Monday, July 23, 2007

Resurrected!

After a year without any posts, I'm thinking about getting my blog going again. Why? Who knows. I'm thinking this will be random observations, documentation of life events, and probably not much about work.

At the moment, I'm thinking about whether I should buy a nice bike, whether a surround sound system is necessary to go with the 42" TV, and whether I want to start trying to do some volunteer or mentor work of some sort.

Ok, done for now.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Done with my Williams college education!

So, tonight at 11:10ish PM EST, I clicked the "send" button that turned in the final assignment to be completed in my four years here at Williams.

This was pretty exciting, and my first order of business was very clear, to listen to "Freebird."

After my last final of my freshman fall, I came home to my room, sat down, and listened to Freebird from start to finish. This episode sort of established the song as something particularly special (not that it wasn't already). It served as a chance to sit down and recover for a solid 9 minutes and 8 seconds. After the end of the spring semester, I did the same thing. This time, it signaled the coming of summer.

Once I had established this ritual, I made a point to never listen to Freebird outside of this context, in an effort to somehow keep it sacred or something.

Sophmore year I vividly recall finishing my Physics 142 exam in the physics 203 classroom (it didn't go well), then biking home as fast as possible, and hitting the play button on my computer, since I had set up the song before leaving for the test. I played it really loudly and was able to navigate around the floor while still hearing it, so that represented a bit of locational freedom.

Junior year I kept the tradition (ritual?) alive, and still managed to avoid the song outside of exam periods.

Tonight, as my final assignment (a paper about the economics of the Chinese auto market) drew closer to completion, I realized that my streak could be in danger. My past 7 semesters had each ended with me finishing a final exam, heading straight home, and listening to Freebird. Now I was sitting in the computer lab, attaching the paper to an email to my professor, and getting ready to click "send."

Then, I clicked it. I had my headphones on, listening to other music, and decided that now I would just find a copy of Freebird (sung by Lynard Skynard of course) and listen to it in the computer lab. A couple of Google searches turned up empty and I was getting slightly worried. Then, I found the Wikipedia entry. It is fairly complete (see it here), and had some links to other sources. At the very end of the article, I found what I had always been looking for. It was a link to the Google video entry of Lynard Skynard performing live at the Oakland Coliseum on June 4th, 1977. Watch it here.

The video is 12 minutes and 4 seconds, and perfectly captures everything about the song I had been experiencing for four years. Well, kind of. I mean it basically looked like a bunch of hippies sort of swaying for a while, and then going crazy at about the 5 minute mark, but the main idea was that it showed that it was a song that could affect people. The fact that it is a live performance, plus the addition of the video footage made this final listening experience a perfect finale to my years of doing lots of work at Williams. I sat there at the computer and enjoyed myself for the full 12 minutes, and was able to leave the library knowing I had stayed true to the perhaps not-so-silly ritual of confirming to myself that I was once again, free as a bird now.

Blog is back, at least temporarily

First of all, welcome back to the blog, and I apologize for leaving it in such a miserable state for . . . um . . . the ENTIRE spring semester. I should have been able to keep up with it at least once a week or something like that. I think I may try to make a concerted effort to do a minimum of one update per week. This could end up being a simple list of highlights of the week, but that actually a decent enough idea.

So, again, welcome back.

Monday, February 27, 2006

very sad

I don't have enough time to keep my blog updated anymore. Very sad. sad sad sad.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Seinfeld!

So, Kramer thinks that he sees a pigman in the local hospital. The next day, he finds a newspaper article saying that the hospital had received funding for genetic research, and he claims, "don't even question my instincts, because my instincts are honed."

Later, Kramer devises a plan to rescue the pigman from the hospital.

KRAMER: Wait wait George. You got room in the car for the pig-man huh?

GEORGE: The pig-man can take the bus.

KRAMER: George, if the pig-man had a car, he would give you a ride.

GEORGE: How do you know? What if pig-man had a two-seater?

KRAMER: Be realistic George.

GEORGE: I'll tell you what, if pig-man shows up, we'll squeeze him in. I'll see you later.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

CRAZY video

Cars, streakers, misc.

STREAKER scores a goal during a professional soccer game - this is entertaining, and fairly

Nice drifting video - this is only interesting if you like seeing highly tuned cars sliding around sharp corners.

Where Eagles Fly video

Motorcycle chasing down a BMW Z3 M coupe - fairly exciting, long

AP english video - I guess this could be funny, but i'm in class so i can't hear the audio. It is 27 mins long, and has silly looking costumes. The title is slightly amusing.

Lancer EVO vs. Lamborghini Murcielago
- top gear special

Ferrari FXX - I think this is kind of an ugly car, w/a bad name, but i'll admit that it is ridiculously fast.

Onion Articles

If you are in need of funny and intelligent news, the Onion (America's Finest News Source) is the place to go. The content is satirical, but very much based on current real-world issues.

More Companies Phasing Out Retirement Option
NEW YORK—With pension funds dwindling as retirees enjoy longer, more capable lives, many businesses have opted to freeze their workers' employment status and keep them on the job through their sunset years. (read the whole article)

Man's Relationship Advice Same As His Hunting Tips
VERONA, WI—Friends report that HVAC installer Kirk Pulver has markedly similar advice on both relationships and deer hunting. "You have to dress either to blend in with the scenery or to stand out from it, depending on the situation, but either way, you want to disguise your scent," said Pulver to friends at a local tavern. "You have to find out where they eat, where they sleep, where they pee, and when they're most likely to be off guard. Then, when you've got a clear look at their rack and you're sure they're legal, bam! You take 'em." Pulver's associates noted that he has not bagged a deer or a woman in six years.unny and intelligent

GEICO Saves 15 Percent Or More By Discontinuing Advertising

CEO Spends 30 Percent Of Earnings Staying Out Of Jail

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Dunking videos

Vince Carter - dunks over a 7' 1" guy. I have never managed to do this.

Same video, showing how the play developed

misc. Vince Carter windmill dunks - the most impressive ones involve windmilling around the defender.

Michael Jordan - 10 best dunks. As the NBA moved from short shorts to long shorts, Jordan was there all the way. It is also entertaining to look at the reaction from the crowds in the 80s and early 90s.

Lebron James - High school dunk contest (he won)

Lebron - reverse windmill

Some classic clips

Reporter getting hit by snow - only funny because it is a crapload of snow.

Cup stacking - the fastest cup stackers in the co

Man attacked by lizard on tv show - he shakes like he has some sort of neurological condition.

Star Wars kid - If you haven't seen this . . . then wow. A very famous clip involving a kid who apparently recorded himself performing some cool moves.

Numa Numa song
- A few weeks ago, my friends were amazed to hear that i'd never seen this video. That problem has since been fixed, and here is the video for your enjoyment.

Caught doing the Numa Numa dance!
- a spy recording of a guy dancing to music on his laptop.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

A few more videos

Nazi Twins - Holy crap. This is a video of two girls who have essentially been brainwashed by their mother. They sing cute songs about racism. The video quality is poor, but the audio is good. And I think the "ethnic cleansing" video game is inappropriate.

Korean Anti-American video - WARNING: explicit lyrics. This is an extremely weird (yet musically catchy) anti-American quasi music video. The . . . imagery and vivid descriptions are unlike any i've ever seen. Don't get this song stuck in yourhead, and don't let yourself sing the lyrics in public.

let's try to get away from the anti-American theme

George Bush Sr. slip up

Reporter Getting High - More funny than i originally guessed. Soldiers . . . burning . . . huge piles of drugs.

Scare Me! - A short, silly, documentary style production that, while "pointless," does manage to push the bounds of reality television.

Goldfish Ballet
- Okay, so that is probably a stretch, but these fish are fairly cool.

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