Tebowmania

I had my first final exam today. In the morning. At 7:30. Yuck.

I had never seen so many people out and about on campus at 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday, but lots of people are in this chemistry class, and I’m sure there were some other exams at that time also. My studying paid off, largely due to the help of a study guide posted online by one of the professors — a list of exactly as many topics as there were questions on the exam. Sure enough, the exam followed the topics on the list in order. (Do you really think I otherwise would have memorized the integrated first-order rate equation?) I did well enough to get an A in the class. I’ve also gotten A’s in Social Geography and chem lab. Next: a history paper (due Tuesday) and a calculus final (Thursday).

This past week, on a cold Tuesday night, I went with my suitemates Adam and Cameron to the intramural flag football championship game, held in The Swamp. During the game, my eyes drifted toward the south side of the stadium, where Heisman Trophy winners Steve Spurrier (1966) and Danny Wuerffel (1996) are honored. Next to Wuerffel’s jersey and name, someone had placed hand-drawn posters of a makeshift jersey with the number 15 and the name Tim Tebow.

Tebow is the man here at the University of Florida. He’s as charismatic as he is physically imposing. (I’ve seen the guy. He’s big.) Women want to be with him. Men want to be him. What’s more, the sophomore quarterback has been very successful this season, and by all accounts, he’s one of the best players in college football. I went to the game during which he became the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 20 touchdowns and rush for as many in a single season. Perhaps his defining moment of the season came in the last game of the season against Florida State, where he broke his non-throwing hand scoring a touchdown in the third quarter and continued to play through the end of the game.

And now Tebow is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, considered the highest honor in college football. The award is presented tonight, and he was invited to the ceremony. A majority of Heisman voters polled have said they’re voting for him. The only thing he has going against him is that he’s a sophomore, and almost all Heisman winners in the past have been seniors — the rest have been juniors. But maybe today in New York, Tim Tebow will break tradition. It wouldn’t be the first time.

I can’t even imagine how crazy everyone around here would get if he won. I bet they’d throw him a parade. Everyone’s wild about the guy as it is. They’ll probably love him even more even if he doesn’t win. That’s Tebowmania.

It’s time to answer some Ask Jordon questions.

teddy: what would you do if you were the las person on earth?

Isn’t there a movie coming out that has something to do with that theme? Wouldn’t it be more likely, as the movie seems to suggest, that even if you think you are the las(t) person on Earth, you’re probably not? How would you know? Or are we just talking about a sort of “I haven’t seen anyone around for years, so I think everyone in the area is dead”-type feeling? Would it really make a difference if there are still a few people left on the other side of the globe? How about this: what if I and someone else were the last people on Earth? That would be a more interesting question.

Eric the Red: What falls from the sky in the poster for “Woman is the Nigger of the World”? Are they bullets? Lipstick tubes? Phalli? (see Shaved Fish cover)

Haven’t seen it. My knowledge of the Beatles effectively ends at 1970. I do know that “Woman Is the Nigger of the World” is a song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. (I DONT ADVOCATE CALLING PEOPLE NAMES OK) Can I have a high-res version of the Shaved Fish cover for a very good look? And is that really the plural of “phallus”? Also, why didn’t your browser send a user-agent string when submitting the Ask Jordon form? Are you my friend Luke? All evidence points to it.

Sasha: Will I get lucky tonight?

Why are you asking me? Do I look like a Magic 8-Ball? Is there anything I can do to help you out? Are you a guy or a girl?

The Open Font Library is a project that collects freely usable fonts.

“What happens when you mail a letter to someone, but instead of putting a 39 cent stamp from the post office, you just tape on some loose change adding up to 39 cents?” Find out.

What would Earth be like if we had no moon?

Shovelglove, Part II

When you call someone, isn’t it considered polite for them to, say… call you back?

I count this as number four. Time to move on. What does the world have against Jordon Kalilich?

Just before I left home on Monday, I decided on a whim to take up the shovelglove again. I briefly took up this form of sledgehammer exercise two years ago but stopped after I overexerted myself. Since then I’ve been lazy/trying to forget it/afraid of exercising. But for some reason, I remembered it and decided to give it another try.

I brought my 4-kg sledgehammer and have started doing some movements with it in the morning. A 14-minute session is recommended, but I think I’ll work up to it this time. Last time, I tried to do the whole 14 minutes too soon, and I couldn’t move my arms for a few days. I’m doing the same movements I did last time: shoveling, churning butter, chopping wood, and flipping the lever. I think I’ll try the Ab Killer as well.

Do check out my online HabitCal (habit calendar) on which I’ll mark my successes and failures. (The color code is: green = success, red = failure, yellow = exempt day.) Right now I’ll count doing the movements as a success, but when I can do the full 14 minutes, I’ll be tougher with the definition.

I am Jordon. People ask me things. I answer them.

Michael : I would like to know the truth about the Beatles 1964 coin that is resurficeing,. Who made it, Why and Who were they given to. I Thank you, Mike

Hm. I know about the Beatles, and I know about coins, but I don’t know about Beatle coins. A quick Google search suggests that some bronze coins were made to commemorate a visit they made to the United States in 1964. Since I didn’t bother to go past page one of the Google search results, I don’t know who would have issued them, and it’s possible that some or all of them were made years after the fact.

Tim: How much does it need to go to Ameryca one time?

Tim, thankses, to ask to me over a travel towards the Ameryca. It is a beautiful station of job, that the sure one is that estimated. The Ameryca, For Your Information must once be a lot. I hope that you he find it valid.

Here’s a fine example of stop-motion animation with real people: Tony vs. Paul.

20 Things You Didn’t Know About… Nothing.

Here’s a list of most common nicknames for first names based on 1990 US Census data.

Home, home again

In school politics, the Gator Party swept this week’s elections, winning 44 of the 47 seats that were up for grabs. Someone told me they usually win more, which just goes to show the kind of influence they have. They have a lot of money, I think it’s because the fraternities endorse them. They’re probably good chums, the Gator Party and the frats. That’s a great reason to vote against them. But anyway, the Progress Party candidate running to represent my dorm won, so did vote for a winner.

The referendum-type things were a little more disappointing. One question asked whether a non-profit, student-run café should be built on campus. The other asked whether the university should build a homeless shelter. The café was approved, and the homeless shelter was rejected. Methinks those results paint a sad picture of UF’s student body. While I can’t speak for everybody, it seems that in general, they care more about their caffeinated drinks than about the destitute people living around them.

Anyway, my sister and I have come home for the weekend, but my parents are away because it’s their anniversary. We’ve been hanging out with friends, which is cool, but I’m really looking forward to watching the UF-LSU game tonight on our ginormous TV. The kickoff is in a few minutes.

Here’s an individually wrapped edition of Ask Jordon.

Peter: How do I keep up my motivation to blog, especially when I’m very busy in life?

I love to inform and entertain. I have a readership that likes to find out what’s new in my life, so I write for them. If too many days have gone by, I feel that I need to blog if only “for the record.” Sometimes, when I’m letting off steam, I write for myself. Even if I don’t intend to let off steam, I still end up feeling better now that I’ve gotten my feelings into words and shared them with other people. If you have one dedicated reader, you have an audience to write for. And hey, I’m a dedicated reader of your blog. I noticed you haven’t written anything in a while. What do you have to say about that? Write about it in your blog. That should get the ball rolling again.

Here are some of The World’s Ugliest Cars (although, to be fair, many of them are simply listed because they were pieces of junk).

For those of you interested in moving to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, read 20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai.

Election daze

Student Government elections were yesterday and today. Exciting. I didn’t really know much about the elections until recently… like, yesterday, maybe. Apparently there are these two parties, the Gator Party and the Progress Party, and they were running candidates for the Student Senate or something like that. Anyway, people from each party have been making sure you go out and vote for them. They’ve been bothering me since yesterday, so I voted today. It wasn’t just so they’d leave me alone, but because I wanted to have a say in the democratic process and other things like that.

It wasn’t as easy of a choice as I thought because it wasn’t like the two parties were for or against things. They just had their own different ideas. But the Gator Party wants to produce “tangible benefits for students” (as my dorm’s incumbent SG representative said to me in a harangue that was given in one breath) or “do stuff” (as my friend Luke said when I showed him their platform). The Progress Party seems more concerned with fixing Student Government so that it can “do stuff” in the future. They had less money and less of a visible presence than the Gator Party. I voted for them.

There were also referendum-type questions on the ballot. One asked whether a non-profit, student-run café should be built on campus, and the other asked whether the university should build a homeless shelter. Well, here’s an idea that I should have thought of earlier. We should have a homeless-run café on campus. That should give them a livelihood (or at least something to do). Or maybe a café where people who can’t pay can work instead. That’s another way to put both ideas into use (not that they’re incompatible with each other, of course, but it might be more economical to put them together). Also note that I am only kidding. I voted against the café and for the homeless shelter.

Do you hear that? It sounds like Ask Jordon!

Fabi: This isn’t a question, but you should definitely check this out https://payperpost.com/

This may or may not be the same Fabiola I went to high school with. It probably isn’t, despite what the IP address indicates. But anyway, Fabs, I’ve heard of the whole “get paid to blog” thing before. J-Walk of the J-Walk Blog partakes in it once in a while, with fair warning to readers (“I was paid to write the following” or something similar). In any case, it’s tantamount to selling out, even if you don’t believe what you’re writing. I think ads on the Internet are obnoxious, but none are worse than ads that replace content. If I got a few bucks to fill up a post with a review of some amazing web site, I’d have a few bucks, but not much dignity. I’d have sold out, you see. If ever I try to make money from this site, it will be in a more tasteful way.

natasha!: do you know anything about the string theory? if so, could you possibly explain it for me? (the wikipedia explaination is confusing). <3 lotsa love.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about string theory. I had a physics teacher in high school who called it nonsense. Apparently it’s very controversial, as most new ideas are. Maybe a reader can help us out. (Brian.)

The 2008 election is a little over a year away, but the primaries are sooner. Here’s a handy table to see where the candidates stand on many issues.

Find your birthday star, a star that’s as many light-years away as you are years old. In other words, the star’s light that reaches Earth was emitted when you were born, and when you’re looking at it in the sky, you’re essentially seeing it as it was at that time.

Do we have time for a quick one?

That’s what she said!

Let’s see. This weekend, my sister and I went to our grandparents’ house, and we met our parents and our cousins there. Grocery shopping was done today. It’s easy to get carried away when you need food and you haven’t been in a proper grocery store in weeks.

Backtracking to last week, I had an astounding three tests. On Tuesday, I had a Social Geography test, on which I scored 32 out of 33 (which is pretty good because that’s a third of my grade). On Thursday, I had a calculus test, and though the results have yet to come in, I’m feeling good about it. On Friday night (yes, Friday night), I had a chemistry test. I don’t have chemistry (or any class) on Friday night, but there are so many people in the class (it’s a basic chemistry course) that I guess that’s the only time they could have it. Nevertheless, the test delayed my aforementioned weekend plans. But right after the test, I found out that the answer key was posted online. Since I hadn’t yet thrown away my scratch work, I was able to determine that I aced the test. That’s a quarter of my grade in the bag.

Apparently all these tests aren’t so bad. You just have to take them one at a time.

It’s time for another exciting edition of Ask Jordon!

Olivia: What’re you on about?

Er… dunno. I’m a right raving nutter, I s’pose.

Ivan Karamazov: Why do some believe Ron Paul will follow up on his promises of the One True reading of the Constitution? Do they realize it will mean cuts? Who IS he?

Well, brother, they say that if you Google Ron Paul, you’ll find out about him. Me, I don’t believe a word of it. As for his kind, I think they’re a dying breed. Nobody wants cuts. Well, people do, but the dudes and the ladies that run the two-party system haven’t really invited them to participate in our democracy. Oops! (Okay, I’m a hypocrite. I’ve joined the Democratic Party, much to the chagrin of the growing number of people who think that if you’re not an independent, you’re a narrow-minded hypocrite. Wait…)

Ever wonder how valuable coins change hands? Here’s the story about a $1.9 million dime.

How to Predict the Weather Without a Forecast.

Skype no more

I’ve never used Skype much. Although I’ve long believed it’s a cool idea for a program, I rarely need to use it. After switching to Linux, I had some qualms about using the Linux version of Skype because it’s not free software (free as in freedom, not necessarily as in price). Nonetheless, I downloaded it anyway, only to confirm that it sucks. Skype has spent almost all of its resources developing the Windows version of its software, leaving the Mac and (especially) the Linux versions in the proverbial dust. However, I continued to use Skype as often as before (that is, hardly ever).

Then, recently, I found out that Skype for Linux reads your password and Firefox profile. It apparently took a while to be noticed because Skype is not free software as per the definition linked to above. Only the Skype developers have access to the source code, so only they can know what the program is programmed to do. If Skype were free software, this breach of privacy would have been uncovered very quickly and fixed by members of the community. And with that, I got rid of Skype and searched for a free (as in freedom) alternative.

I came across WengoPhone, which, unlike Skype, uses the open protocol known as SIP. A WengoPhone user can talk to people using other SIP clients. (Skype users, on the other hand, can only talk to other Skype users due to Skype’s use of its own proprietary protocol.) What I like about WengoPhone as opposed to Ekiga (which I already had on my computer) is that the interface is similar to Skype’s. The program is a little rough around the edges in the way of bugs (I can’t hear the sound that’s supposed to play when you get a call), but overall, it seems like a pretty good alternative to Skype. The sound quality, from what I’ve been able to tell, is worse than Skype’s but a little better than your phone’s. As for calling real phones, Wengo’s rates for the US and Canada are less than half of Skype’s (€0.008/minute vs. €0.017/minute).

One problem I had with Skype is that I really didn’t have anyone to talk to. Let’s make this less of a problem for SIP. WengoPhone is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (and it should be in the repositories for your Linux distribution). And here’s a list of moreSIP clients. Once you have it set up, give me a call at sip:jordonk27@voip.wengo.fr. I think you should be able to leave me a message if I’m not available.

I’m think my friend Luke is right. Proprietary software really is a crime.

On the Ask Jordon front, we’re picking up from last time.

Clairecrowww: Well, I have to do my assignment today. Its a talky-type thing, so I don’t think you could help much… Unless you came to Australia?

Maybe next time we can use SIP!

Clairecrowww: And also: My friend would like to know if the West Coast Eagles will win the grand final. (Its AFL, if you didn’t know)

Reply hazy, try again later.

Also on the privacy front: I’ve reported about the phenomenon of color printers printing Seeing Yellow is a site that has more information about the phenomenon.

Not to be confused with the 10 amazing Earth facts I posted recently, here are 101 Amazing Earth Facts.

How alarming

Just before midnight last night, as I was going to sleep, the fire alarm went off. Unsure of whether it was a drill, and remembering that you shouldn’t take your stuff with you in the event of a fire, I got out of bed, put on some shoes, and went outside. It was strange standing across the street from my dorm watching the blinking lights inside along with a bunch of other people. I forgot my keys and my cell phone, both of which would probably have been handy to bring. Luckily, I was able to borrow my roommate’s keys so I wouldn’t be locked out when (or if) I went back.

So there I was. The night was cold (in the sense that it wasn’t as warm as it should have been), I was wearing socks with sandals, and I had no phone to tell anyone that my dorm was — possibly — on fire. A police car came, and then a fire truck. Some firefighters walked into the building. For a while I stood nervously, but I didn’t want to do anything else. Mark, who lives in the dorm next door, came around. He mentioned that it would be a good opportunity to go out for a midnight breakfast, but I declined. I wanted to make sure everything would be okay.

Another fire truck came. After about 20 minutes, they exited the building, and we were allowed to go back inside. The door to my room had been unlocked, so I didn’t need my roommate’s keys. I’m not sure whether there was a fire at all; if there was, it must have been minor. A few minutes later, my roommate, Adam, came back into the room. He must have left again, because he said he came back at 4:30 in the morning, and he says that I said to him, “It’s 4:30 in the morning.” I don’t remember that at all.

Since Adam stays up later, he sleeps in later, so when I woke up this morning, I ate breakfast quietly and didn’t do much. I went out for lunch to find that, instead of the usual oppressive heat, it was wet and overcast. Also, there were people picnicking with their cars on the lawn next to the dorm. It took me a moment to realize that oh yes, it was game day — football, of course. Since the game was only on pay-per-view, I listened to it on the radio (thanks to the cable company broadcasting the university’s sports radio station on TV). Florida beat Troy 59-31, so now they’re 2-0 for the season. Next week’s game, against Tennessee, will be at 3:30 on CBS.

This Ask Jordon is brought to you by The World of Stuff.

Peter: What’s the sound of one hand clapping? Bonus points if you know why I asked this question. It’s important.

One hand can’t clap. Take that, Zen dudes with meaningless questions. I really don’t know what would be so important about you asking this question. Maybe you could enlighten me? Ha ha.

Clairecrowww: Could you change the name of your blog to “Bliggity-Blog”? Please? Just for a while.

You mean change the word “Blog” that I put on the home page to replace “The World of Stuff,” which I had considered redundant since the World of Stuff banner is already there? If I did that, then I’d have to change it to “Blob” and “Blag,” and before you know it, I’d be obliged to refer to the Internet as the Intarwubbernettersphereoblogoblagotubes. You don’t want that to happen, do you?

Clairecrowww: Could you do my religeon assignment for me?

What’s it about? Can I create my own religion and then write about it? I would totally do that.

Thanks to reader Luke for this organ-donor-related link: Questions and Answers About Transplantation and Donation.

Mark Malkoff bought (and consumed) food or a drink from all 171 Starbucks outlets in Manhattan in less than 24 hours, and he has the video to prove it.

Home sweet home

For the Labor Day weekend, my sister and I have come home. It sure is different from my dorm at UF’s Hume Hall, but I’m getting used to college life pretty nicely. In fact, I’m surprised at how used I am to it already. Maybe college really will be the time of my life.

Even then, it’s nice to be back home, if only for a few days. Here I have no worries or cares, and my mom can cook for me and do my laundry. What’s not to love? Plus, my friend Nick had a barbecue at his house this afternoon. It was pretty much an indoor barbecue, but we did swim in his pool, which was nice. Later, we went to the beach… at night. It seems that I’ve been to the beach at night more often than during the day. It’s probably true, in fact.

I got here yesterday afternoon, and after a short day (today), I have to leave tomorrow morning. I’m pretty mad about that. I’m also mad because I’m tired, but I don’t want to believe that myself.

Let’s cut to the Ask Jordon.

ALISON : R U HAPPY?

Overall, yes. I’m glad that college isn’t so bad, and I’m seeing it as an exciting time to make new friendships and learn valuable life lessons. Next.

ARianna: you have made a “minor scale chart thing” and I was hopeing you had a “major scale chart thing somwhere as well. DO you?

No. Maybe I’ll make one sometime, but I only made the minor one because I couldn’t find a very good one on the web. Finding a major scale chart was easier.

Ashley McGee: Gilligan’s Island was cancelled right before the 4th season was to start. Would the castways have made it off if they knew it was the final show?

I don’t think so. They had all that time to make radios out of coconuts and everything, and there were always exciting visitors who would come for a day or two and then get picked up from the island or something. I think our favorite castaways just wanted to stay on the island to protect their staid, secure selves from the sociopolitical upheaval that was occurring in the United States from 1964-1967. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.

If you eat really fast like me, you might want to check out 5 Powerful Reasons to Eat Slower.

The cleanup

The Change Contest is still going on. You could win a guest post here at The World of Stuff! Just make sure to include your e-mail address with your guess; otherwise, I might not be able to contact you.

I have been cleaning my room. This, I believe, is an event worthy of first billing in a post (not including nags to enter contests). The area of focus here is my closet, which I don’t believe I’ve ever actually cleaned — and it shows. So, why this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence? Because I feel like it! No, not really. Because my days at home are numbered, and I’ll never be living here again. Our home is for sale, and there’s going to be an open house the weekend I leave for college. I already frustrated the real estate agent by not having a spotless room that he could take a picture of, so in spite of my best efforts to the contrary, I have to make it look presentable inside and out.

Going through one side of my closet, I’m finding that a lot of things I’m throwing (or, more often, giving) away I have absolutely no emotional attachment to. And I have found all kinds of things, including things I didn’t even know I had. But the things I knew I had I didn’t really mind getting rid of. This is a change from the past, when I wouldn’t throw anything away because I had some sentimental reason to keep it. Am I losing my sentimentality? Am I getting old? Are the rigors of life setting in? Am I paranoid? Does that mean they’re not after me? Am I asking too many questions? Oh well. At least I’ll have a closet that’s pretty empty. Well, not quite yet. I still have to clean up the other half of the closet: the messy half. (Yes, I might actually have to throw away those Teenie Beanie Babies.) And then: the desk. Oh, the desk.

And now, an informational edition of Ask Jordon.

Genna Ruffin: Hi Jordan: I’ve been reading all the posts about installing the “hide bulletins” thingie for myspace and can’t figure out WHERE to paste the code?

MySpace Ignore Bulletins is a Greasemonkey user script, which means you need to be running the Greasemonkey extension for Firefox in order to use it. You seem to be using Firefox, so all you have to do is install Greasemonkey, and, after being prompted to restart your browser, go back to the script’s page and click “Install this script” on the right.

The November 2008 presidential election is just around the corner! Do you know who to support yet? If you’re like me, you’ll probably need a little help. You’re probably not like me, but here’s a presidential candidate selector — a quiz to determine which presidential candidate is most in line with your views. Here are my results. I’ve never heard of some of these people.

1. Dennis Kucinich (88%)
2. Barack Obama (83%)
3. Joseph Biden (75%)
4. Christopher Dodd (73%)
5. Hillary Clinton (72%)
6. Mike Gravel (69%)
7. John Edwards (68%)
8. Bill Richardson (60%)
9. Ron Paul (50%)
10. Elaine Brown (47%)
11. Mike Huckabee (26%)
12. Rudolph Giuliani (25%)
13. Tommy Thompson (24%)
14. John McCain (21%)
15. Mitt Romney (17%)
16. Sam Brownback (10%)
17. Duncan Hunter (8%)
18. Tom Tancredo (8%)

That’s not including people who’ve dropped out of the race or haven’t announced their candidacy yet.

Wikipedia has a list of first occurrences.

In the year 2017

Have you entered the Change Contest yet?

An update on eMusic: I have been trying it out. The trial period is 30 days, and you get 50 free downloads. So far I’ve downloaded Paul McCartney’s new album and a few other random tracks. The sound quality is pretty decent, although I’d prefer if they ditched MP3 in favor of Ogg Vorbis, for ideological reasons, y’understand. (Not only that, but the sound quality could be better, and they wouldn’t have to pay licensing fees, so they could pass the savings on to their users.) I’ve also created an account at Last.fm; I figure it’ll be a good way to discover new artists. I listen to too much dumb stuff. Hopefully these sites will fix that.

You should try Asking Jordon once in a while. It’s fun! See, my friend Justin likes it.

Justin: Is the answer to this question “no”?

Mu.

Justin: Should I be up this late at night?

This question was sent at… 4:09 A.M.? No, you should not be up that late, young man. Go to bed this instant.

Justin: I have one more. If you could describe the modern age in one word, what would it be and why?

Wow. This is an interesting one. Throughout the 20th century, we’ve developed such a capacity to do good by advancing technology and changing our attitudes toward one another. We have the capacity, but we haven’t put it into place. People are succumbing to horrible diseases and being massacred, and we haven’t done nearly enough to stop it. I would say: unfulfilled.

I’ve previously noted that the contiguous 48 states will not see a total solar eclipse until Monday, August 21, 2017. According to predictions, the eclipse will be greatest at 37°N, 87.7°W, near Bainbridge, Christian County, Kentucky. I’m all for booking a room in a hotel close to this point to ensure that I’ll see the eclipse at its fullest. I’m also all for booking it 10 years in advance. Who’s with me?

Find out how to memorize anything. I’ll have to see if it works.

Over the past few centuries, it was common to make a mask of someone’s face when they died. Other people had masks made while they were still alive. In either case, these are often the best likenesses we have of historical figures. Here’s a collection of life and death masks.