Category - Ask Jordon

On Wednesday I started coming down with a cold. I figured I could sleep it away, but that didn't work. I woke up at around 1:00 in the morning and had to go and blow my nose a few times. At about 2:00, I put on a heavy comforter and tried to go back to sleep. And hey, then it was time for school! Luckily, as I said, it was a short day, and we got out before noon. Since I was feeling under the weather, I didn't really do anything productive. I took a shower, and later, I did something I haven't done in a really long time: I took a hot bath. I didn't fill the tub up all the way, but it was still kind of nice. But it's scary how much I'm thinking of calculus. While I was filling the irregularly-shaped tub with water, I realized that it would take longer and longer to fill up the tub if it got slightly wider. But that's common sense? Anyway, before going to bed early, I took my temperature and it was normal, but I still felt bad.

I wasn't sure if I would be well enough to go to work today, but I was, and it was worth it, too, as I was reminded. Today I got my first paycheck since getting back to the job. And the great thing is that they've spelled my name right this time. I had to fill out an application again, so this time I made absolutely sure that they would spell my name "Jordon" and not "Jordan." Work was pretty good, and I managed to survive, although I did sneeze a lot. They asked if I wanted to go home early, and I said no. It got better once I turned the air conditioning up. (I used to wonder why turning the air conditioning "up" would make it warmer. I thought "up" and "down" related to intensity rather than temperature. I guess it's more convenient to think of it as climate control.)

Anyway, I worked, and now I'm here. I might go and see Jackass: Number Two with Sean and Mike tonight, but it's not definite. I probably wouldn't go to see it if Sean hadn't invited me, but I'll admit that I do find that kind of stuff funny in a way. And tomorrow, I'll be all better, hopefully. I'm mostly better now, but past experience suggests that my cold will probably linger for another day or two.

Do we have time for a quick Ask Jordon?

Lana: What's you're wildest fantasy?

I'm not really one to fantasize, Lana, but I often dream of falling in love, if it's all the same to you. It's not very wild, but it's a fantasy... one that I really want to see come true.

Here's a spectacular (and huge) photo: it's a ten-hour-and-forty-minute time exposure of the night sky in Namibia. (That's in Africa.) Imagine how dark had to be to get a good exposure for that long. Pretty dark, I'd say.

Only the most abused movie clichés get special names. The Stormtrooper effect is one. Although the protagonist's battle with the antagonist is by far the most difficult, it just so happens that there is no strength in numbers, for the good guy can easily mow down dozens of bad guys as long as they're in a group.

Yesterday was the school's annual open house. It's just a way for the teachers to introduce themselves to their new students' parents, so we students don't have to be there. But of course, there will always be some parents who take their kids anyway, and I always end up getting pulled around school.

It was raining, so it was a lot of fun walking to the freezing auditorium to hear the new principal, Mr. Gordon, speak. Except he wasn't there. We were a few minutes late, so we entered in the middle of an assistant principal giving some speech about how great the school was. I found out later that Mr. Gordon's father had suddenly died, so he would be gone for at least a week. That's a pretty good reason not to be at your new school's open house.

I waited for my dad to get there (he had to get off work a little later than he wanted), and then we proceeded on the tour of my classes. Three years ago, the school would allow parents to walk freely in and out of their kids' classrooms and chat with the teachers. Nowadays, it's more formalized. The parents are expected to follow their kids' schedules, going to each classroom, sitting in the students' seats, and listening to a lecture from the teacher until ten minutes pass and the bell rings.

One thing I thought that was interesting was that some teachers tended to go on and on about their classes, and others ran out of things to say in ten minutes. Mr. Gates (calculus) and Mrs. Mackey (English) tend to talk more, so they went on past the bell. Mr. Gates had even written notes for his lecture to the parents, and he gave handouts to them. (O Mr. Gates, I salute you for your professionalism.) I guess teachers have always had their differences and quirks, but I thought it was funny to notice.

Anyway, by tagging along and listening to the lectures, I did learn a bit more about my teachers (like how long they've all been teaching -- sheesh), and I guess that's a good thing. They are people, after all.

Speaking of which: yesterday, someone said to Luke, "Wouldn't it be funny if, all of a sudden in the middle of class, Mr. Gates started doing the robot?" Luke told me and the others this morning, and I couldn't stop laughing at the idea. Mr. Gates, as I've said, is very professional and always keeps a very formal tone. In fact, he so rarely strays from the subject of math that I nearly crack up just listening to him talk about other things. I thought it would be difficult to keep my composure in his class today, but it was actually pretty easy. Paradoxically, it's hard to imagine him doing the robot if he's standing right there.

And now for some practical and impractical applications of Ask Jordon.

KRISTEN: When IS "Y" a Vowel?!!!!!

I think it's pretty much whenever it doesn't come at the beginning of a word. In those cases, it assumes some other vowels' sounds, like in pony, orderly, cyst, and syzygy.

Luke: In the past, you posted a link that claimed everything is four. I disagree. Can you rephrase this to be a question _and_ answer it?

I gave this a little thought, and I'm pretty sure I've come up with the best possible way to rephrase declarative sentences into interrogative ones.

"Do you know that in the past, you posted a link that claimed everything is four, and that I disagree?"

The answer: Yes, I know that I posted a link that claimed everything is four, and yes, I now know (by virtue of having been told by you) that you disagree.

Here's a CGI recreation of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima (YouTube link). The scary part is that that thing was a firecracker by today's standards.

I had heard of rumors about Starbucks's "short" cappuccino, which, according to legend, is smaller than a "tall" (supposedly their smallest size). Nobody I've told has believed me because Starbucks doesn't have a "short" size on the menu board -- they wouldn't want you to buy the cheapest drink, after all. Alas, I was right. This and other forms of product sabotage are apparently a common practice.

One year ago: "Here are some reasons not to write a novel."
Two years ago: "I didn't know they taught calculus in high school, but what do I know?"

Yesterday I auditioned for the school's variety show. (I don't know why they don't call it a talent show. That's what it is.) I was in the variety show two years ago, but luckily, I didn't have to audition then; I was called in as a replacement guitarist a week before the show.

Anyway, a little while ago, I gave Gilbert a recording of a song I wrote, and he liked it a lot, so I asked him if he would play it with me in the variety show. (After all, when people saw me in the variety show two years ago, they kept telling me that I should be in it again.) I also tried to convince Justin to audition, but he wasn't really sure what he could do.

So yesterday, after a pep rally (which, nostalgically, was the first one we've had in the gym since freshman year; even though it dragged on a bit, there were some funny antics that made it interesting. For example, Curtis -- yes, the same Curtis mentioned in a few old posts -- somehow got a hold of a bullhorn and was using it to start chants like "Freshmen go home!" Then he ran to another section of the stands, but it wasn't long before an administrator found him and took a hold of the bullhorn), Gilbert and I headed to the auditorium for the audition (but only after Gilbert, who was leading the way, forgot where the exits in the gym were -- we haven't really been there since freshman year, you have to remember -- and he accidentally led us into the locker room where the cheerleaders were changing. Whoops! But [un]fortunately, we were out of there quickly).

For the fourth and last day of auditions, there were a lot of people there. In fact, Justin showed up and decided to audition to be the MC. But as in any talent show, most of the acts were musical, so I got kind of nervous about not being good enough. Since I had some time to kill before I would have a ride home, I decided to wait until almost the very end to go up and play.

We didn't do the whole song because there was only so much time, but the teacher in charge of the show said that she liked it. But she (and some other teacher who was with her) said that I had some trouble hitting the high notes, which is probably true. They suggested that I either get a voice coach or sing the offending lines a whole octave lower. I wasn't willing to do either of those things, but later it occurred to me that I could probably play the song in a lower key if I had to. Or maybe I just faltered because I was nervous and because I had strained my voice at the pep rally. But whatever the cause and solution, Gilbert and I are in the show.

In other news, today was my first day back at my old job. It was office work as usual, but this time, a number of things were different. The big thing, really, was that my sister was working with me. There were some new faces there, and some old ones were gone. The place had been also been remodeled, or at least rearranged and painted.

The great thing about working there is that the boss is a friend of the family -- that's how I got the job, in fact. We used to be neighbors, so when he read in the local paper that I was doing this blagging thing on the Internets, that's when he talked to me about giving me a job. I would see his daughter, Briana, in the office every once in a while, and my sister and I were pleased to find today that she was still working there. We got to catch up on things. We go way back, after all.

I used to work there for four hours a week, on Fridays only, so I expected that working seven and a half hours a week on Fridays only would be a bigger bore. Not to say that working was boring, but sometimes those four hours would pass like a snail on... well, anywhere a snail might happen to be. So I was surprised when the seven and a half hours passed quickly. I guess it's because I had a lot of work to keep me busy, and probably the novelty of going back to work kept things relatively exciting.

I wonder how much I'm getting paid...

And now for some Ask Jordon that's completely different.

natasha: If you had to choose a quote from each of the Overheard websites, which would be your favorite and why?

The quotations from Overheard in New York, Overheard in the Office, and Overheard at the Beach are all pretty funny, but only one quotation from any of the sites stands out in my mind, and that is this one.

>From Canada :) : How does it feel to live in a place without snow?

As someone who's never seen snow, you might expect my answer to be something along the lines of, "I don't know." But actually, it does feel a little weird to have a green Christmas. I blame the North's influence on American culture, or maybe it's just the fact that it snows nearly everywhere except Florida.

If you must surf the web at work, check out Is It Friday? and, in a similar vein, Is it 5:30?

One year ago: "I've been thinking, as I am apt to do, and I think our language is illogical."
Two years ago: "I received three responses. Not bad, methinks."

Once upon a time -- about three years ago, to be exact -- I got a job offer from an old friend of the family. I accepted it, and it became my first real job. I was happy doing office-type work as a "Sales Assistant." Ah yes, I think that was my job title, but I don't even remember. Maybe that's what the actual salespeople were called. Oh well. Anyway, I was making $7 an hour working 4 hours a week, and everything was all fine and good. Then, in January 2005, I got the call saying that they didn't need me anymore and had to let me go. He said that he would call me again if they needed me again, but I wasn't sure if I would see the day.

Last Tuesday, we were at home waiting for Tropical Storm Ernesto when the phone rang. The name of the company that I used to work for was on the caller ID. Springing up to catch the phone, I knew that the moment had finally arrived.

"Hi, this is Bill Gates," a familiar voice said. "We were looking for Jordon Kalilich to see if he's out of high school yet." The office once again needed a semi-computer-whiz-type person, and I was their man.

My old boss went on to offer me my old job working 15 hours a week. He also extended the offer to my sister, who hasn't really ever had a job before. I told him I'd get back to him. Fifteen hours is a long time when you're a high school student. Since my school doesn't have classes on Fridays, I wondered if I could work the bulk of my time then, but I would still have a lot more hours to contend with, and I believe the office is closed on weekends, like most offices are. I really didn't want to work after school, but I would work on Thursday if I had to (because Thursdays are like my Fridays, after all).

My mom got back to him, and they worked out a deal that my sister and I would work on Fridays only for a total of 15 hours. I start this Friday. I guess I'm going to have to get used to waking up early on Fridays again. Plus, I'll have to get used to the long days, but they're actually not as long as my school day (7:30-3:00 at work vs. 7:05-3:15 at school). And, of course, you can't forget about the money. That's a major benefit right there. It should be nice to get a paycheck of, let's say, $50 every week. That's not much for most people, but it's enough for me, considering I don't have many expenses.

Seek, and ye shall find. Ask Jordon, and he shall answer you.

Justin: In your opinion, how is the world going to end?

There's probably some celestial body big enough to pulverize the earth into small bits, but a run-in with such a rock isn't likely to happen anytime soon. If the earth manages to survive intact until the end of the universe, then it's just a matter of how the universe ends. Or it's possible that the universe will not end at all. Nobody really knows.

Laura: Who or what gave you the idea to start your own website, and how did you go about starting it?

Well, my first site was a Pokémon fan site, so I had had an idea of what it was like to run a full-fledged web site before starting The World of Stuff. To put it simply, TWoS basically came into existence when I brought together some various pages that I had been maintaining, and the blog grew out of it later. See also: About the Site.

"Weird Al" Yankovic is offering a track from his new album for free on the Internet. Appropriately enough, it's titled "Don't Download This Song," and it's a send-up of the charity single genre. Be sure to check out the music video as well.

One year ago: "I had never eaten such a delicious school lunch!"
Three years ago: "I didn't realize it until today, but it's probably because central Florida is being hit by Tropical Depression Henri."

Yesterday morning, out of nowhere, my mom said, "We're under a hurricane watch."

Ah yes, it's that time of year again when hurricane activity is in full swing. Today, Tropical Storm Ernesto is heading toward us. As you might imagine, yesterday at school, the place was abuzz with talk of school closures and whatnot. In one of my classes, someone switched on the TV just in time for us to read, as one, the crawling text along the bottom: "'Broward... County... schools... closed... Tuesday'!" Teachers altered their plans for tests and things. Nobody was really sure how much time we would have off, so everything was tentative.

So here I am on a Tuesday morning, not being at school. It's not too bad yet; in fact, the weather's pretty nice. I made ham and eggs for breakfast. One of the local TV stations is on in the other room and they're in hurricane mode: there's a little radar loop in the corner, announcements about shelters and closures are flying across the bottom of the screen, and they're cutting to the weatherman every five seconds.

If you're not familiar with the way they usually report tropical storms and hurricanes, it can be kind of frustrating. Whenever a new advisory comes in, the weather guy or gal stands up at the big map and shows you where the storm is. It's represented by a tiny spiral shape. That actually marks the center of circulation, which may or may not be the center of the storm. They do the same thing when they show the forecast cone, which shows the storm's possible track as a cone that widens as it gets farther away. With Ernesto, the center of circulation is way off in what seems to be the "side" of the storm. It's as if you took a big, round hurricane and got rid of all the clouds except in one corner. That makes reading those maps tricky. There's a much better view that shows the wind speeds around the center and shows where those areas of high wind speed are likely to go. After all, a hurricane is mainly a wind event, usually not so much of a rain event.

Anyway, I happened to glance at the TV a little while ago and I caught some "Breaking News." They've made the decision that Broward County schools will be closed tomorrow as well. It's a good thing, because even though the storm appears to be moving quickly on the radar, we haven't seen any of it yet, and I don't think it's expected to go away until tomorrow morning.

So the schedule for today is to batten down the hatches, and I guess tomorrow will be the day that we'll have to clean stuff up. We'll probably be back in school on Thursday, but I can't say for sure. Hopefully I'll at least have time to do the homework that I probably should have done after school yesterday.

By the way, making the Beowulf movie over the weekend was a tremendous amount of fun, but I haven't posted it to Google Video yet because it'll take a really long time to upload it, and I'll need to be on call for bringing in patio furniture, mowing the lawn (yes, I'm going to have to do that), and maybe putting up shutters. Once this whole tropical storm thing goes away, I'll upload it and do a write-up. Or maybe I'll upload it if I have time later today. Actually, I guess I could do it right after I post this. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Now for some Ask Jordon.

Justin: If a whale and a mountain got into a fight, which would win?

In short, I think the mountain would win, no matter what. If the whale were on the mountain, it would probably die pretty quickly and then smell. If the mountain were on the whale (as in a rockslide or something) then the whale might not be fast enough to avoid getting crushed or at least bruised pretty badly. But then you might have a partially crumbled mountain and a somewhat injured whale. In that case, I'd call it a tie.

natasha: What do you think most guys prefer: blondes or brunettes? Or is that just a shallow way to choose who you think is hot?

I don't really know if most guys prefer either. As far as I'm concerned, hair color means nothing. It might be important to some guys, but I think that a girl isn't necessarily more or less hot because of the color of her hair. It's really shallow to judge people by how they look. Well, even saying that they're "hot" is pretty shallow, I think. I hope that made sense.

The latest in fake conspiracy theories: Belgium Doesn't Exist!

Three years ago: "Well, I just got off the phone with her, and I have to say, it's going to be a good article."

Yesterday I got some shirts, and today I got a couple more. I didn't get any more pairs of pants today, though, because I figured that I had enough. I have two weeks to try out my new wardrobe. Then school starts. Eww, school. Yucky.

Last year, it was difficult for me to get used to going to bed early and waking up early. I felt groggy for weeks. This year, I'm going to try to make a gradual change before school starts. I'm going to get the usual 7 hours and 50 minutes of sleep -- no more, no less -- while sliding my bedtime back from midnight or 1:00 to the usual 9:40.

I don't really want to say much else about school (or getting ready for it) today. I don't want to have to think about it. There's plenty of time for that later. Besides, I start to get a sickening feeling whenever I think about school.

Ask Jordon:

Gilbert: Why do you have such self-esteem issues...?

Gilbert probably asked this question after reading my response to his last question, in which he asked why I was so cool. The truth is that putting myself down is like a reflex. Sometimes I see myself as a failure, a sluggard, or a burden. I don't really know where it came from, but it's probably from a young Jordon being taught not to be selfish or haughty. Wait, who am I kidding? It's my own fault.

No, wait. That's me doing it again. It's a tricky subject, because I don't know whose fault it is. Anyway, I guess I've noticed that self-deprecation (read: humility) is more welcomed than its opposite: being self-righteous. But I guess that when I can insult myself without realizing it, it's time to take myself more seriously. So I think the best way to be is somewhere between the two? Maybe? But then again, how would you answer the question, "Why are you so cool?"

Is it good to take oneself seriously or humorously? Do I have self-esteem problems, and if I do, how can I fix them? Maybe I need a shrink? Anyone who has any opinion on this is invited to join in the discussion.

Luke: What's happening psychologically when I think I've got something insightful to say but I don't remember what it is?

It's my belief that if you can't remember something, it simply wasn't worth remembering. (There is a chance that it could come back, though.) I guess an exception would be if you're old and have memory problems due to some medical condition or your old age.

The situation in the Middle East is very complicated. Luckily, there's the Middle East Buddy List, a handy chart that summarizes some of the relationships between the parties involved.

Who knew that there was a "paranormal phenomena" site on About.com? Here's a gem from their photo gallery: What Are These Things? (It looks like snow or dust.)

One year ago: "Sí, yo puedo hablar español."
Two years ago: "It just goes to show that spelling reform, unless made mandatory, is a hit-or-miss thing."

Yesterday my friend Sean invited me to go to Lake Ida with him and some other friends, including Mike, for his birthday. His birthday was actually two weeks ago, but he was away then, so he celebrated it later. Not only did I give Sean a gift for his birthday, but he gave me a gift for mine. That's what's cool about your friend's birthday being the day after yours.

We went in the mid-afternoon, which I had been told was a good time to go because most of the people were gone by then. It wasn't very crowded. There was a lot of equipment to be brought: a personal water craft, a wakeboard, several inflatable inner-tube-type things, and of course, food. The weather was great for everything. There were clouds, but there was no rain. The clouds were mostly overhead, so it was bright enough without being hot, and I didn't have to squint when I was outside.

At first, Mike tried to wakeboard, but he couldn't get himself upright after many tries. Later, Mike and I rode an inner-tube-type thing tied to the PWC. The inner tube was long and you had to kneel on it in a single file while holding a handle in front of you. That made balancing kind of tricky, particularly on turns. Mike and I didn't do so well at the whole balancing thing. We fell off a bunch of times, and at high speed, too. When this thing tips over, you lose your grip, close your eyes, and feel yourself tumbling and skidding along the surface of the water. The next thing you know, your life jacket is keeping you afloat and everybody's laughing with you and trying to figure out who caused the accident.

So after six or eight or ten of those little mishaps, it was other people's turn to have some fun, so I sat back and watched. My neck, as you might imagine, hurt quite a bit from all those falls. I committed myself to enjoying all the food and watching other people fall off inner tubes. Later, as it was getting dark, Sean took me out for a spin on the PWC. Man, did we go fast. I thought we were going to flip over on some of those turns, and I was trying to remember what I had learned about balancing from my last experience. It was quite a thrill. We really need to get one of those.

Sean's mom mentioned that they should go back to the lake before summer vacation ends. That would be great. I had a good time, and I have the sore neck to prove it. Also, I heart my chiropractor.

Did you know that 90% of Ask Jordon questions come from my friends?

Gilbert: Why am I so cool? In fact, why are you...?

You're cool because you're like me, and I myself am cool. I'm cool because -- wait. We're not cool. Well, maybe you are, but not me. If you're cool, it's because of the ways you're not like me, my friend. Can you make sense of that? Because I don't think I can. That's how uncool I am.

elles: what's your view on love? (just in general)

Well, Elle(s), that's a big question that I'm not really sure how to answer. It's hard to explain how I feel about it. It all depends on the context, I guess. Let me tell you, unrequited love is the worst feeling in the world. You probably know that, but I know it more. On the flip side, there's nothing in life that's sweeter than someone loving you. That's based on my inferences, of course, because such conditions are impossible for me to produce in everyday life! There was this one time when I asked out a girl and she said yes. That was a natural high right there. I know, I've said this a million times, but I never felt so good in my life. I felt like I could take on the world. But there was a misunderstanding, and we ended up not going out. Figures!

Just in general, my view on love is that it's a good thing.... sometimes.

The earth is over 5 billion years old. It's really hard for most of us to wrap our minds around such a length of time. Luckily, a simple way to visualize it is to use a roll of toilet paper as a timeline. If you have a roll that's about 44 m long, then all of recorded history would take up the last 1 mm. Isn't that wild?

Oh, those Japanese. It must have taken a lot of work to set up loads of everyday household objects so that they would fall like dominoes (YouTube link).

One year ago: "Hopefully by then we'll be able and allowed to go."
Two years ago: "But when (if) I get my driver's permit, I better make sure they get it right lest I actually become Jordan Kalilich."

One thing I've noticed about spending a lot of time on the computer is that it's very easy for me to pump music into my ears for extended periods. How do people tolerate this? I'm sure it's okay in moderation (everything is, as they say, but I think that knife wounds to the heart are an exception), but in the age of the iPod, it's easier than ever for people to live in their wide(?) world of tunes day in and day out. How many of us Generation Y kids are going to be hard of hearing in twenty or thirty years. Too many, I say. But you know, by then they'll probably have found a cure for hearing loss or something. If you watch the tail end of your local news program, you'll learn that scientists(?) are making weight-loss pills and finding cures for things every day.

My sister got back from the church youth group trip today. They went snorkeling in the Florida Keys. I talked to some of the other people, and they all said they had fun, in spite of all the mosquitoes and sunburns. I don't really regret staying here because I didn't want to be like the youth group members who only go to the fun activities and not all the regular meetings. Actually, I don't know if there are any of those types anymore, but there used to be a few.

I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show the other day. It was good, and the songs were fun, but I wouldn't watch it every week for 30 years.

This is what happens when nobody Asks Jordon for a long time:

Brian: Pelicans?

Pelicans!

I love the Internet. Now it's easier than ever to make a complete idiot out of... well, a complete idiot. And America's Next Top Idiot is Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), whose poor understanding of the Internet showed last month when he said the following:

(Wikipedia has more.) Now, what better way to make fun of someone than put his statements to a techno beat? Check it out.

What would it be like to read your own obituary? Over the years, it has happened to a few people whose deaths were reported erroneously. Mark Twain put it best when he famously said, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Here's a long list of premature obituaries.

One year ago: "I should save that letter. It's the last I'm ever going to get from Harvard."
Two years ago: "Maybe next month I'll have a reader survey. (If there's more than one of you, that is.)"

I've been practicing lucid dreaming, which can be defined as "dreaming while knowing you are dreaming." The first step, of course, is to remember your dreams. For almost a month, I've been writing down every dream I can remember. Fortunately, just having a dream journal will give your mind a reason to remember your dreams. I've succeeded in remembering at least one dream almost every night since I started writing them down.

Over the past few days I've been starting to try techniques that will actually get me to dream lucidly. One technique I read about is called wake-induced lucid dreaming (WILD). The main principle behind it is that you keep your mind awake somehow while your body falls asleep. Another technique is called mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD). As I understand it, the way to do it is to concentrate on waking up when you realize you are in a dream. Then, when you've awakened and remembered your dream, you go back to sleep while imagining that you are lucid in the dream. I decided to go for the latter.

Last night I was setting my intention by repeating to myself, "When I'm dreaming, I will wake up." While my eyes were closed, I relaxed them as I usually do to help me go to sleep. After a little while, my eyes started jittering around on their own. I realized I must be entering the REM stage, and so I tried to go along with it. Suddenly, a wave of semi-paralysis swept down my body, and I felt very vividly that I was falling into a dream. However, I was still aware of my real-life surroundings. My heart started racing as I suppose it normally does during REM. I'd never felt this way before -- not consciously, at least. I was excited at the prospect of having a lucid dream, but I was also very nervous at how fast my heart was beating. My body must have picked that up, and after a short time, my heart slowed down and I felt that my palms had been sweaty. I opened my eyes easily and was very much awake. It took me a long time to finally fall asleep, and when I woke up, I didn't remember any of my dreams.

I asked about this on the LD4all forums, and I was met with a confused reaction because I said I was practicing MILD, but I was describing a WILD experience. Apparently I actually did have a WILD episode because focusing on my little mantra was keeping my mind busy while I was falling asleep. How's about that? I guess I should focus on WILD rather than MILD. It sounds easier, anyway. In fact, it's so easy that I started doing it by accident. Hopefully if/when it happens again, I won't freak out. Maybe I'll even have a lucid dream.

Yesterday some chicks or dude sent in this Ask Jordon question.

dude: what did you get on your AP exam?? results are out today ... 1-888-308-0013..

Sorry, Rockefeller. Since I can't find anyone who will pay the $8 fee by credit card or other means, poor boy's going to have to wait until the results come in the mail.

According to recent research, everyone alive today has a common ancestor who probably lived in East Asia 2,000 to 5,000 years ago. It's a pretty crazy thought, considering how much we differentiate ourselves from others.

Humans have always wondered about the origins of the earth. Before there was science, people were content with making up stories to fill these gaps in their knowledge. These stories varied from culture to culture and reflected the ideals and customs of each culture. Here's a large collection of creation myths from around the world.

One year ago: "Now I'll conjugate the Esperanto equivalent ('ludi') in not three, but five tenses."
Two years ago: "All you have to do is exploit the mechanical defects of the lock with the right pick."

Last night my parents took me to the program on Yale way down in Miami. We grossly misjudged the amount of time it would take to get there and thus arrived an hour early. But that's pretty okay, because the talk was at a museum, so we just sort of wandered around until we decided to go into the small auditorium there. It was freezing in there, and I wanted to sit in the back, which wasn't far away enough. By the time the thing started, the auditorium was packed. It was kind of scary. I didn't know anybody there (it was really far away, after all), but almost everybody looked like someone I knew.

Anyway, the guy was very talkative, and he discussed all sorts of things. I don't remember anything he said. He basically did everything in his power to make the school sound like a place you would really, really want to go to. After about an hour and a half, it was over, and I had in mind some advantages and disadvantages of applying to and attending the school.

Bad things about Yale:

• $45,000/year
• Pickiest university in the Ivy League
• Requires an ACT score or 3 SAT II scores, neither of which I have (yet)
• Have to take 36 classes in 4 years

Good things about Yale:

• Well known and highly regarded
• Small classes
• Jobs on campus
• Financial aid?
• Official color is blue

The big thing about Yale is that last year they accepted a scant 8.6% of applicants, an all-time low. If I happen to apply, and I'm in the unlucky 91.4%, I'll have wasted my time and energy, and because Yale is such a good school, I'll have to settle for second best.

Remember that Ask Jordon thing? Neither do I!

b-dizzle: ok, my question is if i know i guy like totally likes me and i kinda like him but i dont know him that well, what should i do?

Get to know him better. Ask him to hang out with you?

Here are population clocks for every country in the world. They show the current population, along with a guess of who has just been born and who has just died.

Unless you know everything about Leonardo da Vinci, you might enjoy reading 20 Things You Didn't Know About Leonardo da Vinci.

One year ago: "I don't really care if it's your 'sweet sixteen' or 'sour seventeen' or 'fairly good-tasting fifteen.'"
Two years ago: "I've never golfed before. I hope I don't poke an eye out or anything."