I was trying to figure out why the formatting on the paper I wrote last night was so strange when I printed it off, so I was looking around in the settings of my word processor. For some reason the paper size was set to A4 (the international standard) which is longer than standard letter size...and which gave me an extra half-page of text once I formatted the document back to the proper size! That's a HUGE difference, considering I was working on only a 4-5 page assignment.
Most people I know complain about the length of papers they write, but I'm one of the few who probably worries from time to time that assignments I turn in may be too long. [chuckles]
My computer has been doing strange little things like this ever since I got back from England a few years ago. Even though I've tried to change them on more than one occassion, the time stamps on my IM client, my blog, and a few of the other web-based services I use still default to GMT instead of my proper time zone. Similarly, if I type "Amazon" into my browser's address bar and hit enter, I'll be taken to amazon.co.uk instead of amazon.com. I also had to adjust settings on my spell-check, because I kept getting red squiggles under words like "color" instead of "colour", "favor" instead of "favour", and "aluminum" instead of "aluminium" (...although that spelling might actually be standard; I'm not sure though!).
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Work-in-Progress: "The Jabberwocky"
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious antics of the slithy tove,
While I nodded, sleep transpiring, suddenly there came a gyring,
As of some one gently miring, miring as if on the rove.
`A mome visitor,' I muttered, `gyring as if on the rove -
Here at my door, not at the grove.'
Distinctly I recall the day, yes it was in the bleak of May,
And amid the sundial's footstone gimbled, gyred all the toves
Eagerly I wished 'twas brillig; - 'til the snapping of a dry twig
Marked the passage of a green pig - the raths that now would come in droves -
'Twas brillig and the mome raths outgrabe piteously all in a drove
On the wabe here in the grove.
... ... ...
More to come later - my brain is fried tonight! Feedback appreciated!
Here's a link to a glossary of terms, just in case!
Over many a quaint and curious antics of the slithy tove,
While I nodded, sleep transpiring, suddenly there came a gyring,
As of some one gently miring, miring as if on the rove.
`A mome visitor,' I muttered, `gyring as if on the rove -
Here at my door, not at the grove.'
Distinctly I recall the day, yes it was in the bleak of May,
And amid the sundial's footstone gimbled, gyred all the toves
Eagerly I wished 'twas brillig; - 'til the snapping of a dry twig
Marked the passage of a green pig - the raths that now would come in droves -
'Twas brillig and the mome raths outgrabe piteously all in a drove
On the wabe here in the grove.
... ... ...
More to come later - my brain is fried tonight! Feedback appreciated!
Here's a link to a glossary of terms, just in case!
Monday, August 24, 2009
I made this!
Tonight, under the expert tutelage of KB, one of my dear friends, I learned how to knit! Well, I say I learned how to knit, but really all I got out of it was a crash course in the basic mechanics. I feel like I've got a ways to go before I can even call myself "proficient", let alone anything so daring as "good"!
...And I'm sure any experienced knitters out there will agree with me. ;-P
Anywho, along with the embarrassment of "I can't believe how terrible this looks!" is a personal pride in the act of creation. Or maybe it's vanity?
Either way, here's a photo! Don't you think it looks like California? I do!
Once I get settled into my semester and can get some stuff together, I'm going to keep working at it and try to become better! Thanks for lending me your supplies, your time, and your patience, KB!
...And I'm sure any experienced knitters out there will agree with me. ;-P
Anywho, along with the embarrassment of "I can't believe how terrible this looks!" is a personal pride in the act of creation. Or maybe it's vanity?
Either way, here's a photo! Don't you think it looks like California? I do!Once I get settled into my semester and can get some stuff together, I'm going to keep working at it and try to become better! Thanks for lending me your supplies, your time, and your patience, KB!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
"I don't know whether..."
Today would have been a good day to sleep in! When I got up a few hours ago, it was very grim and overcast. Now the sky is absolutely dumping down rain...and I'm about to have to leave the house! Ah well, such is the price for commitment to a job! Well, to be honest, it's more to the money the job provides than to the job itself. As anyone whom I've talked to recently can probably tell you, things have gone from "moderately frustrating" to "why the hell do I work here again?" over the past month or two. Still, that's where I work, and that won't change until I can get another job lined up!
But yes...money. That's been a big concern of mine, especially recently. Between tuition, student loans, and this semester's textbooks, not to mention gas for the commute to Durham, it's going to be very hard to save up any free cash for myself. I don't know how I'm going to save up for the Renaissance Festival in October! I need to figure something out. Fortunately I still have a month and a half!
Off to work now. Have a good (although maybe wet!) weekend!
But yes...money. That's been a big concern of mine, especially recently. Between tuition, student loans, and this semester's textbooks, not to mention gas for the commute to Durham, it's going to be very hard to save up any free cash for myself. I don't know how I'm going to save up for the Renaissance Festival in October! I need to figure something out. Fortunately I still have a month and a half!
Off to work now. Have a good (although maybe wet!) weekend!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A sinister update
There's actually nothing malicious OR left-handed about this one...
We heard back from the service shop this morning, and it turns out that the problem was with the alternator as predicted. It shouldn't be a difficult repair, and we were told we should get the car back by the end of the day.
We heard back from the service shop this morning, and it turns out that the problem was with the alternator as predicted. It shouldn't be a difficult repair, and we were told we should get the car back by the end of the day.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
...In which things take a turn for the sinister
Yes the title's a pun, because I've recovered from being lost almost a half dozen times today by making timely left turns. It's so very annoying when people I trust give me directions I trust...but the roads end up not being like they described them at all! I have decided that the consensual reality created by the sharing and accepting of directions is the actual truth, and what is falsification and lies is, in fact, the road system I perceive. Roads in central North Carolina, stop making no sense!
Now that that's aside, here's a rundown of my day
- I didn't have to work today, which was good.
- My father and I got a late breakfast and had a very enjoyable visit, which was good.
- Because of extinuating circumstances, I almost didn't get to finish my homework for class tonight and also it was sheer lucky chance that I checked my school email a second time, because the location for my class was changed at the last minute! That would have been bad.
- I found out the price of an on-campus parking ticket. It cost more than any of my textbooks. That was bad.
- Since I now knew I'd be parking several blocks away from campus, I decided to leave early so that I could not only find a suitable parking spot, but go to the campus bookstore and buy a textbook or two. That was...well, maybe not good, but it was at least responsible!
- Nothing went as quickly as I was expecting. I didn't leave town until close to an hour after I'd wanted to. That was bad
- Fortunately, the commute was easy! That was good.
- When I found my parking spot, I had to walk to the student union in one million degree heat and 10 trillion percent humidity. By the time I got to the center of campus I was literally dripping, and I'm not normally a heavy sweat-er! That was bad.
- Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack a change of clothes, just in case! That was good.
- At the bookstore, not only did they not have a copy of a textbook I needed, but had forgotten to order books for that class until the day before, so the books won't arrive until next week (Weds or Thurs, the bookstore manager predicted)...and I have an assignment due THIS Friday! That was bad.
- I found a nickel on the ground. That was good!
- First day of class = syllabus day. That was bad.
- First day of class = short class. That was good!
- After class, I got to see Michael+Rachel, Tess, AND Jerry! That was good.
- When I got to the train station to pick up Jerry, my car died. Prevailing theory is that the alternator went bad. That was bad.
We had to call a tow truck and everything. We managed to get the car started for a little bit and drive a short distance, but then the engine died, the power steering locked up, and the brakes nearly did as well...right in the middle of an intersection! Oh, no! Fortunately, a police officer was in a parking lot net even 50 yards from the intersection (I decided it was "none of my business" as to why a cop was chilling out in an empty parking lot near a college campus). He helped us push the car off the road, and then we had a grand old wait for the tow truck to arrive. It actually got there fairly soon, and the driver was extremely nice! He was helpful and professional, and friendly as well. He towed the car to our regular service station, and we left it there with a note explaining the situation for the next morning.
I was supposed to help my lil sis move into her dorm tomorrow, and I have to work in the afternoon. Now I don't have a car to do either. I'm sure we can improvise for the former, but I'll be stuck begging for rides until the proper repairs can be made...and hopefully they're not very expensive! The nickel I found earlier today was heads-up, so I hope that means I'll have 5x more good luck than if I'd found a penny!
I have to say that even though a lot of bad stuff happened today, the timing and circumstances of it all were amazingly fortuitous. I was able to take care of all my school errands within the parking time allotment so that I didn't get a ticket, and was able to move my car to a more convenient location before class started. I think I'm going to like my Organization of Information class (the one I'm taking on-campus); it's small (only about 12 people), and it sounds like we're going to be doing some hands-on projects instead of merely a theory-heavy course! And as for the car situations...every time I thought I was lost, I was able to find my way back onto the route I wanted (or an alternative route that ended up being just as good!) by making a timely left turn. I don't know why it worked, but it did! And when the car died (the first time), I had just pulled into a parking space, so I wasn't in a dangerous position! And the second time, there was no other traffic on a normally-busy road that could have caused our situation to be even worse! It's quarter past 3 now, and I've only just recently gotten home after having left over 12 hours ago. It's almost as though, even though bad stuff happens, it happens in the best way possible.
Now THAT is a semi-charmed life!
Now that that's aside, here's a rundown of my day
- I didn't have to work today, which was good.
- My father and I got a late breakfast and had a very enjoyable visit, which was good.
- Because of extinuating circumstances, I almost didn't get to finish my homework for class tonight and also it was sheer lucky chance that I checked my school email a second time, because the location for my class was changed at the last minute! That would have been bad.
- I found out the price of an on-campus parking ticket. It cost more than any of my textbooks. That was bad.
- Since I now knew I'd be parking several blocks away from campus, I decided to leave early so that I could not only find a suitable parking spot, but go to the campus bookstore and buy a textbook or two. That was...well, maybe not good, but it was at least responsible!
- Nothing went as quickly as I was expecting. I didn't leave town until close to an hour after I'd wanted to. That was bad
- Fortunately, the commute was easy! That was good.
- When I found my parking spot, I had to walk to the student union in one million degree heat and 10 trillion percent humidity. By the time I got to the center of campus I was literally dripping, and I'm not normally a heavy sweat-er! That was bad.
- Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack a change of clothes, just in case! That was good.
- At the bookstore, not only did they not have a copy of a textbook I needed, but had forgotten to order books for that class until the day before, so the books won't arrive until next week (Weds or Thurs, the bookstore manager predicted)...and I have an assignment due THIS Friday! That was bad.
- I found a nickel on the ground. That was good!
- First day of class = syllabus day. That was bad.
- First day of class = short class. That was good!
- After class, I got to see Michael+Rachel, Tess, AND Jerry! That was good.
- When I got to the train station to pick up Jerry, my car died. Prevailing theory is that the alternator went bad. That was bad.
We had to call a tow truck and everything. We managed to get the car started for a little bit and drive a short distance, but then the engine died, the power steering locked up, and the brakes nearly did as well...right in the middle of an intersection! Oh, no! Fortunately, a police officer was in a parking lot net even 50 yards from the intersection (I decided it was "none of my business" as to why a cop was chilling out in an empty parking lot near a college campus). He helped us push the car off the road, and then we had a grand old wait for the tow truck to arrive. It actually got there fairly soon, and the driver was extremely nice! He was helpful and professional, and friendly as well. He towed the car to our regular service station, and we left it there with a note explaining the situation for the next morning.
I was supposed to help my lil sis move into her dorm tomorrow, and I have to work in the afternoon. Now I don't have a car to do either. I'm sure we can improvise for the former, but I'll be stuck begging for rides until the proper repairs can be made...and hopefully they're not very expensive! The nickel I found earlier today was heads-up, so I hope that means I'll have 5x more good luck than if I'd found a penny!
I have to say that even though a lot of bad stuff happened today, the timing and circumstances of it all were amazingly fortuitous. I was able to take care of all my school errands within the parking time allotment so that I didn't get a ticket, and was able to move my car to a more convenient location before class started. I think I'm going to like my Organization of Information class (the one I'm taking on-campus); it's small (only about 12 people), and it sounds like we're going to be doing some hands-on projects instead of merely a theory-heavy course! And as for the car situations...every time I thought I was lost, I was able to find my way back onto the route I wanted (or an alternative route that ended up being just as good!) by making a timely left turn. I don't know why it worked, but it did! And when the car died (the first time), I had just pulled into a parking space, so I wasn't in a dangerous position! And the second time, there was no other traffic on a normally-busy road that could have caused our situation to be even worse! It's quarter past 3 now, and I've only just recently gotten home after having left over 12 hours ago. It's almost as though, even though bad stuff happens, it happens in the best way possible.
Now THAT is a semi-charmed life!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Vacation post 8: Epilogue and appendix
Here's a list of people I met on the beach this past week:
Sam
Reed (or maybe Reid)
Scout
Toby
I also met their owners.
Yep...that's about how my social life went while I was one vacation. Aside from family (who have an obligation to interact with me) and people paid to talk to me (wait staff and tour guides mostly), the only people I met this whole week weren't people at all. I met dogs. For some reason, this amuses me to no end. I do love that Oak Island is such a pet-friendly place; unlike how I imagine some places are, this island really goes out of its way to present itself as a family-friendly, easy-going place. Hopefully I'll be able to come back before too much more time passes.
And, while I'm still thinking of it, here is the full list of websites I said I'd locate for you all (and a few others that I just think are good ideas)!
North Carolina Zoo - http://www.nczoo.org/
Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program* - http://www.oakislandnc.com/turtles.htm
The Fish House (delicious sea food!) - http://www.southporttimes.com/fishhouserestaurant.html
NC Aquarium - http://www.ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher
Fort Fisher - http://www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/fisher.htm
Fort Caswell - http://www.fortcaswell.com/about/history
Knytt Stories - http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=02Knytt_Stories
Plants vs. Zombies** - http://www.popcap.com/extras/pvz/
*After looking over their website, I found the answer to my question! The gestation (is it correct to refer to gestation for a creature that hatches from an egg? Does anyone know?) period for a sea turtle, or at least the breed of sea turtle common to Oak Island, is 55-90 days.
**I know I didn't mention this one previously, but I found a demo for this game lurking on my computer (I must have downloaded it ages ago and just forgotten), and when I sat down to try it out, I enjoyed my pants off! Er, hmm...that's actually not a very good figure of speech, but you know what I mean. You can download a demo from their website, but the full version costs about $20. I don't have that kind of money on hand at the moment (also, I haven't had Internet connection all week except for a half-hour at Port City Java), but the website is cute and interactive, and it has some cool features as well! One of the most interesting is the ability to create a Zombatar, a "zombie-fied" avatar of yourself! It's really cute, and the Zombatar is totally free!
Sam
Reed (or maybe Reid)
Scout
Toby
I also met their owners.
Yep...that's about how my social life went while I was one vacation. Aside from family (who have an obligation to interact with me) and people paid to talk to me (wait staff and tour guides mostly), the only people I met this whole week weren't people at all. I met dogs. For some reason, this amuses me to no end. I do love that Oak Island is such a pet-friendly place; unlike how I imagine some places are, this island really goes out of its way to present itself as a family-friendly, easy-going place. Hopefully I'll be able to come back before too much more time passes.
And, while I'm still thinking of it, here is the full list of websites I said I'd locate for you all (and a few others that I just think are good ideas)!
North Carolina Zoo - http://www.nczoo.org/
Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program* - http://www.oakislandnc.com/turtles.htm
The Fish House (delicious sea food!) - http://www.southporttimes.com/fishhouserestaurant.html
NC Aquarium - http://www.ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher
Fort Fisher - http://www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/fisher.htm
Fort Caswell - http://www.fortcaswell.com/about/history
Knytt Stories - http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=02Knytt_Stories
Plants vs. Zombies** - http://www.popcap.com/extras/pvz/
*After looking over their website, I found the answer to my question! The gestation (is it correct to refer to gestation for a creature that hatches from an egg? Does anyone know?) period for a sea turtle, or at least the breed of sea turtle common to Oak Island, is 55-90 days.
**I know I didn't mention this one previously, but I found a demo for this game lurking on my computer (I must have downloaded it ages ago and just forgotten), and when I sat down to try it out, I enjoyed my pants off! Er, hmm...that's actually not a very good figure of speech, but you know what I mean. You can download a demo from their website, but the full version costs about $20. I don't have that kind of money on hand at the moment (also, I haven't had Internet connection all week except for a half-hour at Port City Java), but the website is cute and interactive, and it has some cool features as well! One of the most interesting is the ability to create a Zombatar, a "zombie-fied" avatar of yourself! It's really cute, and the Zombatar is totally free!
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