Alright, so I'm a dork and I went to go see Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and I loved it. Sure, the figures were all caricatures, but that's the point. They're just models of the historical people. And some of them are damned hilarious. AND AWESOME. Like, I would have seen the movie even if I hadn't already seen the first one and loved it because it has AMELIA EARHART.

I mean, you don't understand just how much Ms. Earhart has been like, a symbol in my life. Like, I really wish my great grandma the bootlegger were still around and hadn't passed when I was 8 because she would have been SO EXCITED that I went to college where I did (freshman year dorm was named Earhart, ok) and studied what I have and do what I do... like you have no idea how ridiculously strong this woman was. Even I can't comprehend entirely how awesome she was, since it's mostly the fact my mom was close with her that I know the stories.

And it's silly that a freaking adorable fictionalized version can get me so choked up, that a movie could, but the whole sequence in the Air and Space Museum I was grinning so badly and almost like crying, literally. Because I've been there and I remember walking around and just wigging out over the stuff in there and babbling on about things until the guards started snickering and getting an Einstein shirt and a now outdated solar system mug cause Pluto's not a planet now--

--point is, online here you guys have no idea what a romantic I am about human progress. And it leaks out sometimes, but I am full-on crazy excitable.

I wanted to be an Aero since I was kid not because planes and rockets are cool (they are, but that's beside the point) but because I am in love with progress and the pioneer spirit. This is why I geek out over, I don't know, google starting an OS (they are! look it up for serious!) and how my sister may have to use a rat guillotine when working for researchers. And I got really cynical for a while because I sort of built up this image of dudes that worked for NASA and my university also shared this spirit and you know, a lot of them are fat balding white dudes with no zeal for their white bread lunches. And I'm not an egoist enough to assume I'm going to make a huge breakthrough or suddenly get called on the REAL Mars team (video game Mars is kind of cool though). I'm not going to be famous, I'm way too mediocre as a person.

But these are exciting times still! We're just USED to all the exciting that we forget just how awesome it is. I mean, I was talking to someone from Canada on the phone today. Long distance phone calls (CELL phone calls even!) just are so... WOW really. We're surrounded by all this information all the time and it's such a gift really. All the tools are there, we just need to reach out to them!

We are a generation of small and insignificant miracles that can add up to a whole lot of good. No leader, no figure, no celebrity can do as much as the collective spirit can. I mean, I wish I could get that across as well as I do when I'm gesturing and flailing and talking loudly, but seriously. It's intense.

At the risk of sounding like one of those self-help gurus, all you need is to wake up and start up that passion we all have deep down. For something, anything. Apathy is the killer of progress. So is self-pity and hand wringing and whatever else. The end result may not be glamorous or exactly what you planned but it's the drive that counts.

And now I'm going to end with the Shadow and the Kefka for our FFVI group being awesome.

See, awesome.

And the video is kind of adorable.

- Thanks for replying to the poll AND THE COMMENTS, omg. If you'd like to contribute and haven't, the poll is here. Some of the discussions really have gotten my gears turning on things I need to draft out. Since we've generally avoided specifically math situations so far (minus my redesign of the "stranded astronaut" scenario, which I did manage to make not suck by making it a rates problem) I've got a fair bit of work ahead of me. But hitting you dudes up for thoughts is always great.

- I got the base of my coat sewn. Quite a few panels on that one, I tell you. Fits extremely well so far, which was a shock. I has some skills aparently. Need to sew the little bits: collar, sleeve, buttons, hemming, but it does look like a coat (if sleeveless) instead of a bunch of cloth. Going to baste the hem instead of tight sewing it because I plan on adding a lining in sometime, but currently a lining isn't a particular concern. XD I also cut out the basic shape of the "cape" for the Gogo costume--it's more like a half toga thing, the way it's supposed to hang. Apparently we're the same height and shoulder width, tijuana_pirate! Makes it easier for me to judge measurements and make it up as I go along. XD

- I also just signed up to be a mentor for the Women in Engineering program at my college. Now, I've actually always had mixed feelings about the general program, as I have a slight bias against groups that are determined by such weird things such as gender, but I've always liked the idea of their mentor/mentee program. And the last email they sent asked for Aeros, of which there are fewer as a group to begin with, let alone female ones. I haven't been involved in an organization on campus since Sophomore year when I wrote for the engineering magazine, so this is... odd. But I figure, what the hell, it's my last semester and maybe I can do some good tellig a girl "it's ok to fuck up and take your time getting back up, the important part is to get back up" or something similar.

I'm nervous. >.> It's much easier to be confident and go over the things I've done on a forum like this, but a real live person? Slightly intimidating. Very strange how I used to be bold to a fault and now I'm a tad shy. XD And hell, there's a chance they could say, "omg YOU? go away!"

- Next week before I leave for Otakon we're getting together as a team at work to actually start developing NEW STUFF for the Virtual Astronaut project, which makes me happy. It's nice and datafreaky to do what I've been doing lately, but I've missed the bouncing around ideas and CREATING stuff. This summer has been infinitely better than last, where there was a whole lot of... nothing going on. I don't idle well.

- I went with my mom to a healthy food place last night and we picked up lots of tasty things. I have tea that I am not afraid to drink now (this awesome ginger-cardamom-cinnamon tea and rose hip tea), foods that will not make my stomach rebel, and mom got some lychee ice cream. As she loves lychee. The girl at the checkout counter was quirky and hilarious and makes me sort of like healthy food places as the last few I've been to have ended up with fun conversations (and getting invited to a Pretty Pretty Princess party, which I had to decline but the thought counts).

- The lab my sister is going to be interning at is studying MRSA, which is like, a superbug. Last I talked to her on the phone she had spent the week reading safety materials, and how to humanely kill test subject animals. Apparently there are RAT GUILLOTINES. I kind of want one, to cut fruit with. >.> It sounds like a good usage! I think this may make my sister a little closer to Mad Scientist. It's a wonder my parents aren't crazy, what with me always fiddling with stuff and her being MAD SCIENCE MWHAHAHAHA.

- And lastly, I'm putting some Legacy of Kain and The Path icons up in a bit. I don't know why that's exciting, it just is.

Now that I've got a good draft of the NASA document out and the bosses are swamped with meetings and deadlines, I've got some time to fiddle. Spent the morning just browsing around, as I'm wont to do sometimes, because well, I'm like that. I'm thinking over future issues and current ones, and something occurred to me.

I can totally use you guys for my schemes. So let's talk about math, shall we?

Poll #1424314 MATHEMATICS
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

What is your manner of work/study? (If unemployed and not a student, just put what you would like most to do in life)

What is the other? (140 characters or less)

What is the maximum level of math you are/were required to take (to accomplish your degree/graduate/job get)?

Did you take that math level despite it not being required?

Do you feel confident in the level of mathematics you achieved?

Were you ever discouraged from doing something because it took too much math?

Even if you like math, what sorts of things have bothered you about it?

Explain. (140 characters or less)

What sorts of things do you think would make math better to understand?

Explain. (140 characters or less)

Here's your damn checkboxes.

Feel free to start shenanigans in the comments.

So, I'm going through my books, because if you've seen pictures of my room or have been in my room, I am sort of into them. And I still have a couple boxes PACKED UP. Anyway, there's a set of books that I feel guilty giving away (as they were a gift) but I have no reason to keep them. At all.

I happen to have the entire collection of Ayn Rand's works.

See, I'm not too into Objectivism. Personally, it sounds like The Crazy. And I'm not too fond of Rand's style. But some of you might be! I so I figured I'd give you all a shot at it before trying to bookmooch them. Anyway, I have:

- The Fountainhead
- Atlas Shrugged
- The Early Ayn Rand

All are paperbacks, and basically in mint condition as I got a little dizzy reading Atlas Shrugged. Not that I don't think some of you can! I always try to give most classics a shot, but she's the way of Faulkner and Plath with me; I see the craft, appreciate it, but don't much like it.

So please comment if you want them! I'll free up a LOT of space by getting rid of them!

Nevermind, have a taker! Thanks!

Clearly I have Otakon on the brain, but the rest of my dream... was a liitle wtf.

( Read more... )

Not as weird as the dream where John Scalzi (yeah) and I battled an army of midgets, but still a little weird.

Alright, so I was bad and spent last night just messing around on the computer. No treadmill, no sewing work, no nothing. I've been a little extra tired lately (my mom says I'm going through junk food withdrawal, and I think she may be right) but at least my stomach hasn't been painful in any way for the past couple days. Night before I went to the White Mage's place and attempted to fix her computer, and got it to the point where I have at least a good set of symptoms, but no actual fixing. It may just need a reformat, but before I do that I need to consult the Sidekick and see if he has any pointers.

Some good things:

- The Path. An arty, story-focused game that is slow and mysterious and intriguing. Got it for my girl for her birthday, and since it was a download I got a copy too. Prolly going to play more during lunch, as it requires me to close out all my programs. Balances out the Lego Star Wars I sometimes play with my sister.

- My mom painted on the design for the shirt for the Cecil costume, will have pics and a poll up later.

- ff_exchange! My assignment was FANTASTIC. And may be a little long (when I say long, I mean around 5000 words, I like brevity you know). Anyone want to be a beta for it? No idea when I'll get it done, but it has to be done by August. I at least have the general idea and a decent lockdown on the type of voice to use.

- Oh my god this article. Talks about empathy in the internet age, both touching and disturbing. I wanted to babble about it, but I've been kind of loaded down with stuff lately.

Edit: Because I managed to forget a couple notable things!

- Got my Avon in the mail. Thanks ssugrimgirl for being a rep, else I would have continued to go without several girly things. XD

- Also got my CORSET in the mail! I will probably put it on and take pictures at some point. I was GENTLE with it, irish_ais. Also my sister tried it on, because she likes them. XD And I love the earrings they make music a little!

So where have I been?

Friday: Just about had a nervous breakdown over stuff, augmented by my old car accident back thing flaring up again with a vengeance. NASA document stalled due to no one getting back to me, and D told me to go home and make sure I didn't really hurt my back. D is a very sweet lady. So I went home at 2pm and proceeded to ice my back and play Lego Star Wars with my sister in co-op mode. Poor Quiggy! I am good at the jumping (well I should be, considering that Soul Reaver is a favorite game of mine) and absolute CRAP at anything involving flying a vehicle. Thankfully my mom rocks it all. XD I needed the break, obviously, as all panicky feeling and doom has left me.

Saturday: Cleaned! Seriously needed to clean. Now have a dedicated sewing box and a notions box. Found a ton of 60s-80s earrings I'll never wear, debating what to do with them. Maybe I'll offer them to you guys and then sell them on etsy if no one wants them? They're actually pretty cool, just not my style. I'll take pictures sometime then. Also decided that I may in fact sell a couple things on etsy, in the non-supply realm. Also just about got a couple of packages full of goodies to send people all packed up. ^^ Especially since I heard the post office may be offering some specials. After cleaning I started on the skirt for the whitemage!Cecil costume, and considering I did it without a patter and made it up as I went along it's looking neat! And I finished the bracers for the wm!Cecil.

Sunday: Father's Day, in which my sister and I woke up and made him breakfast and then went to sleep. Watched Hellboy II on Dad's Blueray (my dad has a thing for shiny new technology, but he got his player through airline miles; that should tell you how often he travels) which looked really awesome. I also actually cut out half of the steampunk!Auron coat! I had to stop halfway because it was actually hurting my back, hunching over and pinning all those pattern pieces to the cloth. But my power scissors made quick work of cutting (though there needs to be a little trimming, as I tend to go wide with them cause it's easy to just cut right through a pattern with those). Realized that I might not want to do the lining in the same cloth as the outside, so I'll be rummaging through my stash for a good lining fabric or hitting up the store. I need to hit up the store anyway for some more white fabric so I can make tijuana_pirate's Gogo cloak thing. Have a good idea on how to do the headdress, need to go find a hat. I still need those measurements, young lady.

And today I just found out that we're not going to rush to finish that one grant, which warms my heart and makes me very very happy. Still working on the stuff for NASA though.

I also have pictures.

( the show part of show and tell )

Later I will take pictures of the current state of affairs of my room to compare with my sister's room because it's hilarious how different we are.

Edit: Finished my Cid and Reeve story.

Omg, can I have breathing?

Working on something for NASA (ha ha, that's SO FUN to say) which means the deadline was given to me close to the deadline, etc. Ah, beauracracy. The other proposal is being scrapped, due to time and staff limitations (I need an intern, dammit). I don't much feel like working another Saturday, so I hope they don't change their minds. Funding is good, but sending in a crappy proposal is bad, especially considering Oceania it getting sent to the same dudes (the Department of Education). So I'm doing some standard engineering problem solving and helping fix up some of the mess of the different proposals and design documents, etc. I have to have a good draft final by Monday. :/

Naturally, this means that all the WIPs I hit up when I have down time haven't been touched in a while. XD Work > hobby, always. But I miss hobby time.

But I did finish my white mage cape!

( lookit! )

I'm also going to be making a cape for tijuana_pirate's Gogo costume for our FF6 group. And the head thing. I may also do some bead stuff. ^^ Depends on my time. Hopefully I won't be working TOO many Saturdays. >.>

Since I'm not allowed to eat junk like I tend to, my energy levels are INTENSE. Maybe there really are benefits to this whole eating healthy thing. XD Started on a regimen of Wii Boxing (what, it's fun at least) and treadmilling to help me digest stuff. Truefact: a brisk walk after dinner helps your body process the food with less acid. Also, apple butter is FANTASTIC. I'd forgotten how awesome it was. And it's probably the single best jam for me ever.

Sorry if I haven't been commenting lately, things have been hectic as all getout.

Anyway, gotta get back to work. Must not get too distracted!

So I have two weeks to write the content for this new proposal. Eek. Thankfully I spent some time during the last proposal going over things. With my sister in town I may also pester her about some things, as this is a biology-based module. The other one was a bit easier for me because it was all about the engineering. This one is about science and math. So far I have the science bits sketched out in enough of a way that whenever the people we're waiting to hear back on give us word I can arrange it all. Let's just say I'm having fun with mutation and some nano-inspiration ala The Diamond Age.

This does mean I'm pretty booked at work. But it also means I'm going to very specifically not do work on my lunch break. So I am munching on a fresh greens salad with olive oil dressing and reading and typing here.

The anti-acid diet I am on has kept a major flare up from happening, and the meds. I'm being very kind to my stomach and letting it heal. I am very much missing a lot of my favorite foods (mac n cheese... :<) but I've gotten a lot of help in not dying. My mom was nice enough to make sure she got some foods for me (fat-free feta, RICE CAKES, pretzels, raspberries) and even D at work gave me some tea of hers to drink, so I don't miss tea and also to help in general. I really like this chamomile/lavendar tea, the lavendar makes the chamomile not taste like ick, like it tends to. I need to ask where she got it, so I can get some of my own. Tea is a ritual for me, and the thought of giving it up completely is just... suck. What I wouldn't give for a nice cup of Earl Grey right now.

Thank god I can eat lean beef and chicken, if I had to go all vegetarian I might just get homocidal.

Spent most of the weekend cleaning stuff up, as the bathroom my sister and I share still had old makeup and stuff from like junior high. Lots of old nail polish and the like. Since I kind of don't wear nail polish much anymore, it was a lengthy process to get rid of the stuff. Found several neat things and an old makeup container now is going to be used for various supplies of mine. We're going to tackle the back room of the basement at some point, hopefully.

And then there's sewing. Have some trim to sew and still haven't done much with the Auron coat. I think I will start laying out the pieces and cutting the fabric soon. I should just do the trim and the cape's claspy thing tonight, it shouldn't take as long since I have everything all pinned to go. I also have about a million buttons, so I can do fun things with that. If I get the cape and the bracers finished I'll start on the skirt thing. I promise pictures if anything gets done. I've been a little lazy in between adjusting to my suddenly very healthy diet and being a bum. But being a bum did mean I got to watch some stuff!

( things I've been watching, old and new )