Brian's World

Leaving The Lights On

I like to light during most non sleeping hours.  In darker rooms, like my basement, I tend to leave the lights on most of the time.  In my dorm room, I find I can get away with just using sunlight from 9:00am to 5:00pm.  Using sunlight saves a little power, and if I need some extra light I can turn on my desk lamp for the few minutes I need light.  Most of the stuff I do is on the computer,  and computer monitors generally don’t require much ambient light, if any.

I also like to use sunlight because it means the windows are open.  While I’m not an ophthalmologist, I think looking outside the windows every so often is good for my eyes.  I hope to avoid having to wear corrective lenses for as long as possible.  Looking at a computer screen isn’t the best of conditions for my eyes, but looking outside the window at objects further away seems like good excersize.  In addition I like to have moderate to strong lights on to reduce any strain when looking at computer monitors, for the same reason I tend to not like watching extended TV sessions in the dark.  Televisions due tend to have much larger viewing areas, and emit a more ambient light, but its still the same situation.

Light also lets me see things, which is pretty important.  I could leave all the lights off and pretend that things I can’t see are just like a bottomless black pit, but I don’t subscribe to that philisophy.  Sure, I don’t need to see everything all round me all the time, but its very handy when I need to put something down, throw something out, or find something.  When I need to move, its very easy to identify what I need and where it is to ensure I have all the appropriate equiptment.  More commonly than not, I produce a piece of trash like a wrapper or a scrap of paper I look around a trashcan to deposit it in.   Personally I’m always up for a good hunt, but sometimes I’m feeling a bit lazy and would rather not scrouge around for a trashcan so I just look around and, since the lights are on, I can pretty easily spot it.

Of course I also limit the amount of trash producing stuff around me by limiting the area in which I produce trash to those areas where I know I will be able to dispose of it.  Rarely do I produce waste in such an enviroment wheren I won’t be able to throw it away by getting distracted.  When I start to eat a sandwich, only two options exist for me.  1.  Finish the sandwich so there is nothing left of it or 2. Throw it away in a proper recepticle.  Nowhere do I consider mashing it intro the ground or leaving it for someone else to finish.

That said, I didn’t always used to be this way.  There was once a day when I didn’t fold up blankets after I (or someone who I was hosting) used them.  In past, my basement has had a few empty soda cans in it.  But then it hit me, if I don’t clean up after myself… who will?  My mom certainly doesn’t venture downstairs very much, and my brother and dad aren’t very great at the whole cleaning up stuff.  (My dad just bleaches the bathroom, and Kevin…. I think he might have vaccummed once or twice.)  Somewhere in this transition I recognized it was important to do it ASAP.  Be it before departing the basement, or upon returing from transporting someone to their house, I always put forth the effort to check and make sure things are how I found it.  This way, the next time I  or someone else goes down there, the space will be in optimal shape.

I used to be under the impression that no one really used the basement, and in turn I didn’t have to worry about cleaning up after myself.  Thats just not true.  Dad goes down there to iron, and mom may go into the closet or the the shelves to get some food.  Its very hard to predict when someone is going to want to do something, and in turn you should always be prepared… especially if you aren’t staying onsite to quickly prepare if needed.

My basement doesn’t have a refridgerator, which I think is good.  We once considered putting a little one down there to store sodas and small snacks, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that was a bad idea.  Just upstairs there is the kitchen with everything in it, and the garage is only a few feet away with the soda.  The convience is of nomial consideration to me.  If I want a soda, I should be able to walk more than 5 feet to get it.  If I’m feeling to stubborn to go out into the garage to get one than I probably don’t need one.

On a different note, I would like to go out to Friendly’s a get something to eat.  I was hoping to go out last weekend, but those plans fell through, and then I was hoping to go out this weekend for lunch their, but we went there after I had already eaten dinner so I just got some soup.  When I go I will strongly consider gettig ice cream after my meal, some I have also been desiring but have not yet come across the optimal conditions to engage in.

My voice is starting to come back which is good, just in time for another round of yelling.  I always enjoy it when nobody does anything; don’t you?

Goodnight Moon.

New Directions

I don’t blog a whole lot about the inner workings here at RPI because usually I don’t care, or I don’t think there is much if anything I can do.  In this instance, I kind of care but I also recognize there is little I can do… so I’ll write about it.

RPI has been changing a lot of stuff lately, mainly things related to living on campus.  I live on campus, and there is a pretty high probability I’ll be doing so next year, so I certainly care about the subject.  I can’t say I feel some strong bond to live on campus.  BARH does not count as ‘close to campus’, and don’t say that I have a dining hall in my building… because I’ve never dined there.  Nor have I enjoyed the new Sage dining hall, I walk to Commons when I’m hungry.

I hear RPI is changing the compensation package for RA’s to no longer cover full room + meal plan.  I don’t like that idea.  No, I don’t think my RA deserves to be compensated above and beyond the call of duty, but if they are required to live on campus and eat on campus than those aspects should be compensated.  Whats next? Will my RA be commuting or living off campus to do their job?  Maybe they’ll have to sneak into the back of Commons like the other hoodlums because they are financially unable to pay for a meal plan.  This sounds pretty sketchy to me, and I’m all for cutting corners with these sorts of things.

Additionally, there have been rumors that living in a residence hall will require a meal plan?  Garbage!  I live in BARH and hate the fact I’m require to have special meal plans.  The dining area is now walled in, so you can’t just walk in… and I’ve never eaten there.  Last semester, it was not possible for me to eat breakfast in a dining hall, and I would have liked a meal plan to reflect that.  This semester, I’m eating breakfast in commons everyday, so I should be paying a little more I guess.  I know, I know.  I could life off campus and save X thousands of dollars, but its really the principle of the matter to me.  I wouldn’t be opposed to a declining balance idea, or a # of meals a week idea, but this I’m going to pay out the butt to eat as many meals as I want in a certain time period… and oh yea, you’re going to be required to do that.. just upsets me.

Of course the “Residence Life” and “Dining Services” portion of the university, a place where you’d think students are involved in these sorts of decisions, seems to run more like the Gestapo.  I will likely recieve confirmation of these changes when its too late, however I have recieved 18 notices that I can stack sugar cubes in the B Wing lounge tomorrow night.  Lets all just pretend things are happy.

The impression this ‘new direction’ for student services here at RPI remind me vaguely of the new direction for greeks that they tried to push down 3-4 years ago.  While I can’t say I’m extremely familiar with it, I can say that we as people who live on campus are orders of magnitude less organized and less coordinated.  I’m not sure how sucessfully we, and really I mean everyone but me because I don’t care enough, can be at making a stand against this.  I doubt we could pack DCC 308 and design catchy shirts to draw attention to the cause.

In other news this weekend was Valentines Day, one of my top 10 least favorite holidays.  I don’t know where it falls on the list, but its pretty high.  No, Katie always does a wonderful job making a super day, but I don’t believe that there should be a designated day in February where everyone should express their love.  Why can’t I choose to express my love for someone in July, I tend to be less busy then.. or maybe September, I think the leaves could be more romantic than melting snow and slush.

Mainly I decided that there is a solar system, a bunch of planets orbitting a central body.  I am one of those objects, kind of like pluto, who’s orbit is so huge and crazy that people aren’t really sure if I’m part of the solar system or not.  I’ve found that people are far more likely to identify the passing asteroid as part of the solar system than planet brian.  Normally I would be like ya know what planet-self, I’m cool enough as it is, lets just keep doing our own thing.  Unfortunately I’ve found that plan to be unsufficient.  There have been times where planet brian intentionally goes out of his way to orbit closer to the predicited position of other planets, just to find them not there.  Statistically not what I was hoping for, but I make due.  Pluto is also a small planet, which may indicate size is an interesting factor to be considered.  I guess my decreased mass means I have the least pull (aka gravitational effect) on other planets and celestial bodies, which seems pretty fitting.  Sometimes I’m in the books as being a planet, sometimes I’m not.  Ya know?  If you’ve only got 8 lines you’re not going to shrink your font size down, your just going to leave out Pluto.

I also operated the coaches camera at hockey this weekend.  The tripod was made of wood, and in turn produced very poor footage, specifically when I had to move, which was kind of often.

Good night moon.

How We Dance

I enjoy helping people that want my help.  Sometimes I even assist in areas when people don’t necessarily ask, but I just volunteer.  I like to think its me being kind and spread some good cheer around.  Sometimes I start to get a little less-enthused about helping people when they start to restrict the methods in which I help.  If I am going to do something, I am probably going to want to do it the way that I can do it best.  No, I’m not saying its my way or the highway, but if you are looking for free labor.. I would rather limit the number of string and rules attached.

What I do sometimes is pretty controversial.  Not to me, but to everyone else.  I’m not sure why people can get upset about it.  98.7% of the time they are the source anyways and in an additional 1.2% of cases I classify individuals as secondary consenting sources.  Sure, that means that there is some populous of stuff out there that you might not have expected.  My personal approach to resolving this is to put as much stuff out there that I can control as possible.  The more developed I am, the lesser the chance that one of those extraneous buggers could create a legitimate threat against me.  Most people are just caught off guard.  There is always this “ooo tell me everything you know” thing that happens at some point during the process.  And I don’t.  That would be stupid.  We’re all playing poker here, and I can’t put all my cards down because I sure know you won’t.  You might say that you did, and you might even be convinced that you did, but unless your brain activity has been recorded, archived, and indexed since birth than you have not.

Lately I have found myself interested in three songs.  Two of which I’ll discuss and one of which I will not.  The first one is by Matt Nathanson.  I have been a fan of Mr. Nathanson every since I saw him on the not so Early Morning Show one day… or maybe it was the Today show… one of those sub-par programs.  Well his song “Cone on, Get Higher” presents some very interested topics. [Note, I’m not linking to the official music video because the ‘official’ one was chewed with a compressor or something].  I have extreme trouble figuring out what exactly is getting higher and the reference point that height is being measured from.  Traditionally, I dislike songs that use the line ‘swing of your hips’ and most songs that reference ‘hips’ in general the context but this song seems to be an exception.  I think the meaning of the song is hidden in the opening stanza’s where he discusses things that he misses.  The second song on the list is… something I forgot while writing that last paragraph.  I can remember song 3.. now what was in the middle.   Taylor Swift.. now I remembered it. The song is Love Story; now if you are going to listen to it you have to listen to the version speeded up and played with extra beats at a higher volume for the radio which you can find here.  I like the song because of the references to Shakespeare, even though she likely wrote it to get out of some stupid class project.  If I was a famous musician that would definitely be the way to get out of writing a paper or something, just write a song that summarized the part of the plot I could get from Sparknotes and make sure the song was really famous.  What I do find confusing is the lack of reference to the conclusion of the story, there is no references to everyone dying.  I guess writing a song with a happy ending is better than writing a depressing song.

I need to go do some push-ups.