Break Time

It's break time here at work. That's right, that says what you thought it said. Break Time. This is a perk I failed to mention about my new job at the MLC. Every morning at 9:45 and every afternoon at 2:45 is the company break time. To my understanding, back in the day when there were around 150 folken working here, break time was mandated. Now, tradition carries on, and I get to take a break twice a day.

What do I do during this time of forced un-labor? It depends. This morning, I sat at the Table of Knowledge and worked on a crossword puzzle. (That crossword was finished at lunch, by the way, and would not have been possible without the assistance of two lunch pals. If you want to work an electronic version of the paper crossword that I solved, click here.) This afternoon, I decided to post a snippet on my blog. Last week I gobbled up the time by reading Mistborn.

So, where does that put me now? It's break time here at work. After finishing Mistborn I bought another Brandon Sanderson novel, Elantris, but I chose not to read it today during break. But I do think I'll go and fill me up a cup of coffee here pretty soon.

It's a tough job here, with everyone being so nice and me getting two mandatory break times during the day. It's almost like I'm not even at work during those break times. Almost.

Leadbelly keeps coming on the radio, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

On Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a special holiday here in the States. It basically began as a day set aside to remember those who died in the Civil War, and through progression, it was eventually made into a national holiday.

To me, Memorial Day is a bittersweet holiday. My brother is currently in the ARMY, and has been for five or six years now. He served almost a year in Iraq, and thankfully God saw him safely back home. However, thousands of other soldiers have not been so blessed. Americans, Iraqis, Britons, and many other countries have lost civilians to the War, and I want to acknowledge them here. The line defining enemy and comrade is only relative. Death, however, is absolute. So, this is my statement:

Soldiers from all over the world, may God bless and keep you. May your country respect you. May you always stand up for your beliefs. May you make it home to your family and friends.

As for the War, I will not advocate my opinion of that here. I am not in favor of a totalitarian regime, nor am I a proponent of human suffering, be it oppression or hunger. For some problems, war may be the answer, and I take this belief from Scriptures. For most problems, however, I think love and respect work better. If we love everybody and respect their culture, life would be much better. Through understanding would come peace.

Oh, and another thing typically associated with Memorial Day is the BBQ grill. For instance, today for lunch (and tonight for supper) we grilled out BBQ pork-chops and chicken tenders. Grilled food, especially on a charcoal grill, is simply amazing.

Finally, I want to acknowledge and say thank you to a blog reader. Sailor Matt, thanks for doing your service to the military. I'm not sure what all you did while in the Navy, but thanks for doing it.

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Blogmasters Note: After re-reading this, it seems like I am a crazy, hippy liberal. This is a skewed (and flawed) view of me. Really, I'm mostly conservative, but with a large heart. I don't like to see people in pain or suffering. And if there's something I can do to help, then I want to do it.

Mistborn, A Review (Spoiler Free!)

I do not remember who recommended the Mistborn series to me, but I am glad they did. After finishing the third and final volume of the series, The Hero of Ages, I feel the urge to recommend this series.

Mistborn was written by Brandon Sanderson, a relatively new author to the fantasy world. Sanderson’s series received wonderful praise by many colleagues and reviewers, and I want to join my voice with them. Mistborn was a powerful story, one I could visualize with every paragraph. Sanderson’s portrayal of the world and its workings is completely believable, and I found myself riveted by the story.

The series begins with Mistborn: The Final Empire. In this book the world is ruled by a cruel emperor called the Lord Ruler. He is the God of the people and of the lands. He is the result of what happens when a Hero takes the power at the Well of Ascension and uses it for himself. The world is eradicated of culture, religion, happiness, and basic humanity.

In the Final Empire, there are two classes of people: nobility and skaa. Skaa live lives worse than slaves of old, and they are the ones that do the daily labor of cleaning the Empire.

In the Final Empire, ash falls continually, piling onto the streets and fields daily. Skaa must clean the ash before they can begin their work. And then at night, the mists come out. There are things in the mists that skaa and nobility fear, and so no one goes out into them. No one, that is, except for Kelsier, the Survivor of Hathsin.

Kelsier’s fame spreads throughout the skaa, and he preaches a message of rebellion. He hates the Lord Ruler and wishes to free the skaa. And the things he can do is supernatural. He can fly through the sky, play on people’s emotions, move with incredible speed and resilience, and many other things. Kelsier is Mistborn.

The system of “magic” developed for this series is very well thought out, and quite simple to understand rather quickly. I’ll admit, at first I was slightly confused about what was going on (and even a little unsure whether or not I liked it), but I overcame those thoughts rapidly.

The story, beginning with The Final Empire, becomes more and more exciting with each passage. I found myself reading whenever I had the opportunity.

To keep this simple, I will say nothing of books two or three, save that they were phenomenal. After finishing the first volume, I immediately bought the second, Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, and started on it; and, hungrily I moved on to the concluding work, Mistborn: The Hero of Ages, after finishing book two.

The story is interwoven and grandiose. Themes of love and trust and betrayal dominate the characters.

My final offering of praise and recommendation goes like this: if you enjoyed The Name of the Wind by Pat Rothfuss, then you will love Mistborn. Both of these authors have found a way to transcend the typical fantasy mold and create a masterpiece. In fact, Pat put in a word for it back when he was doing the Heifer Project.

Finally, after finishing the series, I started thinking about a movie. Wow, this series would make for an excellent movie, be it Hollywood or the Sci-Fi channel.

So, friends, take this series and read it when you get a chance. It ranks as one of the best series’ I’ve read in a long time. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

Some Catching Up (Part 2)

Well, when I started the "catching up" series, I intended to finish it the next day. Unfortunately, things got hectic and I didn't get to finish the catching up bit. And, after re-reading the last post, I realize that its brevity pretty much sums everything up.

Life's been very busy.

And still, it's busy. But there have been some pretty cool things to happen for me. For instance, our new home comes with all appliances except for the washer and dryer. As providence would have it, one of my friends called me up the other day and we were discussing things, and he happened to have an extra washer and dryer that I could have. Also, we need to buy a mower for the lawn, and my mother-in-law's boyfriend just happened to be a channel for getting a new mower absolutely free of charge. This frees up funds to put into something else, possibly paying on student loans or something.

And then there's work. My job is to design culverts, channels, and such systems, but this is all mostly new for me professionally speaking. So, I've been learning by doing and reading design manuals.

A few more points to make:

1. Wasn't the finale of LOST tremendous?
2. If you've not read the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, I highly recommend it. So much so that, once I finish the series (I'm on the concluding volume) I intend to put a plug in here.
3. Heath bars are good, eh?

It's time for church. Farewell now. And I promise, once things settle down, I'll be back regularly. Thanks!

Some Catching Up (Part 1)

You may be aware that things have been happening very quickly for me. That's okay. I'm young. Presently I am sitting on my mother-in-law's bed, fighting to stay awake and write this post, enjoying the newly installed monstrous air conditioner.

First off, I must comment on my new job. As in the previous post, I'm working as a Highway Drainage Engineer for the Mexico Lightbulb Corporation. This job is what you would expect from the title: I design structures to drain highway systems, namely culverts and pipes. Starting a new job is a stressful, but fun, experience. This week I've been learning some new computer programs (HY8, MicroStation, InRoads) and reading design manuals. The difference between academia and professional life is design manuals. Design specifications change every few years, so keeping up with the current (or what was current when a project was going on) specs will be fun. I think I am really going to enjoy my career. I'm not sure if I'll be with MLC for life, but so far, I've really enjoyed what I've learned and done. Plus, my colleagues are a fun group, too.

On an equally important note, as of today I have an official closing date for my new house. Friday, May 29, 2009. This is when I can move into my new place.

And now I am very, very tired and must retire. This was going to be just one post, but I fear I must split it. I wish you all a wonderful evening/noon/night.

It All Happened So Fast

Really, really fast. Let's review everything that has been going on here within the past fortnight.

1. School ended. Thus, final exam period.
2. House searching. Thus, looking for the perfect home.
3. Graduation happened. Thus, I graduated with my Masters!
4. House purchased. Thus, I bought a house!!
5. Job started. Thus, I started my job (today, actually).
6. Interim housing. More later for this.
7. Paperwork Paperwork Paperwork...
8. GIS project finished. Mostly.

It's been really hectic. I cut off cable & internet back in my apartment in Louisville at some point in the past week, and so I've been unable to get online until yesterday (see #6), where I have been presently relocated with the folks until I get my new house (see #4). Technically, the closing date for my new home is scheduled around June 3, but no one is living in it, so it could be quicker. As a first time home buyer, it's been very stressful. And then there's the job. I've decided to leave my employer's name ambiguous for several reasons, so let's just call them something. Stanley? Nah. Eduardo? No. It is in engineering firm, so it shouldn't be too over the top. How about the Mexico Lightbulb Corporation, or MLC for short? Sounds good to me, too. Okay. So, anyway, I started working for MLC (ahem) today, and my boss told me I was already 3 weeks behind! This I take with a nod, all in a strong and certain stride, because I know it to be probably true. There is a lot of work to do. And what is it I do exactly? Well, since today was my first day, refer to #7 in the above list. My official job title is Highway Drainage Engineer, which means that I am in charge of ensuring that highway projects drain correctly. In that, I design pipes, culverts, channels, etc to fit the Kentucky design specs and regulations. Use of many computer programs is essential to the adequate design of the drainage structures. And to top everything off, while moving from Louisville to home, I left the book that I am reading in my apartment. Needless to say, this is very unfortunate. Even more needless to say, my mind is fracturing and things are blending together. I am very tired. You'll be informed as I am informed. Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Yes, I used fortnight in the introduction part of this post; don't be too jealous.

John Henry and the Old North Wind

This is my cover of "John Henry and the Old North Wind," from Joe Purdy's hauntingly beautiful album Canyon Joe. I don't give the original version any justice, but I like the song. Hope it works, and I hope you enjoy.



Egads!

The Transition

I'm currently in between epochs in my life. The great era that was college is officially over, with finals finally out of the way. May 11, two Mondays from now, is my official start date at the engineering firm I'll be working at.

While in the transition, I have a few loose ends to wrap up (the GIS/Stream research project, packing, etc) and a few more friends to say farewell to. I've made some really good friends while being a student, but we must all go our separate ways now. I'm reminded of the concluding sentence of the Great Gatsby: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." We're all just boats, floating on the sea of life. Sometimes we cruise. Sometimes we trolley. Sometimes we even sink. But, typically, I think we just float. We float to the ebbs and wanes of life. When the wind blows, we're blown along with it.

And then, ultimately, the boat will reach the distant shore. We may think we landed in America, but ended up in Cuba. We may think the natives will be hostile, but they instead teach us to cultivate corn. We may think our friends will be there, to find that we are alone. The point is, the future is uncertain. We can plan for anything, but a kink can cause things to work differently.

For instance, I have a job on the horizon now. I have a house in the future to get into. Kids are to be expected in the next couple of years. I have plans, and I am excited about them. To be out on the open waters of life, floating towards my fate, is a thrilling mindset. Slightly anxious, but mostly hopeful and excited, I look forward to all that life brings me. I look forward to the new land I will find.

This frame of mind is one I am proud of. I am eternally an optimist. I see the sunshine on the horizon, even though it's currently storming. I may grapple with uncertainty for a small time, but once I make my mind up, I stick with it. I guess you could say that I'm loyal to what I get involved with. Nevertheless, I don't let the times of transition anchor me down.

In conclusion, the current phase of my life is an exciting one. I can see the smiling, curious faces of Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Leif Ericson, or Neil Armstrong as they are going towards the unknown. They certainly must have faced fear and doubt, but they pressed on, becoming some of the world's most famous explorers. And I, too, travel down a new passage, looking forward to the approaching horizon. I'll treasure my memories and friends from college, but I am excited for my future, too.

Official OFFICIAL Job Offer

I'm so excited. I finally got my official job offer. I've already had a verbal offer, but now it's in writing!

Praise the good Lord Jesus!

I'm too excited.

Up Next: Housing.

American Gods, A Reflection

I've just finished reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods. The book leaves me thinking many things.  This post may contain some slight spoilery.

1. I'm really not sure whether or not I fully understood the book. Some things were explained, others were left up to the imagination. This is fine by me. But what did I glean from the novel? What was the theme? From what I gather, gods need people to believe in them, or they cease to exist. More important is the life of America. Does America change so much, growing in culture and mythos, that it forgets long-forgotten beings?

2. I really liked the style of writing. I felt like I was thrown into a meta-stream-of-conscience/third-person novel. Sure, I was lost on occasion, but I was always intrigued.

3. The fact that I did not, do not, completely understand the book gives me mixed feelings. The concept of magic and mystique was vague, but implied, while grounded in the real world. I felt that this could be explained better or more fully, but Gaiman knows what he's doing.

4. The allusions: there were many, many allusions and references to pop culture and past culture. Several sites, towns, etc really exist here in America, making the novel fun. Also, I felt like many themes and ideas were connected to the Sandman comics, which I've posted on here. Too many to mention, in fact.

5. Mythology: I am a big fan of mythology and folklore. If I ever decided to continue my education, I think I would want to take classes in folklore, fairy tales, myths, and the like. With that, American Gods has extensive characters from many cultures and religions and beliefs from all over the world. I didn't know who some of the characters were supposed to be, but I liked them.

6. Denouement: The conclusion of the story was acceptable. There seemed to be one main plot, the fate of the gods, and a few subplots (Laura, Lakeside, identity), and all were resolved satisfactorily. Though, it did sadden me a bit that Shadow met Easter, while Laura did not.

7. Laura: This was the most confusing character in the book. Laura is Shadow's recently deceased wife. Why does she come back from the dead? How? There were many questions about Laura, but her character was important for the development of Shadow.

There you have it. Some meager reflections on Gaiman's novel. After finishing the book, I thought that it would make for an excellent movie, provided the director, writer, actors, and effects were up to the quality of the book.

The End is Nigh, The Beginning Imminent

School, that is, lecture and class, is officially over. Let's all pause and reflect on this for a moment.

Ah, okay. I've been a student for 14 consecutive semesters, since the Fall of 2004. It's been a long and winding road, one with many difficulties, but also with numerous joys. Now I have one final to take (which is next Wednesday, which I do not particularly care about) and then school, that is, in its entirety, is officially over.

Soon, I'll be graduating and starting a job. You see, yesterday I had an official interview with a company near home. The position is a Highway Drainage Engineer, which is related to my field of study. In the job I'll be working on hydraulic and hydrologic aspects of highway construction projects. At the conclusion of the interview, I was told to be expecting an offer within the next week. Let's all pause and thank God for a long moment.

Okay. Soon after my interview, my wife and I headed to see our realtor, who took us to look at a few houses. We found one that we both loved and immediately decided that that was the house for us.

Now, this brings up an interesting time table of events. If I get my job offer by next Thursday, I can meet with the bank on Friday to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Then, after I'm pre-approved, I can contact my realtor and put in an offer on the home. There are a million things going on simultaneously, and it's slightly stressful, but mostly fun.

On a completely different note, I read an interesting comic yesterday. Marvel Zombies. It's hard to describe it accurately, but basically the Marvel superheroes have all been infected and turned into zombies. Like all zombies, they hunger for flesh and brains. With that, it's a strange-but-humorous take on the heroes I grew up with. It was short and fun.

ArcGIS Final

This map is a research project I did for my final in ArcGIS. I think it's pretty simple, yet cool enough to look at and see. The most remarkable thing about this project is the fact that most of Jefferson County is some sort of impermeable surface, and of that imperviousness, 37% is subdivisions!

I think maps generated using the ArcMap software are pretty remarkable. Flashy, stylish, and simple, they look like they belong in textbooks. I really enjoy this class.

Let me know if you have any questions.

It's a marvelous night for a moondance.

Stream Restoration

My posting has been sporadic here of late. I've been swamped, trying to finish everything I can for school before it's technically due. And, in fact, I have succeeded in that. I've only one large project to go, Advanced Hydrology, a graduate Capstone presentation to a review panel, and a few other presentations to give. Thus, practically all of my actual work is finished for the semester. Now I just have to present this stuff.

So, with that, I have volunteered to do some GIS work for the Stream Institute at the University of Louisville. The Stream Institute is a group that works with stream restoration and wetland development throughout Kentucky, and also some other states. I am in the class currently. Ultimately the goal is to restore a man-made stream into something natural looking. Doing this will lower shear stresses throughout the channel, thus reducing erosion and flooding only things that are meant to be flooded.

The project I'm doing actually sounds pretty cool. I have 60 digital aerial photos of the stream that is being researched. These images are circa 1970 and black & white. I am to import them into ArcMap, georeference them, and process them. Then, I am to import topo maps and compare the stream's position to the topo maps. Finally, I am to bring in current (2006) aerial photography and compare the stream.

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle. The black & white photos are the pieces. I have a topo map that serves as the box cover, letting me know what my goal is to look like. I am working with a mostly urban landscape. However, in the 70s it wasn't as urbanized. For me, I get to see, literally, how the land changed in 30 years.

The difficult part is actually finding where the pieces go. See, the topo map includes the entire county, and some of the neighboring county. The images may not all go adjacent, and most definitely will not fill the county. It's like having 60 jigsaw pieces to a 200 piece puzzle.

Once I get everything imported and processed, I'm essentially done. By learning how much a stream has moved over a given time, we can calculate how much sediment was deposited. I don't fully understand the rationale, but sediment deposits are officially counted as a pollutant.

It really is dramatic to see how much a stream has changed over the course of time. A well-intentioned farmer 10 miles downstream may have straightened out a channel to keep his farmland from flooding. Straightening a channel is never natural. In doing so, a headcut develops (usually) and works its way upstream, tearing through the soil like any normal person going through a Dairy Queen blizzard. The headcut is a destructive force in the stream, and can only be stopped with the appropriate amount of pool and riffle sequences, or if the headcut meets a culvert, etc.

Overall, the project seems like it will be interesting. I'm trying to finish as quickly as possible, but it seems like it'll take a while. On a related note, the 60 images were .TIFF files, huge image files that took up around 5 gigs. A friend recommended using irfanview to convert these .TIFFs to .JPEGs. I brought 5 gigs down to just over 700 megs, keeping the same quality and functionality. If you have image files, movie files, or sound files you need to convert, you should check it out.

I read the news today, oh boy, about a lucky man who made the grade...

The Funniest Video I've Ever Watched

I typically don't post twice in one day, but I just had to share.

This is guaranteed to make you laugh. I guarantee it. It's funny the entire 9 minutes. Enjoy, and share.

Advanced Hydrology Term Project

For Advanced Hydrology we were given a semester project to work on. A big, long one that will require a lot of our time to do. In addition to the project, we have to create a presentation and write a fancy report. As a term project, you would expect us to have the entire term to be working on it, but, unfortunately that is not the case for Advanced Hydrology. We got the project on Monday. That's seven-days-until-the-end-of-the-semester Monday. Allow me to explain through question 1.

<----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+----->

Note: The first order Markov Model (order p=1) for Normally distributed flows can be expressed as: Xi,j+1=ux,j+1+px,j(1)*(sx,j+1/sx,j)*(Xi,j-ux,j)+tx,j+1*sx,j+1*sqrt(1-(px,j(1)^2)

Using both monthly flows Xi,j and Zi,j series at the streamflow gauging site:

i. Plot the time series

ii. Compute basic statistics like the mean, standard deviation, coefficient of skew and correlation coefficients between monthly flows. Note: This step will require the use monthly flows grouped by month like January together etc for series.

iii. Compute the auto-correlogram of the Zi,j series for a maximum of 12 lags of the time series treating it as a stationary series with no periodicity. Note: This step will treat the monthly flows as one combined time series. Hence the lags are accomplished by simply lagging the series by 1,2,3...12 times. Compare and comment on the differences between the auto-correlation for different lags from 1,2...12 with thos obtained for each month in Step (ii) above.

iv. Use the monthly correlation coefficient matrix from Step (i) to identify the order p for the Auto Regressive (AR) model both series.

v. Write out the complete format for the Autoregressive model to give Xi,j and Zi,j as a function of previous values of {Xi,j-1,Xi,j-2,...} or {Zi,j-1,Zi,j-2....} and other required components. This will look like the Markov Model (Eq. 15.17 which is for order 1, page 378 with additional lags if needed (see secion on Higher order Autoregressive models on page 379-380 equation 15.20 and 15.21, text). Note: If you have more than one order 1-R^2 term in Eq. 15.21 will be (1-p(1)^2-p(2)^2...)

<----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+----->

Everything above is typed as it appears on my sheet. The boldface is boldfaced. The typos are typo-d. Is it just me, or does reading through that stuff make your head hurt? I'm in a hydrology class, not an advanced statistics class. This entire semester has been statistics, statistics, probability, and more statistics. The only thing that makes it hydrologically related is the fact that we use streamflow data for our data to run statistical models on.

The ironic thing is I kind of enjoyed some of the statistical methods back at the beginning of the class. When we were running simple regression and analysis. Generating hypothesis tests. And then we got in to this weird, higher order stuff, and the entire class lost it.

Ah, well. I guess I'm supposed to complain. All students do, right? I've made it this long, with just o'er a week to go until school is done, so I can handle it. Once I get through question 1, I'll have question 2 to worry about.

Until then, I'll just keep on a chooglin.

Update + Dr. Horrible

Life has been extremely hectic these past few days. School is wrapping up, very quickly, and projects are coming to a close almost too fast for my comfort. I've been swamped, to be blunt. Also, I'm still looking for a job (but hopefully for not much longer) and a home for when school is over.

Even with all the commotion and the hustle and bustle, I still find myself relishing the fact that school will be over very soon. Less than one month and I will have my Masters degree in Civil & Environmental engineering and then I shall be finished for the time being. That means I won't have homework when I'm home. That means I won't have to study. That means that I'll not have to sit through more lectures.

With that, I'll be brief. I listen to music all the time, especially when I'm studying. Also, I'm a fan of hulu, even if they're plotting to take over the world. I found that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was available for a full view. Sure, I've purchased the phenomenal experience on iTunes and have it on my iPod, but it just seems easier to view it on hulu.

Anyway, for those of you that have never heard of the show, or if you've heard but never watched it, I highly endorse and recommend it. Basically, it was created during the writers strike last year, made by the Whedon clan to prove a point, and the result was simply amazing. So amazing that TIME magazine called it the 15th best invention of 2008. It won numerous awards and has a fanbase in the trillions. (Okay, obviously not that high, but still a huge one, I'll wager.)

So feel free to watch and enjoy the hit. It's only 43 minutes. And it's definitely worth every second. Take care, folks. And wish me luck.

You Tube + Radiohead

It's hard to think back when You Tube wasn't around. I'm not a fanatic, heck, I'm not even addicted. But I do think that it's a great tool for finding videos or watching videos or seeing cute puppies and kitties or watching young artists do original pieces or many other things. That said, I've recently been on a Radiohead kick. Maybe it's because of my friend William. Or maybe it's because 15 Step stays in my head all the time.

Whatever the case may be, I do like listening to Radiohead. What I've found is that people are either Radiohead fans, they're indifferent, or they loathe the group. For me, I love them. When they started they were completely original and unique. Still, they're sound is definitely their sound, but there are others that put me in mind of them (MUSE, for example). With that, I'll post some great videos here by the band.

Karma Police
Just
Creep
House of Cards
Paranoid Android (A Radiohead song, but this is done using Mario Paint, which is quite awesome)

Unfortunately, You Tube does not allow me to embed these videos. I'm not sure why, but I can't. Sorry. Have a great night, folks.

Bad Days

Some days, I am sure, I am only going to fail. Those days--the Bad Days--are the days that leave me feeling hollow, contemplative, wondering exactly why I am the way I am. Is there a conspiracy against me, or am I truly stupid for the day? Usually I am a thinker, that is I like to think well ahead before speaking; I truly believe the tongue is a beast unable to be broken. On those days, days like today, I screw up and the world screws up around me. I make a list of things to do for the day, early in the morning, and I accomplish two out of the ten, and those were the easy ones, like make a pot of tea and do the dishes. And then, somehow, I wind up being stupid and feelings get hurt and then nothing productive happens for a while, which is okay, but stressful. And then things are going good, but I open my mouth and say something and feelings get hurt and still nothing productive happens. We go and grill out, which is great, cause it's nice feeling outside, and we are visited by a self-proclaimed hobo. The man, Lee, had just been kicked off a train and was walking around when he said he could smell our food, which he asks if he can have or buy a burger off of us. We give him two, but we have no buns with us outside, but he's thankful. Tells us about his travels and all he has on him is a light jacket and a plastic bag full of odds and ends. And then supper's all done and we bid Lee a good night, head in and eat with some old friends and talk about times back in the dorms, back when we lived on the 4th floor of Threlkeld. We talked about the time a water balloon was dropped and hit that man in a suit. We talked about blowing up water bottles in the microwave. We talked about filling a room with somewhere around thirty life-size cut-outs of ARMY men. But still nothing productive. Me and Keisha leave and go get gas, which is productive, but not in the sense I need to be productive. We get home and I sit down, here, still contemplative. See, I'm an engineer, and so I think about things differently than the layman. I want to do things efficiently and productively, I like to budget and plan, and these things lead me to being less stressed. I like spontaneity, sure, but just as long as I've made time for it. And my mind still thinks back to things said and actions done earlier, and I still feel slightly hollow, even if I'm full from the burgers. What do I have to show for the day? A gallon of tea and some clean dishes. That's it. I've got a billion projects to finish for school and homework to complete and papers to write, but I just don't have the motivation to do it. Instead, I find myself typing my thoughts here, on my blog, for no apparent reason but to put my mind onto paper, albeit an electronic pad. But who cares? I'm young, right, so I should do this kind of stuff. Stay up late and procrastinate. I hate procrastination, friends. I hate it with a passion. But I fear that I am one of the only ones left on this planet with that attitude.

Some days I just feel like a cynic. On the Bad Days, though, I feel like a ghost.

Lost Recap

This season of Lost has been very exciting for me. I've watched the show since it started, and I've loved it ever since. Sure the series has had its poor episodes, but there have been far more interesting and great episodes than otherwise.

Season 5 started out pretty rough, but it has consistently been very entertaining. With the survivors finally back on the Island, albeit in 1977, things are getting very interesting. We finally see some of the history of the Island being explained, especially between the Hostiles and the Dharma folk. The mystery of the Island is still very much alive, constantly growing.

The last episode, "Whatever Happened, Happened," was one of my favorites of this season. Although it was a Kate-centric episode, and I'm not a fan of Kate, everything that was going on On Island was pure entertainment. The flashbacks served to provide some insight to Kate's On Island actions, which currently is to save Young Benjamin Linus from a gunshot wound. Ben was dying, and Juliet requested for Jack to help her, but Jack's pride prohibited him from helping. As such, Jack's inaction led Kate to taking Ben to the Hostiles for help. While there, Richard Alpert warned Kate (and Sawyer) that by helping Ben he would be forever changed. He would lose his innocence. Kate and Sawyer agreed, and Ben was carried off into the Temple by Alpert.

The next scene was beautiful. The Old Ben wakes up from his injuries and comes face to face with John Locke, the very man Ben murdered. Locke says, in his kindly voice, "Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living." The episode ends, and we are given a preview to next week's episode, which looks like it may be one of the greatest of the shows history.

Lost is such a great show for many different reasons. I love the allusions to pop culture, to literary classics, to philosophers, to mythology, and to religion. The mystery of the Island perpetuates the shows success, but also the mystery of the characters. Each person has their own story and their own mistakes, and the Island forces the person to make choices. Have faith and change, or stick with logic and remain unchanged. These ideas, while not original, are still fun and entertaining.

For an excellent blog to read on Lost, which is updated weekly, check out this site. These guys blog about all different sorts of things on television, but I particularly like what is said about Lost every week. For a wiki site of Lost, which I find myself referencing quite often, I recommend checking out this site.

As I've said, I am really enjoying this season of Lost. It's not as intriguing as the first season, but it still is top quality television, unlike Heroes, which seems to be taking a turn for the worse.

Comics You (Really) Should Read [Conclusion]

The final comic/graphic novel that you (really) should read is Blankets, written and illustrated by Craig Thompson. Blankets is a memoir, and as such it tells the story of the authors early childhood, growing up in a Christian home and coming to terms with himself, God, and his first love. I read this novel a few months ago, but I still remember a lot of the story contained therein. In fact, Time magazine has listed Blankets as one of the ten greatest graphic novels of all time.

Part of the reason I liked this book so much is the fact that it is real. It's raw. It's something that I easily related to. Thompson has a brother close in age, I have a brother close in age. Thompson grew up in a Christian home, I grew up in a Christian home. Thompson wasn't the cool kid at school, neither was I. We've done things differently in our lives, and I would not have done the same things he did, but I easily related to the story.

The art was also simple. Beautiful. Real. There were no spandex super heroes or any mystical gods, just simple, normal folks. And that was refreshing. To read something so personal, something by someone with questions and without definite answers. It was a great trip, journeying with Thompson and his life.

I typically am a fiction reader, but this was different. I don't think I would have enjoyed the story had it been a novel, but as an illustrated novel (i.e. graphic novel) the pages were richer and more enlightening. I highly recommend Blankets to you. Yes, you. Why you, you may think? Because I know you have questions about life, you have thoughts about things that Thompson has, and you've never read anything like it. You may have some of the same fears Thompson has. You may have a similar first love experience. Whatever the case, this graphic novel is wonderful.

************

There you have it, three comics that you (really) should read. You can find Sandman in TPB form, or in the Absolute forms, but these are very expensive. My library had them, actually. Fables is also out in TPB, but there is also the monthly edition published. Blankets will be available at your nearest Borders, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you usually buy your books. If you typically do not read comics, but think that they are something you would enjoy, I easily recommend starting with these. These three represent some of the best out there, but there are plenty more.

Perhaps in the future I'll post more on some of my favorite comic classics, like Batman or Spiderman, but for now this is concluded. Enjoy these recommendations if you decide to read them.

Comics You (Really) Should Read [Part 2]

Yesterday's post focused on the wonderful series of the Sandman. Today's post will examine Bill Willingham's Fables series.

Fables began in 2003. The comics, which are still in production, are produced by Vertigo, the same folks that brought us the Sandman. The series features prominent and puny fables from all over the world, including Prince Charming, Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Hansel & Gretel, King Cole, the Three Little Pigs, the Three Bears, and many, many others. The cast is enormous, and many characters are constantly in action.

The basic plot of Fables is simple. Each fable lives in a magical, faraway world, and each of these worlds are connected to other worlds. All was well in the worlds until one day the Adversary rose up, conquering and claiming worlds as his own. Many fables died under the oppression of the Adversary, but many others survived, fleeing to New York City. The refugee fables have lived in America for hundreds of years, their little town (Fabletown) constantly growing larger and larger, but always magically hidden from the mundane common folk. The fables are living their lives as normal as they can, but they still yearn to return to their Homelands.

Of course, not all things are perfect at Fabletown. There is a murder, that of Rose Red, Snow White's sister, in the series opener, and sheriff Bigby Wolf must get to the bottom of the caper.

The series has several smaller story arcs, but many are linked to the encompassing story, that of destroying the Adversary and returning home. Each story arc is unique, fun to read, and entertaining to look at. The shear magnitude of the story is worth the read.

For instance, we all grow up hearing various tales and legends. Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty. She was magically awakened by the handsome Prince Charming and they got married and lived happily ever after. However, in the world Willingham has created, ever after wasn't too long. Charming, a Casanova-type, has been married and been unfaithful to Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and who knows who else. Each fable has their own back story, and these stories may not match up to your expectations.

The creativity and freedom Willingham has taken with the characters is beautiful. In fact, it is a hard choice to pick whether or not I like Fables or Sandman better. Both are wonderful, and I think my opinion would change depending on what comic was in my hands.

A comic would not be worth the read if the art wasn't appealing, and Fables has excelled in that department. In fact, there is a collectors hardcover issue containing all of the monthly comic covers for retail, available here.

I can highly and easily recommend Fables to anyone interested in mythology, folklore, or a general good story. Be warned, the comics contain some adult language and situations, so I wouldn't advise them to a young lad or lass, but for you fine, mature folks, I can say read on.

Comics You (Really) Should Read [Part 1]

I've recently finished the entire series of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. This is by far one of the best comic series I have ever read. Gaiman, a masterful storyteller, chronicles the actions of Dream of the Endless, the Lord of Dreams. The epic begins with Morpheus, the personified Dream-Lord, held prisoner by a cult, and he soon escapes and seeks his revenge. Once satiated (as much as an eternal one can be) he begins repairing his kingdom, returning the Dreaming to its glory. Dream is of the Endless, a group of immortals that are brothers and sisters. His family includes Death, Destiny, Despair, Desire, Delirium, and one other, but the last identity was not revealed for a while, so I shall keep it secret. The Endless each fulfill their roles and obey their rules, and Dream often interacts with his siblings.

The Sandman ran for 75 issues, with a few extras. I loved each and every issue. The artwork is simply amazing. Many different artists contributed to the beautiful pages, and each issue clearly has its own style. Part of the fun with the art is the fact that Morpheus' outfit will change with his surroundings, as dreams are never constant and this is only fitting.

But it wasn't just the captivating artwork that compelled me to read the series. The story is crucial, and the depth behind the story is grandiose. Gaiman's brilliance in mythology, philosophy, religion, and pop culture show up throughout many story arcs. For instance, Loki, the Norse god behind mischief and trickery, makes a few appearances throughout the stories, as does William Shakespeare. The story is addicting enough the keep the reader staying up well into the night.

Finally, the deeper thinking behind the comic series urges me to even write this post. I cannot say much about this aspect, as I feel that it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that these comics are very well written, and written by an author that is smart and wise enough to leave the reader pondering.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Sandman comics. The series concluded aptly, and I do not feel like I've wasted my time reading rubbish. If you like a well crafted, beautiful story, then I highly recommend reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman. You won't regret it.

My 100th Post! A Composition

This is the 100th post here on the Rememorandom, and as such, it should be special. Just how special, you may ask?

Special enough to look at a few things. First, the evolution of a self-portrait.



This was done a few months back. I do wish that I would have taken one photo in the earliest stage, but, this shows the appropriate evolution. Soon, I think, I shall construct one of my lovely bride. I already have the paints, brushes, and canvas, and now all I need is the confidence to create something as beautiful as she on a piece of canvas.

Next is a link to something I found rather absolutely profound and simply wonderful. My friend Bill told me of this image, and indeed, it is beyond words. Click here to view it in its glory, or simply click below to enlarge.


Next, a video I found that made me smile a bit. Some of you may know, but I am an avid Star Wars fan. My love affair with this universe is extensive. I have Star Wars memorabilia of all kinds, and I'm thankfully getting my young brother-in-law quite interested. Below are two videos we both enjoyed. The first is quite humorous, the second is just cool.





Next to lastly, a link back to my cd I put out for the world to hear. I've had a few downloads, which makes me happy a bit, and I hope everyone enjoyed the tunes. I've gathered courage from my wife and my friends from the blogworld to step out and push myself. Thanks folks.

Finally, a thank you to all the readers of Rememorandom. This blog started out as just another medium to play with, but to me it has grown. I enjoy posting and communicating. I enjoy reading each of your comments, and I enjoy reading each of your blogs. Thank you for continuing with me, and I hope you stay on.

Trouble comes, and Trouble goes, and Trouble has a key to my front door.

On Gadgets

First off, I recommend you reading this article. It's titled "Gadgets That Make You Look Like A Jerk."

If you're too lazy to do so, the article lists 7 gadgets that you might just look cooler without. The aforementioned technologies are:

1. Blackberry
2. Bluetooth Earbud
3. TiVo
4. Apple's MacBook Air
5. iPod accessories
6. Linux
7. Segway

Personally, I don't own a Blackberry (or an iPhone), and if I did I don't think I would get much use out of it. My schedule, while busy, is not that complex and labyrinthine. As for the earbuds... well, I think those people look ridiculous. Sure, they're safer while driving, but probably not as safe as driving without talking on the phone at all. Sure, they let you free up your hands, but you still look like you're talking to yourself. TiVo? I don't know anyone that has TiVo, but I know people with satellites where they can record their shows and do all the stuff TiVo can. I have no qualms with TiVo. The MacBook Air is too light, too thin, too Apple-y, too sleek, too superfluous, and too much of a let down. I do own an iPod, which I listen to quite often. I don't, however, own any accessories, unless you count my awesome iPod cover. Linux is powerful, but cumbersome, and I'm not that tech savvy to get it. And the Segway. When I hear that word, I immediately think of Gob from Arrested Development, which makes me smile. There's no way that the Segway will ever succeed, unless everyone suddenly gets a crippling disease an prohibits walking.

Anyway, I just thought that I would share that with you. The list was interesting. The original article was, too. Good luck, folks. Be careful while you're shaving.

A Personal Goal

I am starting on a new goal for myself. I do not intend to drink pop (that is, sodas) for one month, and quite possibly much, much longer. A friend of mine gave up drinking sugar-drinks for New Years, and he still is sticking true to his resolution. My senior year of high school I gave up carbonated beverages for over 200 days. I think I can do it again.

However, I am a huge Mt. Dew drinker. All people from Kentucky are huge Mt. Dew drinkers. The fall of 2007 I got a job marketing Mt. Dew on campus. Mt. Dew was doing this throughout the nation, involving around 50 campuses to see who could promote Dew the best. This was decided by having students submit Dew inspired art, in fashion, visual art, and Dew Games, and the best students received monetary prizes from Mt. Dew. I had around 60 cases of Dew to pass out on campus, plus any that I wanted for myself. At the end of the semester I hosted a campus wide event to attract folks to the new artsy aluminum bottles. There was even a giant ice sculpture!

Overall, though, I hated the job. It was marketing, and it required a lot of work. We had to set up booths and pass out fliers and Dew to students. We had to put up posters all around campus. We had to meet with campus officials in order to even set up stuff and have events. There were two of us working that semester, but my partner did not do much at all. Seriously. I don't want to moan and complain about it, but suffice it to say that my wife and I did practically everything in order to fulfill our contract. Sure, I could have told my manager about my partner's nonchalance and lackluster attitude, but I didn't want my partner to lose out on making money. So I stuck with it. I would not have gotten through without the extraordinary help from my wife and my great friends, and I still say thanks.

In the end, the University of Louisville came in around 4th or 5th out of all the campuses, which was just shy of making extra money. However, I made my dough and said I would never work in marketing again.

Another bummer about the job: taxes were not taken out of my lump sum from Dew at the end, which totaled around $2500 or so, and so I wound up owing quite a bit in when it came tax time.

I realize that this post evolved from my personal goal of not drinking pop to a revelation about me working for Mt. Dew. Regardless, Dew or not, I shall abstain henceforth.

Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.

Rubber Cement

The fact that we're just soft tissue and blood speaks a lot about us.
If we were, for instance, a harder tissue, then we would be invincible.
At least physically.
If we had no need for blood, we would have no need for a heart,
and we would be invincible.
At least emotionally.
But the fact remains that we're simply breakable flesh and hearts.
To be human is to walk and fall, to profess and to be hurt.
Every person makes mistakes,
over and over again.
To live is to learn from these mistakes and continue on,
but it's also to make the same mistakes and continue on.
It's like there's some rubber cement on us and our problems,
and no matter how hard we pull, we can't break it.
But, with help, the glue will come off.
It may leave a slight residue, but it will no longer bind.
It may have a stink, and others may wrinkle their nose, but smile on.
Over and over again, we march.
Despite what others say, despite our mistakes, we press on.
It's to be human. To love,
it's to be human. To fail,
it's to be human.

And so we must stay true to ourselves and true to others,
especially during trials. Forgive. Love. Trust. Help.
God, who gives us our soft tissue and blood, does the same for us.
He forgives, and so must we.
Ourselves.
Others.
He loves, and so must we.
We must live this life our best, and that's all we can do.

Yesterday

Yesterday was quite a day. Stella got spayed yesterday morning, and the poor pup's been sluggish all day. She'll probably be a bit slow for the next week or so. For the procedure, they had to shave a part of one of her front legs for an IV to go in, and the picture is pretty cute.


Also, last night Clint spent the night with me and Keisha and we all sat down and watched Bolt. The movie was pretty funny, and the story was fun to experience, too. The themes of the movie are quite applicable to life, and it's so easy to relate with the super-dog. Clint fell asleep during the movie with a Jolly Rancher in his mouth, and once we woke him up, I had to take a picture.












I had to clean up the large blue, drool stain on the couch. Furthermore, he was quite reluctant to spit out the candy once we woke him up and told him to get ready for bed.

Remember to brush 'em every night, cause if you don't they'll probably fall out.

Songs For The Dark

I have officially posted my cd up on the internet now. It's available here. The cd has taken a long time to work on, but I'm proud of the final product. I hope you all enjoy.

And let me know what you think once ye've given it a listen to.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n5zgmwndon5

Oh, and by the way, my favorites are "Mourning's Melody", "Midnight Dance", and "If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey I Still Do)".

(I'm not really sure about the grammatical way to put punctuation inside quotes.)

Confession of a Fantasy Reader

I have a confession to make. You all know, if you follow my blog, that I am an avid fan of the fantasy novel. I've read fantasy books and science fiction for as long as I can remember, but there are two major series' that I am missing from my "Have Read" list.

The Wheel of Time
The Sword of Truth

I realize that both of these have had a rather large impact on the fantasy world, and I think that I should probably read them at some point. See, I know your not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I've never really been attracted to the covers of the Wheel of Time books, and so I've never picked them up. As for Mr. Goodkind's novels, people have told me they're great, but I've not had the chance there, either.

Have you fine folks read them? Should I definitely do so? Do they deserve to move up the ranks of my "To Read" list, or can they sit comfortably somewhere on the list?

That's all for today. Maybe. I might get a chance to express myself more later, but if not, I bid you all a humble farewell.

A Few Things

It's late, and I should be getting to bed. My period button is not working properly. Stella is getting spayed tomorrow. She sure has grown a lot. Spring Break is mostly over, as I've got a lot of work to catch up and do before Monday. Plus, we've been looking for our first home, which we've possibly found, but I still have no job. Been praying and praying that that'll come through soon, as I've applied to a few, but the situation requires more of an explanation than I care to elaborate on right now. Instead, I think I'll go read my Bible and then go to bed. Goodnight everybody.

Joe Purdy New Album Released

The cd is finally out. I've not yet managed to listen to it completely, as internet connection is fickle whilst on break, but I just had to post it. I'm sure it'll all be fantastic. Take care folks. The blog will be updated around the weekend for those of you who care.

A Brief Respite

I'm off, friends. I'm heading to the wilderness of western Kentucky. I'm going to take it really easy and only do a little homework. I think I'll do a bit o' resting and reading and maybe even some writing.

Farewell for now. And remember, let the Wookie win.

A Little Miscellany

Next week, I'm excited to write, is Spring Break. My very last Spring Break ever. I'm going to soak up all the sun I can get back in the western part of Kentucky. Even though it's forecasted to rain for several days and be 60 degrees-ish, I don't care. Even though I'll be doing homework out the wazoo, I won't care. It'll be spring break, which means that I won't physically have to endure class and lecture for a week. And after the break I'll only have five weeks or so left of classes and then I'll be graduating! May 9th is when I'll officially, ceremoniously, graduate, but my semester will end April 28 or some time around there.

Since I've been hit pretty hard with spring fever, I feel like listening to the Beach Boys. Almost. Really, that doesn't hit until it consistently stays above 85-90 degrees for a while. Then it's Beach Boys time.

But, really, I'm more of a Beatles man. And an Old Time/ Folk/ Bluegrass/ Acoustic man. I noticed that itunes changed its genre classification of folk music; now the folk category is reclassified to Singer/Songwriter. I like Steve Earle, too. And Johnny Cash. Iron & Wine. My Morning Jacket. I don't want to give the false impression that I'm totally obsessed with the Counting Crows and Joe Purdy, because I'm typically not one to obsess, unless it's over a video game I can't put down.

By the way, Marky, I beat Fallout 3. I'm not sure whether or not you have yet, but I did, and I was disappointed. I don't really know what I expected, though. It seems that all games where you can completely control and choose your path has a certain branch of endings to which you are confined. I want to play a game that is truly unique, one where that if you kill the ArchEnemy early in the game, someone else rises up and takes his place. Or one where there really isn't a conclusion. I almost would prefer a non-conclusive conclusion to a crappy resolution.

And when I'm in an aggravated mood, or when I've been working for several hours on a project or something and I feel ready to die from school, I like to play Linkin Park, the White Stripes, System of a Down, or something loud like that.

The White Album or Abbey Road. It's really hard to choose between the two. A lot of folken really like Sgt. Peppers, and I like it, too, don't get me wrong, but I just don't enjoy it as much as the aforementioned. And The Band. That's another great one. Of course, as a folk connoisseur, I have to like Bobby D, the Zimmerman, the legend and master of folk, Master Dylan. And Simon & Garfunkel, who I got to see in concert my senior year of high school in Nashville.

If I could take Print Screen of my life, it would be a nice mosaic to see. Unfortunately, I don't have a Print Screen button. In fact, I don't have any visible buttons, only those ones that are internal that people like to push on sometimes.

I'm still searching diligently for a job. Still looking for a civil engineering position or an environmental engineering position. And Keisha and I are also beginning to search for our first house and to get out of the apartment lifestyle, but before we can commit to a home, I must first find a job.

I do hope you all are having a fantastic day, a great week, a blessed month, and a wonderful year. I hope the music never stops playing in your head, especially if it's anything like mine. Sorry for the rambling, but the pump don't work, cause the vandals took the handles.

Arrested Development

I've just started watching Arrested Development. All I can say is that I've been very non-productive for the past couple days, and I finished Season 1 last night. Several of my friends have recommended the show to me, but for some reason it kept slipping my mind to check it out until about a week ago. I don't know if there has ever been a show to rival its humor and I'm not sure if there ever will be again. The entire plot, the demise of the Bluth family, is so twisted and awkward, and somehow driven by love and selfishness, that I can't help but laugh several times each episode. There have been several moments where I've had trouble ending the laughs. Even as I write this I can think back to certain situations and bust out laughing (and I'm sitting in the middle of my computer lab on campus!)

It's hard to pick a favorite character, as they all have an amazing uniqueness and charm about them.

Michael: The good son of George Sr. Michael is motivated by love for his family, to provide for them and keep them safe (and usually out of jail). The protagonist of the show, but not the funniest character.

Gob (George Oscar Bluth, II): The eldest son of George, he is a magician, and definitely one of the funniest characters on the show. He is driven by selfish desires, namely that to succeed and be better than Michael, or anyone else in his family. He has the funniest quotes and memorable lines, in my opinion.

Buster: The awkward son of George, Buster lives with his mother off-and-on, and he is not exactly solid in the head. Buster is motivated by his mother and his desire to make her happy, but also to find acceptance and sugar. Buster provides slapstick comedy to the show, and the awkward humor as well.

Lindsay: The only daughter of George, Lindsay is typically driven to make sure that she is in the spotlight. She is an avid protester and picketer, though she often does not care what she's protesting or picketing. Lindsay has some funny moments.

Tobias: The son-in-law of George, Tobias is married to Lindsay and he is as awkward as Buster. Tobias is heavily played to portray homosexual tendencies, which is typically obvious to everyone except himself. Tobias is a nevernude, which is exactly what it implies. Tobias has several very funny moments and quotes.

George Michael: Michael's son. George Michael fell in love with his cousin, Maeby, during the first episode when she kissed him to get even with her parents. George runs the Banana Stand and is mostly motivated to gain Maeby's attention and to get his dad's approval.

Maeby: Daughter of Tobias & Lindsay, Maeby is driven to get her parent's attention/ to not have her parent's attention. Maeby is constantly scheming to get even or to not get even with her parents. She's not necessarily a funny character, but she provides an impetus for George Michael to get into funny situations.

George: The paterfamilias of the Bluths, George is serving time in prison for so many reasons it's hard to pick one. He is motivated by selfishness, corruption, and love for his family. George provides several memorable quotes and funny situations.

Lucille: The mother of the Bluths, Lucille is often cold, sharp-tongued, and intoxicated. She loves her children, though it is rarely seen.

Onyong: The adopted Korean child in the Bluth family, his name is actually Korean for hello, though the Bluth's do not realize this.

In all, the entire Bluth family is best taken together. They live and feed off of each other, and the comedy is layered and ingrained with them all. As a family, they are extremely dysfunctional, but they provide wonderfully funny situations for laughter. I'll end with a funny quote by Gob.

"The zero hour, Michael. It's the end of the line. I'm the firstborn. Sick of playing second fiddle. Always third in line for everything. Tired of finishing fourth. Being the fifth wheel. There are six things I'm mad about, and I'm taking over."

Stepping off the Edge

Well, friends, you've convinced me. I apologize for the images, but I didn't want to just put no images, so I added a few random ones. I really like the way the music sounds with the song. You can hear the original here. The video may need to take a moment to buffer and load for it to play correctly. If not, you can download the mp3 here.



Again, recognition goes to Don Williams, the original singer & songwriter. Thanks for listening, folks. Feedback is encouraged....gulp. Splat.

Indecision and Artists

I'm not big on indecision. I used to be pretty indecisive, but I soon realized it was a waste of time and really didn't matter anyway. For instance, back when Keisha and I were dating we would play the "What do you...?" and "I don't care, whatever you want..." game back and forth. This continued for a while.

Somewhere down the line I realized how pointless being indecisive is. Now it's like "What do you want for supper, Logan?" "I don't care, whatever you want to fix." "I don't care. It's up to you." Pause. "I think I want tacos then."

I give the window of opportunity for one considerate indecisive moment, and if the choice has not been made, then I pick. Or, at least this is my goal. Furthermore, apathy is death according to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, and so I try to limit it.

But I've reached a point where I'm not sure about something. I've been toying with a few ideas about some posts, but I don't know if I want to do it or not. In a way it's like stepping off the Grand Canyon and hoping the impact isn't too rough. See, I've recorded a song with vocals and I think it sounds okay. I kind of would like some feedback on it, but I'm not sure really if I really want any or not. I've also got several stories I've been writing on, and I'm thinking of posting a prologue here, too, for similar reasons.

I consider myself an artist. I like to draw/paint/etc. I like to sing and play music. I like to write creative and sometimes thought-provoking pieces. I love theatre, but I'm too busy and too big a chicken to try out, so I watch it instead.

The way I see art is like there is something inside of me, needing to get out in the form of expression. There are times when I simply feel that I have to pick up my guitar and put something out. There are times when I feel that I must write something, anything. These are times when I feel particularly creative. Then there are times when I just want to express my feelings and ideas, and they take the form of song or canvas or prose.

Artists are fickle folk, I think. In that I mean that we're typically subject to our creative whims. The introvert doesn't want to put their stuff out there for the world to see, while the extrovert longs for global fame and recognition. I'm also an engineer, which tends to make me a bit pragmatic and realistic, which tends to fight against the artistic whims.

Ah, well. My rant is over. I've got to get to class. Perhaps I'll reach my decision soon. Lord knows I hate being indecisive.

Getting Over the Quasi-Flu

My beloved, Keisha, has been sick for a few days now. We went to the doctor last week and he said that if she had a few more symptoms then she'd have the flu. The following day, she got more symptoms. However, since it wasn't diagnosed by a doctor, I call it the quasi-flu, as it is most likely the flu but we're not 100% sure. She's really been in a weak state, exhibiting signs such as headaches, fatigue, hot/cold switches, soreness.

Being a good husband, I went to Wal*Mart and bought some Minute Maid orange juice and some Theraflu. Minute Maid cause OJ is the way to go when you're sick; Theraflu cause Keisha didn't like Nyquil. I also made some homemade chicken noodle soup, using my own recipe and making do with what I had available.

12 cups water
1 bag egg noodles
2 thawed, boneless chicken breasts
2-3 sliced carrots stalks
2-3 sliced celery sticks
10 chicken bullion cubes
2-4 tsp parsley
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp rosemary
<1tsp ground sage
salt, pepper, garlic pepper, chopped onion to taste

I realize this looks like a lot of bullion cubes, but I didn't have any chicken broth. Furthermore, I found a recipe that said to make chicken broth, equate 1 cup water to 1 bullion cube. Anyway, mix all ingredients but noodles, bring to a boil, let boil for about 15-20 minutes, stirring, then add noodles and drop heat to low-med and stir occasionally for about 15 more minutes. Serve and eat and enjoy.

Now, a few days later, she's feeling better, and her throat still sounds hoarse/weak, but over all she's much better. In fact, she's going to go to her Girls Bible Study here pretty soon, braving the crowds.

I just wanted to document this. I don't like it when she's sick, but unfortunately it's something we have little control o'er. You can pray that her blood pressure will go down, as it was 139/108 the other day, which is pretty high.

Don't let the world move on without ya, may it do ya fine.

The Midnight BINGO Story

I won $100 last night playing midnight BINGO. It was a $500 game, but there were 5 winners on my same number, so it was split between us all. This was the first time I've ever won playing midnight BINGO. It's really an interesting setup.

The BINGO hall is a very large building, separated into a smoking and non-smoking. You walk into the hall on the smoking side, pay your $10 for 3 hours worth of BINGO cards, and find a seat. The environment is unlike anything I've ever been in before. First off, there are a lot of older folk there, many of whom are ladies. These ladies carry their custom BINGO dauber bags, equipped with daubers of every color from metallic green to dark deep blue. There are also some shady looking folk, too, dressed as miscreants and possibly up to no good. There are the lonely looking folk, sitting by themselves and hoping for the big win. There are the addicts, people who go several nights per week and use the lottery as their career. There are the volunteers that work, too, and they are a different breed all together.

I sit in the non-smoking side, as I'm a non-smoker. I go with my friend William and we play from midnight til about 3 in the morn. The room is very fluorescent white, the bright lights reflecting dimly off of the cream/white tiled floor. There are tv monitors all over the walls, displaying the current BINGO ball called. There are grids up across the wall showing what numbers have already been called.

All around there are some sort of crazy games going on along with the BINGO. I'm not sure how these games work, but I think they work like pull-tab lottery cards. People will randomly shout out "Flash on Kings" or "Ham and Eggs." There's a horse race game, too, but its too complex to describe currently. (Or maybe I'm too lazy to think how to accurately describe it. It is, after all, after midnight.)

All the while I'm looking around at the people I'm competing with. Do I really deserve to win? By me winning, am I taking inadvertently hurting someone else? Are most of these lonely people and older people folk that are widows? Did she just call out G-51? Do I want to get an appetizer boat? "Flash on Kings." What the heck does that even mean?

I don't play midnight BINGO too often, as it is a draining experience on the body. There are several ways to get a BINGO, such as a coverall (the entire card is covered), a double BINGO (you have to get 2 regular BINGOs on one card), hardway BINGO (where the Free Space doesn't count), and many more. The process requires an intense focus because of all the options. Then, there's also the strain of second guessing yourself. See, you don't want to call out a false BINGO. For that, well, let's just say you really don't want to call out a false BINGO. The society that reigns there will exile you at a minimum, the mob will form and throw you out on your butt, or you'll look like a red butt baboon. Oh, and the death stares of Medusa from the old lady is not pleasant, either.

Regardless, playing midnight BINGO is always interesting. It leave you dragging the following day, but if you win it's well worth it. Actually, one game is worth $1000. In total there is over $4000 given away at the midnight BINGO session. There are several sessions throughout the week, and not all of them are at midnight. There is a lot of money passing through this system, and I'm guessing it's all legit, and I would have no reason to think otherwise except for the stereotype associated with a place like the BINGO hall. It's a fun night, especially if you win, and the atmosphere is intriguing and thought provoking.

Tonight

I'm going to play midnight BINGO.
I did a lot of homework.
My wife is sick and probably has the quasi-flu.
I made her homemade chicken noodle soup.
I finished Mistborn.

Tomorrow
I'm going to do some land surveying for my Capstone project.
I'm going to do more homework.
I'm going to be cold. And tired.

Wish me luck.

Sometimes

I just feel overwhelmed.

An Olde School Website

Today's post is very simple. I recently found a link to a website that I created about 6 or 7 years ago, back when life was simple, philosophy was beginning, and curiosity was king. It's got a lot of problems, such as holes and circular links, but there are things there. Some very old writings. But, more so, the site was a testament to friendship. Me and my two best buds, the former Senator Clay and the Good Pope, formed an imaginary Council of friends. Mostly I think I just thought the silliness in my head, but it was fun while it lasted. I betrayed our council with mysterious emails etc. and ultimately confessed. The Senator turned into the Whiskey Priest, the Pope into the Harlequin. I converted from the Godfater Don Logeon to Rapscallion. Ahh. Precious memories. How they embarrass.

http://www.geocities.com/don_logeon/the_watchtower.html?1039134248640.html

On Mistborn (spoiler free)

I'm currently reading Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. This book received a whole lot of praise, as did its author, and so I decided to peruse its pages. It didn't take very long for me to understand why this book got the attention it did. The main characters, Vin and Kelsier, are extremely believable and lovable. The depth of the world, the Final Empire, is steeped in an almost dystopic society. I particularly love the beginning of each chapter, but I cannot say why for fear of any possible spoilers.

I think one reason why I like this book so much is similar to the reason why I loved the Name of the Wind: these books, though fantasy, are believable. The fantasy works very well for the setting.

I can't really say much about this book, as I'm not finished, but I can tell you that I am enjoying it very much. And knowing that the entire series is out there in print makes it even more appealing. If you're looking for a good book to get sucked into, Mistborn is it.

For now, friends, don't let the Smurf's find ye.

The Legend of Zelda

Friends, I've been negligent to my favorite game series of all time. It started back in 1986 with the original Nintendo platform. The Legend of Zelda features a constant overhead view of the hero, Link, as he searches for the Triforce in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. Simple, really, and nothing really overly original to the story, but amazing and hypnotizing.

I've been playing Zelda games since I was a wee lad, and I've always enjoyed them. In particular, I loved the complex puzzles that had to be solved in order to progress the game. In fact, I remember when I first played The Legend of Zelda and was looking for Ganon that I had to find Spectacle Rock; I didn't know what spectacle meant at the time, and so I looked it up and grew my vocabulary. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was dreadfully difficult, and I honestly cannot remember beating this game, though I know I must have. The advent of the SNES brought A Link to the Past, which is one of the greatest games ever made. The story grew more complicated and the puzzles a bit more challenging, as well as enhanced graphics and a larger weapons inventory made this game remarkable. Plus, being able to travel to the Dark World was pretty sweet, too.

And then 64bit graphics hit the media and the best game of all time was out: Ocarina of Time. There are so many things I enjoyed from OoT that I can't think to list them all. The soundtrack was beautiful. The deeper storyline was emotional and passionate. The graphics was astounding. This game frequently tops lists of best games ever, and I wholeheartedly agree. Ocarina's sequel, Majora's Mask, was not as interesting as its predecessor, but still a fun and cool game. The idea of collecting masks and stopping the destruction of the world was interesting.

Wind Waker is a beautiful game. The cell shading concept is visually appealing and makes for an interesting point of view playing. Also, "Link" was a small boy in this game and the legend of the Hero of Time were intriguing, and the explorable world was huge.

Then came Twilight Princess. This game was enormous and the expectation for it huge. The new controls offered by the Wii were exciting and testing the capabilities of the Wii would be interesting. The storyline was now deep and the familiar characters were legends in their own right. The new Twilight Realm was reminiscent of the Dark World from a Link to the Past and the quest was humongous.

I've left off the gameboy games--Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Four Swords, Minish Cap, and the Phantom Hourglass--but the ones I've played are just as puzzling and fun.

Overall, the Zelda franchise has long been hailed as one of the greatest ever, and I completely agree. I eagerly await the next installment on a major platform, and I'll certainly love it, too. Link will always have a special place in my heart, like Cloud, MegaMan, Luigi, and Sephiroth.

The Importance of Time Management

Setting priorities are important in life. For example, is it better to do homework or to play a little Wii? The careful balance of these things is crucial, and I think I fair fairly well with time budgeting, but I could certainly do better. For instance, I don't spend enough time with my wonderful wife, and she deserves better than that. In fact, spending time with Keisha is something I supremely enjoy doing, but unfortunately engineering school is not the best environment for this. The fact that I'll get to spend time at home without worrying about homework and studying and instead spend time hanging out with my wife makes me even more ready to graduate.

The silence here on the blog o'er the past few days has largely been attributed to an overwhelming amount of projects and travel. Several projects are converging a bit too quickly for my comfort, but I'll manage. The light shines brighter and brighter everyday, and my attitude shifts subtly daily to reflect the ever-approaching conclusion to my formal education.

However, I never would have made it through school if I did not learn how to budget time. Time management is something people must learn to do or they will drown in the bustling waters of life. My freshman year I goofed off quite a bit and procrastinated with my work, often staying up late doing last minute homework and studying. That lifestyle quickly grew tedious and stressful, and I realized it was all my own fault. Now, as a graduate student, I still must stay up late, but not as often and usually not because of procrastination.

Living a mostly time managed life provides a less stressful environment. I don't carry an iphone or blackberry and so I don't use much technology to budget, except for Google calendar. I can urge you all, good folks, to budget your time the best you can. I've found that with effective time management then you actually have plenty of extra time left to do whatever you want, provided you don't have an extremely overwhelming amount of homework. Best of luck.

The Wild Eyed Beast

Late, again, and about time, too.
It's at the point where things blur,
where the same Radiohead song's been stuck in my head for weeks
and I'm not getting enough sleep.
I'm the wild eyed beast, best to be left alone like this.
I have to ask myself: Self, why do you do this?
After three days, the end is nigh, but it's only a partial conclusion;
The denouement comes within seventy-five days.
"Self," I answer myself. "It's because you must. You can't switch things off."
The best description is the constant turn on, turn off,
turn on, turn off,
turn on. Pause. Crash, or more like I'm drowning
in an endless ocean of work and life.
But we're all in this thing together, and so we all must drown from time to time.
I guess it's just better that way.

Last Clock On The Wall

As I mentioned in my earlier post today, I cannot wait for the new Joe Purdy album to come out. As luck would have it, I received an email from the Joe Purdy folk asking me to embed this link on my blog, etc. Being a huge fan, I'll oblige.

If you check back within the next week the song should update to include the full album, which means that the album should come out within the week (I hope)!

Enjoy.