Friday, September 24, 2004

strike two

dr jo is evil.

the concepts in vectors are pretty easy, it's all definitions and multiplying and dividing and dividing and taking square roots and derivatives. at least i think it's easy... there are some people in the class that have trouble thinking 3-dimentionally. so imagine how hard it is for them when the components we have to work with on the homework aren't easy things like exponentials, sines, and cosines, but things like log ( sec (t) ) or t*arctant. that's mean. really mean.

and what is the point of that? i think if we can figure it out with easy components we understand the material. this is stuff that the teachers in calc3 and diffeqs would never give us because it's too bloody time-consuming and you never see it in the real world anyway! and when the whole class begged for an extention today, jo was all bugged and gave us a lecture about how we aren't being responsible about homework and we're not spending enough time working on it.

whatever. i spent more that five hours on the homework last night and i wasn't even halfway done. true, five or even ten hours would be a short amount of time in any other class i'm taking, but this is vectors. it's really frustrating when i completely understand the concept and i'm still up all night doing algebra.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

bigger, better, more complex brainwaves!

Devil64: i just thought of something... what if jon's obvious metal superiority is just a purposeful distraction from his actual mutant powers?
webguru: oh my goodness, that's it!
Devil64: he's just like that to really put us off his scent, so we won't try to figure out what he can actually do. it's the perfect disguise.
webguru: I think you might be onto something.

Thursday, September 16, 2004

brainwaves

Devil64: it's so weird, josh and i are on exactly the same study schedule. last night we were both so brain dead... and when one of us is motovated, the other is too
webguru: funny! maybe you guys emit some sort of pheremone that makes you on the same schedule, like the whole girls period thing
Devil64: that's a disturbing thought
webguru: isn't it though?
Devil64: it may be true though
webguru: it could be
webguru: Jake and Scott and I seem to be that way
Devil64: so how does this work? if i hang around you, we'll start matching each other?
Devil64: because kat's not on this schedule, and she was there last night
webguru: I don't know
webguru: we don't have the same classes, just one class in common, so the phereomone isn't that strong
Devil64: hmmm
Devil64: and i'm in four classes with josh... and two with kat, so maybe that's something
Devil64: but that doesn't explain jon. he's in the same four as josh and i
webguru: well he's just sort of super human
webguru: his powerful brain can resist the phereomones
Devil64: that must be his mutant power!
webguru: it must be!
Devil64: today we RUSHED like you wouldn't believe to finish our thermo homework, and when the rest of us were sitting around recovering, jon pulled out his dynamics homework for NEXT week and started working on it
webguru: oh my goodness, that's sick
Devil64: and i said, "jon, don't you ever get fried?"
Devil64: and he laughed
webguru: oh my goodness!
Devil64: i know
webguru: he needs some mental help before he cracks
Devil64: he said he does get worn out, but i think he said that so i wouldn't find out about his mutant power
webguru: i knew it, he's covering!
Devil64: i wonder what his weakness is
webguru: "B"s?
Devil64: he said he's only had one "A-" since he's been here
Devil64: ....though in reality, it's probably been a lot longer than that
webguru: holy freaking cow that is sickening

i know you guys may be sick of hearing about it, but i really can't get enough of yes lately. i'm always listening to their music, and i'm probably driving jessica insane by playing "long-distance runnaround" and "i've seena ll good people" over and over again, but those are totally my songs of this month. last month music was just about anything from the de-lovely soundtrack. the month before that i think was los lonley boys, but the point is, YES ROCKS!

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

GRRRR!!!

last wednesday i took a vectors test, and i was really excited because i thought i had kicked butt, i felt really good about all of my answers, i thought maybe i got them all right, i knew i for sure got a better score than adam, and look at my big ol' sentance! that's how mad i am!

jo took forever to get the tests back to us. a week. that's too long. our class isn't that big. see, now i'm making all these little dumb sentances! that's how mad i am! GRRRR!

i finally got my test back, and it's an 88. i made two really trivial mistakes and lost four points, and then made the smallest mistake on another one and lost eight points. eight out of eight! no partial credit! would you like to know what i did? i used cosine instead of sine. that's all! that's a very understandable mistake! and now it's plus zero for me!

i went and argued with him about it, and no good. he pretty much told me, "yeah, you blew it! but you're above average, so suck it up." GGRRRR!!!

yes, i was a lot above average, which was a 70, and i was also quite a bit above adam, who got a 79. i don't think he's used to me being better at something than he is. true, he's usually the brain. i'm glad i get to pay him back for all the help he gave me in physics. yay for friends.

GRRRRR!!! for dr. jo! i'm totally going to rip him on the class evaluations in december.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004


here's a picture i took on campus a few weeks ago. what do you think about it?

yes indeed

last night i had SO much fun! i went to the sandia casino with mike to see a concert. not just any concert, my friends, oh no... we went to see yes.

yes, yes, yes!

this is probably my favorite band, except for the beatles, but really, who could beat the beatles? anyway, they were awesome! the venue was beautiful and the sun was setting and the sound was crisp... i loved it. our seats were great, but there really aren't bad seats in the place. when the show got going i went down to the front and stood on the lawn in front of the stage and just stared up at the band. it was so cool.

it was also really nice to go to a concert and not have to get sick of the people that just go to be seen or to act snobby or to crowd surf. the fans were all happy and friendly and there to enjoy the music. it was very refreshing. it was also different from other concerts i've gone to in that most of the crowd was over forty, since yes was popular in the 70's and 80's. that was nice too. when the show was over, it was middle-aged women, not teenage boys, that were standing next to me chanting "encore!"

that's another thing. these guys are old. this was their 35th anniversary tour. at one point, jon anderson introduced a song as one they had written in 1957. yikes. but it didn't affect their show by any means, they rocked. the band was awesome. steve howe is the most talented person i think i've ever seen. his acoustic solo was probably the highlight of the show, except of course the performance of "owner of a loney heart." that's not my favorite yes song, but it's high on my list and my favorite that they played last night. the band honestly seemed like they were having lots of fun, and the crowd was very appriciative of them. jon anderson started talking about the beauty of new mexico and how they can't really pin down what it is that makes up the american spirit. the band came back for one encore, a cover of an old beatles song. it was a great ending.

right now i'm wearing a black hat that says "yes" on the front and "35" on the back. rock and roll.

Sunday, September 12, 2004

five movie reveiws (reviews?)

i watched five movies this weekend, all that i hadn't seen before. if you haven't seen them either, no worries, i won't give away the ending. i really hate it when people do that.

The Butterfly Effect- this movie completely blew me away. it was by far the best one i saw this weekend. i should metion right now that i saw the director's cut, which i'm told has a totally different ending from the theatre version. some nudity, too. but the plotline was so awesome, i don't know how people come up with brilliant stuff like that.
the movie starts out with a flash-forward to the end, with ashton krutcher's character, evan, running through a building and hiding from people. he writes a note about trying to save a mysterious "her". it then goes back to his childhood, when he's seven and when he's thirteen, and begins the story. little evan seems to have a problem- he blacks out events in his childhood and can't remember what happened while he was out, even though others don't notice a difference in his behavior. his mom gets concerned about him, thinking that he had inheirited a mysterious "father's illness", and makes him start keeping journals and writing everything down so he can remember it better.
after a messed-up childhood, evan discovers that he can revisit events in his past by reading about them in his journal, and can even change what happened. of course by changing the past he changes the future, and he gets stuck going back and forth between his childhood and the alternate presents he creates, trying to find the perfect future for everyone he loves. you see the problem here i think.
like i said, the plotline was great, maybe just a little disturbing. i was very impressed with the versitility of the actors. one that went to particular extremes was william lee scott, who played adult tommy.
one thing that did bug me about this film was that the directors made it seem like a horror movie at first. the first half hour or so makes you think that little even is very psychotic, sadistic, murderous, etc, but that's really not how it is at all. there were definitely some not-so-pleasant scenes, but this was in no way a slasher movie, contrary to the initial vibes.
the butterfly effect is definitely a thinker. it's got some nudity and a lot of language and a lot of violence, even among the seven and thirteen-year-old characters. it's disturbing... but you have to see it!

Maid in Manhattan- i was a little bit prepared for this one... alicia of course told me how it ended several months ago, so there was no surprize. i really hate when she does that. but i guess it didn't ruin much since it says "cinderella story" on the tagline.
anyway, this movie was very enjoyable. i think jennifer lopez is extremely beautiful, especially when she's not in one of her music videos. there are a lot of great dresses in this film. the kid that played the son was great! he was funny and believable and really cute! he reminded me of my little brother. he was my favorite, along with the make-shift fairy-godmother, who was really the heroine's troublemaker co-worker.
the "prince charming" character didn't impress me too much. he wasn't very likeable or dreamy, in my opinion, and i didn't understand why she fell for him. it was because he liked her kid i guess. okay. it's true, girls are suckers for guys that like kids. guys, take note of this but don't abuse it.
all in all, this movie was interesting as movies go, but it wasn't very believable in the plotline. it was very predictable, not just because i knew the ending or because the end of cinderella is common knowledge anyway, but because there was no suspence. a nice little chick flick, but nothing special.

The Prince and Me- (a.k.a. cinderella story # 2) i liked this one better than maid in manhatten, but i still didn't get it. what's so great about the guy? it's frusterating.
this is the story of edward, the spoiled, perverted, lazy prince of denmark and the hardworking, movated, focused, sensible, independant, wisconsin college girl, paige. and that's just it! there was no kid to speed up the process in this story. i can't understand it when these goal-oriented intelligent women fall for these total guys. no offence guys, but really, what is the deal? that's why i never really liked the music man. the songs are great, to be sure, but the sensible librarian falls for this lying, cheating con artist. i hate that.
anyway, this film was a little too multi-faceted for me. there were too many stages of the relationship. they were strangers, enimies, friends, and lovers, in several different locations. and those categories were visited more than once each. it's like this movie crammed what might be a believable romance into... well, into a movie. it didn't work in my head.
what also didn't work is why she fell for him. he's very dreamy-looking, but she had her goals and he had no character, and i just don't see it.
i did enjoy this movie, even though it may not seem like it. there were some beautiful locations, very nice dresses, incredible palaces, and a handsome couple. but i don't think i'd watch this one again.

Knockaround Guys- i wanted to see this movie because i really like barry pepper and seth green, even though vin diesel doesn't inpress me much and i really can't stand john malkovich. i just think he's the worst actor in the whole world. i liked this movie a lot. there was a lot of language and a considerable amount of violence (the worst part was in the first ten minutes), but i did like it. i liked that seth green's character flew an airplane.
this really isn't a light-hearted movie, as it's about a mob kid trying to prove himself to his uncle and father. the movie starts out with the uncle telling the 12-year-old kid to kill one of the mob targets in the basement of the family restaurant. it has a lot of honest suspence, and i really like that about movies. i love the feeling that i don't know what's going to happen, for some reson. this one's not a waste of your time.

When Harry met Sally- okay, i never thought of billy crystal as attractive before, but in this movie i thought differently. he also does that lonely, lost-puppy look very well. i still kept thinking of him in an old man face saying lines from the princess bride, which messed me up for a while, but didn't spoil anything. meg ryan freaks me out, i'm not sure why, and this movie was no different. i see a lot of her, however, since she is one of mike's favorite actresses.
but about the movie... i really liked that they kept meeting at several year intervals, that made it interesting, and the initial 70's style was fun. billy crystal is so funny! and carrie fischer in her role as the quirky best friend was hilarious as well. i never knew that about her.
this movie is about two very different people who are looking for love and not really finding what they want. as they keep running into each other, they become good friends. of course a weird romance blossoms. the movie has serveral interruptions, so to speak, from old couples sitting on the couch telling the stories of how they met. it's very sweet. i'm not one to really like romantic movies, but i liked this one. and it was funny! but honestly, what did i expect, watching a film by the creator of the princess bride?
i took a quiz online once that said this was the movie i belong in. naturally i was very curious, but i just don't see it. i really don't. can you explain this to me?