Subscriptions. You know when you haven’t used one for several weeks, in fact you canceled it a little while back, and then, suddenly, you have a thought, and go look, and oh wow, there are four albums by Guided By Voices listed on EMusic, which, with a subscription, you can download all of, free, and then you check your account status and you see, hey look, my subscription ended yesterday? Yeah, that sucks.

Just because I’m writing two entries in a row about television does not mean that is all I do with my life. Ah contraire! I do other stuff…like…read. And make web pages. Okay, I admit it, I am pathetic and I sit around watching TV all day. Well, except for the “pathetic” part. And the “sitting around all day” part. Its just that I don’t get off campus much (if at all). So I’m starting to consider myself (and most of Brandeis) pathetic in that way.

Anyway, just forget that last paragraph. Let us now turn to sleep patterns. Rich Graves suggests to all students the importance of a good nights rest. Well, my body being screwed up as it is, I find it hard to ever get a good night’s rest at night, rather it seems to happen more in the morning. First I tried going to bed earlier and just lying there until I slept, and for a while it was somewhat working, but I always found myself tired in the morning anyway. So then I spent a few nights staying up late, which if course worked out none too good. Anyway, last night I decided that, screw it, it’s Friday, I’ll just go to bed when I get tired. Heh. So I watched Becoming, the 2 part Buffy season 2 finale. Again, ouch. These are the episodes referred to by the MBTV recappers as, “essentially clinical depression in a box set.” In other words, if you want to cry yourself to sleep, this would be your theme song. Or whatever. So at about 6 AM, after having watched Becoming, and having rewatched a few scenes, and having listened 4 times to the Sarah McLachlan song Full of Grace, I decided to go for a walk. After much dressing (remmber, this is the East Coast, and the temp. was 20F with 15MPH winds), I took a walk down by the castle, to the Gosman sports center, around back by the fields, and then back up to Usdan. For some reason the cafeteria wasn’t open for breakfast yet at 7. Pity.

End result was me going to sleep at eight in the AM, and waking up in time for the second half of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me on NPR. The astute among you will thus realize that I awoke at 12:30ish, making for 4.5 hours of sleep. If I wasn’t screwed up before, I must be now. But geez, that was damn good television. I think I’ll go watch it again, but then I’d better move on to season 3 before any suicide urges come bubbling up. I’m totally getting the sophmore year of high school vibe all over again, and it sucks, but geez, I dunno. Anyway, yeah. That is that. I’ll go eat breakfast now.

We’re through the 8:00 hour of Fox’s television show 24, and I must say that I actually find it quite interesting. I have always been an avid conspiracy nut, and for a good period my favorite show was The X-Files, coincidentally another Fox showing. With X…well…sucking for the past few seasons, I’ve lost all interest in it, and have found my solace primarily in the incredible, oft-dissed, frequently misunderstood Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Basically, I like shows that have over-arching stories that last more than a single episode or two. While the episodic format is fine, I want to see real character development, interaction, and change. Over time in life things do change. Sure it would be great to have Buffy’s gang stay in high school for a few more years and live in that (comparatively) care-free world, but that is not how the real world works. Things change, people change, time marches on.

I like 24 because time marches on in complete context. They can’t pull any of those time tricks, moving events around and letting episodes span multiple days for purposes of the story. Being, as I am, so interested in all things time, I see 24 as a grand experiment in the medium. Like Buffy, 24 is completely implausible and requires a viewer to suspend disbelief. Of course most shows are this way, but the reason I compare these two is because they consciously suspend reality, as opposed to other shows that try to pretend like what happens in their plot lines really occurs in the real world.

Many people found The X-Files grating when it spent too much time delving into the whole big conspiracy thing and not just focusing on individual events. I found it fascinating. I loved the contrast between day-to-day affairs and sinister old men in the background, working slowly to some secret end. After Fight the Future, the X-Files movie, the conspiracy was basically ended in the stupidest way possible. There was literally an episode where every worldwide member of the Syndicate crowded into a warehouse and was exterminated by some evil aliens. Poof! Conspiracy gone! It disgusted me, and that is when I stopped watching the show.

24 gives me the huge conspiracy like I see in Buffy and The X-Files, combined expertly with individual stories, all compressed into one twenty-four hour time frame. The fact that it works is a testament to the brilliance of the story producers and writers.

So it is hour 9. Where are we? We have a blown up plane, a stolen ID card, plastic surgery, computer hacking, lots of shooting, and a few deaths. Kiefer’s wife and kid are kidnapped in the Compound of Terror ™ and he is the puppet of the conspirators. The question up until 7:00am was whether Palmer was the real target of all this, and whether his assassination was really in order. At the end of that ep, we found out that it, in fact, was. I am still convinced, however, that Palmer is only a small pawn in this game. My friends here disagree, so allow me to elaborate.

If you want to kill a president or a presidential candidate, there are many options. There is always shooting, which is generally effective and can be done with one person. Or there is the standard conspiracy theory, with shadowy influences paying off smart people to carry off an expert hit done in just the right way to cause the most damage. So here we have terrorists blowing up airplanes, tapping into sophisticated security systems, planting dozens of agents in the area, all so that one guy can walk in, pull out a gun, shoot Palmer, and hand the gun off to Kiefer? This is completely non-sensical. As mentioned over at Flak, it would be much easier to blow up Palmer than to blow up an entire plane just for purposes of getting an ID card. Especially since it is obvious that Gaines already had several agents in the Palmer breakfast that day.

Furthermore, why all of this obsession with Kiefer? Killing Palmer would be much easier without using him, and much quicker, with far fewer variables. Additionally, why the keycard? What data is stored on it? Jamie says all she did was give Gaines access to CTU’s security camera system. If so, then who was smuggling top-secret information out of the CIA? Obviously this is much bigger than one presidential candidate. After all, if you don’t want him to win, you could always rig the election.

No, this is something big, involving very powerful corporate or military interests, not necessarily America. This is a sophisticated and well-coordinated plan to bring down much more than just one man. Using Kiefer as an inside man is brilliant in that he has a relatively high position in the CIA power structure, he has lots of access, and there is probably reams of psych profile information on him thanks to his well-publicized exploits within the Agency.

I think you can see where I’m coming from when I say Kiefer is no Lee Harvey Oswald. There was a specific reason why they wanted him at that breakfast to hold the gun that shot Palmer, a gun that, we notice, was marked with fingerprints by the assassin, fingerprints of unknown origin. Surely they aren’t Kiefer’s — he is going to hold the gun anyway — so who else are we linking to the gun, and why? What is the ultimate plan here? What are we trying to do? They consistently keep us guessing.

This is the kind of show I like. 🙂

“Although copying all or part of works without obtaining permission is quite easy to do, such unauthorized copying is a violation of the rights of the publisher and the copyright holder. This is in direct contradiction with the values an educational institution attempts to instill.”

Among other lessons this institution attempts to instill: cheating students by charging $25 for a 200 page course packet of all but illegable copies of court briefs, all of which are in the public domain. So what royalties require them to charge the astronnaumical fee of $25? Let us assume 5 cents a page plus a dollar for binding. That would be $11. And I still think that is high. Damn you, XanEdu Publishing! We really need to stop contracting everything out…

Apple’s support page suggests that an LCD display replacement will be about US$675, plus tax. Great. 🙁

My farking VCR apparently hasn’t been recording the last few week days of Buffy, although it does seem to be having fun recording on weekends. I am confuzzled.

My websites are all down and I have no method of posting, but force of habit makes me write. It is 2AM, and I am awake, which shows, obviously, that my whole sleep routine isn’t working out. In fact, nothing seems to be. Not the exercising, not the food conservation, nothing. I’m just back to normal. Today I got really sick of all the sitting around computing and reading and whatever else you do in college so I decided to go for a walk. I got out and started walking, then I realized I needed to check my mail, so I went to Usdan, was briefly distracted by the poster sale, and then went back to my room. Humph.

My computer has been acting up for a while, probably because of the OS X hacks I’ve popped in back at version 10.0.0, and since we’re now at 10.2.1, they are causing a bit of conflict. Also all of my Unix software was messy and conflicting because I hadn’t used Fink from the beginning to manage libraries. So my solution was simple – back everything up, and spend a few hours doing a clean install and putting everything back. Well, a few hitches…

First, doing the terminal “cp” command apparently doesn’t maintain the integrity of Mac OS X applications, so I now have to reinstall a bunch of apps. Second, bugs in NetInfo that make .nibak files impossible to make are bad, and, although it worked with my laptop, copying the local.nib folder manually over and back again did wonders to screwing things up, making yet another reinstall necessary so that I could get a user back, so that I could actually log in. Humph #2.

Although I backed up all of my libraries and important files and etc, including even the hidden web site files (it would have been terrible to lose those!), I realized after the second reinstall that I had forgotten something vital – the MySQL databases!!!. First I smacked myself, then I cursed myself and my computer, then I tried to see if there was any method of recovering them. Well, I don’t think Norton Utilities was built for the task. So the latest AgBlog I have is a backup from 12/18/01, meaning I’ve lost over a month’s worth of entries. Also my other sites, such as boogle, gravmag, and the like, have lost their data. That is not really a big loss though, the thing that really upsets me is my AgBlog. So my next task is to go on Google or wherever and see if there are some HTML backups. So if you’ve recently loaded any of the archives (Dec. or Jan.) and have it in your cache, PLEASE send it to me!!!! I will be eternally greatful!

Well, I’d best go off to bed. The computer is running just dandily now that its all reinstalled in its Aqua-licious glory. As soon as I fix my Apache config and get the DBs imported again, my web sites will be back online, and around that time, this entry will appear. Yay! 😛

Recent studies show that moderate drinking (defined as 1-3 beers or glasses of wine or whatever a day) not only helps prevent heart disease and such, it also works agaisnt dementia. Cool. Maybe I need to reconsider my whole teetotaller policy.

Me being, after all, me, I tend to notice, and in fact did notice when I first arrived on campus, the presence of card readers by doors and such. Just like I inevitably see every possible security camera and alarm sensor, I also am the kind of person who just always sees the keycard readers. For a while on campus I had fun scanning my WhoCard (ie Brandeis ID Card) through every reader I found, and I was inevitably presented with the red light of non-unlockiness. Eventually I learned to simply ignore them, since it seems that they really don’t have a lot of student uses, unless you are in a specific department like computer science where you need to, say, get into a computer cluster.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found the inner doors to the gym locked. They gym guy said to show your ID to the monitor if one was there, but the girl reading a book behind the counter didn’t appear to care. I had never had a problem getting in before. Obviously I found out, when another student walked in, that the keycard scanner is my ticket to access. Idiot me! Don’t I feel stupid. Funny how everyone just seems to pick up on simple things that I completely miss, while I pick up on things that never seem to matter…

Oh, the title is a reference to George Carlin’s rant on airplanes, in which he discusses the safety lecture: “What if I don’t want to put the tab into the buckle? What if I want to put the buckle over and around the tab? Seatbelts. High tech shit!”

Of course, when I found an alternative entrance/exit to the gym that is closer to my dorm and walking path, I scanned my card, supposing it would let me back in, and, of course, I got a red light. Locked out. Sigh. No chance for things to ever, oh, I dunno, MAKE SENSE!!!

I’ve decided conclusively that I am enjoying the television show 24. I was wishy-washy on it for a while, but, once you suspend all of the disbelief, it is quite well acted, written, and shot. I’ve especially enjoyed reading the articles in Flak Magazine about each show — written in the one hour that the show takes to transpire. Good gimmick. 🙂

I thought I had class at 9. But apparently I don’t until 10. Guess I need another class! 🙂

Much to write, little time. The important bits – agblog is back up, my server is back in my room, the DNS seems to be working. I’m doing some stuff for myBrandeis which is neat. My classes all start at 9 am. My days are very busy. I slipped on some ice and got a bit of a pain in the backside plus the early and unfortunate demise of my laptop. I am sad. 🙁 But school is good! 🙂 I am off to bed now, I shall report…well…later.

Around this time I am/will be packing up the last of my garments, items of interest, curios, and this computer. So this will be my last entry until I reach my destination. I wish myself a safe trip on my journeys in Boston or wherever my final destination may be. Have a nice day, and be careful because overhead baggage may have shifted in flight.

Departing words of wisdom: life is too short. Let’s make it longer. See, you thought I had something wise to say. Well, that was it. Nanotechnology makes it happen, not plastic. If you want to live forever, invest in teh future of the nano. And have a nice trip! 🙂

Met the grandparents on the mother’s side this morning for brunch, which was fun because it meant driving up PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), which I like because its pretty and I get to drive past lots of beach. Traffic was clear and I actually enjoyed the drive, probably one of my only memorable _good_ driving experiences in…well…forever. On the drive I put a capstone on my thoughts of the last few weeks, namely, that I really like California, and I think I’ll be coming back here after college.

Every security guard in LA seems to be a Pinkerton, which I find endlessly funny since they are the ones we read about in US History so often as violently breaking up strikes. They aren’t that hip to new technology, however, and so their hand metal detector wand saw nothing, as I held my keys, cell phone buckle (it has given me trouble in airports…) and digital camera in one hand. They ignored it and let me go in, again ignoring the items as I placed them on the table and walked through the body metal detector.

So I get inside, where I would assume there are no cameras allowed, but I see no signs and no one has told me anything, so I carry on. I pop out the digicam at various points and snap pictures of my surroundings. You see, I am in the Jay Leno Show, they are recording Live-To-Tape, and there are a bunch of people watching the audience for bad behavior, but they never catch nor say anthing about my camera. Until the end, when we are walking out and I hold it up for a picture of Jay, and the staff woman asks if I’m recording. “It is a digital still camera,” I explain, but the form-factor of the Sony Cybershot leads her to assume that it is video. I quickly put it away and walk out and am given no more hassle.

So I have pictures! A rare commodity coming out of Leno, I would assume, but I have them. Check out the galleries and enjoy. This was a fun show. After Jay interviewed Nicole Kidman, she took the desk and interviewed Ryan Phillipie. Well, she did a bad job, but it was quite funny. And apparently no one else in my party knew that Kidman is Australian and, thus, speaks in an Aussie accent. Suprising, eh?

Afterwards we had a nice dinner at Something-or-other Strauss, a good restaurant at Universal City Walk. Then I came here, and thus, gentle reader, I can now rest. Driving into LA really is a hassle. Not sure if I want the whole summer PA thing after all, not if I have to do the daily commute…

It just kinda hit me that I’m leaving…um….in two days at 6:30 in the fricken morning. Sigh. I should start packing.

Not for the faint of heart (or anyone in my family), but this is incredibly funny, but probably only to people who: a) have seen the Buffy musical; b) Know a bit about the show; and c) don’t mind gay people. (Or, as Joss Whedon says, “Some of my best gay friends are gay!”)

“Once More, All Naked, All Gay”
Joss [Whedon, the creator of Buffy] has joked in the past about doing an “all naked, all gay” ep[isode], “with goats.” This proved to be a little too tempting for one such as I.

And thus, the new episode.

The best explanation I’ve heard so far for why someone would name a televison show and a movie with such a terrible title as, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”:

They say that Joss Whedon created the entire concept of Buffy the vampire slayer when he said, “hey, what if the pretty blonde cheerleader in horror movies actually fought back at the monsters trying to kill her” and the rest is history….the name Buffy was just perfect for this concept.

(Thanks to Spyder on the Bronze boards)

Looking back I never commented on Aida or the Jay Leno Show. For the first, Aida was awesome although I found the story a bit cliche and some of the songs superfluous to the task at hand. The second half, however, got more in-depth and had more character development. While the story wasn’t wonderfully compelling, the staging, singing, and dancing, plus some semi-dazzling sets, made the whole thing quite enjoyable, enough so that I would see it again, but not before Ragtime.

Jay Leno. What can I say? You watch him on TV every night, or, like me, you don’t, and that is that. The studio is slightly smaller then it looks on TV, but I was expecting that. The whole routine is down pretty well, they do everything in specific orders, they have people in certain places at certain times, during breaks the security people come out to watch us and keep Jay and his guests safe. 🙂

The show is taped some time around 5-ish PST in a format known to those of us in the biz 😎 as Live-To-Tape, meaning they go through live with no cuts straight to a tape, with commercial breaks and everything else inserted. Unless there are egregious problems or the time is too long, they do no real editing and they just feed the show to the satellite at the right time, all the affiliates pick it up, and viola, it looks live!

I got my picture taken with Jay, so as soon as we receive it I’ll get it scanned and up here, but it looks like that will probably after I’m back at school, so maybe it won’t happen. I’m going to Leno again tomorrow night (lucky me) and bringing Tyrone plus Jess and a few of her buds along, so I’ll try to sneak in the digital camera if I’m able and snap some behind the scenes shots. Or at least get Jay’s parking space. 🙂

Finally, one last note in the TV front. I was ready last night to watch West Wing, I wasn’t doing anything, I was gonna get up and walk in and turn it on, but I didn’t. Don’t really know why. I guess because its just not as interesting any more. What they are doing is so…ick. I dunno. I still like the characters and the show, but the summary was along the lines of, “everyone prepares for the state of the union, CJ has fun at Charlie’s expense, and people continue to repeat things over and over.” It just didn’t sound too appealing. Humph. Hope I didn’t miss anything good. But somehow, I doubt it.

A nice older woman approches, I assume she might be entering my aisle.
Me: Should I get up?
Her: You don’t have to, just spread [she laughs]. Sorry, I was about to say, “just spread your legs and I’ll slip on in.”
And everyone around me bursts into laughter. Sigh.

By the way, the play was excellent. It is a 2.25 hour look at World War II from the perspection of Bohr and Heisenberg, focusing on their meeting during wartime at Copenhagan, Neils Bohr’s home town, while it was occupied by Heisenberg’s Germany. The premise being that with one or two words the entire course of the war could have changed. The scientists, Heisenberg states, are the ones who would decide whether to make weapons that make use of atomics. Is this a road we are ready to take? Or can we, as scientists, secretely conspire to change the course of history through our lies and withholding of information from those in power? This is my thing! That, and they made the phsyics understandable to the common person. I mean, I know what spin is (at least basically enough that I can nod in conversation), but they went out and tried to explain things. Fission. Electron shells. Uncertainty. Nice of them to enlighten us common folks. 🙂