Confessions of a Future World Dominator - August 15th, 2007

"Reality favors symmetries and slight anachronisms."
-Jorge Borges

"I am a leaf on the wind; watch how I soar."
-Wash

"'Normal' is the average of the oddities."
-Kyle

"Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it."
-Richard P. Feynman

"Act so that the maxim by which you act could be made into a universal law." -Kant

"Never play an ace when a two will do."
-Red Dragon, "Bone"

"Life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents. I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps."
-Charles Goodyear

"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."
-Frank Tibolt

"To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser."
-Robertson Davies

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-Albert Einstein

"I like a man who grins when he fights."
-Winston Churchill

"Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves."
-Albert Einstein

"If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now."
-Zaphod Beeblebrox, "HHGTTG"

"Fear can sometimes be a useful emotion. For instance, let's say you're an astronaut on the moon and you fear that your partner has been turned into Dracula. The next time he goes out for the moon pieces, wham!, you just slam the door behind him and blast off. He might call you on the radio and say he's not Dracula, but you just say, "Think again, bat man."
-Jack Handy's "Deep Thoughts"

"Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted."
-Fred Allen

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
-Voltaire

"No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversations as a dog does."
-Christopher Morley

"In God we trust, all others bring data."
-Dr. W. Edwards Deming

"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."
-Albert Einstein

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
-Dr. Samuel Johnson... sorta

'Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic."
-Thomas Szasz, M.D.

"God is dead."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead."
-God

"Who's the more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him?"
-Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day."
-Anonymous

"You don't have to use something correctly to use it wrong."
-Kyle

"Next to the wound, what women make best is the bandage."
-Jules Barbey D'Aurevilly

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness."
-Robertson Davies

"The downfall of man is not the end of his life."
-Written on side of a bus in Lagos, Nigeria

"Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her home."
-Mal

"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity."
-Christopher Morley

"Velocity squared is like shipping and handling: it will get you every time."
-Edward Tufte

The Start of the Race	02:52 pm

I flew down to Norfolk, VA this past weekend to visit Courtney and to do some apartment hunting. On Saturday, we road-tripped up to the Fairfax area by way of Richmond and Williamsburg, making our way through bouts and expanses of nearly intolerable traffic. The return trip that evening was a lot easier and faster, a virtue of the time of travel.

I found a place that I really like, right around the corner from a Wegmans no less. The area is clean, the complex is well-staffed, and the price is about what one would expect for commensurate quality within the Capitol/Northern Virginia region. It has 600 square feet of floorspace, a full-sized washer and dryer, vaulted ceilings, and a fireplace. There's a storage closet on the other side of the balcony, and plenty of amenities including a pool, jacuzzi, and raquetball court (bonus!).

How am I going to pay for this, you may ask? On Monday, I accepted ITT's offer... so I'll be starting for them on Monday, September 10. It should work out just fine, both in terms of pay and location: the ITT office suite and a Metro station are both about eight miles from the apartment, only a turn or two away. Traffic should be manageable.

I've already contacted the complex and let them know that I'm taking the apartment, so now all I should have to do is send in my application and security deposit... and, y'know, actually move. Logistics are still being worked out and I don't have a specific moving date set just yet, but I do know that it will probably be around the start of next month. Granted, this causes potential conflicts with Labor Day... but it is kinda the way it has to be.

Any and all input on this one is more than welcome... this is a big move for me, and I'm open to comments, suggestions, and recommendations. The weeks ahead are busy--work to finish, arrangements to make, friends & family to visit, packing to do--but at least now I have a path and some concrete goals.

Current Location: Reading Room, CIS, RIT (my lab is being waxed)

Current Mood:

in control

What I'm hearing:: "Starlight And Saxophone" - Tom Smith

(11 comments | Leave a comment)

Photologue: Udvar-Hazy Center	11:37 pm

A little over a week ago, I took advantage of my interview schedule and made a brief visit to the Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the National Air & Space Museum. Though I only had about 45 minutes to look around and enjoy my surroundings, I managed to take some pictures. I'll be drooling over these until I can make my return, at which point I'll be able to drool over the actual planes themselves.

( Thrusters, Propellers, and Jets, Oh My! )

I really wish I'd had more time to wander around and gawk. To

nimoloth and anyone else who has a strong affinity for flight and aircraft: there is so much more to see there. If you ever get the chance to go here, take it. Admission is free, though parking is about $12... but it is still worth it. This place is simply that amazing.

Current Location: living room

Current Mood:

geeky

Tags: photos

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

Top of Page