Thoughts for today:
Dining Services, what the heck am I paying you ridiculous amounts of money for? There is no good food to eat. We must revert to eating pizza, spinach and cereal for dinner. I know you will say, well that is a lot more than some people get to eat in this world. True. But i am paying The College enough money to buy some small countries. I should get good food in return.
PowerBook G4 15 inch......coolest thing ever. So psyched. I dont even know all the fun things it can do yet, but I'm learing and enjoying every second of it.
Best Sour Patch Kids combination in the mouth at the same time: red and green. Yum.
This is your life and it is ending one minute at a time.
Skinny-dipping is more socially acceptable for a gentleman than previously thought.
I am so glad my exam is over with and now i just have a ton more work to look forward to after the fun, but busy homecoming weekend.
The great thing about monkeys is.........EVERYTHING!
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Monday, October 20, 2003
This feeling is like Napoleon facing the enemy single-handedly at Waterloo. Standing on the front lines of life without the security and comfort of that which encourages and supports.
"No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world." -Aristotle
"There are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet." -Charles Caleb Colton
"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for." -Dag Hammarskjold
"I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' There is all the difference. " - Greta Garbo
"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?
The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.
Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?" -Proverbs 20:5-7,9
Chocolate milk just isn't the same without the chocolate. Tea needs its honey. Salt stands right next to pepper. Orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream go so well together. We are created for one other person. Once that person is found, there should be no extent to which you are unwilling to go, no sacrifice you are unwilling to make in order to keep that.
I want my rib back.
"No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world." -Aristotle
"There are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet." -Charles Caleb Colton
"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for." -Dag Hammarskjold
"I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' There is all the difference. " - Greta Garbo
"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?
The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.
Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?" -Proverbs 20:5-7,9
Chocolate milk just isn't the same without the chocolate. Tea needs its honey. Salt stands right next to pepper. Orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream go so well together. We are created for one other person. Once that person is found, there should be no extent to which you are unwilling to go, no sacrifice you are unwilling to make in order to keep that.
I want my rib back.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
So I appreciate Governor Warner choosing The College as the location for his education reform announcement yesterday. I also commend him for deciding to do something about education which is the critical element of society which has been hurt the most by budget problems. His solution, however, is not right. Let's first point out that Virginia has a collection of great colleges and universities in one state and therefore they should be the priority. Maintaining William and Mary, Virginia Tech, JMU, George Mason, Mary Washington, ODU, Christopher Newport and that school in Charlottesville should be the top priority. I am joking of course about UVA in this situation because of the schools in Virginia, they are the ones that think they are the closest to the academic level of William and Mary. Even if this is not true, they are still getting more and more recognition nationally and by becoming popular, their average freshman GPA and SAT scores are rising. Whether the school is getting any better is another matter. But competition and rivalries are not what is important at this point. VT and UVA have good football programs. VT is much better, but that doesn't matter. Virginia schools are therefore getting national recognition. VT's engineering program is incredible and is one of the best justifications for going to that school. Why can we not focus the state education money on preserving and increasing the quality of learning in these schools (W&M, VT, UVA, JMU, GMU) instead of allocating it elsewhere or even trying to create new universities that will take years to develop anyways.
The main problem with Warner's new program, other than the fact that it is yet another of his multiple programs that our state does not have the funds to support or complete well, is the fact that he is focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of focusing on having less students in these institutions and therefore more individual focus and because of this a better QUALITY of education (which is what a certain school in Williamsburg is about....but even here that vision is being lost), Warner thinks that it would be better to spend taxpayers' dollars on more QUANTITY of education. Meaning that what taxpayers get for their buck is not a better educated, brighter, business-leading, society-contributing graduate, what they get is more graduates with a poorer education. It is bad enough that more and more students are saturating our campuses making every aspect of the education process harder from studying to registering to participating to parking, but most important, actual learning is suffering. By Warner saying that he wants to increase the NUMBER (not quality) of graduates from 47,000 to 57,000 by the end of the decade it shows that he doesn't care about how much is learned or how much they will be able to contribute to society after graduation, all he cares about is numbers and being competitive and getting more tuition money. The more people you have rotating through these schools (which are already beyond capacity and are struggling to grow fast enough) the more revenue is produced. Clearly the state only cares about cash and not about the future, which Warner claims he is investing in.
And since the state only cares about money and the colleges and universities are starting to care about money more and more because the state is not giving them enough, the question then becomes, Warner are you proposing that this increase in graduates be more in-state or out-of-state students? Diversity is great, and I can understand why a college or university would want to have students from all over the nation. When you are a state school and much of you r support comes from the taxpayers in that state, shouldn't they be the ones that get priority? Sure in-state students get cheaper tuition, but is that enough? Their parents have been paying for college since before they were born because they have had to pay taxes for those schools. Yet in-state students that meet the high standards of these schools, which are getting harder to get into because of the great high school systems in Virginia, are being rejected to provide a spot for an out-of-state student who may not be as qualified but is admitted because they make the school's stats look better. So what is the result? Our schools go to crap because the focus is on having more students rather than better education and maybe even less students (gasp!). And these students that push the campus populations over the limit will most likely come from out-of-state making taxpayers who have paid for their children to attend a state school have to pay high out-of-state tuition because their child's spot is taken by someone from another state who will provide the university more money.
He also is proposing that budget be increased. These budgets, however, are restricted to development and research. Both of these allocations are great and they should be parts of colleges and universities that get money, but why not just increase the allocation of taxpaying dollars to the schools themselves and let the schools (and maybe even the students!!! What a novel idea!) decide how the money should be distributed the best based on their own goals and needs. The governor is attempting to look good and look like he is focusing on the wrong things, but is really just trying to get more money for the state and only gives out money in such a way that the state still has some control over it. There is a lot that needs to be done to preserve the high-quality academic institutions we have in this state, and it is surprising that Warner actually realizes that. It is just unfortunate that he is going about it the wrong way.
So instead of decreasing the number of students so the quality of education goes up, we will take tax dollars, reject in-state students, accept way too many out-of-state students, take their high tuition money and then invest a little bit of it in the wrong programs at the schools. Way to go Warner. That's just what we need. Give me a break.
The main problem with Warner's new program, other than the fact that it is yet another of his multiple programs that our state does not have the funds to support or complete well, is the fact that he is focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of focusing on having less students in these institutions and therefore more individual focus and because of this a better QUALITY of education (which is what a certain school in Williamsburg is about....but even here that vision is being lost), Warner thinks that it would be better to spend taxpayers' dollars on more QUANTITY of education. Meaning that what taxpayers get for their buck is not a better educated, brighter, business-leading, society-contributing graduate, what they get is more graduates with a poorer education. It is bad enough that more and more students are saturating our campuses making every aspect of the education process harder from studying to registering to participating to parking, but most important, actual learning is suffering. By Warner saying that he wants to increase the NUMBER (not quality) of graduates from 47,000 to 57,000 by the end of the decade it shows that he doesn't care about how much is learned or how much they will be able to contribute to society after graduation, all he cares about is numbers and being competitive and getting more tuition money. The more people you have rotating through these schools (which are already beyond capacity and are struggling to grow fast enough) the more revenue is produced. Clearly the state only cares about cash and not about the future, which Warner claims he is investing in.
And since the state only cares about money and the colleges and universities are starting to care about money more and more because the state is not giving them enough, the question then becomes, Warner are you proposing that this increase in graduates be more in-state or out-of-state students? Diversity is great, and I can understand why a college or university would want to have students from all over the nation. When you are a state school and much of you r support comes from the taxpayers in that state, shouldn't they be the ones that get priority? Sure in-state students get cheaper tuition, but is that enough? Their parents have been paying for college since before they were born because they have had to pay taxes for those schools. Yet in-state students that meet the high standards of these schools, which are getting harder to get into because of the great high school systems in Virginia, are being rejected to provide a spot for an out-of-state student who may not be as qualified but is admitted because they make the school's stats look better. So what is the result? Our schools go to crap because the focus is on having more students rather than better education and maybe even less students (gasp!). And these students that push the campus populations over the limit will most likely come from out-of-state making taxpayers who have paid for their children to attend a state school have to pay high out-of-state tuition because their child's spot is taken by someone from another state who will provide the university more money.
He also is proposing that budget be increased. These budgets, however, are restricted to development and research. Both of these allocations are great and they should be parts of colleges and universities that get money, but why not just increase the allocation of taxpaying dollars to the schools themselves and let the schools (and maybe even the students!!! What a novel idea!) decide how the money should be distributed the best based on their own goals and needs. The governor is attempting to look good and look like he is focusing on the wrong things, but is really just trying to get more money for the state and only gives out money in such a way that the state still has some control over it. There is a lot that needs to be done to preserve the high-quality academic institutions we have in this state, and it is surprising that Warner actually realizes that. It is just unfortunate that he is going about it the wrong way.
So instead of decreasing the number of students so the quality of education goes up, we will take tax dollars, reject in-state students, accept way too many out-of-state students, take their high tuition money and then invest a little bit of it in the wrong programs at the schools. Way to go Warner. That's just what we need. Give me a break.
Monday, October 13, 2003
This blog is still under constuction. I am not in the habit of posting regularly or at all for that matter. So if it were to be related to human development, the development of this blog would be similar to Piaget's sensorimotor stage. Very early in the process. Don't fret, it will be better in the future. For now, please excuse the lists of CDs and DVDs. Many people asked me to post them in a location where everyone could access them for ideas for my brithday. This seemed like a good place. Enjoy.
Here is the list of DVDs:
Matrix Reloaded
The Animatrix
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Fight Club (2 disc)
Last of the Mohicans
Cry Freedom
Stalker (Tarkovsky)
Solaris (by Tarkovsky)
The Mirror (Tarkovsky)
The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky)
Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
Amelie
Count of Monte Cristo
Pi
Memento
Red Violin
X-Men
X-Men 2
The Family Guy (Season 1 or 2)
Minority Report
Waiting for Guffman
JFK
Nixon
2 Days in the Valley
Seven Samurai
The Seventh Seal
Scarface
Good Will Hunting
The Pianist
Dead Poets Society
Smallville (first season)
A Mighty Wind
Angry Kid Collection
SNL Best of Dana Carvey
SNL Best of Adam Sandler
The Hire (bmwfilms.com)
Yamakasi
Anger Management
Identity
Matrix Reloaded
The Animatrix
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Fight Club (2 disc)
Last of the Mohicans
Cry Freedom
Stalker (Tarkovsky)
Solaris (by Tarkovsky)
The Mirror (Tarkovsky)
The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky)
Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
Amelie
Count of Monte Cristo
Pi
Memento
Red Violin
X-Men
X-Men 2
The Family Guy (Season 1 or 2)
Minority Report
Waiting for Guffman
JFK
Nixon
2 Days in the Valley
Seven Samurai
The Seventh Seal
Scarface
Good Will Hunting
The Pianist
Dead Poets Society
Smallville (first season)
A Mighty Wind
Angry Kid Collection
SNL Best of Dana Carvey
SNL Best of Adam Sandler
The Hire (bmwfilms.com)
Yamakasi
Anger Management
Identity
Here is a list of CDs I really want and will eventually get around to buying. If you need some ideas for birthday presents, feel free to look here. you dont have to get me anything and if you have a better idea, that is even better. thanks. (sorry it's long) I encourage use of www.awarestore.com or www.half.com if you are looking to purchase items online.
Ben Folds
- Speed Graphic
- Live CD (with bonus DVD)
- Naked Baby Photos
Glen Phillips
-abulum
-Live at Largo
Matt Nathanson
-Still Waiting for Spring
O.A.R
-In Between Now and Then
-Any Time Now
G Love and Special Sauce
-It’s Just that Easy
Dashboard Confessional
-A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (CD/DVD)
-So Impossible
-Swiss Army Romance
-Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Pete Schmidt
-On Your Way to Fly
Ben Harper
-3 CD Box Collection
-Burn to Shine
Matt Wertz
-Twenty Three Places
Yo-Yo Ma
-Obrigado Brazil
Sister Hazel
-Chasing Daylight
Third Eye Blind
-Out of the Vein
-Third Eye Blind
Jim Bianco
-Well Within Reason
Virginia Coalition
-Townburg
Carbon Leaf
-5 Alive
Angie Aparo
-For Stars and Moon
Edie Carey
-When I Was Made
Soundtrack
-Last of the Mohicans
-O Brother Where Art Thou?
-8 Mile
-Adaptation
-Snatch
Buena Vista Social Club
3 Doors Down
-The Better Life
Yo la Tengo
-Genius + Love = Yo la Tengo
-And then nothing turned itself inside out
-Summer Sun
Gavin DeGraw
-Chariot
Ari Hest
-Story After Story
The Shins
-Oh, Inverted World
Lifehouse
-No Name Face
-Stanley Climbfall (enhanced)
Radiohead
-Hail to the Thief
-Enigmatic (string tribute)
-Strung out on OK Computer (Various artists)
Coldplay
-A Rush of Blood to the Head
Jeff Magnum
-Live at Jittery Joe’s
Maroon 5
-Songs About Jane
Chantal Kreviazuk
-What if it all Means Something
-Colour Moving and Still
Howie Day
-Australia
-Madrigals
Christopher Jak
-Applause of the Rain
Tears from Heaven
PAX217
-twoseventeen
MxPx
-Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo
-Before Everything and After
Switchfoot
-Learning to Breathe
-New Way to be Human
-The Beautiful Letdown
Tenacious D
-self titled
Ben Folds
- Speed Graphic
- Live CD (with bonus DVD)
- Naked Baby Photos
Glen Phillips
-abulum
-Live at Largo
Matt Nathanson
-Still Waiting for Spring
O.A.R
-In Between Now and Then
-Any Time Now
G Love and Special Sauce
-It’s Just that Easy
Dashboard Confessional
-A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (CD/DVD)
-So Impossible
-Swiss Army Romance
-Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Pete Schmidt
-On Your Way to Fly
Ben Harper
-3 CD Box Collection
-Burn to Shine
Matt Wertz
-Twenty Three Places
Yo-Yo Ma
-Obrigado Brazil
Sister Hazel
-Chasing Daylight
Third Eye Blind
-Out of the Vein
-Third Eye Blind
Jim Bianco
-Well Within Reason
Virginia Coalition
-Townburg
Carbon Leaf
-5 Alive
Angie Aparo
-For Stars and Moon
Edie Carey
-When I Was Made
Soundtrack
-Last of the Mohicans
-O Brother Where Art Thou?
-8 Mile
-Adaptation
-Snatch
Buena Vista Social Club
3 Doors Down
-The Better Life
Yo la Tengo
-Genius + Love = Yo la Tengo
-And then nothing turned itself inside out
-Summer Sun
Gavin DeGraw
-Chariot
Ari Hest
-Story After Story
The Shins
-Oh, Inverted World
Lifehouse
-No Name Face
-Stanley Climbfall (enhanced)
Radiohead
-Hail to the Thief
-Enigmatic (string tribute)
-Strung out on OK Computer (Various artists)
Coldplay
-A Rush of Blood to the Head
Jeff Magnum
-Live at Jittery Joe’s
Maroon 5
-Songs About Jane
Chantal Kreviazuk
-What if it all Means Something
-Colour Moving and Still
Howie Day
-Australia
-Madrigals
Christopher Jak
-Applause of the Rain
Tears from Heaven
PAX217
-twoseventeen
MxPx
-Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo
-Before Everything and After
Switchfoot
-Learning to Breathe
-New Way to be Human
-The Beautiful Letdown
Tenacious D
-self titled
ok so honestly.....when the dining services give you a survey to fill out about what you would like changed why is there not a section where you can write in "can we please be served real food so that our meals don't reinforce the conception that we are starving from malnutrition in a Russian military camp outside Stalingrad in October 1942." i mean honeslty....give me a break. there are so few times when i have ever had something that is good. it is as if we are forcing ourselves to consume some slop in order to continue to move and maintain homeostasis. the few times i have had something good, it is such a shock that i dont know what to do with myself. my response is to eat it every time till the positive response is habituated and i no longer want that food. hmmmm peanut butter sandwiches when i was a kid anyone? i think so. basically, the state needs to focus on education and make that a priority, give us more money so that we can continue to be a great institution and so that students won't get so frustrated. we are here for the academics, but that doesnt mean we have to be emaciated or ill-fed at the same time.
disclaimer: the macaroni and cheese at the marketplace is good and occasionally the brocoli and cheese soup or clam chowder....but as i said, i get sick of eating just those things. Also, I am not directly blaming the dining services workers because i think they work really hard and do a great job with what they have to work with.
disclaimer: the macaroni and cheese at the marketplace is good and occasionally the brocoli and cheese soup or clam chowder....but as i said, i get sick of eating just those things. Also, I am not directly blaming the dining services workers because i think they work really hard and do a great job with what they have to work with.
so after the trips up and down the east coast this weekend for my brother's wedding, which was beautiful and totally worth it, not only have i put an extra 500 miles on my car, but i am now convinced that it's about ready to start pushing up the daisies. this car is no more, it has ceased to be. it is bereft of life, it rests in peace. if you hadnt nailed it to the perch it would already be joining the choir invisible. this is an ex parrot...i mean car. tangents. they are killer. so like i was saying, the thing i am most concerned about is the fact that the car is about to pack it's bags for the eternal kingdom. it was either three or four years ago that this car was handed down to me because may parents didnt trust it and were concerned that it might break down on my brother as he was driving. he gets a used GTI. i get the car on its deathbed with malaria, syphilis, Sumerian yellow fever and the common Russian cold. not that i dont like the car, i do. it's just that if im going to have a car, i dont want to drive like a chipmunk waiting for a bomb to go off. unfortunate series of events.
speaking of which. "dont piss me off" of the day: dont come to dinner, or any other meal that matter, in a public place and bring magazines and books to read instead of conversing with people. what i'm not good enough for you? harry potter is better? if so then why should i spend time to come out to a meal with you if you aren't going to talk to me. and beyond that, with your nose in the book i cant even see your face. give me a break.
disclaimer: i love reading and encourage it to people of all ages, just be respectful. do it later while using Pine-sol on your rug-burn or eating yams with the llamas. considers others first. be third.
speaking of which. "dont piss me off" of the day: dont come to dinner, or any other meal that matter, in a public place and bring magazines and books to read instead of conversing with people. what i'm not good enough for you? harry potter is better? if so then why should i spend time to come out to a meal with you if you aren't going to talk to me. and beyond that, with your nose in the book i cant even see your face. give me a break.
disclaimer: i love reading and encourage it to people of all ages, just be respectful. do it later while using Pine-sol on your rug-burn or eating yams with the llamas. considers others first. be third.
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