well, alright.

Fighting Inertia:I know i'm supposed to be studying right now. I had high hopes for the Fall quarter, but things are getting ugly. Biz Law and Engineering Econ are going ok, but Physics of Semiconductors is pretty much a lost cause at this point. I've still been going to lab, but i think its time to pull the plug. Control Systems is not much better. This i don't feel too bad about, cuz Control Systems is historically a class students end up taking a coupla times. well, i guess i DO feel bad about it, i've BEEN IN it 3 times. I dunno, i had hoped that with everything else in my life moving in a positive direction full speed these last few months, my brain would snap back to its old ways and start kicking academic ass again. Don't get me wrong, my head is getting there, just not as fast as i'd like. i should be in good shape by winter quarter, tho (1 month off).

Technological Advancements: As some of you may know, considering I'm an Electrical Engineering student, i sure am mistrustful of new technology. I think i've always been interested in preserving and finding new uses for old, "outmoded" technology. Part of that is possibly the jealousy of the "have nots"--until recently, there was no way i could swing purchasing a digital camera or a cel phone. part of it was irritation with how i saw the new technology being used--my classmates downloading (usually shitty) music, giving no thought to the concept of having to seek it out or listening to an entire "album" in the order that the artist intended; or the lingering anger regarding the SUV that ran a red light, hitting my car and causing months of financial headaches because the driver was on her cel phone (and still was the entire time the cop was there!). So I'm a little disoriented by the recent upgrades in the technology i carry around. I'm still getting used to the cel phone. in fact i keep forgetting it at home, but its already proved to be fairly handy. And now Jen has gotten me an XM receiver, which i'm pretty excited about. I guess this isn't as surprising to me as the cel phone...for some reason I've always enjoyed music that at least seems to be "piped in" with no commercial interruptions. I've always liked Muzak, particularly the "101 strings" era. when i found out that stores and restaurants generally have their music piped in via satellite, i tried to find out if there was a way to receive these satellite transmissions at home. (maybe that's part of the appeal, too--music from space!) and now it is here! bluegrass! adult contemporary! heavy metal! all at the touch of the dial. of course, me being me, i spent a good deal of time on sunday, just listening to channel 247, which broadcasts emergency weather and news bulletins from around the country in a slowly changing 10 minute loop. cool stuff.