:: So It Is Written... ::

:: Saturday, September 29, 2001 ::

 

well, I know I haven't written in a while, but with good cause... my CTS is acting up something fierce, and it makes typing quite painful. I can only type about a sentence at a time, and then I have to stop and shake out my hands. so I guess I can't leave many thought provoking insights into my life right now. Suffice it to say that life is going ok and I am very much looking forward to seeing my Deedee in less than a week now :) I'm also working on a project putting together a video. I've already done the sound editing for it, but the video part is going to be a bit tough for me. My roommate, Richard, is quite good at video editing, so hopefully he'll help me out a little bit, and maybe I'll put a little credits thing at the end... directed by me, produced by him? something like that...

ok, enough typing... time to go ice down the wrists...

:: posted by Tmber :: 2:00 AM ::

 

why is it every time I get ready to type something on here, my hands start hurting and I can't type? it sucks. oh well... here I sit and hunt and peck and feel like a chicken... bagock!

anyway... I better at least rest and try this again later...

:: posted by Tmber :: 11:31 PM ::

 

Thought for the day: That was Zen, this is Tao

:: posted by Tmber :: 11:26 PM ::

 

I'm going to cut off my finger. my ring finger on my left hand... not all of it, just the first knuckle or so... why? well, I've torn the cutical or something on that finger nail, and now it feels like it's getting infected because it's all swolen and it hurts and it's painful, and I'll probably just have to pay some doctor a couple thousand to cut it off anyway, so why not do it myself? makes sense to me...

On a different note, I watched cast away tonight. I've seen the movie before, but this time, as I watched the movie, only one thought kept running through my mind... I miss Deedee! Probably not the best thing to do: watch a movie where the guy does not get the girl when you're 1200 miles away from your own girl and you miss her very much. At least I'll get to see her in two weeks... I'm flying home and then driving down to po'dunk just so I can visit her :) ain't that right, cutie? ;)

Welp, I'm off to bed, it's waaaaaayy too late.

:: posted by Tmber :: 5:48 AM ::

 

Alter Cloth - when you absolutely, positively must sacrifice the cat on the dining room table without getting blood on the floor.

:: posted by Tmber :: 3:53 AM ::

 

I am Mr. Copycat, but hey, I thought this was funny too... I just didn't have the foresight to copy it down, so I copied it from Amanda's blog. It's still funny, so here it is:

tmberwolff- hey, what's up?


Random- not a damn thing. unfortunately. oh, lord, i'm in a mood. :)


tmberwolff - good mood?


Random- i don't even know. :)


tmberwolff- uh oh


tmberwolff- look out! she's gonna buy something!


Random- yeah. scott and jp are coming over in less than 2 hours and my house is a mess..and, dammit.. i just might...


tmberwolff- lol


Random- ugh... anyway.. so hi! :)


tmberwolff- hi :)


tmberwolff - how's it been going?


Random- alright. been working. and watching a lot of cartoons. And not cleaning. how about you?


tmberwolff- been doing homework... was up til 4:30 last night


Random- ewww....


tmberwolff- yup


Random- i'm sorry...


tmberwolff- not your fault is it?


Random- mebbie. i invented rocket science.


tmberwolff- LOL


Random- *grins*


tmberwolff- and I invented golf


tmberwolff - :)


Random- *smack*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


tmberwolff- what was that for???


Random- inventing golf!

:: posted by Tmber :: 11:27 PM ::

 

no, this won't be the last time, either

:: posted by Tmber :: 5:44 PM ::

 

what, you didn't actually think it was gonna work on the first try, did you?

:: posted by Tmber :: 5:41 PM ::

 

ok, I'm doing this whole updating-the-template thing again... let's see how it goes....

:: posted by Tmber :: 5:36 PM ::

 

I just fell down the stairs... I find this funny... then again, it is 3:30 in the morning, and I'm still doing homework... go figure...

:: posted by Tmber :: 4:31 AM ::

 

I was called a Hippie today. Me... a hippie...

I was attending a small talk on the astronaut selection process given by a professor in the department who has made it to the final cut the last two selection cycles. I've talked to him several times before, and there's a good chance that he'll be my major professor and I'll do research for him for the next 5 years or so. I came up to him after the talk and made the joking comment, "so what do you think, should I cut my hair before my interview?" We talked for another second or two and he ended the conversation by saying that I should "get a crew cut and go in there looking like a military captain rather than a hippie [from the 70's]". not sure about those last few words, they were lost in the crowd. I laughed as I left, but then I thought about it... The man I am thinking about asking for a job thinks I look like a hippie... I keep myself nothing but presentable when I'm in public. I keep my hair short in front, out of my eyes, and in back, my hair is always pulled back. I wear my hair long in back because that's the way I like it, it's my hair, and it doesn't hurt anyone else.... but I guess it goes to show you that people of this age are still quick to judge based on appearences... Or maybe I'm reading way too much into it, and it was all just meant as a comical comment.

Dad gum, chocolate creme oreos are good... and addictive... almost addictive as crack.. which reminds me... I will have to respectfully postpone my posting of "A Layman's Guide to Crack: Choose Your Flavor" until a later, as-of-yet undetermined date. I know all my thousands and thousands of readers will be bitterly disappointed, but oh well... such is life.

On a related note, I'm going to bring riot gear to my office hours tomorrow because I fully expect to be mobbed. We handed back the first homework assignment I graded in class today. Kids barely had the papers in their hands before they were jumping out of their seats yelling "Who grades in green?!?!" (each of the three TA's has their own color, and mine is, of course, green). Kids come at me from all directions with different comments. One guy I remember had his paper waving it in my face saying he didn't appreciate me taking off points because he gave a volume instead of a mass as an answer, to which I replied, the problem asked for an amount, or mass, not a volume. He kept saying it was the same thing and he should get credit back. I snatched his paper away from him and kindly pointed out that he had done the whole problem wrong anyway, so no matter how he looked at it, it was WRONG and he was NOT going to get credit for it. I think he called me something under his breath, but he sulked away, which is fine for me. I told Richard that I hope they do try to storm my office tomorrow... I thrive on conflict, especially when I know that I'm right, and they're wrong :)

well, time for sleep has come at last. I must depart to a different realm... ::sings and walks away:: of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings, and why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings... caloo calay we'll sing all dddaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy... 'bout cabbages aaaaand kings.....

:: posted by Tmber :: 3:39 AM ::

 

My hands hurt so I can't type much, but I wanted to post something so I could look back and feel productive, having done at least something other than eat, sleep, and play crack. Maybe when my hands stop hurting I'll post the layman's guide to crack: choose your flavor.

:: posted by Tmber :: 10:51 PM ::

 

Another day gone... I feel so lazy and worthless... all I did today was eat, sleep, and watch tv.

Bought the movie The Siege with Bruce Willis and Denziel Washington, or however you spell his name. I thought it might have been an appropriate movie to watch, but I was startled at exactly how many parallels there are between the movie and what has happened this week. I highly recommend all those with sound minds to rent it and watch it. I don't want to give away all the secrets, but look for these: the terrorists in the movie were trained by the CIA and then turned on the US. The terrorists were on the terrorist "watch list" but still managed to get into the country. The other terrorists made it into the country under student visas. The movie also touches on hate crimes and martial law, and of course is set in new york. I have to say it's an exceptionally eerie feeling watching the movie. Kinda makes you feel anxious among other things.

To reciprocate the kindness shown to me, and to test my ability to add links to a blog, I'm going to attempt to give you all (all, like, one of you) a link to Amanda's Blog. Be sure to check it out if you get a chance...

Well, I probably need sleep... I've watched quite a few movies today and it's late... Let's see... I've watched battlefield: earth, cherry 2000 (shows you how little was on tv today), the siege, fists of legend, from dusk till dawn, plus a lot of tv like the news and mtvX. boy do I feel lazy...

Later....

:: posted by Tmber :: 5:33 AM ::

 

Third time's a charm... got the archiving thingy up and running... I only had to teach myself how to program Java to do it, but hey... at least it's done now....

:: posted by Tmber :: 9:25 PM ::

 

take three....

:: posted by Tmber :: 9:23 PM ::

 

take two....

:: posted by Tmber :: 9:19 PM ::

 

Had to post something to update the template... let's see if it works.....

:: posted by Tmber :: 9:12 PM ::

 

Well, we're still alive... nothing happened, and you want to know what the profound significance of that is? It means that my homework is still due in the morning...

I started grading papers today... what an interesting feeling knowing that you are directly controlling the grades of underling engineers. I found today that I had a deep regret of all the pain I must have put my professors through. My chicken-scratch writing and my stream-of-consciousness writing style must have driving them crazy. Almost as crazy as some of these papers are driving me... What child aspiring engineer writes their homework on the back of engineering paper... in highlighter... with the answers written sideways up the paper??? AHHH! My momma always said engineer is as engineer does... something like that... I wonder if these students would be insulted if I scratched out their name and wrote "Engineer Gump" on their papers? I'd be fired for that. Must be true...

Anyway, I've rambled enough. I better sleep... sleep is always good. The weekend starts later today. too bad I have to grade papers...

--Wolff

:: posted by Tmber :: 2:08 AM ::

 

"So it begins..." ironic... I chose those words to be my first post just for poetic asthetics, but that was yesterday, and so much can happen in 24 short hours.

I woke up this morning like any other, rolled out of bed into my computer chair. Being the nosey person I am, I checked everyone's away message. I was suprised when more than one of the messages read "if you haven't turned on your tv yet, do it now". This seemed very odd to me, so I started downstairs to see what was up. I was met almost at my door by my roommate saying things like, dude, the world trade centers are just gone, the pentagon's been bombed, america's at war. So I sat in front of the tv and watched as this whole story unfolded in front of me. Even as I watched, a great shadow settled in on my mind. I didn't quite know what it was, but I knew it was there, and it bothered me.

So I went to class only to find that my first class was cancelled and that the engineers did what engineers would do in times like this, and we sat and discussed all the technical details of the crashes. After I had had enough of the structures and mechanics involved, my mind briefly touched on the religious implications of the matter. My mind had already thrown around the verse in revelations where it says the descended in iron horses, and just yesterday my mother told me about the new super virus they were discovering. I'll come back to that issue. And still that shadow hung in my mind...

Then, I got to the fun stuff... the conspiracy. I had read in a book (by Grisham, I believe) where the cia had allowed a bombing of an embassy to pass a bill increasing funding for the intelligence and military. Already senators were pledging money for these departments, but my mind wouldn't accept the idea that anyone would sacrified 10,000 people for money. A few hundred, yeah, no doubt. And then the thought occured to me that it was that exact thought that would keep anyone safe who might have had those motivations. The american people will never raise a finger at the cia because we refuse to believe that they would allow 10,000 to die. And then Richard pointed out that maybe the cia was thinking a few semi trucks with explosives... that would have killed a few hundred, and that maybe they allowed it thinking it was something smaller. It bothered me that on so many other issues, the government is quick to say that they didn't know anything, but this one, all they would say when asked if they had prior knowledge was "we don't discuss military intelligence here". Not a very fitting answer, but oh well. I am not accusing the government of any such plot... these are just my thoughts as they occured to me. No one will ever know if that is the way it was, but if these acts continue, there would be no doubt in my mind that it was, in fact, not our government or any agency in control of them.

And then there was that dad gum shadow which had really started to bother me... so I bought something. Sad, but true... I went to walmart and bought a printer... felt a little better, but that's another story.

Back at the house, I got into another religious discussion. One where someone was pointing out to me that this could signal the second coming of the Lord. To put everyone's mind at ease, I say this. It is also written that Christ will return "like a theif in the night". If anyone is expecting him to return, don't expect him to return.

Then we discussed what comes next. I can think of nothing more than would strike fear into the hearts of every american than if these terrorists were to stage another attack tomorrow morning. With our government claiming it's highest level of threat awareness, a blow now would be crippling to the american psyche. We would realize that nothing is safe or sacred, and it would probably throw the country into panic and chaos. that's the goal of terrorism, right? So Richard and I have come up with two possible worst case scenarios for striking fear into the people. (I must take an aside now and point out one of Richard, Mike, and my other predictions that does not seem so funny now. About three months ago, we spent an hour discussion the effectiveness of jumbo jets used as kamakazi bombers. We discussed the horrified looks of people seeing a fleet of low flying 747's coming at them... I never put faces with those looks until today. Now it is all too real and not funny at all) But as for our two cases now, which I hope neither of which play out. The first thing we think is that since the east coast was hit, the west coast will be next. The obvious place on the west coast is las angelas, but there didn't seem to be any military targets there. then again, what was military about the trade centers? The other thing I thought of was what keeps people thinking they're safe? They're small and they're far away. Imagine, if you will the horror that would follow if no one thought they were safe. I commented to Richard that at least we would have been safe in Starkville because it's one of the remote corners of the world... no one would ever think of us... but what if they did? What would happen if terrorist set off a tatical nuclear bomb in a small city in the mid west? Nothing more than a population of 10-15,000... All of a sudden, this isn't a big city ordeal, and we return to the whole panic and chaos.

Well, I have some bad news... the government is thinking like me and Richard. (a little late, but you can't blame them). The Navy just dispatched 15 warships to the west coast. They only sent 7 to the east coast. If nothing else, it says they are considering the threat. It's enough to make my hair stand on end just thinking about it... We're nearing the hours I've been thinking about and writing about here, and I can't help but feel a little nervous.

But I was tarrying in the past... allow me to continue... so what of this shadow? this cloud that has been in my mind all day.. Well, I actually figured it out before I started writing this. I fear it is none other than the shadow of change. I feel that the world we live it, the nation we live in at least, is setting on the verge of some big changes. What they are, or how they will come about, I don't know... All I know is that's what I feel. I feel that my generation will be these ones setting back telling our grandchildren stories of the old country to some extent. Back when gas was under $2/gallon, and the government wasn't controlled by the military or something of that scale. Change... That's the shadow that over powers my mind tonight, and all I have is time to decide if it's a premonition or the fancy of an idle mind.

Time is the maker and unmaker of all things... So it is written...

:: posted by Tmber :: 2:43 AM ::

 

So it begins...

:: posted by Tmber :: 12:48 AM ::