Epic

I haven't seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I have seen Requiem for a Dream, and the ending music is about as haunting as anything you'll hear. Combining the visual of the former with the audio of the latter, though, leads to this promo:



It's hard to come up with something more epic.

I've got a brand new bag

I ordered a new bag for the beginning of work. I'll be using it for the first time when I travel to Philly this weekend, but so far, it looks pretty solid. I ended up scoring it for $90 (there was an additional 10% off at eBags, where I ordered it from), and it came with a free business card case that has an MSRP of $45. While I could still use the free bag my firm gave me during last summer's internship, it's more of a gym bag than one that holds notebooks and other assorted papers with ease. Nevertheless, it spells the end of using backpacks for me in the near-term future...they're now just another vestige of an academic life that is now part of the past.

Frustration

I would save myself a lot of grief if I read things more closely.

New glasses needed ASAP

As I've tried to struggle on for a couple weeks without wearing my old glasses - the left lens continually pops out, distorting my vision (as well as occasionally pinching my eyebrows) - my left eye has grown very sore, probably as a result of having to overcompensate for my useless right eye. It doesn't feel great, and I wish Lenscrafter would hurry the hell up and get my glasses done. The soreness is fairly constant by this point, which makes having my eyes open a vaguely unpleasant experience.

Dungeons and Dragons

Today was my first exposure to the ultimate game of dorks. The setup took a bit of time, but when things got started, it was fairly engaging. To me, it's effectively a combination (from games I've played in the past) of Magic: The Gathering (not surprising; Wizards of the Coast makes both games) and Diablo II. It's far more interactive than multiplayer games on the computer, but I'm sure it takes a while to complete...I don't know if we even defined what 'victory' was yet.

All in all, I got off to a good start. Of the 3 enemies in the first encounter, I dealt the killing blow to 2 of them.

More nutrients, please

I've been taking Centrum as my daily vitamin since last summer. Doing some research today, though, it doesn't necessarily cover all of your bases. While I'm not going to become someone who takes a billion pills a day to get 100% daily value of absolutely every last vitamin and mineral, I think it couldn't hurt to get a little more. Right now, I'm thinking of adding omega-3,6,9 gelcaps and a calcium supplement to the plan. We'll see, but if the cost isn't prohibitive, why not? It can only help.

Internet traditions

There are a lot of Internet jokes that get circulated around, but only a few hit critical mass (such as the Rickroll). However, this is the first time I've seen a new one unfold while I'm paying attention. Courtesy of John Cole:

I am aware of all internet traditions and also of literary conventions in which placing something in quotes or in a blockquote means that your are quoting that person.

But here you are not.

It seems to me that what your are about is, well, sort of questionable.

Can you please expand on the idea your propose that putting something in blockquotes that does not appear at the linked item is a fair thing to do.

Just do a Google search to see how far this meme has been spread. It's hilarious.

The inanity of offshore drilling

A couple days back, I had blasted a Facebook group for its short-sighted thinking on energy policy - namely, an asinine proclamation for lower gas prices without considering any of the consequences (as well as the likely failure) of any actions to do so. Not to be outdone, though, it appears like Republican presidential candidate John McCain has proposed lifting the ban on offshore drilling - with Bush's help: From the AP:

On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. The Arizona senator said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and receive some of the royalty revenue.

Never mind the fact that the only state that is being targeted by this move - Florida - has a long history of politicians on both sides of the aisle who oppose offshore drilling. In his quest to be considered as the vice presidential nominee (which really is the only explanation in my mind), Florida governor Charlie Crist announced his support for the move as well. Frankly, it's nice to see the vast majority of commenters on the Miami Herald website fed up about this as well.

The basic issue is this: building an offshore oil rig takes anywhere from 2-4 years, if this link is to believed. Offshore drilling is not a quick fix to our higher energy prices, and in drilling off of Florida - which routinely gets visited by hurricanes year after year - it probably would pose a much bigger environmental risk than offshore drilling platforms further in the Gulf of Mexico. This isn't a long-term solution to anything, much less driving down the price of gas. But I suppose we'll have to suffer through a debate about it now.

Didn't know it existed

I had lunch with an old friend from high school today at the Atlanta Bread Company. While I've eaten there previously - the only dish I've had is their chili, which is usually very delectable, save for the time right before it closes - I've never really had any of the meals that sets the restaurant apart, for better or worse. In the end, I tried out their California Avocado sandwich, which turned out to be a nice light sandwich. I am a fan of avocados, as my girlfriend has correctly stated (not obsessed, though!), but I've never eaten them in anything other than guacamole or as individual slices in a salad. It never occurred to me that there was some other use for them.

Fare thee well, Willie

Overnight, the Mets ended up firing manager Willie Randolph for failing to get the most out of a team many thought would dominate the National League. I've always been fond of Willie, in large part due to his ubiquitous presence as a Yankees coach during their golden years nearly a decade ago. He was doing well as the manager until upper management decided to play head games with him and the team. I tend to agree with Buster Olney that Omar Minaya and the rest of the Mets' honchos (starting first and foremost with the useless owner of the team, Fred Wilpon) are to blame for this mess. Having the sword hang over his head for most of the season wasn't fair to Willie or the team.

But it's not much of a surprise that the Mets managed to bungle the situation. They are, after all, the Mets.

Running out of time

Hard to believe that I officially start training for my full-time job in just under 4 weeks. It's oddly appropriate that my last (official) summer break is the shortest of them all.

That's life, I guess.

Planning ahead...generally a good idea

Building on a previous post, one of the things I wish I had done when I visited my future place of residence was to take more pictures and do some measurements. The pictures would've been more for referential purposes - just to see where things would be located. However, measurements are more important, particularly when trying to figure out what furniture I can buy. I can't, for example, order a desk right now because I don't know how wide my living space is. The same goes for a bed (although I'm more confident about the space I have for that) and other things, which makes my life more difficult.

In conclusion, thinking about all of these little tidbits would've been useful back when we were first scouting everything out.

A case of the extremes

The Offspring's self-titled debut came out in 1989. The last track on that CD, 'Kill The President', used to be on its CDs until it mysteriously disappeared in 2001 (note the timing and subsequent events in America). That kind of sucked for me a couple years later, when I lost that CD. Although I still have the case lying around somewhere (I think), and the MP3 of the song on my computer, Nitro Records doesn't release the record with the full set list intact anymore.

What's the big freakin' deal? Sure, the title of the song and its lyrics (read them here) are somewhat incendiary, but is self-censoring really needed? The First Amendment exists for a reason, rendering the claim that it was taken off due to legal reasons (source: Wikipedia) a bit weak. Furthermore, the song was 12 years old...if there was going to be legal trouble, it would've happened a long time ago.

It's a tiny issue in the bigger scheme of things, but it's always puzzled me since I went to my local Borders (which sadly closed 4 months ago), checked out The Offspring discs that they had, and discovered that their discography had magically shrunk by one song.

That's more like it

Scanning the news this morning, I found out that Honda has released an updated hydrogen fuel cell car that produces no carbon emissions. While it's going to be some time in getting the cost down of producing these cars (which is probably high; I doubt fuel cells can be mass-produced in a cost-efficient manner at this point), as well as developing a network of hydrogen fueling stations, this is a great step forward. Hopefully this happens sooner rather than later...as I'd like to buy one of these puppies once I have the need for regular car use.

Updated to add: On another note, I found an article (via Digg) about a self-sustainable skyscraper to be constructed in Dubai that will have built-in wind turbines that generate enough energy to power it 10 times over. This should be more notable than the never-ending Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest man-made structure in the world once the developers decide how tall they want it to be.

Furnishing is hard work

After talking with my girlfriend about all the stuff needed just for a bed, I realize that I haven't been thinking closely enough about all the furnishings that I may actually need. It's possibly also a sign that with only a week until the lease on my Manhattan apartment begins, I should consider these matters with a little more urgency than I've been giving them.

Notes from the court

I don't know how little kids do it, running around with a lot of energy. When I was younger, I know I could play basketball for much more time than I could now. The main thing slowing me down are my legs; even without my lower leg soreness, I can't run up and down the court like I could back in the day. Who knew that you could feel old at 22?

On another note, though, I actually managed to win one game of '21' that my friends and I played. Part of it was attributable to my free-throw shooting, which improved from non-existent to pretty decent (even compared to when I shot hoops on a more regular basis) overnight.

Just blowtorch the earth already, why don't you

On Facebook, there's a nice little trend where people will create a group that goes along these lines: "[X, an arbitrary number] [for/against] [stated cause]". I think it caught on because of a group entitled "1 Million Strong for Barack" that subsequently got written up in the Washington Post as an example of the power of social networking (ironically enough, the group will never attain its goal; it currently has 561,640 members as of this entry. The official Facebook fan page for Barack Obama has 981,207 members now and will reach 1 million members in 1-2 weeks - despite the fact that the unofficial group had a huge head start).

Anyways, to the main point: there's now an incredibly foolish Facebook group entitled "15,000,000 for lower gas prices", which apparently has attracted 1,292,382 people. Lower gas prices might make everyone's wallet hurt less, but it will not help out the environment - nor would it make auto firms realize that they must start producing vehicles powered by alternative energy sources. In all seriousness, I'm all for higher gas prices, in the form of increased gas taxes. Aside from the fact that any politician uttering such a pronouncement would be political suicide on the spot, it would force an investment in mass transportation - something that would help reduce carbon emissions - as well as lead to more research for other sources of energy.

The point is that higher gas prices should make the focus be more on generating energy via environment-friendly ways. If you just want lower gas prices, you may as well be signing the planet's death warrant - that will simply increase the use of gas-guzzling monstrosities like the SUV and push us further and further towards the point of no return as far as global warming is concerned.