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Journal Liora's Journal: Backroads rock! 19

Journal by Liora

I have gotten a lot done at work today. I have read the weekend journals of every person on my friends list that had something to say, but I really can't think of anything to say back to you all, so I am just going to update my life.

Calc is really easy. I feel like an idiot though b/c I still can't remember how to do row operations on a matrix, but at least I have a nifty little TI-89 that will put everything in row reduced eschelon form for me. Not that that's required for the class, but when you're solving systems of equations (like for the intersection of two lines in three-space) it's faster than algebra, and in my case, much more reliable. So far there hasn't been any actual calculus... it's looking mostly like linear algebra. The funniest part about this is taking this class gives you credit for a 200 level linear algebra course at most major universities, and for the final calc course that comes before Diff EQ, usually 200 level, but the matrix part isn't until the last 6 weeks. But from what I've seen, all we've done is elementary linear algebra thus far. I suppose 'all will be revealed' at some point.

I'm quite satisfied with my choice about DG. And I'm just laying low for a while. Things are great, I went to visit my mom for Labor Day weekend, I drove on back roads the whole way and found that the more direct state highway route uses half the gas, is 2/3 the miles, and takes the same amount of time as the interstate route I am used to, and it is much more enjoyable. If I'd had time, I could have stopped at garage sales, antique malls and even a few town festivals on the way there on Saturday. My mom and I hardly fought the whole time I was there, aside from the usual gripes, and that was to be expected. She's back to yelling at me for breaking up with the boyfriend before DG, but she just doesn't understand that the relationship fell apart, it wasn't me just deciding to end it. Or rather, it was my euthanasia, but the relationship was terminal anyway, and dying fast.

I hope all of you had swell weekends. Am I the only person who did not eat any type of grilled food?

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Backroads rock! More

Backroads rock!

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  • I had a kick-ass weekend. Went up to Atlanta for Dragon*Con. Excellent 'Con this year, lots to do, much to see, too much to buy, and many great people to have met. (And, there were licentious reasons to have enjoyed the weekend as well...)

    I have to say, I was vaguely wondering if any Slashdot crowd was out there (I'm guessing so, due to the preponderance of ThinkGeek tee-shirts), but I doubt I would have known any I'd seen.

    • Truthfully, I don't really know what all of these "Con" events are. I always used to hear about this thing called Def*Con, that people I knew used to go to, but those were LARP people, and although I used to LARP as well, I never really felt the urge to travel somewhere to do it. What is the deal on them? Are they gaming conventions or something?
      • In the abstract, a convention is just a whole bunch of people with similar interests getting together, along with other people who want to make money off those interests.

        Originally, I think conventions were simply professional (although, doctors, for instance, insist on calling them "conferences"), but truthfully a convention is always an excuse to travel a bit and talk to lots of other people who have similar interests.

        My understanding is that Def*Con is a hacker's con (and one that I've wanted to go to for a while...) while Dragon*Con is a Sci-Fi/Gaming/"Popular Media" con. Picture four days spent in two large hotels with 10,000 people who share an interest in science fiction, gaming, and anciliary interests. Dragon*Con is large and unfocused enough to present things from several live bands (including Jefferson Starship this year, Gwar in years past) through panels on forensic pathology (in the X-Files track). All in all, it's 75USD to register at the door (35 if you prereg now for 2003) for four days of extremely social entertainment.

  • Ha! (Score:2)

    by red5 ( 51324 )
    I misread the subject line "Broadband rocks" and I thought. Oh no we've turned her into a total geek.

    I didn't have any grilled food either. Glad to hear you had a good weekend. What was the weather like? It was 106 here.

    • You know, I already know enough to know that broadband rocks. I have a shared T1 at work, and well, I cannot complain. It is so good here and this is a small enough town, that until I get a cable modem at home, I'll probably never suffer through dialup again... I'll just drive to work. ;)

      The weather here was nowhere near that hot, but it was unbelievably muggy.

  • No grilling for me. I had the ever festive take out pizza. Though someone down the street was making up for my lack of festivities. I could hear their karaoke rendition of YMCA a block away.

    • You just reminded me of something really interesting that I have noted in the past few weeks. Have you ever done karaoke? I mean, really done it, where you are singing and fifteen of your closest friends are doing backup, and all are having a grand old time even though most of you couldn't even play a radio? It's really fun. Have you noticed though, no matter how fun it is, the circumstances wherein we as US residents are actually able to kick back and enjoy ourselves with reckless abandon are often far and few between.

      Is it a Japanese thing, are the Japanese able to relax in a way that we simply can't? I was just thinking about a wedding I went to where nobody got really trashed (that I noticed), and given that, hardly anyone would get up and dance. Being in public, being watched, and tolerating it, seems to be becoming a rarity. Is this really the case, or am I just rambling?

      • I think it is because we don't want to be a spectacle. Our parents told us to behave out in public, even if we don't at home. When we had company over, the kids had to act like "young adults" rather than children. We are too worried about what someone else will think of us. "Oh, no! What if someone from [work|church|school|the gym] sees me? What will they think?" They'll think you are having fun, and probably wish they were. But we are too caught up in appearances. I sang karaoke at the winter formal in college with some of my fraternity brothers. Now, I was in choir, so I can sing, but you aren't really supposed to sing when doing karaoke, and with 5 tone-deaf fraternity guys belting away in your ear, even the most skilled singer has trouble carrying a tune. Did everyone laugh at us? YES! THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT! We made a spectacle of ourselves, and had a blast. People came up to me the next week at school and said, "Man, that karaoke stuff you guys did was great, I need to try that." Just remember, the point of Karaoke is NOT to prove how well you can sing. The point is to have fun and sing a fun song (preferably poorly) so people will laugh and have a good time.

        As for the Japanese, I think they just give everything they do 110%. That's what I like about that culture. I respect that. When they are working, they are working their fingers to the bone, when they play, they play hard. Most (not all) Americans half-ass everything. Work, and even play. I try to live by the motto, if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well. I definitely party hard, and I work hard most of the time. (I mean when I'm NOT reading /.) :-)

  • I went to the MN state fair. I think grilling is against their bylaws or something. Everything must be deep fat fried. Even the candy bars. (Don't try them. Just trust me on this one, okay?) Then I moved my stuff to a new abode. I had some pizza, but it wasn't grilled.

    Mmmm. food. It's dinner time methinks.
    • Even the candy bars. (Don't try them. Just trust me on this one, okay?)

      You've got to tell me what you didn't like about them. I had to have one, and it was delicious. But then, I think I like deep fried food.

      Did you see the liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream in the food building? Nothing like using chemistry to make food.

      I did grill all weekend. Well, not Monday. I was going to grill again, but by the time I got back from the state fair I wasn't hungry, and didn't want to make the effort.

      -Brent
      • You've got to tell me what you didn't like about them.

        Well, they took a Snickers bar and ruined it! It was all melty and then there was this greasy fried layer on top. Sugary sweey foods and greasy foods just don't go together. Chocolate is good. Cheese curds are good. But would you really stick them in a blender together?

        I've made liquid nitrogen ice cream. Pretty simple and really good. I didn't see that they had it. They were probably charging an absurd amount or something like that.
        • I've made liquid nitrogen ice cream. Pretty simple and really good.

          Really? Tell me how you did it. That sounds like fun. Where did you get liquid nitrogen? It doesn't really sound like something you could pick up from CostCO to me. :)

          They were probably charging an absurd amount or something like that.

          Unless you consider all the prices absurd -- which they are -- I'd have to say no. Well, not really. $3 for a good sized bowl. Well, good-sized state fair wise.

          -Brent
          • Really? Tell me how you did it. That sounds like fun. Where did you get liquid nitrogen? It doesn't really sound like something you could pick up from CostCO to me. :)

            Last December we had a Chemistry Department Christmas party. I was one of the people in charge of running the show, so I got to dump in some of the N2. We had 100 people gather around in a kitchen for the making of the ice cream. Our safety measures consisted of opening a window. We put cream, sugar and milk in a big metal bowl and dumped in the Liquid N2. We also did a batch with a bag of frozen strawberries added. I think anybody can order from chemical companies (I think Twin Cities Oxygen Services sells liquid N2).

            Unless you consider all the prices absurd -- which they are

            Not true. If you went to the fair and only consumed milk (being sure to keep your cup) and mooched cheese curds off of anybody who glanced away for a moment, you would only be out $0.50. :)
        • Well, they took a Snickers bar and ruined it! It was all melty and then there was this greasy fried layer on top. Sugary sweey foods and greasy foods just don't go together

          I'm going to have to go against you on this one, based on two fairground favorites in IL. Kettle corn (which I guess really isn't greasy until you butter it) and the funnel cake (which I suppose isn't really sweet until you slather it in pie filling and powdered sugar, but who would want to eat it before then, anyway?)

          I'm constantly surprised at the food combinations that I thought were verboten for some reason and then turn out to be good. Like last night I tried a French soda (milk + soda water) which completely shattered my taboo against the mixture of transparent and opaque beverages. Or Jalapeno ice cream, for that matter.

          • Are funnel cakes the same thing as elephant ears? And if so, where does the pie filling come in... I remember something about cinnamon and sugar....
            Don't forget the flavoring in a French soda... it probably wouldn't be any good if it was just milk and soda water.
  • Sure you can go as fast as you want on backroads, but on tuesday I wound up hitting a deer and totaling my car. Wasn't hurt, but had to empty the wallet to buy a new car.
    • Oh! I hope you're all right. I wasn't going that fast on the back roads because I know that at least in the midwest, you go through these little towns where the local authorities have nothing better to do than sit around and wait to give me a ticket. I sat at about 61 when the limit was 55.
      • I normally go a lot faster than that. Wasn't hurt, well except for a little rug burn from the air bag. At least the new car has rather comfortable seats. It's like they took a peice of heaven and nestled it snuggly under my bottom.
  • Weird, just got done re-re-re-re-re-re-relearning row ops last quarter

    *sigh*

    Life feels like such a review case some times, don't use matrix ops for years*, then have to relearn them (well at least they where nice enough to charge me for it. . . . *sigh*) and now I am just hoping that I get to some point of using them before I forget them again!!!

    And yah, the ti-89 is nice, I feel sooooo much stupider with it though, heh.

    *As originally taught by sadistic yet really really nice middle school math teacher. :-D

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