I'm a little relieved that Game Music Week is over; with all the extra graphics and fact checking, it took me a couple hours each day to do updates, rather than my normal twenty minutes. However, I did get good feedback from folks taking a trip down memory lane, so hopefully it was worthwhile. As an addendum to Game Music Week, here's the theme song from the Sierra game "Jones in the Fast Lane", as played on the PC internal speaker, an Ad-lib card, and a Roland SC8850.

PC Speaker (MP3, 625KB)
Ad-Lib compatible (MP3, 625KB)
SC-8850 (MP3, 625KB)

Now it's time for tons o' fun, as there's a pedagogy test tomorrow, and other miscellaneous events throughout the week.

I had my meeting with the Clearance Advisor this morning to review my thesis. If you're in the School of Music, you may want to know that all submissions have to be in an electronic format (even though the School of Music doesn't actually say that anywhere). Make sure you're aware of this before you pay the $30 binding fee and before you buy the special copier paper to print your stuff. Bastards.

I wrote a bunch of letters of recommendation for my students who were reapplying to live in the music country club next year. I've always been of the opinion that a letter of recommendation should be positive, or at the very worst, neutral. The whole purpose a student would ask for a letter is to be shown in a good light, and I've never understood people who write scathing letters which simply backstab the person in question. If you don't feel comfortable contributing a positive spin to a student, you probably don't have any business writing a letter. I would turn down a student before I wrote horrible things about their study habits and lineage.

The sudden change in temperature and the massive thunderstorm this weekend sealed all of my envelopes shut. I think it's a sign to stop writing letters and paying bills.

Yesterday's remix was the theme from the old Nintendo game, Rygar.

I don't live here right now.
It's easy to plant false memories
Yoko Ono still tinkering

A social phenomenon that I've always found interesting is the day-after conversation that follows when two people cross paths. If a person happens to spot someone with whom he or she is reasonably familiar, but doesn't get close enough to say hello (driving in cars is a common example), that person will feel compelled to mention the sighting the next day at school or work. The viewer cannot just cite the viewing though -- he must first ask if the viewee was there at the given time, to ensure that it was no mistake.

If the viewee says yes, the viewer will then mention the sighting. At this point, the viewee is never satisfied with just a blanket sighting statement -- he will ask the viewer to pinpoint the exact location, like which aisle of the supermarket or which exit on the freeway. (Possibly, the viewee can't take his own word for knowing where he was at that time -- he needs reassurance that someone saw him there). Once it has been established that the viewee was actually somewhere and the viewer saw him, there is a general air of satisfaction, as if a hard math puzzle was just solved.

Backing up, if the viewee had said no, the viewer would still mention the sighting, but would say that he saw someone "just like" the viewee. Then, the viewee will pose the same questions about the exact location, just in case he was really there and forgot about it (again, as if asking the questions will change his response). The viewee will then tell the viewer where he was at that specific time, and the conversation will end on a note of satisfaction.

I've noticed this phenomenon as far back as elementary school, and I'm sure you have seen it at least once.

Florida-Mike almost got hit by a pimp yesterday .

Yesterday's notable search terms:

"lead me away. i have been rash and foolish. i have killed my son and my wife. i look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing. fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust.", popcorn microwave bibliography science, maverin, roscoe conkling's stalwart republican machine, why do composers use sonata form, marry a goat india, farthest sharp to the right

Loudoun County real estate assessment numbers should be coming out pretty soon. I moved to Sterling about a year ago and got in for around $300,000. There's a house on my court which was assessed at slightly less than mine in 2004, and it's now on the market, selling for $475,000. With numbers like that, I don't know how much longer the working class in my neighbourhood will stick around.

Friday Fragments

Giving Canada, Australia, and the U.S. something to enjoy together since July 2005

Newsday Tuesday

HOV Cheaters Run the Numbers

When asked if she had tried waking up earlier, Aleta Joy Williams demurred. "Changing my own habits instead of breaking the rules would be so un-American. Why would we set our clocks back an hour every year if we weren't supposed to sleep until it's light outside?"

Jesus could not be reached for comment about his stance on HOV lanes.

Tragically, the Washington Post has devoted more ink to pitiful stories from self-entitled weenies, rather than address the more ominous conspiracy that the most blatant of the female HOV violators all have three names (and therefore, may be presidential assassins).

Jesus was unavailable for comment about dumb females, although his position on liars is set in stone.

Of course, being labelled as a "slug sucker" isn't the only way to legally ride in the HOV lanes -- you could drive alone in a Prius (because one clean commuter is equivalent to two dirty commuters in state legislative mathematics), or simply bring along your two kids and leave them in the car with a Little Mermaid DVD all day long (not recommended for parents whose children are susceptible to extreme changes in temperature).

Angresano provided the same reasons when asked why he no longer frequented his favourite strip joint, which is why a consortium of private companies is funding an effort to combine carpooling and lapdancing. In a trial run of "Heels on Wheels", drivers paid extra to pick up strippers in the slug lines and arrived at work on time and in a good mood.

Krasnov's admission generated interest in a new money-making scheme for cash-strapped local governments -- starting next Monday, repeat HOV offenders will be tailed from their homes all the way into the lanes by an unmarked cruiser, guaranteeing a conviction. After their cars are sold at police auction, they'll face a $2000 ticket and get dumped naked into the HOV lanes: at the mercy of the very slug suckers they cheated, in what can only be described as an "eye for an eye" scenario.

Jesus could not be reached for comment.

What's the best excuse to cheat with in the HOV lanes?

I'm a dumb female. (4 votes, 50.0%)


I'm pregnant and sick. (men only) (1 vote, 12.5%)


I thought it was a "Heading Out of Virginia" lane. (1 vote, 12.5%)


I just finished two Big Gulps. (2 votes, 25.0%)

Weird Search Day

or "How I stumbled upon the URI! Zone"

alligator coverall mario

In his alligator suit, Mario can eat enemies, flip Luigi to higher platforms on his snout, and turn into the Princess when the temperature drops below 86 degrees Farenheit.

costco shaman rugs

Perfect for the OCD shaman who hates to drop elemental totems because "the bottoms get all dirty". Using the rug activates your 1 second global cooldown.

pets world witch sells things for giant african land snail
This sounds like a good plot synopsis for a mashup of fantasy movies from the early 80s.

sterling virginia man to fix computers and ship to Ghana
I'm not currently in the computer refurbishing business, but if I ever started such a humanitarian venture, hopefully they would make a movie about me.

Award Day

It's hard to take good pictures of glass, but this is what I won at work yesterday:

Thankfully, I was not competing against Esperanza Spalding.

List Day: The First Songs I Heard (Which Led to Buying an Album)

• A Fine Frenzy - You Picked Me
• Amy MacDonald - This Is the Life
• Bitter:Sweet- The Mating Game
• The Cardigans-
• Eisley - Plenty of Paper
• Ellie Lawson - L.A.
• Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me
• Gomez - How We Operate
• Hoosiers - Worried About Ray
• Hush Sound - Don't Wake Me Up
• Ingrid Michaelson- Far Away
• Jem - Just a Ride
• Just Jack - Starz in Their Eyes
• KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
• Lily Allen - LDN
• Morrissey - First of the Gang to Die
• Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes
• Trashcan Sinatras - All the Dark Horses
• Wallis Bird - Counting to Sleep

Weekend Wrap-up

Though I work today, I actually had Thursday and Friday off because of proposal overtime. It was just a bonus that the snow storm came through at the same time.

On Friday, I spent two hours shoveling out our street parking. With the cousin living in the basement, we are a three-car family trying to fit into a two-car bag. For dinner that night, we had broiled scallops on a bed of pasta with Alfredo sauce, and watched the first episode of Season Two of House of Cards.

I did my usual Costco run on Saturday, primarily to pick up Rebecca's work lunch supplies: Greek yogurts and sandwich bread so fancy and grainy that it tastes like a meadow. In the evening, the Ahlbins and the Miricks came over for a 222 Party which, because of responsible adult commitments and childrens' birthday parties, couldn't actually occur on 2/22. We let the five kids break up into separate fiefdoms, generally ruled by the girls, and discussed how much better the crust on Domino's Pizza has gotten over the years.

On Sunday, I went grocery shopping, relaxed around the house, and went 8-15 in five rounds of Hearthstone Arena.

How was your weekend? Do you have today off?

BUriversity: Class Cancelled

The MOOC lecture is cancelled today, because the snow is introducing static in the Internet tubes. Tune in next week for a class on binary machine code. Suggest future topics in the comments section!

Memory Day: Snapshots

This picture was taken twenty years ago, on February 23, 1996, just after the annual Band Banquet (and long before the popularity of portmanteaus would have turned it into a "Bandquet"). I'm wearing the denim shirt that counted as my "formal wear" (and which I owned as recently as 2010) and holding a trophy that says "Drum Major" on it. On my left is band director, Richard Dill, who commuted in every day from Amissville to teach us the finer points of performing McBeth's Chant and Jublio far too many times.

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Travelers, Season One:
Like Colony before it, this is a sci-fi show with a lot of potential that immediately gets squandered when the plot goes nowhere fast. The characters remain relatively flat, and little sparks of great world-building ultimately end up showcasing just how little actually happens in the first season. Free on Netflix.

Final Grade: C-

Finding Dory (PG):
This is a fun revisit to the world of Finding Nemo although it never quite reaches the heights of the original movie. I enjoyed the ride, but I'm getting a little tired of the "bounce from one panicky set piece to the next" pattern of most recent animated movies. Free on Netflix.

Final Grade: B

Boogie Nights (R):
This epic about porn stars in the 1970s feels a little self-indulgent by the time it's all over (two and a half hours later). It follows the typical "rise to fame and brought down by drugs" plotline you see in all of these grandiose types of movies but ends on a quieter, redemptive note that keeps it from being too depressing. If you enjoy long, single-take shots, you'll appreciate the artistry, and the soundtrack is solid (in spite of the fact that Heatwave's "Boogie Nights" isn't played even once). Free on Netflix.

Final Grade: B-

Michael Bolton's Big Sexy Valentine's Day Special:
This is a collection of skits, parody songs, and cameos that works in spite of (or maybe because of) the fact that Michael Bolton is the most wooden presence in the show. Fun and over quickly, and not as bad as I worried it might be. Free on Netflix.

Final Grade: B

DIY Day: Crawlspace Rejuvenation, Part I of II

Since no one ever committed to manufacturing my idea for a smart mouse trap, checking the crawlspace for dead mice was a regular activity in 2019. I resolved to seal up the crawlspace in 2020 and finally got started this past weekend.

Thursday: Evict all of the Christmas decorations and myriad boxes of Rebecca's high school memories to de-mouse-poopify. Shred several ruined rolls of excess carpet and throw in the trash.

Friday: Tear out the atrophying remains of the external insulation.

Friday: Locate the mousehole-to-hell and seal it with enough foam sealant to deter a small mammal.

Saturday: Install new insulation, while styling the finest in AmazonBasics safety equipment.

Saturday: Seal up the external insulation with a moisture shield. Use up the leftover insulation on interior walls for no good reason. Briefly consider installing an old-timey spyhole into the next room, disguised by a portrait of a Civil War general.

Sunday: Cut and install the first 64 square feet of drywall in a space completely devoid of true right angles. Initially neglect to remember that the entrance to the crawlspace is much narrower than most of the drywall segments. Hand-wave away any irregularities by saying, "I'll spackle that gap later."

Remaining Steps

• Cutting and installing 80 more square feet of drywall.
• 3 rounds of spackling.
• Sanding, priming, and painting.
• Move 80 tons of stuff we rarely use back into the space.

Tune in on Friday for the thrilling conclusion!

Time-lapsed Blogography Day: Twenty-Five Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago today, on February 17, 1996, I went to James Madison University for my music audition.

The trumpet half of the audition went fine although I don't even remember who the Music Composition professor was anymore. One interesting dynamic I do recall is that I would ask him questions about the program and he would mostly answer them to my parents instead of me. This also happened on my college tours at UVA and William & Mary, and was one of many reasons I finally ended up going to Tech -- the faculty at Tech consistently kept the dialogue between me and them rather than answering like I wasn't in the room.

In the evening after we came home, I went over to Jack's house where we watched a Whose Line Is It Anyways? marathon I had recorded off of Comedy Central on two VHS long-running tapes. It was the classic edition hosted by Clive Anderson and featuring names like Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Tony Slattery, and Mike McShane. Then, I came home so Jack and I could play Warcraft II over the modem until 11 at night.

Kotlin Day

One of my personal growth projects for 2023 is to become fluent in a new programming language. I've spent the past few weeks immersed in Kotlin by solving old Advent of Code puzzles.

I like what I've used so far -- Kotlin gets away from the unnecessary strictness of Java boilerplate without straying too far into the "by convention" magic of a language like Ruby. When I need to do something new, the docs are clear and the end result looks logical. And when I'm in a hurry or don't want to reinvent the wheel, I can always fall back on the whole Java ecosystem of 3rd-party libraries called from within Kotlin code.

Here are three features I'm really enjoying (which may be old hat for aficionados of other modern languages).

1. Dramatically reducing boilerplate code with the use of data classes.

2. Adding code to existing classes with mix-in extensions instead of heavy inheritance or static utility classes.

3. Cleanly incorporating functional lambdas in procedural code without the stilted method chaining required in Java.