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:: My Urban Eyes ::

All that I see, and then some.
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[::..about me..::]
[::..podcast..::]
Learning curve, commence.
[::..quote..::]
"Everything in life
is only for now."

-Avenue Q
[::..current..::]
book - none
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:: Sunday, October 31, 2004 ::

Uber Guide



Ahh, gotta love Sunday. I mean, it is the day before the day I go back to school... but that makes procrastination all the easier. Spent most of today on Puzzle Pirates, trading my brains out. I also had some Halloween candy, mmmm.

I was originally going to go trick-or-treating, but I'm way too tired. Yesterday was Open House, i.e. 1,500 people converged on campus, deciding if Albany is worth four years of their lives. I gave three tours. What stinks about Open Houses is that you get a tour route you've never been on before, somestimes 50 people to lead around, and only 45 minutes to do it instead of the usual hour. The weird tour route is due to the fact that up to four tours go out every 15 minutes, leading to a max of 16 tour guides running around campus, and to the sample suite, at the same time. So, they cook up four different routes to prevent lines and clumping. The shorter tour allows guides to give a tour every hour.

Anyway. I was lucky in that my groups were small and I only got the "I heard you're a party school, harhar" question once, I was unlucky in that I was trying to walk backwards in heels. But I did go backwards up stairs for the first time ever--I felt like uber guide. Judy (it may have been Julie, though...), a new guide, shadowed me for my first tour. I think she'll be a great guide. Yea for cool people!

After the Open House Megan, Bhairavi and I headed to Altamont Orchards for cider and munchies. I love orchards, and I love the smell of fall. We don't have that here in Albany--concrete and fumes mask it. Afterwards we found our way to Indian Ladder Farms, another orchard. Indian Ladder looks more like an orchard, but Altamont will always be best in my mind. Yea for the hometown orchard!

After we got back I went to the Rat hockey game. We lost, bad. Well, the score wasn't too bad, but it was only luck that the game remained scoreless for as long as it did. There was an autograph session afterwards, which always stink when we lose. The guys are down, don't feel like talking, never mind scribbling autographs.

There were highlights, though. Pascal Rheaume was a doll. We had him sign cards from his stints with other teams, and he made sure to sign each with the correct number--8 on the St. Louis cards, 25 on the Devils cards, etc. Most guys wouldn't care or think of it, but he actually looked and made sure he got it right. My respect for the guy went up three degrees because of that.

When I got home afterwards Bhairavi, Megan and I had a little suite party. I learned Hand and Foot, which is one crazy game. I also lost dismally, but hey, that goes with the territory, ne? Also enjoyed some cider and rum, mmmm.

Anywho, back to... whatever I was not doing 15 minutes ago. -_^

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 2:27 PM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 ::

Quick Rundown



A lot has been happening...

  • I met Madeline and Alain! Bhairavi, Glenn, and I drove through hell and high water (okay, fallen timber) to get to Six Flags New England (used to be Riverside) to meet them. It was a whole bunch of fun! Very very awesome to talk politics at the speed of speech, not AIM.
  • Dining hall food has been getting worse. I had some apple crisp where the apple pieces were the color of white, pasty maggots. No other way to describe it. The taste wasn't amazing, either.
  • So much reading to do! How can professors expect me to do all this?!
  • Signed up for next semester's classes today. So far: Urban Design (I've been waiting since freshman year to take this class), Advanced Japanese II, and the fun class Intro to Logic. (Finally, objective homework! I haven't had any since high school!!!) Trying to get into Creative Writing... we'll see how that goes. ^_^
  • Still don't know what I'm going to be for Halloween. Any suggestions appreciated. No togas! -_^
  • The Rats are actually winning games. Yea, I'm surprised, too. We're undefeated at home... early in the season, but still! Also, number one not only in our division, but also in our conference. Gotta love it.
I think that's it at the moment. Now that that's out of the way, I can add things willy nilly again, wheeee.

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:16 PM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments



Comments:
It's Philosophy! Hehehe. It counts as a Math general education requirement, oddly enough. I'm not taking it for the gen ed, though--I just want to hug those p's and q's all over again. I loved it in high school. ^_^
 
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:: Thursday, October 21, 2004 ::

Ultimate Sacrifice



From Overheard in New York:

Statler: My kid just told me he's making the ultimate sacrifice.
Waldorf: Really?
Statler: He told me that it'd be okay for the Red Sox to beat the Yankees, as long as George Bush loses the election.
Waldorf: My god.


So, it's settled then. Thanks to the Yankees, our country is saved. See, you knew they were good for something. -_^

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:32 AM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Sunday, October 17, 2004 ::

My Latest Photoblog: NYC



Photoblog of the day: Joe's NYC

This isn't a Daily Dose or a Chromasia (see left for links) but it is still a very very good photoblog. The most awesome thing about it is that Joe isn't afraid to take pictures of people, as most photobloggers seem to be. After looking through pages and pages of concrete urban streetscapes, having a pair of eyes looking back at me was very refreshing.

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 12:26 PM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Saturday, October 16, 2004 ::

Drink of the Night



Found using Webtender:

Mountain Cider High
One part each Mt. Dew, Apple Cider, and Vodka
Serve over ice.


Mmmmm. Was looking to make a hot cider drink, but most of those use rum, which we don't have. Next weekend! Bwahaha.

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 8:44 PM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Thursday, October 14, 2004 ::

Planning People



I'm one class away from my Planning major, and you know what? I don't know if it's for me. All of my classes have been lecture, which doesn't help at all. Nothing practical. When I do get the chance to do something cool--a Powerpoint presentation on bus rapid transit, say (it is really cool!)--I light up, but the rest of class isn't fun.

That's not the main reason, though. The main reason is: I don't really like planning people, as a whole. They just... aren't cool. Now, there are exceptions, including every planning person reading this page. ^_^ But in my classes, I don't feel like I could find many friends. People come to class in business casual. They talk about things I could care less about. They seem stiff and boring and not fun.

I never wanted to work in a cubicle box office, with only other planners around me... and this cements the decision. Give me neighborhoods to revitalize! People to help! Japanese cities to study! I'll take that, instead. ^_^

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 3:24 PM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Saturday, October 09, 2004 ::

Procrastination Thoughts



I've been running around online, trying to find a cool blog layout. I love this layout, but I'd like some more features, and I'm not html saavy enough to do them myself. I looked for something modern, based on dots or squares... do you know how many crap templates are out there? Three zillion and five! Templates with grainy movie star pictures, broken images from angelfire, bad code, awful design... cringe fest.

I did find two designs that didn't turn me off completely. A cool dot design reminded me of Boom's new space... but it's pink! I am soooo not pink. Gimmie blue! ~sigh~ It's almost worth getting just for the blockquote, though.

The other neat design I found was of the London Tube, by the same person. This design is cool... but is it how I want to represent myself to the world? I'm not convinced, so for now, this design stays. ^_^

If anyone knows any sites that could be of help ("blog code for dummies" or something similar) I'd really appreciate hearing about them.

Going through my friends blogs I realize... I don't talk about my life very much on here, do I. Just about news and thoughts and when I get peeved. I don't think of this as a diary, quite. I don't need to tell you guys every mundane detail about my day. I haven't had any cool stories to share, either.

Maybe another part of it is that this blog spans many groups of friends--friends from home, YPP, school. The frame of reference is so wide and varied I may be, unknowingly, searching for a common ground. Hence the news, the idea talk. I don't want to exclude anyone.

Obsession of the moment: photoblogs. There are so many cool ones! I've been a fan of Daily Dose and Chromasia for a while (linked on the left) but last weekend I went searching on photoblogs.org... eeeeeevil. Expect the photoblog section at left to double in the next couple of weeks--I try to look through all of the archives before posting the link, just to make *sure* it rocks. ^_^

Man, I should really do my paper....

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 9:54 PM [+] ::
:: ... 4 comments



Comments:
Don't know what the Blogger interface is like, but you'll find some nice 5 day tutorials about HTML and CSS at webmonkey.com. That's where I got my start with all of it. I'm not much of a designer, but I can help you get through any code troubles you may have. Just let me know if you have any questions. I'd be delighted to help.
- Dave/Jab
 
/me hugs Josh/Boom and Dave/Jab

I don't know what I'd do without you guys! Thanks so much!

/me hug hug hug hug hugs
 
Thank you for pointing out Chromasia. Seriously, those photos are absolutely awesome. Like I needed anything else to aid me with procrastinating at work...

~Lilyan/Cary
 
Aaron, it's all yours. ^_^ I plan on messing with the dots and using that template... I've already started, but it's not good enough to switch over yet. :P So take, take!

And I'm really really sorry the lightning never worked out. (i.e., I'm sorry I'm such a lazy bum and never did it. >_<)
 
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Mainstream Question, Fishy Answer



The Times and the Washington Post both picked up on the "Was Bush Bugged?" story. And because they have clout, they actually got some answers from the Bush campaign. Bush campaign spokesperson Nicolle Devenish, quoted by the Times:

"It was most likely a rumpling of that portion of his suit jacket, or a wrinkle in the fabric."

Ms. Devenish could not say why the "rumpling" was rectangular.


Uh-huh. Box shaped rumple. /me shakes her head

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:06 PM [+] ::
:: ... 0 comments



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:: Friday, October 08, 2004 ::

Mr. President, You Don't Have to Yell



He was talking/yelling so loud during tonight's debate that the people running the feed had to turn down his mike--you could hear it as he gave an answer about halfway through. I didn't like Bush's body language during the entire debate--I think he was going for passionate, but he came across as confrontational. He doesn't seem to know how to take turns, either (transcipt from the Times:)

Mr. Gibson: Mr. President, let's extend for a minute -- (inaudible) -- issue of --

President Bush: Let me just -- one point. I've got to answer this.

Mr. Gibson: Exactly. And with reservists being held on duty and some soldiers --

President Bush: Let me answer what he just said about going alone.

Mr. Gibson: Well, I wanted to get into the issue of the backdoor draft.

President Bush: You tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Tony Blair we're going alone....


I watched the debate with Kerry and Bush supporters alike. I'm all for sensible debate, but whenever issues came up and us Kerries brought up points, the Bushsters took offense, I think. How dare we have facts! No blows or anything, but the room was kinda tense.

And then the Bushsters said Kerry said he would have a draft. But nay, nay. Again from the Times:

Senator Kerry: Daniel, I don't support a draft.... Now, I'm going to add 40,000 active duty forces to the military, and I'm going to make people feel good about being safe in our military and not overextended, because I'm going to run a foreign policy that actually does what President Reagan and President Eisenhower did and others. We're going to build alliances. We're not going to go unilaterally. We're not going alone like this president did.


Active troops does NOT equal a draft, people. He supports giving our troops the support they need so the peace can be won. An all volunteer army, as been said time and again by both sides. The difference--Bush is in Iraq using half-assed and stopgap measures. Cutting combat pay. Telling troops that they'll be in Iraq twice as long as originally planned. Kerry cares about the guys on the ground, and would increase benefits for soldiers to encourage volunteers and properly compensate the troops already there.

Little preachy, sorry about that, but that peeved me. Get your facts straight, please.

Played Presidental Debate Bingo... don't know if it was worth it. It was fun, but I missed a lot of body language, and I would have listened to the message just as hard, if not harder, without the game. I probably won't do it during the next debate.

So, who do I think won? Kerry. Bush was 100% better in this debate than the last one, but Kerry still bested him. I can't wait to see how the polls turn out.

Did you guys hear about the last debate, and that Bush may have been wired? (Go through the free day pass, the quickest 30 seconds of your life, doesn't cost a thing.) Veeeeeeery suspicious. I hope mainstream media picks this up, to at least get an answer out of both campaigns. If it's true... how low. Who wants a president that can't speak for himself? How would people nationwide feel knowing they were led by a puppet these last four years? Please, mainstream media, pick this up. Questions need to be answered.

Waaah, I'm opinionated tonight. I almost feel as if I should apologize, but being sorry for having an opinion is stupid, ne?

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:19 PM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments



Comments:
Being sorry for having an opinion is definitely stupid. I loved this post. Really did. :)

Thanks for being awesome.

- Dave/Jabeau
 
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:: Saturday, October 02, 2004 ::

Debate Time



I hope you guys watched the debate! Glenn, Bhairavi and I watched it, yelling at the tv now and then. Kerry totally won, I was really happy with how he did. Bush just annoyed me, and he looked annoyed and mad himself. I laughed every time I saw that little lip pucker. And did you count the number of times he asked for one minute extensions? It was crazy. And he just jumped right in and Jim, like, had to give it to him. I don't think Kerry asked for a single one.

Be sure to register to vote if you haven't yet! The deadline is fast approaching!

Every day I send Glenn a ton of cool Times articles, I may have to do the same on here, just a little run down. I kinda forgot about the blog, but I hope to keep with it better, now that I have a take home test to procrastinate with. ^_^

:: Kazen @ Always Doing 11:23 PM [+] ::
:: ... 1 comments



Comments:
Hehe, yea for comics!

And how dare we have a president with bad posture!!! -_^

This article both cracks me up and makes me mad: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134569,00.html Fox news tries to look non-partisan, but fails miserably. The article talks about how Bush's "Texas charm" comes across better than Kerry's... long sentences? Oh, how awful that there's a candidate that can speak in full sentences, not just sound bites. Gasp.

[/rant]
 
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