Note to self

I’m on vacay till Saturday. Here’s a post I’ve prepared in advance.

In my ongoing quest for self-betterment, I declared my sophomore year of high school to be The Year, during which I would try to be an all-around cooler guy. Maybe you don’t remember last year, when I said:

I didn’t remember it either until the days leading up till May 25, 2007. Then I forgot, and the date passed. But then I remembered again last week, and I opened the letter. It was from the me of then to the me of now. I asked myself how I was doing with the things I hadn’t been doing so well on: the job thing and the girlfriend thing and the driving thing. Actually, shortly afterward. I got my learner’s permit, and then I got my old job back. It was also around that time that I met Natasha, and although she’s not my girlfriend, we’re good friends who might like each other a little more than regular friends do… maybe?

Okay, so I don’t have everything figured out, but who does? The point is, The Year II (my senior year) was a lot of fun, and during it, I did a lot of things that made me become a better and maybe even cooler person. Is it sad that I care so much about what other people think of me? Maybe. But having a job is important to me because it brings me moola. Being in love is important to me because it’s something I’ve always wanted but have never gotten. Being able to drive isn’t that important, but it will be once I get tired of riding my bike and taking the bus.

A wise man once said, “I don’t know, go Ask Jordon.”

Đä еdε: Do you plan to expand your ‘Ultimate Cool Characters’ page?

As for adding new characters, no, nothing is in the works relating to that. But I do plan to make the page a bit more organized and including info about how to obtain special characters on non-Windows platforms. It’s amazing how switching operating systems can affect your worldview.

Bob: Have you seen Waking Life and do you know that it is not only awesome but it is about lucid dreaming? Also did you check out that guitar tab for me?

Well, Luke, I’ve never heard of that movie, but it’s worth checking out. And if you mean the Bob Dylan song we were talking about, I did check out that tab. (Luke and I are going to play a song somewhere sometime, I think. Details to come… maybe.)

Jennifer Landry: I just wanted to tell you that you wrote a great speech and delivered it finely. Oh and you had the most applause out of all of the speeches. ;)

Thanks, Jen. I appreciate it. Lots of people have been complimenting me on the speech I gave at graduation, which is nice. I did work hard on it, and I’m pretty proud of it.

Here are some possibly true anecdotes involving air travel. They’re Just Plane Weird.

Here are 11 Great Color Legends: answers to questions like “Why is the sky blue?” and “Why is the US dollar green?”

Senior week

That’s right, it’s senior week here at Pompano Beach High School. We’ve been here for four years, and this is what we’ve all been waiting for: to have a week named after us. This week, each day has a sort of theme, and the thing is that only the seniors participate. Well, yesterday was an exception to the rule because each class was supposed to wear its color for a “Spirit Day.” The senior class’s color is traditionally gold, which is pretty lame because nobody has gold (or yellow) clothes. Well, there’s a senior class t-shirt that’s gold, but I didn’t buy one because when they listed the seniors’ names on the back, they grossly misspelled my name. Seriously, it was ineffably and unforgivably misspelled. I’d like to have a word with the genius who was responsible for that one.

Today was College Day, where the seniors were supposed to “rep” their future colleges, as it were. I reluctantly wore the subtler of my two UF shirts. As I’ve said in the past, I don’t like participating in any unnecessary us-and-them type activities that only create hostility between people. Specifically, I don’t like being divisive by bragging about what college I’m going to give lots and lots of money to. (Note: this opinion will change, possibly soon. I just know it.)

What’s in store for the rest of the week? Tomorrow is Opposite Day… NOT! Actually, it is. Tomorrow is Opposite Day, when you’re encouraged to wear the opposite of the usual style. I think I’m actually going to do this one. I expect that a lot of people aren’t, though, because why would you have clothes in a style opposite of what you always wear? Most people would have to borrow clothes, which is what I’m doing. Then there are a few people who frequently wear a number of different styles. Those are people for whom Opposite Day doesn’t seem to apply.

Finally, on Thursday, you’re supposed to dress up like a cartoon character. No thanks.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot what senior week is all about. It leads up to Grad Bash at Universal Studios. And guess who actually decided to go? That’s right: me. It’s the kind of thing that a lot of my friends don’t care about, but fortunately, some of them do, or else I’d have no one to hang out with. It should be fun. We Floridians shouldn’t take the proximity of world-class theme parks for granted. I can’t imagine a school from, say, the Midwest, taking a bus ride to Universal. Well, I guess they have theme parks up there, so they probably go to those. Yeah.

If in doubt, Ask Jordon.

Peter: Can you tell me what my first comment was? And while you’re at it, what is my first Ask Jordon question? I’m curious.

Your first comment was on July 30, 2005. Your first Ask Jordon question was answered on January 13, 2006: “How did you get the code for http://www.theworldofstuff.com/blah? Is it a PHP version of Wpoison?”

Kayley: why cant people get along, especially GIRLS???

I tend to get along with almost everybody, and I’d say it’s because I’m pretty laid back and quiet, so I don’t really have much of a chance to disagree fiercely with anyone on anything. If I think someone’s annoying, I won’t tell them so, but I’ll just try to avoid them. I’d imagine that girls are more social than guys in general, so when something happens, they don’t try to work around it or stay cool, but they get confrontational trying to defend themselves. This is all speculation, of course. I could be wrong.

Tux: What do you plan on doing on April 19th?

Oh, I’ll tell you, anonymous 64-bit Linux user. Since I switched from Windows to Ubuntu Linux two months ago, I’ve been anticipating the upcoming release of Ubuntu 7.04, codenamed “Feisty Fawn,” which is due out on Thursday, April 19.

Among the new features in Feisty are better support for wireless networking (which will undoubtedly make my future Ubuntu laptop experiences easier), easy installation of proprietary codecs like MP3 (which should be handy if I come across some of the lesser-used media formats), and a few advanced desktop effects. The effects are from a program called Compiz, which basically allows you use your graphics card to its fullest potential by introducing realistic 3D effects to your desktop. I understand it’s not easy for n00bs like me to install, which is why I’ve shied away from it. (That, and this computer is kind of slow.) With Feisty, I’ll be able to try out a few of the effects just by clicking a checkbox, and if I don’t like them or they break my computer, I can turn them off easily too.

Upgrading to Feisty will be easy. It will appear as a software update, just like the other updates I get once in a while. I think all I’ll have to do is click to install it. Try upgrading to Vista that simply.

A photo gallery from Wired: The Evolution of the Computer Mouse.

That’s me!

While I’ve been on vacation, it’s an all-Ask Jordon post coming your way.

Person! ^.^: What is the air speed velocity of an un-laiden swallow?

What do you mean, an African or a European swallow?

billybob jo: what are some other names for tornados

Cyclones. Tornadoes (with an “e”). Whirlwinds. Waterspouts, if they’re over water. And… gosh. Oh, twisters, like another movie that I never saw. That’s all I can think of without having to cheat and look up answers somewhere else. (And if “cyclone” is debatable, blame it on my old school, whose sports teams were called the Cyclones and whose actual mascot resembled a tornado.)

Peter: Question 1/2: How do you track visitors/hits nowadays?

AWStats, a log file analyzer. My web host provides it readily, so there was no complicated setup. It has its advantages and disadvantages compared to eXTReMe Tracking, which I used to use. The main difference is that the former tracks statistics related to your whole site, while the latter keeps tabs on individual pages. In any case, it’s nice to see your log files broken down and explained meaningfully.

Peter: Question 2/2: What do you think of lernu (en.lernu.net)

I never used lernu! much for learning Esperanto, but I still have it in the Esperanto folder of my bookmarks. I’m not really sure how good it is, although I believe it has a number of texts you can read, and you can get a definition of any word just by clicking on it. If I recall, it even breaks down words into their roots and affixes, which is quite awesome. I’ve heard some good things about the site in general, but I can’t say much about it myself.

Peter: Question 3/2: What do you believe are the major benefits of Ubuntu over Mac OSX or Windows XP?

Now that I’ve been using Ubuntu for over a month, I’ve been able to see some advantages and disadvantages when comparing it to Windows XP. (I can’t really compare OS X to anything because I have little experience with it.) Of course, it can be frustrating when you’re getting to learn a new operating system that does things a bit differently from what you’re used to.

But to answer your question, I’d say that the major benefit is the software updates that come frequently. Unlike some operating systems I could mention, you don’t wait five years for the next version, which doesn’t even turn out to be much better than the last. A new version comes every six months, and besides that, the various packages or components of the operating system and its programs are being updated all the time for stability, security, and of course, killer features. As long as you use the software that’s in the repositories, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have the latest, greatest versions available… as long as you install the updates, that is.

But with Ubuntu, you don’t have to be afraid to install updates, like with a certain other OS I could mention. That’s because Ubuntu is freely distributable and free of charge, so there is no licensing key to share illegally. As a result, Ubuntu doesn’t use its update mechanism to hound you about using unauthorized (unpaid-for) copies of its software. And as far as I can tell, Ubuntu doesn’t bludgeon you over the head by automatically installing the updates you’re trying to put off because they serve only to rat you out for copying someone’s licensing key.

In other words, I like Ubuntu because it is free (as in speech and also as in beer) and because it has an active developer base that’s constantly coming out with better versions of software (usually free also) that are made easily available for you.

Have a look at the stories behind lots of famous logos.

This is a fascinating read: A Brief History of the Calendar.

In which little answering is actually accomplished

The Ask Jordon mailbag has been getting heavy over the past few weeks, so let’s bust it open and see what we’ve got. It’s time for an Ask Jordon Extravaganza.

Johnathan: Why did britney Spears shave her head bald?

This question arrived a few weeks ago, almost immediately after the big story broke. In fact, I got this e-mail even before my sister, who actually cares about what happens to famous people, found out that Britney Spears had shorn her locks. But, to answer your question, Jonathan, I’d say the answer is either “For attention” or “Who cares?”

Natasha Dean: Will i ever go out with jordan thundow

Another interesting one, considering this site already has a Natasha/Jordon thing going on. Nevertheless, this user comes from the UK, so it’s not my friend Natasha in some clever disguise.

Well, other Natasha, I don’t know this Jordan Thundow you speak of, so I can’t say for sure, but if you want a guy to go out with you, my best advice is to be direct. The reason my best advice sounds really bad and vague is because I have no experience in this field. Anyway, glad I could help. Next.

Wilhelm T. Grate: What can you tell me about paint thinner and thinning paint and whatnot?

Well, my friend Luke, I know very little about thinning paint. I assume you’d want to thin paint in order to chip it off or something, and in order to do that, it would be good to use paint thinner because you can be fairly certain that it is actually for thinning paint. Paint thinner is highly flammable, and it probably smells bad. That’s all I can tell you.

Peter: Three questions. Get ready. PS: This is not a question.

Okay.

Peter: Will you continue blogging when you’re in college?

As far as I can tell, yes. Just as I blogged to inform and entertain readers about the strange new experiences of high school almost four years ago, I think it’ll be fun and interesting to keep it up as I undertake the biggest thing that will ever have happened to me in my whole entire life.

Peter: C^i vi povias korekti la mia mala demando en Esperanto?

Jes, certe. Oni dirus “Ĉu vi povas ĝustigi mian malbonan demandon en Esperanto?” Vidu, ke mi uzis la akuzativon. Estas ofta eraro forlasi ĝin, sed ne forgesu. Fakte, post iom da tempo, vi verŝajne memoros bone, kaj ne plaĉos al vi la sono de ĝia misuzo.

Peter: Can you tell me what the other question I was going to ask you, because I forgot?

No, I don’t know what it was. Do you remember it now?

Wilhelm T. Grate: Is the Game of Life an application of fuzzy logic or just regular logic?

Well, Luke, it seems to be smooth rather than fuzzy, so I’d say it’s just regular type. Incidentally, Xlife blows my implementation of Life out of the water.

Political interference in science is not a good thing. Here’s an A to Z guide of examples of this phenomenon.

One of those cheesy articles that might actually be helpful: 10 Things You Shouldn’t Buy New.

The editing stage

After nearly two months of delays, the long-awaited sequel to Beowulf: The Movie is almost ready for prime time. Most of the footage was shot at my house one day in December, but we used two cameras: mine and Justin’s. Since I couldn’t transfer the videos on Justin’s camera to my computer, he was going to have to burn them onto a CD for me. Early this week, he gave me the CD, and so we finished up a few shots we had intended to shoot. The shooting is almost complete. The only thing left in the way of that is a scene or two that I’m doing by myself (I’ll be reprising my terrible role as the cheesy narrator guy.)

I forgot how tough editing video can be, but when I look at the finished product, I know it’s immensely satisfying. I should probably use this space to show my gratitude toward a certain Kevin MacLeod, whose extensive portfolio of quality royalty-free music helped make Beowulf: The Movie more than just an English class project. I’ll be using his music as a source once again. Maybe, since I’ll be giving him a proper attribution this time, I’ll actually tell him about this one. And, as promised, there will be an original song in Beowulf 2. I know you’re excited, but you’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Speaking of Justin, he emceed the school’s variety show on Thursday night. It was the same show I auditioned for back in September. I could have followed through and gone to the many subsequent rehearsals, but I think the criticism was enough to put me in my place. Anyway, the show was better without me, and it was quite a bit of fun. Unfortunately, Justin seemed to get upstaged by his co-emcee, but it was still enjoyable to watch him onstage.

Although its name is fun to write, I’ve gotten bored of doing Jordon Asks YOU!!. (I’m surprised it took me this long, actually.) I might resurrect it sometime, but there will always be Ask Jordon.

Kelsey: Where should I go to college? Where I dream of(WFU) or where it is free(UF)?

I’m supposed to say that you should go where you dream of going, but that’s not always possible. Financial considerations are a big factor for many people, myself included. In spite of that, everybody’s situation is different, and advice that works for me might not work well for you. So I’d have to say that you’ll need to decide for yourself. I know it’s hard, but you have time. Use it wisely.

mambala: what does my name mean?

Isn’t that like some game that was popular in the ’90s? No, wait, that was mancala. Well, it was a long time ago. It must have been when I was six or seven or eight when that game was popular. I never understood it. Maybe that’s because I never played it. I think only girls would play it because it involved pretty-looking fake stones. But I’m not really sure. The point is, I never played it with anybody, although I did somehow manage to get a faint idea of the object of the game. It doesn’t seem too terribly complicated, after all. In fact, it kind of superficially reminds me of backgammon, which is a game that I actually used to play, but which I’ve now forgotten. I wouldn’t mind getting back into the swing of that one, though. Anyway, to answer your question: no, I’ve never played mancala.

Congress has just voted to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been $5.15 per hour since 1997. However, it’s not a universal figure — it’s only a minimum, after all. The states are free to legislate a higher minimum wage, and Florida’s is currently $6.67. Check out the State of the Minimum Wage (Flash) to see how the states’ minimum wages have compared in recent years.

Here’s a Super Mario Brothers race (Google Video), apparently from a school talent show (which, if true, would make it the most awesome talent show act ever). It’s mind-boggling to think that you can beat the game in just over six minutes.

Let’s go skating

Today I’m going to the skate park with Sean, Nick, and Mike. We went a few years ago, and it was fun, even though my parents made me sit it out. (Something about life insurance.) Anyway, apparently I’m covered now, so I can go and break my bones as I please. I tried to get on a skateboard once, some years ago, and I almost fell off immediately. I hope somebody has some pads and stuff I can borrow. I really, really, really don’t want to get hurt, and I would rather sit on the sidelines than risk it. But as long as I come home in good shape, it will have been fun.

It’s good to have a little Ask Jordon every now and then.

Peter: Where are some good places to practice Esperanto? / How do you practice Esperanto?

I’ve been getting a bit rusty myself. I (used to) keep tabs on the news site and portal Ĝangalo, but the last news item they’ve posted is from last month, and it says that the site has been sold by its creator. I also used to listen to Ĉi Tie Nun, a quirky Esperanto podcast that covers strange news stories from around the world, but the guy who runs that has only come out with two shows in the past six months. Those won’t help you too much, I guess, but you can always read old news articles and listen to old podcasts.

Another good resource might be to read some Esperanto magazines. Last year I had a subscription to La Ondo de Esperanto, a magazine published in Russia that has news, reviews, literature, and so forth, but the subscription was pretty expensive (especially when I think you can read the issues online for free). You can’t really blame me for falling out of practice, now, can you? Well, the big thing was that I had no one to practice it with, so I’ve been getting kind of bored. I’d say that the best way to practice is to have people to talk to (in person, online, or both). Maybe we could have some conversations together.

Pope Jolly Wilkins: What is the Firefox extension that finds the pages you will click onto in the future and caches them?

That feature is called pipelining, and it’s built into Firefox. Go to about:config and set network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining to “true.” It might also help to set the maximum number of connections per server and so forth. These preferences are also found in about:config, but I manage all this stuff with the Tweak Network Settings extension. (Here’s its AMO page.)

Pope Jolly Wilkins: Also: why do boomer-folk like to say “Foxfire” instead of “Firefox”?

Boomer-folk have heard of Firefox? I thought they equated the Internet with the Big Blue E. Anyway, why do they screw up anything? It’s because they’re old, and their minds work in reverse or something. How many times did we have to hear “Pokey-man“?

Here’s a gallery of World War II pictures in color. There are some videos too.

Watch some outtakes and goof-ups from the golden days of TV.

It’s time for another installment of Jordon Asks YOU!!.

Jordon Asks YOU!!: Have you made any New Year’s resolutions, and if so, have you kept them? Post a comment and let me know.

Turkey time

Well, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and you know what that means: It’s time to feed the homeless! I got roped into doing some volunteer work today. I really didn’t want to wake up at 6:15 on a Saturday to do it. You have no idea. It’s 5:30 on school days and 6:30 for work. And even when I can stay up late, I always wake up early. Saturdays are mine… unless I have to help distribute frozen turkeys in the tri-county area. I really didn’t want to do it. That makes me a bad person.

Anyway, KFC donated 200 frozen turkeys to the cause, so the first thing we had to do was go and get them. They were conveniently located in a small warehouse in West Palm Beach, so we had to go up there and get them. From then we moved to points south, distributing turkeys here and there, and also picking up some boxes of food and stuff that had been made specifically for certain needy families. Then those boxes had to be delivered to Miami, so by that time, I actually felt like going along. After all, I had never been to West Palm Beach and Miami in the same day before.

After that, I hung out with Mark for a bit. He gave me back some of the CDs that I lent him from our band practice of April 18, 2004. I’d been getting on him about it for months now. Nine hundred and forty-four (944) days later, he gives two out of three back, which I’d say is not bad for him. Incidentally, my CDs were held captive for 500 days longer than the Iran hostage crisis. However, while all of the American hostages returned alive, two out of three of my CDs emerged unscathed.

Well, besides Thanksgiving, the other noteworthy things that happen in mid-to-late November are my friend Michelle’s birthday and the Leonid meteor shower. I’ve never seen the Leonids (or any meteor shower, for that matter), although I have tried. Five years ago, I went camping with my friend Sean around Leonid time, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the meteors, but I couldn’t. I think it was too cloudy, and I was too tired, and the smoke from the campfire was making me sneeze too much. It was probably too cold also.

It’s also cold tonight, but the sky is as clear as a bell (except for all the light pollution, but whatever). The meteor shower is supposed to peak later tonight, so maybe I’ll actually see some. I’m glad that the Leonids aren’t peaking on a school night this year. You won’t escape me this year, Leonids! Actually, you probably will, considering how much light pollution there is in my general area, but… we’ll see, won’t we? I’ll probably come back inside frustrating and freezing, but Leonids, I will see you. Well, I’ll try, anyway. Okay, that’s enough.

A little Ask Jordon never hurt anybody.

Peter: Do you realize that, according to Alexa, your traffic is falling somewhat rapidly? Why do you think this happened, and what could you do to stop it?

Yes, I did realize that, actually, but it doesn’t worry me that much. The only reason I can think of that makes sense is that I haven’t been posting as much as I could be (though I am posting as much as I can, if that makes sense). Or maybe it’s just that people who download the Alexa toolbar are increasingly tending not to be the sort of people who visit my site. Who knows?

If I wanted to gain more traffic, which I suppose I do (even though I don’t care about it as much as I used to), I would probably try increasing my links to other sites and maybe write a post that would make the front pages of Slashdot, Digg, Fark, Metafilter, and all the sites of that sort. I tend to link to a lot of top lists of things that are ranked by certain people who seem to know what they’re talking about. In fact, checking my list of sites that I plan to link to in forthcoming posts, 3 of the 14 pages are countdowns of some kind. Maybe I could write the Top Ten Reasons People Should Visit The World of Stuff. That’ll get ‘em.

Check out The Illustrated Beowulf, a condensed version of the timeless Old English epic, featuring Bill Clinton as Beowulf, Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Pope John Paul II as Hrothgar, and Cookie Monster as Grendel, among others. But, as always, be sure to watch Beowulf: The Movie, starring my friends and me.

Speaking of astronomy: What is the Hubble Deep Field, and why is it the most important image ever taken? Find out (YouTube).

One year ago: “By the way, I don’t want to die alone.”
Two years ago: “What might be even more crazy than Mr. McDonald having been a Major League Baseball player is that no one ever bothered to tell me.”

Movietally

Previously I linked to Movietally, a site that combines cinematic appreciation with the principles of Web 2.0. Because people have said to me, “What do you mean you haven’t seen that movie?” about a million times, I decided to sign up. As a registered user, you can tag movies, create a “to see” list, and view recommendations based on what movies you like. My “to see” list effectively replaces a similar list that I used to keep on paper after hearing the above line so often.

Apparently the site was created by a fifteen-year-old in one month, and viewed in that light, it’s really not that bad. It’s missing some important things, like the ability to distinguish between different movies of the same title, but that really isn’t much of an issue right now because there aren’t that many users on the site anyway. Because Web 2.0 is based on interactivity and a big user community, a lack of users is a fundamental flaw of all new Web 2.0 sites. But it’s one I’m hoping to change as I add and tag more movies that I’ve seen.

Now I’m not exactly a big movie buff, but I like the “to see” list because there are so many movies that I need to see, and the recommendations are great because I’ll never have to leave Blockbuster empty-handed again. Movietally really has potential to become a widely useful site. Maybe you could help out by joining and building a list of movies you’ve seen.

And now for something completely different.

answer or die jk: this is not a stupid or rude question and i actually want to no the purpose of this site because its cool and i think there should be more like it

I think there should be more like it too, Answer. The great thing about this site is that it doesn’t really have a point. It’s just a big pile of vanity. It’s my blog, and it’s my weird pages of random things. It’s all me. This site is saying, “Hey, Internet! Hey, world! I exist!” Apart from attracting a seemingly disproportionate number of Canadian readers, the world hasn’t really said much besides making vague references to poker and pharmacies. But it’s incredibly fun to write a blog and publish your own junk on the Web.

Peter: How did you get all the links on your blogroll?

Let’s go through them one by one and find out.

• Adventures with YardBoy: YardBoy and I used to be big-time members of the Where’s George? community.
• Alka Dwivedi: Happens to link to YardBoy, so I figured, why not ask for a link exchange?
• ChaosZone: Same as above, but I’ve realized that it’s a silly reason to trade links. I’ll probably remove these three links soon.
• Chewbonkers: The ever-moving blog of longtime reader Todd Chan. I follow it regularly. (Ha… get it?)
• Greatplay.net: The site of yet another WoS reader named Peter. I’m assuming this is you.
• Greatplay.net Blog: Your blog? I also read it on a regular basis.
• idly.org: The only site I could get to link to the then-new but long-gone WoS page The Bill Factor Project. I promised to link back in return for the favor. He still has a link to me, though it appears (or doesn’t appear) in the blogroll randomly.
• mcgees.org: Another user from Where’s George?. Also made a fun little utility based on Ultimate Cool Characters at one time.
• Nothing Important: Another WoS reader. Also the only site I’ve ever written a guest post for. I charge a low appearance fee, guys!
• One More Blog: Yet another reader, one who shares some interests with me and who used to live nearby.
• Pompano Pulse: My school paper, in which my friend Luke plays a big part. I check for updates regularly, of course.
• Scotto’s Wall Scrawls: Another local blog and a longtime reader whose blog I also read regularly. It’s fun to look at his pictures of the everyday sights that I see.
• theworldofstuff.net: Apparently the original World of Stuff, though I didn’t know that when I called the site an “impostor.” We’re cool now, though.

Yes, it appears that my blogroll is a bit stale and out of date. That is, it has some sites that I hardly visit. I should try exchanging links with blogs I actually read. Thanks for reminding me. By the way, do any other readers want to trade links?

Love that Tech-no-lo-gy™: Here’s a demonstration of software that turns a 2-D image into 3-D (YouTube).

Hear Alvin and the Chipmunks slowed down (also: what a cricket probably sounds like to itself).

One year ago: “But I should fondly remember that for about five days, I was #1 due to some kind of error.”
Two years ago: “Another favorite of mine is actually being able to send an e-mail by clicking on an e-mail link!”
Three years ago: “If you are lucky enough to own one, you are a face in the crowd.”

Exam week

It’s exam week here at Pompano Beach High School, and that means we have two days where we just take tests and go home. Usually those two days are consecutive, but this time around, they’re Tuesday (today) and Thursday. That’s because tomorrow they have to give the PSAT for the sophomores and juniors to take. You know what that means: even more time wasted. Well, it’s wasted for us, anyway. The general consensus among the seniors is that tomorrow is a “senior skip day.” But I’m not participating. Even if I were allowed to, I wouldn’t skip. I’m sure Mr. Gates will be covering new things in Calculus, anyway, and I won’t want to miss that. Besides, I’ve never missed a day of high school, and why should I start now? (Nerd.)

But anyway, my exams for American Government and Calculus were today, so we did some reviewing in those classes yesterday. My American Government teacher just handed out a study guide with a series of numbered statements that read suspiciously like the answer key to the test. There were even some essay topics at the end. In Mr. Gates’s class, we spent most of the time going over previous homework, but toward the end of class, he asked if we wanted to know what kind of stuff would be on the test. So we asked him what would be on the test, and he said that pretty much everything we’ve studied would be on the test.

So the exams for those two classes were today. Government was a piece of cake. Calculus was a bit more challenging. I had recognized some of the problems from previous tests, but they were still somewhat hard to do. Surprisingly, I made it to the end of the test with time to spare, and I had only skipped a few questions, so I started going back to those. I left about three unanswered by the time we had to leave, so that’s not bad, overall. There is a chance I could get an A, but I’ll be happy to get a B. I have a B in the class this semester — worst grade ever — but I’m not making a fuss or anything. I’ve just got to try harder next time.

How about a quick Ask Jordon.

Alfonso: Do you think your pessimistic or cynical, or do you just like to complain about everything in your life?

If you had read maybe two posts that I’ve written, you’d know that I don’t complain about everything in my life and that I don’t like to complain about anything. I try not to be pessimistic or cynical, but I am sometimes, as we all are. At least I don’t presumptuously ask loaded questions to people I don’t know.

You know, that may be the first rude Ask Jordon question I’ve ever gotten (though I can’t be bothered to search the archives). Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of questions are either interesting or completely stupid (that is, amusing). Actually, I don’t like the stupid ones either. You know, where people ask me questions that a 4th-grader would find funny, or when people think I’m Michael Jordan or the entire country of Jordan. For the record, I am neither.

Buying something online and want to be able to visualize how big it is in real life? Sizeasy can help.

Indexed is a blog that features humorous graphs drawn on index cards.

One year ago: “Hope your grandparents didn’t want to buy your pictures.”
Three years ago: “The photos were printed in that year’s yearbook.”

This weekend in homework

Our top story on this four-day weekend: Part one of science project due Tuesday. That includes five pages of research, a bibliography, a hypothesis, and probably something else. After much stress, I decided to go along with my original idea of expounding on the project I did last year. Although running an electric current through salt water and varying the compositions of the electrodes doesn’t sound like a blast, it’s good that I have a solid foundation to work on rather than starting a whole new project from scratch. Can I get away with reusing some of my original research? I believe I can. I have three pages of it, and I need a total of five, so it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. I just need to figure out a good hypothesis. Which metals will make the best electrodes? I don’t know!

For the research part, 5 of my 10-15 sources have to be books, so I went to the library today. I knew that I had used some books for my original research, so I only looked for a few books. As it turned out, a few were all they had. Come on, guys. Chemistry is the “central science,” and you only have two books about it? I checked out them both. Then I went home and found out that I had only used one book in my original report, so it was time to hit the other local library. They had a whole three books on chemistry, although one was more about alchemy and the other was a book of simple, simple experiments for kids (think vinegar-and-baking-soda volcanoes). So I checked out the other book.

In order to have five book sources, I needed one more book. It was time to hit the reference section. I managed to find a book with a few pages of information on electrical conductivity and stuff like that, so we managed to run off some copies of those pages. And now here I am. I guess I’ll only have to write two pages, but coming up with a suitable hypothesis might be a little more difficult. I don’t really know what sorts of metals would carry the electricity better. Maybe they’d all do equally well? No, that sounds unlikely. Oh well. I’ll have a few days to figure it out. It is a guess, anyway.

Also this weekend: I have to study for Tuesday’s test on the muscular system in Anatomy and Physiology. I need to memorize the names of a bunch of muscles, as well as being able to explain the structure of a muscle, among other things. Also on Tuesday, I have a test on a bunch of stuff in Calculus. Tests are 95% of the grade in that class, and they’re pretty tough. I almost had an A in the class until I bombed the last test, giving me a solid B. It’s going to be impossible to raise my grade to an A before the end of the quarter, so I just have to work on keeping my B. I think I also have a vocabulary quiz in English on Tuesday, but that’s nothing.

Here’s a little Ask Jordon to brighten your day.

Luke: How many candles were on Google’s 8th birthday cake?

I did notice that the cupcake in Google’s logo didn’t have eight candles. I think there were five or six.

sean: So what did you think of Jackass Number Two? (Which, awesomely yet strangely enough, has been given two thumbs up by Ebert and Roeper)

The movie was funny, and I’d probably see it again, even though I’ll never think about horses the same way. That’s really weird that Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. What made Ebert like it more than the first Jackass, which he panned?

Have a lot of huge pictures from your digital camera that you want to get online? Sometimes the only thing you need to do is resize an image before it’s ready to go. ResizR is an online tool that makes that job a little easier.

If you’re obsessed with Wikipedia, take the extremely long Are You a Wikipediholic Test. My score is a pithy 297.738126131719, so I have “a well-balanced attitude that may benefit by spending more time on Wikipedia.”

One year ago: “Gee, you must be wondering to yourself, I bet Jordon’s busy. Wrongo.”
Two years ago: “Every week I’m being driven into the ground by work, work, work. It just won’t let up.”
Three years ago: “Seeing as it’s an online petition, it won’t count for much, but it makes for a good symbolic gesture.”