d:  Im voting you out of the suite
m: what?!d:  yeah.  we need more space.  you can live in the hall.
m: but.. why not scott?
d:  scott provides all the furnishing in the common room.  the tv, the vcr..
m: oh.  ..am I the weakest link?
d:  you are.  goodbye.

Comments: 0 Posted by michael on 4 April 2001 at 11:34 PM

Yesterday was the big ACM Programming Contest.  It did not go as expected.  The problem that Joe came up with was so large that no one actually finished in the allotted time.  Consequently, the deadline for submitting a solution has been extended to 11:59pm Friday.  I wonder if anyone will actual submit something.

In other nerdy, ACM-related news, I am going to buy a book about the Apache web server today.  Hopefully, I will learn enough from it to be able to move the ACM website to our new server (acm.wustl.edu) later this week.  I hope all of the CGI stuff transfers over with no trouble.  I'm guessing I'll have to edit all the scripts to point to the new address, though.

Chris tells me that the 431 lab takes less than an hour to do, so I'm going to get some lunch and work on that for part of the afternoon.  Then I'll go buy the Apache book at the Library, Ltd.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 3 April 2001 at 1:21 PM

I went running for the first time this semester.  I ran from my dorm (Nemerov, if you care)over to Forsyth, down to Skinker, over to Wydown and then walked back up to the 40.  I think I heaved up my lungs somewhere around the corner of Skinker and Forsyth.  I probably could have run a bit further, but my (brand-new Visor plugin) MP3 player switched to a rather downbeat song right when I turned onto Wydown, and I lost all motivation to continue running.  When I next go running (either tomorrow of Tuesday, depending on how long the programming contest takes tomorrow night) I'll load some very fast-tempo punk songs onto the MP3 player and see if I can go a bit further.

Chris Hill says you should visit AlexChiu.com.  "It is highly recommended."  I think he just wants to steal the Alex Chiu Immortality Device we will receive for free once forty people click on our link to AlexChiu.com.  (Please click.  I want to live forever.)

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 2 April 2001 at 1:11 AM

I spent that vast majority of this weekend hanging out (and evaluating) eleven high school freshman who were competing for about $16,000 (per year) of scholarship money (all eleven were guaranteed half tuition, but only six will get full-tuition plus a stipend).  I had a really great time hanging out with the finalists, and I didn't have to use my meal plan all weekend (until this afternoon, I hadn't used my meal plan since Thursday around breakfast time -- you know, about 3:30pm).  Anyway, on Saturday the contestants had to do a group project and I was one of the eight students who had to rank them based on how they worked in a group (my vote was 1/28th of the overall tally for who gets the scholarship).  It was really tough to rank them.  Especially since I got the impression they were all a lot smarter than me.  Certainly smarter than I was as a high school senior.  I'm really curious to see who gets awarded Langsdorf (full-tuition) scholarships.

On Saturday night, all of the finalists plus all of the current scholarship holders -- about 40 in all -- went to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory on Laclede's Landing and then Rich Unger invited everyone over to Mr. Loft.  I played hearts with Chris Hill, Chris Hackmann, Miranda, a couple of the finalists, and a few others -- eight in all.  The rest of the merit people watched Tron, a movie I should probably rent at some point as its a computer move I've never seen.  Mr. Loft is very nice.  It's huge(5,000 sq. ft., most of which is in one big room), got a freight elevator, hardwood floors -- it's awesome.  Should you ever find yourself on the Mr. Loft mailing list (like me) and get invited to a party, you should definitely go.

Comments: 0 Posted by david on 1 April 2001 at 11:47 PM

I hate trying to post when theres nothing to post about.  Ive been typing and deleting things for the last ten minutes or so, actually, and I still havent come up with a suitable topic.  and I really should be cleaning my room right now, anyway, so maybe Ill just give up on this post and try again tomorrow.

incidentally, Im having trouble with my other website, too.  I am finding myself in something of an angst drought.  and consequently I just have nothing suitable to say.  I suppose I can fall back on things I wrote before, but that will only last so long, so I hope something bad happens to me soon.

Comments: 0 Posted by michael on 1 April 2001 at 6:05 PM

I bring tidings of great joy and happiness.  hear me, readers, for while channel surfing today, I discovered something wonderful.  it is all I can do to contain my excitement.  dave no doubt tires of my frequent glee-squeels and other such happy noises.  you see, my hero and mentor (and by mentor I mean "person Ive never met but would stalk if he lived closer") jhonen vasquez now has a cartoon.

I am incredibly lucky to have found it.  I knew he had mentioned working on some animation project, but that was a long long time ago, and I had forgotten all about it.  and then, as I flipped past nickelodeon, there it was.  they were showing a scene from the new show that was to premier next, and I couldnt believe it.  I knew it had to be jhonen's show.

and it was.  I could hardly sit still.  the creator of such comics as "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" and "SQEE!" now has his own cartoon.  and it is funny and good.  (also the art is excellent.  hes my hero.  seriously.)  it is called "Invader Zim."  it is on nickelodeon on fridays at 8:00 piem.  but theyre rerunning tonights episode tomorrow at 8:00, so you should all watch.

and yes, I know how it sounds.  it sounds like Ive just asked you to stay in on a saturday night and watch nickelodeon.  but it really is a good show.  really.  you can even ask dave.

Comments: 0 Posted by michael on 30 March 2001 at 9:05 PM