David Ouziel's Blog

New Template

2006-12-23T14:46:00.003-05:00

This is a test.

Hello, everyone.

Echo-Location

2006-07-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

About a month ago I wrote a post about my test driving a Toyota Echo. Well, I'm happy to say that I am now the happy owner of an '02 blue Echo. I say, it drives like a go-kart, at least compared to the beast of a Sequoia my mom drives.

I'm planning on purchasing a leopard steering wheel cover, just so you know. And some dice, too.

Playing With the DS Lite

2006-06-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I went out at midnight to buy the DS Lite at WalMart - yes, I'm that obsessive compulsive. I have three games total as of now: New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing. I've played the first two a lot but haven't quite figured out Animal Crossing.

The system is really well-designed - I couldn't stand the design of the DS dark (haha, David made a funny). The clear plastic on top of white plastic is so MacBook/iBooky, it's great. Buy this thing! So we can play Mario Kart! I played against this guy from the Netherlands in a random wi-fi match and lost - bad. Anyone else out there own one of these babies?

Myspacing It

2006-06-22T14:50:00.001-04:00

I finally gave into peer pressure and created a Myspace. It's pretty sparse with information as of now, but that'll change soon enough. Drop a comment down below or on my Myspace (the double word use there is great).

Diet Coke + Mentos

2006-06-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

If you've already done the experiment at home, you know these are an extremely explosive combination, as proven by this like-titled video I took earlier today in my front yard. My dad got shot in the face with a highly volatile stream of Diet Coke, with all its aspartame-y goodness.

Hamletastic

2006-06-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

I finished reading Hamlet last night; it wasn't bad. The body count was a lot higher than Romeo and Juliet, but it seemed to fit in with Shakespeare's tendency of bumping off all the main characters at the end of the play. I guess that's why they call it a tragedy.

So now I get to start on the book I've been waiting the entire year to read: The Oedipus Cycle! Greek tragedy (probably a little different than Shakespearean tragedy). Well, it can't be worse than - oh wait.

Summer Reading

2006-05-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday to buy my summer reading list for PHUHS. It's not too bad; a hair longer than my one book I had to read for last year (To Kill a Mockingbird). Here it is if anyone's interested.

Hamlet

The Oedipus Plays

The Great Gatsby

Their Eyes Were Watching God

There's also Lord of the Flies, which we read in English last year. Of course, I got the Sparknote for all five books, and the No Fear Shakespeare for Hamlet. This'll be easy as pie.

MacBook!

2006-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:00

I've waited so long for them to come out, but they look great. The new things are the Intel Core Duo processors, 13.3'' glossy widescreen, iSight, keyboard, MagSafe, and FrontRow. The big dissapointment here are the integrated graphics, and only 64mb of them. Evidently I won't be doing as much gaming as I thought I would. Bummer.

My favorite improvement, (besides the processor, of course) is the keyboard. The keys are slightly recessed and are better spaced and are rounded quadrilaterals (my favorite shape).

I found a few shots meandering about the internet; a good close-up shot of the redesigned keyboard, a shot of the screen, and one of the entire computer. There are also a few good shots of the black one (it comes in black, at a price) here.

I'm probably gonna end up getting the white $1299 one, with a 1GB RAM and 80GB hard drive upgrade.

Escuela Está Libre!

2006-05-14T15:53:00.000-04:00

And with my first free evening I went to see Poseidon w/Kathryn; it was freaking awesome. The scenes of the capsizing ocean liner were insane - its closer to a modern Titanic than anything I've ever seen, with all the added modern amenities - explosions, electricity and dance floors. I haven't seen the 1972 Poseidon Adventure, though my parents keep recommending it. Grr.

Test Driving the Echo

2006-05-11T06:10:00.000-04:00

I test drove a 2003 Toyota Echo yesterday; it was freakin' awesome! It's the smallest car I've ever driven, or even been in. The offcenter dash, when I get the car (not necessarily the one I drove), is going to take a while to get used to, as is the hand operated parking brake (why have I never seen that before?). I must not get out much.

DS Lite Me

2006-05-07T19:13:00.000-04:00

Well, it had to happen eventually; Nintendo is releasing the DS Lite in the US on June 11. This appropriately coincides with the release of the new Super Mario Bros. four weeks earlier on May 15. Thank you Nintendo!

And, to show my thanks, I've already preordered the DS Lite in white (the only color being released, as of yet) for the complete steal of $129 from EBGames. I say "steal" because some (extremely) early adopters special-ordered it from Japan, at a cost of over two hundred dollars. I'm glad I waited.

In my quest for games to fuel this gaming machine, I've found three so far that interest me; Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the New Super Mario Bros., and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, the first Pokemon game for DS where you can actually play a Pokemon! It's going to be so cool.

One Week Left!

2006-05-04T22:34:00.000-04:00

This three day weekend couldn't come at a better time. The resulting stress of my teachers attempting to cram everything in before the end of the year has really hit me hard, but I'm pushing through, with the obligatory rush to receive good test grades in order to keep that "A" before the year ends (I know you all know what I'm talking about).

I turned in my Florida Botanical Collection into my biology teacher today; we had to collect 25 wild plants and catalogue them, sticking them on paper and throwing them into a makeshift portfolio. I'm just glad to have the 400-point assignment off my chest; I'm going to have the scientific name of the blackeyed susan engrained in me for a while.

Model UN '06

2006-04-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

Wednesday and Thursday was the annual Global Classrooms Model UN conference in Tampa, and it was a blast! My partner and I represented the Russian Federation in ECOSOC (not the most interesting committee, but necessary nonetheless).

Debate was intense, and in the end we closely passed two out of four resolutions. Our representation in the Security Council won best delegation (go Alyssa/Tyler!) All in all, I had a great time and greatly anticipate next year's conference! Here are the photos from the trip.

PS: This is my 400th blog post, so woop for me.

Deep Sea 3D

2006-04-15T19:36:00.000-04:00

Kathryn, her mom and I went to see Deep Sea 3D at Channelside IMAX today. The extremely diverse undersea life was just fascinating, and the visual imagery was extraordinary. I never knew the creatures down there (not just fish and coral) could be so exotic!

My two favorite organisms were the nudibranch and the fried egg jellyfish. The cool part, as the name states, was the film being in 3D. When a huge fish devoured a tinier one, lurching towards the audience, I moved back in my seat a little bit. The 3D glasses really brought the undersea world home, making me feel like I was swimming with the jellyfish themselves.

It was narrated by celebrities Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet (not Titanic Kate Winslet, Eternal Sushine Kate Winslet). The stunning underwater visuals, and faint touch of educational flair, make this IMAX film highly recommended. Here's the trailer and homepage for the film.

Scary Movie 4

2006-04-14T23:17:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the movies. I saw the fourth film in the famed "Scary Movie" trilogy, and although I went in with very low expectations (it's a Scary Movie, people!) I was pleasantly surprised at its modest amount of humor.

My favorite scene was in a parody of "The Grudge"; Sarah Michelle Gellar (played by Cindy Campbell here) spoke to Toshio in Japanese up on the second floor:

Herro? Sushi karaoke origami sashimi. Suzuki subaru kimono, karate bonsai samurai? Jujitsu!

It had all the necessary crude jokes and sexual humor, fundamental to any Scary Movie. And Tom Cruise doing backflips on the Oprah show was a classic. To say the least, it's something you are personally obligated as a young person to view, so go see it.

Redesignation

2006-04-13T22:54:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not signifying or indicating something. Rather, I redesigned the blog: again. I think I've kind of got a Darwinian approaching going here; descent with modification. As always, this current theme is in "beta"; leave your thoughts in a comment.

Boot Camping It

2006-04-06T16:45:00.000-04:00

When Apple did nothing for their own thirtieth anniversary, I have to admit; I was a little worried. Where were the festivities? the balloons and streamers and fantabulous new products? But now, my craving for new Apple stuff has been satisified.

Just yesterday, Apple released Boot Camp, which allows any Intel-based Mac to dual-boot into both OS X and Windows XP. Now, you may be thinking, "Why would Apple release something like this?'

The answer: buying incentives. Switchers will be more likely to purchase a brand new Mac if they know they can boot into Windows. And when they do get the computer, they'll love OS X so much that Windows will be abandoned.

Why do I like it? I recently removed the Dell from my room; installing Boot Camp on my future MacBook would turn it into an extra "PC", so to speak, on which I could install games, programs, etc., which would all run at full processor speed and without any hitches. The funny part is, as Apple humorously states:

Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it will be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.

They even were clever enough to make a joke about BIOS:

Macs use an ultra-modern industry standard technology called EFI to handle booting. Sadly, Windows XP, and even the upcoming Vista, are stuck in the 1980s with old-fashioned BIOS. But with Boot Camp, the Mac can operate smoothly in both centuries.

This is a bold move by Apple, and certainly an unexpected one (did anyone see this coming?). Hopefully this will entice more Windows users to see the light and switch!

What happened, Apple?

2006-04-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

Or, rather, what didn't happen? You didn't even acknowledge your own 30th anniversary, let alone release the much-anticipated Intel iBook (a.k.a. the Macbook).

Perhaps you're just doing this as a late, in bad taste April Fool's joke, keeping us on edge, reloading the Apple homepage until our eyeballs fall out.

Whatever your plans are, just known that I am very disappointed in you. All I can say is; you better release those freakin' MacBooks like the Apple rumor sites say you're going to!

Closing Down

2006-04-01T10:18:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone. It's been almost two years that I've been posting on this blog. It's gone through who knows how many design changes; Google themes, one-column themes. Essentially, my blog design changed based on my mood.

Well, my mood today is that I can no longer keep up with the posting obligations required of me on this blog. I think it would just be easier to just close my blog down than to keep up with its demands.

~~I'll keep the posts and archives up in case anyone wants to read them. It's been a great two years, guys; thanks for reading.~~ April Fool's!

Breakfast Machine

2006-03-30T09:02:00.000-05:00

After hearing it on Family Guy with Peter's malcontented breakfast machine and again with the internet meme blue ball machine, I finally found the name of the song played during both of those.

It's called "Breakfast Machine", and believe it or not, it's from the movie Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (yes, that's about as obscure as it gets). It's actually a very catchy song, and will stick in your head like glue. Here's the iTunes link.

Laser Tagging

2006-03-28T17:14:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a laser tag lock-in. It wasn't exactly a lock-in; just six hours of unlimited laser tagging late at night, from 6:30 to 12:30. It was exhausting, but exhilirating. We played this different format at the end similar to sharks and minnows; that was fun.

My best results were second place out of sixteen players; Kathryn's too. There was one truth I discovered while playing; don't judge a person's ability by their height. Nine times out of ten, the youngest/shortest person got the highest score.

Kathryn and I also played a load of arcade games: air hockey, Arctic Thunder, assorted racing games, and our personal favorite, Gauntlet, where I became my enchanting alter ego "Moon Sorceress" going around eating meat, pineapples, bananas, and keys.

FHSMUN

2006-03-27T01:03:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was in Orlando, duking it out with other countries in a planetary battle of wills. It was the FHSMUN (Florida High School Model United Nations) conference I had gone to. I represented the wee but important country of the Netherlands in the GA2.

We ended up winning an award for honorable delegation, and had a pretty good time at the Hilton, where we stayed and where the conference was held. The restaurant service was atrocious; it took us more than half an hour to get a bowl of french onion.

Open for Business

2006-03-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

March so far has been a busy month as far as taking care of business (double pun!) I bought the new Sims 2 expansion pack, Open for Business; it isn't bad. It's entertaining to see sims purchase items from your store (or order at your restaurant, drink at your bar, etc., I haven't tried it).

I bought a new monitor, as well. It's a 17'' black Acer, really slick. The resolution is now 1280x1024, giving me almost 50 percent more pixels. Games, especially Dungeon Siege II and Sim City 4, where a broad viewpoint is needed, look fantastic on the screen.

The display itself is also much brighter, and actually sits lower on my desk then my old 15'' envision monitor (on account of it having a smaller plastic border).

Midterm exams took place yesterday and today, and I have to say, they were hard. I only had to take three this time (as opposed to the max of four at the end of first quarter). I exempted from American Government. I'm sad to see that class go.

Biology was the most blood-curdling of them all. 200 questions on a juicy extra-large scantron. It was intense. Took me one and a half hours to finish. When it was over, there was a potent buzzing in my ears from the blood rushing through my brain. Geometry and Spanish exams were a cinch. Results will be in by Monday. Update: 88% on bio (don't know how I did it).

Jack's and Kathryn's birthday are both next week; I'm very excited about that. I believe we're having a party, but I'm not sure yet. The Purim Carnival is Sunday; I'm helping out the senior youth group. That should be a blast.

FHSMUN is next weekend, my four day trip to Orlando to duke it out with other countries (we're the Netherlands) in heated debate. That shoud be a blast.

My Classes

2006-02-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

After receiving four appreciable classes this half of the school year, and being able to think of nothing else more important, I thought I'd share them with you.

Biology What can I say about biology? I don't remember or understand most of the concepts presented to me in our 8-year old textbook, but I still hold the subject in high regard. I am a living thing, so it might be helpful to learn what's going on inside.

Geometry The shapes, angles, theorems and postulates of Geometry are much easier to remember than rules, formulas, variables and concepts of Algebra I. Complex at first glance, geometry still is more fun, because its problems are more visual than Algebra.

Spanish Me encanta espanol! Spanish is the one subject I've had consistently the past three years and I've really enjoyed. The language is just so simple to learn, and its accompanying vocabulary is pretty simple to memorize, as well. Te gusta?

American Government Having known almost nothing of the inner workings of our government before, and not wanting to be a part of the ignorant "sheeple", I signed up for Am. Gvt. I can finally understand some of the political terms that government uses. Test on Congress tomorrow!

It is also worth noting here that Drivers Ed will be replacing American Government later on in the semester. I thought I'd get that whole "driving" thing taken care of before I get my license. Kathryn and I saw Wicked Saturday night; it was amazing!

Self-Improvement

2006-01-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

With the revolutionary new additions of high school, driving, and semi-financial freedom, I've taken some steps to restructure my life to better suit myself and others.

Complete a Sudoku puzzle every day. As a personal goal, I am trying to do a minimum of one online Sudoku puzzle every day at WebSudoku, just to keep my mind active and out of that "sleepy" condition into which it can so easily slip. Sudoku offers a perfect mix of logic, skill, simplicity, and straight-out thinking.

If you've never solved a sudoku puzzle, I warn you; they can be frustrating (and even sometimes downright maddening), but the satisfaction one receives from a completed sudoku is worth all the effort put in. People see you, squinting your eyes past your pencil at the 9x9 grid and think, "This person is smart.".

Play DDR every day. Exercise is boring, at least for me. But Dance Dance Revolution, if you've never played it, is probably the most fun way you can increase your heart rate; stepping on a seemingly random pattern of flying arrows to music requires some quick reflexes and thinkng.

If the self-satisfaction one gets from playing isn't sufficient, DDR-playing is very impressive to others - you don't have to be those 19-year olds in the mall arcade to make someone grin with envy. Grab a glass of water, throw it on heavy mode and burn a few calories.

Be globally aware. My number one pet peeve is ignorant, indifferent, or apathetic people. Let's say I inquire to a person "What are your feelings about the PATRIOT Act?". How do you think one of these people will respond? "What's that?", or "I don't know." Holy crap! I'd rather have you FOR the Act than have no opinion!

"Passive indifference is just as bad as active malice."

Read the newspaper, go to Google News, do whatever you have to do to become less indifferent to the problems, scandals, controversies and conspiracies of the world we live in, and in our own country. Joining Model UN is a great start - arguing and debating are a lot of fun. Be opinionated!

Read more books. Reading is fun, perhaps even more fun than a movie - because you can form how the characters and situations look in your head. Now, I'd prefer watching a movie than reading a book nine times out of ten, but a book is infinitely more usable: no batteries required.

Reading often also increases your vocabulary (if you're not reading Seventeen). Try the classics if you're fresh out of ideas: Dante's Inferno and Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 are all great reads. If you come across an unknown word while reading, remember to look up its definition.

Do it NOW. Here's what I usually do on a school day: come home, get into my stagnant iBooking phase for hours, until after dinner; then I stay up to finish homework until 11 o'clock. Sound smart?

Didn't to me either. After reading this fantastic article and adopting some of its principles, I can safely say I am on my way to eliminating procrastination.

Hone one's ability to say "No." Not being able to stick up for oneself and say that dastardly "N-word" is a trait I find in several people I've met. Now, I'm not saying that you should say "No." to a teacher who just asked you to describe the alternate interior angles converse.

What I mean is that you have the power to choose your personal, finanicial, and school-related committments, and your life is defined by the ones you make and keep.

Four Things

2006-01-24T18:56:00.000-05:00

Below are my answers to the "four things" meme that's been traveling around the internet; i'll be adding more as I can.

Four fairly recent favorite photos I/someone have taken:

Tori all ballooned-up

Bar Mitzvah Jack

David and Rachel entering SheiKra

Kathryn at RJS

Four movies I could watch again and again:

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2

The Matrix

Titanic

The Lord of the Rings

Four TV shows I couldn't live without:

Family Guy

MAD TV

The Daily Show

Four favorite composed songs:

Adagio for Strings

Waltz Op 64/1 in D flat major

Etude in C minor, Op 10/12

Moonlight Sonata

Four websites I visit daily:

Four websites I use every day:

Four great dance songs in my iTunes library:

Star to Fall

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Better Off Alone

Fable

Four PC games releasing February/March for which I am anxiously waiting:

Star Wars: Empire at War

The Sims 2: Open for Business

Battle for Middle-Earth 2

Faces of War

Four keys that don't work so well on my iBook;

Eject

Space Bar

Four people I hereby pass the "four things" baton to:

Kathryn

Ally

Haley

Hannah

Metricity

2006-01-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I really wish the United States switched over to the metric system for measurement. I really think it could help our country swim out of the doldrums of world opinion, at least in a small way. The Revolution is over; let's go to metric.

I came to this conclusion after watching the exciting Maglev train video (in the sidebar). The train displayed its increasing speed on a digital screen in the front of the car. 100kph, 200kph, 300kph. And it said distance traveled in kilometers.

The only real use over the past hundred years the system has gotten is in school science, and science itself. Quit complaining when the teacher asks you to measure in centimeters or liters; it's for your own good!

We are already a step of the way there, whether you like it or not; a 2-liter bottle of Coke. That purple cap with your winnings says "1 liter bottle". Your speedometer displays both systems. Some car engines are in metric units (liters). Computer data; gigabytes, megabytes, kilobytes, is in tens.

Why do I want this? It's better! There, I said it. Conversion is easier cause everything's in tens. I just hope the conversion happens in my lifetime. Nothing could do better than a big government push (like in the 70's!) to dual-switch, then switch.

This site says if you want to learn it, stop trying to convert it in your head. Just think of the units themselves and their size alone. At the grocery store, perhaps. On my list of things to do this new year: use more of the metric system.

Smart Car

2006-01-07T00:20:00.000-05:00

I'll tell you - I didn't at first believe it when I heard there were smaller cars than the mini Cooper. I thought, "How much smaller can it get? Surely a car cannot be less than 11 feet long!". My query, thankfully, has been answered.

The appropriately named Smart Car is my latest obsession. I came across it after searching for a satisfactory picture of the Echo. my predicted first car. I then wondered if there were any cars smaller than the mini, and this little guy came up.

Now I know European cars are smaller (DaVinci Code, anyone?), but I didn't expect an eight foot, two inch vehicle. That's just over two feet taller than me. It's a two seater with a mini-trunkish back space.

Just imagine driving this little guy around the city, people causing visual traffic to gawk at your 60-plus miles per gallon getting, gasoline-engined minicar.

The trunk (if you can call it that), is a little space between the backseat and the car back where you can fit about three grocery bags (horizontally). Not a car in which you'd want to take a family trip. This ain't no pickup, people.

It's supposed to be coming to the United States this year - it's already in Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan - really the whole freakin' eastern hemisphere here, people. Why do American cars have to be so BIG!?

If I wanted to be unrealistic, I'd say that this would be my first car, and I could drive it into high school in tenth grade. If I wanted to be realistic, I'd say this will be my second or third car. The ECHO is quite satisfactory for now.

Goodbye 2005

2005-12-31T21:21:00.000-05:00

While it wasn't one of my favorite years (2004 is my favorite so far), 2005 has been a rather entertaining year. Here are some important things that happened these past 365.

January. Bush is inaugurated for his second (and more importantly, last) term as President. Iraq has its first parliamentary elections in almost 50 years. I purchase my blue iPod mini.

February. North Korea shows off its nukes. The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect with American and Australian support. The NHL cancels hockey for the year. Rachel is angry.

March. First non-stop solo flight around the world. Death penalty ruled illegal for under-eighteens. China ratifies a law preventing Taiwanese cessation.

April. Pope John Paul dies. Peter Jennings hosts his last World News Tonight. A new Duchess of Cornwall. The Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.

May. Tony Blair gets to stay in power in the UK. Deep Throat's identity is revealed. Star Wars is wrapped up with Episode III. Middle school is over for me. SheiKra opens with a bang!

June. Michael Jackson is acquitted of all charges, including child molestation. This is really the most controversial, and consequently important, thing to happen this month.

July. Live 8 concerts happen around the world. NASA blows up a comet for Independence Day. London is bombed. The sixth Harry Potter novel is released. Lance wins the Tour de France. Shuttle Discovery relaunches.

August. Hurricane Katrina slams into the U.S. Gulf Coast. FEMA reacts as if drunk. Michael Brown resigns. Israel forfeits the Gaza Strip. I go to high school.

September. Gas prices skyrocket to above $3 a gallon. Largest UN Summit in history held in New York. Angela Merkel becomes Chancellor of Germany. Tom DeLay is indicted in Texas.

October. The UN tightens up. Saddam Hussein goes on trial. Youth riots in France. Libby resigns after being indicted. The U.S. death toll in Iraq passes 2,000.

November. Goblet of Fire and Xbox 360 are both released. Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant. I get a fifth-generation iPod.

December. London's Routemaster buses go out of service. The New York City transit strike. Hurricane Zeta ends the most active hurricane season to date. 2006 is delayed by a second.

Since personal and world news is indubitably insufficient, I wanted to share some of my favorite things that happened this year.

Political. The Harriet Miers nomination for Associate Justice of the United States by George W. Bush. Her photo is immediately placed next to the dictionary definition for "cronyism".

Technological. I pass many milestones on my computer. 3500 photos in iPhoto, 400 songs in iTunes. I discover WikiPedia, the best freakin' online encyclopedia ever! I buy Mac OS X Tiger, the best operating system ever!

In case you were wondering: this is my 384th post on David's Blog. I've never changed the page address or title. How many people you know can say that?

I hope everyone's 2005 was fantastic - I know I had a great year. It had some highs and lows, but definitely more of the former. Let's make 2006 outstanding! Happy New Year!

Varekai

2005-12-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

As a sort of early Hanukah present, my dad took my family to see the Cirque de Soleil show Varekai in St. Pete. In a word; it was extraordinary.

The ticket may have said Tropicana Field, but it took place in a gigantic blue circus tent in the parking lot. Once inside, after buying ridiculously overpriced concessions - in a rather Potter-esque fashion - the room expanded once inside.

I don't have many pictures - I neglected to charge my camera. I did take a few camera phone pictures, though. Before the show, Jack spooked passersby with his dragon Mask my dad acquired.

The show itself is breathtaking. My favorite scene concerned two fishy-guys in gold costumes, with little flippy appendages. Shaped like an X, he did backflips butt-over-head, balancing on the other guys' feet.

Another woman balanced on a stand and twisted her body into various acrobatic positions. She was so limber, I think she could of kissed her own behind. Oh, that's right, she did!

The show seemed to relentlessly alter between laughable (a man trying to stay in view of a constantly-moving spotlight) and melancholy (the acrobatic scene). The soundtrack expressed these emotions masterfully.

No performance can be without on-site gift shops with outrageous pricing. They had the $30 soundtrack and a $50 DVD recording, both of which can be purchased for $15 and $21 on Amazon, respectively. All in all, I highly recommend seeing it. Happy holidays to you all!

New Phone

2005-12-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

After three months of waiting for the perfect cell phone to appear on the Cingular online store, I finally decided on one; the Sony Ericsson Z520a, and I really like it!

My dad took me to the Cingular store and I tried out all the phones. I liked the Nokia 6102, but the display model was malfunctioning, so I said "no" to that. I really wanted an Ericsson.

It has this dark blue "soft plastic" casing, and a semi-large rounded antenna protruding, which, I'm assuming, is for increased reception. Unfortunately, call quality is satisfactory at most - certainly not praiseworthy.

I'm truly fond of the interface on the Ericssons, including the T637 ranted about earlier in the year, with the 4x3 iconic main menu and such.

It has one of those miniature outer screens, another convenience, showing the time, date, reception bars and battery left.

The buttons (the most important aspect of any phone) are very clicky, but aren't obnoxiously clicky like my old Siemens, which is now in a MotoRecycling Center.

All in all, it's a great phone, and I highly recommend it. Since I now do have a cell phone, feel free to call me (I really want to hear my awesome techno ringtone). And did I say it lights up?

A Small Update

2005-12-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

Indeed, many important things have happened recently:

I got my learner's permit
I got my video iPod
I got a whole lot more materialistic

But hey, my sister's Bat Mitzvah is tomorrow! It seems like just yesterday I was up there doing that. We had a fun dinner at Sam Seltzer's; I had the pineapple chicken skewers and a potato soup, both exquisite.

I just recently bought the awesome computer game Pirates, which I am glad to say lived up to my expectations. You play a pirate (with a real ship!) during the mid-17th century in the Caribbean.

Going around shooting cannonballs and other weapons at other ships and looting/sinking them is the basis of the game, aside from trading and town-plundering. Liken it to Pirates of the Caribbean, if you will.

The graphics are amazing, but I can't turn all the effects up without the game spontaneously crashing and displaying glitches, so I purchased a new graphics card for the computer: a 256MB ATI Radeon.

Not too shabby, considering my Dell can't accomidate AGP or PCI-Express. It should arrive from NewEgg in a matter of days.

Ah, the fast-paced world of constantly-updating technology.

Bods and Goblets

2005-11-21T09:31:00.000-05:00

So, I had a fun filled first two days of Thanksgiving break. Friday night, Ally, Kathryn and I went with my father to see the Bodies exhibit at MOSI. It was, to say the least, mind-blowing (no pun intended). The evening began with our getting of name tags.

With the name tags on, we were Kathryn, Rachel and David. There wasn't really a line, more of a huge mass of people accidently rubbing against each other and saying, "Sorry!". Once inside the exhibit, we had a little more room to breathe.

I don't have any pictures from inside the exhibit (photography wasn't allowed, I should have taken video), but I found a slideshow from TBO.com.

My favorite room was the blood room, where they had the muscle and bone of the body taken out, leaving only the blood vessels. The room was darkened to allow the dark red of the bodies to have a more ominous effect, and it worked.

The embryo room was riveting. The spinal cord display was engrossing. The livers were captivating. All in all, it was an awe-inspiring, educational exhibit, at least for the strong-stomached.

Saturday I finally got to see the new Harry Potter movie. Ally and I thought it a little rushed, especially in the beginning. Voldemort didn't look as evil as I'd hoped, and the Death Eaters obviously took a page or two from the KKK. I give it three stars.

The Mechanical Turk

2005-11-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm hyped about Amazon's new program, Mechanical Turk. To sum it up in a few sentences: Amazon pays you money to complete "minijobs"; jobs that computers suck at doing (like finding the best picture of a building or writing product descriptions). They then pay you, per job, to complete the tasks to their specifications.

Most of the jobs are picture identification. "Pick the best picture of this location"; they want you to find the most centered, informative picture of a Subway, or a Dominos.

It's fairly straightforward, and the pay isn't bad either, provided you don't spend all your time on the pictures, which pay a paltry $.03 per. What's really the jackpot are the product descriptions: write a one paragraph summary about a product. Titles are provided for you; just do a Google search to find more information. These pay $.75 each.

After doing exactly 119 HITs (what Amazon calls the minijobs). I have made exactly $.93. Why? It just takes a few days for them to be accepted. They've only accepted 31 of my HITs, and rejected five. Amazon rejects about fifteen percent of my picture-choosing submissions. No word yet on the product descriptions.

UPDATE: I've made $6.24 as of November 19, which is a cent less than minimum wage. I've submitted 316 HITs, of them, 208 have been approved and 59 rejected, which changes the rejection rate to about 28 percent. The rate for rejection is down from a high of 38 percent for me last week, and I hope it continues to descend.

New iPod

2005-10-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

I am extremely impressed with the new iPod. There, I said it. I know I might be a little biased, being a past owner of a couple of them (the third-generation 20GB and the first 4GB mini). Never mind that. I'll start with the packaging.

Holding the FedEx shipping box in my hands, I said to myself, "Is there really an iPod in here?". I opened it, and sure enough was the black box. This has the smallest box size to amount paid ratio I have ever seen (as opposed to a refrigerator).

While I didn't scream when I first saw it, I was still pretty excited. After charging it for an hour, the indicator said "Charged". I didn't trust the iPod as of yet, so let it "charge" for another hour before connecting it to my computer.

The downloading process took about an hour. It transferred all my music in a few minutes, and my movies in the same (which I'll talk about later). Tricky with the photos, which took quite a while to download. It had to create iPod-size copies of the images; that's what took so long.

I'm not a complainer: you only have to do this once in the iPod's lifetime. Let's talk about music. The sound quality is just unbelievable; definitely improved from earlier versions. Fable (Robert Miles) sounded amazing; so did the Star Wars and Flight of the Condor soundtracks.

Taking a jump from a black and white-screened mini to a high-resolution color iPod is a huge change, especially in the area of photo display. I carry my whole iPhoto library with me in my pocket: 3500 photos, coming out to about 1.6 gigabytes. Album art looks fantastic.

You probably want to hear about the video feature. I burned most of the DVD's I could find in my house (Lord of the Rings, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Fahrenheit 9/11, Mean Girls, Finding Nemo, Star Wars: Episode III, Scary Movie 3) using Handbrake, and transferred them to the iPod.

Video playback is smooth and crystal clear. Concerning the screen size: it's as big as Apple could make it without changing the dimensions. 2.5 inches is the sweet spot for me: big enough to see but small enough to be unobtrusive, discreet, and above all, portable.

My opinion: Go buy one! There's tremendous value in this: what you could purchase two weeks ago before has been redesigned with a large, bright, crisp, high-resolution color screen and perfect video playback; for the same price! Woohoo for Apple!

Evil Letters

2005-10-22T08:38:00.000-04:00

While playing Dungeon Siege 2 this past week, I thought, "Most designers reuse the same first letters for evil characters every time!" Now, there are always exceptions to rules, but here are the five most evil letters I've come across:

G, M, O, S, V

Here's the explanation. G is for Ganon, the bad guy from that long lost N64 game, Ocarina of Time. It's also for Galbatorix, the bad guy in Eragon. M for Mordor in Lord of the Rings, and countless other baddies in that movie.

O for orcs, S for Sauron and Saruman, and V for Valdis, Dungeon Siege II's antagonist, and Vaati, Minish Cap's antagonist.

Yes, yes. Exceptions, exceptions. I'm just reflecting a general tendency for the video game companies (or writers), to lean towards using these letters for their evil characters. Am I right, or am I right?

Three Things I Hate

2005-10-10T19:10:00.000-04:00

There are just some things in this world I cannot tolerate, mainly actions by people. I guess you could call them pet peeves. More like "killer beast of doom" peeves. Here you go. I can't stand:

People who can't read extremely well, have a limited vocabulary, and then refuse to learn new words or concepts. They mispronounce easy foreign names or relatively simple vocabulary, like "qualifications". They often use the word "ain't". Vocabulary is a great thing - you can express yourself better. Instead of saying "This food sucks.", say it's "awful", "dreadful", or outright "terrible".

People who use the word "at" at the end of a sentence! AH!!! This one drives me insane! Where are you at (or, where you at)? Where are they at? What the frickin' heck is wrong with you, dammit!? Your participle is dangling! Believe it or not, people (adults, peers, et cetera) connect how you speak to your intelligence.

People who walk slowly. This may be just me, but I walk really quickly. I can cover 10 feet in less than five seconds, and to those "couples" who, walking hand in hand, take about one step every three seconds: "JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!" And it's not just the couples. Everyone should walk fast! You get where you want to go sooner and get exercise in the process.

I'll add more as the ideas come to me. Feel free to comment on what "really" pushes your buttons.

A Game Called Sudoku

2005-09-27T16:31:00.000-04:00

While sitting in geography on Friday, I had a revelation: Is there a printable, simple puzzle game that is relatively easy to learn and solve that I can bring to school and work on in my spare time? This is where Sudoku came in. Sudoku is a puzzle game that is printable, simple, and a whole lot of fun.

The puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid with random numbers littered about. The object of the puzzle is to put the digits 1-9 in each column, row, and individual 3x3 box, without any of the numbers repeating themselves. The Wikipedia article has a great explanation of the game.

Here's what I do: First, I go through and write all the "obvious" numbers in. By obvious, I mean that if there are two fives in adjacent rows, and another pair of fives in two adjacent intersecting columns, you can know instantly where the remaining five goes!

I've solved two puzzles on paper so far, and one online. I use PrintSudoku for printing out puzzles. I can only do the "very easy" and "easy" levels of difficultly so far, though.

How to Make an Effective Planner Folder

2005-09-20T20:02:00.000-04:00

In the course of my years in school, I've gone through numerous organization methods, some with a binder, some with folders and dividers. Here are my directions for creating a working planner folder for school that follows you home and to school every day.

1. Find a paper folder without prongs. Paper is one of the most versatile materials; it feels good in your hand, and the corners won't stab anyone lucky enough to come near the planner. It's easy to doodle on, and is slimmer than others. Why no prongs? The main reason: your planner folder is a dynamic tool, and it just takes too damn long to insert and remove pronged papers.

2. Sort out the important papers. A planner folder is a folder where you keep your most important school documents and memoranda. Consequently, you should keep only papers you need (or might need). If you have any documents that fall outside these steps, they probably shouldn't be in your planner folder.

Things that should NOT be in your planner folder are assignments handed back with a grade (put these in your class-specific folders) and class notes (unless you need to study them).

3. Stuff your pockets! The left pocket is for completed homework that is due relatively soon. Place these papers in front of everything else for easy access. Put uncompleted homework due within a week (or whatever time span you feel is appropriate) behind the completed work for later consideration.

The right pocket is a little more ill-defined on its content. It's for papers you need for class on a daily basis, but don't need to complete for homework, ie. a question sheet for a video you're watching, or a list of settings for a program used in computer class. Other good things to have here are current progress reports and current schedule.

4. Make a to-do list. Here's what I've learned, from experience: You will never, ever, and I mean NEVER, use every page of your school-provided white planner. For me, it's a blasphemous chunk of paper just begging to be thrown away.

The simplicity and sheer ease of a single, itemized to-do list just blows away any others. Make a list of homework needed to be completed, including due dates (be sure to use days of the week). Cross out items as you complete them.

I hope these tips help you out in one way or another. Happy planning!

Booked

2005-09-17T01:19:00.000-04:00

I think it's safe to say that I've read quite a number of good books lately. Since I haven't blogged in a while (although you can always check out my new Flickr pics or my link list to the right), what better post than to say a little blurb about them?

Heck, I'll start with The Da Vinci Code. Now that was a great read. Every chapter ended on a note that made you want to keep reading. I found myself having to stop in the middle of a chapter so I wouldn't get sucked in! The story was great; both Langdon and Sophie were very deep characters I felt I could relate to.

Animal Farm we're reading in English, at the speed of either carbon turning into diamond or molasses running uphill. That is, about 10 pages in an hour and a half. Since Animal Farm is a wildly political book, we somehow find reason to conceive political arguments out of thin air. We'll be done in a few days.

I'm trying not to mention Fahrenheit 451. In a few words, it was duller than a circle, if that's at all possible. The writing style was terrible; the author went on ravenous rampages of thought and wrote them down on paper, without remorse. Its only credit was its succinctness. The similarly titled movie was awesome.

Freakonomics! Haven't finished it yet, but I am so into it, I'll have it done before the weekend's up. Freakonomics is a book about statistics, concerning factors that you'd think wouldn't normally affect each other, but they do, like baby names and success in life. I'm soaking up the innumerable facts like a sponge.

Speaking of Sponge, Haley and I had a great time at Tarpon's first home game of the year, and they pummeled the opposing team. When we left around 10, Tarpon had over a threefold gain on them. Didn't even bother to watch the rest.

Le Nano

2005-09-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

I've officially decided to purchase the 4GB white iPod nano, as early as next week, after seeing the real thing at the Apple Store at International Plaza yesterday with Haley (she's going to get the black one). It's smaller than it looks. It's thinner than it looks. Trust me, you haven't seen the Nano until you have seen the Nano.

My biggest concern is that they will upgrade the flash drive space within the year, although with flash memory being so expensive lately, I don't think it will be a problem. If it made the 4GB $249, just think how expensive a 6GB or 8GB will be. No, I think Apple will keep the gigabytes low. Go any higher and you'd be paying more than an iPod!

It's a risk I'm willing to take for having the latest and greatest thing. My dad always says, "Wait a few months, they'll be coming out with something even better." But that's exactly what I did with my poor little blue Mini, and exactly one day after the last possible date of return to Amazon: New low price! New bigger hard drive! I like my strategy better.

If anyone wants to buy either my blue iPod mini or my Palm Zire 71, both of which I am trying to get rid of, email me and we can work out a deal. Also of note: Ere Haley and I went to La Plaza yesterday, I returned the Da Vinci Code (a fantastic read, by the way) and checked out Fahrenheit 451. Catching up on the classics.

A Light From Heaven

2005-09-07T21:08:00.000-04:00

I love how Apple designed this picture. The immaculate hand, pointing upwards slightly. The iPod nano is a shining light in the dark world of mediocre MP3 players, and the hand is glad of it. It also very adequately shows the thinness and weight of the player; that you only have to use two fingers to hold it.

I'm going to buy it after I sell my old 1st gen. blue iPod mini and Palm Zire 71, both of which are sadly very outdated. Not sure where I'm going to sell them, yet. One thing is for certain: it's prime time to upgrade to a brand spankin' new white iPod nano!

P.S. - I have 3500 iPhoto items now. That is, 3304 photos and 196 movies. 1.6 gigabytes of digital camera goodness.

Piano

2005-09-04T23:47:00.000-04:00

My latest obsession. And I don't know if this one is going to go away in a few days! I definitely want something more expensive than the electronic keyboard "toy" I have now. This one has had it.

First of all, there's no pedal, so the notes sound cheesy and fabricated. Second, the keys aren't weighted, so every keypress sounds terrible. I got to learn how to play a few songs by ear since a month ago. I have no idea about the sheet music.

I can play The Entertainer (my personal favorite), the fourth Sims Build mode song, and Shalom Rav. All of them sound great on a real piano, but since I can't have that, I guess I'll have to settle for the Casio PX-100 (which is only two letters away from my digital camera, in fact).

Still waiting on another entry into my scavenger hunt! Check below for the complete hunt and official rules, which plainly states that at least two people have to enter! How I want to enter my own hunt. Sadly, I can't do that. But you can! Be the miracle!

I've been playing and taking many screenshots of Dungeon Siege II and Sims 2 lately, and it's got me wondering. Who decides if the game should have a II or a 2 at the end? I'm thinking, roughly, the II is reserved for role-playing games, and the 2 for everything else, like Half Life 2 or RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. Any thoughts?

Scavenger Hunt

2005-09-01T16:50:00.000-04:00

While sitting in school today, I had a revelation: Create a scavenger hunt about my blog and its accompanying information. So, I hereby present to you the first scavenger hunt of David's Blog. Email me your answers when you are done. Winner gets a Circuit City gift card.

1. What is my first period class?

2. On what day did I add the "DVD Vending Machine" link?

3. In what month did I purchase my "davidouziel.com" domain name?

4. What is Nigel P. Byers' complete zip code?

5. Who is the director of Cedar Point's merchandise and gaming?

6. What color shirt did Kathryn wear at SeaWorld last month?

7. How many U.S. states have I been to?

8. Do I want to go to Egypt?

9. What city did I travel to after visiting Hersheypark?

10. Where did I go on my fourth grade field trip?

11. What is the first book I recorded consumed online?

12. Which book have I read that has a recently released sequel?

13. What instrument would I like to learn to play?

14. What color is "the coolest vacuum cleaner ever", as defined by me?

15. Who is the eighth person to join the World War II RTS?

Official rules: All entries must be received by 9 PM EST Saturday, September 3, 2005. One winner will be randomly selected from all correct entries. If only one correct entry is submitted by the above deadline, the deadline will be extended until at least two entries are received. Incorrect entries will be returned to the sender for review.

At School

2005-08-29T09:28:00.000-04:00

This is cool. I'm in the computer lab at school. We had to do a kind of activity on eLibrary and all these references sources (which I'll probably never ever use). They had a few interesting videos about roller coasters; one concerned the braking and gear system that prevents rollbacks on the chain lift. Good stuff!

If you've noticed, I changed the random Flickr picture on the left to something a little more, classay? It's just a list of 8 random keywords from the front page of this blog. Clicking takes you to TagCloud (the service I use for it) and it just shows you the posts that have that keyword in it. Words are bigger if there's more content about it. Flickr has something like it.

Kaplan?

2005-08-26T17:21:00.001-04:00

To copy Hannah's famous post about this week's Kaplan assessment test, or whatever it may be called, I'm going to write a post about it! We took the test Thursday and Friday after a shortened hour-long first period. Business Systems Tech is awesome, by the way. We finished keyboarding and are now moving on to business letters.

What is the test like, you say? It's a complete imitation of the FCAT Reading and Writing test. Big deal. What's an even bigger deal is the East Lake vs. Tarpon game happening last night! And I'm happy to say...History repeated itself! Tarpon won by a score of 10 to 7 after being pushed into overtime!

I took tons of pictures (probably more than I should of). Let me knock off some of the less than satisfactory parts of the football game. First of all, the two sides had a ridiculous barrier which between them none could pass. Ally and I likened it to the two sides of the Berlin Wall, with East Lake being communist, of course.

A can of soda was $1.50 (absurd!). Italian Ice was two dollars, which isn't as bad. Maddie and I discovered that the colors offered actually resemble the colors of the Italian flag; red, green and white. Why we didn't know about this beforehand is beyond me.

Finally!

2005-08-22T20:45:00.000-04:00

I've been poking my blog over the past few weeks and I settled down with this rendition. It shows the current book I'm reading, which is, at the moment, 1776. When I finish that, I'll put up the next book I'm going to be reading, which I checked out at the library today, The Da Vinci Code.

Yes, it is the book that "everyone" is reading these days. I've heard the novel is a trifle disappointing, but I'll just have to see. 1776 is coming along nicely. Washington's forces just completed their recapture of Boston and now they're marching on New York where the British Redcoats are waiting. Exhilirating!

At the Game

2005-08-19T23:16:00.001-04:00

Went to the East Lake vs. Dixie Hollins football game tonight, and I had a great time. Brought my camera, took lots of pictures of nearly everything. About twenty-five, I think. I'm pretty sure East Lake won thirty something to zero, correct me if I'm wrong. There was too much fun stuff goin' on!

Rainy

2005-08-17T17:16:00.000-04:00

It's been rather stormy lately, hasn't it? At about 1:30 this morning, I woke up in the middle of that killer thunderstorm. I'm sure you all heard it. Lots of dull and not so dull roaring, and my bedroom window flashing with white light. So the power goes out, and so does the time in my alarm clock, in small, red letters.

I had to open my iBook to find out the time, turn my on my lamp, reset the time, and reset the alarm. I then worry about the power going out again before I drift back to sleep. I've definitely been losing sleep over these past two weeks, although I've finally settled in at school.

I pretty much know my way around, and if I don't I can retrace my steps to this one part of the school (a walkway, to be precise) that I walk through to get to all of my classes. I finally finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, as you probably saw in the sidebar.

Having a bit of trouble with All Consuming recognizing 1776, the book I'm reading now after Mockingbird. It's about the Revolutionary War, if it isn't imminently apparent. What's interesting is that it covers the point of view of both sides, American and British. It's captivating, so far.

Recently I put the Dungeon Siege II demo in my other stuff column, and now I can proudly say I bought the game. I used an old twenty-five dollar EB Games gift card and about thirty bucks in cash. The box has a kind of case around it, and it opens up to another box with the game inside. Fancy, fancy. Speaking of fancy, try out my new collapsable comments down below.

I'm Anal-Retentive Like That

2005-08-13T22:39:00.000-04:00

I swear, one day doesn't go by without me changing some part of this blog! With this new rendition, I went back to two columns while trying to create some contrast between the two sections. Under inspiration from the redesign of Apple's switch site, I just used a color from there, and voila!

Watched Jurassic Park tonight on TNT, along with Haley and Kathryn. It was pretty awesome. Speaking of awesome, lets switch to school talk! After third hour-and-a-half I get a Red Baron pizza from the satellite serving area right outside Mr. Lucey's door, and stuff my face in the first 15 minutes of the period, around noon. It's all good.

If You Like Pina Coladas...

2005-08-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

School, in a word, is getting better. The block scheduling is beginning to grow on me. I can touch type (the proper way) at about 40 words per minute. Today we learned both the period and shift keys, and I'm done with lesson eight, ahead of everyone else (of course).

Freshman Experience is as mature as ever. Did a "getaknowya" activity today involving a questionnaire. Great word, by the way. English is improving. We finished The Most Dangerous Game, in addition. I'm not going to say who killed who, but I will say it took me by surprise.

Geography is beginning to turn into any social studies class. I've had in the past three years; tons and tons of bookwork! Had to find out 47 definitions yesterday, label and color a map of the US and Canada, and two pages of notes today.

Here's the fun part. I was hungry after last period, and it's lunch time. A girl had a pizza in hand, so I go to one of the satellite serving areas and ask if they have any left. Just my luck; they don't. So I get a pina colada. Then I sat down on a big bench with Devin, Brook, Jade and Elyse and sat for about twenty minutes until the buses had to leave.

I have to say it was the best day of school yet! Got up bright early at 5:45, left at 6:30, had my pseudo-lunch at 1:25, and finally got home at 2:25. Good times.

Add a Jak Salad

2005-08-04T15:46:00.001-04:00

High school, at least in my view, is just OK. I don't have any devil teachers, or anything like that. The school is a mother to get around in. I have absolutely no idea where I am. There's no straight lines! It's insane! The map of the school looks like a friggin' Jackson Pollock painting!

Business Systems Technology	Mrs. Nail
Freshman Experience	Ms. Adkins
English 1 Honors	Mr. Lucey
Driver's Ed (changing)	Mr. Sneed

Business Systems Technology was pretty dull, even though we use a computer. We started typing today, which sounds extremely easy for someone with my...skill. But it is one of the hardest things in that we have to use the ASDF JKL; finger resting typing method.

I know, that's how I was supposed to do it in the first place, but I didn't learn from practicing how to type. I learned from typing! I guess I'm a little used to my helter skelter method. I put my the fingers on my left hand on shift, A, S, and D, and my right hands on U, I, zero, and the left bracket key.

Freshman Experience is by far my favorite class. Ms. Adkins is a great teacher. She gives out candy. Any good teacher gives out candy. In the class all we've done so far is answer questions on the overhead about the Code of Conduct. Oh, and a word search for extra credit with all our first names on it.

Mr. Lucey seems pretty nice too. I have to finish To Kill a Mockingbird, he said he'd give us two weeks before he started going over it. We did imitations today. Mr. Lucey can do a great Scooby Doo, and Jack can do George Dubya. "Freedom, war on terror.". Read some "The Most Dangerous Game".

As for Driver's Ed, I listened attentively up until the point where Mrs. Adkins (who teaches alongside Mr. Sneed) proclaimed, "Okay, everyone! Next week we're going to be driving the cars, so I'm going to take three of you out at a time...". Holy crap! I raised my hand and said "I've been put in the wrong class."

So now they have me in Social Studies. No regrets there. I'm gonna have to wait till next year to take Driver's Ed, though. Too bad. Guess I'll have to see what happens tomorrow!

The End of Summer

2005-08-02T19:31:00.000-04:00

Yeah, it just dawned on me. All this summer I said, "Okay, it's just a new school, big deal.", but when I got to the orientation yesterday I found out just how weird this first day of high school is going to be. Different school, different teachers, different friends, different arrival and departure times, different classes.

I only saw a few people I knew there yesterday...Miles, Austin, Marieanne, and Lidya. Oh, yeah, and Serena. Can't forget Serena. We're getting a new principal, and with him, a new guidance counseling system. Instead of one for each grade level, it's alphabetical: A-DAV, DAW-HIB, HIC-MERE.

Tomorrow I have to get up around 5:45. Elyse's dad is taking us at 6:15. She hasn't gotten her locker yet, but I have an even bigger problem! They didn't print my schedule, so they gave me a list of all my classes instead. Only thing is that the items are labeled S1, S2, Q1, and Q2. I just don't know when those are. To top it all off, I don't have a science class, just a space listed as "Conflict" on my schedule.

I also don't know where my homeroom is. But I do know that lunch is at 1:20, at the end of the day. By the way, us Tarponians can eat outside during lunch! I'm going to definitely have to bring a snack. Buses leave after lunch! Good luck to everyone tomorrow, regardless of which school you're going to. We're going to need it. Big time.

Howling With Laughter

2005-07-30T22:39:00.000-04:00

So I'm finishing up a chapter in Blink, about different consumer reactions to products. It was explaining about how people feel about certain products initially, and then a while later why they feel differently about the same things. I get to a chapter called "The Death Chair". Turns out this section was about a chair that consumers hated at first, but loved later on.

It was called the Aeron chair. So I do a Google search on this, trying to find out what it looks like. I find a result that plainly states "the aeron chair sucks". I was intrigued, so I clicked. It had a few short videos explaining why this chair "sucked" so much. I didn't even finish the first five seconds of the first video. I was on the floor, screaming in agony because I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't breathe for a while; I was choking on my laughter.

Clutching my stomach, I forced myself to watch the video again, with the exact same results. Then I watched the second video; same reaction. There are four in all, and they're the most hilarious things I have seen all summer. Word to the wise; there's a small amount of language in the videos, but they wouldn't be funny without it. Have yourself a go.

Planarity

2005-07-29T12:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I found this great logic game on AddictingGames called Planarity. It's relatively simple to play; you have to position the dots so that none of the connecting lines overlap. If you do, the puzzle will tell you where you made a mistake. I took a screenshot of my completed puzzle to the right. If you feel the need to cheat, you can click on it to see it larger. Click to play Planarity.

Lately I've been shifting towards removing content that doesn't contribute to the functionality of the site. So I removed my profile, and replaced it with a link to the complete one. This way I don't have a stagnant section of the page, never changing. It's more dynamic. There's your vocabulary lesson for today.

Blogger and Xanga

2005-07-28T11:01:00.003-04:00

This could be my most controversial post yet! I like Blogger because you have complete control over every part of the web page. I can make the background a picture very easily, but I choose not to because that's a huge slap in the face in good web design. So is music.

"Your goal in making a website is to make it enjoyable and usable to as many people as possible. You don’t want people to be unable to read your site, or to spend 5 minutes trying to figure out where their cursor is because you are “kEwL” and know how to change cursors using CSS. You don’t want potential visitors ripping out their hair because of music they might not like, looping in the background without an off button in sight. Just because the options are there, doesn’t mean you need to use them."

If you're going to have music on your blog, give people an option to start it and stop it. It's a huge turn off to visitors who are probably already listening to music to have your site take over theirs with a louder and more obnoxious song.

Images...Imageshack works wonders for me, it lets me upload PNG, JPG, anything I want, no compression at all. Customize the dimensions, width relative to the rest of the page. Below is one of my favorite reasons why I dislike Xanga. Yes, you may say it's just a small flash banner at the top of the page, but they're just so annoying! Am I really going to take the user seriously if their blog tells me to "Pop Santa's zit and receive a free iPod!" or "Pierce the tongue and get free body jewelry"? If I want to get body jewelry for my pierced forehead I sure as heck am not going to get it off the Internet.

Not only that, if there are so many customization and personalization options, why does every Xanga I visit have the exact same layout as the rest of them? Sidebar on the left, content in the middle, sidebar on the right. The archiving feature in Xanga is horrendous, too. You can't go through a list of the posts by month; you must know the date.

The quality of the content is at an all-time low on most of Xanga; check out Xanga's "Featured Content" on the right up there. I know I want to go to one or more of those sites. I check this website called 9rules every so often, and the posts and content are meaningful (and readable). One site I stumbled upon while browsing on 9rules was called Simpley Done. Check that out (opens in a new window). Now that blog has taste! The design (or lack thereof) is the best I've seen in a long time.

So you're probably thinking, "If it's so bad, don't use it.". Well, that's exactly what I'll do.

"Difficult times lie ahead. Soon we will have to make a choice, between what is right, and what is easy." - Dumbledore, Goblet of Fire

And one of my personal favorites,

"Anyone can build a website, but it takes skill to design one."

What Makes This Blog Tick

2005-07-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

If a blog were just a dead end of content, where you write something and it's only accessible through one website, wouldn't that be, well, boring? So I thought I'd make a post about what keeps this little old blog in operation, and the services that deliver content besides the blog. You can see each one in my sidebar to the left.

Random Flickr Pics - Flickr What can I say about Flickr? It's definitely on one of my favorite online services. You can upload pictures in 20 different ways and add titles and descriptions. You can also add tags, which are one-word descriptions of a picture used to find like photos, likw sheikra or jack. And notes! Little boxes put over certain part of pictures that show a description when mouseovered.

I went to the Flickr Badge creator and made an two-across thingy which outputs square pictures randomly from my collection of almost 700 photos. Just like Blogrolling, I just put a snippet of code into the HTML and...Voila! It's the random david picture generator!

Random Links - BlogRolling When I had my old blog design, I had a long, unchanging, unwieldy list of links. They weren't dynamic (far from it). It was a huge hassle to go into the HTML of the page and manually add the links. Then I came across BlogRolling! It's basically a site where you can add links, and these links show up on your website or blog.

All you have to do is add one line of code into your HTML and you'll never have to go in there again. I have it choose three random links and display the descriptions I wrote about them under, but you can customize it how you see fit. A regular link list looks great, too! Anything dynamic is good.

Currently Reading - All Consuming The great media tracker. All Consuming is a website where you can keep track of what you've consumed. By consumed, I mean books read, movies watched, music listened to...It gets items from from Amazon, so they'll probably have the content you're trying to track. Again, all I had to do was to add one line of code into my sidebar HTML, and it appeared!

It shows my latest "consuming" item, in this case what books I'm reading. Movies don't show up (which I want) because I'm not consuming them, they're already consumed. Get it? You can also rate the book/movie and write what you thought about it. If you click the book in my sidebar section, you're taken to that book's All Consuming Page, where you can go to it's Amazon.com page.

Where Am I Going? - 43 Places I like this one the best. 43 Places was created by the same people who created All Consuming, and it's just as intuitive. Lets you tell where you want to go in the world, and where you've already been.

It's very satisfying to see a visual cue of just how few places you've been in the world, with where you've been marked in blue and where you'd like to go in orange. The three countries which I've been to barely scratch the 3000+ places. Plus, if the place isn't there, you can add it yourself instantly.

Can you do that with Xanga?

Whatever You Want It To Be

2005-07-26T14:36:00.000-04:00

Wow, I'm surprised that slipped pass the editors.

New Feature(s)

2005-07-25T15:05:00.000-04:00

Not really a feature, so to say, but an update of design. I changed the border so that it's classier. Don't you think it's classier now? In an even bigger change, the links to the archives are in a drop down menu now, so no matter how long this blog stays in operation, that list won't get any bigger. I also removed the year from the post dates. I think we all know what year it is (2046, I know), so that won't be necessary. It's the greatest thing you've ever seen.

Books

2005-07-24T17:18:00.000-04:00

I have to say, Barnes and Noble has an extremely great refund policy. You buy a book, and anytime after 30 days (be it days, months, or years), you can return it for store credit. I had this humongous Mac OS X Panther guide that I never really looked at beyond the first few hours I owned it. So I'm trying to find space on my bookshelf for the new Harry Potter book (which I finished last night; it was very good) and I came across that book. I saw a piece of paper sticking out of it which I immediately recognized as the receipt.

They gave me a complete refund in store credit, which I happily first spent on a double chocolate chip frappucino and a big chocolate chip chunk cookie. I have almost $60 worth of B&N store credit now from another gift card I found, which is completely awesome. Although, lately, I've taken to checking out books from the library. There are so many advantages; it's free, you don't have to keep the book once you finish it, definitely saves shelf space...Did I mention it's free?

New Feature

2005-07-23T10:11:00.000-04:00

I was looking for a way this morning to embed a flash map of my 43 Places, well, places. So I looked on Technorati. Technorati is basically a site that shows you different posts on blogs that are talking about different things, like the new Harry Potter book or the new Windows' name, Vista (pretty good). Anyways, I clicked on the first post it gave me.

And to my delight it had a little 43 Places map in the sidebar, I just went into the source, "borrowed" the code, changed the user name so it'd display my places, and voila! A map of where I've been and where I want to go, right on my blog. How amazingly convenient. You can find it down there in the sidebar. What? You don't know what 43 Places is?

For all you people who don't know about 43 Places, it's basically a site where you can keep track of where you've been (in the US and the world). You can write entries about and rate each place. It grabs Flickr photos with the same tag, or you can upload your own photos of your adventures. There's a button to say if you want to go to a certain place.

You can sign up at 43places.com.

Adium Awesomeness!

2005-07-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

Today I stumbled upon this program while browsing "what's in my bag" photos on flickr, and it turned out to be completely awesome! It's an instant messaging alternative to iChat, but with complete customization! Very nice themes. I have the buddy list set to expand vertically as necessary. In the message window...I have the "minimal" theme on. No frills here.

Automatically tells you their away message and if they return. I customized the button bar for the ones I only use often show it just shows Links, Send a File and Get Info (for their profile). As you can see it is a very classy application which tons of features to boot! It's just icing on the cake that it's voice feature, Vicki, speaks to me "Haley has connected." aloud. Check it out.

Fantastic!

2005-07-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

Earlier this morning I got my bus schedule. The bus comes at 6:20 (gasp!) and comes home at 2:30 (awesome!) I'm getting a ride with Elyse in the morning, so we'll probably leave about half past six. Speaking of the title, Haley and I went to see Fantastic Four...It was pretty good. Diverse characters, definitely. Doctor Doom was awesome. I thought it ended kind of suddenly. I'm glad they left room for a sequel, though.

This morning I got both my contacts in in (love when that happens) less than five minutes! Shootin' for three tomorrow!

Guess What I Got...

2005-07-18T18:14:00.000-04:00

Contacts! Woohoo! They're awesome! I can see! I went to Visionworks this morning with my mom and Jack. The doctor tested my eye's focus by having me look at some pictures until they were clear. Then they poofed a shot of air into my eyes unexpectedly, which sucked. Then they put that machine over my face where they ask you which letters are clear, 1 or 2, 2 or 3, etc. On one question I was torn between 3 and 4; they were very similar. So she left. A very short while later she came back and numbed my eyes; she was saving the dilation for next time (woohoo!). She told me that she was going to make them both different, but that the difference would be so small that it'd be unnoticeable. So she made them both the same. Benefit? I don't have to be careful not to mix them up when I put them in the container! I thanked her, she said it wasn't a problem. So then we go to the funnest part of all, removing and inserting them. I swear, it took me 10 minutes just to take them out, on account of my frickin' blink reflex. I kept telling myself, "I want this to go in my eye. It is helpful.", but my brain just would not listen. I flipped it, I dropped it. It was very frustrating. Finally I got them out. The doctor explained the technique on inserting them, but in came Mr. Reflex over here trying to keep my eyes closed. Took another twenty minutes to put them back in. I was told to keep them in for about six hours. So at six today I tried taking them out. The right eye took about five minutes of budging, nudging and pulling, and the left, to my extreme enjoyment, came out within five seconds! I had no sooner pushed the lens off my cornea that I had it between my fingers and dropped into the saline solution. I never thought removing an object from my eye be so exciting. I found the best technique to be:

1. Hold bottom eyelid open, two fingers, with the same hand as the eye you're putting it in. 2. Place contact on your fingertip 3. Pull eyelid down, open eyes wider 4. Look up and either slide the lens away from the cornea and pinch if removing, or simply place it on the eye. 5. If not successful, repeat steps 2 (if you dropped it), 3 (unless you don't blink), and 4.

ArtPad

2005-07-17T21:57:00.000-04:00

Haley sent this to me a few minutes ago. You can draw your own pictures using a pencil, a paintbrush or a few other instruments in a ton of different colors. The fun part is this: you can send your friends a link to your painting, and it is drawn for you exactly how they painted it. You can check for it in the random links section, or just click Haley's masterpiece. Big news on the home front here. I scanned pictures of my AWESOME new lightswitch, my tin of cookies I bought this afternoon, and a few Finance Park documents from our trip last year into Flickr. I also made my first two sets, of Finance Park and Model UN. Tomorrow my mom's taking me to Visionworks to see if I can get contacts! Woohoo! No more glasses for David!

No Relevant Title

2005-07-15T12:03:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged in a little while, so here it goes...Well, for starters, yesterday I went to the mall with Kathryn and Haley. We covered every square inch of the place in our six hour stay. I didn't mind though. We got to try out the different memory foam beds. The tempur-pedic was the most luxurious (yes, I went that far), but that's wishful thinking. I can get the twin long from next door from Dormia for $499! And I only half to pay for half! (badoomcha) The Dormia memory foam one was pretty hard. It was comfortable, no doubt, and much better than the one I have now. I like firm better, but this was overkill. I like a 60/40, but this had to be like 80/20. Haley likens a bed's worthiness to its bounciblity, and this bed did not let you bounce, which could be good or bad. When I throw things on my bed they sometimes bounce and fall into the crack of the bed and it's hell to get them back. The guy said the real thing wouldn't be like that, as I explain on the picture page. What else did we do there besides lounge on these mattresses of the gods? Haley got her camera vaccummed, and Kathryn tried out new cameras. I got a double choca mocha lata yaya at Starbucks, venti of course. Kathryn got a marmalade (cough), excuse me, an Izze, and Haley got her pink drink without whipped cream, eventually. Then, we went to the library, but this weird one where you had to be so completely quiet people looked at you when you typed on the computer. Kathryn got the books that they have to read for their "good" school. Sure. I finished Eragon; I'm reading Theodore Rex until tomorrow when I get the new Harry Potter book. My mom preordered it at Books-a-Million.

Wow

2005-07-12T04:22:00.000-04:00

I've been up all night playing The Sims 2, and I didn't know what time it was. Amazing how that happens, isn't it? I ended up getting 256mb instead of 512, but the game still runs absolutely great. I'm trying to get married before I become an old person. ;-)

New Memory!

2005-07-11T16:16:00.000-04:00

The Sims 2 has been running really slowly lately. I was thinking, "if this computer has 512mb of RAM and a 64mb graphics card, why is this game running so frickin slow?!" So I check the system specs and it turns out I only have half of what I thought, 256mb! That's the minimum for the game. So my dad's gonna take me to CompUSA later tonight to buy another 512mb card, so, total, I'm going to have 768mb of ram!! Yeah!

Swimming Sims

2005-07-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

I found this picture on flickr after searching for the "sims2" tag. The game has really grown on me these past few days. At first I hated it; it was slow, unfamiliar, and it wouldn't let me turn to the 1024x768 resolution. However, everything changed after my sister let me trade her Dell with hers (much faster) the game had a huge speed increase. I then looked for a way to override the settings so I could increase the resolution. Doing a google search, I went instantly to the first result, where I found out how to edit the preferences file so that I could trick the computer into thinking the high resolution was the low resolution, and vice versa. The game worked perfecty. I have since made my character, David, and he's now living in a small condo in Pleasantville.

Hilarious

2005-07-08T17:19:00.000-04:00

I was browsing the Internet this morning and I came across Zug.com. This guy does pranks and asks awkward questions to different businesses. Two in particular made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe, the credit card prank, where he see's just how crazy he can make his signature before someone will notice, and the toll booth prank, where he tests if they really DO make you pay a toll. Both of them are hysterical! In other news, Kathryn and I were at Busch gardens yesterday from 11-9, which was awesome. I rode SheiKra three times, she, four, making us even in the standings. Our lucky thirteenth ride was in the dark! It was very intense; the second best SheiKra ride yet, besides the first one, of course. Jack got to see SheiKra. too, "fast!" he said.

Diner Dash

2005-07-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

I found this cute little game on About.com. You basically are a waiter at a restaurant, and you do all the usual things like showing people to their tables, taking their order, serving the food, etc. I found it extremely fun and addicting. I got to level six, the last level. You can try it out here.

Another Redesign

2005-07-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, I admit it. My blog has been in a state of identity crisis over the past few days. I had that blue template last night, then I changed it again to something completely different. But, nevermind that. This new one isn't a radical departure from my old one, I just moved my Flickr badge up to the top; now it shows 8 random pictures from my collection. You can click on any of them to go to their respective Flickr page. It's guaranteed to show at least one picture of a roller coaster or a theme park. I guess you could say I was inspired by this website I read often called Maniacal Rage. He just redesigned his. To be honest, I liked the old design, the random picture at the top (inspiration!), the sidebar with all its content, and the fonts and their sizesm especially. Oh, well. The new design is good. And the search is mighty spiffy. Woohoo! Kathryn and I (maybe Rachel) are going to Busch Gardens tomorrow! We're planning to leave around noon and stay 'til the park closes, 10. SheiKra in the dark! I just can't imagine it! 200 feet straight down into pitch black! And we'll do all the other rides in the dark, of course. Montu and Gwazi are especially fun. Kathryn's fretting over how terrible her digital camera is. From what I've heard about it, yeah, it seems pretty bad. I'm just glad I made a good choice (for the time) and an even better one with my current camera! This camera rocks!

Happy Fourth!

2005-07-04T22:56:00.000-04:00

Kathryn and I went to the fireworks show in Safety Harbor...we looked across the water and Clearwater was going crazy!

"BOOBOOMBOOBOOMBOOM"

Constantly! Red, white, blue, green, yellow, purple, you name it, Clearwater had it. We Safety Harborians got one every minute... We did get awesomeness extra sour iTunes slushies at 711 afterwards, though! :-D

Just a Little...

2005-07-03T20:50:00.000-04:00

I just want to let you all know that I update a little bit more often with pictures on Flickr than I do this blog...This blog is for textual things, ya know? Picture's worth a thousand words, so go on over to my Flickr page. Woop. Lost World is on TV, haven't seen this particular Jurassic Park in a long time.

SheiKra Camera Improvement

2005-07-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Can you tell which one is taken with my CoolPix, and which one is taken with my AWESOMENESS CASIO EXILIM??? There is like NOTHING bad about this camera I can think of at all! That second picture was taken at Busch Gardens yesterday morning. Kathryn experienced her eighth SheiKra ride, and I experienced my NINTH RIDE! Woohoo! David's fallen 1800 feet straight down! Heck yes!

More Cool Stuff

2005-06-29T00:12:00.000-04:00

Turns out Starbucks is having a event today where they give out a free 4 ounce sample of their ice cream. I'll definitely be going there tonight to devour that and another double chocolate chip frappuccino. Venti, of course. Sounds like a good time. Anyone wanna go?

Cool Links

2005-06-28T19:29:00.000-04:00

I found some interesting little games/puzzles on the internet today, if you'd like to see. Senses Challenge: Asks you deceptive questions, with logical answers based on your five senses. I got an 11 out of 20. Which penny?: I found this surprising. I never really noticed what a penny looked like, exactly. Got it wrong on the first try, of course.

Exilim S100 Review

2005-06-28T13:25:00.000-04:00

I'm just going to do a good/bad sweep of the camera.

The good

extremely small

has a nice heft to it

good sized, placed buttons

huge, bright 2 inch screen

rechargeable battery

pretty good quality pics

movies with sound

many best shot modes

take pics while flash recharges

came with a nice little cradle

The bad

extremely small

cradle necessary for upload

playback, record in awkward position Solution: turn display button into a playback and record mode switcher Verdict

It's Finally Here

2005-06-27T18:28:00.000-04:00

After a weekend of waiting, my brand new Casio Exilim S100 digital camera has arrived! And only eight minutes after the scheduled time! That's what I call service! It's charging right now. I misplaced my CoolPix, but I'll take some pictures with it later when I go over to Kathryn's to see her new piano. Kathryn and I both got awesome things today!

Amazing Kraken Picture

2005-06-26T12:54:00.000-04:00

I found this really great picture of Kraken at SeaWorld today on Flickr. If you look at the full version you can see the expressions on the people's faces very clearly. With my new Exilim S100 coming tomorrow, I'll get some good pictures. I can't wait to go in July, Kathryn! I rented Phantom of the Opera, and I've got it for a week! Mr. Phantom's getting jealous. And now they're masquerading! Woohoo!

Library Books

2005-06-25T21:28:00.001-04:00

I found a clever little website called Library Elf. You put in your library's name and card number, and it shows you your overdue books, your books due within three days, and your current position in a waiting list for a hold. It also emails you when one of those events occurs. You can find it at http://libraryelf.com. I've got a lot of books I'd like to read after Eragon, including

Hotness

2005-06-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

This thing is smokin'! And its going to be in my hands tomorrow! I can't possibly wait! And FedEx keeps saying it's in Orlando, which is less than two hours away from here! That's Mr. S100 hiding behind a credit card. Sorry if I wasted your bandwidth with all these extremely large pictures! Woohoo!

Happiness!

2005-06-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

This is so cool! I logged into Habbo today and I finally received my three habbo credits from the Batman quiz they had way back in May (answer all of these questions right and get three habbo coins). And Blogger now lets you upload images, no ImageShacking anymore! All you gots to do is click the little picture button when you're writing a post and go from there. To top it all off, I got myself a fruit and walnut salad from McDonalds. Good things are happening.

Which design do you like better?

2005-06-24T14:54:00.000-04:00

Great

2005-06-23T16:42:00.000-04:00

On It's Way!

2005-06-22T22:58:00.000-04:00

My camera shipped, finally, after I reordered it from a different Amazon seller. I got a tracking number; I was so anxious to use the FedEx Tracker Widget I downloaded. How useful! And all the way from Washington state! How much farther from Florida can it get? Oh, yeah. Alaska. Kathryn, Haley and I had a blast today at Busch Gardens. I rode SheiKra three times, so my total ride count is seven. One away from Miles! Dang you! We rode Montu once after the 7 minute wait, 1 hour break down time. Haunted Lighthouse, El Escorpion and fried pickles at the Zambia Smokehouse. Pictures are up on mine and Haley's Flickrs.

Exilim S100

2005-06-22T00:05:00.000-04:00

No more:

batteries!

waiting for the flash to recharge!

small screen!

soundless movies!

10 second startup times!

lens errors!

useless viewfinder!

bulkiness! Just more AWESOMENESS!! By the end of June, this baby's MINE! And I fixed my space bar! Okay, well I'm going to go read more of Eragon. Good night everyone!

D'oh!

2005-06-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

I missed my blog's 1 week anniversary by a week! So today is officially the 1 year 1 week anniversary of David's Blog. It's gone through numerous design changes. First, the green rounders one, then my google blog, then the Minima white design, then my current template, Dots. Pretty cool, huh? Put my two on ride photos of Storm Runner and Italian Job on Flickr. I'm watching Spongebob with Jack. Patrick just crashed Squidward into his pickle. I wumbo, you wumbo. He/she wumboes. Wumbology? The study of wumbo? It's first grade! Eragon is getting interesting. The two of them are arriving at Teirm. Already have about a third of the book read; I can't wait for the new book, Eldest. I probably won't buy it 'till it's in a paperback version. And its red. Cool.

Amazing Feat

2005-06-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! I just got the wireless in the room to work! Unfortunately my space bar popped off last night, tried to get it back in and I broke a little metal holder off...lol. Now it requires an extraordinarily large amount of effort to space. I'll have to stop by International Plaza so the Apple store can have a look at it. Amazon says the estimated delivery date for my camera was August 4. Haha! That's what I call an estimate!

Chillin' at the...

2005-06-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

Not the Holiday Inn, but someplace funner! Yes, funner! Fridge, couch, and high-speed internet...Oh, yeah. We're in Atlanta, by the way. This is fun. I've read about 100 pages of Eragon so far, it's getting good. And then I look at the back flap and it says there's a new one coming out called "Eldest", which looked really good. Mmmmkay?

Like It?

2005-06-19T22:28:00.000-04:00

I thought the old template was rather...square? So I now have round stuff. I couldn't of done it without Haley's inspiration. Leave a comment. What'ya think?

Get This

2005-06-19T17:56:00.000-04:00

Adam and I were at King's Island yesterday. So we're walking down the pathway next to the Vortex, and all of a sudden this lady in an electric scooter lurches forward. The car misses Adam and slams into this poor guy just walking down the path. So he's sprawled over the front of the scooter (the thing is still going 20 mph across this pathway) and the car keeps plowing through people, crashing into this family with a stroller before stopping. Turns out the lady's daughter pushed the gas pedal down and didn't let go until she ran a few people over. Adam and I were laughing about it all day. Some other pictures are up on my Flickr.

Alrightey

2005-06-18T17:23:00.000-04:00

Went to Kenwood Towne Center and got over to the Apple Store after lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Played with the Casio Exilim S100 in person. So awesome! Very small. Very comfortable to use. Big screen. 3 megapixels. Awesomeness incarnate. Search complete. UPDATE: I bought the camera for $220 on Amazon! In the bag! Woo!

Hersheypark

2005-06-17T10:21:00.000-04:00

Pictures are up on my Flickr page of my Wednesday/Thursday trip to the small town of Hershey and Hersheypark. I had a great time. Storm Runner was amazing (I got the on-ride photo!). 0-72mph in two seconds just takes your breath away! Great Bear was a little...disappointing; Great first drop, though. Sooperdooperlooper was fun. Lightning Racer was cool too, Haley, I think you'd like it. It was funny; the whole town of Hershey smelled like chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate. Go have a look see!

Haha!

2005-06-13T14:22:00.000-04:00

I think I changed my mind about which digicam I want. I saw the Exlim-S100 and I thought, "Do I really need 5 megapixels, if I'm just going to turn it down to 1 megapixel size anyways?". The answer: No. I don't even use the whole of the 2 megapixels in my camera right now, for HD space reasons. Did you know a 2 megapixel image is almost two and a half times as large as a 1 megapixel? That surprised me. Plus, this one is about an inch thinner than my 2200, weighs less, and has a bigger screen. Cool.

Car Trip

2005-06-13T02:42:00.000-04:00

Saturday I suffered through a car trip of over 900 miles (909 to be exact) We left at around 9 am (lots of nine's!) and got there about 3 am. I read the whole of 1984 and I have to say, it was not what I expected. It wasn't bad, in fact it was very interesting. I just thought that Mr. Orwell went on one of those trails of just babbling on about nothing, especially near the end of the book. The book just kinda fizzled out; lost its momentum at the end, I was expecting a revolt of the proles against the Party, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, back to the trip. So we arrive in Cincinnati, slightly ahead of the remnants of tropical storm Arlene. We got to go to Best Buy and buy Nona a new television. She really likes it. While we were there we took the opportunity to buy both Kill Bill volumes ($2.50 off each, of course), and watched them. Took like four hours. ;-)

Theseus and the Minotaur

2005-06-10T02:09:00.000-04:00

Have you ever tried one of these logic puzzles? I was going by WikiPedia, and I noticed their featured article, Sudoku. After exploring a while, I stumbled upon this game called "Theseus and the Minotaur". It may seem easy, but it is HARD. Those are my third and fourth solutions to the puzzles. So far, I've gotten to level five. If you dare attempt to escape the minotaur's labyrinth, here's the puzzle. Directions are on the page. Good luck!

Minor Improvements

2005-06-09T17:57:00.000-04:00

Hey, everyone. I made a couple small (but important) changes to my blog today. The first thing you might see is the Currently Listening section. No, it doesn't tell you want somg I'm listening to, live, but it tells you one of my new songs that I'm really enjoying. I created another account on BlogRolling and it pulls my most recent link from the feed there. It's basically just a iTunes Music Store link. The current song is "Star to Fall" a very addicting techno song with the repeating line:

Waiting for a star to fall, carry your heart into my arms that's where you belong

Of course, I also added the little iTunes icon for a nice touch. What else have I done...Ah, I moved the recent posts to a right align of the archives. Saves room and looks great. I too, changed the little Flickr applet way down there. It's no longer a flash animation, but shows a random picture from my collection, which I am proud to say has over 400 photos. Placed under it is my Flickr icon (hehe) and a link to my picture page. Good! I'm very excited about my trip to Ohio, happening this weekend. It'll be the first trip we take in Moby Dick, as we like to call her. Should be quite comfortable with my memory foam pillow and 14-inch portable DVD player (aka iBook). Uhhhh...what else do I have to say? I got my FCAT scores today. What can I say? I got a 499 on the science portion. Woohoo!

Hot Stuff

2005-06-07T22:30:00.000-04:00

No, graphing calculators don't get much cooler than the Casio CFX-9850GB Plus (long enough)! I think the display has like, five colors. I've had good experiences with Casio calculators, especially my scientific one. Unfortunately, Jack decided to play "What floats in the toilet" and "What will happen if I completely cover the calculators screen in black permanent marker". Oh well. It should stand out against the darkness of the TI-83's everyone else is bound to have. I'm reading reviews, and it seems the interface is easier to use.

I think I like...

2005-06-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

The Coolpix S1 better. Just something about it. It was my first choice, and you know what that book "Blink" said, your first choice is usually the right one. Plus it's from a company that's made digicams in the past, unlike Casio. They make good calculators. Speaking of calculators, I have to get a graphing calculator for geometry honors next year. That, coupled with math honors, english honors, biology honors and Espanol III: The Awakening, should make a lovely year. Coupled with 4x4, with only four classes a day (and four at a time, rather) next year should be considerably convenient.