New building by the science library at UCI

So I was a bit bored today, and I noticed the new building next to the science library had opened during spring break.

Anyone who enjoys a little urban exploration knows that brand new buildings are some of the best places to explore. Most of the construction crew is gone, and the fences around the site are gone. However the new tenants haven't moved in. They don't have their keys, and the construction workers generally leave everything unlocked.

So I decided to look around. There were some labs that were uninhabited, except for some expensive looking equipment. The real score was the fact that roof was unlocked! I've never encountered an unlocked roof at UCI, and that is not for lack of trying. There are some roofs you can climb up on to. However due to some suicides, they are careful to lock the roof doors all the time.

Of course, I took pictures. Blogger goes a little nutso when I upload multiple pictures, but we'll give it a shot.

Here's the rest of the photos.

new building

Site updates

I added the Kiva banner to my page. I've advocated for this site many times before on these pages, and now it will be a permanent feature. It comes right under my picture because, for me, altruism follows vanity.

Also, I'm wondering if the flexible format makes lines of text too long for people who have widescreen displays. Obviously if you've got a super-huge monitor like an Apple Cinema Display, you aren't going to maximize your browser, so it doesn't matter. I'm thinking more about people on widescreen laptops where the screen isn't really that big. I guess I'll just go to the UCI bookstore and check on different computers, since nobody ever gives me feedback.

Oh well, I don't care too much, I'm too lazy to really get in to the design of this site. It is all stream-of-consciousness inscrutable drivel anyhow. And yeah, I'm up at 4 am. grr

Also, I added back the google pack ad way at the bottom on the sidebar. I think it is a really good package of software, and yes I get paid if you click on it and download the software. I don't think I'm supposed to say that, but I personally recommend the software so if you want to check it out I may as well get a couple bucks.

Castrati

For centuries in the Roman Catholic Church, women were not allowed to speak.

Part of the churches role in society was to manage fertility for the community. The trouble is, young women happen to be the ones who possess all the fertility. So the churches decided they had to control them. They told them they were the source of Original Sin (TM.) They told them to obey their fathers, and then their husbands. They told them to keep their damn mouths shut, especially in church. And if a young women didn't go along? She was declared a harlot and stoned to death. Or declared a witch and burned.

Well, really they had all kinds of methods, people are never so inventive as they are whilst creating new ways to torture each other. I hear you can even torture people with water, but I digress.

In addition to managing fertility for the community, the church also became the primary source of entertainment. Nero knew, you cannot pacify people unless they are entertained. So the Christians stole a bunch pagan holidays, and retread them with Jesus hide.

Then they made all the musicians start performing in churches.

Then they had a problem. You see women can't talk in churches, but women have really pretty voices. Aha! They said, but young boys sound something like women, we'll have them sing. The trouble with that though, was that some of those young boys were really good singers, and about the time they learned all those silly Latin songs, their testicles dropped, their voices cracked, and they became useless. Boys who have passed puberty are useless to the Catholic church.

Remember what I said about people being inventive when it comes to torturing other people? Well, those priests came up with a great solution to the puberty problem. Cut their nuts off!

Castrated boys were all the rage in music for hundreds of years. In fact the practice continued until the 19th century, so there are a few recordings of their voices.

With that, I present Alessandro Moreschi singing Ave Maria.

Religion has produced some beautiful things in this world. And sometimes, they had to cut off some peoples nuts to do it.

Koala's

I'm saving this post for a time when I don't feel like writing anything, but I haven't posted anything for a while, so I want to put something up to prove I'm not dead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala

Koala's are interesting.

They have fingerprints that are almost indistinguishable from humans. Most primates have fingerprints, but they are rare among other mammals.

However, like most other marsupials, males have a bifurcated penis, and females have a matching vagina. I'm not sure exactly how this works, I'm afraid to research it to thoroughly. The internet has a way of biting you when you do things like search with terms "koala penis."

Koala's also have tiny brains. 40% of their brain cavity is fluid.

My theory is that the koala was Australia's attempt to evolve a humanoid. It gave them big brains and opposable thumbs.

Then they hit a little snag. Twice as many penises combined with good hands means twice as much masturbation. So...these little proto-human marsupials climbed up into the trees and just, you know, napped and masturbated all day.

Their large brains became burdensome calorie wasters, so they shriveled up.

They could have had the world, were it not for their bifurcated penises.

I'm so sad

It is an hour past midnight.

This site had at least 212 unique visitors yesterday.

I would estimate that I know 5-10% of those people personally. I mean, maybe I've only met them once, but I know them.

I get zero feedback on this site. Please send me email!

It makes me so sad. Actually it doesn't, and I suppose my aloof nature is apparent in my writing, which is why no one writes.

I'm currently really anxious about what I'm going to end up doing.

At this point, I think I will end up at UC Irvine, trying to get in to the the Informatics major. That shouldn't be hard, but I haven't to decide if I should start taking Informatics courses 4 days from now, or wait until summer.

I'll probably get in at a bunch of UCs...but not the ones I want. I'm not upset about it though.

BUT, I could still get in to UCLA, and I won't know for a month plus. If I take a course at UCI, it costs $800. That will be semi-wasted if I go elsewhere.

Actually the site had 421 visitors from 23 countries. One of the obscure countries was from someone I know...but they don't talk to me and hate me apparently. That is sarcasm. I don't think I've ever intentionally hurt anyone, which is surprising given my irascible nature. They don't hate me, but they want me to stop liking them. I've actually been in the reverse situation, so I understand.

Ok, this is rambling shit.

Tomorrow, I'm sending nice affirming messages to everyone I know. And working on my car. And going kickboxing to offset the nice shit. I hope I get up by 10;30 am.

Anyhow, as I said, my mother got a community service award, and ever since I've been thinking about what wonderful people I have around me.

Strange phone call.

Usually I don't answer unknown numbers. But I broke that rule and was greeted by a song.

"Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"

I was getting ready to hang up, and a sort of computerized female voice said something. Unfortunately, I already had the phone away from my ear so I didn't understand what she said.

If you have caller ID blocking, hit *82 before calling me. That turns off blocking. Otherwise, fuck off, I'm not answering. Blocked numbers are at least 75% bullshit.

Oh, and that song is fucking creepy.

Congratulations

Today, I'll be attending an awards ceremony, honoring my mother for her volunteer activities on the UCI campus. It is called the Pacesetter award.

She can't comprehend why she has been selected. When I was in grade-school, she dedicated an immense amount of time to volunteering. She probably put in more effort than some of the teachers. Jogathon, meet the master, pta and countless other activities.

She feels like her job has precluded her from giving as much now as she did then, and thus she feels unworthy of the award.

Bollocks.

She has spent every spare moment of her life to improving the community around her.

In the time before me (and my brother) she worked for an organization which provided services to elderly people around Kansas City. In her spare time she gathered recyclable goods, and drove them to the single recycling center in the area. This was all WAY before recycling was cool.

Now, as a UCI couselor, she routinely goes above and beyond the call of duty to help her students. During finals week, she came home an hour late one day. She had spent that hour comforting student who got violently ill during a final exam, and ultimately drove the young woman across campus to her car.

With the organization honoring her today, well I can't count the number of gift baskets, toys, and other things I have helped distribute over the past years, and that is just a small part of the work that was involved.

Anyhow, I'm putting on my good Chelsea boots and I'm happy to support and congratulate her today. Though I do dread being interrogated by her friends.

Hamstery goodness

Next quarter

So I was thinking about taking Boolean Algebra at UCI next quarter, however it may not be the best idea.

I've tried to change my application at UCLA to history, and if they accept that, I may get in. As I've said previously, the UCLA rep said my GPA was good.

I think I'd prefer UCLA, even though I would probably need to stick with the History major, they have a Cog Sci minor I could do.

UCI's Informatics major is the best fit academically, but the program is struggling...and it is UCI.

So I might just do Stats at Coastline and umm go to No Limits everyday to stay active. AAR meetings too!

I wish all the UCs gave their decisions at the same time. I also wish I'd applied in history at UCLA to begin with. It just isn't in me (or, from what I'm told, 99% of people) to learn precalc through cal2 in 6 months.

Anyhow, if I don't get in to UCLA, I'll take some courses in the summer to prepare for the Informatics major at UCI. That isn't a bad outcome.

I just wish I had estimated my abilities better. I could have applied for Informatics at UCI, history at UCLA and Berkeley, and then I'd have a broader range of choices.

Oh well, I'll be happy to move on anywhere.

So, to sum up, next quarter may be stats, muay thai, brazilian jiu jitsu, and automobile restoration.

Uncertainty is stressful.

Dog+beer

Happy Zombie Jesus day!

Yay!

See, there's my problem

92%DRUNKARD

Tags

I haven't got all my posts tagged, so when you click "pictures" for instance, it doesn't bring up every post that has pictures.

I'll try to fix that some time during the next weeks.

When post through my blackberry, it doesn't even allow me to tag, I have to go back and do it from my computer.

If I spent that much time on my computer, I wouldn't post from my blackberry I the first place.

Okay

I'm going to leave that post up. Everyone needs a monument to their own stupidity. I could certainly use some humility.

Speaking of that, I just got back from muay thai, and I was in terrible shape, and I tweaked my lower back a bit. For maybe the tenth time. That's what I get for taking two weeks off, although I was genuinely ill for one of those weeks. The second week was just me being me. The OLD me. Hah. New me is back in action.

Okay, so now I'm just rambling, to push that other post down the page.

Blah.

Contemplating...

Deleting the post below. There were some emails that went with it....
Shameful.
Amor fati.

I think I'll leave it up. Anyhow, I blame The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It was on one of the HD channels, and at the beginning he says, "I'm going on an overnight drunk, and in a week I'm going to go kill the shark who ate my friend."

That made it sound like a splendid idea.

Daily update

Today, I did nothing, and got drunk. Alone. Not good. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get up early and do a muay thai class. Then nap, then work on my car.

I'm starting a stats class on the 31st, and this week I'll study and prepare for that. And of course, ill work on my car. And mma.

I was sick for a week, and I ended up depressed afterward (my natural state) I've got to work out of that. I think a few more UCs will accept me, again into the alternate major I selected. All contingent on passing this stats class (a semester in 8 weeks.)

I can get a lot of positive things accomplished this next week. I'm a stoic narcissist...but I know some people read this blog. Shy people I guess. I can relate to that. I mean, as much as a arrogant over-sized asshole can relate to that kind of thing. I could use some affirmation though, I think?

I mentioned I was drunk, right?

History?

Well, I've been accepted into UCI as my alternate major. History.

I can't understand why I didn't qualify for Informatics, except none of my programming/logic courses are in the articulation agreement for Informatics. Actually nothing is in the articulation agreement.

Anyhow, that is still one step forward. o_O

Video of me speaking againt "In God We Trust" motion

Mission Viejo city council. 3-17-08. It passed unanimously. :/



Edit:

Also, Lance MacLean, you have an anger problem? I'd love to get you in the octagon. Come join my gym, No Limits in Irvine. It is much better than anger management.

One more edit:

It passed...

I got to speak, and I spoke well. The motion passed, nevertheless.

Mission Viejo city council, I'm sorry the good lord made you so stupid.

Fine...

"By persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation."
--Oscar Wilde

This is consolation? A suggested strategy? A message to the viewers?

Explain this quote to me. What does it mean? What am I saying by posting it? What do I know?

"In God We Trust"

There is a proposal to put this motto in the council chambers on the city I presently live in, Mission Viejo.

I'm going to attend and apply to speak against this proposal.

You can watch the meeting live here:
http://missionviejo.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=4

Also, if you live in Mission Viejo, and have cable, it is on Channel 30.

However this proposal was also on the agenda for the last meeting, but the council member who proposed it, (Gail Reavis-fucktard,) walked out of the meeting before it could be heard.

Anyhow, should be a pretty dull night, but if I get a chance to speak I have some nice polemic planned. I'll record the meeting and try to post my comments here (may take some time.)

Me bathing a handsome little guy

If you're viewing this on Facebook, you should probably go to my blog and look at the pictures. Otherwise it won't make much sense.

Anyhow, I'm sure that title is going pull in some search-engine traffic from confused, horny men.

Sorry, gays, I hope this isn't too much of a boner-killer.

But, what the hell is this post about?

I've been sitting home, slowly recovering from this god-awful (using my words advisedly) cold. As my sense of smell slowly returns I realize, that dog fucking stinks. Awful.

So it is a beautiful day outside and I decide bathe him. As I'm getting together towels, dog shampoo, etc, I recall, "My fans really do seem to love pictures of my dog." So, here you are!

The last one is him with my grandmother. She's nearly 90.

The worst sin

Beauty

There is something beautiful about wiring in the morning.

This is a 12 circuit chassis wiring harness and an LT1 wiring harness from Painless Wiring.

I sincerely doubt it will be completely painless, as I think my calluses are gone from the days when I used to solder every day. Less painful than building it all myself? Definitely.

okay, nevermind

I chased down the people who were laying the red-ribbon booby-traps.

They were a nice couple. I was trying to express my unhappiness without being too menacing, but somehow I think I came off more like Anton Chigur.

You know, so relaxed and aloof it is creepy given the confrontational context.

Anyway, I retract my previous comment. I think the stress and disappointment of this week is wearing on me a bit.

I just read a chapter in "The Trouble With Testosterone" about how adolescent chimps move from their original groups to neighboring groups. This is needed to avoid the problems of inbreeding. In the species he was studying it was the male adolescents that had to make this move.

Most chimps slowly ingratiate themselves into the new group. Work up to briefly grooming with a female.

Occasionally, an adolescent will enter a group and just take over.

Well, Sapolsky studies stress response in animals. Chimps that take the slow route experience great stress, as indicated by blood samples showing elevated cortisol, low lymphocyte counts, etc.

Contrary to expectation, the "come in kick ass and take over" chimps experienced even greater stress.

Anyway, read the book.

Whoever...

To whoever had the brilliant idea of draping red ribbon across the engineering bridge, elevated well above ground and causing me to nearly trip:

FUCK YOU

What the hell am I doing?

So now I'm fully on to plan B academically, but that leaves some time before I'll be in classes again.

Stats at CCC doesn't start until 3/31.
I think Boolean Algebra as well, I hope there's no conflict, but not much has been posted about the Stats class.

This is Wed, Mar 12, 2008.

So I need some shit to do.

I've got two new Painless wiring harnesses for my car, I should be able to get them wired up.

I'm going sit today and read Sapolsky's "The Trouble With Testosterone" and think about things.

Hopefully I'll feel up for BJJ tonight, though I suspect that's where I caught this monster cold.

I'll go to the AAR meeting tonight. Actually that's the only reason I'm at UCI today. AAR and BJJ, and I may skip the latter. If I stayed home though, I would have just used my illness as an excuse to play Zelda all day.

That's why I need some solid achievable goals to keep me moving for the next two weeks.

Well this has turned into a really fucking pointless rant.

Feeling slightly better

Dropped Precalculus.
Added Stats.
It should be no problem to add Boolean Algebra, they have 100 empty seats.

Slept all afternoon, and maybe 15 hours last night. WTF?

Anyway, I got a nice new wiring harness for my LT1 yesterday, I guess I'll spend the rest of the week tinkering with it. Vroom.

Soo..

Where were we last?

I ended up getting 39% on the 2nd midterm. As I'm sitting their contemplating just walking out of the class, he writes that the mean is 50%.

On top of that, he's letting us re-do three question at home, and turn them in tomorrow. Essentially, I'm probably going to end up right below the mean--a C. So now it is really iffy on whether I should stay in the class.

Meanwhile, I went up to Westminster to try to place into Stats. and I placed into...Precalc! So after taking precalc for 8 weeks, I'm now prepared to take precalc. D'oh.

However, that placement also clears me for Stats, and there are 17 spaces available, hopefully there will be one left by the time they clear me (don't ask why it doesn't do it automatically.) So most likely path is still stats at Coastline Commy College and boolean algebra here at UCI.

On top of all that, I have a horrible head cold and cough. Thank goodness I don't get headaches with a cold, or the bodies would be piling up.

Oh, and if you aren't bored enough yet, I mounted a shelf in my mom's office with some moly bolts. Pics coming soon! It's basically awesome. Well, aside from not being level. But I didn't have a tape measure or a level, so I improvised with a telephone cord and a pencil. It is pretty close.

So I'm still out there in the ether a bit, so building something real feels really good. Schools are vagarious bureaucracies, but I can build a real fucking shelf. On a fucking wall. And stuff can be put on said shelf. Real fucking stuff.

Apologies to the millions of visitors

Okay, perhaps it is only a couple dozen since my last update.

Anyhow, Saturday I was up at about 6 am. Got donuts, played Zelda. Went to the gym, and had a pretty good workout. Never worked with this trainer before, and I didn't get his name. Real skinny guy, but he seemed to know what his stuff. He probably fights at like 125lbs, and was 5'10 ish. There are only a couple guys in the gym who really look like they can kick ass, so you just can never tell.

Came home exhausted and slept the afternoon away. Then got invited to a small party, which lasted until 3am. Well, 2am, but they were the same thing. Let's just say I will do things to win at charades that I'm not proud of.

I got up about 10 on Sunday, but I think I've acquired a cold. I don't know if it is that or allergies. It makes it hard to sleep though...can't breath through nose. Pretty much all I did was pass the lava/mine level in Zelda and get the bow, which is pretty cool.

So now I'm up at 4am, partly due to the cold, and partly due to the fact that I'm anxious to get back my fucking precalculus midterm. If I do well, I'll start studying for the final, which is a week from today. If I can get a C in the class, I have a good chance at getting in to UCLA.

If I don't do well, I'll drop the class, and drive up to Coastline Cmmy College and try to place into a Statistics class there. Then, I'll also take Boolean algebra in spring quarter at UCI. That will put me in a good position to get in to the Informatics major at UCI. I'll be happy with that.

If I can't place into the Stats class at Coastline, I'll take it during the Summer at UCI, and apply for UCI as a winter admit.

To summarize: I haven't taken a math class since intermediate algebra in 1998, I don't think I finished that either. I thought somehow I would cram all that in to my head in 10 weeks. This week, I'll find out if it worked.

I like UCI. I've met some cool people. I like my gym. I even sort of like living at home. Ironically, staying here a bit longer will probably accelerate my ultimate exodus. I'll have plenty of money when I'm finished, I'll be finished sooner, and I'll have a broader social network when I finish. And, hell, No Limits may turn me in to a pro fighter in the mean time.

I feel old.

Even worse

I can't distinguish friends from adversaries.

Well...

Things my not be working out so great in school at the moment. We'll see soon enough. I did try. At least I can always count on good old dead Fred to put things in perspective.

"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in
vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be
training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow."

Well, my traffic is up...

The traffic on this blog has gone up lately, and I dunno why. None of my visitors post comments, so they are probably women who are stalking me, or somebody who I have offended in my adventures--also stalking me.

However, if you are not a stalker, or for some reason you care about people in the developing world, even though you are a deranged stalker, I entreat thee to consider a donation to kiva.org.

They work with small banks to make low-interest loans to individuals and small businesses in developing countries. Generally the only option in these areas are loan-sharks, who charge usurious interest rates.

The cool part is, you get to help pick out who the loan goes to, and you can watch the progress of the business as they repay the loan. Check out my page here.

It is only $25 bucks. Cheapskate.

Edit:
I should add, that this post has been getting a lot of hits lately, which is kinda contributing to the stalker hypothesis. However, if your planning to try that choke on me (especially the Anton Chigur one,) be prepared to be reversed and wake up in an ER.

What is mainstream Christianity?

This is.

Dream of Big Blue

I dreamed about a kind old talking bear who lived with me on my large nook and cranny-ish estate.
Occasionally, circumstances would call upon him to do good deeds and save lives

I tried to hide him, but it turns out, all along the government was watching us.

Eventually I grew old, and Blue grew so large that Sony decided to capture him, gut him, and turn him into an amusement park ride. Except he was somehow still alive preserved in a state of living death, because that was somehow less cruel to them.

The Simpsons visited the Big Blue ride, and Homer conceded his bet with Bart that he could, in fact, "pay 10 dollars to touch a dead monkey."

Homer seemed unaware that bears are not monkeys.

The end?

Today's disturbing insight into my mind

I have been trying to figure out why I can't remember people's names, facts about them, etc, even after several interactions. I have a generally excellent memory.

I feel like my social skills have improved immensely recently, and while I once considered myself social phobic, I am now capable daredevil acts of social interaction. Most people put public speaking above death on their list of fears, and I almost enjoy it. I can approach women I've never met, and hit on them.

But though I may now have made myself superficially extroverted...I still have trouble forming connections with others, and I think my poor recall is evidence of that.

I act as though I am engaged, but for most people, their social behavior has an emotional impetus. I still have this walled off, and my behavior is a studied exercise. When a woman rejects me, I don't feel a moment of pain, and I find I have trouble remembering her name as I walk away.

I really don't think I'll ever experience life like the vast majority do, but I'm starting to appreciate that. Finding your own way through life is exhausting, but it is the only way you can better know yourself.

The Wiki entry for schizoid personality disorder has a sub heading on the "secret schizoid," which describes some of the things I'm experiencing.