Passed!

Well, congratulations are in order to yours truly. I, as of Friday 5:45 EST, am officially a Ph.D. candidate here at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having passed the second and final set of qualifying exams. To that I will say both “woo” and “hoo”. This was a pretty eventful weekend for me. I hung out with all of my colleagues Friday and Saturday night and watched some movies. Castle in the Sky (Anime) on Friday, and Shaun of the Dead on Saturday. Quite pleasant actually. On Sunday, I attended a special church service at a church that I don’t normally go to. It was amazing. The speaker brought with him a violinist who might have been the best performing violinist I have ever seen. I used to find the violin irritating, but for sometime before this I had warmed up to it. This guy, however, was incredible. I was late, and missed a few of his pieces, but his music touched me in a way that music without lyrics never has. This is normally the part where I say something funny, but this was such an experience, that I don’t want to make fun of it. After his next to last piece, which brought me to tears, he said that if there was time he would like to do one more… a hymn he had prepared. He was entirely soft spoken and modest always giving credit to God for his abilities. By the fourth note of his last piece, I recognized the hymn he had arranged. It was “Holy, Holy, Holy” which, for reasons unknown to me, has been one of my favorite hymns since childhood. By the fifth note, my eyes widened in astonishment. My mind raced through childhood and memories until no thoughts could be produced at all. By the sixth note I was bawling like I had lost my mother. It was incredible. I can only hope that something so beautiful can touch everyone else so deeply, if for only one moment in their lives. For me this beautiful experience was tied intimately with my faith. I am glad that religious experience isn’t always linked to emotional experience, but I am glad that they are sometimes.

You may also notice that I have added a "song of the week" bar over to the side, up yonder. let me know what you think about that.

friday.

Well the weekend is here and I have nothing to show for it. Maybe a certain J.K. will read this and say "hey! Charlie should come over this weekend and feed me digitaly" to which i would say... sure. Holy cold. It was about 15 degrees outside this morning. This seems alot worse if you are a dumb kid on a scooter going 30. Here are some thumbnails of my scooter...

Mine is the silver and green one (obviously) and you can tell that it is similar to the honda metropolitan II that it is parked next to. They're like fraternal twins baby.
Thankfully i just got a new helmet that sheilds my entire face from the wind. Thankfully this helmet has an anti-fog coating on the shield. Its pretty amazing.
I can't win with this scooter. I tried to tell some girl about it, and she thought that i was talking about the kind that you pump with your leg, or a razor scooter but with a motor. Stuff like that exist, but thats not what I have. Anyway, her confused picture caused many minutes of laughing enjoyment for her at my expense. Anyway, Im peacing out. God be with Iraq this sunday.

what to do.

I guess its not that I don't have anything to do. Its just that I know what I want to do next and I can't do it. All this being work related that is. So here I am wasting away my time on my blog. I will go to the gym soon. that will be nice. I guess I will get on that then.

this isn't real, but it is pretty funny.

proof that bush loves the devil.

i mean... need I say more? Nah, I just think bush likes to ROCK!!!!

its no longer grover's birthday... tonight!

So now the song doesn't play automatically. But, now that I have the power to put both pictures and songs on the website, I only lack the ability to put video. Im sure that it is not that hard. I can only guess that world domination is soon to follow. I hope that this power doesn't go to my head. I might start to upload a song of the day. the possibilities are few. Today is an uninspired day for the most part. Certainly nothing like last monday. Anyway, i don't want this day to be a total loss. Therefore I will be working forthwith. post haste. Sic semper tyranus.

Its Grover's Birthday tonight!

this song is all that is awesome about metal. and Grover.
Check the Housexor link to see and hear all we did for our beloved grover!

Crisis in Sudan

I saw a sign today that said " Stop Genocide in Sudan". I really have to question the placement of the sign. Im not sure that many sudanese opressors are going to see it here on UNC's campus inside the campus YMCA. (aww com'on. that joke KILLS in Sudan.) The "campus Y", I might add, is quite a misnomer. Not only is it not primarily a "Young Men's Christian Association", but neither is it a place where one can "work out". Rather, it is a convienience store where one can buy all sorts of candy, soda and until recently, cigarettes. It also, aparently, is a good location to encourage worldwide justice. Now, I'm just as cynical as the next guy. You might even say a smidgen more at times. But, how, do you suppose, did this sign suggest to end the genocide? By stopping it. hmmmm... Why didn't I think of that? I have to wonder though... How does the creator of the sign think that we should stop the genocide in Sudan? Should someone fight for the oppressed? I wonder.

Oh! the work...

Woke up late today.

I guess I can still afford to do that every once in a while. The funny thing is that I am actually doing real work now, and I would prefer to get a full day in! Upon re-reading that last statement I question its comical value. At any rate, its tuesday and that means that I am here at Duke U. Or Dook as we lovingly refer to it as Tar Heels. Just wakin up and getting ready to work the day away. I am pretty excited about the stuff that I did yesterday... I mean... I was celebrating civil rights.
I would tell all of my faithful blog reader (thats not a typo) about the "exciting" things that I am doing here, but that would just make you want to kill yourself with bored agony. And you have a family to support. So suffice to say-- I love black people! Show me the money!

Titan Beotch!

Ok so as the resident physicist I have to show an interest in Big Astronomy stories or I will face death by killing. Aparently a space exploration group in Europe sent a probe to land on Titan; one of Saturn's moons. Along with the probe they attached to it a Sony Erricson Camera Phone

Not really, but my camera phone takes pictures better than that. But Im not here to critisize. Where's my space probe, right? Im sure very soon they will be sending back better and better photos.
Today I cleaned my room.

It was nice to get somethings organized and combine a lot of junk into a box that I will store for eternity for no good reason.
Soon I am off to a snooty coffee shop or food market or something to read or listen to music. Tonight I will swing dance and proabably have a generally good time. My life couldn't be any more me.

Album of the day!

Reliant K. MMHMM

I bought this amazing album yesterday on the recomendation of one jesse K. This album is fantastic. Take Coldplay, Ben folds, NOFX, MxPx, and kill them... because this band is better than all of them. If you like things like good music when you are listening to music then you will like this album. If you don't like this album then you proabably should stop breathing because you are wasting my precious air.

I will still reiterate that Zao's "the Funeral of God" is perhaps the best metal album i've enjoyed in a while.

What a day. Lots of sleep last night didn't make me feel much better. I've had less drama in a day, but thats what I get.

One of these days I will get serious about working. For now, I'm gonna just play squash and go to class and be my confrontational, fustias, exuberent, cuddly self.

Just close your eyes till daylight comes...

Currently listening to: Brave Saint Saturn
I am finally starting to get a sense of the amount of work that I have to do this semester. It’s a trite daunting. I have one Nuclear Physics class, full time research expectations, as well as extra-curricular activities like Bible study and eating. Sleeping may very well have to take a hiatus this semester. But I probably say that every semester. Well my cries went answered and I got my “links” jank. My new cry is this: How do I get rid of this stupid underlining of everything? I am listening for suggestions. Maybe I should just break down and learn some html. Nah…
So here is the new Charlie’s blog poll: What is the best adjective to describe Charlie? Consider that you only get one word so it could be about appearance, personality, etc.
I await your responses with …um… something.

Booksxor!

So I just started and finished reading "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" By Phillip K. Dick. It is actually a really good read if you like science fiction at all. It’s funny... I don't consider myself a sci-fi nerd. I don't particularly like star trek. I've never cared to play D&D. In fact I might even be known to hold a certain amount of contempt for sci-fi nerds. But I have an appreciation for sci-fi and fantasy. I guess I’m a sci-fi snob. I am also currently reading Dune (I think I previously mentioned).
Now, until someone will please tell me how to do it, I must resort to putting this link here:
http://housexor.blogspot.com/
and that is pronounced "house-xor"
This is a community site between me and my old roommates and it is freaking hilarious. My old roommates had a little fun with a picture of me, and I would like to take this opportunity and thank them for the time and effort that they put into these pics. The star wars one is especially funny, (I love the added hair braid), but the Garfield and friends does Dallas one is my personal favorite. For those of you who don’t know, it is an inside joke referencing my college radio days. At any rate, enjoy the pictures at my expense.

Today I am at school. It is the first day of classes, and I am, as seen here, busy at my desk furiously solving the riddles of the universe…and writing this blog… also. Both. Simultaneously. I also want to give a shout out to Jesse K. He will show up in the links bar soon to be appearing when I figure it out.

Mowidge.

Well super congratualtions to one Ms. Kelly Johnson on her engagement! One less fish in the sea only improves my odds right? This week is going by slowly for me. Not too much to complain about, only that I wish it were thursday instead of tuesday. I find that when bored, I don't behave constructively unless I really try. While I could be reading or researching or working out or cleaning, I prefer to pace around and do nothing. Don't ask me why. There is no good reason. To be fair to myself, I have been going to the gym with some regularity of late. I did not make a resolution to do so (or any resolutions for that matter) but I have been going and finding it to be enjoyable. I would wager that I would go even more if I had a partner to go with me. I'll bet I could get in shape if I went more... and ate better. Then again, I always was a betting man. I found out that my phone can take ~better pictures. then I can edit them....

The possibilities are numerable.

Well well well.

Well, I want to learn how to add a 'Links' section to my sidebar over here. I have noticed that just about everybody and their brother has one but me. Thanks a lot easy push button publishing. Anyway, I just had myself a nap that lasted too long, and boy are my arms tired. I am thinking about taking an inventory of my life. The thought crossed my mind today that I probably have so much stuff that I don't even know that I have, or that I would be surprised by the shear quantity of useless stuff that I have. Also, it would be a good time for me to throw out / sell anything that is not wanted. It would be hard to know where to begin.
I am finding that writing begets writing. I am feeling more and more inspired to write more things. Some verse, and some letters are all I have really written, but I think about short stories, songs, books, etc.
I have begun recently to read Dune. I finally had person #2005 tell me that I should read it, and besides, when a book proclaims itself as "Science fiction's Supreme Masterpiece", it seems it'd be hard to go wrong. I am only 25 pages into this ~500 pager, but I'll give you the cliff notes version so that you don't have to read for yourself. So far, there is a hero, who should have been a girl, and a villian who pisses off his servant and vice versa. There's more to it, but I'm not really going to do that.
Adios.

OMGLOLBBQ!

Does anyone else hate IM abrevs? Just me? ok. I am at work and I am so freaking bored. My advisor contacted other people today and wanted them to contact me to tell me that I should come in and work here at Duke. Well guess what. I am here, and he is not and I can't find the people that he wanted me to work with today so I'm just wasting valuable time. Well my time is not that valuable. But it is still unpleasent. I just feel like I am spinning my wheels here. I sometimes (like now) feel like I don't know what I am doing here and like I don't know what I want to do with my life. It doesn't help that I can't shake this sickness. Its making me feel down all the time. Boo hoo. Well, im gonna go fall asleep while operating Heavy nuclear machinery.

Next time I see you, I'll give you a wave.

Did you hear about this tsunami? I predict that this will be big. Actually, I heard that they are still finding some survivors, and that yesterday they saved a couple of rare dolphins. I would have saved those dolphins too... saved them for dinner. I mean seriously. I bet the dolphins caused the whole thing. They have been waiting to attack us for a while now.
A lot of people are probably trying to sort out the religious implications of the tsunami. The best one that I heard was that God sent the tsunami beacuse of his displeasure at American tourists in the area. Now, I understand that efficiency isn't a necessary atribute of God, but killing 150,000 muslims to kill 50 Americans seems... like a stretch. Now, surprisingly, this was a Muslim cleric that came up with this theory. I mean come on muslim cleric. I don't claim to have the enlightend view of what this tragedy means, but you are dumb. I think tragedy reminds people that there is something out there that is bigger than themselves. That as much as they want to, they can't control everything in thier lives. People always want to blame God when tragedys occur, but don't give a thought to God durring prosperity. more to come...

That's what you get.

Well, so much for the "new way". You know? you try something one way... it fails... you try it again (perhaps the first time was a fluke) it fails. So you learn. You analyze which parts of your approach weren't good. You change... you fail. That is what you get when you try to apply the scientific method to girls, and I will tell you why. Girls are nothing like nature. Part of physics and science and all we assume about nature is the assumption that if i perform an experiment "here", and perform the same experiement "there", the outcome will be the same. Women are non-linear systems at best. Which means this... They are chaotic, random, and some of them are pretty. Well im just sucking on sour grapes now. Boo hoo. Poor charlie. Time for plan D.

Sick sick sick.

Well, I am officially sick. I mean i guess. If you count barfing a few times, then yes. And to make matters better, I am at work. Well, calling what I do work might offend some. But I am at Duke at my desk with lots of work potential. Something must have happend to me on new years. I was around a lot of strangers and smoke, so that might have something to do with my cough. I don't remember coughing this bad for a while. You know, the kind where it feels like someone is belt sanding your lungs... Anyway, I am glad to be getting back in the swing of things. I hope to be full on ready when school starts. Its hard to be so optimistic when you are feeling so ill. I thought about drawing a picture in paint about how sick i feel, but alas, my computer doesn't have paint. Who knows why? And you can forget about drawing in photoshop. Lets hope that this passes.
Peace.

Mixing Business and Pleather.

Well, its here. 2005 or 2KV for you hip latin users. I am back in Chapel Hill, and the weather is beautiul. Nothing like going from a foot of snow to 60 degree days. These are strange times. Well as promised I have crappy camera phone pics for you. One is of my parents.

They are looking good to me for a couple of 60 year olds.(heh heh).
Looks like i might not be publishing any more schminegan's dimention for a while... at least until i can find a simple and reliable way to get them into a computer. I may try a hand at computer drawing them, but we'll see.

Recently I had the oportunity to go to a UNC basketball game. Two of them in fact.

I got pretty good seats thanks to my roomate's girlfriend. Kevin F. went to one with me, and my neighbor went to the other. They were fun. In each one we won like 100 to 50. UNC's B-ball team is pretty good this year.
For new years I went to a little place in raleigh called Ri-Ra's. It was a fancy pub with a cover band that played all night. It was quite nice in fact.
Tomorrow will be my debut back to school. This semester my rich father will come back to college with me, join the diving team, do the tripple lindy, date a professer while getting the best of her snobby boyfriend... Man! that would make a great movie... if only Rodney Dangerfield wasn't dead... too soon?