Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Not quite done

Oh, yeah, Blogger runs on West Coast time- it won't be New Year for a while, on their time.
Yes, and did we all enjoy our extra second too? I can't believeq it made so much news- not much happens at this time of year.

First Post, 09

Mission Acomplished
...8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Happy New Year! Right on the dot. Now what must I do this year?
Jan- Issue JMAG
See inauguration
Win big in school
Sometime later this year- start looking at colleges

Yeah, it'll all come into place.

Blog Book 2008 will be out soon- hot off the press!

Last Post, 08

Under three minutes until the New Year. If I do not type fast enough, then this will be my first post of 2009. But I do not intend for that to happen. As a matter of fact, Luke Russert is hanging around the high profiles on TV, and all eyes are in Times Square. Do you know the words to Au Lang Syne? Get ready.

Ah, 45 seconds...35...

New Year

If one has been following my blog all year, the reader would find its length as long as a novel. It really is. While throughout the years I have been struggling to write the noel (ie taking various writings and tying them together)

Somehow, 2009 is now labeled as the most disastrous year in a long, long time.
And since I'll be up until 2009

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Water and The Working Girl

Working Girl. A great movie about an aspiring secretary (Melanin Griffith-never heard of her name) from Staten Island (supposedly) who speaks with a Brooklyn accent. A ski scene, she becomes 'da boss', plays the Wall Street game, wins over the respect of men in the workplace, gets Harrison Ford and dumps Alec Baldwin. Then she gets a secretary, and they have coffee together. Which reminds me about how important proper hydration is.

Having gone all morning and afternoon without a drink. On a bridge while biking, my head hurt a lot for no reason. I thought I would faint--but soon, I found a water fountain that Little Brother noted. I pushed the little button, and nothing came out. I pushed harder, and ka-bam! Now if someone caught a video of me lapping the water (from a shiny, brand-new water fountain) like a dog...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

360 Around HOT

It was hot I was in short I felt like I was melting I turned on a fan when I did tennis I was loose like a heated piece of taffy

Saturday, December 27, 2008

A Little Holiday

Blog all of three days in six minutes?

After the balmy day of Christmas was half-gone, we headed to Virginia Beach, checking in to a hotel where we had frequent stay points. Pretty nice place, glass elevator.
The concurrent light show was swell, the bike path smooth as always.

Second day, it turned out that one night was not enough. Stay another night, go to the MacArthur Mall and Museum, see Mommy and Daddy's former residence and running grounds, Chrysler Museum.

I'm not that much in the Blog Zone.
I'll save day 3 for later

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Id Faciendum Est

Twas the night before Christmas, and I had a reading at the 6pm. Went totally well, watched Charlie Browns Christmas Special on VHS, played some e-poker with the cyberpals, and will go to bed, to see if presents appear under the tree tomorrow, perchance.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

PTSD in a school setting?

It occurs in soldiers, police people and fire people. But I keep on having these recurring dreams and perceptions of school- 5 days or more per week, four months nearly straight at 6am. It's being nervous of something, something. Report cards don't come out until Jan. 6, but for now, it's relax and do some history.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Pooks Hill Station

Grosvenor Station. Grosvenor. The least American metro station name after L'enfant Plaza. I got schooled on its pronunciation about a week or two ago. Is it gros-ve-nor, grovs-ner (as the conductors say it), it actually is Gro-venor, with the Norman French silent 's', according to a native. Since 1984, the name has been tripping everyone up. Pooks Hill, the name in the original plans, would have satisfied the American desire of easy. Then the station had Strathmore added to its name. Unlike such stations as Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams Morgan, or U Street/Cardozo/African-American Civil War Memorial Station, people actually use the new part of the name.

Well, that leads to what Little 'Borther' had me do yesterday. He had me ride the entire Metro system. We boarded at 2:10pm, took the Orange Line out to New Carollton, doubled back to the Blue to Largo, headed off to Green to Branch Ave, reversing towards Greenbelt. But, by then, it was 5:30pm, and Mommy called us to come back home for supper. On the Red Line from Fort Totten home, I asked whether he was still recording the train times, as it pulled into each station. "No, never again on Sunday". Indeed, we spent well over an hour waiting for trains, as it was Sunday. We put our farecards through the exit gate at just about 6pm.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

An American Way

So Walgreens was selling cans of Progresso soup for $2.99. SOrt of outrageous. Well, they had a sale that brought the price down to 99 cents, and Little Brother found a coupon for $1.10 off the price. THerefore, we could earn 11 cents by purchasing the soup, as sometimes happens. So we did, along with some other stuff. We got home, and I popped the lid. Well, well, it so splattered everywhere in a terrific fashion. Why? A mild dent in the rim. So cleaning was pesky.

But, it was still worth it to take advantage of American Consumerism!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Sort of Tired

Yes, it's finally Christmas break
but it didn't feel like it with the rainy bike ride

I shot some nice videos of ducks lapping water, and planes taking off- but boy was it wet.
Did you ever know that an airport had bike racks.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

TIme Keeps on Ticking

So my little green alarm clock that likes to alaram me at 6am started to stop ticking when I roped around the clock to turn it off. Reseting the clock would get it back in motion. Then, yesterday, I find that the clock would noot respond. I spin, I hit, then I think of the little Energizer Bunny- The battery! Replacing the Rayovac with another off-brand got the clock back on beat with a snappy rhythm.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Little Incident on the Tracks

That was one tough geometry exam.

But, I heard of a person getting hit by a train.
This serves as a reminder to be careful when doing stuff near railroad tracks.
And when driving a train, be careful.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Crime fits a Punishment

Over the weekend, a boy who was unfortunately hacked by an ice pick managed to get on the train, and ride it to the next stop, get out, and flag down the cops, causing a CSI on the tracks. That amazed me. But that was not the only fantastic crime that happened recently. Ponzi scheme- worked for a long time. Apparently, you must have enough cash on hand to pay all creditors back, if you wanted to play that way. Then comes "Pay to Play", and then, the shoe. Wow.

All that and four of seven exams down.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Multimedia Journalist

Post 350, a lot of videos online, and the news comes down to meet me

Picture the sort of fascinating journalism I do. Now imagine instead of you clicking to see my world, you turn on your TV and see me. That is what WUSA 9 is doing- the least viewed news channel around here. They are throwing out the specialists who film and do the lighting and all, even eliminating the sucker interns who do all the work when everyone else is on vacation. What is replacing my aspirations is self-reporting. After ten years of improving e-journalism that now involves real crews, these reporters are going to film themselves. Now I consider how on the film Animal Noises, I left out the usual lighting scheme by accident. I didn't want to redo the whole ad lib show, so I uploaded it it anyway. That is the future of Channel 9.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Lots of Videos

By popular request, I started putting more mundane videos online to YouTube. But, then, after on a Metro ride home, a static ensemble of producers asked me to do "Animal noises", noticing that I was unable to do the oink of the pig. Along with that came some videos from our e-library that were never placed in a JangooVision episode, and the definite cancellation of the "Dari" series, it being an epic failure. So I had to craft the Animal oises film carefully so I would not be humiliated. Well, it has been relatively sucessful, being spread around Facebook and all- 62 views the first night.

"never give up"
-ipolomarco43

To see JangooVision and all the other e-films I produce, look up atticussawatzki on YouTube.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It's called a retrocession

The Northwest Current is getting up and at the issue of DC statehood again. The main issue is voting rights. Currently, there is the proposal of the addition of new Congress seats- one for DC, and one for Utah. Whether it will pass or not, or if the Supreme Court approves, ?.
Other options do exist. There are the people who want a state of their own. That requires big stuff- constitutional and all that. Or, what may be the second option is retrocession- the Port Town of Alexandria did it over 150 years ago, so did Arlington. Everything except the National Capital Service Area (That's just The Mall) would be given back from Maryland. It's actually pretty simple- state-level approval and Congress. I mean, it's already been done before. Of course, Maryland could decide to take only the good stuff (Downtown, etc), and leave the rest behind, but I'm getting sleepy, so I'm not going to think too much about Amendment 23, which explains it all.

Or if you want to vote for Congress in 2010, just move to Virginia or Maryland, two self-sufficient, all-American states. Golly, the media is so biased.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Not too bad of a day

Good things like to happen on Tuesdays

Another run-over day in French Class
I got through over 10 Physics problems in less than 1-1/2 hours
I didn't make big mistakes on the French test
Main House dominated Austin
I broke the YouTube hiatus after determining it was safe, loading episode 3!
I performed 5-hit streaks, only to be ended by victory
Yes, I was ostracized for being #15 for the shuttle, but the 80-bus came and delivered me JIT (just in time) to say: "Ben (gasp), you thought you could get rid (gasp) of me!"
Learned the proper pronunciation of "Grosvenor" (in the local Northwest vestige of the Mid Atlantic Pure Dialect)
Found out how great I was at photography as I printed out some digital pix at Walgreen's 30-minute photoshop.

I looked up a self-esteem chart, and it's here:
http://www.midwestlincs.org/Resc/Kansas/psassessment.html

Monday, December 8, 2008

Test and Quizzed and Examed

This is my life

Monday
History, Quiz (Post-Reformation Europe)
English, Quiz (CH. 9, Great Gatsby paragraph)
Geometry, board assignment (Congruent Triangles)
Physics, Quiz (Waves)
French, Test (Crime, Subjunctives, Double Object Pronouns)
Humanities, some had a 10-min Presentation (Post-Renaissance Art)
Latin, Test (Infinitives)
Religion, Prepare Essay (Marriage)

Tuesday
Latin, Quiz (Verbs)
French, Test, cont.
Physics, Quiz (?); Lab Rpt. Due

Wednesday
Physics, Test
Religion, Essay Due

A little nervous about Physics- very comprehensive test.
I got a great tip from a classmate to write out those physics equations on paper- and memorize them cold. As for the other 10 Q+T, exams are next week. Thursday, Friday, hard review.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The mystery caller

Tonight, I got the second mystery call. Last night, the first had sent me out into the street looking behind the "little green tree". Tonight was more civil: The caller identified herself and the previous caller, with some background information. Pretty nice, though, talking to people. Of course, for the respect of privacy of others, I won't disclose aliases or locations. But they did say about how they liked what I did in the musical. So, my cellphone is starting to get a little workout.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

TFS

Long chat...a phonecall from a distant slumber party...more chat...bed

Friday, December 5, 2008

1 billion for Great Society

Money has been approved from congress for the Silver Line towards Dulles Airport- for the first segment to Tyson's Corner. This will provide easier access to the supermall there, and should spur development. Some groups even say that the area will become DC's skyscraper district. (I know it's Fairfax; Rosslyn is unsuitable because of the 300' height limit due to National Airport, and the feds probably don't want a building towering over the Pentagon, if located in Crystal City.

But will it be above or underground? It still has to be decided. Even if it were overhead, the cheaper alternative, the architectural drawings do make it look not like an eyesore.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Sawatzki Report

The virus is making national news

"YouTube users in virus panic"
http://valleywag.com/5101452/youtube-users-in-virus-panic

"Youtube Virus? Actnsswift"

YouTube Down

I just got a message from the man who runs IT that a very lethal virus is running rampant on YouTube. The forwarded message came from the design manager of the minor wonder, JangooVision News (under atticussawatzki's channel on Youtube). Youtube is the internet home of these newscasts, so episode 203 will have to wait until the virus blows over. That's some sad news for all of democracy.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Let's pretend it's Monday morning

Oh how I hate to get up in the morning
O how I wish I were still in bed
For the hardest call of all
is to hear the trumpeter call
(Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah)
(This is the Army, Mr. Jones; Irving Berlin)

6:07 am. THe little 99 cent IKEA alarm clock goes off for the first time in four days. I was sooo sleepy and loathed how Little Brother would still be in bed during Fourth Period. I take shower, eat some meal, and find that my clock went beserk- it was doing its self-tripping motion. I shook the clock a little, and it caught bak its momentum. Usually, I get some work done while on the 6:58 Blue to Largo and sequentially, the 7:10 Red to Glenmont at Metro Center. But I took a nap...

It's going to be Wednesday tommorow. I have to teach a brief lecture at 12:45 in the afternoon. I hope my listeners are engaged. And to think that one week ago, I had started the journey to New York as I was liberated for several days from the cycle.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Typing

First Blogpost on a laptop. The late Mr. Henderson let us use his spiffy job, but as close as I came to blogging on that laptop, NTFletch would do it first. Anyway, Little Brother is going back to Philly. Boy, these laptops are only good for looking at websites, not typing.

So I'm getting my blast off this laptop when I can...

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Winchester

The town that could

Nestled east of West Virginia, this industrious little town is also the wine capital of Virginia.
There are yuppies and factory workers, and it's pretty... Can't believe it's so late

Friday, November 28, 2008

Haiku to Bed

After the fruitcake
After the turkey and pie
I need some sleep now

Ten hours of good sleep
It felt really good to me
Time to repeat that

Thursday, November 27, 2008

113 x 2 Thanksgiving

I totally felt like a tourist. After getting off the and trying to figure out whether the express or local would come first (unlike most stations in the NYC subway, Penn Sta. blue line lacks a crossover), and dashing to the business dinner. We got on the local, and shuffled to the express at the next stop! Having had the NJ Transit train arrived in New York 1 hr 15 min late, we missed cocktails and part of dinner. Afterward, after a long delay, as a group, the younger St. Thomas alumni went out to in an effeminate style to the 68th street theater, ten blocks north. Duane Reade, Starbucks, theater closed and locked. How could this be? It was therefore necessary to go back downtown to 42nd street. Since all of us were cheapskates, we didn't take a taxi or a subway. When we all got to 58th again, somebody got hungry. Realizing that the last show was actually at 12:45am, and that no one really wanted to see Quantum of Solace that badly, we headed out to Bella Vita- the slices went up to $3 each! Anyway, because they wanted to rid of their pizza, they cut us deals. Some late-night supper with Chocolate News and Futurama before realizing that it was 1:30 am. By then, this was the most wasted I had made myself to date, surpassing the Dec.1 lock-in at the Cathedral last year (refer to a post around that date). So we got into bed and all. Truth and Dare with Stefane, nothing too weird, though, and we set the game into a logic loop (I dare Stefane to stop doing this game). So we all fell asleep. Or that was what I thought.

I had a good long sleep until 8:57 am, according to the clock on the microwave. I felt totally refreshed. Surprised not another soul was not awake, I looked at my own clock. It was 7:57. The clock had not been reset since the organist-in-residence left this posh midtown apartment (approx value 3,500+/mo.) in July. So I put my head back into bed. Some time later, I remembered that I needed to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade pass by on Broadway, for I never had the chance to do so.

Got some good shots. But where was Kermit? I had vowed to see him as a float while in New York. Well, I at least I saw the parade, I thought, as I got dressed for church. I took a wide look out the window. Some Escalade and a small dirigible. Then I heard loud applause. A green head. Sure enough, it was Kermit, and his dominating minions holding him to ground were dressed in florescent green jumpsuits, as I had been informed. I got two awesome shots, and jolly-lept to church.

The service was quite enjoyable, with good company. Sitting in the wide, dark, balcony of Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue that was unknown to the hoards of tourists let us rest in peace. I pulled out two knit finger puppets I bought in a hurry for $5 on the way over. A lion and a giraffe. THe crocodile would have been nice, but they were sold out. Yes, I had meant to buy them as a gift for someone all the way back in sixth grade. I lost one brief window of opportunity, and he was gone when I returned from church then. So I willed this not to happen again and all. How's that for rewriting history? Some greetings, nice to meet yous and all before taking the walk down Avenue of the Americas, cutting to Seventh and Times Square perpendicular to Radio City. With the grand avenue closed, Little Brother and I alternated taking touristy shots of each other as we rattled to Penn Station (at 33rd, not 34th!) past Macy's Herald Square. I didn't get to see any large floats being deflated of helium, though. They were probably done at 28th street, a larger street than the others. Looking for a cheap lunch took us around the large loop under Madison Square Garden, and out to a falafel vendor outside, who sold those lamb gyros for $5. Coupled with two cans of 99 cent Arizona Iced tea and a $1 bottle of water, we faced the train departure board. Twenty minutes delayed. The only one out of 20 trains on the board. Oh well, the train could catch up time. Better start late and fast, rather than on time, go fast, then wait for the schedule to catch up. We looked for our unaccompanied minor friend, who might get us bumped into business class. Eating the gyro on the floor in the coach section of waiting room wasted a little time. Just looking into the sparsely populated First Class waiting area... 2:25pm. The 169 was supposed to be here, with the delay. Instead, the message went vague. 'Delayed' I was in so much anticipation of my first Amtrak ride.

Not present for our class was NTFletch and his co-partner and twin brother, Zak. The school board thought that Thanksgiving was a racist holiday, so they had school until 3, and band practice, too. ?!

Even with your stock fund in the gutter,
We all have to be thankful for gas in the $1.-- range. That's what matters most.

Oh, and yes. I found out that three of the brothers went out to the 24-hour Apple store at the GM building (59+5th ave) to seek out internet. Why? Facebook.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Eternal Copyright

Anything before 1923 has eternal life. That's when the first Mickey Mouse was First it was 28 years, then doubled if requested, then 70 years... now, it's lifetime plus 70 years in America- scenario: a 15 year old writes a book- lives to age 95. Copyright doesn't end for another 70 years, so the kids can get some dough. That's 150 amazing years- imagine- pre-civil war material still under copyright. Amazing. Corporate copyrights are up to 95 years now, and as Mickey gets close (as it did in 1998), it'll be renewed. So don't copy this bloggy.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Balt 57

One of the best thing about staying in hotels is the indigenous TV news!
Montreal somehow gets the Detroit news- how exotic- I haven't been to that part of the country in years. Watching local news that isn't national. News that is not recession-proof, and the reporters don't fake about financial tragedies and the audience can't say, "what people". Reporters who aren't invincible, smart, or even rich.
Detroit news- more closing factories, the stun-session of robberies, slaughters, and fires.

Baltimore news- a shock session of a straight line of 6 murders, not even mentioning attempts and near-fatals. Then it proceeds to national news that DC people balk at, then back to the good stuff from blue-collared Baltimore, sister of the gold-collared DC. This is what we started to get over HDTV recently, in pure color, and perfect picture, except for the occasional breaks by large jets at BWI airport. I hope that this is a permanent change- some news that makes one understand the real world.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Triple Three

It's a little surface transit website that doesn't stop growing. Last year, there were just a few destinations along the NEC (I-95) and in Washington the state. Now, at least 15 states are rostered, with many destinations, and they keep on coming in. One day, the state gets colored. Next day, the destination in that state shows up, and soon, you can book a ticket. It's pretty incentful for the companies- you can be like a real bus line now! Then, this separates the MBA's from the hacks. Until today, the little bus- I have never seen it, but I was told it was an used job- that runs from Ohio to New York, was hiding. Now it came out online, and it's quite clear it's one driver and a bus. And there's the well-managed Eastern, 12 trips per day DC-NY, flashy website. Yes, yes. Then I can see that six companies work together to have a departure from DC-NY at least every 1/2 hour between 7 am and 7:30pm. Sort of neat. www.gotobus.com

Oh, and Little Brother's back.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

MonkMUNC II

One thing that amazes me is the fact that modern automobiles can have a cold start into drive. Yes, a non-remarkable chilly drive to the conference. Three short hours
One-third of the delegates were absent- because of this, we had to made two of us from sponsors (a more exclusive club) to signatories. Yeah, it sometimes hurts like that. Gee I'm so tired, I should stop typing now.

Friday, November 21, 2008

MonkMUNC I

We started the MonkMUNC- model un conference, today. The speakers from the real UN gave intriguing speeches, and we had nice chats with three girls for one guy- reminds me of the 2:1 ratio at elementary school. I represented Angola, an oil-rich recent ex-colony in southewest Africa. Sarah Palin couldn't get that one. Committee session- went a bit slow to start, but gained momentum, especially after the observer sent a message that made our lives easier. Afterwards, there was a psychedelic whiteout- dress in white and enjoy blacklights and strobelights. But my helicopeter-parent mother is so concerend that she does not let me go to the usual dances- because they go to 11pm. At least the cast party shouldn't go so late.

And for the irresponsible ones, please do not cough in my face, or anyone else's face, because spreading illness is not a good thing.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

My Brainchild

No, passengers will not appreciate being sent from their local airport to the Dulles (VA/DC) passenger sorting facility and back to their final destination. This is not overnight mail. People want to reduce their time in the air, no matter how luxurious it may be, to spend more time on the ground. Anyway, three airports got new runways today- Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare, and Portland. DC's strip was the most economical, at $350 mil, the cost of 6 Boeing 737's. The Portland runway somehow cost $1 bil. How did that happen? Anyway, cheers to the future of air travel from these smart cities.

Sponsored by Northern Express Airlines. Coming to an airport near you.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Lin's Authentic Chinese Restaurant

running fru' da' lil' dawg? runnin' fru' da' cops'? runnin fru' da' Main-dawgs?
u din't run' fru' da' punches - happy birfday, Ben-dawg

I never had the chance to tell you all about the lovely Chinese banquet I enjoyed two weekends ago. This was hosted by the WAPO- the asian orchestra who has a lot of clout with the Montgomery county admins. I still haven't figured out who financially sponsored the event, though. But does it matter?

Introductions by individuals
1. Traditional Chinese appetizers- sliced bamboo and meats
2. West Lake Soup
3. Peking Duck
4. Chow Fun/ Starch Pork Dish
5. Bok Choy with Mushroom
6. Fish Dish- delicate!
7. Desert- Sweet Rice with Red Beans
It was as authentic as it gets outside of New York Chinatown.
Sing along- America the Beautiful, two Chinese folk songs, Oh Susanna

Just to think how some people call Chow Mein Chinese food !?

(****/****)- all things considered

Here's the reference
Tony Lin's
Montrose Crossing (South Building)
Rockville, MD
Just off SR-355/Rockville Pike- 3 blocks to Twinbrook Metro

NTFletch would love this place, I bet

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Snow is Snowing

The wind is blowing, but I can weather the storm.
Whadda I care how much it may storm?

Yes, it got really chilly this afternoon. It got real windy, too. So then, it was like a real winter storm. Clouds were encroaching on the aura of sun that lied above our heads at the hill in Northeast. Then the snow flurries came, although none stuck to the ground. Yet with proactive defense, Main shut out Alban, 50-0, on this tantalizing day.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Play

Irving Berlin lived to a remarkably old age- 101, as I remember, dying only 20 years ago. Then these arrangers come and arrange some of his music into a chronological from 1910 into the 1950's. I still have not found out when the play was arranged, but probably sometime in his lifetime. Anyway, "He would have been proud of our chorus arrangements" Now, its over, and there's a big hole in my time, that I will fill with HOMEWORK! Yes, we got dressed up, made up, and had fun.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

My Hair Might Turn White

Last published Nov. 10, or, as I recall, last Monday. Today is the 15th. The last time I left such a large gap in time is the trip to Canada's <>. You might have thought I went on vacation or something. Only if you call play rehearsals that. For the matter of fact, the last time I was on a computer was last Tuesday. So what has been going on? Monday/Tuesday was Veterans' Day. I didn't have the opportunity to thank all the little people who do the big job of upholding democracy, so I do so now. Armistice Day was Nov. 11/ Tuesday, some people got Monday off instead/too. But 11/11 is the real deal, 3 day weekend or not or 4. Yesterday was the first of three performances of the conceived musical, I Love a Piano. In Humanities, we got five e.c. test points, or half a letter grade, for going to a show. Ditto. Now I must go on with the show.

Monday, November 10, 2008

LIfeline

I flooped on the Physics test from last Friday, I found out. Now take a picture of the mess I made, print it out, and show it to the world. Yes, I get disturbed when I floop on tests, but especially since I was trying to make a recovery. Anyhow, I made one basic error, had it triplicate, and lost lots of points. That's what made me sad all day, and giving me a psychosomatic stomachache plus fatigue. Now about the picture. That is the final grade going into the progress report. If I am fortunate, I will have been saved from utter failure, if not, I am a sucker. Remember- no matter what goes around internally on a piece of paper, it's only 6 weeks to exam. Scary yike.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Obama, 44th President

Why haven't I been around for two days? The internet broke- really, on Wednesday. The internet box (modem) showed a red light or a blank from the point of failure onwards. It was sad. I was totally isolated, and couldn't get some work done, either. So last night, we got the tech support on the phone, and reinstalled the internet. It works swell now, and somehow, the search history didn't disappear, either.

Tuesday night, 10pm, I was down by the White House. A group had gathered, and they were all so excited about Barack, as if he was a celebrity. So NBC was geopolitically correct, and waited until the Californian polls closed to declare victory for the posterchild. And you never know. Until it's over it's not over. So then people start cheering, and dancing, and everything, more than New Year's and the Fourth of July combined.

Wednesday, 7am, I was handed a piece of history at the train station- the full-page cover of the Examiner showed the victorious man on the cover. We also got hold onto one of the first-run copies of the Washington Post. Yeah, yeah, I had a French quiz to think about, but it wasn't too much of a damper.

Gotta get some shuteye. Oh, JMAG is out. Follow the link to the main page to it.

Delayed Delivery

11:00pm

to all
With pacific coast tallies in, Barack Obama has most certainly been elected by a wide margin for president

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Memo

At 10:30 pm

By current events ongoing in the electoral college , we will announce that Barack Obama will most likely be president of the USA.

(put this in JMAG)

Vote or be shunned

Have you voted yet? It's still not too late.

I've been intently watching the LCD screen as the incoming results from some states come in- NH, KY, IN, (Obama leading in all but KY) in a trickle. Much more info will come in shortly after 7pm.

I'll give more of an update later- just wanted to get the word out.

Monday, November 3, 2008

668-2008

Go out and vote tommorow. Vote for and, most likely, somebody at the state level as well. Even if you are not qualified to vote, and you have nothing better to do, cast a provisional ballot. Whether Remember, I don't want to become a commie subject because of some irresponsible 20 year olds' choice to be apathetic. First thing to go- freedom of speech, and this website will disappear. So please do excercize your right as a citizen of the free world and I'm not- by law I'm too young, but I've been making sure that the barely-legal crowd is going to do so. Boy, do I feel sad for the arranger of the mock debate. Almost 18, but not quite yet. Take away votes from the people who don't need them (those apathetic 20 year olds who don't understand why they got a day off from college) and give them to 17 1/2 year old leaders of CSO teams.

Now a word about afrimative action in the Mr. Obama is poised to lose up to about 5% of potential votes on the single factor of race. Do we add 5% to his tally and give him a sure victory? Or do we give McCain several points because he has 72 years on his back? In the world of success, you don't need AA, so what's the big point of it then?

So go and vote for Obama/Biden, McCain/Palin, Nader/Gonzales, or for yourself. It should be your right not to vote for anyone, but it shouldn't be your right not to show up, though.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Mile for Life

It was a surprise. I would have brought my running shoes if I were had been forewarned. But why now? It had to happen before it got too cold. The ground was wet, and the temperature was chilly. I wondered about if the reduced friction would help our speeds. My heart rate was fast, considering I had run a democracy run to fetch mock ballots, stuck in the upper building, an hour prior, plus all the anxiety of the next 8 minutes. Seconds after the 'go' was given, I had taken place halfway between the front runners and the laggers, having not sprinted. Yet, after the first half-lap, of 3-1/4 laps, I was already panting like a dog. Hypothesis wrong. Wet grass is a detriment. Friction helps propulsion, I thought for a brief second. "2:12"- first lap. It's all a matter of breath control. Pags (freshman) does this well, I was informed, and managed a 5:40. I don't. "4:55" end of lap 2- I was pacing, keeping Joey B. within view, while the head runners were still dashing. We were separated by half the perimeter of a soccer field. Lap three- even the head runners were losing steam over the wet turf. I gave up chasing Abe, he had a sizeable advantage. 3/4 through the 3rd lap- Abe was slowing down a little, perhaps tired. I saw Joey B. coming up from behind. I rounded the last corner, into the final segment, now in as best of a sprint as I could furnish. Joey B.'s longer legs propelled him past me for a two second lead, as I could hear him call out Abe's final time of "7:02". Joey's time was 7:09, mine 7:10. The coach was distracted, or maybe my brain was running time slow. So close to breaking 7, I was. Then I think of Abe. At the end of the 3rd lap, with a little clock, he would have mustered a full sprint to make it under 7. It's all relative. I had cut 1:05 from my previous time, averaging 8.4 mph (I'll recheck the sheet- yes, photographic memory), up from 7.1 mph on ideal conditions. What a difference one year can make. The leader, at 5:45, averaged 10.5mph. Impressive. I tried hard not to collapse to the ground. I had to lean on the soccer goal to stay up, as I took shallow breaths and felt delerious, and watched the trailers come in. Yet, 6:30 was the average time. Everyone was like that, 6:30. Anyway, the kid who I sent to hell in my Dante paper, he proclaimed that he knew CPR. I wouldn't let him become the proudest fellow, so I didn't pass out. Lots of replenishing water, and some indoor 2-ball soccer. Yes, we won. And yet, afterthree hours, my heart rate was still in the 110 range, definately aided by candy. But by Orchestra, another hour later, my cardiopulmonary had recovered, and my legs were starting to get sore.

So, I don't want to do that for another year. Make that "I'll never have to do it again in my life", because this is my last year of Phys Ed. So be it.

Then today, I come across a pair of handcuffs, made I never tried them to see if they were legit or not, but they looked like they were, even though they were made in China. Yes, EST is keeping us up. Even though I've switched my clocks, it still feels as if I were always given an hour by mercy- I have to get used to 6pm sunsets. Before I stay up until 10pm, or my body's 11pm, ciao for now.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween Duties

So for last evening, I dressed like a plastic cop. No, not really, but I did make sure to take note of suspicious people who looked out of place. You see, Georgetown has a lot of rich people, and ones that aren't afraid about flashing their wealth. But the problem is that, people come across town on the bus, and take bags of candy away with them. So I noticed that the people who were in place (neighborhood kids and some friends from Arlington and up Northwest). They tended to have more success with candy-milling. But I tell everybody now, Georgetown people are getting tired of giving candy out to the whole city.

Friday, October 31, 2008

The Darkest Commute

The last weekday in Daylight Savings Time, and the first one this late in the year. How dark it was as I emerged from the Union Station portal. Anyway, I was wearing a Main Hose shirt with matching A-Team hat. Got some support, but didn't win. It's time for bed. I'll talk later.
Have a spooky Halloween.

Next up- keeping Georgetown straight at night.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Getting the Best of Us

I started off on the wrong side of the pillow this morning. You see, the pillow was pretty flat, and that doesn't make my day. I get on the E2 to go to school from the station. I get into the Pearls Before Swine comic, and I get off on the wrong side of the street- that is, two blocks down from where I wanted to be. Luckily, I caught it early. An unfortunate lad was once left on the bus all the way to Vincent Gray's office. That was about 6 blocks. I'm not even sure if he made it to class on time. I only realized the blunder on some of his schoolmate's faults when I saw he had not gotten off, before doing the dash across South Dakota. I could only get a little glimpse of the pain. As you can see, there are two stops to get to school. One leads to the "downstairs building". Everyone gets off here. The other one leads to the "upstairs building", up a long, inclined road. So most people don't bother waking you from your paper or nap.

So, mid-morning, we had this assembly for debate. It was uber-boring- of course watching inside Washington and Washington Week and McLaughin Group really destroys reality, until they could see that we were a little turned off. Then they gave us what we wanted! For the last half-hour, it was engaged, and sly comments were thrown. But none was more personally damaging that of the Tax Plan- Obama's plan to revert taxes back to pre-Bush cut levels on hard-working families making over $250K/yr. Earlier, a Democrat representative had stated that lowering healthcare costs were, indeed, important for him and his family, personally. So, not five minutes later, we hear about this microdynasty's holdings across the globe, and a slightly shrinked disposable income of... I won't tell...nah... $50K. So now, there's this 5-foot circle around him when people talk to him. I sort of feel sorry for him, uintended consequences, wrong side of bed and all.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

In the Ghetto

The politically incorrect, but strikingly true story of a po' baby born in da' hu', and gets killed. Yes. The broadcast news loves to turn these tragedies into dough, and scare you into turning you into a ten-o-clock news addict. The effect is especially pronounced when the boradcasters do it in Tandem. So as those tragedies unfold on the TV screen, Elvis Presley's offensive song goes well on the computer.

Which reminds me to tell you all: Stayin' Alive, the little disco ditty, is a good song to listen to while performing CPR. It puts you in the right rhythm to do it. Just put in on your MP3 player, it's a cool song anyway.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Donkey

Foreword: For the past year-and-a-half, you all have been reading about my superficial life, with some cool stuff in it. Now, I write like I am Truman of the Truman Show. A very popular movie from 1998. For all those who had access to the internet back then, you might be having flashbacks to the good old days when the internet was 'pointless', that is, not worthless. Some cool stuff. Personal accounts w/o much emotion. But then...

This cute little donkey is all the hype in this featured blog, http://donkey-dreams.blogspot.com/. No, it's not internet 1996, and there is a deeper meaning to this blog, like a lot of blogs, than the '90's. This donkey is on a donkey farm that provides emotional support for people who need it- free of charge and supported through the sale of artwork. What a touching story, it puts off my Elvis "in the ghetto" prophecy, but the donkey, and the cause, deserves it.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Spiffy Little Job

I couldn't find the school right off the bat. Among the towers of Bethesda was our destination.

That was yesterday, when there was a concert called "Dream Tour around the World". It was a Chinese production, portraying Chinese music, as well as Asians and everyone else performing music from all over Europe, and then, authentic Latino music, and some African drumming. But I only got to hear half of that- I had to go backstage. This was at B-CC- for those who don't know, Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Nice 2002 everything, from classrooms to expansive 1000 seat auditorium, and very, very clean- totally unlike a typical DC (or even PG) public school. Somehow, most people there are well off- there was a sign boasting a guest speaker from 'da hu' making a presentation about 'DC poverty'. What a foreign concept!

It had a feeling of an All-star school. In fact, it is America's Best High School- in 1960. 2005- it was tagged as #29, and now, #63. Cause- Ranking system gets skewed; Magnet schools are included, and the ratings are 'unbiased'; that means that the $ factor is excluded- none of the fancy toys came cheap. But Newsweek doesn't feel the need for keeping it real. I need to write my own rankings. It'll work better. Anyway, that explained the 2015 target goals posted up and down the hallways.

PS- Wilson High, situated between high-lauded BCC and Arlington's even higher-ranking HB Woodlawn, is given #386, even with the School Board's listlessness, deteriorating facilities, and violence- although not as bad as 'DC Poverty Place'. Still, it's a reductio ad absurdum.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Building Tall

Check my facts, but America maintained the homeland of the world's tallest building from the turn of the last century up until 1998. It's time to bring it back. With what the oil money are doing in Dubai makes formidable competition- breaking 2K feet isn't good enough- I think the next building will be 1/2 a mile tall (2640 ft). At least Chicago is building her Spire. But I do believe that a new city should get the honor. On my behest, the JangooCorp will need a new home. What about the capital city, DC? By law, height is width of adjacent street plus 20', not exceeding the height of the capitol. That's only like 28 floors. By permission, recess from the curb can be added height, as the National Cathedral. By FAA request, Rosslyn is restricted to 490 feet above sea level, anything taller gets in the way of planes trying to land at National. Bethesda? Silver Spring? Crystal City? Wherever the land prices are high is where the Corporation wants to build a tower. Completion date- approx. 2035

Thursday, October 23, 2008

BLOGGY 3*1*1

There is this little replication of Mary, Queen of Scots, being beheaded in an Edison video production from 1895- since it's so low-resolution, and with a distant viewpoint, one doesn't mind the lack of blood and gore.

But was that one music class- a double-booked sub resorted to letting us play two-ball soccer against (not just with) the sixth graders. They're small. But we were outnumbered 2-to-one, and we had to be real careful... final score 6-4 us. Yes, and we had a little 2-minute water break halfway through the 30-minute game. Yes. That's what being little is all about.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Three Days of Thought

Important emails were being sent from this peripheral unit last night. So that brings me to Little Brother's laptop. A $1.5K outfit behest by the HIll School. Nothing too extraordinary; none of our neighbors have free open wifi. So, that's what a starbucks is for. Or an Eastern/DC2NY/ Megabus for Internet four hours straight, between DC and New York, if an electric plug is provided.

Now an important topic that I never brought up to you. It was one of those metal mixing bowls, with two round latches on the side. So, to melt the butter, I put the metal thing in the microwave for ten seconds. I take it out with paper towel. It is cool to touch. Then a finger touches a round loophole. Yoken Yikes! I suffered an annoying second degree burn on the finger. It sure made writing tough for a week- and it could have been worse. So don't do it. Take the time to transfer the butter. Somehow, the loops attracted radiation, because that's what metal coils do. Same with dark, round tattoos in an MRI, as I read a scientific paper on. Same goes for putting cell phones in one, too.

So then, I come down to freewriting novels. Namely, the long-term novel. I am capable of wrting pages in 10 minutes, but I cancelled those pages from the master plan because it could be better. Anyway, if I had the time, I could theoretically write cheap novels in a three-day weekend. But I don't. Yes, and when one becomes a good writer, people expect the best. JK Rowling had a writer's bloc/block. Yes, every word has to be good. Same with my lit, but I haven't yet set the bar for myself, yet. An experience today made me think of Opera. Two JV soccer players come by. One wants to chat with me. The other cares less, especially since I started the novella which portrayed him as a flawed character. We three are dudes, so I decide to switch the dualist's name to Delora, which already resembles his common nomenclature, but in dame form. And here we can go in a typical Bully lover serves tough love to dame. Dame looks to the darling guy (who has more dough and charm) And we go on for two hours as Delora the Soprano sings high above the guy-fight. Happy ending. The End.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Pursuit of Happiness

Have you ever seen a little crab at barge fishmarket that escapes the live bushel into the water? No, the crab does not have real emotions, but it has a basic sense of want, direction, accomplishment. So we sometimes feel happy

Don't you know how it feels when you're really happy and all, like when you got the Hail Mary test answer correct, or when you find your lost cell phone (ahem), that is, or when Main House beats archrival Moore or formidable opponent Austin? And then there are those times when you have momentary nirvana on earth, like when you find your lost cell phone (ahem), the Redskins go to the superbowl, Main House wins the trophy, or, as last night, I pulled off a Texas Hold-em comeback.

You see, I was playing the hypothetical penny slots. I was up by 100, but this sinister lady took me down to zero, and everyone else. I was torn to pieces. I didn't have any major success until I went into the nickle-and-dime league. Yes, I pulled away a full house on the first game. And got about 3000 chips for it, putting me in the 100K-pro category. Awesome.

PS- I do not endorse gambling, and this isn't playing with real money, but it's real practice for Vegas or AC. And when I edit posts, I do notice some spelling errors. Bad me. Don't worry, just be happy.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Weather it matters

It's finally getting a little chilly, for good, I think. No more chilly morning/hot afternoon combos. Those really get annoying, after a while. And this year is the first fall to have a later DST-end date. Boy, will it be dark in the mornings. Yes, I got that take-home test done. Awesome, but it was matched up to our advantage- it still took 45min to an hour. And I'm off to bed.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Halfway There

Yesterday...that was a top-ten of this year post. But let me tell you- It is my half-birthday. I am 151/2. I do not know what this means for me, but in some places, it does have some significance (Virginia is an example- minimum age for LP). Time has been passing so slowly that I already feel 16. Just imagine if this aging continues, I'll be 80 before I know it. And anyway, if we make too much of a deal of this, we could be be having our monthly parties!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Wasn't that a week ago?

Like a cartoon character chased by personified steel nails, I can say finally can tell you about last Saturday night. Homecoming. I promised people that I would go. I get a little pep talk about attire- 'semi-formal', so then I look it up. I selected style based on the explanation that, if no further word was given, such as 'suit-and-tie', this implied smart casual, or something. Yes, we love to dress up whenever we have the chance. It was a black-suit, shoes, and tie event, I was informed when I got to the gatekeepers. I was not the first. Yes, they would let me in (for a fee), then run the chance that I be chased out by disciplinarian. And anyway, it was part-over, and I was pretty tired. I tried to come, so what can they do to me? At least I didn't become laughing stock of the town on Tuesday morning.

Zut Alors, I have a physics test tomorrow. Gotta dash!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

California en Fuego

The PSAT's were fine, but by regulation, I can't tell you too much about them, other than the three afternoon classes- a little tired, but that's OK.

Anyway, I was terrified by the headlines in Tuesday's paper- Calif. on fire. Then, there is California allowing 'different' marriages. Yes, in the old testament, the angry God smote the Sodomites. Is he angry with California for being so...progressive? And then- we must not forget the New Testament's compassionate and all-loving God. and then, has Oregon ever been punished like that?
Just a prophecy.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

It was Tuesday

A decisive victory today for Main House- 91 to 56 over Alban. 100 would have looked great, but this is good for now. Before faculty intervention, Main had scored 7 TD's.

And PSAT's are tomorrow. Good night.

Monday, October 13, 2008

It's Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. According to many, he discovered America. Yes, the Natives who crossed over the isthmus amounted to nothing, and the Vikings meant nothing as well. So be it. He didn't even discover Florida. And yet, we fly Italian flags next to the red, white and blue to commemorate 516 years of the commencement of traditionl and biological warfare against the Natives, and exploited our natural resources.


Yet, 16 years ago, at the 500th anniversary in 1992- in that corny year (see my Youtube channel), no one was abhorred by the weneration of one arbitrary sojourner, who barely made it. And even today, in our 'integrated' world, it doesn't cross everyone's minds. Yes, Yes, let's salute a racist (Have you ever read what he wrote about the friendly Natives by 1597?). Happy Columbus Day!


PS- the MoCo kids, and other jurisdictions got the recent Jewish holidays off as neccessary, but condsidered this holiday as too offensive for lots of people. They are in school right now, maybe learning about the Italian sailor or not.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Put on a happy face

Gas prices are crashing down (like the stock market), so let's all put the little hybrid away and pull out the Humvee. And throw the bikes on top of it, even though you won't use them, but just for the sake of wasting precious fuel. Leave the lights on, as well as the computer, because it's time to celebrate. Yes, it hasn't been since the '90's that the media used the cute factor of Socks (the Clinton's cat, now age 17-1/2 (a good 90 in cat years) as a prime attractant. Remember, the news is like any other business. But, especially Fox, loves to use the scare factor. Economy Crashing. Unemployment. Misery. Great Depression. Yes, part of it is George Bush's fault (and his dad and brother), but the rest is mind-altering exaggerated fluff intended to make us cringe at the purse string. Darn, I gave out the secret.

Anyway, go out and spend some $ this (racist*) holiday weekend, and enjoy life to the fullest!
From the producers of JangooVision

* I'll explain tomorrow.

Friday, October 10, 2008

301-555-BLOG

That was bad. After I filmed the sub-vertisement, I put my cell phone into a shallow pocket- while still seated, because it was a crowded train car. Bad idea. When I do my usual scan of the seat area, it was a newspaper mess, by the last person who sat there. I get up and leave train car. By escalator I notice cell phone not in usual pocket. It usually happens this way: I put cell phone in bag after use. But no. The chase was on. Not much to do other than call mommy and daddy, until after school, where I chased the phone up to Glenmont, where they would theoretically clean the trains. But that's only in New York. SO I came home, hoping for a sign. I filed an online report, and now I'm just waiting for Tuesday morning to see if they got it- and not someone else.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

300, but not the last stand

Alternate Title: All Eyes on Iceland

Is it just because I traded Northwest Airline miles from 10 years ago for a Wall Street Journal subscription that I found out about the monetary crisis in Iceland? Well, the value of their currency is not half of the Euro, or 1.10 of them for a greenback. SO, I looked up the cost of an Expedia vacation package to the chilly island. Airfare from Boston, roundtrip, pre-Thanksgiving rush is $546, or a mere $273 each way- direct-purchase saves $5 per flight. Or, my little itinerary from DC would include Eastern Bus fare ($20) to New York City, lunch in Chinatown, and a Lucky Star bus to Boston ($10), and T fare to the airport (under $2) for an overnight. Or throw a night in Boston into the sojourn. Then, follow your Expedia print-out... in Iceland's deteriorating currency, the hotel rooms come out to a mere $40 a night!- Holiday Week (Dec 20- Jan 3 this year) is a different story...

Yes, yes, international travel for under $1000 (and that supposedly includes taxes and enough food)

Celebrating three times one-hundred posts!
Long live the Blog, even though Sparta fell.

I thank everyone for the support of our JangooVision Productions. It really means a lot.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Texas Holden

Catcher in the Rye. A fascinating mid-20th century novel that fits well in the pocket. It is said that it can be read in one night- if wanted to, or be prolonged into a page-by-page adventure. But, some says the books turn people into psychopaths. Mr. Hinckley, who was an attempted assassin, read this book shortly before the ambush at the now-historic landmark Washington Capital Hilton on Connecticut Ave. John Lenin's Grimm Reaper had the pocket-sized book on him as he took the legend down. But like the generic kid named 'Jamal', the reading of it is not a cause of insanity, but could be a possible indication of a psychopath. Just thinking.

BTW- Holden is a depressed kid, possibly suicidal, but never dangerous to others.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Tandy Center

After some technical difficulty, this month's JangooMag is online. Remember, you can also get it via email or Facebook inbox! Soon, we'll make it easier to get a free subscription.

Anyhow, I was waiting for a day like this to write about the Tandy Center Subway- the only privately-owned subway in the USA at this time- 1963-2002. The little subway connected the shopping center to the riverside parking lots. The ride was free, and, after the 1974 rehab, the trains looked so '70's, or, like a computer from then. Remember, Tandy was a computer company, and parent company of Radio Shack (tm). The subway sadly closed in 2002, as the site was redeveloped, and the trackage put to Fort Worth Transit use. Click Here.

BTW- Tandy started out as a leather store in 1919. Then they went high tech.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Don't be Hateful

Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, a Congolese who is in Fatherland Belgium, is filing a suit against the publishers of TinTin. This is what makes a mockery of the justice system- wasting people's valuable time, and threatening freedom of speech in Europe, just because Herge was being historically accurate. If you can get this boy's adress, I'll refund your postage stamp. Yes, just try to sue me for blogging.

I f you don't know, Tintin is a Belgian colonizer (approx. birthdate 1910)- yes, Belgium has colonies in Congo, with a dog named Milou (in english editions, it's translated to Snowy) who endeared the world in books by cartoonist Herge from 1929 into the '80's. Now just look at what this unpatriotic college student is trying to do.

So, as what Rat is doing in Pearls before Swine this week (tip-off- frivously sueing billionaires in an attempt to become very wealthy) is not as bad as the symbolic guilder (euro).

And please don't sue people unless it's for due recompension!- and not because someone drew a picture that offended you. t's partiotic to pay a just amount of tax, and it's patriotic not to desecrate a national symbol.

Here's a link to some TinTin cartoons:


Same thing goes for all the other cartoonists over there.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Fretting about the Future

Here we are, stranded five workdays away from Columbus Day. But we still have two weekend days, but I have a lot of typing to do- lab reports, etc. Otherwise, History class will be the first thing Monday morning. Remember how I said that I maintained in the mid-90's last year? That system gave me A's all year, balanced with a little HW-grade boost. But I had a little slip-up, and scored an 86-on a 100 point test that made up 2/3rds of the grade. BUt the great thing is, the points are easy to move around. If I score a 93 (28/30) on a DBQ (AP-style Document Based Question), then average goes up to 88. Now if a test were 96 (as frequently happened last year), then average goes up to 91... Yes, I should have made a proper guesstimate regarding 'inclusion'- D is usually the best choice when lists are involved. But in the great scheme of things, the 'real' grade doesn't balace on two multiple choice questions. Yes Yes. It's the first advisory time already. And not to get started about the Physics grade of C...

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Green Slitherer

This describes the DC Metro's Green line as it weaves at high speeds under the most spectacular, and most violent view of the city (13 and Clifton Sts, NW, but don't step out of the car). Taking the Red Line to the OB is usually quickest, but today, Red Liners were stacked up at every signal. Therefore, it was Green Time. I can't believe I'm doing this is such little time, but Fort Totten- Lower platform is half on and half under the cliff. Train speeds up to a 65mph cruise to serve Petworth and Columbia Heights, cut and cover resumes south of Shaw in the 1991 section. Pass the lower level of Gallery Place, under the mall and poping up in the HUD area of L'enfant plaza, a '60's urban renewal area. At the south end of the station, a set of escalators lead to nowhere, perhaps a future entrance. Get on OB, lower level. Note the glass-paneled escalators.

Sorry for not having enought time!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

This Little Box

is causing me so much grief! It's called the modem. Holding in the wire sometimes is the only way to get some internet flowing. Yes, I should get a new box. Now that was an electric storm earlier this evening. Otherwise, Main plundered Moore in an inconclusive victory.
Sound like I should be off in bed keeping my head to myself? Sure thing.

Thank You for all your support in our campaign!

Monday, September 29, 2008

House Day 2008!

After 1.8 hours of being in the auditorium, we got out to the playing field. remember, we were in four gourps- our group was skewed to the younger side- I was the most senior- and lots of Aussies- I never told you about the holidaymakers? They thought we did it proper- no, we do it bulldog style. Pull a victory against Alban, lose to Moore. Protect-the-wall. We did well. Krazy Dodgeball- double dodging from both front and back. It took a while to get the strategy right- get balls to your prisoners- fast. 1st-Austin, 2nd- Alban 3rd- Main, 4th- Moore. Trivia. By halftime, after current events and 'the real stuff', Main was up by 30. Then comes Andrew of Austin, and totally serves me. 210 him, 80 us, 50 Alban, 30 Moore. Austin was the formibale opponent.

It all came down to the race again. Main 42, Moore 45 after lunch. If we beat Moore, then we win the day, if we do not come in last. (Austin=40)
Relay happens, I get some good flicks. Little kids in Main- we are losing. 9th and 10th grade picks up the pace- noting Connor W. for his superb passing skills along the 1/4 mile track. Then, by 11th grade, we lost the place- it was not our fault, though. It was that they had a totally awesome runner. Then we picked up the pace at the end, but no pennant. We had to settle with second. But not too bad. Main was a far fourth at Christmastime, and also lost Field day to you know who- Moore, and we still came out victorious.



Revenge will be ours!
Tomorrow- some intramurals that COUNT!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Recourse

I looked back to Jan. 2, 2008's post of whether it would be a good year or not, according to the TV psychic. The psychic is smarter than you think. While the universe is faliing apart, and black holes are being made, and Cheney makes another billion, people are going to look back at Christmastime, and say, "that loony was right". For this one reason- A new president of the '10's. While the best effect would be the O-man, the McSame would be a slight improvement over the same old. Have at thee, people who believe psychics have magic powers!

Intelligence. A great trait for a great leader. Vote Atticus at 8 am!

One Day to Go...

I nearly forgot to tell you all about the cruelly funny thing that happened to me Friday afternoon. You see, I had orchestra at 3:00pm. Due to our new schedules, we usually end quite early before the 4:30pm (note-it used to be 4:40pm) shuttle leaves. So I go down at 4pm with the I attend some business about the campaign, you know, and I pick up my heavy backpack as well as my AP-edition (what a selling point!) Western Civ. book, and miss the E2. I head to 12th street and board the Brookland-bound 80. Once we go through Downtown Brookland, and pass an 80 in the other direction, I realize, Duh! I left my violin at school. My mother warned me about this, if I had an outlying book. And boy was she right. I try to use Michigan Avenue's hypotenuse action to catch up with that other 80, but it was no use. I continued alonmg Michigan for a while...I knew that turning up 14th would lead to the lower building, where the violin was, so I found it, and ran it. I saw somebody waiting at the E2 stop. I added speed, and defcided that up around the hill to the upper building, a thru sweep, and out through the parking lot would be swiftest. So I did so, grabbed the $2K apparatus, and got to the E2 stop. I waited. No bus. Physics teacher comes. I try to gather my scattered belongings in a way that made me presentable enough. The E2, it was running late. Then down comes the 4:30pm shuttle. I get on, and we head out with the first-time shuttle driver. It was an experience worth waiting for.
Sort of Higgins-esque?

Forgetting. That's not what you do for voting for Atticus Sawatzki on House Day. Perserverence. Passion. Patience. Traits that make a good leader. Vote Atticus, tommorow. Make the right choice for your future.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Don't Copy That Floppy

I watched this video from a rap'rboy about floppy disks- nowadays, rapper's wouldn't talk about their floppies- neither do they of CDs, MP3 (they should care!)- just Escalades, etc. That's why I don't listen to hiphop. Anyway, a rapr' dressed in suit and hat tells these kids in a 1992 setting (I had to check fashion-era.com to put words to the lamenity of '90's dress)- yes, it was the fleece and trousers for all!

Luckily, we have this thing called the internet and You Tube (yootoo') to watch this informative film. Boy, am I jealous of YouTube. But, Don't copy my bloggy! (Hey, bloggy's a word)

A choice that is never out of style- Vote Atticus Sawatzki on House Day

Friday, September 26, 2008

Internet me

As I have said before, a faulty internet connection has caused me much grief since we moved the internet-ready PC to the auxiliary phone line (It's DSL). I finally think I got to the root of the problem- a faulty box with a loose connection.

Solutions. That sounds like Atticus Sawatzki. Vote for Atticus on House Day.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Micro SD Life

I rectified the recognition problem with the chip, and now can save to it, but how do I ever get the pix to PC? Is Verizon really that scummish, making one buy their software!? I think so. Anyway, big scary physics test 2morrow.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

That Lame Duck!

George Bush made a rare appearance to a national audience tonight, and begged us for our $2333 each ($700bil. bailout). What do I think about it? hmmm... giving lots of money to rich people... if I were one of them...
What I do have to say is that it may be unnecessary; a shares swap could work like it did in Sweden. Or the Bush I bailouts of $150 billion wasn't too painful? That amount, inflation adjusted, and doubled, is about $400 bil.

The tax plan
Now suppose next year I got $1 million in income. According to the Obama plan, I'd have to shell out $35K more. Parting with that dear cash! That's the price of 1) a cabin or small house somewhere 2) a new semi-luxury car 3) a pre-owned aircraft.

But if using the McCain plan, I would pay $6500 less, but it would put the USA into more debt...
too many numbers?

If it applies to you- VOTE 4 ATTICUS on House Day.
You'll get your value for your buck.

(WSJ)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Who's the Best Rep?

It seems that the Form Rep (IV) position is not going unopposed. The glory of such a position is to be contested, to let the people choose who would represent them best.

A.J. is a formidable contestant for the position, and CB (the Mainmeister who led the blueshirts to intramural victory two weeks in a row) is highly considering opposing him. But, I, Atticus Sawatzki, have submitted my name to the President to have a shot.

There are many reasons that one should vote for Atticus in this race. They include:

Previous experience
A maverick of reforms (Priory Press, 21:2)
Promoter of technology (look!)
Consistantly brings home the bacon (wamunc X)
Will represent YOUR desires, hopes, fears and dreams!

Make the choice you won't regret on HOUSE DAY!
Vote for Atticus!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

On TV 2

Channel 4.3 is repeating August history again- Mike Phelps (of nearby North Baltimore) won his sixth gold medal. The woman's volleyball team just came on. What a creative use of bandwidth?

Lest we all forget:
Mike Phelps, sadly, at 19, was not in a kiddie's driving program when he got an underage DUI in 2004. If it had happened in DC- if and only if so, Mikey would be in a massive mess with his license! He repented, though, in compliance with MD state laws. Celebrities...

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Out dis mug

I used the pejorative term "scrub" in the last post in its proper context
For all your slang needs, rep www.urbandictionary.com. Provides explanations for all the common terms that might slip in the blog, on occasion. Remember, I do use the term "regatta" on occasion.

Scrub is a term from the 1990's referring to a person who don't know the rule of the game, and is restricted by it. We throw it around in MUN (don't be a scrub!), and it's interchangeable with "nuub" for newbie.

Calleva is not liable for anything that happens

"After being knocked in the head from behind, the perpetrator was dragged from the cloakroom at a fine Italian restaurant downtown, his belly full with a meal with a group of corrupt mafia congressmen. He was tucked into the trunk of the Ferrari by Guido and driven off to Great Falls, not more than a mile from where Mario, the master of DC, had a nice estate with a vineyardette and horses. He threw the wench's body down, down the falls, and sped back to New York without."

About 7 people a year die in the Falls each year, with many more daring rescues. Most of the time these people don't die in the Falls, for it just doesn't happen, and anyway, the rescuers can find you, easy. Where the people die, though, is in Mather's Gorge, the steepest rapids in the eastern U.S.

At about 8:15, we boarded the 'watermelon bus', an old school bus painted green, and looked like one in Pennsylvania which watermelons are sold from. The clutch didn't burn up on Chillum Road, but I was a little nervous; the ancient engine roared and creaked along in heavy rush hour traffic across town to Sangamore and the one-lane bridge. After crossing the Potomac on the Legion, we were driven down Georgetown Pike, a nice, countrylike road that rolled around nice mansions with horses in the green yard. Like a wilderness bootcamp, we pumped up 7 rafts with a broken pump, a deamonish contest that emphasized tough love. For lunch, we had pitas and hummus. Yes, what if a pita was your last meal? We got briefed at a scenic overlook overlooking the great falls. "Wouldn't it be fun to raft down that?" Actually yes. It has been done intentionally. Soon, we were down the steep crevasse with a rusted pipe down the middle(?!) I was careful not to get wet; I don't want my clothes to get wet, but what. There has to be a situation in every adventure trip. This one was a suction hole in the floor of the raft that let in water. I was in the 'sweeper' boat, frankly, not the funnest of boats. All we do is tail and make sure everything is OK. Neither did we have a peer captain, responsible for steering the craft as the others obeyed commands, which is part of the teambuilding and mutual trust thing.
The first time my shoes really got wet was when we went down the first rapid. I was so worried about falling out and getting wet! But, the puddle on the floor grew. As we came around a bend, it was preplanned madness; ship hopping and mutiny! Again, as the sweeper boat, we came in late, so we had some forced fun- Captain Taylor pushes us into the water So what with it, I thought, I was already so wet. The class III lifevest, with the headrest kept us afloat, but made it practically impossible to reboard without assistance.

Soon, we had our first rescue mission. Captain Reed had grounded his boat on a protruding rock by being different. They didn't seem to understand the concept of friction, but whatever, they were 'scrubs' (rookies). Pulling over past the last set of dandy rapids, we were tested to swim across the rushing water to the Virginee side. Yes, with all clothes and shoes on, and, of course, lifevest. The current had a vector force of 40 degrees. Being instructed to swim at 45 degrees, we had barely moved upstream. Then came the endurance part: Swimming straight upstream for a length. Made it, so did everyone else. Then we just floated back downstream, after a bit of socializing. Was our team built yet? My watertight Swiss army watch said it was 1:45pm, a little time left. It was cliffjumping time. Sometimes, I dislike the feeling of freefall. So anything over five or six feet, it's a challenge, and that was the theme of the day. Peer pressure made me do it, and that was the theme of the day. I analyzed the decent; just as long as there were nop protrusions, I would be alright. Luckily, I didn't think twice before taking the soothing plunge.

The lifevest and all took the rushing wind out of the equation, and it was enjoyable. But I wasn't alright, I was informed; I had fallen within one foot of the rock surface, and it was 'fortunate' that I didn't hit anything on the fall. When asked about this, I was like :"Oh dear" "Oh dear on your life?" Now it was some time for Physics in Motion. How would I have been damaged if I would have hit the tiny, rounded outcrop? Not time for this. We were all inadvertently shivering. We continued on the final stretch, dumped out the boat, and carried it over, and across the canal. Th watermelon bus was there, and I got out of the soaking shirt and shoes. The ride home was surely forgettable. It was 3:30 when we arrived back at school. I threw on my subway pants, and got an E2 home to shower- I was itching a little. Was my team built? I'm not sure, but for others, they were built, probably. But it was never a terrifying, death-defying experience. We can't all die young.

I took a nice sip of Potomac water from the tap before writing this. Cool to the taste. No wonder about the shivering.

I hope you're feeling better, A.J.! (He had a carrot mishap)

Friday, September 19, 2008

Blaze in PA

At least four houses are on fire in an outer suburb of Philadelphia, Pa, in Pottsville PA. Many fire crews and news helicopters are in the area, reports our correspondant. Ironically, if at all, there is to be a demonstration by a foam company in this small town, tommorow, by Sparyfoam (www.sprayfoam.com)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Nats

The Nats won against the Mets last night, 7-2. I saw about 3 innings live, due to the fact that we got free last-second tickets, but, I still needed to get homework done. When we left, at the top of the 7th, the score was 4-1. There was just a feeling of Nats victory in the air.
(But, I just couldn't find the sushi bar at the ballpark!)

Today's IM's felt the same way; Main had plundered Moore 49-28. A glorious day.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

It makes me look so 1999

The School totally redid the website- It's totally amazing- its rolling maroon colors nad pictures of the scenery does it up. And now I can get to Moodle wihtout straining eyes over uv purple over red. A new website for a new---presidency?

I can't believe I spent 4 hours doing HW today after coming home from the orchestra in SUitland- first day this season.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Friday to Bed

The refresh button at last restores a failed load! Typically, the refresh utton is good only for minute-by-minute political tracking, but it worked today.

And here's to the first 5-day week of school, and for that matter, the only one in September. (The next two are an activity day, as well as House Day.)

Reporting from an earlier game- MC/CB 11, JB/AG/YO 22; 2-ball soccer. A scared defense was incapable of fending off high-powered shots. As a matter of fact, I suffered a hot white flash with a ball straight to the cerebrum. It's safer on offense.
PS- I can't be on the winning every time, hint hint.

Thanks, Delli (who featured earlier this year in his own post), for couriering my violin to me between downtown and school! Your greatness is something to be admired.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Miracle

We all survived something potentially much more dangerous than a all-out nuclear war. We have entered an age where blocs of nations compete for black-hole superiority. It's a dangerous time.

It turns out though, that the Swiss were only taking it on a test-run, and letting everyone bemoan their fate now, before Big Bang II. Real tests will start sometime soon, lest we forget.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Swiss Nuke

Stephen Hawkings made a $100 bet that the Swiss machine won't destroy us all. But think of this- if it did destroy us, he doesn't owe nobody! This black-hole spawner (its most acute side effect) is its fault. It's more deadly than a nuke- or a nuclear war- or the whole world's nuclear arsenals fired at once. If you have not heard of a possible impending disaster, look up CERN and what a black hole is- it would swallow up the entire solar system in less than an hour.

There is a chance that nothing deadly bad will happen, other than bogged down internet speeds, but remember, not even a will will save us now. Sorry I couldn't write a nicer mortem post as I wanted to, but thanks to all the people I know, as well as the rest of my anonymous readers.

My parents want to use the Internet now.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Photographs, Photos, and Pix

I'm hopeful about the microSD chip that I'm going to get soon for my Motorola Razr cell phone. It seems that Verizon lets you have mercy on this- downloading pix to your computer via the card, but not the cable, as I tried last night. And it surprised me to find out that LOTS of color photographs (note- not Colored/ tinted, but actual color) exist from the 1930's. Life back then was not totally in black and white. In fact, the first color photograph was made in 1872 -it isn't that complex of an invention- 3 or 4 color filters layered on one another.

And Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, in 1907 and onwards, used new technology, based on 3-layer technology, to make really nice color photos- high resolution. Of course, we all know about the WWII color photos, but it would make logical sense that there be WWI color photos! (www.worldwaronecolorphotos.com) There sure are! They were shot by the French Army, the proprietor of early color film.

And contrary to what Hollywood wants you to believe, The Wizard of Oz is not the first color film. Many color films were made in the 1920's, but were converted to B/W for TV, and film destroyed, in the 1950's. Wine and Cheese bars didn't exist back then. And digital photography was first commercialized in the early 1990's. It looks like a Polaroid camera, another obsolete toy, but without the ears. It wasn't until the digital cameras became palm-sized earlier this decade that people started to buy them. And hail to the SD card!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Soccertime

Two-ball soccer creates a great workout, requires great coordination and concentration, and provides the best fun. For example, I scored three half-court shots to the big, 3D mat from a defensive position. In comparison, one shot is good for me in field soccer.
A valiant effort by CB's team while 3 down with 1 hour to go lead to a victory. In the final 5 minutes, an effort was made by the losing team to produce 3/4 court shots, absolutely none of which succeeded. And did we all sweat! CB's team 46, MC's team 24.

Player KN wishes to say to Coach CB that he was 'skooled' at End-10min. It's probably one of longing for a victory.
fyi I was on CB's team.

About 6 hours later, I was covering the DC tournament (more like the Northwest league). It was St. Anselm's vs. Wilson; I knew players on both teams. DC United's mascot, an Eagle named Talon (closely resembling the National's Squawk) was there. The game started at 4:30; I left at halftime to attend to packing for the trip to Pennsylvania- this is why I have to miss the Mixer, fyi. The difference between gym soccer and this game on the new Astroturf field was that there were dire consequences that were to be taken to the end of the year, at least. At halftime, the score was 3-0, Wilson Tigers leading. A small flicker of hope exists that the Panthers pull off the victory.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

A Day in the Life of Me

I got a little reprieve on the homework tonight. This specific physics problem about the guy chasing the train really got me thinking of literary fiction, which we mentioned in English class today, today which has Chorus, where we studied Music Theory, an artes libertatis, which we learned about it Humanities and History as well. As such, we talked about the 2/0 time signature. Not possible, because it involves division by zero, like in math, and applies to how we learn French; not just counting, but discussing and resolving. It all mixes together. Whether it makes sense stays in my head.

As you all have learned (by now), I have violin lessons on Friday. I also went and auditioned for a chorus part in the Fall musical. The piece was"God Bless America." We sung first as a group, then as solos. My range fared better today than last week, and I think I did pretty well on the words and notes, except for a little anxiety stumble towards the end, and missing a non-existant cue (like everyone else- cues help!)

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

On TV

The Republicans are having their convention on TV now, and Ron Paul is having an event nearby, reportedly tickets were sold for $17.76. Get it? And not much else went on, except that today was a particularly light schedule- only 5 classes, one of which was a double-period Physics, and then Intramurals. I have a good feeling about Main this year. See why soon.

Monday, September 1, 2008

A Guy with Big Glasses and Mustache

I'm trying to get my TI-84 to do tricks. But, you can't teach a new dog old tricks, it seems. I have this book in my lap, called Programs for the TI-81 and TI-82 Calculators, by Stuart W. Ball, copyright 1994.
It mentions compatibility problems with the TI-85, a problem from the early days of computing. But TI-84 is in the same family. I caught the problem, the Division by Zero issue. I need to find how to insert the clause to the division in the hand entered code.
But back to real life, I need to know whether there is such a thing as negative tension?

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Let's Go

I was out shopping- about all day at that. But that was after the buffet; I was thoroughly stuffed on crabs and sushi and what not. But Potomac Mills- that was a crowd. Picking up stuff for Little Brother. From IKEA to Steve and Barry's to JCP, it was a steady stream of shoppers. But why? The fatal flaw was last-minute shopping for Virginia school. Oh well. But Pentagon Cty wasn't too bad. And I'm trying to learn how to use the TI-84...

Friday, August 29, 2008

An inspirational story

Texas Hold 'Em let me down today- but I knew the creator's algorithm. Since alll you readers read and always bear with me, I'll break it to you- stick with the game, and you'll get a good hand- eventually-but remember to fold regularly. The chances of getting a high hand is much greater in online poker, when green cash isn't involved. The creators want to keep you interested in their game, you see. This evening, some chap pocketed 75 of my chips, in two occasions, due to my misjudgment of who had a higher hand. One pair, bad call. Three-of-a-kind + high card should have done it- but, two pair! So after losing 120 chips, and not succeeding for over 10 hands straight, Pacific Avenue style, I almost quit. But no- just
one more, and I got this bonanza- except I didn't have enough chips to maximize the opportunity- A straight or a Flush- remember, Texas Hold 'Em, it happens. And I took a rebound.

\\There's always tomorrow\\

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Quick :ittle Post

Just sneaking a quick post here- In the first two days- and this much work. I wonder how the rest of the year will be. A little image into my busy world.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

First Day All Over

What did they expect?
Was it this:

Oh, I'm so anxious about seeing them again-it makes my stomach drop- I mean, 12 weeks, I haven't seen them in 3 months. And the social anxiety- when I enter the hall and I'm there being unsocial-it's terrifying.

Of course not! I was busy grabbing things to go last night. I woke up at 6am just fine, with the little IKEA clock- still works swell. Trip over- not too crowded. Awkward silence- not too bad. Opening Mass- went swell. Orientation and all- fine.

Seems there is nothing to worry about, right. The year's getting off to a great start.

PS- I rediscovered the joy of www.nycsubway.org
Great historical insights and pictures of the NYC Subway.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Caboose

The Closing Ceremonies are almost done on NBC. And on Tuesday, school starts. But today, I went on a strenuous climb on my bike up to the W+OD trail, and when onto the rail trail, which was a smooth, although hot ride. (Unlike the Capital Crescent Trail, the overhead ROW is occupied by powerlines, not trees). Some interesting railroad artifacts remained, as Little Brother turned around past the newer Citizen's Bridge in the proud city of Falls Church. A stop inside a railroad caboose museum, fitted with small photographic exhibits about the railroad's past. What concerns me most, though, is how many of these railroads are being converted. But that's just a fleeting thought. The exhibit hall provided cold water- something I hadn't had in 10 miles. Now we headed down the sparsely used Bluemont Park trail. into Ballston and over the Orange Line for a quick downhill slide Little Brother set a new record of his, 32.7 mph, entering Rosslyn.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Lil' Update

Now, last Saturday, I recall again, the twine-transmission fix had no effect on the car;s performance getting home, as Daddy and I followed in the Ford Edge rental car from Hertz. On Monday, Daddy took it to the shop. It was ready on Wednesday- $5 clamp part, $78 in labor, plus a quick brake pad fix (labor as prior). If the Northern Virginians had not ventured under the car, we could have been charged hundreds of dollars frivolous, said Daddy.
On Internet Poker (Facebook and MySpace combined), I reached 50,000 chips today, which should put me in the five-star Shark ranking, up from the four-star Big Dawg.
I got my first 'motivational work award' at our last day of summer work- Leadership award- I guess it goes on resumes hitherfore.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Format, Format, Font

I haven't been on Microsoft ie in so long! I've always been using Firefox, but it's being goofy today, so now I'm here. At work today, we took the tour to the white-labcoat science museum, and found out: Kennedy Center tour tommorow.

At 'exit 24' near Albany, we tried to find the really good deal Best Western- but, there was no ramp to the street at that exit- go figure! So we headed south into the darkness. At Newburgh, home of Stewart Airport, New York's fourth airporet, it was hard to find a room, but we found one at the Ramada. The Olyimpic parade in Peking (Bejing) was just getting underway. It was already 11pm by the time I dozed off; I missed the spectacular flying spectacle-I caught a rerun the next morning, though, before heading to the rather rationed continental breakfast (I've always felt that hotels that didn't give you free breakfast are sort of scammy) But, there was a reason we stayed no further south. Daddy's surprise maneuver sent us onto I-84, not the Thruway, rushing to the Jersey Turnpike. Instead, we were headed westward. Soon, though, we arrived in the formerly industrial town of Bethlehem. A rusting steel mill sayed it all. Lehigh University was the attraction, though. Nice place, though with quite high hills. Digital camera card filled. Now I cringed at the though- fresh air and Segway tours. Since when? as I later learned, the mill closed in 2003, but the gentrifying Bannana Factory opened in 1998, and the University had been there for over 100 years. How nasty and dirty did it used to be?

Now we sped home, past Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's busy capitol, and onto I-83, arriving home at 6:27pm, with 2352.8 miles and a nice parking spot out front.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Happy Music

Not much again, except that I was able to pick up my debit card, albeit farther into the 'hood than ever :) School's going to start next Monday; tomorrow, we go to the scientist's delight science museum- the Koshland. Never heard of it? It's run by the AAAS.

And then, after the big rainfall, we had some cereal in the trusty plastic bowls, and packed up alongside the group from Baw-ston. First place- Cabot's creamery- delicious cheese and dip! It's a shame that it doesn't get to DC fresh enough. Then quickly to the Ben and Jerry's tour. No pictures of the plant floor! again, more delicious samples, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and their only retail store, and onto a cider plant, and a cheese+sausage plant- Daron Farms- another great selection.
Then it was straight south, heading down the I-87 Northway past the Lake George Ferry.

Monday, August 18, 2008

A Title?

A 20-mile bike ride when I least expected it leaves me here tonight. It was a trip up the rail-to-trail prototype- the Capital Crecent Trail (www.cctrail.org) A history-loaded trail with some sites of its former days. Connects Georgetown to the Palisades to Bethesda, and Silver Spring. And home via Wisconsin Avenue, up the hill to Tenleytown, highest point in DC, and speeding down Mass Avenue on the way home.

Now we reached Quebec, the only walled city in Northern America at rush hour. We didn't stay long, although we got quite a few good pictures from the old citadel. Now I remember- it was raining profusely. Heading towards Vermont, we spent our last night in Canada at Parc National de Frontec after a superb supper at Normandin. Arrived at around 9pm, Quite wet- rained all night and into the morning. Pretty place, too.

After Brunch at Eggsquis- which we later found out to be a chain- but in a positive light- also served great food. We crossed the border back into the USA at the remote crossing onto the road into Stowe- the Adirondacks of Bostonians, and not too far from Burlington. It was 3pm when we arrived: we decided not to visit the factory tours until the next day, but to do some cooking over the fire- and get started early on that. Some hamburgers, chicken legs, and a duck leg were grilled up (where else can you find a duck leg at the supermarket?) It turned out that the lean-to was a good $7 investment, as it started to rain-again. But let it rain- get the most out of the lean-to.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Why?

Tragic. My debit card won't be in until Tuesday. That means I'm unable to control my $ until that day. More importantly, we headed off to the Hollins Hill Farm in Delaplane, VA, (doesn't this roll off the tongue- I have a little place in Delaplane) where we picked peaches off the trees, berries off the bush, and ate a ton of peaches- there were 7 varieties today. A merry day, 2 pecks of peaches= $20, 1 pint berries=$5. We headed back to the car to head to our favorite buffet in Front Royal, about 20 minutes farther west-about time too; it was 12:45pm Oh Agony! after pulling the car partway out of the grass parking area, the gearshift came loose. Daddy, who was busy cleaning the house, was summoned. In the meanwhile, while waiting for Daddy to arrive, we sat,, and we picked and bought some more fruits and veggies- tomato, corn, potato, carrot. But while Little Brother and I were picking carrots, some kind soul with a mechanical mind decided to check under the car to see what was wrong with the transmission. A loose bolt. Some twine would prove to be a temporary solution, as we waited for Daddy to arrive with a rental car. He did come, at 4:00, and Mommy gingerly followed a series of gear-switches to get down the mountain and onto the highway.

Now let me say two things- Hertz does put you in the driver's seat, and it's bedtime.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Down to the Ground

I came to my senses after a combined amount of 3hr. 15 min. of hunting for my wallet that reckoned it was in the lost/stolen category. What I was really worried about was the debit card, loaded with gas money (most valuable thing to be bought w/o pin). There was a company picnic, which we rode our bikes to. The bikes were the 'junk'. And the usual violin lesson.

Day 5, continued
Heading South at the juction in Alma, a town grown rich off of hydroelectricity and aluminum and logging, the road was more used, and they were widening the highway to 4 lanes. TBC.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Oops, with respect to Brittany

Today was a wild one at work today. The lady from Richmond made a surprise pop-in at 11:30 am, again, and let her 110 miles of emotions gathered on I-95 in 1/2 an hour before a cold turkey lunch.
What a difference from a week ago.

Day 3, continued
We first walked along curving roads to the local Tim Hortons. It was so crowded with Montrealians that we went across the street to Mc D's. About 10 minutes later, after getting orientated with the directions, we had headed in the wrong direction. We reverted back, and took a long hike to the nearest train station- St. Michel on the Blue line (or, in French custom, St. Michel-Snowdon) We paid 12.00 for 6 tickets to ride on the rubber-tyred metro. Soon, we were at Mc Gill- and walk around (my pinky's hurting). And that was basically it, other than a picture at the Parisian "Metropolitain" station entrance at Square-Victoria- Daddy tipped the 'doorman' $2. After a DC-style transfer (pick up the paper transfer on the way into the station, and show it to the driver when boarding the bus. If going from bus to train- shell out some cash) from the train to the connecting bus into the suburbs- the 141. A short walk under the highway, and the cell phone rang. That was a first- I never knew they worked in Canada. Anyway, the car was as good as Saturday Morning. It was already 3pm, and we headed fast to the campground straight north of Trois-Rivieres.

Day 4

The campground at Riviere-a-la-Peche was beautiful in the trees at first sight, but that was only the beginning of nice campground- We were spoiled so much that that one became 'forgettable'. Breakfast at...not Tim's...I'm checking the travel log...oh. It was Mickey's, again. Again, we sped north. Fuel was a remarkably low $1.29 per litre- $4.90 a gallon. It was sheer wilderness- a wilderness like he Pacific Northwest, with lots of evergreens and lakes. Feeling the car window, it was cold as if it were on an aeroplane. By luchtime, we were at our destination lake, after the omnipresent one-lane work crews worked to mainain the wily road. We had a picnic lunch at a beach in Robertval, and took a toe-dipper in the cold, iron-rich water. Continuing around the circular lake, we spent the night in a campground at Doubeau-Mistassini, in the northwstern corner of the lake. There was a grand waterfall, and an isle-mignon (cute island). It only gets better. Dinner was definitely forgettable- canned stew and lots of crackers and cracker topping. I did fill up fast, though, on the marks that malstereotypes camping.

Day 5
In the morning, after breakfast at the Bonnet Rouge, and a chat with some Torontoneers, we had to cross the 49th parallel, since we were so close. At10:13am, in the small village of St. Stenislas, we reached our northernmost point. Afterwards, the family headed up to the Trappist Chocolate Factory. No, there was actually not a factory tour, but a gift shop that sold lots of sweet treats. Apparently, the shopkeeper spoke abut no english, so Mommy had a great time practicing her French. The family picked up chocolate covered sweetmeats and bluets-aux-chocolat for ourselves, and Mommy picked up a variety box for the office. Yes, she frequently enjoys an exotic treat from a co-worker who went on vacation, or on business to exotic places. This was a little thing to return the favor. And we continued around the lake for the road to Quebec City.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Musicals not related to Canada

I have been commisioned (pro bono) to write my first script soundtrack for a skit, called the Big B. You have to start somewhere. To be fair, Little Brother did arrange some tunes for the piano part. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get a video of the production. And back to the adventure of the Canada trip.

Day 2, continued
Again, after escaping the wrath of the tow truck, the car needed to recover from its last lug. On the other side of the 'freeway', there were a bunch of shopping centres. We crossed over, after dilly daddling on this side. For too long, we found out. It turns out that Canadian shopping malls tend to close at 5pm on Sundays, as well as most everything else. Of course, that included auto repair shops. For some reason, we headed towards the direction of a hotel. A 20-minute walk from the suburb to the end of the road, at Rue Sherbroke. Block after blok we walked, until we finally met the street at the Metro station. There was a demi-upscale hotel, but it was sold out for the night. The 'Receptioniste'
had mercy on us, and called ahead to the next hotel down the road. I forgot to mention that Mommy was waiting outside with 2 gallons of antifreeze! But, we headed back to the car to give it a calculated shot at making the 2 1/2 mile move. So we made it back to the car before darkness fell. It was, again, 5 blocks from the exit Daddy thought,"Why did I do this, parking the car so far away?" The car was carefully monitored as we slowly took it to the Hotel Augbernes.
It made it, with temperature at normal. We checked in to the hotel, notably with only one slow elevator in the lobby (serving 10 floors).

Day 3
We found out that we were only 7 blocks from the Volvo dealer and shop. We were also bamboozled that that the radiator hadn't leaked overnight. But we still wanted to make sure, as the fluid level (of the radiator) had fallen a bit. By 9 am, we were at the dealership. Then the car let it out. Lots of green fluid poured out of the underbelly of the car. Apparently, Volvos are popular in Canada, and there was not a mechanic's slot for 2 hours, at 11. And we were advised; "Don't think of asking before 1pm." That gave us another day in Montreal.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Mo Canada

This morning, I woke up at the luxurious 8:20am, and heard about the incident on the Bay Bridge. Long backups as one span is closed due to a truck that went over the edge. Nevertheless, life goes on here, a bike ride, and reading the recommended book. Now I talk about the last week;

Day 1, continued
The border crossing into Canada was easy, passing over the 1000 Island bridge into Ontario. Soon, we entered Ottawa. Because all the hotels were full in the City, from the suburbs into downtown, we crossed the river into the francophone Quebec, in Hull, and stayed at the Holiday Inn there.

Day 2
The car was in the underground garage, next to the laundry room hot air outlet, resulting in a buch of Canadian linen lint on the car. Traveling northeastwards, we (Kids eat free at the Holiday Inn, but not everyone) went to Tim Horton's- a Canadian favorite- comparable closest to Dunkin' Donuts in the USA. By lunchtime, we had arrived in the metropolis of Downtown Montreal, and had a chinese lunch, after skipping Mommy and Daddy's formerly favourite place, now under new control. After the scrambled lunch, we went to la vielle-ville and took nice pictures, before heading further Northeast, after stopping at another Tim Horton's. On an Autoroute in the northeastern suburbs, while the coffee was still hot, smoke was flaming out of the engine. This was disaster that was bound to happen (you see, we're going to get a new transport when this one dies, and it's high, high mileage). I grabbed my bag of valuables that I had placed strategically in the event that it happeed now. We pulled over on the shoulder and watched. We waited half an hour for the engine to cool a little. But, a tow trick shark came along, and its moneygreedyness was evident. The car, which had cooled down to movable levels. Daddy put 7 pints of water in the radiator, and the car started. He prayed as we moved the wounded car to the next exit, and into a residential neighborhood.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Canada, French Canada, and Beyond

As you may have guessed, I haven't stayed at a Raddison* in the past week. Yes, no internet access, or even computer access for 7 days. (*or for that matter, any out-of-lala-land guest friendly hotel, such as HI express). Now let me get reorientated with the mouse, the keyboard, and I'll give a synopsis of the trip to the best of my recollection.

Day 1- Saturday
Little Brother made sure to set the alarm clock on his cell phone to 3:30am, and the parents' bedroom clock to 4am. When I was half-awake and incapable of dozing back to sleep at 4:30am, the thunderstorm which Little Brother forgot to tell me about came with wind and rain, but it soon went away; we all reluctantly moved the bags to the car, and drove off at 6:14 am, a little later than LB kid wanted, but still a little dark. Passing through the nitty-gritty Shaw neighborhood, we saw ladies dressed in swimsuit-like short shorts (after a hard night shift on the rounds), but they just didn't look like they were headed to the YWCA. By 7am we entered Baltimore at sunrise. Normal workers and businesspeople were fiddling around outside the convention center. Enter I-83, and we sped north past Harrisburg and thru to Wilkes-Barre (PA), where we made our first fuel stop at 10:45am. A little sidetrack off the interstate was necessitated by roadwork. Quoting CAD, "It was good". The first destination point was Cornell University, where we just 'walked around' the sprawling campus. Lunch at the Ithaca Mall, a gleaming, shiny place, compared to other malls. After eating our fill, I noticed green liquid leaking from the underside of the car. For certain, this was a radiator problem. Under the hood, the fluid was a bit low, so Daddy filled the reservoir with a pint of water. Driving on. We crossed the US-Canada border, on I-81, at 6:40pm.

TBC

Friday, August 1, 2008

to go

I'm in a rush around here; you see, Little Brother wants to leave at 4am tomorrow to go to Canada. But I think 6am is a better time. Work was relaxed today; however, we did not launch the rest of the rockets. Oh well.
I better get back to packing.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Penultimate Day

Until holiday to Canada, that is. Tomorrow might be my last day of work with the Edusmart cronies, but it's sometimes been enjoyable. Very enjoyable, considering that today, we built and launched 'model rockets'. I call them 'little missiles', considering that we blasted them in the little green space next to the church. The launch was spectacular- there was even a rocket that went into flames- apparently, those rocket engineers mistakenly used toilet paper as flame-resistant wadding. Our team's 2 rockets went pretty well. The fat, prefab one launched far into space, and only recovering the engine section after walking all the way around the block. The little one, which we did up as our CPTG rocket, was less sucessful, on account of the amount of nauseous rubber cement that we used, but was fully recovered. Awesome!