(Answer to the previous question? House.)

Observation: I use really big, obscure words when I write when I’m exceptionally tired. Skimming through my Piano paper, I have found instances of “ostensibly”, “tempestuous”, “indelibly”, “indissolubly”, “perfidy”, “imbue”, “permeates”, “innumerable”, and my personal favourite, “homonymic.” All this in just five pages.

I am such a dweeb. XD

I spent the first hour of Computer Graphics class struggling to stay awake. I would nod off for a second or two, then jerk back to consciousness, seriously unsettling the guy sitting next to me. I talked to Norm after class, and he said that he would be very understanding about the homework assignment, as it took so long for so many of the students to get the platform to work correctly, before we could even start coding. That’s a relief.

Now I must decide how best to recharge my batteries. Nap or House?

I’m knocking down pins left and right! This morning, I just finished my Film Analysis paper on The Piano and the “Bluebeard” story, and though I might tweak it a bit before I turn it in tomorrow (I’m going to ask my Fairytales professor to look over it after class tonight), it’s in a state that I’d feel good about turning in.

The Physics quiz is over with, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t get *all* of the questions wrong! I actually feel pretty good about the way I set up the problems, but I’m sure I had some major screwups when it came to combining powers of ten and whatnot. Not bad for a couple hours’ studying to catch up with three weeks of “huh?”

Last night, I finished reading White as Snow for my Fairytales class, so go me. I know next week we’re doing “Little Red Riding Hood,” but I’m feeling like I could sleep for a hundred years.

My computer graphics assignment is still daunting as all get-out. As daunting as a near-totally blank screen can be. I talked to the TAs and they gave me a few suggestions for where I should look for tutorials and whatnot, and they recommended a book, which I just picked up at the store. I’m going to talk to my professor during his office hours this afternoon and get his signoff for me to get a tutor, and possibly an extension.

And I have a math exam Tuesday, proving that IT DOESN’T END.

PHEW! I just had a shock of horror as I observed that my Physics exam on October 5th was the same night as John Hodgman’s appearance in Philly. Fortunately, my professor told the class that the exam should be over before 6, giving me an hour to get to the Free Library before John arrives at 7. Close call!

The season premiere of Veronica Mars was supposed to premiere online tomorrow, a week before it aired. But lo and behold, it got leaked today! Three cheers, for the “frak” will go some way in making up for me not watching Battlestar Galactica! (I am SO GLAD Psych, Doctor Who, and The Dresden Files don’t start up until this stupid semester is over.) Though I’m really not digging the new credits. Don’t mess with my Dandy Warhols, yo.

Studio 60? Love. Though like The West Wing before it, it makes me wish real life was more like the show.

In other TV news, Tim Minear has joined Standoff as a consulting producer. First Gina, now Tim? I guess this makes one more show I’ll have to catch on DVD. Provided it goes to DVD, of course. With Tim’s track record, I doubt it’ll last fourteen episodes. :D And not to worry, Drive is still a midseason contender.

Internet Celebrities talk dance about Net Neutrality. Hilarious! Though don’t let the humor of their presentation undermine their message. Net Neutrality must be preserved. Take action and call your congressman!

Moviewise, we’ve got a bunch of high-res images from Order of the Phoenix! Umbridge is perfect, but oh DanRad, what have you done to your hair? Luna’s eyes are so very Luna, but Neville looks unsettlingly like Hitler shaved his moustache.

We now also have got a (teaser?) poster for Hogfather. Good thing it’s slated for Christmas and the 3D Nightmare Before Christmas re-release is in October. We don’t want to oversaturate the “skeletons playing Santa” market. :D

And finally, aww! James Marsters is going to be in a real movie! And James, “P.S. I Love You”? The initials thing is way too obvious. I know you love me, but darling, you’re twice my age. It would never work. :D

I just totally PWNED my math quiz. It was like “I have Gaussian elimination and inverted matrices and Cramer’s rule and determinants!” and I was like, “But I have a FLAG!”

It was pretty much over from there.

Academic Depression + Eating Dessert Before Dinner = Slightly Less Academic Depression, At Least For The Moment. And Ben & Jerry’s widely-sold “American Pie” is close enough to my lusted-for “Appley Ever After” that an outpouring of singing and dancing may be expected as soon as I rid myself of this excessive quantity of homework.

Anyway, I’ve already cancelled on Tuesday’s SIGGRAPH mini-lecture, and unless I make some major headway in my computer science project in the next few days, I’ve decided not to attend the Gaiman/Hodgman event in New York this Thursday. The stress it will create far outweighs the fanglee. Besides, John Hodgman is coming to Philadelphia October 5th, and I’ve already met Neil twice. It would have been fun, but it just wasn’t to be. I might also drop Battlestar Galactica this semester, if time remains tight. Nightly viewings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are already gone.

An academic update:

After working on Math for about 6-7 hours yesterday, I’ve finished two of the four sections due on Monday. Hurrah! I’ve emailed my TA, asking if these past two weeks are indicative of the workload we can expect throughout the semester, because it’s frankly ridiculous. His response? No, it’s not indicative. The course may actually speed up. Excuse me as I rend my hair and garments and pierce my throat with a wail of agony. I’m definitely going have a chat with the professor after class on Tuesday. [Edit: As of approximately midnight, I’m done! I also sent my professor an email. Jolly good.]

After a couple hours of banging my head against the wall yesterday trying to get the latest release of JOGL (a system that allows one to use Java with OpenGL) to work, a fellow student advised me to try the 2003 release. Yay, the test code actually compiles! Now I only have to learn an entire programming language in a week and implement an architectural layout system! Norm may be a great guy, but he has no grip on what a person can sanely ask of his students.

I finished my bulk-pack reading for my Fairytales class, and I’m half-done reading White as Snow. I’ve scratched the surface of my Film readings, but they’re a lower priority. My film paper is looking promising, but I’ll be seriously hard-pressed to keep it under 6 pages.

And Physics? I haven’t even cracked the book this weekend. I am so far behind it’s ridiculous, and it will be interesting to see if I can cram enough knowledge to not fail Wednesday’s quiz, as I failed the two before. They only drop our three lowest quiz scores, so I need to get my act together, STAT. Now if only there were enough hours in the day that this was physically possible while still allowing me time to sleep, so that I might recover from my cold.

Woah. An unconfirmed French intelligence report is claiming Bin Laden has died of Typhoid fever.

(Also, he tried to ford a river, but his oxen died.)

I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dead. He’s reportedly been in awful shape these past years. And I’d be delighted to see him die in a way that doesn’t make him a martyr. But I was kind of hoping the U.S. would get the chance to kick the SOB’s evil, psycho, genocidal, pansy ass, you know?

Huzzah! The comics shop across the street has finally started stocking new stuff! The store isn’t very large, so the selection isn’t fantastic, but I get what I need. Today I just picked up the new issue of Astonishing X-Men, despite the new issues of Fables and Runaways enticing me from the shelves, urging me to get through the Fables trades and start feeling the Brian K. Vaughn love.

Of course, I’m trying to keep distractions and temptations to a minumum. Next week is going to be one of those “magnet” times, where just about every class has something due.

Monday I have a math homework due and a quiz, but the past homework has been coming fairly easily for me, and I believe I won’t have a problem being prepared.

Tuesday, I’m giving a short talk about my summer internship experience to the Siggraph kidlets.

Wednesday, I have a Physics quiz, plus the hefty amount of weekly reading for my Fairytales class (we’re on Snow White, and we’re reading Snow, Glass, Apples, among other stories).

Thursday, I have my first film paper, which is getting off to a great start. Thursday is also Neil Gaiman and John Hodgman day, and while I’m definitely going to have to miss Math, I’m fairly sure I can still attend film class and get to New York in time to guarantee a seat.

Friday, I have my first assignment for Computer Graphics, which is going to be a real challenge. I’ll definitely have to bring my laptop to the Hodgman/Gaiman event.

Saturday is PhauxCon, and I’m doing a brief talk on Jim Butcher’s books.

My dream last night? House, Cuddy, and the Mary Sue vs. Zombies. Sometimes, the world reminds you just how full of awesome it can be. Another reminder is this Mal/Simon fanfid to “Gay Bar.” Not quite as awesome as the truly glorious Bush and Blair Gay Bar vid, but still hilarious.

So, the plot of my dream?
House (minus the limp), Cuddy, and the MS were playing ping pong, and then they realized that they were playing in a makeshift morgue where a lot of bodies were being stored. These bodies had died of some form or intense radiation or perhaps a highly contagious, disfiguring virus. Then the bodies started glowing red and moving around, so the three tried to escape. All the door exits were sealed, so they jumped into a convenient dumbwaiter, which went down at least 50 floors. They ended up in a cozy den-like room, and after they checked it was zombie-free, they took a nap. They woke up to knocking at the door, which turned out to be the MS’s parents. They gathered up their previously nonexistent bedrolls and changed clothes. The MS donned my DMD “Norm as Mr. T” shirt.

All seemed okay until they discovered MS’s parents were zombie spies and were taking them to this big zombie warehouse. MS was taken captive, but House and Cuddy escaped. But then Cuddy, clearly under the influence of some dark zombie compulsion, walked straight into an ornamental pond and never resurfaced. House was still being chased, so he couldn’t stop to try to save Cuddy. He managed to evade his captors and leave the zombie-controlled compound, and he started down the unfamiliar country road outside in search of a safe place. But inevitably, a couple hundred feet down the road, he ran into a zombie jogger, and I woke up.

In other news, I am Logic Lady! Leaping to tall conclusions with a single inference! Of course, I’m not sure how credible this test result is in the face of my dream last night, but oh well. :D

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock – you’re the new master of logic
You think rationally, clearly, and quickly.
A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!