August Random Thread: Checkmate!

With our birthday party over, we turn to the real theme of this month’s random thread: a celebration of Muse, September 2002: the chess issue.

Not all Musers or MBers play chess, but this issue had something for everybody. Robert tracked down and profiled International Master Jeremy Silman, the chess consultant for the movie “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Nigel Molesworth went “Back to Skool Agane!” Robert and Rosanne answered six questions on the Q&A page. And there were manatees! Truly an epic issue.

Ideas for future random threads are still welcome.

Users’ Manual: Obey The Rules. Consult The Guide. Have fun!

Date: August 1, 2013

Author: Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Categories: At the Top of the Blog, Random craziness

Comments RSS TrackBack 291 comments

1

Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 02:22

Aw, man, I remember that issue! Makes me more than a little nostalgic, especially since I received my last ever Muse a couple of months ago.

So I’m two-thirds of the way through my internship, and it’s been pretty swell! We drive forty minutes and hike for another twenty three days a week to get to our meadows. Then we count all the plants in ten 3×3-meter plots and watch each plot for fifteen minutes for pollination. We count the number of times each insect species pollinates a certain flower species and record the interaction. If we don’t know an insect’s species (anything that’s not a bumblebee, honeybee, or blister beetle, basically) we catch it and pin it for someone else to identify once we get back to headquarters. We usually spend no more than six hours in the meadows, making for around nine hours total, although lately we’ve been getting back really early because it’s the end of the season and all the flowers are done flowering.

Next I have to attempt to use occupancy modeling to estimate the occupancy rate of each species in each meadow. Awesome? It’ll be easier to work on the computer stuff when I’m not bone-dead tired every evening.

I still have to think about what’s happening next year, though. What will my final elective be? I have to arrange some sort of research position for during the year. Hopefully the ecology people will actually need help this time–they were all out traveling to do their research during the summer!

Anyway, we went to Crater Lake last weekend and the out-of-state people were very impressed. We went swimming in the lake! The pamphlet said it was very cold, but it wasn’t colder than the river at headquarters. We went to some nearby hot springs in the evening. They were so cool! It’s so weird how hot the pools were! Natural hot tubs. I also had my first beer, singular. I didn’t feel any different than normal, which was expected, I guess?

I love being away from my parents, although it’s weird to think that I’ve only seen them six days this year so far (two days after New Year’s, two days on move-out, two days before going to the internship), and will only see them for about ten more this summer because they will be in Scotland almost immediately after I get back home. It’s so liberating not having to worry about what they think all the time, and try to figure out how to do things for myself instead of for them.

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Choklit Orange

in August 1st, 2013 @ 04:56

You seem to be having a good time! Crater Lake must have been amazing. I really want to go there.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 09:40

That was a real cake, by the way — not CGI. (I guest-edited that issue and helped arrange the photo shoot.) The art department ordered it from a bakery, took pictures of it for the cover, and then ate it. Fun!

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 15:14

That’s so cool! The cover is really well-done. The sprinkles must have been tasty!

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KaiYves

in August 1st, 2013 @ 10:38

Awesome, I really want to go to Crater Lake someday!

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Choklit Orange

in August 1st, 2013 @ 04:23

Oh, GAPA Appreciation Day! This should definitely be an annual event.

I’ve made some of my best friends on MuseBlog, all of whom have helped me through a number of personal problems, and this website has been an extremely positive presence in my life for, what, five years now?

I don’t know how I would’ve turned out if the Blog hadn’t existed, but I imagine I’d be a somewhat worse person. MuseBlog is full of role models and inspirations and wonderful friends, and I’m lucky to be be a part of it. GAPAs, I hope you know how many lives you’ve improved. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

♥

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Maths Lover â™¥

in August 1st, 2013 @ 07:29

Happy birthday, MuseBlog! And to the GAPAs.

*rambles*

So I’ve been busy with schoolwork, whee. I’m done with the required 2 semesters of religion so I have 5 classes (Physics, Chemistry, Maths x2, English) now, and the extra free period is great. It’s demoralising how I found 6 classes for the last year nearly as bad as the 7(I dropped French for this year for workload reasons) before that, but this might have a more lasting effect. I’m a little stressed out over researching a chemistry thing, but I’ll manage.

This year I’ve become slightly involved in things. Sure, it’s mostly due to a) more out-of-school academic events that suit me, and having friends involved in other stuff b) my obsession with being better than these people I’m forced to spend two more years with…

Actually, the elaboration on that I typed out belongs on the rants thread and I don’t feel that bad right now. Right now I’m Not Thinking Deeply About certain topics, and I don’t need to obsess again over the bad stuff I do feel. I’m going to get the highest possible ATAR, I’m going to get Dux, I’m going to watch the former jerks treat me like a useful human being or something.

Also I feel like a person again. One who finally properly did the teenage thing and covered a significant amount of one wall with pictures and fanart from optimistic sci-fi and suchlike, a few ships, and APOD photos. And the old cross-stitched pieces, and webcomics, and so on. Need to update the friend photos a little, but it’s still awesome. My ideals and curiosity and ambitions didn’t just vanish without a trace.

*rambles* I’m just going to post this.

Probability is going to be so cool.

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Maths Lover â™¥

in August 1st, 2013 @ 08:03

SFTDP

Being the big fish in a ‘small’ pond is going to give me an unusual background for next year, compared to the enormous secular coed school with multiple classes whereas we have, in one case, 3 student. I probably wouldn’t have been top student in said classes, and who knows what that would have turned me into? (Guess I’ll find out!) That’s interesting to contemplate if I’m not obsessing over some aspect of it. ((Like how if things had gone differently I’d be in the same year as Lenara and her friends, which would have been academically and socially and hormonally frustrating unless you take the branch way back at kindergarten and maybe even then.) Then there’s the gender ratio going from 100% female to something below 50%, no idea what that will be like.

Wait, where was I going with that?… Right, everyone is constantly telling me how smart I am. Teachers, random teachers, students, friends, acquaintances, rivals even… Earlier this year it began to annoy me that my other characteristics were subsumed in that, but then I stopped properly caring about them and it is my defining obvious positive feature. I’ll enjoy it while I can, at least until I’m further along this world domination path.

In totally unrelated news, I see why HPMOR!Harry wants minions.

In actually unrelated non-Slytherin news, except to the first post, I’ve been fangirl shrieking a lot.

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KaiYves

in August 1st, 2013 @ 10:39

Hurrah for APOD!

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bookgirl_me

in August 1st, 2013 @ 11:07

A very merry Birthday to MuseBlog!

Oh yes, I remember that issue too! Funnily enough, I remember liking the article on guardrails the most, even though I’d never really cared about them before.

*blushes* I’m not even sure how to thank the GAPAs enough for creating the blog or, well, everything they’ve done over the years and the sheer splendidness of all the threads and the April Fools days and the chess games and the pie wars and just the post themselves. You’ve all supported me so much over the years and it really means the world to me. That goes for the rest of my fellow bloggers too. I love you guys, you’re great friends and wonderful people. *gets choked up* *hands out pies to cover up all the feels*

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Jadestone

in August 1st, 2013 @ 11:51

NOSTALGIA

I will make a big feelings-post later probably when I’m home from work but for now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSEBLOG!!!

I haven’t written a song for this occasion in a while, maybe I should bring that back…

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Randomosity101

in August 1st, 2013 @ 13:50

That was my first issue of Muse! *nostalgia*

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Luna the Lovely

in August 1st, 2013 @ 14:27

Happy GAPA appreciation day! You guys are the best, all the time and work that you put in keeping this place running is amazing.

I’ve got this place to thank for a lot of things (introducing me to awesome TV shows and keeping me sane throughout my college career–y’all were a huge source of friendship and support my first couple years away at college when I really needed it,a nd you still are).

And of course if it weren’t for y’all I probably wouldn’t be into Star Trek right now, because it was someone on here that recommended Sherlock, which led to Benedict Cumberbatch which led to me seeing Into Darkness. And Buffy and Firefly and Being Human were all things I got into from here.

Speaking of Star Trek, my mom ordered me the animated series the other day (because I begged her to and she’s awesome), and since Amazon gives free shipping if you buy enough things, she also got me a Star Trek water bottle, and two window decals for my car (“Live Long and Prosper” and “What Would Spock Do?”.

Awesomeness.

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Cat's Eye

in August 1st, 2013 @ 14:52

Hey, everybody!

I was cleaning out my room and came upon a pile of old Muse magazines and remembered hey, it’s your birthday! So I thought I’d stop by and say hi. It’s been, what, six months?

Gosh, a lot’s happened to me since February. I’m going to college at NYU this fall! so I’ll be living in New York City, which has been my dream since I was pretty little, so that’s very exciting. And I sold a short story! It’s in something called the Spark Anthology, so if you want to check it out, it’s on Amazon.

How is everybody? How have you been doing? I’ve been in contact with some of you off-blog, but not nearly enough of you. What’s up around here?

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Choklit Orange

in August 1st, 2013 @ 22:09

*glomp* I persuaded my school’s library to order the Spark Anthology!

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Maths Lover â™¥

in August 11th, 2013 @ 07:18

*glomps* I’m glad to see you, Cat! Congratulations on your short story. Yay, college! (I’ve got to the point of counting down the months, and I haven’t even settled on my top 2 choices. Also both in major cities, as it happens.)

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Madame Q. von Stuffystein

in August 1st, 2013 @ 14:55

I remember getting this! I almost went vegetarian because of it! GAPA appreciation day is a great idea! My door is still firmly adhered to the wall, and I am ok.

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Madame Q. vonStuffystein

in August 1st, 2013 @ 18:16

actually not that ok. Will be off for a bit.

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Randomosity101

in August 1st, 2013 @ 15:17

Cat’s Eye – Woah, that sounds awesome! I think I’ve heard of that anthology somewhere… I must read it now.

Oh yeah, and I forgot, HAPPY MUSE BIRTHDAY!

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KaiYves

in August 1st, 2013 @ 15:29

Happy Birthmonth, MuseBlog. Thank you for providing this wonderful place, where I’ve learned so much, made so many friends, had my share of great adventures, and an even bigger share of laughs. I am thankful for all of you.

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bookgirl_me

in August 1st, 2013 @ 16:30

Made an albino origami . Am fairly terrified of it. There’s just something very creepy about the ears and now I’m not sure what to do with itâ€¦

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bookgirl_me

in August 1st, 2013 @ 16:34

SFTDP: Sorry, an origami :hpb: . I dunno why I made that mistake, I’m feeling kinda woozyâ€¦ huh, that’s funny, it’s pink nowâ€¦ actually it’s pretty cu-

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Randomosity101

in August 1st, 2013 @ 17:57

*douses you and the bunny with depigmentizer* Well, now it’s an albino bunny again.

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KaiYves

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:13

It’s also hopefully wet mush.

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Piggy

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:41

The only thing more vicious than a hot-pink bunny is a wet hot-pink bunny. *vamooses*

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:10

Do you mean ?

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Bibliophile

in August 1st, 2013 @ 22:04

To make it, you write “: idea:” without the space.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 14:18

*shudders*

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Luna the Lovely

in August 1st, 2013 @ 16:35

Earthquake!

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KaiYves

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:12

In real life or in Star Trek?

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Luna the Lovely

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:24

Real life. Pretty small one/distant epicenter, however.

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KaiYves

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 17:48

I’m sorry if that seemed insensitive, I just wasn’t sure.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 22:08

No worries. Reasonable question given that 90+% of recent posts by me have been Star Trek commentary

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Paul Baker (Administrator)

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 07:50

I have experienced two earthquakes. England is not supposed to get earthquakes. But it does. They were very minor. They dislodged a couple of roof tiles and gave maiden aunts a fit of the vapours.

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Rosanne Spector (Administrator)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 20:05

Ah, yes, I remember the evening back those many years ago when Robert and I were having a snack at a cafe in D.C. and he was telling me about his idea for a blog for Muse fans and asking if I’d do it with him. I said yes (of course!) But in typical over-analytical fashion I had a quibble over the name. I thought the idea seemed like more of a forum than a blog. I don’t remember if Robert agreed but I do remember he pointed out that MuseForum doesn’t sound nearly as good as MuseBlog. Very true!

That was a good idea, Robert, the name and the thing itself!

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 20:29

So glad to hear you approve! (I’m not sure what I would do if you didn’t.)

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I’d say we’ve had gobs of it here in the past eight years.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:25

I remember this episode because of the Harry Potter chess story.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 1st, 2013 @ 21:25

And by episode, I mean issue. Clearly I’ve been watching too much TV

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 23:37

Today I puzzled over code, thinking an array had the wrong dimensions, before working out it was right all along! Hooray!

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 1st, 2013 @ 23:38

Also I’m listening to all the Homestuck albums again… they’re all so awesome, except maybe the squiddles one. I’m on “Sburb” right now. Delicious piano-y goodness.

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Agent Lightning

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 08:53

Mmmm, I love Homestuck’s music. It’s so nice. “Sburb” is one of my favorite albums. (I agree, though… the Squiddles album was… interesting.)

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Dodecahedron

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 07:11

Arrays are tricky.
(Don’t even get me started on malloc in C)

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 12:18

Aloha, MuseBlog, from beautiful Hawaii! Well, to be more specific, the city of Wailea on Maui. It’s great so far; we’ve got food and a nice view of the sunset on the ocean. Today we’ll probably go down to the beach and the pool since we’re all still so jet lagged. See ya later!

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 13:51

*envies*

(Not really. I’m happy where I am and glad to hear that you’re having fun.)

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KaiYves

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 19:56

Sweet, I’d love to go to Hawaii!

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KaiYves

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 17:49

Amusingly, and relevant to this thread, I just discovered Wikipedia has an article called “List of Chess-Related Deaths”.

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 22:53

Have I mentioned that I love Hawaii?

Today started pretty early, as my family and I were all still jet-lagged. We hung out at the condo we’re renting for a while and then headed out to a place called Big Beach; has anyone here ever been there? The waves are huge! A couple of hours later, we had to leave because there was a shark sighted at a different beach about a mile away. There was a brief scare where my father could not find the Jeep keys, then we got them and went on our merry way.

After a break for lunch – fish ‘n chips for my brother and I, fish tacos for my parents – we went to a lovely farmer’s market and a less-lovely chain store for fruit and knick-knacks, respectively. Then we headed to a neat flea market where I got a shirt with a couple of adorable tribal-style octopodes/puses/pi/however you pluralize octopus. We got shaved ice and rested before heading back. I was tired so I hung out at the condo while the rest of my family went to the pool.

Now my brother and I are watching some TV while my parents get dinner. It’s been a good day.

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Jadestone

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 12:34

oh my god well *I* am super envious!! It sounds like you’re having an amazing time. I went to Hawaii when I was 4 with my family (for a wedding) and I have been asking every year since to go back.

Have fun! Say hello to the ocean for me!!

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shadowfire

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 19:24

I am pretty sure I have been to all of those places so that’s kinda weird, haha. I’m glad you’re having fun!

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Luna the Lovely

in August 2nd, 2013 @ 23:19

I FOUND GANDALF’S TRIBBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I’m going to steal it and take it back to school with me.

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Bibliophile

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 02:18

…What?
I mean, congratulations, because that sounds amazing, whatever it is, but what does it mean?

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Luna the Lovely

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 10:41

Gandalf is my cat. Years ago when mom worked at a thrift store (at least 3 years ago probably), she brought home what at the the time appeared to be a shapeless ball of fuzz that she referred to as a “tribble” as a toy for gandalf (the word “tribble” meant nothing to me at the time). Gandalf has never particularly had interest in it, and I managed to locate it discarded on the basement. And so I’m stealing it from my cat to bring to school

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Agent Lightning

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 08:59

Noooooooo, I missed MuseBlog’s birthday! Well, happy belated birthday to MuseBlog! This blog was pretty much a defining factor of my life during middle school and introduced me to a lot of flamablamablous things that also changed my life.

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 22:54

Well, day 2 of Maui and as I type this, my hair is being whipped around my head like crazy as we drive with the top down to the Tiki Bar for dinner. I am sunburnt and tired, but happy as well. We got a bit of an earlier start today and went to a different beach where the waves were slightly smaller than at Big Beach. I saw a juvenile turtle; I don’t know what species, but its shell was only about a foot long. There were some rocky outcroppings with tide pools that held tiny fish, crabs, and the occasional urchin. My father and I jumped off the outcropping a few times, which was scary but I’m glad I did it.

After a quick stop back at the condo to dry off, have lunch (Panda Express!) and change, we drove to a little town called Lahaina. There were a bunch of neat shops, some cool historic landmarks like an old fort and courthouse, and the oldest banyan tree on the island. We got shaved ice again – mine was piÃ±a colada flavor, and my brother’s was guava – and we are now going to get dinner. After that, I’m feeling a little more awake today, so perhaps I’ll try the pool. My mother says its very warm.

Tomorrow Big Beach again!!!! *excitement*

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FantasyFan?!?!

in August 3rd, 2013 @ 23:06

So I few nights ago when I was up late on the Internet , I found out that there is a live-action adaptation of My Immortal, because that’s what happens when you stay up late surfing the web. The worst fanfiction on the Internet, as a web series. They’ve managed to translate the awfulness from print to film quite well. I just about busted a gut laughing. At 3 in the morning.

I (sort of) encourage you to see it, if you can handle the horror.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 4th, 2013 @ 03:27

And another earthquake (in real life, lol) 30 minutes ago. Wasn’t even sure if it was an earthquake or Gandalf jumping on my bed at first (but since Gandalf was not to be seen, I determined it to be an earthquake and then verified it with the internet). Wouldn’t have even noticed it if I’d been moving about and doing something. Or sleeping.

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KaiYves

in August 4th, 2013 @ 07:24

Be careful.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 4th, 2013 @ 08:04

Especially with the hot-pink ones.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 4th, 2013 @ 12:56

Hot pink earthquakes? Eep.

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Madame Q. vonStuffystein

in August 4th, 2013 @ 13:52

Yes, hot-pink earthquakes! Almighty tremors caused by fuchsia denizens yearning to escape and create a havoc on this paper-thin surface paradise. Here’s some depigmentizer.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 4th, 2013 @ 12:55

I’m not too worried. Earthquakes are pretty common in Alaska (dozens a day, although many either have their epicenter somewhere in the middle of nowhere–and not felt by anybody–or are pretty small).

I actually find earthquakes kinda fun.

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 4th, 2013 @ 09:59

After a month of travelling round Italy, Switzerland and France, I’m finally home. It’s been an amazing summer, but I’m exhausted. Jet lag? No thank you, I’m off to bed! I’ll try and catch up with the ‘Blog tomorrow.

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Jadestone

in August 4th, 2013 @ 12:30

Ahhhh I miss Switzerland so much!! It was so beautiful. Hope you had a fun trip, tell us all about it!!

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 4th, 2013 @ 13:06

Time to find out who the Twelfth Doctor will be!

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 4th, 2013 @ 13:36

I’m pretty excited! I can’t wait to see where the new Doctor will take the role. I’m very optimistic, especially since I’ve seen their acting before… *nudge nudge wink wink*

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Luna the Lovely

in August 4th, 2013 @ 14:06

*nudge nudge wink wink* indeed. I posted further thoughts on the Geeky TV shows thread, but I’m fairly optimistic about it myself.

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Midnight Fiddler

in August 4th, 2013 @ 14:26

Isn’t every day GAPA-appreciation?
But seriously though, MuseBlog was my main social life for a few years, and is still wonderful even though I’ve been bad with keeping up lately.

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Paul Baker (Administrator)

in August 4th, 2013 @ 15:25

Twelfth Doctor. Interesting. I’m expecting great things.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 4th, 2013 @ 23:50

Even though it’s not you or me? Well, I suppose they’ll muddle through somehow.

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Lizzie

in August 5th, 2013 @ 12:54

I hate talking on the phone so much and I always end up feeling so awkward… Phones. How do they work?

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Luna the Lovely

in August 5th, 2013 @ 13:14

Are you me?

If I have to make a phone call I sometimes get really nervous and kinda feel almost nauseous with anxiety.

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Jadestone

in August 5th, 2013 @ 13:08

I AM HAVING A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT SPACE AND EXPLORATION RIGHT NOW

we are listening to the July 26 “Peering into Space” playlist on NPR and just iweuhkfajdsihwe;sfhdwn’e

(Kai, if you have’t listened to this one, it’s probably relevant to you interests, although you probably also already know most of the material)

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KaiYves

in August 6th, 2013 @ 10:07

I haven’t yet, but happy first anniversary of Curiosity’s landing!

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Luna the Lovely

in August 5th, 2013 @ 18:17

So you know how I mentioned mom got me Star Trek decals for my car, one of which was “live long and prosper” and the other “what would Spock do?”, which were 2 of 4 decals I wanted.

Well, they were at the post office when mom went Saturday, but after opening them I realized (after a bit of a delay, and then double checking the order receipt) that they had messed up and not sent me the “What would Spock do?” decal, but rather an “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” decal.

Which of course happens to be one of the 4 I was interested in. So I had mom email them, and they are going to reship the order, so provided it’s correct this time, I’ll actually have 3 of the 4 decals I want…..

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Luna the Lovely

in August 5th, 2013 @ 18:31

PB&J: I remember on a previous thread when I was commenting on some rather illogical quirks of Star Trek (Captain and first officer going on dangerous away missions and the need for seatbelts), you said something about how having as many crew doing all these tasks on the bridge was unnecessary, something about how computers could do it all.

I’m only 3 minutes in, but I think “The Ultimate Computer” is likely going to prove to be a demonstration of why we should have our human crew over a computer.

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Bibliophile

in August 5th, 2013 @ 19:49

It tried to be, anyway. The main problems with M-5 had more to do with the way it was programmed than anything else.
What that episode did show was that by that time, no computer had yet been developed that could control a starship, so the issue was rather moot.

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Paul Baker (Administrator)

in August 6th, 2013 @ 16:35

oh, I didn’t mean that a computer should be in charge. That would be disastrous. A starship should be governed and directed by a committee (not an outdated top-down hierarchy), probably sitting in a boardroom, taking strategic decisions. The humans should simply tell the ship what they want to do and where they want to go. It clearly understands English, but the humans seem inexplicably reluctant to interact with it. It should be perfectly capable of laying in a course, or fighting off a Klingon warbird, far more successfully than any human could. As for realigning the plasma injectors – that should be background maintenance, done automatically by semi-intelligent robots who don’t have to bend double to get into a Jeffries Tube.

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Agent Lightning

in August 5th, 2013 @ 19:45

Has anyone been listening to the Night Vale podcast? It’s one of the most Muserly things I’ve seen the Internet get obsessed with in quite a while.

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33.1

LittleBasementKitten

in August 5th, 2013 @ 20:20

I’ve only listened to the first couple, but I am really enjoying it. Especially perfect Carlos with his perfect hair.

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33.2

Bibliophile

in August 5th, 2013 @ 20:23

Yes! Quite a few of us have been listening to it; it’s wonderful.

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33.3

POSOC

in August 5th, 2013 @ 23:57

I think Jadestone and FantasyFan both independently recommended it here already! I enjoy it a lot.

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34

KaiYves

in August 6th, 2013 @ 18:16

My mom met Paul McCartney today and she’s over the moon about it. Sadly, she wasn’t able to get a picture.

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35

Luna the Lovely

in August 6th, 2013 @ 18:41

Stopped at Joann Fabric’s to look for some embroidery floss I need to continue working on my “To Victory!” Dalek crossstitch. Discovered they have several Star Trek cloth patterns and a Star Trek throw blanket. None of the floss i needed was in stock.

So I’m going to try and talk my mom into bying some of the fabric to make me Star Trek curtains (or maybe sheets and pillowcases and stuff????? I bet she could do that…..) and caved and bought the throw blanket as a present to myself for having just been at the dermatologists for a rash/spots I’d had for the last month and getting my boobs groped by the dermatologist (apparently to see the spots on my breasts it is somehow necessary to stick ones hand inside my bra and grab my boobs. yeah….not so much). Apparently I am one of the lucky 2% (according to wikipedias stats) that actually get pityriasis rosea more than once, as I had it three years ago, as well. Classic Luna luck.

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35.1

LittleBasementKitten

in August 6th, 2013 @ 22:22

Aw, I’m sorry about your dermatologist and your pityriasis rosea, but at least you’ve got a new blanket to show for your endurance!

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35.2

Luna the Lovely

in August 6th, 2013 @ 23:02

Talked my mom into 4 of the 5 fabrics. 2 for curtains (at home and at apt) and for pillowcase if there is any left over and 2 for pillowcases. Just one case each I think. So awesomeness

And then we went to walmart and actually found a few nice clothes for clinicals which I needed so that’s good if not fun.

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35.3

Dodecahedron

in August 7th, 2013 @ 07:19

here is a friendly reminder that if you are not happy with your current doctor you can always go to a different one! that sounds like not-ok behavior! you may also consider talking to the doctor who referred you & telling them this happened — it probably isn’t worth it to file a formal complaint, but when I was having trouble with a doctor behaving unacceptably a couple years ago, when I told the primary care doctor who referred me, they said they’d stop recommending the unacceptable doctor to others.

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35.3.1

Luna the Lovely

in August 7th, 2013 @ 13:10

I wasn’t actually referred tothe dr by anyone. But yeah, I don’t really intend to go back (mainly because the rash is something that resolves on its own and doesn’t require treatment and so I don’t see the necessity to show up for a recheck next time I’m home. Plus I’m inclined if I ever get a rash again to just assume its the same darn thing). But yeah, if I so need a dermatologist in the future I’ll likely look for anotherl

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35.4

Randomosity101

in August 7th, 2013 @ 09:47

Urgh, Luna I’m sorry to hear about that dermatologist. I’m with Dodecahedron on this one; I think going to someone else next time is the best option.

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36

Lizzie

in August 7th, 2013 @ 13:33

Am now the owner of an Eastman a-type mandolin

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37

Luna the Lovely

in August 8th, 2013 @ 21:19

Wow. Pottermore’s layout has been radically altered. Yeep. I’m lost. and apparently all these things I thought I’d completed are rather incomplete, based on the bars under each moment. Huh.

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37.1

Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 8th, 2013 @ 21:57

I’m thinking of checking it out again now that PoA’s done.

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37.2

Bibliophile

in August 9th, 2013 @ 14:44

For me, at least, all the bars were empty because I’d been to the moment before they were there. I like the bars, though, because now it’s much harder to miss stuff. If you’re totally lost, then chances are other people have been, too, and that there’s help in the comments.
I haven’t gone back through the earlier chapters yet, but I definitely plan to!

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37.2.1

Luna the Lovely

in August 9th, 2013 @ 15:52

A lot of the bars were partially filled for me, even though the last time I’d visited the moment was before the bars existed. I’ve got several I can’t get completely filled, I think I’m just missing causing some things to move, rather than not having collected everything….

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38

Luna the Lovely

in August 8th, 2013 @ 22:53

Oooh, I think there’s been new extra stuff written by JKR in earlier chapters (Sorcerer’s Stone). I do not recall having read anything revealing Ollivander’s name, previously. Garrick. Fascinating.

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39

fireh

in August 9th, 2013 @ 09:26

School is not fun.
Car wrecks are also not fun.
Having to drive my dad’s car to school is very not fun.
Gah.
AP English is cool, though. It makes me feel smart.
*returns to lurking*

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40

LittleBasementKitten

in August 9th, 2013 @ 11:48

Hello again! Hawaii is still fun. Yesterday we went kayaking/snorkeling, and I saw a bunch of cool fish – even an eel! I also saw a turtle missing its left front fin, poor thing. There’s sand in my hair, a peeling sunburn on my face and shoulders, and I couldn’t be happier. Today is surf boarding lessons, and I can’t wait!

Aloha!

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40.1

KaiYves

in August 9th, 2013 @ 15:30

Pie for you, squid for the turtle. (He could probably use the meal, anyway.)

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40.1.1

LittleBasementKitten

in August 9th, 2013 @ 22:13

He actually seemed really happy; it was an old wound, and he didn’t seem to notice while grazing on the reef. Our guide told us he was a regular, and they call him Lefty, ha ha ha.

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40.1.1.1

KaiYves

in August 10th, 2013 @ 14:52

Aww, that’s good to hear.

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41

KaiYves

in August 9th, 2013 @ 16:45

I’m creating a fictional tornado research organization for a story and most of the real-life ones seem to have cool acronyms as names, so I tried to come up with some good ones last night (as you all probably know, making up an authentic-sounding acronym that fits an existing word is really hard– a lot of astronomy projects cheat, but I didn’t want to). The most workable were:

SPIRIT- Storm Prediction, Interception, Research and Investigation Team
STRIVE- Storm Tracking, Observation, Research and Investigation of Violent/Vortex Events
SWEAR- Severe Weather Exploration/Experimentation And Research
SWERVE- Severe Weather Experiment for Reconnaissance of Violent/Vortex Events

Of which I think SPIRIT is the best. SWEAR would be okay except for the negative connotations of the word (ie, to use bad language– people working in a dangerous environment may be likely to do so, but is it really something you want to advertise you do?), and STRIVE and SWERVE seem a tad forced.

Opinions? Or do you have any ideas for a better one?

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41.1

Armada

in August 9th, 2013 @ 19:10

I think SPIRIT is the best and most natural-sounding one by far.

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41.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 10th, 2013 @ 02:15

I’ll pie that.

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41.1.1.1

KaiYves

in August 10th, 2013 @ 15:08

Did you mean for this to be a response to the turtle conversation?

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41.1.1.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 10th, 2013 @ 17:34

No, I meant that I like the name SPIRIT and would signify my approval with a pie. I was also punning on the common expression “I’ll buy that.”

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41.1.1.1.1.1

KaiYves

in August 10th, 2013 @ 22:13

I suppose it means a lot if you like it, since you probably have a lot of experience with acronym names for scientific projects. Could you see yourself preparing an article about results from SPIRIT? (Is weather part of your focus area? You said you do Earth Science and we studied weather in my 8th grade Earth Science class.)

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41.1.1.1.1.1.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 10th, 2013 @ 23:40

I could easily imagine reporting results from SPIRIT.

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41.2

Madame Q. vonStuffystein

in August 11th, 2013 @ 18:47

” And now on The Random News and Weather Channel, amazing findings from SPIRIT, a tornado research organization”

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41.2.1

KaiYves

in August 13th, 2013 @ 21:39

I love that channel.

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42

Luna the Lovely

in August 9th, 2013 @ 18:22

I knew there was a good reason I chose not to answer the door (given that I was happily watching Star Trek and snuggling my cat and the doorbell scared him off and I wasn’t expecting any packages/etc). Although i think I may ahve been spotted by the backup in the car peeking out a window trying to see who was on the front porch.

But went to check if anything was left after htey drove off, and there was a little flyer shoved in the door jam about some Jehovah Witness meeting thingy somewhere. Yup. Not interested.

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43

Maths Lover â™¥

in August 11th, 2013 @ 09:13

I had plans to do work this afternoon. I then purposefully went to TVTropes to look for something. Chem assignment? Eh, not due for 2 more weeks, no problem.

The weather has been up to 19 degrees and sunny. (Not going to last though. It’s only just showing hints of spring. Which I think may have replaced autumn as my favourite season, or a least elicits more interesting feels.) I drove my dad/supervising driver up to a nice cafe on a hill (iced chocolate and a chocolate salted caramel cookie each, and he discovered someone he knows works there), walked around the lookout over the city, and took a circuitous route through the city centre back home. I really don’t expect to regret leaving, but this town is pretty sometimes.

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43.1

KaiYves

in August 11th, 2013 @ 18:01

Get A Hold Of Yourself ML!

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44

Randomosity101

in August 11th, 2013 @ 09:53

Does anyone else daydream about having the ability to light themself on fire in order to fly using the changes in air pressure caused by the thermal difference?

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44.1

bookgirl_me

in August 11th, 2013 @ 13:54

Now I do.

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44.2

KaiYves

in August 12th, 2013 @ 13:54

I have dreamed about pyrokinesis and flight, but not together until this moment.

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44.3

POSOC

in August 12th, 2013 @ 16:47

FLAME ON!

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45

Midnight Fiddler

in August 11th, 2013 @ 19:50

Baking. How does it work. I’m currently attempting to make rhubarb pie, but I’m concerned because the recipe doesn’t call for any wet ingredients, so I’m guessing it’s supposed to come from the rhubarb itself? But how does it stir in? I DON’T UNDERSTAND, but I feel like a failure as a muser because this is the first time I’ve attempted to make pie on my own, and I’m realizing how clueless I am about it.
Also I don’t have a top crust, so I just made streusel and covered it with aluminum foil in the hopes that the moisture would be trapped and I won’t end up with weird floury grossness.
I’ll let you know what happens.

In other news, I made a Jayne hat in about 6 hours today while watching Firefly. So that was fun.

Pie update: I’m beginning to sense a vaguely pastry-like scent from the oven area. I’m taking this as an encouraging sign.

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45.1

Midnight Fiddler

in August 11th, 2013 @ 20:32

Another pie update: it smells good in the kitchen. I removed the aluminum foil, and it seems to be moist, so I’m letting the streusel brown up and trusting that the rhubarb will do its thing.
The kitchen smells great.

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45.1.1

Midnight Fiddler

in August 11th, 2013 @ 21:31

I’m going to call this a success. It’s not only edible, but delicious. It could have done with a tiny bit less sugar, I think, and I slightly overestimated how much streusel was needed for the top, but other than that an encouraging start. Maybe next time I’ll even try to make a crust instead of just using a pre-made one that someone left in the freezer….

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45.1.1.1

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in August 11th, 2013 @ 22:46

If you ever need taste testers…rhubarb is one of my favorites.

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45.1.1.1.1

KaiYves

in August 12th, 2013 @ 20:42

I’ve never had plain rhubarb, but strawberry rhubarb is one of my favorites.

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45.1.1.2

Randomosity101

in August 12th, 2013 @ 13:03

Ah, you see now, Fiddler, that pies are not merely a pastry. They are a rite of passage. They can be intimidating at first, but if you can conquer them, you can conquer anything. Even the world.

~

Sorry, I just really had to type that. Even if it’s kind of a weird thing to say to someone who’s older than me.

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45.1.1.2.1

Midnight Fiddler

in August 12th, 2013 @ 14:21

It’s fine. Here on MB age is irrelevant when pie-making wisdom is concerned, and in that regard I recognize that I am but beginning my journey.

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46

Cat's Meow

in August 11th, 2013 @ 23:21

My family went on a quest of discovery today. We drove out about an hour to home to find the land where my 93-year-old grandpa was born in 1920. His family moved from there when he was about 3, and though he visited several times later in life, the last time was in 1961, the year my dad was born. The land is still in a really backwoods part of a relatively rural area, so everything has grown up and changed since. It’s taken the past few years for my parents to help my grandpa find it again. We knew where it was on Google Maps, and then my grandpa’s doctor’s brother-in-law or something contacted the guy who owned the land now. The doctor and brother-in-law took us out there today. The log house that my grandpa was born in is long-gone, though we were able to match the space up with pictures that he’d taken when he was younger to figure out where it had been. The logs from the barn or something were still there, though, just collapsed, along with the gate and three apple trees! Though the apples weren’t quite ripe, we still tasted them; if my family ever plants apple trees anywhere, we’d love to get grafts from trees that are easily over 100 years old.

It was great to see my whole family out there: my dad walking around where his father was born and snapping pictures, my 16-year-old brother walking across a log that spanned a nearby gully, and especially my grandpa and my mom. My mom does so much great work with my grandpa. Every day, they walk together around our block or at the mall. She talks with him a lot about his memories, including his time in the Pacific during World War II. Today, as we drove out, my grandpa talked about his later childhood homes, and how they never had an automobile, and how none of the houses had electricity or running water. My mom wrote down every word in her little notebook, carefully collecting those memories of a long-gone era. It was amazing to watch them when we got to the land, my grandpa sitting not far from where the house used to be in a white plastic chair we bought, with my mom crouched beside him, holding up maps and old black-and-white photographs for him to compare with his surroundings. I made sure to take lots of pictures of them.

The people are what really made that place special, anyways. Sure, I used took panoramic and 360 degree pictures of the scenery – features of my brand new phone that found a perfect use today – but the people then and now lend those pictures their importance. I love to think that I added to my family’s historical record. We used the pictures my grandpa took 50 years ago to find the place this time, and figure out which hills were which, and where the master bedroom used to be. Maybe my grandkids or great-grandkids will use mine to do the same, or to experience it in 360 degrees from a distance if the trees have reclaimed that area completely.

It was very special to be out there with my family, especially since I’m leaving in 8 days for California, where, shortly afterwards, I will start college and not be with my family for a while. I’m glad that I could be with them on this trip. I couldn’t have asked for a better day, or a better family.

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46.1

KaiYves

in August 12th, 2013 @ 13:52

Thank you for sharing that story, it really warmed my heart.

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47

Piggy

in August 12th, 2013 @ 08:43

Meow (46)- The house where my mom’s mom was born is still standing (though very deteriorated), and I’ve visited it once or twice. The room she was born in is still there, though I wouldn’t trust the floorboards anymore. I’ve walked through the barn where her dad would let passing gypsies and hobos stay during the Depression. They’d catch pigeons by blinding them with a flashlight at night, and then her dad would pluck and cook them for the bums. We wish we could find whoever owns the land now, but there’s never anyone around. I guess her grandfather (my great-great-grandfather) and his family moved here from Austria and homesteaded in a sod dugout. I’d love to find where that was, but there’s no records of it anymore. That side of the family has never been very close to each other, unfortunately, so the history disappears quickly. I try to learn and commit to memory everything I can.

I’ve discovered that, for some reason, listening to Art Blakey makes me want to read Wodehouse. I can’t say I understand why that would be.

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47.1

Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in August 12th, 2013 @ 09:32

My youngest brother inherited, renovated, and now lives in the house where both our dad and Dad’s dad were born. (For the record: my paternal grandfather was born in 1887; the oldest portion of the house is probably from the 1870s, though much of the present structure was added in the 1920s.)

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47.1.1

Cat's Meow

in August 12th, 2013 @ 21:41

I also live in the house where my dad was born, actually. It’s not nearly as old as the house your brother owns, though! My dad grew up here, moved away for 20-odd years, and then brought his young family to move back in with his dad about 8 1/2 years ago. I went to school in the same three buildings that he did while growing up. It’s fun to find his senior picture in the year-by-year frames by my high school’s gym.

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47.2

LittleBasementKitten

in August 12th, 2013 @ 11:34

My family’s old house in Canada has been moved into by other people. We’ve driven past it once or twice; they repainted the kitchen that my father worked so hard on to make red.

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48

KaiYves

in August 13th, 2013 @ 17:49

There’s something creepy about reading a dead person’s tweets.

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48.1

Midnight Fiddler

in August 13th, 2013 @ 22:10

I’ve had a few friends on other social network sites pass away, and it’s always an odd feeling to see them pop up as thumbnails on my profile under “friends”, or when I notice their likes or comments on old photos. It’s actually a really interesting issue, since there’s really not a whole lot of established legality or even uniformity of practice on online presence when a person dies, which is surprising when you consider how integral the internet is to our everyday lives now. It’s easy to forget that it’s still new technology that we’re continuing to grapple with in terms of its effect on our being, and some of these things we simply can’t know yet because there’s not been enough time with it.

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49

FantasyFan?!?!

in August 14th, 2013 @ 16:24

At the animal shelter I volunteer at, I was confronted by a very curious emu. He kept trying to bite my fingers and waved his head around following me and ducked down so that I couldn’t se him and then popped his head up from behind the fence to see if I was still there. And then I got into a staring contest with him. It was actually pretty emusing.

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49.1

KaiYves

in August 14th, 2013 @ 18:20

That is really cool.

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49.2

Bibliophile

in August 14th, 2013 @ 23:29

Who won the staring contest?

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49.3

*Cskia

in August 14th, 2013 @ 23:37

That sounds adorable.

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49.4

Dodecahedron

in August 15th, 2013 @ 07:01

+1000000000 for “emusing”

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49.4.1

FantasyFan?!?!

in August 16th, 2013 @ 00:38

Dodecahedron–I came up with that pun shortly after the incident. I groaned at myself, and then decided that I had to use it.

Bibliophile–It’s difficult to say, what with both of us bobbing our heads and turning around at the same time and all. I declare it a tie. Arthur the emu is not here, and therefore does not get a say.

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50

Jadestone

in August 15th, 2013 @ 02:58

SO I HAD THE MOST BEST OF DAAAAAYS

There is a band I really love and my family happened to be driving through Cleveland/staying overnight the night they were playing at the venue I usually go to when I’m at college and our hotel was only 7 blocks away from it

so I was able to buy a ticket when I previously thought I might not be able to go

and then I entered a contest for a VIP Soundcheck/meet and greet with the band and the JADESTONE FAMILY LUCK PREVAILED (my dad enters contests as a hobby and we win stuff sometimes?? a good hobby for a family member to have cause you get free things wiht no work)

AND I WON!! Two people won per venue and I got it for Cleveland I don’t know how many people entered or whatever but eeeee

anyway so I found out I won yesterday, so I made my family drive out here at 5am (I went to bed at like… 2:30 or 3 the ngiht before whoops) so I could be at the venue by 2

I will keep things short now cause it’s almost 4am now and the whole not sleepin yesterday thing

anyway I went and hung around for a while and talked to people in the other opening bands/the other contest winner and got many compliments on my batgirl shirt

and then the soundcheck for Wintersun!! they played a song of theirs I really like (well… they only have 2 albums and I love most of the songs but yeah) and one NEW ONE which was exciting

and then I got to chat with them a bit and get free things/things signed and it was fun even though I went into shy-mode and didn’t talk as much as I should have and the other contest winner made some… weird conversational choices

and then I got a picture with them ouhrewfdnsj

and then I met back up with family and ate dinner etc

and then went back to the venue for concert! Liked the openers better than I expected and found a person to talk to (I went alone, Grant was maybe gonna come out for it but ended up not being able to, alas) during the breaks although then he was hitting on me but I am not opposed to having more concert buddies so trying to push the FRIENDS thing anyway. And then

[FOHUDWFISUDHI:HFD SOMEONE JUST SLID A THING UNDER THE HOTEL ROOM DOOR CHOCOLATE CAKE I AM GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK AHhg I mean it’s fine it’s just a bill but x_x ]

AND THEN Wintersun came on!! I was close to the front of the stage, and then a person moved and I was right at the front I was between the singer/guitar and the other guitarist, exactly where I wanted to be (seeing where they were in soundcheck helped there, haha). And I sang along to everything and took many pictures and didn’t mosh because I was preserving my glorious spot but there where times when everyone was moshing whether they wanted to be or not cause that’s how crowds work sometimes so it was all good.

And I took pictures of them (including guitarist who is so pretty *-* ) and the two in front of me recognized me at various points, and at the end of the show prettyguitarist gave me a thumbs up/the horns and handed me one of the setlists *SWOOOOONNS*

and then I bought two very pretty shirts, and also it turns out the guy who I was standing next to for a lot of the concert knew the other contest winner/had friended me on facebook because he is going to my college next year!! so another potential metalhead friend for concert funtimes.

and then I went back to hotel and rolled around in my merch and spazzed about everything a lot and then showered because I smelled like every unwashed metalhead who had touched me earlier in the night and it was not a very pleasant thing

and now I just finished eating string cheese and sparkling cranberry juice and maybe I have wound down enough to attempt sleep.

Anyway. AWESOME DAY. AWESOME TIME. I LOVE METAL MUSIC.

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50.1

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 15th, 2013 @ 12:53

I don’t know why this wound up in the spam filter, but I’ve pried it out.

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50.2

POSOC

in August 15th, 2013 @ 15:50

You saw Wintersun? That is pretty cool. (I think your mention of them on the NaNo thread was what started me listening to them actually…)

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50.2.1

Jadestone

in August 15th, 2013 @ 17:56

YOU LISTEN TO THEM TOO?? AHH YES GOOD YAY

This is the second time I have seen them in fact!! This is their first US headlining tour, but they were on tour supporting Eluveitie in December and I saw them then as well

(If you don’t listen to Eluveitie, you should. AMAZING folk metal. I loved their newest album, Helvetios, a lot if you want a place to start.)

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50.2.1.1

POSOC

in August 15th, 2013 @ 19:57

I do listen to Eluveitie! I actually like them a little better than Wintersun.

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50.2.1.1.1

Jadestone

in August 15th, 2013 @ 21:18

Same, to be honest, although I’m still in a post-concert high right now haha. They were one of the bands that got me into metal in the first place. I’ve tried learning some of their songs on tin whistle but I’m lazy and keep not working on that whoops.

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51

Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 15th, 2013 @ 04:54

AS results day.

Well, cake.

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51.1

bookgirl_me

in August 16th, 2013 @ 02:16

There’s always A-levels next year, right? *huggles.*

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51.1.1

Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 16th, 2013 @ 06:15

I did well in most of the units, so I shouldn’t complain. Especially as I technically did 7 subjects when most people do 4.

But, someone explain to me how it’s possible for the same person to get full marks (still in disbelief) in one history paper (Britain), and a 68/100 in the other (Russia). Although it’s still an A in History overall…There has to some mistake, right?! There’s no way the exam could have gone as badly as that…
I’m literally unable to understand how this happened. My teacher emailed me suggesting I have it remarked, as “it looks odd to us” (no kidding). Hopefully the mark changes.

I also did way worse than expected in Economics – they were difficult papers, but everyone found them difficult, so either I just spectacularly failed, or I had a horrible examiner, or…I may get those two exams remarked as well. Another option is discounting Economics altogether, and not declare that I ever did it as a subject. With one less subject on record I’d still have enough, after all.

In more pleasant news, I’ve a 90 and 96 in the two Politics papers, my second-best overall subject mark. 29/30 in Chinese oral, and (I’m most proud of) a 60/60 in French oral, yesss.

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51.1.1.1

bookgirl_me

in August 17th, 2013 @ 14:27

That (Russia) does sounds suspiciously like a grading error. I’m sorry that economics didn’t go well. But at least it sounds like everything else went as excellently as was to be expected

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51.1.1.2

Choklit Orange

in August 17th, 2013 @ 15:09

As always, I am IMPRESSED. I agree about remarking the Russian history paper, though. That’s very strange, and I recall you putting a lot of work into reading a biography of Stalin (not that that qualifies one to do well in Russian history, but if you felt on top of it…).

Anyway, such amazing scores in languages and Politics. Wow.

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51.1.1.3

Maths Lover â™¥

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 20:13

Wow, congratulations on your languages and Politics scores. I hope the other things work out. And more out of curiosity than anything– are your scores scaled/graded on a curve/whatever or are you stuck with your raw scores for better or worse?

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51.1.1.3.1

Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 24th, 2013 @ 04:55

The examiners marking your answers give you a raw mark (e.g. Russia essays are always out of 30), but the raw marks then get translated into what’s called ‘UMS marks’ (uniform mark scale, I believe) – and that’s sort of a curve in that it’s a comparison to everyone else in the country who did the same exam. So you can lose a few raw marks and still get 100 UMS marks – how many this is depends on how well/badly everyone else did. Does that make a little sense? No one’s really quite sure how the whole process works…it’s very mysterious…

Anyway, I got to see my Russia paper and so did the head of history, and basically I did pretty much fail the second essay on Stalin (13/30 was harsh, she said, but there were lots of reasons why it wasn’t as strong as the first one) – it may get a few more marks with a remark, but it wasn’t an error or anything, just a mean-ish examiner. So I messed up, which is disappointing, but ultimately it doesn’t really make a difference to university applications, so I don’t really mind. There are more important things in life than results, anyway.

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Maths Lover â™¥

in August 27th, 2013 @ 07:49

That makes some sense. I know what you mean about it being mysterious, and it’s math! As for your Russia paper, you’re right, it’s not ultimately that important. It does remind me of how the phrase “never mind, it’s not counting towards my ATAR [I hope]” is common among my classmates….

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 15th, 2013 @ 12:07

Last day on Maui today… Well, last partial day.

For the last full day yesterday, we got brunch at the Kihei Kaffe – I had buttermilk pancakes with chocolate chips and tons of butter, yum. Then we went to Big Beach, which was fantastic because the waves were nice and high. After that, once we had gotten out of the sun for a while, we went to Kameole 3 and my father and I jumped off the rock for the last time and said goodbye to the turtles. After that we got pizza for dinner and watched Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

It’s been really fun on Maui, but now we’re going to Oahu. Aloha!

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Jadestone

in August 15th, 2013 @ 12:24

I think my post may have gotten eaten??

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Madame Q. von Stuffystein

in August 16th, 2013 @ 16:26

It’s here.

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Randomosity101

in August 17th, 2013 @ 12:29

I just realized that as soon as I get used to the idea of being a college student, I’ll have to get used to the idea that I’m nearly a legal adult.

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FantasyFan?!?!

in August 17th, 2013 @ 12:44

So this weekend my family took it upon themselves to visit Wisconsin, the state we lived in about eight years ago. Family friend was getting married, everyone in my parents’ friend circle was getting together again, and my family decided to join the party. Two things stand out about this visit.

The first is that it is so weird leaving a place and then coming back after a long period of time. It’s this combination of nostalgia and hilarity. It’s like, oh, I remember that–it’s my old fourth grade classroom. But they’ve installed new shelves. The lockers look the same though. Turning a around a stairwell to discover that it is not a stairwell anymore. Just being hit by all the memories of everything that happened there, ohmygod so many years of my life.

The old Jehovah’s Witness church a few blocks from our old house that ticked off my parents because they once went around putting flyers in everyone’s mailboxes that showed Muslims praying behind the devil got turned into a mosque. Let me just savor the irony for a bit. The Islamophobic Jehovah’s Witnesses down the street is now a masjid. I’m sorry this is just too hilarious. I keep on repeating it to myself, shaking my head, and then giggling.

The other thing I noticed is that how terribly boring it is hanging out with my mom’s friends. It was bad when I was 11, because all their kids were younger than me and I had nothing to do except sit around and read. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading, but I run out of reading material easily. Not much has changed. Currently I am at home, on my laptop, missing a barbecue by choice. I thought that now that the kids have grown up some they would actually be interactable. But they just clump together in this insta-clique around their cellphones and talking about…something. IDK man.

…The Jehovah’s Witness place is now a mosque!

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Randomosity101

in August 17th, 2013 @ 12:57

Having left California and gone back for a visit half a year later, I completely understand what you mean about returning after a long period of time. (Of course you left for a longer period of time than I did, but even after only six months things change and it’s so weird.)

When I noticed this post, the first sentence I actually read was the last one. That’s pretty funny all by itself, but reading the background for it…

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KaiYves

in August 18th, 2013 @ 14:10

Coming home after a long time away is always strange.

And I agree, that last sentence and the story behind it is pretty amusing.

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KaiYves

in August 17th, 2013 @ 17:30

Can you imagine a butterfly t-shirt looking intimidating without the butterfly being tattoo-style-ugly? I think maybe if it was the wing patterns and everything in gray or white outline on a black background that might do the trick.

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fireh

in August 17th, 2013 @ 19:06

I just cut off basically all of my hair. Fourteen inches of it are being donated to Children With Hair Loss! I’m so excited! And then another five inches were trimmed off to get a pixie cut. I weigh about 3/4 of a pound less now. That’s a lot of hair.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 17th, 2013 @ 22:21

On what planet it what universe is it logical to notify residents you’ve changed the locks on their apartment by leaving a piece of paper on their door? There’s a reason you have our phone numbers and email addresses. Use them. I do not appreciate spending 15 hours travelling and then hauling my suitcases up multiple flights of stairs, to find this fact out. Not to mention, clipping notification after notification to my door just broadcasts to the everyone that I’m not home. Thanks for sending out that beacon to any would be burglars for me. Y’all are ****ing idiots.

In other news, I’ve cussed out the entire apartment management at full volume on the phone to my mom while leaving my suitcases unattended to retrieve my key from my mailbox, made my mom cry by getting mad at her during said rant, and then had a mental breakdown myself all in the last 20 minutes. Being back at school is a blast already. I hate this state, I hate this town, I *really* hate this school, and I hate the idiots who live here.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 17th, 2013 @ 22:25

Management is bloody lucky the office isn’t open right now and that I *really* hate phones, or they would be getting a piece of my mind right now, complete with lots and lots of swear words and angry yelling. As it is, I will be telling them my opinion of their management tomorrow/Monday/whenever they’re next open when I pick up my new parking permit for this school year. I am sick and tired of these stupid stunts they keep pulling. Like improving parking by painting a dozen resident parking spots (in a parking lot that does nto have enough spaces for residents as it is) with “visitor parking” labels. Thanks for making the parking problem worse, numbskulls.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 18th, 2013 @ 03:59

Oh, on less grumpy news, some random dude complimented my t-shirt I was wearing on the plane. It’s a black t-shirt with a pattern across the chest that has all eleven doctors, with eleven int he middle and a little bigger than the others. i was making my way down the aisle of the plane after my layover in Seattle, and the guy in front of me in the aisle (college age guy) glanced over his shoulder/to the side/whatever at one point and he he got this sort of startled spontaneous grin on his face (like when you see something super awesome and can’t not smile?) and said “nice shirt”.

and then later when all of us on my plane were at the luggage carousel waiting for our luggage to arrive, I could have sworn I saw him give me (or someone) the little Vulcan hand salute thingy, but I’m increasingly more convinced I imagined it and that he was just waving at somebody, because I wasn’t really looking at him/paying attention, but I could’ve sworn he kind of caught my eye and did the hand thingy, but given that I wasn’t wearing anything Trekkie (sure, I watched TAS on the plane, and I *guess* it’s possible he walked by my seat at some point and saw me in the window watching it on my laptop, but highly unlikely), and was totally zoned out and didn’t even process anything until after the fact, I think my mind was playing tricks on me.

So I think I clearly have Vulcans on the mind too much, if I now imaging Vulcan hand salutes.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 18th, 2013 @ 21:54

I think he was checking you out, saw what you were watching on your laptop, and deliberately gave you a Vulcan hand salute.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 18th, 2013 @ 23:40

lol, that’s a nice thought, although i doubt it. I don’t really think any guys check me out (or I’ve never noticed such). Well, there was that one drunk guy at the state fair when i was a teenager who made some lewd comment, but…that doesn’t count.

If I’d been paying more attention, and if was sure of what I saw, I totally would have returned it. But by the time I even processed what I might have seen (like I said, I was zoned out, and he was across on the other side of the carousel), he was already walking away.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 18th, 2013 @ 23:41

But I’m going to choose to believe it. ((Shhh, I’m pathetic. it’s okay. ))

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 19th, 2013 @ 06:24

Yes, they do. Because guys do. You’re just oblivious. Opinions from other MBers?

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 19th, 2013 @ 18:38

I’ve never noticed anyone checking me out. Then again, I’m generally oblivious to everything, so who knows? And I don’t really dress up that often.

And I’m of the opinion that he was trying to get your attention, Luna.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 19th, 2013 @ 23:10

Well he shouldn’t have turned around and ran off so fast then. A jetlagged girl who is (at the best of times) oblivious to her surroundings can only process visual stimuli so fast (and only act so fast once processed….)

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Midnight Fiddler

in August 19th, 2013 @ 22:55

He was checking you out. You’re Hawt Stuff.
(I never notice anyone checking me out either, but have been told it happens. I was pretty sure everyone is just made these things up to mess with me, except that enough people have confessed their burning desires for me [loljk] that I’m forced to realize I’m not, as previously believed, invisible.)

Also checking people out is definitely not just the domain of guys, ladies do it too JUSSAYIN’.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 18th, 2013 @ 05:35

You would think 15 hours of travel, and only sleeping 2 hours Friday night, and napping a bit on the plane/bus would mean I actually went to bed and got some good sleep to get back on central time. Instead it’s 5:30 in the morning and I’m the most awake I’ve been all day/night…..*sigh* One of these days I’ll learn, I just don’t know when.

In my defense, it’s only 2:30 alaska time, which is around when I was frequently going to bed…..

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Randomosity101

in August 18th, 2013 @ 15:17

I know that when I travel, I get this weird sort of reverse-jetlag. I get extremely hyper and energetic. Maybe it’s the same for you?

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Luna the Lovely

in August 18th, 2013 @ 17:33

Decals applied. My car is now awesomely geeked out. Three Star Trek decals in the rear window, a “Live Long and Prosper”, “What Would Spock Do?”, and “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”

*happiness*

Now I just have to be careful once it snows to make sure not to accidentally scrape part of ’em off with my ice scraper, lol.

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bookgirl_me

in August 19th, 2013 @ 04:58

Help, it’s the apocalypse! Like everyone else, I had this magic green portal basket thing into which I’d throw my dirty laundry. Then it would reappear the next day folded on the couch. Except it’s broken I think? Weirdly enough, it only seems to work when my parents are home.

Of course, I tried to deal with the problem in the mature way-I mean, who needs to *shudder* do laundry when you’ve got 20+ year old (literal) mom jeans hiding in some back drawer just waiting to be worn, right? Except I’m kinda out of jeans and shorts and the socks are running lowâ€¦

But hey, it can’t be that hard, right? I passed college calculus with *professor*, nothing can scare me now. What could possibly go wrong? ~~I really, really hope the laundry room in the building has wifi.~~

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KaiYves

in August 19th, 2013 @ 09:48

It’s not that hard, really. Just clean the lint out of the dryer’s filter before you run it.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 19th, 2013 @ 13:37

When I lived in New York, I was working such long hours that I never had time to do laundry. I kept buying new underwear until a mountain of it had piled up in a corner of my apartment. I’m glad I don’t have to live like that anymore.

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POSOC

in August 19th, 2013 @ 20:12

This made me laugh like a drain. I’m so sorry.
(Laundry day is not my favorite day. It’s worse at college, where the laundry room is an inconvenient distance from my own room.)

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 19th, 2013 @ 18:41

Remember: Cold for Colors. Warm for Whites. It took a depressingly long time for me to come up with that (forgot the word dangit) to help me remember.

And I second the dryer lint suggestion.

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Lizzie

in August 19th, 2013 @ 20:31

I just do warm for clothes (except more fragile things like dresses, dress clothes which I do on cold) and hot for towels / sheets. And yeah, clean out the lint trap. If you don’t the dryer won’t work correctly. Also, don’t overload – if you’re having to force the clothes in, you’ve got too many clothes in one load.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 19th, 2013 @ 23:08

On the washer I usually just leave it on whatever temp setting the last person had it on. Or usually warm. I dunno. Hot if it’s heavily soiled (anatomy scrubs–futile attempt to remove the smell of formaldehyde; coveralls from food animal/equine/etc stuff).

And with the dryer I just throw everything in on high heat, except a few more fragile items that I just throw on a hanger to dry (I include Harry Potter/Doctor Who/etc shirts to which I have an unnatural fondness int he “fragile” category). and bras. Those are generally better line dried. And if you have one of those small mesh laundry bags, you should put them in that in the washer, so the hooks are less likely to snag your other clothes.

But number one tip: do like Robert and have a month plus supply of underwear, and then you only have to do laundry once every month or so. I anticipate only doing laundry twice (2-3 loads each time, though) between now and when my family visits in a couple months.

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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in August 19th, 2013 @ 23:42

Yeah, that month’s supply is a minimum requirement.

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POSOC

in August 20th, 2013 @ 17:42

Disadvantage to this approach: you have a huge amount of clothes (2-3 loads, like you said) each time you do laundry.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 20th, 2013 @ 22:49

True, but I only have to do it once a month. I have a tendency to put off doing things i don’t like–I’d rather do several loads of laundry just once a month, then do it mroe frequently, because I hate doing it that much.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 21st, 2013 @ 07:28

I had many more than that. I think I solved the problem by moving.

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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in August 20th, 2013 @ 08:13

The simple solution is: never wear white. Can’t remember when I last separated clothes by color.

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Cello-Playing Mathematician (AKA Kyra)

in August 20th, 2013 @ 13:26

Ah, well I usually have underwear, white and light (in color and fabric) shirts, and towels in together in warm water.

Although I hardly ever buy new clothes, so it wouldn’t really matter if I put colors in warm as well, since everything’s so washed out already.

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Fiddler at the computer store

in August 19th, 2013 @ 13:54

Playing with gadgets at the store never gets old.
I have to leave my computer here though, which is the saddest thing. But it’ll be fixed, which is good. Also I’m finally getting a phone that will work! So exciting!

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Errata

in August 19th, 2013 @ 15:05

Just got back from Orchestra retreat thingy, which was awesome. I’m in first violins, second chair didn’t show up and I got to sit there all weekend, and my group’s contribution to the skit show, which I wrote probably half of, was universally loved. So glad I ended up going.
…Except now I’m talking in music metaphors, and that’s beginning to weird me out.

In other news, Pandora just played four or so of the songs from Les Mis that provoke the most emotional reaction in me, very close to back to back. Thanks, Pandora.

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bookgirl_me

in August 20th, 2013 @ 06:50

Bookgirl’s Laundry Adventures, Continued:

Both loads survived; the darks actually ended up clean and the whites ended up covered in sweet-smelling detergent goop. For some reason, these washers have an amount of buttons and settings that would make a starship blush and if you pour the detergent into the wrong slot, it just gets splashed on your clothes in the end. So I’m just going to wash the whites again. And again. Bring it on, Siemens- I’ve still got two weeks worth of underwear.

The dryer seems friendlier. It has settings labeled (and I quote these) “Dry, Really Dry, Closet-Dry, Closet-Dry+, Ironing-Dry” (I think Ironing-Dry might have been less dry than Closet-Dry but I can’t remember), both in sensitive/normal categories. I’m finding this mildly hysterical, probably because all my jeans are in there.

I think next time I’m just going to split the load and choose designated guinea pig clothes and see what happens to them first. *crosses fingers*

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Luna the Lovely

in August 20th, 2013 @ 09:22

When fandoms collide….

So apparently the actor who plays nu!Chekov in the Abrams reboot was also the actor who played the main character in the 2011 Fright Night remake….which I went to see when it was in theaters because it had David Tennant in it (who was brilliant and hot and delicious in the movie), and I actually rather liked the movie…..now I wanna hunt it down and watch it again now that I realize it has nu!Chekov in it. Because I like Chekov from the Abrams movies better than Chekov from TOS.

Anyway. Yeah. Hi. My name is Luna. I have issues.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 20th, 2013 @ 17:05

I forgot just how much I like this movie. Shirtless David Tennant, all three male leads (Tennant, Yelchin, and whoever plays the vampire) are all attractive, and a comedy movie that actually makes me laugh, because it’s not comedy in the “people doing stupid things so stupid it’s suppose to be funny” but more in the things that get said, and the fact that it has a sense of humor that is borderline in the gutter.

But yeah. I forgot how funny it was.

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KaiYves

in August 20th, 2013 @ 09:31

I found “Beyond the Dinosaurs” at the library yesterday. Holy Koko, that was a nostalgia trip– the art is still stupendous, especially that one painting of a group of Pteranodon ingens flying through a canyon and you can see sauropods watching at the rim and one of the Pteranodons is coming right-at-you off the page… *shivers*

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Luna the Lovely

in August 20th, 2013 @ 09:40

Also….and SFTDP, I had a dream about Zachary quinto Sunday night. Which I remembered when I was taking a shower Monday morning (not what your thinking, I swear).

So for whatever reason, for some big public went, zach quinto was bungee jumping off a platform on a skyscraper. Which I thought looke super freaking fun and awesome, and was babbling on about how I wanted to so it, until I either saw a view of the ground from the camera on him/the platform or was on the platform myself (not sure which), and saw just how far away the ground was and started freaking the heck out, and decided no way in hell was I even going to think about it (I have a bit is a fear of heights)

And then we were on the ground, and I was talking to quinto, and he took my water bottle and drew a heart on it (in dry erase marker). And feeling rather self conscious, I asked if he could maybe autograph it? But instead he drew a green frog/lizard face on it with some additional pattern, and kissed me on the cheek and I kissed him on the cheek (dream are weird. Go away). And then he pulled me over to a table, where seeing the signs saying prices for autographs, I caught on to the fact that he was (nonverbal ly) saying that if I wanted his autograph, I was going to have to shell out money. So I asked him how much it cost, and he said $25 and I was ecstatic it was so cheap [a couple weeks ago in real life I was looking at autograph prices at a Star Trek convention, and about the cheapest anybody’s ran was 40. Shatners was 100. It was ridiculous)]. So I paid up $25, and he autographed my left hand, and kisses me on the cheek again, and I was in that state of just floating on happiness, although a bit miffed/irritated that I just spent $25 on an autograph and he autographed my hand which meant it would wear off really fast, and that for that kin of money it should be on something like paper or something more permanent than my hand. And then I was telling a couple friends, and showing them he drew a heart on my waterbottle. And was disappointed to see it and the frog/lizard were almost worn off because they were drawn in dry erase marker

So then I was thinking about going to a craft store and seeing if I there was some sort of spray on finish thing I could spray on the water bottle to keep the rest of it from wearing off, and I was going to spray it on the back of my hand, too, and never wash the back of that hand ever again

And so then when I was drowsing after my alarm went off yesterday morning, I kinda remembered the dream, made a mental note not to first, drowsed off, and forgot it until I was inthe shower. Because when the back of my left hand got wet, I had a moment where I had a panicked thought of OMG I can’t get that hand wet for some reason, oh no. And ten the dream came flooding back and it was great

I like happy dreams.

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Randomosity101

in August 20th, 2013 @ 19:36

Any time I get good news, I turn around and it’s bad after all. Why does college have to be so caking expensive with so many caking hoops to jump through?!

Of course, when I talk to my mother, she makes me believe I can definitely do this, it’ll all be all right in the end, etc. etc.

Then I have to talk to my dad (mostly because I actually live with him), and I swear he doesn’t want me to go to college at all! And he does everything in his power to make me believe I can’t get through this. I gave the cakehead some important paperwork I needed filled out ASAP so he could do the parental part. He made me wait more than two hours because he was “doing something”. Want to know what he was doing? He was PLAYING A VIDEO GAME.

A small part of me is terrified I’ll never be able to pay for college. The rest of me doesn’t care; all it can think about is the day after tomorrow, I’ll be free.

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bookgirl_me

in August 21st, 2013 @ 06:03

*huggles* Can you fill out some of the forms yourself and just sign them? Either way, I know you can get through this. Trust me. And it will get progressively better- the older you get, the less you’ll need your parents to fill out paperwork for you.

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bookgirl_me

in August 21st, 2013 @ 06:04

SFTDP:

I meant have him sign them, not forge it yourself.

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Randomosity101

in August 21st, 2013 @ 15:40

When I said he made me wait 2 hours, I meant he signed them 2 hours later.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 21st, 2013 @ 13:06

So….guess what movie is playing 4 times this weekend…..

And guess who is planning on going at least 2 times?

Yeah…..Into Darkness……and me.

Becaus having seen it four times already just isn’t enough

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KaiYves

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 13:22

“Guess who has six tickets to Star Wars?”
“Who’s going with you?”
“My friend Bob.”
“I don’t get it, you said…”
“Guess who has tickets to three consecutive showings of Star Wars?”

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Errata

in August 21st, 2013 @ 17:06

I finished crocheting a scarf today. I now have 142 ends to weave in. Not counting the 18 I’ve already done.

You know, I think I’ll finish this later. For now it’s just going with my other scarves.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 21st, 2013 @ 17:27

On a completely unrelated note, the number you have left to weave in is the same as the number of staircases at Hogwarts…..((Yes, I am afraid that is how my brain works))

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Errata

in August 21st, 2013 @ 23:32

Yes. And I actually noticed that, because of how our minds work.

(You mentioned it some ages ago, while speculating about a connection to the Salem Witch Trials. I somehow memorized it, and it’s been my favorite trivia question ever since.)

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 03:22

Not to mention the connection to low-fat strawberry yogurt.

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Errata

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 10:19

I should really learn not to go back and read my past posts. It never improves my self-respect.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 12:26

Gosh, I feel that way about posts from just weeks ago, sometimes.

Also, I fin it hilarious that on the last thread I thought I’d only read three of the twilight books, not all four. I did (sadly) read all four a year prior to that. And still regret it

Also, ate lunch outside. Only been outside for 30 minutes. Literally dripping sweat. It’s nasty. I hate the weather here, I’m not built for it

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Errata

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 17:14

I feel that way about posts from minutes ago sometimes. Though in that case it’s more “I wish I’d put it a different way”.

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bookgirl_me

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 13:48

I like to see mine as a sign that improvement is possible. Theoretically

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Bibliophile

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 17:27

Me, too. I try not to judge my present self for what my former self said, because the fact that it embarrasses me now indicates that I’ve already gotten past whatever it was that makes me cringe, so I no longer have to associate it with me. It does occur to me that my future self will be likewise embarrassed of what I write now, but I’ve just seen proof that I’ve grown, and that just means I have more growing to do. Besides, everyone else gets embarrassed reading stuff they wrote a long time ago as well, and I at least often see nothing particularly embarrassing about it, so I think it’s pretty fair to say that we’re probably all judging our past selves a lot more harshly then everyone else does/did.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 19:47

I’ve judged you all excellent company for as long as I’ve known you.

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bookgirl_me

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 04:53

Seconded.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 08:57

Wow. I don’t remember that AT ALL. I would’ve thought you’d confused me with someone else except for Robert’s link to the comment in question

As for strawberry yogurt, that just makes me think of strawberry milkshakes, which makes me think of a comment the prof made in our theriogenology class….which probably wouldn’t be deemed blog appropriate

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bookgirl_me

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 10:33

Annoyingly enough, the big picture of a strawberry milkshake with the ingredients of artificial strawberry flavor listed on it that was in Muse a few years back is on page 41.

But that bus from “Into the Wild” had 142 painted on it! (and it was in Alaska, and I’m really grasping at straws here)

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Katherine Wingcat Swordfigthing Hero

in August 21st, 2013 @ 20:35

Howdy, folks!
Man, sorry i was gone for such a long time ~~AGAIN~~ . My internet kinda crashed, because Centurypain was being a bit naughty, and it took quite a few weeks to get them to understand that we could not use our internet, and to stop sending us the full bill for cake that didn’t even work… Gawd, i am switching my internet plan!
Anyways, how are all of you doing? I’m doing pretty well so far. Discovered Creepypasta Wiki, so i’ve been giving myself nightmares. (Does anyone else think Jeff looks kinda cute?! *Sarcastic face*) Still haven’t gotten rid of the flea apocalypse, bleached the floor, flea-bombed, tried home remedies. Found about…. oh, 86 fleas on me today.
Still writing my LoZ fanfiction, discovered FanFiction.net as well, Still havn’t read every Zelda fanfiction on there yet, i’m gonna make that a goal of mine.
Anyway, how’s it going in blogtown? Anything happen while i was away? Except for the changing of seasons, but you can’t really escape from that, now can you?
Sorry if i typed too many things for everyone to reply to, but at least try
~Katherine

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Midnight Fiddler

in August 21st, 2013 @ 21:52

I got a new phone! It works! And I can Internet on it! THE FUTURE IS NOW.

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 11:16

It’s not fun when the first thing you hear when you wake up is that your grandmother isn’t feeling well, and then it’s just you and your sister at home since your mum’s on her way to an overnight trip with friends, and you have to call a taxi to take her to the hospital, and halfway there she says it’s fine now and we stop to get some air, but then twenty minutes later it’s not fine again and we have to get in another taxi to see a doctor, but there’s not much the doctor can do as he has none of her medical history (whereas the hospital in Foshan, where she lives, does). It’s terrifying how helpless it can make you feel.

And everything’s better now but it doesn’t change the fact that her heart isn’t very good, she has high blood pressure, other cardiological problems I know next to nothing about, this has happened before and could happen again. My mum and I are taking her across the border to meet my aunt who will drive her home, instead of her taking the train alone.

Appreciate the moments you have, because you never know what might suddenly happen.

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Katherine Wingcat Swordfighting Hero

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 13:16

Oh-no! So sorry to hear about this. I will keep you and your grandmother in my prayers.

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bookgirl_me

in August 22nd, 2013 @ 14:03

I’m sorry that this is happening to you and your grandmother. *hugs* If it’s any consolation, my (paternal) grandmother lived with similar problems for over a decade and was able to manage her condition very well with medication. I hope they find something like that for yours.

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Choklit Orange

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 17:50

My grandfather also has similar problems and is doing quite well. Still pretty active, still bellowing at people on the phone, and so on. Sel, I’m glad she’s in good hands, and I’m sorry about the stressful situation. *huggle*

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 24th, 2013 @ 04:50

Thanks everyone – she’s back home and doing fine now. It could be a much worse problem, so I’m glad for that.

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FantasyFan?!?!

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 00:59

despite lots of hard googling, I have not managed to locate a projection of what the Earth would look like if all the ice on the planet melted. Lots of short-term projections, yeah, but even those only show a few low-lying coastal cities, not whole continents. Has anyone seen such a thing before? I suppose I could look for projections for the Cretaceous period the last time there was no ice on Earth, but the continental drift since then would mess things up. I was reading the recent National Geographic article about rising seas, and my curiosity was truck. ~~Also, I remembered I wanted to look up such a thing for Homestuck-related reasons.~~

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 06:24

How about these maps?

www. johnstonsarchive. net/spaceart/earthicefreemask.gif
www. johnstonsarchive. net/spaceart/earthicefree.jpg

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FantasyFan?!?!

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 13:19

Thanks! These are great! I especially like the look of the Antarctic archipelago.

I have a minor quibble about the second one, and that is that it appears to use vegetation patterns for Earth right now to color in the non-polar regions when a world that was warm enough to have no ice at the poles would probably have drastically different climate and vegetation patterns there as well.

I notice that neither Houston, TX or upstate New York is completely underwater…

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 13:29

“MuseBlog: Making Global Catastrophes More Realistic Since 2005.”

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POSOC

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 13:59

Why those specific — oh. Homestuck.

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 09:55

Ugh ugh ugh I hate sleeping on airplanes. But we’re almost home, just one more flight!

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Luna the Lovely

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 15:39

I’ve been out geeked. The car in front of me at McDonald’s not only had my same Doctor Who license plate frame (“My other car is the TARDIS”), but also had a personalized license plate reading “DALEK”. I spent the entire time in the drive through thinking how awesome that person was, and why it hadn’t ever even occurred to me to get a personalized license plate for my car in one of my fandoms (besides the cost, and the fact I’m pretty sure my dad would throw a fit. He was less than thrilled about the decals, as it was–because it “lowers the resale value”, lol.)

*sigh*

I totally sneaked a picture of it, too, because, hello, awesome.

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bookgirl_me

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 18:42

I might have said this before, but someone needs to make a parody of that Icona Pop song, so that the lyrics go “I don’t care, allons-y”.

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Midnight Fiddler

in August 23rd, 2013 @ 22:20

My computer is fixed, the brakes on my car which suddenly decided to sto working are fixed, i have a new phone that works, and hopefully a new debit card waiting for me when i get back to school. It’s been a busy week.
I also discovered an organic/local/fresh cafe downtown, which is awesome, and had the best day in a long time with my two friends from this area. I’m so glad, because for the last few years it’s felt like they were basically gone from my life.
I guess maybe that belongs on the gratitude tread, but it’s aleeady typed here, so…

I’m going to an 18th century tea tomorrow afternoon and packing, and then it’s back to the land of the pinea on Sunday bright and early.

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 24th, 2013 @ 04:58

I’ll be going back to England tonight – school starts on September 3rd, but I’m in London next week doing work experience in Whitehall (politics stuff) which I hope is worthwhile. I’m also seeing Parsifal at the Proms tomorrow night, which I’m looking forward to.

It’s going to be a long term, what with university applications and interviews and music auditions and in some ways all that is exciting, but I kind of want it to be the Christmas holidays very soon. Anyone else feel like that?

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Choklit Orange

in August 24th, 2013 @ 23:10

Yes. Yes. And I’ve only had a week of school so far. So envious of your Proms tickets, though; have fun!

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Maths Lover â™¥

in August 26th, 2013 @ 03:15

Haha, Christmas holidays = high school out forever (eeee) for me, but I’ll be glad to have the October holidays. I have a pretty good idea how you feel, but I’m glad you’re doing cool stuff!

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KaiYves

in August 24th, 2013 @ 12:30

Lovely weather here, I’m really enjoying it. (Also, totally not ready to go back to Boston.)

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 24th, 2013 @ 12:45

It’s beautiful down here, too.

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KaiYves

in August 25th, 2013 @ 15:45

Any day I get to hear Robert Ballard’s voice (on the Nautilus Live feed, not in person) and see a meteor is a good day.

By that measure, yesterday was a very good day indeed.

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Mikazuki

in August 26th, 2013 @ 13:22

Hi everybody! I don’t know if you still remember me, but hello. How are you?

So I think a couple of you are/were involved in historical reenactment groups? I could be wrong about this, but if any of you were, would you mind telling me how you got involved in them? Also, sailing on tall ships. I seem to remember that Midnight Fiddler did some sailing, possibly some other people? Basically, what ships did you sail on/how did you start doing that/what was it like/what were you doing/how old were you/were you working on them the whole summer/could you tell me everything about your life please?

I know this is super random and you haven’t heard from me in about a year, but I’ve been trying to figure out how I could do these things and I thought I remembered that some of you were involved in them. And I thought I would drop by and see if anybody had any helpful information/advice. I hope you guys are all doing good and I’m sorry if this comes off as rude at all, hopefully somebody knows what I’m talking about…

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 26th, 2013 @ 14:36

Welcome, Mikazuki! Why don’t you pull up a chair, pour yourself some cold lemonade, and stay awhile?

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Mikazuki

in August 26th, 2013 @ 14:47

Hi, Robert! Don’t mind if I do. Wow, I’ve missed MuseBlog.

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Dodecahedron

in August 26th, 2013 @ 17:26

Hi! I remember you!

I used to be active in the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval re-creation group (that’s distinct from re-enactment and once I met someone there who was very annoyed at people who mixed up the two. As I recall, re-enactment is an attempt to mimic the past, re-creation is creating something based on the past with its own concepts too.) I loved it, there just isn’t a group in my area anymore and I can’t travel two hours each way for a two-hour-long meeting.
I’m not sure if that’s what you were looking for, and Midnight Fiddler does 18th century reenactment and tall ships sailing so she might be able to help more, but anyway…
My advice is to look online for a group in your area and just start showing up! That’s worked for me in the past. Maybe email someone ahead of time if they have an email online, but people are usually pretty friendly.

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Mikazuki

in August 26th, 2013 @ 22:07

Hi!!! That’s really cool. I’m going to try that, I’ve found a couple of groups in my state at least and there is a colonial-era museum near me that I know has historical re-enactment (or maybe they’re re-creation, I don’t know!) events, so I was thinking of calling them? I’m not sure. But thank you, that’s helpful!

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 26th, 2013 @ 19:59

Mika! Hey! I remember you!

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Mikazuki

in August 26th, 2013 @ 22:09

LBK! Hi! How are you?

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LittleBasementKitten

in August 29th, 2013 @ 11:25

Could be better, what with school just around the corner. But I did get my hair ~~chopped off~~ cut recently, and I am very happy with how it looks, so overall, doing well!
And you?

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bookgirl_me

in August 27th, 2013 @ 16:26

Hey, welcome back!

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Randomosity101

in August 27th, 2013 @ 20:16

MIKAZUKI!!!!!!!

Ahem. Yes. Hi. I missed seeing you around the blog!

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Katherine Wingcat Swordfighting Hero

in August 27th, 2013 @ 20:58

Hi, Mikazuki! Don’t know if we knew each other that well, but, welcome back! Nice seeing you again!

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KaiYves

in August 27th, 2013 @ 20:58

Welcome back, Mikazuki!

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Mikazuki

in August 28th, 2013 @ 21:10

@bookgirl_me: Thank you!

@R101: HIIII! How are you?

@Katherine: Hello! I’m not sure that I remember you, but it’s nice to meet you/talk to you again!

@KaiYves: Hello! Thank you.

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Randomosity101

in August 30th, 2013 @ 14:59

I’m just awesome, how are you?

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Bibliophile

in August 29th, 2013 @ 03:30

Mikazuki! Hi! It’s good to see you again.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 30th, 2013 @ 16:25

Late to the party, but hi! And yes we remember you.

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Rosebud2

in August 26th, 2013 @ 17:40

You know, I just realized that, although MuseBlog is supposedly “the only place where you can sue a saxophone,” we never actually did sue that saxophone.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 26th, 2013 @ 19:49

So, the second our of our ophthalmology ((I have a terrible time spelling that word, btw)) lectures this afternoon got done about 15 minutes early, so the veterinary ophthalmologist who lectured us for a total of 4 hours today ((whoever’s idea it was to have an additional 2 hr lecture starting at 7am on a day where we’re in class until 5pm deserves to be tortured)), decided to treat us to a random story.

She started by asking us who like theatre/broadway/etc, and then was like, so….”Who’s watched Prince Bride?”, and she was thrilled that quite a few hands went up, and I looked up and noticed that she’d opened up a google image search on the overhead projector, and chosen a younger and quite good looking picture of Mandy Patinkin.

She then proceeded to tell us how when she was 13, her dad had taken her to see a broadway musical (Evita, I think), and how they were in the “nosebleed seats” so she was having to lean way over to see anything at all that was going on, when suddenly a totally gorgeous guy came on stage, who “checked all her boxes” ((including, apparently, a box for a large nose)), and she proceeded to tell us about how she carried a torch for Mandy Patinkin for a really long time and that she still actually does ((we’re all dying with laughter, b/c this is hilarious and awesome, and she’s reminding me so much of myself, albeit not the same actors as I would squee over, but still)).

And then she was telling us about how she was working at Animal Medical Center in New York City, and how she’d been out buying tons of starving veterinary intern groceries (which apparently consisted of lots of bagels and peant butter) when she got back to AMC, and one of her coworkers told her that “Mandy Patinkin is in the building”, and she apparently flipped out, dropped her groceries, and started running through the building (which is apparently 8 floors) in search of him. And apparently she ran into her boss, said something to him, and he was like “Who’s Mandy Patinkin?”, and she kept dashing throught he building, ran into another colleague (who apparently joined her in her mad dash through the building in search of Patinkin), and apparently the eventually found where he was with his labrador, but apparently then neither her nor the guy who had joine dher running through the building could think of anything to say (which is funny, b/c this is clearly not someone who is shy), and that her coworker ended up just saying osmething like they really admire his work.

So apparently, regretting that she wasn’t a bit more vocal, or whatever, she tried to beg her boss to let her do the suture removal on Patinkin’s dog when he was scheduled to come back in, and I guess her boss was all, sorry, can’t do that, there’s tons of other people working here who I’m sure feelt he same way as you, and I can’t/won’t arrange that. Apparently, when he brought his dog in for the suture removal, her boss came up to her (brushing lab hair off his front), and said “Guess who’s hair this is? I just took the sutures out of Mandy Patinkin’s dog.” ((Which, btw, her boss sounds like a total jerk, I would have flipped the beep out if I been turned down the chance to take the sutures out of the pet of one of the actors I admire, and then to ahve that fact rubbed in my face…..))

And then I guess when she was working somewhere else later on, on a comparative ophthalmology type thing ((comparative, meaning human and animal)), I guess Patinkin was having some kind of eye surgery, i think she said corneal transplant? and she was acquainted with a couple of “famous ophthalmologists”, who she apparently begged to give her a small piece of his removed cornea ((I totally decided I loved her, in that moment, b/c I swear to god, I would do that exact same thing if one of my many actor crushes/whatever you want to call them was having something removed…..yes, i know that’s creepy)). Although I don’t thinkt hat worked out for her, but it was totally awesome.

So yeah. I’ve decided she’s kind of totally freaking awesome, even if she does keep stressing me the heck out by reminding us that we’re starting clinicals in just 7 weeks ((I’m flipping terrified of clinicals))

But yeah. It was epically awesome story time. It’s nice to know I”m not the only crazy person out there.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 26th, 2013 @ 20:25

ALSO, she totally made a Star Trek reference in our two hour 7 am ophtho lecture (which I managed to pick up on even though it was a next gen reference, although I *think* I may ahve seen an episode with borg when I was little).

But she was demonstrating how you do indirect ophthalmoscopy ((oh god, hard word to spell and say)), which involves holding a light by your cheek, with the animal at arms length. So she’s got the light by her cheek, and then she turns and looks at us and goes “Resistance is futile. ~~You will be assimilated.~~ Assimilation is going to happen.”

My bad, apparently my memory of the event somehow translated it into the correct phrase (even though I’m not even sure if I’ve seen the borg and if so it was year and years and years ago when i was super little, so that’s weird that my memory would correct it into the correct phrase).

But a bunch of us laughed, and I was like “I’m sure that’s a Star Trek reference….borgs or something…..here, let’s write in down in our notes to look up later…..”

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Luna the Lovely

in August 26th, 2013 @ 23:02

Oh, she was also saying, when she was trying to talk her boss into letting her be the one doing the suture removals, that she was telling himt hat he didn’t understand, that she had all his albums and everything (and thus meant more to her than to the other people who might be interested). And I was just sitting there thinking “that is so me……” ((b/c I totally bought like all of John Barrowman’s albums and his autobiographies and stuff when I was really into him a few years ago))

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Errata

in August 27th, 2013 @ 00:34

I just read entirely through that post with the impression that Mandy Patinkin played Vizzini. It took me a good two minutes afterward to think that through, too.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 26th, 2013 @ 21:11

And I relaly need to be studying, but decided to watch an episode of Heroes while cutting up index cards to make flashcards (because I was craving some Zachary Quinto) and dear god his psycho serial killer character is hot.

I think it’s his character on this which is why the one girl I worked with over the summer thinks he (and Spock as a result) are so creepy, but while he might be a bit creepy in it (I mean, he is cutting off peoples skulls and eating their brains), but the creep factor is so vastly outweighed by the sheer physical appeal he just freaking exudes in the role. Seriously, being that hot should be illegal.

((I would totally do something similar with Quinto to what our ophtho teacher did with Patinkin.))

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Luna the Lovely

in August 26th, 2013 @ 21:16

Holy . I just realized….Don’t know how I didn’t notice before, the little kid’s gramma on Heroes is Nichelle Nichols. Lieutenant Uhura. Her voice. She spoke (and it’s not the first episode I’ve seen her on, and I didn’t start watching Heroes until after getting into Star Trek) and I realized I know that voice. It’s Lieutenant Uhura. And I googled it, and it was. and wow. yeep. It’s like a freaking Star Trek fest.

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KaiYves

in August 27th, 2013 @ 09:57

Study!

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Luna the Lovely

in August 27th, 2013 @ 12:48

Intend to try to study LOTS this afternoon. So far behind, and even though I’d been terrified of therio going into this block (we’ve heard some horror stories), the prof we had last week seemed pretty cool, and the material made sense, and I got complacent, only for her husband to come in ad teach today’s 2 lectures and it was everything I’d been afraid of with therio. LH this FSH that, throw in some PG and GnRH and estrogen and progesterone and……yeah. Everything I’ve ever struggled with in regards to female reproductive physiology (and thatssomething ive aleays struggles with) all rolled into one, with the teacher talking really fast and my stress levels spiking, and I have to relisten to one of the lectures entirely, and….yeah. *whimper*

I just need a D. I can get a D, right. ((Ohgodihopeihopeihopeicanreallynotconvincedthatican)). Why didn’t I read the textbook over the summer? Why? Now when I fail my parents will give me that whole “we told you to read it and you didn’t listen” and…..*whimper* I only need 50% in te class to pass. I’ve got to be able to do that….right? *whimper*

I just binged on McDonald’s cuz I’m a huge stress water and that 2 hours if therio stressed me out majorly. This is not going to be a good block for trying to cut back on junk food *whimper*

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bookgirl_me

in August 27th, 2013 @ 16:28

*huggles* I’ve just started studying again too: we can get through this together.

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KaiYves

in August 27th, 2013 @ 20:43

*calming and focus vibes*

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Errata

in August 28th, 2013 @ 00:01

…And I read that LOTS as an acronym. Didn’t figure it out until hours later, upon rereading.

I keep doing this to your posts. What is it about them?

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Luna the Lovely

in August 28th, 2013 @ 01:21

They’re poorly worded and rambly and typo ridden because half of them are written from an ipod? That’s probably part of it, at least.

For instance, apparently I’m a “stress water” according to the last post. Because that obviously makes lots of sense.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 27th, 2013 @ 18:07

Ohhhh, my god. John Barrowman has a Captain Kirk doll (or action figure, if you prefer). I was taking a short study break (because, really, I can only study therio for so long without losing my mind) and scrolling through my news feed, and JB’s got a pic of a Kirk doll on his table (with what is probably a 3 foot tall Iron Man in the back, but I dont’ care so much about that).

But yeah. I think I fell that much more in love with JB. Although the Kirk doll doesn’t even remotely resemble Kirk.

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KaiYves

in August 27th, 2013 @ 20:42

My dream last night was a Marvel/Volcano Cowboys (well, technically just USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program) crossover. That’s got to be a new one.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 27th, 2013 @ 23:25

Apparently tomorrow is National Bow TIe day (according to one of the second years)? This is a thing?

((coughbowtiesarecoolcough))

coughdoctorwhocough

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Selenium the Quafflebird

in August 28th, 2013 @ 11:15

Today I had lunch on the House of Commons Terrace. So cool. Didn’t see anyone I recognised but MPs are being recalled tomorrow for Syria, so you never know. I’m enjoying work and experiencing an office environment, so far.

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bookgirl_me

in August 28th, 2013 @ 13:35

Gah. Mistaken for jewish again. It’s so annoying to chat with (jewish) people, get along really well and then have them say something like “us jewish girls have to stick together”, because I feel like I’m accidentally lying to them. Not that I don’t take it as a compliment, but it’s always awkward explaining that I’m not even remotely jewish, even though I guess I look the part and have a German-sounding surname.

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KaiYves

in August 28th, 2013 @ 20:23

That’s happened to me a few times, too, I guess because of the surname thing. (And in one case, I was wearing a necklace that featured a symbol resembling the Star of David that was really something else.)

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Luna the Lovely

in August 28th, 2013 @ 19:48

I was just thinking “I wonder what my exam schedule will be like around Halloween and will I have time to get and carve a pumpkin….”

And then I realized. I’ll be on clinics at that time. I’ll be on clinics in less than two months. And all our lecturers keep reminding us of this, like it’s some big super awesome thing, and all of us are just sitting there, with our levels of stress hormones spiking like mad and trying to not have a minor mental breakdown at the very thought…Because clinics scare the heck out of me.

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oxlin

in August 28th, 2013 @ 22:36

I just want a shirt that has Penrose tiling all over it with each tile in some kind of pretty jewel tone. I feel like this should be a product I could find on the internet but I am so far unsuccessful. The MoMath gift shop should carry this.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 28th, 2013 @ 23:26

Note to self: Just because your food animal prof tells y’all to go look up the llama song on youtube, does not mean that you need to refresh your memory of the llama song…..b/c just haivng the prof say that was enough to have “llama llama duck” stuck in my head for awhile.

And now it’s even worsely stuck in my head.

And I still haven’t even gotten done what I wanted to finish yesterday. *headdesk*

Even when I work, it just goes so slow. I’m pretty sure I have over an entire ream of paper worth of notes printed out so far.

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FantasyFan?!?!

in August 29th, 2013 @ 21:50

I remember when that song was a big deal on Museblog. Pretty sure the link on the old HG2MB thread is still there.

…Yeah, I don’t need to look. I hope your work goes well! Or has gone well.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 30th, 2013 @ 07:49

Yup. Pretty sure MB is where I first heard about it from

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 30th, 2013 @ 10:42

The llama song has a long history here.

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bookgirl_me

in August 29th, 2013 @ 12:44

I’m getting a shiny new Calvin & Hobbes bag! And I got my hair cut- the hairdresser ended up taking off 4 inches instead of one, but it looks much better than I thought.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in August 29th, 2013 @ 17:10

Just don’t get a Calvin haircut.

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KaiYves

in August 29th, 2013 @ 17:33

Whatever haircut you get, follow Calvin’s example and never argue with the person who has a razor in their hand.

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bookgirl_me

in August 30th, 2013 @ 07:15

Oops, kinda botched thatâ€¦ Nah, since I ended up with “short” (armpit-length) hair anyway, I asked the hairdresser to go to town with the layers and it actually looks almost sophisticated. (The effect is kinda ruined by the fact that I lost my second (third?) hairbrush recently and I’m not going to buy another one because statistically, I really should be tripping over some form of hair-taming implement any day now).

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Luna the Lovely

in August 29th, 2013 @ 19:55

So unfocused today. What is wrong with me. :/

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Luna the Lovely

in August 30th, 2013 @ 07:47

It’s a good thing I’m on the science track and not the command track…..I could never pull off gold day in and day out. Blue however I’ve always thought complements my eyes

((Shhhh, no, I’m not talking like Star Trek and starships are real, go away)))

It’s be college version of school spirit today, and one of our colors is gold (really more yellow. Actually, lets face it. I’m going to a significantly less awesome version of hufflepuff). I’m am equal parts quite pleased and mildly surprised that in just over 5 years of going to school here, I have two yellow shirts total. None of which are school shirts. For that matter I only have about two school shirts in black, an one of them was a freebie. ((I usually don’t even participate and just wear a color as unschool colored as possible.))

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97.1

KaiYves

in August 30th, 2013 @ 10:44

At first I thought you were talking about Space Camp.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 30th, 2013 @ 15:48

Despite the fact that theriogenology is probably going to be the class I do the worst in of all the classes we’ve ever taken, the lectures are hilarious. Or, at least the ones taught by our female instructor. Her husband terrifies me. But between the off color dirty/suggestive comments, or the fact that half the stuff that gets said could be construed as off color depending on whether your mind is in the gutter (and let’s face it. It’s a class about animal sex, with the pictures to accompany it….it’s kind of hard not to construe pretty much every comment in the most inappropriate way) or not….Yeah. I giggle like an immature kid the whole time….

I’ve got quotes scribbled on half the pages of my notes.

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98.1

Luna the Lovely

in August 30th, 2013 @ 17:35

On reconsideration I actually barely have any quotes scribbled down, maybe 1 per lecture (apparently i write down far less of the funny things than I thought)

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Piggy

in August 30th, 2013 @ 19:53

I’m taking a printmaking class this semester–my first real foray into the field of visual art–and I think I’m going to enjoy it. After dinner this evening I walked over to the studio to sand and paint a midtone on the two blocks I need to carve this weekend. It was kinda cool having this big printmaking studio all to myself. All the old chairs splattered with paint and ink, the big rolls of newsprint, ancient shelves full of bottles of all kinds of chemicals, the presses with their huge round handles, the hot plate and the ventilation system, and me sitting there with a dish of wash, some sandpaper and two pieces of birch plywood. Very serene.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 31st, 2013 @ 13:32

In a notice on our door from the apartment complex (b/c they do so love their door notes, hey let’s kill bunches of trees, let’s not joint the 21st century and the age of technology, let’s instead run around in sweltering heat sticking sheets of paper to everyones door):

“Our new internet has been installed! It will take at least 2 weeks to build up speed. Please be patient. Be sure to check your connection to make sure that you are connected to “[name of new internet]” not “[name of old internet]”. If it is still not working, go to [name of website],” click on “internet” and submit a request.”

Uhhhhh. So if my internet is not working, go online to submit a request. Well, gee, let me think about this a second. If my internet is not working, it means I can’t go online. So if I can’t go online, I can’t submit a request, so….basically that would be completely totally useless. I question how the people who run the apartment complex ever made it past preschool.

And they also kindly let us know that they were closed for the entire three day weekend (by a note on the door) just yesterday. Rent is due on the 1st. Rent is considered late on the 3rd. And they even kindly specifically mentioned that rent would be considered late the third of September, as well. Guess what day they’re next open? Yeah. Third of September. Well, golly gee gosh, peeps, thanks for the heads up in advance, so we could, oh, I dunno, make sure we gave you our rent checks before you shutdown on 6pm yesterday? Oh, no, wait, hang on. that would be intelligent. Y’all don’t do intelligent.

So now my choices are: wait until tUesday and be assessed a $25 late fee. Pay online and be assessed a $20 service charge. sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.

I would think they planned it on purpose with the intention of accruing lots of extra $$$ from hundreds of residents being “late” on rent, if it weren’t for the fact that they’ve made it quite abundantly clear they’re not smart enough to come up with such an idea.

Gah.

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Dodecahedron

in August 31st, 2013 @ 16:08

that sounds awful
here are some thoughts I have:
1. Internet does not “build up speed” and whoever told the landlord that was lying. actually this whole internet setup is dubious, why are both up at once?
2. how did the note get to the door if they weren’t open??? a mystery
3. how long is your lease for? have you tried talking to them about this? when I am upset about my landlord being stupid (like the time they painted over the deck in front of the only entrance to our apartment and didn’t give us any warning?) my therapist tells me that moving is an overreaction and I should talk to them about it being a problem first.

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Luna the Lovely

in August 31st, 2013 @ 17:00

So apparently per a note on the office door, they will be accepting checks dropped in their rent drop box as on time (although as those won’t be being received until Tuesday, I don’t really see how that’s any different than if someone were to wander by on Tuesday after the office opens, at which point they would be “late”, but semantics and other such cake I guess).

So that’s good. But I still maintain the management has some really poor policies regarding notifications and such.

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Jadestone

in August 31st, 2013 @ 14:35

Whew! Drove back to collegeland and moved into my new place yesterday!! I’m not in a dorm this year, but a college owned house that’s been divided into 3 apartments. These houses are all pretty new, so it’s nice! I’m living with 3 friends, only one of whom I haven’t lived with before (but she has lived wit another of my roommates), and we all get along pretty well and have our own rooms so things should hopefully be good!

I own so many things though. Why is there so much left to unpack x_x

On the plus side, I have a full bed instead of a twin now!! Now I can fit myself, two full sized pillows, six small pillows, a 5′ squid, and a cuttlefish much easier than last year (I have… many pillow needs).

I haven’t been posting much lately, but school seems to send me either into total absence or dramatic increase in posts. So one of those will probably happen after this weekend!

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KaiYves

in August 31st, 2013 @ 19:46

So I’m back in Boston. And also dead tired. But my room looks great and I finished reading “Tornado Hunter”.

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Randomosity101

in August 31st, 2013 @ 20:11

I was just now reading an assignment for my online class off of a word document that specified reading a specific section of the textbook. I found the page, got confused, and then realized I was holding the wrong textbook.

…Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s done this…

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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)

in August 31st, 2013 @ 20:23

Don’t worry; you are far from alone.

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