A Whole Host of Goodies Before I Leave for Boston

I'm leaving tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 4 am) for Boston for MIT's Campus Preview Weekend (CPW). As such, I'd like to fill my blog with exciting goodies for you before I depart. Enjoy!

"Chariots of Fire" Music Video

Here's the official music video for Chariots of Fire. Notice that it's performed entirely by one person. He plays one instrument, records it, and then records himself on another instrument while listening to the previous recording. He plays all the parts, and the video does a nice job of showing him playing all the different instruments.



"Overture to Candide" Berlin Philharmonic Performance

Anybody who has played Overture to Candide can appreciate how amazingly fun it is, and anybody who hasn't can just check out the following video to get a feel. This is the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's rendition, and it's flawless. My favorite part is at 3:20 when all the flutes and oboes totally get into it and then the camera pans out right when it all explodes. Totally amazing!



R2D2 Remote Control Action Figure

ThinkGeek.com has done it again, this time featuring a small remote controlled R2D2 action figure with a lightsaber controller.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/8cd5/



Perfect Attendance Irony

You'll remember that I said I was going to be gone for CPW. That means I won't be at school this Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. That being said, let me share with you one of the essays I wrote to get into MIT.

No admission application can meet the needs of every individual. If you think that additional information or material will give us a more thorough impression of you, please respond on separate sheets.

The year was 1995. My dad drug me into the living room and practically strapped me down to watch TV. I had no idea what was going on but my dad kept saying "You are about to see history -- just watch, you'll thank me later." I went on to watch, at the time quite unwillingly, some guy named Cal Ripken play a baseball game. Yay. Woo-hoo. "Does he have to hit a home run? Does he have to get on base? Does he have to get struck out? What does he have to do?" I remember asking. My dad's reply? "He just has to play." That didn't quite do it for me, but I shut up when I saw the fireworks and the ticker tape, because that was cool.

In the next several days I began to understand. Cal Ripken was so devoted to what he did that he played 14 seasons, 2,131 games, of baseball without missing a single game. Cal Ripken became my hero. "Ok," I said to myself, "if he can do it so can I!" So it began, my dad's five little words spurring me on "He just has to play."

School would be my baseball, and I would not miss a day, no matter what. It began in kindergarten and has continued ever since. Not one skip, not one injury has held me back. Four very angry orthodontic receptionists, some very stubborn moments, and enduring high school bubonic plagues, (some of which I may have started, on accident of course, since I couldn't miss school!) are all obstacles overcome and feats accomplished in my quest. I e-mailed Cal Ripken, telling him my story, asking if he'd be willing to write a letter to the admissions committee over at MIT. He responded that although he was absolutely amazed by my feat and admitted to having a less than stellar academic attendance record himself, he was unable to write the recommendation.

Reactions to my streak vary from "Freak" to "Wh- you mean- huh?!? Since kinderg- Wow." People ask me why I do it, which elicits even more entertaining reactions. I do it because it can be done. Because dedication isn't always recorded by short term
achievements. Because anybody can get a 150 on the AMC and a 15 on the AIME if they study long enough. Anybody can take 15 AP tests and get 5's on all of them, it just takes a little studying, that's it. What I set out to do shaped my entire academic career, 12 going on 13 years of work. That's dedication, and whenever it gets hard or I wonder why I do it, I just think back to those five words: "He just has to play." Dedication, endurance, and having something to believe in.

Dedication only leads to more success and I plan to keep the streak alive through college. Some people have difficulties dealing with the challenges of higher education, I plan to use those challenges to propel myself upward.

Inspiration leads to dedication, strive for excellence.

Q.E.D.

Are we seeing the irony? Perfect attendance got me into MIT but MIT destroyed my perfect attendance. Tomorrow will be the first day in 13 years that I've missed a day of school for something other than a required school field trip. 13 years of perfect attendance is over tomorrow, and it's sad.

"Yellow Submarine" Lego Music Video

'nuff said.

A Whole Host of Goodies Before I Leave for Boston

I'm leaving tomorrow morning (Wednesday, 4 am) for Boston for MIT's Campus Preview Weekend (CPW). As such, I'd like to fill my blog with exciting goodies for you before I depart. Enjoy!

"Chariots of Fire" Music Video

Here's the official music video for Chariots of Fire. Notice that it's performed entirely by one person. He plays one instrument, records it, and then records himself on another instrument while listening to the previous recording. He plays all the parts, and the video does a nice job of showing him playing all the different instruments.



"Overture to Candide" Berlin Philharmonic Performance

Anybody who has played Overture to Candide can appreciate how amazingly fun it is, and anybody who hasn't can just check out the following video to get a feel. This is the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's rendition, and it's flawless. My favorite part is at 3:20 when all the flutes and oboes totally get into it and then the camera pans out right when it all explodes. Totally amazing!



R2D2 Remote Control Action Figure

ThinkGeek.com has done it again, this time featuring a small remote controlled R2D2 action figure with a lightsaber controller.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/8cd5/



Perfect Attendance Irony

You'll remember that I said I was going to be gone for CPW. That means I won't be at school this Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. That being said, let me share with you one of the essays I wrote to get into MIT.

No admission application can meet the needs of every individual. If you think that additional information or material will give us a more thorough impression of you, please respond on separate sheets.

The year was 1995. My dad drug me into the living room and practically strapped me down to watch TV. I had no idea what was going on but my dad kept saying "You are about to see history -- just watch, you'll thank me later." I went on to watch, at the time quite unwillingly, some guy named Cal Ripken play a baseball game. Yay. Woo-hoo. "Does he have to hit a home run? Does he have to get on base? Does he have to get struck out? What does he have to do?" I remember asking. My dad's reply? "He just has to play." That didn't quite do it for me, but I shut up when I saw the fireworks and the ticker tape, because that was cool.

In the next several days I began to understand. Cal Ripken was so devoted to what he did that he played 14 seasons, 2,131 games, of baseball without missing a single game. Cal Ripken became my hero. "Ok," I said to myself, "if he can do it so can I!" So it began, my dad's five little words spurring me on "He just has to play."

School would be my baseball, and I would not miss a day, no matter what. It began in kindergarten and has continued ever since. Not one skip, not one injury has held me back. Four very angry orthodontic receptionists, some very stubborn moments, and enduring high school bubonic plagues, (some of which I may have started, on accident of course, since I couldn't miss school!) are all obstacles overcome and feats accomplished in my quest. I e-mailed Cal Ripken, telling him my story, asking if he'd be willing to write a letter to the admissions committee over at MIT. He responded that although he was absolutely amazed by my feat and admitted to having a less than stellar academic attendance record himself, he was unable to write the recommendation.

Reactions to my streak vary from "Freak" to "Wh- you mean- huh?!? Since kinderg- Wow." People ask me why I do it, which elicits even more entertaining reactions. I do it because it can be done. Because dedication isn't always recorded by short term
achievements. Because anybody can get a 150 on the AMC and a 15 on the AIME if they study long enough. Anybody can take 15 AP tests and get 5's on all of them, it just takes a little studying, that's it. What I set out to do shaped my entire academic career, 12 going on 13 years of work. That's dedication, and whenever it gets hard or I wonder why I do it, I just think back to those five words: "He just has to play." Dedication, endurance, and having something to believe in.

Dedication only leads to more success and I plan to keep the streak alive through college. Some people have difficulties dealing with the challenges of higher education, I plan to use those challenges to propel myself upward.

Inspiration leads to dedication, strive for excellence.

Q.E.D.

Are we seeing the irony? Perfect attendance got me into MIT but MIT destroyed my perfect attendance. Tomorrow will be the first day in 13 years that I've missed a day of school for something other than a required school field trip. 13 years of perfect attendance is over tomorrow, and it's sad.

"Yellow Submarine" Lego Music Video

'nuff said.

Thank God They've Finally Done It!!!

This is earth shattering news ladies and gentlemen. They have finally developed the perfect recipe for a bacon sandwich. Using scientific testing and large panels of taste testers scientists have developed not only the perfect recipe but also an equation that leads to the perfect sandwich. Here is the article and the recipe:

SCIENTISTS believe they have come up with a formula to create the perfect bacon buttie.

The two most important aspects are crispiness and crunchiness, according to a new study.

It revealed the crunching sound while eating rashers should ideally measure 0.5 decibels.

They should also break when 0.4 Newtons of force is applied through chewing, the researchers said.

Butties were tested using a high-tech computer that measures food texture, while panels of 50 volunteers judged the butties for taste, texture and flavour.

Four scientists at Leeds University spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variations of the traditional bacon buttie.

Variants included: different types and cuts of bacon (smoked, unsmoked, streaky, thick cut); cooking techniques (frying, grilling, oven cooking or microwaving); types of oil (sunflower, olive, vegetable); and a range of cooking times at different temperatures.

Dr Graham Clayton, who led the research team, said: "We often think that it's the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive.

"But our research proves that texture and sound is just, if not more, important."

British households spend more than £1bn on bacon every year and it remains the UK's most frequently eaten meat.

The Formula
N = C + {fb(cm) . fb(tc)} + fb(Ts) + fc . ta

N = force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon.
fb = function of the bacon type.
fc = function of the condiment/filling effect.
Ts = serving temperature.
tc = cooking time.
ta = time or duration of application of condiment/filling.
cm = cooking method.
C = Newtons required to break uncooked bacon.

Thank God They've Finally Done It!!!

This is earth shattering news ladies and gentlemen. They have finally developed the perfect recipe for a bacon sandwich. Using scientific testing and large panels of taste testers scientists have developed not only the perfect recipe but also an equation that leads to the perfect sandwich. Here is the article and the recipe:

SCIENTISTS believe they have come up with a formula to create the perfect bacon buttie.

The two most important aspects are crispiness and crunchiness, according to a new study.

It revealed the crunching sound while eating rashers should ideally measure 0.5 decibels.

They should also break when 0.4 Newtons of force is applied through chewing, the researchers said.

Butties were tested using a high-tech computer that measures food texture, while panels of 50 volunteers judged the butties for taste, texture and flavour.

Four scientists at Leeds University spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variations of the traditional bacon buttie.

Variants included: different types and cuts of bacon (smoked, unsmoked, streaky, thick cut); cooking techniques (frying, grilling, oven cooking or microwaving); types of oil (sunflower, olive, vegetable); and a range of cooking times at different temperatures.

Dr Graham Clayton, who led the research team, said: "We often think that it's the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive.

"But our research proves that texture and sound is just, if not more, important."

British households spend more than £1bn on bacon every year and it remains the UK's most frequently eaten meat.

The Formula
N = C + {fb(cm) . fb(tc)} + fb(Ts) + fc . ta

N = force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon.
fb = function of the bacon type.
fc = function of the condiment/filling effect.
Ts = serving temperature.
tc = cooking time.
ta = time or duration of application of condiment/filling.
cm = cooking method.
C = Newtons required to break uncooked bacon.

Easter and Speech Team

Let's start with Easter. I have a fun little Easter story for ya. 19 years ago my dad proposed to my mom, and he proposed on Easter. "I wanted to propose on a holiday so we'd always remember when I proposed!" My mom's response? "Um, honey, you do know that Easter changes every year, right?"

"Shoot."

Ok, that being said, let's talk about speech team.

This last Saturday, 4/7/07, was speech team districts. I went in two events, expository speaking (8 minutes memorized, visuals, informative) and impromptu (Pick one of three topics, 30 second prep, 5 minute speech). Impromptu was kind of a cool deal because since I'd already gotten 1st or 2nd at two other tournaments all I had to do was compete and I automatically qualified for state. Expos (pronounced éx-pause) was a different story. There were 6 people at districts competing for 2 spots to state. A bunch of things happened at districts, some good, and some bad. We'll start with the bad so I can finish off with the good news. Here's the bad news. I've won three tournaments with my expos, which normally would automatically qualify me for state (just like impromptu), but due to some unfortunate circumstances, only one of those tournaments counted towards my state qualifying. Therefore, I had to qualify at districts. There were two rounds with two judges each. Each judge gives you a rank from 1st place to 6th place, and the two people with the lowest combined scores goes to state.

My first expos round went beautifully. I delivered my speech the best I had. Several of my teammates thought I'd gotten the two 1's from the first round. The second round was similar, the judges were really engaged in my speech and I performed it with no mistakes and very smoothly. I thought I was fine, I just needed to wait for awards. Awards came, and they anounced expos. I got third place. . . out of six. . . and didn't qualify for state, and I was MAD. I'd never come in third, ever, not even in a round, for the entire season. Then, after I'd delivered my best speech in state qualifiers, I got third place. Here are my ballots:

Ballot 1
Ballot 2
Ballot 3
Ballot 4

You'll notice that there was nothing negative mentioned, yet I kept getting third place! It's frustrating, I at least wanted a reason as to why I got third, but I got nothing but compliments. Here's what they say:

• Humorous opening/interesting topic
• Good hand gestures
• Clear points w/ transitions
• simple and effective use of visuals
• Nice jacket
• Nice speaking style
• Good visual aids
• Good gestures
• Super Clever!
• Very cool! This is the first time I have understood binary.
• Intro engages audience
• You do a great job breaking down a complex topic into understandable pieces
• Great visual aids
• Good use of humor
• Pace and enunciation - excellent

If it was so good, why didn't I qualify?! I WANT REASONS! Overall, very unhappy. I still get to go to state in Impromptu, but that wasn't the event I was aiming for, so I'm still upset. LAME!

Now, for the happy/more exciting parts of districts.

The Wall Talkers
We were all settled in to the commons area when another speech team arrived. 30 seconds later I looked up and glanced down a hallway. Now, it's not uncommon to see a person or two talking to a wall at speech tournaments because that's how a lot of people practice. For some reason, this particular scene struck me as entertaining. All down the hallway were people talking to walls. I quick whipped out the camera phone so that I could share the scene with yall. Here it is:



See! Wall talkers!

iPod
Ok, this wasn't fun, but it was interesting and slightly crazy. Here's the story, I had my iPod nano hooked up to some speakers so that we could all listen. The song we were listening to was about to end, so I reached over to change it. Right as my finger was about a millimeter away from the iPod, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and shocked me. It was a big shock, apparently big enough to shock my right shoulder, travel through my body and exit out of my left finger. . . into my iPod. The speakers made a huge crackling noise and the iPod just stopped playing music. The next thing I notice is the screen. This is what the screen looked like before the shock:



This is what it looked like after the shock:




Notice that the screen a) is lighter b) has developed a split personality. On the left was the song it was playing before it was zapped. On the right was the main menu, which you could still scroll through, but was utterly useless because you couldn't see the writing on the left!

Nobody could believe what had happened, we were all stunned. Everybody was laughing, even me, only my laugh was a bit more concerned because I thought my iPod was toast. Who would have ever thought that a simple shock from somebody's finger could travel from one arm, through my body, and out my other arm into my iPod, screwing it up that badly?! It's almost impossible! Luckily, after I reset it (held Menu and the center button) it returned to normal. Crisis neutralized.

Fácil Button
We've all seen the commercials with the Staples "Easy Button", yes? Well, in one of the classrooms where people were giving speeches was one such button, sitting on a desk, except it was a little bit different. It was in spanish! It was a Fácil Button! I didn't get a picture of it, but I did find a picture of it online. This is exactly what it looked like:



Isn't that awesome?! We were all very fascinated by it.

Chariots of Fire
Ok, last story from speech team. We were listening to my iPod and people discovered that I had "Chariots of Fire" on it, so we played it. Now, no matter what it is, if it's in slow motion and there's Chariots of Fire music playing, it automatically becomes really cool. Sooooooo, we of course, started doing stuff in slow motion. Truman grabbed a piece of pizza and ate it in slow motion, shaking his fist in slow motion in the air in celebration of his Italian delicacy. Then he started combing his hair in slow motion while other people were cheering and hugging in slo-mo. All in all, very fun, and recommended. Just, you know, get a group of friends together and do stuff in slow motion with Chariots of Fire in the background.

ONE LAST STORY
MIT has blogs that the admissions staff write in, in order to give prospective students a better feel for what MIT is like. The people that write these blogs are the people that choose who gets in. That being said, I'd like to refer you to the following entry:

http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/some_cpw_thoughts.shtml

Yes, the staff dreams about me. Hm.

Easter and Speech Team

Let's start with Easter. I have a fun little Easter story for ya. 19 years ago my dad proposed to my mom, and he proposed on Easter. "I wanted to propose on a holiday so we'd always remember when I proposed!" My mom's response? "Um, honey, you do know that Easter changes every year, right?"

"Shoot."

Ok, that being said, let's talk about speech team.

This last Saturday, 4/7/07, was speech team districts. I went in two events, expository speaking (8 minutes memorized, visuals, informative) and impromptu (Pick one of three topics, 30 second prep, 5 minute speech). Impromptu was kind of a cool deal because since I'd already gotten 1st or 2nd at two other tournaments all I had to do was compete and I automatically qualified for state. Expos (pronounced éx-pause) was a different story. There were 6 people at districts competing for 2 spots to state. A bunch of things happened at districts, some good, and some bad. We'll start with the bad so I can finish off with the good news. Here's the bad news. I've won three tournaments with my expos, which normally would automatically qualify me for state (just like impromptu), but due to some unfortunate circumstances, only one of those tournaments counted towards my state qualifying. Therefore, I had to qualify at districts. There were two rounds with two judges each. Each judge gives you a rank from 1st place to 6th place, and the two people with the lowest combined scores goes to state.

My first expos round went beautifully. I delivered my speech the best I had. Several of my teammates thought I'd gotten the two 1's from the first round. The second round was similar, the judges were really engaged in my speech and I performed it with no mistakes and very smoothly. I thought I was fine, I just needed to wait for awards. Awards came, and they anounced expos. I got third place. . . out of six. . . and didn't qualify for state, and I was MAD. I'd never come in third, ever, not even in a round, for the entire season. Then, after I'd delivered my best speech in state qualifiers, I got third place. Here are my ballots:

Ballot 1
Ballot 2
Ballot 3
Ballot 4

You'll notice that there was nothing negative mentioned, yet I kept getting third place! It's frustrating, I at least wanted a reason as to why I got third, but I got nothing but compliments. Here's what they say:

• Humorous opening/interesting topic
• Good hand gestures
• Clear points w/ transitions
• simple and effective use of visuals
• Nice jacket
• Nice speaking style
• Good visual aids
• Good gestures
• Super Clever!
• Very cool! This is the first time I have understood binary.
• Intro engages audience
• You do a great job breaking down a complex topic into understandable pieces
• Great visual aids
• Good use of humor
• Pace and enunciation - excellent

If it was so good, why didn't I qualify?! I WANT REASONS! Overall, very unhappy. I still get to go to state in Impromptu, but that wasn't the event I was aiming for, so I'm still upset. LAME!

Now, for the happy/more exciting parts of districts.

The Wall Talkers
We were all settled in to the commons area when another speech team arrived. 30 seconds later I looked up and glanced down a hallway. Now, it's not uncommon to see a person or two talking to a wall at speech tournaments because that's how a lot of people practice. For some reason, this particular scene struck me as entertaining. All down the hallway were people talking to walls. I quick whipped out the camera phone so that I could share the scene with yall. Here it is:



See! Wall talkers!

iPod
Ok, this wasn't fun, but it was interesting and slightly crazy. Here's the story, I had my iPod nano hooked up to some speakers so that we could all listen. The song we were listening to was about to end, so I reached over to change it. Right as my finger was about a millimeter away from the iPod, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and shocked me. It was a big shock, apparently big enough to shock my right shoulder, travel through my body and exit out of my left finger. . . into my iPod. The speakers made a huge crackling noise and the iPod just stopped playing music. The next thing I notice is the screen. This is what the screen looked like before the shock:



This is what it looked like after the shock:




Notice that the screen a) is lighter b) has developed a split personality. On the left was the song it was playing before it was zapped. On the right was the main menu, which you could still scroll through, but was utterly useless because you couldn't see the writing on the left!

Nobody could believe what had happened, we were all stunned. Everybody was laughing, even me, only my laugh was a bit more concerned because I thought my iPod was toast. Who would have ever thought that a simple shock from somebody's finger could travel from one arm, through my body, and out my other arm into my iPod, screwing it up that badly?! It's almost impossible! Luckily, after I reset it (held Menu and the center button) it returned to normal. Crisis neutralized.

Fácil Button
We've all seen the commercials with the Staples "Easy Button", yes? Well, in one of the classrooms where people were giving speeches was one such button, sitting on a desk, except it was a little bit different. It was in spanish! It was a Fácil Button! I didn't get a picture of it, but I did find a picture of it online. This is exactly what it looked like:



Isn't that awesome?! We were all very fascinated by it.

Chariots of Fire
Ok, last story from speech team. We were listening to my iPod and people discovered that I had "Chariots of Fire" on it, so we played it. Now, no matter what it is, if it's in slow motion and there's Chariots of Fire music playing, it automatically becomes really cool. Sooooooo, we of course, started doing stuff in slow motion. Truman grabbed a piece of pizza and ate it in slow motion, shaking his fist in slow motion in the air in celebration of his Italian delicacy. Then he started combing his hair in slow motion while other people were cheering and hugging in slo-mo. All in all, very fun, and recommended. Just, you know, get a group of friends together and do stuff in slow motion with Chariots of Fire in the background.

ONE LAST STORY
MIT has blogs that the admissions staff write in, in order to give prospective students a better feel for what MIT is like. The people that write these blogs are the people that choose who gets in. That being said, I'd like to refer you to the following entry:

http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/some_cpw_thoughts.shtml

Yes, the staff dreams about me. Hm.

We've Got a Catapult in the Works

So our engineering project is to design and build catapult. This is our catapult in the works. Nothing is screwed or secured, but this is the rough shape. Surgical tubing will be stretched between the towers and the swing arm will be pulled back against the tubing. Our little pulley thing will be used to pull down the swing-arm. I don't feel like typing a whole lot more, just because I'm lazy and I hurt one of my fingers, sorry. Enjoy the picture!