who believes in ghosts y'all? oh man...
so tonight, as with last year halloween, i went over to the weiss's house... they're this cool family from church who has been super nice to me and had me over for holidays or just for fun periodically in the past year
to understand what halloween is like for these people though... oh man... you have no idea. halloween is seriously mrs. weiss's favorite holiday ever. she's cherokee on her mother's side and grew up in a huge house with 13 related family units (up to 40 people around at once!) all in one huge building on a reservation in north carolina... and her family has also had a few tribe shamans in it too, which means she grew up very familiar with the cherokee traditions and views of the supernatural, and has many a story from her childhood of things she's seen that way and the cherokee interpretation of what she saw. having grown up with a heritage that very much sees spirits as real and entities you can interact with, she's on the lookout for stories like that all the time to tell too.
besides that, mrs. weiss loves having guests over.... her oldest kid is my age and married and lives elsewhere, but the other two (one my brother's age, and one 2 years younger than that) are fun too... however, when i go over, there's a bunch of people anywhere from 3 to 6 years younger than me who have spent most of their lives in jersey... then me... then the adults, so i'm kinda a middle phase... and it's comfortable and fun to be over there (and i don't feel bad if i'm quieter because i'm kinda an "inbetween", so i'm free to sit back, throw in a comment every so often, and enjoy people without feeling antisocial if i'm minding my own business for chunks of time too)...
anyhow... leigh and i headed over around 5pm today... which was partway through the steelers/patriots game.... since steelers are one of two teams i really like, and the patriots are the only team i really really don't like, it was fantastic to see the steelers be the first team to take down the patriots in over a year :-)
after the game we all ate, and then mrs. weiss turned out all the lights, and lit just one candle and told ghost stories for two hours... first she let everyone else in the room tell stories of ghosts they thought they had encountered before... then she told stories from the houses she's lived in... and from growing up on the reservation in north carolina,... and from local legend around jersey (there are whole series of books about the ghosts in this state, seriously)
my stance is this... i know there's a very real spirit world out there, and there's no problem talking about it... angels, demons, the works.... but i also don't think it's my job to actively mess with it or seek it out because i really don't know what i'm getting into,... so on the average day i don't even think about ghost stories... i generally avoid horror flicks, and scary stuff in general... but tonight... 2 hours of stories... sure i can sit there and try to rationalize things out, and be sure there's explanation/overactive imagination/whatever... i thought i listened to the whole two hours, intrigued, but not spooked at all... and then i left
that was fine... but now that i'm home, i've noticed i'm a little jumpy... one of the first things you see when you come in our house is a whole wall of our dining room that's ALL mirror... and the lightswitch is across the room, so mirror in the dark... our house is 80 years old and makes standard old house creaks and squeaks, and those are moderately making me edgy right now too... if leigh hadn't been with me all evening and here now, i'd definitely be jumping...
anyhow, in short, it was great fun to hang out with a family again for the evening,... i had a great time... and for once i let myself get spooked... how often does that happen? good thing some people don't live near me who i know would love to capitalize on the edgyness/easily being spooked ness right about now :-P
anyhow, homework for a bit then time to crash... later dudes
Sunday, October 31, 2004
happy reformation day!
one of my desk calendars today: "blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused."
this is most certainly true.
if you're a lutheran, today is not only halloween, but even better, it's reformation day (in celebration(?) of when martin luther nailed up the 95 theses contesting the pratices of the Catholic church at the time... which eventually started the reformation and here you have my church body and all its many pieces today...)
let it never be said that lutherans cannot laugh at themselves... check this out... there are two reformation songs, along with many other lutheran jokes... how much you find funny probably greatly depends on how familiar with the lutheran church you are, but enjoy! :-P
this is most certainly true.
if you're a lutheran, today is not only halloween, but even better, it's reformation day (in celebration(?) of when martin luther nailed up the 95 theses contesting the pratices of the Catholic church at the time... which eventually started the reformation and here you have my church body and all its many pieces today...)
let it never be said that lutherans cannot laugh at themselves... check this out... there are two reformation songs, along with many other lutheran jokes... how much you find funny probably greatly depends on how familiar with the lutheran church you are, but enjoy! :-P
misc.
(1) fun link nicole's parents sent out tonight: carve your own pumpkin :-)
(2) bush quote of the day (from when i was watching MSNBC this afternoon (which i watch a lot of since we only have 20 channels and half are in spanish) (probably slight paraphrase since this is me remembering from hours ago, but i was amused)...."i can be too blunt; i get that from my mother... i have been known to completely mangle the english language; i get that from my father..." the whole paragraph that was from was good, but those two lines in particular got a good laugh both from the live audience and from me :-)
(3) Dr. Truemper, chair of theology at Valpo while i was there, died today... he was having major health problems already for a bit and was going into hospice care this fall... i never had him for a class, but was familiar with him from the chapel... more i have lots of friends who were greatly touched by him and will miss him greatly.... life never stops throwing you for loops, eh?
done rambling for the day... i think.
remember to set those clocks back. :-P
(2) bush quote of the day (from when i was watching MSNBC this afternoon (which i watch a lot of since we only have 20 channels and half are in spanish) (probably slight paraphrase since this is me remembering from hours ago, but i was amused)...."i can be too blunt; i get that from my mother... i have been known to completely mangle the english language; i get that from my father..." the whole paragraph that was from was good, but those two lines in particular got a good laugh both from the live audience and from me :-)
(3) Dr. Truemper, chair of theology at Valpo while i was there, died today... he was having major health problems already for a bit and was going into hospice care this fall... i never had him for a class, but was familiar with him from the chapel... more i have lots of friends who were greatly touched by him and will miss him greatly.... life never stops throwing you for loops, eh?
done rambling for the day... i think.
remember to set those clocks back. :-P
Saturday, October 30, 2004
slooooooooooooow day
you don't get much lazier than this..
asleep til 12:30 (pm)
in bed til 3 (pm)
in PJs til 7 (pm)
since then, colleen came home in a panic about what she was going to wear to a halloween party tonight, and i went through her clothes, did her hair, and made her a mask so she could go out in style ;-P... just wait til you see pictures (when i finish the roll i just started tonight)
so tomorrow's gonna stink on account of not working today... oops.
but it's 11pm and i've still not done any work, so why should i start now?
later dudes
asleep til 12:30 (pm)
in bed til 3 (pm)
in PJs til 7 (pm)
since then, colleen came home in a panic about what she was going to wear to a halloween party tonight, and i went through her clothes, did her hair, and made her a mask so she could go out in style ;-P... just wait til you see pictures (when i finish the roll i just started tonight)
so tomorrow's gonna stink on account of not working today... oops.
but it's 11pm and i've still not done any work, so why should i start now?
later dudes
the rundown
it was a good day... up until about 10 minutes ago.... but we'll save that part for the end.
got nearly 8 hours of sleep, which is mighty impressive for lara on a thursday night... class was fine... got a new all time personal record on minesweeper while killing time before pizza seminar (97 seconds on expert level... previous record was 102)... ben helped me set up the room for the seminar and then ben, sujith, and mike helped get the pizza, and the speaker was great... had fun running errands... watching mulan with leigh (she just got the new dvd version of it)...
dinner with eric's family was a blast... they all flew in from vegas to philly wednesday, and are around today and tomorrow before going back to philly to fly back (they have family there too, not just visiting eric here)... i'd met them all in july, so it was fun to see them again... the 5 of them (parents, and then eric and then he has a younger brother and a younger sister), and 8 of us math people ate at an indian restaurant and chatted for over 2 hours... it was a good time.
after that, ben and me went to see "ray" -- which got a huge round of applause from everyone in the theater when it was done -- it was really good... story of the life of ray charles, but really well tied together... i was impressed.
so, 2:15am, life is great, i've had a long but fantastic day... what could go wrong?
i've been trying to sort out my life and have hit a major kink in the fixing process that's no good... applied for and got "conditionally approved" for a loan... they told me they needed more info, so i got them the more info... now i come home to another email tonight that says they still need more holes filled in from what i sent.... i'm following all their freakin instructions, but how many paperwork hoops do they expect me to jump through?!?!?! i want to just say this is all a big bother and give up on it, but i need the money if i expect to be able to afford to exist come next fall (when i'm on teaching assistantship instead of fellowship)... maybe i'll "luck out", fail the qual, and get a whole new life vision in january?
blah... headache indeed.
can't end an entry on this grumpy a note, so here... go look at the new pictures here - enjoy.
got nearly 8 hours of sleep, which is mighty impressive for lara on a thursday night... class was fine... got a new all time personal record on minesweeper while killing time before pizza seminar (97 seconds on expert level... previous record was 102)... ben helped me set up the room for the seminar and then ben, sujith, and mike helped get the pizza, and the speaker was great... had fun running errands... watching mulan with leigh (she just got the new dvd version of it)...
dinner with eric's family was a blast... they all flew in from vegas to philly wednesday, and are around today and tomorrow before going back to philly to fly back (they have family there too, not just visiting eric here)... i'd met them all in july, so it was fun to see them again... the 5 of them (parents, and then eric and then he has a younger brother and a younger sister), and 8 of us math people ate at an indian restaurant and chatted for over 2 hours... it was a good time.
after that, ben and me went to see "ray" -- which got a huge round of applause from everyone in the theater when it was done -- it was really good... story of the life of ray charles, but really well tied together... i was impressed.
so, 2:15am, life is great, i've had a long but fantastic day... what could go wrong?
i've been trying to sort out my life and have hit a major kink in the fixing process that's no good... applied for and got "conditionally approved" for a loan... they told me they needed more info, so i got them the more info... now i come home to another email tonight that says they still need more holes filled in from what i sent.... i'm following all their freakin instructions, but how many paperwork hoops do they expect me to jump through?!?!?! i want to just say this is all a big bother and give up on it, but i need the money if i expect to be able to afford to exist come next fall (when i'm on teaching assistantship instead of fellowship)... maybe i'll "luck out", fail the qual, and get a whole new life vision in january?
blah... headache indeed.
can't end an entry on this grumpy a note, so here... go look at the new pictures here - enjoy.
Friday, October 29, 2004
ouch!
things lara has learned today:
* walking backwards down the hall in an academic building while talking to people greatly increases your chances of tripping backwards over a desk and/or chair in said hallway (in case you were wondering)
*in the event you still walk backwards and trip backwards over a chair in the presence of half a dozen people, immediately starting to laugh helps your chances that said group of people will laugh *with* you not *at* you.
* there are better and less-painful ways of getting a laugh than items (1) and (2)
* walking backwards down the hall in an academic building while talking to people greatly increases your chances of tripping backwards over a desk and/or chair in said hallway (in case you were wondering)
*in the event you still walk backwards and trip backwards over a chair in the presence of half a dozen people, immediately starting to laugh helps your chances that said group of people will laugh *with* you not *at* you.
* there are better and less-painful ways of getting a laugh than items (1) and (2)
quotes
---: you too? cuz.. mmMMMmmm... lara... *Drools*
(don't ask)
lkp 42 42 42: people don't call *you* late at night from middle of nowhere ohio and sing country songs to you, do they? :-)
davrbeagle: uh, no.
davrbeagle: though nic might
lkp 42 42 42: lol
davrbeagle: so the possibility exists
lkp 42 42 42: nic would sing you country songs?
lkp 42 42 42: really?
davrbeagle: it's possible
---: anyways, i wrecked a neon, i get a celica GTS
---: good trade.. since it happend at church camp, i figure it's God's will.
---: *nods*
---: yay for God giving me a Celica
night y'all
(don't ask)
lkp 42 42 42: people don't call *you* late at night from middle of nowhere ohio and sing country songs to you, do they? :-)
davrbeagle: uh, no.
davrbeagle: though nic might
lkp 42 42 42: lol
davrbeagle: so the possibility exists
lkp 42 42 42: nic would sing you country songs?
lkp 42 42 42: really?
davrbeagle: it's possible
---: anyways, i wrecked a neon, i get a celica GTS
---: good trade.. since it happend at church camp, i figure it's God's will.
---: *nods*
---: yay for God giving me a Celica
night y'all
Thursday, October 28, 2004
inbox fun
two mass rutgers email list emails this evening, both of which had me laughing:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) not really a laughing matter... not on my campus, but... well... how often do you get this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 22:48:55 -0400
From: Campus Information Services
Subject: Brower Commons Closed Due to Fire - Alternate Dining Information
Brower Commons has been closed indefinitely due to a fire that occurred Wednesday evening, October
27th. Although thankfully no one was hurt there is extensive smoke and water damage to the
building.
Dining Services is moving student operations to the College Avenue Gym, across from Brower
Commons, beginning with breakfast starting at 7am Thursday morning.
All normally scheduled activities at the College Avenue Gym have been canceled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(2) just random... esp. since it's from a math student
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Knitting and Chrocheting
All,
We (Me, Mike, Tom, Aany) like to knit and/or
crochet. We would like to set a time to knit and crochet and would like
to invite others who are interested, but we don't know who else knits or
crochets, so I send this email.
Reply if interested.
Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wish you were getting my emails now, eh? :-P
in other news... for the first time since travis taught me how to play the better part of a week ago, i won 1/5 games of backgammon tonight instead of absolutely none... i'm getting better!
*cheers!*
night y'all :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) not really a laughing matter... not on my campus, but... well... how often do you get this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 22:48:55 -0400
From: Campus Information Services
Subject: Brower Commons Closed Due to Fire - Alternate Dining Information
Brower Commons has been closed indefinitely due to a fire that occurred Wednesday evening, October
27th. Although thankfully no one was hurt there is extensive smoke and water damage to the
building.
Dining Services is moving student operations to the College Avenue Gym, across from Brower
Commons, beginning with breakfast starting at 7am Thursday morning.
All normally scheduled activities at the College Avenue Gym have been canceled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(2) just random... esp. since it's from a math student
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Knitting and Chrocheting
All,
We (Me, Mike, Tom, Aany) like to knit and/or
crochet. We would like to set a time to knit and crochet and would like
to invite others who are interested, but we don't know who else knits or
crochets, so I send this email.
Reply if interested.
Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wish you were getting my emails now, eh? :-P
in other news... for the first time since travis taught me how to play the better part of a week ago, i won 1/5 games of backgammon tonight instead of absolutely none... i'm getting better!
*cheers!*
night y'all :-)
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
new music :-)
got a new cd today :-)
mxpx -- before everything and after
2 weeks ago a friend who has given me plenty of music recommendations asked "so what bands do you like that i don't know about?" and mxpx was an immediate answer.
next day, friend comes back to me and says "so i went and bought (list of CDs) and 'before everything and after'"... you're right, mxpx rocks!
so a friend is telling me i have awesome taste in music based amongst other things on a CD by a favorite band of mine that i don't have!... having heard repeated references to the CD for a bit now, i had to get it, right? and so i did.
it's a party. look into it :-P
mxpx -- before everything and after
2 weeks ago a friend who has given me plenty of music recommendations asked "so what bands do you like that i don't know about?" and mxpx was an immediate answer.
next day, friend comes back to me and says "so i went and bought (list of CDs) and 'before everything and after'"... you're right, mxpx rocks!
so a friend is telling me i have awesome taste in music based amongst other things on a CD by a favorite band of mine that i don't have!... having heard repeated references to the CD for a bit now, i had to get it, right? and so i did.
it's a party. look into it :-P
quote of the day
I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when not feeling it.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
~Anonymous Jewish wall inscription in a cellar hideout in Germany
I believe in love even when not feeling it.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
~Anonymous Jewish wall inscription in a cellar hideout in Germany
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
:-(
imagine how it would feel to have someone stab a spear into your forehead right above your eye and twist it all day long...
this is how my head has felt all afternoon.
i hate headaches.
this is how my head has felt all afternoon.
i hate headaches.
Monday, October 25, 2004
passing notes :-P (ssshhhh, don't tell!)
ok, so to apprecite this one completely, you must have some appreciation for a literary masterpiece otherwise known as go, dog. go!
go, dog. go! is for the most part devoid of nouns... it's all about prepositions and adjectives... and dogs... however, every few pages, this pink poodle trots across the page wearing a hat and asks an oblivious boy dog "helloooo!!! do you like my hat?"... every time save one, he replies, "i do not like that hat! good bye!"... however, you can't end a kids' story without a happy ending, so the final time, when our hero, the pink poodle, returns sporting the craziest hat ever, the boy dog replies "i do. what a hat! i like it! i like that party hat!" and then they ride off into the sunset... :-)
this is not to make any comparisons between the book characters and the notewriters in question... this is to give background why i would give scott a note saying (1)... and what on earth his response in part (2) had anything to do with. (and if you're that bad at handwriting matching and were wondering, (3) is me again :-P)... read and enjoy!
(btw, if you click on the picture you can see a bigger copy :-P)
have a happy fabulous hat day :-)
go, dog. go! is for the most part devoid of nouns... it's all about prepositions and adjectives... and dogs... however, every few pages, this pink poodle trots across the page wearing a hat and asks an oblivious boy dog "helloooo!!! do you like my hat?"... every time save one, he replies, "i do not like that hat! good bye!"... however, you can't end a kids' story without a happy ending, so the final time, when our hero, the pink poodle, returns sporting the craziest hat ever, the boy dog replies "i do. what a hat! i like it! i like that party hat!" and then they ride off into the sunset... :-)
this is not to make any comparisons between the book characters and the notewriters in question... this is to give background why i would give scott a note saying (1)... and what on earth his response in part (2) had anything to do with. (and if you're that bad at handwriting matching and were wondering, (3) is me again :-P)... read and enjoy!
(btw, if you click on the picture you can see a bigger copy :-P)
have a happy fabulous hat day :-)
Sunday, October 24, 2004
in God's hands
"change is a constant part of the fabric of our lives... Good Shepherd is about to face a big change... Pastor Johnson and Georgeann, you're about to face a big change... but I have good news! (dramatic pause)... and no! i did not just save a bunch of money on my car insurance! (lots of laughter), this is the real thing -- even better news... you're in good hands -- you're in God's hands!"
and so started the sermon this afternoon.
when i came to jersey a year ago, i planned to find a church... little did i guess that the first day i attended a church in jersey would be the day after i heard one of my best friends had died, and in the middle of lots of crazy stuff going on, somehow that church would become instant family for me.
pastor johnson was a big part of that... though he's in his 60s (65 next month), you wouldn't put him a day past 50 if you had just met him... last fall i went through his new members class at church, and this past spring went through his spiritual gifts seminar... besides every sunday after church getting a cheerful hello, a hug, a kiss on the cheek (he does that to everyone), i'd had a few good chats one on one with him too.
that's just one year ago.
this past january, pastor (aka p.j.) announced he was retiring come his 65th birthday, and here we get to today... this morning was his last sunday as pastor of good shepherd... (aside: ironically the epistle reading this morning was from 2nd timothy "i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith" :-P)... instead he focused on the old testament reading from jeremiah where God's telling the israelites to live and prosper where they are, and talked about a peanuts comic stip:
Charlie Brown (comes up to Lucy's psychiatric booth): ...What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?
Lucy: Follow me, I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?
Charlie Brown: No.
Lucy: As far as you know this is the only world there is. . . right?
Charlie Brown: Right.
Lucy: There are no other worlds for you to live in. . .right?
Charlie Brown: Right.
Lucy: WELL, LIVE IN IT, THEN! Five cents, please.
that was his last sermon to us -- LIVE! :-)
this afternoon was different though... full communion service, pastor's kids flew in from literally around the world, and all his grandkids were around, and the church was packed...
during communion, joshua's trumpet (the praise band that plays one or two sundays a month) sang ray boltz's "thank you" (lyrics here), changing the last line to "He said "*Norman* look around you, Great is your reward." ... of course everyone was emotional...
the pastor who preached at pj's installation at good shepherd 27.5 years ago preached again... the first paragraph there, and then this:
"that's right... you're in good hands; you're in God's hands... members of good shepherd, this means, you,... pastor j and georgeann, this means you... because, you see, while everything's about to change... really, when it comes down to it, nothing's about to change... there will be a new shepherd, but the Great Shepherd reamins the same... His love remains the same... we are all in good hands... we're in God's hands."
and then... the service was over, and we all went to shake hands with pastor j. and georgeann... i gave him a big hug, and all i could say was "i will really miss you"... he gave me another hug and replied "i'll miss you too, i'm glad you came today"... i gave georgeann (who had been crying for the past hour of the service :-P) a big hug as well, and that was that.
yeah i know i'll see them again; they have friends in our congregation, they have family in our congregation, but it's a change.
i didn't expect it to hit me like i did, but i actually had to pull over to the side of the road on the drive home and cry for a little... it's not like he's gone for forever or that i'll never see him again, but it's funny how the big changes in life are what make you reflect most strongly on what people mean to you.
it's different and it's strange to think about how things will be different, and yet the same, but i'm glad for the impact pj has had on me in the past year... i'm glad i had the opportunity to know him for awhile, and i'm glad i was there today.
it's strange, and it kinda hurts... but it's in good hands; it's in God's hands.
and so started the sermon this afternoon.
when i came to jersey a year ago, i planned to find a church... little did i guess that the first day i attended a church in jersey would be the day after i heard one of my best friends had died, and in the middle of lots of crazy stuff going on, somehow that church would become instant family for me.
pastor johnson was a big part of that... though he's in his 60s (65 next month), you wouldn't put him a day past 50 if you had just met him... last fall i went through his new members class at church, and this past spring went through his spiritual gifts seminar... besides every sunday after church getting a cheerful hello, a hug, a kiss on the cheek (he does that to everyone), i'd had a few good chats one on one with him too.
that's just one year ago.
this past january, pastor (aka p.j.) announced he was retiring come his 65th birthday, and here we get to today... this morning was his last sunday as pastor of good shepherd... (aside: ironically the epistle reading this morning was from 2nd timothy "i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith" :-P)... instead he focused on the old testament reading from jeremiah where God's telling the israelites to live and prosper where they are, and talked about a peanuts comic stip:
Charlie Brown (comes up to Lucy's psychiatric booth): ...What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?
Lucy: Follow me, I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?
Charlie Brown: No.
Lucy: As far as you know this is the only world there is. . . right?
Charlie Brown: Right.
Lucy: There are no other worlds for you to live in. . .right?
Charlie Brown: Right.
Lucy: WELL, LIVE IN IT, THEN! Five cents, please.
that was his last sermon to us -- LIVE! :-)
this afternoon was different though... full communion service, pastor's kids flew in from literally around the world, and all his grandkids were around, and the church was packed...
during communion, joshua's trumpet (the praise band that plays one or two sundays a month) sang ray boltz's "thank you" (lyrics here), changing the last line to "He said "*Norman* look around you, Great is your reward." ... of course everyone was emotional...
the pastor who preached at pj's installation at good shepherd 27.5 years ago preached again... the first paragraph there, and then this:
"that's right... you're in good hands; you're in God's hands... members of good shepherd, this means, you,... pastor j and georgeann, this means you... because, you see, while everything's about to change... really, when it comes down to it, nothing's about to change... there will be a new shepherd, but the Great Shepherd reamins the same... His love remains the same... we are all in good hands... we're in God's hands."
and then... the service was over, and we all went to shake hands with pastor j. and georgeann... i gave him a big hug, and all i could say was "i will really miss you"... he gave me another hug and replied "i'll miss you too, i'm glad you came today"... i gave georgeann (who had been crying for the past hour of the service :-P) a big hug as well, and that was that.
yeah i know i'll see them again; they have friends in our congregation, they have family in our congregation, but it's a change.
i didn't expect it to hit me like i did, but i actually had to pull over to the side of the road on the drive home and cry for a little... it's not like he's gone for forever or that i'll never see him again, but it's funny how the big changes in life are what make you reflect most strongly on what people mean to you.
it's different and it's strange to think about how things will be different, and yet the same, but i'm glad for the impact pj has had on me in the past year... i'm glad i had the opportunity to know him for awhile, and i'm glad i was there today.
it's strange, and it kinda hurts... but it's in good hands; it's in God's hands.
misc.
having been hollered at today for my last blog post being "old news", here's the scoop:
and that's your update :-P
later y'all
- pastor j. retires this week -- tomorrow is his last sunday... it'll be different without him around, and it'll be a little before the call process goes through and we get a new pastor... i'll miss pastor j.
- i did THREE analysis problems today... i'm going to have to do them a lot faster and without talking to my friends in january, but this is much better than no analysis problems ( :-) )
- ben and me saw "i heart huckabees" last night... when the first line was 90% curse words, we both were like "oh no!" but it ended up being pretty decent modulo a few scenes that i really want to erase from my memory... nonetheless quality quotes?
- "You can't deal with my infinite nature can you?"
"That is so not true. Wait what does that even mean?"
- We're not in infinity we're in the suburbs
- "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
"Uh, Time not space... No I don't know what you're talking about."
- I'm in my tree talking to the Dixie Chicks and they're making me feel better
after the movie, we went to fudruckers for dinner and to analyze my life, which as you might of gathered from the last few posts has gotten somewhat interesting in the last week or so :-)
- "You can't deal with my infinite nature can you?"
- i've been spending an inordinate amount of time up later than i should be either on the phone, on IM, or playing yahoo games... this is connected with the previous two posts, but i'm not saying more just yet ;-)
and that's your update :-P
later y'all
Thursday, October 21, 2004
quote of the day
last night 3am:
---: anyways..
---: go to bed.
---: i'm gonna read.
lkp 42 42 42: see, now i'm in trouble with scott for something else
lkp 42 42 42: i want to go to bed
lkp 42 42 42: but i feel bad going to bed when people are mad at me
---: go to bed
---: tell him ur going to bed with me! =-O
---: let him figure that out.
---: *snickers*
lkp 42 42 42: lol
(... and for the record, scott's reaction to that excerpt was great :-P)
---: anyways..
---: go to bed.
---: i'm gonna read.
lkp 42 42 42: see, now i'm in trouble with scott for something else
lkp 42 42 42: i want to go to bed
lkp 42 42 42: but i feel bad going to bed when people are mad at me
---: go to bed
---: tell him ur going to bed with me! =-O
---: let him figure that out.
---: *snickers*
lkp 42 42 42: lol
(... and for the record, scott's reaction to that excerpt was great :-P)
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
:-) *melt* :-)
---: Alas...
---: my luv.
---: the moments away from you are like thorns
in my soul.
---: It is an emptiness that cannot be filled
by any other means..
---: I weep, quite openly, as i await your
return.
---: your smile is like a ray of sunshine
through clouds of darkest rain...
---: And with all day spent in anticipation..
the fleeting moments granted seem like mear grains of
sand in the great dial of time...
---: *interrupt any time here...*
lkp 42 42 42: (seeing how long this went on) :-)
---: I can carry on if you so desire.
---: for my sole purpose in life, is to
brighten yours.
---: for like ripples in a lake, are the lives
affected by the beauty captured in your smile...
---: Where all the time fathomable by God
himself at my disposal, mere words would STILL never
be able to express my thoughts of you.
lkp 42 42 42: :-)
---: yeah.. why am i single?
lkp 42 42 42: *melt*
lkp 42 42 42: i dunno man
---: oh..
---: did i mention.. such lines DO come easily
when they are all true.. you know that, right?
---: to be graced with such a muse, a truely
phenomenal subject as yourself.. I am blessed.
---: *bows*
---: *kiss of the hand* always, my pleasure.
and at your service.
lkp 42 42 42: *turns slightly red*... i am the one who
is blessed
---: so, hows your night workin out so far?
lkp 42 42 42: pretty good right about now
........................
lkp 42 42 42: lol... yes, i remember well
---: I make that good a first impression?
lkp 42 42 42: you were entertaining (in a completely cool way of course)
---: groovy
lkp 42 42 42: indeed
lkp 42 42 42: and i made a good enough impression that although i disappeared/hid for a month, you're still seeking me out :-)
---: seeking, i typed a page of... you know. and asked you to run away to Europe.
---: i think that technically exceeds the definition there.
---: ROFL
lkp 42 42 42: poor word choice... very true
lkp 42 42 42: :-)
---: :-P
........................
(& etc.)... i'll let all y'all wonder about chapter 2 another time (i don't even have that part figured out)... just think how un-often you get these kind of posts from me, and enjoy :-P
:-)
night
---: my luv.
---: the moments away from you are like thorns
in my soul.
---: It is an emptiness that cannot be filled
by any other means..
---: I weep, quite openly, as i await your
return.
---: your smile is like a ray of sunshine
through clouds of darkest rain...
---: And with all day spent in anticipation..
the fleeting moments granted seem like mear grains of
sand in the great dial of time...
---: *interrupt any time here...*
lkp 42 42 42: (seeing how long this went on) :-)
---: I can carry on if you so desire.
---: for my sole purpose in life, is to
brighten yours.
---: for like ripples in a lake, are the lives
affected by the beauty captured in your smile...
---: Where all the time fathomable by God
himself at my disposal, mere words would STILL never
be able to express my thoughts of you.
lkp 42 42 42: :-)
---: yeah.. why am i single?
lkp 42 42 42: *melt*
lkp 42 42 42: i dunno man
---: oh..
---: did i mention.. such lines DO come easily
when they are all true.. you know that, right?
---: to be graced with such a muse, a truely
phenomenal subject as yourself.. I am blessed.
---: *bows*
---: *kiss of the hand* always, my pleasure.
and at your service.
lkp 42 42 42: *turns slightly red*... i am the one who
is blessed
---: so, hows your night workin out so far?
lkp 42 42 42: pretty good right about now
........................
lkp 42 42 42: lol... yes, i remember well
---: I make that good a first impression?
lkp 42 42 42: you were entertaining (in a completely cool way of course)
---: groovy
lkp 42 42 42: indeed
lkp 42 42 42: and i made a good enough impression that although i disappeared/hid for a month, you're still seeking me out :-)
---: seeking, i typed a page of... you know. and asked you to run away to Europe.
---: i think that technically exceeds the definition there.
---: ROFL
lkp 42 42 42: poor word choice... very true
lkp 42 42 42: :-)
---: :-P
........................
(& etc.)... i'll let all y'all wonder about chapter 2 another time (i don't even have that part figured out)... just think how un-often you get these kind of posts from me, and enjoy :-P
:-)
night
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
quote of the day
ben is full of rotations and translations. ben is quite the group of isometries. ~ben
Monday, October 18, 2004
drama
ever get the feeling your life has suddenly gotten a lot more complicated than it was just days before?
interview for the summer job that goes to europe done as of 15 minutes ago... hopefully by the end of the month i'll know if it's mine... i got the best recommendation ever from one of my valpo profs though... that has to count for something :-)
lunch time... later dudes :-P
interview for the summer job that goes to europe done as of 15 minutes ago... hopefully by the end of the month i'll know if it's mine... i got the best recommendation ever from one of my valpo profs though... that has to count for something :-)
lunch time... later dudes :-P
Sunday, October 17, 2004
me
1. First Name: Lara
2. Were you named after anyone? The mistress in the movie Dr. Zhivago
3. Do you wish on stars? on rare occasion
4. When did you last cry? trying to solve an analysis problem last night (analysis has me defeated before i start -- it's something i need to work on)
5. Do you like your handwriting? yes, it's unique to say the least
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? tuna salad... i don't really like cold cuts
7. What is your birth date? 6/21/81
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? my best friend and i made a CD of our favorite songs the semester before i went to hungary... on the whole it's not embarassing, BUT a couple of the tracks of us singing are only allowed to be played in certain company
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? sure, why not
10. Are you a daredevil? depends on the context
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? Yes but only when i've absolutely known it's better to tell then to keep it a secret
12. Do looks matter? not much
13. How do you release anger? punch things/people... (this is why kristin got me a punching bag for christmas last year)
14. Where is your second home? the boys' house
15. Do you trust others easily? it takes me a little bit to completely trust people, but once i do it's hard to lost my trust unless you completely betray me
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? when i was very little -- playdough... a little older, the man across the street (who was practically my 3rd grandpa until he died) gave me an ancient tennis racket and a bunch of tennis balls.... i spent hours wacking them up on top of the garage and seeing how long it would take for them to bounce back down :-P (i'm weird)
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? none of them... whether i use them or not, it's good to have a well-rounded perspective on what all there is to know
18. Do you have a journal? yes... what the heck do you think a blog is?
19. What are your nicknames? la, lar,... i went by grits for a summer too
20. Would you bungee jump? probably not
21. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? nope
22. Do you think that you are strong? physically -- depends on who you're comparing too.... i frequently accidentally injure people when i'm really mad so i'm not completely weak.... emotionally -- i don't think i would have survived the past year (16 deaths close to me or my friends, and other moderately stressful situations) if i wasn't at least somewhat
23. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? vanilla
24. Shoe Size? 11.5
25. Red/Pink? neither
26. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? my inability to not
overanalyze everything
27. Who do you miss most? nicole (my friend who died in a car wreck last september)... i think it's completely mindboggling to lose someone on the
fly without a chance to get used to the idea first, and i don't know that it's ever possible to completely come to terms with it.
also, my grandma schumann (mom's mom)... she's still alive, but her strokes have put such a wall between her and us, that i miss being able to actually talk to her for more than 5 minutes without her losing track of what's going on
28. Do you want everyone you send this to send it back? um whatever... i'm posting it to a blog
29. What color pants are you wearing? black
30. What are you listening to right now? cats soundtrack
31. Last thing you ate? tuna melt and soup
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? cerulean
33. What is the weather like right now? windy, freakin cold, and extremely gloomy looking
34. Last person you talked to on the phone? heather miller! she's supposed to call me back again any time now
35. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? smile, eyes, sense of humor
36. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes indeed :-)
37. Favorite Drink? margarita -- on the rocks
38. Favorite Sport? to play - volleyball... sand is better b/c it's not as painful to dive for the ball... to watch - probably football
39. Eye Color? ring of brown, with ring of green around that, and ring of blue around that... my eye doctor's always been confused and resorted to calling
them hazel since he doesn't have a better word for them
proof:
40. Do you wear contacts? on the days when i've gotten more than 6 hours of sleep (about 50% of the time)
41. Favorite Food? lately, carrot sticks
42. Last Movie You Watched? ben and me went to see "shall we dance" last night -- it was great
43. Favorite Day Of The Year? easter
44. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? happy endings
45. Summer Or Winter? winter (as long as there's snow)
46. Hugs OR Kisses? hugs
47. What is your favorite dessert? vanilla ice cream... with fresh fruit on top
48. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? this question has no significance
49. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? ditto
50. Living Arrangements? me and two other math phd students... renting the 2nd floor of a 2 story house in a very jewish NJ neighborhood
51. What Books Are You Reading? Lectures in Differential Geometery by S. Chern, etc., Algebraic Topology by Allen Hatcher, A Course in Combinatorics by VanLint and Wilson... just finished The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder
52. What's On Your Mouse Pad? don't have one... my optical mouse is happier on the desktop
53. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? i didn't watch TV last night...i haven't watched TV since thursday, and then of course it was joey and apprentice
54. Favorite Smells? rain
55. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
the end.
2. Were you named after anyone? The mistress in the movie Dr. Zhivago
3. Do you wish on stars? on rare occasion
4. When did you last cry? trying to solve an analysis problem last night (analysis has me defeated before i start -- it's something i need to work on)
5. Do you like your handwriting? yes, it's unique to say the least
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? tuna salad... i don't really like cold cuts
7. What is your birth date? 6/21/81
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? my best friend and i made a CD of our favorite songs the semester before i went to hungary... on the whole it's not embarassing, BUT a couple of the tracks of us singing are only allowed to be played in certain company
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? sure, why not
10. Are you a daredevil? depends on the context
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? Yes but only when i've absolutely known it's better to tell then to keep it a secret
12. Do looks matter? not much
13. How do you release anger? punch things/people... (this is why kristin got me a punching bag for christmas last year)
14. Where is your second home? the boys' house
15. Do you trust others easily? it takes me a little bit to completely trust people, but once i do it's hard to lost my trust unless you completely betray me
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? when i was very little -- playdough... a little older, the man across the street (who was practically my 3rd grandpa until he died) gave me an ancient tennis racket and a bunch of tennis balls.... i spent hours wacking them up on top of the garage and seeing how long it would take for them to bounce back down :-P (i'm weird)
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? none of them... whether i use them or not, it's good to have a well-rounded perspective on what all there is to know
18. Do you have a journal? yes... what the heck do you think a blog is?
19. What are your nicknames? la, lar,... i went by grits for a summer too
20. Would you bungee jump? probably not
21. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? nope
22. Do you think that you are strong? physically -- depends on who you're comparing too.... i frequently accidentally injure people when i'm really mad so i'm not completely weak.... emotionally -- i don't think i would have survived the past year (16 deaths close to me or my friends, and other moderately stressful situations) if i wasn't at least somewhat
23. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? vanilla
24. Shoe Size? 11.5
25. Red/Pink? neither
26. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? my inability to not
overanalyze everything
27. Who do you miss most? nicole (my friend who died in a car wreck last september)... i think it's completely mindboggling to lose someone on the
fly without a chance to get used to the idea first, and i don't know that it's ever possible to completely come to terms with it.
also, my grandma schumann (mom's mom)... she's still alive, but her strokes have put such a wall between her and us, that i miss being able to actually talk to her for more than 5 minutes without her losing track of what's going on
28. Do you want everyone you send this to send it back? um whatever... i'm posting it to a blog
29. What color pants are you wearing? black
30. What are you listening to right now? cats soundtrack
31. Last thing you ate? tuna melt and soup
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? cerulean
33. What is the weather like right now? windy, freakin cold, and extremely gloomy looking
34. Last person you talked to on the phone? heather miller! she's supposed to call me back again any time now
35. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? smile, eyes, sense of humor
36. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes indeed :-)
37. Favorite Drink? margarita -- on the rocks
38. Favorite Sport? to play - volleyball... sand is better b/c it's not as painful to dive for the ball... to watch - probably football
39. Eye Color? ring of brown, with ring of green around that, and ring of blue around that... my eye doctor's always been confused and resorted to calling
them hazel since he doesn't have a better word for them
proof:
40. Do you wear contacts? on the days when i've gotten more than 6 hours of sleep (about 50% of the time)
41. Favorite Food? lately, carrot sticks
42. Last Movie You Watched? ben and me went to see "shall we dance" last night -- it was great
43. Favorite Day Of The Year? easter
44. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? happy endings
45. Summer Or Winter? winter (as long as there's snow)
46. Hugs OR Kisses? hugs
47. What is your favorite dessert? vanilla ice cream... with fresh fruit on top
48. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? this question has no significance
49. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? ditto
50. Living Arrangements? me and two other math phd students... renting the 2nd floor of a 2 story house in a very jewish NJ neighborhood
51. What Books Are You Reading? Lectures in Differential Geometery by S. Chern, etc., Algebraic Topology by Allen Hatcher, A Course in Combinatorics by VanLint and Wilson... just finished The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder
52. What's On Your Mouse Pad? don't have one... my optical mouse is happier on the desktop
53. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? i didn't watch TV last night...i haven't watched TV since thursday, and then of course it was joey and apprentice
54. Favorite Smells? rain
55. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
the end.
happy weekend
it's been a quality weekend.
friday, eric and me went to subway and then to the rutgers wind ensemble concert, and had a good time... afterwards we went by starbucks and then chatted the night away (gossip might be a better word for it actually,... oops), and played board games for awhile... it was good to catch up... we don't have time to hang out as much anymore.
since i was up til like 4am friday night i was asleep most of yesterday... however, ben and me caught a matinee of "shall we dance", which we both enjoyed immensely... lyrics to a song in the movie that have been in my head for the past 24 hours:
The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing
But I
I love it when you read to me
And you
You can read me anything
The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything
(by peter gabriel)
after the movie, ben came to my house and helped me and leigh with homework (now that we have analysis problems to do to prepare for the qual and stuff)... then leigh, ben, and i went to dinner (there's a new perkins near here, and i hadn't seen any of them in jersey before, so that's where we went)... afterwards, ben and me did more homework after which we had a similar evening to me and eric the night before... board games, gossip, and other such fun until i was ready to fall asleep... fun, right? :-)
today... well, today i should be doing homework but haven't convinced myself to... i realized something this morning at church... (we had a cool "narrative service" today, that i had never seen them do before... before each major portion of the service one of the deacons would read a paragraph about what exactly the liturgy in that part of the service means... it was cool... on the other hand, they knew the organist would be out of town this week, and some guy played piano during the first service and never came back for the second service, so pastor played the piano for the opening, closing, and sermon hymns, and the we read instead of sang the liturgy and had no communion music... last minute making do... i was impressed with pastor's sight reading piano ability though :-P)
anyhow, what i realized was this... i knew since january that pastor j was retiring by the time he turned 65 in november... what didn't hit me yet (although i guess i could have looked ahead on the calendar and seen) was that his LAST sunday is next week.... :-(... there will be the regular services in the morning, a retirement worship service (how funny does that sound?) next sunday afternoon, followed by a banquet that i didn't have money to pay for... but i'll go to the afternoon service next week for sure... that's just a change i knew was coming, but put in the back of my mind b/c i wasn't the most excited about it, and now it dawned on me suddenly that that's going on, and it's a little strange...
anyhow, that's that... like i said, i *should* be working :-P
later dudes
friday, eric and me went to subway and then to the rutgers wind ensemble concert, and had a good time... afterwards we went by starbucks and then chatted the night away (gossip might be a better word for it actually,... oops), and played board games for awhile... it was good to catch up... we don't have time to hang out as much anymore.
since i was up til like 4am friday night i was asleep most of yesterday... however, ben and me caught a matinee of "shall we dance", which we both enjoyed immensely... lyrics to a song in the movie that have been in my head for the past 24 hours:
The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing
But I
I love it when you read to me
And you
You can read me anything
The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything
(by peter gabriel)
after the movie, ben came to my house and helped me and leigh with homework (now that we have analysis problems to do to prepare for the qual and stuff)... then leigh, ben, and i went to dinner (there's a new perkins near here, and i hadn't seen any of them in jersey before, so that's where we went)... afterwards, ben and me did more homework after which we had a similar evening to me and eric the night before... board games, gossip, and other such fun until i was ready to fall asleep... fun, right? :-)
today... well, today i should be doing homework but haven't convinced myself to... i realized something this morning at church... (we had a cool "narrative service" today, that i had never seen them do before... before each major portion of the service one of the deacons would read a paragraph about what exactly the liturgy in that part of the service means... it was cool... on the other hand, they knew the organist would be out of town this week, and some guy played piano during the first service and never came back for the second service, so pastor played the piano for the opening, closing, and sermon hymns, and the we read instead of sang the liturgy and had no communion music... last minute making do... i was impressed with pastor's sight reading piano ability though :-P)
anyhow, what i realized was this... i knew since january that pastor j was retiring by the time he turned 65 in november... what didn't hit me yet (although i guess i could have looked ahead on the calendar and seen) was that his LAST sunday is next week.... :-(... there will be the regular services in the morning, a retirement worship service (how funny does that sound?) next sunday afternoon, followed by a banquet that i didn't have money to pay for... but i'll go to the afternoon service next week for sure... that's just a change i knew was coming, but put in the back of my mind b/c i wasn't the most excited about it, and now it dawned on me suddenly that that's going on, and it's a little strange...
anyhow, that's that... like i said, i *should* be working :-P
later dudes
Saturday, October 16, 2004
top 10 things learned/reaffirmed today
(10) symphony band concerts are always a million times more fun when you sit with a music person and ask ridiculous questions between pieces :-P
(9) it is possible to have a highlighter explode, just like with regular ink pens... doht
(8) all math all day is a surefire way to tired yourself out
(7) i'm never going to find a good strategy for playing mancala
(6) i'm exceedingly weird... enough said
(5) it's always good to have friends around who make excellent pillows
(4) i am far from the only person who is exceedingly confused by my life
(3) eric thinks he's found the recipe to happiness -- i need to steal it :-P
(2) it's always worth it to set aside quality time for a good chat
(1) being reminded that there's people who think the world of you can do wonders for your outlook on life
(9) it is possible to have a highlighter explode, just like with regular ink pens... doht
(8) all math all day is a surefire way to tired yourself out
(7) i'm never going to find a good strategy for playing mancala
(6) i'm exceedingly weird... enough said
(5) it's always good to have friends around who make excellent pillows
(4) i am far from the only person who is exceedingly confused by my life
(3) eric thinks he's found the recipe to happiness -- i need to steal it :-P
(2) it's always worth it to set aside quality time for a good chat
(1) being reminded that there's people who think the world of you can do wonders for your outlook on life
Thursday, October 14, 2004
a revolutionary class
maybe that's not the right adjective... nonetheless it was cool
we walk into experimental math class today, and the prof. begins with
"so i got an email... 30 minutes ago... so this is hot off the presses... here are your copies:"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from ----@math.psu.edu Wed Oct 13 21:22:00 2004
Dear Doron, how are you? I wanted to attract your attention to a very strange paper that was posted a few days ago on ArXiv [see here]. Since it's in Russian, I take the liberty to very briefly describe it. This is a preprint of the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author is S. Sadov (no idea who he is). The main result is a criterion for a convex quadrilateral with sides a,b,c,d and diagonals p,q to be inscribed into a circle. It's not the well known Ptolemy theorem:
ac+bd=pq
but a cubic relation:
abp-bcq+cdp-adq=0.
The proof takes 28pp and makes use of Maple.
Any comment? Can you do it in one paragraph?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
so immediately, dr. z. shows us some maple packages he's written, one of which proves the Ptolemy theorem refered to in the email... we spend the first half hour of class modifying it to get the cubic relation in this paper. turns out, the computer can prove it too.
so some Russian mathematician has worked hard for awhile to come up with a 28 page proof of a geometry theorem, and recently gotten his work published... my experimental math prof hears about his proof, and within the hour gets a class full of graduate students to prove it in a paragraph using only the computer. -- how ironic and cool is that?
this is why experimental math rocks :-)
that, and dr. z. gives us money for good answers... i earned a penny today :-P
later dudes.
we walk into experimental math class today, and the prof. begins with
"so i got an email... 30 minutes ago... so this is hot off the presses... here are your copies:"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from ----@math.psu.edu Wed Oct 13 21:22:00 2004
Dear Doron, how are you? I wanted to attract your attention to a very strange paper that was posted a few days ago on ArXiv [see here]. Since it's in Russian, I take the liberty to very briefly describe it. This is a preprint of the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author is S. Sadov (no idea who he is). The main result is a criterion for a convex quadrilateral with sides a,b,c,d and diagonals p,q to be inscribed into a circle. It's not the well known Ptolemy theorem:
ac+bd=pq
but a cubic relation:
abp-bcq+cdp-adq=0.
The proof takes 28pp and makes use of Maple.
Any comment? Can you do it in one paragraph?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
so immediately, dr. z. shows us some maple packages he's written, one of which proves the Ptolemy theorem refered to in the email... we spend the first half hour of class modifying it to get the cubic relation in this paper. turns out, the computer can prove it too.
so some Russian mathematician has worked hard for awhile to come up with a 28 page proof of a geometry theorem, and recently gotten his work published... my experimental math prof hears about his proof, and within the hour gets a class full of graduate students to prove it in a paragraph using only the computer. -- how ironic and cool is that?
this is why experimental math rocks :-)
that, and dr. z. gives us money for good answers... i earned a penny today :-P
later dudes.
a thought
it's time's like these... 12:20am at night, when i'm sitting at the computer, programming to solve a math problem and waiting for the computer to churn out data, brainstorming how i can make the program in question more efficient, counting out and lining up the chocolates i bought today* while i wait, that i know it's not possible that i'm "normal" (whatever that means)
*(i can't buy a bag of mixed candy without first lining them up and removing the extras so that there's the same amount of each kind in the bag... i even eat the extras in a particular order... say i buy a bag of m&ms that comes with 10 yellow, 5 red, 6 brown, 7 green... i'll put 5 of each in the bag... eat 3 yellow, then 1 each of yellow and green, then eat 1 each of yellow, brown, and green before i can touch the rest of the bag)
while the fact that i consider the above "fun" is evidence that i'm probably in the right field of work, it makes me wonder how much different my life would be if my head weren't so weird.
*(i can't buy a bag of mixed candy without first lining them up and removing the extras so that there's the same amount of each kind in the bag... i even eat the extras in a particular order... say i buy a bag of m&ms that comes with 10 yellow, 5 red, 6 brown, 7 green... i'll put 5 of each in the bag... eat 3 yellow, then 1 each of yellow and green, then eat 1 each of yellow, brown, and green before i can touch the rest of the bag)
while the fact that i consider the above "fun" is evidence that i'm probably in the right field of work, it makes me wonder how much different my life would be if my head weren't so weird.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
pseudo-politics
a friend stopped me in the hallway today on campus and asked who i was voting for for president.
to my answer of "one of the candidates" (because i just wanted to go home by that point in the day, knew who said friend is voting for, and didn't feel like arguing), i got chewed out for even thinking about one of the candidates... according to said friend "there's a very right person and a very wrong person to vote for, and that's all there is to it."
when i replied that i didn't even really make up my mind until this week, have watched all three debates so far, and see some major strengths and weaknesses to both bush and kerry, and gave some examples to both, this friend commented "well, i haven't watched any of the debates, or read anything, but (insert party) is always right, so i'm voting for (insert candidate)"
parties/candidates removed from the quotes because my point is this:
you can disagree with me, ask me why i think what i think, and calmly tell me why you think differently... *that* i appreciate, and it gives me more food for thought to process in my decision-making process.
to yell at me, tell me i'm wrong, and then to not even know anything the candidate you're so boldfacedly supporting has said in the past weeks and months, and tell me my opinion is invalid, despite the fact that i've been following the news, debates, etc. closely -- *THAT* i do not respect at all.
go out and vote -- have a say in what goes on the the country and in your local government... BUT BE INFORMED.... don't make an idiot of yourself by swearing eternal allegiance to a candidate/party without being able to back up a word of what you say.
end of rant.
later dudes.
to my answer of "one of the candidates" (because i just wanted to go home by that point in the day, knew who said friend is voting for, and didn't feel like arguing), i got chewed out for even thinking about one of the candidates... according to said friend "there's a very right person and a very wrong person to vote for, and that's all there is to it."
when i replied that i didn't even really make up my mind until this week, have watched all three debates so far, and see some major strengths and weaknesses to both bush and kerry, and gave some examples to both, this friend commented "well, i haven't watched any of the debates, or read anything, but (insert party) is always right, so i'm voting for (insert candidate)"
parties/candidates removed from the quotes because my point is this:
you can disagree with me, ask me why i think what i think, and calmly tell me why you think differently... *that* i appreciate, and it gives me more food for thought to process in my decision-making process.
to yell at me, tell me i'm wrong, and then to not even know anything the candidate you're so boldfacedly supporting has said in the past weeks and months, and tell me my opinion is invalid, despite the fact that i've been following the news, debates, etc. closely -- *THAT* i do not respect at all.
go out and vote -- have a say in what goes on the the country and in your local government... BUT BE INFORMED.... don't make an idiot of yourself by swearing eternal allegiance to a candidate/party without being able to back up a word of what you say.
end of rant.
later dudes.
movin on up
this week is finally going well for the first time in awhile!
on top of my homework mostly, just got the promissory note for the student loan i've been hoping for, and other such happy fun.
finally, before i get back to work for a bit, for your laughter enjoyment...
dr. greenfield is an amazing analysis prof here, and he was the previous grad director... last year he worked with the people who failed the qual in the fall to help them learn the analysis part to pass in the spring... eric, colleen, leigh, and i have been trying to find him to set up a meeting time for several weeks now, and to no avail... since eric, colleen, and leigh would just take turns showing up at his office door, and finding it shut, i took things into my own hands and emailed him... enjoy the laugh, yes this is how he generally sounds, and aren't you jealous that your profs/bosses/etc. don't have this kind of sense of humor? :-P
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: question
hi!
a few of us have been looking for you sporadically this week.... to
help speed up the search process, when will you be in your office
tomorrow/thursday? (i know your website says that you have office hours
from 3-4 tomorrow, but i have a class then, so i guess this is a request
for a "mutually agreeable time")
thanks much!
lara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Re: question
sigh. this is beloved dr. greenfile'ds automated e-mail response
program, answering your message whilst he is travel through the
himalayas. and such.
***
i will try to listen to the second lewis lecture today (probably
actually grade some 503 homework during it). maybe we can meet after
that, which may be after your class, also?
sincerely, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
once we get a time set up, he's going to be great to work with :-P
back to work for me :-P
later dudes
on top of my homework mostly, just got the promissory note for the student loan i've been hoping for, and other such happy fun.
finally, before i get back to work for a bit, for your laughter enjoyment...
dr. greenfield is an amazing analysis prof here, and he was the previous grad director... last year he worked with the people who failed the qual in the fall to help them learn the analysis part to pass in the spring... eric, colleen, leigh, and i have been trying to find him to set up a meeting time for several weeks now, and to no avail... since eric, colleen, and leigh would just take turns showing up at his office door, and finding it shut, i took things into my own hands and emailed him... enjoy the laugh, yes this is how he generally sounds, and aren't you jealous that your profs/bosses/etc. don't have this kind of sense of humor? :-P
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: question
hi!
a few of us have been looking for you sporadically this week.... to
help speed up the search process, when will you be in your office
tomorrow/thursday? (i know your website says that you have office hours
from 3-4 tomorrow, but i have a class then, so i guess this is a request
for a "mutually agreeable time")
thanks much!
lara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Re: question
sigh. this is beloved dr. greenfile'ds automated e-mail response
program, answering your message whilst he is travel through the
himalayas. and such.
***
i will try to listen to the second lewis lecture today (probably
actually grade some 503 homework during it). maybe we can meet after
that, which may be after your class, also?
sincerely, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
once we get a time set up, he's going to be great to work with :-P
back to work for me :-P
later dudes
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
tuesday rundown
summer job that involves paid for trip to prague? interview on monday, prospects looking good!
homework? did a lot of it today
scrubs? excellent episode... moral of the story today? things in life inevitably break down... when they do, be honest with yourself about it... and when your friends lives break down, find a way to help
unexpected adventure of the day? 8:30pm, driving home from dropping ben off back on campus when this dude is walking down the exit ramp i'm waiting to turn off of... most people refused to open their windows and see what he wanted, but turns out his car was having problems, he got out to check it, and locked his phone, keys, etc. in the car with it running.... i pulled around all the cloverleafs of the exit to come around again to a place where i could stop on the shoulder and let the kid use my phone (i'd put him at 16 or 17)... after no luck on trying 3 other numbers, at my suggestion he decides to call his mom, and gets it all figured out for her to come with the spare key (why this was the 4th call instead of the 1st, i'm not quite sure.)... anyhow, he kept thanking me over and over, whereas i'd just hope someone would do the same for me, so why should i think twice about it?
anyhow, done rambling... back to work... later dudes :-P
homework? did a lot of it today
scrubs? excellent episode... moral of the story today? things in life inevitably break down... when they do, be honest with yourself about it... and when your friends lives break down, find a way to help
unexpected adventure of the day? 8:30pm, driving home from dropping ben off back on campus when this dude is walking down the exit ramp i'm waiting to turn off of... most people refused to open their windows and see what he wanted, but turns out his car was having problems, he got out to check it, and locked his phone, keys, etc. in the car with it running.... i pulled around all the cloverleafs of the exit to come around again to a place where i could stop on the shoulder and let the kid use my phone (i'd put him at 16 or 17)... after no luck on trying 3 other numbers, at my suggestion he decides to call his mom, and gets it all figured out for her to come with the spare key (why this was the 4th call instead of the 1st, i'm not quite sure.)... anyhow, he kept thanking me over and over, whereas i'd just hope someone would do the same for me, so why should i think twice about it?
anyhow, done rambling... back to work... later dudes :-P
...and the score
me: (hollering down the hall to everyone studying in other room): titan touchdown on the opening drive!
scott: (yelling back) yeah, we love you too lara!
by the time it was 17-0, scott couldn't handle long distance updates and joined me watching the game away from the homework party
in summary, for once it was hilariously great to watch the first 2/3 of the game with someone who moderately cared about the game (even if they were rooting for the wrong team!) instead of cheering on my own...
eventually jared was ready to go home for the night and he was scott's ride, so i had to finish the game on my own.... final?
titans: 48 (most points ever scored by an opposing team at lambeau field)
packers: 27
on the phone after the game?
scott: ok, ok, no more salt in the wound... i was wrong, the titans creamed us
me: don't take it personally... really, i only am this mean to people i like, or i wouldn't bother
scott: that counts as a compliment, right? i can handle that
yay TN :-)
night y'all.
scott: (yelling back) yeah, we love you too lara!
by the time it was 17-0, scott couldn't handle long distance updates and joined me watching the game away from the homework party
in summary, for once it was hilariously great to watch the first 2/3 of the game with someone who moderately cared about the game (even if they were rooting for the wrong team!) instead of cheering on my own...
eventually jared was ready to go home for the night and he was scott's ride, so i had to finish the game on my own.... final?
titans: 48 (most points ever scored by an opposing team at lambeau field)
packers: 27
on the phone after the game?
scott: ok, ok, no more salt in the wound... i was wrong, the titans creamed us
me: don't take it personally... really, i only am this mean to people i like, or i wouldn't bother
scott: that counts as a compliment, right? i can handle that
yay TN :-)
night y'all.
Monday, October 11, 2004
yay productivity!
accomplishments of the day?
staying awake through 2 classes,
getting preapproved for a private loan (with a really good interest rate!) to pay off my credit debt and be able to afford existence again :-)
moving 495 files (totalling 28M) from my old defunct computer to the new one and uninstalling a lot of stuff from it so that it's moderately happier to give to brother next month
i'm on a roll man! homework, and then cheering for the titans as loudly as possible to make scott (who is studying in the next room) as sad as possible about being a green bay fan (and hopefully the titans will pull through for me and make it worth my while to be an obnoxious fan tonight ;-))
later dudes
staying awake through 2 classes,
getting preapproved for a private loan (with a really good interest rate!) to pay off my credit debt and be able to afford existence again :-)
moving 495 files (totalling 28M) from my old defunct computer to the new one and uninstalling a lot of stuff from it so that it's moderately happier to give to brother next month
i'm on a roll man! homework, and then cheering for the titans as loudly as possible to make scott (who is studying in the next room) as sad as possible about being a green bay fan (and hopefully the titans will pull through for me and make it worth my while to be an obnoxious fan tonight ;-))
later dudes
Sunday, October 10, 2004
another good day
indeed
church, then the weiss's took me and mom out to lunch... afternoon of homework for me/afternoon of TV for mom, dinner at the cheesecake diner with mom, leigh, and eric, then mom and me watched "moulin rouge" because she had never seen it before and wanted to...
now, time to crash.
tomorrow, the fun ends...
class, take mom to train station, other class, and about a hundred and one things to do like: a TON of homework, find a good consolidation loan or at least seriously research them, start studying for quals, pay bills, sort through the mile deep of mail from the past month stacked on my desk, and etc., etc., etc.... sounds like fun, right?
oh well, at least 12 more hours of peace between me and then... night y'all :-P
church, then the weiss's took me and mom out to lunch... afternoon of homework for me/afternoon of TV for mom, dinner at the cheesecake diner with mom, leigh, and eric, then mom and me watched "moulin rouge" because she had never seen it before and wanted to...
now, time to crash.
tomorrow, the fun ends...
class, take mom to train station, other class, and about a hundred and one things to do like: a TON of homework, find a good consolidation loan or at least seriously research them, start studying for quals, pay bills, sort through the mile deep of mail from the past month stacked on my desk, and etc., etc., etc.... sounds like fun, right?
oh well, at least 12 more hours of peace between me and then... night y'all :-P
Saturday, October 09, 2004
hooray! :-)
i have a potential job offer (for summer 2005) that involves a completely paid for trip to europe (more specifically prague) for a week or two and i come highly recommended so there's a good chance the job is mine ;-)
more info if this pans out :-D
night y'all (for real this time) ;-P
more info if this pans out :-D
night y'all (for real this time) ;-P
i own a lumber company??? that's news to me... (pause) want some wood?
was that not the funniest line of tonight's debate? dude...
before that, though, plenty else to do today... class, studying, pizza seminar, then home... mom got in last night to visit for the weekend, and she managed to be lazy and play snood all day long while i was gone, so i decided we should do something fun... i ran down the list of like 3 movies that i'd be willing to see that i haven't see yet, and she picked Friday Night Lights... it was definitely a quality film, with one disclaimer... the filming is so purposefully jerky, the imagery at times intensely bloody, and the sound so rowdy and loud at times that the overall effect is so tense (namely in the middle of games), that if you're not careful you'll start feeling nauseous at some points. that said, it wasn't glitzy or overpolished, and it told its story well. go see it once, but make sure you're aware that parts are moderately like a roller coaster ride for your insides before you go :-P
after that, mom declared that she needed caffeine since she couldn't find any in my house today other than tea, so we went to starbucks... and after that made dinner at my house and then leigh, mom, and i all three went to tonight's orchestra concert.
eric tried out for orchestra this year, and his horn teacher (a music grad student) insists that he didn't get in just because he's not a music major and department politics have that much sway (last year he was in wind ensemble which is less intense, although still competative)... anyhow, she's been smuggling him in to rehearsals so that although his name wasn't in the program, he did help play parts of the 1st horn part on their third and most impressive piece of the evening (Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D Major "Titan")... so that was cool... it was the first concert of the school year for me and leigh and the first time in awhile mom had had a chance to go to such an event in a long time.
after that, we all curled up at the house again to watch the debate, recorded earlier. i'm not going to pretend to be great at political commentary, so i'll keep it short.
i don't agree with everything bush does, but even more than that i think kerry is way too naive -- he gives excellent and well polished responses to every question put to him in the debates, and presents himself very well, but i often feel like his words would much more easily be put into action in a world of 50 years ago or in a ficticious world that doesn't exist.
that lumber comment though... dude... i was about to bust a gut laughing for a bit...
new topic: tomorrow mom and me head to NYC to see "the producers"... this should be good :-)
night y'all
before that, though, plenty else to do today... class, studying, pizza seminar, then home... mom got in last night to visit for the weekend, and she managed to be lazy and play snood all day long while i was gone, so i decided we should do something fun... i ran down the list of like 3 movies that i'd be willing to see that i haven't see yet, and she picked Friday Night Lights... it was definitely a quality film, with one disclaimer... the filming is so purposefully jerky, the imagery at times intensely bloody, and the sound so rowdy and loud at times that the overall effect is so tense (namely in the middle of games), that if you're not careful you'll start feeling nauseous at some points. that said, it wasn't glitzy or overpolished, and it told its story well. go see it once, but make sure you're aware that parts are moderately like a roller coaster ride for your insides before you go :-P
after that, mom declared that she needed caffeine since she couldn't find any in my house today other than tea, so we went to starbucks... and after that made dinner at my house and then leigh, mom, and i all three went to tonight's orchestra concert.
eric tried out for orchestra this year, and his horn teacher (a music grad student) insists that he didn't get in just because he's not a music major and department politics have that much sway (last year he was in wind ensemble which is less intense, although still competative)... anyhow, she's been smuggling him in to rehearsals so that although his name wasn't in the program, he did help play parts of the 1st horn part on their third and most impressive piece of the evening (Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D Major "Titan")... so that was cool... it was the first concert of the school year for me and leigh and the first time in awhile mom had had a chance to go to such an event in a long time.
after that, we all curled up at the house again to watch the debate, recorded earlier. i'm not going to pretend to be great at political commentary, so i'll keep it short.
i don't agree with everything bush does, but even more than that i think kerry is way too naive -- he gives excellent and well polished responses to every question put to him in the debates, and presents himself very well, but i often feel like his words would much more easily be put into action in a world of 50 years ago or in a ficticious world that doesn't exist.
that lumber comment though... dude... i was about to bust a gut laughing for a bit...
new topic: tomorrow mom and me head to NYC to see "the producers"... this should be good :-)
night y'all
Friday, October 08, 2004
it's a small world after all...
that, or i have had good teachers :-)
so my combinatorics prof, whenever he presents a theorem, tells who first proved/conjectured it and in what year... the last 30 minutes of class today was left and right theorems of furedi all over the board.
furedi was my conjecture and proof prof. when i was in budapest 2 years ago.
=)
so my combinatorics prof, whenever he presents a theorem, tells who first proved/conjectured it and in what year... the last 30 minutes of class today was left and right theorems of furedi all over the board.
furedi was my conjecture and proof prof. when i was in budapest 2 years ago.
=)
Thursday, October 07, 2004
on a different note
found the link to this on another friend's blog,... i've been faithfully watching the debates so far and not said anything on here, but this makes some excellent points (even though it's exceedingly long... i'd start with part 2 if your attention span is short).
read it:
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000108.html
read it:
http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000108.html
dude
man it's been a looooong week, but you know what? it's finally all paid off!
with (a) 5 days straight of working, (b) some lucky web searches this morning, and (c) some guided questions from ian, i solved all my combinatorics homework... finally... working since saturday on that has gotten me behind on reading for my other classes, but it's sooo good to have the assignment done and done well. :-)
other good news? mom flies up tomorrow afternoon to visit for the weekend... she just wants a break from work, etc. stress, so she's coming up to see me instead :-P
jessica warnier of valpo fame is coming to see me 2 weeks after that... she's just 2 hours south of here as of a month ago, and i haven't seen her since her graduation in may, so it'll be a party to see her again.
two weeks after that, BROTHER is coming up to see me for the first time in jersey (the parents were here in feb)... brother says all the time how he doesn't have money to come, so it was a surprise... i talk about my brother so much that some of my friends here joke that he doesn't exist, so it'll be fun to introduce him to all the people and vice versa :-)... i'm excited... how on earth did this work out though?
so, like dad, brother has a thing for animals and hatched 5 baby tortoises this spring... apparently they're worth about $100 a piece now, and there's another tortoise breeder in allentown, PA who wants to buy them... if brother's just going to be an hour and a half away delivering the tortoises, and getting some money for it, he might as well see me, and he can't complain about "no money". :-P that's a good plan, right? party indeed. :-)
time to crash... night y'all.
with (a) 5 days straight of working, (b) some lucky web searches this morning, and (c) some guided questions from ian, i solved all my combinatorics homework... finally... working since saturday on that has gotten me behind on reading for my other classes, but it's sooo good to have the assignment done and done well. :-)
other good news? mom flies up tomorrow afternoon to visit for the weekend... she just wants a break from work, etc. stress, so she's coming up to see me instead :-P
jessica warnier of valpo fame is coming to see me 2 weeks after that... she's just 2 hours south of here as of a month ago, and i haven't seen her since her graduation in may, so it'll be a party to see her again.
two weeks after that, BROTHER is coming up to see me for the first time in jersey (the parents were here in feb)... brother says all the time how he doesn't have money to come, so it was a surprise... i talk about my brother so much that some of my friends here joke that he doesn't exist, so it'll be fun to introduce him to all the people and vice versa :-)... i'm excited... how on earth did this work out though?
so, like dad, brother has a thing for animals and hatched 5 baby tortoises this spring... apparently they're worth about $100 a piece now, and there's another tortoise breeder in allentown, PA who wants to buy them... if brother's just going to be an hour and a half away delivering the tortoises, and getting some money for it, he might as well see me, and he can't complain about "no money". :-P that's a good plan, right? party indeed. :-)
time to crash... night y'all.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
10 minutes of my day
(just so you can wish it was *you* who spends 12 hours a day learning math -- this page was actually mostly review for once :-P)
...but i didn't ask for a wakeup call!
3:30am -- lara, after working on homework ever since scott left at 11, finally goes to sleep
9:30am: lara's 1st alarm goes off, lara punches it and goes back to sleep
9:40am: lara's 2nd alarm goes off, lara punches it too and goes back to sleep
9:44am: a minute before lara's third and final alarm is set to go off, there's someone ringing the doorbell... lara and her roommates are all still in bed... lara was not about to move, but leigh graciously got up and got it... who is it? the landlord, ready to fix the hot water problem... he's surprised we're not up yet... he did after all leave us a message on our answering machine at 7 this morning (we sleep through the phone quite easily)... he tinkers for 20 minutes, asks us how quickly we can all possibly finish in the restroom before he turns off the water, we all get ready extremely quickly, and now he's back
not a morning that went as expected.
9:30am: lara's 1st alarm goes off, lara punches it and goes back to sleep
9:40am: lara's 2nd alarm goes off, lara punches it too and goes back to sleep
9:44am: a minute before lara's third and final alarm is set to go off, there's someone ringing the doorbell... lara and her roommates are all still in bed... lara was not about to move, but leigh graciously got up and got it... who is it? the landlord, ready to fix the hot water problem... he's surprised we're not up yet... he did after all leave us a message on our answering machine at 7 this morning (we sleep through the phone quite easily)... he tinkers for 20 minutes, asks us how quickly we can all possibly finish in the restroom before he turns off the water, we all get ready extremely quickly, and now he's back
not a morning that went as expected.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
oh, what a day
little did i expect to do as much random stuff as i did today... it's sunday,... that generally means church + lots of homework and not much more... however,...
(1) went to church... so many people to talk to.... it was the 44th anniversary of my congregation so the NJ district president gave the sermon... paul came, but instead of needing a ride like the last few weeks, a friend of his was visiting him and gave him a ride... they got there late, so they sat in the row behind me with john, this older man (well 2 years older than my dad) who goes to the AA group that meets at my church and likes talking to me on sundays because "you [i] have such a pleasant way about you [me]... you [i] don't act all critical of people, you [i] listen so well, and you [i] make people feel like they're worth being listened to" i was surprised at the compliment, but touched. :-) talked with john a little... then the weiss's all came and sat with me... during the passing of the peace, a lady in the choir whose name i don't know and who i don't know if she even knows me told me my new haircut looked awesome :-)
(2) after church, paul was having brunch with his friend matt... they invited me and i was game... they also called up mike and annie (mike is a new student this year although he's been at other grad schools and transders around with his girlfriend whenever she decides to change schools)... apparently mike and paul and matt were all roommates at university of chicago and mike and paul and annie were all in budapest the fall before i was.... this made for quite the amusing mix of people, with me mostly as an observer.... paul has two stuffed animal elephants he bought in budapest and mike had stolen them, and bound and gagged them, and the first 15 minutes of lunch was spent with them negotiating across the table over the lives of the elephants... that gives you an idea of how that part of my day went :-P
(3) after lunch was the most boring part of the day... lots of time and energy on combinatorics homework, and solved only 1.5 of 7 problems... had to stay put at home b/c the landlord was in and out working on stuff we needed fixed (our hot water in the tub isn't working quite right and tony needs to get a plumber in... blah)
(4) much later, scott had IMed me last night that he never sees me anymore and we should have a margarita night, and so we did... we went to chiles for margaritas, dinner in general, and a good gossipy/sorting out life kind of chat... lots of fun... afterwards, we went by the grocery store to get ice cream, hot fudge, and cherries and ate sundaes and read books (stop that ball and green eggs and ham tonight)... thing is, when scott and me read, we name all the characters in the illustrations (in stop that ball for example, scott's the little kid who's chasing the ball and always losing his pants, eric's the dog with cool hair following scott around, and i'm the little girl following them both and being secretly helpful)... in green eggs and ham sam is the great sam-i-am of course, and tonight we made the guy he's trying to convince to eat the freakin green eggs and vegetarian ham to be ben... however, if you look at the pictures, the characters are furry all over and not wearing clothes (they're cartoon dr. seuss animals, you know?),.... so scott, on a high on life whim, calls ben's cell phone and leaves the simple voicemail "ben, seriously, you gotta get some pants or start shaving down there or something" and hangs up... we finish the book, and scott's all like "i didn't really leave that message, did i?"... heh... i give my impression of what i think ben's reaction will be, and we let it be...
just now, scott's IM update of ben's response: :-)
smswtshnn: hey, guess what!?
smswtshnn: guess who just called me??
smswtshnn: BEN
lkp 42 42 42: and...?
smswtshnn: you were exactly right
smswtshnn: he made the same face and noise you said he would
smswtshnn: (i could tell the face from the noise :-))
lkp 42 42 42: lol
lkp 42 42 42: any coherent words after that?
smswtshnn: we had a good laugh for awhile
lkp 42 42 42: nothing else juicy?
smswtshnn: he said he knew it was me from my voice
smswtshnn: and figured there was no way he'd guess what it was about unless he called
smswtshnn: so he did
lkp 42 42 42: and what did he think of your explanation?
smswtshnn: once i explained it was from one of the books, he seemed to understand pretty well
smswtshnn: he thought it was hilarious -- we'll have to show him the page sometime soon
lkp 42 42 42: ok good
lkp 42 42 42: most excellent story :-)
smswtshnn: yes, absolutely
lkp 42 42 42: see, it's worth leaving crazy voicemails :-)
lkp 42 42 42: to appropriate people of course
smswtshnn: too bad there aren't more appropriate people....oh well, ben's a good sport
in conclusion, top two other scott quotes of the night?
"yeah, she has less than no game... she has negative game"
me: "so did you ever figure out what the utility workers were tearing up your road for for the past month?"
scott: "no... well, actually, i think they were trying to get a concrete proof of the banach tarski paradox, but obviously they failed since the road's the same size as it was before"
(if you're not well read on crazy math theorems, banach tarski says you can take a ball, cut it into 5 pieces, and rearrange them into two balls of the same size as the original... this was proved in 1924, and before you go saying "impossible!" note it's called the banach tarski paradox and so proven true, but living up to its name of paradox ;-P ... we'll leave it at that... if you want to learn more: this site will get you started)
i'm done being rambly and/or educational... night y'all.
(1) went to church... so many people to talk to.... it was the 44th anniversary of my congregation so the NJ district president gave the sermon... paul came, but instead of needing a ride like the last few weeks, a friend of his was visiting him and gave him a ride... they got there late, so they sat in the row behind me with john, this older man (well 2 years older than my dad) who goes to the AA group that meets at my church and likes talking to me on sundays because "you [i] have such a pleasant way about you [me]... you [i] don't act all critical of people, you [i] listen so well, and you [i] make people feel like they're worth being listened to" i was surprised at the compliment, but touched. :-) talked with john a little... then the weiss's all came and sat with me... during the passing of the peace, a lady in the choir whose name i don't know and who i don't know if she even knows me told me my new haircut looked awesome :-)
(2) after church, paul was having brunch with his friend matt... they invited me and i was game... they also called up mike and annie (mike is a new student this year although he's been at other grad schools and transders around with his girlfriend whenever she decides to change schools)... apparently mike and paul and matt were all roommates at university of chicago and mike and paul and annie were all in budapest the fall before i was.... this made for quite the amusing mix of people, with me mostly as an observer.... paul has two stuffed animal elephants he bought in budapest and mike had stolen them, and bound and gagged them, and the first 15 minutes of lunch was spent with them negotiating across the table over the lives of the elephants... that gives you an idea of how that part of my day went :-P
(3) after lunch was the most boring part of the day... lots of time and energy on combinatorics homework, and solved only 1.5 of 7 problems... had to stay put at home b/c the landlord was in and out working on stuff we needed fixed (our hot water in the tub isn't working quite right and tony needs to get a plumber in... blah)
(4) much later, scott had IMed me last night that he never sees me anymore and we should have a margarita night, and so we did... we went to chiles for margaritas, dinner in general, and a good gossipy/sorting out life kind of chat... lots of fun... afterwards, we went by the grocery store to get ice cream, hot fudge, and cherries and ate sundaes and read books (stop that ball and green eggs and ham tonight)... thing is, when scott and me read, we name all the characters in the illustrations (in stop that ball for example, scott's the little kid who's chasing the ball and always losing his pants, eric's the dog with cool hair following scott around, and i'm the little girl following them both and being secretly helpful)... in green eggs and ham sam is the great sam-i-am of course, and tonight we made the guy he's trying to convince to eat the freakin green eggs and vegetarian ham to be ben... however, if you look at the pictures, the characters are furry all over and not wearing clothes (they're cartoon dr. seuss animals, you know?),.... so scott, on a high on life whim, calls ben's cell phone and leaves the simple voicemail "ben, seriously, you gotta get some pants or start shaving down there or something" and hangs up... we finish the book, and scott's all like "i didn't really leave that message, did i?"... heh... i give my impression of what i think ben's reaction will be, and we let it be...
just now, scott's IM update of ben's response: :-)
smswtshnn: hey, guess what!?
smswtshnn: guess who just called me??
smswtshnn: BEN
lkp 42 42 42: and...?
smswtshnn: you were exactly right
smswtshnn: he made the same face and noise you said he would
smswtshnn: (i could tell the face from the noise :-))
lkp 42 42 42: lol
lkp 42 42 42: any coherent words after that?
smswtshnn: we had a good laugh for awhile
lkp 42 42 42: nothing else juicy?
smswtshnn: he said he knew it was me from my voice
smswtshnn: and figured there was no way he'd guess what it was about unless he called
smswtshnn: so he did
lkp 42 42 42: and what did he think of your explanation?
smswtshnn: once i explained it was from one of the books, he seemed to understand pretty well
smswtshnn: he thought it was hilarious -- we'll have to show him the page sometime soon
lkp 42 42 42: ok good
lkp 42 42 42: most excellent story :-)
smswtshnn: yes, absolutely
lkp 42 42 42: see, it's worth leaving crazy voicemails :-)
lkp 42 42 42: to appropriate people of course
smswtshnn: too bad there aren't more appropriate people....oh well, ben's a good sport
in conclusion, top two other scott quotes of the night?
"yeah, she has less than no game... she has negative game"
me: "so did you ever figure out what the utility workers were tearing up your road for for the past month?"
scott: "no... well, actually, i think they were trying to get a concrete proof of the banach tarski paradox, but obviously they failed since the road's the same size as it was before"
(if you're not well read on crazy math theorems, banach tarski says you can take a ball, cut it into 5 pieces, and rearrange them into two balls of the same size as the original... this was proved in 1924, and before you go saying "impossible!" note it's called the banach tarski paradox and so proven true, but living up to its name of paradox ;-P ... we'll leave it at that... if you want to learn more: this site will get you started)
i'm done being rambly and/or educational... night y'all.
notable news
this caught my eye earlier today:
Donald Trump, the Fragrance?
and while i'm on the topic of random stories, check this one out too :-P
Prisoners Break Out in Song -- Literally
enjoy!
Donald Trump, the Fragrance?
and while i'm on the topic of random stories, check this one out too :-P
Prisoners Break Out in Song -- Literally
enjoy!
book review
after months of going at it, i finally finished the science of God by gerald schroeder this morning. it really depends on your perspective how much you'd get out of it, but i rather enjoyed it. the whole goal of the book is to discuss basic premises of modern science and show them to not be inconsistent with Biblical belief... then again there's such a wide variety of views on how to read the Bible, that schroeder won't please everyone. as a scientist, i was pleased with the way he attacked the book, and while not perfect, he dares to ask questions and search for answers that many will deny are questions at all. it's worth the read.
now to get ready for church.
later dudes.
now to get ready for church.
later dudes.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
the scoop
apparently people wonder about me when i don't post for a day or two
here's the low down:
yesterday:
class, nap in my office, pizza seminar, watched the presidential debates (recorded from thursday) while working on a secret project, dinner with colleen, eric, and jared,... watched a movie at home with leigh
today:
up super early for an oil change for the car... turns out i needed two new tires too... homework, saw "shark tale" with leigh and ben, more homework, more top secret project... about to crash.
that's fun, right?
later dudes.
here's the low down:
yesterday:
class, nap in my office, pizza seminar, watched the presidential debates (recorded from thursday) while working on a secret project, dinner with colleen, eric, and jared,... watched a movie at home with leigh
today:
up super early for an oil change for the car... turns out i needed two new tires too... homework, saw "shark tale" with leigh and ben, more homework, more top secret project... about to crash.
that's fun, right?
later dudes.
