The Topic of Great Randomness

[Small town]

Seabiscit 1009

Dont be suprized if you start puking. I just got over some thing that was just like that.

[EWizard11]

Also, the government failed in almost every way possible.

*snort* I'll say. The head of FEMA's last job was working at an Arabian horse farm, from which he was "asked to resign." His old college roommate, at the time FEMA director, offered him a job despite a complete lack of qualifications. Two years later he was elevated to head of FEMA. Two years. Sounds a little wrong to me, doesn't it?

And what about not even acknowledging the crisis at the convention center, despite media footage of starving, thirsty, desperate people there? The Secretary of Homeland Security dismissed the words of reporters about the conditions there as "rumors" before finally deciding that it might be a good idea to check it out. Meanwhile, our darling president stood around praising everyone involved when thousands were still trapped in New Orleans.

Yes, I'm a little sore about this.

[A Traveller with Magic]

Nnnn. *sigh* School starts tomorrow. I don't want to go to school! I don't want homework! I don't want to study American history- why do they even put that stuff in Canadian textbooks anyways? Well, yes, we should know a little about that, but not that much.

I had a not-so-weird dream last night where I saw a box set of the whole YW series in a bin of bargain books in...I think it was Safeway. I was so happy- before I realised that I wouldn't be allowed to buy it because it cost $21.95 (don't ask why my dreams can be so detailed) . It was still a vaguely good dream though...

Yay! I finally have a virtual igloo to hide in that other people can see! *points proudly at the igloo in the avatar*
And I'm still adding to The Motherboard World (getting frustrated at the sun, really). Does anyone know if the MB has an atmosphere? Or if the stars/galaxy shows in the day? You see, I don't have the book...

Hungry: I just ate four ice cream sandwiches, 3 servings of lasagna, a plate of salad, 3 rolls, fruit salad, and 2 Italian ices. Ugh. I feel fat, even though it's impossible for me to be fat from that much food. Maybe I just feel blecky because I ate so much. Yeah, that's probably it.

Heh, I sorta know what you mean. Most of the time we spent in Vancouver (well, nearly all of it XD) was checking out the restaurants in the area. One day we'd be having breakfast with this family and lunch with a totally different one, and oh, you're having a big dinner on Thursday with your cousins and Friday is sushi with a whole bunch of adults you've never met and will probably never meet again...

I don't really have much to say about Katrina that you guys haven't said already. It seems so far away up here...I heard southern Quebec got hit hard with what was left of her; some of their roads were completely washed out and there's some major flooding.

ARGH! I want WaW!!...I don't want to wait until October...I want to find out what needs to be added to the MB among other things (*glares at PM*)...

[Moeen]

I'd like to discuss a few topics, and as this is the Topic of Great Randomness, I'll put them here:

Concerning hurricane Katrina, what really scares me is that some of the images I see of the destruction reminds me of images I've seen of some of the poorest countries in the world. I am also disappointed at the lack of management at the relief efforts going on. This wasn't the most powerful hurricane to have hit us, and when hurricane Andrew hit Florida, the situation was similar to what we have now. Given that we've been through a similar disaster in the past, and we knew (or least should've known) that it could happen again, why weren't we better prepared for this one? Hopefully, the situation will improve soon, and quickly.

Something else I'd like to bring up: I was chatting here a few days ago, and someone claimed that all languages come from Latin. This is not true, and quite far from it, there are many languages in the world, and the vast majority have little in relation with Latin. I understand that whoever made that claim, wasn't doing so with any authority, but nonetheless, one shouldn't say anything to be true if one doesn't know if it really is. As a general piece of advice, don't believe everything you hear. Make sure you know what the sources are for any statement, and whether the sources are reliable or not, and do think to about whether the statement makes sense to you or not. Too often have people said things which were not true, and this can and does lead to misunderstandings. I don't think anyone here would want to be responsible for creating one.

Concerning languages, well, I study linguistics as a hobby, and I like it a lot. It may surprise you that some people who study linguistics can speak over 90 languages fluently, but these people spend their lives studying them, and 90 languages is a drop in the bucket of all the languages that exist today. Children growing up can learn 5 languages simultaneously, with little more effort that just one. Studying linguistics is a very useful way to learn about the world and cultures that live in it, and it's fascinating to see how differntly some people can think. Not only that, but the each language also carries with it it's own history and culture. For example, in English we have the phrase "to go berserk," which comes from the Viking foot soldiers known as berserkers (bear-sarkers since they wore bear skins for shirts), who would go into a rage when attacking (thus the phrase). Hence, every language provides a unique way of thinking and tells something about the culture and one of the surest ways of destroying a culture is to kill it's language, which has been done in the past. In this day and age, it is in many ways unfortunate that more and more people are learning fewer and fewer languages, and it seems like the world is headed for a monoculture. There are known to be at least 6,700 living languages, but many are dying out every day. Even in the USA, over 60 languages as labeled as nearly extinct, languages which have been around for centuries. Sorry I got a bit carried away here (I guess my enthusiasm really shows ). If you want to find out more, you can check out the Ethnologue.

Concerning dreaming, well, when I was younger I used to dream a lot, but I almost always knew whenever I was dreaming, so I was rarely surprised by what was going on. These days I don't fream as much, and I don't really bother trying to figure things out when I do dream.

I will be entering my last year of my undergraduate education, so wish me luck! Hopefully, everything will turn out alright, and I'll be continuing my graduate education in a good school. Since I will be likely be busy, my time here will be limited, but hopefully not too much so.

Now for some comic relief:

I've noticed that earlier here, people were coming up with some pretty weird foundations, well, here's another one. For those of you who are fans of Star Trek or Spock (or both) you'll get a kick out of this:
Leonard Nimoy Should Eat More Salsa Foundation

If you like Star Trek and don't like Microsoft, well, here's an amusing episode idea:
Microsoft vs. Borg

For those of you that do martial arts (especially tai chi), then you'll find this parody of tai chi highly amusing (requires Quicktime):
Tai Chi Masters!

[kaiba4ever]

Labor day weekend would have been fun. Three days of school off, staying at the beach in the family summer-home! Whooo! Except my mom called from back at home (she didnt go on the trip with rest of family) and reported that something horrible had happened. Or something horrible that would HAVE to happen...

My dog died. We had to put her to sleep yesterday. It was so horrible. She was wagging her tail with so much will to be alive, and yet, she had to die because her body was falling apart and she was in so much pain. Maybe she was in horrible pain and everyday was torture like hell, but as she looked at us, wagging her tail, it was so hard to imagine that she wanted to do anything but live. It was so sudden, and cat died only weeks ago... I almost never cry, but this one of the few times I not only cried, but grabbed my dog's still-warm-but-lifeless body and sobbed into the fur. I'm so depressed, Lucy was the best dog ever and she really loved us, and she had a good life after we rescued her from that shelter for years and when she was abused before that. It's so hard to believe that shes really gone and I'm never going to pet or feed to run with her ever again, but then again maybe shes NOT gone, because she'll be in my heart forever and ever... Oh there, I'm crying all over again...*wipes eyes*

It's ironic that in the book I'm reading, the main character's best friend's dog died too, if you're catching my drift...

And I dont have much else to say.

[EWizard11]

Oh, kaiba, I'm so sorry! I know how it feels to have to put a pet down: when I was in third grade we had to put my cat to sleep. She was sick, like you described your dog being. Sometimes you'd walk into a room to find her having a seizure, and that was so scary because you couldn't do anything for her. Just always know that you'll remember Lucy forever and it's better for her not to be in the kind of pain she was in. *offers virtual tissues* It'll be okay.

[Peter Murray]

Traveller with Magic said:
And I'm still adding to The Motherboard World (getting frustrated at the sun, really). Does anyone know if the MB has an atmosphere? Or if the stars/galaxy shows in the day? You see, I don't have the book...

*looks in HW*
It definitely doesn't have an atmosphere that Dairine can breathe. It seems to be in vacuum. The sun is described as a dull red sun, and the galaxy was visible while the sun was up. There's a black hole orbiting the sun when she gets there, but not by the time she leaves.
*looks in WAW*
Oh, you'll see. You'll have to add some uh, details.

[A Traveller with Magic]

*growls* I want WaW!!! (thanks PM)

Today wasn't very eventful, even for the first day of school. My new homeroom isn't that far from my old one, and most of my classes are within a few steps (not to mention the cafeteria). The only bad thing about it is that it's close to my old homeroom and a really creepy teacher... At least I've managed to avoid him so far.

My schedule:
Math
Language Arts
Science
Social Studies
Jazz Band (or Art every other day)
Phys-Ed

*groan* Great, I have Phys-Ed every day now. At least I escaped having a half hour of mandatory French every day. And how come I don't have Band instead of Art? I put Band first and Art...I think third or fourth...Oh well. I'll ask if I can switch out of Art.

I need to check if the school library has somehow managed to get a hold of WaW...and the McNally and Robinson downtown...

[Pop Tart Kitten]

All of thou shalt fear me for no better reason then I am back baby! Oh! and Alexis isnt dead,just...asleep....No!No! She's in a coma! Wait......She has left us to go in search of Atlantis...yeah..lets go with that...ANYWAY back to the important stuff....me.I have a crappy schedule.
Math
Physical Education
Computers
Science (woot)
History (woot Ms.Picket is teh uber)
Language Arts (woot Ms.Picket twice)

I beat up poot!

[alla]

*stares at the bruise on her ankle* Its really cool *pokes it* ah so now the silly thing starts hurting Well, anyway...

We got snapped last night at netball. I don't even know what the score was - I lost count after we were 2-18 down. But it was still fun.

Yay! I've found the keyboard command that I was after to switch between different windows of the same application. Its cmd+(button above tab)

*huggles Kaiba* I'm sorry. I can't say that I know how you feel, but I can imagine how you feel. I would probably clam up for aaages if we had to do that to my cats. *more huggles*

Hi Poptart and Ella - haven't seen you around for a while. How've you been?

Hehe... I'm in a really bouncy mood for some reason. And I have this strange urge to play backyard cricket all of a sudden... I haven't played a decent game of it in... a year or so. Although, I would probably be rather frustrated. It takes me most of the summer to get into the swing of it (well of bowling anyway. I never have any problems slogging the ball ), and then when I finally do, we stop playing. Now i'm rambling.

Yay! I'm going into Borders tomorrow . I have this 15% off voucher that I want to use, but I'm not too sure what I'm going to buy. I want to get one of the new Doctor Who novels (the ninth doctor ones), but I don'think that they will have them in. *sigh* I could get another DVD

Anyway, my battery is running low, so I had better post this soon.

Alla

[Wilf]

Originally posted by alla:
We got snapped last night at netball. I don't even know what the score was - I lost count after we were 2-18 down. But it was still fun.

Funny, I've never heard "snapped" used in that context... we would used "thrashed" or "hammered" or maybe "mauled". What other words do people use for being beaten badly in a sports match?
I'm heading off to Canada tommorrow... first time in months I've been able to come on the forums, and it's to say I won't be on for two weeks. might be able to be on for the DD chat, but unlikely

[seabiscuit1009]

Cameron, from Ferris Bueller's Day OffI'm dying.

I feel dead. SO sick right now. Fever, cough, sneezes, sniffles, cold, headache, sore throat, etc. I feel dead. I seriously hope that this doesn't last too long. I have a project due in English tomorrow, and 3 other English projects due Friday, and a History project due Friday and...

I need to calm down. A lot. Seriously, I'm sort of flipping out over nothing. It sort of is annoying.

I would reply to something, but I can't figure out what to reply to what you people were saying! I don't know what netball is, and W@W isn't coming in the mail until next week at least.

Kaiba *huggles* So sorry about your dog. I've never had a pet like a dog (just goldfish) so I don't really know what you're going through, and I'm not going to pretend that I know how you feel. I'm really sorry.

Skipped cross country today to go and sleep at home. Coach is going to be mad. I'd like to see him try to run if he feeled like I do *pictures her coach running* You know, I've never actually seen my cross country coach run. And cross country is all about running...I wonder, can he run at all? He always walks...or rides a bike. Just my weird musings while I'm sick, I'm afraid.

Going to go do homework, because even though I'm sick, I'm still going to school tomorrow. I hate missing school; too much work to make up. Also, I doubt Mom would offer to let me stay home again. Anyway...dai all.

-(a very sick and miserable) seabiscuit, a.k.a. hungry

[A Traveller with Magic]

Oh no...*huggles Hungry* Hope you get better really soon. I hate colds, they last for weeks in my case, not to mention these foul (very expensive) herbal teas my grandma brews up. The last one tasted like...You know when you accidentally bite into a Tylenol pill or let it sit in your mouth too long? Like that. *shudders*

YES! We have no homework! Or we do, but it's hopelessly easy...but for LA I have to write this postcard thingy to the new grade sevens. Anyone have any ideas what to write in that?

*huggles Kaiba* I don't know exactly how you feel, I've never really had a pet before (if you don't count my goldfish that lasted for 3 days as a pet), but any death is a sad occasion.

I want to go back to sleep, but I just woke up from a nap...I bet if our school started later and let me have more sleep, I'd do exponentially better. *yawns and grumbles*
The school library doesn't have WaW yet. I could ask my homeroom teacher if we're ever going to get it (she's the librarian) but it probably won't be this month.
I still have to check the bookstores...

[Poliester]

ugh i hate being sick... I hope you get better hungry.

wow. I totally forgot what I was going to post... Well, I'll just blabber on about school then, I guess... My classes are okay, but over all school sucks... It will get better once we get that GSA going. A counselor (how the heck do you spell that???) said that it was a good idea and that they were thinking about it last year. I think my school needs one. The'yre all homophobic because they know nothing about it, and a GSA would educate them and let them know. They can think what they want, but at least I would have told them the truth... If anyone has a GSA in their school, can you give me a couple of tips for running one?

Well, I still can't remember what I originally was going to post...

Dai!

Polie

Meow.

^ ^ My badly made half of a cat head...
>* *<

[Aurora]

Hmm, I was going to start a GSA in MY school, but I need to find the partners who proposed it and crap first. If not, I'll see about getting one going anyway.

I also want to start Model UN, because my school doesn't have one. . . I may want to pay my history teacher from last year a visit tomorrow (yet again. I loves her).