Pff. Saturday. While I do value the time off of crunching my brain, I think that the day is overrated mainly because the large majority of buildings on campus are closed. Which includes the physics building(s). Sigh. I did, however, find a little patch of greenery by the physics complex which I shall designate as my Secret Studying Cave (for days when it's dry.)
And now a recap of today's events, in an attempt to find something humorous:
Woke up, went to food. Roommate + homedogs from 3rd floor were gone for the weekend so I just got up at 9 [STOP LAUGHING AT ME!] and went to the cafe which is conveniently 2 blocks away (in the pouring rain) to discover that it wasn't open till 10. That was great. So I snuck in via my secret pathway (hint: it involves the front door) and waited in the chair, wondering how long I could remain conscious without caffeine to boost my heart into a blood pressure that is adequate for human life. I've decided that watching rain while wishing one could run around outside in it is much better than the actual running around. It allows you to think of yourself as carefree and impulsive, without having to deal with the actual mucking about. Further consideration leads me to think this may be cheating. Oh well.
Once I got my latte (which I might add was absolutely WONDERFUL, leading me to consider that perhaps not all Tully's coffee is just Starbucks coffee flavored with the tears of children) and my waffle, I ate and then went back to the dorm to do nothing. That was fun too. When it stopped raining, I decided to go for a walk up past physics just because I love those buildings so much...by the time I reached the front door of the dorm it had started pouring again. At this point, I was already in my completely-anti-waterproof cotton sweatshirt so I just decided to go anyway. Because I love pneumonia.
What has started bugging me is that whenever I walk down the Burke-Gilman Trail, I'll end up walking behind some person (generally of the female persuasion) who apparently can't help but think of me as a stalker (I know I look so intimidating...) and keeps looking over her shoulder waiting for me to pounce and, presumably, do a number of unsavory things unto her person. A couple times people have actually started running. Which kind of freaks me out because I take pride in being on the nerdy end of the social scale, so what is making me seem like a rapist? I realize that this phenomenon might have to do with being in a hooded sweatshirt with hands in pockets to protect my Zune (go Microsoft!) from the rain, but HONESTLY. Sigh.
On main campus there was another wedding going on. Which bugged me because the photographer was glaring at me as I walked by, and I just wanted to smack him, yell "PUBLIC AREA!" and then take a sharpie to his camera lens. The last bit might not have been actually allowed me by virtue of being in a public place, but it seemed like it would have been a nice touch.
Then I bumped around the library for a while, got on the interweb and browsed various wikipedia articles on physics. Have any of you ever really wanted to learn something but been unable to because you were unable to access required resources? Like wanting to play a Bach organ fugue, but living in a house that is suspiciously devoid of a pipe organ. That's me with physics right now. I want SO BADLY to know all of the really cool stuff like quantum mechanics and string theory and the real mathematical underpinnings of relativity, but I lack the math background so I have to WAIT until next year when I've satisfied all of the prerequisites. My brain is impatient. Ra.
So I returned home and played flash games for a while. Then I got on facebook (gasp!) and then took a shower and now I am typing a new blog entry! I expect to go to bed soon. Probably. Yay.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Look, I made it to two posts!
Today on the show ("...wait a second, this doesn't seem like television!") the following discussion will take place:
Have you ever noticed that even though you shouldn't read a book by its cover, it's really fun to do so anyway? For example, if I'm bored in class, I will just sit there and, with nothing to go on except what they look like, what they wear, etc. I'll try to guess at the personalities, temperances, etc. etc. of some randomly picked classmate/victim. My most recent project has been a student who I have nicknamed "Sadsack," mostly because, no matter how he tries to hide it, he seems to me as a veritable fount of self-pity. It's rather endearing in a "I never want to be seen near you, compared to you, or otherwise associated with your person in any manner" kind of way.
Anyway, here's what I came up with so far. He seems to me like a Peter (do you ever notice how certain names just fit with people? It's weird.). Mind you, he's not the sporty kind of Peter (e.g. "Hey, dude! Peter and I are going wakeboarding down the snowmelt from Mt. Everest! You in?") but rather the "Hey, dude, isn't it kind of freaky how just looking at that Peter kid makes you glad your mom doesn't hate you?" kind. Yeah.
The only thing that is really confounding me right now is that he seems like the kind of person who would take lower-level classes and not do very well in them because he is too busy wallowing in self-pity to bother applying himself. However, he is in honors physics AND accelerated honors calculus (both classes in which if you don't apply yourself, your soul is literally destroyed) which indicates that he must have taken advanced courses in high school AND done very well in them. This bothers me.
I am aware that the previous paragraph is essentially proof that one shouldn't read a book by its cover, but come ON! If you looked at the kid you would agree with me. It makes no sense. What's even more confuzzling is that even though he must have done well in advanced high school courses, he does not pay attention in class very often (he just reads what appears to be a fantasy book throughout lecture).
In fact, looking at it now, I have an inkling. Maybe his mom (he seems like the type to be more influenced by his mom*) forced him to succeed, left him unable to succeed on his own without the parental crutch, and his dad either wasn't there or didn't care (rhyme!); now, without a dominant figure to control him, he is left with a big 'ol pool of self pity and no ability to be independent.
*I should note that I don't consider this a necessarily good or bad trait; personally I think MY mom had the largest effect on how my personality turned out. This was simply an observation, not a judgment.
A couple of remarks: (1) Yes I know that the above little explanation is horrible and even occasionally mean. I make no claim as to the accuracy of ANY of this - it is all just based on my observations of him during class. I wouldn't ever wholeheartedly believe in anything based on such little evidence; that's what Hitler did. And now everybody hates him. (2) Please also note that I don't go around judging people like this all the time. Only when I'm bored. That just makes me a person with a semidestructive hobby, rather than a judgmental skankwhore.
Thank you for tuning in to today's rant! In our next episode:
--The audience will wonder if I can make it a single post without using the word physics!
--My sanity will be called into question! ("You mean it hasn't already?")
--You will wonder why I keep narrating the audience! ("I was just thinking that!")
--And everything else!
Have you ever noticed that even though you shouldn't read a book by its cover, it's really fun to do so anyway? For example, if I'm bored in class, I will just sit there and, with nothing to go on except what they look like, what they wear, etc. I'll try to guess at the personalities, temperances, etc. etc. of some randomly picked classmate/victim. My most recent project has been a student who I have nicknamed "Sadsack," mostly because, no matter how he tries to hide it, he seems to me as a veritable fount of self-pity. It's rather endearing in a "I never want to be seen near you, compared to you, or otherwise associated with your person in any manner" kind of way.
Anyway, here's what I came up with so far. He seems to me like a Peter (do you ever notice how certain names just fit with people? It's weird.). Mind you, he's not the sporty kind of Peter (e.g. "Hey, dude! Peter and I are going wakeboarding down the snowmelt from Mt. Everest! You in?") but rather the "Hey, dude, isn't it kind of freaky how just looking at that Peter kid makes you glad your mom doesn't hate you?" kind. Yeah.
The only thing that is really confounding me right now is that he seems like the kind of person who would take lower-level classes and not do very well in them because he is too busy wallowing in self-pity to bother applying himself. However, he is in honors physics AND accelerated honors calculus (both classes in which if you don't apply yourself, your soul is literally destroyed) which indicates that he must have taken advanced courses in high school AND done very well in them. This bothers me.
I am aware that the previous paragraph is essentially proof that one shouldn't read a book by its cover, but come ON! If you looked at the kid you would agree with me. It makes no sense. What's even more confuzzling is that even though he must have done well in advanced high school courses, he does not pay attention in class very often (he just reads what appears to be a fantasy book throughout lecture).
In fact, looking at it now, I have an inkling. Maybe his mom (he seems like the type to be more influenced by his mom*) forced him to succeed, left him unable to succeed on his own without the parental crutch, and his dad either wasn't there or didn't care (rhyme!); now, without a dominant figure to control him, he is left with a big 'ol pool of self pity and no ability to be independent.
*I should note that I don't consider this a necessarily good or bad trait; personally I think MY mom had the largest effect on how my personality turned out. This was simply an observation, not a judgment.
A couple of remarks: (1) Yes I know that the above little explanation is horrible and even occasionally mean. I make no claim as to the accuracy of ANY of this - it is all just based on my observations of him during class. I wouldn't ever wholeheartedly believe in anything based on such little evidence; that's what Hitler did. And now everybody hates him. (2) Please also note that I don't go around judging people like this all the time. Only when I'm bored. That just makes me a person with a semidestructive hobby, rather than a judgmental skankwhore.
Thank you for tuning in to today's rant! In our next episode:
--The audience will wonder if I can make it a single post without using the word physics!
--My sanity will be called into question! ("You mean it hasn't already?")
--You will wonder why I keep narrating the audience! ("I was just thinking that!")
--And everything else!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
First post, and a rather long one at that!
First Things First.
(a) No, my name is not actually Wilhelm...it is the considerably more boring alternative William. I am plagued with indecision regarding modifying my name to something that will stand out more along with such physicists as Fritz Zwicky, Frank Wilczek, etc. etc.
(b) I am currently receiving my schooling at the University of Washington, as a freshman (at least till the end of this quarter)
(c) I am currently developing a wide range of eccentricities, in order to cultivate a more varied and interesting life in the future.
That should about cover the basics, and other essential attributes of my character can be either interpolated from posts or directed to the comment thread. Which I may or may not answer depending on how worried I am that the asker is stalking me.
Anyway, the remainder of today's post will consist of (a) a brief storytime session, followed by (b) a brief followup consisting of an overview of my various beliefs re: religion (I will desperately try to prevent this, but in the event that it becomes preachy please know that I do not intend to convert you. The wording was accidental.)
To proceed with storytime, I shall first note that it is currently very rainy outside. I had the pleasure of walking back to my dorm after class today, and of course since I was born a Seattleite I have no need for an umbrella and as a result I was rather damp by the time I was halfway there. Anyway, I was walking along the sidewalk, probably looking rather despondent (an effect of the rain), and a man bundled up in a coat (which, coincidentally, is the exact article of clothing that I did not bring with me this morning) walking the opposite direction stopped and asked me if I wanted a Bible. Several things went through my head at once, including but not limited to: "Wow, do I really look that depressed in my damp shirt, dripping hair, and rain-splattered glasses?" In any case, I accepted his offer not only because I am never one to turn down a book, but also because I had never really looked at a Bible before and was rather curious of its contents. So I took the book and tucked it where it couldn't get wet, and continued on my way.
Now, a brief history of my various beliefs. I was raised Catholic, suffered a brief phase of upset (got over it when I realized it was the last throes of childhood combined with a hormonal need to rebel), switched to atheism in junior high (following a decision that since I was interested in science religion had no place in my head), and have slowly grown to become an "other." I suppose I could be loosely described as a permutation of agnostic with a bunch of fun stuff tacked on, if one was determined to stick a label on me.
I think that the basis of my beliefs is that religion is a set of moral rules designed to help people with difficult decisions or to teach them how to be "good," virtuous, and all of those fancy terms. To that end, God is simply the idea of the Perfect Moral Being who is the embodiment of all that is good or virtuous, and all of us must try to emulate that whenever possible. The end result is that, when you die, if you tried your best to be virtuous and apologized for the times when you couldn't, then you got to live at peace; however, those who didn't are plagued with guilt, etc. and cannot live in peace. That basic skeleton is then padded with such things as heaven and hell, etc. etc. or whatever one's particular belief system allows for. The reason that religions such as Christianity are so widespread is that they do a really good job of appealing to the masses, have someone that the general populous can relate to (e.g. Jesus was actually a dude, not an abstract Perfect Moral Being), and all of their basic rules are easily distributable and easy to understand (the Bible is essentially a collection of parables, allegories, and similar literary constructions to make the rules easily digestible).
Please note that I do not say all of these things because I am critical of their intent. I would go so far as to say that religion is necessary for a society in that it brings together communities (churches) and, on a larger scale, provides a common set of rules to fall back on in the event that things go awry. All of the bad things that happen with religion are just stupid people being stupid and ignorant. Just because somebody else believes in a different set of rules doesn't mean you need to destroy them; consider the following example. Little Johnny's parents taught him that hitting girls is bad. Little Timmy's parents did not. When Little Timmy punches a girl at school, one does not expect him to then turn around and stab Little Johnny in the face because he didn't join in.
In any case, right now I am undeclared in my religion because I do not know enough about a large enough selection in order to make any judgment calls one way or the other. Which explains why I accepted the bible from the Gideon dude (for that is the distributor of the Bible). Other religious texts may be collected in the same manner if they become available.
So that's that.
(a) No, my name is not actually Wilhelm...it is the considerably more boring alternative William. I am plagued with indecision regarding modifying my name to something that will stand out more along with such physicists as Fritz Zwicky, Frank Wilczek, etc. etc.
(b) I am currently receiving my schooling at the University of Washington, as a freshman (at least till the end of this quarter)
(c) I am currently developing a wide range of eccentricities, in order to cultivate a more varied and interesting life in the future.
That should about cover the basics, and other essential attributes of my character can be either interpolated from posts or directed to the comment thread. Which I may or may not answer depending on how worried I am that the asker is stalking me.
Anyway, the remainder of today's post will consist of (a) a brief storytime session, followed by (b) a brief followup consisting of an overview of my various beliefs re: religion (I will desperately try to prevent this, but in the event that it becomes preachy please know that I do not intend to convert you. The wording was accidental.)
To proceed with storytime, I shall first note that it is currently very rainy outside. I had the pleasure of walking back to my dorm after class today, and of course since I was born a Seattleite I have no need for an umbrella and as a result I was rather damp by the time I was halfway there. Anyway, I was walking along the sidewalk, probably looking rather despondent (an effect of the rain), and a man bundled up in a coat (which, coincidentally, is the exact article of clothing that I did not bring with me this morning) walking the opposite direction stopped and asked me if I wanted a Bible. Several things went through my head at once, including but not limited to: "Wow, do I really look that depressed in my damp shirt, dripping hair, and rain-splattered glasses?" In any case, I accepted his offer not only because I am never one to turn down a book, but also because I had never really looked at a Bible before and was rather curious of its contents. So I took the book and tucked it where it couldn't get wet, and continued on my way.
Now, a brief history of my various beliefs. I was raised Catholic, suffered a brief phase of upset (got over it when I realized it was the last throes of childhood combined with a hormonal need to rebel), switched to atheism in junior high (following a decision that since I was interested in science religion had no place in my head), and have slowly grown to become an "other." I suppose I could be loosely described as a permutation of agnostic with a bunch of fun stuff tacked on, if one was determined to stick a label on me.
I think that the basis of my beliefs is that religion is a set of moral rules designed to help people with difficult decisions or to teach them how to be "good," virtuous, and all of those fancy terms. To that end, God is simply the idea of the Perfect Moral Being who is the embodiment of all that is good or virtuous, and all of us must try to emulate that whenever possible. The end result is that, when you die, if you tried your best to be virtuous and apologized for the times when you couldn't, then you got to live at peace; however, those who didn't are plagued with guilt, etc. and cannot live in peace. That basic skeleton is then padded with such things as heaven and hell, etc. etc. or whatever one's particular belief system allows for. The reason that religions such as Christianity are so widespread is that they do a really good job of appealing to the masses, have someone that the general populous can relate to (e.g. Jesus was actually a dude, not an abstract Perfect Moral Being), and all of their basic rules are easily distributable and easy to understand (the Bible is essentially a collection of parables, allegories, and similar literary constructions to make the rules easily digestible).
Please note that I do not say all of these things because I am critical of their intent. I would go so far as to say that religion is necessary for a society in that it brings together communities (churches) and, on a larger scale, provides a common set of rules to fall back on in the event that things go awry. All of the bad things that happen with religion are just stupid people being stupid and ignorant. Just because somebody else believes in a different set of rules doesn't mean you need to destroy them; consider the following example. Little Johnny's parents taught him that hitting girls is bad. Little Timmy's parents did not. When Little Timmy punches a girl at school, one does not expect him to then turn around and stab Little Johnny in the face because he didn't join in.
In any case, right now I am undeclared in my religion because I do not know enough about a large enough selection in order to make any judgment calls one way or the other. Which explains why I accepted the bible from the Gideon dude (for that is the distributor of the Bible). Other religious texts may be collected in the same manner if they become available.
So that's that.
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