Dave Dash

Damn Asian Bastards

1998-12-09T00:00:00-08:00

"So the guy gave me a piece of paper and he said that you drop it. Then the walls started to melt. Then I started to melt."

Hey, I found out a new trick you can do on this website... well if you have IE 5 it works, it may work with IE 4 too. Okay, in this journal page, I have not yet removed the large moon logo. What you can do is go to the favorites menu (works if you have a lot of favorites in a lot of subdirectories) and just scroll down. Everytime a menu opens the browser re-renders everything starting with the lowest layer. In other words the moon will appear.

Once I dreamt of a city of gold (earlier today), and then I realized why it could not exist. If portions of the city were gilded, people would start mining the city. So the gold would have a negative effect, because people will be hasty when they mine the gold. The gold will be a catalyst in ruining the city. Similarly copper is quite valuable. In China copper telephone lines were dug up and sold on the black market. To rememdy this, China just advanced it's technology and started using fiber optics (Negroponte). Technology makes things cheap. So, I'm sure I could come up with something better than a city made of gold. I could probably figure out some aesthetically pleasant design that doesn't have this yellowy sparkle that people all love to steal. It will also be cheaper. This will be the city of cheap technology. It will be guarded by the Technobots. With their gestalt technology they can merge and form the mighty Computron. Computron will be the most powerful thinking machine in the world, and the mayor.

My roommate was a sexfiend.

Yesterday I ate at Subway. I tried the Parmesan Chicken Wrap. It's not that great. Here's why. Subway makes good sandwhiches. Their employees aren't trained well to make wraps, since mine had a tear in it. They make very good sandwhiches and they taste better than their wraps. It was better than school food though. School food today wasn't bad. It was edible.

Patch Adams

1998-12-02T00:00:00-08:00

"White tornado my foot. That's a real tornado!"

I saw the trailer for Patch Adams today. I think I will see Patch Adams (that's right, without italics) and his movie. He'll be coming to live at Allen Hall in February. I'm uncertain whether the movie has been released or not. They said it premiered in October, but the release is in December.

Xenocide... I read the back of the book and it sounds silly. 592 pages... a normal sized book, after reading Dune books. I'll order Children of the Mind sometime this week. Maybe tonight.

This link's for Yishan and others with laser pointers.

Little to say these days. I have a lot of tests this week and next week and then finals the week after that. Then I go home... I'll update the Calendar.

Homeward

1998-11-24T00:00:00-08:00

Caption not available.

Well one final journal entry before I leave here and go home. Sunday I bought a new CD called For The Masses. It's a bunch of remakes of Depeche Mode. Since age three or so I've been listening to Depeche Mode and the Cure. My brother was into those two bands and it just rubbed off on me. Lo and behold their is the Cure doing a cover of World in My Eyes. Meat Beat Manifesto which "Kwis" introduced me to sounds like an even more electronic version of Depeche Mode. They did a remix of Everything Counts which is one of my favorite dM songs. Rammstein is a scary band, they did this version of Stripped, another of my favorites... this sounded very very scary - a stalker version of the song. A lot of it was very "alternative" sounding. In the 80s Depeche Mode was alternative... alternative today is so different sounding. I don't even want to get into this topic of genres. Some of the songs I missed were Blasphemous Rumors and A Question of Time. That's alright though, the originals suit me just fine.:)

I also bought a $65 keyboard drawer. It has neat gel rests for my keyboard and mouse (which is on a sliding tray), it's easily removed so I can use it at home too. I love this thing and is definitely worth getting. "It feels like breast" as one floormate remarked about the gel rests.

ANNOUNCEMENT: When I mention an MP3, I normally will upload it to "the MP3 Server." Some of you wonder what this server is. This server is not run by me, and is not mine to delegate access. A good number of the visitors of this page know of the server and how to connect to it, this is why I frequently use it to upload my MP3s. If you do not have access to this server and want one of the MP3s I mention, I can send it to you if you live in my hall, or I can at least point you in the direction where I found it (usually MIRCX).

I finished Speaker of the Dead. My hall has not yet purchased Xenocide which means I am bound to magazines and writing on the flight home. I should have just purchased this book at the bookstore today. What I did get at the bookstore is a nice legal pad and pad holder and a nice shirt. That cost about $40 total. I think I'm going to have to buy less stuff and start saving money.

Yesterday while watching the X-files there was an add for Ally McBeal featuring Ally going at it with some other woman. I watched it while packing up. What a stupid show. I think I know a Chinese version of Ally McBeal back in Minnesota.

Okay, so I am going home tomorrow. Leaving UIUC at 10:25 AM to Detroit. I'll be at Detroit at 12:55, leaving at 1:40 and then reaching my final destination at 2:32 PM. My incomming flight to MSP is 1137. I will be coming into gate 18 I believe.

Stink free

1998-11-22T00:00:00-08:00

Stinky will not be present in my life until 29 November 1998.

Clinton recieving instructions from the mother-computer via an old-fashioned radio.

I came up with this neat idea, that I might hope to expand on later. Many of us who are fairly adept with using computers tend to come across at least a few people who are very unskilled at using a computer and often treat it as a delicate instrument that at anytime may cease to function and thus must never be experimented with beyond the ways which they are taught. (Say that seven times fast. No, really do it. Say it and record it and then send it to me.) The problem with this relationship with a computer you become computer-illiterate. Which isn't a bad thing, except you can't get things done. This is why software needs to be by default very wizard like. Not the stupid paper-clip in office, but Kit from Knight Rider, Jane from Speaker for the Dead, Computer from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Holly from Red Dwarf and to a lesser extent the organism from Sphere that took over the computer and made everyone want to kill everyone else (with none of the killing of course). The main reason for making computers like that, is that they have a persona and they do things for you. You communicate to the computer like you would communicate with a friend or slave. For those of us who would rather not have that, we could disable it. Please support Artificial Intelligence.

My dorm light went good-bye. I work in darkness now. Actually I work in the bask of a florescent study lamp from Jack's desk which is adequate for computer work. What errors I encounter will be adjusted through corrective surgery...

By the way, the song that I said was really cool is actually Jeane Michael Jarre's Oxygene 16 performed live in Moscow... I found most of the concert live, but only this track was 128/44 (and mislabled). I've uploaded all my stuff to the MP3 server. I've listened to a few of his other works and they are okay, but none were as impressive as this. Of course this is also the only good MP3 I could find of him (a mislabeled one at that).

There exists a World Jewish Congres... WJC... hmm... interesting. Sounds a little too much like World Wide Jewsih Conspiracy to me.

I've noticed a lot of people on my dorm leave their TV on, and don't actually watch it. It might be laziness or it might be some type of "security" that they get from the TV being on. I know that the TV gives me "company" when I eat alone at home, but I rarely do that anymore. This might be for the same reason. So I ask: [form disabled]

A lot of my friends here on campus have older computers that require non-SDRAM, either EDO or the "other kind." If someone can point me in the direction of how to distinguish between the types of RAM, that'd be great. Also, if any of you have this type of RAM lying around, please give it to me.

Now you may be thinking, "Dave, you're all the way in Urbana." I'm coming back Tuesday and their is a Thanksgiving Party at my house this Friday. All are welcome, just email me so I know you're coming. It's best to let me know if you're coming by Tuesday night for sure. If you've already told me that you are coming, then don't worry. Thanks a lot. Hope to see you soon. And to all my friends living on the east and west coasts, hope to see many of you during Winter Break. Unless I hate you. Email me if you want to know if I hate you.

The Phantom Menace... can you think of a dumber name?

1998-11-18T00:00:00-08:00

"There's a stupid caption."

I will begin reading Speaker for the Dead (sequel to Ender's Game). I don't know if I will like it as much, although Tim Cheng says it was a good book. I'll start in CS 100... oh wait. Wow, I read Ender's Game in three days. Wow. Sorry, I always remember what I was reading because I always have a book in CS 100.

Starwars.com. Go to it. Download the trailers. You want to see the movie.

(no title)

1998-11-14T00:00:00-08:00

I'm reading some news off the AP wire. Xis Vwj is pronounced "See Voo." In one light, that's pretty cool. On the otherhand, who the hell is responsible for translating Hmong (I think) to English?

This if from the AFP:

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (AFP) - Inspired by the victory in the Minnesota governor's race of former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura, another veteran of the sport, Hulk Hogan, plans to run for president in 2000, Time magazine says. "When Jesse won, I said to my wife, 'I'm 10 times more popular than him,'" Hogan told Time. "People know Hulk Hogan like they know McDonald's and Chevrolet." The weekly said Hogan planned to approach billionaire Ross Perot, CNN founder Ted Turner and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey as possible running mates. Asked of a possible political contest against Ventura, Hogan said, "I'd like to get him into the ring and basically stomp on him."

This is what I feared might happen in the last paragraph of my essay. Luckily, Hulk Hogan, although popular, is not nearly as charismatic as Jesse the Body.

I finished I, Robot some time ago. It's a childrens novel. Well it seems like one. The future it portrays is interesting and their are portions that are probable. I, personally, think that we will have powerful thinking machines far sooner than actual robots.

I have begun reading Ender's Game. I understand why Adam liked it so much. This summer I worked with gifted (well if not gifted, talented) children in a mathematics program with Molly. You could always single out that even among these there is still the quiet ones and the smart ones and the quiet and smart ones. I also like how it reminds me of my childhood.

When you are picked on as a child, beating the crap out of someone is an option.

I remember one day trying to get a seat on the bus. I guess most of the seats were filled and I had to sit with someone. I politely asked some kid, one year my senior, if I could sit with him. He didn't give me a valid reason why I couldn't. I decided since this kid wasn't exactly someone to fear that I should just elbow him in the stomach and take a seat. My plan worked. It's not that I was violent, it's that I decided that was the best choice for my situation. I sometimes miss my childhood. When you are picked on as a child, beating the crap out of someone is an option. Now that I'm grown up, there are legal issues with beating the crap out of people. People are also more civil towards one another.

Stinky has over six hours of video of the #2 Street Fighter player in the world. He watches it intently. I came back from the library to see him and Stephan watching it as if it were a good movie. I've heard at least two or three people come in here and just get disgusted with Stinky watching it. Stinky attempted to exclaim how cool it was by saying that this was the number 2 player. My friend, Tim, responded with "So?" So remember, if you are doing something that's really silly and stupid assigning a rank doesn't make it better.

Fashion is just one of the many uses of duct tape.

That's right. It would be like me getting a video of SGI's Blue Mountain and IBM's Pacific Blue going through tests set up by the Department of Energy to see which is faster. I doubt they are going to be doing anything that is visually stunning, and justifying it by saying that they are the #1 computers as far as computing speed goes doesn't mean crap.

For fear that my floor may come off, I started duct-taping it. This duct-tape exo-floor should be more durable and less likely to come off. That's right people... I'm still strange. Actually I'm not going to tape my entire floor lest I incur the wrath of some building inspectors.

I'm experiencing another joyous no-Stinky weekend. With Stinky gone, I decided to fix the biggify thing so it prompts you and stores it as a cookie propperly. Previously it was using someone elses code that I slightly modified. Now a more modified code that makes more sense to me. I love programming.

Votomatic for the people.

1998-11-03T00:00:00-08:00

"That's a great plan, we'll just steal some of Yishan's ideas."

A better analysis of my web logs show that page requests has doubled from July to August. August is when the new site went up and people started getting on faster connections. It's increased by over 1000 page requests each month since. Each week of last month has had its page requests increased by about 100 hits too. The top Universities are the U of M, UW, UI, NYU, CalTech, CMU, UPenn. The top hosts are: Laureen, Adam, Yishan, Me, Dan (Hi Dan!), Daniel Lavenda, Mr. Borchert (Hi Dave!), Amy (Hi Amy), MikeJ, some other Borchert computer, possibly Pat's (Hi Pat!). Ten is enough people to list, I think. I said hi to the people whom I didn't think visited my site. The top page to visit is of course the random sentence generator which reloads itself over and over. I bet that skews the traffic. Those who look at the Random Sentence Generator for longer periods of time... well.. oh well. The Journal is 15% of the traffic on this site, and is what people go to most (besides the main page, etc). This was all generated by Analog. Laureen, Adam, you remember a few days ago, and you looked at Yishan's news page, and he called you things like a "geek" or "nerd?" He was right.

I like how the results graph doesn't show the entries that weren't voted for. I'll impliment this change sometime. I'm very busy this week. I've got a test tomorrow night and the night after and an essay due Friday. The Thursday test is horrid Graph Theory.

Holly crap, Caroline is a cool person, more of this model of human should be created for future generations... hmm I'm becoming Bene Gesserit like in my thinking. Yes, we should keep an eye on this line. This update is for you, because you asked for it. I'd have probably updated anyway because of the elections. I just think her web page is really neat, and she was in Newsweek.

We've been having November Rain in Urbana. Very annoying and very cold. However, my Jacket, which bundles me up more than Kenny's has nifty anti-weather mechanisms build into it.

I'm now reading i, robot from some guy named Asimov. There's a small story that takes place in 1998. The development in robotics/computers in the book is far different than what it will be in this universe.

These are links concerning the KQRS Morning Show. They are interesting. They are also biased because the Star and KQ are enemies. [Link 1] [Link 2] [Link 3] [Link 4]

I voted using an IBM Votomatic! I voted mostly all democratic, just because I wasn't up to speed on all the issues of all the candidates in all the races I had to vote for. Ryan (R) beat Poshard (D) for Gubenautical race. Moseley-Braun (D) is behind by 100K votes v. Fitzgerald (R) for the Senatorical race. I also think incumbent, E-wing (R) creamed Prussing 63 to 37 percent. Then there is Minnesota... all I can say is good luck Jesse, who just won.

Ray Bradbury

1998-10-27T00:00:00-08:00

If anybody really really wants a signed copy of a Ray Bradbury book, I may be able to work something out. His books go on sale Thursday at 3:00 PM (probably going to be actually marked up), and he will be there signing books at 4:00 PM. I'm sure I could work something out. I just need to know sometime on Thursday before 3:00 PM.

Thus concludes the Dune Chronicles

1998-10-09T00:00:00-07:00

The Dune Chronicles have been read. It's probably been one of the most interesting series I have ever read. It wasn't just science fiction, and that's what made it a great book. I think now I will take a break from reading books for a while. The problem with reading a good series is that you start looking for more and more information on that universe.

There are things I did not like about Dune. Despite the Butlerian Jihad, much of the technology did not match what we have had for years. Most of this is due to the fact that it was written in the past. Another problem was the progress of technology was a bit strange. The Ancestral Memory and the preborn were another problem I had. Those concepts did not seem like something that could work. There were other little things that I disliked that would reveal too much of the book as well.

Despite all of these things I was captivated enough by the series, especially the final book, Chapterhouse: Dune. I have to say that the final book is my absolute favorite. I don't really have an order of preferance.

I guess the next series I'll tackle is Ender's Game...

Contact paper

1998-10-04T00:00:00-07:00

Contact paper is neat. I bought a roll from Meijer's and covered most of the front of my door with it. I think I will cover the back of the door later. The nice thing is that it's open doors on Tuesday so my door will look pretty.

I think Frank Herbert has really neat ideas about leadership. I shall strive to be more like his ideal (Leto Atreides I).

UI as Dune

1998-09-04T00:00:00-07:00

After a week of classes and a couple weeks of living here, I've recognized that UI is actually Dune. That's right. I'm taking the ficition that I've been reading and applying it to the real world where it doesn't belong.

I was brought up in Minnesota, where you'd get the most unexpected weather. It was generally cold. I have grown accustomed to cold weather. I long for cold weather to come. During the summer in Minnesota it gets quite hot, so we retreat to our Air Conditioned hideaways.

Now my home for the greater part the year is Urbana, Illinois. It's hot here. Retreating to airconditioning is not an option. It's deathly hot, but you get used to it. When I moved here, I had to get acquainted with the fre(sh)man. I had to become a fre(sh)man. I have ridden the great busses which travel at great speeds. But I prefer walking. The real comparison is that Urbana is a training ground for me. I am to be educated here, but I don't think the classes will be the only thing that shape me here. I think the environment will force me to be more adapted to different places.

You start to learn things. You are forced to be organized. You are forced to explore. When I walk from Allen Hall to the Quad, I take a short cut, or sometimes it's a long-cut through another building that is Air Conditioned. I learn lots of silly things here.

I don't know why I'm going off on such a strange tangent. I got a new desk from the Residence Halls. This one allows me to put my large computer monitor on the desk and my tower case without wasting too much space.

All of the above was pre-written yesterday. Today I got speakers from my neighbor and they are large. I don't know if I like them. I got my new telephone. I think there's a link in a previous entry to it. I love it already. I should run a wire to a friend's room and thus have a second phone line.

Hey, thanks to silly American holidays like Labor Day, I have no roommate this weekend! My parents are coming to visit. It would mean something if I missed them, well wait it does mean something. I guess I do miss them, but I'm just not realizing it. Hopefully I'll have fun with them.

Email is great. I think it strengthens my friendships. I ramble so I'll be quiet.

I love UI

1998-09-02T00:00:00-07:00

I've decided that I love this University. Not because it is anything special, but because I think that's how the University wants me to feel. No wait what the hell am I saying. No the University of Illinois is a very decent school. I don't know why I like it, but I do for some reason. Maybe the good balance with academics and cultural diversity, etc. I dunno. Probably because it has a large library. A library that gives away good cookies.

Well speaking of, thanks to the Residence Hall Interlibrary system, I have Heretics of Dune.

My class schedule is slowly getting smaller and it looks like school will suck only once in a while instead of twice. The food service in Allen is poor. Today I had snickers ice cream from Edy's that was good. It was bad when the machine didn't work during dinner time. Grr. The food was bad for dinner, I didn't eat much. The hot cocoa machine still does not work. Woe is me.

Unit One is really cool. This week we have Barbara Trent, Oscar award winner of The Panama Deception. I went to a talk yesterday and she talked about all these cool programs she was involved with. She talked about how she fled from the FBI. She talked about how she made movies that exposed the government. Yesterday I watched some of her other movie, Cover Up: Behind The Iran Contra Affair. I watched some of it because it was too cold for me in the main hall. Today I will dress appropriately and watch the Panama Deception and hopefully stay for discussion. The fact that I can do this in my own hall is just so neat. I mean talking about all these cool issues with some person who has a shiny award that sits at the Front Desk of our hall and stuff. Wow, Allen Hall is cool.

My best friend in the whole wide world got her ICQ password today.

Smoking

1998-08-31T00:00:00-07:00

Why does he leave the TV on when he's doing his homework? What the heck is wrong with this kid?

Well the library does not have me listed and won't for a few days nor do they have Heretics of Dune. However ISR (a local res-hall) has it and they will loan it to me tomorrow as long as they have it unchecked out. They probably do since nobody likes to read.

I hate people who smoke. Especially if I see them smoke. I hope my roommmate gets cancer and dies. I hope he gets it while watching football. No I hope he's at a football game and a football hits him in the face while he smokes and it shoves the cigarette into his throat and then he dies.

That's my rant for right now. I may regret saying that, but if I do, I'll just delete that part of the entry. (ed: In retrospect, I wish I didn't say that, it was very mean-spirited. For historical purposes, I sort of wish to keep it here. I might change my mind later. 5/26/2006) The general idea is, don't smoke around me, or don't let me know you smoke. Especially if I have to live with you.

Day 22!!! :( No Molly (Tuesday)

1998-08-18T00:00:00-07:00

Well today my cousin and her family left. Today I had a fun day. Katie, Marc and I and later Daniel watched Freakazoid! We later made some food out of all the things we could find. Then we went to Marc's where I read and they watched British TV. Well I ended up watching some TV. Katie was saddened that it would be the last day that she'll see me for a while. For some reason I can't express the sadness as she does. Perhaps it's because I am reading the Dune series. The time for being sad about leaving is not now. I should enjoy leaving in order to start off on the right foot when I go to college. Perhaps I just adapt in order to survive. I make light of leaving everyone by telling them that I may never see them again (which is improbable) or that the next time I see them will be far from now. For now, I just wonder: What would a McKatie sandwhich be? What would it look like? What would it taste like? Well overall, today was a good day. Tomorrow my mother arrives from India.

Day 19 and 20 No Molly

1998-08-16T00:00:00-07:00

Finally...(ed: this is why you should always use the title attribute for links and explain what you are linking to - 5/26/2006)

Saturday I read a lot of Dune and a lot of Maximum PC. It's a very good magazine for anybody who can justify spending more than $2K on a single computer. Later Marc and his Anime buddies and I went to Arby's to eat and on the way I dropped stuff off at Molly's house. Her room smells funny.

Then we went to Adam's party which was moderately okay. I dislike parties because nothing really happens and nobody talks to me, because I am either insane or because I don't like them. For the most part it's the former. The party ended early and Adam, Hayley and I went to my house. Marc came over later. Then Hayley left. Then Marc and I played Mario. Then I played Solstice. I played until 2AM or more. We were going to watch Kentucky Fried Movie but Marc and I were too tired to focus. My phone rang throughout the night because a family member passed away and people felt the need to call me and tell me while I tried to sleep. Eventually I gave in and just stayed awake (it was about 10:30 AM). Eventually Marc and Adam woke up and we all made pancakes and had fun. Then we watched Dune in the evening. I hate that movie. It's differs too much from the book for my liking.

Day 16 No Molly

1998-08-12T00:00:00-07:00

I did nothing today. I would normally not have an entry but then I'd be missing day 16. What did I do? Hmm... I woke up later. I started reading Children of Dune. It's working thus far. I've studied more Japanese. I installed a fan for my hard drive. I think I'll no longer have to open that case for a while. At least not until I move. I noticed temporary no parking signs issued by the Edina police on both my neighbor's lawns... I'm a bit suspicious as to why this is. I wonder if this is related to friends and acquaintances of mine parking on the street... I hope not, but you never know. I personally do not care, because I am leaving in a week. This is my last Wednesday that I will get to spend at my house at least until December. If any of you are looking for a cheap computer, Micron has a few refurbished 300MHz machines available with 64MB of RAM. They are nice machines, except that they are desktop models. They are about $1K each no monitor.

No Molly Day 6

1998-08-02T00:00:00-07:00

Today I missed her.

I read a lot of Dune. I like it a lot. Today I cleaned my room further. In the early AM I was working heavily on the new site. I hope to get around to adding everything by the end of this week. I almost helped this girl get a notebook, but actually just tricked her to going to Best Buy when it was closed.

Today I went to the They Might Be Giants concert which was at the Hops festival. It was very very cool. I missed Molly. Perhaps it's because I love going to concerts with her (even though I've done so only twice). We just always have fun. This would have been especially better because we got to listen to someone for free. I am, however, home now, so I don't mind as much. We got very wet. They played a lot of songs, including new ones. I was somewhat hoping for them to play She's an Angel. No such luck.

Foundation

1998-06-22T00:00:00-07:00

I have finally finished Asimov's Foundation series. I do agree with Yishan, [the last book] is perhaps the best book in the series. I like how by the end of the book I could figure out what that cube in the picture was (but I have no clue as to who is holding it). I like the vague reference to where Star's End actually is. The bit about the Prime Radiant going to Terminus is interesting too... I mean they never mentioned anything in the Foundation series about a foreign black cube that displays complex mathematical equations.

I wonder if mathematicians like the series due to the whole mathematical foundation...

I don't work until Wednesday where I am forced to help kids at Valley Fair.

ITCEP

1998-06-17T00:00:00-07:00

Here's what we've been up to this week:

Molly and I are working at the IT Center for Educational Programs. We are TAing for the PRIME summer program. This is by far the best job (between working for my Dad, and PNBD) ever. Although it is very frustrating being in charge of 18 sixth or seventh grade boys especially when the other TA, Molly, is dealing with seven docile girls. It's been very fun anyway. Tomorrow I hope it's hot, so I can swim. Although T-storms have been forcasted.

I was supposed to help people at Innovative Research work on their web site, but they have no money. So I will be doing far less web work this summer. This is unfortunate, because I make a lot of money that way. I did how ever recieve a payment from Nutrition Dynamics.

I've almost finished the Foundation Series. I have one final book to complete: Forward the Foundation. Yishan says it is the best in the series. After this book, I'll take a break from Sci-Fi and may delve into Tolkien, or Science.