march update

1. compliments of the CGT department and Microsoft, I’ll be flying to Vegas next week for the MIX conference about web development and design or something to that effect. this is yet another entry in the ’someone else pays for neil to fly somewhere and do something’ list, which I assure you still has room to grow.

2. compliments of Heartland Neurology, I’m on round 2 of taking a bunch of random drugs till we find something else that works. Also getting an MRI at some point. Doctor suggested this could all be from a concussion or two back in the football days. seems reasonable.

indiana weather is depressing

it’s rarely pleasant to have to forego one event in order to attend another, and it’s even less so when both events are funerals for people you really liked; people who had tremendous vigor for life and were taken far before their time. people the world could’ve used more of. I wonder anymore if, as the saying goes, the good really do die young, or if the rest of us just grow bitter and old. let us hope the spirit they brought with them will stay above ground and live on with those who knew them. RIP John & Tex.

 

I try to look at the positive side of any situation, which is occasionally difficult when so many negatives seem to be apparent. being all but broke seems to fit into that category.

Not that I am criticizing any companies/individuals (okay I am), but if you come to a point where you aren’t in the financial position you’d like to be, the right course of action is not to sit back and hope someone comes along and bails you out. even if it takes futile efforts (as it turns out, most sit-down restaurants in the greater Lafayette area are, while cheerfully accepting applications, not interested in hiring) or drastic measures (anyone wanting to buy a laptop?) or, as I’m hoping to be the case, a kick-in-the-ass towards proving some caliber of knowledge in the skills I’m theoretically learning.  Ideas about freelance graphics works, running my own design firm/website, programming a video game, etc, have always been mulling about in the back of my mind. they stayed there, though, because why bother if you don’t have the need?

okay, so let’s take this personal experience and expand it to take some actual message out of it, possibly applying it to the American youth I’ve apparently been representing over the last few years. let’s say American children just don’t have the financial need in order to truly innovate, and that’s why in the long run the foreigners will develop skills faster and be better motivated. would I have ever seriously started looking into doing freelance graphics work online had I not been in a not-so-great financial position? perhaps after college, or somewhere else down the road. now I see that the majority of the competitors in all of these freelance fields – graphics, coding, writing (even English), etc – all foreign workers, willing to work quickly and cheaply.

 

so is it a good thing that the rest of America is also going broke? depends on the timeline. people aren’t going to be happy about it anytime soon, and I certainly wish I could buy a nicer coat. the global economy will enter into a lasting recession, and though the stimulus will provide jobs, they won’t be at the same level as those they are replacing. major companies across every industry are laying off mass numbers of businessmen and women, technicians and IT professionals, 6-figure white collar and blue collar and any other collar. Now we’ll ask them to go put on some orange vest and rebuild infrastructure. It’s like the end of Office Space, only not so much out of choice.

in the long run, I see this as positive. but I’m not sure how many people allow themselves to look in the long run anymore. the short-run problems, such as the large amount of homework I have due in less than 12 hours, always seem to get in our way.

a victory for america

Attn: City of Bloomington Traffic Department – 11/03/08

    It is with cautious optimism that I submit herein my appeal, relying on the grace and generosity of strangers in that they may tread lightly on my hopes. While I can hardly argue that my vehicle in question was parked by a curb for slightly longer than what some may say was the alloted time, I suggest that declaring me in contrast to the law is unnecessary and decidedly unpatriotic, given my work during those two hours in question. Men and women, our brothers and fathers in uniform and many before us have given their lives to protect our right to vote and express our opinion in true democratic value, and I saw no greater use of my time than to traverse the local community and encourage residents to exercise their rights in kind. You see, I view my civic duty as extending far past submitting my own vote, but also as to invite those around me to do the same, so that all are equal and counted. So when I saw the parking lot of the local political volunteer office completely full (and being unfamiliar with the area and other local parking opportunities), I knew I could let nothing stand in my way to complete my patriotic work. After all, as JFK once told our nation, “Ask not what America can do for you, but what you can do for America.”
    And yet now I stand here, having gone out and asked what I could do for America, and seen fit to go and do exactly that, and having completed that I find the true extent of what America can and do for me: punish me, fine me, and criticize me for only trying to help. Am I to think my time spent volunteering is for naught, and that in the future I should just stay at home? That cities would rather see its streets free of parked cars than waves of educated, enthusiastic voters? I know which America I would rather see, and I hope that you think deeply about which America you’d rather be a part of. In conclusion, though my ticket may only be for $15, I see this as an assault on my basic principles and ethics. I appeal this ticket with my forefathers in mind, knowing they too would park alongside that curb, and stay for as long as they needed to ensure America remained such a beautiful place. Thank you for your time.

 

 

CITY OF BLOOMINGTON PARKING CITATION APPEAL

Neil,
Your citation for overtime parking on 11/1/08 has been
(patrioticly!)dismissed as a warning. Sincerely,

***** ********
Office of the City Clerk
Bloomington, Indiana
812-349-****

october

Some brief updates, since I know I haven’t written anything lately. What I’ve been up to.

College Side:

I’m one of three Pledge Educators of my fraternity’s new 20-strong pledge class. We hold their meetings, study sessions, team building activities, and organize social functions for them. Thus far it’s been a great experience.

I started volunteering with about three other guys at the local Boys & Girls Club for a few hours every Monday. We help with homework, play outdoor games with them, play pool with them, etc. One of my DU brothers is an Elem. Ed major and is hoping to either get a job or actual volunteer position with them, which would be nice, so he could plan better activities for us when we go. I don’t mind it as it is, though. I’ve learned a few things already – such as the ‘Chinese’ rules of playing pool (you hit any ball into any hole at any time… along with a few other rules) and that what looks to me like a firing squad with gym balls (one kid hurls a ball at a bunch of kids maybe 6 feet away up against a chain link fence) apparently passes for dodgeball nowadays.

I go to the gym with a bodybuilder brother several times a week – it’s rough getting back into weightlifting when I can do half of what I did as a Junior in high school.

I’ve volunteered to register students for the Students for Obama campaign a few times here. The deadline to register is the 6th. Here’s hoping we turn Indiana blue for once.

Rest of the time is class/homework/video games.

 

Technology wise-

I’m kind of wanting a 120gb Zune. I’ve heard nothing but good reviews for the new interface, and I like the widescreen video format.

I think the new Windows commercials are great. I think they counter the Mac ads perfectly. Honestly, I didn’t think the Seinfeld ones were that bad – they put more of a human face on Bill Gates than has been done previously, which is a shame. And you can’t exactly say Mac has a hold of the ‘new age thinkers’ demographic when Deepak freakin’ Chopra is advertising your product.

I’ve been using Google Chrome since it came out and only use Firefox when some Javascript  things (mainly Facebook-related) don’t work. It’s by far the best browser I’ve ever used, and it raises a lot of questions about the open source format. Mozilla is by and large funded by Google (for having Google as the default search engine) for several years now – but when that runs out, what will happen? They’ve been the greatest success story of the OSS market, and I hope they can manage to continue – I use Thunderbird for newsgroups and would love to eventually be able to replace Winamp/Foobar/iTunes with Songbird.

I also really enjoy Google moving into the philanthropic world and proposing a timeline to end nonrenewable resource use – yes, the search engine company. They have not bothered to wait for legislation to pass, instead they’ve gone out and spent their own money to make things happen. That’s the right kind of capitalism.

Also I wish I had an Android phone. Not the G1 – maybe the HTC Touch Pro or Touch HD.

Politics-

I have few words. McCain is running a travesty of a campaign. Palin is the worst VP candidate he could have ever picked. McCain has a disconnect with the reality around him, Palin has a disconnect between her brain and mouth. If I said the same sort of incoherent gibberish she’s given during interviews, you’d rightfully suspect me of being inebriated.

Economy-

is not good.

 

I could expand on most of these issues, but I have some homework to do.

necessity drives innovation. in this case necessity being a lack of some damn food around here

Ingredients

Two Pieces Toast (Wheat, White, or your preference)

Peanut Butter

Honey

Cocoa Puffs

Directions

1. Toast bread.

2. Put peanut butter on one piece. Put honey on the other. Spread out cocoa puffs on either piece, as they both should be sticky enough to hold them.

3. Combine pieces into a sandwich and enjoy. Preferably with a glass of milk.

I have spent the last 15 hours or so designing a 3d model of a chariot that is driven by a monkey riding a bicycle. It is the final project in one of my classes.

Oh, college.

Music

Being on a college campus with an interconnected high-speed unmonitored network between the residence halls, it isn’t all that difficult to find new types of music – which is really a hobby of mine. I enjoy branching out and discovering new genres, bands, styles – not just ‘looking for whatever new indie band that I can brag about that I know and no one else does,’ because people with that type of motivation shouldn’t be allowed in everyday conversations. Just trying to broaden my horizons, since music is truly the one human concept that we all ascribe to, and nothing can connect us together quite so well.

But anyway, of all the various genres I now actively seek out, I’m having quite a trouble finding some very tribal-sounding music, and perhaps it’s because I don’t know what genre it would fall under. Just some drums and chanting, bringing to mind visions of campfires and native dances. The band Konono No1   is pretty close to this, with some odd electric sounds mixed in, but listening to them late at night is fairly relaxing. I figure there must be some Native American music which falls under this category, and so I shall continue my search. It’d be nice to someday just travel round to different countries and hear local bands and enjoy the different music various cultures have to offer.

Also, I heard a cover of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise yesterday sung entirely in Korean. It wasn’t half bad.

Let me preface this…

…by saying that before anyone else feels the need to point it out to me, I fully and in its entirety appreciate the irony of the situation where as a direct result of a film in which I am quoted as saying I never wanted to work in a cubicle,

I will now be working in a cubicle.

So really, you don’t need to tell me. I get it. Trust me.

A New Strategy

I am thoroughly convinced that the only thing we have to do to bring America back out on top is to mail several billion copies of “Guitar Hero III” overseas to China and India. All economic progress will stop in a matter of fifteen minutes. Getting into a prestigious Indian engineering university is one thing; nailing the solo in “Free Bird” on Expert is something altogether different.

Return

Good rest, good to see old friends, and good to see Carmel finally win State. Didn’t get nearly enough homework done though; I’ll definitely pay for that this week.

Watched the film with three different groups; got different reactions from pretty much everyone involved.

Dad: Thought he had better quotes, but was mainly just happy that his batch of mostaccoli was on film. Views technology as a commodity and is happier that I’m a ‘thinker’. Agrees with my thought that Rohit wishes he was an American. Finds the fact that I’m labeled “former team captain of the football team” almost as funny as I do. If by captain, you mean “kid who sits in the back of team meetings and makes snide and sarcastic comments while the coaches are talking and being serious,” then I was the best captain that team ever saw.

Step-mom’s Step-father: Talked quite a lot, but I don’t think he really said anything. Didn’t understand what the motivation behind the film was. He’s worked for awhile in education reform and teacher-evaluation though, but I honestly can’t summarize his opinion. Mentioned numerous times that Carmel was ‘an aberration.’

Mom: Glad the house looked clean. Is proud of me. She is a teacher, but she teaches elementary kids with learning disabilities; she’s not as much worried about the competition from India and China as she is that her kids will eat inanimate objects.

Grandfather (maternal): Shared the same view as my dad; the Indian workers he had dealt with were great at technical tasks and such, but needed a lot of direction.

Most other relatives in attendance: Thought the Chinese kids had too intense of a schedule. Were slightly weirded out by the Indian girl’s mom feeding her with her hands.

(In the video, I’m briefly shown at my friend Mustafa’s birthday party. He had it this year on Friday, so we watched it there.)

Chinese girl at the party (don’t remember her name…): Was overly upset by the translation. Thought the filming of the Chinese lifestyle was very biased (I’m not sure in what way). Didn’t like the film.

Deeksha: Didn’t take kindly to us referring all of our questions about India to her, being the ‘resident Indian’ in attendance. Supposedly does not eat off of banana leaves, though this is not concrete.

Jamie: Was deeply upset that Brittany was filmed for this, even if she is a good representation of the average American girl.

Adam: Explained that the reason Americans don’t have to study as much is because of our “inherent awesomeness.” I’m not sure if he actually believes that or not, but he is rather arrogant.

The rest were divided into two groups. The first group got bored by the film and started talking before it was over. I don’t know if they were expecting car chases and explosions, or what. The second group liked the film, but wasn’t sure they agreed with the message of the film. (I myself don’t really think the film gives a definite conclusion. I don’t think showing relevant statistics is evidence of an agenda.) The reason for this is, in my opinion, that they were all from the same gifted group as I, and therefore were basing American education off of what we received, which is definitely not typical of American schools.

My friends here at Purdue are watching the film right now… it’ll be interesting to see what they think, being students from all over the country (one from Orange County, two from St. Louis, one from Plymouth, IN [where my dad grew up]). I’ll summarize their thoughts later, if they are noteworthy.