)...I got my computer set up today...I'm liking it a lot...although it's supposed to be 512 MB RAM...although the computer only lists it as 480 MB. Strange strange. Started to play Baldor's Gate...and I can say that Bioware does good stuff XD XD XD...bad Stephen...don't buy Neverwinter Nights...don't buy it!! [though I saw PC copies of FFVI and FVIII for $5 a piece online that are tempting me greatly]

You know...this afternoon I was thinking about how evil it might have been to name the box "Seimei" XD...didn't come to me when I named it...only later ^^;; (not that I'd actually name it that...I'm just alluding to a joke about naming between Seimei and I XD XD) [no peanut gallery comments about what else I could have named the computer =P]. Oh...for the curious (and to avoid sardonic comments...yes I'm looking at you WMC :P), I named it Karou.

Orientation starts on Tuesday (after Labour Day)...I'm looking forward to it...it should be an exciting and interesting year. Had my medical earlier this week and other related things...nothing to really say about that...

The evil one's layout will be up soon...I think. I'm leaving it up to her to generate all the HTML code for me ;D [allowing me to copy and paste ^^;;;]...as the entire layout will be hers. Don't forget the tracker code ^^;;. Thanks again BTW...I know I'll enjoy it and I know you're having fun designing it...likely too much fun for my own good.
In other stuffs, the twisted evil one and I may have have stuff in the works no da, but I just need to hear back from her about it to get the particulars worked out. XD
Reported: Thursday, August 29, 2002, 03:28 p.m..

A significant change

As I had mentioned earlier, I am moving in the very near future. However, I didn't say why (although most readers already know why I'm moving). I'll be entering the Doctor of Medicine programme in the fall at the University of Alberta. I'm excited yet a bit nervous since this will be an entirely different experience for me. There is a rather long story that can be told...but I rather don't feel like it actually ^^;

I'll be offline effectively from late Friday onwards. When I get back online...there might be a new layout courtesy of WMC [looks cutely at her]...or not ^^; That still remains to be seen. This post is likely the last one for a while...unless I feel inspired between now and early Friday.
Reported: Tuesday, August 20, 2002, 12:37 p.m..

Oh...so ~that's~ who made the childish comment

Ah...only through pure happenstance was I able to figure out which person (AKA Latte Burro) made the first comment to my August 4th entry which was rather...childish at best. I had originally traced down the IP to being in Newcastle, Australia...in fact, specifically:
IP address: 134.148.4.19
Host name: crun.newcastle.edu.au
However, I didn't know who on earth would have come across that entry from Newcastle, Australia...that is until I did some random link following...where I discovered that a) the presumed commentator is both from Newcastle...and secondly seems to link his page as Latte Donkey...where Burro does mean donkey (Spanish I think?).

On a somewhat related point...lots of fire in comment boxes going around these days (in a particular area of blogland that I only touch through one connection)...lots of people degenerating into posting insults and profanities, homophobic statements, etc. etc...rather sad and pathetic. Needless to say, I have little to no respect for a number of people now for their...'skills' in discussion and debate.
Reported: Monday, August 19, 2002, 07:56 a.m..

Eeeep

I realised this morning that I have so so so much stuff to do before the end of the month when I move...things to check out, acquire and information that needs to be looked up. I found two important pieces of information today (re. health card and driver's license)...so that's a relief...still a lot of stuff to look up, do plus packing. As for why I'll be moving? If I haven't told you already...I'll blog about it in the very near future (not sure if I'll go on blogging hiatus right after that post or not...might have a few more before I'll be incommunicando).

Oh...to the creator of Pocket Theater...I don't recall linking you in the blog [saw that you found this blog through the stats]...but yes, I do read you and I do find your comic amusing ^^. With regards to comics...congrats to MegaTokyo for 2 years and to Strange Candy for reaching Act 200.
Reported: Thursday, August 15, 2002, 12:59 p.m..

A lot better than expected

Yesterday evening was the meeting in which funding was allocated for each of the societies. It went a lot better than I would have thought...as all the societies together surprisingly ended up below the $19 000 to be given away...meaning that everyone got what they wanted with their modified proposal [we were modifying our proposal on the fly @_@...probably should have re-done it...but what we did worked well enough]. The remaining $500 or so was split up among the societies...so we all got a little extra windfall. As the Science 'society' [not even on paper yet] at this point only consists of CS and the biochem/chem societies...it means an additional $40 for each of us ^_^;; So yeah...I was thinking we'd get about $750-1000...but the biochem/chem society got a little over $1800...very good for us...

I was tired last night...nearly slept past my stop on the bus, but just got up in the nick of time. As one of the streets on the route is blocked off, the bus drives right in front of my house...so I got the bus to stop just across the street ^_^v. I feel a little ill as well...hopefully some rest can help fix that.

I've done all the e-mail I need to do before writing up the SoU...so I shall try to do that tonight I think...drat...I wish I had made a copy of that letter that the twisted evil one got...since it had pretty much everything that I would say for the winter term ^_^;;;;. Alas, alas ^^;;. Anyhow...if you're not already on the list and you want to be on it...let me know...I'll work on adding the e-mail addresses tomorrow (will organise the ones I have right now tonight). Very infrequent messages...I try for three a year ^_^;;

Venkarel...how is your computer? I'm in the market for a new one as my e-mail to you indirectly implies...I'm looking at Dell or HP or Sony as the manufacturer...but I'm not quite sure of the exact specifications I'll need ^^;; [I do want a CDR and a DVD-ROM as part of my new system]...oi...I'll be spending a lot in the next while...I don't want to consider how much I'll be set back [whimpers].

WMC...why exactly would I put your analysis here? :P I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment =P

Spent a bit of time last night talking to Charmian on AIM about Ryvius...we both have no idea of the characters names really XD [^^;;]

One bit of meaningful information...a bit old though. Martha Stewart, the maligned home diva of CloneTech troubles was asked to voluntarily testify in front of a US Congressional hearing (think that's right). She refused...but also (through her lawyers) requested the committee exhonerate her fully...wow...that's audacity...her company's stock has not done very well since the investigation began...so I suppose I can see the rationale. Nonetheless...I hope she didn't honestly expect the committee to clear her without hearing from her...-_-.
Reported: Wednesday, August 14, 2002, 08:14 a.m..

Lessons of the day

Well...I've finished reading book two of Harry Potter now...and I've derived a few rules about the series...though their accuracy is debatable. ^^;;

1. Any new character that is introduced [after book 1] will in some way or another play a significant role in the events that follow.
If this rule holds...I'll always have to suspect the new Defence Against Dark Arts professor.

2. Harry can do no wrong.

3. Approximately 3/4 through the book, there will be a plot twist that seems to come out of no where.

Ingrid gave me rule #4...suspect everything.

I deleted the rule about being able to see the slash pairs...although that is so a sign of #y getting to me ^^;;;;

I still say that I've been liking the books...and stand by the statement of good, not great. I have smirked, sniggered and giggled at points through the book...it's been an enjoyable read...and short and easy [and allowing me to turn my mind off which is good ^^;;]. If it's encouraging more children to read...that's great overall [though I agree with Ingrid...it might be a touch overrated].

News stories of note...the UN might hold a world-wide lottery to help raise funds ^^;; Although mentioning which countries owe the UN is tempting...I'll refrain from it.

Way back when in an earlier archive...I had linked to an article about a show like the Bachelorette not working...well, turns out that there will be a Bachelorette show...with 50 males that the woman (runner up of the Bachelor) can pick and choose from...interesting I suppose...o.o;

Lastly...West Nile has been found here (where I'm living)...ick ick...while last week, vCJD (mad cow disease) was found in the other major city here...

One last point to mention is that the evil one convinced me to tell her a story on Sunday night...it worked out sort of...but kind of died at the end...however...probably the most interesting thing was that she decided to analyse my personality through what the story was saying...=P...I think she had a bit too much fun doing that :P
Reported: Tuesday, August 13, 2002, 08:10 a.m..

Strange times...

Events for me in the past few days have been rather interesting to say the least...a number of you know about them...but for those that don't...I'll probably put up an entry about it in the near future. Things are starting to settle down now...but there are still a fair bit of stuff to deal with.

Working on Harry Potter...first book was not too bad...the twist at the end fooled me and seemed to come out of no where...need to check on the Quiddish match from that book to see if there's a reference to an event. I'm half way through the second book now. The books are good...yes...not great...but good and enjoyable.
Reported: Monday, August 12, 2002, 05:52 p.m..

So...you mean I got ready for nothing

Long story short...funding got pushed back until next week. Did get a few places on where we could trim our budget down...which is good...but I may have to re-write part of the proposal (minor repairs)...though I'm tempted to toss another activity in there...not sure (especially since the club next year is sort of bound by my proposal @_@ [technically, it's not 100% mine, but close enough in my mind that I can call it mine])

Gah...I was wrong with picking Dorothy as the Mole...as it was in reality Bill (saw the last 30 minutes of the show)...some of the clues were really really cheap...especially the letter clues at the beginning >_<. The telegram clue...should have changed over when I heard about that clue at Television without Pity but I didn't think they'd give the players the answer that easily...@_@. I wonder if Anderson knew this time who the Mole was (especially considering the MickyDees clue). Oh well...I enjoyed the series ^^;;

WMC...yeah...so? ;P I'm really enjoying Mick Foley's second book...since it doesn't require too too much thought...as for not reading Harry Potter first? I'm seeing some mixed reviews kicking around among some people who are just reading them now...so...[shrugs]. I don't have anything else in front of them now to read (except Genji -_-;) so I'll likely get around to them later this week or so.

Got some mail yesterday from Katelynne...which definitely brightened my day. Although she thought her handwriting was bad...no...my own handwriting and my parents' handwriting are much worse ^^;;;...I could read it without a problem ^_^. It took me a while to figure out what the origami was...I was initially thinking crane...until I looked at it an realised...rabbit XD. Thank you so kindly for everything :D (I'll hang up the Fuu UFO catcher today I think :D :D) [though I feel guilty considering what I had sent you ^^;;;;;;;]

This sort of links in to how right now I'm semi-anxiously waiting for a piece of mail to arrive...to tell me something that I can guess right now...or that will surprise me...annoying thing is that...well, that piece of mail is very important here and...not having that mail keeps me in the grand state of limbo. That information would be much appreciated by me...considering that other things are sort of linked to that information [which are different stories altogether...(deletes two words he wants to write here since it is a bit too revealing)... Sigh :/
Reported: Wednesday, August 7, 2002, 08:14 a.m..

If I feel dirty in the morning, will you still love me?

Today is the funding meeting...which explains the subject title...it looks to be an...interesting meeting I think. I sense that I will feel dirty by the end of the meeting with all the stuff that needs to go on there o.o; I like politics...but this...I don't know...it seems more...icky than normal... The weather outside is rather gloomy...and it was storming hard this morning leading to a lack of sleep to some degree...hopefully it isn't an example of pathetic fallacy ;D Oh well...if all goes well, the society will be doing decently...we'll see.

In other stuff...I'm amused this morning thinking of how I was able to come up with a quantification system (on #y) for the use of the term "wang" as a measurement system of like [I don't like the term really, but that's another story...the reason why the term was used given to me was reasonable though...in that it's better than saying (for a female) "I get wet at..."...leading to the commment by someone else 'okay drippy buns' [snerks greatly]. Anyhow, my quantification proposal was to measure in degrees...as in a protractor [snerks].
Reported: Tuesday, August 6, 2002, 08:37 a.m..

Reponse to Carrie's discussion

Okay...so I had a bit of time to actually study what you've said Carrie and here's what I have in response. Heading back to your original entry (in italics):

The first unreachable itch is the "I am tired/disgusted/appalled/ at the net! " and "I am too busy enjoying life to be on the net!" type of blog posts. Where do I even start. What difference does making an, "I am disgusted at the net!" post make? Absolutely nothing. You aren't changing the situation, you aren't magically making the "community" any non-negative, and you aren't making everyone's world a little brighter. You just look like a condescending, self-righteous ass. You need to get your piece of American pie and take your bite out, and quit your bitching; if ANYTHING, you're perpetuating the negativity by talking about it every two seconds. Furthermore, if you're looking for negativity, that's exactly what you'll find.

Okay...yes, it is true that making a post saying "I dislike the net" is not a positive post; however, it should come as no real surprise that is negative. However, why should the post have to make the net more positive? The logic here doesn't seem to follow. Sadly, the world is not a happy place; it would be nice if it was, but I'm a realist here. Expecting every post made to be all happy and fluffy is an inane expectation. I think I'm not quite reading reading the tone here of your original message correctly, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are not promoting the "idea of posts must be positive" :).

Nonetheless, it is clear that you're linking a critical post to negativity based on the text I'm quoting above. This has little merit here. Why should the commentator be expected to 'magically make the "community"...non-negative'? The implied expectation that a poster should make someone's world brighter and stop perpetuating negativity I respectfully do not believe to be a valid one. I question as well the link of disgust at the net to negativity when in fact indeed, there are things on the net that are repulsive and definitely yes, there are people on the net who are total idiots. In some circumstances, a digust at the net post might very well be justified. There is also one other point that should be noted. A "disgusted at the net" post actually does serve a purpose...it makes the poster feel better. For the majority of bloggers, the blog is personal and isn't really being written to an audience proper (yes, to some extent it is, but that's a separate discussion altogether).

In fairness, I concede that "I mourn for the community of the net" style posts can be overdone...much like anything.

Now, onto "I am too busy enjoying life to be on the net!" posts. First of all, if you're so damn busy, why is every other post of yours declaring your constant state of being busy? Obviously, you're not all that busy if you're making bullshit posts every day. See Patrick? His posts have been nonexistant as of late. Why? Because he's really that damned busy. Secondly, since when can you not enjoy and have a life and be involved online at the same time? I have a life. I have wonderful friends. I have a loving boyfriend. I love every second of my life. I don't spend my time online creating and enjoying a life I don't have when I shut down my computer. And you know what? I can pretty much say the same for everyone I associate with online. Despite what you'd like to think, we're not all twinkie-stuffing junkies who haven't seen the sun for months. Do we all feel the need to say that with every blog entry? No. Maybe it's because we have common sense, which really isn't so common these days.

I have previously addressed these comments in an earlier entry which led to Carrie's response that I'll address below. I do note that perhaps it's a question of degree...if there is a short 1 line post saying "I'm too busy to blog" over and over again...then I can perhaps see the merit of your claim. Still, I have seen bloggers who subscribe to the short and sweet blog style in which the entry is about 2-3 lines so should I assume that because the entry isn't long and detailed their content is BS? Hell, many of my entries are throwaway ones...in fact, almost of them are :P...it's only rarely that I'll take the time (or have the inititive/care) to really address an issue deeply. Hence, as you might guess, this is one of the few types of posts that do that ^^; I do note that that was surely not what you were trying to get at, but I use that stretch for the point of arguement.

There is of course the counter example to your frequent BS poster...the very infrequent poster. It's rather...irritating to try and figure out what's happened to someone without status posts (especially when e-mail response times are as bad as mine)...I mean...short status posts every so often are good, but I'm sure you'd agree with that idea. As far as I see it, it's a question of degree. Personally, I don't think that frequent posts are really that irritating...actually, they're a bit ironically amusing. I note in all fairness that I have very slight tendancies of the status report type (or at least teling the next approximate blog date).

During the interlude of the discussion, Jackie commented in the post's comment box on the matter.:

Part of Carrie's entry was derived from random people who leave comments such as, "OMG, GET A LIFE. IT'S JUST THE NET. GO OUT AND DO THINGS." Not only do they feel the need to say this once, even though they're strangers to the entire situation, but they come back and repeat this several times.

Yes, that's rather...strange behaviour (re the random people). Please forgive me for not picking up the context of the original post though o.o;

[deletion of my original quote]...Well, having no entries would indicate that the person is too busy to write something IMO. If I don't see my friends saying something, it's probably because they're out doing something else. I understand giving an update once, perhaps, but not repeatedly. Also, most people don't have loyal audiences waiting breathlessly on their every word; for the most part, weblogs are personal :e

That's not entirely true...I know for a fact that at times my lack of entries is due to either a) nothing to talk about, b) nothing I want to talk about on the blog or c) being too lazy to write up a post in addition to d) being too busy =P. Again here, its a question of degree...how many posts are enough? I don't really see the problem with a daily post...since I can skim it in about 10 seconds and then don't have to read it ^^;; If it's more than once a day...that is extreme. This links into the idea of 'don't like it don't read it' that I will address further. If the blogger updates daily...then perhaps a daily note might be all right...again, assuming an audience.

The second reply from Carrie is as follows:

You'd think that the idea of having a life offline would, in fact, be implied. However, I can think of no less than ten logs that currently contain pseudo-snarky comments declaring that the author, random flamer, SOMEONE should "get a life." A prime example would be the copying debacle that transformed Jackie's comments into a forum of idiots spewing their own special brand of stupidity. I can clearly recall at least one, "OMG IT'S JUST A LAYOUT YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE" comment.

The statement "get a life" has been used so much that it's rather meaningless. I respectfully don't consider it strong evidence for your assertation about the lack of implication. I do remember the comment debacle...that was so pathetic with regards to intelligence and wittyness [ ~both sides~ spewed unique blends of inanity] that I abandoned my commentary on it in disgust.

Rant number two was not only directed to people with inane log posts, but people with equally inane, defunct, unoriginal "attacks." If you're going to attack someone, at least make it interesting and witty. Please.

The inane log posts I don't necessarily agree with...as 'one person's trash is another person's treasure'. However, I do agree with you strongly about the attacks. Creativity and wittyness are the ideals...which I again state didn't occur in that comment debacle.

Furthermore, if an offline life were implied with the ownership of a weblog, why would the aforementioned inane log owners see fit to blog the online equivalent of dancing around naked shouting "I HAVE A LIFE! I REALLY REALLY DO~" in five different languages? That's what I was going for, the first time around; You have a life, I have a life, woohoo. Let's dance around the apple tree and make peace with this knowledge, so we don't make post after post after post informing the world that we simply don't have time to blog because we have to go make lunch, water the bluebonnets, and knit mittens for our kittens.

Respectfully, such posts don't really hurt anyone and I'll have to simply agree to disagree with you here on the severity of offense (if applicable) on these types of post. Not every blog post is Deep and Insightful...for the most part...they're rather...dull by nature. I'll happily classify most of my posts into the dull category. It may not be needed though...I grant you that but for specific reasons why people make such posts...I do not have an answer.

I don't follow the "If you don't like it, don't read it" ideology simply because it it's an oft-used method to deflect the incoming flames from overtly controversial, unnecessarily offensive, and otherwise uncalled for log posts. When the flames do start rolling in, the hapless unsuspecting author pulls out the "If you don't like it, don't read it" trump card and gestures at it madly. It's the blogland equivalent of the Get out of Jail Free card and conveniently doubles as a spine, because you know the author of the intentionally controversial post has nothing remotely resembling a backbone.

I grant you that the "IYDLIDRI" ideology can be used inappropriately. There are some situations where it isn't a valid arguement (i.e. the claim that women are inferior to men, X race is superior to others) and in that case, yes, I agree strongly with your claim. If you want to step up and play with the big boys and girls...then be prepared for heat. However, I was more using the argument for the more mild posts that you didn't like. If you don't care for a post of mine on science...don't read it, etc. etc.

So...in summary, I agree that some of your points do have merit and I do agree with them but it seems that we have different levels of tolerance to certain styles of posts. The level of degree I think has a significant impact as to whether I'd find something super irritating as compared to you Carrie. For somethings, we'll have to agree to disagree here ^_^
Reported: Monday, August 5, 2002, circa 04:30 p.m..

o.o;;

This weekend is funding proposal write-up time which likely means that I won't be able to go out tonight to see a movie [as I will likely have to meet with the other guy working on the proposal tonight...as he's gone next week meaning I'm the one who will be getting down and dirty] o.o;; No real entry today. I do note that this week has in fact been a rarity...with at least one blog post a day [which almost never happens]. I'll slip back into my old patterns though next week...since it's a long weekend...^^;; [unless I miraculously decide to blog on the weekend...which is rather rare ;)]

Plea time. If anyone comes across an extra copy of Shonen Jump issue 0 and it's free (like I'm guessing it is), might they pick up a copy for me? [looks as cute as he can].

Lastly...a snerky quote (or some approximation to the best of my ability) from AIM yesterday:
"I was on top of her and then Legolas was riding my ass :P"
Reported: Friday, August 2, 2002, 08:45 a.m..

Cohesiveness

Let's try addressing some points today ^^;

In Ontario, there is starting to be some contraversy over how private schools (i.e. for a class or two) are generating lots of high marks as compared to the taxpayer funded system (i.e. separate and public schools). I know there there is a lot of leeway with grading though...i.e. one classroom is not equal to another. It's saddening to think that people might be headed to private schools only for higher marks...yes, I'm aware that the education system has flaws (especially in ON...here, I don't think our system is that bad per se).

The US Image Office will soon be established. Basically, its entire mandate is to provide a positive spin on events and US policy to other regions of the world including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, etc. etc. [that seems to be most of the world...wonder if ~that~ suggests anything]. One official is quoted as saying that there is a 40-50 year problem with the US image. Strange though...the CNN article doesn't mention anything about the office that was going to pass misinformation (until it got scrapped due to public outcry) while the Globe and Mail article did... I'm not sure how well it's going to work though...because a fair number of people will be able to detect the American spin [actually, I think that the spin might work a bit too well...which is a rather cynical view of the world].

Hey May...finally going to address your points :) [takes me a while to get to these things] ^^;;.
a) "Hikari-sasu Niwa" - Utena ...oooh...which song is that and where I can I acquire a copy of the sheet ^^;;;
b) Disinfecting the sink @_@;; Initially, I was about to go on the antibacterial substance rant and why it's bad...but then I realised that disinfect != antibacterial (though that seems a bit extreme).
c) The link you provided about the women should stay at home rant on a MB was...rather...interesting. Interesting in the sense that it shows that there are people like that out there >_<. I won't give Gert Lord's arguments any respect by refuting them here...needless to say, I have the feeling that if he was presented with the refuted points...he'd still ignore it. Women working being the cause of inflation? *uck that! I wonder why the idiot [deleted a different Sopranoeque phrase] has had altercations with women...he is awarded a dumb *uck award from me (not the 'top' class of 'award'...but still)

Sigh...meeting tonight to deal with fun funding stuff...joyous o.o;

Now...all that's left on the platter is addressing Carrie's commentary.
Reported: Thursday, August 1, 2002, 12:36 p.m..

The entry about nothing

A Seinfeld inspired title, but it is a misinomer.

Yesterday was not too bad...got my hair cut (and it needed it -_-)...so it's now in the short isoform ^_- (yes, there is a drastic difference in the length and thickness from before the cut...I like it on the shorter side to the middle of the length/thickness continum). I've had suggestions though to either a) grow my hair so all of it is the same length (No) or b) grow my hair to elf length (I don't know). I so needed the haircut...as I was shaking my head a fair bit to get the hair out of my eyes at work -_-.

I also got a chance to try DDR Max 2 (read DDR 7th Mix) yesterday...it's...interesting I guess. The freeze steps (introduced in 6th Mix) are a bit different to get used to...but. The music isn't super catchy/poppy as what I'm used to...but there were a few songs I recognise from the radio...and I was surprised to see the Whistle Song (AKA Blow my Whistle Bitch). The 300 bpm song is present and is selectable from the start. I think there's even a faster song than that...I couldn't tell...the beat changed on the screen. Got rid of some of my favourites though :/...Oh...I passed the first three, failed the fourth. The only new song I passed was "It's Raining Men Almighty Mix" at 5 feet.

[moved to next entry]

Ah...I was wondering where exactly those tracker hits were coming from. I've only skimmed your entry Carrie so I shall try and address it soon. On a first read, I didn't see any glaring weakness with your discussion but I shall have to read it very carefully when I respond ^^.

Gah...still haven't commented on May's stuff nor on the US Propaganda office...1/3 then. Yay XD
Reported: Wednesday, July 31, 2002, 12:38 p.m..

It's always in the place you least expect it...

Before commenting on what the title topic is referring to...I should say that I'm sort of impressed at how vague certain parts of the last entry turned out @_@;

I was surprised to find that Toriyama's World actually does have text translations of Hikago. Only one it's missing is #3...wasn't there a while ago o.o;;

Priya...that's brilliant...that is the terminology of "fangirl money shot" (Legolas image in Two Towers trailer) XD...[so who's cleaning up the mess? ;P] Side note...haven't seen the South Park movie...but the soundtrack...hearing Little Bow Wow (think that's who it is) do Unca *ucker is rather disturbing...@_@;

Want to address a few points from May's blog...but I'm a bit short on time...next entry I hope ^^;;

Topics to talk about: US propaganda office opening, private academy marks being inflated (with respect to Ontario)
Reported: Tuesday, July 30, 2002, 12:58 p.m..

From helter to skelter

Another random topic entry today...although that really shouldn't be a surprise for semi-regular followers of this log. Where do I begin?

The weather this weekend was surprisingly nice...it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. No mosquitos really flying around...although there are lots of grasshoppers around (and I mean lots of them). I think I read in the Globe and Mail a while back that this is one of the worst years for grasshoppers in a while. That is not good news for my province's economy since we are quite agriculturally based...and we are still a have-not province. Coupled with the fact that other countries subsidise wheat (which is of dubious legality), it won't be pleasant. I think the bail out package is announced today...

Gah...that reminds me. I get to deal with politics on the micro level over the next little while. As some of you may recall, I'm on the executive of our little biochemistry and chemistry society here...and as I'm one of the few people around in the summer, I'm on the acting executive panel. This year, the student union decided to revamp funding for societies and clubs and so now, there is a committee to deal with funding. As all of the faculties pretty much formed an organisation for this funding agreement, science sort of followed suit...and again, due to limited numbers, I think that I'm on this acting committee as well. The science faculty organisation (of students) is pretty weak...just us and the CS department really have societies. So...where I am going with this? Well, next Tuesday (which means I'll have to tape the Mole finale ;_;) is the meeting to fight over funding (i.e. the distribution of $20 000 among all the societies). I think that the three big societies (i.e. the ones with a large infrastructure which are also the ones that require their students to pay a fee) will get most of the money...even with the restriction of obtaining a maximum of 20% of the funding. Nonetheless, I think the biochemistry and chemistry society should be pleased with the outcome of this (i.e. we stand to earn get more money than we would have gotten otherwise)...however, that means I have to work with my colleague on drafting a budget (which really sucks in that we'll be drafting the budget for the executive (who gets elected in the fall) to follow ^gt;__< It's a pain the way this structure is organised requiring elections in the winter in order to have executive in the summer for this allocation of money. I expressed my objections quite strongly at the meeting (talking about the first year students being an important part)...the admin member recommended that elections be done in the winter and that we have a first year representative (which is what they do). Great idea...BUT...our department (and just the faculty in general) is much more fluid...in that people come and go...and many times, they won't know if they'll be around in the fall until mid summer (for whatever reason)...it'd be a pain to have to deal with that matter ^gt;_<. Nonetheless, I have the feeling that we'll have to change in order to get funding...which means that the constitution needs to be re-written and re-vamped. Fun -_-.

To a bit of blogdom now [sorry Kristi, I refuse to use the term "TCoB" [This corner of blogland] ^_- ]. Stephen's request of the day...don't design your text to look like this. This blog doesn't load in Netscape...and although my eyes are actually pretty good, I was starting to feel pain trying to read the text. Not cool, not cool at all.

Next up...to a rant that I found linked from Jackie's blog...the 25 July 2002 entry of Carrie's blog I think is quite overrated, respectfully to you Jackie. Regarding both issues...I'm of the mind of "Who the hell cares". If you don't like the text or content...simple. Don't read it. It should be noted that some bloggers write at least once a day if not more...and so that a claim that they're busy and don't have time to make an entry would be valid (especially if they have a loyal audience who looks forward to every entry)...
The idea of having a life off-line...well, yeah...it is ~sorta~ implied (with perhaps a few exceptions). I do have a life offline (mind you not much of one...that is not so very exciting of one)...but still, I do have one o.o;; Certainly, this blog is not a complete summary of my life [have to keep some secrets you know ;) {read, the parts I don't mention are uber-boring...well, more boring than normal, for the most part ^^;;}].
This segues well into the observation that I don't really use this forum as an angsting point...which is probably a very good thing for both me and for a reader ^^;;; I toy with writing a free-talk in the near future (i.e. a sort of angsty issue)...but I come across the problem that some readers can perhaps...(I'd think likely in the case of a few)...guess on...and...I'm not sure I want to take that risk due to...the possible reprecussions that may follow that might perhaps be unexpected. I don't know if I can keep it vague enough that the people who probably should know, can figure out what I'm talking about...while those I don't really want to know won't be able to directly make any connections...oh, what to do, what to do (I note that "what to do" can probably be applied to the matter I'm thinking of...the conflict of hope [not the right word exactly, but it's close] and realism).

12:51 PM Addendum: You know...I realised that my statements above could be applied to two sort of interconnected matters although I'm only thinking of one @_@;;
Reported: Monday, July 29, 2002, 08:17 a.m..

Two types of men

This observation/thesis came from a female colleague yesterday as a result of discussing "Meet My Folks". I had been making the comment that the show showed that either "Men have a chance" (which was disputed on #y ;) or "Women are screwed"...somehow, the conversation led to a male colleague saying something about that "Women look for men who treat them like [excrement]." and something about that nice guys don't get anywhere. The two women in the conversation immediately denied that [side point, I think my male colleague is full of it for the most part, especially on the first point...or at least I'd like to think that]* and the point of interest was something to the extent of:
"There are two type of men in the world...assholes and clingy people. There is almost no happy median in the world."

Rather a stark view...no, I don't agree with it. I pose the question now...now accurate was the above view in your opinion?

Another episode of Meet My Folks yesterday. Candidates this time were a bit better...actually, a lot better o.o;;. The show was still hysterical. The parents chose the one the girl wasn't interested in (well, interested in only as a friend)...she thought she could have more lasting success with the others. Hmmm...the negative traits all blur together after a while...I think there was one super cheap guy (who bounced some checks using an account closed three months previous)...I also think his girlfriend made some cracks at not being able to satisfy. Another pretended to be gay in order to get a job. Now, here's where the traits start to blend in...one trait was a problem of urinating on his roommate when he gets plastered...another trait was getting a friend hammered so he could sleep with his sister...one more trait (this was the skateboard guy) is apparently scoring with all the mothers that visit the skateboard shop. Darn...I wish televisionwithoutpity.com would do a summary of this show XD XD...then I could point to the entire review in all its glory :D :D

Thought of the day...so...if you know what's going to happen now...why on earth would you sign up (that is from the male perspective...although the female perspective can likely have the same question posed to them)?

Venkarel...thanks for the comment about blogging and e-mailing, etc. I'm still not 100% sure about the Utena movie manga...as I believe package is en route with it...but I know my friend S-san doesn't have that volume (the same one you found the Wo Ai FY World CD for)...I'll get back to you on that matter. [that reminds me...I should update the Wish List on the side in the near future ^^;;]

* Yes, I am aware that some women do look for that...but I'm referring to a generalisation here (and I concede all the problems inherant in generalisation, but grant me the leeway here).
Reported: Thursday, July 25, 2002, 08:22 a.m..

As promised...

Kristi and Charmian, the site for Guy Gavriel Kay is found here. I recommend the three books I've read by him, Tigana, A Song for Arbonne and The Lions of Al-Rassan...I'm reminded of these books by Kushiel's Dart. Oh...all three books are stand alone ones. :)

Dow Jones went up a lot today...as did the Canadian dollar. Yay (more so on the latter point as it has been punished in the past few days ;_;)

Not much else to say at this point in time ^^;
Reported: Wednesday, July 24, 2002, 05:14 p.m..

Random maundering

I think I'm borrowing from Tayla's old blog title for some reason...but what ever.

The concert on Saturday went well...really pretty sounding and the soloists were very good. The design of the cathedral is well designed for music...especially with the 3 second delay :D I was quite happy at how it turned out.

Kristi and Charmian, if you liked Kushiel's Dart, I recommend some of the books by Guy Gabriel Kay...Kushiel's Dart is reminding me of some of them. I'll dig up the titles I recommend and Kay's website for my next entry here ^^;

As for Kushiel's Dart...I'm really enjoying it right now...I'm a little past Phèdre's first assignation...and although the front comments said the beginning was slow...I didn't find it that way at all. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

The Mole II is on tonight :D Actually one of the intelligent reality shows around IMO ^^;;;. Still call that Dorothy is the Mole ^^;;;

Ah yes...I conclude by noting that the Pope is visiting Canada this week for World Youth Day in Ontario right now...got live coverage from the CBC.
Reported: Tuesday, July 23, 2002, 05:10 p.m..

Distractions

So...I was thinking of writing an entry about the figuring out of who reads a blog and the direction of messages to people (i.e. whether blog or e-mail is the best way to go)...but I figure that'll take too much thought for me at the moment ^^;;

I watched only half of the show "Meet My Folks" yesterday and wished I watched the whole thing XD. My brother saw the whole thing...and his laughter drew me into to watch. The premise here is simple...you take one girl and three guys vieing for her...you then put them in front of the girl's parents for a long weekend and they choose the winner.

Now...that seems simple enough, doesn't it. I don't think many people here (that is Western society) would really want their parents to choose their dates/mates. Yes, I acknowledge that there are some, and that arranged marriages do occur. I also note that love marriages are only a recent invention (i.e. late 19th century?). Theoretically, if I recall the explaination from one of my friends who will eventually have an arranged marriage, one's relatives should know you the best and thus choose the best partner for you...however, I don't think my parents know (~nor do I really want them to know~) what some of the traits I'm drawn to. Thus...I'd hate to undergo a thing like this...because I'm not confident that my parents would choose someone that I'd like.

Anyhow...to the show. Basically, I saw the show as having a deeper message than what one might expect. There are two ways to take the show...either that a) "men, you have a chance as if the girl chooses one of these losers, you should be okay" or b) "women, you're screwed".

Why do I say that? Well, simply put...the candidates were pretty weak all around. In the father's words..."when I first saw them, I thought 0/3...bring in some new men" [or something like that]. I don't blame him at all for that claim...I wonder where they get people like that from. All of them were flawed...in rather serious ways...to get three in one batch...hmmm...

Where I came in...I saw the ex-girlfriends come in for breakfast...where they regalled the girl's family with tales of cheating, infedelity (one at least 4 times) and other such stuffs...oh...the boys couldn't speak to defend themselves. They then went on a date...one went with her to a jacuzzi place, the other to a yoga place and the third out to dinner at a restaurant. The funnier part came in the evening when first, there was a sharing of an item. One guy brought in his degree as no one in the family had one, one guy brought in a song he wrote for his sister...which was bad bad...I mean like think of a very poor boy band...with the neck jerk and glottle sounds all in one (my brother muted it mercifully). Last guy brought in this hand drum and was pounding on it a while...Next, the doorbell rang and a package arrived at the house containing video tapes of revelations from some associated with the male contestants. One apparently cheated on his SATs, one has a spanking fetish and the third slept with one of his ex-girlfriend's mother. They removed one of the people after that...I think it was the spanking fetish one...

Last day...lie detector test. Bwahahahha. The ex-girlfriend mother one passed 53% of the questions and the other 33%...some questions asked the 33% guy...did you bring condoms this weekend. Answer:...delayed response...No.--Fail. Do you like me? Answer...delayed...Yes.--Fail. It was hillarious to watch the first guy obviously lie. Oh....'did you cheat on a college exam'...thinking...No.--Fail. Other guy failed the sleep with the ex-girlfriend's mother question (he said no, failed)...the examiner's eyes were quite funny at that point XD (some sort of disbelief I think).

Yeah...so I hope that the candidates on next week's episode are as...interesting...because I can certainly use the laughter. I wonder if the choice of candidates was intentional by the producers ^^; Oh...for those who care, girlfriend's mom sleeper with won AKA Mr. Infidelity...that was also the one the girl liked o.o;;

For those I've been whining to recently, I do apologise. Although I know full well that whining is thereupatic, it's also can be unseemly. I think I'm starting to head towards being unseemly...and for that I'm sorry.
Reported: Tuesday, July 23, 2002, 12:27 p.m..

HikaGo fun...

cc will definitely be interested in this HikaGo script site...I thank Ingrid, the mostly loyal minion for finding this link :D [Translations for volumes 1-2, 4-10].

Today is the last rehearsal for tomorrow's concert...I think things are going pretty well preparation wise, so that's encouraging.

A weekly US manga anthology @_@...ewww...Grappler Baki, one of the worst pointless anime I've seen -_-

Not much else to say other than it's been too hot :(...
Reported: Friday, July 19, 2002, 08:17 a.m..

Portion of a scrubbed entry:

I was going to write up an article/entry talking about blog wars and how the third parties are often major grunts in the battle using one particular incident as a case study...but the more I looked the comments posted here, the more and more my eyes started to roll. No respect in many of these comments...lots of insults...loads of profanity. Personal thing...you look smarter if you don't use profanity...just cursing for the sake of cursing makes it lose all meaning. I don't know the particulars of the situation, so it'd be inappropriate to comment on the particular issue...I'm just commenting on the string of comments.

Two trends we see here that I think can be extended to blog wars in general...lots of indirect fighting seems to occur with supporters of each side and secondly, lots of profanity and simple insults back and forth. Not very witty at all nor classy at all...but then, wit and class aren't really expected in flame/blog wars...the lack of maturity by some was...rather saddening to say the least. Even more disturbing is that I think some of the childishness came from people who are my contemperaries (i.e. a little older or a little younger).

Anyhow...what I was working on before I decided to scrap this project as it wasn't worth my time:

Conflict between individuals is inevitable but it seems more likely to occur on the internet due to the impersonal nature of the medium. Not interacting with a person other than through text makes it a lot easier to be nasty to others. Historically, text based conflicts on the internet have usually involved e-mail exchanges between parties. One party to the conflict might have created or modified one of their own websites leading to other sympathetic individuals joining the conflict.

Recently, with the proliferation of blogs (web logs), the involvement of others in conflict has become much easier and more likely to occur. Blogs, which were originally designed to collect links are now frequently used as diaries and platforms for opinion. Due to the linking nature of blogs, person B can respond to person A's entry, other people can read person B's entry and then respond to person A. This viral like propensity of blogs may play a role in how blog based conflicts can spread rapidly.

To examine the nature of this trend, a case study will be made of a conflict over layout design and the claims by one person [Person 1] that her layout (Figure 1) was the major influence for another's [Person 2] layout (Figure 2) and that no credit or acknowledgement was given. Studying the interconnected pathway between blogs over a conflict is very difficult to perform due to the possible scope and sublinking that may occur. It is not guaranteed that all reaction can be found due to the fact that not all the main participants will link to every entry related to it. Instead, the comment box on the blog of one individual involved in the conflict will serve as a model system; it is a self-contained environment allowing for the study of effectively all the reactions. By examining the replies in the comment box as of 18 July 2002, one can obtain an idea of the nature of conflict on the internet, with specific interest to conflict in the blog community.
Reported: Thursday, July 18, 2002, 05:49 p.m..

Archival time

Indeed, as the post number hits a multiple of 20, it's time for another archive ^^;; [technically, it's since I started counting with the new comment box, but you know] {shudders thinking about counting all the posts he's made since the beginning...so that likely won't be a question on Congly Quiz II ^_-...though if I figure that if I run it again, I should a) get better prizes and b) make it impossibly hard.

I'm finding that Sarah is a great place for me to go to get doses of political commentary...and she manages to address some of the issues I was going to mention [albeit better than I would, but that's another story]. I want to highlight three recent entries of hers: one featuring a link to a CIA kids site. However...I'm not really surprised at this...I'm pretty sure that CSIS [Canadian equivalent] doesn't have a site for kids though...I'm reminded of the US Army's video game to recruit new members into it...interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly even in a two player game, you always see yourself on the army side.
Yeah...so I find politics interesting ^^; [although I haven't been reading as much of the paper as I'd like to in the past few days...normally I read it from cover to cover (excluding ads and stock quotes)...but now, I'm just skimming it and reading the sections I like [Entertainment, Sports, Letters to the Editor, etc.]

Next up is this entry dealing with the US government getting private citizens to spy on their neighbours...I'm speechless at this {this was one of the topics I was going to mention}

Thirdly, dealing with the lack of linking and mundane content of blogs. I plead guilty to both...but the former is simply because I'm lazy in that regard ^^;;...and the second one...well look at the blog title ;P. I didn't know that people stopped linking blogs in their text...you mean I started a trend way back when before I started to link more frequently? XD {Yeah right}. I suppose linking in the text is perhaps the best way to attract attention to your comments via the tracker, but that makes the assumption that the reader will click on the link...if no one clicks on the link, the tracker information on the linked blog won't help...(I do note of course that trackers are not 100% accurate ^^;)

Ooooh...my Lodoss War subbed box set came in yesterday...that's probably what I'll be doing for much of the weekend :)

I'm thinking of redesigning the nuts and bolts of this layout...adding in some prettier coding...perhaps changing the format of the blog links on the side...as for a new design...perhaps in the not so distant future...we'll see.