Obligatory Frisbee Post--But Wait, There’s More!

gower coast
Originally uploaded by Turing Test This.

Won again, despite my dropping two of the easiest passes ever. I hope it’s just because of the sweat that comes from running all over the field. It’s a good thing that none of my team members read this blog; they’d probably start electronically yelling at me to stop being so hard on myself. :) There was even more running than usual today because we only had three subs in the first half, and only two in the second. The other team had something like five or six subs. Anyway, Team Blue improves to 4-0.

And now, more.

I know many of you probably never saw many of the pictures that resulted from my European travels. Therefore, I think I’ll throw in a few of my favorites here and there. Enjoy!

Photo explanation: Near Swansea, Wales, the surprisingly magnificent beaches of the Gower Peninsula. You don't associate surfing with Britain, most likely, but there's quite a bit of that going on this coast. Pretty serious tidal differences, too, as you might be able to tell from the broad flatness of the beach. It’s usually pretty windy at the beach, and when it rains it can be miserable in a very British way, but any other time it is beautiful.

The Gower Peninsula was the destination of the first American exchange student tour the day after I arrived in Britain. That time, it was one of those rainy days, but even then the fog ended doing some very interesting things with the horizon. But that’s another picture/story. Later in the year, my flatmates and I would go to the beach to relax, and Ewan would tell us interesting things about geology. Sometimes Sam, the English literature major, would debate him over the subject of whether a thing is more beautiful when it is analyzed and understood or when it is simply experienced. Perhaps it was almost a debate between archetypes, the Artist and the Scientist. Those were good conversations.

Oddly enough there is a street named Gower in Lawrence, only about a block from where I will be living in the fall.

Canoeing, OR, Wow, the Vowel Sequence “oei” Looks Awkward

A nice thing about being in a summer program like a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is this: sometimes, you don’t have to plan your social activities and adventures. The program directors will plan them for you. In this case, the Chemistry Department set us up to go canoeing on Lake Woodson (near Emporia, KS, if you know where that is) on a fine, hot Kansas summer afternoon. The canoeing was originally supposed to take place on a river in the region, but recent thunderstorms caused water levels to rise to the extent that that plan became a bad idea.

Naturally, the lake was quite warm near the surface and in shallow waters, so getting in was exceedingly comfortable, and still cooler than being out of the water. I am also rather certain that despite my best SPF 45 efforts, I got sunburned, but maybe not too badly. Other notable highlights of the trip include everyone paddling into a cove, getting stuck, backing out very awkwardly, a canoe (not mine) tipping over, and subsequent swimming and investigation of the mysterious solar-powered cubes suspended over floats on the lake. To those of you unfamiliar with the world of fishing, it will not be obvious that the last part refers to automated fish-feeding devices used in fish population management.

On another note, the drive to and from the lake gave me a chance to read a bit. Now that I have finished reading about galactic colonization, it was time for me to move on to Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. This is, in fact, the novel referred to in Waking Life as the PKD novel that supposedly resembles the Book of Acts, so for that reason at least, I had to check it out. A very strange novel, but a quick, interesting read. Typical PKD metaphysical science fiction, which I like. On that note, I offer this haiku, second in a series of X, where X is an integer (I hope):
“PKD says MU”
All I do not see
And all I un-think confirms:
Reality isn’t.

An Unusual Step: Political Endorsement

I usually prefer to stay away from politics, since both parties are being rather stupid most of the time these days. It might also be that my vote doesn’t count, at least in presidential elections (I can vote in either Kansas or North Dakota, either of which will go Republican). On that note, go to this site and search for “Party Differentiation and the Decision to Vote” by my friend Ian Ostrander.

But there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned petition on a topic of personal interest to get a disenchanted young voter to make an endorsement. Or rather, a good old-fashioned petition writ large (~one million signatures) thanks to the InterWeb. The problem is that it appears that Congress has proposed massive cuts in funding for public broadcasting (i.e. PBS, NPR). Personally, I think public broadcasting is one of the few places left with a decent claim to balanced, in-depth reporting on a wide variety of topics, many of global importance that are nevertheless overlooked by commercial news organizations because they don’t sell. (I’m sure Bob would argue with me on a lot of that, however.) There’s also the BBC. But anyway, if this sounds like a bad idea to you, check out the petition.

Yes, I am aware that MoveOn.org is sponsoring this. Yes, I am aware of their liberal bent and past affiliation with Howard Dean. Yes, I still will support them on this issue. If the conservatives will not stand to save public broadcasting, then I will stand with the liberals. And if Tom Vacek can be a liberal these days, then I think I can quite honorably ally myself with them.

Hey, if nothing else, my mentioning of politics in this post will bring a storm of comments to this blog.

Looks Like Every Tuesday We’re Going to Have a Frisbee Post

Well, it seems my team has won again. Yep, we’re pretty awesome. Still undefeated. I think I’m still the worst player on the team. But I’m probably getting better. And the only way to get better is to play more. Now if only I could figure out a way to use my sweet ninja chi channeling powers to improve my Frisbee game instead of just using it to get spares in bowling…

Sonnet: Second in a Series of K, where K is Probably 3.

It also appears that my computer has now moved into giving life advice (see line 6). And remember, no sponge abhorred premier compulsive dance.

sonnet3.out (“Examine job decision, sniveling crook)

Imaginary ultra faint inferno,
Establish limit luminary grass.
Biotic carnal medical clot reversion
Acclaims decaffeinated beehive lapse.

Of cheese ephemeral, a blob bitumen.
Examine job decision, sniveling crook.
No hex- piano statutory voodoo
Abuses regressive melancholy clump.

Biotic stinkpot lifetime levering surplus
Exemplifies opaque baboon and France.
Performance wrecks began Picasso- gullible-
No sponge abhorred premier compulsive dance.

Hispanic derelict oil and jazz: no awe.
Elapse atrocious French: inspiring awe.

Thought Question #2 (Analytical Thinking Skills, Thermodynamics)

If you are standing (or sitting, fighting in hand-to-hand combat, etc.) next to a machine emitting microwaves tuned so that they excite water molecules outside of the machine, causing them to enter the vapor phase, wouldn’t that cause your blood (and other parts of you) to literally boil? Keep in mind that the microwaves are traveling away from the machine, not being kept inside it as with our conventional microwave ovens.

Sonnet: First in a Series of K, where K is Probably 3.

Eight years ago, I ran into some software called Shakespeare v. 1.0.1. It is what you might call an iterative sonnet composer; the code contains a databank of words and the syntactical rules of the sonnet, so it is able to generate random sets of fourteen lines. Then the user can choose which lines they like and which they don’t, and the program generates new lines to replace the ones rejected by the user. Repeat until a satisfactory poem has been generated. It kind of reminds me of Jabberwacky, a fun little Internet experiment where a program is trying to learn how to converse with humans, Personally, I like to add some punctuation for clarity in the end, but the whole thing is a joint project between the computer and myself anyway.

In any case, this post actually helps this blog live up to its name and supposed topic. I guess this software could be a potential way to test the ol’ thousand-monkeys-with-typewriters hypothesis…

sonnet1.out (“Illiterate wailing Babylon ablaze”)

Deride ineffable incongruous pipes;
Frenetic, rather passionate, matrix ends.
Police the feared emeritus (yipes),
Exemplify sustained sarcastic blends.

Vicarious Israeli staff material
Rewards a dull -the nun- and storms the bare.
Inject incompetent sideshow gross amoeba.
Illiterate wailing Babylon ablaze.

Computer hot, inspiring makeshift peon.
Design amoeba funk procedures flipped.
The waste, the pen- Hispanic functions dreamy,
Intuitive production pain equipped

In missed bouquet of tasteless disdain awash;
No heat, no greed: ineffable assuage.

Breaking News from the Frisbee Front!

Last week, the wind was ferocious and the heat was intense. This week, the field was quite squishy, and the muddy areas only grew as the game wore on. Team we-don’t-have-a-better-name-so-I-guess-we’re-still-Blue just can’t get a break, I guess.

The first half was pretty rough, as the team seemed to have trouble gelling. On the plus side, my friend and fellow chemical engineering major Andrew Duncan joined the team today. He immediately proved himself an asset with blocks and catches at crucial times. Still, at halftime, we were down 8-5.

The beginning of the second half looked much like the first, as our opponents, lead by team captain Ryan Kilmer’s archrival Caleb, scored three unanswered goals to make the score a lopsided 11-5. But then everything finally changed. Team Blue battled back with new confidence and skilled play to shrink the gap to three. But by that time, the score was 14-11, and it only takes 15 points to win an Ultimate Frisbee game around here. Although I was impressed with our comeback, I was ready to settle for an honorable defeat.

Once again, I think we all surprised each other with what must have been a third or fourth wind. The Blues scored the next three points to tie the score at 14. On the game point, we kept our cool, forced a turnover, and Joey threw a long pass to Captain Kilmer in the endzone to win the game, 15-14. The record stands at 2-0.

In the Center of My Heart There Is a Force Commonly Known As Love

You know how sometimes, for one reason or another, maybe due to a confluence of spontaneity/impulse and a difference of timing, you know how that sometimes makes things not go exactly as you had planned? Yeah, I thought as much. Well then, you know how sometimes even though things did not go as planned, it turns out to be kind of a good thing? That’s what this story is about.

I know, last week I said I would be taking my fellow student researchers to Ruchi, purveyor of Indian cuisine and much mango lassi. (Really, that’s about the best drink on the planet. You have to try it.) However, what ended up happening instead, as I convolutedly, vaguely, and abstractly explained above, was that we instead went to Kokoro, purveyor of Japanese cuisine and much sushi. In Japanese, you spell “kokoro” like this: 心
(Me? Show off my recently acquired linguistic knowledge from Zach and my iBook? Never!) My congratulations if that symbol actually displays on your computer; if not, you should get yourself a Japanese character pack. Somehow. Fortunately for you in the latter category, what the kanji for “kokoro” actually looks like is not really important to the rest of this story.

Sushi is always pretty expensive for the amount you get, but if you and a friend are looking to fill yourselves up at Kokoro, the most efficient way is to buy the Kokoro boat. This is, naturally, a wooden boat about 0.6 meters in length filled with many different kinds of sushi. Dining entertainment! I quite appreciated the Rainbow Roll, which manages to combine several different types of fish (and octopus) in one roll. Also, the Kokoro Boat brought much tuna roll and California roll, and several pieces of shrimp nigiri. Of course, everything was delectable. Now if only Kokoro had an elevated canal running by their tables as Isobune (いそぶね) in Oakland did. Then the boats could actually sail by your table. But let’s not get picky.

Tangent: Actually, the first thing of which I thought when I saw the Kokoro Boat was a story I heard a few years back about the death of Jim Carrey’s pet hamster. It seems that Mr. Carrey loved his hamster so much that he gave the little guy a full Viking funeral. This means that the hamster was placed on a small longboat with some of his favorite possessions (i.e. ball and blanket in place of the typical Viking great sword or axe), and then the boat was set afire and pushed into the ocean to sail off to Valhalla. Kind of touching, really. Anyway, the Kokoro Boat looked about the right size to be a hamster longboat.

And finally, to answer that nagging question in the back of your mind, something to the effect of, “What the heck does that title have to do with sushi?!?!” Or maybe it was just “何?!?” Well, it turns out than a translation of “kokoro” is…
heart.

Photo! Now with FREE supplemental musing!

We here at Turing Test THIS!! have been receiving some requests lately. First, we have been asked to display a picture of the car I am now driving, the 2002 Toyota Prius (see also sidebar). Second, we have been asked to post more content.
TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE!!

And now, supplemental musing.
***
Due to the geography and meteorology of Kansas in the summer, there have been many thunderstorms of late. These persistent weather patterns have reminded me exactly how much I like lightning. Now, of course I know lightning is capable of causing destruction or hitting people, but those probabilities are always compared to the likelihood of improbable events like:
-winning the lottery
-being eaten by a shark
-being hit by a meteor
-David Shoemaker putting together a coherent analogy
-David Shoemaker not stopping at Brahm's when one is sighted
-the Vikings winning the Superbowl
-Tom Vacek going liberal--wait...

Anyway, I suspect many will agree with me when I say lightning is beautiful. Last Wednesday night we had a great storm going on around Lawrence; around 9 PM there were probably at least two strikes a minute going on in the quadrant of the sky I was watching. Ground strikes, cloud-to-cloud, branching: all could be seen from my excellent vantage point on top of Lawrence’s Mount Oread. Well, it’s not a real mountain, but at least it’s a decent hill, and that’s good enough for Kansas.

Since it wasn’t raining in my location, I was more than content to stand outside and watch the meteorological fireworks. I guess I was probably only standing there for about ten minutes, but it felt longer.

That’s enough improvised content for now. My audience, you will simply have to make do until something ACTUALLY happens here, say, tomorrow. I think more Culinary Adventures are coming…

What do you call the frisbee that is not quite the last one to be sold? The answer, at 11.

I joined the Lawrence summer Ultimate Frisbee league for a number of reasons.
I thought it would be fun.
My friends were doing it.
It's good exercise.
My gamer friends would say I'm doing it to increase my stamina and dexterity stats. The validity of this claim will be addressed at a later time.
But whatever the reasons that I joined, the first game (last night) was definitely a success. In ~90F temperatures and a ferocious wind, my team battled our opponents and came up with a 15-10 victory! Go...us! (We don't really have a team name that I know of.)

11/The answer: The Penultimate Frisbee.

Haiku: first in a series of X, where X is an integer (I hope...)

This one I wrote two years ago, but it is nicely applicable to the current season, at least in sunny Kansas.

"Longer Way from A to B"
Happily, summer
Makes me spurn Pythagoras
And detour somewhat.

Hunting and Gathering as per my particular....idiom

Today I was on my way back from the Student Rec Center when I noticed a double-size mattress sitting next to a dumpster near some of the graduate/married student apartments. It appeared to be in reasonably good condition (no huge visible stains, odor within the capabilities of Febreeze, passed the run-in-to-it-to-see-how-springy-it-is test). Since I will be needing a mattress of some sort this fall for the new apartment, I hoisted it up and decided that the least awkward way to carry it would be to balance it on my head. I imagine this must have looked pretty funny. It probably looked even funnier when it slipped off and I fell on top, sliding down the hill on the wet, dewy grass--
oh wait. No, that didn't happen. Sorry, the rest of the transport back to my summer residence at Lewis Hall was uneventful. I guess the most adventure that comes out of this story is just from the concept that in Lawrence there are all sorts of free things being thrown out with which you can stock your abode. Curbside-Mart has been my preferred choice for televisions, refrigerators, couches (/sofas/davenports/whatever else you crazy people want to call them), chairs, old record stereo systems (technically that should be singular; I've only ever found ONE of those), etc. I highly recommend this shopping method, provided you don't mind doing your own moving and some cleaning. Because, yes, we don't know where that mattress has been, so a good disinfection and perhaps a covering of plastic couldn't really hurt. But hey, what a great way to both reduce waste and save yourself money! Which leads me to this wonderful informational poster the gang and I made last fall:

---

RECYCLE!

---

DUMPSTERS!

Many useful things can be found in/near them!

Televisions!
Chairs!
Couches!
Sofas!
Davenports!
Secret criminal evidence!
Exclamation points!!!
All for the low, low price of free!

This message brought to you by the Stephenson hall environmental chair, the theme song from "WKRP in Cincinnati."

Culinary Adventure

Probably the most interesting thing that I did this weekend was visit this new Ethiopian restaurant in town called Addis Ababa. If you like spicy (in an Indian, as opposed to, say, Mexican way), I think you will enjoy this dining establishment, named for Ethiopia's capital (Who ever said being a four-time State Geography Bee contender was good for nothing?). It can be a little pricey (at least for collegians), but a good strategy to get around that is to go with friends and order several dishes between you, particularly their combo platters. The food is quite filling, so you may not need as many dishes as you think. Or maybe that's just because of the liberal, continual supply of the traditional Ethiopian pancake-bread, injera. This tastes and feels like a sourdough pancake--pretty delicious, in my opinion. But maybe I'm just a sucker for new tastes. Example: at the dining hall where I am getting meals this summer (sponsored by the KU Chemical Engineering Department!), they have all kinds of juices, teas, sodas, coffees, etc. So I decided to combine OJ and iced tea in equal proportions, just for fun. Result: tasty, and rather original in flavor. Like an Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade), but with more citrus.

Back to subject: I ate from the vegetarian combo platter and from a dish of beef in spicy watt sauce. The combo platter is a particularly excellent way for culinary explorers like myself to satisfy their urge to taste everything on the menu; it provides samples of all of the vegetable dishes for ~$13 for one person, or ~$45 for four people, although I think we shared that one among six. (There is also a meat platter.) This includes lentils, cabbage, carrots, green beans, collard greens... and more injera. Particular favorites of mine would be lentils and cabbage.

The dining experience also provides entertainment since you don't so much get silverware as you do get a bunch of injera. You scoop up portions of the other dishes with the injera and consume in bites. So that's interesting.

Coming next week: I take the REU students from out of town to Ruchi, local Indian restaurant and source of much mango lassi.

Thought Question #1 (Analytical, Critical Thinking Skills)

If you kill a clone of yourself, is it suicide?

Beginning

Let's start things off on the right foot. With honor. With candor. With honesty. Like we used to: as a family.

I really didn't like blogs when they first appeared. I disliked their cutesy-hip contraction of a name. I disliked the thought that we needed a new name for online journals, which of course had already been in existence since the dawn of the Web, in one form or another. I especially disliked their trendiness, their nature as a fad.

People would often say to me, "Joel, you should get a blog! I'd love to read it. I'm sure yours would be really cool!" I would smile and nod, say maybe someday (or something like that), and think, just wait until the fad passes; then they'll stop bugging you. You see, I have been writing and emailing chronicles of my life since I entered college, mainly as a way to keep in touch with friends, although I also enjoyed the chance to moonlight as a wordsmith. Majoring in chemical engineering doesn't allow much opportunity for stoking the fires of the furnace of language, pumping the bellows of syntax, or otherwise creating exaggerated, overly fanciful metaphors. (It also doesn't allow much opportunity for self-referential jokes.)

Then, time passed on our planet. Since I was not off traveling at the speed of light relative to you, an observer, I aged. I changed. No, I did not grow more conservative in my voting tendencies or begin playing shuffleboard. Instead, I noticed that the blog fad had not passed; no, it had only grown. Blogs were now more common, and the Spirit of Fad had moved on to things like podcasting or Thefacebook. So when the summer months rolled around and the ever-present monsoon that was homework last semester finally passed, I decided to take the plunge and see what new things I could forge with this new medium.

Thus, the tale of a curmudgeon, mellowed and reformed.