Blah

So as I perused friends' blogs, I realized that I probably had nothing to say, but I felt like informing the world of this fact.

My coding is not progressing. The bright side - my current project no longer produces a screen full of errors. The reason - I have commented out all the offending lines of code. So basically, it does nothing except print out a list of atoms created within a virtual universe with no defined positions, rendering it pretty much useless. At least I'm hard-headed; I won't give up. I've been foregoing sleep to work on this thing. Kind of frustrating, but hey, what better things do I have to do with my time? Exactly.

So I'm a bit down I suppose, not because of the code, though. I've been dealing with that mess for months now. I keep reading blogs/away messages/etc. about how great everyone's summer has been. I mean, I can't complain really - my dream computer is now officially mine (paid back the 'rents today) and I got an iPod to boot. I have had a good, steady job with good co-workers. I have had nothing else to do except sit around, sleep, and relax.

But I wish there was more. I'm feeling so disconnected from my old friends. I talk with my friends from school often enough, but my friends from years ago seem to be so foreign. I've hung out with a few this summer (few = two), and I'm wondering if it's my fault. I've never been much of one to initiate stuff, even phone calls. I don't know why. I just don't call someone up for no real reason I guess. But then I think, 'that phone works both ways.' Why doesn't anyone ever call me? (Except for the few certain people that do)

My worst fear is coming true - everyone to whom I had grown close is drifting away. I didn't ever want that to happen, but here it is. And I don't know if there's anything that I can do to stop it, really. Have my friendships been severed by distance and time? I can only hope that they haven't. Maybe it's just a part of growing up and moving on. The friends that were destined to stay in my life will stay, the rest will be fond memories.

So whaddaya know, I had something to say after all. These things just seem to happen.

I'm rambling, and suddenly I've become tired. 'Night.

Been A While

So it's been a while since the last post. I continue to write scripts for use on my Mac, and I'm almost running out of ideas for things to create. Almost. I've got a few nemeses that I'm going to be dealing with when I'm done yakking here. Namely, I'm trying to create a PDB file of a short polypeptide from scratch using Python and MMTK. If anyone is familiar with how to do this, I'd appreciate it. Stupid 'NoneType' attribute errors...

I shall prevail.

In other news, I'm a bit peeved with Apple. They have just released a new version of the iBook which is superior to mine - faster processor, more RAM, SuperDrive standard, and Bluetooth built in. That's like $300 worth of upgrades, all for $67 less than I paid for mine. Damn, timing is everything. You think I would've learned that throughout my life. Also, I got really excited about the GarageBand software included on my iBook. It allows me to create very high quality recordings of my music, all on my computer. What they didn't tell me was that I'd have to buy a $100 USB input/preamp device to actually do that. I canNOT afford that right now, or any time soon. I guess I'll have to wait for Christmas or something before I can actually record myself. Shit.

Also in guitar news, I'm challenging myself. For anyone who has never heard the Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds CD "Live at Luther College," well, you need to. The guitar work is mind-blowing. I'm trying to play the version of "Tripping Billies" on the album, which features some blazing licks from TR. I first started trying to play it years ago, ending only in frustration. It was way beyond me then. But now I'm challenging myself again. It has been too long since I challenged myself on guitar. For a while, nothing was challenging (not to sound like a conceited ass, but guitar was my life, so I got pretty damn good). Then, I got comfortable with my acoustic transformation, and had no desire to challenge myself (except vocally - good results there). It feels really good to tear into the frets with the same reckless abandon in which I used to revel. It's such a high to fly up and down the neck at mind- and finger- numbing speeds. I can't quite pull it off perfectly yet, but I'm so damn close I just can't seem to put my guitar down once I start playing. I haven't felt quite this way in a very long time.

Amazingly enough, I have new calluses growing. It feels good to be back.

Busy Weekend

Wow, I'm tired. And not for the usual reasons - you know, waking up at 5, working all day, and driving a lot. No, I'm tired because I actually did a lot of stuff this weekend.

Yesterday, I completely fixed up the wheels on my car with my dad. The wheels themselves were rusting, and the paint was peeling of the covers. So we sanded both down (not so easy with plastic wheel covers), and repainted 'em. A nice flat black on the wheels, and a bright silver on the covers. Damn, do those bitches shine. Pics to come at my filebox. Stay tuned.

The bad news out of all of that is that I need new tires. They've gotten kind of worn in odd places, leaving my dad and I scratching our heads. So we need to buy new ones. Not a huge deal, but kind of a pain.

Today I went shopping with my mom (gasp!) Yes, I actually submitted to going out and buying some new clothes. This is entirely not in my character. I hate shopping. Some of you are obviously calling me crazy. To them I say - you should know me by now. Anyway, a few pairs of jeans later, I picked up some awesome shirts. New Hendrix and Led Zeppelin shirts, and then, as a result of a bit of sarcasm, two Guinness shirts. Yes, my mother voluntarily bought me two Guinness beer shirts. How cool is that? They're both green, and to be worn on St. Patrick's Day...and a few more times throughout the year, I would imagine :)

I also got a bitchin new watch. Kind of appropriate, because the instant that my mom mentioned picking up a watch (or at least a new band for my old one) I noticed that I no longer had my watch on. It had broken clean off my wrist. I found it in the cart we were using under all of the clothes we had been carrying. Coincidence in its finest form. So I've got a nice watch now, silver with a blue face. I'll kind of miss the convenience of a digital watch, now I actually have to think when I check the time...

Also in the "Holy-crap-you-did-what?" category would be what we had for dinner. Mom got creative and made salads with some leftover chicken my dad had grilled the other night. Not at all odd at first, you might say, but then I'll tell you that this is all we had for dinner. Salad. Me. I ate salad as my entree. Small amounts of meat, to be sure, just to keep it legitimate, but I actually ate a salad as my main source of food. This amazed me. I mean, the salad was excellent, but I generally consider salads to be supplements to real meals, not the real meal itself.

Everything is now perfectly up and running on the Mac. I got X11 running yesterday with some help of Apple's Tech Support. My scripts are showing less bugs, and I've fixed quite a bit. Still having problems with the Molecular Dynamics program, and I'm still not quite sure why. On the plus side, the animation script is beautiful. It's quite a glorious sight to see a protein adjusting its conformation to solvation. At least, it is for us biochem dorks.

I suppose that's it for now. I have to get up early for work tomorrow. Only 15 days of work left! Both of my parents are off tomorrow, so I'm the only working stiff for the week. That kind of sucks, I don't know why, but I guess it's just ironic that the 'rents aren't working and the kid is.

The end of the summer is rapidly approaching, and I can't say whether I'm totally happy about that or not. I mean, ever since I left from school I've wanted to go back, I just have more fun down in the 'burg. But I've had a good time at work, and it really is a decent job. I get off work during the middle of the afternoon, which allows some time for fun (i.e. napping) and the people I work with are great. But then I think about how great this coming year is going to be...

And all I can dream of is August 19th.

New Release

So I've left you hanging for too long now. It still doesn't have a chorus, but here's what I have for my latest song. These are what I will use for verses. I didn't really know what it was about directly, although there is a deeper meaning to it, I just wasn't conscious of what it was until after I read it. Maybe that's why I can't write a chorus. I know what it means now.

Monday morning, it's 1 AM
And I just hung up the phone
At 2 AM I went to bed
And dreamt that I was home

It's Tuesday night, half past ten
In the darkness, my memories fade
I go to bed early and hope to wake
In the brightness of morning, a brand new day

Wednesday at dusk and the streetlights
Come on to light up my room
The shadows stretch to the doorway
And all I can think of is you

It's Thursday at noon, the rain just ended
And I feel like I've been here before
How many times have I seen you like this?
It's something I just can't ignore

I woke up Friday at quarter to two
And I knew it just wasn't the same
I took your picture off the wall
A broken promise, an empty frame

Feedback welcomed and encouraged. I have to know if this is really any good. Leave 'em here or shoot me an email, I check it compulsively.

Stay Tuned...

I apologize to any of you who were expecting lyrics. I don't have them...choruses can be tricky. In addition to that, I got so sucked into Harry Potter that I had to finish it today or I'd never forgive myself. Or something like that...

If you haven't read it yet, READ IT. It's friggin' incredible. No spoilers here, but I'll tell you it is by far the best and most emotional book of the series.

Lyrics coming soon, maybe tomorrow (?)

This and That

So I'm reading the new Harry Potter book. It's quite good, I recommend it highly, although anyone that wants to buy it was already going to before I said that, so it's a moot point. But I'm about 250 pages in, and I can hardly put it down. Status quo, you know the drill - read the new one in a couple of days and wait for two years in anticipation of the next one.

Here's the official teaser - check for updates within the next day or two. I'm looking to post my latest set of lyrics, something I've been working on for about a week. I've got all the verses together, and I'm trying to think of a chorus. Hopefully it will be done at some point tomorrow, and I will post it for the purpose of getting feedback. I'm my own worst critic, and if I get some legitimate positive feedback, I'll stop being so hard on myself (for now).

Until then, keep checking.

Still waiting on the iBook...it's still in Sacramento according to the tracking info. I find that hard to believe, but oh well. Scheduled for delivery Wednesday, and since that date hasn't come and gone, I'm not going to worry about anything.

More Good News

Hooray for another good day. My iPod is about set up, it's just lacking a few key playlists. (Hendrix and Zeppelin - a crime, I know, but I've got so much that most of it is not yet ripped to my computer, and I'm damn near getting eye strain from being at it for so long.)

I also learned that my iBook is finally on its way as of 5:05 today! And it's coming by FedEx, so I know it will get here ;)

I guess that's really about it...I start E.coli training at work tomorrow, although I talked to John and found out that I already know how to perform at least three quarters of the test from my experience in Micro lab. Sweet, something mindless that takes up time during the day!

As of yesterday, I have four weeks of work left. Let the countdown begin! I have to say that I'll be kind of sad to see the summer go, it's been a good experience working for the Service Authority. I never thought I would grow so fond of wastewater treatment. Oh wait, I'm not. But they're a good group, they make dealing with shit bearable and even enjoyable at times. It takes special people to survive at the Mooney Plant.

Bedtime.

And the People Rejoiced...

It came! The iPod, that is. I got a surprise email this morning saying that my replacement iPod mini was shipped last night. Then I noticed something interesting. It was being shipped FedEx. Overnight/rush delivery. Score!

I'm in the process of converting all of my music to iPod-compatible format. It could take a while. The iTunes software seems to be awesome as well, and soon I should be up to my ears in playlists :)

As I've said before, I have not been at all unhappy with Apple. A little disappointed with the iBook being delayed, but they were upfront with me about it, so I had no issue there.

Moral of the story: Apple products rock. Use FedEx.

Good News(?), Bad News

I'll give the definite bad news first - my iBook is now delayed, and likely won't ship until Thursday, June 14th. This is due to "product availability." I don't know what that means, but oh well. At least they were honest in saying it'd be a while before I get it.

The iPod mini is still lost somewhere in the UPS system. I have not heard any information from them as of yet, but I expected as much. I called Apple for an update, and they had no new information except that they are launching their own investigation (something that should've been done on Thursday night). They're sending me another iPod mini, and I guess they'll work it out with UPS. That's the bit of good news, even though I have very little faith in the delivery service.

At least I've made some progress on the songwriting front. I'm perfecting a few numbers that I'd like to finish up with. I've been sussing out some piano lines (!) for my epic, and melody lines and guitar tweaks for the rest. A major? or Asus4? or Asus2? Life has such difficult questions.

OK, Now I'm REALLY Pissed

Holy fucking shit. What else can go wrong? Let me see, I think the best way to present this would be some blurbs, because I am only capable of thinking in short, profane thoughts at the moment.

Work - my car got fucking sandblasted and primered.
Long story short, they offered to fix it, but my dad took care of it and we're going to clean it this weekend.
Most of the crap is off my car.
Long day at work, pretty boring.

Day Two of the iPod saga. It still hadn't arrived.
I called UPS customer service. They referred me to my local rep, who would call me within an hour.
45 minutes later - a call from Denise. So far, so good. "I'm very sorry. The driver is new and unfamiliar with the roads, so it may be a little late. He'll be at your home for the delivery in one hour."
Two hours later - another call to UPS, and the lady told me that Denise was full of shit (basically).
I gave up and we got dinner. Hooray for Chinese food.
We get back, still no package. Another call to UPS.
They tell me Denise was full of shit (again).
I have to call up Apple and get a "tracer" - basically an investigation into the package's whereabouts.
I relay my story to two different representatives before engaging in a conference call with UPS.
We verify all kinds of information.
I get tranferred again.
10 minutes of holding later, a surly woman answers the phone.
More verifications and false apologies.
I give her a piece of my mind. (Probably shouldn't have)
More phony apologies.
The investigation will take 1 - 8 business days.
Apple will keep me updated.
If I haven't heard anything by Saturday at noon, I can call Apple for an update.

Note - I am not at all displeased with Apple. It's UPS that I'm having issues with. I've been lied to. I don't like liars. I especially don't like liars that control things that are very important to me.

At least I got Chinese food. Big fucking pick-me-up.

Damn it!

OK, just a little rant because I feel like it. My iPod didn't come today. It was scheduled for delivery, it left the Chantilly shipping center at 6:24 AM today. Why don't I have it? Good question. I'd really like an answer. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Northern Virginia's geography, Chantilly is 20 minutes north of Manassas. So how long does it take to ship a small box to me? Huh?

I guess I'm just pissed because it was a long day and the only thing keeping me happy through it all was the thought of my new toy waiting for me when I got home. I had a huge workload today, which I got through, after some tribulations. (I'll spare you the details) I kept getting interrupted to move my car. That was a pain in the ass. They're apparently sandblasting and spray-painting one of the basins in the compound. We were told to park along an access road near the lab along a retaining wall. I parked there, as did others. During the middle of the day, an announcement was made to move my car. So I moved it, closer in towards the lab building. I returned to work. Not 30 minutes later, I was told that I had to move my car. WTF?! So I followed another lab tech to an area behind the maintenance building where we were told we'd be safe. This is such bullshit. I shouldn't have to walk half a mile to get to work. I'm really going on about this because the work started my very first day and was supposed to last 1-3 weeks. This is my eighth week of work! Good Lord, how long does it take?

Enough for now. If I don't have an iPod by tomorrow when I get home, I don't even know what I'll do. They had better get me the iBook when they promise me, because that's what I'm really looking forward to.

Awesomeness

So Apple wastes no time. My iPod is already on its way, and the iBook has been sent to manufacturing for customization. Score! The ETA for the iPod is probably Wednesday, and the iBook should make its grand appearance next Tuesday or so. It's taking longer because it has to be souped up to my specs, and should be shipped by the end of the week.

We went over to Jen and Will's place tonight for some small fireworks. We'll be heading into Old Town tomorrow night for a bigger display, but Will needed to satisfy his inner pyro and set off some of his own sparks :) I can't blame him, I've gotten a bit bored in the last few years, since we haven't been setting off our own.

I'm listening to Dave Matthews. I thought I'd share.

SWEET!

As the title suggests, I'm quite thrilled right now. This morning, my parents gave me the go-ahead to buy my iBook! See it at http://www.apple.com/store/

Except mine is a bit different, and cost less with a college student discount.

For those interested, here are the specs:
1.33GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @ 1.33GHz
14-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
512MB DDR266 SDRAM
60GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive (CD-RW and DVD-R)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
AirPort Extreme built-in

I also got a FREE iPod mini with it. It's a special deal now for students. It's not really free, I had to pay for it up front, but there's a rebate where they send you the full cost of it back. Nice. I picked the silver one.

That's about it. I'm currently ecstatic. Unfortunately Monday is a holiday, so shipment of my stuff will get delayed by a day, but I'm thinking that by early next week at the latest, I'll have my new toys :)