Obviously.

With the recent Japanese earthquake disaster, specifically its damaging effect on nuclear power plants, I cannot help but think about the radiation exposure risks.

Therefore, I cannot help but think about the risk of birthing Godzilla...

And of course...

So a recent youtube video has popped up of a professor who started yelling at a student who had yawned loudly  in class. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuLaQoQP9oo

Now, I am all for respecting etiquette in the classroom. However, it is another thing to say the professor is completely at fault here. Too many times have I seen students who act in class as if they are entitled to act in a classroom as if they were in their own home. Sure, we students pay for lectures, but that allows us to not come to lecture, not listen, and browse on Facebook silently while in class. But that does not allow us to loudly disrupt the class atmosphere. I am severely disappointed to see that students act with such disregard for basic respect in the classroom.

Not that say that the professor is completely at fault either. His conduct, while in the correct direction, was taken to an unnecessary degree. It is important to still retain a respectable image in front of students. Nonetheless, we are still human.

Now See How You Like It

When a small fanatical (?) church burns Qurans, the entire international Muslim community is up in arms against America. This article from Slate makes the point that we are all guilty of the same crime of being simply moronic in using the actions of a few to judge the larger population.

Combining Great Things

There has been a lot of attention on the World Cup, Wimbledon, and the oil spill. There must be a way to combine all these things together.
I think dissatisfied businesses and shrimpers/crab fisherman should play vuvuzelas at BP executives until it becomes too dark for BP executives to recognize who is playing the vuvuzelas. Hey, maybe the BP executives might even mistake the vuvuzelas for an angry swarm of bees!

Oh, and the DroidX has been announced. Combined with the iPhone 4 coming out, it is more tempting than ever to get a smart phone. I don't think I need one though, as long as I am hanging out with someone who has a smart phone, I don't think I will need help finding my way around places. The information symmetric that can arise from having a smart phone makes for a pretty good incentive, does it necessarily result in better decisions? Maybe more indecision.

Let the Good Times Roll

1.   Cornell (12) beat Wisconsin (4) and Temple (5) to make it to the Sweet Sixteen where it will meet Kentucky (1). Shooting 61.1 percent of the game against Wisconsin, the Ivy League hasn't done this well since 1979. However, this only pales in comparison to other major upsets: KU (1) losing to ... heck anyone, Villanova (2) to St. Mary's (10), Vanderbilt (4) to Oakland (14), Georgetown (3) to Ohio (14). Knock yourself (and your bracket) out for more by looking at the actual bracket.

2.   I have actually been doing homework over break, studying for linear algebra. This event was aided by the fact I have an exam next week - April 1st of all days - so I am expecting a tough exam.

3.   Assassin's Creed II is ridiculously addicting.

4.   Healthcare Reform bill has passed the House. "This is what change looks like." - Obama. So hello to a few more years of health coverage for me.

5.   Fall 2010 Course Roster is up today! And as a rising senior, I get to select first. Three years of oppression is finally reversed!

6. Have not made any headway on Harmless Econometrics. I think reading books for leisure is something best left to the big vacations...

Pi Day Celebration!

First, I have a gripe about today. It is March 14, 3/14, Pi Day: where we celebrate the wonders from this great number. It is also Daylights Savings Time, when we "spring forward" one hour. Why this specific number? Because of... Pi? Yes, without Pi we would have Daylights Savings Time, but an inaccurate one at that. We would spend years of trial and error trying to calibrate our time systems without our dear Pi. The gripe? I demand an extra hour today so I can study for my exam (midterm, prelim, whatever) tomorrow.

Next, there have been an increasing number of student deaths at Cornell via the bridges. It is difficult to properly address the irrational activity of such students but... no, I can't talk about this. It just doesn't jive well for me.

Anyway, my spring break (unofficially starts) this Thursday! I am going to be taking the bus back early Friday morning to get home in the late morning. I did the same thing last summer and I remember not being able to sleep on the bus as I originally planned. Maybe I should buy some sleeping pills? Or I might just sneak some liquor on board and pass out after the bus drives by Binghamton. I will probably do neither and just force myself to sleep by eating a lot of food. That's a pretty safe way to go about doing it.

Here are my spring break goals!

• Play Assassin's Creed 2: I did not buy FFXIII. While I could finish it in the one week of time I have, I would also neglect other freedoms on my spring break - such as eating and sleeping - so I am going to wait until the summer to sign away my life on it. AC2 is a substitute, and I won't miss it as much when I come back to campus.
• Visit RU: This is pretty self-explanatory. The only problem is how to get there. The RUPD is pretty stringent about parking so I will have to bum a ride from someone. I think I will spend two days and a night there, I am not completely sure yet. There are a lot of people I want to see and party with, so it will be fun!
• Read Harmless Econometrics: I borrowed it, need to finish it.
• Try not to think about my research project: I have been thinking about instead of daydreaming, and I used to daydream a lot. Even though I am doing it for my personal gratification, it feels more and more like work than play.