Autelligent Laboratories

Now, all of you have probably heard about smolderingremains before, but I've got something new to tell you guys. :)

He's got this awesome new project in order to help create jobs for those in the Autistic and Asperger's communities. Here are people who are underrepresented in occupational communities even though they are as driven to succeed, as competent, and as intelligent as everybody else. So Ike has created Autelligent Laboratories (more information here) in order to create jobs for those with Autism and Asperger's.

But, see, the cool thing is that whether you have either of these conditions or know someone who does or not, you can still help out. Believe me when I say that he appreciates all of the help he can get in getting the word out to as many people as possible. So create a blog, tell your friends, let people know that there is a project right here to extend jobs to those in the Autistic and Asperger's communities! :D

You can read about it in Ike's own journal here (though the name poll is now over) and here.

Oh! And for a good source of information about both Autism and his AutLabs project, I'd suggest going here.

New Year (How Unoriginal of a Title)

Okay, so it's officially been forever and a day since I've posted anything here. There's no excuse for it, there really isn't. I have been busy, though. Not that any of you lot care (since "you lot" is pretty much, er, nobody). God, I feel like I'm talking to myself. Oh well, there might be more readers now that this is hooked up to my www.wrongplanet.net profile.

So, what the heck have I been up to? I don't know. Just kidding. Life's been crazy since my last post on here. In the last, oh, seven months, we've managed to figure out Kaytlin's issues (if not solve them), gotten a new puppy, rearranged my room at least once (and probably twice), and schoolwork has been kicking my butt. I've reached my one year anniversary for reenacting (and have been promoted to Corporal) and my three year anniversary for playing the sax. I've also gotten in better touch with a few family members, thanks to a combination of my mom and Facebook (don't ask).

And other things happened, things I'd prefer not to get into on here, but that made 2008 helluva lot crazier than 2007. But better than it too, in most cases.

I'm hoping to start getting on this again, but knowing me, I won't. I'm trying since this is available through the family blog and has a link on my wrongplanet profile (where I am also StarDragger, in case you ever have the urge to look for me and spy on what I've been up to).

I hope my few (if any) readers are doing well, and I'll catch y'all later!

P.S:....Don't forget about Ike! (See previous post.) I've gotten to know him a lot better recently and he's taught me a lot about myself. Thank him for me by either buying from him or becoming an advertiser for him. http://woohooligan.com/?a=481dbe1adc65a

My Friend, Ike

(<---Click here to buy some of Ike's work or become an advertiser for him.)

Okay, I'd like all of my...uh, readers (if I have any)...to meet my friend Ike. I met him over at DeviantART a while ago. We recently started talking in depth about a lot of things and I found out that we quite possibly have a lot in common. *clears throat* But that's not why I want you to meet him (though it's as good a reason as any other).

Now, I don't call him Ike (truthfully, I don't really call him anything, names aren't really a big issue at dA), I moreso know him as *smolderingremains. You should check out his art (by clicking on the link). Prepare to fall in love with his stuff, especially if you're a big fan of the Far Side comics by Gary Larson. Ike's comic strips are Far Side -esque without being copies. He's a very creative man.

Now, on to the reason I want you to meet him. (Other than the fact that he's an awesome guy and his artwork absolutely rocks.) He's having some money issues (once again, something I don't get, but it probably has to do with the fact that he doesn't get enough exposure, it has nothing to do with the art) and needs more people to buy his stuff. That's where I come in. He didn't ask me to do a full profile on him and such, but I figured it was the best I could do. This is his shop: CafePress. Go over and buy some stuff. The prices are pretty good and I would have gladly relieved him of a good amount of stock, if I had a credit card to do so. CafePress does not accept payment from PayPal but I'm currently trying to work something out with Ike because he does.

Spring Break

Over Spring Break, I went to Illinois to visit family. I'm not going to give a full, detailed list of all the activities we did since that'd take up about a week's worth of blogs ;) :P, but a day-by-day list of who we got to see and some of the more interesting days ought to be enough.

Thursday night to Friday morning was the drive out there (approximately a 14- to 16-hour drive with pit stops). I didn't sleep much since it was my job to keep my mom awake. I slept for two hours when we stopped to rest and maybe another hour more altogether, but that's it. Friday afternoon was okay, mostly calling people to tell them we made it out alright and running some errands with my grandma. We also saw my Aunt Krystal for a short visit while we were out.

Saturday, Uncle Steve and Aunt Vickie took us out to the Rainforest Cafe in Gurnee, and then we all went to Rocky's House of Fun and Mini Golf and spent the afternoon/early evening mini golfing. Really, Saturday deserves its own journal, but that's okay. Adam was feeling sick at lunch so he didn't eat his mac and cheese, but I enjoyed my steak. We all caught up and enjoyed the decorations in the Cafe. Adam perked up for mini golf and Kaytlin insisted on trading golf balls with Uncle every few holes. The place itself is cool because it's dark and everything is painted in paint that glows in the black lights that are hanging in there. All the painting and things are carnival-themed so there is a bearded lady plywood cutout and various glowing mock carnival rides. We took our time, letting other groups pass us if they were faster. Kaytlin took turns between having Uncle or Mom help her and hitting the golf ball herself. She did surprisingly well for her usual lack of control.

Sunday was Easter, but the fun that day started before anybody got to Grandma Bonnie's house. My mother gave my brother and sister a bath in the jacuzzi but my grandma didn't specify not to put too much bubble stuff into the jacuzzi and bubbles were everywhere. When we started scooping them out of he tub, we piled them into the separate shower to pop. Surprisingly, neither Grandma or Papa Ron were angry about it. In fact, Grandma said that the bathroom smelled nice after it was all said and done. The rest of Sunday was rather tame, even though everybody was at Grandma Bonnie's.

On Monday, we went down to Oswego to visit Uncle Matt and Aunt Tracy. I can't say it was nothing special since it's always fun with Uncle Matt around, but very little would be interesting to you guys. Cousin Richie also came over so I got to see him for the first time in probably a few years. We all talked about various things and had a really good dinner, and then we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get a gift for my Uncle Brian's wedding and then to Culver's to get dessert.

Tuesday was spent going down to Aurora to visit my dad's side of the family. We wanted to go out there because Grandma Nebel was recently in the hospital for kidney problems but when we finally got out there, she was doing better than she has for a while. Personally, I was glad to hear it, especially since my dad was mad that he wasn't able to come out and see her yet. After we visited her and brought her up to speed on how Kaytlin was doing, we went to Aunt Ze and Cousin Cris' house. I was finally able to get online and that's when I responded to the first batch of comments on dA. I didn't get to see the one cousin I wanted to (he's still in the military and somewhere else), but Kaytlin became good friends with our second cousin, Natalie Rose (who chewed out my mom for not visiting often enough :P). We had tacos for dinner and I did get to talk to my cousin, even if I didn't actually get to see him. We didn't get back to Grandma's house until 12:15 am (Oops...).

We spent half of Wednesday at Grandma's house before we went out to visit Aunt Tracy and Cousins Abby, Max, and Jake. After we spent a few hours there (and I attempted to read my comments on dA but didn't get very far because the computer was being a pain), we watched Max and Jake's karate class, which meant going back to Grandma's house since she teaches the class and the school is right next door to her house. After class, we went out to dinner with Aunt Tracy and Uncle Tommy, the cousins (Tom and Tracy's children, anyway), Papa Ron and Grandma Bonnie, and then Auntie Amber and her kids caught up with us while we were still there, but didn't eat dinner with us. Adam was finally feeling better so he ate a good amount of pizza.

On Thursday, we started packing up our stuff and Aunt Krystal, Grandma Betty, and a friend of my mom's from school all came over to visit. We spent some time relaxing but left to go to Uncle Steve's house early in the evening. We said happy birthday to Cousin Kim (not Uncle and Aunt's kid, Richie's sister) and Adam later gave her her 25 spankings and a pinch to grow an inch. :D We had spaghetti for dinner and Oreo cheesecake for dessert. Uncle taught Adam table hockey with pennies and sent him on a scavenger hunt, with money as the prize for each find. Adam was a pain most of the night, but in normal Uncle Steve fashion, he didn't really get mad. I think he got a little annoyed, but as my mom said, he's a quiet discipliner, very unlike my dad. He's also surprisingly fast, which I expected but which apparently caught Adam completely off-guard. That's what he gets for continuing to misbehave when even Uncle tells him to stop. :D Other than Adam's behavior, the night went very well for our last night before setting off on the road again.

Fact of the Day: English

Please excuse me while I hammer a few rhetorical terms into my head for AP English :P

Chiasmus: Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. Chiasmus is often short and summarizes a main idea.

Example: "Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves." —Shakespeare, Othello 3.3 ("Dotes" means the same as "strongly loves" and "doubts" means the same as "suspects")

Concrete Language: Language that describes specific, observable things, people or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

Connotation: Rather than the dictionary definition, the associations suggested by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning or denotation.

Consonance: Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Conventional: Following certain conventions or traditional techniques of writing. An overreliance on conventions may result in a lack of originality. The five-paragraph theme is considered conventional.

Cumulative: Sentence which begins with the main idea and then expands on that idea with a series of details or other particulars.

Deconstruction: A critical approach that debunks single definitions of meaning based on the instability of language. The deconstructionist re-examines literary conventions in light of a belief that deconstruction "is not dismantling of the structure of a text, but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself."

Didactic: A term used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Physics 1: Friction and Football

I figured the best way to augment my growing Physics education was to do a journal that shows real life applications (as in the hows and whys) of Physics. Today's is okay, but Physics can be a messy study and so it should be said that you're reading this at your own risk. Remember to duck if told to and beware of science content. :P

There are probably innumerable applications of Physics to any sport, but the one that I've gotten is an example that concerns friction and football (and to some extent, basketball). Let's say you've got two football players--> one has the ball and is running for a touchdown, but he's bigger than the guy who's trying to tackle him. How can the defender stop him?

First of all, though, do you know why it's so difficult to stop him? It's not just weight, it also has to do with the friction between the player and the ground. In fact, if there was some way to negate that friction, the defender would be able to stop him, almost no matter the difference in size and strength.

What football coaches instruct their defenders is to push up from under the shoulder pads of the other player. Technically, it doesn't really lift him off the ground (normally), but it reduces that friction enough to be able to keep him from getting past the defender.

For those of you who aren't so sports-oriented, consider the example we were actually shown in class: let's say that two people who are very different in strength play tug-of-war in the classroom (i.e. tile floors). Tug-of-war doesn't allow a person to put their hands on the other player so how can they negate friction? Ever slipped on a piece of paper in a messy room? Exactly. There is enough friction to keep the person on the paper, but there is very little friction (or less, anyways) between the paper and the floor. The person who is not standing on the paper (even if they are the one with much less strength) has a very immediate advantage and could probably drag the other along the floor for some distance.

Any questions, comments, or additions, feel free to communicate with me (comments, email, dA, etc).

Next Physics Post: Mass, Acceleration, and Karate Boards (and Certain Body Parts)

Me and Friendliness (or Friendliness and I For You Grammar People)

If there is such a thing as too friendly, I'm the person who is. I'm not someone who can be pushed around but I believe in making sure other people are not inadvertently insulted or somehow uncomfortable because of me. I'm happy when other people are happy and I hate seeing people looking sad or dejected.

Back to the too friendly thing, though. I'm someone who enjoys my quiet time, my "by myself" time. And yet, I tend to acquire the friends that can be a tad annoying or...immature. Most of the time, I don't mind because I can be the same way (though not usually to a physical extent unless I'm particularly giddy or if the person...nevermind) but at 7:30 in the morning, I'm still slightly tired. I'm not complaining about anybody, even though nobody'll probably read this, but I need somewhere to rant.

I have only a couple declared enemies and I only have them because they declared me an enemy first or because they just repulsed me too dang much. One of the big things in my repulsion is a mote of unfairness, a tendency some teachers seem to have. I won't name names but my enemies among teachers are those who have an extreme imbalance in that fairness part of their brains. Even so, I give a lot of respect and therefore leniency to most teachers. When a teacher shows an injustice with no joke, no reason, and a whole heck of a lot of other injustices (of actual value) under their belt, then I have a problem with it. When that person is my friend, well, that teacher's in for the long haul of dealing with an annoyed me.

Mind you, I'm careful about who I consider a friend because, for some reason, people get a little uptight when you assume they're a friend, especially when you have little social standing. Maybe I only have these experiences because of a certain person who can be a little creepy when he assumes someone is his friend. Anyway, here's a little chunk of myself for you all to enjoy if you want to.