Archive for January, 2006
Overtly Religious
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 29, 2006
Well, I am now past the three week mark at BYU. Its proving to be a very interesting ride. Today, after getting some scratch in my checking account, dropped a pretty good chunk of it on French language software. The software is to help me learn, better, the French language by allowing me access to listening, writing, and instruction outside of the classroom. This is a good thing as I believe, today, I totally bombed my French exam that I had to take.
After the debacle that was my French test I ran into the teacher, Madame Winn, and we got to talking and I got to sharing and next thing I know were talking about setting up some time during the week for me to come to her office, for hours, to go over the fundamentals of the language my mind isnt getting. There is a lot my mind isnt getting, and I was surprised by her empathetic attitude toward the situation I find myself in. Granted, I am sure it wouldve been better for me to find myself not struggling so much with the language, but in the end, I believe everything will work out. Especially given the amount of money I have already put into books and other materials.
On Poetry
Posted by smokingpen in General Essays on January 25, 2006
Yesterday as I was working a coworker (loosely put) asked me to write a haiku. Ive heard of haikus and really had no intent to actually sit down and put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, and write something like that. There are two reasons for this: first, I didnt know what a haiku is/was; and second, I really dont enjoy the simple process of writing poetry. This does not mean that I do not have the ability; it does mean that I do not enjoy the act.
With that said, I went to Google and googled haiku. What I discovered I already knew, in that a haiku is a highly structured form of Japanese poetry. The first two links, though, appeared to respond like they were dead, and the third was a wikipedia (or wiki) entry at wikipedia.org. (Note: wiki is generally referring to a accumulation and distribution, often to a specific group, of information in the form of encyclopedic knowledge.)
Wikipedia.org then proceeded to offer a history of the haiku (you can review that here) which is interesting but not that interesting, to me.
One of those Days
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 21, 2006
You, its really been, kinda, one of those days. I don’t really know what one of those days is; but if I had to point at something and say, “That’s it,” then today would be an example of one of those days.
It’s not that anything bad or negative happened. Exactly the opposite is probably true. I got up. I knitted for a while. I’ve done the math homework due Monday and I am trying to convince myself to move into French. Truth told, if I am not going to do French then I should probably get serious about sweeping the floor downstairs. It’s pretty much hardwood flooring.
Quakers, Shakers, and the Grand Creator
Posted by smokingpen in Personal Entries on January 20, 2006
There I was, reading a book about Spiritual Practices (or the need thereof) in two and four year colleges and universities, when I came across a section on the three authors who wrote the book I also came across some background information that stated two of the three authors were Quakers. Quaker is the slang term for a group called, The Friends of Christ, later shortened to, Friends. They are a group that isnt really a religion, but believes in the self-actuated realization of personal religious and spiritual growth. There is a world organization, but the religion has no clergy, there are nor priests, no one is in charge of a given congregation, and in the end, the group meets together as often as they feel necessary or once a month whichever is shorter and follows the promptings of the spirit and the needs of the members of the group.
I find this to be an interesting idea. When I came across the idea of Quakers writing a modern book on Spirituality I was a little taken back. The reason was that I thought, without knowing, that the Quakers were one of those groups that had disappeared because the entire premise of the religion was counter-intuitive. You know, men and women live in separate houses, they abstain from sex, and unless there are converts, the religion dies out. The religion I am thinking about (Shakers) died out because part of the growth and proliferation of a religion is having children and raising them in the religion.
And Then…
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 17, 2006
Well, the day is almost over and I am about to go to bed. In order to work in peace and quiet I went to the Harold B. Lee library and, in the morning, went to the top floor near where Gary has his research office. It took me several minutes to find a power-take-off where I could plug in my computer and when I did I found that there was no reliable wi-fi internet connection. Win one, lose one.
After I went back and worked in the office, then went to class, and then went back to the library where I asked for secluded and wi-fi. They sent me to the bottom level (two floors underground) where I have no cell signal and where I found quiet, peace, and wi-fi. It was virtually perfect. Virtually, not literally. It seems Ive found a place where I can work.
Automotive Hell
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 17, 2006
It feels like its been forever since Ive updated the website. I know it hasnt. Updates come pretty regularly. The issue is that Ive been pretty busy with the first week of school and then putting new brakes on my car (this weekend) that I havent really thought much about the whole update thing and yet, I have.
Saturday morning I woke up and went to Jareds house. My plan was to spend between two and five hours replacing my brakes. I figured, based off of previous experiences, that it would take somewhere between that time frame to a) learn how to work on Honda Accord brakes, and b) do both sides once Id learned what needed to happen. Yeah, shouldve been true given that I have two books and the internet to search for information and expertise. Three days later I gave up on the scope of the plan and relegated myself to a work around.
The work around is a sub-optimal fix to replacing brake pads and rotors on the car. Backing up, the rotor is what the brake pad (on a car with disc brakes) rubs against to slow and stop the car. Mine are shot. Yes, present tense, today, still, shot. From the reading I have done it would appear that in the early 90s the Honda Corporation changed the design of their wheels so that the rotors sit behind an integrated hub assembly in the wheel knuckle. A lot of things I am not going to really explain. I hope its sufficient to say that its all of the integrated parts that make up the wheel and wheel assembly which, in turn, hold the wheel to the chassis of the car and allows you to drive.
Blind Assassin’s and Other Things
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 13, 2006
I started reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. She wrote a short story I had to read for my lit class and I so fell in love with the story that I was rather excited to get my hands on the required reading novel that I had to choose (the first day of class). To tell you the truth, Margaret Atwood is a really good writer who explores words and writing through what she does. From what I am told (and the source is pretty good) she also explores various ways of telling a story as well.
There was a fifth change to my schedule. Taking Wilderness Writing required me to also take a Recreational Management and Youth Leadership course as well. Basically, the way that was described to me is the recreational management class is a kind of lab for the honors writing class. We get to play, a lot, during the class. Camping, rock climbing, scuba diving, etc. There is a whole list and every item has a point scale associated with it with a specific number of points required to complete the class.
Third Day of School…
Posted by smokingpen in Odds-n-Ends on January 11, 2006
Im taking a few minutes out of my evening to update the site.
Gotta tell you that school is good. What Ive found to be very interesting is the differences between school as you plan it and school as it actually comes out.
I know going into classes that there were certain subjects and sections I needed in order to best accomplish my educational objectives. BYU requires that I take a pair of British Lit classes, an American Lit class, as well as odds and ends all over campus. The Generals requirements are designed to give you a broad range of experience through immersion into a whole range of subjects. When you start to work directly toward the degree, though, some of those generals become specific to the major requirements. In my case there are some literature requirements that I get to do.