dracil

Hmm, so I've still yet to master the best way to cook chicken in our electric oven. Packet says 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Peter says add 25-50 degrees for electric ovens... but even 50 minutes at 425, the chicken will still have blood inside, which I hear is not good. Hmm, does that mean I just have to cut the chicken open first so the blood can drain, or do I need to defrost first?

The weekend's been rather productive. Caught up on reading for 2 classes now, have CS homework about completed, and I've actually started writing and translating for my Taiwanese presentation.

So far, I've got "Tâi-ôan ê tiän-náu iû-hì täi-p³-hün lóng-s„ chëng J…t-pún, Bí-kok, kap Hân-kok chìn-kháu kòe-lâi. Chiah-ê iû-hì" by using this Taiwanese dictionary, which Joyce introduced to me. ^_^
of the Moment: 蔡�林 (Jolin Tsai)'s 城堡 (Castle) album
Currently feeling productive

dracil

Yay, just found out that adding a "big/" in the image url would give me the unadulterated images. So did a quick edit, and everything's back to the way it was. :D
Currently feeling happy

dracil

Haven't put up a media file for a long time, so here's a treat. This is a recording of a guy playing through the Japanese version of the Ninja Gaiden demo. Be awed! http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~yehfang/stuff/TeamXbox_JP_NG.mpeg

Oh yeah, I love having 320mb of free space.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

Chocolate soy milk tastes just like chocolate milk. No point in paying extra for that soy milk... well... maybe for health reasons, but when you add chocolate, it sorta negates that.

Meanwhile, the Passion of the Christ is doing really well. It's #6 for Best Weekend and #8 for Best Day.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Spent tabling time asking BST people to help me on my Taiwanese presentation. Eek, so many changes. I think I'm being too ambitious about my topic matter when even the instructors don't know some of the words I want to say...

BST meeting, I was forced to take minutes. >_<

After BST, was DC, and we had six people this time. The usual three + Diana, Aaron, and Charlie. Usual stuff. Mashed potatoes + gravy and soy milk is good. I am not getting their hamburgers again. Other stuff was edible.

The subject matter this time was.... just teasing people about people they try to avoid. Interestingly enough, the people that some of us were trying to avoid came up to us. A case of speaking of the devil....
Currently feeling sleepy

dracil

They were on Sproul today, along with their lovely abortion pictures. Three boards with Pro-choice and pictures of dead babies, and one board with Pro-Life and a picture of a living cute little baby. Hmm... they were missing at least three more Pro-Life boards though. They need one for the deformed, retarded children. They need another one with a dead mother and/or child (for the pregnancies that are dangerous to the mother and/or child). And they need a last one, with a picture of a convicted rapist, and perhaps the caption "Would you like to have his child?"

They did draw quite a crowd (including some women's rights groups).

A lot of pro-life people like to argue that you should give birth anyway, and just give it up for adoption. But seriously, how many people are willing to adopt a disfigured child that is mentally handicapped to boot? Not likely to happen, it's too naive. On the other hand, I also get annoyed at the irresponsible people who go around having sex as if nothing will ever happen to them. After all, condoms are only 90% effective under normal circumstances (the condoms themselves are good 97-99% of the time, but when you factor in the human error, the effectiveness drops a bit).
Currently feeling contemplative

dracil

After several hours tonight with Jenny's help, I'm done!

http://chinagate.yam.com/cgi-bin/g2bcgi.cgi?dest= is really useful for translating Simplified Chinese to Traditional Chinese. Now I can finally understand what the heck those mainlanders are talking about.

Oh, and EBGames.com suck. My game, which was supposed to ship on Tuesday, is not shipping till THURSDAY, and even that's not guaranteed. Yeah, they waived the shipping fee and upgraded it to Next Day shipping, but still.... they should just give me the game for free.
Currently feeling mixed

dracil

Well, my Taiwanese presentation went rather well, at least when compared to the guy just before me. But that's 'cause I had my script written out and he didn't. My Ninja Gaiden game also came today, despite EBGames saying it wasn't supposed to be shipped till today? They are so weird... Sleep.
Currently feeling tired

dracil

So..... Did some research today, then went to a rather helpful review, and then to dinner at Great China with BST people. Once again, missed the people in the car + some miscommunication + no parking = did not get to restaurant till 6:30. Then started ordering at 7, then we were finished by 8. We went to CSA's K-con only to find out they were full, so we ended up going to Unit 3 to play pool, ping-pong, and foosball. Then to Old Teahouse for some boba. And did not get back till past 12. So tired. Tomorrow... must do CS homework, study, catch up, etc.
Currently feeling tired

dracil

Went to Theatre Rice with BST + other people. Let's see... Me, Sophia, Diana, Frank, WenJing, Aaron, Charlie, Jenny, James, and Catherine. The show this time was ok, they actually messed up for one of the skits because the laptop didn't work properly. They had the usual sad skit - a girl was dumped by her boyfriend, she took some drugs that wiped out her memories, then he came back the next day to apologize and she didn't remember her relationship with him, so that was that. Gave my customary $1 donation afterwards.

Afterwards, we went to get food. First we went to the DFC, then people wanted to go for Gelato instead, so we went there. After that, we went BACK to the DFC (except for Frank and WenJing), or more specifically, the Old Teahouse. Got some crispy chicken there. Pretty good I guess. Then we all went home afterwards (some people wanted to play the Battle of the Sexes, but indecisiveness + some people wanting to go back killed the idea).
Currently feeling content

dracil

Didn't do much today I guess. Grocery shopping, some studying, and some game playing is all.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

I think I'm a little sick. Mainly 'cause for the past two days, the back of my mouth/nose feels a bit inflamed, and now the back of the throat too. Ugh.

The day was rather crappy I guess. I went to find Carol Snow for a letter for OPT, but she was out sick, so that meant no OPT meeting today. I also locked myself out. I decided to not go do URAP today and went to study with Karen in the library. Then we went to Naan 'n' Curry for dinner, during which I realized I wasn't supposed to eat because it's Hung-Tzu's birthday today and I was going to eat fondue with her. Doh. But I still went and said happy birthday and gave a present. If it wasn't for the fact that it's an all-you-can-eat deal, I could've stayed, but since it was, I couldn't without me being charged $18.99 or so.

Bleah. Perhaps I'll go to bed early today and see if it helps me recover.
Currently feeling sick

dracil

Dunno if my sickness has anything to do with my lack of coordination today (more like, I'm a bit embarassed of having to blow my nose so constantly). So yeah, the inflammation is gone and replaced by a runny nose. Based on past experiences, if I drink a lot and try not to swallow any phlegm, it'll go away quickly. Otherwise, it'll develop into a bad cough.

Midterm today was blah.

No BST meeting today, so went to Unit 3 with Joyce. Food there was..... let's just say I much prefer Crossroads, and the I-House (especially the I-House on BBQ days). Then we did HW at Unit 3 till 10. Eek.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Yah, still stick. It's moving around. No more inflammation. Nose slightly less runny, but cough more developed. Also the reason I got kicked out of class today. I went in to my Philosophy discussion early today, and the TA asked how I was doing and I said I was sick. She was stunned, and basically asked me to leave saying that she had a kidney transplant so her immune system was suppressed so she was more likely to get sick. Then I hear from Joyce that later, there were people in the class who were also sick. I feel discriminated. This is going into her evaluation at the end of the semester.

For the second straight day, it's HOT. Gah, I hate so much sun. I'd prefer it was cool. Warm is ok, but not with such a strong sun. Bad for the skin.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Well, runny nose is almost not an issue anymore. The cough is, but I can control it through sheer force of will.

Weather was a lot nicer today, cool wind. But it got cold at night.

Thought from a night of arguing with some guy who insisted D&D is about demon worship: People (well, specifically Christians I guess) should read Romans 14.

Oh yeah, this is a cool video. http://www.le-parkour.com/davidbelle.avi
Currently feeling okay

dracil

Research today. Since I'm usually bored, I've been cutting up their food with a scissor into chunks that can fit through their cages easily. It's fun watching them squabble over these large food chunks. I did have one case where one of the mice was looking for a food chunk, and it came across some of some poop. Then it held it up and started eating it. O_o Mice really have bad eyesight.

Other than that, didn't do too much today.
Currently feeling tired

dracil

Hmm, just a thought about my loyalty to organizations. They are generally only as strong as my loyalty to the people there. I often join organizations because I know the people there. Conversely, I tend to leave if the people I knew left too. Then again, this is probably true for a lot of people and I'm just stating the obvious here.

As for what I did today, watched Naruto and read for class. Too. Much. Reading.
Currently feeling tired

dracil

Never, ever, take 4 related classes. They'll just end up confusing you. All my classes this semester are related to language in some way. Philosophy of Language. The Neural Basis for Thought and Language. The Mind and Language. And my Taiwanese Language decal class.

The first two just share a lot of terminology, espite different content. The second and third have lots of reading, and philosophy in general can be pretty dense reading. The fourth one just uh... it's supposed to be relatively easy, but because my Taiwanese ain't that good, I have to spend so much extra time on it for the presentations and stuff. I can't just wing it, I have to spend time looking up how exactly to say each of those words, unlike a lot of people in the class.
of the Moment: Yellow Generation - Tobira no Mukou e
Currently feeling stressed

dracil

My roommate suddenly decided to go take a dump and then shower too (he usually showers in the morning, not at night). Making me incapable of tooth-brushing and going to bed. Of all days to suddenly change a routine... Ugh.
Currently feeling annoyed

dracil

'nuff said.

Did URAP too today, and went to do OPT preparation.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Ok, a fun one before I sleep. You know how those Creationists keep harping about how we've seen microevolution and macroevolution? Here's something to show that absurdity. Got it from http://www.christianforums.com/t103920

Macroaddition and Microaddition

Crea: Addition is just a theory. It can't be proven.
Evo: Erm... actually, it is and has been observed and tested. It occurs.
Crea: You've never seen it happen before.
Evo: Sure I have. There was a study done not too long ago that demonstrated that 1 + 1 = 2. Also, it's been shown that 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.
Crea: That's micro-addition.
Evo: What?
Crea: Micro-addition. Addition on small levels happens, and it's been proven. Macro-addition, however, has never been proven, and is all based on faith. You'll never see a 3 turn into a 20,000,000,000,000 just by adding a bunch of 1s.
Evo: Of course you probably won't see it happen. Humans typically don't live long enough to find that kind of patience. But you can turn a 3 into that number.
Crea: You accept that on faith.
Evo: No, I don't. If you keep adding the number 1 to 3, you'll eventually end up with 20,000,000,000,000.
Crea: Blah, blah, blah... that's not proven.
Evo: Look. You admit that 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, right?
Crea: Sure. That's been proven.
Evo: So, what's 3 + 1?
Crea: 4.
Evo: And 4 + 1 is...
Crea: What's your point?
Evo: Do you notice that the number keeps getting bigger?
Crea: Yeah. But it will never reach 20,000,000,000,000.
Evo: So even if you add 1 20-trillion times, you'll never end up with 20,000,000,000,000?
Crea: It hasn't been proven, so I don't buy it.
Currently feeling amused

dracil

At Sophia's place today. Joyce came too. It was really fun spreading rumors about Sophia in the chat. :D

Other than that, not too much. Managed to move my cultural presentation till after spring break, so feel more relieved now.
Currently feeling happier

dracil

Nothing much happened today. Well, more like, I usually have lots to write during the day, and by the time I get down to writing it, I forget it, or don't think it's important anymore.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Hmm, I just got this info from Jenny and Fang saying that it was on the news. Chen Shui-Bian was shot in the stomach just now. And Annette Lu too (in the knee). Both are running for the March 20th election, Chen Shui-Bian for president, and Annette Lu as his vice president.

Wonder who did it. Someone from KMT? Someone from mainland China?
Currently feeling shocked

dracil

Two written articles on it have been put online.

Here and here.
Currently feeling still shocked

dracil

Early sleep so I can get up and watch the election tallying with some people.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

So the Green Camp won by a mere 29,500 votes, out of almost 13 million votes, with about 337,000 invalid votes. The losing side wants to nullify/recount the vote because of that as well as the assassination attempt yesterday.

Why does this remind me of the US 2000 election? And after 3 hours, they still did not show the results of the referendum. I'll just check the results after I wake up. Back to bed for now.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Ok, just got this from Fang. So yeah, the referendum failed. Both questions only received about 45% of the votes.

Article here
Currently feeling tired

dracil

So slept in today because of waking up early to watch the elections. Then went to buy Bang! and then went to do some URAP (I love watching three mice trying to grab the same piece of food! [no, this is not part of the experiment. It's part of my entertainment]).

Then went to Michelle's place to get her to play cards, then got Daniel and Adam to come over to my place too. Got Jack in the Box food. Oreo shake is pretty good, but also rather rich. It's basically like eating slushy ice cream. Then we played some Bang! and eventually with my roommate too after he got back. So pretty interesting game, although we kept getting some rules wrong. Also, people didn't really try to keep their identity secret much. I need to try this with 7 players.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

Yeah. Spring break so...
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Your Ultimate Purity Score Is...
Category	Your Score	Average
Self-Lovin'	56.7% Explored the pleasures of the flesh	65%
Shamelessness	100%	79.4%
Sex Drive	100%	77.7%
Straightness	100%	44.9%
Gayness	100%	83.6%
Fucking Sick	99.1% Refreshingly normal	90%
You are 90.28% pure Average Score: 72.7%
Take The Ultimate Purity Test and see how you match up!

Follows the trend of purity tests in general. Basically, despite my knowledge, without a victim, my overall purity shall remain high.
Currently feeling amused

dracil

http://www.americakokki.com/english/english.html

Oh man. That's funny!

Anyway, did a bit more today than just sitting in front of a computer wasting time. Went off to lunch with Karen and her friend Devang. Then I went to Cory with her to do CS homework (did 2/3 problems! Although the 3rd problem is the annoying programming one). Then we went to my place to watch stuff. Watched Kaena, which was decent. Also watched a couple episodes of Fruits Basket, which was really Shojo.

Oh, wanted to also mention that two of the Orkut communities I created are thriving. Namely the Global Nomads community and the Nekomimi community. :D
Currently feeling content

dracil

Seems like I alternate. One working day, one day of no work.

Got up early to go to lab to check on the mice, since Melissa said there was a problem with the maze. Turns out the sensor was on top of one of the doors, so it could't open fully.

Rest of the day was spent *trying* to get motivated to do CS project, rather unsuccessfully though. Did write several lines of code.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

A bit more programming done. Beyond that, not much. Started watching The Last Samurai, not quite halfway through yet...
Currently feeling blah

dracil

of about the same thing. Finished watching The Last Samurai. I guess those Japanese history classes paid off, as I knew who Katsumoto was supposed to be based off of historically (Saigo).

BST forum drama may be about to end. We know who the troublemaker is now.
Currently feeling blah

dracil

.. for Spring Break. Now it's 3 days to finish my project, and 3 days to finish my take-home midterm, and I'll probably have an essay due soon after that.

So I got up at 10, expecting Diana to pick us (Fang, Sophia, Aaron, and I) at around 11, which was done within Berkeley Time. About an hour to get there and settle down. Then we watched several episodes of Very News, which... which people got bored of rather quickly. So we started to skip around, and ended up settling on subtitling the first one. We also watched another CD that wasn't from Very News, and I think we (or at least me), liked it a lot better. It was an interview from a Chinese person who'd been blacklisted from China, so he couldn't go back. A lot more informative and the dialogue was really quick and also more intelligent.

For lunch we had potluck with assorted food. Diana made soup and garlic bread, Sophia had fried fish, Fang brought mashed potatoes, Aaron brought Cheez-its, and I brought leftover BST drinks and some other snacks.

Then we played some Bang!, which actually didn't go that well because Diana was sleepy, and it really took people a long time to understand what the cards did. I think that's the problem with this game. While it's supposed to be relatively fast, but because the card is all based on symbols, it's a real pain to teach new players, who don't know what the symbols mean.

Then Jenny came, with several more CDs. After awhile, we eventually decided to go for dinner at Zachary's. Or rather, while there, we decided to do take-out from Zachary's. We went shopping at Albertson's while waiting, and me and Aaron both bought food that was related to lunch (he bought more Cheez-its, and i bought garlic paste and margarine).

Then it was to Diana's place to eat the pizza. Discussion here was interesting, ranging from politics to, purity tests, and just general sex facts (many by me )

Oh, coming home after a whole day of being away, I just realize how much our place smells of all that chicken I've been baking recently. I think I'll stop baking chicken for awhile.
Currently feeling happy but dreading future

dracil

Eh, just quashed the 83+ errors in my CS project that I had when I first tried to compile it (I was typing it on Notepad, so the bugs kept accumulating till I was done). Of course, now I have to see if my program actually works properly. That'll probably take another day.... but yeah. Today was actually the most productive day out of the week. Probably because the deadline's looming...
Currently feeling productive

dracil

So I finally have my CS project done, besides the documentation and removing the debugging code. Although, I did it quite differently from specified, so hope it turns out ok.
Currently feeling relieved

dracil

I polished off my project, went to Walgreens for the fieldwork part of my take-home midterm, and bought Savage. Played demo and liked it enough. Since it's a bit old, it's also relatively cheap.
Currently feeling good

dracil

Today's discussion was actually pretty nice. People arrived late, but a lot of non-usual people showed up. No usual Tuesday dinner though. Joyce was supposed to do fieldwork for the midterm but took a nap instead, and Sophia went to look for housing with Diana.

Oh, and so far, the only thing that's known to keep me awake in class for sure besides tests is to do homework in the class.
Currently feeling tired