Small World Coffee Hour

Today I went to check out the above-named event here on campus. It was pretty cool. Basically it is a place to eat free food and talk to people from all over the world (mostly international students go). There were so many people from so many places. I met some Chinese, a Norwegian, a South Korean, some Minnesotans, a Peruvian, some Iranians, and some Japanese. There were also people from many more places that I didn't get a chance to talk to. Everyone was very nice. I spoke a bit of Farsi with the Persians and I was complemented on my pronunciation.

I now have something to do every other Friday afternoon. Sweet.

Another Friday Night

There's a guy on my floor yelling out into the hallway: "Hey Charlie! Starcraft! UDP! I'll make it, you join!"

I love it.

What I learned in college today

Today in my honors seminar there was a guest lecturer from Ghana. She taught us about her research about Ghanian children's singing games and how they relate to education. She also told us that Ghanians get their names based on the day of the week they were born and their place in relation to their siblings. Hence, Kofi Annan's name signifies that he was born on a Friday, and that he is the fourth child in his family.

Other random notes:

Wikipedia is the bomb.

The heating plant next door is on fire.

From Wonderful to Awful In Almost an Instant

Tonight I experienced possibly the most extreme emotional swing I have ever experienced.

Around dinner time I rode my bike to Everett's place for Pasta Night. That turned out to be a truly awesome event. The food was simple and excellent, and the company was great. Met some really cool people, played some dominoes, listened to many and even participated in a few conversations. It was just what I needed after almost a week of overwhelming loneliness.

Everett came out, showed me a shortcut to get back to campus. I thanked him, said goodbye. After he re-entered the building, I pulled my newly purchased flashing red light out of my pocket and bent over to attach it to my (also new) bike, when I realized that the fucking seat was missing. Man that sucked. I was tired, and expected and wanted a relaxing ride back, and I got this. I was now not only pissed off (injustice is something that perturbs me, most especially when I am the victim of it), but slightly afraid, knowing that I would be riding alone, in the dark, in an unfamiliar city, without a seat in the presence of thieves.

The ride home was unpleasant as could be. I was sad and angry, wanting to cry, and I couldn't sit down to ease the burning in my legs and back. I took some wrong turns and was further devastated. When I finally got back, all the bike racks were nearly full, and it took me some time to find a place to lock up. When I found one, it took me at least five minutes to get the damned lock on.

I arrived in my room, sweating, hurting, weakened, and tired.

I breathed deeply, walked to the bathroom, washed my face, and said some prayers.

Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God. He is God. All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding.

No, it's Dan

I officially have a speech impediment that makes me unable to pronounce my own name. Here is a very typical conversation:

Someone: Hey, what's your name?
Me: Dan.
Someone: Den?
Me: Dan.
Someone: Huh? Den?
Me: No, it's Dan.
Someone: Oh, Dan. Nice to meet you.

A variant of this is that I will briefly meet someone, and hours or days later they will see me and say "Hey Ben", trying to rationalize what they heard as "Den". This has happened multiple times in the past few days.

I think the solution is introducing myself as Daniel, rather than Dan. (Danny will surely evoke "Denny?"). I've tried this a few times and it seems to work. It also has the side effect of making me sound more classy.

Xue Ya (Organic Snow Buds)

"Organic Snow Buds, known as Xue Ya in China, is hand harvested approximately 1100 meters above sea level in the Fujian province of Southeast China.

"...Rishi Tea's Organic Snow Buds is quite rare and can only be picked from a specific type of white tea plant three days of the year. In China, white teas are believed to strengthen the immune system and consumed during the hot months of the year to cool and refresh."


Yesterday, Andrew and I purchased some of this somewhat expensive variety of tea, and it is quite delicious.

Harebrained Quotes of the Day

"Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals ... teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate."

"A lot of people think humans are above other animals...When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds us that we're not that special."

Efficient Driving Tips

Last night I read up on Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency's Driving the Auto$mart Way tips. (Thank you, Canada.)

I did some unit conversions and calculations and found that following just one of the tips (not speeding) can save a lot of money. Check it:

Let's say you're taking a trip across town that involves a 20 mile stretch of highway. You drive a 2003 Ford Taurus (like my mom) that claims to get 36 miles per gallon on the highway, at around 60 mph. If gas costs $2.75 a gallon (ouch), you're burning about 5/9 of a gallon, or $1.53 on this strech of highway. The stretch takes 20 min to cover.

Now say you're in a rush to get where you're going, so you go about 72 mph for the entire stretch of highway. At this speed, it will take 16 minutes and 40 seconds to cover the stretch. The Office of Energy Efficiency says that an increase from 100 to 120 kph (60 to 72 mph) causes a 20% increase in fuel consumption. Now you're using 2/3 of a gallon, or $1.83. You're paying about 30 cents to save a little over 3 minutes on your trip. Say you do this twice a day for a five-day week- that's $3.00 a week, $12 a month, $156 a year.

This is assuming that 1) Your car actually gets the mileage it's supposed to, 2) There's no traffic and you're able to maintain top speed for the entire stretch of highway, 3) You don't get pulled over for speeding and lose a lot more time and a lot more money, and 4) The price of gas doesn't go up any higher (yeah, right.)

Higher speeds also mean less safety. Figures aside, you're more likely to be killed in a 72 mph crash than a 60 mph one. Speeding is totally not worth it. I will have to remind myself of that.

Startup.

So, following the suggestion of Emily, I've created this blog/world/humble abode/place to ramble and rant, replacing the old danrules. That site had fallen into neglect (as this one probably will), and I wasn't as keen on the self-exalting, arrogant title as I was when I was fourteen. (I think this one is not much better, but like Emily noted, Fernando said it, not me.) So, yes. Bookmark it if you like, but don't expect regular postings for an extended period of time. I have terrible blogging habits.