Friday, Spring Break
Site rebuilding continues apace, having taken a brief detour to learn some php. The crazy thing is, if I do it right, you won't even know it's there. I'm determined to make sure that the end-result xhtml that ends up in the browser is as good as I can make it, though. Roger Johansson has very much impressed the importance of this upon me. I commend his writings to anyone who's interested in crafting good web pages, where good means accessible (eg. to the blind, those on low-speed connections, and those using different browsers) and functional (ie. following web standards, won't break down on the next -or current- wave of technology). I've been reading it avidly for over a month, ever since Dr. Google recommended it to me.
So. I was reading webcomics, as I often do, and two of today's caught my attention especially. Diesel Sweeties had me laughing out laud (sic), not at Metal Steve's punchline, but at RR#c-63's penultimate panel propoganda. I love talking like that, and I love when other people talk like that. Or rather, this unit loves talking like that.
This unit also reads xkcd (being a stubborn sort, this unit also pronounces it), and though not as funny, provides some interesting thoughts. Again, czech out that penultimate panel propaganda (hereafter referred to as PPP). Perhaps bloggers (loathe though I usually am to include myself in this group, even now that it's moderately socially acceptable, this post -rife with links, discussing the content of other websites- must necessarily label me as such) will not be celebrated so enthusiastically in the future, but the point about current Internet freedom is well-made. Having personally watched the Internets grow and multiply, not to mention increasing in complexity, for almost as long as it's been in the public eye, I think perhaps we do take for granted the opportunities it presents, particularly in the "generation's finest minds meeting" sort of way. Will those freedoms survive? I hope so, but as the comic suggests, it's not guarenteed. So.
I was going to rant about the Internet and homogenised communities, but this post is long enough and the point I want to make is not yet well-formed in my mind, so I'll leave it for another time. Unless I forget about it. I do that sometimes.
Sunday
Tolkien is as dense in his essays as in his fiction.
I noticed the other day that Eggs on Toast may well be the ultimate meal. Consider. The egg: the ultimate natural foodstuff. Bread: The ultimate man-made foodstuff. Butter: butter. I think I've made my case.
I am obsessed with the new Kenny Winker song. I've listened to it eleven times since I got it yesterday. "Don't tell me my whistling is good".... so awesome.
"Don't undress in my house; my house is a terrible camera." Make that twelve.
Wednesday, Finals Week
I made a pie and learned some php. Both are very exciting, but the pie especially. I'm done with three classes now, and I totally rocked the Algorithms final.
My life would be totally sweet right now if it weren't for the fact that I'm apparantly not signed up for any classes this quarter. I've got the blue slips to prove I should be, and I know what's going on, and it can be fixed, but it's very frustrating.
And I'm doing so well this quarter, too!
Thursday, Tenth Week
"It was like being in the womb, except Jonathan was there." -Erica, pd
Observation: Jewel is like a female version of emo. Femo, if you will.
Two classes done, two to go!
Thursday
"He can't wear enough tight pants as far as I'm concerned." -Lindsay, 02/17/2007
So the first part of Eisley's "Telescope Eyes" sounds way too much like Fastball's "Slow Drag"; when they play too close together, I get confused.
A conversation overheard a few days ago at the May House table:
V: "So could Superman write my [x] paper?"
R: "He could, but he's not going to."
Tuesday, Ninth Week
"You remember that Scav Hunt where Steve lost all his nipples?" -Will "The Boat" Dietz, 02/27/2007
02/27/2007 is a very elegant sort of date, is it not?
So I've been drinking upwards of three mugs of tea a day ever since Ash Wednesday. Crazy.
Why do the stormtroopers call Darth Vader 'Lord' Vader?
Because they'd feel weird calling him 'Master'!
Other non-scav-related notes from tonight's Scav meeting: Cthonocthon "Will Dietz" Williams is an origamist, which presumably makes him origamous. Not to be confused with ambigamous, which I wont't go into, treading well over the fine line (perhaps a full yard over?) as I already am. I mean, it could be anything.
So much for that.
I expect the toilet to be pink!
Tuesday, Eighth Week
"We don't need any more severed body parts!" -Elise, 02/18/2007
In case you hadn't noticed, today's post is brought to you by the letter AAR!
So remember Balaam, son of Beor? Balak, the king of Moab, called him to come and curse the Israelites in the desert, because Balaam was a prophet and heard the voice of God, and he was apparantly pretty good at cursing things. Balaam (yes, this is the guy with the ass) refused to come at first, and then, when he did come, would not or could not curse the Israelites, and instead blessed them -rather a lot. Balak was pissed. Not everyone remembers this story, but it's commonly known, right?
But what happens then? One of the last things Moses does before being 'gathered to his people' is to plan an attack on the Midianites. Now, Balaam, a mostly obedient prophet of God, is a Midianite. And all the men of Midian get killed. Including Balaam. In fact, he's mentioned by name. Why? Why is that so? I don't know, and it bothers me. There's a lot of events in scripture that aren't explained well, and that bothers me. I'm so much more comfortable reading the Gospel of Luke or the Acts of the Apostles.
Of, course, we are rapidly approaching the season of discomfort. Dust Day is tomorrow, in fact. A week after valentine's Day; I'm not sure I'm ready. But I'm never ready; I guess that's part of the point.
Enough rambling, I've got A's to earn.
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