Saturday, October 27, 2007

a spree of blogs

I figure if I post a bunch of posts while I'm sitting here it will look like I've been posting more regularly. So here is the update on all things TAC:

*latin and math are still hard. latin is really hard.

*Annie hurt her back, she has been in a wheelchair for a week now. Jack pushes her to all her classes.

* we get the day after holloween off! (all saints day)

*did i mention latin is really hard?


*we start discussing predestination in theology this week so i expect that to be interesting.

* latin is really hard.


thats about it. thanks to all the people who left comments, thats what got these posts up here.

P.s. Good luck to anybody near a fire, i know its late but i hope the smoke didnt get to any of you too badly and that everybody is safe.

The golden compass

I hear the movie is watered down. I hear the books are outright anti God. I see a problem.

I hate it when people take things on hearsay. Yah, I know its probably better safe than sorry. When I hear thousands of people who have never read the books complaining about the problems with harry potter it just bothers me.

Thats just the beginning though. Heres a bigger problem with this movie (the golden compass). I really believe its linked with principles i strongly detest. How can i both boycott it and be well informed at the same time? theres no way on earth i can be qualified to renounce this movie without seeing it. and if i see it then i add one more number to there opening box office total. even if i just rent it i later i still boost there ratings.

I have a way around this, i wont mention it here but most of you will figure it out. its still a problem though.

another problem is how much attention even a boycott gets something like this. take harry potter for example again. i never would have known what it was till people started complaining about how bad it was. then i read it.... i still cant see the problem. i might be able too. if somebody who had read it was willing to explain it to me. but all the people who would like to explain how evil it is to me havnt actualy read it.

bottom line is... i wish people wouldn't try to be knowledgeable on things they havn't seen, maybe urge caution, but don't try to announce to the world what you shouldn't see it. just send them all to go see Bella.

Please Turn Left at the blog.


Thats a picture of my in my holloween costume. total time invested 10 minutes. $0

Friday, October 12, 2007

I Blog, Therefore (my family knows how) I am

Hi,

So I didn't blog for a while. Most of that time was due to my laptop being broken (because i dropped it and the hard drive crashed) [luckily hard drives have good warranties that say something along the lines of "impacts of less than 50G should not break this drive" and therefore it was replaced with a net expenditure of 2.32$ shipping and handling for me.] I finally got it working again last Thursday. Since that time i have been either traveling too or from san diego, at san diego, or trying to catch up on the homework that i didnt get done due to going to san diego (which i have almost done) [ok, actualy i was behind before i left].

For those of you who haven't heard my tale of woe. Don't let the following mislead you, going home was, and always is, a blast. I forget how much i miss everybody until i see them again. However, the train ride there..... well..... heres a timeline:

4:15 Left campus
5:00 Arrived and bought ticket for 5:20 train
5:50 train actual arrival time
6:15 Conductor announces that a train is stuck on the tracks ahead of us
9:00 train is finaly cleared and we begin to move (yes, almost 3 hours)
9:20 Rail switch is broken, frustrated conductor "fixes" it with a sledge hammer
1:20 Power is out for a stretch of track, lack of visibility forces us to slow down
2:00 Arrive at san diego station on the 10:20 arrival train.

As mentioned above though, San Diego was a blast. My trip was scheduled around Nicole's birthday (and the 3 day weekend for Columbus day). I went with Nicole and her family to see The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. I was shocked to see how small the scrolls were, but the exhibit was really interesting. Other than that I ate alot and saw Nicole alot and went to church with my family and in general it was a very good trip. Even got my seminar reading done (on duties by Cicero)

Anyhow, I should at least be posting on the weekends from now on, I'm going to be more careful with my laptop. Remember, i dont know you were here unless you leave a comment. At some point i will figure out a How-To on having atomizer email you when i post so my irregular postings wont leave you checking endlessly with no updates. Thanks for reading!

-Patrick Shechet

Friday, September 14, 2007

oh the bourocracy

So last week I pulled a comdial phone out of a box.... all such phones have to be inventoried by mr. collins because there being sold as a lot. so i took it to his office. he wasnt there, so i wrote down the seirial number and a note and left it there, took it to the other side of campus and put it into storage. the next day he showed up at my office and asked about the phone, i showed him were it was found and explained to the best of my knowledge how it got there (since this was before i started working in IT) he had enough information so he left. so today i get a memo in my box saying "mr. collins needs more information about the phone, please see him." so i figure, i dont know anything more about the phone so i go dig it out of the storage areas and bring it to his office; where he is very confused to see me again, i show him the memo and he starts laughing..... this is because the memo is a result of him asking his secretary to write me a memo in the 18 hours between when i left the note and he came to ask about it. the memo just happened to take 5 days to get to me.... moral of the story, im never responding to anything quickly again ;)


on the upside David six and i are thinking of making some custom electronics for fun. more on that later.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

laps

to those of you who have been checking this. Sorry for the lapse. I had been able to post very easily for a while since I had a laptop. The hard drive in the laptop broke (partialy my fault, partialy the hard drive manufacturers, none the laptops) so it has been much harder for me to post. The hard drive was under warranty and is going to be replaced. Untill then there will be less posts.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Helium Article: Laptop Buying Tips

self explanatory.

A decent Laptop usually costs upwards of a thousand dollars. However, with the smallest amount of extra effort, a screwdriver and the ability to plug two plugs together,you can get a great laptop at less than half that price. Here is how: *

The brief:
Buy a laptop in which the LCD panel has been damaged but the laptop is intact, and then replace the screen. Doing this I recently purchased a laptop that costs $1440 in stores for less than $500.

The details:
1.) Go to an online Retailer like Ebay and do a search for something like "Laptop Broken LCD" or "Laptop broken screen". Shop around at a few different sites to find the cheapest you can get the specification you want. Some buying tips. Make sure your laptop is listed as working other than the broken screen. Look to see if the power adapter and battery is included. Remember that the cost of the LCD and shipping will add between $150 and $300 so spend accordingly.

2.) Once you have successfully finished purchasing the laptop go too www.screentekinc.com or any other online retailer of LCD panels and look for your model number. Don't buy the screen from that site though, you will pay double whats its worth.

3.) Take down the model number of the LCD screen you need from the site and go back to ebay or any other online super retailer. Look for that model number until you find the best deal you think you can.

4.) Once you get your screen you need to install it. Remove the battery and power cord from the laptop and make sure you are grounded by touching a piece of something large and metal. Now, carefully remove the plastic from around the broken panel. (this usually involves four or more screws, often located under plastic caps which can be easily removed.) Once you have removed the plastic frame gently pull the broken LCD away from the backing, it might be fastened slightly by some adhesive but pull slowly and steadily and it will come away. There should be two cords attached. One larger at the top and one smaller at the bottom. The larger one supplies the picture while the smaller supplies the voltage needed to run the backlight. Both cord should pull out fairly easily. observe the orientation of the ends. Now the old screen should be completely removed. To put in the new screen you simply do the same thing in reverse. Take any plastic wrap off the new LCD. Place it in the same location as the old. Insert the two cords in the same orientation they were in in the old panel. Replace the plastic Paneling and screw everything back together securely.

5.) Thats it, you have a working laptop for much less than it would normally cost. Good luck!

* If your replacing an old laptop because the screen is broken your in luck. Simply skip the first step and your laptop should be back in working order for around $200. Thats about $300 less than a repair shop would charge.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Shechet

Helium Article: Facing Death

Ok, I wrote this all in one sitting just now and its very rough, I'll probably rewrite the whole thing differently with just the same main idea. Tell me what you think on this one.

"Maybe here"
Stile tumbled through the clouds. He had won. Well, he had mostly won, the other men had died first, atop the fortress in the sky he had done what needed to be done, like he always had.
"What a beautiful world" he thought as he looked out over the clouds to the mountain peaks above them.
He let his magic reach out, he didn't know how to break his two mile fall from the orbiting station, it was all he could do to keep his limbs from freezing while he was still high up, and to keep them from burning in the friction as he fell down. Still, Stile was not a man to panic, he had been what he was for ten years. Not many people knew what what he was was, but that didn't matter to him, he made a difference, he was good at it, he liked it, and he wasn't sure he was ready for it to end.
There was still something missing, even connected to all this. Even though he had never lost till now. He didn't feel like his accomplishments made him more ready to leave this life, they made him want to stay. A tear came to his eye as he plummeted, maybe 15 seconds to go.
But his magic moved on its own, as it always did before he even knew he was going to use it. And as always, as soon as he felt it he knew that it was his own. It was doing what he wanted to do. So he reached with all his will, pulled the air around him down, push himself up. It was too slow, so he pushed harder, he lost some control, began spinning like a leaf in the wind, but one thought stuck in his mind, kept him guessing which way was down and sending his magic there, "not here".

The ground crew was outside of the observation van, looking towards the heavens. "I think he really is falling" the first technician observed. The dot in the sky grew larger. soon it was clearly a man, in a trench coat, plummeting through the air. The shoulders were slumped, the arms outstretched, a pose of resignation and acceptance.
"What a way to go" the first technician said when he spoke again.
"yeah, but its gonna leave us a hard time finding a headman that good." the second added. The third just nodded, starring at the figure. Then Only a few hundred feet before the fall the figure straitened, the arms waved, the body twirled. Then so near certain death, the descent slowed. The man smashed into the earth with considerable force, collapsing onto one knee, both hands on the ground in front of him, coat splaying to the sides. But he lived.
"Do you realize you are the only person to ever survive a fall from orbit like that?" one of the technicians said, all of them wanted to ask it.
"I wasn't ready to die yet." Stile replied.

"Now?"
That day seemed like a dream, a hundred years old. Really it was longer. Stile as he was had passed, there was no longer two great powers fighting. No skilled agents and there support teams worked to bring peace to a world so torn apart that the fabric of space had changed. Now each house was a nation, each man able to produce and maintain his own ecosystem. Men live on the moon, flew between mars and the earth. They projected there existence into machines as far as any form of radiation could travel. As one of the old, Stile's consciousness is vast. His body live in a tiny metal shell at the edge of the milky way. He lives without effort, no longer striving for the amazing accomplishments of old. Now he simply wills, his magic is amplified by machine. Then the hole comes, a black dot against the universe, it tried to eat his metal shell, eat his being. This thing with no soul, it was going to end it all.
Just like before, he reached out. So far now. Then he had been the hight of a single man, the epitome of what it was to be legend, he could have left it and it would have been known for eternity. But he hadn't. Now he was larger. Greater. If he stopped here his eddies would outlive the last man, the stars would die with whispers of his greatness still on them. So he looked. The him said "I lose too much." And because he was so vast he thought he reasoned with the rip in space. He showed it how it could be something else. He controlled the second to the last and greatest force of nature in the world. Maybe he could conquer death, but now now.

"Now."

He moved, remembered, the thing he had forgotten. Old. So old. He felt like every part of him was tired. It wasn't different though, everything was just as it was when he was twenty, when he fell from that station on first earth, right after the advent of magic, he was just he same as he was when he couldn't die. Except old. Everything seemed so useless. Now nothing could kill him. And now he missed death. His old companion, that last thing he could obtain. Now he had everything else, so he searched. And in his search he talked, and something answered.
"Why didn't I die?" he asked
"You weren't ready" it said.
"I'm still not dead" he said.
"Your still not ready" it answered.
"I don't have anything else to do" he thought
"You still have the one thing to do" It thought back.
"If it was just one thing, why couldn't I do it then."
"because you thought there was more"
"none of it was important"
"yes"
"but one thing is"
"yes"
"and its not here"
"yes"
"anywhere here"
"yes"
"then what do i have to do to get to it"
"want it"
"how can i want something i don't know what it is?"
"you know him"
"its a him"
"you fought for him"
"i did"
"just a minute ago, before you were caught by all the things"
"the him, i was fighting for the him, but he asked me to die."
"he invited you to die"
"i wish i had said yes"
"you said no"
"i wanted all the things"
"you got them"
"they don't mean anything"
"and?"
"he does, i was ready, then, when i made the leap for him. but i looked away and wanted to stay."
"are you ready now"
"oh yes"
"then fall"

suddenly he was back on the platform. things happened the same, there was no way to save them and himself, he flung his target back onto the platform, accelerating off the edge himself. He chose to die for them. And then he was falling again, facing death again, wondering again. He looked around, saw the beauty again. But he thought, "its so small really, what must it be like on the other side, with him." and he knew he couldn't have stopped his fall, it was all one choice, he had made the choice when he push the others onto the ledge, and so he fell. Peace. He would see him. Now.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Shechet.

Helium Article: On the Evolution of Technology

Here is another of my articles. Currently Rated 1st of 4.


I grew up with computers. At the age of twenty I can think of 10 that I have owned. They get smaller, they get faster, but I think that the most significant change is how much more they are accepted.

When I was 4 years old my uncle bought himself a new computer. His old computer was a behemoth, its CRT monitor ran in Orange and black. When you turned it on you had to specify were the operating system was for the system to load. Really there was only one upside to this behemoth: It ended up sitting on my bedroom floor.

Since then I have watched computers move into the world of gray-scale, hundreds of colors, thousands of colors, millions of colors. I owned a desktop that seemed roaring fast at 66Mzh, watched as home built computers became commonplace while I was in high school students, watched the price of a desktop drop from over $2000 to under $400 as the speed, ram, and storage increased by orders of magnitude. In 2001 I saw my first palm pilot, now I carry a phone with more ram, processor speed, and storage than all the computers everybody I have ever met owned before the year 1990. Now computers are beginning to start a new path into multiple processors and the evolution of power will continue.

When all is said and done though, what has really changed. Computers still do the same functions, maybe thousands of times faster, but all we really use them for is still word processing, music, games, the internet. Maybe the occasional person has found some amazing new task to pit there number crunching digital companion against but the average user hasn't. Now, however, there is an average user.

One aspect of computers that has grown right along side all that power is social acceptance. When I owned that first leviathin of a tower even my little four year old friends, who would gladly play with a hard boiled egg for fun, were afraid of it. Now were not at all shocked to see a person walking down the street with there MP3 player wired to there head, cell phone in hand text messaging to somebody half way across the world. When walking into Starbucks we don't think twice to see little laptops whirring on every other table as college students and business men streamline there work into spreadsheets and Email correspondence.

It happened a little bit at a time, from the spread of the internet to the advent of DVD players. From Walkmen to Ipods and laptops to smart phones. But the social perception of electronics has evolved alongside them. Wearable displays, looking much like the Xmen Cyclop's Visor will be out later this year. I hazard that two years from now, I will walk through the mall, and somewhere in the corner of my eye I will see a man or woman sitting there using one, and nobody will care.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Shechet.

Helium Article: Should cell phone use while driving be banned?

Ok, heres the article I'm currently ranked as the 8th of 279 Authors to write on this (2%). 1500 people have read the articles in this group.


There is a dividing line between rights and privileges. The United States Drivers Handbook clearly states the intentions of our elected officials that driving is a privilege reserved for those who use it responsibly. It is a simple matter to see that the use of a cell phone while driving does not comply with this precept. Therefore, it would rightly result in the loss of driving privileges.

What is responsible in a driver?
Simply, they must reasonably minimize the risk to there passengers and the other drivers on the road. To do this they need to be able to steer the vehicle, and not have there reactions impeded in any significant way.
The existing laws give us some idea of what should be considered reasonable. It is illegal for a person with impaired vision to drive without glasses. It is illegal for a person under the influence of alcohol to drive. It is illegal for a driver to move out of the drivers seat or in any other way remove themselves from driving. Most importantly it is already stated as illegal for a driver to drive in a dangerous manner.

What constitutes cell phone use?
To clarify what I include in "cell phone use while driving". Dialing, reading the screen, or holding the cell phone to your head while driving are the activities which I address in this article. Talking into a headset removes some of your attention from the road. However, it is a much hazier area to regulate, much in the league of talking to your passengers while driving, therefore I will not address it here.

So what is the argument against cell phone use?
Dialing a cell phone removes your hands from the steering wheel of the vehicle even if you can dial without looking. Holding a cell phone to your head impairs your ability to control your vehicle. Reading the screen of your cell phone is equivalent of temporarily blinding yourself. All of these activities are already illegal on all of the roads in the United States.

Conclusion.
Plain and simple, using a cell phone while driving is already illegal. No new laws need to be made. Courts should simply uphold tickets written for endangered driving based on cellphone use. Its willfully lessening your ability to drive, thats irresponsible, thats illegal, thats a misuse of a privilege.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Shechet.

Some articles I've written.

I have been writing articles for a site by the name "helium". The topics are in a large list and you chose one to write on. the articles are then ranked by people. I will be posting a few of my articles here, head over to helium.com to see what other people write on the topic if you like.

-patrick

Friday, August 31, 2007

weekends!

made it through a second week. this is good. all of my classes except latin are awesome. were going through ptolomy in lab and actually trying to explain everything in the heavens from the idea that the earth is stationary, its really interesting since we've always been taught to assume (correctly) that the earth spins. lol

Im trying to get rid of my saturday shift so that i can work at the ranch in the morning, not having very good luck so far.

well, another short post, but at least it is one.

-patrick

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Im 20!

Todays my birthday!
The day started horridly, but got much better at about noon. some friends and i are going to go watch Geito Senkie (its an anime about the wizard of earthsea.) sometime this evening.
I have alot of food. this is a very good thing. I also heard from my whole family.
Speaking of which, i think ill cut this short because many people are talking to me on aol. ciao.

-patrick

ads

I'm trying out google adsense, you might see things like this
on my blog from time to time, let me know if they bother anybody.

Monday, August 27, 2007

School

Well, this is back to back with another post but I didn't want them to get confused.

School has been really great so far. Most of my classes are both interesting and about the right level of challenging. The exception is Latin. So far in 4 classes we have had 3 quizzes. Of the one of these I got back I barely managed to scrape a C (actually, I got a D, I had to talk to the teacher afterwards and point out that she marked things off that weren't really wrong to get it to a C.) Were still in the review, which means were moving extremely fast but in theory over all things I should already know. this would be the case (I perfected the section on the quiz devoted to translating from Latin into English.) except that the majority of questions (completely unlike last year, which is the extent of Latin I have ever taken) are translating from English to Latin. I'm not really sure how that will resolve.

Work is a blast, my favorite chef is gone but the kitchen is still a good place to work. I have a very different work schedule from last year (In which I had very short shifts, 2-3.5 hours, 6 days a week) to longer shifts (4-5 hours) about every other day. I don't think our new chef will last out his first week, somebody already ran into his $30,000 Mercedes in the parking lot and he got sick and he is only on day 3.

My rebuilt laptop is very pretty but completely useless as I wait for the power cord to ship. I contacted the seller and he says his paper says its scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Once i have that it will be ever so much easier to update my blog since i will be able to do it from the coffee shop (which is open almost all day, and most of the night. and were i can use my own computer on one of 10 jacks) instead of having to go to the library (which is not open almost all day, and closes at 11 or 5 depending on the night. were i have to use one of 5 school computers)

Im planning on starting my martial arts club here again soon, there are at least 3 new students interested. All of which have there blackbelts in various arts. I might have to do a jump start class for new beginners to catch up somewhat with my students from last year.

I turn 20 on Wednsay. Not really sure what my thoughts on no longer being a "teen" are. I keep thinking that somehow I had imagined myself as having a car at this point, I think I'm glad I don't have to bother with one though.


well, the line is forming for the computers, gotta go. Ciao

-patrick

Thougths on martial arts.

One of my Aunts asked me some questions about martial arts. I perceive they may be relevant to others so I'm posting them here. (I attempted to modify my words so they applied in general instead of to a specific person, if I missed something feel free to post in the comments.)


As far as beliefs go a martial arts style could be anywhere on the map. You can ask at the studio if they have any informational papers concerning their beliefs (I know that my studio has several.) However, in my fifteen years of martial arts experience - as both a student, competitor, and instructor of martial arts - I have never run across a style that inherently opposes Christian doctrine. That being said, I have had students over the years who definitely had an Un-christian experience while training. Here are my thoughts:

1.) I would not recommend a style that emphasizes the fighting aspect of martial arts. First, it is the least useful of the skills you will learn*(see footnote) and second of all I feel that many physically dangerous and psychologically negative experiences come from fighting (also known as sparring). Instead I would look for a style that focuses on kata, self defense sets, and what my instructor calls "The Pillars of Martial Arts" (those being Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude.)

2.) A studio should not stress private lessons. They are usually a method of getting more money and remove the safety found in being in a group. Ideally class sizes should range from 5-15 students and should be divided by age (for both easier learning and increased safety). My studio tries to keep a ratio of 1 instructor and an additional assistant for every 5 students.

3.) Chances are, if a doctrine comes up in karate that seems contrary to Christian beliefs it is an opportunity for discussion and probably not a reason to quite training. Keep in mind that Japan has a different set of social customs than we do and something that might seem inappropriate to us could have a very good moral basis. For example, a good friend of mine who trained in guardian Kenpo (which is a Christian style of Kendo that purposefully excludes bowing) once asked how I could justify bowing to my instructors and fellow students when the bible clearly says that only God is to be worshiped. I replied that if I thought that I was honoring the individual as an end every time I bowed to then it would certainly be a wrong thing to do. However, we explain to each student that what we mean by our bow is that we are agreeing to train together, and do not will each other harm.
In short: I doubt that anything fundamentally contrary will come up in a persons training. Still, discussing the basis for any questionable activities or beliefs will be both beneficial to him and a good way to keep you informed on whats happening. (this applies to those with children, adults can decide on there own if a practice seems reasonable.)

4.) Lastly, I URGE you to google the name of your intended instructor, the name of the studio, the address of the studio, ask people in the area and other students what there experiences are like and in general to look into it as much as is possible. There is nothing sneaky about trying to learn the background of your instructor. If you persist in training you will form a very strong bond with both fellow students and instructors. I would not hesitate to say that two of my karate instructors are on the top five list of the most formative people in my life.

* An emphasis on fighting is mostly harmful to younger students. Really any form of training will help them in a pinch and a focus on competitive an physically challenging fights is dangerous and not that helpful. Keep in mind that situational self defense is, at its core, an attempt not to fight, and therefore does not group with standard fighting practices. No style is a practical art in my mind until it does cover situational self defense. That is: how to avoid a fight, how to get out of a fight, and if need be, what your priorities, legal obligations and best chance for surviving if you get in a fight are.


Salve,
Patrick Shechet

Friday, August 24, 2007

Happy

It is friday, the first INSANE week of classes is over (more on the insanity later). And I have just finished installing a new screen on my new laptop. Anybody who ever wants a laptop and has the mechanical ability to take something fairly complex apart and put it back together without losing, breaking, misconnecting ect a sieries of wires should do this. 1.) search ebay for the term "broken LCD laptop" (word order mattering not this instance in) you should pay less than half of what the laptop is worth (in this case a laptop that retailed for $1449 a year ago cost $300, though shipping and insurance can add up to $40.) 2.) Buy a screen (i got mine also on ebay for 150 after shipping) 3.) put them together, viola great computer, less than $500. my project for next month is to try rebuilding the battery pack with generic Li-Ion cells, preferably 9 of them instead of 6.)

Ok, enough bragging about my completly brillaint computer plan and onto the update on school. the week was, as mentioned above, insane. Latin was the biggest cause of insanity, our quiz for the first week was composed entirely of translating english sentances to latin (which, for anybody who hasnt taken a langauge in a while, is much harder than translating from latin [or any second language] to english). other than that the week just involved alot of adjusting to new work schedules (and covering for people who hadnt yet adjusted to them, im already 4 hours ahead) learning how my new tutors work (some of them actualy frown at you when they like what your saying, im told there concentrating but its still disconcerting.) catching up with everybodies summer (on a campus of only 400 people this would seem sorta easy, but we know eachother pretty well, i think i know what 200 of those people did this summer by now.) there was a lecture this evening (friday), math, lab, and philosphy all seem too overlap this year.

well, this is a little spastic and im running out of battery power (it did seem to last about 5 hours)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Sophmore year

Well, last year was the answer to life the universe and everything, thats why there were 42 posts of course. Hopefully this year I will post more than 42 times.
The year started fast, I had multiple homework assignments waiting for me when I arrived. I also worked two shifts in the kitchen my first day. Despite the hurried start my first lab and philosophy classes have been great so far.
The campus changed quite a bit. All of the mobile buildings are gone now, the faculty building is complete, there has been an art room for painting and sculpting added, the mail room has been moved, and a complete room for computer use has been added with internet hookups.

My schedule for the year is great. Monday is the only day I have to get up before 9:00 and I have just 2 hours of kitchen work on the weekend. This is good because it looks like the homework load is going to be even bigger than last year. I haven't started Latin yet but i suspect it will be killer. On the other hand I haven't started math yet and I am thinking I will really like it this year. Lab is definitly going to be fun, my first question for the teacher was "do we get to blow things up?" she hesitated before replying "yes, in a controlled environment " thought another molment and added "or, a sort of controlled environment ." I guess control and explosion are contrary.


I have Mr. Appleby for two classes, theology and seminar, for those of you who haven't heard me speak of him: he has a doctorate in medieval history, specializing in the weapons of said period, teaches fencing classes on campus and watched anime in his spare time. He is also one of the most dry witted, but funniest, people I know. I have five people in my section who were in my sections last year, one of whom was also in my summer program section and two who were not in my section last year but were in my summer program section. Basically I know everybody but two people and I'm sure I will know them very well soon.

I suppose this post is going to be a bit boring because I have spent such a lot of it simply relaying facts. Hopefully my next post will be soon and filled with intrigue and deep philosophical thoughts. for now i must go prepare for seminar.

Monday, April 02, 2007

a new post!

because i learned the etemology of the word w00t!

it comes from old RPG games and means Wow+Loot. loot is the term used in games for any form of item, not simply stolen goods.

i will be home in aproximately 48 hours. definitly looking forward to this.\

well, sadly this will be a short post. too much to say so i shall say none of it :p

hope i will see many of you within the next week.

-patrick

Monday, March 05, 2007

more papers!

seems like i just turned in my mather paper and i already have a latin paper due.

Sensie Leo was in a big tournament this weekend (7 different international teams attended) he took a first and a second place, both in sparring. He gave me the medals he won as thanks for helping him get ready (and possibly for not teaching class for over a month now ;) I told him he needs to get me a picture of the competition so i can make a "shrine of leo" if i ever open a martial arts school (which is most often done as a hobby anyways). im reading a book on the history of tia kwon do also. which dosnt mean that i spelled that right.
Ive been holding two seperate karate classes now so that the juniors (who have seminar at our normal time) can attend.

My mother and father are going to be absolutly addicted to the TV sieries im going to make them watch over spring break. House MD... http://www.fox.com/house/

I have a brilliant plan to start an icecream shop on campus but i cant find an electric icecream machine for less than 180$ and i would have to bring my car up to be able to go shopping so i guess its not going to work. actualy i could probably pull it off without the car but i still have to find a cheaper machine. I made some great ice cream in a little metal bowl inside of a large bowl of ice though this sunday just for fun.

hope all my readers are doing well (although at this point im pretty convinced that my readers consist of my mother and my girlfriend, if somebody else still reads this leave a comment please!)

phone is buzzing so i need to sprint out of the library. ciao

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

well

the weekend was a lot of fun. we took a hike on which we had completely no idea how to get to the punchbowls from the trail we took and ending up on the top of a very steep very tall hill (very tall like.... 400 feet of elevation tall. in flat areas it would be a mountain) which was fun. played DOTA with about 10 different people from my school. argued with about 3 other people whether ants could be accuratly simulated on modern technology and if this meant they were just robots. in general it was a good weekend.

I have a latin paper to write sometime in the next 14 days.

presidential candidate senator brownback is coming on friday to speak at our presidents day dinner. http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07012601.html for a bit of information (it was the first thing that came up on google, looks like a good candidate though. would be nice if he had a chance of winning (which right now he doesnt.) we all got a memo in our boxes saying that due to his security we will not be permitted to come or go from the dinner. anybody who wishes to attend must arrive on time and remain seated the entire time. thats a bit much.

well, not much else to say and people are waiting for this computer. more in a week or so.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

W00t!

for many reasons i say w00t! (definition)

First becuase lucas is coming to visit for a three day weekend. we plan on hiking and playing video games and my mother has sent me a box of candy that we will consume. this in all should be amazingly fun.

second because said weekend is a three day weekend. monday is off for presidents day and it sounds like the school has managed to get the presence of one of the presidential candidates for the upcoming election to come visit (and that should be interesting). im not sure which candidate, actualy i havent kept up on who the candidates are yet so i simply didnt recognize the name when it was said. more on that in some future post.

third, my parents have helped me sign up for taglit birthright israel, a foundation that sends people between the ages of 18 and 26 to israel. that would be amazingly cool. first because i have never made it outside the united states, second because its israel and third because its free (or almost free).

Oh, and another reason to say W00t! Nicole and i have been officialy going out for two years as of yesterday and I can't possibly take enough opportunities to say that she is the most wonderfull person. thanks colie :) hope its embarassing being on my blog :-p

hope you all have your own reasons to say W00t! cya round.

Monday, January 29, 2007

look, another one of those "updates"

Yah, I'm actualy posting without somebody bugging me, amazing isnt it ;)

It's been busy busy busy. jack and i spent this saturday (from 7AM-3PM) working at a local ranch. there are pictures linked in my facebook profile for those who have facebook.

other than that its been homework and work. leo terrified some people in the kitchen today. heres the story in ridiculasly dramatized narrative form since i dont really have much else to post about ;)

I was mopping floors, same thing i do twice a week. the latecomers to dinner milled around like a herd of dazed sheep, or college students, its hard to tell the difference. i had just finished the long strip by the serving area when a group of girls walked by. blocked from continuing my work i looked up. one of the chefs stood there, i shot him the "what can i do" look that every worked has to learn to survive, then i shrugged and turned around to continue mopping. there was a sharp intake of breath from behind me as i saw the shaddow of the 6 foot 3 black man loom over the serving table. "Hey! you three, my man is trying to mop here! Next time you come after closing walk around to the other side." a disgruntled shweh of breath marked his leaving. he girls stood dazed, eventually they looked around cautiously to make sure no other cleaning tasks were in danger of being threatened by their movements. there was a scared silence as they slunk away to eat there late dinner somewhere where people were not so loud, or so tall. i kept mopping, just another night in the kitchen.

lol, yes, i really do need to write more in my little stories so these things dont end up online. that was an absurdly exagerated version of what happened.

oh, i also drew a picture this weekend, its been improved a bit since this version but i would have to walk back to my dorm to get the most recent one. Im sure nobody can guess who its a picture of ;)












I did a prop today in math. it went ok, im liking theology, lab and philosophy more than ever. math and Latin are a little better than last semester, but i still just cant memorize the amount of information needed in the amount of time i have.

the girl sitting next to me in the computer lab just burst out "hey, TAC is on the internet!" she's a sophmore and she just found the website. lol. i mentioned to her that she should try googling her name. that was even more of a shock. heheh. wow, she placed in the top ten of a triathlon.

That reminds me we have a guest/potential student who is on the interesting side. i noticed him because he sat in our common room for three hours in the same spot. he is 40 years old and owns a chocolate factory in the Caribbean. my school attracts the oddest people. i study latin with a 35 year old with a masters in biochemistry. jacks section has another 30 year old with a degree in architecture. yup, discontents with good degrees welcome here. were gonna put up a sign that says "TAC, population 300 philosophically interested youths and 3 grouchy old men" ;)

well, this has rambled on long enough. thanks to whover has mad it this far reading.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

its a bird, its a plane, its a post?

yes, i know i haven't posted in a while, again...

Latin is just as evil this semester as it was last semester, i have a better handle on how to study it but the language gets increasingly more absurd as you get into more complex principles (like perfect passive paraphrastics... thats a part of speech i never want to think about again).

In world news im deeply disturbed that Hillary Clinton is trying to run for president, peewee herman is making another TV show, and apple computers is making cell phones. all of these hurt my sense of right in the world.

my dorm had a "dorm party" tonight. we invited a couple of the tutors and the priests on campus, cooked steaks and sat around and talked, it was very fun, though i was starting to sound like gollum when the other people manning the grill tried to overcook the steaks "nasty hobbits, your ruinsing it!" the upper class men of course do not appreciate being called nasty hobits.

I have a paper due in math two weeks from now. i dont know what on earth im going to write about in a math class but i guess i should look over the recomended prompts.

I will try and post at least once a week, do post a comment to let me know people read this (with a name! not unintelligible initials!)

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

week 1, semester 2

well, im back. Spring break was great. spent lots of time with friend and family. upgraded my computer. slept more than 5 hours a night.

My section has decided to go get coffee in town tonight. we have group projects to work on so it works out well.

Nick, a friend on my dorm wing, got a Wii. its addictivly fun, not that we play it much being that we dont have a TV to hook it up too, but when we do...

well, i have to go get ready to go. sorry for the lack of content.