hiatus over.

livejournal account created. i'll be crossposting on thedragpolar and the air i breathe.

but first, shower, and then Æroelasticity, followed by work, and then final tweaking to my livejournal. sleep may or may not occur.
11.04.2003
12.18 gmt -05.00

badmarsh & shri
the air i breathe (nitin sawhney remix)
30
on hiatus for a bit. will post even more sporadically. in the meantime, accept no substitutes.
10.20.2003
01.55 gmt -05.00
29
the exit page is finally up.

my illness has gotten worse, most likely it's the flu. there's just not enough flu bits in me to show up on a blood test. gatorade and chicken soup have been my friends since the morning.

friday five:

01. do you watch sports? if so, which ones?
nope. i used to watch basketball back in the day.

02. what/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
none at the moment.

03. are there any sports you hate?
baseball, hockey, shuffle board, taijan-kutsi-tÆ-karate-do-shin-desu martial arts.

04. have you ever been to a sports event?
just one georgia tech football game.

05. do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? how long did you play?
just martial arts, 7 years of that.
10.10.2003
00.06 gmt -05.00

james horner
a beautiful mind
the car chase
28
i've done it. i've gotten back into the study groove. rejoice now.

i'm still working on the exit (links) page. should be up sometime this weekend.

for some reason, i've been terribly sick since this past saturday. fatigue + dry and tight throat + coughing led me to believe it was the flu. but i've neither had a fever nor a runny nose since then, just the same symptoms all week. i made an appointment for thursday with the doctor. nearly feinting and a constant pulse of 120 while sitting down convinced me to go today.

blood was drawn, an ekg was done, nothing abnormal was found.

stooopid body of mine. where have you hidden the other 30% of my energy?
10.08.2003
19.31 gmt -05.00

james horner
a beautiful mind
kaleidoscope of mathematics
27
matt lied to us. we convened at his apartment to watch the season premier of smallville thinking it was a two hour episode. it was not.

friday was an exhausting / exhilarating day. smitha called me around 11.15. my mind was still cloudy as i had set npr to wake me at 11. i jumped out of bed and was completely refreshed when smitha passed on that neal stephenson was going to be at the georgia tech bookstore. the remainder of the day was cued to 16.45 when i arrived at the bookstore and took my seat. the only other person present at the moment was matt, an Æ friend. i left my belongings in his care and went off to purchase a copy of quicksilver. luckily, i found a copy that was mistakenly labeled with a 30% off sticker. the two hours leading up to mr. stephenson's appearance was spent talking with nearby fans about his work as well as those of william gibson, dan simmons, robert heinlein, and neil gaiman.

instead of trying to describe what i thought of neal stephenson, i'll just say this ... amazing. the presence he commands as an author is indescribable. alas, i am not gifted with mellissa's verbal skills. years of napping will do that to one's mind. but yes, neal stephenson was amazing. more clean cut than what his jacket photos make him appear to be. he held a question and answering session. he signed books. he told smitha and i that he listens to classical music, natacha atlas, talvin singh, and others. i stood there with a chesire grin as i thought to myself "good lord! neal stephenson listens to the same music as i!". once my plan is complete, we will be beeest friends foreeever.

afterwards i bounced alongside smitha to her car and then to kroger, arby's, and then cafe intermezzo where we shared drinks and stories with laura and her friend chris. i bounced on through the night and well into the morning. it's not every day i get to have books signed by their respective authors.

the maintenance man came by friday and redid the bathroom floor. my landlady must hire the cheapest people she could find. the floor is not complete, and there is this nasty brown putty all over that adheres to anything. navigation is very difficult.

i dread the night to come. i can feel the beginnings of a sore throat. illness + sleep result in nightmares for me; the ones where i am unable to awake from and must ride out. years of drinking coke will do that to one's mind. the moments before i sleep are best described as lightning i suppose. lighting takes the path of least resistance. likewise, my mind takes the same path; racing along thoughts, like a kaleidoscope as its barrel is spun at an alarming rate.

total number of compliments in collection: 43
average number of compliments per year: 1.9545454545454545454545
me: question
me: how would you label my writing style?
smitha: i'm probably getting off soon...and i don't know. i don't really use labels for writing styles. i do like yours though. ;o) straightforward but not afraid to be creative.
me: k
me: my friend told me that it's very much stream of consciousness
me: really?
me: you like my writing style?
me: really????
smitha: stream-of-consciousness is a good term. and yes--why are you surprised? :o)
me: cause
me: i reallly enjoy and im in awe of your writing
me: and you telling me you like my writing is better than telling me that you like my design sense
smitha: awww! thank you. :o)
me: cause i belive that my writing is absolut™ crap
10.05.2003
02.20 gmt -05.00

juno reactor
beyond the infinite
ice cube
26
happy belated birthday to me! the day was spent sleeping in, enjoying the fine fall weather, biking down to the supermarket to remedy a sushi and tabouli craving, and pondering the heaps of mexican food i consumed the night before.

bike no four has been purchased. my friends all remarked on it, and then i proceeded to berate the bike and explain how it weighs too much, has terrible shifting, is from wal-mart, and cost much less than bike no three (which i miss dearly and still mourn).

heidi gave me the music cds joi - we are three and jakatta - american dream. not wanting them to arrive late, she used the two day mail service and it got to me a week and half before my birthday. obviously, i couldn't wait that long to open them. thanks much!

this past friday night was filling. smitha and i went out for dinner at the old spaghetti factory. i haven't been there for two years and forgot how affordable it all was. each dinner entree comes with bread, soup or salad, a drink, and ice cream. an extra two fifty will get you an italian cream soda with a very very very nice glass which you can keep afterwards. michÆl has 14 or so of those. it was about ten twenty when we got out. some people would next catch a movie, go to bar, or go home; we instead went on a border's run and bought each other's birthday gifts. smitha got me robert heinlein's stranger in a strange land and neil gaiman's stardust. she in turn received the audio cd dar williams - the honesty room. afterwards, i proclaimed us to be culture buddies. future culture outings include possibly riverdance and most definitely the high museum.

the blueprint - georgia tech's yearbook. took me about an evening to complete.

tuesday's and thursday's are spent working at copy club in technology square from three to seven. i get paid to make copies, assist customers, and work with photoshop, illustrator, etc ... not bad if i say so myself.
09.30.2003
02.41 gmt -05.00

david bowie
earthling
law
25
i was in a race and decided to take a break.
there was a beautiful girl across the street who smiled at me.
we walked in the same direction stealing glances and exchanging smiles.
checking myself in a store window, i walked across to say hi.
she ducked into a candy store and a moment of doubt hit me.
the girl was on her cell phone when i finally approached and said hello.
hi hamza.
a minute or so of silence and as i thought how she could have known my name.
"everyone knows your name, a world class athlete, a professor, and graduate student in Ærospace engineering." says the girl.
this is a dream isn't it?
she smiles.
she apologizes for not inviting me to her birthday party. the attention my presence would bring would be inconvenient.
09.23.2003
11.34 gmt -05.00

michÆl andrews
donnie darko
mad world
24
meh, my ego has deflated before i could write about it.

people describe their lives as an emotional rollercoaster, a sinusoidal function if you will. mine seems to be operating at a frequency of 264hz (cycles per second).

my name is hamza ahmed and i need to stop g33king out.
09.12.2003
14.40 gmt -05.00

hybrid
remix and additional production by ...
energy 52 - cafe del mar
23
what to write about ...

tomorrow i have a meeting with the general manager of the copy club in tech square. i filed an application for a part time job about two months back and got the call back this morning. rather nervous as this is my first interview. hopefully i will get hired, the experience (and money) will be greatly appreciated. though, i would have to purchase a bike as it takes 20 minutes of brisk walking to get there. wish me luck.

michÆl gave me a bottle of voss water. i never knew water could taste ... soft. the bottle itself is worth six dollars. it's a cylinder about eleven inches tall with a uniform radius of one and a third inches. the glass is very thick resulting in a nice weight. i spent the better part of two hours etching off the logo and nutritional information while leaving the recycling logo, the year, and "spark" on the bottle (it was sparkling voss water). any ideas for a neutrally buoyant object that i can place in the bottle?

friday five:

01. is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? if not, what's changed??
yep, same old name.

02. if you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
i'd have to go with max powers.

03. why were you named what you were? (is there a story behind it? who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
my dad went to the hardware store to borrow a hammer to build my crib with. the owner's name was hamza, the parents thought it was a beautiful name. here's the name's history (taken from www.al-islam.org).

muhammad's (pbuh) uncle, hamza, a man of his own age, was reputed to be the strongest and most active of the quraysh, their champion in war and sports. he spent most of his time hunting in the hills. one day when he returned from the chase with his bow swinging from his shoulder, his slave-girl told him how abu jahl had heaped abuse on his nephew's head.

hamza found himself at the end of all patience. he liked muhammad (pbuh), although he did not understand him (sic). he went on the run to the mosque, where he saw abu jahl sitting among his friends. he lifted his heavy bow and gave a great bang on his head with it. ‘will you insult him when i join his religion?' he shouted, flexing his great muscles under the noses of the quraysh.

hamza became a muslim, and this put teeth into the faith. some of the quraysh were more careful about calling muhammad (pbuh) a poet. (muhammad (pbuh), the messenger of god, 1975)

hamza became a devout muslim and a champion of islam. he was the comrade-in-arms of his other nephew, ali, and it were both of them who killed most of the leaders of the quraysh in the battle of badr, to be fought a few years later.

in the battle of uhud, hamza killed the second standard-bearer of the pagans, and when they charged the muslim line, he plunged into their midst. he was hacking his way through their ranks when he was struck by a javelin hurled by wahshi, an abyssinian slave. wahshi was engaged for this very purpose, by hinda, the wife of abu sufyan and the mother of muawiya, and by another idolater of makkah. hamza fell on the ground and died immediately.

after the rout of the muslims that day, hinda and the other harpies from makkah, mutilated the bodies of the slain muslims. she cut open hamza's abdomen, plucked out his liver, and chewed it up. she also cut his nose, ears, hands and feet, strung them into a "necklace," and entered makkah wearing it as a trophy of war.

muhammad mustafa was deeply aggrieved at the death and at the mutilation of the body of such a stalwart of islam as hamza. he bestowed upon him the titles of the "lion of god," and the "chief of the martyrs."

 04. are there any names you really hate or love? what are they and why?
the only ones i can think of that i love are mia and sabah.

05. is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? how or how isn't it?
very much accurate, right down to procrastination and lack of self-confidence undermining my success.
09.12.2003
01.05 gmt -05.00

pet shop boys
disco 3
london (thee radikal blaklite)
22
if this is not the end of oblivion,
then i shall live everyday ...
as if my life were to end on this very day
09.05.2003
01.05 gmt -05.00

howard shore
lord of the rings: the two towers
requiem overture
21
kid loco is one of the best trip hop artists i have ever heard.

time for class.

but first, an update.

life's lesson #52478930:
do not leave ginger ale (or any other carbonated beverage) in the freezer overnight. further more, when said can is distorted beyond any recognition ... do not place under warm water in hopes of cleaning the surface before you take it to class. such actions will result in said can exploding and spewing forth its carbonated goodness all over one's self, the kitchen, and living room.

addendum to life's lesson #52478930:
check for cuts and bruises ... thoroughly! do not leave it for later when you see blood on the keyboard and over your fingers.

that is all.
09.02.2003
12.27 gmt -05.00

kid loco
la seduzione
20
first of all, i changed the colors around if you couldn't tell. i think this works much better. i also removed the 2nd color scheme that activates at night. the arrows on the right have been replaced by numbers signifying the post / section. last of all, the music section has been modified to remain in the same sub-menu.

summer break was good, but too short. chicago and new york were definitely fun.

the arrival into atlanta was hectic. i had 2 large suitcases and a carry on with me as i boarded marta. at five points station, everyone and their mother decided to get on the train even though there was another one right behind. the conductor opened the door two more times to let even more passengers on. first thing i was greeted by in atlanta was a ladies rather enormous posterior. perfect. at the north avenue station i informed the people around me that i had to get off at midtown along with my 3 pieces of luggage. they all nodded in agreement, the plan was set. at midtown, the people around me were telling the people coming on board that i had to get off; the people getting into the train were telling those around me that they had to get onto the train. i ignored their cries and barreled through, suitcases and all. i might have ran over an old lady in the process.

jeff picked me up and took me to my new apt which was unfurnished at the time. i spent the night in jÆ's room and moved all my stuff in over the course of 2 weeks. the room was absolutely filthy, but nothing that a high powered vacuum, clorox cleaner with bleach, scrubbing bubbles, and air fresheners couldn't handle.

i had a desk lined up for purchase for $40 from some guy in homepark. it was a rather nice large l shaped desk. however, the fool was not at home and neither was his roommate when i went to pick it up. i asked michÆl to drive me to office depot where i purchased a smaller, but just as nice (and rather sturdy) desk. no longer must i sit on my bed with no back support and look down at the monitor no the floor! no longer will i have to navigate the maze of wires that surrounded my bed! no longer will i not be able to not do homework!

oh, before i forget (again, like the idiot i am) happy (belated) birthday smitha!

now if you all will excuse me, i have a sushi dinner to attend to.
09.01.2003
20.24 gmt -05.00

moby
flower
19
yahoo! i am home with my cousins! finals are over, as is the semester. i shall see you all in 2 weeks time. bye for now.
07.30.2003
15.04 gmt -06.00

the piano
18
friday five:

01. if your life were a movie, what would the title be?
how do you like your tea?

02. what songs would be on the soundtrack?
what songs would not be on the soundtrack? pet shop boys, chemical brothers, talvin singh, goldfinger, coldplay, with a good dose of asian underground.

03. would it be a live-action film or animated? why?
live action of course, looks better.

04. casting: who would play you, members of your family, friends, etc?
i'd play me of course, how many actors do you know that have my hair and nose anyhow? i wouldn't want any famous people playing the rest of the cast; they look too perfect to be real.

05. describe the movie preview / trailer.
camera moves down between two buildings to a dark alleyway with massive attack - angel playing in the background. you'd see a figure walking out wearing matrix-esque clothing and carrying a katana. he would look up as a drop if rain falls onto his face, and then continues walking towards the girl who is waiting for him (it's me of course). next, you'd hear an alarm go off, and then me curse as i jump out of my bed, throw some clothes on, and run out of my dorm to the test that starts in 2 minutes. the rest of the trailer would be a montage of 2-3 second clips from the rest of the movie; making Ærospace jokes in class, going out for dinner, pulling all-nighters, etc ...

the semester is almost to a close, my only final is this coming tuesday. and then, i move out on wednesday morning to my new apartment. i had one room in mind that i really wanted, but the landlord gave it away, even though i told her i would give her a decision by the morning. now i have to sign a one year lease on the new place. problem is that i graduate in december ... i'll have to find someone to take the lease over.

in other news, my dreams have been getting progressively stranger and stranger. last night featured conan the barbarian coming out of my monitor and then inquiring about the moving people on my screen.

must stop doing whatever it is that i do before bed.

you website sucks if ...

sony is very close to world domination.

a well made and brilliant flash puzzle where you have to help the main character save his home from doom.

an online version of the game slaps / hothands.

fight club, a big screen adaptation of calvin and hobbes?

click at your own risk.

my life story.

the truth behind lemmings.

amy's 3rd grade diary. redone in flash.

you know the guy that everyone tells you not to be? don't be that guy

try to crash as many satellites into the south pole as possible. my record was 5,135,846,242,121,002.2584746.
07.24.2003
23.54 gmt -05.00

last exile
episode 16
17
nemesis - the greek goddess of retributive justice
nike - the greek goddess of victory
nimrod - a descendant of ham represented in genesis as a mighty hunter and a king of shinar

3 new photos in rotation at phutro.net and 1 photo in rotation here at thedragpolar.

a photo of me by chris gooley.
07.10.2003
23.54 gmt -05.00

jesper kyd
hitman 2
main title
16
fear and loathing in atlanta. downloaded the movie off of kazaa a few nights ago. was interesting for the most bit, johnny depp's character was certainly entertaining with his monologues ... but benico del toro's acting just put me off. i stopped watching after an hour or so and then deleted it off my drive, though i now understand all the bat references (2nd wallpaper from bottom).

i got lost once again in atlanta, the city i've called home for four score minus 76 years. my friend told me the directions to the marta station, and then had me repeat them to her so i wouldn't lose my way. i began walking towards the station when an interesting idea popped into my head resulting in my daydreaming for 15 minutes while i walked. after i wake up, i notice that i'm lost. luckily the bank of america building was in site, unfortunately it was far far far away in the distance. i walked as best i could and twice had to backtrack as the sidewalks suddenly morphed into highways. 30 minutes of navigation led me to the bp station from where i was rescued by phil. i bought him a coke.

my mother sent me some clothes in the mail. some graphic t-shirts (my favorite of which is a red shirt with a small black print of an avenue with the text "where am i going") and a shirt from abercrombie & fitch. though, i de-abercrombie & fitched it by ironing the wrinkly mass of cotton.

is it me, or does abercrombie & fitch and brooks brothers just feature an all white cast in their ads?
07.09.2003
22.38 gmt -05.00

juno reactor
shango
nitrogen (part ii)
15
blargh, need to get my sleep pattern back on track.
07.05.2003
04.01 gmt -05.00

white noise
a/c
computer power source
14
i wish i knew how to play the piano (if the link doesn't work, copy and paste http://b0g.org/wsnm/uploads/camo_plays_mario.wmv into your browser).

this would explain some of the anime names out there.

how fast is warp speed anyway?

what's in the harry potter names?

i was to meet my friend mehria in front of the skanska building wednesday at 16.00. we haven't seen each other in months. skanska is located on 70 ellis street north east, near gsu and in downtown atlanta. i thought it would be nice to walk down there instead of taking marta. i drew myself a map with centennial olympic park as a major landmark, along with a bunch of lines without names representing roads that i would have to cross, and one labeled peachtree street north east which intersected with another line labeled ellis street northeast, and then a star drawn some ways up the ellis street line ... that was my destination. off i set into the rising / setting (i dunno what it was doing at that time) sun at 15.00. 15 minutes into my walk i remember how far centennial olympic park really is. another 15 minutes and i find myself in centennial olympic park ... without a clue as to my orientation. if only i had bothered naming those lines on my paper. when you go to tech, all you have to do when you find yourself lost is to look up and find the bellsouth and bank of america building and then set off in their direction. i looked up and saw the westin hotel and a bunch of others that i didn't know.

i was lost.

i didn't panic though, kept my head, and kept walking in what i hoped was the right direction. came across a map of the downtown area. i spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure it out and saw, much to my dismay, that i had overshot my destination by a number of streets. walking further down i saw a sign for peachtree street northwest. northeast must be around somewhere. a bum saw my plight and asked me where i was heading. i gave him my homemade map and he turned it around for about 6 minutes muttering he knows where it is and then he tells me that i should head to my left. he then asked if i had any money on me, i was happy to oblige since he did tell me where i could find mehria. but alas, i could not reward him with much for had i pulled out my wallet he surely would have spotted the $100 bill in it; i gave him some change instead.

i saw a police station and leapt with glee! surely they will know where ellis street is exactly.

they did not.

i asked a lady on the street for directions for amusement, she pointed me in the opposite direction that i have been walking. i finally found ellis street and a frustrated mehria. the time was 16.40. right by her office was the marta station she told me to take. we spent the remainder of the afternoon talking and exchanging marta stories.

the morals of that day (in no particular order)
01. use marta
02. bums know the city well, the cops don't
03. don't go walking in the city if you're me, even after living in atlanta for 4 years i can still manage to get myself lost.

friday five:

01. what were your favorite childhood stories?
that would have to be the story of tona and tuni. a story of ravenous sparrows. tona (the girl) is in the mood for some pitha but tuni informs tona that all they have in the fridge is some old milk and lettuce. tona must venture out and find ingredients and in his quest encounters foes and makes a deal with them in exchange for their materials, tona and tuni will give them some of their pitha. tona brings the stuff back and tuni works her magic and makes some of the tastiest pithas ever. to tasty in fact that tona and tuni eat it all up. now, the people tona met in his travels come by their house asking for some of the pitha, but since they have none, tona and tuni in a burst of creative energy make faux pithas. in the story the ingredients for faux pithas vary from mud and sticks to poo. there are also variations in which they hide from the intruders or run away. there's also one where the cops take tona away on account of fraud and in his anger turn into a hulk sparrow. most fun.

02. what books from your childhood would you like to share with (your) children?
the velveteen rabbit, the little engine that could, and the berstein bears series.

03. have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?
nope, haven't touched them in ages.

04. how old were you when you first learned to read?
i dunno, 4, 5 maybe? i can barely read now anyway.

05. do you remember the first ‘grown-up’ book you read? how old were you?
i think it was ender's game, in 6th grade i think.

oh, one more thing ... happy birthday melu!
07.04.2003
00.19 gmt -05.00

last exile
dolce triade
chivalry spirits
13
no updates for some three odd weeks. school has not been very busy, it is summer after all. i've just been terribly lazy. my apologies.

i purchased the animatrix from hmv about three weeks ago. i pre-ordered the dvd on amazon.com two weeks before its sale date and expected delivery on the 4th of june, the 6th eventually rolls around and the shipping date was pushed back to the 8th ... the 11th rolls around and the shipping date still says the 8th, so i canceled my order and went to hmv (what does hmv mean anyway?).

smitha and i saw finding nemo on opening night. it's pixar's best work to date. i'm amazed that they were able to render the water so exactly. the only downside to the movie was the short film in the beginning; it was a repeat from the earlier days of pixar.

a guide to donnie darko.

a quiz to end all quizzes.

due to the tropical storm bill the weather here at the moment is gorgeous. it's about 07.30 here and the sky is a menacing grey. very little rain, but the wind is continuously blowing. best of all the temperature is a cool 70°. times like this make me yearn for a laptop.

putting my desk next to the window was a mistake.
07.01.2003
07.40 gmt -05.00

last exile
dolce triade
a morning in norkia
12
[ name ] hamza
[ nicknames ] hamzu, the little brown kid
[ born in ] tissemsilt, algeria
[ resides in ] atlanta, georgia
[ good student ] on the days i can get myself out of bed
[ eyes ] brown
[ hair ] black
[ shoe size ] 10ish

last time you ...
[ had a nightmare ] last night
[ said "i love you" and meant it ] two days ago
[ ate at mcdonald's ] two weeks ago
[ dyed your hair ] i want to
[ brushed your hair ] i use a comb
[ washed your hair ] ten minutes ago
[ checked your e-mail ] this morning
[ cried ] a month and half prior to today
[ called someone ] last friday
[ smiled ] last night
[ laughed ] last friday night at intermezzo
[ talked to an ex ] i don't usually speak to members of the alphabet

do you ...
[ smoke? ] no
[ do drugs? ] non
[ have sex? ] nein
[ sleep with stuffed animals? ] iie
[ have a dream that keeps coming back? ] all the time
[ play an instrument? ] i wish i could
[ believe there is life on other planets? ] yep
[ remember your first love? ] yep
[ still love him/her? ] differently now
[ read the newspaper? ] no time
[ have any straight friends? ] yes
[ consider love a mistake? ] nope
[ like the taste of alcohol? ] i've never had, but i don't like the smell
[ believe in god? ] hai
[ pray? ] hai
[ go to church? ] mosque on fridays
[ have any secrets? ] i can't tell you that
[ have any pets? ] my little sister heidi
[ talk to strangers who instant message you? ] for a bit till they ask me for a/s/l
[ wear hats? ] i hate hat hair
[ have any piercings? ] nope
[ have any tattoos? ] nope
[ hate yourself? ] all the time
[ have an obsession? ] sleep
[ have a secret crush? ] nope
[ collect anything? ] pens, watches, un-submitted homework assignments
[ have a best friend? ] yep
[ like your handwriting? ] yep [ have any bad habits? ] i chew on my pens and whatever i'm holding in my hand at the moment
[ care about looks? ] only half the time
[ boy/girlfriend's looks? ] n/a
[ friends and other people? ] ?
[ believe in witches? ] nope
[ believe in satan? ] sure [ believe in ghosts? ] nope

current:
[ dress ] jeans, a polo shirt, and my blue nikes
[ mood ] hungry
[ make-up ] no
[ music ] anime playlist
[ taste ] cotton
[ hair ] a mess
[ annoyance ] my eyes haven't focused yet
[ smell ] outside
[ thought ] getting my grid generated
[ book ] too many to count
[ fingernail color ] whatever color fingernails are
[ refreshment ] coke in a glass bottle
[ worry ] getting my grid generated
[ crush ] none
[ favorite celebrity ] natalie portman

last person ...
[ you touched ] ruhina
[ you talked to ] heidi
[ you hugged ] ruhina
[ you instant messaged ] mellissa
[ you yelled at ] can't remember
[ you had a crush on ] can't say
[ who broke your heart ] can't say
[ kissed ] mom

who do you want to:
[ kill ] dr. prasad
[ slap ] dr. prasad
[ tickle ] heidi (she explodes)
[ talk to ] rabab
[ have sex with ] can't say
[ kiss ] no one in particular
[ be like ] mayank
06.09.2003
13.36 gmt -05.00

midival punditz
forest dreams
11
no, the site is neither dead nor forgotten. servers were being moved and much craziness ensued, but i'm back now.

finals were good, did ok on them. summer semester is in session now and i'm taking 3 classes. the best part about this summer is that i once again have a room to myself. the even better part of summer school is that my room has a window and when it is left in an open position . . . a wind blows through it . . . simply wonderful.

i'm currently in iowa visiting the family and adeeb who graduated today. congrats! he's going to north western to major in something, pre-med i think. i'll ask him tomorrow.

adeeb's cousins came down for his graduation. i knew his cousins before i ever met adeeb (with sub continent asians, the degrees of separation are no greater than 2, truly). around 3 years ago we went to bma (bangladesh medical association) and met all our old friends from the days of pennsylvania. something came off of tammi's shalwar-kameez and having no pockets, she gave it to me to hold till the function was over. i had forgotten to give it back that night, but was able to get it to her today.

i leave for atlanta tuesday early morning. flight leaves at 7am or so with a stopover in some other city and then arriving in atlanta around 10am giving me a departure time from ottumwa at about 4am.

fun.

watching adeeb and his cousin's made me realize how much i miss my family back in bangladesh. i miss them more than words can say. hopefully we can go home sometime soon.

loneliness does make the heart grow fonder, but not in a good way.
05.25.2003
01.43 gmt -05.00

last exile
hitomi
over the sky
10
i have no brain and i must study.

tomorrow is my last final. today's jet propulsion final went very well. the test was a disappointment though, i was expecting something more . . . challenging. monday's tests were something else. right now i feel like the cat in schrödinger's box. i was showering this morning and let out a big "oh shit!" as i recall using the wrong particular solution to solve problem #2 in the Æroelasticity test. or so i think i recall. if i used the correct solution, i'm well to do, if not, i lose big time. i'll find out tomorrow which is it, but for now it's all one big quantum mess.

speaking of showers, i arrive at my exam earlier this morning and begin to work on it. a quarter of the way through i got to scratch my neck and feel this big piece of flaky skin. weirded me out it did. then i find out it's a big flake of soap (irish spring). searching my neck for more pieces i extract what seems half a bar of blue soap . . . that was on my neck for the first 30 minutes of class.

remember; make sure you rinse yourself thoroughly.
04.30.2003
21.16 gmt -05.00

iio
at the end (scumfrog mix)
09
as of late i've been on a danny elfman binge. i used to enjoy the work of john williams but after a while his pieces became repetitive. though i suppose one could say the same about elfman.

well eric, the friday five questions have been un-interesting as of late, so i'm doing this instead for you

if i were a stone, i would be: obsidian
if i were a tree, i would be: a cherry tree
if i were a bird, i would be: the wind-up bird
if i were a machine, i would be: a music box mechanism
if i were a tool, i would be: a level
if i were a flower/plant, i would be: an orchid
if i were a kind of weather, i would be: a breezy spring night
if i were a mythical creature, i would be: a martlet
if i were a musical instrument, i would be: a piano
if i were an animal, i would be: a merekat
if i were a color, i would be: glossy black
if i were an emotion, i would be: bittersweetness
if i were a vegetable, i would be: a cucumber
if i were a sound, i would be: a single clear, fading note
if i were an element, i would be: air
if i were a car, i would be: a bmw m5
if i were a song, i would be: hooverphonic - out of sight
if i were to trade places with another person, it would be: mayank
if i were a movie, i would be: donnie darko
if i were a food, i would be: sushi
if i were a place, i would be: manhattan
if i were a material, i would be: synthetic fiber
if i were a taste, i would be: fresh
if i were a religion, i would be: islam
if i were a word, i would be: juxtapose / Ærodynamic
if i were an object, i would be: a very fine pen
if i were a body part i would be: the hand
if i were a facial expression i would be: a quiet smirk
if i were a subject in school i would be: math
if i were a cartoon character i would be: dib
if i were a shape i would be: a square
if i were a number i would be: 1
if i were a month i would be: december
if i were a day of the week i would be: friday
if i were a time of day i would be: twilight
if i were a direction i would be: east
if i were a piece of furniture i would be: an italian chair
if i were a sin i would be: anger
if i were a historical figure i would be: prandtl
if i were a liquid i would be: glass (yes i know it's an amorphous solid)
if i were a method of death i would be: sleep

interesting . . . the person from whom i copied this answered Æroelasticity which word she would be. perhaps she's Æ at tech also?

thanks to my sis for taking some of her time to help me out with that, i'm not gifted like she is with words and images.

finals are next week . . . not much time to study . . . i'll see you all later.

oh, before i forget, i googled coincidence (looking for the appropriate spelling) and came upon this site. they arranged coincidences between you and the girl you want to meet. if only i had $75,000 lying around . . .
04.23.2003
00.44 gmt -05.00

danny elfman
mission impossible
claire
08
updates! first update, increased the font size to 10, no more. fixed the alignment problems with the menu on the left. also, i've decided to use both layout schemes. from 12am - 6am, the dark layout will be in place. the light format will be used for the remainder of the day (thanks much to andy for helping me out). the colors on the dark layout are also fixed. no . . . none of the other links are working, i'll get working on those once summer starts, for now, it's just this page.

senior design is done! our presentations were this past tuesday, we were the last group to go; though it didn't go quite as smoothly as i had hoped. robert (our program manager, i'm the chief engineer) lost it almost immediÆtly, and got so nervous he started to forget our job titles and re-assign them. he then started just reading off the numbers off the slides and moving on (a definite no). when it was my part, i was thinking to myself *don't say um, don't say um!* . . . i of course say "um . . . so . . . Ærodynamics . . ." kicked myself in the head i did. every time i would think not to say um, i said um. and then (following presentation tradition where i do something wrong, last time around, i knocked a chair over and it made the most tremendous racket in the most quiet room ever) i realized that i've been talking about the wrong slide for like a minute and then some. caught myself before i made it worse and started again properly.

but, it's done! senior design is over! the people from lockheed-martin even commented on how very nice our plane looked. two groups had planes that resembled the a-6. i have to say that our design was the most eye pleasing. the engine placement / exhaust and horizontal / vertical tail configuration resembles that of a f-4. afterwards the visitors from lockheed-martin gave lecturer jenkins (he teaches the senior design course. he joined the Ærospace industry around 1942 and has worked on an amazing number of planes out there, he even spent quite some time with lm, though he can't tell us much more about it. if any of you have read catch-22, jenkins reminds me of major___decoverly) a model of the c-5 that they are working on.

pat's group gave the best presentation. they went above and beyond in the design process working on trade studies to get the optimum values, as opposed to hunting out a number from historical data (as the majority of us have done). they were even prepared for the questions. everything that they were asked, pat had a slide ready ahead of time to deal with it . . . simply outstanding. pat also received the engineer of the year award.

a part of me dreads graduation. i've spent 4 years of my life with these people (and in a graduating class of 80 some students, you get to know everyone). we shared jokes, problems, accomplishments, it'll be sad leaving all of this to enter something wholly new once again. having to forge out a new position in whatever social environment i'm placed in. within our Æ graduating class i was the 12th hour man. the one who spent a month doing nothing, but managed to finish the report on the last day (and doing a fine job at that).

what will i be wherever i next go?
04.17.2003
03.55 gmt -05.00

david gray
the other side
07
modified the layout so the navigational menu on the left remains static. though i'm conflicted over what color scheme to use, i'm considering adopting the dark scheme for good. comments are welcome. i might end up leaving the color scheme up to the user. also working on a script to change the picture (not randomly) and have it load that picture on the next visit.

ferry corsten did a spectacular job remixing this song. unfortunately, it has not been released yet so finding this gem takes some time; and when you do find a copy, the recording is not up to par. but nonetheless, if you're a fan of trance / ferry corsten / u2 . . . listen to this song.

since our design proposal is due on monday; friday, saturday, and sunday shall be spent in the confines of the Æ lab.

in the previous issue of wired, cliff lett has this to say about speed, "it's all about power, and punching a smaller hole in the air." indeed it is.
04.04.2003
04.56 gmt -05.00

u2

new year's day (ferry corsten vinyl mix)
06
since the spring semester of tech is drawing to a sudden close, project deadlines are looming closer and closer. our final report for our senior design is due next week. thankfully we're on schedule. all that is left to do is go over the plots and numbers one last time and prepare it for submission. our catia model came out looking much better than i had expected. and it looks damn sexy. very very sleek, though i think the majority of that is due to the tail design we're using, i'll put pictures up once we have everything settled.

there was an Æroelasticity test this past thursday. problem 1 dealt with a uniform beam constrained by a pin and a spring located distance h on the left end. the right end was free, but had a slender beam attached to the free end with a point mass on both ends. both of those point masses were a distance h from the elastic axis. basically, the question consisted of finding the boundary conditions for the left and right sides, finding the particular and characteristc solutions, and finding the mode shapes. now, i got the first part of this okay i think but i struggled much on the remainder . . . till i noticed that one of the conditions was "when h=0" . . . now when h is 0, the problem becomes a trivial set up since the point masses and spring no longer produce a moment . . . i had five minutes left to write down all i knew about bending and draw arrows showing where they should go. problem 2 was about divergence on a wall mounted airfoil, peace of cake, full points i believe. i'll find out on tuesday how much i really got.

i recently subscribed to wired and got their first issue some months ago. then, i never got their second issue. i assume my mail box buddy had taken it. yesterday while checking mail, i see 2 wired issues in there, this months, and last months . . . weird.

as usual, here's the friday five for last week:

01. if you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
easy, ludwig prandtl the father of Ærodynamics.

02. if you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
14th century france.

03. if you had to move anywhere else on earth, where would it be?
anywhere? japan!

04. if you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
hiro protagonist from snow crash

05. if you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be? dunno

and this week's friday five:

01. what was your most memorable moment from the last week?
getting some nice pictures of the cherry blossoms.

02. what one person touched your life this week?
that would be ruhina.

03. how have you helped someone this week?
i brought phil food while we was working on our plane in the lab.

04. what one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
our final report!

05. what one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
clean up the kitchen.
03.29.2003
16.11 gmt -05.00

crystal method
the winner
05
friday five:

01. do you like talking on the phone? why or why not?
only with close friends, i feel uncomfortable with other people.

02. who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
my mom.

03. about how many telephones do you have at home?
3 phones, 3 cell phones.

04. have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? what happened?
the only person i can think about would be sprint pcs. i leave my phone on throughout the night, and twice now, i've received message notifications from my phone, rousing me from my deep slumber in order to check out sprint's new phone plans.

05. would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? why or why not?
i would much rather write them a letter. it's much more personal i think than sending a letter or phone call.

lack of updates are due to this week being most terrible. school and little sleep mixed with other stuff has just . . . a very very very bad week. but tomorrow is friday, and i intend to spend a lot of it at the mall and target. i have to get my film developed, buy more film, buy a filter for my camera, have it serviced, get a filter for my water jug, and buy a shirt from express (if they have one) and a watch from diesel.

four hours of sleep a night for five days straight does really give you some . . . "interesting" dreams. thank goodness coffee is only a walk and dollar seventeen away.

site updates will be really slow now that this semester is drawing to a quick close. my biggest worries are Æroelasticity (one of the, if not most, difficult classes at tech) and our senior design project (the plane refuses to fly! well it could, but the wings are not generating enough lift). but tomorrow is something to look forward to. me and some Æ friends are convening at my place for a macross plus viewing. saturday is the atlanta auto show.

for now, i must be tending to japanese. till then, learn all about the forefathers.
03.13.2003
00.25 gmt -05.00

depeche mode
i feel loved (danny tenaglia remix)
04
friday five:

01. what is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?
favortie type, science fiction of course! though i enjoy the usual literary or technology magazine.

02. what is your favorite novel?
favorite novel, wold have to be shared between, blindness by jose saramago, ender's game by orson scott card, neuromancer by william gibson, snow crash by neal stephenson, and neverwhere by neil gaiman. but i think, frank herbert's dune takes the cake.

03. do you have a favorite poem? (share it!)
indeed:

lucifer in starlight by george meredith
on a starr'd night prince lucifer uprose.
tired of his dark dominion swung the fiend
above the rolling ball in cloud part screen'd,
where sinners hugg'd their spectre of repose.
poor prey to his hot fit of pride were those.
and now upon his western wing he lean'd,
now his huge bulk o'er afric's sands careen'd,
now the black planet shadow'd arctic snows.
soaring through wider zones that prick'd his scars
with memory of the old revolt from awe,
he reach'd a middle height, and at the stars,
which are the brain of heaven, he look'd, and sank.
around the ancient track march'd, rank on rank,
the army of unalterable law.

the tyger by william blake
tyger! tyger! burning bright
in the forests of the night
what immortal hand or eye
could frame thy fearful symmetry?

in what distant deeps or skies
burnt the fire of thine eyes?
on what wings dare he aspire?
what the hand dare sieze thy fire?

and what shoulder, & what art,
could twist the sinews of thy heart?
and why thy heart began to beat,
what dread hand? & what dread feet?

what the hammer? what the chain?
in what furnace was thy brain?
what the anvil? what dread grasp
dare its deadly terrors grasp?

when the stars threw down their spears
and water'd heaven with their tears,
did he smile his work to see?
did he who made the lamb make thee?

tyger! tyger! burning bright
in the forests of the night,
what immortal hand or eye
dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

04. what is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?
i've started war and peace and dr. zhivago, but it has been about seven months since i last picked them up.

05. what are you currently reading?
the latest issue of wired and harper's. along with catch 22 and a canticle for leibowitz.
02.28.2003
00.12 gmt -05.00

adema
giving in
03
friday five from last week:

01. what is your most prized material possession?
i can't think of one specifically, but of all my items, i prize my book, pen, and watch collection most of all.

02. what item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
i can barely remember where i placed my keys, how am i then supposed to recall what i have owned the longest?

03. are you a packrat?
yes.

04. do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?
it has to be free of dust and dirt and grime and other nastiness. clutter and disarray though are an essential part of my life. though every now and then i will organize and align everything perpendicular to the edges or in line with the moon.

05. do the rooms in your house have a theme? or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?
well, my bedroom is where i sleep, and my living room is where i live, and my bathroom is where i read books. i'll put anything wherever i can find space for it, within certain limits of course.
02.27.2003
12.56 gmt -05.00

niraj chag
ye zameen
02
friday five from two weeks past:

01. explain why you started to journal/blog.
for my own sake really, i could barely remember what i had done the previous week, and to also have someplace where i can try out new designs.

02. do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? why or why not?
very few people that i know know about my blog. i don't care much about advertising my site's existence.

03. do you have a theme for your journal/blog?
Ærospace engineering. the pictures all have something to do with the field. skies, engines, airplanes, etc...

04. what direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year?
to be one of those that everyone would link to, even if they don't read it, in hopes of gaining more readers and attention by the mere presence of the link.

05. pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs.
let's try this again, pomegranita, exploring the nature of blog, moby, and kottke.

what do you all think of the new design? my roommates were telling me the other that they could recognize a webpage designed by myself easily, that i have a certain unique style, that it's getting old and stale and plain . . . screw 'em. the new design requires a resolution of 1024 by 768 at the least, and the latest version of internet explorer or the equivalent.

my friend eric has set up a blog of his own, go see.

i must get back to jetpro. in the meantime, have a look around the designers republic.
02.26.2003
20.44 gmt -05.00

télépopmusik
breathe
01
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