Things I Learned Days Past

11.09.2005

Egyptian God of the Nile, and Victim of Fraternal Dismemberment, Osiris, Frowns Upon Mistreatment of Cattle.

12.09.2005

The length of a conductor's baton is determined by measuring the inside of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, with the arm at a 90 degree angle.

13.09.2005

This has nothing to do with college, but since it's got to do with Spanish, it counts in a general way: If you want to use an idiom, expressing ranting and raving, you can use "Echar Sapos Y Culebras." To throw toads and snakes. Thanks to MuMo.

14.09.2005

I will never be done buying textbooks, no matter how on the ball I think I have been, there will always be textbooks I missed on my first pass through the student store. My pack swells-- not with pride-- but with the weight of knowledge.

15.09.2005

The egg-salad sandwiches from the Cafeteria People still make me nauseous. And their apples are brown on the inside.

16.09.2005

Easter Island has no trees because the indigenous tribes that used to live there cut them all down in order to roll those big statues into position.

17.09.2005

Two and a half over four isn't as weird a meter signature as one and a half over four. (I don't see why Grainger didn't just stick with 5/8 and 3/8. Sheesh, I mean, give me a heart attack why don't you?)

18.09.2005

Nothing. I am a lazy cretin.

19.09.2005

That a passing tone (PT) can make a parallel fifth (P5) , even though it is a non harmonic tone (NHT), and not part of the chord. That, and, in a twelve-chord chorale, one P5 knocks off about 8.3%. Uhh...Yay curve.

20.09.2005

From the Notes of Toad: Part of what made the Assyrians such a force to be reckoned with was their cavalry, however, they didn't fight on horseback. They rode to fights, then dismounted and... uh... fought.

21.09.2005

If I spent $21, 275 on a Toyota Prius, it would about 403.9 years before it paid for itself. Then again, I only drive for about four months a year, and then, only to school and back.

22.09.2005

Thermonuclear fusion is what occurs when, by magic, hydrogen is converted into helium. Thermonuclear fission is what happens when one takes one's new trout-fission uranium rod out to the lake for a nice relaxing day on the water.

23.09.2005

Punctured tubes work great as clothes lines.

24.09.2005

It takes around about 50,000 years for a "hot" uranium rod to chill. At that time, you can finally reuse it to make salad tongs.

25.09.2005

Because the Mesopotamians lived in a sort of a bummer place, they had a pessimistic view of life, with stress on the unpredictability of their gods, who might, at anytime and for any reason, flood, starve, and/or plague them.

26.09.2005

480-479 BCE: Thermopylae was a narrow pass in which 300 elite Spartan warriors, along with a Spartan king and a detachment of Athenians, were able to fend off the Persian Army for two days before being totally wiped out.

27.09.2005

Because the aforementioned Greeks were able to hold up the Persian Army, the Athenian Navy had enough time to defeat the King Xerxes' Persian navy at Salamis. Thus, the course of history we all know came to pass. Imagine if Athens had been wiped out?

28.09.2005

3,000 to 30,000 species go extinct (as in gone forever) every year. This is the worst it's been for species in 65 million years. Over the next century, between one and two thirds of all species will be extinct.

29.09.2005

Continuing in this vein: 25% of known mammals species are endanger of extinction, as are 34% of fish, 25% of amphibians, 20% of reptiles, and 11% of birds. Well, and now I am thoroughly depressed, and need bonbons.

30.09.2005

Thucidydes (460-400 BCE) was a Greek military general turned historian. He is credited with the most accurate accounts of the Peloponesian Wars.

01.10.2005

Always take your spoon out of your instant coffee BEFORE you nuke it. Or don't, and watch the ensuing hilarity.

02.10.2005

Alexander the Great married a Persian and encouraged his men to as well to help build ties with the Persians.

03.10.2005

GAH! I must always double check the keys I am modulating to. Okay, well I guess I already knew that, but apparently not well enough.

04.10.2005

From the Notes of A. Toad: "Prætors-- (Aft. 366 BCE) +ing #'s ... govern prvcs= prprtrs/prcnsls. DICTATORS tk^^ >a crss." A freshly baked, vegetarian, organic oatmeal cookie to the first chap wot tells me the meaning of this.

05.10.2005

Another Gem from the Notes of A. Toad: "Borrowed Chords-- N m, BC<--M, N M, BC<--m. Usu. Hot note= Le. 2xDo in LoweredBig6. No 2x alt. pitch."

06.10.2005

A coal plant releases 100 times more radioactivity than a nuclear power plant, due to the natural radioactive components in the coal.

07.10.2005

Brandy Alexander, the Best cocktail EVER: 1 oz. white creme de cacao, 1 oz. brandy, 1 oz. light cream. Shake with ice and strain. Top with nutmeg. MmmHmmm.

08.10.2005

Enology is the study of wine-making.

09.10.2005

A coal mine in Centralia, Pennsylvania caught fire 40 years ago. It is still burning, and may burn another 100 years. The government had to buy the whole town I guess, because every one had to leave.

16.10.2005

Taking a week without the constant pressure of having to learn something everyday was nice... But naturally, I couldn't go forever without learning something again.

17.10.2005

An electric generator converts mechanical energy to electric energy by using a primary energy source (water, air, combustibles) to rotate a magnetic field around a coil or a coil in a magnetic field.

18.10.2005

From the Notes of A. Toad: "Water: 97%=NaH20. Can't drink Na H20. Left^^ 3%= 2/3 Ice, glaciers, 1/6 aquifers, ca.1/12= grt.lks./rvrs. other1/12=? Left^^=ca. .001%."

19.10.2005

The Spring sonata is Beethoven's first sonata to be cast in four, instead of the usual three, movements. Quoth the CD Jacket.

20.10.2005

Never drop a Phillips Head screwdriver pointy-end-down on your bare foot.

21.10.2005

Future tense in Spanish is conjugated by taking the root of the verb and adding: é, ás, á, emos, éis, or án, for 1st person, 2nd inf., 2nd for. and 3rd s., 1st pl., 2nd inf., and 3rd. pl., respectively.

22.10.2005

From the Notes of A. Toad: Best thing I ever took down: "Huns menace goths, goths couch surf Rome."

31.10.2005

That it is just pointless to try to keep this list up whenever I'm busy actually learning things.

08.11.2005

William the Conqueror conquered England in 1066. That, however, isn't what I learned today. I learned that last week, then didn't review it. Today I learned that the one day I show up totally unprepared will be the day there's a pop quiz.

Please entertain yourselves with these Kangaroos while I rewrite.