Seven hours in the lab today, and I finished about six system calls to our OS. So far we have done maybe one fourth to one third of the programming portion, and we still have to finalize the design doc, do loads of testing, and, oh yeah, figure out how to do the rest of the assignment.

I think that the curriculum people in CS should really make it clear that if you plan on taking OS, or any project based course, you should really not have five courses. Not even if they are relatively easy. I'm already behind in all my readings, and finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with assignments as OS gets more and more intense. And this is only three weeks into the school term.

There needs to be thirty hours in a day.

A calm, well written dissent to the war again Iraq and the general US foreign policy.

Word on the street is that the Raptors are training in Waterloo next week, and they're having a game at the PAC this Saturday. But in order to get tickets, you have to go to the football game tomorrow, donate some money to some charity, and grab a ticket to see Vince and the boys.

Last night at the Bombshelter, there was a surprise in the men's bathroom. Ben ran back and excitedly told me about it, and when the time came, I had to go check it out for myself.

As soon as you walk in, the smell of cologne just overwhelmed the senses. There was a person there who turned on the water, squeezed liquid soap into your hand, and handed you a paper towel to dry off with. There were also a line of a variety of colognes behind the sinks, as well as two tip bowls in between the sinks. I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the bathroom, even later into the night. Rather than the regular pile of used paper towels in the corner and water all over the place, there were only some (suspicious) water on the floors, and a clean counter where the sinks are.

I'm told that the women's bathroom didn't get the same quality treatment, which begs the question: did Bomber get those guys to come, or did they just show up and set up shop in the bathroom?

It seems a feasible business plan. Maybe they're in the new MBET program.

OS is going to be the death of me.

I'm eating, sleeping, drinking, and even walking OS. And to think that I want to take real-time next term.

I tried to do work. Really. But then we had the bathroom incident.

Good thing I didn't go before I flushed. It would have been a lot more, let's say, interesting. We spent about an hour cleaning up the overflowing toilet, and bleaching down the floor to disinfect the eau de toilet. Then our house smelt like a swimming pool.

Coldplay pictures, including some experiments with videos.

Raindrops falling on my head...

That's what happened at Matt's party last night. The flashes of lightning, and raindrops as big as small babies were all part of the excitement. Despite the weather, there were still quite a few people who arrived, although we were pretty skeptical at the beginning.

Now I must focus my mind and do a couple of hours work before Coldplay.

Fell on floor laughing.

The toll on "Ellen Feiss Naked" searches has risen to 8.

Assorted other "naked" search terms:

• china hostel naked girls
• drunk naked pictures
• naked ubc girls
• sexy naked on rafts

Today we did this measurement of locus control exercise in my management science class. In short, it is a method of determining whether you think you are in control of your life, or if you think you have no control of the happenings surrounding you.

It had statements like "Promotions are earned through hard work and persistence" or "Getting promoted is really a matter of being a little luckier than the next person"; "achieving a successful marriage depends on the devotion and commitment of both partners to each other" or " The most important element in a happy marriage is being lucky enough to marry the right person"; and "People like me can change the course of world affairs if we make ourselves heard" or "It is only wishful thinking to believe that you can really influence what happens in society at large".

This got me intrigued, especially on the marriage questions. Is the increasing rates of divorce a result of an increasingly external locus of control in family life? Are people getting divorced because they think "well, I guess it's just my luck that I married the wrong person" rather than trying to stick out the tough times?

Why is it that as our society as a whole becomes more educated and literate, we cannot devote more time and attention to our spouse? In my mind, marriage = "til death do us part". And outside of persistent physical and verbal abuse, there are very few reasons to justify a break of that bond. I don't buy into that whole "irreconciliable differences" bullshit. Of course there are going to be differing opinions and tough times. But that is a test of our patience and persistence and love.

Am I too conservative in my thinking?

I really need to get in the habit of studying more. It's only been a week of school, and I'm already behind on my readings and assignments.

A term of only work, and no courses has really destroyed my motivation for studying.

Focus, focus, focus.

Reading a textbook and talking on MSN at the same time does not work.

So far this month, I have received 3 hits for the search phrase "ellen feiss naked". No, I don't have naked pictures of Ellen Feiss, no one does on the internet. Give it up.

Yes, I realize now that since I have the three words "ellen feiss naked" together, I'll probably have more hits the next time google indexes me.

I feel tired.

Every term in Waterloo, I have this great circle of friends I hang out with. We go out and drink, we sit around and talk, we play cards, we go on bike rides. But as soon as the term ends, it's as if the circle just disappears. I get nothing until I go back to school and find out about everyone's life on the off term. There are no emails, no phone calls, nothing.

I'm tired of having to be the one to always initiate contact. I'm tired of searching out people's emails so I can get no reply. I'm tired of always calling others to find out what they're doing. I'm frustrated that some people whom I consider close friends don't find me important enough to tell me what's going on in their lives.

I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of trying. I'm going to stop.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and you know who you are.

I still remember the last time when all the channels broadcasted the same images. The same thing is happening again today, except we're not in so much shock. Everyone says that a year ago, the world changed. I certainly don't feel it. Other than the longer lines at airports and a few empty warnings put out by the US government, not much has affected my way of life. I lived in Seattle for four months, and didn't feel any dramatic difference.

I'm not even paranoid of the FBI reading my mail or my weblog, because I really have nothing that important to say.

So whose lives have changed? Maybe those who lost someone in the disaster, maybe those in the armed forces who are patrolling the Baltic rather than cruising the Pacific, maybe those slashdotters who are concerned about personal privacy and government intrusions.

But me? I'm just a student at Waterloo in Canada. Nothing changes here.

How come freezers don't have a light? What if I got up in the middle of the night and felt like a popcicle or iced cream?

I had to sleep on the couch in the living room last night. It's not because I'm in the doghouse with myself, it's because I live in a semi-attic, and am too Canadian to be able to bear the heat. I could actually feel the temperature change from warm to hot as I ascend those dark and winding stairs, careful not to bump my head on the slanted ceilings.

Don't get me wrong. My room is great. It's got the biggest desk in the house, and I like big desks. I just wish it wasn't so damn hot all the time. I can't even concentrate. Hopefully it will be better once winter comes.

A Tu Mama Tambien is a great movie, and not for the reasons some might think. It's a movie about truth, and how we always hide things, even from the best of friends. It's a movie about self-discovery, and finding out what life has to offer you. It's a movie about getting drunk and smoking up. Go see it.

Everyone in computer science can benefit from the Story About Ping.

Actually, it's really only the spotlight review that's interesting. Who knew that this book would spawn the internet architecture as we know it today?

I don't know how people survive in hot weather. It is boiling up here in my room. I think I'm sweating even as I sit here. I wish I lived in the basement.

Movie of the day was "I am Sam". Great acting on Sean Penn's part. It used very vivid and complementary colours throughout the movie, and a blue theme during all the interrogation scenes. It also has many tie in's to Beatles facts, which would explain why the entire soundtrack is Beatle's covers. This is a good movie to see, but expect some sobbing from the sensitive type.

Scanned August pictures now up.

During our first night of stay at the Vancouver hostel (Global Village Backpackers), our roommates whom we had not seen left us a note (600 kb) prior to going to bed (here's a smaller version).

I love staying in hostels.

I must have some sort of sweating disorder. It seems that every time I do something mildly physical, drops of water just start forming on my forhead. I didn't used to be like this.

But I also don't hate the food I used to hate when I was a kid. Funny how people change when they grow up.

Pictures from July have been scanned, and more has been added to the digital section of August.

Back and safe at home. Busy scanning in more pictures. And I have to move soon too. So much work, so little time.