While I was driving out and about today, the host on the radio boasted that LiveEarth will be staging concerts on "over seven continents." Is Antarctica supposed to be happy that it gets a concert, or upset that it is not, in fact, the most obscure of the...more than seven continents? I wonder if the tickets for the Antarctic concert will be cheaper than the rest. I hope I can get a hotel reserv--okay, I'm done...someone needs to update Wikipedia to include these additional mystery continents. I'm really done this time.
I've spent 35 days in Europe and nearly 7233 days in the US yet every time I've walked out of a store since those 35 days, it's felt odd to not say goodbye to or acknowledge the person or people working there, as is normal in Europe. I guess it's something that, when I was exposed to it, seemed like such a natural action that I was able to disregard the previous 18 years of never really considering it standard practice. This needs to change.
Our high school driver's ed instructional videos put us in driving situations with footage from a moving car. At certain points in the video, the motion would pause and we'd have to identify potential hazards. These hazards were then highlighted in partially transparent red rectangles to make sure we caught everything. When I'm driving and an animal is running around near my car, or a kid is bouncing a basketball on the sidewalk, or some lady is opening her car door to put away her grocery bag, I see these red rectangles. I don't think the intent of the videos was to get us to project graphics in our head, but if that's what makes me a safe driver....
I run through conversations and situations, both hypothetical and previously occurring, in my head. I drift off to subconscious-land for a just a few seconds, and I catch myself mouthing words and making hand gestures and facial expressions that have occurred or would occur in that certain situation. I really hope somebody sees this happen.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
the far corners
My English final paper:
A rain drop falling into a puddle or a rock thrown into a pond gives us a fascinating collection of circles. The Sun and Moon rise and set as circles in our sky. Circles devastate us in the form of tornadoes and hurricanes as well as bring us beauty in the form of daisies, dandelions, and dahlias. They are subtle yet they surround us.
There is no way around it; the circle is the most captivating, the most crucial of all things. However, in order to properly circumstantiate the importance of the circle, we must consider what a circle is and what a circle is not.
Algebraically, a circle is the set of all points equally distant from a given point. Geometrically, a circle is the cross-sectional area produced by the intersection of a cone and a plane parallel to the base of the cone. A circle can be defined any number of ways and every accurate definition will reveal that circles do not exist. Realistically, a true circle is merely a concept. We cannot restrict ourselves to a concept; the value of the circle lies in the shape.
Circles are everything; they are nothing. The circle represents the value of false in the binary number system and, in many languages, the circle assumed the role of the zero digit when zero became widely accepted as a number. It has survived as a letter in most Germanic and Romance languages, including English. Linguistically, it is possible for us to come full circle, go around in circles, square the circle, and circle the wagons. One can circulate, circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent, or even be circumcised.
In any circumstance, circles are central in our everyday lives, from the turn of a phrase to the turn of a wheel. We keep time on clocks and commit ourselves to marry with rings. We calculate the digits of pi; we bake pie. We shop with coins and shop for tires. Circles save lives as aquatic life rings. They are Life Savers. In the circle of life, the Circle is life.
A rain drop falling into a puddle or a rock thrown into a pond gives us a fascinating collection of circles. The Sun and Moon rise and set as circles in our sky. Circles devastate us in the form of tornadoes and hurricanes as well as bring us beauty in the form of daisies, dandelions, and dahlias. They are subtle yet they surround us.
There is no way around it; the circle is the most captivating, the most crucial of all things. However, in order to properly circumstantiate the importance of the circle, we must consider what a circle is and what a circle is not.
Algebraically, a circle is the set of all points equally distant from a given point. Geometrically, a circle is the cross-sectional area produced by the intersection of a cone and a plane parallel to the base of the cone. A circle can be defined any number of ways and every accurate definition will reveal that circles do not exist. Realistically, a true circle is merely a concept. We cannot restrict ourselves to a concept; the value of the circle lies in the shape.
Circles are everything; they are nothing. The circle represents the value of false in the binary number system and, in many languages, the circle assumed the role of the zero digit when zero became widely accepted as a number. It has survived as a letter in most Germanic and Romance languages, including English. Linguistically, it is possible for us to come full circle, go around in circles, square the circle, and circle the wagons. One can circulate, circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent, or even be circumcised.
In any circumstance, circles are central in our everyday lives, from the turn of a phrase to the turn of a wheel. We keep time on clocks and commit ourselves to marry with rings. We calculate the digits of pi; we bake pie. We shop with coins and shop for tires. Circles save lives as aquatic life rings. They are Life Savers. In the circle of life, the Circle is life.
i am waiting until i don't know when, because i'm sure it's going to happen then
I'm sufficiently mentally isolated, again, to turn to my blog as an outlet. That's all I have to say for myself.
I've successfully navigated my way out of being deprived of (read: losing) my scholarship. If nothing else it was a humbling, if expensive, experience and it's satisfying to know that the work I've put in has paid off. An even 3.5 over the last two semesters, and honorable mention for the Spring 2007 Dean's List. I suppose I just have to make sure that my next step is away from the hole I just crawled out of.
After the good experience I had in my English class and discussion group last semester I've been really motivated to explore my writing further through the UA. I'm signed up for two English classes this fall and I applied for a science writing/journalism internship. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I think the internship would be a lot of fun and would be a good indication of what writing really means to me at this point. I have yet to rule out the possibility that I enjoy thinking about writing more than I enjoy writing, so I figure immersing myself in it for a semester will be a good polarizer. Though I can't let myself enjoy it so much that it detracts from the rigors of E&M, Quantum, Astrophysics, and Linear Algebra. And programming. And research. And sleep? Nah.
My circles are changing. I'm quickly finding that I fit much better with the "new" people than most of the old. I'm not sure what exactly has driven me from the old people, but I'm not sure that I actually care to figure it out. It's uncomfortable at times, but I'm kind of enjoying finding my way into a niche of new people.
At this point, I have no clue where I'm going or how quickly I'm getting there, but in considering where I am at the moment, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
I've successfully navigated my way out of being deprived of (read: losing) my scholarship. If nothing else it was a humbling, if expensive, experience and it's satisfying to know that the work I've put in has paid off. An even 3.5 over the last two semesters, and honorable mention for the Spring 2007 Dean's List. I suppose I just have to make sure that my next step is away from the hole I just crawled out of.
After the good experience I had in my English class and discussion group last semester I've been really motivated to explore my writing further through the UA. I'm signed up for two English classes this fall and I applied for a science writing/journalism internship. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I think the internship would be a lot of fun and would be a good indication of what writing really means to me at this point. I have yet to rule out the possibility that I enjoy thinking about writing more than I enjoy writing, so I figure immersing myself in it for a semester will be a good polarizer. Though I can't let myself enjoy it so much that it detracts from the rigors of E&M, Quantum, Astrophysics, and Linear Algebra. And programming. And research. And sleep? Nah.
My circles are changing. I'm quickly finding that I fit much better with the "new" people than most of the old. I'm not sure what exactly has driven me from the old people, but I'm not sure that I actually care to figure it out. It's uncomfortable at times, but I'm kind of enjoying finding my way into a niche of new people.
At this point, I have no clue where I'm going or how quickly I'm getting there, but in considering where I am at the moment, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Cinque Terre and Athens
The Parthenon!
Our ferry from Italy to Greece. Pretty much a cruise ship that carries a bunch of trucks.
Vernazza, one of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. The village far in the background, right on the corner of the coast, is Monterosso.
Switzerland
I guess you could say we hiked until the cows came home. A great jeans and boots combination by the way.
The view from our hike from Gimmelwald to Murren.
The view from the street in front of our hostel in Lauterbrunnen. Just an outrageously gorgeous place.
Our hostel in Interlaken, probably the best we've stayed in all trip. I believe that's Jungfrau in the background.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Amsterdam
The streets and sidewalks in Amsterdam were lined with these guys. Yes, that is XXX on them. Yes, they actually look like....that.
Our hostel, the Marietta. The long boat with all the windows next to it was our breakfast boat.
Steve in our room on the boat.
Paris
Bwahahaha!
The view of Champ de Mars from the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower. The view was a sea of buildings expect for this little area right next to the Tower.
The Arc de Triomphe. The traffic circle around it is ridiculous: 12 streets feed into it and there are no traffic lights or anything.
Me in the Pyramid at the Louvre.
Barcelona
Our hostel overlooked a street called La Rambla, sort of a crazy 4th Avenue kind of place. Here we witness the convention of Michael Jackson impersonator and Gold Man.
The water in Barcelona was crazy. It looked exactly like the picture: teal out to the shelf, then a defined line where it goes to a deeper blue. No fade, just a perfect line.
The beach in Barcelona, what else?
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
more pictures
Big Ben, of course.
For Casey: Proof that we were there! The sign does, in fact, say Primrose Hill at the top right.
The view of London from Primrose Hill.
pictures
Me in front of the Tower Bridge, not to be confused with the London Bridge which is not exciting at all and just looks like a regular bridge. It was windy, don't worry my hair isn't that ridiculous.
Me in front of the Blarney Castle. They let us in 45 minutes before it opened, so we had some nice tourist-free time.
I took this during our early morning hike from Cork to Blarney. That is sunrise in foggy Ireland. That's about how far we could see as well.
Monday, May 29, 2006
subtle/not so subtle differences
Over here:
-Lines of people or vehicles are called queues.
-People walk on the left side of the sidewalk, as they drive, just as we tend walk on the right because we drive on the right.
-Everything is more conducive to travel than in the USA. There are ATMs, currency exchange places, information booths, public transportation services, hostels, maps, and internet cafes everywhere. There are just a litany of services for travellers.
-Everything obviously has a different prices, but everything also has different values. Some things have a higher or lower average price than here, which is hard to adjust to. You may not be getting ripped off just because you paying way more than you would if you were home; the item may just naturally cost more wherever you are.
-Hostels are noisy, but they're cheap so it's OK. We paid 12 euros, about 15 dollars, for a bed the other night. You tell me where you can sleep for 15 dollars a night in the US.
-People tend to be more friendly here. Being approached by and talking to random people is much more common and acceptable.
-When people get in other people's way, whether it be walking or driving, the second person doesn't get all ticked off or start honking. It's almost normal for people to be sitting across 2 lanes in their car without other people caring.
-Everyone here drives better than everyone back home. Everyone's faster, more aware, more skilled. You should see these people parallel park. If the space is 1 foot longer than their car, they'll find a way in.
-Bottles are shaped oddly because, for example, an average bottle of soda is 100 mL, as opposed to 20 oz.
-Coins actually have viable use here. There are coins of value up to 2 pounds or 2 euros. Our biggest common coin is worth one quarter of one dollar. Pocket change actually adds up, you can buy dinner with only coins and people don't look at you funny when you do. It's like emptying your pocket at the end of the night and having 10 dollars in coins.
-The above circumstance makes it way easier to spend small amounts of money on menial items much easier, thereby more frequently.
-Streets a labelled incredibly poorly. In many places, major streets aren't even signed. When there are signs, they have no definitive location, like on posts on the corner, so you can find them on buildings, on lamp posts, anywhere.
-alex
-Lines of people or vehicles are called queues.
-People walk on the left side of the sidewalk, as they drive, just as we tend walk on the right because we drive on the right.
-Everything is more conducive to travel than in the USA. There are ATMs, currency exchange places, information booths, public transportation services, hostels, maps, and internet cafes everywhere. There are just a litany of services for travellers.
-Everything obviously has a different prices, but everything also has different values. Some things have a higher or lower average price than here, which is hard to adjust to. You may not be getting ripped off just because you paying way more than you would if you were home; the item may just naturally cost more wherever you are.
-Hostels are noisy, but they're cheap so it's OK. We paid 12 euros, about 15 dollars, for a bed the other night. You tell me where you can sleep for 15 dollars a night in the US.
-People tend to be more friendly here. Being approached by and talking to random people is much more common and acceptable.
-When people get in other people's way, whether it be walking or driving, the second person doesn't get all ticked off or start honking. It's almost normal for people to be sitting across 2 lanes in their car without other people caring.
-Everyone here drives better than everyone back home. Everyone's faster, more aware, more skilled. You should see these people parallel park. If the space is 1 foot longer than their car, they'll find a way in.
-Bottles are shaped oddly because, for example, an average bottle of soda is 100 mL, as opposed to 20 oz.
-Coins actually have viable use here. There are coins of value up to 2 pounds or 2 euros. Our biggest common coin is worth one quarter of one dollar. Pocket change actually adds up, you can buy dinner with only coins and people don't look at you funny when you do. It's like emptying your pocket at the end of the night and having 10 dollars in coins.
-The above circumstance makes it way easier to spend small amounts of money on menial items much easier, thereby more frequently.
-Streets a labelled incredibly poorly. In many places, major streets aren't even signed. When there are signs, they have no definitive location, like on posts on the corner, so you can find them on buildings, on lamp posts, anywhere.
-alex
Sunday, May 28, 2006
London > me
After getting into London late last night, we walked the streets for 4 hours getting rejected by every place with beds. Finally we ended up sleeping on the street. This is backpacking. So it turns out London is a huge party place, with tons of clubs and weird rave like events on these ships that sit on the Thames. We tried to escape to Spain or Paris a few days early, but it doesn't look like London is going to let that happen. We'll be here until Wednesday when we ship off to the snady beaches of Barcelona! That is, of course, London doesn't get smart again and close all our subway routes and destination subway stations as it did today. When we take off, I'll stop worrying. Not that I dislike London, it's incredible here, but she's got this attitude towards Steve and I. Messing with our heads and our bodies and all. I'm sure there's more in store. I guess all I can do is enjoy the beautiful architecture, the surreal Big Ben, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the rest. Oh, darn.....
-alex
-alex
Friday, May 26, 2006
i haven't seen "Hostel", but i'm 80 percent sure it's based on the place i'm staying tonight
So here's the travelling I've done thus far:
Car ride from Tucson to Phoenix
Plane from Phoenix to Chicago
Plane from Chicago to London Heathrow
Bus from London Heathrow to London Gatwick
Tram ride from North Terminal to South Terminal
Plane from London Gatwick to Cork, Ireland
Bus from Cork Airport to Downtown Cork
Bus from Blarney, Ireland to Cork, Ireland
Train from Cork, Ireland to Dublin, Ireland
Train from Dublin, Ireland to Galway, Ireland
And walking. An obscene amount of walking. Some of it's fun. We hiked 6 miles from our hostel in Cork to Blarney, home of the Blarney Castle and Blarney Stone. It was a sunrise hike through rural Ireland, but you couldn't see the sunrise because it was so foggy. At best you could see 100 yards in front of you. I don't know how people drive here. The Blarney Castle was amazing. We got there at 8:15am, and it didn't open until 9am, but the guy opening the admission place saw us waiting and let us in, so we had the grounds all to ourselves. And of course we kissed the Stone.
Some of the walking...not so fun. Busy city streets aren't fun when you're searching for a hostel to crash in. Being wholly and entirely lost isn't too fun. But I guess in a way it is.
Best thing I've overheard so far: While sitting next to this weird smoking enclosure in Gatwick airport, a guy walks by and says "Look, they've got a fagger's bin." Guess you had to be there.
Even when it doens't rain here, there's this fog/mist in the air so thick that it get's everything wet anyway. But it's not rain. It's hard to explain.
The epitome of backpacking. Going to bed at 6pm in a hostel. Waking up at 9, getting ready for the day, and going to the train station. The station's closed. It's getting darker out. Everyone's at the pubs. What's going on? Oh, right. We didn't sleep through the night and wake up at 9 in the morning. We slept 3 hours and woke up at 9pm at night. Needless to say our hostel owner thought we were a little crazy.
Oh, and written on the bottom of my hostel bed is "I hate hostels. Especially this one." Encouraging. The bed next to me has nails sitcking out of it. Also very encouraging.
-alex
Car ride from Tucson to Phoenix
Plane from Phoenix to Chicago
Plane from Chicago to London Heathrow
Bus from London Heathrow to London Gatwick
Tram ride from North Terminal to South Terminal
Plane from London Gatwick to Cork, Ireland
Bus from Cork Airport to Downtown Cork
Bus from Blarney, Ireland to Cork, Ireland
Train from Cork, Ireland to Dublin, Ireland
Train from Dublin, Ireland to Galway, Ireland
And walking. An obscene amount of walking. Some of it's fun. We hiked 6 miles from our hostel in Cork to Blarney, home of the Blarney Castle and Blarney Stone. It was a sunrise hike through rural Ireland, but you couldn't see the sunrise because it was so foggy. At best you could see 100 yards in front of you. I don't know how people drive here. The Blarney Castle was amazing. We got there at 8:15am, and it didn't open until 9am, but the guy opening the admission place saw us waiting and let us in, so we had the grounds all to ourselves. And of course we kissed the Stone.
Some of the walking...not so fun. Busy city streets aren't fun when you're searching for a hostel to crash in. Being wholly and entirely lost isn't too fun. But I guess in a way it is.
Best thing I've overheard so far: While sitting next to this weird smoking enclosure in Gatwick airport, a guy walks by and says "Look, they've got a fagger's bin." Guess you had to be there.
Even when it doens't rain here, there's this fog/mist in the air so thick that it get's everything wet anyway. But it's not rain. It's hard to explain.
The epitome of backpacking. Going to bed at 6pm in a hostel. Waking up at 9, getting ready for the day, and going to the train station. The station's closed. It's getting darker out. Everyone's at the pubs. What's going on? Oh, right. We didn't sleep through the night and wake up at 9 in the morning. We slept 3 hours and woke up at 9pm at night. Needless to say our hostel owner thought we were a little crazy.
Oh, and written on the bottom of my hostel bed is "I hate hostels. Especially this one." Encouraging. The bed next to me has nails sitcking out of it. Also very encouraging.
-alex
Saturday, May 20, 2006
i'm standing here, outside your door
Everything's packed up, so I thought I'd post my final packing list
Eagle Creek Explorer LT Backpack
Sleeping Bag
Sleep sheet
4 T-shirts
3 pair of shorts
4 pair of boxers
3 pair of socks
1 bathing suit
1 bath towel
Mini Shampoo/Conditioner
Mini Toothbrush/Paste
Mini Deodorant
1 box of contacts
1 Bottle of contact solution
2 contact cases
iPod + charger
Canon SD 200 camera + charger
2 Europe Travel books
Travel Journal
3 backpack locks
And of course:
Passport
Plane tickets
1 Month Eurail Pass
This list looks about as long as the loaded pack weighs. I guess I could cut some stuff out, but I still have a fair amount of room, so I'm not concerned.
-alex
Eagle Creek Explorer LT Backpack
Sleeping Bag
Sleep sheet
4 T-shirts
3 pair of shorts
4 pair of boxers
3 pair of socks
1 bathing suit
1 bath towel
Mini Shampoo/Conditioner
Mini Toothbrush/Paste
Mini Deodorant
1 box of contacts
1 Bottle of contact solution
2 contact cases
iPod + charger
Canon SD 200 camera + charger
2 Europe Travel books
Travel Journal
3 backpack locks
And of course:
Passport
Plane tickets
1 Month Eurail Pass
This list looks about as long as the loaded pack weighs. I guess I could cut some stuff out, but I still have a fair amount of room, so I'm not concerned.
-alex
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
it's going to be weird we graduate college and May isn't the landmark end of school/beginning ot summer month anymore
I suppose another year long break is adequate. I seriously have graphoschizophrenia or something that's an actual condition because I always feel compelled to write, yet I switch the means by which I write constantly. However difficult it is, I think I should stick to the blog just because I know I can't decieve myself into believing I actually don't care if anyone reads what I write. I've discovered I'm actually quite bad at keeping in touch with anyone who isn't directly involved in my life on a regular basis, whether it be family or even friends whom I was convinced I'd never lose touch with. I suppose being naive will always cost you a little disappointment.
I felt mostly invincible going into this school year, and with two weeks left before my final final I've been wholly humbled and hobbled. Apparently learning things is difficult and even working hard (blasphemy, I know) doesn't always...work. Although a majority of the people I know in the Astronomy/Physics program are fairing about as "well" as I am, I'm not sure I find consolation there. Repeating classes and failing tests wasn't necessarily what I had in mind a year or so ago. I suspect the next 3 years will be similar. Er, make that 8 or 9 with that whole graduate school thing, assuming that my grades and research will be good enough to get me into...well, anywhere. I think my inability to see anything nearer than a year away is the only think keeping me from academic despair. Of course the whole "finding out who I am and what my life is going to be" thing adds a little weight on the shoulders. Not that much though. Only because I'm really pretentious. In a good way...
-alex
I felt mostly invincible going into this school year, and with two weeks left before my final final I've been wholly humbled and hobbled. Apparently learning things is difficult and even working hard (blasphemy, I know) doesn't always...work. Although a majority of the people I know in the Astronomy/Physics program are fairing about as "well" as I am, I'm not sure I find consolation there. Repeating classes and failing tests wasn't necessarily what I had in mind a year or so ago. I suspect the next 3 years will be similar. Er, make that 8 or 9 with that whole graduate school thing, assuming that my grades and research will be good enough to get me into...well, anywhere. I think my inability to see anything nearer than a year away is the only think keeping me from academic despair. Of course the whole "finding out who I am and what my life is going to be" thing adds a little weight on the shoulders. Not that much though. Only because I'm really pretentious. In a good way...
-alex
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
deja vu all over again
So I've inevitably returned to the blog. My intent, for now, is to make this a travelogue of sorts to keep everyone in the loop while Steve and I venture about Europe. I suppose email would work just as well, but I don't have everyone's email address that I'd like to keep in touch with, so here I am. So I have my plane ticket, my passport, my rail pass, my backpack, my travel books and all I have to do is wait I suppose. I'll definitely keep this updated as it gets close to May the 23rd.
-Alex
-Alex
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
conveyor belt memories
You graduate high school once. It seems like a "Yea, so?" kind of fact, but you graduate high school one time only. Let's go the chart: You can get multiple degress, buy multiple houses, get multiple cars, even get married a couple of times...Cap and gown, Pomp and Circumstance? Once, and only once. Everyone has a high school metaphor. Every valedictorian is capable of coming up with some "High school is like..." speech to make more profound an event that is already made of and drowning in profundity. Actually I guess a "High school is like..." speech would be a simile, not a metaphor...moving on. Here's my metaphor. High school is one of those moving walkways at the airport. We see it, and it looks like it'll be fun. We get on, quickly decide that the whole thing is the same, and eagerly await the end. But once we're there we realize how unique the ride is and how we've taken the whole thing for granted. From now on we don't have anything under our feet to keep us up and carry us along. We had one ride, and in a matter of minutes, it ends. Now we just have to find our way to the terminal, wait 3 months, and catch our flight. Although I'm not sure how I feel how about getting on an airplane dressed like this....
-alex
-alex
Sunday, April 10, 2005
i'll admit it, i had to spell check the word "hypocrisy"
So I guess that complaining about something that always has been and always will be is kind of dumb. Then again most of the stuff you'll find if you scroll down can be classified as dumb so I'm right on track. I think political humor has run its eternal course. Count the number of movies, television programs, books, magazines, newspapers, and radio bits that fall under the less than endearing classification of "Political Satire" and, well, you'll probably become pretty good at counting...movies...and books....maybe just counting in general. Now count up how many of those can be classified as "Original" or "Clever." I'm guessing that it took you less time to count that up than it would take to count up how many times I've used the word classified or classification in the previous five lines. I suppose it's two more now. It seems as if a real comedian would recognize that the political humor well went dry a couple hundred years ago. You'd think maybe if someone was trying to be funny, they wouldn't go after a dead horse like politics. And please, let slide my blatant hypocrisy. When the president says something funny(stupid), doing a three minute TV bit on it isn't going to make it funnier. Drawing a cartoon where a missle is pointed at Iraq which is drawn 43 times bigger than Afghanistan isn't going to make anyone laugh, nor convince anyone to change their opinion on certain political decisions. Comedy isn't usually the best medium by which to send some persuasive message. Writing a book with a sophisticated title like "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" may return a nice paycheck from a publisher but in the time it took to write the whole book, the anonymous(cough) author could have come up with a one-liner that evokes more laughter. Talk about sandwiches. Joke about the different ways you can pop a balloon. Rant about the milk crust under the cap of a gallon of milk. Just don't talk about the most wrung out, humorless topic ever. And I'll do the same. Starting.....now.
-alex
-alex
Sunday, March 06, 2005
the intricacies of chocolate and cheese
Putting these two topics in the same paragraph is kind of like mixing, say, chocolate and cheese. They're both alright on their own, together they're probably disgusting but the combination sounds interesting enough that most of us would give it a try. The first topic is a question, the second one is, well, also a question. So read on.
Have you ever thought about how rarely someone accurately answers a question you ask? We all ask people questions as part of daily life. In most cases the answer satisfies us so we move on. But if we stopped for a second and considered if our question was truly answered, we might be surprised at the answer. Think of a simple question....Hey, can you give me some help? "Give me a couple minutes." Ah ha! I did not answer your question. You assume that this means I will help you, in a few minutes of course. But really my answer has no connection to your question. I played you like a fool, like a fool! The problem is that in many cases, answering a question accurately sounds archaic or even rude. Do you know what time it is? "Yes, yes I do." And by actually answering what you've asked, I've annoyed you and ended our conversation. So we settle for giving responses that will simply appease the inquirer rather than address the question that was asked. What do you think of that car? "I like it." Well that's fantastic, but I didn't ask whether you like it or not. What's up? We've all heard the clever little answer to this classic. What kind of question is that anyway? What's up? Clearly we have an astonishing mastery of our language if we can come up with a dandy like "What's up?" In retrospect there's no real solution to all this. If you actually answer people's questions they're going to look at you funny and probably won't ask you questions anymore. So why did I write all this? It's probably best for the credibility of this rant that I don't try to answer that question.
How much extra gas does your car burn because it has an antenna? Think about it. Obviously the antenna creates wind resistance, which creates a force on your car in the opposite direction that the car is moving, which means the engine has to work harder to move the car. Of course the wind resistance is tiny, but it still exists. Let's say you have the privilege of owning a particularly reliable car, perhaps a 1997 Toyota Camry (ahem), that lasts for about 200,000 miles. The amount of extra gas the engine consumes is probably miniscule but the number still exists. Think of all the factors you'd have to consider to actually calculate this amount. You'd have to consider the altitude in order to find air pressure and obviously the altitude is changing with every dip or hill. That alone would be difficult enough. Then you'd have to take into account the speed of the car, the surface area of the antenna, wind speed, mileage of the car without an antenna, other measurements of the car that I don't even understand, and so on. I'm sure the master equation would be littered with atmospheric and structural constants and such. Everything considered, actually figuring out an exact number is impossible, right? I doubt it. Keep a couple instruments on the car that record factors like altitude and such and I'd imagine that you'd have enough information to calculate it. Not easy, but not impossible...I guess this really isn't as interesting as I thought it was when I was in the shower a while ago. Umm...yea, this paragraph is cheese, the first is definitely chocolate.
-alex
Have you ever thought about how rarely someone accurately answers a question you ask? We all ask people questions as part of daily life. In most cases the answer satisfies us so we move on. But if we stopped for a second and considered if our question was truly answered, we might be surprised at the answer. Think of a simple question....Hey, can you give me some help? "Give me a couple minutes." Ah ha! I did not answer your question. You assume that this means I will help you, in a few minutes of course. But really my answer has no connection to your question. I played you like a fool, like a fool! The problem is that in many cases, answering a question accurately sounds archaic or even rude. Do you know what time it is? "Yes, yes I do." And by actually answering what you've asked, I've annoyed you and ended our conversation. So we settle for giving responses that will simply appease the inquirer rather than address the question that was asked. What do you think of that car? "I like it." Well that's fantastic, but I didn't ask whether you like it or not. What's up? We've all heard the clever little answer to this classic. What kind of question is that anyway? What's up? Clearly we have an astonishing mastery of our language if we can come up with a dandy like "What's up?" In retrospect there's no real solution to all this. If you actually answer people's questions they're going to look at you funny and probably won't ask you questions anymore. So why did I write all this? It's probably best for the credibility of this rant that I don't try to answer that question.
How much extra gas does your car burn because it has an antenna? Think about it. Obviously the antenna creates wind resistance, which creates a force on your car in the opposite direction that the car is moving, which means the engine has to work harder to move the car. Of course the wind resistance is tiny, but it still exists. Let's say you have the privilege of owning a particularly reliable car, perhaps a 1997 Toyota Camry (ahem), that lasts for about 200,000 miles. The amount of extra gas the engine consumes is probably miniscule but the number still exists. Think of all the factors you'd have to consider to actually calculate this amount. You'd have to consider the altitude in order to find air pressure and obviously the altitude is changing with every dip or hill. That alone would be difficult enough. Then you'd have to take into account the speed of the car, the surface area of the antenna, wind speed, mileage of the car without an antenna, other measurements of the car that I don't even understand, and so on. I'm sure the master equation would be littered with atmospheric and structural constants and such. Everything considered, actually figuring out an exact number is impossible, right? I doubt it. Keep a couple instruments on the car that record factors like altitude and such and I'd imagine that you'd have enough information to calculate it. Not easy, but not impossible...I guess this really isn't as interesting as I thought it was when I was in the shower a while ago. Umm...yea, this paragraph is cheese, the first is definitely chocolate.
-alex
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