February 28, 2004
Happy Birthday
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Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to Rizwan!
Happy Birthday to me!
23 years old. Almost done with college, so I’m slowly catching up there… I’m gonna do my best not to get depressed ala Heather about what I have and havent’ done in the last year (which wasn’t actually that bad), but look at myself a year ago and how much I’d rather be what I am now then what I was then…
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February 26, 2004
As Usual
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I’m getting overly concerened re dating, to the point that I’m spending way too much time to thinking about it. Part of my recovery (beyond espousing my recent club activities later) is to remove the waiting links from MyIE2, and I’m doing that now. If I really get back into hunting online dating later, then I’ll worry about it then.
- A Phenominal site on sex for youngsters
- Oh, they’ve just extended the SAT to include a Writing section; now its out of 2400. Just great; more writing (good), less (comparative) math (VERY bad); welcome to America!
- Cool homepages!
- A nice variant form of Magic multiplayer called hat
- Some stupid Darksteel promotion for the Euros only
- How many forum members does it take to change a lightbulb?
- PC based PVR software
- Some girls on Cultzero
I really should just make a page for magic strategy articles I want to read ;p
* The Grand Unified Theory: Advantage - VCA and Tempo
* Back to Basics: Sealed Deck Exercise
- The coolest bittorrenting group - educational stuff!
- I need to register to vote after the primaries
- The Final Fantasy Music Concert thingie
- Java Settlers of Catan (COOL!)
*Another Newsgroup server perhaps? - Duelmasters, the new CCG thats supposed to be explosive
- Stuff on Everything2.com and H2g2 are cool
dating stuff
* Interesting Yahoo Personal - in the ville though
* My Hot or Not Matches
* Sex Tips and Dating advice
* Friendster and Orkut can be very addicting, it seems.
* A cute girl (among others) on Orkut
* Another totally cool seeming geek
* Orkut members at Caltech and Harvey Mudd (Swoon) … they have GIRLS there!
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February 21, 2004
Shake it...
C
NN.com - Polaroid warns buyers not to ‘shake it’ - Feb. 18, 2004
LONDON, England (Reuters) — OutKast fans like to “shake it like a Polaroid picture,” but the instant camera maker is warning consumers that taking the advice of the hip-hop stars could ruin your snapshots.
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February 17, 2004
Blog Redesign
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I’m up in arms about re-designing my blog ,and after dinner, some school coding and seeing suman uncle, its midnight and I’m not in the mood to spend 8 hours reprogramming my blog.
Plus my design skills aren’t that good.
Any thoughts on these?
http://www.kottke.org/
its busy but I REALLY like this http://www.highindustrial.com/
http://wizbangblog.com/archives/000453.php
http://a.wholelottanothing.org/archives.blah/006625
I really like how http://philringnalda.com/ handles categroies
http://stupidevilbastard.com/
http://www.fultonchain.net/archives.php
http://www.antipixel.com/blog/ !!
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/02/16/agua_caliente/index_np.html the design isnt bad!
http://www.dandelionwine.org/
I really should TRY to design on my own ;p
I might find some basics from
http://blogstyles.com/
I’m going to divide the site into six categories,
Love affairs
School affairs
Fun times (magic, places I go)
Link central (all the random cool links I find)
Code central (code bases for my project and chatter about CS)
Rants
Not sure where work stuff is going to fit.
I have to get my Uzbek photos ready as well ;p
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February 16, 2004
M&Ms
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NN.com - M&M’s obsession leads to physics discovery - Feb. 16, 2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Princeton physicist Paul Chaikin’s passion for M&M’s candies was so well known that his students played a sweet practical joke on him by leaving a 55-gallon drum of the candies in his office.
Little did they know that their prank would lead to a physics breakthrough.
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My cool draft
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The draft deck, the only ones that I’ve really done well with. 
seems to work with me :). This was MIR/DS/DS btw.
Anyhow, the deck was fun, pumping up Trisky was phenominal, and that Talon of Pain is just incredibly good at creature removal…
I’m liking the DNA Minds Desire deck I’ve been playing from SCG, as well as my regular Cleric deck.
Another interesting Cleric deck.
I should start going to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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February 13, 2004
One of those
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I’ve written this one in mind many a time, don’t think I ever actually blogged it.
Have I mentioned how much I hate barring/clubbing?
I’ll walk in, thinking I look decent, smile at the bouncer, grab a drink and pull up a chair. I’ll immediately notice the many groups of women, the thirty and fourty somethings, the random guys…
Well, let me lead up a bit better. The day was a long one, lots of time at home, downloading Scrubs episodes, coding for class and in general working. After a particularly good Scrubs episode and a verse of “Brothers in Arms” in my head, I knocked into inspired mode… the ones that occur from my medication and a really good thought hitting at the same time (sans the meds this time) … and the world looked conquerable —- nothing I couldn’t do, UCLA won’t be a problem etc…
(By the way, during this time, the amount of time I spent playing/thinking about Magic seemed utterly retarded; the scrubs episodes as totally irrelevant, etc.)
Day passed on and I decided that I MUST go out. Delayed as much as possible, including emailing HeatherW, in the attempt to find anything that might be social in this hell hole that didn’t involve clubbing or a bar. Showered shaved, invited Brian and Nichole, saying that I had to spend time with non-gamers/non-glasses wearers.
Look nice.
Show up at the bar, have a half Corona, panic overtakes me, and I end up splitting after about ten minutes. A few randomly cute girls in groups, but some thought of Heather telling me that I objectify women starts floating in my head and I can’t approach anyone… Tried to call her, got Joel instead, and we talked politics for ten… Got to Brian and Nicholes, watched ‘The Surreal Life’ and I split again.
Went back to the bar. It wasn’t going to have the best of me.
Got back, had a Pepsi and looked around. A girl with glasses that I had seen the first visit was there… then Outkast’s “Hey ya” came on, and of course, I chickened out and didn’t dance. There wasn’t a massive dancing group but there were a few. A pair of girls wandered on and clung together after a rather large Hispanic man approached them… and continued to dance with them although clearly they didnt want him around. More music passed and some white guy flirted with one of the girls and I didn’t summon the guts in time to go try to dance with the other. Glasses girl sat down cause she was being surrounded by … guys; and I asked her to dance. Summoned all my courage and did it. Got shot down of course. I’ve learned to deal with it, but I’d ONCE like a good bar/club story. Tried to buy some girls a round later but I just got odd looks.
Just as importantly, this serial picking up on girls isn’t me, and I don’t know why I try to be like that.
Its just I’ve got no other alternatives to meet people… seriously. I don’t have dorms, clubs, friends’s friends… at least at UCLA I KNEW that if I tried harder… but it isn’t so right now.
Its very easy to vicitimize oneself, esp when I start getting paranoid, acting intellctual, as if I am making a study of the dating habits of Homo sapiens, or whatever to detach myself from the din of a bar… but I’m just like everyone else; … one can think that I’ve been led to feel myself as a victim or different due to what HeatherW called as my ‘team of shrinks’, but I’d like to think I victimize myself less…
One of thes days I’ll learn that I dont like these places, and I’m not right for them. I’ll learn that im NOT that kind of guy and that I’m not likely to meet someone right for me AT this kind of place. I’m not an average guy and I won’t be happy with an average girl (nor would they be with me) … by average, I’m not being elitest, I mean different .. althought I’m not as out there as I’d have myself believe.
Its too easy to get trapped into ideologies… that online dating is terrible, or the saviour of the gods… that playing magic and doing gaming is a reasonable alternative to clubbing or hanging out with others…
I’d just like SOMETHING to be simple. Actually, I’d like this to be simple. I can be social, I’m not your avg. nerd; I like to talk to people and meet new people; can sit down and have a chat with a totally new person… I just can’t meet people in crowds, I come off as awkard, or something. Hating crowds doesn’t help. Being overly self-concious doesn’t either… but thats a human afflicition.
I tried at the club, at least, and thats a victory of its own.
A victory over myself.
/me wants to learn how to not overthink things.
I’m gonna see heatherw tomorrow, I’m sure this’ll come up (unless she cancels in fear of this conversation)
-rk
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February 11, 2004
Valintines
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Reminds me to keep up with my few H/n emails.
Also to call Robin to talk to her answering machine. Yeah I’ve pretty much given up there.
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Whats cooler than being cool?
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Interesting enough few days. I had a blog title all worked out for a recap of the GP, and I’ll write that as soon as I get back. (I’m on a break ‘tween midterms.)
Judging Magic is a new obsession for me. I’m spending too much time in IRC (EFnet #mtgjudge) and planning for upcoming events. That being said, I’m probably working GP Columbus (sponsorship) and possibly GP Washington (housing only)… My goal is to be ready for the level two test by PT San Diego, so that if I can take it, I can work the main event…! (Its up to Rune whether I can a) Test for L2 early or b) Work the PT as a L1) … Sheldon has some issues; but those are for the next blog entry.
Exams are going fine, one down, one upcoming. Friday is a day off; I’ve got a significant amount of projects in classes due next week so the timing is great; but with such a long break (Thursday - Sunday), I really feel I should be going somewhere or doing something. (Or dating someone.) But thats a constant point anyhow ;p
I’ve gotten the ball rolling on returning to UCLA, and its freaking me out. John, my counselor, heard some determination in my voice and thinks I should be ready now; but I’m scared to all hell. First, living with the ‘rents has helped with school focus and I don’t know what I’ll do; do I drive to UCLA, find an apartment down there? Live with extended family of some sort? Live in my car? ;p
Second, UCLA is a LOT harder than CSU Pomona. Lets be honest, I’m not being elitest or in any way degrading Pomona or its students, but what is expected of students ISN’T nearly close to that at UCLA. Stuff I get away with at Pomona wouldn’t be accepted at LA, and the question “Am I only doing well because Pomona is easier?” floats to the top of my mind (constantly).
All that being said, if I go back, and everything transfers ok, I’ll be at around (halts to Remotely Anywhere to my home machine to turn on Kazaa and look at my school progress Excel file)… Ok, I can’t remote in for some reason, so I started Kazaa via command prompt. Anyhow, its close to 60 units, which is 3-4 quarters at UCLA, perfectly managable. … and then I’ll be DONE. After (counts) … 99,00,01,02,03,04,05 … seven years (omg, I’ll be a seven year college student!) I’ll finally be done!
(The question that begs to follow is, what after that? I refuse to worry just yet)
I’m hoping to go abroad again this summer; hitting Japan or England are the two biggies on my mind… either trying to work at the Beeb in England or teach English in Japan… Aarif is in Japan, so he might be able to suggest something. Apparently it pays quite well, (but they ask you to have a degree), so some future investigation is required.
Ok, quick review of materials, then back to examming.
Rizzy
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February 06, 2004
Oakland
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I’m going to be up in Oakland this weekend; theres a minor possibility I’ll be meeting someone there from H/n, but not likely.
It’s GP Oakland time… then GP Madrid in .. omg, two weeks! I’ve really got to get a flight reserved!
GP Oakland is Mirrodin + Darksteel sealed, so it should be fun; instead of the Mickey mouse tournament that GP Anahiem was … The insanity of Tinker!
So, I’ll see anyone thats going there; i’ll be back Sunday!
rk
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February 02, 2004
ITS SNOWWWING!
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We got a Olympus E1 for work yesterday and it is the new toy of the house… I love my EOS 3 and won’t buy a digital SLR until they have a EOS 3 digital, but it isn’t half bad.
My going insane, taking pictures of snow (and my mum) attached.
enjoy!
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