The cliche at the end of the schooling

The thesis defense date is officially set! Monday, November 12, at 2 p.m., I will be presenting An Analysis of an Interrupt-Driven Implementation of the Master-Worker Model with Application-Specific Coprocessors.

I've been told (by the humorously-harsh co-chair of my committee, who is only given such a prominent role because he co-authored the proposal that obtained the research money for this project) to prepare a twenty minute presentation, but to be ready to have it go twice as long due to questions. Incidentally, he and the other co-chair have another meeting at 3 p.m. When I asked if he was certain we'd be done in the sixty minutes the schedule afforded us, he told me that it will take that long "only if [I] fail." I really need to pass this final examination so I can finally get to my job and start earning money again.

Please, oh please, tell me that light isn't a train.

Nauseatingly button-like

I want to tell you a little (or not so little) about my family's pets. First, I need to explain the pattern my mom has of giving them not-so-subtle and not-so-original names. Back when I was a child (when I had to walk five miles to and from school through six feet of snow, uphill both ways), my mother was a self-proclaimed "chocoholic." (Clearly this was pre-diabeetis. Once she was diagnosed, she had to go through the twelve steps rather hurriedly.) So, when we got a Siamese cat, she naturally named her Cocoa. We bred her and kept one of the kittens, who got named Fudge. (As a kid, I didn't really think it was strange to go around the house yelling about chocolate in an attempt to find a cat.) Then we got another cat -- all black, but it looked like he would develop some white markings (but they never came), so he got named Oreo. (I know Oreo's don't actually taste like chocolate, but they are supposedly made of chocolate wafers.) The chocolate thing died off with her years ago, but you get the idea.

So, when we more recently (still several months ago) got an orange striped cat, she naturally named him...Tigger. You know, T-I-double guh-er. And that brings us to the present. But really, Tigger is an awesome cat. Unlike our other cat, Lola (named by my younger sister), who is scared of her shadow. Tigger does a number of funny things, including but not limited to lying in very funny positions for hours and getting in the most unusual places in the home. (No, he doesn't use the toilet, sadly.) Yet one of the most noteworthy habits he has (and has thereby caught the notice of our neighbors, who think it is absolutely adorable) is that he follows our large (90 lbs.) dog, Lightning (that one is actually my dad's doing -- the name, not the dog, silly), for walks. He's not at all afraid of the dog that could gobble him up for an appetizer. (Perhaps it's because the dog it old, arthritic, and lethargic -- but whatever. That kind of info ruins the suspense. The dog was once a vicious squirrel and bird chaser. Until he realized they always got away, either up a tree or to the sky.) Aaaaanyway, to the pictures!

Here we have our first glimpse of the phenomenon. He's keeping a leisurely pace, which puts some distance between them.


But Tigger isn't at all concerned about getting all up in Lightning's grill.


He'll even rub himself against the dog. That's brave.


Even though he's old and arthritic, Lightning still has to be held back from chasing things -- and he'll chase just about anything. He's been fooled by leaves being blown along the ground before. So now, he typically takes a more cautious approach and stares down his intended victim first. (I've stood with him for several minutes, as he intensely stares down inanimate objects, like those cement lawn decorations in the shape of a rabbit. Once, he even stared down a life-sized deer statue. He would not let me pull him away for the longest time.)


Here, he's staring down a cat (in the shadow of the tree). Strange, considering he has a perfectly good cat a few feet away. Tigger must intimidate him in a way other cats don't.


Meanwhile, Tigger enjoys the shade.


And Lightning still wants to go after that other cat.


When I said Tigger likes the shade, I meant that he really hates the sunlight. (He's not allergic to it, like me, or vampires, but he still shuns it...like a goth, or a redhead.) He waits in the shade until we get to another shady spot, then runs to us.


That's about how all of our walks go. And now, some of his cute sleeping positions.




He gets a lot of attention by being so cute. So of course, under very specific and rare conditions, when Lola actually wants attention, she takes to mimicking him. (Note that she is not actually sleeping.)

I don't even eat there anymore, but...

But I saw this, and couldn't help but laugh at how true it is. And at how OCD I am to have noticed it, too.

(He gets points from me for using the word "tessellate." Extra points for spelling it correctly. And super-extra bonus points for using it as a verb.)

I don't think it's ever bothered me as much as the cartoonist, but it's nice to know that somebody thinks like I do. So, even if I am crazy, at least I'm not crazy and alone.

Yet, even more interesting is this image someone sent to the cartoonist from an actual Subway location.

Now, I know Subway is franchised, so I doubt this is an official Subway policy. (Otherwise, I'd call it a global conspiracy to offend OCD sufferers.) Still, it seems pretty rotten. And really, have you ever seen a sandwich artist place the cheese slices so that they cover the sandwich without overlapping? Maybe the sandwich "artists" prefer to place them the other way just so they can buck the system. I hear artists get a kick out of that. But rest assured, a sandwich "engineer" would never let that slide. It seems we engineers alone understand that good design is beautiful in and of itself. It doesn't need to make a statement. Why can't we appreciate the elegance inherent in a thing (e.g., a sandwich) that functions just as it should (e.g., cheese in every bite), without any superfluous parts (e.g., "unnecessary dairy overlap")?

In closing, 40 cents for a "life worth living" might seem a paltry ransom. But it's the principle of the thing. You hear me, Jared?

(crazybull4life, I fully expect to hear from you.)

Sleep vs. the Internet

The title of this post may lead you to believe this is about my nocturnal activities. But, in fact, my problem is the mornings. But again, it's not what you expect. I don't have an issue with consistently sleeping in. I have problem getting up early, every day. (By early, I mean early for somebody without a job or class. Just so those of you with early jobs and long commutes don't misunderstand. It's relative.)

My ability to wake up "early" reared its ugly head this morning. I'd stayed up until 1:30 last night (no, not on the internet -- out doing things with people), and stirred to life at 7 this morning. Despite being fresh and awake at the time, I knew the day would hit me hard later for getting so less than my usual 7-8 hours of sleep. So, I had to force myself to stay in bed until nearly 9.

Then, after getting up again, I began my usual morning routine reading certain websites. Of course, my usual routine also involves getting sidetracked onto reading and watching things on the internet that I hadn't planned on viewing, and before I know it, hours have passed. ("My name is Hot Cup, and I'm an internet addict.")

Well, today I read something interesting, stating that the bodies of young people operate on a daily clock a little (around an hour) longer than 24 hours. What this means is that, in the absence of any indication of the time (such as clocks or the sun), they would tend to go to sleep and wake up later and later with each passing day. Well, that explains a few things. But then I read the next line: as people age, this trend reverses.

And I was faced with the cold, hard, scientific fact that I am, in fact, a geezer. What a dismal realization! Then another one came; I noticed that it was nearly noon, and I had yet to do anything productive.

Don't even think of suggesting Avril

So, I've been thinking off and on about something for a couple months now. I used to really love some female-fronted bands back in the day when I was more into ska -- No Doubt, Save Ferris, Tsunami Bomb.... There was just something about the music that appealed to me, and it's great to hear a little something different in the vocals. I really don't know how to say it, which is why I've been putting off writing about it.

But I've been bitten by the bug for some more lately. While I still have the old stuff, I long for something new. Thankfully, Paramore recently delivered a great new album. I just wish it was easier to find more prominent females in the genres I listen to. I mean, it's rare enough to find one even in the band, but for her to be the lead singer is a real shocker. In the past, I used MusicPlasma (now called LivePlasma) to refer me to bands I might like. But these days it seems LP always fails to even find the band I want to use as a starting point to compare to others. It always returns my searches with "Madonna (Tribute)." What the heck?!? I've turned to LastFM now, and it doesn't disappoint -- it has some really obscure bands, probably because it's easy for users to add them, and every music snob loves the chance to show off how many unheard-of bands he knows. But still, looking at their list of referrals is not as helpful as I thought it would be. I already listen to well over half of those bands, and of those, only one has a girl who sings in a few songs. Then you can use the tags to find female vocalists, but you can't seem to combine tags to find female vocalists in a given genre.

Maybe it's hard to find what I'm looking for because it's the guys that stereotypically take up instruments. They spend their teenage years learning the guitar and forming alternative rock bands thinking it will make chicks like them. Whereas the girls who get interested in music prefer to sing pop songs and dance scandalously to get attention from the guys. I know this is a horrible stereotype, and I'm going to hell for suggesting it. I just wish I could find more good, female-fronted bands to prove me wrong.

P.S. I secretly enjoyed the Josie and the Pussycats movie. Please don't tell anyone.