I just bought real estate in your mind.

I am coming for my bandsaw...

2008-08-10T16:03:00.005-04:00

Here is the finished GPS tracker:

Next on the list is to put it in a broken laptop (bait).

First working GPS track

2008-08-09T14:30:00.002-04:00

Yay!

I wish all thieves had one big neck...

2008-08-02T16:18:00.002-04:00

so I can put my hands around it and choke the living hell out of all of them at once!

Ok, I am really not that mad, but still! My bandsaw was stolen from my trunk among other valuables. I was in the process of moving from one place to another, so I don't even know what else was taken. My car sprung a leak, so I took it to the dealership. They either left it unlocked or someone from the shop took it since there was no damage to the car.

I am building a GPS tracker to try and bait this person. Just waiting for the parts to arrive...

.. / .-.. . .- .-. -. . -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . .-.-.-

2008-07-11T00:37:00.002-04:00

Today I had a delightful discovery. I overheard my sister's ringtone and realized it is morse code for sms. When I told her of this discovery she didn't believe me! So I guess I am alone in the revelation. :)

-.-- --- ..- / ... .... --- ..- .-.. -.. / .-.. . .- .-. -. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / - --- --- .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- / --- .-. / .--- ..- ... - / ..- ... . / .- / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. .-.-.-

By your command.

2006-11-01T03:30:00.000-05:00

First off, let me shamelessly showcase my latest waste of time. The cylon pumpkin:

(I tried to get their camera techniques in that one!)

It was a fun little project and I learned something about digital logic so I wouldn't say it was a -complete- waste of time, though I did get some funny responses:

[19:30] Z: also, i finished my pumpkin
[19:31] Z: have you ever heard of battle star galactica?
[19:31] alex: heard of yes
(sent pictures)
[19:34] Z: the circuit was a pain in the ass
[19:34] alex: you need a girlfriend
[19:35] Z: ahahaha

Alright, a little side rant here. This show is wonderful. Clearly, the best show on TV. (I am not talking about the cheesy one from the 1980s*, I am talking about the new one) Now, I know what you are thinking, “… pssha, what a dork,” but know this. When Jesse turned me on to it, I, too, did not want to watch it. But I did, and am hooked.

If you have never seen it… go download season one and give it a try. Seriously. They have super secret “Lost” clips combined with the next “American Idol” laced with free money or something. I don’t care what I have to say to get you to try it.

If you enjoy the show and have trouble getting others to even give it a chance, try this. Don’t mention what it’s called. Just say, “Hey, Watch this. It is not Battle star Galactica.”

Rant over. My life has been consumed with working on a proposal for NASA lately which we just finished. It was a monster of a proposal totaling 70 pages and weighing 15 ounces. It cost 4 dollars simply to mail the beast. If I am lucky, it will be accepted and I will be selected to fly on a DC-9 which has been stripped of seats and had padding added, where I will experience microgravity in bursts of 20 seconds followed by accelerations up to 2-gs to test our tether satellite!

(Pssstt, Anyone else thinking I should modify the cylon lights to turn my shitty camaro into nightrider?)

*I remember watching this as a kid and they always did this super corny zoom on the joystick of the fighters whenever they fired the missiles. There were three buttons: Afterburners, missiles, and a mysterious one. I still wonder what that third one is for. Could it possibly be for love? We will never know.

I wonder how many successful people have the same sleeping schedule as me?

2006-08-12T05:38:00.000-04:00

A really jacked schedule.

I'm not too sure why being awake at an ungodly hour of the night is so inspiring. You can compare me to Bird Man if you replace the sun with a deprivation of sleep and solar powers with the willingness to do something. And ignore the whole "wings protruding out of the back" and the "ability to fly" thing. And I don't fight crime. Or wear the same thing everyday. So I'm not much like Bird Man, but there is still something about the morning twilight hours that motivates me and I'd like to know why.

In other news, I recently was ill for a while. Why was I ill you might ask? Me and a buddy decided that we would go camping, "roughing it" if you will. Of course, packing for this made me giddy like a little school girl. Finally, a chance to use my survival tools and wit! Ziplock bag those Vaseline soaked cotton balls! Tie those bowline knots! (oh wait… that's boating) Long story short, as much as I want to be like Anthony Hopkins from The Edge (Thank you IMDB), I think my survival game needs a little work. Especially the cooking of the raw meats over an open flame. (I shouldn't be that bad at it.) Though, I will still use our paper thin cooler as my scapegoat. I did enjoy myself though, setup the telescope to see Jupiter, ran uphill through mosquito infested lands, and the delicious smoooores...

Is it wrong to make smores over a stove? I am tempted but I bet cleaning will be a bitch.

You can call me Mister Dot Smooth

2006-02-13T03:06:00.000-05:00

As you may know, I own a set of lockpicks. Why do I own a set of lockpicks you may ask yourself. Well, that’s not really important.* Now some may call these burglary tools, but I am completely harmless. See, the thing is, I teach class at about 7:30 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My professor isn't there until around 8:00 AM or so. And since he has the only set of keys to open the room door, it makes it kind of difficult for me to, you know, teach. I asked him for a copy of the keys, which, he said he couldn't legally make. So, being the problem-solving chap that I am, I showed the set of picks and informed him that I would be in the classroom at 7:30 AM next morning. He, of course, chuckled.

I arrive early to my building around 7:25 AM with a lockpicks and tension wrenches in one hand and a Panera Bread sandwich in the other (courtesy of Sam). It’s pretty early; the halls are pretty empty making for a perfect environment for a little thievery practice. I set my bag down, next to Room 209, insert a tension wrench, start off with my favorite pick, and get to work. Occasionally, students will cross the halls. Now, I don't want them to think that I am, after all, a real thief and go call the cops. That would be quite messy and, more importantly, unprofessional. Whenever I would hear the footsteps, I would simply let the pick drop into my sleeve, and act like I am pulling out the mouth-watering sandwich.

Now, I am by no means skilled in this art. I have no criminal record (surprisingly) and only can pick a few small-time locks. So, after about 30 minutes of raking the pins to no avail, I got quite frustrated. I hear footsteps down the hall, matching the beat with a jingle of keys. I make with the "going for the sandwich" act when I hear a somewhat aggressive voice behind me.

"Excuse me, Can I, uh, help you?"

I fling around to see, standing before me, an officer, dressed in full uniform. Seems the 'Professional' left his tension wrench in the lock. Now, in my mind raced all the different ways I could approach talking myself out of this. Lets just say, I could have done better.

Z: "I.... uh.... work here."
PO: "You work here...?"
Z: "Uhhhh. yes."
PO: "What exactly were you doing there?"
Z: "Ummm..., trying to open this door..?"
PO: You mean, like, breaking and entering?
Z: "Noooot entirely. You see, I work here."
PO: "You work here?"
Z: "I am a tutor here, I, uh, have a class in here."
PO: "Where is your class?"
Z: "Ummm, good question." (They barely show up, and today none did, but I wasn't about to begin explaining the lack of responsibility students have in lower educational classes to take steps to achieve a better grade.)
PO: "So you were trying to break this lock and get inside for...?"
Z: "To teach my class."
PO: "But you were trying to break into this room, correct?"
Z: "Let’s go downstairs and talk to my professor whom I work for and who should be in his office. He knows I was doing this and will help us sort this out."
PO: "Alright, why don't you grab your stuff?"

At this point, I was praying my professor would be in his office because he is not exactly known for his punctuality. If he wasn't, I would probably be in lock and key down at the Farmington Police Station getting my fingerprints taken.

As he escorts me down the stairs he asks, "Where did you get those?"
"The internet."
"Figures."

I fling open the door at the end of the stairway and pause for a second, to find, across from me, my professor’s office wide open with the lights on. I marched proudly past the secretary, Wanda. At first, she greeted me with a smile, and after seeing the cop follow, quickly changed her expression to a frown. I leaped into the office with the greeting, "Hi professor! Guess what...? I got caught." His appearance was somewhat surprised and confused until the cop turned the corner into the office.

My professor bursts out into laughter. A good roaring laughter that lasted a couple minutes. You know, a real side splitter. After my professor explained to the officer that I work here and assured him I would never try it again, the officer left reluctantly. I sat down in his comfy visitor seat and dropped my bag to the floor. We stared at each other for a second, with a smirk on our faces, until we both, in unison, busted out into laughter.

Z: "So….. yeah. I guess I don't make a very good criminal."
Prof: "You know that’s not exactly a bad thing.
(brief pause)
Z: "I shouldn't do that again, should I?"
Prof: "I don't think MIT shines upon students who have criminal records."
Z: "The sad thing is, I couldn't even get the lock to open."
(another pause)
Z: "... As in, give me the keys. I have a class to teach."

*All the cool kids do.

Proof of Insanity

2006-01-29T11:18:00.000-05:00

First off, I know this post is a month late, live with it. My trip to Pakistan was amazing, completely different than what I expected. However, PIA, the airlines we used cross continental (sometimes referred to as "Please Inform Allah"), was run by a bunch of shitheads. Nevertheless, the trip was great.

But this post is not about Pakistan. It is about the recent evidence I have uncovered. Evidence of my insanity. While putzing around on AIM, I have found this old conversation I had with yours truly. I believe it was around the time I discovered that I could message myself.

Enjoy.

[13:39] ZHM26: how can a man be so sexy and so awesome?
[13:39] zhm26: how can a man be so sexy and so awesome?
[13:39] ZHM26: its hard but i try.
[13:39] zhm26: its hard but i try.
[13:39] ZHM26: well, you try hard.
[13:39] zhm26: well, you try hard.
[13:39] ZHM26: thanks
[13:39] zhm26: thanks
[13:39] ZHM26: but it aint no thing.
[13:39] zhm26: but it aint no thing.
[13:40] ZHM26: you do know, you are talking to yourself. that's a sign of insanity
[13:40] zhm26: you do know, you are talking to yourself. that's a sign of insanity
[13:40] ZHM26: so is paying 8 dollars to go see the new matrix movies, but you know.
[13:40] zhm26: so is paying 8 dollars to go see the new matrix movies, but you know.
[13:40] ZHM26: well, this was a satisfying conversation.
[13:40] zhm26: well, this was a satisfying conversation.
[13:40] ZHM26: wish I could say the same.
[13:40] zhm26: wish I could say the same.

Oh, and I started a new regiment I am really proud of. 6AM Mon-Fri I will be found in the weights room. My buddies have already started a pool for how long this is going to last.

Pakiland!

2005-11-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

In 24 hours I will be half way around the world, so I am excited to say the least (as usual). It's always a smart idea to go to a 3rd world country near war and turmoil, but I have always been a man of smart ideas, like frying bacon without a shirt...

Anyways, I have a ton of pictures I had been meaning to post and more coming soon, but, you know.

If I am not back that means either I joined my brethren in training for Al Qaeda or my poor translation of asking "Where is the phone?" sounded more like "Your mother was a beef stick and your father is dipped in soy sauce."

I see you! In the dark!

2005-10-01T01:45:00.000-04:00

Winter is on its way and its going to blow. Big time. But as warm weather nears the end, so did a lot of my projects.

The club house is finished (for a while actually), and although I didn't do the painting, I must say, it looks quite 'hella good'.

What's a club house with out the good ol' electrical juice?

I like this sign way more than one would think.

When I asked what they were up to, their response was "Chillin' like a villain."

Damn right that's tile! The peel and stick kind. We cheated. Sorta.

Now, after a job well done I needed to treat myself. So, I decided to build some night vision goggles. I used a cheap CVS disposable digital camera that cost me 30 bucks.

Untouched Camera

Electrical porn...

So everyone tells me that I need a clean workstation to get anything done. Yeah, right. Oh, and that orange juice carton? Opened it that morning, finished that night. God I love that stuff.

After removing the IR filter from lens, my camera can detect a lower spectrum of light. It was extremely fun to use my TV remote as a flashlight. I decided to mount an array of IR emitters to the case for the light.

Those Medusa like wires will hookup to a USB connector as soon as I can find the right piece. Once that is done I will be able to upload recorded video for your viewing pleasure.

The screen is more blurry then expected, I don't know if the camera is just cheap or if it has to do with the fact that I scratched the lens 3 times in a row.... hmmm.

It works but isn't nearly finished. I am going to add a red filter to the screen so it doesn't ruin the eyes night adjustment, an eyepiece so no one else can see the emitted visible light, and mount it to a headset for handfreeness. And for cosmetics, black. Black always looks cool on spy stuff. Always.

Chainsaw anyone?

2005-09-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

I can't stop laughing.

I just can't.

Am I wasting my 8 dollars on this pos? Hell yeah.

Hiatus Over, bitch.

2005-08-16T00:21:00.000-04:00

So, it’s a little past Wednesday, but you forgive me, right? Sure ya do, crawling back like a druggie in need of his/her fix, but it’s alright. Everything is -all- right.

Saying I have been busy is a bit of an understatement. So I'll start from square one. Airport Security no more. That’s right folks, feel afraid. You no longer have Zahid's watchful eye keeping the nation safe, one lighter at a time. I have handed off these monumental responsibilities to Jesse, brilliant sea operations commander, becoming man and machine. Power Xtreme.

I gained employment at OCC, becoming the tutor for the math lab. Now, you might start thinking that by employment, I meant work. Oh no, you couldn't be more mistaken. They pay me to sit in a room all day and the benefits are amazing. Before diving into what I actually do, let me expand on the benefits briefly. Actually, before I briefly bespeak the blessed bonus benefits, let me discuss the actual room. It is a large carpeted sector with huge windows overlooking the entrance/stairs. There are two computers sitting in the diagonal corners, which I have taken the liberty to install a huge library of ripped music as well as the classic game, Doom. IDDQD IDKFA (I still remember!) There are a variety of tables with comfy spinning chairs as well as a "cushiness meant for the gods" chair which I seek out immediately whenever I enter. There are huge white dry erase boards covering one wall from edge to edge and a rack constantly holding new markers filled to the brim with ink just waiting for me to waste on doodles. A small coffee shop in walking distance and vending machines below makes this a haven of sorts.

But what really makes this place gold are the benefits.

Best Buy had hot chicks occasionally. Whenever our brethren, dressed in blue, spotted a 'mark' as it were, they would alert us with the code, "Ten Four." Now "10-4" was not something to be used lightly, thrown around, here or there, like a sticky note. No no, "10-4" is serious business. Falsely calling "10-4s" is reprehensible and often results in excommunication or death. For those of you who haven’t caught on yet, “10-4s” are reserved for the complete package. Face, arms, legs, chest, abs, and buttocks. All of those must be within a tolerance of a millionth of a nanometer of perfect. Now, the airport is always bustling with “10-4s”. Yes, bustling. The crappiness of the airport itself tended to take away any chance, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of what could have happened. But tutoring over the summer? My phone’s contact list never flourished as much before. And those huge windows? Perfect view as they climb the stairs. To say the least, I am distracted.

But what do I actually do? You would think math? Barely. They want me to teach “good study skills.” Which, if you know me, doesn’t quite work. I answer each question with, “Well, what does your notes/book say?” or “You can do it! Think!” and my favorite, “Say it with some confidence!” All while being bathed in their beauty. True bliss.

I have already written more than I would have liked so I save all the other events for another time. I will be updating more often, so expect more. (Don’t I say that every time?)

P.S. Im your pusher man.

Jonny Quest!

2005-05-26T16:58:00.000-04:00

Hell yeah! None of that 'The Real Adventures' bullocks!

That is all.

The House of Clubs

2005-05-17T04:38:00.000-04:00

Abandon all hope, ye who enter,
is what my 10 year old sister wants as the sign above the club house I am building her.

That’s right. I am building her a club house. Not because I am a sweet and loving brother, but because I am a sucker, a big old sucker. It’s coming along. Slowly. I actually started this project a while ago, and its been sitting outside for about a year now. Yep, that’s me. I start shit and forget about it, though, I am trying real hard to finish all projects I start this summer.

Here are a few pictures:

Don’t poke too much fun at me, it’s the first time I’ve built anything like this and I am sorta winging it.

I finished fixing my boss's mom's lawn mower today. The poor thing was in terrible shape. Even the cutting blade was dulled to a round stub. But, I managed to squeeze the last bits of life out of this rusted piece of junk. Sadly, I have no updates on Helios Helper. I'll work on it tomorrow, maybe...

Speaking of tomorrow, I will be conducting my first tutor session at the OC. C. It should be a piece of cake and I am actually looking forward to it. I was planning on attending some quantum physics class Saturday mornings, but my physics professor seems to be dodging me. Other than that, life is good. I have a few more projects planned up my sleeves which will be revealed in good time.

And for god sakes, post a comment, it’s depressing, really.

Helios Progress

2005-05-06T23:03:00.000-04:00

Today, I woke up around 2 o'clock without the irritating buzz of an alarm clock. It was a calm and refreshing awakening. I haven't done that in a long time. Splashed some water on my face, threw on an old t-shirt and jeans, ate some leftover pizza, and I was good to go. I finally had some free time and I wasn't going to waste it. I immediately headed outside to work on solar cooker.

I almost forgot how satisfying it feels to build with my own hands. Anyways, I worked myself into a trance, constructing Helios Helper ‘til the sun went down, turned on the garage light, and hammered a little more.

I really like how this picture turned out.

It’s not finished, but little remains to be done. I have to strengthen the frame, install the skewer and lid, and then clean it up a bit. Fun stuff.

In other news, my right wrist is killing me. There has been dull pain for some time and I am not sure the metacarpal takedowns last night or bashing things with a hammer all day today, my favorite tool by the way, helped. For those of you who are dirty minded, my uncle beat you to the punch:

Me: My wrist has really been hurting lately. I think I have carpal tunnel syndrome.
Uncle: And you think it’s because of the karate...
Me: What?
Uncle: Nothing....
(laughter)

That’s pretty much all for now, and don't forget mother's day you ingrates.

Flame On

2005-04-22T23:40:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day for science! Actually, it was a pretty lousy day for science:

It rained outside.

I arrived 5 minutes after the mirror shop closed. (See Helios Helper)

My computer started to smoke. (See Cheap ass power supply purchased from Newegg.com where I will never shop at again)

After gutting my old computer and replacing the power supply, I could already tell, this would not be a good day for science. But wait! What's this? Bill Nye the science guy is back with a brand new show with more of an adult theme. More can be found here:

www.eyesofnye.org

Hmmm, maybe I spoke too soon. Now, if you haven't already heard, airports nationwide have a new law preventing anyone from taking lighters past security. Do not ask me why matches are allowed nor why this law wasn't put in 4 years ago, right after 9/11. It is not the government's business to make rational or logical decisions. Seeing how I work at security for the airport and the unknowing passengers didn't care enough to mail their 99 cent lighters home, they forfeited them to me. At least this place has one perk. In the interests of science (and me being a pyro), I took one apart and "modified" it.

In light of recent discovery and to tribute the great news about Bill Nye, I present to you, with no further delay:

The Viagra Lighter How-To of Science

1. Lets start out with a cheap 99 cent lighter, one that we wouldn't feel sorry for if we accidentally destroyed it.

Gotta root for the home state.

2. Read the warning label on the side, then disregard it.

Can you read this? Neither can I, so it must not be important.

3. Pry off the metal shroud by inserting a pen or screwdriver into the valve switch gap and pushing upwards.

Do not lose or damage the metal shroud as you will need it later.

4. Pop the intensity switch up and out of the gear, this will disengage it from the valve. Rotate it to the minus sign, reengage it by pushing down, and then crank it to the plus sign. DO THIS ONLY ONCE OR TWICE. NO MORE. Do remember, the gas contained inside is under pressure. If the flame goes back into the lighter, you have a grenade in your hand. I don't know about you, but I enjoy all my fingers attached.

5. Put the metal shroud back on. (Note: This is a very important step; do not light it without the metal shroud.) The metal shroud serves as a barrier from letting the flame reach the valve by blocking oxygen from entering.

6. Enjoy!

See? Bigger is better.

Warning: Do not do anything that is stated above. Only stupid people would do this. There is a possibility of the flame going down the lighter. Do not light it for very long. Do not light it in the house. Follow The Viagra Lighter How-To of Science at your own risk.

That is it for today; stay tuned for an update on the solar cooker as soon as finals are over!
UPDATE: For those in the Michigan area...

We do plan to air the program THE EYES OF NYE Mondays at 5 p.m. starting approximately September 12, 2005. Thanks for your interest.

Tim Rimer
Detroit Public TV

Can I get a "hells yeah"?

Hello Helios

2005-04-16T23:43:00.000-04:00

Since the dawn of man, people have harnessed the power of the sun (Get it? Dawn? I'm so funny on so many levels). From Francisco Scaramanga in "The Man with the Golden Gun", to the idle 8 year olds frying ants on their driveways, and back to that other James Bond movie where it was used for a giant killer death ray (what a shitty movie), man has used the sun for his own gains. I'm pretty sure evil geniuses everywhere would have a tough time trying to harness the power of moonlight or car alarms or something... But, besides giving women tans that make them ooo so sexy, what has the sun done for me? Lately?

Every second, 700 million tons of hydrogen are converted into helium ashes. In this process, 5 million tons of pure energy is released. Now why the hell isn't this pure raw energy being used to wash my dishes or do my taxes? Because, and lets not jest here, this work is for women. While cooking, cleaning, and 1040 forms are the domain of the female population (just kidding, please don't kick my ass, I love you all), there is an exception. That exception is outdoor cooking. So I have drawn up plans for my latest project, the Helios Helper:

The design is pretty simple: A curved mirror shaped as a parabola to focus the suns rays onto an axis where the skewer and food will go. Now don't get me wrong, I love burnt-to-the-crisp foods grilled in a 1150 degree bonfire as much as the next guy, but after the 'incident', propane sellers refuse to let me near their stores. This design will prove my manliness by cooking food with flame whose typical temperature is around 27,000,000 F and is 92,955,806.8 miles away. More updates will come when I can find the flexible mirror piece and if you suggest using aluminum foil I will have to cut you.

Not as great as legos, but...

2005-04-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

I was feeling a bit unproductive so I did this from 7:30 am to 10: 30 am. The real question is, why the hell was I up that early.

I am such a little kid.

Updates updates!

2005-03-18T02:05:00.000-05:00

Chiming in again, about a month past due...

I have been extremely busy. The trip to MIT was completely awesome, from scaling up to rooftops in the dead of night, crawling around in vents, to having a conversation with an old couple about how my luggage bag is a "danger" to society.

Evidently, when I was at the airport leaving Boston, I was confronted by grandma who fell over one a few years back and broke a hip, so she feels the need to yell at everyone who owns a bag and insists on using it to hold 'things' when they decide to travel. This time around, she is not going to let a bag get the best of her! She sure gave me a piece of her mind! I wish I was making that up. Now, although I deal with it pretty well, I am not a fan of confrontation, especially when it’s over something as stupid as this. So I made with the middle school girl act, mumbled something under my breath, rolled my eyes, and moved the bag.

Senior Community: 1
Zahid: 0

Now, I don't really care about moving my bag. What I do care about is that she and her husband were trying to mess with me. The waiting area was HUGE. There were rows and rows of empty seats and the only spots these guys could find were across from me. Then they walked (out of there way) near my bag to tell me that it still poses a threat. Freaking wow. I can't wait to get that old so I can have nothing to do but worry about useless shit like that.

Bitching aside, the trip was amazing. I stayed with Kelly who has one of the coolest dorms I have ever seen. It was crammed with technology as I would come to expect from a MIT dorm. She took me out on the roof of the building, across some ledges, and up a small section, which had a breath-taking view of the city to say the least. The icy ledges made me kind of nervous, but still great fun. I also had a chance to hang with some old friends, who just happened to be in town. Well, to be fair, Shaun was the only one visiting. We got a chance to roam around a bit and we all got together to hang with Sophie who's currently going to Harvard. She also has the best poster I have ever seen. Oh, and we stole free lunch from their cafeteria, which had that "Harvard" touch of being grossly over-extravagant. I walked the streets of Boston, checked out the MIT museum, and bugged the shit out of an admissions counselor so she would know me by name. I wonder if she still remembers me. Time to drop her another painfully ass-kissing filled email again. I am currently working on a project to use stepper motors to control an etch-a-sketch to print out a resume for them. Hopefully that might impress them enough. Other than that, my life has been work, study, sleep, work, and work. Lots of work. Finished black belt recertification, a physics test, a calc 2 test, bullshited a research paper (including facts!), all within the last week. Now I am focusing on revamping my resume, as I might be very close to getting a summer internship at soartech. I am very excited about that, because it sure would beat the hell out of my current job. Anyways, this is me getting back into the habit of posting again. Yay.

Excuse me sir. Where is delta baggage?

2005-02-28T01:40:00.000-05:00

As you may already know, I work security at the airport. Everyday, I am bombarded with hundreds of people, asking me where baggage claim is, when there is huge signs either right in front of them, or hanging inches above their head (seriously). Tomorrow, I will be flying to down to Boston and will be staying with the thoroughly cool Kelly to check out the MIT campus and exploit my "Best Buy voice" with the counselors. I have challenged myself to not ask for a single piece of directions while in all airports. This is so I can have smug satisfaction in knowing that getting around an airport is actually very easy and I am not exaggerating how dumb people can be when they travel. I do not forecast any trouble.

Since I will be absent until around Thursday, I will leave you in the capable hands of Mr. J. Pictures are to come, hopefully, if I am not arrested on charges of 'possessing burglary tools' which doesn't seem too likely, but could still be a possibility.

The Game

2005-02-27T04:06:00.000-05:00

To know The Game is to play the game. One can never stop playing.
To think of The Game is to lose The Game. Therefore, the object of the game is to forget that it exists.
When one loses the game, one must announce that one has lost the game to everyone present (usually by saying "I thought about the game," "Darn! I just lost the game," or even simply "I lose.")
An optional variant of the game: When a game loss is announced, all other players have an approximately 30 minute grace period which they may use to again forget about the game.
Another optional variant states that the game ends when any player thinks about the game and begins anew for each individual player once the game has left that player's conscious mind. This sometimes means that one player can potentially lose the game several times before another player starts playing again.

(Taken from Wikipedia. Rest can be found here.)

I just lost The Game damnit! It has been 2 months now and in trying to come up with something witty and/or clever for this blog, I have recalled The Game. Though, when I first started it, I thought I would be losing none stop. I'd throw this up to the fact that I love idling in ideas. Often, I imagine what I see from different perspectives. For instance, when I am bored at work, I try to visualize everything as black and white, cut from an old silent movie (grainy film and all). Sometimes, even in different shades of the same color. Other times, I try to predict how people react and events occur seconds before they do, and when I am right, I can't help but smile.

This all reminds me of being stuck on a riddle. It can seem so unclear and unworkable even though the answer could be right in front of you. The amount of clarity a solution brings is amazing. It is something that you never can rewind and try again. When I was a small, I used to play the 'King's Quest' with my uncle. For those of you who don't know this classic series; it’s an old computer game focused around solving puzzles to advance through a story. I would recommend hunting them down if you haven’t tried it. I had a very fond memory of figuring out the solutions with him and wanted to experience it again. I installed and played them through, and can safely say that I was disappointed. I was disappointed because I remembered it all. After you know the solution, puzzles lose their punch. There was no more thrill of triumphing over a challenge. Maybe if I could forget these memories as easily as I could forget The Game, I would enjoy all the old times again, but where’s the fun in that?

And we don't stop.

2005-02-26T02:07:00.000-05:00

The 'new site' smell is still strong. While I still dig this layout, I was lazy and used a template; a new and improved look is on the way. But for now this is more than satisfactory. This blog is a team effort and you will see posts made by my good friend j and myself.

So here is what I did today. I woke up and to my surprise: it snowed. Great. It never snows enough so I can actually build the igloo I am planning, but when it does.... I will have the coolest lawn in the neighborhood. I went for a haircut so I can look sharp when I travel to meet the MIT admissions counselors after the weekend. I finally got a chance to go to martial arts class today, which I haven't been able to do for 2 weeks. I could feel myself getting more sluggish with every passing day, though I think I messed up my toe doing speed breaks on practice boards. Also, my mom has caught some spamvirus on her computer, making tons of porno links everywhere. Seeing 'farm animals xxx 4 free' and others bookmarked on my mom's computer made my day. I had to format it, because it was just too diseased.

I have work early tomorrow, so I'll keep this short for today.

Here we go.

2005-02-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

Awesomeness en route.