silent-frost

Tumbling Snowflakes

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:42:38 GMT

It's snowing today. The snow won't stick, but the sight of tumbling snowflakes makes me feel even happier here. It's pretty and strangely nostalgic.

I think I might have a breakthrough.

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 20:57:49 GMT

1: Civil and Environmental Engineering
2: Mechanical Engineering
3: Materials Science and Engineering
4: Architecture
~~5: Chemistry~~
6: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
~~7: Biology~~
8: Physics
9: Brain and Cognitive Sciences
10: Chemical Engineering
11: Urban Studies and Planning
~~12: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences~~
14: Economics
15: Management
16: Aeronautics and Astronautics
17: Political Science
18: Mathematics
20: Biological Engineering
21A: Anthropology
21F: Foreign Languages and Literatures
21H: History
21L: Literature
21M: Music and Theater Arts
21W: Writing and Humanistic Studies
22: Nuclear Science and Engineering
~~24: Linguistics and Philosophy~~

It would be nice to narrow this list down even further. Though there still exists the possibility that I will end up choosing a major that has already been crossed out.

Thoughts on Rain

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:08:00 GMT

By pure coincidence, every time my parents have visited MIT after I was accepted, it was raining. Sad, isn't it? They seriously need to visit during a day of sunshine and sweet breezes (or more likely, as winter is approaching, a day of dry but chilling winds).

Rain didn't bother me too much back in high school, because I didn't really need to walk in the rain very much. Worst case scenario, I had to walk to or from the bus stop, but by the end of high school, I rarely took the bus. Thus, I had to contend with very little of the nonsense of being in the rain through most of my life. Instead, I more often observed the phenomenon called rain while shielded by windows, walls, and roofs. Rain made comforting sounds as it splittered and splattered against the roof tiles or against the window glass. Rain also freshened the air, and cooled down the summer heat. Rain was nice. Rain is still nice, but now, I unfortunately have to walk through it rather frequently.

Living on an urban(-ish) college campus translates into lots of walking around. Lots of walking around outside. This wouldn't be too much of a problem, except umbrellas are inadequate in keeping me dry. My feet and lower legs often get wet, a problem which could be corrected if I were to get rain boots, though I probably will never get around to doing that in the near future. Plus, it seems to rain more here than in New York. Maybe it just seems that way because I'm noticing and remembering rain better because it's doing a better job of soaking me at MIT than at Roslyn.

The whole experience of walking through rain recalls my summer working at Columbia University. It rained quite hard several times there. And I got so soaked. Fortunately, if I get soaked at MIT, I can go back to my dorm to change into dry clothes (which is what I have been doing), a luxury I couldn't have at Columbia, being a commuter.

The sun's coming out now. Well, I won't be leaving my dorm until 9 PM today, so hopefully, when I am up and about walking around campus, the rain will be kept to a minimum.

Oh, and I might want to throw this in here: the dash from EAsT camPUS to the main buildings is much closer than the dash from McCormick to the main buildings. (The main buildings at MIT are all connected, which is an AWESOME feature of this awesome place. =) )Hopefully, I will be moving to East Campus by next term. I've gotten special permission to move out of McCormick if I get off the East Campus (or Random Hall) waiting list. Now I've just got to get off that list.

And I don't even use IE!

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 05:50:41 GMT

I'm not sure how this happened, but 41 Internet Explorer windows exploded open on me while I was using Firefox.

Mistakes

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:04:08 GMT

And I submitted yet another Housing Change Request Form. This time to Random Hall and East Campus. I won't be surprised if by the end of the year, I will have submitted Housing Change Request forms multiplexmultiple times, whether it's to add more East Campus dorms (different from but including the dorm called East Campus) or switching up my dorm preference order. All to get myself into a cooler dorm culture.

Putting myself into McCormick is probably the worst mistake I have made at MIT.

"Fake Bomb Scare"

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 00:32:05 GMT

Maybe you saw this news item today: M.I.T. Student With Fake Bomb Arrested at Logan Airport

I first heard of it today from a friend while I was in the 2nd floor lounge of the Student Center. That lounge has a TV that was playing CNN at the time, and CNN--obviously because there was little better to show on the headline news than that story--showed a video footage of the arrested MIT student.

Then I fell off my sofa chair.

THAT GIRL'S IN MY 8.022 RECITATION! It's odd seeing someone you know on TV. And for criminal reasons too.

EDIT: I should probably bring to attention that the media's report on this story is skewed (though that is to be expected from the media). That also applies to the AP story I linked to in this post.

WTF or ROFL? You decide.

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 04:46:27 GMT

I found this in my inbox tonight, forwarded by somebody in my dorm with the subject line, "wow..."

"Harvard Male, seeking Companion.

My final club has a reunion this fall, and my relationship of two years
ended disastrously earlier this summer. I have an invitation for myself
plus one, and am willing to show you a great time. It is a private party,
in an extremely classy setting. There is no real way to describe how
ornate the club is, but I guarantee that it will be the most upscale
experience of your life. Think back to your high school prom, take away
the terrible music, and multiply the experience by ten.

You must be white, 5'6" - 5'9", young, blonde, attractive, and
intelligent. You must be in school, preferably Tufts or Wellesley but BU
and BC are acceptable (definitely not MIT).

You should be able to hold a conversation, know when to be quiet, and
polite in all your behavior. I have seen unruly guests embarrass members
before, and I hope this won't be a problem. This event is black- tie, and I
am willing to procure an evening gown for you.

I hate to sound so harsh, but I have expectations to live up to. No Black,
Asian, overweight, or unattractive women please. Ages 18-22 only.

Picture required. craigslist hosted images

? Location: Cambridge

? it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other
commercial
interests

PostingID: 424875291"

This message had been forwarded several times by the time it got to me. Here are some of the comments:

"wow..."
"And this is why MIT > Harvard."
"I'm not exactly sure whether this deserves a WTF or a ROFL. You decide."
"Forward this to anyone who you think would appreciate the... elegance of this ad."

Don't you just find this message to be insulting on multiple levels? But at the same time, it's sickly amusing.

Random Housing Rant

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:24:45 GMT

So here I am in McCormick Hall. That's where I live. It's an all-girl's dorm, the only all-girl's dorm at MIT. It also happens to be the nicest dorm on the campus, so nice that many people liken it to a hotel. I also happen to really want to move out of McCormick at this moment.

This may be a passing fancy, despite the fact that I've been having this passing fancy many, many times since Orientation began (practically continuously), but I want to move to Random Hall. And yes, random things indeed do happen in Random Hall. And no, Random Hall was not named so because of that. It was in fact named after a person. But I digress.

Again, I reiterate: So here I am in McCormick Hall. I'm having trouble falling asleep, probably because I went to bed around 5 AM last ~~night~~ morning and got up at noon. Why? It all stems back to the 8.022 problem set. I wasn't done with it, so I went over to Random to work on it with other people. Then I left to get free food elsewhere. Then I came back to continue working on it. And then I ended up staying at Random until 5 AM in the morning. Now you ask why once again. Did it take me that long to finish my homework? Well, no, not really. I guess I could've finished it before 1 AM for good if I really tried, but the reason why I was up so late was because I stuck around to help HaoQi on her problem set... and I took my sweet time recopying my solutions to the problem set, because I guess I wanted to stay there longer deep down.

People are there are really fun, and I also managed to confuse someone into thinking that I lived at Random. That was kind of interesting. As the night went on, I was getting progressively more disoriented, so I considered crashing at Random since walking back to my dorm seemed less and less attractive an idea. HaoQi got me a pillow, Michael offered me a blanket, and Phil even offered me to sleep in his room (which sounded extremely shady, but he assured me that it was not meant in that way). HaoQi also offered me the extra mattress in her room, but somebody was already occupying it when we checked (...a guy too! whyyyyyy).

Fun stuff happened there. Like poking wars. Like chasing people around Random when they say "pokai!" at you (long but amusing story). Like getting a bucket of condoms tipped over your head (i.e. mine). Like sharing chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

I wish I lived at Random, but I can't move. I'm in one of the few dorms where you are not allowed to move until your sophomore year with few exceptions. Not to mention that Random is one of the harder dorms to get into because it's small in size.

The end story is, this is all very sad to me.

xkcd Dating Pools

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:40:52 GMT

Ah
Ha
Ha
Ha

Standard Creepiness Rule. Ah ha ha ha.

*is amused*

I'm shameless, I know.

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:25:58 GMT

My life as of late seem to revolve around three things:
1. learning masochist-style
2. acquiring free t-shirts
3. finding free food

Is it just MIT students that are obsessed with free food? Getting free food is practically a culture here (we even have a free food mailing list!), and I've been trying to find as much free food as possible lately. I'm pretty shameless at it too. Oh, and I'm also shameless when it comes to acquiring free t-shirts, but those are usually advertisements anyway for whatever cause that was giving them out in the first place.

Today, I got ~~two~~ three free t-shirts and ate dinner for free.
Yesterday, I ate both lunch and dinner free.
The day before, lunch and dinner free again.
And so on.

Since I've come to MIT, I've acquired a total of *counts* ~~seven~~ eight free t-shirts, and ~~I'm hoping to acquire another free t-shirt within an hour~~ I have already acquired another t-shirt plus an additional one for a friend. I'm running out of clothing hangers here! Actually, I've already ran out out of hangers, but that's okay. There are worse problems out there.

So remind me, why did I buy that kind of orange juice?

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:03:09 GMT

So I'm at MIT. I arrived yesterday and am now chilling in my room because I decided to be anti-social and leave DEECS (my freshman pre-orientation program) early in order to finish organizing my room and also get some violin practicing in (hopefully). However, I haven't gotten around to doing either right now. Instead, I'm sipping orange juice, listening to music, and using the computer. Great use of time, I know.

And with the first sip of orange juice, I realized that my memory of previous orange juice consumptions were indeed correct: orange juice with sugar replaced with Splenda tastes BAD! Or at least worse than "normal" orange juice. So I asked myself, why did I buy this type of orange juice? Well, there was a limited selection of orange juice at Star Market, the closest supermarket to MIT, and that was the only type of orange juice that fit the following two criteria:
1) pulp free
2) calcium fortified

I could've gone with "some pulp"--that would've been fine--but I don't think I saw any. And calcium? Well, I usually drink calcium-fortified orange juice. I like the idea of having strong bones.

DEECS has been cool so far by the way. DEECS = Discover Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

And I really should get to organizing my room and all.

I'm on a roll here... next year's courses!

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:29:22 GMT

I should be packing, but I discovered that the Freshman Advising Folder is up, so woohoo, because I found out what my HASS-D/CI class is (in other words, what my non-science or math class is), and here is my projected schedule for next term, in MIT lingo:

18.022/18.023 - In other words, Calculus, Multivariable Calculus. 18.02 is the standard version of multivariable calculus. 18.022 is apparently some absurdist version of it with more focus on mathematical concepts, and 18.023 is multivariable calc with applications. I'm leaning towards 18.022 at this moment. I've thought about trying to place out of this class through an Advanced Standing Exam because I took the class with MS. LEWIS (!!!) last year. Except the material didn't stick in my head quite well because we met only every other day and I often finished the homework with an hour after the class ended. So instead, I'll just take a harder version of the class, coming in the form of 18.022 or 18.023, and learn it for good.

8.022 - This class would--in a less nerdy college--be called Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism, the Masochist Version. 'nough said. The less painful version would be 8.02. It's strange that you must get 5's on both Mechanics and E&M on the Physics C AP in order to get credit, but you can only place out of Mechanics at MIT. Though I could try to place out of E&M with an Advanced Standing Exam, but why bother? I'm better off improving my physics... right? And there's always something new to learn! Like Maxwell's Equations! That wasn't covered last year in Physics C.

3.091 - I've heard it be referred to as 3.09fun. So this is what is normally referred to as Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry. This chemistry class is for the non-chem majors, and it's a good thing I came to my senses and decided not to take the harder-and-intended-for-chem-majors 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science (and there's an even harder version of that class called 5.112 for chem masochists!). Thank goodness for working in a chem lab, because I don't particularly relish the thought of working with chemicals as a profession. What convinced me to go with 3.091 was because the lecturer for that course, Sadoway, is supposed to be fantastic.

21L.002 - This is listed as "Foundations of Western Cult II" in my Online Advising Folder, otherwise listed as "Foundations of Western Culture: The Making of the Modern World" elsewhere. I did list it as my first choice in the HASS-D lottery, but I don't know if that was a good choice. I'll be reading a lot of texts..................... *squirm* It should be interesting though, and I'm sure class discussion will comprise of more than me and a few others. I wish now that I put "Introduction to Linguistics" as my first choice though. Oh well. Worst case scenario, I get a C in this class and it'll just show up as a Pass thanks to MIT's amazing freshman Pass/Fail grading system for the first semester.

We're only allowed to take a max of 54 credits for the first semester at MIT, to prevent overeager freshmen from oversubscribing themselves (I think I would have tried to take more classes than I should have if it weren't for the credit limit). This limit means that we can only take 4 classes (each worth 12 credits) plus a 6-unit something. One choice would be to take a freshman advising seminar. Or you could take orchestra for credit. I'll go with the latter.

Dead pixel? Hot pixel? Stuck pixel? RESTART. Fixed pixel.

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:58:23 GMT

I don't get computer abnormalities. They frustrate me, especially since this computer is so new. Before, what looked like a dead pixel showed up on my computer screen, except it was white, so I guess that would've been technically called a "hot pixel." Then I turned off the screen via putting the computer on standby, and the pixel turned to the color of my current wallpaper and stubbornly remained so. That's not a dead pixel... or a hot pixel... maybe a stuck pixel? Dead pixels are always black, hot pixels are always white, and stuck pixels "appear red, green, blue, or any combination of the three." (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

I made a bigger deal out of the dead/stuck/abnormal pixel than I should have, probably because I expect a shiny new laptop of a reputable brand, recommended by MIT as well, to be glitch free (thankfully, the clicking problem hasn't resurfaced... for now at least). I expected every pixel to be in good working order and didn't even consider that dead pixels may be a problem. Almost none of the computers in the house have dead pixels, and only my old laptop has them, but they took a few years after purchase to show up, and even then, they showed up on the sides of the screen. A messed-up pixel closer to the middle of the screen is much more annoying than dead pixels that pop up over a scroll bar or over the stop button.

In the fixing of various problems I've been having with the computer, it seems that restarting it is often a vital component of the solution. Clicking problems? RESTART. All good. File that refuses to be deleted? RESTART. Go directly to file and file finally surrenders itself to deletion. Dead pixel? RESTART. Pixel fixed.

Pshh, who needs to be a computer expert? Restarting fixes everything! Okay, no, I'll still probably have to email Allan or another computer expert to fix bigger problems.

...and every period or dot of an i I see now makes me scared that I've got more dead pixels.

Somebody make them eat!

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:55:39 GMT

Are you pro-ana or pro-mia? I should hope not. Both terms sound harmless, even cute, at first notice since both "Ana" and "Mia" are girl names. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these terms (as I was until yesterday), pro-ana refers to loosely to those who support anorexia as a lifestyle choice, and pro-mia refers to the same but for bulimia.

Apparently, I have been reading a lot of random articles lately, as this post is also inspired by something I read in the news. This one I found yesterday, and it talked about pro-ana and pro-mia groups on popular socializing networks such as MySpace and Facebook. These groups were to act like support for those who were trying to be anorexic but finding it difficult to keep to their starvation, and also provided "thinspiration" photos to "inspire" the group members to keep skinny.

One example of an thinspiration photo:

I AM GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES!
If only everyone had that reaction.

I've always found anorexia and bulimia to be disturbing, but I've never before heard or read something from somebody that clearly reveals that she (or even he) is anorexic. Until today, when I decided to check out some of the Facebook pro-ana/pro-mia groups myself. In response to a group member's photo of her ribs sticking out above her stomach, one user said: "you're lucky!! isn't great when you see your bones?!! ^.^"

So... that what some anorexic people think like... it's really rather sickening.

I doubt they can think properly either, despite what they may claim. Fat and salts are both involved in the transmission of nerve impulses, and there is a lack of both when they starve or purge themselves. Pro-ana and pro-mia websites might glorify these eating disorders as lifestyles for those who aspire to be grossly thin, but this "lifestyle" deteriorates your brain functioning in addition to your body. Sick body, sick brain, sickening statements. And these pro-ana and pro-mia groups aren't helping much. Just looking at them today made me queasy. In any case, I'm glad that there are people who are countering these pro-ana and pro-mia groups on Facebook.

Well, I'm going to eat a good and nutritious meal now, as all people should.

Raw Foodism

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:21:04 GMT

While digging through last weekend's Newsday for the comics section, I saw a large featured article about raw foods, mainly about the advent of gourmet raw food that have sprung up along with fancy raw food restaurants. Advocates of raw foodism claim that it is a healthier lifestyle and is something of a devolution back to how humans should eat--raw, raw, raw.

As someone who likes her vegetables stir-fried, her cheese melted, her breads baked, and her meat well-done, I don't think I could ever subscribe to such a diet where adherents eat primarily or strictly raw foods. Some raw foodists follow a strictly vegan diet. Can't do that... calcium concerns, plus I love cheese! Other raw foodists follow a vegetarian diet. But I love seafood! And meat! And there are even other raw foodists who follow an omnivorous diet... all I can say is: *shudder* Heck, I even shudder at the thought of eating sushi topped with raw fish.

There seem to be a lot of claims on both sides concerning the health benefits of following a raw food lifestyle. Advocates say that a raw food diet prevents and/or heals many health problems. Critics find of slew of issues pertaining to certain nutrition deficiencies and disease risks that come with eating food unheated.

In the meantime, I'm going to stick to my current cooked food diet and go eat a microwaved lunch, comprising of last night's leftover of string beans, mushrooms, onions, ground beef, tomato sauce, ziti, and cheeeeese, all baked together. Yum.

No bug spray, no bites. Bug spray too late, many bites.

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 01:50:22 GMT

While in Europe this summer, I never got bitten once and never had to use bug spray. I wonder why that was the case. Maybe the bugs just didn't bite where I visited. Or maybe they simply just didn't exist. There must be some scientific explanation.

A few days ago, I went to the beach to attend an MIT barbeque for the Class of 2011 (ironically, only two rising freshmen showed up, and the rest of the attendees were alumni and relatives). I didn't think to put on bug spray before going, which occurred to me as being extremely stupid as the place seemed to be teeming with small, annoying bugs, undoubtedly attracted by the food and many people. I did put on some bug spray later in the night, but it was a bit too late. The following day, little bug bites started appearing all over my body. Never saw the likes of it before as far as I can remember. The bites were so small and didn't swell up (which was a plus, but they were still itchy!).

Today, I went to play frisbee at Brianne's without putting on bug spray, realized how stupid that was when I got there, and hoped the bugs would keep off me. Still got bitten! But I only saw one bite in the beginning so I sprayed the bottom of my legs. Stupid choice! I spotted a huge bug bite on my upper leg soon after. So now I'm sporting about five more (and bigger) mosquito bites, but they seem to have gone down a bit and aren't currently itching as much as the small bites I got from the barbeque. Good sign? I hope so.

Hopefully after today, I will remember to put on bug repellent before I am forced to meet the bugs. There's another event I have to attend tomorrow that involves lots of being outdoors where the biting bugs are, and I will seriously pay if I forget to put on some bug spray. Damn bugs.

I wish I were a computer wiz.

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:22:19 GMT

As my shiny, new laptop undergoes a Rescue and Recovery operation to back up my files, I find myself once again exasperated by the troubles it's giving me.

I've managed to solve some of the problems, so that makes me happier.

But I'm still having trouble with the mouse buttons. They still don't click Taskbar windows properly on occasion. It's not always a issue, but it just happens sometimes! It's okay now because I restarted the computer in the process of solving another issue, and restarting the computer always seem to fix the clicking problem.

I just wish I were a computer wiz. That way, with any computer abnormality that comes along, I'd either be able to fix it quickly for good or see it as a fun challenge to tackle.

My Latest Passing Fancy: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Video Game

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:26:46 GMT

I've been pretty lazy this summer. I just loaf around home most of the time doing nothing that requires much brainpower, such as listening to old PotterCast episodes. One PotterCast episode had an Extendable Ears interview with none other than the folks from EA Games who were responsible for creating the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game. And damn did it sound interesting. A complete, working Hogwarts and spells that you perform by making wand movements yourself.

So for a couple of days, I fancied buying the PC version of the game and playing around with it for a few weeks before skipping off to MIT, and then continue playing the game during any free time I may so fortunately stumble upon there. Problem with that was the amount of time video-game-playing would consume. Even though I have been doing nothing much of use all summer doesn't mean that I have no work to do. Thus, I decided that it would be best to put the though Harry Potter video game in the back of my head.

However, I succumbed to the temptation of playing Harry Potter today. The EA Games Harry Potter website has a game set-up under the UK division of the site, which was fun to play until I realized there wasn't really anywhere I could go with the game. The Room of Requirement would only up one spell for me, I didn't have the password to the prefect's bathroom, and everything came to a boring standstill. The Wizarding Widget had some mini-games, and if I played enough of them and got high enough scores, I would achieve requirements listed in the Room of Rewards. I achieved one and nothing happened. I figured by then that the Room of Rewards would only reveal its secrets to me if I achieved ALL of its requirements. Looking at the list, I garner that I probably could only achieve 4/6 of the requirements. Two of the requirements had to do with playing Gobstones, which I'm pretty bad at. At that, I knew I would get no more joy out of exploring the EA Games Harry Potter website. Sad pandas.

But look! There was a sign on the side of the screen that said "Demo the Demo NOW". How exciting... so I downloaded the demo. And it was terribly slow with bad resolution. From then on, I pretty much gave up my fancy of playing the Harry Potter games. I really do have better things to do... and I already wasted so much time on the preview games--both on the EA website and the demo game I downloaded. =(

On a related note, I have this urge to play video games in general. I've thought about breaking out my old underused GameCube and playing Super Mario Sunshine on it. And I've thought about continuing my Pokemon gameplay. At the end of the day, it's probably best to not play those games at all. Boo. *goes off to do productive things, hopefully*

Edit: I think another Internet ban is in order.

Why must things be so buggy?

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:07:15 GMT

Item 1: Bugs suck
This and this should be testament enough.

Item 2: Buggy the Clown brings back One Piece memories
It's quite a fun manga series, except I haven't been reading manga in general lately, except for the Shonen Jump subscriptions that come monthly in the mail, a subscription which I won't renew. Sad isn't it?

Item 3: Volkswagen New Beetles are cute
If I ever do get around buying a car (uh, don't think I'll be getting one while I'm at college)--well, if I were to buy a car right now, it'd probably be either a buggy or a hybrid.

Item 4: The New and Already Buggy Laptop Computer
My current laptop is already many years old with a battery that's almost completely shot and a faulty connection to power, as it goes off AC power even when it's connected to an outlet. Naturally, a new laptop was in order. Not to mention, it's also sleeker. HOWEVER, the laptop is so annoying! Some of the annoyance stems from the security features, which most irritatingly prevent me from setting up the login screen as the friendly-looking one that lists the usernames and their respective user icons. Instead I have one that is not unlike the school computers' login pages, but is more imposing-looking and has the essence of security written all over it. =( I can live with that though.

What's MUCH much annoying (and was the inspiration for this post) is that I have trouble clicking on the taskbar windows. Instead of maximizing a window when I click it, the window just flashes on the taskbar. I have to click the minimized window a couple of more times before it actually opens. Equally as maddening, I cannot right-click a window on the taskbar. It just wouldn't happen. Now I'm one who closes windows almost exclusively by using the right-click menu on taskbar windows. The first time all this mouse trouble happened, I thought it was just the computer being weird for the time being and a reboot would fix it. Indeed it did fix it. But then today, it happened AGAIN. I was pretty frustrated and upset. A new computer and ALREADY buggy?

I tweaked a few mouse features in the end, and then the computer had to restart itself. I'm not sure if the mouse problem is fixed or not, but I hope it is, or else I will be extremely aggravated once again. Sigh.

For the record, I bought a ThinkPad, which runs Windows. My buggy experiences with my laptop (which I did not completely cover in this entry) make me wonder if I should have done the Mac switch, but... whatever.

A little public service announcement from Harry and the Potters

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:47:02 GMT

Edit: I think the New York Times would have done well to listen to this PSA. They managed to obtain a copy of the book before they were supposed to, and posted a review of it... days before the real release! The review gives away many major spoilers, according to MuggleNet.com. To Harry Potter fans, this action by the New York Times seems very irresponsible. Oh wow. Oh wow. I can't believe you, New York Times, I can't believe you.

I'm just glad that I never saw this book review while browsing the NY Times and mindlessly click on it then reading it before realizing that it contained spoilers. I mindlessly clicked another Harry Potter article on the NY Times front page today, but I had the sense not to continue reading after the first few lines, just in case it had spoilers.

I'm just glad I've seen minimal spoilers so far, and I hope I get spoiled no more.

Turning it back six hours.

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:45:52 GMT

So I'm back from Europe (and Africa too), after visiting way too many cities in a span of less than three weeks. Given the time zone difference, I can also try to claim that I traveled back in time six hours.

I thought I overcame jet-lag yesterday, but when I woke up at 6 am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So much for no more jet-lag. But waking up that early was kind of a plus. Like an extra few hours in my days. Though I did do productive things in the morning, I did spend too much time in front of the computer (as usual--very sad, very sad, I know), so when I looked up at the clock to see that it was around 10:30... it was nice. Often by 10:30 AM during the summer, I'm either still in bed or just out of bed. Well, I still have spent too much time online today (Harry Potter is the reason to blame). =\ I shall tear myself away soon, I hope. Le sigh.

This vacation was a bit too long for my liking. By the end of the cruise around the Mediterranean, I was so glad to skip right off the ship to a seaside hotel in Barcelona, where we stayed and played tourists for a few more days. After seeing Gaudi's La Pedrera (which was totally awesome) on the same day we returned to Barcelona, I was pretty ready to leave and go home, a feeling that only escalated with the time leading up to July 9, the date of our return. I am SO GLAD right now to be back. In Eastern Standard Time. No more late dinners at 9 o'clock,just normal dinner time at around 7 o'clock, or even 6!

And one more thing I would like to mention: I'm really glad that I don't have to fly to MIT, and that Cambridge isn't in a different time zone. No airplane flights and jet lag for me, hooray! Though I think MIT student life could create its own sort of "jet-lag" from the skewed sleeping patterns of the students there.

Awkward Times in Madrid

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:32:21 GMT

There is a sense of awkwardness in our interaction with Madrid. It's mainly the mealtimes that are awkward (dinner at 10 o'clock, anyone?), but the entrance of the Royal Gardens is also quite awkwardly located (do not visit there! it's not worth the trouble!), and the outlets are awkwardly shaped (but that's a story for another day if it is ever told).

Otherwise, Madrid has been nice. Hope the rest of the trip will be nice too, and that I won't get vacationed out too early. Time to go take a shower and then listen go Pottercasting and Mugglecasting while packing. I can't wait for Harry Potter next month!!!

An Energy Hog Sitting Right Before You

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:48:03 GMT

A recent New York Times article tells us several ways to cut down on energy consumption, centering on the computer as closet energy hog.

Which brings us to the question: Why are so many computers left idle yet still running?

In 7th grade, our science classes did an assignment where we estimated the energy consumption in our house. While calculating how much energy a computer took up, it turned out that a lot of people had their computers turned on 24/7 back home. Why, may I ask? Why? Unless you are on the Uberman's sleep schedule or some other form of polyphasic sleeping—which chances are, you are not—there is no reason you yourself should be up nearly 24/7 on the computer because inevitably, you must sleep (and let's not forget about work, school, frolicking in the sun, etc. as well).

Sure, the computer could be downloading (or uploading) a sizeable chunk of media during your sleepy time, but odds are, what you're downloading/uploading is illegal, or downright sketchy and on the copyright infringement side of things. I'm not denouncing the illegal download of media here, but I'm certainly not encouraging it either. The point is, you have no good reason to always have your computer up running 24/7, even if it's to keep yourself "entertained." I've gotten off the habit of illegal downloading for several months now, and I've managed to keep myself entertained nonetheless.

Back on the days when I regularly went on AIM (hmm, I seemed to have kicked a lot of Internet habits, haven't I?), there were always those people who put on those away messages labeled "sleeping", "zZzzz", "bed", or something else of the like, and I'd see those messages at night... and in the morning too, with users boasting some ridiculously long Online Time (12 hours, 16 hours, 1 day, 2 days...) in their profiles. Then there are those who leave their computers open during the school day and write "school" in their away messages. Now I'm thinking... what's the point of keeping AIM or even the computer open during those times? I'm sure there are those people who will leave you messages (often less than meaningful) while you are unconscious on your bed getting your nightly rest or at class getting your daily lessons. However, I think it's a much better idea to just shut off your computer when you go to sleep and flick it back on after you get back home from school. Or if shutting off isn't a palatable option to you, put it on standby. Better yet, hibernate it! Those two options save energy as well, and don't require you to completely abandon what's already on your screen.

Now there's one more issue about these 24/7 computers that really bother me... WHY are the school computers always running, even through vacations? Not to mention, WHY are school building lights always on, even at night? Forget the environment, imagine all the tax money Roslyn could save! More seriously, I really want to know why those school computers don't ever hibernate or at least have some rest in Off mode. Maybe that's why they're so screwy.

I imagine that most computers (at home, schools, universities, labs, businesses, etc.) are turned on much more than necessary. According to the NY Times article, the columnist's perpetually running PC consumes enough energy to pump out a grand total of 2,000 pounds worth of CO₂ annually. By shutting down/standing by/hibernating your computer for those long periods when you're not around, imagine how much greenhouse gases you alone are preventing from escaping into the atmosphere. Then add in all those other computers, our world will be several more steps closer to saving.

I admit it.

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:23:36 GMT

I'd like to state here, that years back (I suppose around 5th or 6th grade), I predicted that the "Harry Potter" text on the last book's cover would be in red.

And hell yeah, I was right!

I liked to believe I was premonitional in my younger days.

Oh boy, it's time for me to start working again. A graduation speech is waiting to be written, as well as two essays for the MIT Freshman Essay Evaluation (meep meep). So, in light of this... I decided to procrastinate by... looking at Harry Potter fansites! Yes, I am eagerly awaiting the seventh and final installment of Harry Potter. I admit it. And I admit that I forgot about my prediction until today.

Nicknames

Sun, 20 May 2007 01:25:10 GMT

Funky, Fei. They are my most common current nicknames. Except when certain people try to call me Funky or Fei, I have trouble responding, or it just sounds really weird. Basically, I expect the exclamation, "Funky!" to be attached to Brianne's voice, Nanny's voice, Arjun's voice, Genna's voice, etc. etc. "Fei" has to be attached to Dhruv's voice, Payvand's voice, etc.

I told one of my prefrosh roommates that she could call me "Fei" if it was easier to remember/say. I wasn't quite used to it when she actually tried calling my name. I decided later that I won't tell people my nicknames until we get to know each other better, or at least tell them my various nicknames but insist that they call me Fangfei at least in the beginning. Or else, we might get situations like this:

Person I just met at MIT: FEI!
Me: *staring elsewhere*
Person I just met at MIT: FEIII!
Me: ...MIT has really weird architecture...
Person I just met at MIT: *taps me on shoulder*
Me: Oh, wait, you just called my name, didn't you?

I have a bunch of other weird nicknames, the weirdest being "toast of a leg." Brittany occasionally calls me "double-f" or "f-squared." I think "f-squared" would be a cool nickname to have at MIT. After all, f² is so appropriate for MIT. Well, let's see if I actually respond to it first after attaching it to familiar voices.