Adding Days to Your Year

Everyone wishes that there were more hours in his day. While I believe it is impossible to create time in the literal sense (If it were possible, I probably couldn't understand the math), I do think that nearly everyone can allocate time more efficiently in order to "make" about an hour more time in a day.

Obviously, this is a leap year. This gives me the opportunity to let everybody know the years that are leap years and those that aren't. Basically, if the last 2 numbers of the year are not 00, then if the last 2 numbers are divisible by 4, then it's a leap year. If the last 2 numbers are 00, then the first 2 numbers must be divisible by 4. Everyone remembers that 2000 was a leap year, but most people are unaware that 1900 was not, nor will 2100 be. It's true, and it's one of those things that's commonly overlooked.

Birdman's Questionairre

I got the following email from J. It's one of those silly "get to know your friends" things. J put a good twist on it. I laughed so much, I felt I had to share it with those of you who read my blog!
Published without consent of the author.

:::begin email transmission:::

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your
friends. Okay, Here's what you're supposed to do, and
try not to be lame and spoil the Fun! Copy this
entire email and paste into a new email that you can
Send; change all the answers so that they apply to
you. Then send this To a whole bunch of people you
know, INCLUDING the person that sent it To you. Some
of you may get this several times (that means you have
lots of friends).

***AIGHT SO I MADE THIS INTERESTING. I FILLED THIS OUT AS IF I WERE BIRDMAN***

1. What is your occupation? YOU SAYIN' YOU DON'T KNOW WHO BIRDMAN IS, BITCH? BITCH I'M SO GODDAMN GREAT I GAVE BIRTH TO MYSELF.
2. What color are your socks right now? RED, THE COLOR OF BLOOD NIG**!
3. What are you listening to right now? MYSELF.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? HATERS.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? DO THEY EVEN MAKE BEAMER'S IN STICK SHIFT, BITCH?
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? PLATINUM PIMPIN'. COMING SOON (ALONG WITH 99 OTHER STUNTASTIC COLORS, LIKE BALLA BLACK) IN THE CA$H MONEY CRAYON SET.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? YOLANDA, SHARON AND KEISHA. THEY'RE COMING OVER SO I CAN GET MY TRIPLE DIP ON.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS BITCH.
9. How old are you today? I'M ETERNAL, NIG**, LIKE GOD. MY AGE DON'T MATTER.
10. Favorite drink? THAT PURPLE STUFF

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? PLATINUM FIELD FOOTBALL.
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? HAIR, BITCH? I AIN'T GOT NO GODDAMN HAIR. AND THE BITCHES LOVE IT.
13. Pets? LIL WHEEZY GOT SOME RARE ASS BIRD ONCE FROM AFRICA OR SOMETHIN'. I COVERED THE BITCH IN PLATINUM SO IT COULD LIVE FOREVER, LIKE ME. BEST PART OF THAT IS THAT IT DON'T SAY SHIT ANYMORE, EITHER.
14. Favorite food? COURVOISIER COVERED PUSSY.
15. Last movie you watched? BANISHA'S BUTT-ASTIC ADVENTURES (XTRA ANAL) VOL. 6
16. Favorite Day of the year? EVERYDAY IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY WHEN YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY A SMALL COUNTRY 17 TIMES OVER, NIG**!
17. What do you do to vent anger? STUNT. TAKE POTSHOTS AT 50 CENT. REPEAT.
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? MY DICK. UNCLE TOM (THAT'S MY DICK'S NAME, NIG**, CAUSE EVERYONE BOWS IN FRONT OF HIM) START CHASING AFTER THOSE KITTENS AT AGE 6.
19. What is your favorite season? SUMMER. CAUSE THEN THE HATERS SEE ME AND THINK ITS WINTER CAUSE OF ALL THE ICE I GOT ON.
20. Hugs or kisses? UPPERCUTS AND SHOTS TO THE GUT.
21. Cherry or Blueberry? I DON'T CARE WHAT MY LUBE TASTE LIKE, ONLY BITCHES TASTE THAT SHIT.

22. Do you want your friends to email you back? FUCK THAT HOLLA AT ME.
23. Who is most likely to respond? WHO THE FUCK CARES BITCH.
24. Who is least likely to respond? MY LIL' COUSIN, STUNT MCGEE, CAUSE HE DEAD ALREADY.
26. When was the last time you cried? WHEN I GOT PUNK'D INTO THINKIN' THE IRS WAS REPO'ING MY MANSION. EVER WONDER WHY PUNK'D GOT CANCELLED?
27. What is on the floor of your closet? A 100LB BOX OF CONDOMS AND A LETTER FROM DUREX BEGGING ME TO BE THEY OFFICIAL SPONSOR.
28. The friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? ME AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BEEN TIGHT FOR 20 YEARS, NIG**!
29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? GEORGE WASHINGTON.
30. Favorite smells? I LOVE THE SMELL OF PUSSY IN THE MORNING.
31. Who inspires you? POL POT. THAT NIG** KILLED EVERYONE WHO HATED ON HIM.
32. What are you afraid of? BEING BROKE.
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? DIAMOND PLATED HAMBURGERS BITCH.
34. Favorite car? YOU EVER SEEN THE VIDEO FOR #1 STUNNA?
35. Favorite cat breed? THE TIGHTER THE BETTER.
36. Number of keys on your key ring? ONE NIG** CAUSE MY GODDAMN HOUSE HAS AN IRIS SCANNER AT THE DOOR TO LET ME IN!
37. How many years at your current job? I'VE BEEN A GODDAMN #1 STUNNA SINCE I WAS BORN, NIG**
39. How many states have you lived in? I LIVE IN EVERY STATE, NIG**, CAUSE I GOT A MANSION IN EACH ONE.
40. Do you think you're funny? AIN'T SHIT FUNNY ABOUT GETTIN' MONEY. IT JUST FEELS REAL FUCKIN' GOOD.

Dive Slate: Capturer of the Imagination

I get great ideas in the shower. I usually forget them by the time I get out. When I was a kid, my mom had a dive slate that she put in her shower because the same thing happens to her. I decided to get a dive slate for my shower at my house. It was a great idea. I just scribe my great ideas and then I don't forget. I recommend to anyone who has great-but-soon-forgotten shower ideas to do likewise.

Recurring ¿Nightmare?

Warning: this may be even more stream-of-consciousness/nonsensical than you are used to.

I have had this dream a couple times:

I get out of my car, come back to it a couple hours later to find that I didn't turn off the ignition and I've burned up a couple gallons of gas. I'm always pissed off when I realize that my car has been uselessly idling (redundancy there?). In one of the dreams, I'm really low on gas and I ended up in a gas station that had really tall grass in a field around it and zebras running around. When I got in to the pumps (inside), nobody was around. They looked like the style of pumps at Como (not in use in very many places) and I think I started pumping then was going to pay later with a credit card. Somehow a lady got behind the counter without me seeing her.

I'm not sure exactly what it's about. I've been driving my car lately. I don't like it when people idle for extended periods of time. Am I doing something that I don't like?

Fun Fact #4

In American English, "forty" is the only number that is spelled by going only forward in the alphabet.

Economics as Religion

"I believe that people respond to incentives" is the creed of the religion of economics. You might throw something about "bounded rationality" in there for effect, but that doesn't get you too far. I've heard economists who espouse their belief system as "people respond to incentives" in the past. However, a discussion at the XS/FS conference on Saturday prompted me to write this post.

Basically, one guy was talking about trying to figure out how people make decisions by mapping brain activity by putting subjects in an fMRI while they made decisions. Someone brought up "emotions," whatever they may be conceptually or chemically. It was agreed that emotions are very complex and would be difficult to model. Next, SP said that she does not think that people make decisions based on their emotions. She stated the creed of the religion of economics and brushed aside emotion as a determinant of choices.

On the subject of emotions, why do they have to be discounted as a source for decision making? I like to be happy, so I'll undertake activities that make me happy. It adds to my utility. I am acting rationally and responding to incentives. One dimension of the incentive space is my emotional outcome.

My take on economics is that it is a useful set of tools for analyzing problems. It should not be a religion. While I believe that people respond to incentives, I know that you'll get different levels of response out of different individuals. Also, X could be a positive incentive to one person and a negative incentive to another, depending on their preferences. Admittedly, this makes it hard to model. I do believe that progress can be made in the neurochemical analysis of decision making, especially once finer measurement instruments are employed.

Pick #65

Green Day - Macy's Day Parade

History Channel: Home v. In Class

Have you ever noticed that you'll watch a History Channel program at home with keen interest while you'd doze off if shown the same program in a classroom? What's the difference? Maybe it's volition. Maybe it's the fact that you aren't being forced to do it, so you don't want to rebel. Maybe it's that you don't have a desk on which to rest your head. Maybe it's because the lights aren't off at home. Who knows? One thing's for sure, though...it's better at home.

Sell Your Vote?

If someone offered you money to purchase your vote, would you sell it? Legality aside?

If they wanted to pay you to in exchange for your word that you would vote accordingly, they would have no way to know if you kept your word. The secret ballot voting mechanism in the United States ensures that.

If the vote buyer wanted to be sure that you voted for the candidate for whom you were paid, they could make sure that you appropriately fill out an absentee ballot. They could withhold payment until the form was completed and returned or some other form of watching your complete the absentee ballot.

Due to legality issues (and my small blog readership), I don't foresee a huge surge in vote purchasing in the near future. However, if you want to "sell" your vote for the "wrong" candidate, don't offer to do it via absentee ballot.

Credit for this idea goes to Pam, Whitney, and the rest of my Public Choice class.

Toro Bravo

...y matadores quienes son chocas

Good Afternoon, Scholars

In one of my classes, the professor always starts class with the greeting "Good afternoon, scholars!" I'm told that he starts morning classes with "Good morning, scholars!" It's kind of cool that he has this thing trademarked. people know him for it. it takes all the ambiguity out of when the lecture is starting. It's enthusiastic.

I don't know if I ever started class the same way twice...I'd clear my throat or say "alright" or something else awkward like that...or maybe just stand up in front of the room until the talking quieted down. I played music before class and tried to time it so that when the music stopped, it was time for class to start.

I'm not looking to rip off a trademarked class starting phrase, but having something unique, effective, and memorable wouldn't be a bad thing (if I could develop one).

Pick #64

Oleander - "Lost Cause" from February Son

La Hacienda II

Anoche, tuve planes de asistir a un concierto del Sarah Mac Band en FSU a las 8...PERO ellos tocaron a las 5:20 y ¡no estaba allí! Tuve ganas de salir y en vez de música, consumí comida. Sarah iba a ir conmigo al concierto y estuvo de acuerdo con comer en La Hacienda II. Dicho restaurante es mi favorito (de comida méxicana) en Tallahassee (gracias a Dr. Salmon por su recomendación).

Durante la ida, Sarah me preguntó si La Hacienda II es mejor que On The Border...casi no lo pude creer. ¡Por supuesto, loca! Pues, después de comer allí, está de acuerdo conmigo que todo es mejor en La Hacienda II. Es uno de los negocios locales que trato de patronizar si es posible.

Vi en la carta "chiles rellenos" por $x con una descripción. Abajo dijo Poblano por $x+1. Pregunté a nuestro camerero que significa Poblano. Respondió que es más sabroso y es como se come los méxicanos. Pide un plato (¿plato la hacienda?) con una tostada, un taco, un burrito, una flauta y un chile relleno. Solicité que me dé un chile relleno Poblano en vez del chile regular que normalmente viene con este plato. Cómo fue un buen hombre, me trajo un Poblano. De veras, tiene bastante sabor. Toda mi cena fue excelente. Sarah dice que la suya también fue de muy alta calidad.

Too Attached to my Calculator?

I have a TI-30Xa Solar calculator that I got in 6th or 7th grade. It's my favorite calculator ever. They don't make the solar version of that model any longer. I'm pretty quick with crunching numbers on it. Tonight, I told Andrew that I'd probably cry if I lost/broke it...if he lost or broke it (while borrowing it) then I'd probably stab him. At that point, I realized that maybe I'm a little too attached to it.

How much is too attached? What justifies attachment? I mean, that thing's been really good to me. We've spent a lot of time together...we've been together for over 10 years and spent who knows how many answers we came up with together. It's been there for me during frustrating times (aka hard homework/tests) and in triumph (good tests). If it was a person, nobody would question my attachment.

Another Annoying Windows Caveat

Last night before I left my house, I started a 10GB file transfer to my external hard drive (over USB 1.1). I figured that by the time I got back from school today, it would be done. It turns out that Windows paused the transfer to ask me if I wanted to move a certain file which had information that may be lost in the transfer. This happens with read-only files sometimes and a few other things.

What should happen: it puts that file in a queue and continues to copy all the other files so that when I get home there are 30 seconds remaining in the transfer, not 196 minutes!

Fun Fact #3

If you put balled-up newspaper in wet shoes, it will help dry them out and take away some of the stench.

Fun Fact #2

Washing your hands with toothpaste gets rid of lingering odors like bleach and fish.

Lazy Kids at the Bus Stop

I've been flabbergasted by the laziness of people waiting for the bus. On my way home, there are usually a good number of people waiting for a bus. There are 2 that usually come soon after each other. Mine is usually the second. If my bus pulls up behind the first bus, I'll walk to it, get on, sit down and people follow me. The morons just need somebody to show them what's up.

Sometimes, the first bus gets stuck about 2-3 car lengths to the left of the bus stop if there are cars at a red light. These lazy fuckers wait for the light to change and the bus to move forward 25-30 feet before they get on. By the time they all board, the light has turned red again, and they wait there through another light. WT fuck?

I guess not everyone values their time as much as I do. I would so much rather make it through the light and be that much closer to home. I really can't wait to start riding my bike again.

My (ex) Addiction

I think I've only ever had one addiction in my life. It was running. I've kicked the addiction, but not the activity. I still run, but not nearly as much as I used to. I think triathlon training and school keep a check on it now.

In 2002, I ran about 1200 miles. I used to get irritable and/or have a hard time sleeping when I didn't run. There have been days when I told myself that I couldn't/shouldn't run, but found myself lacing up my shoes and heading out the door anyway. I hate the cold, but for some reason I'll endure it to go on a run outside (I'm talking about those cold days when the mercury dips below 60°F).

I used to treat running like an alcoholic treats alcohol. I run whenever I get bad news or if I'm having a bad/stressful day. I would love going to get a new pair of running shoes or running shorts just like a bum loves a small bottle of scotch or a tallboy.

Pam tells me that anorexics feel like even if they lose control over other aspects of their life, they can still control how much they eat. Maybe that's what it's like with running too...I can't control what assignments I get at school or what the weather brings or any sort of bad news that comes my way, but I can control how much I run. I personally don't think this is a huge concern. I'm not a control freak, although I do like to have certain aspects of my life in order. My CDs need to be alphabetized (then ordered chronologically if I have more than one by the same artist) and I really like to have my bed made if I don't plan on using it in the next couple hours, but I don't think that's a need for control on my part.

Overall, at least running is a fairly healthy activity that can be constructive. I don't think I'm currently addicted, although it still helps elevate my mood and promote a good night's sleep. Who knows, I might fall off the wagon and get re-addicted to running one day in the not-so-distant future.

ATM Machines Gallore

Many acronyms don't do such a great job at representing words as such. Here's some examples of things people say that are repetitive of something in the acronym.

ATM Machine (or as Carmen suggests, Automatic ATM Machine)
Individual IRA Account
(I saw this one on TV): RPMs Per Minute
*GCO Carpet Outlet* an extra good one!
NIT Tournament
ESPN Network

Added later:
PIN number (thanks, Mkunde)
VCM mechanism (experimental people)
PDF function (Anastasia in class)
.pdf format
Holy HBF (thanks, TBW)
SAT test (once again, TBW)
GUI interface (from http://beta.booklamp.org)
MLB baseball (TV Guide)

(I'll add more later...for some reason, it's hard to think of stuff like this when put on the spot).

Pick #63

Ted Leo & the Pharmascists - "Walking to do" from Shake the Sheets

Beer Triathlon

Beer Triathlon is evil.

Free Credit Report

While freecreditreport.com has a catchy jingle, it's not what most people think of when they hear about a free credit report, namely because there are strings attached at that site (which is probably why they can afford to advertise). If you want to get your 1 free copy per year from any of the 3 credit reporting agencies, you need to go to www.annualcreditreport.com. I recommend getting one every 4 months...just cycle through the reporting agencies and you can check on your credit for free as part of some federal law. Hooray for ease of access.

Taken for Granted

There's a lot of stuff we take for granted. I was just thinking about my bike today while waiting at the bus stop. It had paid for itself in gas money alone when I rode it instead of taking my car to school. It also saved a lot of time. And since I wouldn't drive most of the time, it saved me from riding the bus. In order to catch the bus, I have to wake up an hour and a half before I would if it was riding my bike. Also, I have to be sure to get out of school and to the bus stop in time to get picked up. The bus makes my schedule a lot more rigid.

I didn't realize just how much I would rather ride my bike until I couldn't do it anymore. I think it's like that with most of the things that are good in our life. You just don't appreciate them until their absence reminds you how good you once had it.

Fun Facts

I've been thinking about adding another weekly feature to the blog. I can't come up with anything that's quality, so I think that I might make an irregular installment of Fun Facts. Unlike the Pick of the Week, the Fun Facts won't be evenly spaced. They'll just come up when I don't have something else I feel like posting.

Fun Fact #1: the world record for holding your breath under water (aka static apnea) is 8 minutes, 58 seconds.

I Love Alpacas

If you love alpacas, there's a website for you. I mean, they're cute and all...wait...umm, well, they're soft after you wash them. They can remind you of your days in the Andes mountains. Best of all, you'll be the only one of your friends with pet alpacas.

No Deodorant

Sometimes I like not to wear deodorant. Especially if I'm going to race or get in the ocean.

I guess it's not such a big deal now that I switched away from the bad stuff: aluminum zirconium. That's the ingredient that causes cancer. I'm not sure why it's so great not wearing deodorant, aside from the lovely smell of my own stench.

Pick #62

Suave Smooth - Fat Girl

you can stream a sample from here.

Where da Weed At?

So, I had a pretty fun night. Went to the Comedy Zone with Sarah, then to the Ale House for a Zinger Melt and a Captain Jack's Buried Treasure. Went to drop her off and she invited me to come listen to some music if there was an available visitor parking spot. There was. As we're walking to her building, some dude in an SUV hollers out the window at us, asking if we know where he can get some weed. I respond in the negative. He asks again and I keep walking. He opens his car door and asks more persuasively. Hints at having a firearm. I honestly don't know where to get any weed. He starts walking toward me. I went to put my left hand in my back pocket because it was cold and he made a jerking motion and asked what I was "reaching for" at which time I showed him my palms and put my hands over my head. It was kind of scary. I'm never in condition to fight someone with a gun, and with the brace on my hand, I didn't have quick access to my pocket knife, so I started jabbering something about weed on Mission Road. He walked to his car and said something about coming back. We walked to Sarah's place and I stayed a little longer inside than I had been planning on. She burned me a few CDs: Brand New -" The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me," a song by DJ Girl Talk that wasn't on the CD I got earlier this week, and some Copeland and Thrice that I didn't have.

I'm kind of surprised that something sketchy like this hasn't happened to me sooner.

Things That Make Me Smile

here's a little list I found. I might add to it later.

Things that make me smile:
old trucks
pretty girls
mail from friends
finding money
ping pong balls in the beer aisle at Publix
conspiring with (or against) someone
amazing technology seen firsthand for the first time
amusing t-shirts worn by strangers or non-amusing people
accomplishment