You're sleeping soundly, and then...

Warning: this post is pretty gross.

*the sound of pouring liquid* I wake up to hear the sound of liquid hitting the floor. It sounds like water is being poured steadily onto the floor. I hear it splatter on the carpet, then it moves, I hear it hit the books on the floor, the frisbee. By the time it finishes I'm fully removed from my sleep. What the hell did my roommate do? Did he pee on the floor? I lie in bed for a while, wide awake. Well, if he peed on the floor, I'd smell it soon. I continue lying down, too shocked to fall back asleep yet. I try to explain the situation in my head. He wouldn't actually pee on the floor, would he? That's just absurd, I don't want to jump to conclusions. I don't smell anything. I check the time, 4:30, and in a few minutes I fall back asleep.

I wake up at 9:20 for class. There's a book in the middle of the floor and my roommate's chair is moved away from his desk, but the floor doesn't seem to be wet. I don't smell anything either. My roommate's still asleep. I don't know what happpened last night, maybe he was just pouring a glass of water and it sounded like the water was hitting the floor.

After my 10:00 class, I eat, and then return to my room for the remaining half-hour before my next class. Upon entering the room I try to notice if I can smell anything. The room definitely stinks, but it doesn't really smell like urine or anything, it just smells a little worse than usual. My roommate is still asleep. After a few minutes I don't notice the smell anymore, and I eventually go to my remaining classes.

At around 2:00, I return to my room. My roommate is gone. After taking a few steps, the smell almost overpowers me and my stomach. I notice the floor looks a little funny, like someone tried to clean it. I quickly set down my backpack and leave. I'm thirsty, so I go get a Coca-Cola with Lime. I sit down in the lounge to figure out what I'm going to do. The room has to be ventilated, I decide. So I go to my room, open the window and set out my air freshener. I am about to maybe grab my backpack and go somewhere else, but I don't know where I'm going next. I don't figure out where to go, and I don't really notice the smell anymore. So, I stay for a while, occasonally getting whiffs of the odor. I leave for dinner at 4:35.

I return from dinner at 6:45 and ostentibly my roommate hasn't returned. The room still stinks even though the window has been open the whole time. I think I've figured out what happened, it's pretty obvious. My roommate drank a lot of alcoholic beverages last night, he returned to the room and vomited. It didn't sound like vomit though because he wasn't vomiting chunks of food, he was vomiting a stream of alcohol. I don't know why I didn't recognize the smell of vomit earlier.

I wonder why my roommate hasn't returned today, is he reluctant to face me? I wonder what he'll say to me, will he apologize? We've gotten along pretty well. He likes to go out and drink and he has returned to the room inebriated before and he has apologized for it, but I haven't cared since it doesn't affect me. I'm not really that upset about everything right now, the smell will probably be gone by the time I get back Sunday and I'm sure my roommate feels bad about everything, but it's still pretty gross.

Follow-up post here.

Earth Day today

From earthday.net:

Earth Day, which began in 1970, is now celebrated by millions of people worldwide. This year is its 35th anniversary, and around the world, hundreds of thousands of nongovernmental organizations, governments, teachers, and faith-based groups, among others, are making plans to declare that they are part of something extraordinary: a worldwide movement to protect our planet, our children, and our future.

Cowboys Draft Preview

The NFL Draft is this weekend and like all Cowboys fans should be, I'm excited. The Cowboys have two first round picks, the 11th pick of the draft, which they fought so hard to get by losing those 10 games, as well as the 20th pick of the draft, which they received from Buffalo in return for a trade in last year's draft.

The Cowboys have a history of trading down and I expect the Cowboys to trade away at least one of these picks, so they should be able to get three good players with their two picks. The Cowboys spent a lot of money in free agency this year, signing a starting cornerback, defensive tackle, and guard, so now they have fewer holes to fill in the draft.

I'm not going to speculate on specific players the Cowboys might get because mock drafts are a waste of time. I'll briefly list positions and the Cowboys' needs.

• QB (quarterback) - The Cowboys signed Drew Bledsoe to be the starter and they have Drew Henson to develop, so I don't expect them to draft a QB.
• RB (running back) - Julius Jones was drafted last year and he looks to be the Cowboys future at RB. But with Eddie George gone, the Cowboys could use a backup, so don't be surprised to see an RB drafted late in the draft.
• FB (fullback) - Richie Anderson has done a very good job at FB for the Cowboys the past few seasons, but he is recovering from an injury right now and his status is uncertain. FBs aren't usually drafted very early, so the Cowboys should look to draft a FB on the second day of the draft (rounds 4-7).
• WR (wide receiver) - The Cowboys have Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn, and Quincy Morgan, and while that's a pretty good starting trio, many experts expect the Cowboys to draft a WR early in the draft. The Cowboys could use another wide Receiver, but probably shouldn't draft one in the 1st, or probably even the 2nd round.
• TE (tight end) - The Cowboys starter, Jason Witten, runs great routes, and Dan Campbell is a good backup, so don't expect the Cowboys to draft a TE early. The Cowboys like to draft TEs in the late rounds, so don't be surprised to see a TE drafted on Day 2 (rounds 4-7)
• OL (offensive line) - The Cowboys signed Marco Rivera to bolster the offensive line, and with Larry Allen, Flozell Adams, and last year's draft pick, Al Johnson, at center, the Cowboys are in decent shape. Still, they could use a little more help on the offensive line, so the Cowboys should draft one or two offensive linemen sometime after the 1st round.
• DE (defensive end) - The Cowboys have Greg Ellis on one side, but with the departure of Dat Dude (Marcellus Wiley), the Cowboys don't really have anyone on the other side. DE is a very popular 1st round pick, but there have probably been as many failures at defensive line drafted in the 1st round as there have been successes Still, the Cowboys should draft a DE early.
• DT (defensive tackle) - La'Roi Glover is returning and the Cowboys signed Jason Ferguson, so the Cowboys don't need to draft a DT, but they might draft one late anyway.
• LB (linebacker) - With the departure of Dexter Coakley, the Cowboys are somewhat weak at the linebacker position, I would like to see a linebacker drafted on the first day (rounds 1-3).
• S (safety) - with Darren Woodson's retirement, it is unknown who will play safety beside Roy Williams. Free safetys aren't a popular selection in the early rounds of the draft, though, but I'd like to see a safety drafted in the 3rd-5th rounds.
• CB (cornerback) - The Cowboys signed Anthony Henry to help out Terence Newman so I think the Cowboys are okay here. They like to draft CBs in the late rounds, so I'd expect a CB or two on the second day.
• P and K (punter and kicker) - Mat McBriar will return at punter and Billy Cundiff at kicker, and neither position is drafted much, so don't expect a punter or kicker to be drafted.

The draft starts at 11 AM (CDT) on Saturday and continues for a long damn time after that. I'll probably have a draft review early next week.

getting a shower?

I've just found out that I say that I'm "getting a shower" and that the preferred thing to say is that I'm "taking a shower" or "showering". I didn't know that saying "getting a shower" wasn't normal. Clearly, "showering" is the best way to say it and the way I'll try to say it in the future, but is it true that "getting a shower" is an uncommon and strange way to say it?

Fields in which I might work

I was never thrilled with majoring in engineering but I'm still satisfied with my choice to major in engineering. I'll have the opportunity to have a good engineering job when I graduate, and while I could stay at that job for 30 years and retire, that idea doesn't appeal to me. I have many other interests than engineering, and I'll probably only live once, so why should I spend it doing the same thing my whole life? Here are some of the fields I might want to pursue someday:

• engineering
• computer programming
• finance
• photography
• entrepreneurship / business
• politics

I don't know how many of those things I'll do professionally, but they are interests of mine, so why not keep my options open?

New poll: How has my posting frequency been?

It seems like the last few weeks I've been posting pretty regularly.

How has my posting frequency been?

You're not posting enough, I want more
You're posting a good amount
You're posting too much, I can't keep up
You should never post again

Current Results

Create a FREE Alxnet Web Poll

Previous Poll Results (#47)

The previous poll, which asked, "How do you feel about the trampling of the bluebonnets?" has been closed. You can see the results here. The results were mixed, with 6 people disapproving of the trampling and about 7 people indifferent or approving.

My blog has been disappearing

Two people have told me that when they tried to load my blog that they have been redirected to Blogger's home page. I just had the same thing happen to me, and I can't explain it, but it seems that if you re-start your browser or clear your cache the problem is eliminated.

Movie Review: Ray

Ray was a popular movie when it came out, it shows some of Ray Charles' years as an artist, as well as flashbacks of his childhood. I certainly learned more about Ray Charles Robinson than I knew before, and his story is an interesting one to hear. The movie had a good story and was well made, but it could have been better.

The director repeatedly showed how Ray's brother's death was traumatizing, but it was overdone and detracted from the storyline. There were many flashbacks to Ray's youth, and while the scenery around Ray's childhood home were beautiful, the story of Ray's life could have been better told if some of Ray's youth was cut in favor of more of his adulthood.

Unfortunately, the movie ended abruptly midway through Ray's life, and while by that point Ray's better days as an artist were behind him, there were still unresolved issues in Ray's life, such as his strained relations with the band. The film could have offered a better and more complete biography of Ray Charles by continuing the story.

Still, Ray was a pretty good movie and is worth seeing, especially for someone who likes music and movies more than 2 hours long.

Rating: 6/10

Didn't join honors society

I was invited to join an honors society on campus, and a lot of people gave me their opinions about it, and there was a reasonable amount of debate, but I didn't join.

There seemed to be no real reason to join this society since it does nothing and no employer will seriously care about it. But on the other hand there was no real reason not to do it, since I won't have to pay or do anything. I think joining the honors society would have no effect whatsoever on the rest of my life. The overriding reason for not joining, in addition to apathy, was my hestitancy to support what is almost a scam: I pay them money for essentially nothing other than to put their name on my resumé.

Also, I just found out that this same society had invited me to join last November and I didn't join that time. So, I expect to receive another invitation from them next semester, at which time I can re-evaluate my decision.

Considering Columnism

I've been giving some consideration to writing a weekly editorial column for the student newspaper next semester. I probably won't decide until next semester gets here, but I might try to write a few columns now just to see how much work it might be.

3 Final Exams on 1 Day

I had always heard that if you have three final exams on the same day, you can get one moved. I talked to a couple people and they were like, "Yeah, I've heard that too, I think you have to talk to the department chair or to your professors" or something like that. So, I talked to two of my professors and neither had heard that you could reschedule your final and neither of them seemed to want to change my final exam time.

So, I guess I'll just deal with it. One of my exams is a Spanish exam, which won't require preparation. And, I'll have like 6 days off before finals because all my finals are at the end of finals week.

Texas House Bill Bars Homosexual Foster Parents

This is interesting:

Texas could become the only state to bar gays from becoming foster parents under legislation passed Wednesday by the House.

...

Under the Texas bill, anyone who applies to be a foster parent or a foster parent whose performance is being evaluated must say whether he or she is homosexual or bisexual. Anyone who answers yes would be barred from serving as a foster parent. If the person is already a foster parent, the child would be removed from the home.

I'm not a huge proponent of gay rights, but this seems pretty ridiculous. While a man and a woman are better naturally equipped to take care of a child than two men or two women, any parents are better than no parents.

Even more alarming is that the bill passed 135-6. If this becomes law, the next logical step is to remove any children from someone who had a child in a heterosexual relationship before turning homosexual. Then after that, of course, are the requisite pink triangle arm patches.

Plus, what about the logistics? I mean, what if you're asexual? What if you're bi-curious? What if you like hermaphroditic porn? While English has definite terms to describe sexual orientations, there are gradiations in between that the language and society does not account for. And how are we going to verify whether someone is actually heterosexual?

In short, this law is a divisive, unnecessary, and unenforceable legal manifestation of homophobia.

National High Five Day

I don't know how many people will observe this day, but it's this Thursday, so I just wanted to make you aware in case someone tries to high five you.

Imagine that while on your way to class, you pass a dignified looking middle-aged man in a suit. You, of course, are wearing the same underwear as yesterday, a pair of pants off your floor, and a T-shirt with something ironic printed on it. Instead of noticing this respectable pillar of society fifteen seconds or so before your interaction is fated to occur, and lowering your head to avoid his disapproving scowl, you take another course of action. You confidently walk forward, and at the moment of passing, you and the businessman simultaneously raise your hands and wordlessly high-five. The sound of the perfect high five resonates, causing those nearby to silently and enviously take notice. You both walk on, and likely relate the story to whomever you eat dinner with that night. There is no reason why this should not happen with alarming frequency.

What Deity are you?

Online personality quizzes tend to be very popular, so I decided to try my hand at coming up with my own. I received a lot of help from Andrés and we've created our own semi-original personality quiz, which seeks to find out, What Deity Are You?

New Pope

A new pope has been elected. I'm not Catholic, so I don't care, but I was just letting you know in case you haven't seen a TV or heard a radio today.

The value of time

I like to do things by myself; I handle my own investments, wash my own car, maintain my own web page, and change my own oil. I was raised this way and I'm pretty content with my own self-sufficiency. When I was young I never understood why people had maids, I thought, why can't people just clean their own houses rather than pay someone else to do it for them? Time was so bountiful to me as a child that I didn't understand the value of time.

I now realize that everyone's time is worth something. The value of your time isn't necessarily determined by your wage, it's something that you determine. Generally, the richer you get, the more your time is worth - it's almost paradoxical that poorer people try harder to save money and richer people try harder to save time. But, there’s more to determining the value of your time than how much your boss pays you; some people would just prefer to pay a housekeeper so that they'll have more time to relax.

While self-sufficiency is often perceived as virtuous, the people who accomplish the most in their lives are dependent on many other people - their housekeeper, financial adviser, accountant, lawyer, etc. Most people never get to that point, though; most people are their own housekeeper and accountant. Many people study and get a good job so that they make a good wage and can afford to have people like their financial adviser work for them. But, their employer is still paying them for their time and making money from their work. One way to increase the value of your time is to figure out how to pay other people for their time and make money from that. That's what many people accomplish in business.

Unfortunately, often when people's value of time increases, they become too busy to do a lot of things, not only do they not clean their own house, but their time is so valuable that they can't afford to stop and talk to you. What those people don’t understand is that money is only part of what their time is worth. Your time might be worth a lot of money, but with your time you can also experience things and enjoy parts of life that cannot be quantified with a dollar sign. To be fulfilled, you have to divide your time appropriately between making you money and making you happy. You don’t have to make a lot of money to have a high time-value, if you pay someone else to mow your lawn because you’d rather spend time with your kids, then your time is worth a lot. I believe that a high time-value is a sign of a successful life - it doesn't necessarily mean that you are making a lot of money; it means that you are making the most out of your time.

Should I join this worthless honors society?

I received an invitation to join a mechanical engineering honors society, but I'm not sure if I'll join. I've already joined another worthless honor society, Tau Beta Pi. These societies don't really do anything, they never meet, they just take your fees and send you a monthly magazine. I don't know how much fees are, I think $25-45, but my parents will pay them anyway. I'm just reluctant to join partially because I'm lazy and I see no real reason to do this, and plus I'm reluctant to fund an organization that exists for no real reason. I mean, how would you like to pay $30 to join the Skaggs Alpha Beta International Excellence Society? Here is the invitation that I received:

My name is Jonas, and I am the current president of the SMU Tau Sigma chapter of the Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honors Society. We are pleased to inform you that your outstanding academic accomplishments have made you eligible to join our society. Pi Tau Sigma is an organization dedicated to excellence in the field of mechanical engineering. This is an opportunity to open many industry doors. We would like you to join us Wednesday April, 20 at 5:00PM in the Mechanical Engineering building for our initiation ceremony. We will be going out to a free dinner after the initiation. Please contact me if you are interested.

my dinner

This evening I took DART to Lovers Lane and walked to Freebird's for dinner. I've been there a couple times before but was never impressed by it, but this time I think I liked it the most, I'll hopefully go back again sometime this semester. I also went to the best used CD store I've ever been to - I've been there before, just not in a while. I didn't find the CD I was looking for, so tonight I ordered it on half.com - More A Legend Than A Band by The Flatlanders. Then, I walked to Krispy Kreme and got a nice warm donut. Then I returned to school. I enjoyed my dinner excursion, but it ended up taking like an hour and a half. I think I'll take DART over there again sometime, it was fun, but too slow to do every day.

Write a short story

I think last time was fun, so I would again like to invite my readers to write a short story. This topic was inspired by a short story topic in Spanish class: Write a story about a big political and societal change in the United States in 2006.

Baseball game on Saturday

My dad got free tickets to a Texas Rangers baseball game, so Lesley and I decided to go now, before summer, while the weather is nice, since the Rangers don't play baseball in autumn.

After eating at Bennigans, we arrived at the Ballpark and had to pay $10 to park. The weather was pretty nice, though a little on the cool side. The Rangers lost 8-0 to the Blue Jays. After the game there were fireworks.
The Ballpark in Arlington (sometimes known as Ameriquest Field)