Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Finally got around to watching The Princess and the Frog with some relatives last night. What I can say? The music felt a bit contrived and forgettable (thankfully) except the villain's song, which was awesome with an awesome villain. It was way better than the Disney films of the recent era, but it still felt like a mostly effort to try to add another Disney princess (an African-American!). I don't want to spoil it, but it also stretched the willing suspension of disbelief. For a traditional Disney animated canon film, the fact that it was set in New Orleans was a bit jarring. It was more realistic than the depiction of Hawaii in Lilo & Stitch: the main character's father died in World War I, and our princess' favorite condiment to add to food is Tabasco sauce.

But the new Disney film (CGI), Tangled, is much better in several aspects. It's based after the Rapunzel fairy tale, and holds a lot truer to it than what The Princess and the Frog is based after. It's also kind of hard to describe the category it fits in: it kind of follows the traditional Disney princess formula, which is to say that the heroine is a princess, but the male lead isn't exactly Prince Charming (spoiler: he's a thief). The non-human sidekicks don't talk, crude humor isn't why its rated PG, the songs aren't annoying, and the villain is delightfully evil.

It was possibly closest to Pixar (in more than one term) that Disney has gotten, outstripping Disney's CGI efforts previously and any DreamWorks picture you can name (yes, I think it was better than How to Train Your Dragon). Pixar, on the other hand, is making Cars 2, but that was one of the better films among many other ones, including CGI films based after the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, another DreamWorks picture (from the makers of Shrek...), a movie called "Disney Prom", and a documentary about a certain contemporary young pop star I'd rather see die of a drug overdose. That was a little harsh, but the sad thing is it's going to make a ton of money no matter how bad it is.

Thankgiving was great, and I'd like to make an update to the Pictophone post a while back. Some of the greatest ones I lost but only one I remember involved beavers wearing Darth Vader masks becomes a dark wizard turning people into waffles.

My Yoot Tower question was never answered (but it is definitely the system I know that much). I'm also creating new content for the master webpage (check it out today!)

Poker Night at the Inventory/Yoot Tower

Telltale Games' Poker Night at the Inventory was released today (Mac and PC, even!) yet I'm still curious as to why it hasn't been rated by the ESRB yet (there's an option for uncensored language, apparently). I'm also wondering why there wasn't anything on Homestar Runner on it: but there's only been one small short and a new main page, not even a Halloween toon (which has happened yearly since 2000), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

YouTube external link since Flash is banished here

I wonder if Tycho voiced by Jerry Holkins.

Also, I finally got around to posting something about Yoot Tower on the Macintosh Garden forums and the same problem I mentioned several months ago on Two Way Roads.

Thanksgiving plans

Normally at TWR, I'd be doing some sort of Thanksgiving special, but in reality, I only did one.

To tell you the truth, it's really hard to write a neat personal blog without making it like Twitter or a complaint board.

Anyone have ideas?

Sosumi

Why does anyone care that The Beatles is finally on the Apple iTunes store?

iTunes has been wildly successful without it up to this point, and most people who have The Beatles on their computers and players either ripped it from a CD or downloaded it from file-sharing sites years ago.

Or does it go deeper, something that the Apple Corps finally forgave Apple for infringing in the music business?

And did you know the system sound Sosumi is a sample of a xylophone?

Dictionary of Drivers

Often times, I come across all sorts of cars and types of cars on the road. Certain types of cars and their drivers can, well, be named. I use these names and think of them when driving.

DRIVERS
Speedy McZee
This driver has a lot of variants: it can go from anything to the one who often changes lanes (while signaling, too) while doing anything legal to get to where he or she is going. An illegal or particularly annoying Speedy McZee can turn into the Idiot (below).

Idiot
The Idiot drives relatively fast. He never uses his turn signal, and often puts others in harm's way so he (or she) can get where they're going.

The Psycho
The more advanced version of the Idiot, and the main reason you should pay attention to driving. The Psycho will clearly disobey rules. Expect The Psycho to get in the wrong lane to pass, run the red light (a lot, with no regards for others), and more. The Psycho's car is usually bent up, or brand new. Common drivers of the Psycho are either people from another country (sad, but true) or people that probably shouldn't reproduce. Very few cases turn out to be both.

The Jerk
The Jerk is really mean and will try to just irritate others for the fun of it. Expect a Jerk to slow down just enough so you miss a light. That has happened to me.

The Old Lady (aka Grandma)
The Old Lady drives very slowly in an older car. You're most likely to get stuck behind her in a place where you can't pass.

The Alcoholic
Slowly drifting from side to side in a lane, the alcoholic is often seen on evenings or when the bars close. The Alcoholic may actually be on other drugs, medications, or simply sleep deprived. Depending on their personality, they act like The Old Lady, The Jerk, The Psycho, or Speedy McZee. They're a wild card...stay far away from them.

Road Rage Guy
Born out of big cities, this guy likes to intimidate others if he's stuck behind someone. Once he's free of restrictions, he'll become a Speedy McZee.

The My-Time-Is-More-Important-Than Yours Guy
TYPES OF VEHICLES
The Motorcyclist
A liability for the roads, the motorcyclist is often young and helmetless. Technically legal yet still annoying.

The School Bus
Stopping at the most inconvenient times and places, the school bus is bad because practically whatever it does, it's legally protected. Because they run on routine times, try to avoid them by getting a different time.

City Bus
Far more frequent in downtown big city areas. Less annoying than school buses in that you can pass them.

Cement Trucks
These things are bad news. They take a very long time to get up to speed, but once they get up to speed, they don't stop easily, they pack an unbelievable amount of force, and for all intents and purposes, like trains that don't run on tracks.

I may add more to these, so stay tuned.

Better books and chemistry teachers

For some reason, I thought back a few years ago back to my 10th grade year, where we had to read some book for a project. Most of the books were on the off list already. One book that I was actually considering to read was On the Road by Jack Kerouac. It, of course, is kind of like to hippies and the 60s countercultural generation as what The Communist Manifesto is to Communists. But to tell you the truth, it did seem like a book one would actually want to read: two hippies go around America in some 1960s van. The protagonists are lovable goofs who may or may not be stoners, because in popular culture, stoners are entertaining. Wacky hijinks ensue as they may become fugitives for something but ultimately turns out to be okay. There may be some raunchy scenes, but nothing too explicit (or sinking to a level as low as current "college road trip" type films).
That book is not On the Road. In the end, I never read it, and instead read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court which was about as long and dry as dirt, and I think it was "Mark Twain in his bitter phase".


Furthermore, I was forced to drop chemistry. Such a shame, too: in the fall semester of high school we had Mrs. Chem (names changed for privacy), which was a really cool AP Chemistry teacher. Unfortunately, due to some problems in the way teachers retire, she was forced to retire mid-year (like her husband, who also left for similar reasons, I think) and was replaced with Ms. Stupidson (not her real name), a former chemistry saleslady. Everyone's grades went down, Ms. Stupidson was one of the most hated teachers ever (she never improved) and was fired three semesters later on a technicality.

In college, I got Ms. Yttrium (also not her real name), who had bad reviews on

Book and film

I recently got a copy of Top Secret Recipes Unlocked at $4.99 new. Very good book, I recommend it. It goes over a few things, like how Chex Mix pre-packaged tastes different than the Chex Mix on the box because they add MSG, how to make Jimmy Dean sausage, and how to recreate Coca-Cola Blãk, the odd beverage that only lasted two years, was expensive, looked like shoe polish (that was the name my high school choir teacher gave it), and tasted like a mixture of coffee and Coca-Cola (and cream soda).

I also watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief which is only tolerable if you assume that all kids with ADHD and dyslexia are actually Greek demigods, all Greek mythology is real but not any other religions. Even then, you get some sappy morals and some typical teenager action movie clichés.

TI Programs

One of the things where Carbonizer is different is that it has some practical, contemporary things.

Here are some programs from my math class, it only makes sense in context. 15-3.

I have tested and confirmed these! Good luck!

Notes: Must use Y1 as VARS (RIGHT) 1 1
Must use L1 as 2nd 1
Must use L2 as 2nd 2
Must use -> as the STO> button (above "On")
Must use "seq(", not "Seq"

LEFT END
:Input "N",N
:Input "A",A
:Input "B",B
:(B-A)/N->D
:seq(A+(I-1)D,I,1,N)->L1
:seq(Y1(L1(I)),I,1,N)->L2
:sum(L2)*D->S
:Disp S

For the RIGHT END
Fifth line must be
:seq(A+ID,I,1,N)->L1

For the MIDPOINT
Fifth line must be
:seq(A+I*D-.5*D,I,1,N)->L1

The computer illiterate

Most people know how to use a computer, but what is computer literacy? Using a word processor and browsing the Internet is kind of like the equivalent of those "Junior Reader" books in elementary school. Especially with things like iPads today, we are growing dumber in this type of thing.

Good News!

My math prof used a curve "bonus test opportunity" to add points to tests. I wasn't failing the first time around, but now I have 101.

Republicans took back the house, bumping out my district's Congressman (which is a good thing).

I found something in college I was missing.