Thursday, October 27, 2005
Smooth 'n Fruity
I don't really have much to say today. Oh, I know - I need feedback on something.
Yesterday I had two midterms. My first was at 10:30, second at 11:30. For those of you who know campus, Botterell and Goodes respectively. My first one was 20% of a fourth year conservation biology course, which I need to graduate. My second was 35% of a second year commerce course in Organizational Behaviour. It is an elective, but likely to be more related to what I actually go into as a career. Needless to say I was torn on which was the priority.
I spent the whole weekend studying for these two midterms instead of going to the football game in London with the Bands. I should have been there. We lost badly, but I still should have been there. Don't worry, the feedback portion is coming soon.
So I got to my first midterm on time, feeling relatively good about both upcoming exams. I started writing and quickly realized I was going to run short on time. The exam was two short answer questions, choose 2 of 3 more short answers, and an essay on your choice of 2 topics. At 11:10, the prof realized a lot of people were coming up short and said we could put our essays in point-form. This helped a bit, but I was still getting anxious about my second test. I ended up leaving the first one at 11:35, and was the first one out of the room.
Now, my second exam was in Goodes. I missed the bus by about 30 seconds, so that wasn't an option. Many of you know how slow a walker I am to begin with. Well, I'm currently operating with two dislocated toes on one foot and a recovering ankle on the other. Needless to say, I wasn't running to Goodes. I got there as quickly as I could, 17 minutes late. Luckily it was a 1.5 hour exam, so I didn't lose as big a proportion of my writing time.
Unluckily for me, I was so flustered about the fact that a) the first exam had gone overtime and b) I was late for a midterm worth 35% that I couldn't write anything for almost 25 minutes. I mean, BOOM. Mind went completely blank. If my prof had been watching me closely, she must've seen me panicking. Anyways, I calmed down around 12:15 or so and wrote down what I could. I bombed the exam BIG time. I'm not going to say I would've aced it if the conditions had been optimal, but I did WAY worse than I should have.
Now here is where I ask for feedback. I'm meeting with my prof tomorrow to talk about what happened. I'm going to ask her to re-weight the midterm for me so that it's worth less of my final mark. I think it's a fair request really. How much should I go for? I think down to 25 or 20 from 35 wouldn't be out of order. I mean, if this was truly indicative of my performance in the course, then the reweighting wouldn't matter. I'd get the same mark on the final and it would be apparent. However, if I was a 'victim' of circumstance, then my mark should go up.
What do you think?
Ps. My title comes from the yogourt container in front of me. I was really really uncreative today.
Yesterday I had two midterms. My first was at 10:30, second at 11:30. For those of you who know campus, Botterell and Goodes respectively. My first one was 20% of a fourth year conservation biology course, which I need to graduate. My second was 35% of a second year commerce course in Organizational Behaviour. It is an elective, but likely to be more related to what I actually go into as a career. Needless to say I was torn on which was the priority.
I spent the whole weekend studying for these two midterms instead of going to the football game in London with the Bands. I should have been there. We lost badly, but I still should have been there. Don't worry, the feedback portion is coming soon.
So I got to my first midterm on time, feeling relatively good about both upcoming exams. I started writing and quickly realized I was going to run short on time. The exam was two short answer questions, choose 2 of 3 more short answers, and an essay on your choice of 2 topics. At 11:10, the prof realized a lot of people were coming up short and said we could put our essays in point-form. This helped a bit, but I was still getting anxious about my second test. I ended up leaving the first one at 11:35, and was the first one out of the room.
Now, my second exam was in Goodes. I missed the bus by about 30 seconds, so that wasn't an option. Many of you know how slow a walker I am to begin with. Well, I'm currently operating with two dislocated toes on one foot and a recovering ankle on the other. Needless to say, I wasn't running to Goodes. I got there as quickly as I could, 17 minutes late. Luckily it was a 1.5 hour exam, so I didn't lose as big a proportion of my writing time.
Unluckily for me, I was so flustered about the fact that a) the first exam had gone overtime and b) I was late for a midterm worth 35% that I couldn't write anything for almost 25 minutes. I mean, BOOM. Mind went completely blank. If my prof had been watching me closely, she must've seen me panicking. Anyways, I calmed down around 12:15 or so and wrote down what I could. I bombed the exam BIG time. I'm not going to say I would've aced it if the conditions had been optimal, but I did WAY worse than I should have.
Now here is where I ask for feedback. I'm meeting with my prof tomorrow to talk about what happened. I'm going to ask her to re-weight the midterm for me so that it's worth less of my final mark. I think it's a fair request really. How much should I go for? I think down to 25 or 20 from 35 wouldn't be out of order. I mean, if this was truly indicative of my performance in the course, then the reweighting wouldn't matter. I'd get the same mark on the final and it would be apparent. However, if I was a 'victim' of circumstance, then my mark should go up.
What do you think?
Ps. My title comes from the yogourt container in front of me. I was really really uncreative today.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Turkey Weekend - a Retrospective
Now that we're at Wednesday of Thanksgiving week, I like to look back at the weekend that was. Or wasn't.
We'll start off with the bad things. Read an entry or two ago to find out my feelings about technology. It is not without a sense of irony that I type this current entry on the SAME damned laptop. If you never read this, blame Queen's Library Systems and the good folks at Toshiba.
I didn't get nearly as much work done as I needed to this weekend.
The weather sucked.
I'm probably not going to ace this midterm in a few hours.
I'll likely do alright on tonight's midterm.
I haven't started Friday's assignment yet.
The Leafs won a game. Dammit.
Alright, now on to the good stuff.
I got to spend the weekend with my family - always good food and fun times.
The Sens have opened the season 4-0 with wins over Toronto (ahem, TWO wins), Buffalo, and Montreal. W00t!
I got that damned assignment done, and it looked a lot thicker than anyone elses there, so it must be better.
I have found clarity.
The Leafs lost 3 games. Ha!
I need to keep this entry short and sweet and get back to studying. It seems that in Scotty's taking a well-deserved break from blogging every day, my urge to post has gone up immensely. Maybe we are twins after all.... weird.
We'll start off with the bad things. Read an entry or two ago to find out my feelings about technology. It is not without a sense of irony that I type this current entry on the SAME damned laptop. If you never read this, blame Queen's Library Systems and the good folks at Toshiba.
I didn't get nearly as much work done as I needed to this weekend.
The weather sucked.
I'm probably not going to ace this midterm in a few hours.
I'll likely do alright on tonight's midterm.
I haven't started Friday's assignment yet.
The Leafs won a game. Dammit.
Alright, now on to the good stuff.
I got to spend the weekend with my family - always good food and fun times.
The Sens have opened the season 4-0 with wins over Toronto (ahem, TWO wins), Buffalo, and Montreal. W00t!
I got that damned assignment done, and it looked a lot thicker than anyone elses there, so it must be better.
I have found clarity.
The Leafs lost 3 games. Ha!
I need to keep this entry short and sweet and get back to studying. It seems that in Scotty's taking a well-deserved break from blogging every day, my urge to post has gone up immensely. Maybe we are twins after all.... weird.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Happy Slammiversary!
I somehow missed the one year anniversary of this blog. The only reason I really caught it was that both Scotty and Steve posted about their one-year.
My first post was about the Gaels football team and how they were headed for a certain loss. My second post was in utter amazement about how they actually pulled a win out of their asses. Some things don't change - the Gaels are still screwed this year (despite the fact that they'll make the playoffs).
Let's see what's changed since my first post:
1) I'm in 6th year now, not 5th. Guh.
2) I no longer work for Walhome. (if you don't know, you're not going to)
3) I am no longer in Queen's Bands (I miss it like crazy, but definitely the right call).
4) I work at the Tir Na Nog as a doorman. (SO fun at times).
5) I live with a bunch of second years. weeeeee.
6) I spent a summer NOT doing manual labour - something I was never really good at to begin with.
7) Steve's mom is sexier than ever.
8) The Sens somehow got better while the leafs got worse. w00t.
9) I love the shootout.
That pretty much covers the big items. As always, I'm tryin to increase my reader base so that more people can read the hilarity that is my life. Well, attempted hilarity. As near as I can tell, the only people who read this are Scotty, Steve, Bri, Gab, and Greg. If anyone else does, leave me a comment so I can put a link to your blog on the right hand side. If not that, at least a shoutout.
Sens in 7.
My first post was about the Gaels football team and how they were headed for a certain loss. My second post was in utter amazement about how they actually pulled a win out of their asses. Some things don't change - the Gaels are still screwed this year (despite the fact that they'll make the playoffs).
Let's see what's changed since my first post:
1) I'm in 6th year now, not 5th. Guh.
2) I no longer work for Walhome. (if you don't know, you're not going to)
3) I am no longer in Queen's Bands (I miss it like crazy, but definitely the right call).
4) I work at the Tir Na Nog as a doorman. (SO fun at times).
5) I live with a bunch of second years. weeeeee.
6) I spent a summer NOT doing manual labour - something I was never really good at to begin with.
7) Steve's mom is sexier than ever.
8) The Sens somehow got better while the leafs got worse. w00t.
9) I love the shootout.
That pretty much covers the big items. As always, I'm tryin to increase my reader base so that more people can read the hilarity that is my life. Well, attempted hilarity. As near as I can tell, the only people who read this are Scotty, Steve, Bri, Gab, and Greg. If anyone else does, leave me a comment so I can put a link to your blog on the right hand side. If not that, at least a shoutout.
Sens in 7.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Frustration? You betcha!
Anyone who has had technology go awry on them will sympathize with me on this one.
It is currently Thanksgiving Sunday, and I'm at the library. Not even reading, but working on a stupid assignment for a class I picked up on a whim. Turns out this class isn't as easy as I thought, but that's not my issue. Nor is the fact that I'm doing this assignment alone (my partner is going to do the next one on her own). My gripe is that I'm a complete retard.
I signed out one of Stauffer's laptops to work at a larger desk. I just like to be able to move around if I want to, so I didn't sit at one of the larger workstations (that I'm at now). After working for about an hour and a half and getting a fair bit done, I diligently saved my files, shut down the computer, and packed it away to be returned by the assigned time. So far, so good.
What I failed to do was email myself the files I had JUST saved. The library's computers have a nice feature where all non-essential files (ie those that don't directly contribute to the operation of the computer) get deleted everytime you shut the computer down. Naturally, my files (spreadsheet with charts and word file) got deleted in the process. Someone at ITS was thinking ahead and told them to empty the recycle bin each time too.
So here I am, sitting in the library on Sunday of a long weekend at 4:20 PM without anything to show for my time here. Moreover, I'm too fucking angry at myself to settle down and just re-do it today. I really needed to get that out of the way today too because I have two midterms and a term paper outline this week that I haven't even started to think about yet. There's no point in even starting it right now because it's one of those things that you have to do in one go or you'll lose your train of thought and it won't make sense the next time.
Basically, I've set myself up for a pain in the ass day tomorrow. I have to finish this tomorrow, clean my room, recover from eating a whole turkey, clean my room again, and get my midterm/term paper stuff in order and ready to go at the drop of a hat.
On the plus side, the Sens are 2-0 with wins over the Laffs and the Sabres, my fantasy pools are going alright with some decent aquisitions and lots of trade offers coming my way, my family is in town so I'll be getting a wicked turkey dinner right before sitting in front of a BIG ass TV with lots of beer and a fire, and I'm getting over a cold that has been bugging me for over a week.
But holy fuck, I hate that laptop right now.
It is currently Thanksgiving Sunday, and I'm at the library. Not even reading, but working on a stupid assignment for a class I picked up on a whim. Turns out this class isn't as easy as I thought, but that's not my issue. Nor is the fact that I'm doing this assignment alone (my partner is going to do the next one on her own). My gripe is that I'm a complete retard.
I signed out one of Stauffer's laptops to work at a larger desk. I just like to be able to move around if I want to, so I didn't sit at one of the larger workstations (that I'm at now). After working for about an hour and a half and getting a fair bit done, I diligently saved my files, shut down the computer, and packed it away to be returned by the assigned time. So far, so good.
What I failed to do was email myself the files I had JUST saved. The library's computers have a nice feature where all non-essential files (ie those that don't directly contribute to the operation of the computer) get deleted everytime you shut the computer down. Naturally, my files (spreadsheet with charts and word file) got deleted in the process. Someone at ITS was thinking ahead and told them to empty the recycle bin each time too.
So here I am, sitting in the library on Sunday of a long weekend at 4:20 PM without anything to show for my time here. Moreover, I'm too fucking angry at myself to settle down and just re-do it today. I really needed to get that out of the way today too because I have two midterms and a term paper outline this week that I haven't even started to think about yet. There's no point in even starting it right now because it's one of those things that you have to do in one go or you'll lose your train of thought and it won't make sense the next time.
Basically, I've set myself up for a pain in the ass day tomorrow. I have to finish this tomorrow, clean my room, recover from eating a whole turkey, clean my room again, and get my midterm/term paper stuff in order and ready to go at the drop of a hat.
On the plus side, the Sens are 2-0 with wins over the Laffs and the Sabres, my fantasy pools are going alright with some decent aquisitions and lots of trade offers coming my way, my family is in town so I'll be getting a wicked turkey dinner right before sitting in front of a BIG ass TV with lots of beer and a fire, and I'm getting over a cold that has been bugging me for over a week.
But holy fuck, I hate that laptop right now.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wait a minute here...
I read today's Whig-Standard story about the lone non-student residence on Aberdeen St. and how they were 'prisoners in their own home'. I think that is over-dramaticizing it a bit, but that's not my issue.
Today's paper says that Queen's with be re-imbursing the family for damages done to their home during the 'riot' on Homecoming weekend. The University has helped them in the past, and they want to keep relations as friendly as possible. This all despite the fact that Principal Karen Hitchcock stated a few days ago in the same paper: “There’s a very important distinction here,” Hitchcock said. “What happened was not Homecoming. Aberdeen is not a sanctioned part of the event. It is a coincident occurrence."
I'm confused. Is the university taking blame for the event or not? The administration needs to send a single message to the populace of Kingston. We're either responsible or we're not. What will happen when Aberdeen landlords come to the University asking for damage compensation?
Stories here:
Reimbursment
Hitchcock article
Today's paper says that Queen's with be re-imbursing the family for damages done to their home during the 'riot' on Homecoming weekend. The University has helped them in the past, and they want to keep relations as friendly as possible. This all despite the fact that Principal Karen Hitchcock stated a few days ago in the same paper: “There’s a very important distinction here,” Hitchcock said. “What happened was not Homecoming. Aberdeen is not a sanctioned part of the event. It is a coincident occurrence."
I'm confused. Is the university taking blame for the event or not? The administration needs to send a single message to the populace of Kingston. We're either responsible or we're not. What will happen when Aberdeen landlords come to the University asking for damage compensation?
Stories here:
Reimbursment
Hitchcock article
Monday, October 03, 2005
I think this is a bad sign...
I got bored today. In my boredom, I stupidly decided to look at the LEGO website.
Let me tell you a little something about me and LEGO. I MUST have it. It is my precious. At Christmastime, I have received LEGO for 19 years running. I don't see this streak ending anytime soon. Santa will have a lot of venison to eat if the LEGO stops flowing to my stocking.
Anyways, back to the bad sign. Warp yourself a year (or three) into the future and picture me with a $40,000 dollar salaried job. Sweet kick. Now picture me dropping a full 5 percent of that salary on LEGO alone. Not just any LEGO, but Star Wars LEGO. I browsed the website long enough to make a shopping list of what I'm going to buy as soon as I have money.
First, the Imperial Star Destroyer. This model is beyond cool.
When finished, it's about 3 feet by two feet. That's a HUGE bitch!!!!
Next, the Death Star from Return of the Jedi. Voila:
This is also waaay cool. If only it were on scale with the Star Destroyer. This alone is mind-boggling. One website I saw put the Death Star at 800 km in diameter (this was the website with the most math to back it up) and estimated the Star Destroyers at 1.6 km long. If the model Star Destroyers are 3 feet long, simple arithmetic tells me that a scale model Death Star would be 1500 feet in diameter, or almost half a kilometer.
Let's put this into perspective for the only ones reading this blog: We used to live at 230 Barrie St. 1500 feet from that location is approximately where Bagot and Barrie intersect. Better yet, it's the distance from the old place to McD's or Tim Horton's on Princess. That's a big motherfucking Death Star. Maybe they should just leave it as is... a measly 2 feet high. (Ed note: If I ever get Bill Gates rich, I'm going for it.. right after I give the world something everyone can enjoy - I'm going to colourize the moon).
Anyways, those two sets alone come in at 800 bucks sans tax. I guarantee my first paycheck will go to one of those two, likely the Star Destroyer first.
Man, I need a life.
Let me tell you a little something about me and LEGO. I MUST have it. It is my precious. At Christmastime, I have received LEGO for 19 years running. I don't see this streak ending anytime soon. Santa will have a lot of venison to eat if the LEGO stops flowing to my stocking.
Anyways, back to the bad sign. Warp yourself a year (or three) into the future and picture me with a $40,000 dollar salaried job. Sweet kick. Now picture me dropping a full 5 percent of that salary on LEGO alone. Not just any LEGO, but Star Wars LEGO. I browsed the website long enough to make a shopping list of what I'm going to buy as soon as I have money.
First, the Imperial Star Destroyer. This model is beyond cool.
When finished, it's about 3 feet by two feet. That's a HUGE bitch!!!!
Next, the Death Star from Return of the Jedi. Voila:
This is also waaay cool. If only it were on scale with the Star Destroyer. This alone is mind-boggling. One website I saw put the Death Star at 800 km in diameter (this was the website with the most math to back it up) and estimated the Star Destroyers at 1.6 km long. If the model Star Destroyers are 3 feet long, simple arithmetic tells me that a scale model Death Star would be 1500 feet in diameter, or almost half a kilometer.
Let's put this into perspective for the only ones reading this blog: We used to live at 230 Barrie St. 1500 feet from that location is approximately where Bagot and Barrie intersect. Better yet, it's the distance from the old place to McD's or Tim Horton's on Princess. That's a big motherfucking Death Star. Maybe they should just leave it as is... a measly 2 feet high. (Ed note: If I ever get Bill Gates rich, I'm going for it.. right after I give the world something everyone can enjoy - I'm going to colourize the moon).
Anyways, those two sets alone come in at 800 bucks sans tax. I guarantee my first paycheck will go to one of those two, likely the Star Destroyer first.
Man, I need a life.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Draft Day!
So today was our second annual (last year has been stricken from the record) fantasy draft. All in all, I'm quite happy with my team. Here are my picks in no particular order:
FORWARDS:
Marcus Naslund - solid player all around, my star for sure
Pavel Datsyuk - has the ability to light it up at any given time
Chris Simon - former penalty generator turned productive player in Calgary
Tony Amonte - banking on another Calgarian. Had a good year last year despite being on a shitty team. I see his points geting marginally better, but his plus/minus going up a lot
Micheal Ryder - good young player in Montreal. The Habs are going to play some good hockey this year, and Ryder's going to be a major contributor
Sean Avery - With Roenick around, has nowhere to go but up. For the time being, he's a hired goon. Plus he`s a bigot, so he can`t be all THAT bad.
Richard Zednik - good all around player on Montreal. nothing special, but solid.
Damond Langkow - 21 goal scorer with Phoenix last year, look for even better with Calgary this year.
DEFENSEMEN:
Brian Leetch - showed with Toronto last year that he can be a contributor with a decent team. Scored 15 points in 15 games there. Even in New York (R) he scored 36 points and was only -5. Look for him to shine in Boston.
Wade Redden - Perennial workhorse. This guy is solid as a rock and will give Chara a run for the Norris.
Kim Johnsson - Again, another solid player year in and year out. With Philly's acquisitions (bastards), look for even better things to come... until they meet Ottawa in the playoffs.
John-Micheal Liles - had 34 points as a rookie defensemen in 03/04 on Colorado. Will be looked to as a major contributor with Foote in Columbus.
Thomas Kaberle - Toronto's number 2 defenseman. Won't be dressed in games vs. Ottawa or Philly, but should be solid otherwise.
Steve Staios - I like the name. Plus if he's on a line with Pronger, things will be good.
GOALTENDERS:
Dominik Hasek - Has the guts and grit, does he have the groin? Only time will tell. With the goal support the Sens will be giving him, wins shouldn't be an issue. Might be iffy on GAA and SV% though. If he can stay healthy for the entire season and playoffs, the Sens are winning the cup. Also, great mentor for Emery.
Jose Theodore - Can change Montreal's destiny overnight when he's on. Needs to wear more toques over masks though.
Patrick Lalime - Senator forever in my mind. I honestly loved the guy, but he had to go. His recent failure in Ottawa has made him more determined than ever, and I see solid things in his future in St. Louis. This won't be the first year they miss the playoffs in quite a while.
So that's the world as I see it. Please feel free (Scotty, Greg, Anonymous) to comment on anything and everything.
FORWARDS:
Marcus Naslund - solid player all around, my star for sure
Pavel Datsyuk - has the ability to light it up at any given time
Chris Simon - former penalty generator turned productive player in Calgary
Tony Amonte - banking on another Calgarian. Had a good year last year despite being on a shitty team. I see his points geting marginally better, but his plus/minus going up a lot
Micheal Ryder - good young player in Montreal. The Habs are going to play some good hockey this year, and Ryder's going to be a major contributor
Sean Avery - With Roenick around, has nowhere to go but up. For the time being, he's a hired goon. Plus he`s a bigot, so he can`t be all THAT bad.
Richard Zednik - good all around player on Montreal. nothing special, but solid.
Damond Langkow - 21 goal scorer with Phoenix last year, look for even better with Calgary this year.
DEFENSEMEN:
Brian Leetch - showed with Toronto last year that he can be a contributor with a decent team. Scored 15 points in 15 games there. Even in New York (R) he scored 36 points and was only -5. Look for him to shine in Boston.
Wade Redden - Perennial workhorse. This guy is solid as a rock and will give Chara a run for the Norris.
Kim Johnsson - Again, another solid player year in and year out. With Philly's acquisitions (bastards), look for even better things to come... until they meet Ottawa in the playoffs.
John-Micheal Liles - had 34 points as a rookie defensemen in 03/04 on Colorado. Will be looked to as a major contributor with Foote in Columbus.
Thomas Kaberle - Toronto's number 2 defenseman. Won't be dressed in games vs. Ottawa or Philly, but should be solid otherwise.
Steve Staios - I like the name. Plus if he's on a line with Pronger, things will be good.
GOALTENDERS:
Dominik Hasek - Has the guts and grit, does he have the groin? Only time will tell. With the goal support the Sens will be giving him, wins shouldn't be an issue. Might be iffy on GAA and SV% though. If he can stay healthy for the entire season and playoffs, the Sens are winning the cup. Also, great mentor for Emery.
Jose Theodore - Can change Montreal's destiny overnight when he's on. Needs to wear more toques over masks though.
Patrick Lalime - Senator forever in my mind. I honestly loved the guy, but he had to go. His recent failure in Ottawa has made him more determined than ever, and I see solid things in his future in St. Louis. This won't be the first year they miss the playoffs in quite a while.
So that's the world as I see it. Please feel free (Scotty, Greg, Anonymous) to comment on anything and everything.
