Laurel's journal

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:11:02 GMT

I have not updated this in a long time.

We're doing a Christmas thing for choir. I like being in choir around christmas - especially since I came back here on the 18^th and the first rehearsal was on the 19^th.

I can't think of anything to write at the moment.

My other blog looks too much like this one, and I think I'll change it. Maybe.

Because if they don't vote for that lizard the wrong lizard might get in

Fri, 30 May 2008 12:23:58 GMT

Image from A Softer World

♦ "Near the Goodhouse building, that green space, it's where they're putting that Tim Horton's Drive Thru."

They are fixing that already pretty good space of road near the Millbrook Mall. Today, to avoid the congested traffic of 1000 people going to the temporary super school, I drove down O'Connell.

I wonder how the new Mayor building (in the empty space where the old co op building used to be) is coming along?

Don't quit your day job, Mr Mayor. You're good at teaching french and history.

blog blog blog

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:31:34 GMT

I'm giving up on NaBloPoMo, because I don't want to waste my time on the internet.

I'm also re-thinking my blog/journal.

My blog is going to be things I am interested in (however vaguely) and where I'm going to write stuff that people who don't know me might want to read. Lots of categories like space, environment, any books I've read, song I've heard, or movie i've seen (Firefly/Serenity).

My journal is this one.

Speaking of wasting time on the internet, I found a couple of webcomics...

(image from Wasted Talent)

(image from xkcd)

May two four

Sat, 17 May 2008 14:40:56 GMT

I haven't used this blog in a while. But I need to stop blogging about my life on my other blog. It kind of sucks having two blogs.

♦ That's either a big marshmellow or they stuck toilet paper on the end of a stick and lit it on fire.

This list is for myself but I'm that addicted to blogging that it's easier to post it here than write it out.

stuff
- toothbrush
- ~~toothpaste~~
- ~~face cloth~~
- ~~face washing stuff~~
- ~~deodorant~~
- ~~glasses case~~
zzzz
- ~~warm pyjamas~~
- ~~warm socks~~
- ~~blanket~~
clothes
- ~~shirt~~
- ~~hoodie~~
- ~~pants~~
- ~~socks~~
- ~~etc~~
- ~~coat~~
get
- ~~chocolate granola bars~~
- ~~veggie dogs?~~
- ~~bagel (breakfast)~~
~~camera~~
~~cell phone~~
~~wind up flashlight~~
~~toilet paper~~
~~water and juice~~
pillow
~~tent (in case Kristina doesn't have room in hers)~~
~~sleeping bag~~

HOODIE, SLEEPING BAG, TENT

Blogging

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:03:28 GMT

Every time I get my site working the way i want it to, I start to wonder if I should move to something easier--wordpress, blogger, livejournal. Livejournal and wordpress especially have more of a community.

Diaryland, where I currently am, is old and most of the people on it left years ago. That's a cosmic amount of time in terms of internets.

I get bored of the layout very easily though.

Reminiscences of level two

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:56:58 GMT

♦ I saw a picture on Ryan's facebook from level two, and decided to get nostalgic (sure beats studying physics).

I like pictures. I also like videos--they move.

Oh, and speaking of pictures from level two...

(teehee I may have promised that I wouldn't put this on...yafro or whatever it was.)

The picture isn't too great but the book is called "How to Dump A Guy". The only problem was that their suggestions were things like "Stop having sex with him".

It's not over yet

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:15:36 GMT

But the ice show was shiny.

♦ So, I shouldn't be too happy, exams aren't over yet. But it's a likely possibility that I aced that math exam. Except for one question where it didn't cross my mind that the calculator had to be in radians not degrees.

The ice show was really good. The alumni number and the synchro number, looked good from where I was. The seniors number with chairs was shiny, Kalynn did her puppet program and she did spins and jumps with the strings on her skates and her program was shiny, Francine's was shiny too. It was so dark for the finale, with the flashlights, and it looked brilliant.

< / end of me going on and on about the ice show >

Tomorrow, back to studying. It worked for math, why not physics?

Oh, limericks

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:45:24 GMT

The other day, Pacian had a blog entry written as a limerick. And on xkcd there was something about limericks.

♦There are a lot of dirty ones, so look at them at your own risk. Here's a list to some of the most nerdy ones: One about electromagnets, This one's brilliant too, Apparently a lot of stuff rhymes with ridiculously long names of chemicals, A cute one about a guy from Peru, A completely unrelated one about a gal from Peru, Simple harmonic motion here to haunt me, One about integrals that I understand and always tend to do (Forget the C), Another integral one (oh no, not times the 64th power of i), and yet another integral one because these people like integrals too much.

Songs that don't really fit with the questions

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:02:50 GMT

Now for the questions about the songs you can use the same rules as the "your soundtrack" note.

1. Open your library (iTunes)
2. Press shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that plays
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button....
6. Don't lie

1. What do you want to be when you get older?
Sons and Daughters--The Decemberists
When we arrive, sons and daughters, we'll make our homes on the water

2. How do people see you and your significant other?
All that Jazz--Chicago
Come on now, we're going to paint the town...and all that jazz

3. What are you afraid of?
From My Own True Love (Lost At Sea)--The Decemberists
Fourscore years, living down in this rain swept town. Sea salt tears swimming round as the rain comes down. Mr Postman, do you have a letter for me? Mr Postman, do you have a letter for me? A letter for me, a letter for me, from my own true love, lost at sea

4. What do you think of your friends?
How Far We've Come--Matchbox 20
Let's see how far we've come

5. What do you think of your significant others ex?
I'm Gonna Getcha--Shania Twain
Don't want you for the weekend, don't want you for the night

6. How do you feel about yourself?
Follow the Spiders--Harry and the Potters
We've got to follow the spiders into the forbidden forest

7. How do you feel about your life?
That don't Impress me much--Shania Twain *I don't actually listen to Shania twain very much if at all. It just came up twice randomly*
You've got being right down to an art. You think you're a genius, you drive me up the wall, you're a regular original know-it-all. Oh, oh you think you're special. Oh, oh you think you're something else

8. What does your significant other think of you?
No Mermaid--Shaye
I was swinging from the centre of the ceiling, you were afraid to give in, I said I'll always live for this feeling, and you said never again

9. How do you feel about highschool?
Cornelius Fudge is and ass--Harry and the Potters
You can convince yourself that the Daily Prophet has a clue, but I think the Quibbler has a better grip on the truth
Nah...the super school wasn't that bad.

10. What do you honestly think of the person you dislike the most?
Yankee Bayonet--The Decemberists
Look for me when the sun bright swallow sings upon the birch bow high.

11. Do you ever wish you were the opposite sex?
Unloved--Jann Arden & Jackson Browne
All the stars have fallen from the sky, and everything else in between, the satellites have closed their eyes, the moon has gone to sleep
...Heck no never

12. What did you think of your last kiss?
I feel Fantastic--Johnathan Coulton
Driving on drugs feels better when they're prescription, all I know, the world looks beautiful, the world looks so damn beautiful
...Uh yeah still no first kiss

13. What did you do last night?
Give Peace a Chance--Aerosmith
All we are saying is give peace a chance
...On the Simpsons the other day they said "Oh it's one of those nonsense phrases, like ramalamadingdong or Give peace a chance

14. What do you honestly think of facebook notes?
I don't believe in time--Hootie and the Blowfish
Time, why you walk away?
...I waste my time on them.

15. What will be your last words?
I Don't Wanna Die Today--Shaye
I don't wanna die today

16. Whats your favorite thing to do?
Master of the House--Les Miserables
Master of the house, isn't worth my spit

17. How will your summer go?
Imagine--John Lennon
Imagine all the people living for today

18. Will you have kids?
Climb Every Mountain--The Sound of Music
Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow till you find your dream. A dream that will need all the love you can give

19. How do you feel about your significant other?
Shut up and Drive--Rihanna
Can you handle the curves can you run all the lights

20. Finally, Whats one thing you hate?
Major Tom (Coming Home)--Peter Schilling
Send me up a drink, jokes Major Tom. The count goes on. 4, 3, 2, 1.
...Haha send me up a drink...actually I read on the internets that they didn't actually fly drunk, they have a certain amount of time between when they're allowed to drink and when they actually fly.

Armadilloes

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:34:30 GMT

In the poetry book for english class, there's a poem called The Armadillo by Elizabeth Bishop. But most of the stanzas are about space, not about armadillos. Then I thought of Armadillo aerospace but googled that and apparently they didn't get their name from that poem.

A google search for both seemingly unrelated topics came up with 9 results. Results 1 - 9 for armadillo aerospace "elizabeth bishop". Nobody else has wondered this?

Essays really take up your room-cleaning time

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:13:25 GMT

We have an in class english essay coming up, and then sometime in the (seemingly) distant future, an essay that we have to pass in. So what better way to study for the in class essay than to practice writing essays by writing the one that is due later on in february?

But it takes so long to write! It takes so long to write essays in general. It really takes up some of my room-cleaning chocolate-eating time. (That was a reference to some person's blog entry.)

Here's a really racist question but very much related to one of the songs I am probably using for my essay: what do we do with ten dirty Jews, a thirty-ought full of rock salt and a warm afternoon? What do we do?

"And, I'll play the clarinet/Use clamshells for castinets"

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:08:14 GMT

♦
And we'll find us a home 
Built of packaging foam 
That will be there 'til after we die

(The Decemberists)

I should be studying chemistry. What will happen if I don't study at all except for opening up my book and reading about how chocolate is good for you (yep, it has an antioxidant called phenol.)

But seriously, it's just that I can't study this close to a test. So if I didn't study as we were going along (which I didn't) then it's just too bad for me.

Ok, so what's with the Decemberists quote?

That song is a waltz, a story...sort of romantic but in a different way. Not one of those songs that try to make a point.

It's just a fact that the packaging foam will be there till after they die. It has to do with chemistry (polymers).

But we don't know about polymers. We know how to change mass to moles. That's why I can never bring myself to study. It's so boring.

This morning I had to chisel out the car and then get my dad to push it to get it out. By chisel I mean it took almost a half hour to get out.

Then on the way home on the radio they were commenting on the icy roads, and said: "The cars are like zamboni's today."

No. The cars are like skating rinks today.

Stuff you probably don't care about

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:38:34 GMT

1. Are you smiling?
No...yes

2. Have you ever kissed anyone who’s name started with a J?
Nope

3. What is irritating you now?
I keep trying to burn a CD and it keeps not working...I think it worked this time

4. When did you last eat pizza?
Yesterday! it was hawaiian pizza

5. Do you drink beer?
Nope, I'm only 18 and you know of course that nobody under 19 ever drinks

6. Do you have any friends who are famous?
Nope

7. Are you any good at poker?
No! Not at all. I tried once, and lost two cents.

8. What do you want the most?
Can't think of anything right at this moment

9. Are you tired?
No, it's the middle of the day. Near the start of the day for me.

10. Do you like anyone?
All my friends are likeable!

11. Coke or Pepsi?
Ew. Don't like either

12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be awesome. (And also an engineer)

15. Taco Bell or McDonald's?
Don't know. Taco bell sounds like Pachelbel.

16. Last thing you said?
"Can I have another blank CD because that one didn't work either"

17. What are you wearing?
socks, hoodie, Motownphilly sweatpants (they make great pyjamas)

18. How many abercrombie shirts do you own?
None.

19. How many Myspace views do you have?
Myspace? Naah I'm a facebook person myself

20. Want to be a princess?
Not particularily at this moment.

21. Do you believe dreams come true?
Yes with the provisal that they are realistic (not: I wanna travel faster than the speed of light), and that you really want them.

23. Do you like Batman?
Don't know.

24. Who is in the room with you?
Just me!

25. What are you wearing on your feet?
Socks.

26. What's your favorite pair of shoes?
Pretty green ones that cost too much, that I got in Europe :)

27. Who was the last person that told you they loved you?
Mom or dad. Can't remember

28. What was the last thing you ate?
Chocolate (for breakfast of course)

29. What were you doing before this?
Sleeping then eating breakfast.

30. What is the closest item near you that is black?
My camera's battery recharger.

31. What was the last instant message you sent?
I don't know! I haven't gone on msn in ages--facebook has replaced it.

32. Where did you go last night?
Sliding! Yay!

33. What do you wear more, jeans or sweatpants?
Jeans.

34. What is the last movie you watched?
I don't know

35. Where are your parents?
Church.

36. Where did you get the pants you're wearing?
A couple years ago in the dance show we were doing this dance, and we got these sweatpants that are really comfortable.

37. Coach Purse or NFL game tickets?
Um...?

38. Where was your default Facebook picture taken?
My room.

39. Who are you currently texting?
No one.

40. Are you happy with where you are?
Yep!

41. Is cheating ever okay?
No. Well if everyone involved agreed that it was okay...I guess it wouldn't be called cheating then.

42. Would you ever take someone back if they cheated on you?
I've never been in a position to have to decide.

43. Are you happy with yourself?
Mostly.

44. Do you want someone you can't have?
Yep

45. Who makes you laugh the most?
I don't know, I can't decide.

46. Whats your current relationship status?
Single.

47. Last sport you played?
Figure skating

48. Name αn obvious quality you have?
Nerdy. (and white)

49. Whats the name of the song stuck in your head right now?
I didn't have one stuck in my head until I answered the last question: now it's White and Nerdy--Weird Al

49. Name a celebrity you would marry?
I don't know. I don't think I'd marry a celebrity. Then I'd have to move away.

50. Who will cut & paste this first?
I don't know.

51. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Nope...but people have asked if I've permed my hair.

52. Do you wear a watch? What kind?
Sometimes, it's a pink walmart one.

53. Do you have anything pierced?
Ears.

54. Do you have any tattoos?
Nope

55. Do you like pain?
No

56. Do you like to shop?
Sometimes. Depends on what kind of mood i'm in.

57. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Tea at brewed awakening. With borrowed money.

58. Whats your favorite lamp that you own?
Ah... I think we only have 2 and they're identical. They have dried flowers in them.

59. How many tvs are in your house?
1. 13-inch.

60. What is on your desktop background?
A picture I got off someone's facebook, that was from a dance show, but is blurry and looks *artistic.*

61. What is the background on your cell phone?
Francine skating

62. What was the last movie you watched in theatres?
Harry Potter

63. What was the last book you read?
I am reading Twilight!

64. Do you talk in your sleep?
Nope.

65. Ocean or pool?
Ocean!

66. Did you ever have a party that was busted by the cops?
Nope.

67. What are your favorite colors?
Green. Red, orange, yellow, turquoise, blue, indigo, purple, and other variations on all those colours.

68. Window seat or aisle seat?
Window.

69. Ever meet anyone famous?
Nope.

70. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirl.

71. How long do your showers last?
15 minutes if possible, but if I'm lazy they're longer.

72. Do you know how to drive a stick?
No

73. What would you like to spend alot of time doing?
I don't know.

74. Last person that called you?
Mudder!

75. Whats your least favorite chore?
Dishes.

76. Favorite drink?
Apple juice.

77. Are you a vegetarian;
*Casual vegetarian.*

78. Do you believe in heaven?
Maybe. It hasn't been disproved. What about reincarnation?

79. Favorite show?
Right now I'm watching all the episodes of Firefly, because I'm a nerd like that.

80. What jewelry do you wear?
Earrings.

81. Are you eating?
Not anymore.

82. Do you make commitments?
Commitments to what?

83. Can you dance?
Only if it's choreographed.

84. Would you ever have plastic surgey?
Only if I needed it.

85. What do you wear to bed?
PJ bottoms or sweatpants, and a hoodie.

86. Have you ever done anything illegal?
Illegal! Oh yeah, the other day I didn't come to a complete stop at a stop sign. That makes me such a rebel

87. Can you roll your tongue?
Yep

88. If you won the lottery, what would you do?
I don't know. I'd like to do a lot of stuff and also donate some to a good cause.

89. Whens the last time you cried?
Um...2006.

90. Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
nope

91. Ever been involved with the police?
No ma'am!

92. Do you have pets?
No, we had fish but they all died.

93. Favorite beer?
Ew.

94. Exotic, import or muscle?
?

95. Even or odd?
Odd.

Since when has "stage" been a verb?

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:16:17 GMT

♦You can stage an attack
You can stage a rocket
But you can't stage a rocket attack

Oh, snap; Am I not the most clever witty person you have met. Actually, it sounds ~~a little~~ violent.

Last week there was a storm when we were supposed to have the staging rehersal for the second half of the dance show, so we did the second half at the tech rehersal. Then I started to think in my simple mind, about how the word "stage" can be a noun or a verb.

That's all the wittiness for now. I'm tired.

At least I didn't say magnetic compass and matches.

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:28:26 GMT

46%

So then I tried a couple more times. And kept getting things like 52 and 42. Finally I gave up and looked at the actual answers--My answers weren't that bad. I had put magnetic compass and matches at the bottom, which was right. I put star chart, food concentrate, water, and oxygen near the top. And loaded pistol somewhere in the middle because you could shoot on an angle towards the ground and bounce farther. Ok so I'm not a moron, but I'm not brilliant either.

47% Geek

"What was the name of the ship in Firefly" HAHA I know this! It's Serenity. (And that's why I'm a nerd)

29%

30%

It would be neat if it was though.

Can't take the sky from me

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:26:03 GMT

I've been being a nerd and watching the first three episodes of Firefly on YouTube (The person didn't have the next episode uploaded yet so I can't watch that.)

If you don't know the story, Basically, it's science fiction based on a time in American history, sort of like a western movie except in space instead of, well, the west. There are a mis-matched group of people who are on this ship transporting illegal stuff so that they can get money to get by in life.

It's not something I would choose to watch. I don't agree with the theme song ("burn the land and boil the sea"... more like DON'T burn the land, DON'T boil the sea!) and there's ~~a bit of~~ violence.

But once I got into it, I realized that what I like about it are the characters & how they interact with each other (especially when they don't threaten to kill each other).

My favourite character is definitely Kaylee. She is just awesome, she's happy all the time and very competent, and has not tried to kill anyone so far.

KAYLEE
We're taking on passengers at
Persephone?

MAL
That's the notion. We could use a
little respectability on the way to
Boros. Not to mention the money.

JAYNE
Pain in the ass...

KAYLEE
No, it's shiny! I like to meet new
people. They've all got stories...

This officially means I'm a nerd. As stated on xkcd.

Why I don't like english essays, part 4

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:13:25 GMT

I was just typing up my english notes (that's the course I'm going to study the most this semester because it's the one that I did the worst in last semester).

This is what's wrong with english essays: You can't prove things. You just have to rely on people's emotions towards the poem or whatever you're writing about. QED.

Cleaning up my room

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:16:07 GMT

Global warming mug

"For best results, use other side."

Pennies. Well it LOOKS like a treasure chest.

Garbage can. It keeps tipping over. Who designs garbage cans anyway? Wouldn't that job suck... "What do you do for a living?" "Design garbage cans." "Oh....."

So. I was bored.

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:16:17 GMT

"Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another. The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all." --Voltaire

What are the original ideas, then? Here's a guess about seven... (NOTE: All of these can be embellished by Love, Friendship, Betrayal, Discovering Something About Themselves, Making it A Parody (Because You Know Nothing Is Original), Elaborately Thought Up Settings...)

1. There is someone who does not think of themselves as a hero. But they are given a task or undertake such a task, that they suddenly are thrown into a situation of having to do something (*Intense music*) for the greater good. They struggle through an adventure, but will they end up triumphing? The fate of others rests upon their shoulders! (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter)

2. A group of people put faith in technology. They do not expect anything to happen in their journey or routine thing they are doing. Then something happens. (*Dramatic Pause*) All of a sudden it is not just a story of a nice little journey or thing they are doing: it is a matter of life and death. They are thrown into this situation, and they might not make it! Will they be able to save the day in time? Or will they go down tragically? (Titanic, Apollo 13, The Perfect Storm)

3. The extraordinary but true story of someone's life. How they rise above all the conflicts and stuff. Usually this focusses in on one aspect of their life, and explains how this changed them and how they matured over that part of their life. (Memoirs of a Geisha, October Sky)

4. The Tragedy. You know what I mean. They drill it into your head in high school english, the four characteristcs of a Tragic Character... But even if the character has three out of four of the characteristics, you can somehow twist the story around so that you can argue that they have the last characteristic. (Antigone, Macbeth)

5. The story that doesn't really have a plot just brilliant dialogue and things that make you laugh. People acting silly in normal circumstances. This is best when it's based on ridiculous things people have actually done. (Darwin Awards, Mr Bean)

6. The person has a goal--To be great at something. (*Dramatic pause, while triumphant music plays*) The story follows them working towards it then at the end is the big competition or whatever it is. Their chance to prove themselves. Will they do it? Or is all their work done in vain. (I have never seen an example where it is the latter.)

7. Rich girls and their woes about spilling food on their designer clothes, and how the rich boy does not want to be their boyfriend, and saying gossip and stuff. They may or may not suddenly find out that there are people who are less fortunate than them.

Some links

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:55:03 GMT

As i was looking through my My Documents, I found a document that was links to some interesting stuff on elfwood. I thought i'd post it on livejournal & therefore on facebook.

</ul>

Art to see:

ladybug by Julia Francis-Dolling (http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/j/u/judrop/pict0072.jpg.html)

Greeneye by H.J. Rian de Jong ~ tells a story... (http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/h/e/hendrika/greeneye.jpg.html)

Stories to read:

Cheese runners by Chris A. Jackson (http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/libr/j/a/jax101/cheese_1_2.htm.html)

The speed of light by Sascha Frank (http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/libr/s/a/sasha2/sasha2.html)

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:31:35 GMT

I think it would be interesting to see a graph of oil prices and the price to go to the moon and get renewable energy, over time. I'm too lazy to look it up on google but if anyone finds one i'd like to see it.

Fw: Fwd:

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 20:32:25 GMT

I'm always to lazy to forward on emails, so i post them on livejournal (and by doing so on facebook also.)

I didn't make any of these, just found them on Fwd emails...

FW: Ironic Anagrams

The words & their rearranged version.

Dormitory - dirty room
Desperation - a rope ends It
The Morse Code - here come dots
Slot Machines - cash lost In 'em
Animosity - is no amity
Mother-in-law - woman Hitler
Snooze Alarms - alas! no more z's
Alec Guinness - genuine class
Semolina - is no meal
A Decimal Point - I'm a dot in place
Eleven plus two - twelve plus one
Contradiction - accord not in it
Astronomer - moon starter
Princess Diana - end is a car spin

FW: Signs (signs, everywhere are signs)

Sign in a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

Sign in a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

Outside a farm:
HORSE MANURE 50p PER PRE-PACKED BAG, 20p DO-IT-YOURSELF

In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD

On a church door:
THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN. ENTER YE ALL BY THIS DOOR. (THIS DOOR IS KEPT LOCKED BECAUSE OF THE DRAFT. PLEASE USE SIDE DOOR.)

English sign in a German cafe:
MOTHERS, PLEASE WASH YOUR HANS BEFORE EATING

Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Sign outside a new town hall which was to be opened by the Prince of Wales:
THE TOWN HALL IS CLOSED UNTIL OPENING. IT WILL REMAIN CLOSED AFTER BEING OPENED. OPEN TOMORROW.

Outside a photographer's studio:
OUT TO LUNCH: IF NOT BACK BY FIVE, OUT FOR DINNER ALSO

Seen at the side of a Sussex road:
SLOW CATTLE CROSSING. NO OVERTAKING FOR THE NEXT 100 YRS.

Outside a disco:
SMARTS IS THE MOST EXCLUSIVE DISCO IN TOWN. EVERYONE WELCOME

Sign warning of quicksand:
QUICKSAND. ANY PERSON PASSING THIS POINT WILL BE DROWNED. BY ORDER OF THE DISTRICT COUNCIL.

Notice sent to residents of a Wiltshire parish:
DUE TO INCREASING PROBLEMS WITH LETTER LOUTS AND VANDALS WE MUST ASK ANYONE WITH RELATIVES BURIED IN THE GRAVEYARD TO DO THEIR BEST TO KEEP THEM IN ORDER

Notice in a dry cleaner's window:
ANYONE LEAVING THEIR GARMENTS HERE FOR MORE THAN 30 DAYS WILL BE DISPOSED OF.

Sign on motorway garage:
PLEASE DO NOT SMOKE NEAR OUR PETROL PUMPS. YOUR LIFE MAY NOT BE WORTH MUCH BUT OUR PETROL IS

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT: THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE FIRST FLOOR

Notice in a field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES

Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

Sign on a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)

Sign at Norfolk farm gate:
BEWARE! I SHOOT EVERY TENTH TRESPASSER AND THE NINTH ONE HAS JUST LEFT

Spotted in a toilet in a London office block:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

On the packaging for a knife:
CAUTION: Knife is very sharp. Keep out of children.

An essay about why I am so bad at writing essays.

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:54:08 GMT

I really can't write conclusions, I think I will stop trying. This essay took maybe a half hour to write I was practicing essay writing for my exam tomorrow?), but I can't quite remember what time I started or how long I stopped to read more of the Invisible Man.

(Image stolen from www.pinkyshow.org)

Every explanation of How To Write a Good Essay, is the same, it seems. Sure, there are some differences, but the basic structure is the same. It always tends to be written by someone who is good at writing, and maybe does not understand that people might not naturally know what to write in an essay.

After you have seen this type of explanation a couple of times, it gets monotonous and uninformative, especially the passages that say what to do, explain what not to do, but do not explain how to write it well. These explanations should explain how to write a good essay, instead of describing vaguely what is supposed to be in an essay.

Each of these explanations starts off explaining the basics, which is decent enough. They explain that an essay is made up of an introduction, body paragraph(s), and a conclusion, then go on to explain what each of these requires.

First the writer explains about an introduction. Here, the writer uses the same vague phrases that sound good but aren't really helpful. The first sentence in the introduction must "grab the reader's attention," and introduce them to the topic you will be discussing. Nothing is said of how to formulate this sentence, what to do to make the sentence good, just that it must be good. Sometimes an example is added which could potentially be helpful. Most of them state what not to do--for example do not start out with a personal anecdote in an academic essay.

After explaining vaguely how it is good to start off writing an essay--usually the hardest part is getting started--they explain about a thesis statement. They put a lot of emphasis on the thesis statement because it is such an important part of an essay, and sometimes tricky to write. Here they usually do a good job giving examples and explaining how to write a good thesis statement. Kudos to them.

After elaborate explanations about the thesis statement, the writer moves on to explain about the body paragraphs. The body paragraphs are easy enough if you have something concrete to write about, like for example the effect of blah blah blah on the start of the second world war. However it can get tricky if you are told to discuss some sort of literary device in an english essay. (Either way, at this point, having written a good thesis will help enormously.) Usually the body paragraphs are explained well--sometimes they even explain how to make the essay longer once you have written it concisely!

After doing a decent job on explaining how to write the body paragraphs, the writer explains a conclusion. This tends to include a very vague predictable description of a conclusion, followed by a list of things not to do. It fails to even hint at what you have to do to actually go about writing a good conclusion.

The writer explains that a conclusion should "summarize your essay." It should leave the reader with something to think about, but not introduce new information. It should not begin with "In conclusion." It should state the thesis but "in a different way." It should hold the reader's interest. It should not have a personal anecdote, in an academic essay. The writer is usually someone who is good at writing essays, someone who can assimilate all this information that dances around what has to be done, and write a good conclusion. Not everyone can do this easily.

In conclusion, explanations on how to write a good essay should gear more towards how to write it, rather than just explaining what makes an essay not suck. That reminds me of a math question on our math exam. The exam was called "Differential calculus" so obviously dealt with things related to the derivative of a function. We were given a question where we had to graph this function and we weren't given the equation of the function, just the derivative and some important points on the graph. I couldn't figure out how to find the horizontal asymptotes (turned out there were none) without the equation so I figured out the equation from the derivative and one point on the graph (0,0). Only problem is that it was supposed to be differential calculus. But then again all i found out was that there weren't horizontal asymptotes, which was told to us in part (b) of the question...

Loosely defined use of the word "stalking"

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:58:48 GMT

I tend to "stalk" people on facebook, one person at a time. Usually it starts with them having pictures with me in them, or something that catches my eye on the stalker feed. Then i think something like "ooh interesting display picture" and look at all their previous display pictures. Or "hmm what groups is this person it?" then look at all the groups.

Math exam tomorrow. How exciting.

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:55:21 GMT

Back in the day i had a story that i would write, and it was about this person who got magical powers and she and four other people (who had also just found out they had magical powers) then have to stop the bad guys. But it was different than Sailor moon. The main character had black hair instead of yellow hair, and she had pigtail buns instead of pigtail buns with the hair coming down from them. And they weren't called the sailor scouts. And they all found out they had their powers, at the same time whichly was Dec. 31, 1999.

Anyway, since it was so much like sailor moon i wanted to make the details less like sailor moon. And whenever there was something that coincidentally was the same (some details that i had made up, then realized it was the same in sailor moon) i wouldn't like it because then my story was too much like sailor moon.

I haven't written any of it for a few years, and then today i was wasting time on my laptop as per usual, and found a picture of this Japanese moon princess, Kaguya. (at http://home.earthlink.net/~gwiz/moonbeam.html)... She looks just like my character:

Cool.