Bert: February 2008 Archives
One of my quirkiest teachers this semester is my stats professor. She's very nice and openly shows a true passion for what she teaches, but sometimes the things she says or does are so out there that they deserve mention.
One of the most hilarious of these events occurred today's class. We were learning about 'the mean of means (which is the mean!)...another great quirk of hers) and in attempt to help us better understand bias and spread, she draws the sketch to the right (this isn't the exact sketch but it was the best I could do from memory...I assure you it is fairly close to what it looked like thought).
"What could it be?" the professor asked the class. A few random mumbles of "tiger!" and "lion" slipped in (my personal guess was a stegosaurus). To our dismay, however, we were told that it was a bear! Let me stress this...A BEAR!
When the professor told us what her drawing was, many people burst out laughing. I know Paul S. and I couldn't stop laughing for at least a good minute as the teacher continued (sarcastically) talking about how art is a serious hobby of hers and she enjoys drawing on the weekends. After our few moments of giggles, she explained to us how she was "shooting" the bear (the Xs) and that the results above of missing the bear but coming very close around it showed a small amount of bias with a fairly wide spread.
I'm not sure at how great of an artist my professor is, but I'm sure I won't forget the difference between bias and spread on our next exam.
One of the most hilarious of these events occurred today's class. We were learning about 'the mean of means (which is the mean!)...another great quirk of hers) and in attempt to help us better understand bias and spread, she draws the sketch to the right (this isn't the exact sketch but it was the best I could do from memory...I assure you it is fairly close to what it looked like thought).
"What could it be?" the professor asked the class. A few random mumbles of "tiger!" and "lion" slipped in (my personal guess was a stegosaurus). To our dismay, however, we were told that it was a bear! Let me stress this...A BEAR!
When the professor told us what her drawing was, many people burst out laughing. I know Paul S. and I couldn't stop laughing for at least a good minute as the teacher continued (sarcastically) talking about how art is a serious hobby of hers and she enjoys drawing on the weekends. After our few moments of giggles, she explained to us how she was "shooting" the bear (the Xs) and that the results above of missing the bear but coming very close around it showed a small amount of bias with a fairly wide spread.
I'm not sure at how great of an artist my professor is, but I'm sure I won't forget the difference between bias and spread on our next exam.
I've had such a busy week with exams and I'll be sure to write it up sometime next week after they're all done. For now, I'll take another look at my progress with Dvorak!
Last month I said I would try to type as quickly and accurately on a Dvorak keyboard layout as I used to be able to on a QWERTY layout by the time spring break rolled around. Well with one and a half weeks until spring break, how is my experiment going?
Numbers do not lie and so I can't say that I think that I will achieve my goal. However, I am completely satisfied with where I currently am. When I took the same tests, my results on a QWERTY keyboard were 83 WPM at 95% accuracy. Today, my results on Dvorak are 61 WPM at 99% accuracy.
Although my typing is not as fast, it is more accurate. I also can't stress enough how much more relaxed my hands feel when typing. Hopefully the next time I post a Dvorak update I'll be caught up to my former QWERTY speed.
Last month I said I would try to type as quickly and accurately on a Dvorak keyboard layout as I used to be able to on a QWERTY layout by the time spring break rolled around. Well with one and a half weeks until spring break, how is my experiment going?
Numbers do not lie and so I can't say that I think that I will achieve my goal. However, I am completely satisfied with where I currently am. When I took the same tests, my results on a QWERTY keyboard were 83 WPM at 95% accuracy. Today, my results on Dvorak are 61 WPM at 99% accuracy.
Although my typing is not as fast, it is more accurate. I also can't stress enough how much more relaxed my hands feel when typing. Hopefully the next time I post a Dvorak update I'll be caught up to my former QWERTY speed.
Tonight was a night that I had been waiting to happen for sometime. I have been a fan of the RX bandits for a few years now, but I cannot recall them ever coming to Connecticut in recent years to give a concert. They were the last band on my list of "bands I need to see live but haven't yet" (other groups on this list include used to include The Youngblood Brass Band, Dave Brubeck, and Streetlight Manifesto) so getting to see them tonight was extra special because I would finally be able to cross them off my list.
So, after taking the 6 to downtown Cleveland, I arrived at the House of Blues. Boy is this place nice. And greedy (they charge $4 for a coat check! All places I go to in CT this is free!). But the decor and everything is really well done in these places. It reminded me of a Hard Rock Cafe.
Anyway, I went to see a rock concert, not goggle at the murals on the walls. The RX Bandits came on stage and played an amazing set. I don't know if it was the equipment at the HOB or just the talent of the Bandits, but they sounded amazing live. Their set sounded like a studio recording, they are just that clean and amazing. Their set list was composed of solely their two most recent albums, ...And the Battle Begun and The Resignation. I can't say I had any particular favorite (because they were all so great) but I really enjoyed the jamming they did in between songs and how the trombonist, Chris Sheets, played a set of four toms. It really added to the depth of their sound.
Overall, I really enjoyed the RX Bandits' set. I stayed for about half of the English Beats' set as well, and liked what I heard as well. My only complaint about the evening were the kids. I don't know if it was just a fluke or if all Clevelander's are like this, but no one danced. I think besides me there were about 5 kids who were swaying and jumping and just, in general, having fun, while every one else stood their like zombies. The lack of energy really killed the excitement of the show and I could the band was affected in a negative way as well (I recalled all the hardcore/Africa shows that I've played at were the crowd just doesn't get into us. It blows).
I had fun though and hope to see them again sometime soon. Maybe in CT. Maybe even at Bonnaroo (in my dreams).
So, after taking the 6 to downtown Cleveland, I arrived at the House of Blues. Boy is this place nice. And greedy (they charge $4 for a coat check! All places I go to in CT this is free!). But the decor and everything is really well done in these places. It reminded me of a Hard Rock Cafe.
Anyway, I went to see a rock concert, not goggle at the murals on the walls. The RX Bandits came on stage and played an amazing set. I don't know if it was the equipment at the HOB or just the talent of the Bandits, but they sounded amazing live. Their set sounded like a studio recording, they are just that clean and amazing. Their set list was composed of solely their two most recent albums, ...And the Battle Begun and The Resignation. I can't say I had any particular favorite (because they were all so great) but I really enjoyed the jamming they did in between songs and how the trombonist, Chris Sheets, played a set of four toms. It really added to the depth of their sound.
Overall, I really enjoyed the RX Bandits' set. I stayed for about half of the English Beats' set as well, and liked what I heard as well. My only complaint about the evening were the kids. I don't know if it was just a fluke or if all Clevelander's are like this, but no one danced. I think besides me there were about 5 kids who were swaying and jumping and just, in general, having fun, while every one else stood their like zombies. The lack of energy really killed the excitement of the show and I could the band was affected in a negative way as well (I recalled all the hardcore/Africa shows that I've played at were the crowd just doesn't get into us. It blows).
I had fun though and hope to see them again sometime soon. Maybe in CT. Maybe even at Bonnaroo (in my dreams).
I have been using del.icio.us for a few months now. Self-described as "social-bookmarking", del.icio.us provides users a profile to store and tag their bookmarks online. This makes it convenient to bookmark websites while not on your own computer. It also makes organizing, finding, and sharing saved bookmarks easy because of its tagging system.
Recently, I went through all of my saved bookmarks and reorganized the tags so it'd be easier to find things. If you are interested in seeing what bookmarks I have saved, visit my del.icio.us profile.
Recently, I went through all of my saved bookmarks and reorganized the tags so it'd be easier to find things. If you are interested in seeing what bookmarks I have saved, visit my del.icio.us profile.
Tonight should prove to be an exciting night. In case you haven't heard, there will be a lunar eclipse as well as some military fireworks!First off, between 8:43PM EST and 12:09AM EST there will be the last lunar eclipse of this decade. The space geek in me loves watching and photographing these occurrances (the photo to the right is one that I took during the October 2004 eclipse). The weather here in Cleveland should be fairly clear so I will hopefully be able to take some decent photos. The moon should be totally in the earth's shadow and a dull orange color around 10:30PM EST tonight, so be sure to check it out. For more information you can visit the NASA website for the February 2008 eclipse.
The other event occurring tonight is the destruction of an out of control U.S. satellite. The military plans to launch up to three missiles tonight at 11:00PM EST to try and blow up the toxic hunk of metal before it slams into the earth. I can imagine that this won't look all that spectacular with the naked eye (you would probably only see the light reflecting off of it disappear) but it's something I would like to see. Unfortunately it is not planned to fly over Cleveland at any point tonight, but for those of you in Milford (and possibly elsewhere) you should be able to catch a glimpse of it before it gets obliterated. Here is where it'll be viewable tonight from Milford by the naked eye:
|
Date |
Starts |
Max. altitude |
Ends | |||||||
|
Time |
Alt. |
Time |
Alt. |
|
Time |
Alt. |
| |||
|
2.8 |
18:06:19 |
10 |
WSW |
18:08:25 |
35 |
NW |
18:10:31 |
10 |
NNE | |
I copied that table from Heavens-Above, my favorite nighttime object tracking site around. Be sure to check it out for information about when the doomed satellite (as well as others) is visible in your area and for a how-to on how to spot satellites and other objects in the night sky. Although I won't be able to see the satellite before it gets exploded, I'm sure there will be some spectacular photos appearing online in the coming days.
Alright, so even though the flowers aren't blooming yet it sure feels like spring is about to arrive. The past few days have been unusually warm here in Cleveland (Sunday was about 60*F outside). Spring Break, although not the official start of the spring season (which is March 20), is now less than three weeks away. I have so many things going on between now and the day I go home (March 7) that I know the time is going to fly by.
Besides having exams every week from now until then, there are a few more interesting things that I plan on doing. First up is the RX Bandits/English Beat concert at the House of Blues this Sunday. I haven't purchased my ticket yet but everything looks good and I'm pretty certain I am going.
Also, the Clinton/Obama debate on February 26 is going on at Cleveland State University, which is right down the street, so I want to attend that. The only thing stopping me currently is getting a ticket; the demand for tickets is so great that CSU will be holding a lottery this week to raffle them away. Wish me luck in getting one.
After that is a Symphonic Winds concert at Severance Hall March 3. Toss in a few exams and papers I also have due that week and then it'll be March 7 sooner than I realize. Then all there is left for me to do is pack my suitcase a go catch a plane to New Haven. This should be a fun three weeks.
Besides having exams every week from now until then, there are a few more interesting things that I plan on doing. First up is the RX Bandits/English Beat concert at the House of Blues this Sunday. I haven't purchased my ticket yet but everything looks good and I'm pretty certain I am going.
Also, the Clinton/Obama debate on February 26 is going on at Cleveland State University, which is right down the street, so I want to attend that. The only thing stopping me currently is getting a ticket; the demand for tickets is so great that CSU will be holding a lottery this week to raffle them away. Wish me luck in getting one.
After that is a Symphonic Winds concert at Severance Hall March 3. Toss in a few exams and papers I also have due that week and then it'll be March 7 sooner than I realize. Then all there is left for me to do is pack my suitcase a go catch a plane to New Haven. This should be a fun three weeks.
I'll admit, I'm pretty bad with remembering people's birthdays. As I discussed with Paul S. and Adam S. last evening, I apparently don't use Facebook ("the black hole of your free time") to its full potential, meaning I don't check the "Upcoming Birthdays" section enough to wish someone a good one in a timely manner.
I do however happen to use Google Calendar quite often. So much so that I have a permanent tab in Firefox open for it at all times. Since I use it so often, I thought one way that I can stay aware of people's birthdays better is to create a calendar for them! And I figured why not make it a public calendar! So, if you use Google Calendar as well, feel free to add the above calendar to your list and add your own/other people's birthdays to it so we can compile one huge list of everyone's birthdays!
No, I don't plan to write about the importance of bathing (for the benefit of you and those around you though, I seriously hope you already know that being labeled 'the smelly one' is not something to strive for).
As a background, I enjoy challenging myself by finding ways to become more efficient in daily tasks. For example, I check my email only twice a day so I don't waste time by getting distracted and reading things every two minutes when they come in my inbox. I try to do homework and website design without distractions so I can get those things done faster. I try to sleep on a set schedule in order to minimize the time it takes me to fall asleep and increase my chances of feeling refreshed the next morning. I do these things not in order to try to create some ultimate lifestyle that yields a maximum amount of free time (although this is a beneficial side effect), but instead because I enjoy trying to do them.
The newest 'inefficiency' I have started to tackle is my showering time. I consider myself to be a fairly quick showerer (at least compared to other people in my dorm) so my goal is not to increase speed, but rather at what time I shower.
I have always showered in the mornings. I considered it to be a good way to 'wake up' from my morning drowsiness, and this reason alone is what probably caused me to stick to this kind of routine for as long as I can remember. However, now that I've transitioned into a set sleeping schedule, I am able to wake up without an alarm (although I still set one just in case) and already feel refreshed because I had a good night's rest.
I have also noted many times that I am definitely a morning person. I can accomplish more work at a higher level of quality in the early morning when my mind is fresh and everyone else is still asleep than when I try to accomplish anything meaningful in the evening hours. This got me thinking: could I give myself more time to work in the mornings by showering some other time?
The results: For about a week now I have been showering at night right before bed. What I've noticed so far is that I am able to comprehend and remember a lot more of the material that I study in the morning than when I tried studying at night. Whether doing work in the morning is honestly better for me or just an example of the placebo effect at work, I think I'll continue doing it for now because so far all results have been in my favor.
As a background, I enjoy challenging myself by finding ways to become more efficient in daily tasks. For example, I check my email only twice a day so I don't waste time by getting distracted and reading things every two minutes when they come in my inbox. I try to do homework and website design without distractions so I can get those things done faster. I try to sleep on a set schedule in order to minimize the time it takes me to fall asleep and increase my chances of feeling refreshed the next morning. I do these things not in order to try to create some ultimate lifestyle that yields a maximum amount of free time (although this is a beneficial side effect), but instead because I enjoy trying to do them.
The newest 'inefficiency' I have started to tackle is my showering time. I consider myself to be a fairly quick showerer (at least compared to other people in my dorm) so my goal is not to increase speed, but rather at what time I shower.
I have always showered in the mornings. I considered it to be a good way to 'wake up' from my morning drowsiness, and this reason alone is what probably caused me to stick to this kind of routine for as long as I can remember. However, now that I've transitioned into a set sleeping schedule, I am able to wake up without an alarm (although I still set one just in case) and already feel refreshed because I had a good night's rest.
I have also noted many times that I am definitely a morning person. I can accomplish more work at a higher level of quality in the early morning when my mind is fresh and everyone else is still asleep than when I try to accomplish anything meaningful in the evening hours. This got me thinking: could I give myself more time to work in the mornings by showering some other time?
The results: For about a week now I have been showering at night right before bed. What I've noticed so far is that I am able to comprehend and remember a lot more of the material that I study in the morning than when I tried studying at night. Whether doing work in the morning is honestly better for me or just an example of the placebo effect at work, I think I'll continue doing it for now because so far all results have been in my favor.
Due to the popularity of my last entry reviving the first version of R Designs Online as well as some movies from my old film-making days, I now present to you the (nearly) complete collection of RDO movies watchable online: (I apologize ahead of time for the mixed video formats, qualities, and file sizes, but it was the best I could at the moment)
The Pikachu Hunter - One man. A pokemon. And a will to kill.
To Cross a Reever - Based off of a joke made by some comedian who I no longer remember, this has got to be one of the most popular in the series (it has caused random strangers to recognize us at the mall *cough*Caitlin C.'s mother*cough*
The iDex Parody - Damn those commercials were annoying. But they had a pretty kickin' background track.
OJ Glove - Ah the days when Star Wars king and everything else couldn't compare.
To Cross a Reever Dos (2) - The sequel to the highly acclaimed TCAR.
TCAR 2 Bloopers - The results of what happened in the days before I became perfect.
School House Rocks - A project for school. My "freestyle" line could possibly be my most embarrassing moment ever. Mike B. claims that this video is his most embarrassing moment ever. Enjoy.
The Pikachu Hunter - One man. A pokemon. And a will to kill.
To Cross a Reever - Based off of a joke made by some comedian who I no longer remember, this has got to be one of the most popular in the series (it has caused random strangers to recognize us at the mall *cough*Caitlin C.'s mother*cough*
The iDex Parody - Damn those commercials were annoying. But they had a pretty kickin' background track.
OJ Glove - Ah the days when Star Wars king and everything else couldn't compare.
To Cross a Reever Dos (2) - The sequel to the highly acclaimed TCAR.
TCAR 2 Bloopers - The results of what happened in the days before I became perfect.
School House Rocks - A project for school. My "freestyle" line could possibly be my most embarrassing moment ever. Mike B. claims that this video is his most embarrassing moment ever. Enjoy.
The Godson - Not a school project but shot entirely in school during breaks and lunches. A terrible film but it was extremely fun to make.
The Chase - This was born out of boredom. The terrible plot comes from a rush to actually film something (due to boredom).
Gangster Wars - The peak of my love for Star Wars. Check out those light sabers!
To Cross a Reever 3 Trailer - It was coming.
To Cross a Reever 3 - One of my favorite movies, we had a lot of fun making it. Note the building in the opening shot is a Chuck E. Cheese. This was my first attempt at color correction.
Game Addict - A boy gets sucked into a video game. Green screening at it's best. There was so many special effects involved in this one that it took me nearly two months after shooting to get around to actually START putting it all together (talk about dread and procrastination).
Bear Funds - Possibly one of my personal favorites, Bear Funds was originally made for a contest. The rules of the contest required that our film 1)had a living breathing teddy bear 2)an original song 3)someone getting hit by a bus. The combination of those three are what produced this film.
Kristover Yamahelvich - No I didn't forget to link to this. The only version of this movie I have on my computer at college is a 9gb DVD file. If I put this online I think my hosting company would have a fit over my bandwidth consumption. So for now you can make up the story based on the movie poster above (it'll probably be more entertaining than what was actually shot) and maybe one day once I'm back home from school I'll post it in an appropriate format.
The Chase - This was born out of boredom. The terrible plot comes from a rush to actually film something (due to boredom).
Gangster Wars - The peak of my love for Star Wars. Check out those light sabers!
To Cross a Reever 3 Trailer - It was coming.
To Cross a Reever 3 - One of my favorite movies, we had a lot of fun making it. Note the building in the opening shot is a Chuck E. Cheese. This was my first attempt at color correction.
Game Addict - A boy gets sucked into a video game. Green screening at it's best. There was so many special effects involved in this one that it took me nearly two months after shooting to get around to actually START putting it all together (talk about dread and procrastination).
Bear Funds - Possibly one of my personal favorites, Bear Funds was originally made for a contest. The rules of the contest required that our film 1)had a living breathing teddy bear 2)an original song 3)someone getting hit by a bus. The combination of those three are what produced this film.
Kristover Yamahelvich - No I didn't forget to link to this. The only version of this movie I have on my computer at college is a 9gb DVD file. If I put this online I think my hosting company would have a fit over my bandwidth consumption. So for now you can make up the story based on the movie poster above (it'll probably be more entertaining than what was actually shot) and maybe one day once I'm back home from school I'll post it in an appropriate format.
Yesterday a few percussionists in the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony (CYWS) weren't able to be there so the section was short a few players. How does that relate to me? I got to fill in on percussion!
Besides trying a few (terrible) attempts at some basic beats on Sasso's or the Valleau's drum sets before, I have never played any percussion before (not including my tambourine - may it rest in peace). So this was a totally new experience for me.
I started out playing a song on bass drum. That wasn't bad at all, I had fun getting into the various dynamic markings throughout the song. 36 measures of playing constantly on beats 1 and 3 did get boring though. After that I got to play the vibes on another piece. I always figured mallet percussion were hard, but had no idea how hard until I tried. I didn't do awful, but I did have some trouble keeping the mallets an octave apart during some descending octave sections. I did manage to hit a four-note chord however (granted I had about 20 measures of rest to prepare for it)! In addition to those, I got to play a little bit of some smaller parts on the tam-tam/gong and other instruments as well. Overall I had a great time and I considered it to be one of my favorite CYWS rehearsals ever.
Besides trying a few (terrible) attempts at some basic beats on Sasso's or the Valleau's drum sets before, I have never played any percussion before (not including my tambourine - may it rest in peace). So this was a totally new experience for me.
I started out playing a song on bass drum. That wasn't bad at all, I had fun getting into the various dynamic markings throughout the song. 36 measures of playing constantly on beats 1 and 3 did get boring though. After that I got to play the vibes on another piece. I always figured mallet percussion were hard, but had no idea how hard until I tried. I didn't do awful, but I did have some trouble keeping the mallets an octave apart during some descending octave sections. I did manage to hit a four-note chord however (granted I had about 20 measures of rest to prepare for it)! In addition to those, I got to play a little bit of some smaller parts on the tam-tam/gong and other instruments as well. Overall I had a great time and I considered it to be one of my favorite CYWS rehearsals ever.
I've never been a huge lover of fiction. The only reading I would do was my online news and blogs, as well as the occasional non-fiction title.
All of this changed when I decided to try out listening to audio books. At first I thought of them as an inconvenience more than anything else. But soon I discovered that they are perfect for listening to between classes and meals by myself when I don't have anything else to focus on.
Soon enough I had made it through a few non-fiction books and taking the advice of Tim Ferriss, I decided to start listening to fiction before going to bed. What I discovered is that by doing so every night I am able to fall asleep quicker. This has gotten me into a regular sleeping pattern, allowing me to be well rested every day. I also have stopped relying on my alarm clock to wake up (although I still set it, just in case).
Overall though, with the help of audio books I think I have discovered my enjoyment of fiction. Currently I'm finishing up book one of Lord of the Rings and am already planning what I can listen to after I'm done with this trilogy.
In other news, I did some work to the RSS feed for this blog, so if that's more your style then feel free to check it out.
All of this changed when I decided to try out listening to audio books. At first I thought of them as an inconvenience more than anything else. But soon I discovered that they are perfect for listening to between classes and meals by myself when I don't have anything else to focus on.
Soon enough I had made it through a few non-fiction books and taking the advice of Tim Ferriss, I decided to start listening to fiction before going to bed. What I discovered is that by doing so every night I am able to fall asleep quicker. This has gotten me into a regular sleeping pattern, allowing me to be well rested every day. I also have stopped relying on my alarm clock to wake up (although I still set it, just in case).
Overall though, with the help of audio books I think I have discovered my enjoyment of fiction. Currently I'm finishing up book one of Lord of the Rings and am already planning what I can listen to after I'm done with this trilogy.
In other news, I did some work to the RSS feed for this blog, so if that's more your style then feel free to check it out.
This year seems to be flying by so far. January is long gone and we're already almost a quarter of the way done with February. I feel like if I turn my head for a second it'll be May and I'll already be done with my first year of college (not that I think that would be a bad thing).
But such a fast moving year means I haven't been focusing on my goals for this year as much as I would have liked. I have modified my goals based on how the year has been going so far, changing them from what they originally were at the beginning of the year. Although I'm changing my goals, I don't consider it to be due to me being incapable of following through with them; rather I am broadening the scope and re-prioritizing what I want to accomplish this year. So here's a recap of what I've done so far and what I still plan to do:
1) Become more sociable - I complained last year about not meeting enough people and not being involved in enough social activities at school. I'm still not where I want to be yet, however I'm making progress. I'm making new friends, playing piano in the pit for a student production of "Chicago", and I found out about a strategy game club that I want to check out this weekend.
2) Get in shape - Over the past year I've done a lot with this. I'm not where I want to be quite yet and I didn't do anything in January to help me with this goal. Last semester I'd visit the gym three times a week but the recent negative degree weather has made me reluctant to traveling across campus to get to the gym. Hopefully February will be warmer.
3) Create a thriving photoblog - At the first of the year I said I wanted to create a photoblog that would receive 100 visitors per day by the end of the year. I realized that this isn't something that I would actually want. And keeping up with such a demand for photo updates would cause me to produce poor results, something that I also wouldn't want to do. I rather just periodically update my flickr account when I take new photos.So instead I'm replacing this with the following goal.
4) Create a 'muse' - Recently I read Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek. After reading this I've decided to try to start some kind of small, automated business related to photography. I'm not sure exactly what yet (I'm still running through ideas) but I hope to have some solid product developed by the end of the summer and shipped by the end of the year.
But such a fast moving year means I haven't been focusing on my goals for this year as much as I would have liked. I have modified my goals based on how the year has been going so far, changing them from what they originally were at the beginning of the year. Although I'm changing my goals, I don't consider it to be due to me being incapable of following through with them; rather I am broadening the scope and re-prioritizing what I want to accomplish this year. So here's a recap of what I've done so far and what I still plan to do:
1) Become more sociable - I complained last year about not meeting enough people and not being involved in enough social activities at school. I'm still not where I want to be yet, however I'm making progress. I'm making new friends, playing piano in the pit for a student production of "Chicago", and I found out about a strategy game club that I want to check out this weekend.
2) Get in shape - Over the past year I've done a lot with this. I'm not where I want to be quite yet and I didn't do anything in January to help me with this goal. Last semester I'd visit the gym three times a week but the recent negative degree weather has made me reluctant to traveling across campus to get to the gym. Hopefully February will be warmer.
3) Create a thriving photoblog - At the first of the year I said I wanted to create a photoblog that would receive 100 visitors per day by the end of the year. I realized that this isn't something that I would actually want. And keeping up with such a demand for photo updates would cause me to produce poor results, something that I also wouldn't want to do. I rather just periodically update my flickr account when I take new photos.So instead I'm replacing this with the following goal.
4) Create a 'muse' - Recently I read Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek. After reading this I've decided to try to start some kind of small, automated business related to photography. I'm not sure exactly what yet (I'm still running through ideas) but I hope to have some solid product developed by the end of the summer and shipped by the end of the year.
This weekend my friend Angela M. took gave me a tour of two cemeteries in the area. The smaller of the two was the East Cleveland Cemetery. The place is in ruins; mausoleums broken into, tombstones falling over, pieces of statue broken off (and presumably stolen). Even though the place is a complete mess, I think that's what makes it so cool. While there, I was definitely reminded of a scene from one of the Batman films when Bruce is visiting his parents' graves. The image that I have of that scene in my mind is identical to how this place looked. I'll have to go back one day and take some photos.
The other cemetery we visited was Lakeview Cemetery. I'd be more likely to call this gorgeous place a park if it weren't for the 100,000+ dead people buried there, including President Garfield and John D. Rockefeller among others. I was amazed at how large and well kept this cemetery is and could imagine myself walking around it all day and still not be able to see half of it. There is a massive concrete dam in the middle of the whole place, adding to the uniqueness of this place. Besides the thousands of grave stones, there are many distinct statues, monuments, and mausoleums for the wealthy that were buried there. President Garfield has a whole tower/castle for himself, and when it opens up in the spring I plan to visit again just to be able to climb to the top and get a (supposedly) magnificent view of Cleveland.
So why is this post titled, "The Shoe Tree"? One of the additional features of Lakeview is a tree with around fifty pairs of tied together shoes hanging from its branches. It honestly looks absurd - I love it. I read online that you are supposed to toss your old pairs of shoes into these "shoe trees" to bring good luck. I've never heard of this being done before but after seeing this kind of tree, it makes me want to start one back in Milford.
The other cemetery we visited was Lakeview Cemetery. I'd be more likely to call this gorgeous place a park if it weren't for the 100,000+ dead people buried there, including President Garfield and John D. Rockefeller among others. I was amazed at how large and well kept this cemetery is and could imagine myself walking around it all day and still not be able to see half of it. There is a massive concrete dam in the middle of the whole place, adding to the uniqueness of this place. Besides the thousands of grave stones, there are many distinct statues, monuments, and mausoleums for the wealthy that were buried there. President Garfield has a whole tower/castle for himself, and when it opens up in the spring I plan to visit again just to be able to climb to the top and get a (supposedly) magnificent view of Cleveland.
So why is this post titled, "The Shoe Tree"? One of the additional features of Lakeview is a tree with around fifty pairs of tied together shoes hanging from its branches. It honestly looks absurd - I love it. I read online that you are supposed to toss your old pairs of shoes into these "shoe trees" to bring good luck. I've never heard of this being done before but after seeing this kind of tree, it makes me want to start one back in Milford.
Building computers (and making hideous Christmas light mods, as seen right) has been a hobby of mine since a young age. I always find great accomplishment in being able to pick and choose a variety of components to make a machine that can essentially do anything.
Over the years I've dealt with my fair share of troubleshooting and by now am able recognize the most common mistakes rather quickly. For example, my friend Paul S. recently bought parts to build his own computer and was having trouble installing an operating system on his new rig. Rather quickly we were able to pinpoint the issue to us trying to install a 32bit OS on a 64bit processor. Problem Solved.
Eventually after completing a (relatively) smooth installation, we had trouble getting the computer online. This was strange since I've never had much of an issue connecting a computer to a network. We played around with different fixes for about an hour, reinstalling ethernet drivers and switching what ports cables were connected to, but nothing seemed to work. At that point I decided it was too late to think properly and thought it would be better to try again the next day after some rest.
I got back to my room and decided to read some news online before going to bed. To my surprise the internet was not working on my computer either! After all of that troubleshooting the problem ended up not being on our end but on the network. Oh well. Even though we spent all of that time trying to fix a problem that was out of our control, the time wasn't a complete waste: my Guitar Hero playing skills improved ten fold by playing so much in between system reboots.
Over the years I've dealt with my fair share of troubleshooting and by now am able recognize the most common mistakes rather quickly. For example, my friend Paul S. recently bought parts to build his own computer and was having trouble installing an operating system on his new rig. Rather quickly we were able to pinpoint the issue to us trying to install a 32bit OS on a 64bit processor. Problem Solved.
Eventually after completing a (relatively) smooth installation, we had trouble getting the computer online. This was strange since I've never had much of an issue connecting a computer to a network. We played around with different fixes for about an hour, reinstalling ethernet drivers and switching what ports cables were connected to, but nothing seemed to work. At that point I decided it was too late to think properly and thought it would be better to try again the next day after some rest.
I got back to my room and decided to read some news online before going to bed. To my surprise the internet was not working on my computer either! After all of that troubleshooting the problem ended up not being on our end but on the network. Oh well. Even though we spent all of that time trying to fix a problem that was out of our control, the time wasn't a complete waste: my Guitar Hero playing skills improved ten fold by playing so much in between system reboots.
