eateggs

“I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going, and hook up with them later.” -Mitch Hedberg

***

From Friday night (I didn’t have internet so I couldn’t post it):

Ah. 5:52 AM. And I still haven’t gone to bed. From Thursday. Hell yeah!

I’m at a lan right now, and we’re in the process of distributing UT2004, leading to a lengthy break while we wait for ~4gb of data to be copied from machine to machine. Tonight has been so much fun. I’ve met a number of really fun guys, and the games have been all sorts of wild. And I’m going on two days without going to bed, making this the longest stretch I’ve ever gone without sleep. It’s not bad. Not bad at all. It’s going to hit me hard, though. Along similar lines, I need to be up in time to pick Jenny up from the airport by 4:00PM today.

As I write this, I’m listening to the Goo Goo Dolls (I still find their music to be overwhelmingly beautiful) and enjoying a moment of serenity and repose. It’s cold outside; it snowed on and off yesterday afternoon. This weekend is expected to be especially cold, which I’m looking forward to, so long as the roads are clear and dry by Wednesday. This is wonderful. I need more mountain dew.

***

So now it’s Sunday. I didn’t get out of bed until around 3:00, which I’m rather proud of myself for. Last night, after picking Jenny up from the airport and dinner with her I went back to my dorm. I went and played pool and saw Without A Paddle with a few people from my Quad. Without A Paddle (1.5/5 stars) was as bad as it looked. To it’s credit, it wasn’t worse than it looked, but it certainly wasn’t any better. When a 100″ fall from the top of a waterfall fails to generate more than a few half-hearted laughs and the plotline is largely driven by two grossly over-stereotyped backwoods hill-billies, it’s amazing that I laughed at all.

Tonight was great. It started by watching a movie called Monsoon Wedding with my T&C class across campus. The movie itself was the chronicle of an upper-class(or upper-caste, in the case) Indian (dots) wedding. The wedding and its traditions were as beautiful as the film’s direction and cinematography, creating a wonderful experience for me, as the viewer.

Walking out from the film, I was greeted with two inches of fresh snow (it was cold, but certainly not even hinting of snow when I walked to the movie). The snow was coming down in what’s perhaps the largest flakes I’ve ever seen: overwhelmingly beautiful and serene. Back at the Quad, however, things certainly weren’t peaceful. During the next hour or so, I participated in a massive snowball fight. There were 20-30 people involved making for good times.

When I eventually tired of the snowball fight, I went inside, changed into the pajama pants and a hoodie, and made coffee & cookies, which I enjoyed while watching The Big Lebowski. I haven’t yet formed an opinion as to the movie, other than to say that it had some very humorous parts.

With The Big Lebowski finished, I started into Heist (4/5 stars), the quintessential heist movie. Although there was nothing outstandingly unique or original about it, Heist was entertaining from start to finish with no shortage of plot twists and turns to keep the viewer on one’s toes. Great performances by Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito added character and flavor; the ending, in my estimation, was just about perfect. Overall, the movie was clever and well executed, and well worth the watch.

It is now 2:49AM, and I have homework to be doing. But it’s Thursday night, which means that I’m not going to bed. I have a paper to write, and some French homework to do (not to mention some chem catchup so I don’t fail the next test).

(Magritte’s The Lovers II)

…
The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights
Her stove, and lays out food in tins.
Out of the window perilously spread
Her drying combinations touched by the sun’s last rays,
On the divan are piled (at night by her bed)
Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays.
I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs
Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest–
I too awaited the expected guest.
He, the young man carbuncular, arrives,
A small house agent’s clerk, with one bold stare,
One of the low on whom assurance sits
As a silk hat on a Bradford millionaire.
The time is now propitious, as he guesses,
The meal is ended, she is bored and tired,
Endeavors to engage her in caresses
Which still are unreproved, if undesired.
Flushed and decided, he assaults at once;
Exploring hands encounter no defense;
His vanity requires no response,
And makes a welcome of indifference.
(And I Tiresias have foresuffered all
Enacted on this same divan or bed;
I who have sat by Thebes below the wall
And walked among the lowest of the dead.)
Bestows one final patronizing kiss,
And gropes his way, finding the stairs unlit…
(Excerpt from T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land)

Heh. I suck. I just typed this post, and due to a slight error in my code, it went floating off to cyberspace. *tsk* Regardless…

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the Blog! interface has significantly changed. You will need to log in again using the “log in” link on the navigation bar. There’s a few changes you should be aware of:

1. Time Zones. Comments and posts (hopefully) will now be adjusted to match your time zone. To change your time zone, click on the “Update Account” link in the upper right hand corner.

2. Quick Login. Quick Login can be use to log in without going to the separate log in page. Be aware, however, that as a security precaution using “Quick Login” does not set a cookie and so you will be logged out as soon as you close your browser. To remain logged in, us the “log in” link on the navigation bar.

I believe that’s it for right now. Everything else should pretty much be the same. I appreciate everyone’s contributions and suggestions. There’re still a lot of bugs to be worked out, but in the mean time things should be useable.

I went to an interesting session tonight on “how to survive police encounters” with content provided by the ACLU. Here’s a few of the interesting ideas and things I learned:

Never lie to the police.

Play the question game. Answer their questions with questions. For example: “Q: how much pot have you smoked tonight?” “A: Am I being detained, officer, or am I free to go?”

When you’re stopped in your car:
1. Only open your window as much as you need to speak with the officer. Two to three inches is all you really need. This stops the officer from sticking his head in your car and seeing anything you don’t want him to.
2. If you’re asked to step outside your car, close and lock it behind you. Leaving the door open is an invitation for the officer to search your car. Unless there’s something in plain view that gives him reason to search your car (and in Montana, even if there is), he can not search your car without a warrant. Smell is not enough. Often times an officer will bluff that he smells something, even though that’s not the case, just to freak people out. Don’t fall for it. Smell alone, according to a 1978 supreme court ruling, is NOT sufficient cause to search a car.

In your house:
An officer can NOT enter your home without either 1) your consent or 2) a warrant. If an officer shows up on your doorstep, step outside and close the door behind you to talk to him. If he does come inside, he can pick up anything that is in plain sight.

Never admit to anything. Don’t admit to owning anything, or doing anything. If you’re asked directly, either avoid the question or refuse to answer.

In Montana, you can have an open container so long as you’re not within city limits. You can be drinking, so long as you’re within legal limits. Additionally, in Montana, an officer cannot sieze articles in your vehichle without a warrent, regardless of the “plain view” exception. Even if an officer sees a bond on your dashboard, he can’t sieze it without a warrent.

There’s more information at http://www.flexyourrights.org/