Elfy · doom

So here I am after three weeks! Tonight was a good night. Was having a lot of fun out there and trying to work in some new moves and a bit more motion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibsAUqXMTo

Moves in the video:

• 3 beat weave (turning)
• 5 beat weave (turning)
• Thread the Needle (forwards and reverse)
• Butterfly (and variations of)
• Corkscrew
• Windmill
• 4 Beat Windmill

Current Mood:	excited
Current Music:	The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land

Seems there was an error with the previous video, so it has been uploaded again.  Sorry about that...

Last night I just was not on.  There were a few tangles and flaming poi bouncing off me (unintentionally).  Obviously I need more practice with the fire poi (unlit) to get a feel for the weight.

This video is a combination of two videos showing some of the better parts. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6QJtI-LVQ

Current Mood:

tired

After a week of practicing, here is my second night spinning with fire. Special thanks to Melanie who has helped me get started, Yvonne for the practice poi, and to playpoi.com who has awesome instructional videos.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=D85lkBPM3Og

Moves in the video:

• 3 beat weave
• 3 beat turning weave
• 5 beat weave
• butterfly (and with a bit of variation)

Things to work on:

• Planes
• Transistions
• Variety/Performance
• And of course, learning new things =)

Current Mood:	excited
Current Music:	Metallica - ...and Justice for All

So tonight I learned how to spin poi, and at the end of the night I got to try my hand at it lit! It was so much fun! It took a little to get my hands used to moving in those patterns, but the thrill from when I finally got it was absolutely amazing. And so, hopefully I'll be out spinning and practicing quite a bit now to get better and learn new things =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Mrl2G4JZY

Current Mood:

excited

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=163653&title=marines-in-berkeley

I get the feeling that my students are getting tired of exception handling...

try {
  ...
catch ( NumberFormatException e )
{
  System.out.println(e);
  System.out.println("User Error between the keyboard and the chair.");
}

Well, today I took my last final.  I am now done with my BSC in OMIS!  It feels nice to be done with it, and odd at the same time.  I graduated from High School in June 2001, so it has taken me about 6 years to complete it.  Along the way I went to a total of 3 schools and earned an AA in Accounting.  I have also gained quite a bit of professional work experience, and most recently sys admin experience from working on campus.  A great deal of time and energy has gone into getting me where I am and into making me the man I am today.  Even though this was not the most normal of roads, it was my road and in retrospect I am happy with it because of who it has made and how I have developed along the way.

So this big question with a graduate is always, "what next?"  Well, work and more school.  In January I start the MSIS at Santa Clara.  While working towards this I will also be continuing as a sys admin, and will be working closely with a professor gaining research and TA experience.  All of this is in preparation for a PhD school.  These past 6 years have been to just get over this first hurdle, now I have two more facing me.  I know it is a long road ahead of me still, but at the end I believe it will be worth it.

In the immediate future, though, is relaxing and a bit of partying.  Tonight I am having dinner with the family, tomorrow night is a party with friends, and then Sunday is the big celebration dinner.  It has been one crazy quarter, so it is nice to have some relaxtion time now to unwind before starting it again.

Cheers!

Current Mood:

accomplished

This has got to be one of the oddest stories I've read on the BBC News site; it looks like it should be in The Onion instead.

Rich US dog hiding after threats

A dog that inherited $12m (£5.8m) from late New York hotelier Leona Helmsley is in hiding after it was targeted by death threats, US media say.

Trouble, a white Maltese that belonged to the billionaire until her death in August, was flown by private jet to Florida, the New York Post reported.

It says the tiny bitch was whisked away under an assumed name after receiving about 20 threats.

Trouble is said to have earned a number of enemies due to its habit of biting.

She was taken to an undisclosed location in Florida two months ago, the newspaper said.

John Codey, who manages the dog's trust fund, told US television network CBS last week the cost of Trouble's security, medical care, chef-cooked meals and grooming was about $300,000 (£145,000) a year.

Dubbed the "Queen of Mean", Mrs Helmsley stipulated in her will that her beloved dog should be buried after its death beside her and her late husband Harry, who died in 1997.

When Trouble dies, any remaining money from the pet's trust will go to the charitable foundations that inherited most of the hotel magnate's estate.

Famous for pronouncing that "only the little people pay taxes", Mrs Helmsley died of heart failure in August, aged 87.

"The Raven," by Edgar Allen Poe. Performed by Vincent Price

"All Souls Night," by Loreena McKennitt.

We just had ourselves a nice little earthquake here.  Preliminary measures right now are indicating a 5.6 magnitude quake centered 5 miles NNE of Alum Rock, CA.  For reference, I'm in Santa Clara, CA.

Happily there is no damage that I can tell from the quake here.  There was a bit of shaking and swaying (second story in the apartment), and Callie bolted for the bedroom, but other than that all is well.  I must say it is really quite nice that we still have power and communications after the tremor.

More information on the earthquake can be found on the USGS site

And now comes the wait to see if there will be any aftershocks.

Current Mood:	shaken (not stirred)
Current Music:	Loreena McKennitt - Live in Paris and Toronto