Cute Little Totoro

A post? But this blog is dead!

2006-07-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

1. One book that changed your life:
C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Donald Westlake, The Ax

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Bible

4. One book that made you laugh:
Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic

5. One book that made you cry:
Walter Wangerin, Jr., The Book of Sorrows

6. One book that you wish had been written:
Charles Williams, Just one more novel

7. One book that you wish you had never read:
All but one paragraph of Alice Walker's The Color Purple

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Walter de la Mare, Broomsticks

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
St. Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica

It's true

2006-02-06T17:43:00.001-08:00

Aspiring Librarian
You scored 55% on knowledge of librarianship.

You're getting there - you know more than most people about libraries. Maybe you're starting Library School and getting yourself ready to take over the profession. Or maybe you already work in a library but just don't know some of the history and details. But, you're more of an aspiring librarian than a full-fledged librarian.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 90% on knowledge

Link: The Are You a Librarian Test written by attention on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

It's true

2006-02-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Aspiring Librarian
You scored 55% on knowledge of librarianship.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 90% on knowledge

Test!

2005-11-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

Link: The Are You a Librarian Test written by attention on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Snuffleupagus

You scored 52% Organization, 48% abstract, and 42% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert.
By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an
extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was
somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more
about herself.

You are somewhat organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.

I bet you didn't think you were Snuffleupagus. Let's find out why.

You are both somewhat organized. You have a good
idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably
clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Alloyius
Snuffleupagus (and all Snuffleupagus') is not sloppy by nature, but he
moves so incredibly slowly that it is impossible for him to be totally
organized.

You both are about equally concrete and abstract thinkers. You have a
good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but
you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within
limits of course. Snuffy generally has very basic interests, but he
explores his abstract sensitive side when he plays his snuffleflute.

You both are somewhat introverted. Originally Snuffleupagus was very
shy and was only Big Bird's invisible friend. However as he has aged he
has started to build new friendships with new characters. Like Snuffy,
you probably like to have some time to yourself. However, you do
appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of
social situations.

The other possible characters are

Oscar the Grouch

Big Bird

Cookie Monster

Ernie

Elmo

Kermit the Frog

Grover

The Count

Guy Smiley

Bert

If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want
to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up
and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 37% on Organization
You scored higher than 41% on concrete-abstra
You scored higher than 14% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Thanksgiving holiday

2005-11-26T19:34:00.000-08:00

Woo-hoo!

4 day weekend, baby!

So far this week I've:
Sucessfully roasted a turkey
Cleaned the downstairs, with help from my mother and sister
Hung out with Gorman, Ethan and Tess, and Clare, and some random friends of Gorman
Cleaned my room
Bought a printer
Unclogged a drain

I feel so...useful.

Now, cleaning the landing.

Photos from Wyoming!

2005-08-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hey there boys and girls! Just got my photos from Wyoming

developed. They're somewhat uninteresting, because, well, wyoming

and Field Camp aren't all that exciting. But who cares?

This is the lovely Jen, throwing an apple, in a van, somewhere on the outskirts of Yellowstone Park:

This is the Camp Director, Bob, doing his "sexy" pose, and apparently floating in mid air. As geologists are want to do.:

Yours truley, in front of what I believe to be the Grand Tetons.

Me in front of a waterfall near camp. (Interesting note - at field camp, a 3 mile walk is "near")

Ryan (Guns) and I on the last day of camp.

2005-08-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

The Fan

You're 62 % down with your homestarrunner.com quotes!

You're The Fan, the second highest scoring tier. You probably check the
site a couple times a month for new stuff, and you get a kick out of
the Strong Bad Email easter eggs. Continue on your quest for Strong Bad
knowledge!

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 0% on grumblecakes

Link: The Strong Bad Libs Test written by fhwgwgads on Ok Cupid

Filler entry

2005-08-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

I've changed the template for the blog again. It isn't particularly good, but it should do for now. And never fear, for those of you who check the blog only for the links to other people's sites, they are still there, albeit under a blog test about theologans.

Not much going on in Ryanania. There's a dog living in the house who I haven't mentioned. Her name is Leela, because we found her at the orphanarium. She's a Jack Russle terrier/Beagle mix, and looks rather like a skinny beagle on stilts.

Which is nifty. I have some photos somewhere, and maybe I'll post some later.

My final, actual graduation from Washu is coming ever closer, which is very good. For those of you who say "Isn't the August graduation date the 15th? Aren't you graduated now?" -- don't be silly. That would make sense. And the last thing Washu seems to want to do is make sense. My graduation will probably be finalized sometime in very early September, and that's when they'll mail me the diploma. But it will have an August 15th date on it.

Well, that's it.

Score!

2005-07-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

You scored as Anselm. Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man's primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read 'Cur Deus Homo?'

Anselm

93%

Karl Barth

73%

Friedrich Schleiermacher

67%

John Calvin

67%

Augustine

53%

Jonathan Edwards

47%

Martin Luther

40%

Paul Tillich

33%

Charles Finney

33%

Jürgen Moltmann

33%

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Stuff

2005-06-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

We just took our third test. I'm pretty sure I didn't do all that well. But who cares. There were some people playing nertz, but, thank God, the stopped. Some of them went to the campfire to drink, and some of them went to bed. Right now I'm talking to Kivett on im. Kivett, aka. Ryan, aka. Guns is sitting right next to me.

This place is boring as hell.

I think I'm going to go to bed soon, so good night fair blog readers.

Wonderful Photos (scroll down)

2005-06-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mapping!

Ryan [Guns], Ryan [Admiral] and Jen [Gilfredo], sitting on some rocks.

Glorious victory!

2005-06-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Much to my surprise, The Ryans have made it to the second round of the Camp Branson Horseshoes tournament. We beat...ugh..."Off in the Shower" yesterday, and we'll be playing "The Corn Poopies" sometime this week. Boys.

We go an a mine reclamtion tour tomorrow, then it's off to Yellowstone for a week, so if you care, there won't be any posts for a while.

deep thought for the day

2005-06-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

The patron saint of geologists is Saint Barbara. I'm not sure why. Apparently, she was locked in a tower for her faith, and someone was hit by lightning.

She is not one of the more impressive saints, and her patronage of earth scientists seems rather tacked on.

I hearby move to have St. Peter be appointed the patron saint of geologists, for what I hope are obvious reasons. Either him, or someone who was stoned to death, or crushed with large rocks, or something.

And as an added note, my new favorite saint is John the Little

Horse shoes

2005-06-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be playing in the horseshoes tournament tomorrow. Ryan P. and I are on a team. Our team name is "The Ryans." We are so clever. I have never played horseshoes in my life, so I don't think we'll get all that far.

I got in a Juniper Berry fight this afternoon, while we were waiting for the last group to come in. That's the sort of exciting, informative thing people do at Field Camp. Also, we saw a large rabbit, 2 rattlesnakes and a mule deer. It was thrilling. Really thrilling. I think I'll go to bed now, as I have absolutly nothing else to do. Except read. I might read.

Fun fun.

Beth Book thing!

2005-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

How Many Books Do You Own? - Great googley bunches. lets say 4-7 hundred.

What is the last book you bought? - The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

What is the last book you read? The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas

Name 5 Books that mean a lot to you.

1. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
2. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
3. The Book of the Dun Cow and The Book of Sorrows, by Walter Wangarian
4. The Chronicles of Narnia (all of them, but especially the Last Battle), by you know who
5. Descent into Hell, by Charles Williams

People who should do this? I don't know who has already been asked, so if I repeat people, you can spit in my face or something. Greta, Ann(y), Cat (if she has a blog), Gorman, and...uh...Bryant. I doubt many of these people read my blog, but if they do, rock rock on.

Wyoming!

2005-06-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the greatest state I'm in!

Wyoming and field camp are fun. We walk a lot. And climb hills a lot. It's the best. So really, a lot of it isn't particularly fun at all.

Hmm. For people who aren't particularly interested in geology, most of what I'm doing here would be painfully boring. So we'll skip it.

There are two other Ryans here, which is cool. The TAs and profs thought it would be funny to put all of us in the same group. So they did, and we kicked butt. 10 out of 10, baby.

I also got what was or was very close to a second degree sunburn. Which was the best.

So that's all for now.

Stuff

2005-05-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

also nonsense

geatest.quiz.ever

2005-05-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Curious Bloodstain
Nightmare scales: Panic: 43%. Dread: 37%. Lampreys: 37%.

You are the CURIOUS BLOODSTAIN. Nobody knows where the hell you came from--
and they're ignoring you because they're afraid to find out how you got
there. Also, you don't go with the couch AT ALL.

SEEK: people good at doublethink. AVOID: neat freaks.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 20% on panic
You scored higher than 8% on dread
You scored higher than 5% on lampreys

Link: The Vacuous Personality Inventory Test written by Vlinblindingue on Ok Cupid

Spaceship Game Quiz!

2005-04-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Robot RIN82: You are incapable of emotion, and that
makes you very sad. You feel isolated and away
from home here, but you make the best of it,
seeking solace in cooking for the humans around
you. Someday, you hope to gain acceptance from
the church which you desperately wish to join.

Which Devastating Hope crew member are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Unitarian Jihad?

2005-04-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Sister Cutlass of Sweet Reason.

Get yours.

w00t?

2005-03-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

Bourbon
Congratulations! You're 111 proof, with specific scores in beer (60) , wine (100), and liquor (52).

Screw all that namby-pamby chick stuff, you're going straight for the bottle and a shot glass! It'll take more than a few shots of Wild Turkey or 99 Bananas before you start seeing pink elephants. You know how to handle your alcohol, and yourself at parties.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 27% on proof

You scored higher than 90% on beer index

You scored higher than 94% on wine index

You scored higher than 86% on liquor index

Link: The Alcohol Knowledge Test written by hoppersplit on Ok Cupid

Update time

2005-03-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

Firstly, this site is hilarious. Some highlights include:

Super Pope

Can you guess why Jimmy has to live in a slum?

What's one Batman more or less?

Hmm. I don't know if you ever check out the sitemeter statistics for this page, but I do. Primarily because it's my page and I'm rather vain. Most of the visitors are pretty self explanitory. They're from wustl.edu, or they've been refered by hopie, beth or mike. But every so often, people come in through yahoo search. Which is wrong, because people shouldn't use yahoo search. They should use google. These are some of the things they've been looking for:

forests walked chesterton (I approve)
neopets totoro blogs (?)
totoro neighborhood books (This person must have been dissapointed)
laurie lipgloss (ok)
savantelle (i'm guessing either melanie looking for people who mention her, or someone looking for melanie)
ryan wallace (probably not looking for me)
cute carton (wtf?)
A PIECE OF CHALK BY G.K. CHESTERTON (I definitly approve)
clever away messages (that's right)
cute childern pictures (another dissapointment)
greatest and coolest away messages (I'm flatterd)
morpho sulkowski (I would assume this person was dissapointed except...)
morpho sulkowski (same guy, one day later)

Well, that was an update.

Fun Stuff!

2005-02-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

Dragonball Z + The Catholic Church = Super Pope

Catholic!

2005-02-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

I scored quite high as Catholic on this quiz. Good for it. I'm somewhat confused as to why I'm just as Jewish as I am Christian, though. And why there's a "Catholic" and a "Christian" answer.

You scored as Catholic.

Catholic

95%

Christian

70%

Jewish

70%

Buddhist

50%

Anarchist

45%

Cult

35%

Religion
created with QuizFarm.com

Old Book Reveiws!!

2005-01-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

Doing a bit of blog housekeeping.

Title: A Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Fiction.
Plot: So there's this guy, and there's this other guy who looks a lot like him, and then there's the French Revolution. Also, a crazy shoemaking doctor.
Christian?: Not explicitly so, but yes.
Was it good?: It was excellent!
At least three other "things":
Best Character: Sydney Carton
Best Lines: (During the first trial, questions are the lawyer, non-questions are the witness)
Ever been kicked? Might have been. Frequently? No. Ever been kicked down-stairs? Decidedly not; once received a kick on the top of a staircase, and fell downstairs of his own accord.
Things I've learned by reading this book: Charles Dickens is funny. "Resurrection Man" is a euphamism for a person who digs up corpses illeagally to sell to doctors.

Title: The Place of the Lion
Author: Charles Williams
Genre: Fiction
Plot: Oh God. I'll try, but make no promises. So there's this guy. And an escaped Lioness. And these principles, represented by animals. These principles are wandering around, absorbing the earthly animals that correspond to them, and possesing people who are like them (the sly conniving person is absorbed by the snake, the vicious violent man by the lion) And they have to be stopped. By a man named Anthony and a woman named Damaris.
Christian?: Yes, by an Anglican, but very mystical, with Kabbalah type stuff.
Was it good?: Yes, very good. I think.
At least three other "things":
WTF?: It makes a lot more sense if you read the book.
Best line: Perhaps there isn't an Archetypal Sheep.
Redemption Story?: YES! I love redemption stories! Damaris and Quentin!

Title: Tales of the Long Bow
Author: G. K. Chesterton
Genre: Fiction
Plot: So there's this group of guys that sort of make expressions true (make pigs fly, make purses out of sows ears, ect.), and while doing so, lead a revolution in England.
Christian?: Yep
Was it good?: Yep
At least three other "things":
Was it weird?: Yes
Best Character: Col. Crane, or Archer
Further Comments: Not the first Chesterton book that I would recommend. If you haven't read any Chesterton, start with Orthodoxy, or the Innocence of Father Brown.

2005-01-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

kinda fuzzy

2005-01-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Pavan Glamor Shot

2005-01-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Pavan + Kaurvaki!

2005-01-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

no fruit for spong

this is hilarious

2005-01-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

At the request of the lovely Grt

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Ryan
2. Zoot
3. Rory

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. killmrbob
2. eleanorquantifier
3. cutelittletotoro

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my feet
2. mad sorting skills
3. my ability to obtain and keep high-quality friends

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. laziness
2. cynicism
3. "that I don't ask others for help as often as I need to" Greta's, but amen to that

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Irish
2. Scottish
3. English

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Dogs
2. monsters
3. public humiliation

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. ring
2. shirt
3. underwear

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. ring
2. glasses
3. those big pants rory hates so much

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS (at the moment):
1. Guster
2. Johnny Cash
3. Cake

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (at the moment):
1. Jolene, covered by Mindy Smith
2. that keane song they keep playing...um...somewhere only we know
3. I bombed Korea, by Cake

THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:
1. Library Science School
2. working a real job
3. mangoes

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP
1. fun
2. stability
3. absence of knife fights

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order)
1. if three different people tell you the same thing, it has to be true
2. i heart parakeets
3. i have a snakeskin wallet

THREE THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX (or same) THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. deep voice
2. responsibility
3. intelligence

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. knitting
2. reading
3. baking

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Sleep
2. own an ipod
3. have a job

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
1. Research librarian
2. another, more different kind of librarian
3. exquisite wife and mother

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. The Mütter Museum
2. Spain
3. Southeast Missouri

THREE KIDS NAMES:
1. Penelope
2. Mark
3. Howard

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Get married
2. Have children
3. Own tame parakeets

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY
1. Mechanically competent
2. Good at math
3. dislike romantic comedy

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK
1. Don't like math
2. femaleness
3. read shojo manga

TEN CELEBRITIES I'D TOTALLY DO (in no particular order)
"You all know I wouldn't, but I do find these people incredibly attractive" - I'm gonna go ahead and steal greta's disclaimer too...except "incredibly" is a bit of a stretch for some of them.
1. Peter Wingfield
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Johnny Depp
4. Jude Law
5. Paul Newman
6. Edward Norton
7. Josh Turner
8. Al Pacino
9. Gabriel Byrne
10. that's it, I've stretched "incredibly" as far as it'll go.

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:
1. Kirsten
2. Cecily
3. Darcey

Woo-Hoo!

2004-11-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Addendum

2004-11-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

Highlights from potsticker night, and acknowledgements.

"In the scene of things, some people need to be shot and killed." - Rory

"I feel like the whole world smells like potstickers" - Bethany

"BASTARDS!!" - Rory, about the people in the hall, who could probably hear her.

"Oh...it burns...a lot" - Darcey, about the terrible Chinese liquor.

Also, a heart-felt thanks to Emily, who helped us buy the potsticker supplies. She's the super-bestest.

Update!

2004-11-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Hmm. Not much going on lately. Though sometimes I think that the sky could have changed colors or Rory may have grown a new head, and I would still sit down in front of the blogger screen and have nothing of interest to post.

Well, last night, Bethany came over and we had potstickers (so delicious), then Greta came over, we had more potstickers (perfect potstickers. Alton Brown is like a culinary god.), and we hung out. We also all had a tiny cup of Rory's horrible Chinese alcohol. It was disturbing.

I was deeply upset at Badnarick's loss. Deeply.

Hmm. School is progressing nicely. Or at least time is progressing, and school is coming along with it. It will be over soon. Then I shall be happy.

I think I may have some news in the next week or two. In the meanwhile, I'll just add stuff to the links lists. All the stuff from last week, and some other stuff. Other stuff.

I think I'll try to put up some pictures of the paramakeets, too.

On a less angry note.

2004-11-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of fun/interesting places to go on this crazy internet of ours.

Customers Suck!: This is a livejournal community where people who work in jobs that involve a lot of interaction with the general public post horror stories about, well, the general public. This isn't the place to go to restore your faith in humanity, but it can be mightily entertaining, and also educational. A few days of reading this will teach you any number of ways in which you have secretly angered some poor cashier somewhere.

Neopets: This site is the best. You can make and name some cute little animal, sell fake things to real people for fake money, and play dozens and dozens of internet games. Want a ripoff of minesweeper? Play Neggsweeper. Want to play Snood? They have a game called Fairy Bubbles for you. An excellent way to waste time.

Internet Comics. So many internet comics. These are just like normal comics in the news paper or comic books, but free. Totally free. And really good. Here are a few I read on a regular basis:
Sluggy Freelance is like the father of all webcomics. It's got scifi and action and horrible puns and oh, it's just really great.

Schlock Mercenary A Science Fiction strip following the adventures of a ragtag group of space mercenaries. With like, hard science fiction. Very funny. Written by a Utah Morman.

Boxjam's Doodle Just...Magnificent. Simple drawings about a helpless family man. Like James Thurber. Acctually, imagine if Mike had a more surrealistic sense of humor and drew a webcomic. This is like that would be. There's baseball and liberalism and young children and everything.

exploding dog: people send in captions and this guy draws stick figure pictures for them.

Zebragirl Extrodinarily well drawn comic about a girl accidentally turned into a demon.

Well, that should tide you over for a while.

Angry, bitter rant

2004-11-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Uhh. I don't know why I do half the things i do. For example, why do I read posts at this etiquette forum. It's so terrible. It's just people complaining about other people, then people talk about the complaining, forever. The discussion i linked to is over 500 posts long, and is about tipping waitresses. There have also been 400+ post long arguments about taking your shoes off when you enter someones house (full-out fights, too. For people on an etiquette forum, these people can be awfully rude).

So anyway, I was reading something about something and someone had made a comment on how they hate it when people pronounce nuclear "nuc-u-lar."

Now to start, I have never understood why people get so upset about this isn the first place. It's just a word. It isn't like you didn't know what they just said. I swear, I think if I told some of these people that there was a huge pile on "nucular" waste in the middle of thier child's playground,the first thing I'd hear would be "'nu-clee-ur', it's pronounced 'nu-clee-ur.' You know, I just hate it when people say that wrong. *insert disparraging comment about the president, poor people, southerners or texans here*."

Then their childern would ~~die~~ be mutated into angsty, tragic, spiderman-style superheros. And it would serve them right.

Where was I. Oh yes, nuclear. And my god, people, it's not like the English language was handed down to us a thousand years ago, as is, from the Lutheran god Linguar. It got to be the way it is because our ancestors didn't pronounce words the same as everyone before them. Language is a living, evolving thing. Dictionaries aren't rulebooks as much as they are snapshots. And trying to make English stay exactly the way it is now is both pointless and stupid.

A few hundred years ago, people decided that saying things like "k-nicht" and "k-nife" was stupid. So they stopped saying the k at the beginning of "kn." And can you blame them? Do you really want to say things like "I don't k-no whether I like the brass or the brushed nickel k-nobs better." Just say it out loud. They were right, weren't they?

And those people are exactly the same as the people who say "nucular." Except that they're dead. But other than that, you know.

And for all those people who complain about St. Louis street and place names, I don't want to alarm you, but we aren't in France. I'm sorry if that's where you're parents told you you were going when you got on that plane, but this is the midwest. And really, we don't speak French here. So, yes, even if you don't like it, that neighborhood is 'Creeve Core.' And generally speaking, that street is 'Go-thee'. So sorry.

Anyway, that's about all the venting I can do for now.

Except for this list, which is quite annoying. Especially the attitude expressed in this quote, from the entry on 'library':

As mentioned before, English speakers dislike two [r]s in the same word. However, we have to buck up and pronounce them all.

No, we don't. We are adults, and this is our language. We can say these words how we see fit, and leave out any number of difficult to pronounce Rs.

Super rough draft no 1

2004-10-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Figure 3-19 shows the average atmospheric budget of the earth, how the surface and atmosphere absorb, reflect and radiate energy from the sun.
Arrows represent the flux of heat between the sun, atmosphere, the earth’s surface and space. The numbers in parentheses are amounts of energy in units arbitrarily normalized to one hundred units incoming from the sun.
100 units of radiation come in from the sun. A total of 30 of these units are reflected: 25 units from the atmosphere, and 5 units from the earth’s surface. The rest of the radiation is absorbed. The atmosphere absorbs 25 units, and the surface absorbs 45 units.
The atmosphere emits a total of 66 units of radiation. 25 of these units are from the energy absorbed directly from the sun.
29 of the units emitted are absorbed from the surface through convective transfer, where warmer, less dense air from near the surface. 5 units are from thermals, which are columns of raising air that form over warm places on the surface. 24 units are from evaporated water.
The remaining 12 units were received from radiation from the surface.
These units are a part of the greenhouse effect. 104 units of energy are radiated by the surface. 4 of theses units are radiated directly in to space, 88 units are caught by the greenhouse gasses and radiated back to the surface.
Out of the hundred incoming units of solar radiations, 30 units are reflected by the surface or atmosphere, and 70 are radiated into space, for a total of 100 outgoing units.

Things I'm afraid of

2004-09-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

dogs
spiders
public embarassment
talking to strangers on the phone
giving blood
writing papers
causing the death of an animal through neglect
small children
monsters
collecting things
the elderly
the mentally ill

Hello...there

2004-09-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a real blog entry. It'll be super exciting, I'm sure.

So. I've turned in all my homework in all my classes so far. That's something. For me, anyway. Apparently for Darcey, that's only occasion for condescension.

Oh no. It wasn't condescending at all. My mistake.

We made scones tonight for girly social hour. And looked at wedding dressing. And yesterday I went to my first CLA meeting since last year. That was fun.

Well, that's it for my oh-so-thrilling whirlwind of a life.

Blog entry, of a sort, idea stolen from mike

2004-09-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm sleepy, but I thought I'd put something up, but I didn't want to think. So, here are some words of wisdom from G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, and also, some words of wisdom from G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy translated into "h4X0r". Enjoy!

For this reason (we may call it the fairy godmother philosophy) I never could join the young men of my time in feeling what they called the general sentiment of revolt. I should have resisted, let us hope, any rules that were evil, and with these and their definition I shall deal in another chapter. But I did not feel disposed to resist any rule merely because it was mysterious. Estates are sometimes held by foolish forms, the breaking of a stick or the payment of a peppercorn: I was willing to hold the huge estate of earth and heaven by any such feudal fantasy. It could not well be wilder than the fact that I was allowed to hold it at all. At this stage I give only one ethical instance to show my meaning. I could never mix in the common murmur of that rising generation against monogamy, because no restriction on sex seemed so odd and unexpected as sex itself. To be allowed, like Endymion, to make love to the moon and then to complain that Jupiter kept his own moons in a harem seemed to me (bred on fairy tales like Endymion's) a vulgar anti-climax. Keeping to one woman is a small price for so much as seeing one woman. To complain that I could only be married once was like complaining that I had only been born once. It was incommensurate with the terrible excitement of which one was talking. It showed, not an exaggerated sensibility to sex, but a curious insensibility to it. A man is a fool who complains that he cannot enter Eden by five gates at once. Polygamy is a lack of the realization of sex; it is like a man plucking five pears in mere absence of mind. The aesthetes touched the last insane limits of language in their eulogy on lovely things. The thistledown made them weep; a burnished beetle brought them to their knees. Yet their emotion never impressed me for an instant, for this reason, that it never occurred to them to pay for their pleasure in any sort of symbolic sacrifice. Men (I felt) might fast forty days for the sake of hearing a blackbird sing. Men might go through fire to find a cowslip. Yet these lovers of beauty could not even keep sober for the blackbird. They would not go through common Christian marriage by way of recompense to the cowslip. Surely one might pay for extraordinary joy in ordinary morals. Oscar Wilde said that sunsets were not valued because we could not pay for sunsets. But Oscar Wilde was wrong; we can pay for sunsets. We can pay for them by not being Oscar Wilde.

for this reaspon (we mya call it teh fairy fgOdmotedhR philosophy)) i neverr oUld jo1n teh yunG men of my tmie in feeking what They called thE general Sentiment of revolt. i sh0uld ahve resist3D, lrt uz hope, any r0x0rs that were Evil, and \\\\////\\\\////ith tehse and their Definition i shall dea lIn anothef chapter~~~~~~ BUT I DID NOT F3EL DISPOsED TO RESIsT AYN REOXOR mERELY BECUZ ITW AS YMSTAIR0UZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11~~~~~~~ EST8S AR SOMETIUMES HELD BY FOOKISH FORMZ, THE BREAKIN OF A STIX0 RRO THE PAYMENT F A PEPPERCRON: I WAS WILL1NGT O HOLD TH3 HuGE ESRT4T EOF DARTJH ANDHEAV3N BY AYN USCH FEUD4L F4NTASY,,, it colud not wrll be wild3r ht4j teh fact that 1 wa sa7lowed tO hold it at 4lL... at This stagei give 0nly 0ne eth1cal insTance to show mt mEna1|\|g. LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1~ i c0ulfd nrver miXOr imn the comj0n murmur of that irsin ggenaration against m0ogamy, because n0 retsriction on seX0r seemed so od and unexpected as seX0r itself~~~~ to be allowed,, liek 3ndy/\/\ion, to amke 7ov etoi teh nmoion and the nTo complain thhat jupitar kepthi sow|\| moons in a Harem seemd to me (bred no fa1ry atles ll1ek endymion"s) a vulgaqr 4nti-cliMaX0r HAX0R THE PLANNT KEEPING TO ONE BABE S1 A SMALL PRICE FRO SO MUCH ZS SEIENG ONE BABE// to co/\/\p7aqin that i c0uld o|\|ly be marreid 0nce wsa like complia|\|ing that i ashd on7y been bro|\| once!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 you are Lame,,, 1r waz icnommensurate wIth Teh terRibklE excitement of whicjh one was tAlkung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111~~~~~ it shoiwed, ont an exaggerated senaibiliTy t0seXr0, bUt a curiuouus insensibility to it A MAN IS A FOOL WHO C0M;PLAINZ THAt HE CANNOT ENT4R DEN By FIVE GATS ZAT NOC3 OOLLOOLOL!!!!!!!!1~~~~ POLYGAMMY II SAL AX0R 0F TE HREAIZATION OF SEX; IT SI LIEK A MAN PLUX0RING fVIE PEARS I|\| MERE ABSENCE OF MIND// THEIR 1 SA RATIO DO|\|T RIPE ME OFF TEH ESTEHTES TOUCEHDTEH LAST INSANE ILM1T SOOF LANGUAGE IN TEHIR EULOGY 0N L0VELY TIHNGS... t eh thistledown mafd3 teH/\/\ weep; aburniashed beetle brought th3m to thjeir kn3es!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111~~~~~~ YWT TEHIR EMTOUO|\| NEVAR IMRESSED M3 FRO AN INSTANT, FRO THIS REASN, THAT IT NEVER OCCURRED To TEHM TO APY FOR ETH1R PLEASUTRE IN ANY SROT OF SYNMBO7IC SACIRFICE,,, LOLOLOLOLO~~~ menn ((u fe7t) m1ght fats fr0tyt days for teh sAke of heaRng a blaX0rbird sing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~ MEN MIGHT GO THORUGH FiRE TO FNID A COWSLIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOLOLO Y3RT TEHSE L0VERS Of BEAUTYCOULD |\|OT EVEN KEEp SOBER FOR THE BLXA0RBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!111~~~~~~~ DONT RIPE ME OFF b3cuas3I wilL h4ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 tehy would no tgo tthrough com/\/\on ChrIsrian m4rriage by awy 0f r3compense to the c0wslip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111~~~~ sur3ly on emight pay fro extraRodianry Joy 1n ordinary Mtoalas!!!!!!!!!111~~~~ come 2 my ftp cause ur lame OCSAR WILDE SaID THAT DSUNESTS WWERE NOT V4lUED BECSUSE WE COULD NOT PAT FOR SUNSETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111~ bu soacr wilde was werong;; we Can pay fro suNSrrts!!!!!!!!!1~~~~~~~ we an oAy frto thhem b ynot bieng osc4r wilde..

Answers to questions

2004-09-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently, September 11, 2002 was the first Patriot Day, and all September 11ths have been Patriot Days since September 4, 2003.

The third Monday in April has been Patriot's Day since 1894, and commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Good to know.

wtf, mate?

2004-09-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

How long exactly has September 11 been called "patriot day?" Because that's what my planner calendar says it is.

Also, there's a National Grandparent's Day. And a United Nations day. Why are these holidays so creepy, inane and stupid?

And why did I blog about these? Except for patriot day, they and my reactions to them are neither interesting nor funny.

State Fair Adventure!

2004-08-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated in a bit, I know. That's because my life has been so full of travel and harrowwing adventures that I have had virtually no time to do anything like updating my blog.

Wel, the first thing is that my new computer arrived, and kicks all sorts of butt. I missed it the first day, but the next day I skipped work and waited alone at the house from 9:00 AM to about 11:30 AM. I mostly just watched Highlander, tech tv reveiws of games I'll never play on systems I'll never own, and country music. Exciting.

Then I went to Rochester NY, amd attended a baby shower. And went to a scetchy comic book store in a mall run by hippies. And began knitting an afghan. Fun fun.

Then we went to Cleveland and helped my sister move into her new dorm. And I got to see Beth! Beth Beth Beth! She was good.

And then I came back and hung out with Rory and such. Rory cut her hand in a knife fight with a pirate, and likes to brag about her wound. It used to look really gross, but is ok now.

Then I bought Uru: Ages beyond Myst. That was what I did for a long time. I still haven't finished it.

Fianlly, the title adventure happened. This is apparently State and County Fair season, and Andrew suggested that we go to one of the Illinois State fairs. I've never been to a fair, so I thought this was a super idea. We decided to go to the Fair in DuQuoin on Saturday. Unfortunatly, we are all apparently rather short-sighted individuals and neglected to check the weather report. Or bring umbrellas.

So we got most of the way there, and it started to rain like...oh my gosh, I don't know what it was like. It was really rainy and wet, anyway. But we though, "hey, maybe we'll just drive through it," and we kept going.

Well, we never did drive through it, and to make a long story short, Darcey and I waited in a tent, soaking wet, for 25 minutes or so, Andrew wandered around in the rain for a similar amount of time, and Katy, Sarah and Rory, who all had umbrellas, walked around the fair and ate funnel cake and elephant ears.

It was pretty fun though. On the ride down, we got a trucker to honk for us.

2004-08-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

screen

This is what my computer's lcd screen looked like, after I stepped on it.

Work!

2004-08-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

The mail carts here! Back to being productive!

Events!

2004-08-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! Actual things have happened in my life, so I can finally write about something! Hurrah!

First, I broke my computer. Hurray!...sorta. I must have stepped on kicked or dropped my laptop sometime in the last two months, and not the screen is utterly useless. not dead, mind you, just useless. It looks kinda pretty, really. I've made a paint drawing of what it looks like, and I'll put it up later.
And, as a reward for breaking my computer, I got a new computer! A desktop, with a flat screen moniter and other cool computery things!

The other cool thing is that I have moved out of the Rockwell House! Hurray! No more failure to live up to contractually obligated cleanlyness! No more screaming children! I have a balcony! And a gas stove! And no pots, pans, toilet paper, kleenex, paper towel, kitchen towels or ready to eat food! Thankfully I had a big lunch at fitz's with my beloved smother after i moved in, and didn't have to go to the bathroom till i got to work. The other things will be corrected this afternoon.

Anyway, I am at work, and even though there isn't anything to do (at all) I'm going to go away now and at least pretend to look for things to do. For a while. I may be back.

The computer I got! Except I only paid 940 for it

And by later today, I meant later this week

2004-07-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Look! A new addition to the Ryan's Blog universe!

Books!

I'll post actual content later today

2004-07-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

From Cecily's blog:

bold what's true.
01. I have kissed someone of the same sex on the lips.
not to my knowlege
02. I see a therapist.
03. I'm the youngest child.
04. I am drawn to things associated with sadness.
i don't even know what that means
05. I love my gauged earrings.
see italics for 04.
06. I wear black eyeliner every day.
AH! AH! things touching my eye! bad touch, bad touch!
07. I am extremely influenced by kindness.
08. I love to write, even though I think I suck at it.
i hate to write, even though i'm good at it
09. I can't live without lipgloss.
10. I'm probably emotionally scarred.
11. I lived in Tahoe.
12. I spend money I have.
heck yeah
13. I'll be in college for over 4 years.
now look at what you've done survey. you made me cry
14. I love designer handbags.
15. I've had a concussion before.
no, but i always thought it would be cool
16. I'm not good with confrontation.
very, very true
17. I loved the Backstreet Boys.
18. I have more than a couple horrible memories.
19. I'm addicted to Degrassi.
20. I've tried writing poetry before but it sucked.
it was for a school assignment. it was about being eaten by wolves
21. My first kiss was unexpected.
22. I'm not a fan of rap.
mind you, i don't dislike all rap, but i'm certainly not a "fan"
23. I love taking pictures.
24. I hate girls who are fake.
unless you mean robots, fake girls are people too
25. I can be mean when I want to.
except instead of "when i want to" read "when i'm not paying attention"
26. When I allow myself to get close to people, I get very attached.
27. I am bisexual.
28. I have way too many pairs of shoes.
i have 5 pairs of shoes, and i don't know where one of them is
29. I was into Hot Wheels as a child.
30. I dress how I feel that day.
31. My room is painted a color other than white.
hundred acre sky!
32. I cry very easily.
sweet jesus no
33. I'm always early.
34. I barely ever study for tests.
i'm super smart!... sorta
35. My birthday is my favorite holiday.
your mother is my favorite holiday
36. I have too many clothes for my closet/dresser.
37. I am a morning person.
38. I wish I was smarter.
all the freaking time
39. I believe that it is wrong to be gay.
if by gay you mean "has sex with person of the same sex"
40. I don't blame gay people for being gay, its not like they have a choice.
if by gay you mean "is attracted sexually to people of the same sex"
41. No one really knows me.
no one really knows anyone
42. I don't have many bad hair days.
they're all sort of "mediocre hair days"
43. I sometimes fight with my parents.
i'm a good little girl
44. I am passionate about my interests.
sorta
45. I have had the chicken pox.
true story
46. I'm a hopeless romantic.
47. I feel empty sometimes.
i feel hungry sometimes. like that hungry where your stomach is so empty than when yopu take a drink of cold water, you can feel the coldness all the way down
48. I am/was most likely clinically depressed at a point in my life.
49. I am no longer depressed.
50. I am very outgoing.
51. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
52. I can be very insecure.
53. I don't notice it, but I'm told I'm very softspoken.
less true now
54. I hate ignorant people.
ignorant people are people too
55. I love the color yellow.
56. I love guys that play the guitar.
57. I state the obvious.
58. I'm a happy person.
tra la la
59. I have absolutely no self-confidence.
60. i hate to clean my room.
62. I tend to get jealous sometimes.
yeah, i'm stupid like that
63. I like to play video games.
64. I love John Mayer.
rufus!
65. I get more upset when I see an animal hurt than a person
well, it depends. usually when i've seen animals hurt, it's been very pointlessly cruel, and the animal has had little chance to fight back. i've never seen that sort of cruelty displayed towards a person. the first kind of hurting is much more upsetting than someone injuring themselves in an accident, so in the past, i have been more upset seeing an animal hurt than a person. On the other hand, i'm sure that if i saw the same things happening to people that happen to animals, i would be much more upset
66. I'm a vegetarian/vegan/don't eat beef.
67. I've had a crush on a teacher before.
68. I am too forgiving.
not possible
70. I have a good sense of direction.
71. I've never had a boyfriend/girlfriend before.
i'm so cool
72. I've played a musical instrument for more than 5 years.
73. I can function perfectly well without a girlfriend/boyfriend.
i certainly hope so
74. I love kisses on the forehead.
75. I love the color blue.
i do
76. I don't sew.
i wish i could, though
77. I am not addicted to drugs.
i can stop anythime i want
78. I wear contacts.
see italics for 06.
79. I hate it when people say they hate Bush because he is a moron. Can't you find a better reason?
they've never even met him! how would they know if he's a moron or not?
80. I hate Bush, but I have reasons to justify it.
i like Bush, i just don't think he should be president
81. I don't take criticism well. At all.
82. Conformity is stupid.
you're stupid
83. Chris Carrabba is one of the sexiest men alive.
who? (one quck google search later: no, no he's not)
84. So is Conor from Bright Eyes.
who? (one quck google search later: no, Connor from Bright Eyes looks like a 13 year old boy)
85. I love my family.
i do
86. I don't mind getting shots.
i do, but i pretend i don't
87. I am a perfectionist when it comes to certain things.
stupid, useless things, yes
88. I always wanted to learn to play the drums.
89. I can be too hard on myself.
90. I will or have had premarital sex.
91. I don't like my nose.
i love my nose! it does so much for me
92. I am religious.
93. I still act like a little kid.
94. I am ridiculously indecisive sometimes.
well...maybe i'm not
95. I believe in a higher power or some form of an afterlife.
i believe in both
96. I love music.
eh
97. I'm in love.
98. I have problems letting go of people.
99. Jesse Lacey writes the most amazing lyrics ever.
that seems highly unlikly

One other thing

2004-07-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

If anyone ever decides they want to buy me a dead, framed butterfly, I want it to be this one, the Morpho Sulkowski.

Just...you know...in case it ever comes up.

hurray

2004-07-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Are you a neoconservative? Take this quiz to find out.

Based on your answers, you are most likely an isolationist.

Ah, Summer

2004-07-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Life is good. Life is very good. I just finished making cookies, and I'm soon to go celebrate the fouth with my beloved family entities. There's no homework, there are no papers, just friends and books and my shiny new hammock.

I bought a hammock!

Well, nothing of any particular intrest has happened lately. I talked to Beth on the phone for a bit, and...well, nothing really. Work is the same as usual. No one has died. No, wait. This just in. Marlon Brando died!! Why don't people tell me these things!

Blog Quiz!: Why don't people tell me these things!

A. Because they don't know either.
B. Because they don't know I care.
C. Because they don't care.
D. Because they hate me.

Answer in the comments below!

So, besides a bfeif stint of Anti-Arabism the other day (an arab language periodical came in the other day with no english on it at all, took like 15 minutes to figure out what it was), nothing has ruffled my peace and calm. Which is delightful, but rather dull.

Anyway, Emily suggests I host a party at the Rock soon, and that sounds fun.

Farewell.

2004-06-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

this is a cool article

Olympic torch

2004-06-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Olympic torch guy just passed by. He's really old.

I got a flag. It says "I saw the flame"

This is the happiest day of my life.

Things

2004-06-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

I work in the Libraby, in the serial department, mostly opening mail, checking in and shelving periodicals. I learn things this way. In fact, now that Rory isn't here to watch the Daily Show, it's one of the only ways I learn things.

Like that Ray Charles died (Chicago defender). I did learn of Reagan's death from the TV, but only because it would have been physically impossible to have turned the TV on last week and not learned of Reagan's death.

I also know about the 14 year old boy who used the internet to arrange his own murder. (He was unsuccesful) (The Times of India, the Guardian)

And that the...editor?...of the Mirror was fired for printing fake Iraqi prison abuse pictures. (The Observer, the Spectator)

And that women in southeast asia (South Korea, I think) sometimes trade their own daughters for the daughters of another woman, and raises them as wives for her sons. The benefits of this scheme include not having to find wives and husbands for all her children, and that she can ensure the quality of her daughter-in-laws. (I forget what this was in)

And I know that the political party of one of the Ghandis won the recent Indian Election, but the Italian-born Sonia Ghandi declined the position of Prime Minister. (the Times of India, Outlook, India Today)

But I'm sure there are a lot of things that I don't learn this way, and I'm sure that at least a few of these things are of at least marginal importance.

Like I didn't know until 10 minutes ago that the olympic torch was coming through St. Louis tonight. Heck, I forgot that the Olympics where happening this summer.

Oh well. At least I know far, far more about Canadian politics than I ever dreamed of wanting to. (They have elections and everything! Liberals v. Conservatives. The Globe and Mail)

2004-06-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

http://app.infopia.com/Shop/Control//Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/206724/vpcsid/0

Indeed. I'm not entirely sure what beth means in that last comment, but never mind. I have to go to work, so this will be short.

Memorable things of the past few days:

Kaurvaki played with one of the toys.

The barbeque was fun.

It rained.

It was very hot.

Pavan escaped from the cage 5 minutes before I was supposed to leave for class.

What I did on my summer vacation

2004-06-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Nothing! Absolutly nothing! That's why I haven't updated. I've been drifting in a featureless void for the last few weeks.

Well, not really drifting. Walking and sitting. And it's not so much a "void" as it is "St. Louis." And really, featureless is sort of inaccurate too.

Beth isn't here. Rory isn't here. Emily and Darcey aren't here. Cecily and Andrew and Katy are here. But they were here before. Hmm.

I'm taking a summer course in Greek Mythology. The first test is today. I sould leave for class. It starts in ten minutes.

Bye

Ok, fine

2004-05-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so some people have also met my uncle Hoyt. I know you don't know aunt Doris, though. So there.

I have a cell phone now. Yep. The number is 314-898-7145.

That's about it. Fun fun.

Trivial Triumph, undeserved C

2004-05-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Beth has been subtley hinting that I should post an update, and my own conscience has been doing the same, so here I go.

I went to the Cathedral Trivia night last night with my father and other family (uncle, aunt, cousin). Also some other people. Who you don't know. Well, you don't know uncle Hoyt or aunt Doris, but if you've ever been to the Washu bookstore and the checkout guy had red hair and didn't look at you, but at the air up and to the left of your face, you have met my cousin Al.

Anyway, we won handily. I now have 2 ten dollar blockbuster gift cards and the homeless people of downtown St. Louis now are greatly enriched in Dots.

Also, I passed all my classes! Hurray! Huzzah! I don't know wht, but Professor Dymek gave me a C in Petrology. I didn't turn in any labs, and only turned in 4 of the eight homework assignments, but I still passed!

Professor Dymek is the coolest!

Um...let's see. Rory is unforgivably absent, Beth is delightfully here, I'm going to some kind of graduation party in a bit, and Kirsten is officially an Episcopalian.

Update complete!

Camping part 2

2004-05-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hurray! No rain, no cold, an acceptable amount of heat! The last camping trip of the semester has been sucessfully completed! Highlights of the trip can be read here, copied from Bryant's rather amusing, if a little depressing, blog:

(begin plagarism)

final field exercise camping highlights:

me (studying chinese) : aw man...i'm gonna fail this final
field methods professor : don't you mean you're going to fail that final too?

me : what's for dessert?
T.A. : corn...mmm...dessert corn

later...
me : cookie?
T.A. : ugh no, i already had 3 ears of dessert corn

*campfire burns nearby*
professor : hmm, i'm gonna throw in some charcoal *shakes bag*
me : the bag's still closed, you might want to...
*professor throws the bag into the fire walks away*
me : well...all right then

there were also an alarming number of mating animals like bugs, salamanders, and turtles all around

and how was your weekend?

(end plagarism)

Great stuff

I didn't see any mating animals, or turtles, but I did see a deer jawbone lying on a rock, and I saw the Lamotte sandstone and an unnamed granite, and some blue birds, and a black snake that was really long, and a russian family, and some other cool stuff.

So, 4 classes down, 1 to go.

I haven't failed anything yet, but there is still Petrology, which I have no real hope of getting above a D in. Hopefully I can beg and plead with professor Dymek. Otherwise, the grades are coming along nicely:
Earth Forces - B-
Greek and Latin Roots - A-
Immigrant Expirience - Pass (I took it pass fail)

Off I go.

No, wait, thank you to Clare for the C. S. Lewis books, and thank you to Rory for the picture of young Clint Eastwood. They're all great things.

Finished!

2004-05-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the final playlist. I may make another, because there were some wonderful suggestions in the last post that i didn't have in my collection.

1. Riding along in my Automobile - Chuck Berry
2. Long Line of Cars - Cake
3. Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
4. Hot Rod Lincon - Commander Cody
5. Last Kiss - The guy who isn't Pearl Jam (J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers)
6. 6 Days on the Road - Junior Brown
7. Hit the Road, Jack - Ray Charles
8. Highway Patrol - Junior Brown
9. 1,000 Miles - Ok Go
10. Satan is my Motor - Cake
11. Route 66 - Chuck Berry
12. Great Escape - Guster
13. Ticket to Ride - The Beatles
14. On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
15. Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel - Barenaked Ladies

Ah, the sweet joy of not working

2004-05-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm making a mix cd! About cars and driving. here it is so far:

Hot Rod Lincon - Commander Cody
1,000 Miles - Ok Go
Great Escape - Guster
Satan is my Motor - Cake
Long Line of Cars - Cake
The Distance - Cake
Last Kiss - The guy who isn't Pearl Jam
Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel - Barenaked Ladies

Please comment with any suggestions.

Camping

2004-05-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

Why is it so cold? Everything I said about Missouri's geology before is wrong. Southern Missouri is so cool. The whole place is hilly and half the rocks down there are like, purple. Well, some of them are brick red, but there are, like, giant maroon hills down there.

Also a lot of racoons and such. And rain. fortunatly, it didn't rain while we were out in the field. Just when we were sleeping or eating dinner. Another thing I learned is that Missouri is full of the the most lovely picnic spots. Especially this hill called Knob Lick. (Grade school teachers always made it sound like grown ups never made imature, sexual comments about stuff. Even the professors couldn't resist the allure of "Knob Lick." Grade school teachers are lying monsters.) It's such a nice place, though. Did you know that cactus grows nativly in Missouri? Bet you didn't.

Anyway. Stuff. I still have no idea what what happened here over the weekend, and I have to go study.

Bye bye.

2004-04-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian. The tremendous figure which fills the Gospels towers in this respect, as in every other, above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The Stoics, ancient and modern, were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed His tears; He showed them plainly on His open face at any daily sight, such as the far sight of His native city. Yet He concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He never restrained His anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the Temple and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of hell. Yet He restrained something. I say it with reverence; there was in that shattering personality a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that He hid from all men when He went up a mountain to pray. There was something that He covered by abrupt silence or impetuous isolation. There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth, and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.

Chesterton

Mini post

2004-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

My hand is currently the property of the Beth Indies Trading Co.

UPDATE!

2004-04-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Update! Update! Rory and Beth should shut up now! I have updated. Huzzah.

Indeed.

Nothing much happening. For a few breif moments this weekend, my feet looked like real feet, and not like...ellipsis...something not feet. I'll come up with a better simile later. Later than now. After this point in time.

In case anyone cares, it appeares that my upper wisdom teeth have never grown in. That, or I have forgetten a tooth extraction. Which seems unlikely. Given the nature of the beast. The beast that is tooth extraction.

Beast. That's a cool word.

Ok, that's enough.

No more.

For now.

Grr...

2004-04-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

albatross
bat
cat
deer
elephant
frog
goat
horse
iguana
jackle
kangaroo
llama
mouse
newt
owl
penguin
quetzl
rabbit
squirrel
tiger
umbrella bird
viper
walking stick
x-ray fish
yak
zebra

Here! This requires no thought on my part!

2004-04-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

9 c Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, 389

Wow, it requires no thought, but is also in no way interesting, probably due to the fact that the only books on hand are the book of common prayer, and Marx made Easy, or something.

Here, I'll make up my own

1) Pick up the nearest copy of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
2) Open it to the page number that is your birth date multiplied by your birth month, multiplied by 10 (ie, if you were born on April 7, open it to page 4x7x10=280. If there aren't enough pages, don't multilpy by ten.
3) Begin reading it aloud.
5) How far did you read before someone stopped you?
4) Post the first four words that someone says in response. Do not tell them what you are doing. If no one is in the room or house or apartment with you, and you don't feel like calling someone, just put down the last four words you said before stopping.
5) And also post these instructions.

2 pages, and a little more.
"What are you doing?!"

I don't update because I have practically nothing to say.

2004-04-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

I just got tired of babbling at Beth, so I decided to babble at you, dear reader. How's it going? I'm doing ok. I don't have to turn in a paper for a long time, which makes me deliriously happy with joy. The paper went ok, I guess. When I turned it in, it didn't have an abstract or a conclusion, and I didn't acctually proofread it. Ever. I'm sure it'll be fine though. Everything always is.

Hmm. I had a nice birthday. I got stuff. I saw my family. Easter was also nice, and could be described in the same words, minus the stuff. It was sunny, and full of love. And the catchphrase beeper doesn't carry very far upstairs, which is also nice.

I can't...think...I think...right now. I will perhaps update later. At some...later...date. Ellipsis.

Random List

2004-04-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

1) Cheese
2) Apricots
3) Adventure
4) Malaria
5) Jesus
6) Beth
7) Toroidal
8) Victimless Crime
9) Victory
10) Ulysses

Don't mind me, folks

2004-04-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

Why Does Italy Look Like a Boot?
The Formation of Italy and the Tyrrhenian Sea
Ryan C. Wallace
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

Introduction
The Mediterranean Sea is a very complex region, geologically speaking. It is a place where two huge continents, Africa and Europe, collide. In the midst of this rather epic meeting a debated number of smaller microplates are trapped, squeezed, subducted or otherwise abused. This complexity of plates and forces gives the area many interesting geologic features. Some of the most interesting of these features are the deep ocean basins in the western Mediterranean, and one of the more interesting among these is the Tyrrhenian basin, or, to be very specific, the two basins that make up the Tyrrhenian, the Vavilov and Marsili basins (Rosenbaum and Lister, 2004). Part of the same process that made the Tyrrhenian Basin is thought to have torn Corsica and Sardinia away from southern France and rotated them to a position almost orthogonal to their original orientation (Rosenbaum et al., 2002).
This paper will deal with
An Introduction to the Area
The major plates interacting in the Western Mediterranean system are the African and European plates, and the Adria, Tyrrhenian and Ionian microplates, which are arranged approximately as shown in Figure (Gvirtzman and Nur, 2001). Europe and Africa are moving towards each other in a basically north-south direction at a rate of a few millimeters per year (Faccenna et al., 2001). The microplates are twisted and deformed between them at various rates. The Ionian plate, which is made up primarily of oceanic crust, is currently subducting in a northwesterly sort of way under the Tyrrhenian plate, and the Tyrrhenian plate is moving into the Adria plate.
The Adria microplate underlies the Adriatic Sea and the eastern side of the Italian peninsula. The west side of Italy and the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia are on the Tyrrhenian plate, though the border between the two is not very clear. In many places the Tyrrhenian plate itself is on top of the Adria plate, which makes drawing a definite line difficult (Rosenbaum and Lister, 2004).
The Adria plate is almost if not all continental crust, and Tyrrhenian plate is continental in all but its basins. The bottoms of the Tyrrhenian and Liguro-Provençal basins (the Liguro-Provençal is a large basin to the west of Sardinia, which was formed by the same process as the Tyrrhenian, but is outside the scope of this paper) are formed from oceanic type crust (Faccenna et al. 2001). The European and African plates are, of course, a delightful combination of ocean and continent, but most of the oceanic crust material has been subducted away in the Mediterranean (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986).
The geologic aspects of the Italian peninsula that are important to know for this paper are the various islands and pieces around and attached to southern Italy and the Apennines. In Figure (Rosenbaum), Sardinia and Corsica are the two islands on the far left side. Corsica in the north, and Sardinia is just south of it. Sicily is the roughly triangular island in the southernmost part of the map, just at the toe of the Italian “boot.” The toe itself is Calabria. The Apennines are a chain of mountains that run along the central length of Italy. They were formed when the Tyrrhenian microplate was thrust on top of the Adria. Finally, not shown in the figure, are the Aeolian Islands. These volcanic islands are in the Southern Tyrrhenian, and were they on the map, they would form a rough semi-circle around the south-southeast end of the Marsili Basin (Selli, 1981)
Early Mediterranean Evolution
Although the tectonic processes that formed the Tyrrhenian basin and shaped the Italian peninsula have occurred in the last 30 million years, it is important to have an understanding of what the Mediterranean area was like before then, and how it got that way. A complete history should probably involve details of Pangea and the Tethys Ocean, but that would be beyond the scope of this paper. To sum the important part of that up, around 250 Ma, the European plate was attached to the North American plate, and the North American plate was attached to the African plate, and they all stayed pretty stationary relative to each other (Figure ,). In the wedge between them was the Tethys Ocean. In the Jurassic age, rifting began between North America and Africa, and Africa and Europe started their long march towards each other. They continued rotating towards each other at the rate of a few millimeters per year, slowly closing up the Tethys, as shown in Figure (Schettino and Scotese, 2002, Faccenna et al., 2001).
Finally, around 70-80 Ma, something vaguely interesting happened. The oceanic lithosphere of the Tethys began subducting off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Southern France). Subduction was very slow, at an average speed of 0.8cm/yr for the first several million years (Faccenna et al., 2001). A main factor in this was that the trench ran approximately parallel to the direction of Africa’s motion, so there was little force pushing the subducting plate into the trench (Faccenna et al., 2001). This subduction continued slowly and uneventfully until around 30 Ma, when subduction sped up and all the interesting things explained in the later sections began to happen (Faccenna et al., 2001; Rosenbaum et al., 2002).
The Tyrrhenian Sea
Past Models
There has been quite an evolution of thought over the past 40 years as to the formation of the Tyrrhenian basin. The first models, generally from the 1960s to the 1980s, focused on two primary hypotheses: the sea is the result of uplift and collapse, or a back arc basin (Selli, 1981; Malinverno and Ryan, 1986).
The first group emphasized vertical motion as the prime factor in the formation. They proposed that the current lowest areas of the basin had been lifted up during the Miocene by a hot magmatic uprising, and that the sedimentary layers that had covered them slid off to the sides. The exposed crust was then dramatically thinned by erosion, and eventually the hot area beneath cooled and the crust settled back down, only was now much lower and thinner than before (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986).
This theory has two major problems, however. One is that there is nowhere near enough sediment around the current basin to account for the amount that would have to be stripped off to thin the crust as dramatically as in the Tyrrhenian (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986). The other is that if the basin were a remnant of a Miocene uplift of the crust, then it would need to have been subsiding at about 2 mm/yr. Unfortunately, that rate is nearly ten times faster than could be expected from cooling of the lithosphere (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986).
The second theory is that the Tyrrhenian Sea is the back-arc basin part of a trench-arc-back arc system. This has been the most accepted theory since the discovery of plate tectonics. The trench part of the system in this theory is the trench off the southern coasts of Calabria (the toe of Italy’s “boot”) and Sicily, as seen in the present day part of Figure , where the crust under the Ionian is being subducted under the Tyrrhenian plate. The arc part is the Aeolian Arc, a string of volcanic islands and seamounts off the northern coasts of Calabria and Sicily (Selli, 1981).
The process of back-arc basin formation will be discussed in the next section of this paper, as in 1986, Malinverno and Ryan published their paper “Extension in the Tyrrhenian Sea and shortening in the Apennines as result of arc migration driven by sinking of the lithosphere.” The hypothesis they advanced provided a variation on the back-arc basin model that continues to remain the most widely accepted theory today.
The Current Model
In the most recent models, the Mediterranean basins formed when the subduction in the trench that formed off the coast of Iberia increased its speed rather dramatically, from 0.8 cm/yr to up to 6 cm/yr (Faccenna et al., 2001). This increase was due to the beginning of slab rollback.
A Brief Explanation of Slab Rollback
When two plates come together and one begins subducting under the other, one of three very general things may happen. If the plates are moving relative to each other at a speed such that the trench does not move relative to the overriding plate, there is no tension or compression in the system, and the arc is neutral. If the trench tends to want to move towards the overriding plate, the overriding plate is compressed, and if the trench moves away from the overriding plate, the back-arc extension takes place (See Figure ) (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986). The back-arc extension case is the one that operates in the Mediterranean. Basically, the subducting plate moves down faster than it can move forward, and the overriding plate is pulled forward, and extensional features, like basins, can form (Malinverno and Ryan, 1986).
Back to the Model
So, about 30 Ma, the previously slow subducting ocean crust suddenly sped up. The slab began accelerating in part because it had, by slow subduction, gotten enough crust down the trench to begin pulling it down more quickly (Faccenna et al., 2001). Part of the reason that the slab was able to eventually reach the subduction speeds that it did is that it was fairly old, from the Miocene, and so therefore very cold and dense. This coldness and density of the plate give it negative buoyancy, so it is inclined to sink into the mantle (Gvirtzman and Nur, 2001).
When the crust is pulled by the moving

The second stage of subduction, which lasted from 30 Ma to 15 Ma, opened up the Liguro-Provençal basin. It also pulled Corsica, Sardinia, and Around 15

Speaking of star trek...

2004-04-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

One last entry, then I'll write that page, I swear.

There are a lot of things in this world that I enjoy, but I feel like I shouldn't because it's beneath me. Mostly it's the part of me that wants to be cool that objects. Or really, it's more the part of me that thinks I am cool, and some things just aren't befiting of someone of my dignity and position. I hate that part of me. So in the intrests of thwarting my self-conceit and pride, here are things.

Star Trek. I like star trek in practically all it's forms. All except it's movie forms, anyway.

Shojo manga. I'm not as secretive about this, because very few of the people I know know what this is. If people knew the ridiculous, melodramatic, romantic plots of things like Celestial Lover Ceres and Alice 19th, I would be much less open about their consumption, and part of the careful image that I try to project would crumble. These things are not very far removed from romance novels. At all.

Cop shows. Not like law and order, more like the forensic shows with the dramatic re-enactments.

Geology. I try to hide it (I'm sure very poorly) but I really do think rocks are so cool. So is going out into a cave and standing in the dark and drawing stuff, and stopping by the side of the highway and looking at rocks. I think limestone stratigraphy is interesting. I think crystal symmetry is the coolest thing ever. I really do. I say basalt tetrahedron are boring, but they aren't. They're fascianting. I'm such a terrible underachiever.

The Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. Wow, they're like romance novels, detective novels and vampire novels all rolled into one. Plus, they're set in St. Louis. They're just the greatest.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be sure to add more things when I think my ego can handle it.

Such a dork

2004-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Spike TV is showing Star Trek: DS9 now, and that makes me indescribably happy. It isn't a good show, exactly. Not the hight of artistry or story telling generaly. But it's a great show. I used to watch Sports Night, which was basically the West Wing, only funny and about a TV station instead of the white house. That was a good show. Well written, insightful, funny, despite its decidedly left-leaning worldview.

Couldn't hold a candle to DS9. At least in my heart.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. I'm now going to comence writing a paper about back-arc extension and slab-pull. I promise not to go to bed until 1 page of useful text is done.

Also, the new pants are on their way.

note to self

2004-04-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.virtualexplorer.com.au/2002R/Rosenbaum/Mantovani/mantovani.pdf

Learning from my mistakes is not a strong point of mine

2004-04-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Last year, a little later than this time, I was taking a class called Earth Forces. That class had a paper due at the end of the semester, worth about 15%-25% of the grade. I forget which, I think near the higher end of that spectrum. And I just didn't do the paper. I tried to do it, but forces well inside of my control made it impossible for me to finish it.

So here I am, 1 year later, in the same class, and I have to write that same paper. And it's due on Wednesday (my birthday!). I have books to write the paper from, but I haven't actually read them, or anything. So sometime in the next few days, I have to write an 8-10 page paper about the plate tectonics of Italy.

Yeah, I failed a class because I couldn't write an 8-10 page paper. I know people who have to write those all the time. I know people who practically write those in their sleep. My only defense is that writing papers seems to be much more painful for me than for other people. Last time I had to write a paper, it took like 5 days. And at least 2 of those days were almost unbroken periods of sitting in the living room, wearing Rory's hat, the big pants and the moon monster shirt and writing about interference colors and Anorthite lamelae.

Ah, well, off to read about whatever crazy crap formed the Italian Peninsula.

But first, a treat for those who dislike me. Last Monday, while I was out on the side of a highway measuring th e strikes and dips of the limestone bedding planes on either side of the House Springs Anticline, it started raining. I hate being in the rain and doing things. It just upsets me. Next time it rains, I'll write about how terrible the rain is, but it isn't raining now, so I'm feeling magnanimus. Where was I? Ah yes, the Anticline. Measuring strikes and dips on natural surfaces is hard enough at the best of times, especially when you're 5'4" and all the good exposed surfaces are about 5 feet off the ground. But in the rain, it becomes more awful than any other geology related thing in the world. You can't read the compass because it has water on it. You have to be careful not to get your map wet because it'll smear. When you write down the numbers, your pencil either won't just write on the damp paper, or it won't write but it will tear holes in it.

That's all. Keep an eye...um...ear out for Mindy Smith singing the songs "One Moment More" and "Jolene." She's so cool.

Note to self

2004-03-31T21:52:00.000-08:00

This entry is of not intended to interest anyone but myself. It is here only as a reminder to myself. You do not have to read it, in fact, I would advise against reading it. If you do, and are bored, too bad. You were warned.

March:
Big O Vol 6
Psychic Academy Vol 1

April:
X Inu Yasha Vol 17
Alice 19th Vol 4
X Hellsing Vol 2

May:
Yu Yu Hakusho Vol 4
Demon Diary Vol 7
Vampire Game Vol 6
Psychic Academy Vol 2
Hellsing Vol 3
Trigun Maximum Vol 1

June:
Alice 19th Vol 5
Inu Yasha Vol 18

July:
Vampire Game Vol 7

September:
Vampire Game Vol 8

I don't really have anything to say, I just thought I should update

2004-03-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

Not much happening right now. Well, I'm not doing anything. A lot of things seem to be happening. There's a budget meeting going on in the other room, Kristian is installing the new code box, and Chaz and Hopie are repectivly playing and singing 90's hits with more enthusiasm that anything else, including knowledge of lyrics and chords. They're doing pretty good, though. Banji is doing something, possibly writing the SALT agenda.

I bought the pants. That's something, anyway.

I miss Laurie's chair. When I first moved into the house, a lot of Laurie's furniture was still in the room, which was nice, because I didn't have to sleep on the floor. One of the peices of furniture was a nice easy-chair sort of thing, which was soft, and covered in blue velvety stuff. It was very nice, especially it was much nicer than the half broken office chair that currently serves as the only non-bed seat in the room. But then she thoughtlessly moved her furniture into her apartment. Ah well. All life is suffering.

Wait, no it isn't. Never mind.

Hmm. Also, Josh Turner is cool, and so is Mindy Smith. And Dolly Parton.

Another Post! Decide a tiny piece of Ryan's life!

2004-03-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Power to the people everyone! Choose my future! Rock the Vote!

Should I buy these pants?

Post votes in the comments section.

Combatting hypocrisy

2004-03-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

So I was wandering along the internet, looking for things to do, and suddenly I thought "hey, I'll look at people's blogs." And so I looked at people's blogs, because it was a good idea, or at any rate, not a bad idea. I do have bad ideas sometimes. Like being an engineering student for 2 years, and not writing a research paper last year for a class. Anyway, I was looking at blogs and I was like "jeez people, update a little more often." I was filled with rightous ire at those who had not posted blog entries since I checked blogs at ten this morning.

And then I realized that I had not updated my blog since yesterday. How dare I complain about people's lack of posting, when I myself was equally un-up-to-the-minute. I cried with shame, and vowed to write an entry posthaste. Then I went to the edit your blog page, and realized I had extremely little to say. Then, without remedying that situation, I started typing, and looked up "posthaste" at dictionary.com to make sure it meant what I thought it meant (it did), and you know the rest.

The rest is pathetic.

Missouri is so boring

2004-03-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

Friday I went out with my field methods class, and we studied the stratigraphy of St. Louis. Basically, that means we drove along the highway and stopped at those places where you can see rock. I don't know if you look at those a lot, but next time you're out driving and see one, think about what it would be like to be standing by those rocks in a pouring drizzle, looking at them. Just think about it. Looking at highway outcrop after highway outcrop of flatlying limestone, dolomite (like limestone, only not), and sandstone. The most interesting outcrop wasn't even on a wall, it formed the bottom of a dranage ditch that went along the side of the highway. That means that we literally went and looked at rocks in a gutter.

Good times.

In other news, one of the kitties at home, Annie, is blind in one eye. The lens has fallen forward. I don't know what that means, but it sounds gross, but it doesn't look like she's in any pain. Poor kitty, though.

Testing sucks, Ok Go and G. K. Chesterton rock, aka, Ryan introduces you all to the finer things in life

2004-03-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

I knew more than half of the IDs on the Immegrant Expirience exam. So that's good. I don't think I'll need to take the final for that class. Though I may very well go to my grave wondering what the heck "street money" is. But that's a small price to pay to be able to not take the two 4-6 page essays about something more boring than words can express take home test.

So that's all ok.

On the other hand, I have no idea how well I did on the Petrology exam. I may have gotten an 80. I may have gotten a 40. I just really have no idea. So I'm going to stop thinking about it until it comes back. If you really want more about it, check out the List.

The rest of this entry will be mostly written by people much more talented than myself. Which should be good.

On to things that rock. Things that aren't rocks. Ok Go is super cool, and if you have some sort of illeagal music thing, you should download their album. I especially recomend "Hello, My Treacherous Friends", lyrics below. This song is every bit as cool as the lyrics suggest.

Sitting for lunch in a square in this town
(this town that I'm new to),
new fellow from my new town sat me down
and explained it to me:
how when I spin from him I spin from myself,
the center can double the speed of the crust.
Thank you, my treacherous friends.
I'm cringing for myself when I cringe for you.

Hello, my treacherous friends,
and thank you for joining me here tonight.
I brought you all here to discuss, as I must,
how grateful I am for your insights.

With regard to my newborn arachnid kids,
there's something we must discuss:
perhaps we should sit them down and explain
how not to be saved.
Perhaps you could help me to demonstrate
how your center can keep up its sickening spin.
Thank you, my treacherous friends.
Perhaps for my children your surface will smile.

Hello, my treacherous friends,
and thank you for joining me here tonight.
I brought you all here to discuss, as I must,
the fate of my children, the spiders.

Hello, my treacherous friends,
and thank you for joining me here tonight.
I brought you all here to discuss, as I must,
how pleasant has been this demise

Isn't that great?

Next, this poem by G. K. Chesterton.

The Sword of Surprise

Sunder me from my bones, O sword of God
Till they stand stark and strange as do the trees;
That I whose heart goes up with the soaring woods
May marvel as much at these.

Sunder me from my blood that in the dark
I hear that red ancestral river run
Like branching buried floods that find the sea
But never see the sun.

Give me miraculous eyes to see my eyes
Those rolling mirrors made alive in me
Terrible crystals more incredible
Than all the things they see

Sunder me from my soul, that I may see
The sins like streaming wounds, the life's brave beat
Till I shall save myself as I would save
A stranger in the street.

That's it. You can go home now.

Entertaining the masses one pointless entry at a time

2004-03-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well, first things first, the eleanorquantifier, cutelittletotoro, list of terror network just reached an imposing 100 visits. Woo hoo. Second, I'm 5 foot 4. Rory is about 5 foot 8, and Beth is a bit less than 5 foot 0. I'm am the average height for american women who spend too much time at the Rockwell House.

I'm also the hieght of the average american woman.

Cool coincidence, eh?

No, not really.

Emily sure throws a mean St. Patrick's day party

2004-03-20T22:20:00.000-08:00

And by mean, I mean good, not, you know, cruel and bad spirited. It wasn't like that at all. There were games, and fun people, and refreshments. Indeed, a good time was had by all. And I saw three of the absolutly creepy/hilarious comercials in the world. They were on the internet, and I'll find them and show them to you later. Emily's cool roommate Crystal showed them to us.

I did some homework today. I never did figure out those norm calculations, though. I guess I'll just try again tomorrow.

Fame, Part 2!

2004-03-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! My climb to world-wide fame has advanced another step! The wonderful Miss Melanie has put me one her list of people she wants to see again at least once before she graduates! Apparently I'm a hilarious Episcopal conservative.

Hurray!

I guess this means I should go to a CLA meeting sometime soon. I haven't been in months.

Oh well. Back to work. If anyone knows how to do CIPW norm calculations, let me know.

P.S. If you haven't noticed by now, the way to my heart is attention and compliments. Arrange your actions accordingly.

Killing time with stuff.

2004-03-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

Emily's St. Patrick's day party is today. Today, or course, being the Feast of St. Joseph. So, we have little to do untill 9. Which is soon. But not now. Now is now. 9 o'clock is later than now.

Beth has pretty, soothing music. And she's cleaning. She seems to enjoy it.

Now she's put a video on my head.

This is the best.

I've updated my blog, which fullfilles my obligations to those of you who read my blog.

Especially since I don't think I have any actual obligations to you all to fulfill beyond those demanded by our common humanity.

Oh, and the new Witness is out. And it looks super good. It looks better than Stud Life.

Ah well. Good night.

2004-03-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Darcey is cool!

First fame, fortune can't be far behind.

2004-03-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

Mike talked about my blog! He gave it glowing praise! He's the best! If he weren't already on the top of my blog links list, he would be moved there. Maybe I can arrange something else. Like little "*"s by his name, or something. We'll see.

Beth, Rory, Kirsten and Cecily are also cool, becasue they left comments. Rory is somewhat less cool. But still cool.

I added the List for all to see. Leave comments on the List site if you wish to either protest your own or someone else's inclusion on the List, or to nominate someone for List-hood.

That is all.

Oh crap, I wasn't joking

2004-03-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

After a quick check through my webstac account, I just discovered that what I thought was self-depreciating hyperbole was, in fact, almost entirely true. Read and marvel:

Fall 2000:
D+ - Accelerated Calculus I
Spring 2001:
F - Architectural History II: Architecture Since 1880
Fall 2001:
F - Differential Equations
Spring 2002:
D - Differential Equations
D - Engineering Mathematics
Fall 2002:
Withdrew from Present Moral Problems halfway through the semester.
Spring 2003:
D+ - Earth Forces
Fall 2003:
Lowest Grade was a C+, in Introduction to Geochemistry. Which is a great improvement, and the only reason for that "almost," above.

Oh, such a terrible student.

I'm such a terrible student

2004-03-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

Of the things listed on the last post's to do list, I accomplished the following:

- I breathlessly awaited the coming of Rory and Beth

Oh yeah. Watch me suck. Maybe I should start calling this blog "ryan fails to satisfactoraly complete 1 class every semester." It certainly would be the most accurate summation of my college career to date. Exept for last semester. Where my lowest grade was a C+. Which the EPSc department considers passing.

Ah well. School isn't everything.

Stereonets are fun.

Blog Entry Title

2004-03-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

Ahhh. Such a lazy day. I just feel like lying here, not doing anything. Not doing anything is nice. I wish I could do it for a bit more of the day. But no, that cannot be. On the to do list for today:

- At least two of the four homework assignments I haven't done for Petrology. (Such a terrible student.)
- The homework for Earth Forces, which is either a problem set, or figuring out what my research paper is about and writing a paragraph-long description of it.
- Breathlessly await return of Beth and Rory.
- Begin memorizing the Greek alphabet.
- Change the newspaper in the birdcage.

That shouldn't be too bad, should it Or wait, maybe it will. I seem to remember that I didn't do those homework sets in the first place because they looked like they would take 3-4 hours to complete. Maybe I should take that Greek alphabet thing off.

Well, to cheer myself up, I'll list all the nice things that I did this week instead of the terrible school work I should have done:

- Obtained long awaited copy of Vampire Game Vol. 5 last Saturday
- Had a lovely dinner with Amy last Sunday
- Slept till 11 for the past few days.
- Had dinner with the lovely Miss Cecily on Friday
- Started silly blog.

Ah well, off to do the things I have to do.

Note to Self

2004-03-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

Advising appointment at 9:00 Wednesday morning.

This thing is so cool

2004-03-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

l love the belief-o-matic. It's so fun. I took it once pretending to be a chair. Chairs are siekhs. Rory, Beth and I took it for a Christmas tree. I forget what they are. I think Hindus.

Your Results:
The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.

Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

1. Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2. Roman Catholic (100%)
3. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (95%)
4. Seventh Day Adventist (86%)
5. Orthodox Quaker (84%)
6. Orthodox Judaism (71%)
7. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (69%)
8. Islam (65%)
9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%)
10. Jehovah's Witness (58%)
11. Hinduism (57%)
12. Sikhism (49%)
13. Bahá'í Faith (45%)
14. Liberal Quakers (40%)
15. Reform Judaism (39%)
16. Jainism (35%)
17. Unitarian Universalism (29%)
18. Mahayana Buddhism (28%)
19. Theravada Buddhism (27%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (25%)
21. Neo-Pagan (20%)
22. Scientology (20%)
23. Nontheist (18%)
24. New Thought (16%)
25. New Age (13%)
26. Secular Humanism (11%)
27. Taoism (9%)

New Color Scheme!

2004-03-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

And today's theme is BLUE! I just got very bored while watching tv, so I decided to play around with forces beyond my understanding, namely, the html code of this page. I have spent the last hour on this labor of love, and I'm quite pleased with the results. Really. I don't think it's the least overpoweringly blue. For the most part, I don't think it's too much because it's exactly the same color scheme as my computer desktop.

Which I thought was a bit much at first, but have gotten quite used to. If you don't like it, too bad. No one made you come here. Though if you leave a cogent enough argument in the comments section, I might change it. Or I might put you on the List.

On a totally unrelated note, Mike is the coolest ever. He has the illustrious distinction of being the first person who wasn't me or me pretending not to be me to leave a comment. And it was two comments! And I was right! Hurray! As soon as I remember how to put a links section in, I'll link to his lovely, much more serious and verbose, blog.

And finally, I'm not sure how many people know what the three person rule mentioned in yesterday's post is. Basically, it says that if three different people tell you something, then it has to be true. I have been trying to convince Beth of its validity for a while, because apparently it is my mission in life to convince Beth of the truth of things that are obviously untrue.

On another totally unrelated note, next time you see Beth, tell her that if three people tell her something, it has to be true.

Making up for lost time

2004-03-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share this with you, my loving fans. Or at least with my eternal friend, cold, empty internet-land. These articles came out in the time before I had this lovely blog, so I was unable to show them off. These are the two most memorable things I have read in Stud Life ever (aside from the April Fools Day issue last year). Behold their majesty:

"Free Market"
This has got to be the most terrible, god-awful, idiotic article to ever besmirch the pages of our...um..."fine" student newspaper. This is even worse than a lot of the stuff in Southpaw. And surprise surprise, it was written by Shawn Redden. I think I'll just let you read it for yourself. But first, this excerpt:

"The idea that we have a 'free market' is nonsense. The apocryphal idea of its reality is doubtless the most dangerous illusion our society confronts, since it may lead the entire species to self-destruction.

Thanks to the 'free market,' we live in a Hobbesian world of war against ourselves, treating fellow citizens as enemies and competitors. "

"Gay Marrige Unconstitutional"

In contrast is this fine article, which not only expresses and argues for the position on gay marrige that I and a lot of people very different from me hold, but it is also written by none other than Roman Goldstien. I think that if Roman, Mike, Kevin Vallier and I all hold such similar (mind you, this may not be exactly Mike's position, but it sounds very much like what he has said in the past), that this situation is an excellent example of the the three person rule.

Also, catching up, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the concealed carry bill was constitutional. While I run the risk of alienating a good 75% of my friends and family by saying this, I am very happy about this.

That's all for now, boys and girls.

One Last Thing

2004-03-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

Kevin sent me this article from the Wall Street Journal. Someone seriously should make the Episcopal Church go sit in the corner and think about what it's done.

Deep thoughts

2004-03-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

There is a special place reserved in Hell, or at least Purgatory, for those who correct the grammer and pronunciation of others without their consent.

I know I'll be there. And I'll deserve it, especially after reading the rest of these things.

I lack a Dantean genius, so all I can think of as a fitting punishment is a devil poking you (and by you, I mean me) with sharp sticks while shouting "NOOK-U-LAR!" and "I DID REALLY GOOD ON THIS TEST." But that seems to lack something. Something ironic. Maybe they'll make you talk a lot, and incessantly point things out in your speech, perhaps things that aren't even wrong.

Oh, it'll be great.

Epic First Post!

2004-03-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

Yee-Haw! I have blog that is more than an inane and self-centered collection of away messages! This will be an equally inane, even more self-centered collection of poorly constructed sentences!

Rory will be so pleased!

And by pleased, I mean dissapointed!