Away again Being that that Miami trip was a bit short, when I got back I decided to I had to take another :) I'll be in New Jersey this weekend.
It rained! Normally this isn't worth a blog, but here in Southern California it's a big deal. As the weather reporter said, "the is the first time some places in the southland have seen rain in 181 days." Personally, it's the first time I've seen rain since I've been back from New York, which has been about 37 days now.
In the kitchen I've been cooking up a storm lately, but I guess that's nothing new: ever since I got off my meal plan as an undergrad, I've tried to cook. My skills aren't the best, but hey, I haven't died yet so I must be doing something right. I started out slow, cooking macaroni and what not. Then the summer of 2003 came and I really started settin' things off. I got my hands on a Forman Grill (my roommates actually) and learned about the magic of Adobo. Since then, I've been eatin' good (or at least that's what I like to think anyway).I recently stepped my game up though, trading in my Forman Grill for a real skillet. In all honesty, I've gotta admit the move kinda happened by accident: my Forman Grill was actin' up, leaving me me with the skillet as my only option to cook the chicken I had. It took me a second to get used to the new medium, but I managed. This past summer I added a couple new weapons to the arsenal. I got my hands on a lettuce dryer and picked up a new pot. The lettuce dryer is easily the best invention since the spork. It basically uses centrifugal force to dry the leaves. I used to waste hella paper towel trying to do the job, but not anymore; I recommend every kitchen have a lettuce dryer. Not just any lettuce dryer though, the one by OXO. There are others out there, some costing 1/30th of the price of the OXO, but the extra money spent is well worth it, reaping dividends from the first bite. I use the new pot to cook pasta in (good lookin' out Maria). That thing has changed my life too. I used to cook pasta in a normal sauce pan, which was no good cause the foamy stuff would rise over the top and get all over the burner (actually started a fire one time last year, shit was crazy). But now, with this new pot, it's so big I'd have to cook tons of pasta before stuff started coming out of it. Sometimes I even start rattling off some Italian while I'm cooking&hellip okay, so maybe it hasn't quite changed my whole life, but it's definitely an appreciated addition to the kitchen. Next week I plan to bring out the Asian inside of me. I saw this cooking show the other day and now I'm inspired (they made it look so easy). We'll see about that one…
I made it I made it through the week! I was kinda pessimistic about this one at the start, there was just a ton of stuff to do! I had a paper deadline, an OS project, some Spanish homework, and random other stuff. But the pressure kinda came off when I found out our paper deadline got extended; it allowed me some time to get my composure. Also, the OS project was easier than I thought. I found out I may end up TA-ing the class, in which case the project won't matter anyway (cause I have to drop the class to TA it). So yea, I got off kinda easy :)
Miami was great! I made it back from Miami - damn that place is a good time :) It was a quick weekend (I got in Friday morning around 6 and left Sunday night at 8), but I got a chance to do a lot of stuff I'd wanted to do: picked up some good Jamaican food, laid on the beach, and watched some jai-alai. The only bummer was that my lady friend got sick, but she didn't really let that hold her back.Now it's back to the grind. And man is it ever a grind. This happened to be an important couple days I missed around here (at Caltech), so I'll be burning some mid-night oil to make up for it. If I can survive this week I'll be good.
Miami I'll be in Miami this weekend - man am I excited! This'll be my second time to the lovely city; the first was in April of 2003. Like the first time, I don't have a real reason to go, I'm just going. But then again, I didn't really think you needed a reason to go to Miami :)The first time around, it was sort of a random trip with a lady friend. I was in Florida at the time and so was she, so we decided to meet up and head to Miami. This time, I'm meeting up with that same lady friend (who, as you can imagine, by this time a little more than a "lady friend") for a part two of sorts. As a kid I was a HUGE fan of Miami Vice. I remember watching it every Friday night with my parents (along with Dallas and Dynasty… err, wait, were those on Friday night as well?). I didn't really understand what was going on too well, but the action packed intro was good enough for me. And Crockett's Ferrari was always fun to see. It was that intro scene in fact that defined my vision of Miami for years to come. When I finally got a chance to see the place 20 years later it was like a dream come true, and it dictated many of the things I'd had to do. For instance, consistent with the opening sequence, I just had to see jai-alai; I mean, to me, jai-alai was Miami! (And still is!) I had check out some greyhound racing. What would a trip to Miami be without betting on the little doggy's? And seeing palm trees and flamingos was important; however, I'd been deflowered a year earlier when I'd seen them for the first time on a trip to Sydney. I'm kind of glad I'd gotten my vision of Miami from Miami Vice. Otherwise I'd have probably only thought the place was good for beautiful women in bikini's. Don't get me wrong, the place is good for that, but the Miami Vice side was far more important to me. At any rate, I digress. The point of this post is about me going to Miami this time. I plan on doing all the same things I did the first time; if I have half as much fun it'll be a great trip! And if I hit that superfecta… oh man - the RomeReport may just be coming to you from Miami permanently! :)
It worked! I tried the start from level 9 strategy last night (on Type A, of course), and bi-golly it worked! In my second or third try I was able to amass over 269,000 points! Thereby beating the old record I set back in 1997 by about 20,000. What's interesting was that it didn't take nearly as many lines as the last record did, nor did I get to as high a level. Thus, the benefit of lines at level 9 huge. I noticed this right away, however, as my first Tetris was worth a little over 12,000 points! It's barely worth a 1,000 at level 0.The only drawback is starting from level 9 is a bit difficult. The pieces are coming so quick you have to use a little bit different drop strategy to maintain control. Knowing where the piece is going to go before it comes out is imperative. If you start thinking as it's coming down you can forget about it. Secondly, you have keep the stack to a relatively medium height. On lower (slower) levels, you can build the stack to insane heights while waiting for the straight piece. However, this is because you have time to maneuver them as they come down. For example, say I've only got about three spaces left between the top of my stack and the top of the screen. On level 0, you have time to move a all the way to one side or the other before it connects with the stack, but on level 9 there's no time for that. Subsequently, you have to keep the stack to a manageable level. In doing this, you have to settle for doubles or triples while still leaving room to get a Tetris if you the opportunity presents itself (there's nothing worse than blocking off a Tetris hole and then getting the straight piece). Thus, as a player you have to be in a little bit different mind state. Now I'm torn, as to which score to respect more.
One down, ten to go We just finished our first week of classes; I've got two: Operating Systems and Spanish. Usually the first week is kinda slow as there's administrata/intro stuff to go through. Although, since both of these classes meet three times a week, we were able to get into some somewhat meaningful stuff. Oh, and of course we've already gotten some homework :)At the start of every term I tell myself I'm going to stay on top of things; not become bogged down in homework and living by the "last minute." But, as the weeks of the semester go by, that dream slowly comes to an end. No matter how hard I try, I can never seem to stay on a good schedule. A schedule whereby I get homework done in a timely manner, and have keep up so poiniently in every class that come exam time I'm not "studying," I'm reviewing. For some reason, however, I can never keep that dream alive. I'm not quite sure where in the semester I lag behind, or for what reasons, but no matter how hard I try, my fate is inevitable. In fact, resistance is almost futile! I think trying to get around it is like trying to outsmart the University Gods - that's just impossible. It's in their plan for students to get behind, have a sleepless night or two, and scramble to pass a test. Or maybe it's the Deadline Gods combining with the University Gods in a quest for total student domination. Although I'm optimistic now, I know that over the course of the next 9 weeks I will most certainly feel their rath.
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