Gorgeousness

Posted on March 30, 2005

Today was an absolutely beautiful day outside. The past few days (and likely the next few days) have had high temps in the 50′s and 60′s, but today had highs in the mid to upper 70′s. Mostly sunny with a few scattered clouds (sounds like a weather forecast). It is supposed to start raining tonight and tomorrow it is supposed to rain some more and have a high of about 60 (it is a weather forecast). Anyway, it seems as if Spring really is here… you know, flowers blooming, birds singing, yada, yada, yada.

Today, after work I came home and changed into some comfortable clothes, grabbed my laptop and headed to Corner Coffee, where I had a Chocolate Eclair ice cream bar and an IBC Root Beer. I think Corner Coffee is becoming my home away from home. I found that sitting in my apartment, it is too easy to hop in the Internet, which is a major distraction for me. If I go and sit at Corner Coffee, I am more likely to read or write. In other words, I’ll get some work done. This will be important over the summer when I am planning on taking classes (open registration starts April 2nd).

If you’ve never been to Corner Coffee, I highly recommend it. It’s a basic cafe, like you might expect, but it’s sort of out of the way, at the corner of 11th and Alabama. They have the usual sandwiches (I recommend the Smoked Turkey with Bacon) and drinks. And on a hot day like today, they have various types of ice cream, including Ben & Jerrys :D Another thing they have is free Internet access available through wireless and ethernet. If you visit without a laptop, they have an old original iMac setup as a public email/web surfing machine. If you are disinclined for technological pursuits, they also have magazines, puzzles, and board games. They expanded a few months ago, so there is plenty of seating, including some old couches, and some outdoor furniture. On some weekend nights, they also have live music. Pricewise, it varies depending on what you want. They seem to be less expensive than the Abbey, but more expensive than Starbucks. On the other hand, they have a better selection than Starbucks and better food than the Abbey, IMHO.

I saw Mikal Belicove plugged Urban Element, which is also nearby, but I haven’t been there yet, so I figured I would plug my favorite coffee shop.

Go ‘n getchu some learnin’

Posted on March 27, 2005

Since I work at a University, one of those cool perks is that they will pay for me to some classes. Actually, that doesn’t sound right. I can take some classes every semester, and they will pay the tuition. It’s called Fee Courtesy. A couple of years ago (it doesn’t seem that long, but it was) I used it to take a couple of classes in Japanese. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing it again this summer.

Ultimately, I would like to go for a masters degree, but the question is… a masters in what? Right now, I’m pondering a Masters in English (so I can have another Degree that’ll get me nowhere). Although open registration is a few weeks away, I’m probably going to take Literary Masterpieces in the Summer I session and Creative Writing in the Summer II session. Both classes are undergrad, so I can hopefully get an idea if I can hack it, and I don’t have to pay taxes on them (more on that below).

I was planning on just taking the Creative Writing class during Summer I, but the only one they offer in that session is during my work hours. No good. So I looked around to see other English classes were being offered. In Literary Masterpieces, it sounds like they read and discuss various… literary masterpieces. Unfortunately, the course description didn’t include a reading list, so I wonder how they define a masterpiece. I feel semi-apprehensive about it. I imagine the nightmare scenario of thousand page books filled with dense prose. I got 800 pages into War and Peace (halfway) before putting it down. I tried to read Les Miserables, but didn’t finish that one either. However, I did finish The Count of Monte Cristo (good book, even if it is 1000+ pages), and at the moment I’m reading Don Quixote and I’m pleasantly surprised by how readable it is. So far so good, anyway.

Creative Writing is a class I’ve wanted to take for awhile. I suppose blogging might qualify to a certain extent, but when I think of creative writing, I think about coming up with stories… with plots. I like writing. I like coming up with stories, but I have problems coming up with a whole story – a beginning, a middle, an end, conflict, tension, etc. I’m hoping by taking a class in creative writing, it might help me (force me) to deal with these issues.

If I do well enough in the classes, I might apply for the Masters in English program. One of the main reasons I want to wait before trying a grad level English course is that I will have to pay taxes on it. Undergraduate courses are no problem, but the government considers fee courtesy for grad level courses to part of an employees compensation. In other words, if I take grad level courses (of any kind) it means I get a raise… for the purposes of taxes anyway.

Two (or three) quick anecdotes about me and English courses:

In the past, I always hated taking English classes. One, they were mandatory. Two, I hated the prescribed reading materials. I liked reading for pleasure, but reading for an assignment was anathema. I hated it. Somehow or another, in high school, I willingly signed up for three English courses one semester. I ended up getting four Fs and one C that semester (I write that with pride in my heart :-) and the C was in Drafting.

At the first college I got kicked out of, all freshmen were required to take two composition classes. They were also required to take a composition test. The test wasn’t technically part of the classes, as it was offered a few times during the year, but all freshmen were required to pass it in order to get credit for taking the composition classes. Anyway, the upperclassmen in the dorms told us not to expect to pass the test the first time out. Most people had to take it two or three times before passing. Even the teacher of the composition class told us that. With that burden off my shoulder, so to speak, I signed up to take the test and went in expecting to fail.

The test was two or three reading selections. We had to pick one, analyze it and write an essay on it. It was pretty clever because they tested reading comprehension, analytical thinking, and writng skills all at once. The selection I picked was on a blanket party, of all things. I read it then did an essay about ritualistic behavior.

I left the test, feeling I did okay, but still expecting to fail. A few weeks later, the grades were posted by partial SSN. I looked at the bulletin board at the same time as everyone else. I found my partial, and it said I passed. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was leaning over people to get a better view, so I thought I might have been mistaken. I waited until the crowd died down and looked again. And again. And again. I looked up and down the list, making sure there weren’t any duplicates. I pulled out my Social Security Card to double check my number. I’ll be damned. I passed. I felt pretty smug after that :-D

So…

If I end up taking the Literary Masterpieces class, I guess I’ll have to get over my former hatred of reading assignments. It shouldn’t be too hard. My tastes in literature have broadened since high school, and I expect the choice of literature might be more appealing. As far as creative writing goes, I’ll just have to go into it with my laptop and an clear head.

Boo…

Posted on March 27, 2005

Hiss… You didn’t need those rights anyway.

State Meme

Posted on March 27, 2005

Ya know, I’ve seen people talking about memes on their websites, but somehow the definition of what a meme was always eluded me. I even went to Wikipedia, but their explanation was a little too much for me. But now I got it.

I was browsing the blogs in my bookmarks and wound up at Star Shaped and found the definition of a meme. It’s those stupid, silly quizzes and what not that people stick in their blogs. I guess a broad definition could encompass a lot of different things that people do online. According to the wikipedia definition, memes tend to be viral, and when you think about it, they are. They drive lots of traffic to the originating site, and spread to the various blogs that people post on.

Anyway, now that I know what a meme is, I guess I am not above doing them myself. Here is the meme I found by visiting Aubrey’s site.

The meme shows states I’ve visited, lived in, and live in right now. Driving through, doesn’t count as visiting, even if I had to stay overnight in a motel. However, visiting someone’s home or doing the tourist thing does. Living there means I stayed longer than 30 days at anytime.

bold the states you’ve visited, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now…

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

OED

Posted on March 26, 2005

I was browsing the Downtown Borders store today (well, yesterday) and happened to see a sign for the Oxford English Dictionary. All twenty volumes for $998.

Now, I know the English Language is extensive and it borrows many words from other languages, but is it really enough to fill 20 volumes? And more importantly, is it worth a thousand dollars? If I want to know the correct spelling of a word, I can type it in Google and it will usually correct me if I am wrong – even for obscure words. I can even ask it to define the word for me.

This isn’t a rant, but more from curiosty. I wonder how many of those they sell. I would guess that most of their sales are to libraries and other institutions. I would find it hard to believe they would sell many to individuals or families.

Trial by Jury

Posted on March 25, 2005

I just read this article by the Associated Press regarding some comments made by District Attorney Steve Cooley, who unsuccessfully prosecuted Robert Blake for murder.

Mr Cooley recently called the jurors “incredibly stupid” for finding Blake not guilty. As you can imagine, this caused quite a furor, and the jurors have asked for an apology. So far, he hasn’t apologized. Instead, he tried to explain that while he chose his words poorly, he stood by what he said. “There was a failure in this case. It was not my prosecutor. It was not the work of LAPD. It was the jurors didn’t quite get it,” he said. I think Mr Cooley is the one who doesn’t get it.

Both the prosecution and the defense have their say in selecting jurors for a case. Ultimately, the goal of the court is to empanel an impartial jury, and although each side would surely like to get a jury that favors their own arguments, this isn’t always possible and they have to select the best jury that they can.

Mr Cooley went on, “But bottom line it was the wrong verdict.” On the contrary. There is no such thing as a “wrong verdict.” Good verdict, bad verdict, verdict you disagree with, verdict that gets appealed, verdict that gets upheld, verdict that gets overturned. All of these I can understand. The verdict is what the jury decides. It isn’t right or wrong, it just is. If you don’t like the verdict, too bad. Sometimes that happens. It’s no use being a sore loser.

As if all of thses statements weren’t enough, Mr Cooley seems to dig the hole deeper by adding, “Sometimes jurors should be held accountable for their mistakes.” WTF? What is he going to do, throw them in jail because he doesn’t agree with their verdict? Maybe he just thinks trials should be for show – you know, make it look good and seem fair, get your name in the papers for being tough on crime – but with the verdict assured. Isn’t that what they used to do in the Soviet Union and in Iraq under Hussein? Why bother having trials at all?

I think Mr. Cooley badly needs a civics lesson on the importance of the jury in American jurisprudence.

Haiku II

Posted on March 18, 2005

Procrastination
Currency of industry
I’ll do it later

Volcano cam

Posted on March 17, 2005

Last year, a pink dinosaur gained web fame as someone planted him in front of a webcam in the crater of the White Island volcano in New Zealand. Vulcanologists have said that the environment of caustic fumes will probably dissolve the plastic pet at some point. Still, every so often, I like to visit the website to see how Dino is doing.

When I looked there just a few minutes ago, I noticed it looks like Dino has a friend…or something. There is a yellowish blob of something to the side of the dinosaur. It’s kind of hard to make out what it is, but it wasn’t there before. It looks like a pice of foam, but I am not sure. Maybe it was a plastic bag used to carry Dino and got blown onto a rock. Any ideas?

Jennifer Government

Posted on March 16, 2005

Jennifer Government by Max Barry is a dystopian novel with a bit of a twist. Instead of the all-powerful government controlling peoples’ lives, it is companies. It is mass-consumerism and globalization taken to an extreme.

In the book, the United States has expended to include Great Britain, all of South America, Canada, Australia and a host of other countries. The EU is a group of countires where they don’t speak English and ridiculed for being backwards and having to pay taxes. American is spoken, because nobody speaks English anymore, not even the people in the English territories. Since taxes have been abolished, two competing brand loyaly organizations – US Alliance and Team Advantage – have come to power and the government is weak. If a crime has been committed, it will not be investigated until the victim has the money to pay someone to look into it. There are no last names, people take the the name of the organization they work for, hence the protagonist Jennifer Government and her main antagonist John Nike.

The book starts out with John Nike hiring Hack Nike to help build “street-cred” for the $2500 Nike Mercurys about to launch. Hack is hired to kill random customers to do this. However, he has a conscience, so he outsources it to The Police, but since it is a competitive world, they outsource it to the NRA. And thus the story begins…

The book reminded me quite a bit of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, except without the Metaverse. In that novel, the government is weak, if it exists at all, and companies/franchulates control peoples lives. In this novel, the government is hamstrung by the lack of funding that they have to ask the victims for money. People get in riots because someone chooses Burger King over McDonalds.

The whole book is a dark, dystopian, biting satire, and the character John Nike incerdibly funny and evil at the same time. I could try to include some of that here, but it wouldn’t do it justice. You will just have to read the book, which I recommend.

Is it a great book? No. The heroine, Jennifer Government, seems weakly written when compared to John Nike. Maybe it is because John Nike steals the show. He is one of those characters you love to hate. He is charming, witty, decietful, and he has most of the best lines. So it is not a great book, but it is a good book. This is the author’s sophomore effort, so hopefully he will hone his craft in the future.

English Genius

Posted on March 16, 2005

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 77% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can’t find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don’t. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you’re not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

I found about this cool little quiz, while reading Nichole’s I am fiction blog.

Talk about an extensive vocabluary, I can use words like dacryocystorhinostomy and Wankel Rotary Engine.

Next Page »

© Copyright gottahavacuppamocha • Powered by Wordpress • Coffee Candy is based on the Eye Candy theme.