blah blah blah

Back

Im back more or less. drinking, sushi, MFA, eating(lots), cookies, friends, driving (LOTS).

Ill post a more detailed update, with pictures once I find my copy of photoshop.

14 days till I return to the Boston area :-)
14 days till I leave this horrible city we call Syracuse :-)

Stupid Things I've heard lately

I'm a card carrying member of the obnoxious club
--stupid girl at a bar

I was trying to be deliberately vague yet specific
--Conor Sibley

A: I can't get PowerPoint to start
B: Have you plugged the computer into the outlet?
A: Idiot, I didn't say I cna't get the computer to start I can't start a specific program.
--names removed to protect the stupid

More to be added once I remember them

Wetness

Well today started off very nicely. Warm weather small breeze. I tought a class then went to the gym for an hour. After that thigns started goign downhill and I thought i'd post a couple of pictures illustrating my point. I misplaced my copy of Photoshop (don't ask) so ive sort of cobbled together the pictures. Ill reedit them to the correct size eventually.

Henry wet and not having fun (This evening) Stupid me for not looking at the weather forcast.

Me dry and looking to get wet

Me wet and having a blast (as oppossed to tonight). The blond is my psycho aunt.

As Much

As much as I like to bitch about Syracuse and how sometimes they do stupid things, I am rather greatful and a tad sad when I read stories like the following.

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- A fire broke out at a university dormitory in Moscow early Monday, killing 18 foreign students and injuring 80 others, the Interfax news agency reported.

The dead and injured included citizens of China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and several African countries, Interfax said, citing a foreign students' union. Some of the students were hurt after they jumped from the five-story building.

The blaze engulfed the second, third and fourth floors of a dormitory belonging to the Patrice Lumumba Friendship of Peoples University, where many foreigners study, a duty officer at the Moscow fire department said.

She could not confirm the number or nationality of the victims reported by Interfax.

The news agency reported that firefighters used ladders to evacuate students, but that some residents broke limbs or suffered head and neck injuries when they jumped from windows. Others suffered from smoke inhalation, it said.

It said the fire was extinguished before dawn, about three hours after the alarm was sounded.

The university, named for a Congolese revolutionary, was founded by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1960. It was once a showcase where students from Third World nations received subsidized educations with a strict Marxist curriculum.

The university declined as the Soviet Union collapsed, and its buildings have become run-down.

Yes Henry

Yes folks, Henry is going to be back in Massachusetts (land of bad drivers, The Big Dig, and your freedoms) soon. By soon I mean I want to be accross the MA/NY border and on the Pike by 230pm on Tuesday and then home in time for dinner.

That whole 230 thing wa a guess, but im definitly going to be back in Concord for dinner. If you want to get together, either call the cell or send me an email.

Keeping current

Afin de garder mon à jour français j'ai décidé d'écrire à ce poteau dans la langue I la plupart d'amour (à côté de l'anglais). Quoi qu'il en soit cette extrémité de semaine a été sorte d'étrange. Le dîner cuit par I de vendredi pour un ami et nous a fini vers le haut d'observer un film et parlant jusqu'environ à 12 ou à 1am, j'oublie quel.

Samedi était un désordre énorme. J'ai passé des tonnes de temps travaillant à un projet de groupe et ensuite ce fonctionnement sur mon propre dieu a damné des papiers. Mon but en retard a été de finir tout mon travail avant que la coupure de Noël commence ainsi je peux sortir de cette ville AUSSITÔT QUE POSSIBLE. La mauvaise partie de samedi était quand je conduisais de nouveau à l'appartement et une page d'une preuve de logique d'BAN a volé hors de la fenêtre de ma voiture et je ne pourrais pas cesser de l'obtenir que la cause là étaient des voitures derrière moi et nous étions tous faisant environ 40. Normalement ce ne serait pas une issue (desserrant le travail qui est) cependant quand vous passez 2 heures sur une preuve et ne les avez pas finies toujours...

Dimanche plus travail. J'ai fini la majorité de mon 583 papier, plus de lecture pour 774 et ai commencé sur quelques autres papiers qui ont techniquement pour être assignés encore. A brassé un couple des tasses de thé, désire ardemment douche du yoga et c'est joli beaucoup été mon jour. J'ai cependant commencé à parler avec un blogger de camarade ce soir, cela est toujours intéressant. Parler à quelqu'un sur un continent complètement différent. Mon un commentaire à ce sujet : Régénération

If youve got comments about my grammer, I'd appreciate them.

Dashboard Confessional

I finally got around to doing something thats been on my lsit of stuff to do for a while. Ive always wanted to be able to hook my iPod up to the car stereo so I could listen to it while driving. Anway, after about two hours of searching I was able to find a socket set with the right size adapter and I set out to completely dismantle the dashboard of my car.

Lots of screws later, the dashboard is lying in pieces all over the back of my car and I finally get the stereo out. My intention had bee to thread a RCA -> minidin adapter down and out through the botton og the dash, but things at this point suddenly took a turn for the worse. no RCA adapter in the default factory stereo (puck you GM). Now its time to put the dash back together, this went surprisingly easily and I didn't end up with any extra screws or parts like what normally happens when I take shit apart. Off to some auto parts stores to see if they have some sort of adapter that will go from the default factory stereo to RCA jacks.

No such thing exists. So Ive now got three options (1) Buy a new stereo with RCA jacks in the back of it (2) purchase a FM modulator (3) do nothing and continue to suffer through CDs.

As option (1) is rather expensive and option (3) defeats the purpose of what I was doing I am left with (2). So ive done some research and Ive found a modulator which will work with my radio...no lets see the the 'rents will get it for me.

5ers

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.
-Stable Relationship
-make a budget (and stick to it)
-get a raise
-be awarded one of the SFS
-new cellphone

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.
-Jen from freshmen year
-My advisor from highschool
-The person who got me interested in network administration (Mike I can't remember his last name)
-Joanna
-suggestions?

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.
-scuba dive
-offensive driving course
-backflip
-more literature courses
-use photoshop better

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).
-buy a sailboat (J160 type thing)
-buy a nautique Air226
-larger lake hosue
-fly my friends to the BEYC for the month of December
-better kitchen

5. List five things you do that help you relax.
-yoga
-read a book
-liten to classican music
-gym
-mug of hot tea

on a separate note, I fixed the 100things list so that it would display correctly in IE (atleast under the verion I have installed). If you are still aving issues with it, drop me a line.

Updated

I decided to get rid of what used to me a description of me and instead put a list of 100 things about me...damn that was hard to do.

Anyway, today was a first. I got a blog comment from someone I've never talked to before :-) Welcome to my little corner of reality.

Oh yea about the job interview. Appearantly I couldn't scrrew up enough during it and they asked me back for a 2nd interview. I think I might actually try to see if I can get this job. If I find something better later in the year (Mitre, BBN, State Dept) i can always tell Crate and Barrel that I can't do it for some reason.

Things Ill mis about school

I think one of the things that I'll truely miss about college and school in general is having late night conversations with people about subjects we really care about. That or having a discussion about life in general.

its the little things in life that really matter, and this is one of life's true pleasures.

Winter Wonderland

well the snow (however little) has made me begin to think about vacations and other types of winter activities. Im thinking about getting an annual mambership to the . Just the thought of being able to go skiing again on some of their 150+km of trails makes me giddy. The back side of Wildcat Mountain is a favorite

On a separate note, I just found out that the Mount Washington Observatory has webcams up so you can see parts of the mountain during the daylight hours :-)

what the hell was I thinking?

ok, doing a masters in computer science specializing in Systems Assurance and I applied for this internship: (details below)

I really don't know what the fuck was going through my head, but anyway i've got an interview with then on tuesday. Im thinking about going in looking like I just rolled out of bed to see what their reaction is. My question is this, what do I do if they actualy accept me for the job? At this point I think the interview (for my part) is just for experience, that and im curious as to how much they would pay.

Most recent thing watched on TV

If you're a college junior or senior seeking work experience in the real world, our Store Internship Program is a great entry-level way to try on the retail suit. And see how it fits. For twelve weeks you will be in our stores, immersed in the hands-on basics of merchandising. Experience will teach you the roles of leadership, teamwork, and retail sales strategies. Our three-phase program covers Retail Sales, Store Design, and Inventory Management. It's a great paid opportunity to learn the dynamics of Crate and Barrel retailing. And because we like to promote from within, internships have historically been a great "in" to a Crate and Barrel career.

Phase One: Retail Sales During this phase you will work closely with the store's management team and associates to learn creative sales techniques. You will assist department heads with stocking, pricing, and maintaining appearance of merchandise. You will also learn the vital role of advertising, promotions, and catalogues.

Phase Two: Store Design At this point, you will focus on the basics of Crate and Barrel design. You will be exposed to beginning design theory by assisting the store designer in setting up and maintaining store displays. You will also become
acquainted with sign machine operation, lighting and floor plans, fabric changes, and design supplies.

Phase Three: Inventory Management
Here you will gain more behind the scenes experience unpacking and organizing merchandise in the stockroom aisles. You will also learn the basics of inventory including worksheets and pick labels. There will be special emphasis on store maintenance, packaging, and computer work.

Commenty type things

Mac Zealot Translator-o-matic
curtosy of Slashdot

"MacOS X is everything Linux wants to be."
"Despite the fact that Linux is just code and can't WANT to be anything, I truly believe that it'd love to be a single-vendor, single-platform, sluggish half-proprietary OS with dwindling market share. Linux would love to throw away its impressively growing corporate takeup for that."

"Apple hardware is for real computer lovers."
"It's no hassle to use a plethora of keyboard combos to make up for the patronising one-button mouse. Despite the fact that my hands have FIVE fingers, and multiple-buttons make Web browsing so much more pleasant, I prefer my computer to be treat me like a special-needs child."

"Aqua makes me so much more productive!"
"My non-techie friends drool over the transparency and scaling effects, even though UI research has shown that they add practically nothing to getting real work done. It feels like KDE 2 on a Pentium 200, and I can't change to a light and fast WM, but those drop-shadows must make me work so quickly!"

"OSX shows that Apple is committed to open source."
"OpenDarwin.org and its community of about 27 is surely not just a token gesture by Apple. Pretty much nobody uses pure Darwin, and all the crucial components of the system are closed and require me to spend money just to get major OS updates, but they're really helping the community somehow."

"You get what you pay for with Apple hardware."
"My iBook was made by in Taiwan by AlphaTop and has design and build quality flaws (needing foam sheets jammed in to stop the common problem of the keyboard scratching the screen). But it's silvery and cost far more than an x86 laptop of better spec, so it must be much higher quality!"

"...blah blah MHz myth blah..."
"Although there's truth in PPC being more elegant than x86, it's crushing that the top-of-the-range 1.5 GHz chip is slaughtered by the equivalent 3 GHz Pentium 4. However, Steve Jobs showed some vague Photoshop filter benchmarks at the last MacWorld, so being a leprotard, I'm convinced."

The List

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
cold

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
uncaring, disorganized

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.
fast, warm, windless

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
long, overworked, tiring, annoying

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
laid-back, difference, fulfilling, fun, long

Irk me...

As promised the things that irk me

(1) Asshole departments not letting me into their courses
(2) Electrical problems with the car (going in for service Tuesday night)
(3) RoadRunner going out for 10 hours
(4) Parents weekend (no parking, long lines, bad drivers…)
(5) Being sick
(6) Going to the Health Center and being told I am pregnant and then being given a bag of salt
(7) Having to go to classes when I am sick
Not being able to row/run when sick

Yes I realize I didn't do the friday five, I do't rmember why I didn't do it, but then again I really don't care.

Farmers Insurance

„h Do you want a job with no future?
„h Do you find it difficult to deal with people? Have no interpersonal skills?
„h Do you have no creativity?
„h Do you lack curiosity?
„h Do you lack the ability to think critically?
„h Do you dislike learning and developing yourself?
„h Do you lack organizational skills?

For college students with a smaller intention span than that of a two year old, describing your employment oppertunity with an opening statement like this is a bad idea. I would have probably just skipped down to the bottom of the job description and pressed apply. Howver in the interest of fairness the next paragraph said this If you answered yes to any of these questions, don¡¦t contact us. But if you¡¦re quite the opposite and looking for a career working with the best insurance professionals the industry has to offer, don¡¦t wait. Contact us today!

and yes they did use the above punctuation in the description

Things

Things that have made me smile lately

(1) Receiving posters in the mail
(2) Email response from a person I wrote to back in September
(3) Yoga
(4) New songs on the iPod
(5) The warm temperature in Syracuse
(6) Fresh Squeezed OJ
(7) Finally getting technical material (774)

(opposite coming tomorrow)

The revenge of Bayesian Filters

SPAM, that thing we have all come to know and love (the unsolicited email kind, not the unidentifiable fleshy pink shit). I stumbled across an interesting idea (well technically a professor pointed it out in class, but I have the original article in front of me now) written by Paul Graham (one of the early proponents of Bayesian email filters) describing a potential new type of filter. Instead of just moving SPAM into a junk mail filter he proposes using a more active approach. Your email client once it determined the email was a piece of SPAM would send out requests to the addresses of websites contained in the email.

The rationale behind doing this is to essentially have a denial-of-service attack by simulating interest in a product. The websites wouldn’t actually be displayed on the computer, but would be downloaded then promptly deleted. He believes that this will place an additional financial burden on the people sending bulk email because they have to pay for their upstream connection, and all of the false requests for website access would cost them a fortune.

Me thinks that once there is an actual copy of this filter working I would switch over to it instantly :-)

If you want to read his origional article the link is below (the 2nd one being some of his other information)
Filters That Fight Back"
More articles

New Section

New section added today
"Wit and Wisdom curtosy of the blackboard"

Batchelor Chow

I origionally ran into this site sometime in january 2002, but its nice to see that they released a new version of the file.

The Ars Technica Cookbook of "Bachelor Chow"

Despite the title of the cookbook, it actually contains some pretty involved recipies. Nothing in here will win you any competitions, but its a cool collection of things to make easily