Vandalising Pictures of Famous People

...is so much fun.

Spoiler Alert!

Silly Hats Only

My trilby hat has motivated Clay and Jesse to create the idea of having a "Silly Hats Only" party.  If you don't get what it's about, you're not cool enough to come.  We don't know when it will happen, but the rules are in the works and will be very important, and be enforced by these three guys with baseball bats.

Creativity is Lost

I've found that my creative processes have wained to make up for my increase in logical processes and theoretical discussions.  I can get distracted talking about math with Kell for hours without realizing what the environment around me involves.  I can design class diagrams and interfaces with ease, slap a database schematic down without looking twice, but never make a creative and aesthetic website design.  Nor can I write poetry, or pluck a new melody, or think of an engaging plot.

You know, I'll take what I can get.

The N Points and N+1 Photos

Fix a number N. Place N indistinguishable points on the number line. Each point has some fixed velocity. A snapshot of the line gives you the positiions and multiplicity of points at certain locations for a fixed time value. That is, if two or more points are at the same location, you are given the number of points there. Prove that if you are given N+1 snapshots of the points at distinct moments in time you can find the velocity of each of the points.

Kell and I have a pretty interesting solution, but it doesn't seem to be as nice of a solution as the ant problem. Check back in a week.

The Ants

Here's a problem Brian Kell told me, given to him by Dr. Radcliff and it's a two-parter. This is the first part of two.

A set of any number of ants are placed on the number line between 0 and 1. Each ant is given a direction, and travels at unit speed (one unit per second). Each ant is the size of a point (so has no size, just a location). When two ants run into each other, they instantly negate their velocity. Prove that no matter what arrangement of positions and directions the ants have originally they will all be outside of the interval by the end of a second.

I don't want to spoil it for you quite yet.  The solution will show up in about a week.

Research Goes Well

In case no one has been paying attention to my development blog, my research has been going well lately and it makes me happy.  This is the first time in over two years of working there that I actually feel like I'm close to completing something important.  I've helped out with small things before, but now something I started last summer is actually approaching reality.

I Hate Planet Sub

People keep telling me that I need to go to Planet Sub. As if it is this wonderful franchise that has increased Lincoln's value just by showing up. I went there for a quick meal this afternoon and found that it might as well disappear. Not only do we not need yet another sandwich place, but they are absolutely terrible at it.

When I got there, I was treated to the typical fast-food menu-order-pickup style register. I ordered my food from a pimpled dolt and sat in the hard, fast-food tables while I waited for my order to show up. The wait was far too long. Pimple-face sat down and had a break (and his own sandwich) before I got mine. When I want a sub, I want it quick. Jimmy John's has it right.

The sandwich wasn't even worth the wait, either. It was very basic, the bread wasn't that great, and it didn't sit right in my stomach. For the price I paid, I really didn't get that much, either. I don't recommend Planet Sub. Stick to what you know and enjoy. I will never go back.

How I Became a Sad Stolee

On Wednesday, I was so very excited to get a package from the Roasterie including a T-shirt and 12 ounces of delicious dark coffee beans. In a hurry, I put on the shirt and frantically cleaned my grinder and sealed coffee can. I needed everything to be perfect for this wonderful coffee experience I was about to witness.

I then became sad when I dropped the full can of beans on the floor. I was not going to pick these beans off of the floor because I'm a prude when it comes to coffee and a single speck of dirt would ruin the whole pot no matter how hot it was to kill bacteriums. Luckily, I had put some beans in my grinder, ready to be pulverized and brewed into a delicious beverage that is both tasty, nutritious, and invigorating. I drank enough coffee at such a quick pace that I had a caffeine high that hurt.

need to get some more of this coffee. The air-roasting has definitely convinced me that I shouldn't drink anything else. At my next paycheck, I'm ordering some more.

My sad tale is not yet over, because I didn't realize that the shirt didn't fit. It turns out that they accidentally sent me a large instead of a medium. My proper size is on the way, but it was still a little depressing for a while.

I Forgot to Mention...

While I was in Kansas City, we stopped by the garage sale Adam was working at.  There, I spent 75 cents on two buttoned shirts and a tweed trilby hat.  The hat is crazy weird and I like it.  Maybe if I get my camera working I'll post a picture.  However, I'm outraged that one of the shirts I bought for a quarter said "wrinkle free" on the tag but still has wrinkles.

I Did the Saddest Thing

I biked way too far out to try and pick up a package I didn't get.  This made me tired and sad.  This wasn't the sad thing, though.  The sad thing was when I got hungry afterwards, but was too tired and lazy to put on a shirt or cook anything so I just ate frosting out of the container with a spoon.  It was pathetic.

Flocking Blogger

I don't know why, but at work Flock decides to put my normal blog as the first selection for blog destinations and at home it uses Devel Hell as my first choice.  However, I normally blog on Devel Hell at work, and this one at home.  This is a little annoying.

I still like the product.  It is still in version 0.7, so I'll let it slide for now.  I'm hoping that they improve the little things like this before version 1.0.  With the following they have now, they are sure to have good enough input to at least realize the problematic sections and tweak them.

Flocking Flock!

If you were refreshing my blog as I was posting about my weekend, you might have noticed a few broken links or empty posts.  I had some problems with Flock's blog editor.  First, I forgot that the default editor is "smart" and doesn't let you type normal HTML.  Then, using the source view doesn't actually reflect into the "smart" editor until you open it again, but still uses the editor's view for the post.  Also, replacing old posts updates the timestamp, unlike a normal edit.  I still like this feature, but will have to be more careful from now on.

Adventures in Lawrence

On our way out of Kansas City proper, we head West to Lawrence, KS.  There, we ate at Free State brewery.  It had some tasty food, and better brews, but mostly and interesting atmosphere.  The large front windows allowed the sunlight to add a cheery mood to it.  Not necessarily my style, but it fit well with the rest of Massachusetts avenue.  Approaching Lawrence from the north gave me a different view of the town, and I was able to appreciate was a pretty college town it is.

After we ate, we took a gander at the KU campus and head out.  However, I required a rest stop before we left, so we stopped at one of three gas stations right next to each other.  Apparently, the first's restroom was out of order, the second didn't have a bathroom, and the last didn't even have a store.  It was just pay at the pump.  Why would places like that exist?

BBQ Battle

The Lenexa BBQ Battle was very interesting.  It is interesting how the nature of Sar-ko-par can change when it is full of tents with wonderful meats being grilled.  We walked around grabbing extras from each booth as they took the best for the judges and gave the rest to the scroungers, like us.  We made it back to the Kearn's booth (the Kearn's were kind enough to guide us around because we know their son) just in time to help them hold the cover on their tent down as strong winds and rain challenged all teams.

The strong rain continued around town, mostly in short bursts at first, continuing into a long downpour.  We headed to the plaza afterwards to visit the Apple store and get free samples at the Better Cheddar.  On the way, we saw that brush creek actually had a good amount of water in it, creating rapids in the normally dry and boring sections.

The Roasterie

On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early for an 11 AM tour of the Roasterie. This is a small coffee roaster near the Boulevard Brewing company. The tour was very educational and well led, and covered everything there is about coffee. From the history of coffee, to the growing, buying, tasting, roasting, flavoring, and packaging the bean. It was very interesting to hear how the company deals personally with farming families and takes care of their nearby communities when possible.

I'll have to see how much I like their coffee when mine is delivered. I got it online because the gift shop was far too busy after the tour. There were over 30 people cramped into this small building. Apparently, they will move into a bigger building within a couple months, so it is good to hear they are growing. If you care at all about coffee, I highly recommend this tour.

Parkville

Friday night, Beermann led us to Parkville, a suburb of Kansas City, for dinner. The town is a nice little neighborhood that reminds me of Perham's main street, except planted in some nice hills and trees to give it a mountain town feel.

Dinner was at the Power Plant, a brewpub renovated from the old campus power plant for the nearby college. The brews were tasty, with the standard varieties well represented. The atmosphere screams industrialism with plain brick walls held together by wrought iron joints and the old boiler still intact.

After dinner, we went to a chocolate bar named "the Sweet Guy." We had some delicous gelato and a white chocolate truffle. I don't recommend the white chocolate for a truffle. It's not sweet enough to merit the presentation. However, I want to see if I can make gelato sometime, because it is much lighter and tastier than normal ice cream.

Schroedinger

Beermann now has a cat. Luckily, it is still young enough to be qualified as a kitten, and I didn't have to destroy it immediately. Also, I'm lucky that I didn't inherit my father's allergies to cats, so I was the only visitor not responding to the kitty proteins of their house.

The cat's name is Schroedinger. I found it amusing that it jumped into an empty box during our tour of the attic. Beermann didn't put up with my attempts to destroy the kitten, nor did he enjoy my efforts to close him in the box and make him a quantum kitty. So, I decided to play nice from then on.

When I woke on the recliner the next morning, I had a cat sleeping on my chest, nuzzled against my neck. When I started moving, he woke up and started purring and bumping my face. It was grotesquely cute and I had to stop it. I also hope they declaw the thing before it destroys their nice leather couches.

Foreign Fireworks

On our way down I-29, we stopped at the wonderful barns of explosives.  James and Jesse spent over 200 dollars on these dangerous devices.  I found the entire experience quite odd.  I never played with fireworks as a kid, and have only used them a couple times since.  I guess the metaphor of "blowing your money" becomes a little too close to reality when you actually explode the products you buy.

I was further mystified by the lack of directions on any package.  I don't know what these firework names mean, so when I see a box with "Shock and Awe" on it, I have no idea what it will do.  Will it shoot artillery, sparks, or just explode?  I guess the natural plan of lighting and run away is nice, but I'd like to know the distance necessary.

Sometimes I forget that America's favorite childhood activity is also a population control mechanism.  Far too many stupid people survive childhood and go greek.

Tour de Kansas

I just got back from my weekend trip to Kansas City with James and Jesse.  I took notes on what topics to blog about so I didn't forget.  However, these fill three sticky notes, so it may take a while to get all of it down.

After Oatmeal: Out

Yesterday, I got my first full-sized paycheck for the summer.  Jesse also got his paycheck for the last month after a mixup that made him miss his paycheck two weeks ago.  This resulted in a grocery store trip to get some real food again.  I decided to get a tub of oatmeal for my breakfast adventures, since it will last longer and provide larger portions than the individually wrapped options.

For the oatmeal, I bought some brown sugar.  I decided to spend an extra twenty cents to get the kind in a box, thinking I'd get better quality.  However, the entire box of sugar is hard as a rock.  Even hacking at it with a spoon does little damage.  I'm very sad about this, because my oatmeal is not properly sweetened.

I leave this afternoon on a road trip to Kansas City with some friends.  I'm not bringing my computer, so I don't know if I'll be reachable by the internets.  See you Sunday.

The Challenge

I've been thinking about how much coffee a person could consume in a 24-hour period.  Not just the drink, but the physical bean and grinds.  If the grinds are used for coffee, the coffee must be drank and the grinds can be thrown away.  Otherwise, the beans or grinds could be covered in chocolate, baked into brownies, or just eaten with a spoon.  It may be possible to consume a full pound in a day.  I may try it for enough money.

Sausage and Kraut

The German blood in me is shouting for joy as I sit here eating beef sausage and kraut.  I thought about putting it into some soup, but i don't have any vegetables right now.  Maybe if I have any left over, but that is unlikely to happen.

Hooray for Dreams!

This morning's dream was delightfully wacky as well.  It started back at Battlestar Galactica night, just some guys hanging out at my place watching sci fi.  Then, the twist comes unexpectedly: Jordan is the president of the United States and needs to go give the state of the union address.  So, we go to his house, which is really my grandma's old house, where we pull out a projector to CNN and get ready to cheer him on.  We treat the event like a sporting event, cheering for everything he says.  That was the strangest part of the dream, and the rest is just added silliness: like Jordan's sisters that were suntanning in the basement with their friends and wouldn't leave, or how I got hungry and found a loaf of bread in the DVD rack.  I asked if I could toast the loaf, and my dream cut to a scene of two pieces of bread fighting to the death.

Micro-dream Reports

This morning I got a quick series of dreams that were semi entertaining and strange.  However, like most of my dreams, they are anticlimactic.  Don't expect anything but a bit of strangeness.

In the first dream, my family and I were at a huge military parade of some sort.  It reminded me of the Air Force Academy parade grounds, but with the Nebraska state surplus auction building right in the middle (and bigger).  Everyone was bummed that a torrential rainfall was just over the horizon and going to ruin their party.  That is, except for me and my older brother (currently in the Air Force).  We were going on "vacation" for the weekend.  The Air Force was going to fly us over to Iraq so we could be deployed as a secret mission into the heart of some military compound.  Andrew would fly in as I jumped down and played Rambo for a while, until he came back to pick me up.  The mission was promised to take 15 minutes total and we'd be back by Sunday night.  The dream ended before we left because I couldn't find Andrew anywhere.

The second dream was seamlessly integrated with the last, because it started by me waking up at Jesse's house.  I apparently had gone to visit him in St. Edward and was staying in one of his many houses there (I don't think the Whiddens have more than one).  We kept looking for his family in the several houses that were conveniently right next to each other.  When we finally found them, they served us breakfast.  During the meal, I kept telling them about the wacky dream I just had and how I was going to blog about it when I got to a computer.  Then I saw that they had a green house in the kitchen, so I went to investigate.  Once I got inside, I realized that there were no plants, but a bunch of tarps laid about.  That's when I caught the resemblance to a similar scene in Visitor Q and woke myself up.

I think I had a third dream, too, but I don't remember it.

Biking Lessons

During my bike rides this weekend, I learned a few things.  First, overcast with a slight mist is beautiful riding weather.  Second, if you are riding after a rainfall, make sure to stay away from places where you may have to go through a patch of dirt.  It's not dirt anymore, but a living creature begging for a meal of rubber and metal that will attempt to suck you into an abyss.  Finally, don't go for a ride simply because you feel guilty for not going outside all day.  You'll probably get tired and turn around earlier than you expected.

Paging Problems

With my multitasking habits, I need to get a second gig of RAM in my G5.  I like to have a lot of applications open at once, and I hide and show them as necessary.  However, when I bring them back, all of their memory has been paged to disk, so it takes far too long to get a response.  Safari turns out to be notoriously bad about this.  Since OS X has Quartz Extreme, the graphical portions of the browser are stored in the VRAM even when the rest of the application gets paged to memory.  If I don't use my Safari windows often enough, I could attempt to use the window later and have the application take several seconds to respond.

This annoyance should be fixed by at least one of two things: get more RAM or quit playing WoW in windowed mode with two browsers, AIM, email, and calendar open at the same time.  At least I use a different computer for music.  It helps me get the proper mix of music and sound effects when they are on different speakers.

Psychosprocket

Psychosprocket is an interesting word.  It seems that no search engine knows how to find psychosprocket, so I'm making psychosprocket a common theme of this post entitled "Psychosprocket" to see how long it takes for the search to filter.  It makes me ponder what a psychosprocket really is.  Is it a crazy guy with a few gears loose?  Or is it just a machine part that enables ludirous speed?  The mystery of the psychosprocket may forever be a mystery.

Imagination Bug Report

I don't know how I got a message this morning that there was a CSS bug in IE, but I fixed it.  I thought it was a comment, but I couldn't find where the comment was.  I then thought it must have been a normal email, but I couldn't find that, either.  I think Jordan told me, but I might have just imagined it, since I have no evidence of this exchange ever happening.  However, the bug did exist to the detail that was in the message, so it must be real.

Orientation

Last night I had a dream with the proper level of oddness to discuss here. Most of the time they are either too boring to be of note, too extremely wacky to put into rational language, or too specific for anyone to understand.

In this dream, the fall semester was beginning.  This is a big deal: my senior year.  However, I somehow got stuck living in HSS instead of Kauffman.  What's worse, I was in a room with about five triple bunk beds.  That's 14 roommates.  I was lying on the top bunk and looked below.  Down there was a freshman from my home town.  I remember him from being a freshman when I was a senior in high school.  I started telling him "the ropes" about our roommates because I knew so much by being around so long.  I eventually got bored or something and decided to trek over to Kauffman.

There, they were having freshman orientation.  Most of those freshmen were also freshmen from my high school.  Since I didn't meet any of them at the NSE event, I decided I'd get my two cents in during a group meeting.  This was the Friday before classes begins, so I wanted them to know that they could get a 2-day headstart on their 4 years of dedication to computer science.  The problem is that they were never all in the same place.  I followed them around, constantly telling them to meet at midnight to hear the "important advice" from their superior.  I was mostly ignored.

Perfect Driving Simulator

I don't drive much anymore. I don't need to. I have a bike, almost everything is close enough to use it, and it costs me two dollars every time I move my car. The bonus is that my roommate pays for monthly parking, so the more he moves his car the more he feels like he's getting his money's worth.

The problem is that I don't get the thrill of driving anymore. I don't get to feel the rush of speed and control of a vehicle. I do still have my copy of Gran Tourismo 4 and wheel, but my good setup from before is spending time under my computer screen, so I'm less motivated to play when I need to use a less-than-optimal setup. Now, if I could build one of these I would be set. Where would I put it when I wasn't using it? Those questions are best saved for times when actual building is a possibility, instead of a pipe dream.

Mighty Mouse Confusion

I have a Mighty Mouse at work.  It's nice.  I wouldn't use it for gaming, but I like the multiple button functionality, especially the scroll ball.  However, I still have a regular Apple pro mouse back home.  This confuses me to no end.  I won't use the extra buttons when I'm at work.  When I'm home, I try to scroll with a wheel that doesn't exist.  At work, I squeeze the sides when I want a firmer grip causing an Expose action.  At home, I try to use Expose and realize too late there is no button there.  Maybe if I had one in both places I'd be better off.  However, I kind of like the one-button feel.  I try to minimize my mouse usage no matter what mouse I'm using, anyway.

So Many Posts

Today I passed 250 posts to this blog.  This isn't much compared to frequent posters like Spomer, but it definitely slowed my update of the template.  I've reorganized my blog list, so if you have been demoted or removed it means that you no longer post enough.  I demand more content!  Get to work!

Battlestar Galactica: Old School

Last night was the first of hopefully many Battlestar Galactica nights. While the new series is taking a long break to recharge and come back at us in full strength, some friends and I are getting reverse nostalgia. We are watching the 1978 version and remembering character names and places from the newer series. I guess this is what some people felt when they watched the new series.

It's wonderfully bad, I know. It's a little annoying when they switch their "futuristic" sci-fi terms between lines, and the bad guys are just comical. Who cares? It's older than I am, so it is expected to be laughable.

We're only through the first of six disks, and need to watch them all over again with commentary later.  That should tide us over for full Wednesday nights for the rest of the summer.  If you're in Lincoln on any Wednesday this summer, come on over with some money for pizza or other food to share.

Join the Flock

Since I use Firefox for limited uses, I was exited to see that Flock was available for download.  It turns out to be a new browser built from Firefox that is "Web 2.0" enabled.  It has additional capabilities for blogging and photo uploading.  In fact, I'm writing this in the built in blogging form.  This should be loads of fun.  It's also prettier than Firefox.  Try it out for yourself.

Devel Hell

I've started another blog that details my daily progress for my research this summer. If you are interested in what I'm doing, how far along I am, or what is frustrating me currently, check it out. I can't promise that any of it will make sense. This is really just my way of keeping track of what I'm doing and what I should be working on. Also, I'll be able to look back and see when I was most productive and how I could prevent delays in the future.

And if you didn't notice or can't tell: yes, I'm behind already.

A Screeching Halt

Why does every single bus in Lincoln desperately need a brake change? It's as if they ran out of brake pads and decided that metal-on-metal was good for waking up the bums sleeping in the terminals.

Cheap Video Cards

I think the cheap video card in my windows machine is finally dying. Just running iTunes visualizations sometimes causes the whole machine to restart suddenly. It might also be because we turned the air conditioning off, but it is linked to the visualizations somehow. Also, my machine has the same behavior when I load a game or something. I suppose an $80 card these days would more than quadruple my current performance.

Flabbicide

I think I should workout more. My bike trips to work are too short and my longer trips are too far apart to be that useful. I'm just lucky that actually paying for food makes me eat less, otherwise I'd probably gain weight or something. However, that doesn't stop the rest of me from turning into jello.

Summer-time

It seems that my perception of time shifts focus completely between the semester and summer. This is linked completely to what I am doing, and is quite sad. During the semester, I am rushing between classes, team time, projects, and homework that I keep hoping that time will slow down so I can finish everything that is happening. Now that the summer is in full swing, and I'm not taking any classes for 4 more weeks, it seems as though time should speed up to make up for my lack of things to do.

It's not that I don't have things I could be doing, but there are few things that require my time immediately. I don't have late night study sessions, grading deadlines, or anything that I would give up my free time for. I simply get back from work and do "whatever." This "whatever" usually consists of WoW or TV, but I'm quitting WoW again soon (before I pay for it again) and TV gets very boring very quickly.

I'm trying to fill my time by reading, or doing some extra work in the evenings. However, it is hard to spend more than 40 hours a week on the same project by myself. Thankfully, I have several different areas of the project in mid-development so I can jump between them even in midday.

When I take an easy history class for the second five-week session, I should have less time to get bored like this. I'll be reading and studying a bit, as well as working later. Also, my project will be hitting real deadlines then, and I'll be plenty behind to keep me working extra hours (for no pay, at that).

Col-larious

I have two stories to share regarding my collar.

Last week, I came home for lunch and realized my collar had been turned inside-out all day. I had several discussions with both of my advisors and some people on campus without anyone mentioning it.

Today, I was adjusting my collar at lunch in fear that I had possibly done it again, but realized that I still had a piece of stiff plastic tucked under the collar from when it was in a store. This plastic had stayed there over several washings and wearings in the past 9 months.

Slow Eats

Last night, at 25 cent taco night, I noticed that I eat slower than my friends. This is surprising to me, for in high school it was the exact opposite. Maybe I talk too much, or use napkins too often, but something must be to blame for this.

Auctionized

Today's state surplus auction left me confused. There were some decent machines running for thirty to fifty bucks, but the worthless all-in-one gateways ran for much much more than their worth. I was hoping to make a cheap digital picture frame with one, but they all sold outside my price range. I'll just have to come back for the next one.

Condensed Content

I feel like my recent posts have been too short and compact for any interested reader. I apologize. Maybe I will reward you with a longer post later. I have all day at work to think about it.

Linguistics

I have obtained certain artifacts that should allow me to learn new languages quickly and easily, in just 30 minutes a day! This could be a fun adventure. My current list is German, Japanese (again), Spanish, Russian, and then I'll find something else interesting if I'm still enjoying it.

Surprising Adjustment

It's surprising just how more efficient riding a bike becomes when you adjust the seat to the proper height. The past few weeks, it felt like my bike was getting more and more sluggish. It turns out that my seat was too low, and was just getting lower because it wasn't tightened quite enough.

A Schedule Change

I've discovered that I am far more alert and productive at work in the morning. I get sleepy after lunch, and don't do as well. I think I may try taking an extra half hour at lunch for a power nap. Hopefully, that will get me ready to go again.

Mathematical Note

The Poincaré conjecture has been proven. This problem has been around since 1904, and was listed in the Millennium Prize Problems for a million dollar reward.

Fortified with Happiness

My roommate and I independently filled our freezer with some meat this weekend. Thankfully, we chose different animals. I'm so glad to have such an important part of my diet returned in a more natural form. Most meat I've eaten for the past two weeks has come out of a soup can.

Freakish Laughter

As I was unlocking my apartment door, I heard my neighbor burst into uproarious noise. At first, it sounded like he was in terrible pain, as if someone were maiming him in some way. Then, I heard a couple chuckles that kept me from calling the cops.

Addiction

Perhaps my internet use has bordered upon addiction if it hasn't already passed it onto obsession. Perhaps I should try harder to find other things to do. You know, those things I used to do before the internet became such a big part of my daily routine.