#general Homeward 24 November 1998

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Well one final journal entry before I leave here and go home. Sunday I bought a new CD called For The Masses. It's a bunch of remakes of Depeche Mode. Since age three or so I've been listening to Depeche Mode and the Cure. My brother was into those two bands and it just rubbed off on me. Lo and behold their is the Cure doing a cover of World in My Eyes. Meat Beat Manifesto which "Kwis" introduced me to sounds like an even more electronic version of Depeche Mode. They did a remix of Everything Counts which is one of my favorite dM songs. Rammstein is a scary band, they did this version of Stripped, another of my favorites... this sounded very very scary - a stalker version of the song. A lot of it was very "alternative" sounding. In the 80s Depeche Mode was alternative... alternative today is so different sounding. I don't even want to get into this topic of genres. Some of the songs I missed were Blasphemous Rumors and A Question of Time. That's alright though, the originals suit me just fine.:)

I also bought a $65 keyboard drawer. It has neat gel rests for my keyboard and mouse (which is on a sliding tray), it's easily removed so I can use it at home too. I love this thing and is definitely worth getting. "It feels like breast" as one floormate remarked about the gel rests.

ANNOUNCEMENT: When I mention an MP3, I normally will upload it to "the MP3 Server." Some of you wonder what this server is. This server is not run by me, and is not mine to delegate access. A good number of the visitors of this page know of the server and how to connect to it, this is why I frequently use it to upload my MP3s. If you do not have access to this server and want one of the MP3s I mention, I can send it to you if you live in my hall, or I can at least point you in the direction where I found it (usually MIRCX).

I finished Speaker of the Dead. My hall has not yet purchased Xenocide which means I am bound to magazines and writing on the flight home. I should have just purchased this book at the bookstore today. What I did get at the bookstore is a nice legal pad and pad holder and a nice shirt. That cost about $40 total. I think I'm going to have to buy less stuff and start saving money.

Yesterday while watching the X-files there was an add for Ally McBeal featuring Ally going at it with some other woman. I watched it while packing up. What a stupid show. I think I know a Chinese version of Ally McBeal back in Minnesota.

Okay, so I am going home tomorrow. Leaving UIUC at 10:25 AM to Detroit. I'll be at Detroit at 12:55, leaving at 1:40 and then reaching my final destination at 2:32 PM. My incomming flight to MSP is 1137. I will be coming into gate 18 I believe.

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#friends Stink free 22 November 1998

Stinky will not be present in my life until 29 November 1998.

Clinton recieving instructions from the mother-computer via an old-fashioned radio.

I came up with this neat idea, that I might hope to expand on later. Many of us who are fairly adept with using computers tend to come across at least a few people who are very unskilled at using a computer and often treat it as a delicate insrument that at anytime may cease to function and thus must never be experimented with beyond the ways which they are taught. Say that seven times fast. No, really do it. Say it and record it and then send it to me. The problem with this relationship with a computer you become computer-illiterate. Which isn't a bad thing, except you can't get things done. This is why software needs to be by default very wizard like. Not the stupid paper-clip in office, but Kit from Knight Rider, Jane from Speaker for the Dead, Computer from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Holly from Red Dwarf and to a lesser extent the organism from Sphere that took over the computer and made everyone want to kill everyone else (with none of the killing of course). The main reason for making computers like that, is that they have a persona and they do things for you. You communicate to the computer like you would communicate with a friend or slave. For those of us who would rather not have that, we could disable it. Please support Artificial Intelligence.

My dorm light went good-bye. I work in darkness now. Actually I work in the bask of a florescent study lamp from Jack's desk which is adequate for computer work. What errors I encounter will be adjusted through corrective surgery...

By the way, the song that I said was really cool is actually Jeane Michael Jarre's Oxygene 16 performed live in Moscow... I found most of the concert live, but only this track was 128/44 (and mislabled). I've uploaded all my stuff to the MP3 server. I've listened to a few of his other works and they are okay, but none were as impressive as this. Of course this is also the only good MP3 I could find of him (a mislabeled one at that).

There exists a World Jewish Congres... WJC... hmm... interesting. Sounds a little too much like World Wide Jewsih Conspiracy to me.

I've noticed a lot of people on my dorm leave their TV on, and don't actually watch it. It might be laziness or it might be some type of "security" that they get from the TV being on. I know that the TV gives me "company" when I eat alone at home, but I rarely do that anymore. This might be for the same reason. So I ask:

Do you keep your televion on even if you are not watching it?

Yes.
No.

A lot of my friends here on campus have older computers that require non-SDRAM, either EDO or the "other kind." If someone can point me in the direction of how to distinguish between the types of RAM, that'd be great. Also, if any of you have this type of RAM lying around, please give it to me.

Now you may be thinking, "Dave, you're all the way in Urbana." I'm coming back Tuesday and their is a Thanksgiving Party at my house this Friday. All are welcome, just email me so I know you're coming. It's best to let me know if you're coming by Tuesday night for sure. If you've already told me that you are coming, then don't worry. Thanks a lot. Hope to see you soon. And to all my friends living on the east and west coasts, hope to see many of you during Winter Break. Unless I hate you. Email me if you want to know if I hate you.

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#food Stinky makes a stink. 20 November 1998

"Whee!" Soaring through space, Stinky's PSX will never be seen in Urbana-Champaign for a very long time.

Wednesday we were little kids again at Fat Don's (a campus specialty restaurant). We played with the Ketchup and the Steak Sauce Bottle.

I hit the jackpot for MP3s. I've found all these neat live Aphex Twin and Orbital songs. The only difference from a studio and live cut is an audience and it sounds different slightly. Sometimes the sound is a little low quality, due to who recorded it, etc. The Orbital songs from Birmingham tend to have too much bass... that forces me to have to deal with Winamp's equalizer. The song of the week is an Orb song. Supposedly it's Toxygene live in Moscow, but it sounds nothing like the two other versions of Toxygene that I have. It's very space-future sounding. I've listened to it so much that I can't place it with another song that I've heard, becuase it's too familiar. The other two Toxygenic songs are mass-media-future sounding. Like something we'd have sometime soon. Supposedly the new Winamp (2.04+) are supposed to get rid of skips and stuff, but that's not happening. Oh well. I'll try to get my latest collection to the MP3 server in the sky before I leave. I'll at least start uploading by Sunday. I'd hate to go home and find myself musicless... although my CD-player supposedly works... and I could go CD shopping with my Jewish friend.

I'm really being pushed I guess. My Thanksgiving break will be relaxing, but I fear I'll be spending a lot of time composing a rough draft for my speech on an inclusive education model. Dammit, I need a day. Not just a day where I have no obligations, but a day where I have no future obligations to worry about. I have an outline due Friday, stuff to read, a paper due next week, a speech in a few weeks, end of the quarter soon, immunization tests that need be done, credits that need to be transferred propperly, class registration that needs to be propperly done.

Stinky made a stink tonight. I have witnesses, Neal, Mike, and anyone else who was unfortunate to walk by my room. I had to leave my room and go talk to the Katie with the red hair. Eventually the stink faded away. I don't want to sound like I'm exaggerating, but it was really bad. Mothballs and open windows should cure the room.

I heard Stinky talking to Josh in the hallway and I asked Josh in ICQ what Stinky said about the PSX (PlayStation):

You'll be really happy...he said he's not bringing it back after Thanksgiving...cuz he's gonna have to study for finals...Don't celebrate TOO loudly...:):)

If all goes well, this is a permanent thing.

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#movies The Phantom Menace... can you think of a dumber name? 18 November 1998

"There's a stupid caption."

I will begin reading Speaker for the Dead (sequel to Ender's Game). I don't know if I will like it as much, although Tim Cheng says it was a good book. I'll start in CS 100... oh wait. Wow, I read Ender's Game in three days. Wow. Sorry, I always remember what I was reading because I always have a book in CS 100.

Starwars.com. Go to it. Download the trailers. You want to see the movie.

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#friends (no title) 14 November 1998

I'm reading some news off the AP wire. Xis Vwj is pronounced "See Voo." In one light, that's pretty cool. On the otherhand, who the hell is responsible for translating Hmong (I think) to English?

This if from the AFP:

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (AFP) - Inspired by the victory in the Minnesota governor's race of former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura, another veteran of the sport, Hulk Hogan, plans to run for president in 2000, Time magazine says.
"When Jesse won, I said to my wife, 'I'm 10 times more popular than him,'" Hogan told Time.
"People know Hulk Hogan like they know McDonald's and Chevrolet."
The weekly said Hogan planned to approach billionaire Ross Perot, CNN founder Ted Turner and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey as possible running mates.
Asked of a possible political contest against Ventura, Hogan said, "I'd like to get him into the ring and basically stomp on him."

This is what I feared might happen in the last paragraph of my essay. Luckily, Hulk Hogan, although popular, is not nearly as charismatic as Jesse the Body.

I finished I, Robot some time ago. It's a childrens novel. Well it seems like one. The future it portrays is interesting and their are portions that are probable. I, personally, think that we will have powerful thinking machines far sooner than actual robots.

I have begun reading Ender's Game. I understand why Adam liked it so much. This summer I worked with gifted (well if not gifted, talented) children in a mathematics program with Molly. You could always single out that even among these there is still the quiet ones and the smart ones and the quiet and smart ones. I also like how it reminds me of my childhood.

When you are picked on as a child, beating the crap out of someone is an option.

I remember one day trying to get a seat on the bus. I guess most of the seats were filled and I had to sit with someone. I politely asked some kid, one year my senior, if I could sit with him. He didn't give me a valid reason why I couldn't. I decided since this kid wasn't exactly someone to fear that I should just elbow him in the stomach and take a seat. My plan worked. It's not that I was violent, it's that I decided that was the best choice for my situation. I sometimes miss my childhood. When you are picked on as a child, beating the crap out of someone is an option. Now that I'm grown up, there are legal issues with beating the crap out of people. People are also more civil towards one another.

Stinky has over six hours of video of the #2 Street Fighter player in the world. He watches it intently. I came back from the library to see him and Stephan watching it as if it were a good movie. I've heard at least two or three people come in here and just get disgusted with Stinky watching it. Stinky attempted to exclaim how cool it was by saying that this was the number 2 player. My friend, Tim, responded with "So?" So remember, if you are doing something that's really silly and stupid assigning a rank doesn't make it better.

Fashion is just one of the many uses of duct tape.

That's right. It would be like me getting a video of SGI's Blue Mountain and IBM's Pacific Blue going through tests set up by the Department of Energy to see which is faster. I doubt they are going to be doing anything that is visually stunning, and justifying it by saying that they are the #1 computers as far as computing speed goes doesn't mean crap.

For fear that my floor may come off, I started duct-taping it. This duct-tape exo-floor should be more durable and less likely to come off. That's right people... I'm still strange. Actually I'm not going to tape my entire floor lest I incur the wrath of some building inspectors.

I'm experiencing another joyous no-Stinky weekend. With Stinky gone, I decided to fix the biggify thing so it prompts you and stores it as a cookie propperly. Previously it was using someone elses code that I slightly modified. Now a more modified code that makes more sense to me. I love programming.

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#friends (no title) 12 November 1998

"Kiss me, for I am a magical creature."

I have a problem with this article. Read through it. Look at the last two paragraphs. The problem I have is that those last two paragraphs don't flow at all with the article. I think the press should stick to more fact-based information rather than this human side stuff. My sympathy for the victim and the victim's family has been lowered because of the weak conclusion to the article.

I finished my Ventura article. It's not as organized and documented as I would have liked, but under my current time constraints, it is the best I could do. I've got two nice and long research papers to write by the end of the quarter (which is coming very fast).

Check out this week's poll at PopSci.com. I like what the results show.

Wow... I'm full and it's after midnight. I went to eat at Fat Don's. That's the first time I've eaten so much. Depending on what they serve, I'll go there as a weekly thing.

My friends are missing tonight... hmm where could they be?

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#computers (no title) 11 November 1998

"There are some things I wouldn't want to recieve as a gift." "Like what?" "Herpes."

iMacs are inferior... even to the magical Celeron's.

Thanks to Tuesday morning's wind dynamics that I don't quite understand in Allen Hall the doors here keep making noises, as if someone were pushing and pulling on them. I think I fixed it in my room by applying poster tack.

For those of you who want ICQ 99a, you can get it here at least temporarily.

Umm... looks like I fixed the biggify button on the left. There is now a "debiggify." I finally found the phrase that I was missing from my Javascript at cnn.com. Speaking of CNN. CNN's custom news sucks, it gives you less information. I found more things that interest me on the regular cnn page.

Download this Ventura clip. A singing, rocking and rolling governor...

Not much is happening. This week I am a good chemist and no the entire weeks worth of chemistry. Unfortunately that doesn't help me with my pending assignments. Damn! I have math homework... and math class!

I started to work on this stupid, useless project of the Hindu Mandir registry/address book type thing (again). I doubt anybody will make propper use of it, I'll see. If I do anything tonight it will be a new project for Med Rx using this.

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#friends The Wire 10 November 1998

"There is a fine, cocaine-like powder covering the grass outside my suburban home. And I'm ever so pleased about it."

I've recently been reading news directly from the "Wire." I remember learning about how the news over the "Wire" looks in my technology education class. Basically it tends to be in all caps, but not always. Anything that isn't a common word is spelled in parenthesis as it sounds and a few other things that make it easy for radio announcers to read on the radio without messing up. The thing that through me off guard was a UPI article which at the end had an email address: "emkay(at)msn.com." CNN does this often, since a lot of their articles are directly from AP or UPI.

I was going to make some joke about Jesse "the Body" as our Governor and Andre the Giant being this genius with rhymes... but, umm... hmm... Kay did it. Except, I think she's serious.

CJ noted that I do not have many links or personal information. So I have a plan. I'll remove the humor section and integrate it with a links section. I'll also make the abstract include more personal information. After Thanksgiving, I plan to scan all the pictures I have at home and add a tiny picture gallery. Sound good?

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#computers Diwali, Intel, Snow 8 November 1998

"Rabbi, isn't that your car?"

I'm very confused... Diwali was being celebrated at UI Friday and will be today (Saturday). It's being celebrated at St. Olaf according to Katie. It's also being celebrated at UW recently. Diwali was a few weeks ago... very odd that it's being celebrated now.

Intel's new demand on the computer industry is cool. I'd say it's more comparable with the SGI O₂s than the iMac (as far as looks). I think there is a more important issue at hand though. Getting rid of old ISA technology, getting rid of 1.44MB floppy drives and getting rid of stupid ports and replacing them with USB ports.

I think the media and as many non-Minnesotans as possible should make fun of Jesse Ventura (for their own reasons, not because I say so). The reason is this. If Jesse is ineffective, nobody's hopes will be down. People will just expect that. If Jesse does succeed then people can be surprised. I was going to continue on this train of thought, then I thought, that it may end up filling the journal systems quota. So I wrote a more organized 'entry' and will stick it in the words section eventually. I am only half way done.

It snowed tonight. I think we beat Minnesota.

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