The situation with my mp3 player is so aggravating right now. Here's what happened: Dell sent me one to replace my old one (which only played music in one ear unless you pressed the headphones in really hard) and the new one is even more defective! Every time I turn it on, it freezes on the same screen. So I think I'll send them back the new one they sent me and keep my old one. I want the new iPod that plays music and videos now. It's only $300, I think it's well worth it. So that is what I'll get.

Xanga Idiot of the Day: chatioc_heat (supposed to be chaotic_heat, but we'll let that one slide.

http://www.xanga.com/Chatioc_heat

If you read his astoundingly moving piece "Confessions of a Beautiful Man," you will probably at once recognize his amazing sense of humility. Continuing onto the actual piece, you will be amazed by his wonderful grammar and immaculate spelling. It describes how he lost his virginity at the ripe old age of 10 to a 13-year old. Real hot. What amazes me most about this piece is its stunning rejection of cliche: they were playing "mermaid," it was "good" despite the "hurt," and that his rapist was "was very developed...If you get what I'm saying!"

By the end of the piece, you will realize that he is probably some horny gay loser who can't bear to put a real picture of himself up or disclose his real name (Paris? Come on now) because he's far too closeted. Now I don't mean to sound mean, I actually feel bad for the loser.

October 8th, around 1pm:

I hate pain. This morning I got my two bottom wisdom teeth out under a copious amount of Novocaine. Now that that has worn off, I'm starting to feel pain. It was really bad before, but now it's alright. I'm just a pussy.

While I was icing my sore wound, I read Microsoft Corporation's Annual Report like all good Microsoft stockholders do. I was surprised by a number of things, most notably what the European Commission ruled that Microsoft would do. Here's some quotation:

"In March 2004, the European Commission determined that we must create new version of Windows that do not include certain multimedia technologies... and we must provide our competitors with specifications for how to implement certain communications protocols supported in Windows... As a result of the Commission decision, we have incurred and will continue to incur duplicative development costs... The commission ruling obligates Microsoft to make available specifications for certain Windows communications protocol technologies on licensing terms that are closely regulted by the Commission. The availability of these licenses may enable competitors to develop software products that better mimic the functionality of Microsoft's own products which could result in a reduction of sales of our products...
We believe our integrated approach to delivery of product innovation benefits consumers and business. Current or future government regularory efforts may hinder our ability to provide these benefits reducting the attractiveness of our products and the revenues that come from them."

I had never heard of this decision, but now that I know of it, I feel it is absolutely heinous. The European Commission has effectively taken the liberty of stealing Microsoft's technology and distributing it to other, less able competitors. This is only the shadow, however, of the statist socialism that has already enveloped Europe. I already see ominous parallels in our Democratic party in their willingness to regulate any aspect of business they can get their hands on. The lawsuits brought against Microsoft's "monopolistic practices" further illustrate this point. It all disgusts me. The next quotation hits closer to home:

"Generally accepted accounting principles and accompanying accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations for many aspects of our business, such as revenue recognition for software, accounting for financial instruments, and treatment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets, are highly complex and involve subjective judgments. Changes in these rules, their interpretation, or changes in our products or business could significantly change our reported earnings and operating income and could add significant volatility to those measures, without a compparable underlying change in cash flow from operations."

Basically, Microsoft has watered down the facts that the government makes accounting law in business so subjective that they don't know what they'll be hit with next; the government can even change the laws so as to hurt Microsoft's business--without any compensation, of course. Yet Microsoft doesn't outright decry these practices, nor does it even take a negative tone about it. Essentially, it stands by and gets raped financially by the governement simply because it is such a good business.

October 8th, 1am:

I just read an awesome article about homosexuality. What's even more surprising is where I read this article--in Time, a news magazine with a fairly liberal slant. What was so awesome about the article was that it truly enveloped the totality of the story in terms of politics, as well as social dynamics. To be clearer, it criticized objectively (i.e., with facts and studies) both the juvenile liberal midset that homosexuals are just another downtrodden, oppressed minority and the antediluvian conservative mindset that homosexuals need reparative therapy. What's more, there was a "third party" opinion of sorts that eschewed both of those wrongminded views, one that I agree with--that homosexuals just want to be normal people. They do not wish to stagnate in their former "oppression" nor be "repaired." Furthermore, we like being gay! And our society is coming to like it too.

What's more, Cornell professor Ritch Savin, head of the Human Development dept (which my friend Wendy's in), wrote the book that the article seems to center on--The New Gay Teenager. I love Cornell. (Even if I got fucked over on its Chem prelim.)

October 7th:

I thought I got an 80 on my Chem prelim. Well, in Evan's mathematically-deluded world, the concept that 80=61 must be a fundamental tautology.

Fuckkk. I thought I did so much better! I sadly believed that I got all 15 points on a gas-solid equilibrium problem, but I got almost none. And a lot of points shaved off on the others questions on which I thought I did well. This really kinda sucks, but I'll have to better next time. The class average was a 74, so I'm about C range. Maybe C-. That is not good. This asshole right in front of me got a 99. I hate him so much right now. He's such an arrogant ass, too, going out of his way to seem exasperated with the facility of the class for him. I should stop venting, though, and get to effing French class.

I thought I got an 80 on my Chem prelim. Well, in Evan's mathematically-deluded world, the concept that 80=61 must be a fundamental tautology.

Fuckkk. I thought I did so much better! I sadly believed that I got all 15 points on a gas-solid equilibrium problem, but I got almost none. And a lot of points shaved off on the others questions on which I thought I did well. This really kinda sucks, but I'll have to better next time. The class average was a 74, so I'm about C range. Maybe C-. That is not good. This asshole right in front of me got a 99. I hate him so much right now. He's such an arrogant ass, too, going out of his way to seem exasperated with the facility of the class for him. I should stop venting, though, and get to effing French class.

I got a 93 on my Math prelim! I beat out my 2 floormates taking the class, who got an 85 and an 87 mwhaha. I have a French test tomorrow and a Chem prelim on Thursday. (Prelim=Cornell's pretentious word for a test.) I'm not really worried too much about the French test; but the Chem prelim is going to be hard. I need to study more and (perhaps) attend office hours... the amount of work I have now is very conducive to being athletic (Running Club), being social (parties, Fag 4, etc.), fulfilling extracurricular duties well (managing editor of an all-features magazine, history editor for yearbook), and succeeding academically (getting A's). So I'm happy I dropped that class, ultimately.

I have an appt at 11am on Thursday to meet with the Biochem guy in the Ag School. I also have been thinking about where I want to live next year. I think I'll either: be an RA on North or live in an apt in Collegetown/Gun Hill. I want to have a car here next year so that maybe I can get a good job as a waiter. It's so early to be thinking about this, I know, but it's really necessary.