Updates.

Now that I'm all settled with my new toy, I thought I'd upload some blurry pictures.


Thai restaurant in Plano. Yeauz @ Plano!

Thai food in Plano.

Cheng, the big Asian square. (jeebus!) I visited Cheng on the way to austin and stole some Nutri-Grain bars, which he has a lot of, and which is the only reason I stop by. I'm still trying to figure out what he does with baby wipes.

Often at SURGe meetings, SmurtzRanjan will do nothing but play games. Here he is playing Fancy Pants (see here). This would have been acceptable, except that he kept bouncing around a damn shell the entire time. I felt like jamming my pen through his shoulder, but I figured eternal damnation on the web would be worse.

Over winter break, I listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons repeatedly, and developed this strong affinity for it, especially the first Summer movement. What's great about* it is not just the speed or the control that is demanded by the piece for the main melody, but the intricate harmony is not only difficult to follow, but rewarding to able to distinguish.

It's a challenge in itself, not only artistically, but computationally as well. In the back of all physicists minds, there is satisfaction to be derived from being able to have that much more awareness about aural fourier transform mechanisms - after all, isn't that what you do when you pick out that subtle harmony?

Kickaess*!

My recommendation - Summer, First Movement (Allegro), 75% of full volume on whatever you're listening to. Overwhelming at first, but ultimately cleansing. One of my wishes (or goals) is to attend a Four Seasons concert, sit up close and let the strings work their magic. These concertos can be judged by the amount of thinly spread rosin over the stage. I sound like a hippie, but the difference is, I don't plan on using recreational drugs in the process.

*: Immediately after typing "What's great about", I thought of Dinesh D'Souza and one of his books. Sigh.