{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Xanga on Swimming in the Earth", "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/26/6721.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/", "feed_url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2006/02/08/grant-page-x.html", "title": "Grant Page X is done", "content_html": "

Announcing my new blog, Swimming in the Earth.

Grant Page X is through now. Thanks to everyone who read. I will be continuing to post my thoughts on my new blog, and as a new contributer to AlwaysBeta.

I will keep this blog up for posterity.

\n", "date_published": "2006-02-08T01:26:39-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2006/02/08/grant-page-x.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2006/02/02/im-going-to.html", "content_html": "

I’m going to make a new blog soon. Keep watching in the next few days for the link.

For now, check out nertzy.com which is a placeholder.

\n", "date_published": "2006-02-02T22:01:41-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2006/02/02/im-going-to.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/08/03/were-about-to.html", "content_html": "

We’re about to leave for New Mexico on a family cartrip. We’ll be going by the Los Alamos National Laboratory pretty much 60 years to the day Hiroshima was bombed, purely coincidentally. I wonder if we’ll see anything going on there. Protests? Solemn reminders? Nothing?

Anyway I’ll be back in five days and I’ll update you guys on how I’m doing, since I have so lazily neglected doing so for several months now.

Update: so yeah I haven’t posted again, as has been pointed out. Maybe once I’m more settled in back here at Olin.

\n", "date_published": "2005-08-03T12:00:47-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/08/03/were-about-to.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/05/29/today-i-happened.html", "content_html": "

Today I happened upon the Paseo Arts Festival.
\n\"Paseo

\nThat picture doesn’t really do it justice.  Anyway, I sneaked\naround as it was closing and as the band played “Inagaddadavida”. \nThe Paseo is a small street off the beaten path in Oklahoma City where\na ton of artists live and have studios.  I saw a scultpor’s\nstudio, photographer’s studios, and a lot of closed Indian Taco stands.
\n
\nLately I haven’t been up to too much.  The friends and I have\nresolved to watch all of the Star Wars movies in order.  I’m not\nthe hugest fan but it’s a good source of trivia for who knows\nwhen.  (Jeopardy!, here I come)
\n
\nI hope that my other blog\ndoesn’t wither and die.  I’m not entirely convinced that I will\nhave enough sources of logical fallacies in news articles to make it\ninteresting.  I will keep looking though.  Feel free to\ncontact me if you find some.  I’m trying to stick to reputable\nsources.
\n
\nMy new phone has better text messaging and photo mail abilities, so\nI’ve been sending dog pictures out to Carrie and posting cameraphones\npictures on my Flickr site.  They are decidedly low quality but fun nonetheless.  One of these days I’ll get my actual camera fixed.
\n
\nMeredith’s father brews beer (and wine, actually) at home.  He\nkeeps track of every batch in a notebook.  Right now he’s working\non his 57th batch.  Seeing all of the handwriting made me wish I\nhad something to keep track of longterm like that.
\n
\nFor those of you who don’t know, I am obsessed with typography these days.  This isn’t just a passing thing, like my cryptography phase or my oscillating interest with Thomas Pynchon.  I’m downright obsessed.  My two favorite fonts of the moment are Incognito and Dolly, both available from Veer, the design company famous (in my eyes) for employing Grant Hutchinson.
\n
\nDolly is “a book typeface with fluorishes”.  I love book\ntypefaces, and every time I read a book I spend about as much time\nadmiring the letterforms as I do reading the actual content.
\n
\nIncognito is based on the fancy writing of old maps.  When I was a\nchild I would peer into maps endlessly.  The best part about this\nfont is that each capital has a swash variant that goes in one of four\ndifferent directions, named after the Latin for North, East, South, and\nWest.  Very elegant, albeit a bit overused in their type specimens.

\n", "date_published": "2005-05-29T00:51:02-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/05/29/today-i-happened.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/05/23/i-realize-what.html", "content_html": "

I realize what I’ve been missing from Oklahoma.
\n
\nThe smell of the air at night after a hot day.  I can’t describe\nit, but it’s so crisp and rich and at the same time not at all thick.
\n
\nAnd I also miss being able to see at night because the businesses keep\ntheir lights on in the parking lots.  The light pollution in\nOklahoma City is incredible.  When you drive towards Oklahoma City\nat night, you can see the entire horizon lit up from tens of miles away.
\n
\nWe watched Loser at Meredith’s house.  The movie is cute and well-made.  It reminded me of summer in New York last year.
\n
\nMy girlfriend is really wonderful.  She came over to Olin while I\nwas packing and kept me company even when it was about the most boring\nthing ever.  Never once complained even if I had to run off for an\nhour or two to go put stuff in storage while she waited and napped on a\nbed without sheets on it in the bright light while Dan also packed.

\n", "date_published": "2005-05-23T02:24:05-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/05/23/i-realize-what.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/05/17/time-for-a.html", "content_html": "

Time for a couple of updates from the Grant Hutchins camp.
\n
\nFirst off, I’ve started a new blog, Grant’s Take,\nwhere I will post my skeptical analysis of articles that I read. \nI have no agenda other than the new blog’s motto, “Question everything\nyou read."
\n
\nSecond off, I just put the finishing touches on the three latest games on my Grant Bowls! page.  I have a new personal best!
\n
\nLast, but not least, I randomly searched my name using Google Suggest today.  It turns out that as you type Grant Hutchins, the form autocompletes with “grant hutchins millionaire”.  I guess enough people have searched me looking perhaps for the video.  E-mail me if you want the link.
\n
\nThe second hit I got was my recent mention in Prism, the American\nSociety for Engineering Education’s monthly journal.  I highly\ndoubt that being on a has-been television show is some of the biggest\nengineering education news for April (especially considering the show\naired the beginnning of February) but who’s counting?
\n
\nI still don’t have a job but I’m trying several different ways to get\nthe attention of employers.  I haven’t been outright rejected yet,\nbut I’ve only received one actual offer, not really for a job but\ninstead for volunteer work to do a new PBS show’s website.  I’m\nnot really sure if doing that would be a horrible waste of my time or a\ngreat resume builder.
\n
\nHere’s my profile on LinkedIn.  Please add me as a contact if you know me or have worked with me in the past.

\n", "date_published": "2005-05-17T02:38:53-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/05/17/time-for-a.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/04/19/ten-years-ago.html", "content_html": "

Ten years ago on this day I sat working on an assignment for my math\nclass.  I had tested out of a chapter of work and was working by\nmyself on a project to present to the class.
\n
\nSitting in the independent project classroom, we felt the building\nshake.  At first the teacher told us it was probably a sonic\nboom.  She used to live near an air force base, and recently on\nthe news people had talked about the possibility of stationing B2\nstealth bombers at Tinker Air Force Base.  I thought it could have\nbeen an earthquake.
\n
\nWe looked out the window and saw a plume of smoke, like a brush fire, about 10 miles away.
\n
\nAround 9:00 am on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove a Ryder truck\nfull of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and nitromethane racing fuel in\nfront of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma\nCity.  At 9:02 am the truck detonated, ultimately killing 168\npeople, from ATF agents to children in a daycare center.  At the\ntime it was by far the largest terrorist attack on American soil, and\nto this day it remains the largest domestic terrorist attack.  The\ndeath toll came out to approximately 13 times that of Columbine, the\nschool shooting that would take place exactly four years and one day\nlater.
\n
\nReports came back to school slowly.  We didn’t really know what\nwas going on, but over time it became clear that it wasn’t\nnormal.  Some students were told that their parents were OK. \nSomething had happened downtown, and everyone was waiting on more\ninformation.
\n
\nMy mom ran outside, thinking that a plane had exploded in the\nair.  She had her window open and could hear the blast from 15\nmiles away.  She later went to the local Wal-Mart and saw a\nphotographer run in to get pictures developed.  They need to get\ndeveloped now!  They need to get to the media…
\n
\nThat day was the first day my aunt was to do court reporting for a\nfederal trial, instead of the local and state trials she had been doing\nbefore.  She sat in court in the Federal Courthouse, immediately\nbehind the Murrah building, certainly on the side one would rather be\non.  Her cassette tape recording of the trial caught the blare of\nan enormous explosion, following by frantic voices and the judge\nordering everyone to immediately leave the building because a bomb had\ngone off.
\n
\nWhen I got home CNN was showing the same thing as the local news, and\nevery other channel for that matter.  Bulletins were put out for\n“middle eastern terrorists” that never panned out.  A white\nsupremacist Gulf War veteran named Timothy McVeigh was arrested for\nexcessive speeding going north on I-35, away from the blast.
\n
\nOnce everyone figured out that it was a truck bomb, and the dust\nsettled, people began the rescue effort.  From all over the\ncountry, and indeed the world, firefighters, police, medical personnel,\nand volunteers poured in to help.  Some of these officials would\nlater die in the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center. \nRobots were used to dig through the rubble in the hopes of finding\nsurvivors.  After a few days, these hopes were dashed and families\nhad to admit defeat.
\n
\nOn Thursday, my parents took me and my brothers downtown to catch a\nglimpse.  We weren’t going to get close, just get within\neyeshot.  It was a media circus.  It seemed like every local\nnews station in America had a van parked there.  Police lines were\neverywhere, blocking square miles of downtown.  Some extra line\nwas hanging off of a tree and I cut off a piece of it, which I have to\nthis day.  You could see the damage clearly from a mile\naway.  The mood was somber and quiet and people were moving about\nmatter-of-factly.
\n
\nA week later, once all hope was lost, and to further protect the\nimmediate area by preventing an imminent collapse, the Murrah buidling\nwas imploded and cleared away.
\n
\nApril 19.  The date doesn’t mean much outside of Oklahoma, but\nthere it automatically means the bombing.  A nameless federal\nbuilding housing seemingly unrelated federal offices that I had never\nheard of was attacked by a man who wanted to avenge the botched siege\nby federal agents of the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, TX, two years\nearlier.
\n
\nNo one really knew why Oklahoma City should be a target.  Everyone\nin the nation started talking about the “heartland”.  It was\n“terror in the heartland”.  Where you’d least expect it.  The\ngovernor of Oklahoma was on national television constantly, and each\nday the police would report to the public the updated tally of those\nwho had died.  It ended at 168.
\n
\nMonths later, the State of Ohio donated some trees to plant at the\nState Capitol, one each for the people who died.  I was a Boy\nScout, in Troop 78, and I volunteered that day.  I was up on stage\nduring the dedication holding the Oklahoma flag up so that it wouldn’t\nfall over in the wind.  That was the first and only time that I\nheard the names of those killed read aloud.  It took about 45\nminutes.  Many if not most of the survivors were there, as well as\nfamilies, planting trees for the people they knew and loved.
\n
\nJust over six years later, terrorists attacked four planes, New York\nCity, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.  Perhaps the worst part\nabout that day was knowing how it would play out, what the aftermath\nwould be.  First off, remember the date, September 11, we’ll be\nhearing about this for some time, just like April 19.  Second,\nthere will be a relief effort.  People will come from all over to\ndig through the rubble in order to find survivors.  Third, the\ntime will come where no one could be expected to live under this\nrubble.  People will still want to search, but they need to stop\nsometime.  People will fight to keep looking, but realistically\nit’s already too late.  And there will be a few key images that\npeople remember.
\n
\nFor Oklahoma City, it is usually the firefighter holding the baby, who would die in the next day or so.
\n
\n\"Photo
\n
\nTen years later, things are going a lot better in Oklahoma City. \nThe other day we were featured on the front page of the B section of\nthe Wall Street Journal in a glowing article talking about the urban\ndevelopment, increased tourism, and how well the city had moved past\nthe stigma of being a victim.
\n
\nRead more about the bombing:
\n| Wikipedia | CNN | Oklahoma City National Memorial | Yahoo! |

\n", "date_published": "2005-04-19T08:04:16-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/04/19/ten-years-ago.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/26/hello-everyone-im.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.

\n

I'm in Oklahoma City, about to head back to Boston.  I didn't get to see too many people this time around, because I was only here for three non-flight days!

\n

American Airlines cancelled my reservation because the lady at Chicago didn't scan my ticket when I got on my flight, so they bumped me to a later one.  What a bunch of hoodlums.

\n

Other than that, I went dogsledding last weekend.

\n

\"Carrie

\n

That's me on the right in the ridiculous sunglasses.

\n

 \"The

\n

We're on a frozen lake in Maine.  We slept outside on the lake itself.

\n

 \"Carrie

\n

Here's one of the dogs (and Carrie too).  The dogs obsessively pull when you put them on a leash.  They are certainly bred for pulling sleds.

\n

 

\n

Yesterday I bowled the best game of my life, a 162.  My dad didn't beat it, but his three-game series still won.

\n

Anyway, I'm gonna go back to waiting for my new flight.

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-26T09:52:23-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/26/hello-everyone-im.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/13/my-streak-ended.html", "content_html": "

My streak ended.  No, not that streak.  Maybe later for that one.
\n
\nBut anyway I forgot to post last night.  Yesterday I went shopping\nfor some major school supplies, on the halfway day of the semester!
\n
\nI also had my first 8 am class, which was wonderful!  I’m so excited about complex numbers.  I simply adore them.
\n
\nAnyway, I went to the special collections\nat the library of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.  Before we\ngot into the library, we saw the best working environment I’ve seen in\nmy life, a giant stairway of desks where people design\narchitecture.  Imagine a grand staircase of open cubicles, with\nthe newbies on the bottom and the PhD’s on top.  After we went\ninto the library we saw a ton of stuff, such as hand-drawn plans for\nthe St. Louis Arch and Gropius’s clipboard.  I held Gropius’s\nclipboard.  I simply love clipboards!  I bought another one\nat Staples today so that if I lose my current clippy I don’t have to\nfall behind in my classes!
\n
\nAnd today I went to parties at Wellesley and briefly at Babson.  Had a lot of fun.

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-13T01:59:36-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/13/my-streak-ended.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/11/quick-post-to.html", "content_html": "

Quick post to keep my streak alive…
\n
\nI have an 8:00 am class today!  It’s 3:52 am so I better run off to sleep.
\n
\nYesterday was extremely busy, but worthwhile.
\n
\nHave a nice day!

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-11T02:52:46-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/11/quick-post-to.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/10/today-is-my.html", "content_html": "

Today is my Xanga’s 250th day.  That’s right, it’s the “quarter mille”.
\n
\nI finally did my laundry today.  I’ve been keeping myself busy enough that I have been way behind.
\n
\nFor my student government position I often administer surveys to\nvarious groups of students.  The other day I made three different\nmockups of a single survey I’m about to give to the entire student\nbody.  I presented these mockups to my Human Factors: Interface\nDesign class to let the students test them out.  I learned quite a\nlot from the process, and now I think the survey should be quite easy\nto take (once I implement the best suggestions from the class).
\n
\nThis monday, the Data Destruction Tour is coming to Boston.  The\nData Destruction Tour is the only tour I know of that specializes in\nthe tiny little subgenre of music known as lofi or 8bit or chiptunes or\ngamemusic or about a million other things.  The idea is to use\n1980s computer technology or video game systems or similar sounding\nsynthesis techniques to make music.  Hear some at micromusic.net. \nI have considered burning a few CDs of a some songs I have written in\nthis style and giving them around to the people involved to sorta jab\nmyself into the scene a bit.
\n
\nFrom a micromusic.com email:

Mar 14th 2005 Data Destruction Tour 2005
\nartists: Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Covox
\nvenue: The Enormous Room, 567 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA, USA
\nstart:  9:00pm
\nfee: 21+ no cover
\nmore info:  http://www.enormous.tv/

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-10T03:16:08-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/10/today-is-my.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/09/i-wonder-if.html", "content_html": "

I wonder if it will be a snow day.  The weather is completely\nhorrible and miserable.  If it’s a snow day, it will have no\nimpact on me, however, because I have no classes on Wednesday.
\n
\nA snow day on any other day would help me catch up so much, but a Wednesday snow day does nothing for me.
\n
\nI say “catch up” but I’m not too far behind on things.  I\ncertainly have a lot going on, but when I sit down and think about it,\nthey are moving along fine.  Some of my things could use some more\nenthusiasm, and the occasional jolt back into action, but really I am\non top of most stuff right now.
\n
\nWe made a transistor radio in Analog and Digital Communications,\nhard-tuned to WEEI 850 AM sports radio.  The class is really\nstarting to make a lot more sense these days.  It only makes me\nwish I could spend more time designing circuits or software for\nprocessing audio.  Designing audio filters, in hardware or in\nsoftware, is one of my favorite activities.  Luckily, I’m majoring\nin the right thing, Electrical and Computer Engineering.

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-09T03:00:51-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/09/i-wonder-if.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/08/grant-why-is.html", "content_html": "

Grant: “Why is J. Lo a popular singer?"
\nDan: “Cause she’s got a nice ass."
\n
\nWow, thanks Dan.  Really classy.  That wasn’t what I\nmeant.  Jennifer Lopez has an annoying nasal voice.  Her\nlatest song has an annoying sax line.  I… secretly wish that I\ndidn’t like it in a disturbing way.
\n
\nI’m going dogsledding for the first weekend of Spring Break up in Maine.
\n
\n
\n
\nI came up with a new way to make my todo list.  I put todo items\nup on Post-It notes on my wall.  The higher notes represent more\nimportant things I need to do, like get a job for summer.  The\nbottom notes are not important, such as fixing my digital camera. \nThat way I still see everything I have to do, but I don’t forget the\nimportant stuff.  I’ll tell you how it goes.  I think this\nwill finally be the method I keep.
\n
\nToday I stopped doing things for an hour.  It was splendid. \nSince last Thursday, I hadn’t stopped for even ten minutes. \nConstant activity, moving from class to party to class to meeting to\nmeeting to the candidate’s weekend and back again.  Finally I can\nget some sleep.
\n
\nStarting this Friday I will have an 8 am class, Complex\nVariables.  I’m actually really excited about Complex\nVariables.  They really come in handy for messing with audio\nsignals.  But anyway this means that my first classes each day\nwill look like this:
\n
\nMonday 2 PM
\nTuesday 8 AM
\nWednesday (no class, nothing until CORe meeting at 6:30 PM)
\nThursday 2 PM
\nFriday 8 AM
\n
\nIt doesn’t get any weirder than that.
\n
\nAlso, elections are going to be soon for CORe (The Council of Olin\nRepresentatives), so I will sadly give up my post as Vice Presdient of\nCommunication.  I might run for another executive position, but I\nhaven’t decided yet.  The CORe Digest is my baby!  I will\nmiss it!

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-08T02:50:16-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/08/grant-why-is.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/03/someone-needs-to.html", "content_html": "

Someone needs to tell Google that their stuff isn’t in beta\nanymore.  Napster killed that word forever, and now Google is\ndesecrating its coffin.
\n
\nIf you find yourself in a slump, as I have, then clean up your\nroom!  It does wonders for the psyche!  Throw away lots of\nstuff.
\n
\nTucker IMed me today and we talked through some programming issues on\nour software synthesizer.  Good news!  It works on my\ncomputer for the first time!  Now we can finish up the GUI and we\nwill have a product that is ready for real-world beta testing! \nKeep posted.
\n
\nThe check came in the mail to Oklahoma yesterday!  I will probably cash it while I’m home for Spring Break. 

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-03T02:17:58-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/03/someone-needs-to.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/01/i-remembered-what.html", "content_html": "

I remembered what I was going to blog about last night, but forgot to.
\n
\nYesterday my professor didn’t show up for my class\nSynchronization.  There are 6 students in the class, but only 5\nshowed up.  We waited for a bit and then one of the staff came in\nand told us the professor wasn’t coming.  We then spent the entire\nremainder of the class period going over the homework, writing stuff up\non the board, and debating it.
\n
\nI love this school.  The subject matter is interesting enough that we don’t even need a professor to hold class!

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-01T16:49:04-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/01/i-remembered-what.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/03/01/back-to-blogging.html", "content_html": "

Back to blogging!  A lot of people are getting involved on the Olin College blogring these days.
\n
\nWe just had the first Candidate’s Weekend of the year.  It went\nvery well.  The students are getting inspired again to be at Olin.
\n
\nToday I put a bunch of pictures up on flickr.  Just go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/nertzy for more.
\n
\nToday the rest of the CORe E-Board and I went to the senior\nadministration meeting for Olin.  We gave student feedback to the\nPresident, VPs, and heads of various departments.  I think it went\nwell.  I got to learn a lot of details about running a new school.
\n
\nI got my camera back today in the mail.  I’d left it in Drew’s car\nin LA.  It reminds me of all my broken items.  My camera’s\nflash doesn’t work.  My palm’s screen doesn’t work.  My next\npalm’s screen cracked.  The face broke off of my nice watch. \nIf only I weren’t so lazy I would fix them all.
\n
\nNow all I really need is a summer job.  A nice internship.  I\nhave some wonderful contacts lined up so I guess I should start asking\nthem for advice.
\n
\nThe new Chemical Brothers album, Push the Button, is\nvery nice.  I like the first two tracks best, “Galvanize” and “The\nBoxer”.  I didn’t like “Galvanize” the first time I heard it, or\neven the second, but now it’s one of my all-time favorite Chemical\nBrothers songs.  It’s interesting to note that I also didn’t like\n“Block Rockin’ Beats” the first few times I heard it.  I still\nhaven’t figured out how the Chemical Brothers are able to evoke this\ninitial disinterest.
\n
\nWell I shall try to get into a better habit of posting on here.

\n", "date_published": "2005-03-01T02:11:43-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/03/01/back-to-blogging.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/02/04/today-check-local.html", "content_html": "

\"Grant
\nToday.
\nCheck local listings.
\nInterview with the Edmond Sun.

\n", "date_published": "2005-02-04T00:19:52-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/02/04/today-check-local.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2005/01/06/hello-everyone-its.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.  It’s been too long since I’ve posted.  The\nnext installment of the Innermost Cabin stories is “Not a True Story”.  Enjoy.
\n
\nI’m about to embark tomorrow morning on a grand trip from Oklahoma City\nto Los Angeles, for 22 hours.  I’m going with Drew, who lives out\nthere with my friend Jon.  I will be flying back to Oklahoma City\non the 18th.  I hope to bump into as many people in LA as I\ncan.  I went last year but only knew three people from LA. \nThis year I know at least ten.
\n
\nOther than that I’ve been reading V. by Thomas Pynchon.  I’ve finished The Crying of Lot 49\nand will then move on to Mason & Dixon before tackling the\ngrand-daddy Pynchon book of all time, Gravity’s Rainbow.  Wish me\nluck, this is not an easy task.
\n
\nAustin and I continue our work on Gamecube games.  I have ordered\nthe hardware that will allow me to load my code from an SD card, so\neveryone at Olin will finally get to see Snowlords in action!
\n
\nOther than that I applied to some jobs at The MathWorks and\nApple.  I will apply to some less ambitious places too so that I\ndon’t yet again come up empty-handed.
\n
\nMy next computer will be a Mac, perhaps a G5 tower.  Mmm.

“Not a True Story”
\nAmanda Deinstadt
\nKristina Putnam
\n1/3/98
\n
\nThis is not a true STORY
\nAt ten of ten p.m. Me and my friend were eating raisins we both chocked!!
\nLucky we didn’t die.
\nAfter that the disidid to go play and feed the brids. Then they went for a walk
\nin the woods They saw more brids. So they fed them. Amanda and Kristina\nboth goth a big brid It bit off there hand! They still did not die.
\nThey saw a werewolf. They both ran and ran. The werewolf finally goth\nthem. He ate them!  In  15 years there were two girls the\nsame age the died to the Same Way.
\nThe End

\n", "date_published": "2005-01-06T01:57:48-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2005/01/06/hello-everyone-its.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/11/22/im-back-in.html", "content_html": "

I’m back in Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving.
\n
\nLast night I went to Rima’s birthday party and saw some old\nfaces.  Afterwards we watched Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie,\nand I believe I was the only person to laugh at the fact that the\nboss’s name is Eugene Krabs.  Eugene Krebs was a perrennial\nSocialist presidential candidate back around the 1920s.
\n
\nToday we had early Thanksgiving in Enid.  We had some good\nlasagna.  Also, my grandfather gave us his 1985 Toyota Camry,\nwhich hit exactly 100,000 miles on the drive home.  I am\nconsidering taking it up to Boston, but it’s not looking too up to that\ntask as of now.
\n
\nTime for part two of the Innermost Cabin series.
\n

Nature
\nGreg Miller
\nno date
\n
\nThe cabin is great, small, warm, quite, and peacefull. The trails long\nand spooky! nature just singing birds, the ruffles of the water the\ntrees swaying back and forth, the wind blowing, deer running, and frogs\njumping from lilypad to lilypad. Nature is great. Till the one eyed\ndeer hunts you down and craps on you. So be aware of the dunt dunt\ndunnnnn the One Eyed Deer

\n", "date_published": "2004-11-22T00:34:37-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/11/22/im-back-in.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/11/18/sorry-i-havent.html", "content_html": "

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  To tide things over, I’m going\nto start posting some of the Stories from Innermost Cabin. \nFreshman year, 4 of us stayed at the Innermost Cabin\nat the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.  In the guestbook, we\nfound a bunch of stories written by schoolchildren that had stayed\nbefore us.
\n
\nNow, get ready for the first installment, “The Coyote Man”
\n

2/23/01
\nGreg Miller
\nThe Coyote Man
\n
\nWalking down the icy path to get to the cabin I saw a coyote but it\ndidn’t look like one eather, and then I saw it a Coyote Man we were all\nscared to death, so we ran to the cabin, we were safe. When we got to\nthe cabin me and my friend Justin wrote in the Jurnels and and Started\nto make a fire. Then we started to burn up from the fire so we took a\nwalk out to the bathrooms to cool off a little and then it Happend\nCoyote Man jumped out and pit a piece of Justin’s arm then Justin got\neatin It was grose. I was running realy fast to get to the babin then\nJustin’s dad tripped and Coyote Man eat the whole half of his body now\nI was scared. Walking down the path hearing footsteps all the Sudden it\nhappend Coyote Man bit my head right off.

\n", "date_published": "2004-11-18T01:16:13-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/11/18/sorry-i-havent.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/10/22/eyedropbc-hey-is.html", "content_html": "

Eyedropbc58: hey, is this grant?
\nGrant: yes this is
\nEyedropbc58: thats good
\nEyedropbc58: uh hello? hwy aren’t you talking?
\nGrant: I’m busily putting together the CORe Digest
\nGrant: who is this
\nEyedropbc58: is there something u want to know about me?
\nEyedropbc58: Please talk to me
\nGrant: Prove to me that you’re not a bot
\nEyedropbc58: i thought so
\nGrant: Who programmed you?
\nEyedropbc58: haha, FunnyMuffin.com has really funny pictures. have you ever been there?
\nGrant: oh yeah all the time… I go there to get my bikini line waxed.
\nEyedropbc58: my name is ashley
\nGrant: Hello ashley, so what do you get accomplished by talking to me?
\nEyedropbc58: me? no
\nEyedropbc58:\nYou have been talking to a computer! One of your friends is reading the\nwhole conversation and laughing it up right now! GET EVEN! Have the bot\ntalk to all your friends by visiting chattingaimbot.com
\nGrant: oh you don’t say

\n", "date_published": "2004-10-22T03:43:51-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/10/22/eyedropbc-hey-is.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/09/22/october-tape-date.html", "content_html": "

October 19, 2004 - Tape date
\nJanuary 26, 2005 - Air date

\n", "date_published": "2004-09-22T16:15:46-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/09/22/october-tape-date.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/08/17/hello-everyone-so.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.
\n
\nSo it’s been awhile since my last update.
\n
\nNo photos today.  I’ve taken a lot in these last ten days or so, but those will come later.
\n
\nI’m back home in Oklahoma now.  Nothing much going on here. \nIn fact, I’ve seen much fewer people than I usually would have since\nI’ve gotten back.
\n
\nLast weekend I stayed with my roommate Dan at his house in Somerville,\nMassachusetts.  On the days while everyone was working at their\ninternships, I wandered down Highland Ave. near Davis Square and\nsnapped a ton of pictures of typical Americana.
\n
\nWhile in the Boston area, Dan, Tommy, and I went to the Skellig bar in\nWaltham and competed in the trivia contest.  We started strong,\nbut ended with a fairly miserable showing, coming in dead last. \nOne round left us with zero points earned.  Unfortunately we will\nbe unable to show them what we really are capable of because Dan and I\nwill have a Mathematical Analysis class in which we will prove the\ncalculus from scratch on Mondays from 9:30 to 11:30 pm this\nsemester.  What better way to pass the time.
\n
\nI started and finished Fermat’s Enigma, a book on solving the most\nfamous mathematical problem of the last few centuries, Fermat’s Last\nTheorem.  Since then I’ve completed the first four chapters of the\n9/11 Commission Report.
\n
\nThe last few nights have seen countless hours spent on trying to get\nmultiplayer Red Alert, Red Alert 2, Quake II, Quake III, or Warcraft\nIII working properly.  Our best successes have been\ncross-platform, ironically.
\n
\nI will take a picture of my family’s new poker chips for the next post.

\n", "date_published": "2004-08-17T01:56:24-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/08/17/hello-everyone-so.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/08/04/last-wednesday-cagle.html", "content_html": "

Last Wednesday Cagle and her friend Erin came from Alabama to visit for three days.
\n
\n\"Erin
\n
\nWe wandered around the Big Apple and hit a lot of cool shops in\nGreenwich Village, where I snagged some good vinyl and a really cheap \nhardcover\ncopy of Thomas Pynchon’s Mason and Dixon to add to my to-read list.
\n
\nI found this picture on the wall at Famiglia’s Pizza, a nice New York pizza joint.  My brother will appreciate it.
\n
\n\"American
\n
\nTucker, Cagle, Erin, and I went to Jacques Torres’s chocolatier in Brooklyn for my third time.  I found these chocolate sculptures in the back room:
\n
\n\"Chocolate
\n
\nWe walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge, for my fourth time.  I\nfound this spray-painted into the concrete of the bridge walkway. \nI hate it when people spray paint messages on stuff using\nstencils.  It’s tacky and rude, but at least in this particular\ncase it supports my political cause, albeit to an extreme.
\n
\n\"Osama

\nWe ran into a b-boy posse breakdancing for the crowd later that day.
\n
\n\"Breakdancers\"
\n
\nThe next day we ran into a large group of firefighters and police\nunexplainedly axing their way into a Borders bookstore which otherwise\nseemed fine.
\n
\n\"Firefighters\"
\n
\nWe ate at a nice little Greek restaurant in the Village, and I ordered\npastichio, a traditional Greek dish that my mother and grandmother make\nevery once in a while since my grandfather has full Greek blood. \nThe pastichio was excellent, the salad was wonderful in its feta glory,\nand the baklava was just what I like, proving that I do indeed have\nGreek blood running in my veins.
\n
\nOn Saturday after the two girls left Tucker, Mara, and I went kayaking\nin the Hudson River.  If you go to the end of Riverside Park by\n72nd Street, they have a little platform set up where you can hop on a\nkayak for free for up to 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours on Fridays.
\n
\n\"Kayaking\"
\n
\nThe journey offered a wonderful view of Manhattan, dominated in this particular area by a series of Trump condominium buildings.
\n
\nDan drove down from Boston later that day and stayed the night. \nWe ran around town some more and ended up in Hoboken, NJ, for my final\ntrip to visit Emily at Stevens.  Dan grabbed some of my belongings\nto help me in my upcoming move to Boston for the weekend before my\nflight home next Wednesday.
\n
\nOn the way back from work on Monday, Tucker and I ran into a strange sight:
\n
\n\"Bird
\n
\nSorry for the gruesome imagery, but whatever got to this bird left the\nwings and only the wings entirely intact.  Very strange.
\n
\nToday Tucker, Mara, and I ate at an Afghanistan restaurant.  I\nloved it!  I didn’t expect to, since I had nothing to base\nexpectations on.  I am now convinced that orange rind should be\nput into every dish.
\n
\nAfter putting in a little more work on the synth, Mara and I watched a\nbootleg copy of Fahrenheit 9/11, which I found to be suprisingly devoid\nof any real argument or fresh, important details about its title\ndisaster.
\n
\nI highly recommend the 9/11 Commission Report for anyone who wants a\nserious look into the reality of the situation.  You can grab a\nrecording of an executive summary free on iTunes right now.  I\nmuch prefer to read it, however, and want to buy a copy sometime\nsoon.  It’s now on my Amazon wish list.  Go be curious and poke around on it if you like.

\n", "date_published": "2004-08-04T00:29:26-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/08/04/last-wednesday-cagle.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/27/my-luck-continues.html", "content_html": "

My luck continues to rise.  When I walked home from work today I\nfound a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer with 61-key keyboard lying against a\ntrash can to be thrown out.  I snagged it and left a note behind\nin case the person didn’t mean to throw it out.
\n
\n\"Yamaha
\n
\nHowever, the state of the keyboard suggests it was ready to be thrown out.  For example, the power cable has come loose.
\n
\n\"Dx7
\n
\nI am an electrical engineer, so this does not faze me in the\nslightest.  Soon I will grab a soldering iron and make it work to\nthe best of my abilities.
\n
\n\"Dx7
\n
\nThe Yamaha DX7 was a popular synthesizer of the 1980s, and make a lot\nof the defining sounds of eighties music.  Its quality isn’t\nwonderful, from what I’ve heard, but it’s a synthesizer nonetheless and\nI’m sure I can find good uses for it, especially as a keyboard\ncontroller for my computer music setup.
\n
\nAfter I had spent hours waiting in the rain to get tickets to the\nShakespeare in the Park show in Central Park, and after the rain fully\ncleared up, they cancelled the show.  However, before I got in\nline for standby tickets, I did manage to snap some pictures of a\ncompletely burnt car on the side of the road.
\n
\n\"Burned
\n
\nThe flames completely destroyed the interior, leaving a metallic shell.
\n
\n\"Burned
\n
\nToday I ate dinner outside on patio seating at Max SoHa, a most\nwonderful Italian restaurant less than a block from my apartment.
\n
\n\"Max
\n
\nThe food is excellent and the atmosphere very comfortable and familial.
\n
\n“SoHa” stands for “South of Harlem,” and we’ve similary named our startup synthesizer software company SoHa Sound Design,\nin reference to where the development actually took place.  We’re\nhoping to finish up a release candidate of the final synthesizer by the\ntime I leave New York on August 11, and have a final 1.0 version ready\nfor sale a few weeks thereafter.
\n
\nCagle and her friend come up to visit me for a few days on Wednesday\nand Dan comes up on Saturday, so my week should be filled with plenty\nof excitement.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-27T00:37:31-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/27/my-luck-continues.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/23/today-i-received.html", "content_html": "

Today I received a postcard from the daily version of Who Wants To Be A\nMillionaire.  They accepted me into the contestant pool and more\nlikely than not they will call me in the next month or two and give me\na tape date.  The daily version has no Fastest Finger, so if I got\non I would be directly in the Hot Seat.
\n
\nThe synth project goes well.  We should have a final product ready\nin a week or two.  The last few days have been slow, but today\nsomething clicked and both Tucker and I made incredibly impressive\nprogress.  The sound quality has increased tremendously and our\nproduct has a lot of potential, in my humble opinion.  OK, maybe\nit’s not as humble as possible.
\n
\nThe other day the entire ISE office went to Mama Mexico, a fairly good Mexican restaurant:
\n\"Mama
\n
\nMy boss Chris is on the left.  He’s gotten me hooked on the egg\nand cheese sandwiches with Tabasco sauce that they sell on the street\ncorner by our office.  It tastes better than it probably sounds.
\n
\nLately, some of the workers in the office have been clearing out old\nequipment and files to put in the dumpsters.  I snapped a quick\npic of some vacuum tubes in one particularly old piece of equipment:
\n
\n\"Vacuum
\n
\nThe next book on my reading agenda is Mind at Light Speed: A New Kind of Intelligence\nby David D. Nolte.  Every book I’ve read this summer has tied into\ncognition, how the senses work, or quantum theory.  This book\nmanages to tie all three concepts together and draw even more links\nbetween the variety of new things I’ve learned about in prior\nbooks.  I’m surprised how in what I thought was a seemingly random\nassortment of books I have happened onto the same major concepts three\nor four times now.
\n
\nI have now covered the paranoid angle, the medical angle, the artistic\nangle, and finally the scientific angle of such things as neural\ntheory, quantum physics, and how we perceive images.
\n
\nI spent Monday in Hoboken, NJ, with my old friend Emily.  She’s a\nphotographer so as soon as I got there we went to a shoot she had been\nhired for.
\n
\n\"Emily
\n
\nShe captured the essence of a Wall Street entrepreneur’s million dollar\napartment.  I chatted him up on wine and travel and he predicts\nthat Argentina will be the next great wine producer in the next decade\nor so.  I’ll keep an eye out.
\n
\nAfterwards, we went to the Stevens Institute of Technology bowling\nalley, and I rolled a series of three bowling games.  Although I\nthrew some great balls, I tended to step over the foul line and this\nparticular alley made sure not to count two of my strikes and one seven\npin frame, so I didn’t even break 100 on my first game.  I plan on\ngoing bowling more this school year.
\n
\nTomorrow will be Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park (if we can get\ntickets this time) and Saturday will be my second short story event at\nColumbia.  The short story events involve a bunch of people (who I\nmet through Tucker) collecting together and reading aloud their\nfavorite short stories.  It’s simple, envigorating, and human to\nlisten to others tell stories.  Lately, attendees have been\nencouraged to write their own short stories to tell at the next\nsession.  I might attempt to bring this concept to Olin.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-22T23:26:21-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/23/today-i-received.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/19/i-have-spent.html", "content_html": "

I have spent the last few days with little social interaction.
\n
\nToday when my friend Mara came to my room I started blabbing about a\nmillion different things, because I had saved up stuff to talk\nabout.  I must have appeared quite manic.  She seemed OK with\nit though and manically spoke back so I guess it was fine.
\n
\nOver the course of the last two days I have decided that the world is starting to fall apart.  Here is my evidence:

\n\nIn addition, I have found myself reading all about Bobby Fischer,\nperhaps the world's best chess player ever, and certainly the chess\nworld's most outspoken anti-Semitic anti-American reclusive\nnutcase.  Bobby Fischer praised the September 11 attacks on a\nPhilippines radio broadcast and went against a presidential order in\n1992 to play a chess game in Yugoslavia.  He was found the other\nday at Narita International Airport in Japan and is in the process of\nbeing extradited to the United States to stand trial.  His website is a hilarious mish-mash of misplaced criticisms and paranoid banter.
\n
\nBut they hauntingly reminded me of the website of a certain Sam Sloan.  Here is a small list of similarities:
\n\nHowever, Sam Sloan is not a wanted criminal and is instead running for\nthe House of Representatives in the Bronx.  He also is the last\nperson to have represented himself to the Supreme Court.  He won\nhis case 9-0.  By the time the decision was rendered, it seems he\nwas in a prison in Afghanistan, which he escaped from soon thereafter.
\n
\nAnyway my current theory is that the \"savant syndrome\", which I am reading about in my book Phantoms of the Brain by\nRamachandran, is at play.  Both of these men are great chess\nminds,\nyet both seem horribly paranoid, constantly reinvent their lives, and\nproselytize their bizarre and specific views through verbose text-based\nwebsites.  Socially I think their lives are completely complex\nmesses, and yet they maintain a careful constant determination to\nsucceed in whatever they do above all.
\n
\nSo, yeah, that's what I've been up to.
\n
\nOn Saturday, after a failed attempt by Tucker and Mara to get us\nShakespeare in the Park  tickets, I wandered alone through the\nstreets of the Morningside Heights district of Manhattan, between 123rd\nand 110th Streets.
\n
\n\"Mailbox
\n
\n\"123rd
\n
\nThis view shows the red line of the subway as it becomes an\nelevated train.  I live on the street right where it comes\nout.  122nd St. goes over the subway, 124th Street goes under the\nelevated track, and 123rd St. runs right into the point of intersection\nand abruptly ends.
\n
\n\"Elevated
\n
\nMy weekend also involved a lot of reading.  I finished the final half of the Ramachandran book and read some of Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing,\nwhich I borrowed from my Biology (and Art) professor Helen\nDonis-Keller.  This book ties right in with the Ramachandran book,\nexpanding on the cognition of seeing and applying it to the world of\nart.
\n
\nI am enrolled in a three student course with Prof. Donis-Keller for\nthis fall semester called The Intersection of Art and Science. \nPersonally, I cannot wait.  I have always obsessed over the senses\nand the function of the brain, and the small size of the course means I\nwill get a good chance to explore with a lot of guidance from my\nprofessor.  I often disagree with her, both politically and\nartistically at times, but appreciate her perspective because it often\ncatches me off guard and forces me to reconsider what I am doing.
\n
\nTomorrow I go bowling in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Soon I will have an update for the Grant Bowls! page of my sister site Grant Page Central,\nwhich is in dire need of an update.  My plan is to convert Grant\nPage Central into a static content site of my musical works, some\nwritings, and of course bowling scores, while letting this page, Grant\nPage X, be my blog.
\n\n", "date_published": "2004-07-18T23:48:52-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/19/i-have-spent.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/16/hello-everyone-i.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.  I have several important Grant updates for the last couple days.
\n
\nLast Tuesday, July 13, 2004, I went to the free Fountains of Wayne\nconcert at the World Financial Center downtown.  The World\nFinancial Center is right across the street from the World Trade Center\nsite.  I snapped this pic of the new WTC station that opened up\nearlier this year:
\n
\n\"Wtc
\n
\nAnyway I made my way to the back side of the big huge indoor Winter\nGarden at the WFC, where all sorts of people started crowding around\nthe stage outside.
\n
\n\"Wfc
\n
\nThey played a good set and poked a little fun.  At one point, the\nlead singer changed around some lyrics to Radiation Vibe for old\ndiehard fans like me to pick up, since parents and kids made up the\nmajority of the audience due to the newfound recent success of their\nlatest album.  They came out for a double encore, which now marks\nthe second time I’ve seen them do a double encore, although both times\nit seemed like they weren’t planning to.
\n
\n\"Fountains
\n
\nI was worried I wouldn’t hear “The Biker Song” this time, but they\nfinally played it in the double encore, so this concert marks the first\ntime in a while that the band played every song I wanted to hear. \nHmm, well all except “Troubled Times” I guess.  The band hails\nfrom New Jersey, and many of their songs deal with places in New Jersey\nor New York City, which made the show even better.  My favorite\nsong by them right now, “Sick Day”, takes place on a PATH train from\nNew Jersey, so after the show I got them to sign my PATH Quick Card,\nalthough they seemed confused at first as to the reference.  On\ntop of that they seemed a little drunk and partially deaf,\nunfortunately.
\n
\nThe lead singer, Chris Collingwood said that he used to work in this building on the 35th floor (he’s the one on the right):
\n
\n\"35th
\n
\nOn Thursday I again tried out for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the\ndaily version.  This time I passed the test and got to the\ninterview process.  They took a Polaroid of me and the interviewer\nseemed pretty interested in several things that I had to say, so in\nthree or four weeks I will know if I am eligible to be on the show.
\n
\nAfter that, I met up with Leighton and we went to the lounge of the new\nMandarin Oriental hotel up on the 35th floor.  Here was our view\nof Central Park:

\"Central
\n
\nAfter that we had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Eatery with\nprices much lower than the quality of the food.  After that we\nwent hotel lobby hopping and ended up at a really posh lobby at W Hotel\nin Times Square and the incredible world’s largest lobby at the New\nYork Marriott Marquis:
\n
\n\"Nyc
\n
\nYes, this picture was taken indoors.  To give a little\nperspective, those are balconies off of each floor which face down into\nthe atrium.  Leighton took a business call, and I relaxed and\nalmost fell asleep:
\n
\n\"Leighton
\n
\nAfter that I returned to the apartment and fell asleep for six\nhours.  I have ruined my daily schedule entirely, so now I’m going\nto go program some more for the software project Tucker and I work on\nall the time.
\n
\nCiao.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-16T00:04:29-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/16/hello-everyone-i.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/13/saturday-the-fabled.html", "content_html": "

Saturday the fabled trip to Staten Island finally took place.  We\nhopped on the red line subway and transferred to the Staten Island\nFerry, a big free boat.
\n
\nStanding at the extreme front of the ship offered this view:
\n
\n\"Staten
\n
\nI have now seen both Statues of Liberty.  After the French donated the statue, they erected a smaller copy in Paris, which I saw by chance out of the side of a train car during my trip there two years ago.
\n
\nUpon arriving on Staten Island, we proceeded to the New York Chinese\nScholar’s Garden\nat the Staten Island Botanical Garden.  For everyone less familiar\nwith New York City, Staten Island makes up a large portion of New York\nCity, and is one of the five boroughs along with Manhattan, Queens, the\nBronx, and Brooklyn.  Staten Island is mostly surburban as opposed\nto the other boroughs, featuring malls instead of skyscrapers.
\n
\nHowever, the Chinese Scholars Garden, the first of its kind in the\nUnited States, offered an escape from the trappings of city life:
\n
\n\"Garden
\n
\nOK, this first picture wasn’t from the Chinese Scholar Garden per se,\nbut instead from a smaller garden within the botanical garden.
\n
\n\"Garden
\n
\nThis mosaic was made by a traditional Chinese scholar garden artist who\nuses materials around him.  The white parts were rice bowls he\nbroke from the kitchen without asking and the green parts are Heineken\nbottles.
\n
\n\"Garden
\n
\nWe continued to a blatant “secret” garden, which was closed. \nSince we had paid for admission, we felt it acceptable to hop onto the\nwall and sit for awhile.  As the photographer, I do not appear in\nthese photos.
\n
\n\"Secret
\n
\nAfterwards Tucker impressively hopped onto a nearby and somewhat inaccessible tree:
\n
\n\"Garden
\n
\nWe ended the day by watching King Arthur, which not unlike Lord of the\nRings did not strike my fancy.  I did manage to stay awake for\nthis one, fighting hard at times.  I did enjoy the show for what\nit was, but I could not suspend disbelief long enough to really care\nabout what was going on.
\n
\nToday at work during my lunch break a bird flew over and perched on my outside table in the rain:
\n
\n\"Bird
\n
\nHe rejected my offer of a small morsel of tomato (the red spot in the\npicture), but violently grabbed Tucker’s offering of a little piece of\nbread and cheese and flew away fast enough that he could be sure we\ncouldn’t reconsider.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-12T23:37:53-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/13/saturday-the-fabled.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/10/hello-everyone-today.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.  Today I didn’t take any pictures, so I will pull some from my summer archives.

\n
\n

On June 26, 2004, several other Olin students and I toured the city.  I\nsnapped this picture of the Empire State Building while laying down on\nthe sidewalk:

\n
\n\"Empire
\n
\nOn July 4, 2003, I found this abandoned building or parking garage in Brooklyn:
\n
\n\"Bklyn
\n
\nThe weather was beautiful today when I emerged from my apartment for the\nfirst time at about 8:00 to eat Subway sandwiches at Grant's\nTomb.  On the way to Subway, I passed the General Grant Houses,\nwhich this picture from July 8, 2004, showcase in front of the elevated\nsubway train just south of 125th Street and Broadway:
\n
\n\"General
\n
\nTucker and I cook many of our meals, including this Thai chicken dish\nthat Mara from downstairs helped us out with on June 16, 2004:
\n
\n\"Thai
\n
\nHopefully once the burners start burning again we will make some more\nmeals, but the cooking has slowed down considerably in recent weeks.
\n
\nToday I thought about how I don't watch much television and how many of\nmy hobbies involve creating things.  I considered how much more\nfulfilling I find life when I have something concrete to reflect on\nfrom my past.
\n
\nMy friend Jon often complains that he has trouble finding things to do\nwhich don't involve \"consuming\", be it food or media or just generally\nspending money on useless things.  He genuinely means what he's\nsaying, but more often than not he brings the concept up in a ploy to\nget the gang to do something we never would have otherwise, from\ninviting fifty people to a marshmallow roast in his backyard to Pong\ntournaments (with commentary from the announcer, of course) to a\nrousing game of croquet right before I left for New York City.
\n
\nSo my charge unto you the reader is:  go do something you haven't\ndone before.  Make a kite and fly it.  Go shopping for\nantiques.  See if bread really does land on the floor butter side\ndown every time.  Plant some flowers.
\n
\nAnd please tell me what you did so that I can have more ideas.
\n", "date_published": "2004-07-10T01:17:52-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/10/hello-everyone-today.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/09/to-appease-all.html", "content_html": "

To appease all of my kitchen ceiling’s fans, presenting the final installment of the Kitchen Ceiling Chronicles:
\n
\n\"Fixed
\n
\nShe’s a beauty.  The kitchen has returned to normal, except that\nnow the gas range and stove do not light themselves.  Therefore,\nwe our celebratory tuna sandwiches went uncooked.  However, all\nwas not lost.  I discovered the new entry to our kitchen today, a\nmirror nailed to a cabinet door:
\n
\n\"Kitchen
\n
\nThis mirror reflects a style found throughout the apartment.
\n
\nToday I did laundry at B. Bubbles, Inc.
\n
\n\"B
\n
\nWhile there, I snapped a picture of a man lugging far more cans down\nthe street than I could ever hope for, a commonplace occurrence in a big\ncity such as this one.
\n
\n\"Guy
\n
\nToday I finished a book I had borrowed from Tucker called The Evolution of Useful Things: How everyday artifacts—from forks and pins to paper clips and zippers—came to be as they are.  I’ve finished two books so far this summer.  The first was The Crying of Lot 49\nby Thomas Pynchon, which I found very captivating, despite its immensely\nobscure references and themes.  One of my life goals is to finish\nPynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow,\na most dense and unfriendly book which introduces ridiculous characters\nnonstop and shoots around from the history of plastic to political\ntheory to differential equations to German folk songs often within one\nsentence.
\n
\nBut for now, the next book on my list is the Olin College summer reading, Phantoms in the Brain,\nby V.S. Ramachandran, M.D., Ph.D. and Sandra Blakeslee, a book\nconcerning cognitive syndromes and how they reveal insights into our\nown mental functions.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-08T23:29:11-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/09/to-appease-all.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/08/hello-everyone-time.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone.  Time for the daily kitchen ceiling update. \nMy cell phone alarm did not go off because I had it set to “Ringer\noff”.  Personally I’d rather have the alarm go off regardless of\nthe ringer setting.  However, my late start this morning meant\nthat I was fifteen minutes late to work today, allowing me to witness\nthe arrival of three painters.  Here is their ladder:
\n
\n\"Kitchen
\n
\nThe kitchen ceiling now looks like\nthis:
\n
\n\"Somewhat
\n
\nCertainly not as nice as before but now the kitchen is usable again.  Tomorrow we will make tuna sandwiches to celebrate.
\n
\nHere is my itinerary for next week:
\n
\n
\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n \n
Saturday, July 10, 2004
\n		The long-awaited trip to Staten Island might occur on this date if I push hard enough.
\n
Tuesday, July 13, 2004Maybe I will\ngo see Fountains of Wayne play a free show.  It's first-come\nfirst-served, so I'm not sure if I would be able to make it in time.
Thursday, July 15, 2004My\nsecond audition time for \"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?\" will\nhopefully see me get past the pre-test and get the interview.  I\nthink I could kill in an interview, but maybe I'm overconfident.
Thursday, July 15, 2004My roommate from this previous\nyear, Mr. Leighton Ige, will visit New York City for the day.  We\nwill probably go catch dinner.
\n

\nOn July 4, 2004, I found this stairway in a subway station:
\n
\n\"Subway
\n
\nHave a nice day.
\n", "date_published": "2004-07-07T23:22:19-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/08/hello-everyone-time.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/07/ceiling-update-the.html", "content_html": "

Ceiling update:  The waterproof latex paint that caught the water\nand sagged down off of the ceiling has mysteriously disappeared,\nleaving behind dripping scars.
\n\"Torn
\n
\nOther than that, a most uneventful day.  I got a new assignment at\nwork, which will be my first PHP + MySQL web application ever.
\n
\nSome pigeons:
\n\"Pigeons\"
\n
\nAnd finally, a picture of the Guggenheim that I took on June 20, 2004:
\n\"Guggenheim\"

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-06T23:51:16-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/07/ceiling-update-the.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/05/hello-everyone-and.html", "content_html": "

Hello everyone and welcome to New York City.
\n
\nYou’re on 123rd Street between Amsterdam and Broadway:
\n\"My
\n
\nYou approach 522 W 123rd St., affectionately known as “The Lorraine”
\n\"The
\n
\nWhy it’s named The Lorraine I will never know.  No other building\nanywhere near has a name.  After going up a couple flights of\nstairs you find yourself in Apt. 3W and enter.
\n
\nYou stop by the kitchen:
\n\"Sky
\n
\nYou look up at the ceiling:
\n\"Ceiling
\n
\nYou notice that something doesn’t look right, and it’s not just that\nthe light fixture is an uncovered power-saving fluorescent bulb that is\nconnected by thinly insulated wires which go right behind the\nelectrical sockets and are held to the side of the wall by metal screws\nthrough the insulation which are painted white.  Those bulbs are\nin the other rooms.  The kitchen has a problem all its own.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-05T22:03:56-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/05/hello-everyone-and.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/05/this-morning-i.html", "content_html": "

This morning I was awakened by two Chinese men asking me if I had a\n“twisted pair wire cutter thing”, which meant an ethernet cable\ncrimper.  One was the landlord and the other was the father of the\ntwo high school kids who will be moving into our apartment.  We\nnetworked the entire house today.
\n
\nAfter that, Tucker baked some cookies using his old recipe from his mother.  We noticed a large bulge in the ceiling.
\n
\n\"Bulge\"
\n
\nLooks like a leak from the floor above somehow.  Our apartment\nused to be three bedrooms, but two of the bedrooms were split with\ncheap fake walls, which were put right on top of the carpet. \nTucker slid a wire under the wall between our rooms when we wired the\nhouse up.  It’s nice to know that we can slide things to each\nother under the wall at any time.
\n
\nI had a great Fourth of July!  I tagged along with Tucker and his\nfriends and went to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge) to watch\npurportedly the largest fireworks show in the nation.
\n
\n\"Bklynfireworks\"
\n
\nYou can see the Brooklyn Bridge right in front of the fireworks, which\nwere a couple miles from us just south of the tip of Manhattan.
\n
\nWe were on some rocks right next to the Brooklyn-side pylon of the\nManhattan Bridge:
\n\"Dumbo\"
\n
\nThe skyline looked like this:
\n\"Bklynskyline\"
\n
\nToday I downloaded Fahrenheit 9/11 after I read that Michael Moore\ndoesn’t care if people pirate his movie.  I will watch it soon,\nprobably with my friend Mara from downstairs.  I previewed the\nfirst few minutes and found a lot of hype without a lot of argument, as\nI expected.  You can download Fahrenheit 9/11 too, while supplies last. (UPDATE: you will need BitTorrent in order to download it, and this version is missing about 20 minutes concerning the Patriot Act)
\n
\nThe only things I ate today were several of Tucker’s cookies and a bowl of Chilled Gazpacho soup from Josie’s.  Tomorrow might be another Taco Bell day.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-04T23:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/05/this-morning-i.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/03/hello-again-everyone.html", "content_html": "

Hello again everyone.  I have just returned from Spiderman 2, and\nI loved it.  I am a big sucker for comic book movies.  I read\na review today on Yahoo! Movies:

\nIn a time when losers decide to profit off dead Americans and reek\npropaganda unseen since the fall of the Soviets, comes a movie worth\nevery penny! A movie that assumes that we’re not all brainless idiots!\nHowever, just people looking for a solid sense of entertainment in\ncontrary to hidden issues masking political bloopers, infamous\nouttakes, and puppetry of audience perception.
So\nas all of my more liberal friends groan, I want to touch on why I love\nthe concept of comic books and superheroes.  I feel that the\nclassic characters, from Spiderman to Batman and everywhere in between,\nrepresent a lot of what goes on in American life.  Watching Peter\nParker not meet rent while I’m paying rent for the first time, and\nseeing him go around New York, my current home, and Columbia\nUniversity, my current employer, bring reality into such a fake movie.
\n
\nAnd one of the classic Spiderman messages is so uplifting in my\nopinion.  It’s not that doing the right thing will get you\nahead.  It’s not that being a superhero will make everyone love\nyou, or even give you self-confidence.  The main message I heard\nfrom the movie is to work, work, work.  When you know what you’re\ndoing is the right thing, work at it.  When you’re not sure, keep\non working.  Just get through it all and leave it better than you\nfound it.
\n
\nOne of my favorite songs is The Noise of Carpet by Stereolab. \nThis song rocks way more than the remainder of their often-mellow,\nalways obscure fare.  Somehow I love the mix of the unabashed guitar-driven music and the deadpanned yet quite firm lyrics:

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ti hate to see your broken face
\nthis world would give you anything
\nas long as you will want to
\nas long as you will want to
\ni hate your state of hopelessness
\nand that vain articulateness
\nyour loser type wreck wanna be
\nnot a pretty sight really
\nin another world it'd be funny

\ni hate to see your broken face
\na lazy life of fatal waste
\nof fashionable cynicism
\nthe poison they want you to drink
\noh no man that's too easy
\noh no man that's too easy
\nwe weren't talking bout happiness
\napply your leading potential
\nto be useful to this planet
\nthe world would give you anything
\nas long as you will want to
\nas long as you will want to\n
Some might see a few of those lines as being bitter. \nSure, they are, but what better thing to be bitter about than the\ncynics who are not willing to work to improve their situation? \nDon't get me wrong, I think cynicism is incredibly important in life,\nbut the next time you're down, just do something to make things better.\n", "date_published": "2004-07-03T22:54:34-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/03/hello-again-everyone.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] }, { "id": "http://nertzy.micro.blog/2004/07/03/i-told-myself.html", "content_html": "

I told myself I would never stoop to such a level as having a website I didn’t code myself.  But then I succumbed.
\n
\nDan told me that in order to have a good blog I can’t just talk about\nwhat I’ve been up to.  I need to talk about the ideas I’m having\nand try to make my blog something worth reading.  Challenge\naccepted.
\n
\nMy first big idea:  I’ve tried to eliminate my usage of\nexclamation points recently.  I realized that if what I’m saying\nneeds an exclamation point in order to get its point across, I haven’t\nwritten it effectively.  I often catch myself putting exclamation\npoints on every other sentence of emails I write, especially the CORe\nDigest.  I might leave them in for the CORe Digest since I’m not\nexactly going to take the trouble to strip them out by hand from what\npeople send me.
\n
\nIf you’re not from Olin you probably don’t care one bit about the CORe\nDigest.  For the curious, I put out a weekly email newsletter to\nthe campus as part of my role on the student government.

\n", "date_published": "2004-07-03T00:12:27-06:00", "url": "https://blog.nertzy.com/2004/07/03/i-told-myself.html", "tags": ["From the Archive","Xanga"] } ] }