Daily Apple Crisp -- I promise to update you with almost every aspect of my life.

Almost.

Hey everybody! If you're visiting from The Weekly Tech or are just an old fan waiting for my blog to make its phoenix-like return out of the ashes, then you are in luck! There is one catch however... I want to update a little each day instead of big paragraphs about my exciting life. I think it'll make everyone stay in tune with the site more often than not, bringing in some nice traffic. Now I'm not sure why you all enjoy my life so much but I'll tell you what's going on haha.

Starting with.... today.

Today is a special day, not for me, but for my girlfriend. Why? Because she got this:

A BlackBerry Storm.

Needless to say she is quite excited about it and I can't say I blame her. Sure sure I could go on and on about the advantages and disadvantages of the Storm and of course, the iPhone. Storm has copy/paste, MMS etc, but lacks the perks that the Apple iPhone has and blah blah blah. I haven't seen the Storm in person yet (haven't met the chap) but it sure looks nice. Beats the hell out of my SGH-A737 that's for sure haha. I wish my phone had a remotely interesting name.... oh well, sounds more like an oilrig ship than a phone. I'll live.

What else happened in my exciting life today? Well I woke up this morning, felt like I didn't get enough sleep, what a typical Monday, right? Showered, ate breakfast and then quickly headed to class - Computer Science. I have a test in there on Wednesday and I actually think I'll do quite well on it...you can quote me I suppose. I filled out RSEs while I was there... I believe it stands for Real Student Evaluations? I don't think its Real now that I think about it haha, but whatever. I filled those out (which suck, they're so boring) in each class today.

In Problems of the Self (East/West) I also wrote RSEs, nothing like staying in the lines of those little circles. My teacher was 15 min late. After the secretary collected the completed forms. She was very anal-retentive about getting her pencils back, claiming if she didn't that she would "have to pay for them." Yeah, okay.

I ate lunch (a meager piece of pizza, ugh) and checked my snailmail (nothing!) , then proceeded to my room where I got ready for my next class. Physics.

We got a TAKEHOME TEST. Cool. Except its still really hard? Imagine that, a takehome test in college that is difficult, wow.

Calculus. 10/12 on a quiz.
Moving right along.

Pretty boring night, I got a lot done on my Physics takehome exam and then decided to study for Computer Science. Did I mention I have a final project in there that's extremely difficult? No? Oh well, I did now.

I worked on homework till around nine and then I watched Seinfeld. Surfed the Web for awhile and now I'm here, wow what a boring day.

And yet, everyone enjoys reading about it.

:)

And also, pic of the day, really cool.

MAP OF THE INTERNET

Why Onions are evil

"BOSTON -- Hold the onions! The crew of an Alitalia flight made an emergency landing at Logan International Airport after being overcome by noxious fumes.

However, the reports of a toxic chemical leak that sent Boston firefighters and emergency workers into their hazmat suits turned out to be five tons of minced onions.

The plane was bound to Miami from Milan Tuesday night when the crew was overcome by the odor and donned oxygen masks.
sponsor

After inspecting the cargo in the aircraft, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said investigators determined the scare was caused by the vegetables.

“We narrowed it down to the 10,000 pounds of onions in the cargo hold,” he told The Boston Herald.

The onions were added to the FAA “No Fly List” and the cargo was trucked from Boston to Miami. The crew flew the plane to New York Friday."

Picture of the day: An LOLcat waiting to happen

Two of my devout readers suggested I put this as a picture of the day. Its how they dressed one of their cats, acting like a cowboy. And looking like one too. Hahah it caught my attention and they immediately went "WILL YOU PUT IT ON YOUR BLOG!?" and I said yes and cheering ensued.

Weekend in Review #3!!! And a Daily Apple Crisp Public Service Announcement

Hey everyone, I deeply apologize for the lack of updates, but I had a lot to do this weekend now that my MacBook is back in commission. First off I'd like to thank the fine people working on the Ubuntu operating system that enabled me to overcome such a tragedy. The use of Ubuntu Linux was key in order to finish my Midterm paper and I am ever so grateful. I am quite happy to have my new Hard Drive working as it should be and I already sent the old (broken?) one back. There are a few things I'd like to address before getting into the "meat and potatoes" of this posting. First off, a formal apology for the lack of major updates, because, well, I know how you all enjoy reading about my life. I know its interesting and you die when you don't see an update or you do and its the picture of the day (which is a feature I enjoy doing). Now that I am on Spring Break (wooo), I can post more often just for YOU GUYS. haha. Okay, next item on the list: the "layout" of the site/blog. I've gotten some negative feedback on this so called "Zen" layout. Let me be honest. I do not like it either. Therefore, it will be changed. But not now. On Ubuntu it looked different for some reason and better than it does now. It may take a few days for it to be changed as I am working on finishing the new layout designed by yours truly. Yes, I have web design skills haha. It will be simplistic and minimum. Few flashy graphics (oh nooo) and it will be very clean. But I promise it'll be better than the last two that Blogger provided me. Thanks Blogger, but I no longer need you. Yes, I will be leaving blogger as well. For those of you who don't know, Blogger is Google's blogging tool that allows people to make blogs and make it easy. While this is all well and good, I think that making my own will be rewarding and more designed the way I want to do it. I'll be using Allegheny's network for a webserver and hopefully they won't be unreliable. If that's the case I'll have to buy/find some free web space haha. It may take a bit to get the bugs out of the new blog-site, but bear with me, it will be better and such. Also, the Tea website I have been promising will be "opening" soon... yes I know I've been saying this for forever, but I have to do some revamping, as I am quite unhappy with its layout. Wild Ace Linux has been slacking as well; which will be turned into my technology section of my blog. Big things everyone! This is basically me honing my web design skills. I've been trying to design different sites for Daily Apple Crisp, but none I have liked at all. I've finally developed a design I actually liked, though simple it may be, it'll take almost no time to load.

Okay, that's it for my "public service announcement."

As I am sitting here listening to David Bowie, I have pondered about my weekend. Here it is for everyone.

FRIDAY: Aquarium woes and pool with the boys

Okay, so on Friday I was very excited to come home. I was going to see my girlfriend at skating that night. Or so I thought. I ended up packing my aquarium and accessories, as well as what I needed to bring home for a week. I got done just as my dad walked up to my room and helped me with my things down to the car. It was quite a process as it always is, but thankfully I have decided to keep my aquarium home until next year. Its for the best; my fish and coral get stressed from it I am sure (they aren't the only ones!). Anyways, we finished packing the car at like 6:36. Mind you, skating is at 8. It takes me about 45 minutes to get home and setting up my aquarium AGAIN cannot be rushed or anything of the sort. So there was no chance I was going to make skating. Needless to say my girlfriend was not happy and neither was I. But these things happen. When I finally ate and setup my fishy friends, I called my friends and we went to Andy's Pub and played pool and then went to Joe's house and played Eukere. Good times! I left there at about 1:00 AM and stayed up till about 3:00 AM then went to bed.


SATURDAY: Skating and Shady Wii kids.

This was a banner day in the weekend of Pat (and I am sure for my friend Alex as well). Well first off, me and my lovely girl went skating THIS time. It actually worked and we skated at 8, which was lucky because it was the last open skating session! I used to work at the ice rink (which is owned by the Zoo, go figure) and got in for free as well as Laura because she works at the Zoo as well. Right now I am not actually "working" there but am on "College Leave." So I still get in for free. Woohoo! So we skated and skated some more, without cutting any fingers or other ligaments off. I had a soft pretzel. It was really good. Thought you ought to know. So anyways, we finished skating (what else am I supposed to say about skating?) and we went our separate ways. Then the night continued. I called Alex. Prior to this call we discussed in depth about acquiring a Wii for him. He told me earlier he called around and Wal Mart would be getting 11 of them on sale at midnight tonight. So okay. Eleven. I call him, go to his house and we sit around until about 10:45. I drove to Wal Mart (which is like 10 minutes or less away) and we proceed to the electronics, where people were waiting for Wiis. We asked this fellow named Tim about them and he told us we were fifth in line. YEAH! This translates as: WE GOT A FREAKING WII. Well, he did, but I don't care. So we wait an hour. Let me tell you, an hour doing nothing is boring, but an hour sitting on a wal mart floor is even worse. If any of you have been to Wal Mart at midnight or later, you know the kinds of characters that lurk about. Fastforward to checking out, Alex purchased a Wii, an extra Wiimote, and fan favorite Super Mario Galaxy. We continue to checkout (the checkout guy was real cool) and as soon as we left, so did a group of younger teenage kids. Now, it seemed suspicious to us, so Alex says "hold on, let me put this down a sec" and the kids left the store. We don't really think they were going to mug us and take our newly owned Wii, but you can never be too careful. We rushed to the Toyota Matrix and sped to his house to play the NINTENDO WII. The unboxing was almost as fun as Wii Sports was. I left at 2:00 and fell asleep at my house.

Sunday: I'm getting sick of summing my days up here, so this will be short.

On Sunday I woke up, ate, went to Palm Sunday Mass at 6:00, finished at 7:00. Ate, went to girlfriend's and played NES (Super Mario 3) and watched Mean Girls. I actually liked it. The end.

Haha hope you all have a good Monday!

-Pat
DailyAppleCrisp.com

picture of the day

From Photobasement. This is one of the many World War I draft cards that were filled out by various people, among them Babe Ruth, Al Capone and yes, even J.C. Penny! You can check them out here. This one is of Harry "Handcuff" Houdini.

Pic of the day wooo I'm keeping up

I found this on Reddit and had to put it up, its the ironic factor of it all.

Direct link

Pichaaa of the day: Tortoise!

Okay, since I'm a softie for turtles/tortoises, this picture well defines my love for them. I used to have 2 turtles, but I let them go because they told me I should :).

Source: here

The Mac is back!

Yes, I finally have installed os x (though I lost ALL my stuff) back on the laptop. There's still a small possibility that I can get my stuff back, but I'm in no mood to keep trying, I'm trying to move forward here haha! Oh well, expect a larger update than this; I think I'll post a pic up for the day, sorry for the delays!

-Pat

Pic of the day: Worst invention ever

Thanks to photobasement along with the find on reddit, I found this entertaining bit. I can't believe people invent such stupid things; then again, the dog does look content in this photo. Haha happy Friday guys.

-Pat

P.S. My Mac is still out of commission until tomorrow.

New Layout

Its more Zen, I hope everyone likes it.

Zen.

I decided to make an effort today and collect various images of things I would identify as "Zen." I hope you enjoy this little gallery!

Pic of the day! I'm trying not to slack haha

Sorry for the delay AS USUAL for my pics, but as we all know my Mac is still out of commission. I like looking for cool furniture for a house I could potentially have someday, and I came across this. How cool would these be for a Mario-themed room? Or a shroomhead room, whichever you prefer haha. Anyway, I thought this was cool and worthy of a pic of the day!

source: Zedomax

Google Office In Zurich

From: http://popgive.com

Google Office in Zurich

Seeing such offices makes you wish you were working for Google. They have everything a person needs in there and even more. They have massage chairs, slides, pool tables and other games, private cabins and much more. These photos are from Google office in Zurich.

For full pics and all that click here


I thought this was really cool, I mean a relaxation room with saltwater aquariums? AWESOME. I wish to work at Google someday, preferably in Silicon Valley and not Zurich haha.

-Pat

Time for a template change?

Hey everybody, as you all know I use Blogger to do all my blogging; they have various templates for my site layout....I'm getting kind of sick of it, is anyone else? I'm all about green and plants and such, but its getting stagnant, so if you would like to see a different one, lemme know! I'm putting a poll up now (a simple yes or no will do).
Thanks everyone!

-Pat

Coolest Dog Ever.

This is Nellie responding to Apple concerning their Epic Fail


Special thanks to Nellie!

Pat! Why no recent update!? AKA Weekend In Review #2

Well friends, I'm sure that's the question on everyone's mind! Now, there are several reasons for this. God, this is a whole story, but I suppose good for everyone else but me. Oh well, usually I get on a roll whilst typing this kind of thing. This could potentially be one of those "rant" posts, but for some reason the female readers seem to enjoy rants; not to anyone's surprise. Well, I suppose I shall get onto how my weekend went. Overall, I'd say it was Awesome and Terrible. You'll understand why.

Let's start with Friday:

On Friday night I downloaded the iPhone SDK. Now, for those of you who aren't exactly tech-savvy, an SDK stands for Software Development Kit. In other words, I could develop software for the iPhone (or iPod Touch). And I'm thinking "cool! I can make apps for my own iPod so I might someday be able to de-jailbreak/de-hack my iPod Touch. Well, turns out not to be the case. For more than one reason (I'm getting to that, be patient). Apple uses their own programming language called "Cocoa" and for the iPhone/iPod Touch it is known as "Cocoa Touch." That tidbit was not vital to the story, but I thought the name was cool :). These new applications cannot violate any copyrights obviously, so basically the NES emulator is a no-no. Other such things are also not allowed. Also, if I wanted to install the native iPhone apps to my iPod I would have to pay 20 dollars. Why in the world would I pay if I could get it for free? Come on Apple, quit being greedy bastards and give it for free. Anyways, I digress. So I downloaded that Friday Night and hung out, trying to get away from the freezing cold.

Saturday: The Bad Day

I entitle this "The Bad Day" but in reality it was a "This is Frikkin ridiculous" day. I don't want to bitch, but it has to do with Apple and the below-poor, subpar technical support they gave me. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Apple products and especially enjoy Mac OS X Leopard. Its wonderful, its clean and doesn't mess up. Usually. But for some reason, my computer decided to act slow when I was in the process of opening a PDF, shortly after using Apple's Xcode program. So I sigh *sigh* and restart the computer as one would (logically) do. As it turns on I hear the familiar Apple "gongggg" sound and am relieved..... except, no Apple logo. Dang. Okay, let's restart again..... Meanwhile, I was in the shower, but upon my return I got the most dreaded icon I have ever come to experience: a folder with a question mark. I was trying to just find a pic of it, but to no avail. So I see this and I hate it because the last 2 times this happened I had to reformat my entire drive and before THAT I had to get a new Hard Drive put in by Apple. Bad experience. So I call Apple and get nowhere, call back, get a different guy, tells me there's nothing we can try except using a firewire to transfer my data from my mac to my friend's mac via firewire cable. We do this (thanks for the cable pfeif) and it still doesn't work as it should. Great. So I call Apple AGAIN and I get this guy named Rob Bunyan. He had a low voice and was LESS than helpful. We actually got into a heated argument about how Apple failed to live up to their claim that it "just works." Basically ROB BUNYAN told me I should have bought MORE Apple products to back my stuff up. He pretty much described "affordable" as anywhere from 100-1,000 dollars. A bit ridiculous. So I hung up and ate, then called back; finally a nice guy named Derek helped me out and at least got me a new Hard Drive. I got it today, but I am going to try some stuff to attempt to get my files off my old HD. I don't really understand; why did I get 2 faulty hard drives? I swear it has to be something else like a logic board failure or the motherboard. Everytime I did absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Derek told me the next time a replacement computer would probably be an option; thank God. Nobody has had failure like this that I know of, except on Apple Support Forums (there's a massive thread on it, so it IS an issue, though Apple has never addressed it; typical).

Oh, and I had to redo an 8 page paper I failed to back up. Actually it ended up being close to 12, so thanks Apple. I know I know I should have backed it up, usually I do via emailing it to myself, but I hadn't yet. Oh well, its better the second time 'round.

Total time on phone with Apple Support: 7 hours.

Sunday/Monday: Extended weekend

Now, Sunday was a better day than Saturday. Though my MacBook was and still is out of commission, I had a productive day of rewriting my paper. Also, later in the night, my friends Scott Emily and Erin(n) came down to stay over at Allegheny! This was most pleasing as I had not seen them in a long time (especially Scott). After their little mishap involving a vehicle and snow, they eventually made it to my dorm building thanks to a kindly "tow-guy." So we got all settled in with sleeping bags and such, and immediately the girls were going for the SNES, meanwhile Me and Scott talked tech. When Emily and Erin(n) were done, we also talked tech. We tried recovering my data, but to no avail it failed. Oh by the way, the girls did not participate in the tech talk whatsoever, just to clear that up. We also drank tea, which as usual was quite tastey; this was all whilst listening to music and stories. They left the next day, but we made tentative plans to hang out over my break! I'm excited for that haha. But it was a good time had by all. I missed classes for the first time ever on Monday (except for Astronomy) as I had to finish my Buddhism paper; I got a one day extension on it so thank God for that; actually thank Professor Olson, he is a kind and forgiving Bodhisattva. Oh well, alls well that ends well EXCEPT ALL MY STUFF ON MY COMPUTER IS GONE. God.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

-Pat

Pic of the day!

As promised, I am trying to keep up with the pic of the day. If I am not mistaken, this was an Astronomy picture of the day by Nasa.gov. The larger star-looking object is Venus with I believe Jupiter. Just a gorgeous picture all around.

This just in: more on Peeps

From Wikipedia (thanks to a Digg.com comment):

Peep jousting
The messy and largely self-entertaining game, "Peeps Jousting" is played with a microwave oven. One takes two Peeps, and licks the right-hand side of each until sticky. A toothpick is thereby adhered to each Peep, pointing forward like a jousting lance. The Peeps are then set in a microwave, squared off against one another, and heated up. As they expand, the toothpick lances thrust toward each opponent, and the winner is the one that does not pop and deflate (or fizzle and die). Both usually are eaten after the competition, however, regardless who the victor was, calling into question the nature of "winning" in such a circumstance.[1] This folkloric tradition has been noted by the Washington Post. Peeps jousting has also been called such names as "mortal peep fight."


Who's up for some Peep Jousting!?

Hilarious Pic of the day

I saw this on Digg and thought it was hilarious.

Its entitled:

The Peeps Come out at Night

Update coming soon....been busy with papers.

Hey everyone, this isn't a big update or anything; I've been swamped with a ridiculous amount of papers. Just one little thing to help "promote" Daily Apple Crisp. I made a "Fan Page" on Facebook with Daily Apple Crisp, so if you guys are fans, I'd love it if you added this to your facebook! It goes under the tab "I am a fan of..." whatever. Anyways, here it is.


Thanks guys, keep on reading! I'll post later in the week (well the week is almost over, so possibly tomorrow). Have a great Thursday!

-Pat


Dailyapplecrisp.com

Pat's weekend: A Weekend in Review; or "Monday Morning Quarterback"

Now, I'm not sure everyone who reads this, but I know a lot of my friends (I won't name people but you know who you are) read this and for one reason or another thoroughly enjoy reading these little tidbits about my life. Why I don't know, i guess my little quirks in these stories are what make them what they are! Haha but you all know I heartily appreciate you reading this. Okay, so onto my "Weekend in Review."

Friday night I went home at ohhh 6:30 or so? Usually my father picks me up around 6:00-6:15, but this time he was a tidbit late due to the EXTREME WEATHER. Me and my friends joked that it was Hoth-like conditions outside (if you don't know what Hoth is, you're not a nerd). The aforementioned link is very impressive and I am quite jealous of whoever built it (keep up the amazing work!). Anyways, we also happened to mention that my father would be coming to Allegheny on either a TaunTaun (Also from Star Wars) or a snowmobile. My friend Alex said he could see my father on a snowmobile. Which would be a funny site indeed.

So me and my dad (well my dad) drove home with all of my belongings and eventually made it home; some parts of the road were terrifying, some parts didn't exist. All in all we made it home to a (surprisingly) calm Erie, well weatherwise anyways. So of course my homecoming included gracious welcoming from both my mom and my brother. My mom gave me the typical "mom hug" and my brother squawked at me (he thinks he is a bird/crow at times).

After these complications, I went out with my two "BFFs" Emily and Erin(n). We went to our usual hangout, Perkins. For some reason we always reside there whenever we plan on doing something when I go to Erie. I'm not complaining as the food isn't too bad, but since it was Friday and I decided to be a good boy and not eat meat (I am now Closer to God somehow) I had to settle for pancakes. After I ate the delicious bread discs, we decided to take a picture of us and somehow we all ended up on the same side of the table for the entire post-meal experience. It was quite a scene, I felt bad for the old people that were sitting next to our table. Although we didn't cause any disturbances. Yeah. Haha anyways, that was a good time all around!
I completed the Friday night by hanging out with Drew and VIDEO-CHATTING with our CUZ Stephen. It was quite a time and the following was discussed: College, Pittsburgh Penguins, Technology, Music, Dogs, Red Baron Pizzas, and the family. It was EPIC. But it was a fun time all around.

On Saturday I went and spent quality time with Mom and Dad at a popular mexican restaurant (I still need spellcheck for that dang word). No, it was not Taco Bell. It was El Canelo (which is a great place, I highly recommend it if you are ever in the Erie area). Though my brother colloquially refers to it as the place with "Grade L" meat, I quite enjoy the place. I proceeded to go to my lovely girlfriend's house afterward (it was a trek) and I watched Clerks II while Becky and Laura fought over Glamour, played Pretty Pretty Princess (I believe Becky won) and of course, Pillow Talking was on the menu. That was a fun time, but I proceeded home afterwards and went to bed, thinking I had to go to Church the next day; I planned ahead for the necessary 8 hours of sleep.

Turns out on Sunday that did not happen. Instead, we went to Damon's and I witnessed, for the first time in my 19 years of existence, my father sending back a meal. It was UNBELIEVABLE, he usually eats anything he orders and never makes a complaint. The universe was not right at that moment and I did not know how to react other than grabbing a tasty roll and buttering it up. I think anyone would have reacted in the same manner in that situation. After the semi-satisfying meal, we went to Wal Mart and I purchased Water and Old Spice Body Wash. Which I used today, it was quite phenomenal! Thought you'd like to know :P. I also got my haircut and met the manager at Best Buy, who shook my hand and told me how and where to apply. I got my foot in the door. We also went to look at a bike because my Dad is suddenly a food-sending-back-Lance-Armstrong. He didn't buy anything yet, but sure is anxious to. Then I watched the Pens win in overtime (YEAH!) and I finally came back to Allegheny College.

That's my weekend in review!

Hope everyone all had a good weekend as well!

-Pat

NEW TRENT REZNOR/NIN ALBUM

As it is almost 12:30 and I don't feel like finding the backwards "N" character, I'll just say that Trent/NIN has released a new digital album!!! Here's the official news from Trent himself:

"Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts." "

http://ghosts.nin.com

More new things along the way....

There's a new extension coming to my humble little blog haha. My friend Scott has decided to join us here! He will be blogging about.... technology? Hahah well nonetheless, he is joining us and I highly encourage everyone to check his as well! It won't be my same humor (well probably) but it will be awesome and I personally can't wait to see his posts! Anyways, welcome Scott and all that. The layout sucks but we're working on it! Anyway everyone, have a goodnight and expect an update sometime early on this week!

-Pat


P.S. New Poll, please vote!

Slowly but surely we are going to big and better things.

Hey everyone, I just thought I would let everyone know that my blog is getting ever more popular and I decided that there should be some big changes at Daily Apple Crisp! Now, don't worry these changes will not affect the blogging in any way, shape or form! The announcement that I am proud to make (hahah I am really proud, I'm cool) is that you no longer have to type http://pcanella.blogspot.com.

You will now only have to type in: http://dailyapplecrisp.com


Thanks to GoDaddy, I purchased my own domain name because I love this blog so much that I put my own money into it hahah. So expect bigger and better things since this!

Another idea I've been kicking around is that of making my own blog (and not using Google's Blogger tool). As much as I like blogger, I think I would have more flexibility to design what I want and not rely on the restrictions that are set by Blogger. Plus I can host it myself and hopefully improve upon it. Though this won't happen immediately, I plan on designing the site myself in my spare time; I'll let you all know how that goes.

Also with this new dailyapplecrisp.com, for this blog, you can contact me by sending questions or comments to pat@dailyapplecrisp.com. Its sad that I am excited by getting my own domain name, haha but its a great and nerdy feeling to have my own piece of the internet! Though, I already did in the first place. But, anyways, be on the lookout for bigger and better things here at Daily Apple Crisp! Thanks for all your support!

-Pat

Semi-big update coming soon.

Be ready; and its not a blog post...

Home!

Hahah so I'm home because of two reasons. First off, I haven't been home in awhile, and, as it should be known, my family MISSED me hahah. So, it was like a homecoming, well it WAS a homecoming hah. As of right now, 2:44 AM, I am sitting in my brother's room watching Seinfeld (the one where George suggests the name "Seven" as a kid haha). We just videochatted with CUZ STEVE and that was a good time of course. I'm surprisingly not tired at the moment and am on Ubuntu haha. My MacBook is looking a bit jealous.....hahah.


The second reason is I get/got to see my two friends Emily and Erin(n)! We went to our (usual) Perkins and it was a good time as it always would be! Somehow we all ended up in the same side of the booth, which is bad for me because they know I am extremely ticklish (do the math). So that was a good time and I did not realize I missed them as much as I did! Haha my friends are awesome! Tomorrow I get to see Laura! And go with her family to "Long Horn Restaurant" woo! I've tried going there twice and the first time they were not open due to the fact that they don't serve lunch (annoying.) and the second time I had to wait 40 minutes; or would have to and felt that that wouldn't work.

But today was a phenomenal day!

Oh, also I came home because I need a haircut too.

Night everybody!

Introducting: Wild Ace Linux!

Hey everybody, since yesterday's post I had this idea that I briefly mentioned; a "sub-blog" or maybe sublog about my experiences with Ubuntu Linux. I know most of you non tech-savvy people won't read it, but Those of you who do, thank you! haha. Okay, that's all for now, picture of the day coming soon! As well as the Tea Beta website!


-Pat

Oh, and new poll!

I'm sure you have all noticed but I put a new poll up. One comment (pfeif) said my last post was too long....do you agree or not? Please let me know!


-Pat

New Post, just as promised!

Hey everyone! I decided to update my blog for two reasons: One because I felt the need to and two, because everyone kept asking me when I was going to update! Well, I´m updating now so you all better be happy hahah. I cannot believe people are actually interested in my life! I am so flattered everybody!!!! Just kidding. But really, let us get to the content, shall we?

Okay, so this blog is a little bit different than all my other ones; why do you ask? Well actually there are two reasons. The first reason is more exciting than the second, well, you guys will think so at least. So what is this first reason, and why do I keep stalling? Hahah okay I´m typing this alone in my room. The rest of my blog entries will be without a roommate. Because he MOVED OUT. Joined his frat house. So basically I rearranged the whole room, though some of his stuff is still here, but its piled in the corner. So I have my own TV here, I can play Gamecube whenever I please and my room has become a sort of hangout for everyone else. Its great! I can listen to music without headphones as well, which is good because I just got new speakers for Christmas!

What is the second thing that´s so amazing about this blog entry? Its on my old Acer laptop. Many of you will be shocked by this as you all know my immense hatred of Acer (though I have to admit they do make decent flatscreen monitors....nothing to write home about though). Now before everyone gets stupid and thinks something happened to my Macbook, you couldn´t be more wrong! My little Macbook is content on my desk at the moment playing music by the colloquial sounds of Quiet Riot. ...The real reason is that I´ve decided to put my love of open source and of Linux systems into this little Acer laptop. I have completely gotten rid of Windows XP Tablet Edition and have overthrown it with Ubuntu Linux. The difference is amazing! Its much faster, the comparison is unbelievable; my Acer is now like a fast Jetta, whereas it used to be a crappy pickup truck with a loud muffler. This machine is now dead silent as it runs this humble operating system. I used something called Ubooten (I think?) and it installs Ubuntu or Fedora or OpenSUSE (all variants of Linux) from the Internet to your computer! Its used to dual boot with Windows, but I just modified it a tidge and decided to completely overwrite Windows. Its a great experience so far. Best of all everything is free and easy to use. Yes this is my "You should use Linux because its amazing" rant. But I'm done, I wrote a lot more than I initially wanted to haha! I was actually thinking of making a sub-blog to review and explain Linux.....I'll have to remember that.

Oh! Sorry about the Tea website being delayed so long, I FINALLY got the host (Allegheny's kind servers) to let me upload all my files and stuff, so it should be up very soon, its actually up now, but nobody knows the URL. I'll post it soon though, keep checking for that update :). Its a very humble site, I plan to make it simpler, as right now I made the aim to make it this big and popular site, but I think small and simple is more. Or..."Less is More" haha.



Okay, what else what else......What is going on in my life? Yes, I am thinking by typing, I am a sad sad character. Oh! I know, I have a midterm this Friday and its for Computer Science. I think I'll do pretty well on it, but if I have any questions beforehand I won't be able to ask Professor Zhang....she's getting her wisdom teeth "extracted" as she put it. I really don't think she knows how bad it will be considering she laughed and smiled about it as she usually does. Its not a pleasant experience Professor Zhang.....not in the least. Its worth 50 points, so even if I do not-so-hot on it I'll still have a good grade because the labs are semi-easy and I usually get at the very least B+'s on them. Yeah, that's right, I care.

Right now I am listening to "The Police" with their hit song/creeper song "Every Breath You Take." If you listen to these lyrics they sound really creepy and stalkerish....like that song "Hey There Delilah." Except The Police have more than an acoustic guitar and are way better. Sting is the man. I don't know, I thought I'd throw that out there haha.

I started this entry by using a different keyboard layout, where the " ' " key made an a little line and an "s" ....it was titled "US Keyboard Layout, Dead Characters." So I avoided using apostrophes until I changed it, a little behind-the-scenes blogging entry haha :P. Why am I using smileys in this entry, I usually only do about one or two an entry, oh well.

So I have been eating at the Dining hall that is in my dorm building lately, known to us Alleghenians as Brooks Dining Hall. The menu does have different stuff on occasion, but most of the stuff is the same crap everyday. I mainly go there now because its cold as my freezer at home outside and the wind chill is like -4465434. Thus I choose not to stagger through the snow to our other facility, McKinleys, which also has the same shit, but its better tasting shit than Brooks. But at this point in my college career, food is an inevitability that I have to force down my throat in order to have energy. Its a disappointment, though I believe our current food supplier, known as SodexHo, is getting the boot; we are all hoping for it. Sorry to break it to you SodexHo, but your food is terrible. Just plain AWFUL.

So a few weeks ago I got on this workout regiment, just to be in shape and all that, then last week I got ill and could not participate in such activities, as advised by me. Well come now, Wednesday and I have still not worked out, as you would say. In my opinion, its too damn cold to go and work out, and as you can see this cold is really getting to me (though I am perfectly content in my double-turned-single haha).

But yeah, I know its only February 27th, and its still fucking (woah! he dropped an F-bomb, what is GOING ON!?) cold out. It was 12 today. Come on; seriously. 12. It was 36 last week! Though it is Erie/Meadville, I'm getting slammed here with both Lake Effect and "Snow Belt Region" weather. I swear I am going to live in California (especially if I major in Comp Sci and get a job at Apple, Google, Digg, Sun Microsystems, or Mozilla haha). Usually people get the so called Winter Blues in January. Apparently I just got it, I just want to see some green grass. Not a PICTURE of green grass, actual NON FROZEN green grass haha.

Man, I'm full of semi-rants today, though I am sure everyone is getting sick of this winter weather. .......


hmmmm, oh yeah, one more Allegheny-related complaint: Your internet goes down every hour or so, make it stop...

Okay, well, I'm sure I have more to say, but I'll do it later, possibly.

P.S. I keep slacking on this blog (especially picture of the day) so I'll try to do better.

Keep supporting Daily Apple Crisp everyone!

-Pat


Sidenote: Blogger seemed to be down as I was supposed to post this so my deepest apologies. Blogger, I don't mind you updating servers.

new post coming soon.... probably today.

New post today.... GET READY haha.

Based Simply on looks/attitude, who would you vote for?

I just want to know haha

New post, have to keep the people happy!

Oh man, if you have visited my page within the last ten minutes I already published this as a blank post; my apologies. Anyways, updates from my extremely unexciting life. Ah, I wouldn't say its unexciting, merely as exciting as my life could get without drinking. There's absolutely nothing to do in Meadville; or so that's my excuse. My fellow hallmates are outside my door talking about nothing, though I quite enjoy my hallmates; they are my friends. All is well in Walker Hall first floor :). More on that later.

Anyways! What's new in my life, since....my last post? Oh! Yes yes of course. Well first off I was thinking to myself there, so no, I didn't skip over any important detail. On a totally different note, I could really go for some Rainbow Sherbet, as my throat is still sore (well more scratchy than sore) from my ever insinuating cold. My girlfriend just mentioned to me the ice cream flavor (via IM), called "Vermonty Python." She's informing me of what it is now.... it is, according to my lovely girlfriend, "coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows!"

Fudge Cows. That's amazing.

What was I going to post about.....oh yes right, so I've found a new Passion [not of the Christ]. Tea. Yes yes I all realize you know this already and already adds to my "zen" or "pseudo-zen" qualities. And that my website will be coming out soon (though adagio.com has the same idea). I got an adagio starter kit complete with loose tea (4 sampler tins!) as well as an intro book on tea and a tea infuser (which is genius)! So I got this tea and let me say, I am completely satisfied with it, its terrific, no doubt I will need to be purchasing a variety of great flavors soon. I enjoy loose tea because as I told my and my girlfriend's friend Becky (there I mentioned you) " Tea bags are crap because they use the 'fannings' of the tea leaves, which are like the shitty leftover parts of the tea leaf [whereas] loose tea is the actual dried leaf."

So, yeah. Tea is awesome. I highly recommend going to Adagio.com and picking up the starter kit. If you need a 5 dollar off coupon, just ask me, I can send them out with my account there.

Want to know the only thing about Tea that is not so cool? I will tell you.

It makes me have to pee every five minutes.

See, my Flight of the Conchords mug holds .5 liters. A bottle of water also holds .5 liters. You do the math.

3 cups of Tea x .5 liters = Pat pees a lot.


okay, maybe that's not exactly cut and dry math. You get the idea.

So, I'm impressed at the visitors; 644 unique visitors if I am not mistaken, that is pretty darn impressive. Though my counter could be off, it might be daily, but even so its quite an improvement. I'll keep posting if you guys keep visiting (oh and I enjoy comments, keep that in mind).

Well, that's it for this post, keep tuning in (and maybe on Adagio I'll make my own Daily Apple Crisp blend.... you can do that there.)


But, I'm done.

-Pat


EDIT: Oh, hey guys thanks for voting on the poll, for those of you who did. I'm going to change it now, so be wary!

Drowsy, tired, and sick, oh dang.

Hey everyone, it has been about 4 days since my last post and I deeply apologize. However, I have gotten ill. Yes, ill. I am "drowsy, tired and sick" ....oh dang. I have a cold.

Now, its interesting because the night before I got the cold I felt fantastic. I saw this Buddhist Tibetan (or Tibetan Buddhist) Monk at Ford Chapel, and he was basically the man. Probably one of the happiest guys I have ever seen, spoke great English, was from Nepal and basically told everyone getting angry isn't worth it. Which could not be more the truth. Anyways, after that I decided to go back to my room and grab my new hockey stick, to try it out at our local gymnasium (AKA the Wise Center). I went there around ten o clock and then afterwards went back to my room and proceeded to shower. I then realized that the 4th Indiana Jones is coming out soon and decided to rent the videos at the Campus Center's game room. I rented them all out (though I only got to the first one) and eagerly went to my room to watch them. I also purchased nachos. So I'm all set. ONE BAD IDEA: Going outside when my hair was wet and it was below freezing.

I think that's why I am sick.

Though my computer science teacher was also sick and she helped me with something on Thursday. We were in close contact (via keyboard) so it is possible she infected me.


My poor cells are being enslaved by a bastard virus :(

Cool, I'm all about old money

There was this cool thing I stumbled upon (haha) when I was surfing Digg. It was old money that were in increments of 500 dollars up to 10,000 dollars! They look pretty cool, here's the link to it:


Old Cash

Cold as Ice.

New polllllll.........

Ridiculous title. Anyway, please give me an idea of your Tea-ness level. I hope I am not making this website in vain :). If I am who cares haha.

Subsite Status: Need webhost ....still.

Hey everyone, I acknowledged that I will be making a subsite of this blog, and it will be all about Tea and Reviewing Tea etc. I am still working on the hosting situation, but don't worry, it'll be up soon (I still need to find out how to make a user database, etc). The name is my favorite part, but it shall not be known until its up and running :).


Oh! Also, if you have any suggestions, please email me canellp@allegheny.edu

What a cold and boring day at the campus of Allegheny College.....My Titles are getting terrible.

Hey everybody, so this is probably quite the pointless post, well, maybe not, if I feel as I should tell about my birthday escapades. Oh yeah, Saturday was my birthday if I didn't mention, so happy belated birthday to me. I came back from my house today at like 10:00. I left at 9:00 or a little after, and let me tell you, it was blazingly cold, but at the same time the sun was just blinding. It was wild. So I got back and unpacked and went to class, in the cold. I'm here now (I just noticed I used the term "blazingly cold" isn't that an oxymoron?) writing this little post for all of you to do while you are sitting inside with your little hot chocolate cups or tea cups or coffee cups. I'm drinking a nice and cold Orange Crush.

Anyway, what did I do on my birthday? Well, I will tell you right now what I did so I don't have to keep repeating myself. First of all, we were going to go to Texas Roadhouse, and if that didn't work out we'd go to Quaker Steak and Lube. So me, my parents, Drew (my brother) and my lovely girlfriend Laura went to Texas Roadhouse first. Bear in mind it was cold and windy and snowy. Kind of a pain. Texas Roadhouse was going to be a 40 minute wait, so I nixxed that and we went to Quaker Steak (much to my mom's chagrin). My mother is a jaded person and thought they ONLY served wings; which is simply not true! So we had an enjoyable lunch/dinner type deal there and then we went back to my house, as I proceeded to watch the New Jersey Devils stomp on the Hurricanes IN HD ON HD NET. It was quite the good time. My girlfriend, who is great and amazing, also gave me my presents; a Penguins shirt as well as TWO TICKETS TO THE PENS GAME IN MARCH. I flipped and she is ridiculous for spending so much on me. But a wholehearted thanks to her :). My parents got me this sweet plaque of Penguins' jerseys and a sweet shirt. Most everybody else gave me cards, except Drew who got me a sweet Apple shirt and a hockey stick I was going to buy myself :). I bought myself some gourmet tea from adagio tea and I cannot wait to drink it. I might also buy the tea starter kit. Its really cool; I am getting so into tea. Unfortunately, the subsite of Daily Apple Crisp might be overshadowed by Adagio. Its a tea central! I'll still work on it, but I still need a host. Until that time, you'll all have to wait :).

I'm out!

-Pat

So its 1 degree out.

How cold is one degree?  Well obviously that sounds like a silly question, but you know how cold it is?  DAMN COLD.  I mean, with the crazy wind chill, it feels like I am in Antarctica with the Penguins.  Though there were no Penguins and I wish I could have huddled together with them.

So the roads are bad and I am going to the Gheny tomorrow.  Waking up at 9:00.  Oh, I guess it could be worse.  I'm sitting here with my brother and he wants me to see "The Graduate."  I am making a pizza in the oven, a small one, the company being "The Red Baron."  I never knew a pilot could make such a good pizza in my own oven!  Simply amazing.  

Tea Review: Dead on.

Hey everybody, just wanted to give an update (since...what was it, yesterday?) that the wheels are in motion for the upcoming "mini-site" about Tea.  If you have ideas/suggestions I would be more than happy to hear them, you can comment here or email me at marineoceania@gmail.com or canellp@allegheny.edu

Coming Soon....

In Addition to this blog, I will be starting a new website, I just thought of this, a whole little website that is dedicated to drinking tea and rating how it tastes.  Names for this website are up in the air right now, but let me know if you think of something!  email me at canellp@allegheny.edu 

canellp (at) allegheny (dot) edu.

Okay, so here's what's up. I just wrote a paper that started to be about Microsoft's bid for Yahoo and how Google is involved (which is actually quite a story). I'm going to post it here, because, well I think its actually pretty good (not to mention it is only two pages, I think that even I have the patience to read two pages of content). Anyways, I'll post it both here as well as upload it to my Pownce account. I'd appreciate some feedback, even though it is due tomorrow haha.


Microsoft……..Did You Mean: Google’s Rival

In the early to late Nineties, if you happened to go around and ask anybody what was the largest company of all time, you would inevitably get the same response: “Microsoft.” However, their domination of the market severely changed in around 2004, when a small search company, known as Google, went public on the stock market. Google helped Internet users search the web and soon became a household name. As Google become more and more popular, they developed useful and even fun applications for all to use.

Going back to Microsoft, the software company has been competing with Google for some time. Though, Google dominates the web search, there have been talks about Microsoft buying the struggling search company Yahoo (Reuters, 2008). Though Yahoo CEO has made a clear statement that there has been a bid, no transactions have been made. It is widely accepted throughout the Internet and in the media, that Yahoo is not doing so well. With the resignation of four CEOs in the past year, needless to say, Microsoft buying Yahoo would benefit both companies.
On the other side of the coin however, Google has turned the tables around as it also has decided to consider an alliance with Yahoo.com. Although Microsoft’s goal is to purchase Yahoo (which would deplete Microsoft’s cash reserves), Google’s is to help Yahoo “fend off” the cash bid and form a kind of stronghold against Microsoft. Google representatives have also contacted their friends at Time Warner (owners of AOL) to make a possible counter bid, thwarting Microsoft altogether. (Sorkin, 2008).


It seems as though Microsoft and Google are becoming bitter rivals, as Google’s plan seems to be delaying any kind of purchase Microsoft plans to make, concerning Yahoo. Microsoft has used this same tactic back when Google purchased the advertising company known as “DoubleClick,” for $3.1 billion (Labaton, 2008). Shortly thereafter, with the release of Windows Vista, Google filed an antitrust lawsuit after finding out the new OS discouraged the use of Google’s Desktop software. The software, developed by Google, is used to search your computer for files and other data, among other useful applications. Apparently Microsoft included that same feature, nullifying Google’s Desktop Search. The lawsuit claims that Microsoft has made it difficult for users to use anything other than the built in Live Search, violating the user’s ability to choose. Since then, Microsoft has been required to allow 3rd party applications to run smoothly on all Windows platforms (The Associated Press, 2007).


As the future unfolds, it is almost certain that these two Internet companies show no signs of slowing down. Though Microsoft has proven to be successful in the past, Google’s progress seems to be in its infancy, as more and more free applications are developed for all to use. Finally, I believe that as Google ups the competition, Microsoft will struggle to make new and innovative products. Microsoft’s most recent OS release, Windows Vista, proved to be a huge flop as it was considered to be the biggest tech disappointment of 2007 according PC World Magazine. Microsoft will continue to sell products, but will gradually become a significantly smaller company.

It is simply a matter of time.

I would love to know what people are doing upstairs!

So much banging! Jeeze. Well, this is my life as a college student haha. I had comp sci, astronomy and zen buddhism today. They were all good, the least boring being Comp Sci. I love that class, it really is so cool! Tomorrow I have my FS: Software Everywhere class, which is so interesting, though half the class looks like they'd rather be ANYWHERE but in his class. Which is too bad, Kampfhammer is an awesome professor and a great guy! He's quite enthusiastic and really loves what he does! I want a job like that.

I was going to say something....rather type something but I totally forgot what it was going to be!


Ohhhh I remember now, I was going to have a poll. (yes there will be a poll up on here shortly).

I'm thinking about changing my blog's title to something else, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know what title is best. As we all know, a title is quite important! Anyways, my roommate just went to bed (at 11:30!) so I am going to calm down the typing.


The poll will be up shortly! Goodnight everyone!

Funniest Super Bowl Commercial

Midnight Jazz.

Hey everyone, I'm back! Back from where you ask? From being absolutely nowhere! I've been slacking on my posting I know I know but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, since you all love when I post (isn't it obvious?). I think that question mark is supposed to be on the outside of the parentheses? I don't know, I guess it isn't too terribly important. Oh well, this intro paragraph is just awful, so on to whatever else that I need to say!

So I realized that in college, when you don't drink you are isolated from 96% of the college community. And apparently some people that you abode with hate you for it! WOAH!!!!!! Hahah so I have to keep myself busy while everyone else is consuming alcohol, most of the time illegally (according to U.S. Law, and we all know that is important haha). So what do I do you ask? I knew you were going to ask! I do many a thing to keep myself occupied and although the lack of ANY hockey on television at this great campus I am at (thanks GatorTV, you suck), I have to occupy myself with things like watching tv shows and going on digg.com on my MacBook. Now usually, on Friday nights my friends go out at 11 or so? And luckily my hallmates don't drink too much either so we usually have great chats and such. I also am a fan of both IBC Root Beer and Orange Crush so I tend to drink one of those as well. And since my roommate is out drinking and not watching tv I can sneak a game of NHL 2006 in! How exciting! Now many of you are going "Wow what a sad life he leads, why doesn't he just go out with everyone else?"

I will tell you why. The cliche answer would be that my parents pay too much for me to screw off and get into some potentially viable trouble. This is not what I want. But surprisingly it is not the main reason that I don't drink! There are several reasons, first of all my lovely girlfriend does not drink, which is very good for me, we just don't think it fits our lifestyle. Another reason is that in Buddhism, they do not get intoxicated due to the fact that it impairs judgement and thus enlightenment will not be achieved. We all know how cool enlightenment is. With alcohol, its not gonna happen! The third reason is because I am a nerd. Plain and simple. I would rather sit around on a Saturday night and watch Diggnation by myself laughing then go out and see a bunch of people make asses of themselves. Though it is fun to mess with drunk people, probably the most fun part about having friends who drink. Though I seldom do it, if I do happen to see them, it is quite fun.


So those who read this proooobably think I am a huge loser but its okay, I don't want to have to avoid people for doing stupid shit with them :).



Its Sunday night, and I will smack every one of you who says "its Monday morning." Anyways, the reason for the title! For those of you who do not know, I am an avid jazz listener and used to play tenor saxophone in Prep's jazz band. Every Sunday night at 11:30-12:30 I have a Midnight Hour jazz session. Meaning: I listen to jazz music, drink tea and relax until 12:30 at which time I get ready for bed. Its the best ever. Anyone who wants to join (hahah open invitation) is welcome to, just bring your own tea. You are welcome to provide Jazz of your own if you bring a CD/USB stick as well.

I should make a jazz listening club.....

I need more jazz though, well when I get home I'll go on Pirate Bay I guess


Which reminds me! I highly recommend watching the free film called "Steal this Film."

Its very good.

Next up on the list is Killer Joe by Lionel Hampton and finally he closes with Midnight Sun.


Damnit I should be a radio show host on WARC.

Four Steps for College Zen.

Many times I find myself being in the presence of those college students who seem stressed out of their minds and can simply not handle their workload successfully, or with a good amount of sleep. My Professor mentioned in class today if we had any tips on this subject, I had only one, but I thought about it and I thought up a few, so enjoy these Steps, well more like guidelines :).

Step One: Don't overload on classes. Let's face it, everybody is impressed when somebody goes and says they are taking something like 22 credits in a semester. In the college I attend, the average student takes 4 classes, for a total of 16 credits. Sure those kids who take umpteen credits are admired by their peers as well as their parents who will brag about them. In reality, these kids are the ones who stress over classes, drink too much caffeine, and do not get enough sleep.

Solution: Take a less demanding work load, don't worry, you'll finish in 4 years this way. Not to mention still have a life. Also, don't feel as if you must take so many classes to succeed, getting all As in 4 classes is a lot more rewarding than 7 or so Cs.



Step Two: Work hard....but not too hard! Often times I hear kids I know going crazy and stressing to the point where they practically rewrite their chem book! One's brain can only take so much studying, actually that is a fact. I just tried to dig up the research's website, but I know that if you study for over 2 hours without a break, your brain actually shuts out any attempt to learn new material. This goes along with cramming.... It doesn't work, it actually just stresses your brain and makes you learn less!

Solution: During intense study sessions, 15 minute breaks can do wonders. Snacking during this 15 minute period can recharge your brain and make it easier to focus. Think how hard it is to do anything when you are hungry! Also, periodic studying works SO much better than cramming, I have learned that from experience.



Step 3: Don't take a class you know you will not pass. Sometimes we're just not good at things. Its true! As I am writing this I thought of Mathematics. I can do math, but I dislike it and really have to work at it to get it. If you must do it for your intended major, however, and do have to take it, do not try to "get by" without any effort. That does not work. Period.

Solution: Teacher's have Office Hours and practically beg students to come by and chat about homework or class material. It is a tremendous help and can make or break your success in that class.



Step 4: Relax, Zen Style. Okay, maybe not meditate for 3 hours straight or anything (though that would be impressive!). I guess this solution is in the step! After a long day of classes and lots of studying, relax and do something calming. Though watching TV is relaxing, I discourage that since it stimulates your brain with all the plots, flashing images and crazy programs. Instead, listen to calming music, lay in bed with your eyes closed and think, drink tea or my personal favorite, read for pleasure. I recently got into reading and cannot think of a better stress reliever. Finding a good book is not easy, but when you find one, boy is it rewarding. If it isn't the dead of winter I suggest taking a nice walk. If it is a nice calm day and there's that right amount of snow on the ground, then by all means take a walk! It is quite rewarding and relaxing as well.



I guess I only really thought of four, but hey, its good advice if I do say so myself :)

An Algorithm for an Algorithm

Step 1. Figure out how to say the word "Algorithm"

Step 2. Learn how to spell the word "Algorithm"

Step 3. Guess what the word "Algorithm" means :).

Pic of the Day! I've been slacking.

From Astronomy Picture of the day. I thought it looked quite cool and decided to show ya'll.

"Name: Starry Night Castle

Explanation: The tantalizing Pleiades star cluster seems to lie just beyond the trees above a dark castle tower in this dramatic view of The World at Night. Recorded earlier this month, the starry sky also features bright star Aldebaran below the Pleiades and a small, faint, fuzzy cloud otherwise known as Comet Holmes near picture center at the top of the field. Starry Night Castle might be an appropriate name for the medieval castle ruin in the foreground. But its traditional name is Mörby Castle, found north of Stockholm, near lake Skedviken in Norrtälje, Sweden.

Nothing like a Cat Haiku

Thanks to Gizmodo haha





Stay in the yard, Cat.
But stay away from the pool.
My kids would be sad.

Back at College, Summary of my classes!

As I am sitting here drinking my delicious IBC Root Beer, I decided to post my classes, and give a brief summary of each. I'll start with the ones I had Yesterday and list them for you:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday:

11:00-11:50 Intro To Computer Science

1:30-2:20 Zen Buddhism and Japanese Culture

2:30-3:20 Astronomy



So okay, the first being Intro to Comp Sci. Taught by a fresh out of Grad School teacher who is a really nice Chinese lady (well, I guess lady is the right term there). She's very enthusiastic about what she does, which is good, but I didn't really learn anything groundbreaking on the first day. The class is bigger than I thought and surprisingly I'm one of a few nerds in there. Most people are there for their lab requirement I believe. The book we had to buy (a cool one hundred dollars) is called "java software solutions FIFTH EDITION." I am being a diligent student and actually read chapter one last night, well, up to 1.2. I noticed in college that textbooks fit more into chapters by calling them 1.2, 2.4. 1.3, etc. I guess its so students can break up their work better. Its a pretty straightforward book, but I'm more looking to learn about coding and such, rather than computer terms I know, such as what a modem and a BUS are. Gotta start slow I suppose.

My next class of the day was Zen Buddhism, with Professor Olson. Now, I had him for Buddhism 160, he's a good teacher, but he just teaches from his ONE book. Though he makes you buy SIX books and you only have to write two papers. Which is an amazing thing, his direct quote is "I don't give quizzes because, hell I'm not going to lie to you, I don't want to waste my time grading them!" What a guy! Most of the kids have no interest in the class, mainly seniors just picking up credits that don't matter. Which is sad because the religious studies classes are great in my opinion. Oh well, I'll be in that position as well.

Okay, third class, Astronomy. This class I am looking forward to (so far anyway). There's a variety of people in this class, from pretty much every class. Also, my good friend Katrina is in it! So that's always good haha. The professor is your typical Physics nerd, which is a GOOD THING. He talks very quickly and still hasn't gotten over public speaking it seems, but then again that is not an easy thing to do. The class will be very basic, but informative and from the looks of it, full of internet busy work. I also have a lab at like four every other Thursday, which is mostly on computers, so that'll be cool I think. I say that now but it'll be a pain haha.

My last class is my freshman seminar, which is entitled "Software Everywhere." It seems quite cool, the Professor is this really nice guy who loves what he does, you can just tell because he is bursting with enthusiasm. He has a slight German accent which is really really hardly noticeable, but it sounds quite cool. I find it funny, however, that he is the Assistant Computer Science professor and he does not have a computer at home!

But I'm ending this abruptly. more later! Possibly.

I'm starting to doubt Apple's greatness.

Okay, so you all are wondering why (maybe?) that I have not posted in a while. Now, here's the thing. My MacBook randomly decided to crack down the right, well to the right of my trackpad, where the [high quality] crappy plastic meets the solid part. Now, its not a big deal, it just looks like absolute garbage, tainting the Zen-like image of my Apple product. Now, before you think "Pat what happened!? You used to be all about Apple!!"

That is not the case. I do enjoy Apple's products, as they work (I'm starting to doubt this) as well as or actually better than PCs. The main reason I am a big fan of Apple is because of its operating system, OS X. The OS is amazing, much better than anything Microsoft puts out, I'm saying this purely from experience, the lack of games is disappointing, but I could go out and buy a Wii or an XBOX360 (as PS3s still suck and are overpriced). Here's the catch: Apple should improve (and has improved) its hardware. I've had numerous hardware with problems, both with my iPod Touch (which I had to send back and get a new one due to a HARDWARE sound issue) and I've had to send my MacBook in (not counting this time, when I got it back) twice, for ONE PROBLEM. My Hard Drive randomly died in my Mac and I was quite pissed about it since I lost everything and the mexican lady on the phone was of ZERO help (sorry, I have nothing against Mexicans other than I can't understand high pitched ones on the phone.....and ones who try to be funny like George Lopez). So I sent it back and bear in mind, I had the 160 Gig hard drive, which is the biggest MacBooks used to come with. They sent it back with a 60, not a 160, A 60 GIG HARD DRIVE. Someone at the warehouse REALLY fucked up. SO AGAIN I had to send it back. Then I finally got a decent Hard Drive in my laptop and have had no problems with it.


BACK TO THE OTHER STORY:

Okay, so I gave the package to DHL and as soon as he pulled away I realized "Oh crap I forgot to rip the EZ-Label off" and instead of looking at it like a good DHL shipping peon, he doesn't do anything and today I get it back in the mail. I'm not happy. I figure I have a three year warrantee on it, so I can send it back sometime in the summer when I don't need to write mass amount of papers or anything.


So that's why I have failed to post for a few days, now that I am back online, I will be updating you on my classes and life back at college.

Bye!

Man goes to brothel, sees his wife there! Ah irony at its finest.

"WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.

Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday.

The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported."

hahah oh man, what a shocker they must have had, though they both had NOTHING to say to each other haha.


"What are you doing here?"

Guy lives in Ikea store

"PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) -- When Mark Malkoff thought about where he could stay while his New York City apartment was being fumigated for cockroaches, he quickly ruled out friends' places (too small) and hotels (too expensive).

Instead, the comedian and filmmaker decided to move into an Ikea store in suburban New Jersey, where on Monday he unloaded two suitcases into a spacious bedroom at the store.

At night when the store is closed, he says he'll play laser tag with security guards and even plans to host a housewarming party. "

full story

Pic of the dayyyyy (or pictureS rather)

Hey everyone, just want to put up the pic of the day; I'm sure I'll post more later, but for now here's a picture of my biggest Koi who lives in my water garden (well they are in the garage now haha). Of course, I'll get an excerpt from Wiki and you can learn something today! Anyways here it is:

"The common carp is a hardy fish, and koi retain that durability. Koi are cold-water fish, so it's advisable to have a meter or more of depth in areas of the world that become warm during the summer. In areas that get harsh winters, it is a good idea to have a pond that is a minimum of 1.5 meters (4 1/2 feet) deep so that it won't freeze solid. It is also a good idea to keep a space open with a bubbler and a horse trough heater.


Traditional Japanese garden with koi.
Koi's bright colors put them at a severe disadvantage against predators; a white-skinned Kohaku is a visual dinner bell against the dark green of a pond. Herons, kingfishers, raccoons, cats, foxes, and badgers are all capable of emptying a pond of its fish. A well-designed outdoor pond will have areas too deep for herons to stand in, overhangs high enough above the water that mammals can't reach in, and shade trees overhead to block the view of aerial passers-by. It may prove necessary to string nets or wires above the surface. The pond should include a pump and filtration system to keep the water clear.
Koi are an omnivorous fish and will often eat a wide variety of foods, including peas, lettuce, and watermelon.[1] Koi food is designed not only to be nutritionally balanced, but also to float so as to encourage them to come to the surface. When they are eating, it is possible to check them for parasites and ulcers. Koi will recognize the person feeding them and gather around at dinnertime. They can even be trained to take the food from one's hand. In the winter their digestive system slows nearly to a halt, and they eat very little, perhaps no more than nibbles of algae from the bottom. Their appetite won't come back until the water warms up in the spring. When the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 °C), feeding, particularly with protein, should be halted or the food can go rancid in their stomach causing sickness.
If kept properly, koi can live about 30–40 years. Some have reportedly lived up to 200 years."

Insecticide please! Oh wait, a natural bug eater :)

Hey guys, I'm back from the dentist, here's a pic of the day, its a little buggy, but bear with me haha :). anyway, from Wikipedia per usual, here's the description!

"The insect order Mantodea or mantises consists of approximatively 2,300 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats, of which a majority are in the family Mantidae. For most of the past century, only this single family was recognized within the order, and the term "mantid" was therefore historically used for any member of the order; technically, however, the term only refers to this one family, meaning the species in the other 8 recently-established families are not mantids, by definition (i.e., they are empusids, or hymenopodids, etc.), and the term "mantises" (or the more colloquial "praying mantises") should be used when referring to the entire order. Often mistakenly spelled preying mantis (an eggcorn, since they are notoriously predatory), they are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis for prophet or fortune teller. In Europe, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa. The closest relatives of mantises are the orders Isoptera (termites) and Blattodea (cockroaches), and these three groups together are sometimes ranked as an order rather than a superorder."

at the dentist!

so i am at the dentist waiting to get my teeth cleaned and hoping that they are healthy. I'll be here awhile since both me and my father have appointments. I'm on my ipod touch because thankfully there is wifi here. There's a computer company thing in this building and i am guessing they are emitting the signal. I am getting used to this tiny qwerty keyboard haha but i feel like a little teenage girl texting. So with that i am done! More tonight everyone!

Piccccc of the dayyyyy

I thought these multicolored cacti were pretty cool (I used to have a tye dyed one, it was cooool). Anyway here's the description of a cactus:

"A cactus (plural cacti, cactuses or cactus) is any member of the succulent plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also crop plants.
Cacti are distinctive and unusual plants, which are adapted to extremely arid and hot environments, showing a wide range of anatomical and physiological features which conserve water. Their stems have expanded into green succulent structures containing the chlorophyll necessary for life and growth, while the leaves have become the spines for which cacti are so well known.
Cacti come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The tallest is Pachycereus pringlei, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m,[1] and the smallest is Blossfeldia liliputiana, only about 1 cm diameter at maturity.[2] Cactus flowers are large, and like the spines and branches arise from areoles. Many cactus species are night blooming, as they are pollinated by nocturnal insects or small animals, principally moths and bats. Cacti's sizes range from small and round to pole-like and tall."

Bill Gates' last day CES 2008 video

This is hilarious, it is a mockup of what Bill's last day at Microsoft will consist of:

What is Web 2.0?

I always was curious what the phrase "Web 2.0" was. I always thought it was Ajax kind of things (like when you "dugg" something on Digg, how it would fade to the text "Dugg!" without reloading the page), but I guess its more than that, like Social based stuff, but I digress to this website, an excerpt here:

"Web 2.0 is white hot at the moment, and not just because of the hype, but because of the insane amount of stuff that's being built for it right now.

I know, I know. It sounds like the Cluetrain Manifesto all over again. Well, it kinda is.

Except that it's actually happening today all over the place and you can use it now (see BaseCamp, BackPack, del.icio.us, Flickr, Kiko, DropCash, Meebo, AjaxOffice, Bindows and dozens of others if you're not sure.)

Of course, VCs have latched onto Web 2.0 big time and that's fueling fears of a new bubble. But this only obscures the real value in it.

I've been closely examining O'Reilly's Web 2.0 meme map and it really is a set of interlocking, reinforcing concepts. The more I study the Web 2.0, the more I realize this visualization is key."

Full article is here

Picture of the Day!

I know its early in the day, but I've had my Cherry Coke and I'm ready to go!! Haha anyways, without further adieu' here's the picture.


Kind of boring possibly, but I was trying to keep with the theme of Lanterns, so I thought this looked kind of Zen.

Windows Mobile 7, AKA iPhone Interface Rip-off

Coincidence? Look at these pictures of the rumored (though not proven, could be fake) images of the next Windows Mobile Platform. It looks almost identical to the iPhone's software. Multitouch as well. Why can't Microsoft be innovative and not a bunch of copycats? Props to them on the XBOX 360 and Zune though. I really do think the Zune is cool because of its integration with XBOX 360 stuff. anyway here's the Article. Also a few pics. Thanks Engadget

Photo of the Day

Here is a Zen Lantern that I have in my summer Zen Garden/Water Garden. I use it to signify certain things such as Tea drinking at night time, opening of the pond for the year and closing of the pond (or closing of Summer, when school is upon us)