Category: General

I somehow feel as though I haven’t been on top of my game for quite some time. I mean I haven’t been on top of my school work as much as I would like and I haven’t been exactly participating in my extracurriculars like the frat and news blogging. Maybe I’m just tired or lazy or a little of both.

Take today for instance. As I walking home from class, I actually saw Chancellor Birgenau on the street in front of Krober fountain. The problem was I didn’t actually recognize him until a second after he passed me by. That’s silly of me to do. Granted even if I had recognized him sooner, I probably would have still walked by, not wanting to disturb a busy man like him. But it seemed like a good chance for me to do a cool interview or get a photo with him. Stupid me.

I don’t know when I started feeling this way. It could be just not getting any caffeine from Coke in my system for the last week or so (which is odd, seeing as how I avoid coffee to not become dependent on the drug). Hopefully, I’ll snap out of this funk soon.
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My college experience has been totally different than what I thought it would be when I graduated high school. One thing that’s been totally unexpected has been gaining some what of a presence with the student body. A few weeks ago I had met someone from the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board who said they knew of me from Calstuff. I’m definitely not a popular person on campus, but I certainly know a lot more people than I thought I would (though it is somewhat skewed by the fact that I go to a school with a very large student body).

On a semi-related note, my bioethics professor actually knew who I was without me telling him. Apparently he had memorized my picture from the photo in the Berkeley records. That’s so cool when the prof. wants to learn your name in advance.
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I just saw I Heart Huckabees and I must say it was an interesting movie. The film was very funny at a lot of points. It also had a lot of interesting thoughts on life and purpose, though they were sometimes very confusing. The movie does falter quite a bit at certain junctions, but it’s totally not typical fare and very much worth seeing.
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Speaking of films, Justin Wong and I have been thinking about making a short film. I was planning on doing something like that last year, but it didn’t work out. This time it might, but I don’t know if I want to or can make the same type of film (would have been an action film). I’ll take suggestions for stories or genres.

Alright that seems like enough for now. I’m taking off for bed. Night everyone.
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Hot Tip–Good Cheap Vodka: Cheap vodka can made better just by running it through a water filter a few times. Check it out.

This list is pretty stupid, but it has some very rare flashes of brilliance. It’s from a Tufts University column, but there’s not too much to adapt it for Berkeley.

Underlined are the things I do (though I don’t necessarily think they make me an asshole). Italics means they are the things I strongly agree with.
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Fifty ways you know you’re an asshole
By Christopher O’Connor

It’s official, you’re an asshole if:

1. You like John Mayer.

2. You pop your collar (bonus points if you’re a guy and the shirt is pink).

3. You take the Joey from Carmichael to the campus center even when it is warm out.- (I guess the Berkeley equivalent is taking the elevator the first floor in the dorms?)

4. You’re a Yankees fan.

5. At parties you pretend that you are more drunk than you really are to seem “cool.”

the rest

Don’t want to say to much about it. It was relaxing to say the least. Frat Bro Jack took a few pictures, so I thought I’d share two. There are a lot more and better ones; I’ll add more when it’s not late at night.

Pics

Oddly enough, I got a letter asking me to donate to the class of 2005 Senior Gift Campaign, even though I’m class of 2006 (must be all those AP units or something). Anyways, I thought they had some nice things to say on their letter.

Italics-Means I did it.

Top 10 things to do before you graduate
10. Ride to the top of the Campanile
9. Learn the words to “Hail to California”
8. Pull one last all-nighter at the library of your choice
7. Fall in love with your GSI (ed. note: I didn’t think this would apply to me, what with all the male GSIs I’ve had here. Now that I’ve had more female GSIs, I must say they are pretty attractive.)
6. Nosh at Top Dog and La Burrita at 2 AM
5. Have a drink at the Bear’s Lair (ed. note: does a Coke count? 🙂 )
4. Experience the thrill of a Big Game win
3. Hike up to the Big C
2. Protest on Sproul (ed. note: does booing a protest count?)
1. Give to the Senior Gift Campaign (cheap plug)

Wow I’ve got a long way’s to go.

You won’t soon forget
-Freshman year in the dorms. (ed. note: for better or worse I suppose)
-Relaxing, tanning, or playing sports on Memorial Glade
-Being inspired by a brilliant professor
-The feeling of acing a test
-Beating USC in triple overtime (ed. note: they’re still talking about that?)

Somethings that have struck me from the headlines…

Identity Theft– Surprisingly, the Internet isn’t actually the major cause of this. “Identity thieves aren’t making a killing electronically — they’re picking through trash and thumbing through lost or stolen wallets.” In fact, the Internet with readily available access to your account information can be used to detect ID theft fast (instead of having to wait for your bank statement every month). Also, complete strangers aren’t robbing you build most of the time, but “Friends, family members and neighbors account for half of all known thieves, and on average cost a consumer $15,607. That compares with $2,320 for an online huckster.”
(Source: article entitled More Identity Theft Offline Than Online-Study –found via /.)
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Evolution-“Back in 1999, a conservative state school board attempted to downplay the importance of Darwinism by removing from the required statewide science curriculum references to dinosaurs, the geological time line and other central tenets of the theory.” (Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1019856-1,00.html)

You mean to tell me in Kansas that kids don’t know about dinosaurs? Something we have a lot of bones of and can prove existed?
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2004 in Music–Entertainment Weekly declared the best album of 2004 DJ Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album, a mash-up of The Beatles’ The White Album and Jay-Z’s The Black Album. Interestingly enough, it was never released in stores and was pulled from its website after the owner’s of the Beatles’ song collection told him to take it down. Just goes to show how far Internet distribution as come.

Finally, it’s not news, but it’s news to me. Guess who said this and what invention it was about?

“For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory.”

Answer

Oh man has it has been a tiring week.

I’m taking a bioethics class this semester. They talk about a lot of interesting ideas; my only concern about the class is the fact that law school students are teaching it. Something about that just seems wrong to me; I mean scientists are the ones working on these projects, not lawyers, and they understand what they work on best. Anyways, they’ve got some interesting things to talk about and I actually the books we’re reading for class. If you’re into science literature, check out Remaking Eden, a book about the future of genetic technology. One idea I thought was cool (not that I wish it would happen) is the idea that there would some people who genetically enhanced themselves so much that they could not have children with unaltered humans, as if they evolved into another species. Trippy. By the way, some of the girls in my class thought the professor was a cute guy. I don’t happen to agree, but you can judge for yourself (he does look better in real life though).

The last few days have been mad at ADPHI. It’s rush week, and while fun, it’s also maddeningly tiring. I mean having to run around and meet people (and having to show them the bathroom), having movie and bar nights, and all sorts of stuff wears you down; it’s only going to get worse to with Broomball and Ultimate Frisbee. Okay, I’ll stop complaining about having fun now. We’re already on our way to four pledges this semester, which isn’t bad, but we can sure use a few more.

Okay, I need to really get some work down. Going to see my old dorm friends and Sideways tonight .

Update: Well, we didn’t end up seeing the movie, due to Nick being overly tardy. We instead played Nor. Cal vs. So. Cal Taboo. Nor. Cal won.

Broomball was a lot of fun, though getting clocked in the face by Eric was pretty bad.

It’s been a little while since I updated. It’s the first day of class at Berkeley. I totally didn’t want to go to class today, but didn’t everybody?

Anyways, I think I may have found the easiest class in Berkeley: Information Systems 146, Foundations of New Media. Get this: part of the class involves reading a comic book (about making comic books), the computer programming portion involves a language taught to grade schoolers, and the last section of the class is about video games. Also cool are the (unlikely) possibilities of testing out a camera phone from Nokia and maybe even having Will Wright (creator of the SimCity games, as well as the Sims) as a guest speaker. And there’s still space if any one wants to join in (TuTh 2-3:30).

I had another class about Resources of the Earth. It sounded cool, but the reading sounds really boring and it sounds like a lot more work than it should be. I’m thinking I might drop this class if it really starts to bug me, but we’ll see.

Overall not a bad day.

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You’ve Got to be Kidding Me-http://danstheman.com/Jenny.htm- Ever heard the song “Jenny” (better known as 867-5309). Well somebody called that number. All of them. From area code 200 to 900, he got a variety of responses.

My favorite:
678: “Wow, you’ve reached this recording because you’re a loser and have no life. You must be one of the many who has dropped out of school and is living on taxpayer money. Please hang up the phone, get a job, and make a contribution to society. Goodbye!”

You Are 25 Years Old

25 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view – and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what’s to come… love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You’ve had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You’ve been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

Hmm, always thought I acted a little old for my age, but not to much. Good job.

I sort of wish I was posting about going to some cool New Years Party, but that’s not the case. Instead, I got sick with food poisoning or something earlier in the week. I’m better now, but it put a major dent in my plans. I was going to go to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl and hang out with Nick, Patrick, Vicky, and possibly Eric, but that couldn’t happen. Of course, after seeing the result, a 45-31 loss, that might have made me vomit more than the illness.

Now, I wait for the ball to drop on the new year, but it’s also good to reflect. I like those “looking back” pieces the press always makes so many off. Somebody managed to put together most of them here. My personal favorite is An annual compendium of ideas from A to Z from the New York Times Magazine. It’s more interesting than the typical one for sure.

Well, I thought I had more to say, but I guess I don’t. Here’s to the New Year.
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Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

From http://www.newyearfavors.com/newyearseve.html