April 15th, 2011

I woke up this morning at 9 am, I had a breakfast sandwich and tea then showered and prepared myself for the test. I took the 1:30 bus. I briefly stopped by my professors office to let her know I was taking it. She was surprised because that would mean I had only an hour to complete the test, I assured her that I was prepared and thus proceeded to the testing room. Thereupon I was again asked if I really wanted to take the test, the fact that it was a 12 question test was mentioned. I again assured my critics that I was prepared. And so I completed the test, in half the time alloted, with I suspect extreme accuracy. I made sure not to make any simple mistakes, and in most cases I am fairly confident that I scored correctly. I will not know the result until the grades are posted online but I suspect a score between 80 and 100, in fact I am reasonably certain I will get 100 or close to it. After all... its only math.

After the test I went strait home... only to discover I was locked out. While I was waiting for my parents to get home and open the door for me I took the opportunity to weed the front yard, (as always, I can't stand to remain idle.) For the rest of the day I allowed myself to relax, I had left overs for lunch, and cod on a bed of rice with onions spinach and tomatoes for dinner. I also had Hawaiian cake for desert.

I never got a response from my ex, I don't expect one, and I don't much care to discuss the matter further. I am looking forward to class on Tuesday as her prospective replacement will be there and I am very interested to learn this woman's intentions. I have every reason to suspect my prospects will thrive, as I believe they have today.

The weather was marginal, sunny but windy, and toward the end of the day quite cold. I had to turn the heat up as it became very cold in my room. I suspect this indicates yet another change in the weather, I can only hope it changes back. All and all it was reasonable and quiet day, yet also a productive one. I plan to go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, when will be dictated by my circadian rhythm, what little of it exists...

April 14th, 2011

I woke up at 6am, had a breakfast sandwich, orange juice, and liberal amounts of water for breakfast, showered, dressed, and left the house at 7:20. My professor was surprised to see me so early, we went over the test as we had begun yesterday and she was kind enough to compliment me on my hard work and dedication, she said was willing to help me in this way because I have demonstrated myself to be a good student. This meant quite a lot to me, and I intend to prove her right by acing the test tomorrow. I have studied and I shall continue to study, and I will pass it.

After the meeting I spent some time in the mathlab, then when to class. I saw my Bangladeshi friend and I gave him my email, he is thinking of getting a group of us together to tour a local recycling plant with some very fascinating engineering, (we are, after all, stem majors.) The class was fascinating in that it focused on history, specifically on the history of two rules related to limits and derivatives.

After class I went home and had some lunch, left overs from last night, (which I also ended up having for dinner) I had some tea and spent a bit of time studying. I also found I had indeed been contacted by my ex with a response. It was even more shrill but I detected an element of desperation so I offered my terms, which were simply that I would be willing to forget all of these transgressions and mend our friendship, only of course, if she wished it. Its up to her, I can only act with the dignity and clarity my philosophy demands.

I did my exercise routine, increasing my reps from 15 to 20, I then took a long, hot, and very enjoyable bath. After which I chatted with a friend who I had not heard from for quite some time. Now I am getting ready for bed, its midnight and there is much for me to do tomorrow. I shall be victorious.

April 13th, 2011

I woke up around 8am, had granola for breakfast. It was absolutely miserable out today. As soon as my state of consciousness became apparent my mother became obsessively interested in my every thought and action, after attempting to get her out of my hair so I could focus on my work, I ended up agreeing to help her make a crystal... she noticed the rather large one on my mantel and was astounded to learn I made it with a hyper-concentrated alum solution. Lacking alum I used salt... after that I got ready to meet with my professor.

In the process of charging my phone, (as I always do before leaving the house) I noticed something amusing. My ex broke her self imposed silence to berate me for asking one of my friends to send her a message, the contents of which I don't even remember. Now my friend happened to befriend her because I convinced her that my friend wasn't trying to steal her boyfriend, (the person she dated before me; a bumpkin, probable victim of mental handicap, and spoiled Texas princeling of no consequence to anyone) and convincing my friend that my ex wasn't insane... I may have exaggerated just a tad... In any case, she was quite upset with me... she asked me why I didn't just talk to her... of course I did, and was ignored, then had to deduce from the lack of any online presence that she had deleted my contact info. I swear I know not what madness provoked my ill-fated tryst with that one, but her erratic behavior is no longer my concern. That fat useless lump of a boyfriend she lives with, he now has to put up with it, and considering the sort of person he is, I imagine he will, meekly, with little protest.

After that minor curiosity, I shut my phone off, (to conserve battery life) and ran to the bus. I got in on time but my professor was away assisting other students and didn't make it back in time to meet with me. After she generously offered to go over my test during her lunch, I told her I would meet with her instead tomorrow morning. After all she has done for me, it was the least I could do. She also offered me all the extensions I asked for, and I'm confident that I will be caught up by next week. With a grade, worthy of my brilliance. I then sat in self administered lecture by way of the computer lab until the bus arrived, which I did take, returning home around 1 pm. I had left over pasta for lunch, did my biology homework, read a chapter out of my biology text book, and found the time to email my ex. I told her in no uncertain terms not to text me, I said that if she wants to talk, she can call me, email me, or im me. Now I know she won't so I may as well have just told her off, but then I'm not the sort of person that does that. Maybe I should be... I really am too nice and too forgiving, its possibly my greatest fault but then its well balanced by my inability to tolerate nonsense or apologize for just cause.

After that little episode I was approached by my mother again, she wanted another loan, after the most pathetic contemptible whining she accepted my refusal in the most immature of ways. "whatever" was the response. I commented that she sounded as if she was 15... and certainly she is acting as if she is. Now I act the part of the parent cutting off their child's allowance to teach them budgeting, she certainly can't expect the bank of Taverna to bail her out every single time she needs to buy someone a gift. Who do I look like, the federal government?

It seems fate is decided that I should have headaches in perpetuity. I can only hope my soon to be triumphs grant the peace I have earned with my tireless efforts and stoic resolve, more than hope, I will it so, and so shall it be.

For dinner, we had a kind of shepherds pie made with turkey and sweet potatoes, its hard to describe but utterly delicious. After that I relaxed, watched the news, and chatted online for a period. Its now 11 and I must be headed off to bed, as I have a dawn appointment with my professor, and this time its actually at dawn. Class, will of course follow soon after.

April 12th, 2011

I woke up at 8:30, had just enough time to eat a breakfast sandwich, get dressed, and run to the bus. I was a few minutes late but my professor didn't seem to care. She gave me credit for attendance. Class was dull and an air of uncertainty about deadlines was somewhat cleared by my professors announcement that the materials to be covered on Thursday were optional and that we would not be tested on them. She essentially gave us an entire 3 days to catch up. Time I intend to make full use of. I will meet with her tomorrow to discus my last test.

After class I went home and had lunch, 5 falafel and a granola bar with juice, a latte, and water. I loaded up on water and snacks and ran back to class. I spent the hour and a half before the start of bio to study, and it paid off fairly well as I scored an 85, this time I was only the second person to finish, rather than the first, but then I was a bit more tired this time around. I think one of the girls in my class has a crush on me, I'm looking forward to pursuing the matter next Tuesday, Monday being a holiday and thus free of classes.

When i got home I went strait to homework, had dinner, pasta and pesto, and chatted with my mom about a variety of subjects. I also spoke to a few friends online, one of which encouraged me to pick up my old lunar colonization project, I definitely want to write that book, I think that will be my project for the summer.

I had some cake for desert, showered, and got ready for bed. Its very late, already half after 1 so I really ought to be getting to sleep, which I shall do presently, all and all an eventful and productive day. I hope to continue the trend.

April 11th, 2011

Woke up at 8, had a breakfast sandwich, juice, and tea for breakfast. Went strait into finishing up my room. It was completely done by 11:30 giving me just enough time to enjoy 4 falafel for lunch with gobs of that awesome Greek yogurt dressing, I am going to figure out how to make these things... not only are they a lot better than I remember them being, but they are so convenient! Not to mention filling, once again the superiority of Mediterranean cuisine is borne out. But anyway I didn't have time to take a shower so I doused myself in deodorant and ran to the bus trying in vain to keep my matted mess of a head from resembling Einstein in his less photogenic moments.

I made it to class early, (as always) got in the lab after the last class ended so they didn't lock the door causing me and everyone else to have to stand outside for 15-20 minutes, (they could have at least thanked me) and sat down to study. Our fearless leader decided to spring a pop quiz, (of sorts, no actual grade just his attempt to stump all the people he knows aren't studying) I was the only one in class who consistently raised his hand when it was voluntary, (as always) and even though I got some of them wrong, (mostly from the chapter I hadn't gotten to yet) I still managed to impress my professor so much he put a gag order on me so, "the other students could have a chance" that has to be the most common phrase ever uttered to me by school faculty in my lifetime. Well, that and "put your hand down Giuliano, we know you know."

The weather was absolutely stunning today, and its put me in a very good mood. When I got home I had dinner, and hit the shower, we just had left over pork and potato salad from last night, (just as good, I didn't complain.) I also got my mother reading letters to a young contrarian, by C Hitchens. I'm hoping it will improve her vocabulary a tad, she's been hanging out with Chelsea people a lot lately and I think its effecting her brain. I'll wait on introducing her to the missionary position, and god is not great, I don't think she's quite ready for those...

After my shower I put on shorts and a tank top for the second time this year, had all my windows open, and basked in the fresh air... I wish I'd had the time to lounge in the hammock but I won't until... well actually I haven't a clue when, I'd say Wednesday but I'm probably going to be in the testing room or the computer lab for the duration of that. I just hope the weather stays on its current track.

I was exhausted from reorganizing my room so I gave myself a break this evening, I did chat with my new friend for a few minutes, and I also set up a few new programs on my computer. In addition I weighed myself, I'm back to my normal minimum weight, 180. Evidently the improved quality of food coupled with my return to a fairly regular exercise regiment is paying off. I also feel a lot better, which considering my various symptoms including headaches and other things I'd rather not describe is substantial. I may be in constant pain but I'm stronger, I have more energy, and I'm in a good mood, so what's a little unending agony between triumphs?

I also got my test results back, they weren't what I was hoping for but they are sufficient for me to move forward, I intend to meet with my professor to go over the results at the nearest possible date, which will likely be Wednesday. Now I have to go to bed, as I have calculus in the morning and a bio test in the afternoon.

Just to emphasize, I'm a genius, all hail me, I can anything I want to, ahahahaha... and I feel fucking amazing!

April 10th, 2011

I was unable to update yesterday due to technical problems derived from a suspicious virus coupled with an even more suspicious ip address emanating from a certain part of Boston I've only been to once and for a reason that might give one particular person a reason to hack my account. Whether or not my suspicions are grounded I had my pc reformatted yet again. Its now as pristine as the day I bought it... or at least it will be as soon as I get all the dammed registry errors fixed.

This morning I woke up late around 9. I had 2 granola bars and chamomile tea for breakfast. I then showered and got dressed and ready to take my second chapter 3 test, sections 4-8. The chain rule, implicit differentiation, relating rates, and differentiating differential equations. I had 3 falafel with Greek yogurt for lunch and a glass of v8 fruit smoothy that my sister saw fit to pick up from market basket.  After lunch I went to school, and spent 3 hours listening to online lecture videos before taking the test in the last two hours of available testing room time. I left school just as it was supposed to have closed. I have no idea how I did on that test, as the grades have not been posted yet. I am certain that I got above 50%, as to how far above I won't know until tomorrow. At any rate I have a second chance to take it, but I would rather not as I have yet to take the midterm which is pressing.

I picked up my computer from microcenter along with a new audio cable and usb cable, (they are far cheaper there than at bestbuy.) Then I went home and set up my computer while having dinner, we had pulled pork on a bulky role with coleslaw and potato salad, all from scratch of course. The pork was slow cooking in the oven the entire time I was at school. I pity people who eat everything from a box, they couldn't comprehend what it is they are missing. Afterward I enjoyed a glass of wine, several glasses of water, another glass of v8, and a cookie. I also spent a great deal of time cleaning my room. I may rearrange it again, so that my bed is closer to the window and in view of my new longer cables.

Beyond that, there is little else of note. Aside from the computer problems yesterday I did my normal exercise routine, continued correspondence with friends, and carried on as I normally do on a Saturday.

April 8, 2011

I woke up at 9 am, had a breakfast shake, took a shower got dressed and left for an appointment with my professor. We agreed I’d have test 4 done by Sunday and she suggested that I should drink more water… and she’s probably right.

When I got home I had left over steak, rice, and broccoli for lunch and… yes water.

I spent the rest of the day suffering from a massive headache but it wasn’t all bad, I made a new friend. The man with whom I was debating Islam yesterday continued the discussion today and we spent a while talking over Skype. We both share many interests including a love of history and language and we spent a while going back and forth on the Aztecs, (he’s Mexican) and the Romans, and the differences between Spanish and Italian. It was a pleasant distraction from the throbbing pain in my forehead

I had shrimp scampi for dinner and for desert a few oatmeal raisin cookies my dad made from scratch for desert, I think they had honey and chocolate chips in them too, as well as molasses.

I made a point of drinking more water… tomorrow I plan to study like hell, now I’m going to bed. Its just after 11pm.

Oh and the government didn’t shut down, we aren’t officially a failed state yet.  So… yay America, you don’t suck quite as badly as I expected you to. 

April 7, 2011

I woke up at 7, had some tea, skipped breakfast due to nausea. Took a shower, got dressed, and left for class. Today we went over the second derivate rule for finding concavity, and we got some extra credit work. I may have earned some of it.

After class I had left over’s for lunch, deleted 10 or so people from my yahoo including my ex who I’m pretty sure already deleted me a second time. I wash my hands of her.  The rest were people I either haven’t spoken to in months, or people I likewise suspected of having deleted me. Honestly, is it so much to ask that people say something before dropping off the face of the earth? I mean if I was planning to abandon the internet, (unthinkable given all my long time friends and the importance of it) I would at least say good bye or ask that someone else do so. As a matter of fact I did so in all the forums I have left up to this point. Of course I’ve never abandoned a friend; however I’ve had several abandon me, their loss and someone else’s gain. To the subject of relationships specifically, considering how often I get hit on, someone is bound to fit my standards sooner or later.

After that I began studying, panicking, then finally abandoning my goal of taking test number 4 in calculus, my amazingly understanding and merciful professor agreed to meet with me tomorrow to talk about an extension. I really felt awful today, I suffered from all my normal stomach ailments and a fairly profound migraine. It’s a very good thing I have a high tolerance for pain or this might become a liability.

However I did make a few new friends, and I have every reason to expect them to be far more reliable than all the traitors I removed. Also had some fun debates, mostly on the subject of Islam, and amusingly on both sides of the issue. Ie defending it from attack and attacking its defenders, this time however it was along the more traditional lines of, Muslim Islamic apologist and non Muslim islamoskeptic. I might express some degree of distain at constantly finding myself; ex catholic anti theist, talking about a religion, but given current geopolitics it’s hardly surprising. There isn’t a global movement to establish theocratic Zoroastrianism, nor is there a simultaneous attempt by Zoroastrians to overthrow their corrupt autocratic regimes, (except maybe in Iran in concert with secular Muslims) nor is there an effort to ban and demonize Zoroastrians in America, (the toothless inbred hicks likely don’t know what Zoroastrianism is nor have ever heard the word used before.)

For dinner I had steak, rice, and broccoli, which was quite good. No desert, lots of water, ect, ect. I also made myself a crude latte earlier with left over espresso, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk, as a study aid. My mother also asked me for yet another loan, she now owes me 80 dollars. I consented only under two conditions, one that it was for her friends in Italy, and two that it would be the last time I lent her anything until I get paid back. She claims I will be paid back on the 20^th, 8 days before my birthday… in which I will turn 22… not 42… regardless of what some people think.

I spent the evening conversing with a dear friend; I fell asleep late at around 1 am. 

April 6, 2011

I woke up at 9, had tea and granola for breakfast. Then I rested until lunch, I had a bowl of left over pasta. After lunch I continued to rest, I’m absolutely exhausted today for some reason. I did manage to work up enough energy to continue my exercise regiment. After that I had dinner, chicken Parmesan with Italian rice. It was quite good.

I also had a brief exchange with a Syrian friend of mine who asked me why I always qualified critiques of Islam with similar critiques of Christianity… The implication being that I was going too easy on Islamic fundamentalism. Well It wasn’t the first time I was accused of that, but it is the first time I was accused of it by a Muslim. I responded by clarifying that I’m very much against all forms of fundamentalism especially Sunni  wahbist and the Shiite Iranian regime schools of Islamic fundamentalism. I also pointed out that my habit of pointing out the similarities between Muslims now, and Christians in the past is based on recognition that it was secular society that reformed Christianity and Judaism, not moderate Christians and Jews, who were usually executed by their own congregations before states existed that could enforce laws prohibiting religious persecution. The Middle East simply lacks secular authority, and is awash in well funded and entrenched theocratic barbarism. Ultimately, religion is the problem, and it must be tamed.

I often find myself in the course of several exchanges at once defending Islam from fundamentalist Christians and conservatives, (by pointing out they agree more with so called terrorists than they do with me and most of the Muslims I know) and in another forum attacking Islamic apologists when they try to deny the incitements to murder, war, genocide, and persecution in the Koran, or when they spew mindless anti-Semitism, homophobia, or anti Americanism.  I’m continuously amused at how I can be referred to as both a terrorist sympathizer and a crusading neocon at the same time by two separate quarters. To make it clear, I am an enemy of religious faith, I will attack it whenever it seeks to exert control over the lives of people who do not wish to believe in it, however I’m not an enemy to people who have religious faith, only those that wish to impose it on me or others, and also those that lie about their religion. I view that as the only sound position to hold on the subject. If that offends some people, well in the words of John Adams, "We're in a war, dam it! We're going to have to offend somebody!” 

I’m going to have a hell of a time studying tomorrow… I think its best that I go to bed now, its 10pm.

April 5, 2011

I woke up at 5:30 and undertook to complete several calculus problems. I also had a breakfast consisting of frosted mini wheats and green tea.  I showered and dressed and left the house at 8am.

I arrived at class on time, we did 2 sections of work and I then went home for lunch. I had cauliflower and I made myself liver and onions. It was quite good.  

I left for biology at 1, arriving shortly thereafter. I spent about an hour in the math computer lab doing calculus homework, then went to bio for a lecture that was 2 hours long, then I followed that up with another 2 hours in the math computer lab after which I left for home at around 6.

I had ziti with red sauce for dinner; I then finished the last 6 problems on my homework, completing it on time for the deadline tonight at midnight. I’m tired, but sanguine. One hurdle is out of the way, I’ve a few more to go but I will meet all expectations and indeed exceed them.  It is my way, and it is my will, and so it shall be done.

The homework in total, was 52 problems, many of which had multiple parts.

In between work, what little time there was in between it, I’ve been attentive to the news.  Libya is pretty much as it was, as is Japan, which is bad news on both fronts. We dropped support of our pet tyrant in Yemen, (about dam time) but we are still backing that perfidious drug pusher in Kabul. And he instigated a lynching of UN workers the other day because some inbred barbarian hick from Florida burned a copy of the Koran. In local news, the republic is on the brink of collapse… the republicans have decided, or rather reaffirmed their opinion that shutting down the federal government is a good idea. So they are doing that now, and celebrating about it. Meanwhile the president is bending over backward to give them a deal, which basically sacrifices everything he claimed to believe in, and its still not enough for them. To summarize, the world is fucked, and party line republicans are stupid as hell! In addition party line democrats are masochistic puppets, which has been obvious to me for years but seems to have caught on more recently.

It’s probably a bad sign when your preferred method of escapism is the news. I need a vacation… well I’m going to bed, its 11 and I have a lot of studying to do, tomorrow. 

April 4, 2011

I woke up at 8am, the sky was dreadfully dismal this morning, I had a cup of tea and a jelly donut for breakfast. I then did my exercise routine and I showered and left for school at 11, and met with my professor. We went over two problems that I then completed in short order. After that I went upstairs for lunch, I had the pizza I brought with me, it was quite good. I also drank a bottle of water.

I then arrived at my lab about 10 minutes early, one of the girls from my class was also there and we spent a few minutes chatting before class… I was disturbed to hear that she, like so many other people assumed I was in my 30’s…. sigh… do I honestly look 30? It’s irritating beyond belief. She happened to be 32 and had a ten year old son… This was quite surprising to me, as she looked much younger; I thought she was in her mid 20’s at the most. Aside from the awkward age difference we got on well enough, and then when the professor arrived we did a brief introduction of cellular respiration, followed by an enzyme lab. The lab was fairly straightforward; I got out at 3, and spent about 40 minutes in the math computer lab doing calculus until the bus arrived.

When I got home I had more left over pizza for dinner, I assumed left over’s would be the order of the day. I also had a salad.  For desert I had a bit of icecream and a few chocolate chip cookies.

I spoke to a dear friend of mine for a few hours; we touched on a variety of subjects from health to school to family to mutual acquaintances. She is a most amiable person, wise and of sound opinion. It’s so nice to have people who can be counted on for calm civil discourse.  After we parted I showered and got ready for bed. I shall prepare for class tomorrow which will be quite early.

April 3, 2011

I woke up at 9 am; my father was kind enough to make me an omelet consisting of fried onions, mushrooms and cheese. This I had with a cup of tea.

Then I undertook to accomplish 10 calculus problems, I have 30 remaining. In addition I assisted my mother in retrieving an end table from the attic and I then undertook to have lunch, two slices of pizza from the previous night. I then showered and got dressed. I am now preparing to visit my grandmother for it is her birthday.

I spent about an hour at her house, my aunt brought over 3 homemade pizzas that she had made each with different toppings and one calzone. As well as a strawberry shortcake. I had two glasses of my grandfathers wine, it was white and very harsh in taste but not bad, I also had a pice of cake and a cup of espresso. We also talked with my uncle in turkey via webcam, he seems to be doing well and we all miss him. He was deported last year on an expired visa and is in the process of filing an appeal, so far its looking to be successful.

I had the pizza my aunt made for dinner, it was quite good. Much sweeter than the pizza my father makes. Also the dough was more substantial.  I then took a long hot bath, after requesting additional time from my professor due to my continued ill health and familial responsibilities, when I returned I found she had already responded granting me an extra day. If there is to be any such word as saint, it’s a title she deserves. I only hope I can justify this clemency with great triumphs, these things, I will spend much time in bringing about. Now I am quite tired and I will rest.

Let my work forge in the red hot fires of ambition, a new and tempered spirit that will last one thousand years! I will be no Ozymandias, my works will be mighty long after my death.

April 1, 2011/April 2, 2011

April 1, 2011

I woke up at 8, had granola with milk and tea for breakfast. Then rested until lunch, thereupon I had left over pasta and left with my father to drop off my application at school. I did so, returning home around 1pm. I had a piece of chocolate cake and I spent the rest of the day resting. I had fish and chips with a salad for dinner and I went to sleep around 11 pm.

I was not well today, sleep deprivation aggravated my headache and I suffered from shivering and stomach pains in addition to a general feeling of malaise.

April 2, 2011

I woke up at 10 am, had orange juice and Belgium waffles for breakfast. I undertook to vacuum the hallway and the stairs, as well as sweep my bathroom. I had left over fish and chips for lunch. Along with two cups of green tea.

I cleaned my bathroom and ran a virus scan on my computer, thereupon I undertook to sign onto my yahoo messenger account and was surprised to learn that my ex requested I readd her, as I suspected she deleted me at some point after our last exchange. I accepted the request in the hope of more amiable contact in the future.

For the first time in several days I completed my full exercise regiment, due to ill health I broke with my normal 2 day cycle but as I am attempting to regain my momentum in all matters, this was an apparent first step down the path of personal triumph. I also had a glass of ice tea. Now I am preparing to shave and bathe, as well as to finish my homework.

I spent a few hours shaving, while I was doing that I managed to speak to two of my friends, one told me he had found a new friend and that they were getting on well and that he was quite happy. I congratulated him and offered him my best wishes and congratulations. My other friend inquired into my health, and offered some suggestions regarding how best to alleviate migraine headaches. Her advice was well considered. She also imparted into me disturbing rumors about some of our mutual acquaintances. Of those I will say little but they are nothing I did not already suspect and like all the information I receive it will be used artfully when the time is ripe, and not before. There are non I value more highly than those friends of mine who warn me about what goes on behind my back and in my absence, the fact that I know just what is going on at all times puts me in a most favorable position indeed. It should also give my potential rivals pause as I know all that they do and think, my eyes and ears are everywhere, and my hand is ever raised high to strike down sedition wherever it rears its accursed head. On this matter I shall say no more.

I had two slices of homemade pizza for dinner; they were quite good my father seems to be getting better at making the dough which is after all the most important part of a good pizza.

I was informed that I will be visiting my grandmother tomorrow as it is her birthday, with my family around 2. I look forward to it as I’ve been somewhat concerned over her health, and that of her husband my grandfather who has suffered greatly over the past year and was recently in hospital for pneumonia. They as they have traditionally done in the months around Easter are planning to return to the homeland for a few weeks, I hope the clean Mediterranean air will help my grandfather’s condition. The climate around staletti as I’ve been told is quite healthful. There will of course be much food and drink; I wonder how my grandfather’s wine turned out last year… I will have to sample it when I arrive.

I also managed to complete 12 of my 52 calculus problems; I shall do the remaining 40 tomorrow. 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening should be a sound way to parcel my workload, as I do not wish to ask more of my professor than she has already generously provided.

It is now 11:30, and I shall prepare for bed, much work and merriment awaits me tomorrow I shant permit lack of rest to hinder me. 

March 31, 2011

I fell asleep toward 1 am, and had very odd dreams. I dreamt I was in a strange parallel version of MA that had wide expanses of wooded areas infested by inbred degenerate Klansmen. Naturally I armed myself with a high powered assault rifle and several grenades and went into the woods to exterminate the savages. I came upon an especially ugly fat barbarian who started with a rant about Jews and Mexicans and I completely neglected my heavy arms and walked right up to him in full view of his fascist scum cohorts and proceeded to brow beat him. I believe my exact words were, “shut up you disgusting inbred hick! Get out of here!” He and the rest of his filth then ran away like a pack of frightened goats.  I then walked home triumphantly and told everyone how I saved the region with my mouth.

It was a fun dream, but I wish I’d have remembered kill them. I woke up a 8, went in early at 9 and met with my professor. She was very understanding and told me not to work on it today, (she actually told me to rest and let my head clear up, she’s really very nice.) I then went to class, we went over extrema. It was extremely easy. I also got my letter of recommendation.

I returned home, had left over’s for lunch, and pasta with bacon for dinner.  I also had several glasses of tea, juice, and one glass of hot cocoa.

I spent the evening resting and watching the news, its become quite apparent to me that conservatives have decided anarcho capitalism isn’t reactionary enough as they seem to be supporting a 21^st century version of feudalism, with large transfers of wealth and power to a ruling elite at the expense of the landless poor coupled with a generalized program of decentralized authority. On that basis, liberals could now properly claim to be defending free market capitalism, as that has been dropped almost entirely from the conservative program, though to be fair, they still pretend to themselves that their feudal policies are capitalist, in the same way that they pretend to themselves that Obama was born in Kenya.

It’s now more than half past midnight, and I intend to go to bed. 

A few thoughts on Libya.

Gaddafi is a terrorist; however he is not a jihadist. The Saudis, who fund salafism and wahabism in fundamentalist madrassa’s around the world, hate him. As does al Qaeda… he is in many ways much like Saddam Hussein, who also funded terrorism and used it, both domestically and internationally, but was ideologically more of a fascist than a theocrat. That’s not to say fascism isn’t heavily based on religious fanaticism, it always was, but there is a minor ideological difference that leads many people to argue the liberation of Iraq was unhelpful to the overall aim of crippling al Qaeda. To an extent this is true but it’s certainly more true than the idiotic claim that the result was empowering Iran which is then conflated with al Qaeda, and which unlike Saddam wasn’t just iffy on the subject of Sunni Arab jihad, but is openly hostile to and at war with it. The Iranian regime is a fundamentalist Islamic state, that is not a democracy, and supports terrorism both domestically and internationally… however it’s not the same kind of Islam, they are Shiite Persians, not Sunni Arabs. The anti war movement conveniently forget this detail when they claim to have been against the war for this reason. They of course, are also against doing anything to trouble the Iranian theocracy, so really the hypocrisy here is obvious.

My point here is important because there are parallels between the current conflict and the 03 escalation of the war with Saddam, which started in the early 90s and never truly ended.  One, a no fly zone, primarily supported by nato with the tacit consent of the Arab league, which is essentially just Egypt and Saudi Arabia. When we stepped up the war in Iraq and made it about regime change, that support collapsed and the UN started posturing over its legality. Hence the whole, Bush is a war criminal nonsense that we are still subject to… By the standards of international law there are precious few regimes that aren’t guilty of war crimes, technically Obama already was from the moment he initiated drone strikes in Pakistan, (again with the covert off the record but now proven consent of the Pakistani government.) Well we are already stepping up our efforts in Libya, there are unconfirmed reports of cia operatives on the ground assisting rebels, and the president is considering arming them. Two, allegations of al Qaeda being in the opposition, and thus the old cry of, “we are helping the enemy with this war” has returned.   The Pat Buchanan’s and Ron Pauls on the right and the Michael Moors and Cindy Sheehan’s of the world are already on the war path and Obama is going to find himself very quickly having to justify a 180 degree policy shift from his 08 campaign.

Now there are important distinctions, Bush first sold his war to the American people, and then tried to get the UN to come along, (they did not.) Obama went the other way around, first consulting the UN, then coming before the American people, only time can tell how effective this will be, while I was deeply moved by the speech given by Obama on this subject I must express a certain level of concern over his absurd claim that this is not a war. By any standard military action of one regime against another is a war, in this case it’s a war against a tribal oligarchy run by a lunatic hated by virtually everyone in the world, and especially by the majority of the people living under his regime. However it’s still a war and we had best start calling it that. In addition Obama made it clear that this is not, “an obama doctrine” well why the hell is that? By any standard of statesmanship it’s certainly a good starting point for a sane, stable, and ethical policy in the middle east, not to mention a popular one. Sadly realism trumps ethics and the fact that we are still allied to the tyrannies of Yemen, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia makes any ethical foreign policy sporadic at best, cynical at worst. That’s not to say we shouldn’t still support the government when it does something right, but that does mean we need to keep the pressure high on what it does wrong. We owe that much to the brave men and women risking life and limb against these despots… who have our weapons and our money to use in their suppression of human rights and dignities.

Another key distinction is that unlike with Saddam, we did not wait until well after it was “too late” we barely saved the Kurds and left the country to rot for ten years of Saddam, plus sanctions. Which is why it is barely governable now. In Libya we acted before, not after the genocidal repression of a population by a despotic lunatic.

We have to be clear, despite what the racist scum on the right, the Glen Beck’s of the world… say, al Qaeda is not behind the opposition and this has nothing to do with Israel. Its true there are al Qaeda sympathizers and anti Semites among the opposition, then again there are theocrats and anti Semites in the GOP, and I have a lot more faith in the Libyan opposition than I do in say… the tea party caucus. They are fighting for freedom from a dictator; if we step in to help we will insure that any anti American segments of the movement remain fringe elements and that the movement itself takes on a pro western view that will endear our two countries for generations to come. If we don’t, then where else will they turn for help? Well al Qaeda are known to involve themselves in fighting all our pet dictators, and earning popular support in the process. This isn’t the fault of the people in the middle east for going with the obvious lesser of two evils, (the dictator you know vs. the one you don’t know) it’s our fault for supporting evil in the first place. By siding with democracy we disarm our enemies and endear ourselves to the people.

Ultimately, we must understand human nature and act in the way which is most likely to win the support of the people in those areas in which we have an interest; our interests can only be served by people, not dictators, not kings, not despots.  If we want peace in the Middle East, we must first amend our behavior, then seek to mend the behaviors of those that would do us harm, as they will always draw strength and undeserved credibility from our mistakes. 

March 30, 2011

I woke up at 8 am, had granola with milk and a breakfast shake for breakfast, as well as several glasses of tea, both green and spiced. My headache returned so stayed relatively inactive until my doctors appointment at one, I went, then returned home at 2. I then had  a late lunch, a bit of left over pasta from last night, and then my mother asked me to make her some instant udong noodles that she got from market basket, I agreed when she promised to split it with me, (I was still quite hungry from my small late lunch.) the noodles were surprisingly good for instant.

My headache continued and got worse; eventually I had to take painkillers. They helped somewhat but I didn’t get anything done at all, I have emailed my professor asking for an extension. I see no reason why she will not grant it, given what my peers get away with, and given my good standing and reputation, its more than reasonable. I plan to meet her tomorrow during office hours go mull over a problem I’ve been struggling with. Migraine headaches make calculus, like most things, rather harder than it might otherwise be.

We had stuffed pork chops with apples and swish cheese and a side of green and wax beans, it was extremely good. I skipped desert, showered and got ready for bed. It is now nearly 11, and I intend to go to sleep soon. 

March 29, 2011

I woke up at 6:45, my dreams were quite odd. They revolved around an entertainment system, a strange woman, and the vicinity of the old Taverna Brother’s building. I don’t remember much but I had recovered an appliance that she had forgotten. I woke up as she was thanking me for my efforts.

I had a breakfast shake and tea shortly after waking up, I went to school at 8 am, and arrived early for an abridged class. We were permitted to leave after meeting one on one with our professor, she suggested that I was doing very well and could expect at least an A- at this rate. I’m hoping for an A, and I intend to finish up my homework over the next two days, taking the test on Thursday after class.

When I returned home I had tea and a turkey sandwich with Swiss and cheddar cheese, romaine lettuce, and mustard.

I suffered badly from a headache and was unable to get much in the way of homework done. I intend to do it tomorrow. I had pasta and pesto for dinner, and chocolate pudding for desert, as well as several glasses of spiced tea. I fell asleep toward midnight.

March 28, 2011

I went to sleep around midnight, and woke up at 8am. I had a breakfast sandwich and tea, then a muffin. And roast beef for lunch. I left for school at 1 and was greeted by a false fire alarm as I made my way to the class room. The evacuation was chaotic and no one knew where to go, I of course made my way to the nearest exit in a calm and orderly fashion, as the fire alarm at my elementary school always recommended.  As soon as the fire trucks arrived it became clear it was not a drill, shortly thereafter it became clear that there was no fire, beyond that nothing further was discovered.

In class we covered metabolism, and enzymes, and in the process we tried to ignore the mutant fruit flies infesting the room… evidently some of my more moronic peers forgot to put the lids back on their containment vials.

I had more roast beef and broccoli for dinner, with mashed potatoes. I went to sleep at 11, after conversing with a friend for a period of time. 

March 27, 2011

I slept from 2 am to 8 am, my dreams were odd and varied. I had a breakfast shake and coffee for breakfast, then later a corn muffin and two granola bars… I skipped lunch and had roast beef and potatoes for dinner with broccoli. I also had some chocolate pudding and lemon cake for desert.

I spent most of the day as I did yesterday, but with the addition of homework. I’m running behind my set schedule but I’m still well ahead of my deadlines so it’s of only minor concern.

I am disturbed by the rumblings that I have heard nothing I can put my figure on but distressing news seems the standard of affairs these days. It is all I hear from my friends. People die, are tormented, troubled, distraught, it is quite representative of the world as it is. For as we speak the dogs of war are on the prowl and death follows. One can only remember that as there are no gods, the only love is that which we have for each other. Those that remain must stay together in solidarity, as that is the only consolation obtainable, and the only course we have.

It is now 20 past 11, and I grow weary, I will go to sleep soon, as I have class tomorrow, I think perhaps a lab. 

March 26, 2011

I fell asleep around midnight, after a desert of icecrème and two squares of extra dark chocolate.  I then awoke shortly after 7, my dreams were of tragedy and chaos. I dreamt again of my pets, my cats, Alexis and tiffany, and my dog Sirius. All dead, yet ever present in my subconscious. As a materialist I know they do not exist, in any way, anymore. So as I remarked at the time, the sensation of missing them is really a selfish desire to enjoy their company once again. This extends to all loss of loved ones, and no matter how baseless it is in the purview of reason, there it remains.

For breakfast I had tea and a breakfast shake. For lunch I had left over’s, for dinner salmon upon rice with salad.  I also had an ale afterward.

The day was relatively uneventful, I was quite worn out from a week of constant studying, and as it was horribly cold out, I stayed in and rested. Remaining attentive to the news I saw the tragic plight of a Libyan woman, raped by 15 Gaddafi thugs and dragged off by the secret police, kicking and screaming in full view of the media she sought, not for protection, but to let the world know what had happened to her. I have no doubt, those slime sucking fascist thugs will torture her well past the breaking point, and then have her give a forced confession on state television, as Winston smith did at the end of 1984. She will accuse herself of all the crimes they claim she is guilty of and when it comes down to it, they can probably make her say anything they want. However I hold out hope that the righteous anger of the world will be unleashed upon Gaddafi, and as Brutus avenged lucretia when he drove out the last king of Rome, so too will the tyrant of Tripoli be driven from his homeland, never to return.

As Brutus said, “By this blood - most pure before the outrage wrought by the king's son - I swear, and you, O gods, I call to witness that I will drive hence Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, together with his cursed wife and his whole blood, with fire and sword and every means in my power, and I will not suffer them or any one else to reign in Rome.”

After dinner I undertook a bath that I quite enjoyed, amending my previous recpipy for salts I substituted starch for sucrose and found as I expected that it dissolved perfectly in the acetic acid and was considerably better. I also refined my measurements to narrow the ratio of reagents such that there were fewer unbound protons. My hapless sister of course thinks acetic acid is bad for the skin… because it smells bad. She of course doesn’t know that all acids stink, and critic acid, the thing she used, smells just as bad. Its also a much more complex organic acid, and more expensive. I think next I will try Potassium bitartrat in place of acetic acid.

I watched a documentary about Lucius Cornelius Chrysogonus, a freedman of Sulla who was tasked with overseeing the proscriptions, the reign of terror in Rome that left the equestrians living in terror of being dragged off in the night, never to be seen again. It was quite good and to be recommended, the title was, “a murder in Rome.”

I look forward to the premiere of bleach tonight, after that I will go to bed. 

March 25, 2011

I fell asleep by 11 pm last night, and I awoke a bit after 7. I had tea and an egg and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread for breakfast, and spent the first bit of my morning studying trigonometric derivatives and getting ready for my test. After a shower I headed out the door at 10 am.

I arrived at school shortly thereafter, and went straight to the CSDL, (the main computer lab/out of class testing facility on campus.) The test itself was fairly straightforward, there were a few questions on which I know screwed up, one change of rate problem that asked for an operation, the formula of which I only half remembered as it was the last step on a 5 step problem I did on my homework 4 days prior. All and all I more than passed with a score of 87… a score… only disappointing to me. I ran into two of my classmates interestingly enough, one sat behind me in the testing room… I think she intentionally sat behind me hoping I’d help her or something… as if I would risk my reputation to help some pitiless slacker. The other was a girl who usually sits behind me in the second row, she was on the phone so I waved as I passed. It’s been surprising to me just how often I seem to be taking a test in and around the same period as all my other classmates… as to the significance of that I can’t say. Probably herd instinct or something to do with the nature of the course.  

At any rate, I made my way to the mathlab to do a few homework problems while waiting for the bus, then I went home and had left over’s from last night for lunch. My parents are still sick so I ended up having the same thing for dinner… not that I’m complaining, homemade chicken cacciatore of the quality I get isn’t something to pass up on.

All and all today was fairly productive, I’m going to finish up my homework this weekend and begin contemplating making another run at my license. I feel it would be prudent to review the necessary material prior to spending the 20 dollars.  Oh, and I also debated some feckless Romanian on a forum I frequent, the loon claimed world war two was the only war the US ever won, and I then pointed out all the wars he forgot about… he then tried to argue that they weren’t really wars… because he disagreed with them. I then found myself in the position of having to define the term “wining” as having a meaning other than “you approve.” He copped out with “have a nice weekend” and I told him to fuck off… I mean really, who does he think he’s kidding? Ah I should know better than to argue with trolls but I have two tendencies that always put me in that position. One I like to argue and two I can more or less do it in my sleep, as a result the normal cost benefit analysis that most people have when they pick a fight pretty off tilter with me.  

Oh and we are still at war with Gaddafi, and the president is still claiming it’s not a war. Seemingly contorting himself in every possible way, to disassociate his policy of regime change in a middle eastern country with an eye to removing a known sponsor of international terrorism with alleged wmd’s in the name of democracy… from the same exact policy practiced by the Bush administration. The so called “neocons” that we were constantly told were always in favor of war and did always defend the Bush administration, are for the most part now suddenly anti war and very concerned about constitutional issues and the budget.  Let me just make this clear, I love what the president is doing, I support him all the way, but I am utterly sick of this political pandering. The right can go screw itself, they aren’t a concern to me, their duplicitous whining and opportunistic posturing is to be expected. However Obama isn’t a hack politician anymore, he’s the leader of the free world, and trying to redefine military action to describe something other than war is like Clinton’s attempt to redefine the definition of sex and “is” to a degree so high it requires scientific notation to write. It’s a war, call it what it is, and let us all be very focused on conducting it properly, decisively, in accordance with all standards of national and international precedent. The mission should be obvious, help the rebels overthrow Gaddafi and then help them rebuild Marshal Plan style. I suspect that is what Obama is doing, or rather that is what I hope he is doing, and I would venture to say that, and not continued reliance on drone strikes and tin pot dictators in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Bahrain, is the real answer to terrorism. 

March 24, 2011

I wisely shut off my phone before passing into unconsciousness at around 10 pm; I then slept till 7:30. I went downstairs, had green tea, went back up stairs, checked my email, learned my professor would give me a pass for my test after class so I wouldn’t have to come in early, I then had another cup of tea, took a shower, got dressed, relaxed for a few minutes, then drank a breakfast shake and left for school at 9 am. Arriving a few minutes early for the bus at 9:15.

Class was fun, had a chat with my Bangladeshi colleague about Libya before the professor arrived. Then we went over linearizations of differentials, which essentially explained what was obvious to me from several chapters earlier, a derivative of a function is a function to one less degree and thus if you start with the graph of a quadratic equation, you get the graph of a linear equation.  It was surprisingly easy given the arcane nature of the preceding sections.

After class I got my slip, and I ran into a friend from highschool who actually goes to the same college as me. He’s a something like 2-4 years older than me… nice guy, he stopped me on my way out and asked me what and how I was doing. Also complimented me, I guess I must look better than the brooding, morose, slightly chubby recluse he used to know… I then headed home for lunch.

I had left over’s from the previous night, and a vegetable soup my father made. Apparently both my parents are sick, again, and I’m not… again. I also had three additional glasses of tea. I spent a lot of time studying, I reviewed the definition of differentiation, the rules of differentiation, and changes in rate, as well as some trigonometric derivatives, however I didn’t get too far with those.   

I had chicken cacciatore for dinner, and emailed my professor asking whether or not it would be possible for me to pick up my replacement book tomorrow before noon. I plan on taking my test 2 hours prior to closing in and around 11, which will give me close to two hours, which should be more than enough.

Haven’t heard a word from my ex, I assume she’s pissed because I took offense to being woken up at midnight, some people sadly lack the basic principles of logic and common decency. The less said about that the better, I did hear from my cousin, who was similarly vexing… she asked me what I was doing, I told her, she then told me she would leave me to it, I responded with,  “nice talking to you” and she snapped at me for being rude… You know I’m beginning to think it’s my lot in life to attract the most insane people of any group… I end up dating the least stable of my friends, and I end up being contacted by the least stable of my relatives… can I just once have normal human interaction that doesn’t end with me being reproached for no discernible reason? I swear… 

But I digress, its half past 9 and I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. I have to be up and ready tomorrow as I want to do some more studying before I come in for the test, primarily the trigonometric derivatives which I’m still unclear on.

March 23, 2011

Last night I was on the cusp of falling into a deep sleep earlier than I have in quite some time, when I was awakened to the sound of my phone going off. I had received yet another erratic text from my ex, evidently she did not get the last email I sent her, I responded by summarizing its content and explaining that I would really like her to refrain from calling me in and around midnight, the night after one test, and the day before another, (I did not end up taking my calculus test, as I was quite a great deal more exhausted than I expected to be.) I also attempted to call her, the call was dropped, I suspect she hung up on me… I don’t know whether I’m incredibly patient for incurably credulous but at least I can defend my actions as mature and polite. 

I fell back asleep about 30 minutes later, and slept until 6 am. I got up, had tea, and eventually got around to making breakfast. I was making myself a frittata with red bell pepper, onions, left over pork from a roast we had 3 days ago, and cheddar cheese. My mother asked me to make her some, and since she was sick I made double and gave her half. She was very pleased, as was I, as it was very good.

I then spent some time studying, had some coffee and milk and then left over pasta for lunch. I then used my new found knowledge of biological chemistry to develop bath salts from common household materials. I recall my sister going out and spending about 20 dollars on citric acid to attempt this only to find it was cheaper to buy them already made… of course she doesn’t know as much as I do about organic acids and molecules.  I used acetic acid, (vinegar) which is much much cheaper than citric acid. Which I mixed with flour which is essentially starch or polymerized glucose, this broke down into a kind of ester that I mixed with my bath water, then as the last step I added a helping of sodium bicarbonate, which then reacted with the excess acetic acid to create the necessary fizzing effect. All of the ingredients are in fact therapeutic and good for the skin. It’s all the active ingredients at a fraction of the cost, made out of things I found in my cupboard. I think I could expand the recipe and possibly sell this to make some much needed capital.  There has to be a market for homemade discount bath products given the demand for bath products in general and their prohibitive cost. When I get the basement set up as my own lab and workshop I’ll be able to give that a try, I can probably use the properties of the constituent parts to create some variation with which to create viable products. Obviously the details of that will remain secrets, but I have a very good idea of what I’m going to try next.

I had dinner, two pork chops with a side of potato al gratin and a side of Brussels sprouts fried in garlic and olive oil, and a glass of red wine. I then did 5 calculus problems and spoke to a friend who I had not heard from in a few days, (evidently she had gone on a trip.) She told me her travels went well and we caught up for a bit, I mentioned some of the things I’ve already written about in varying detail and I shared with her the link to my blog.

I replied to my professors email, she chided me on scoring higher in bio than calc and I told her I’d be in early to accept the slip I need to take the test, and that I would try to make a reasonable show of it all. Oh and she is working on getting me a new text book, there was a recall, apparently the text books lack enough glue to stay together, which explains why pages 1-238 just randomly fell out of mine. It’s nice to not have to pay for the expensive mid semester replacement item… like I had to do last semester when my graphing calculator was stolen.

Now it’s 10, and I’m going to bed, and yes… I’m shutting off my cell phone. To my ex, if you are reading this, I love you as a friend and a human being but I do not accept calls after 10pm, unless you are about to die, and I’m the only person on earth that could save you, in some bizarre post apocalyptic situation involving either mutants or zombies!

Giuliano sleep now… *falls over*

March 22, 2011

I fell asleep around midnight, slept late until 7:30, (my alarm failed to go off) I skipped my shower, got dressed, and had a glass of coffee and a breakfast shake then left for calculus. I gave my professor the forms she requested and proceeded to go straight home, have the left over fish and rice from last night, more coffee. Then I took the shower missed this morning, (I felt considerably better afterward.)

After that I got ready and left for biology, spent almost 2 hours memorizing different functional groups. Hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amine, sulfite, phosphate groups, and methyl groups, along with the full definition of osmotic pressure from hypertonic to isotonic to hypotonic. The functions of protein’s in the cell membrane and several other topics related to the course material… at one point I felt in a trance mumbling a paragraph summery of everything on the test as if it were a Buddhist mantra, this ended up paying off as I scoured 95% and was done before anyone else finished by at least half an hour if not more. Apparently, for everyone excluding me it was a very hard test.

In that time I made it 2 chapters into no one left to lie to by Christopher Hitchens, a great book about how demented the Clinton white house was, and surprisingly informative. This is the brilliance of Hitchens, you buy a book you think states a simple case against the Clintons, and end up with a narrative of the privatization and deinstitutionalization of the new deal and the creation of a helot slave class out of the working poor by the politicians most “publically concerned” for their welfare. Trust me, buy any book by Hitchens, you will get your money’s worth and then some. Also he’s dying of cancer, and while it’s depressing as hell and a bit crude to point out, one might consider buying the books now before they become vastly more expensive with his death, which I hope won’t come for decades. Respect for illness is after all no excuse for lack of thrift.

After the break we discussed metabolism, I got my pants off about the second law of thermodynamics and anti matter, my professor then threatened to hit me with a bottle cleaner and we all had a good laugh before he let the class out ten minutes early. He’s an awesome professor; then again it’s been a while since I’ve had a lousy one. I read a bit more, until the bus arrived, then went home.

When I got home, I went straight for dinner. Ziti with red sauce and parmesan cheese. I then spent a bit of time on the computer, emailing my professor about getting me a new text book, (it’s falling apart and evidently there was a recall by the manufacturer) which she requested I do to remind her after having brought it up for class.

Being tired, I decided its long time I do something to relax and clear my head, something I haven’t done in far too long. I took a long hot bath, (after cleaning up the bathroom.) Having just gotten out, I feel so wonderful I can hardly describe it to you. Which is good because tomorrow is all calculus all day as I have a test due, either tomorrow or the day after. I’m hopeful I can get an extension on that if need be. If all goes well I’ll have this week’s work and test done by this weekend just in time for the midterm. Which is just a compilation of all the tests I have already done, which means a review, not actual studying.

Anyway, victory is mine, I’m a genius, all hail me, and I’m going to bed.

March 21, 2011

Passed out before 11, woke up at 8, had honey bunches of oats and tea for breakfast. Then I did my exercises, took a shower, got dressed and had lunch. Left over’s, from last night.

I left for school at 11 20, met with my math professor, got her endorsement for the mentor program. Then attempted to meet with my bio professor, who apparently had a meeting during his office hours. I took the time to study for tomorrow’s test then went to class at 1, then after class got my bio professors endorsement. I now have to make copies of the material and give them each the stuff tomorrow during or before class. So that mission is more or less accomplished, as I expected it would be.

I went home, began finishing my calculus, and had grilled haddock with onions, tomatoes, and spinach with a side of rice for dinner. And an ale, revolutionary rye ale to be specific.  I finished all my calculus problems on time as anticipated. I am me after all, and math comes as naturally to me as all things within the purview of my genius.

I had some ice crème and a small piece of homemade blue berry pie for desert, and 3 small glasses of pear nectar. I then showered and got ready for bed, first making copies of the forms regarding the mentor program for my professors as per their request. I shall deliver them tomorrow. Now I must be going to bed, as class starts early tomorrow. Its 10 minutes to midnight. 

March 20, 2011

I went to sleep late last night, around 2 am. I fell asleep talking to a friend which gave me some comfort as I had a rather vexing exchange with my ex a few moments prior. She wouldn’t reply to me except via text message, and was very selective with what she replied to. I feel I’ve exhausted all the conventions of good will and any expectation of politeness. This unending rudeness and contempt is not something I will long tolerate. If I have to, I’ll change my number. I really hope I don’t have to do that. I may be fooling myself into thinking this hostility is based on a mutual misunderstanding and not some grievance about which I am ignorant; certainly I’m innocent of any crime.

I woke up around 9 am. Had cheerios for breakfast, and two cups of green tea. Today I finished 10 calculus problems, 2 chapters of biology homework, and my chapter 6 tests. All of it was finished near, at, or above 100%, in accordance to my will and my nature. I’m quite sanguine for my prospects at school tomorrow. I believe we will be studying for the upcoming chapter 7 test and I will have questions prepared. I also intend to get the remainder of my calculus finished and I will have the test done within the next few days.
I had a turkey sandwich with lettuce, mustard, swish and cheddar cheese for lunch with pear nectar to drink. We had roast pork, broccoli, and potato al gratin for dinner. I intend to go to bed early tonight. I intend to get some work done before class tomorrow.

I also have a few words on Libya. Gadafi is a tyrant and his people are sick of him. Libya is one of the few countries to have ever been a colony of Italy, both as a kingdom and later during the fascist period. As a result the two countries have long standing economic ties. France also has vested economic interests in Libya so it’s no small thing for both countries to have entered into the allied cause. Which clearly puts their interests at risk. It must also be understood that this is a war, a no fly zone is a military action so yes we are at war, and yes its in the middle east, and in a “Muslim country” as no one in the media will allow us to forget in their vaguely xenophobic white man’s burden esk way. I have no patience for anyone who wants to call this a “war on an islamic country” or “a third war with a Muslim country” first off that’s not even true. We have had dozens of wars that took place in Muslim majority countries, hell entire sectors of world war two took place in north Africa and Egypt. The allied leaders met in Iran for pity sake! In more recent history we’ve been in Lebanon, Bosnia, Somalia, and yes Iraq and Afghanistan. We are also basically fighting a covert war in northern Pakistan, and yes this is illegal under international law, American law, and against the stated wishes of the Pakistani government, but we also know, (thanks to wiki leaks) that the Pakistani government all but begged us to go in and do it. They don’t control that part of their own country anymore than we do. Now, that being cleared up, not only would it not be the “third war in a Muslim country” its also not a war against a Muslim country or people at all. It’s a war against one lunatic and his tribe. Just as in Iraq we were fighting against one man, “Saddam” and his family and the people from his village so we are now acting the part of liberators not “occupiers” we aren’t at war with the people of Libya we are allied to them. It’s also important to note that unlike in Iraq, we didn’t wait until all the rebellions were crushed by gunships and chemical weapons, then repressed and brutalized by 10 years of Saddam plus sanctions to the level of a hobbesian state to intervene. We stepped in, on the side of the rebels, just as Gadafi was ready to carry out his threats. Now if it were up to me, the marines would have been in Tripoli on day one and Gadafis head would have been presented to the citizens of Benghazi along with the keys to the city as a gift from one republic to another. But then that’s asking far too much of our hapless commander in chief. One is hesitant to criticize his behavior given all of what he is facing… but then again I predicted it all and listed what I would have done at every step, and at every step he did something quite different. Occasionally he has impressed me but over all he’s far too conservative, he’s just another mediocre civics class president. We needed a Roosevelt or a Lincoln and we got a cross between Kennedy and Clinton. That might please some people but history tells us that both are highly overrated. Going with the Clinton analogy I hope this turns out more like Bosnia, and less like the al anfal campaign or Darfur, or perhaps Rwanda. Its going to take more than airstrikes in the end but for now I’m just happy we are doing something. Long live Libya, long live the alliance, long live the revolution, and death to the tyrant Gadafi.

Well I’m rather tired, so I’m going to bed.

March 19, 2011

Last night I fell asleep before 11:30. I had nothing for desert and my dreams were… well odd. Not disturbing but quite strange, I dreamt I was in Brookline with two Pakistani friends of mine and there was a black 80's t shirt… oh and a bridge, and mud. And at one point I was at my old orthodontist’s office. The whole thing was rather odd. Still a refreshing change of pace from the previous night. I woke up once early in the morning then again at 8 am. My father made me and my mother each an omelet consisting of cheddar cheese, red pepper, onion, and I believe capicola and two pieces of toast.

Latter he and I went to the recycling depot in east Boston to return the empty beer and soda cans. The total take was 36 dollars, of which I earned ten for my assistance… it was filthy… but worth getting rid of the cans and worth the money. I then took a much needed shower.

After I got dressed, and noticing an application to become a mentor at my college I undertook to fill out the application and write the necessary essay.  My parents were impressed by it and thought it required no changes. All I have to do now is get two letters of recommendation, which will be quite easy as I’m on friendly terms with both my current professors. I doubt highly they would refuse my request. 

I got out my summer clothes, and reorganized my dresser. The thermals were put in storage and replaced by shorts and tshirts, which will be needed eventually. However the jeans and long sleeve shirts remain, as it’s still quite cold.  

I tried to brush up a bit on my Italian, reviewing some verbs and practicing saying them.  I’m quite pleased with the sound of my voice as I speak in Italian, it feels very natural. I may undertake to begin translating my log and do a bilingual blog for practice… and I suppose for any of my relatives in the old country… if they should want to learn something about their American cousin, “So aside from That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was the Play?” I couldn’t help myself….

I also tried to contact both my ex and her roommate… my ex to see how she’s holding up with the loss of her aunt… who was recently killed in Japan, (everyone following this should know all about Japan already) then her roommate because he is or at least was an employee for senator Scott Brown and I have a letter that I want him to pass on for me. He did not reply, abruptly going off line… that was highly rude. I suppose I’m going to have to take my chances mailing the thing.I suppose I could post the letter here as well. It may interest some people, I spent about 20 minutes on it after cleaning out my desk and finding the stupid letter his campaign office sent me begging me for money to “stop big government!”

“Dear senator

I have received your invitation to generously donate to your campaign funds in exchange for being a member of your “brown brigade” however I must decline and I feel this warrants explanation. The letter I received no doubt written by someone else though it carried what I assume to be your signature was hysterical in tone and mediocre in substance. It seemed a crass rehashing of campaign rhetoric that could just have easily been sent by the RNC, and indeed was for I received several letters from them with the same shrill tone.

It’s worth noting that you have proven to be much as expected you to be, a sensible moderate voice that echoes the views of your state even when they conflict with the views of your base. You signed onto a bipartisan regulatory reform and supported the repeal of DADT, which I had feared you would not, due to the absurdly shrill outrage of many of your most vocal supporters at the idea of patriotic Americans serving openly in the military despite their disagreement with certain religious norms only adopted by Christianity in the 12^th century ad, (long after the Nazarene was crucified.)

However all that simply can’t compel me to part with money I don’t have to begin with when the request is put to me as if I’m a card carrying member of the tea party express. It’s true I went to one of their rallies, on tax day in 2009, on the Boston common, as I went to one of your rallies in the north end the winter before your election. You surly remember the day though I doubt you remember my face out of the multitude you met that day. The fact is I went to the tea party hoping to find an organic movement of concerned Americans, and it quickly became clear that what I ended up finding was a grotesque coalition of Rothbardian libertarians, paleo Buchananite conservatives, and social conservatives. I simply couldn’t associate myself with such people for reasons I need hardly emphasize past my sensible belief in social as well as economic liberalism, (I mean that in the classical English sense of the term) and my commitment to American interests and values overseas. These are people who either opposed the liberation of Iraq from Ba’athist oppression or went along with it for all the wrong reasons, (misplaced outrage over 9-11, xenophobia, and the desire for missionary activity.)

If you continue to present yourself on balance as a lesser of evils choice to whatever DNC hack the local party decides to try next round, then you can plausibly presume to have my vote, but if you want active support of the kind I have given you in the past, then all I ask is that you repudiate the nonsense coming from the extremes in your party. The union bashing of Scott Walker, and the idiocy of Michele Bachmann, (which was enough to get my father, who also voted for you, and was a Reagan republican, to unenroll, as he is also a local union VP who respects this country’s history) does little to warm the middle class, (which is to say the electorate) to the grand conservative enterprise.  Its having the combined effect of getting young educated voters like me, (who will be the future of any party) to turn away in disgust, and the sensible elders of our country, (who always seem to trend conservative) to view conservatives as too shrill and unreliable.  If you want to survive in this state you have to remember that slogans like “stop big government” aren’t going to win in an environment of desperation and chaos. One need to provide alternatives, and yes that necessitates government intervention. It’s the character of that intervention that should be up for debate.  Whether you follow the trend of great republicans of yesteryear, such as Theodore Roosevelt who built the Panama canal and prosecuted predatory trusts, or Dwight D Eisenhower who built the interstate system, balanced the budget, and brought about the military industrial complex even as he warned about its possible excesses, or you opt for the laissez faire hands off approach of Reagan, you will have to convince Americans that what you propose will get them back to work.

Low taxes for the rich = jobs for the poor is a non sequitur that very few people are going for, and the polls with respect to this subject reflect that reality. I would advise you to follow the lead of both the national unions and chamber of commerce in endorsing infrastructure of the kind the president has proposed, which historically was something republicans from Lincoln to Eisenhower considered invaluable, and also to consider how best to spread the burden of paying off our massive deficits in a way that won’t stifle economic growth or deny the most needy the basic necessities of life and the public goods upon which they depend.  The tax rates for the top income brackets have in our nation’s history gone as high as 94%, while I’m not suggesting anything of that scope, desperate times call for desperate actions and 14 trillion dollars of debt seems to me a desperate circumstance that justifies a tax increase. This should follow a shared sacrifice policy of making similar increases across the board, with an eye to making cuts in spending where possible. Cutting a few million from NPR or NOAA isn’t a worthwhile endeavor, cutting spending on the super jet, removing farm and oil subsidies, (when neither are particularly important) and looking at reducing troop levels in western Europe, (seeing as the cold war ended quite a while ago) would probably make a lot more sense, and also have much more of an impact.  We should also be open to entitlement reform, not limiting benefits mind you, but making sure they only go to those truly in need, and prosecuting fraud and eliminating waste where and when possible. We also shouldn’t cut the IRS… since that’s the only arm of government that generates revenue. Income tax reform, however, is something we should look at. A simple graduated progressive income tax that increases percentage with income such that everyone contributes an amount proportionate to their means without needing a team of lawyers to figure out just how much that is. A simple linear equation should be sufficient. You make X, so you pay Y.

In conclusion Senator I respectfully decline your request and offer my best wishes for your political success, I hope your decided course of action brings about the vision you have of our future, for I’ve no doubt it is well intended. I also hope I will find myself satisfied enough to vote for you again, as you can rest assured, I never miss an election, be it local, state, or federal.”

I didn’t get much done in the way of school work today, but I will finish up my biology and math tomorrow. I have a few days which are enough. I believe my enterprise will thrive this week, the sun is out, school is back in, and I have many things with which to occupy my efforts.

Oh I had left over’s for lunch and we had fish and chips for dinner. I was less than enthusiastic but I can’t complain.  I may have some wine later, I also intend to catch adult swim, as they are airing premiers tonight. I have a lot to say about Libya as well, but I'll save that for tomorrow. 

March 18, 2011

I had some pound cake for desert, and went to bed shortly thereafter. I had dreams disturbing enough to drive the sane mad and inspire sanity in the insane.   My dead dog was alive again, I had a certain woman in my arms, and I was alone upon a beach. The dog died and rotted in front of me, the woman vanished, and the sea turned red and was about to sweep me away in a tsunami just as I woke up with a cold sweat at some unholy hour. I took a moment to regain my composure, (about 3 seconds) and then rolled over and fell back asleep. I’m inclined to suspect my subconscious is trying to tell me something. However it’s a whiny bitch and needs to quiet the fuck down. I’m tired and I need my sleep! Without soul destroying insanity dreams! Thank you!

Anyway… I finally got up around 7, went for my usual tea and cereal, honey bunches of oats this morning. Then gradually made my way to the exercise room and increased my repetitions from 10-15 with an extra 15 of strait bench raises in addition to my normal tri and bicep curls.  I’m beginning, I think, to note positive effects; I believe I have lost 5 pounds. My doctor said I shouldn’t go below 175, and at present I’m a comfortable 10 pounds away from it with 185, I was 190… due primarily to months of hiding from the cold and not doing much of anything. At any rate my goal is unrelated to weight, I’m trying to become even more freakishly strong and overbearing than I already am… the loss of a few pounds is just a sign that it’s working.

After my exercises I showered, got dressed, had left over’s for lunch, and thus proceeded to finally do the one calculus problem I’ve been stuck on all week. I then did several more before calling it a day. I then went for a walk up and down eastern ave, (would have gone to the beach but it was very windy and I was somewhat overdressed and getting rather sweaty in my jeans and leather jacket, which I chose because the combination of jeans and a windbreaker left me rather cold two days prior, as I already recorded.)

After getting back I did 2 chapters of biology homework, had the same left overs for dinner, (my father made far too much of that Irish stew…) and an ale, this time it was a spring blend, noble pils, I found it quite good. I finished an additional chapter of bio homework… with a higher score than the prior two assignments in spite of mild inebriation and extreme sleep deprivation. But it was easy, just categorizing various organelles with respect to eukaryotes vs prokaryotes. The only pain was distinguishing the various parts of the cytoskeleton, which are virtually identical to one another aside from some minor differences in composition and function, microtubes being hollow for example.

I then logged on only to be greeted by some horribly obvious bot trying to get me to take an IQ test, I reported it, what fools are so stupid as to actually fall for this nonsense? It defies even my low opinion of my fellow featherless bipeds.

I also spent some time reading various “last words” of famous people; it drastically improved my mood, which may be a bad sign.  But now I am tired, my eyes have burned all day, and I am quite confident that I will retire early. In the words of Napoleon ''One needs to go to sleep and not wake up for a year or two" If only human beings could voluntarily hibernate… But alas, I have so much more work to do. It’s a good thing I’m me, I’ll be done well before my deadlines. The question is will I be able to get a decent night’s sleep? Well I suppose I will find out.