Confessions of a Mad Scientist

Chrono Trigger has the most awesome video game music ever...

original:




Piano:


I know that's just one, but the rest of is awesome, especially Magus's theme and the Black Omen theme. It's been ages since I've played this game but dangit, why can't even Uematsu surpass this greatness? Yes he did work on some or helped in some of these but most of the credit goes to Yasunori Mitsuda who also composed for Xenosaga.

The web is such a vast place, one cannot spend time hooked to one or sites, oh dear god no!

Anywho I have been lately addicted to one of those stupid browser based vampire Rps, now I'm in two of them. It's a lot more fun than Ravenblack, it's called Reign of Blood.

Two weeks ago, I forgot to update here that I got to go to a conference thing in UC Irvine were I presented some research thing I did-along with 120 or so other honors students from CCs in various parts of California. It was fun but a lot of anxiety, we were all in small classrooms, unfortunately not many people came to were I was assigned to present because I was in the upper floor and not the lower floor and only two people presented in my room and my session(it was divided to three sessions with 2-3 people per classroom per session, each presentation was about 12 minutes long). The cafeteria was great, along with advertisement cards on the table that even had a mock newsletter thing with lolcat photos. There is a section of UCI were the buildings are named after places in Middle Earth XD.

My presentation was based on a paper I did last semester in why people choose alternative medicine, I tried to be as objective as possible and rung out many "smart" sounding words at it. Other people's topics were more interesting I think, like someone did one on hydrodynamic energy, how do we judge our morality, the idealized woman no longer being a whole woman, suicide rates in Northern Canada, dying ethnic cultures, solving the problem of evil in the bible, Karma and Platonic Idealism, Eastern Philosophy and Shakespeare's King Lear, the cultural identity of a group of Mexican Immigrants that come from a specific area in Mexico, etc. But in the end we all get to type up the abstracts and get them published in some journal thing.

As for you guys, I just got caught up in what you're up to. I checked huorielara's sketches, Doz is having a hard time at A levels, Steph I saw your FIERCE photos, and manji is feeling better, I owe firehorsey a comment, etc etc.

I'm still here folks, haven't dropped dead yet.

But I'm also getting quickly tired of LJ, as you can see by this delay, sometimes I just don't feel like typing here what goes on in my life all the time, even if it very important or very big.

Everything is toxic blah blah blah.

I remember stating this in another forum that it seems that there are two groups of people when it comes to toxins: People who care too much they talk as if 90% of the human population will get cancer, and have autistic kids who will either be hermaphrodites or girls that get their period at age 7 within the next 10 years. Though the problem is that these people's reputation and commitment is good and well meant, despite all the fear mongering(at least that's what we think. Whole Foods makes 5.6 billion a year after all). Some of these people go as far as to say that wearing sunglasses, drinking distilled water, wearing bras, swimming in pools of chlorinated water, and non-fermented soy will give you cancer or other ailments. If I ask them, the BPA-laden water I drank was no better than the chlorine compound laden tap water most people drink(and cheers! Now reports are coming in that chemicals found in birth control pills are making their way into tap water)

On the other side you have people with greedy intentions, such as those from the industry and stock holders and libertarians who say that these things are not harmful. They cite real research, but may interpret them in ways that say "Oh you'd have to drink a gallon a day for 100 years to get anything bad from it." but don't consider chronic exposure and think that just because a pesticide is in your lawn it does not mean you'll inhale the fumes(when this is a probable scenario).

The problem is the mouth this is coming from. One is reliable but exaggerated, the other "claims" to be reality based but may have bad intentions. Now to be moderate, there is sketchy, inconclusive data on some things that are said to cause cancer such a vinyl, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc, but I've seen some of those eco sites, and like the libertarian sites, they pretty much disregard any research from the other side. For example, wasn't it debunked that deodorants don't cause breast cancer? Yet these sites still insist that because they found parabens in tumors(but this is still not causation but I am not ruling out the possiblity it may be linked, remember that even the evil dihydrogen monoxide is found in tumors). I understand that it's best to be safe than sorry, but it's another to insist the human race is doomed and everyone will get cancer in 5 years.

Then there are the horror stories of babies growing breasts because of chemicals in shampoos, and I once saw an article insisting that the rise in homosexuality is due to soy estrogens XD.

Speaking of that, today at college, guess what? I saw at least 4 POLYCARBONATE water bottles around, and in my gym class were people who probably re-use their disposable bottles(which they say can leech antimony). Imagine all the youth athletes drinking xenoestrogens and antimony every day. lol. Not only that but loads and loads cup o' noodles and such in styrene containers(another carcinogen). College students have lived off that stuff for years, it's all over Japan, hell in Japan the plastic is wrapped in plastic. What I can throw in here is that Asian countries do have higher rates of stomach cancer(but way lower rates of breast cancer and obesity). The mothers that are doing all these precautions to protect their children from evil plastic themselves may have grown up on evil plastic. Whole generations have grown up on evil plastic. And yet Da Vinci, Newton, Paine, Franklin were still geniuses during a time when people ate, wore, breathed, and crapped lead all the time, which was also a time when some people thought they were were wolves or that little people will steal their children.

As I was thinking about this today I thought of "Oh what the hell, if everything is bad for you, then I might as well just kill myself and go away from this stupid world" XD. I'm not going to commit (intentional) suicide, but I like how someone in the Snopes forum said, "the only way to avoid cancer is to die."

To be honest, I really don't know what to believe anymore.

Weeeee!!!


How is this one? Many of the other LJ journal skins that had nice color schemes seemed very cluttered.

Shit, there's a week left till college, and I have three art requests that I need to finish up, I already started two last night.

la de da de da.

damn I feel sleepy today

but can't take a nap

gawd two more weeks till college D:

*goes to play FFX*

And it may have fucked me over permanently. I really need to get tested for it and if it has effected me. Stupid polycarbonate #7 bottles that our water is stored in, and I have been drinking from all my life.

Hmm potential effects, according to several sites(google Lexan or BPA): breast cancer, ovarian cancer, altered brain and breast development, hyperactivity, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Permanent increased risks if exposed in childhood or prenatally.

Still in debate, independent panels have brought up conflicting results on weither it's harmful to humans are not. Industry money influence seems to be involved. Some say they've used the sport bottles or baby bottles for their small children for a long time and nothing has happened to them, others say they might have something that can be attributed to them.

Might be another paranoia phaze, but still...

But damn first I need insurance.

Last night, around 11 pm, there was this sudden huge flash of light outside, and it flashed twice with this "Bzzap" sound. Then the power went out for about 20 or so minutes. Good thing I wasn't doing anything on the comp that needed saving, and Dassy signed off already.

At first I thought it was lightning, because it was raining, but there was no thunder. The bzaap sound indicated that it may have come from some power line either with a wire exposed to the rain or maybe knocked down by the wind. Long ago I actually say a power pylon(those big metal triangular ones) burst in a couple of flashes of blue light.

But my brother swears he saw the sky light up, I dunno maybe the flash was just that big. I saw it coming from somewhere in the street. Maybe it was aliens. XD

Thankfully it didn't burn out all our stuff, otherwise I wouldn't be posting.

But I still don't know what it was.

EDIT: I looked at some footage of power lines exploding on Youtube, and I think that's what it is indeed.

:3

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Take a shower under a waterfall, pet a monkey(no not that kind!), write an abstract, write a 14 page paper(even though 6-8 was the requirement), reject my old religion,

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make any : 3

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?
El Salvador ^^

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
More excitement I guess, and more of an RL and online life, both of which I was slacking at.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
There are so many :3

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being able to keep my A's in all transferable classes, including that goddamn Chem class.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Being bored with art eventually, and slacking in artwork, life, and writing

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope, except for a cold in January and a few burned tongues

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Beads :3 and my new monitor

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Dassy!!!!, and maybe Red for being a tough mod, and my buddies Alvin and Tim :3

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Let's not go there, the list is long

14. Where did most of your money go?
Beads...and textbooks

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Break :0

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
I dunno XD

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier I guess
ii. thinner or fatter? Can't tell anymore XD
iii. richer or poorer? richer, despite the beads ^^;

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More artworks and music

19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
procrastinating and arguing XD

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
hopefully in 2008 with friends, not family :0

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Dassy?

23. How many one-night stands?
No

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I'm not much into TV

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Define "hate" :D

26. What was the best book you read?
Siddartha :3

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nightwish and WT, and getting back to MCR after hearing "Thank You for the Venom" and also Maudlin of the Well.

28. What did you want and get?
Monitor

29. What did you want and not get?
To meet Dassy

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I forgot XD but the Simpsons movie is there

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
19, gorged on food during a club party I was not even a member of at college

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Meeting Dassy

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Leaning more toward goth gradually, more dark colors, more black, more eyeshadow

34. What kept you sane?
Did I?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
FIVE GUESSES WHO XD jk

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
More like philosophical issues ^^ and a lot, mostly concerning emos, ethics, and reductionism vs holism mostly.

37. Who did you miss?
NDA

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Tim

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
I would butcher it if I put it into words

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
This life so demanding\I feel so weak\I am not afraid to keep on living\I am not afraid to walk this world alone I dunno, but this tune came up a lot really. :/

I can't believe these past two weeks I have been mostly being lazy and sleeping in and doing practically nothing most of the time.

Artworks still going to come soon

The people in Youtube are a bunch of morons. Anytime when any animal expreiences just a bit of discomfort(like an annoyed cat or an animal that just looks "starving and crying for food"), the youtube girls are out there to say, "i hope ur cat slits ur throat when u sleep u cunt!!!111!!!!11". Ugh, these people need to grow up. The moronity increased ever more with footages of exotic pets( foxes should never be kept!!! they need to be in the wild u stupid asshole!!!1!!) or cats catching and/or eating cute little fuzzy animals(besides rats).

Oh and I have a stupid, but sick idea for a toy. ^^

My pet vampire : D

I woke up at 10 today

that's the earliest I've woken up since last weekend(which I woke at 9:30).

XD

Yay!

Anyway, I'm currently working on some crafting stuffs, I know I know you want duddles, not crafts, but I want crafts *pouts*

I BARELY passed my trig class with a 70.25%, but 65% is a passing grade too. Ugh, all that fretting all weekend paid off(It's good luck for me to have post test anxiety). Good news is that I don't have to re-take it, but I'm taking pre-calc next semester with a professor who hopefully has a better teaching style(he uses a lot of quizzes and activities and visuals my Trig prof just made us take notes and three tests).

But srsly, I got away with it, I really need to work on my test anxiety issues. Too many times have I gotten away with As WITH test anxiety making me jittery like on my Statistics and Chem finals.

But anyway

Winter break can officially begin for me now that I have this off my back. but ugh, at least this class doesn't go to my GPA(but Calc will). But who knows, I'll try to visit Berkley and UCLA to see if they are worth it, because they don't require calc for Psych majors.

Who wants cookies?

....ergnyug

Yes I did skim through your LJs, though I haven't commented in any of them.

but...almost done, I still don't know if I'll pass Trig despite so many long hours of studying, luckily, 65% is a C there and it's not even counted in the UCs(but calculus will). But it's still a blow since everywhere else and in previous math classes I have As.

stupid test

I only have my Anthropology test tomorrow. I have a solid A in that class pretty much.

But funny, yesterday I received back my final test for English, and got a 100%, my prof then told me I should really consider switching my major to English. then again, she says "yay" to any BS I say. Then again, I did get an A in that excruciatingly brutal English class last year with the egotistical professor who yelled at people's faces.

As you may have observed from my dwindling commentage, my RL life is in need of more attention than my online life. Finals is coming, papers need to be turned in, and shit is happening between my brother and my zealous Christian mother(who is also the reason why my computer monitor faces a wall). I am thinking of working soon, and other plans. Moar and moar tests piling up and I feel more inclined to talk to IM people than chat in forums now.

You can still catch me on MSN or Trillian if you have it, but until the end of the second week of December I won't be here much often, there is too much on my mind now.

Nuuu peoples camping outside of store...srsly I find that kinda ridiculous how consumerism is the new drug. There are stores here opening as early as 4-6 am :0

But hope y'all had a wonderful thanksgiving.

I had frustration registering for spring classes, : 0 Thankfully I already registered two ones that I know if I didn't register early would be full by now, most classes now for Spring aren't full, but I need to keep an eye on them and decide. I really want to take the critical thinking one to fulfill that requirement and then a PE class, hopefully that self-defense one ;3

A little blip: I can't believe Gerard Way is like a real life anime character :0 people make dolls, plushies, Yaoi, fanfics, fancomics, etc, of this guy, as well as the other MCR band members and it does freak them out XD(especially the fanfiction slash) according to my newest YouTube addiction(Dassy, one word about this, and I'll poke you for your Depp fangirlism)though some footaages do suggest that the appreaciate some of the fanart and Gee and Mikey did recieve plushies of themselves.

Speaking of that, that ought to be freaky to have oogling fangirls, Not just these guys, I mean also actors like Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Alan Rickman have gotten "anime" fangirl treatment. 0_0

What would you do if one day you were famous and people found you hot and funny and started giving you the "anime character" reputation on the internet?

And in other news- Has anyone here copywrited their character?

Also, a counselor decided to give me her card and then told me about a poetry contest, I'd like to submit but many of my poems sound more like rock songs, well at least the ones I write now and collect dust in my hard drive. I do have a lot of stuff that isn't like that, and I have to see if the poems even have a "rhythm" or "meter" besides rhyming.

More computer problems, it's possible that some of the processes in my computer may be viruses, a lot of quirky stuff has been going on in my computer lately. Windows Live Messenger suddenly vanished from my computer, and I've been having to rely on clunky, AIM-like Trillian. One of my anti-spyware programs closes after a certain file it touches, and when I try to put my comp on "Stand By" it goes on standby and then comes back on again even if I step away from the computer as it is standing by.

*sigh* This is weird, it also is long overdue for a defragging.

In better news, MCR just got nominated for the American Music Awards! But in order to vote I have to vote in the other categories too D: which are for things like...pop and R&B. Not that they are inherently evil I just am not into them.

Time for one of these! :3

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

"Back in black, I hit the sack, I've been too long, I'm glad to be back" Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos. But each time you stage your comeback, it's even better than the last!

You Are Rain

You can be warm and sexy. Or cold and unwelcoming. Either way, you slowly bring out the beauty around you. You are best known for: your touch Your dominant state: changing

You Mostly Have Your Emotions in Check

Sometimes your emotions get out of control, but you usually are a pretty stable person. You can find a lot to be happy about, as long as things are going your way. But if a few bad things happen to you, you tend to go in a bit of a downward spiral. Luckily, you usually come out of it okay and no worse for the wear.

Your Average American Name Is...

Ruth Lee Harris

You Are Duck

Exotic and unusual, you are a bit of a rare bird - literally. You're known for being soft and succulent, though at times you can be a bit greasy.

You Are 35% Left Brained, 65% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

If You Were Born in 2893...

Your Name Would Be: Aoi Iara And You Would Be: A Comet Chaser

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

You Are Artemis!

Brave, and a natural born leader. You're willing to fight for what you believe in... And willing to make tough decisions. Don't forget - the people around you have ideas too!

You Are 50% Extrovert, 50% Introvert

You're a bit outgoing, a bit reserved Like most people, you enjoy being social But you also value the time you have alone You have struck a good balance!

You Are 84% Tortured Genius

You totally fit the profile of a tortured genius. You're uniquely brilliant - and completely misunderstood. Not like you really want anyone to understand you anyway. You're pretty happy being an island.

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed. Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

Your Superpower Should Be Invisibility

You are stealth, complex, and creative. You never face problems head on. Instead, you rely on your craftiness to get your way. A mystery to others, you thrive on being a little misunderstood. You happily work behind the scenes... because there's nothing better than a sneak attack! Why you would be a good superhero: You're so sly, no one would notice... not even your best friends Your biggest problem as a superhero: Missing out on all of the glory that visible superheroes get

You Are Not Anal Retentive

You're definitely not uptight... in fact, with you anything goes. So what if you're a bit of a slob or if your hygiene isn't perfect? You're not stressing out about it - that's for sure. The only thing you're "anal" about is anal retentive people. You can't stand them!

You Are a Goth!

You're so gothically outrageous, and you aren't afraid to flaunt it. Whether you dress up like Robert Smith or a tragic Little Bo Peep, chances are that you'll be parading around with the rest of the goths at Yoyogi Park on Sunday. Don't forget your white makeup and blue lipstick! Who knows? You may just get picked up by one of the seedy photographers.

You know how people always make these rants about religion being the cause of so much bloodshed, and they always cite the crusades?

Well funny thing, you see in my ethics class, because ethics is heavily tied to religion, and consequently metaphysics(the nature of being and the universe and all that jazz) we ended up discussing things about the bible when it came to Christian ethics because we were looking into formalism, which are principle-based ethical theories(things are good on the principal that they are good because they treat humans with respect that they are human and autonomous beings...etc etc, actually this is more like Kantism, which was one of the formalist theories we looked in depth too).

So after test #2(got another A this time :3), the professor made us watch this video on Islam and compare the mentioned ethics and metaphysics(things about the nature of God and the afterlife, etc.)

Apparently the video(It was PBS, so no it was not propaganda) mentioned that in ancient Islam, when the Muslims conquered much of the territory from North Africa, to Southern Europe, to East Asia, the people who were Jews and Christians who in the areas taken did not feel much oppressed.  The Muslims had even allowed them to continue worshipping in synagogues and churches.  There was even a place that was a huge building, and on one side was a mosque and the other a monastery.

During the Dark Ages, when Christian Europe was in huge poverty and squalor, the Islamic empire was excelling in science, math, engineering, scholar work, etc and they had running water and street lamps and hospitals and even suspected that disease was caused by microorganism; Muslim scholars saw no contradiction between faith and investigating the universe. and even traded with other empires and nations a lot and learned a lot about math from the Hindus.  During this time, women could even become scholars, and Jews and Christians were even among some of the scholars in ancient Baghdad.  Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in peace, a nun was even allowed to enter a mosque. 

Though there was some griping from the Christians, who perhaps because well in the Dark Ages they were living in huge poverty and looking at the wealthy cities the Islamic empire built.

Well, but then during the 11th century A.D, there was this insane guy who ruled an area in Jerusalem, and for reasons unknown, burned down a site there that was very holy to the Christians, (According to Wikipedia, this guy named Hakim of Egypt, also persecuted Christians and Jews despite the centuries long peace), this ignited very strong resentment throughout Christian Europe, who at the time also had a surplus of bored warriors.  And yeah that’s how it started.  But despite the crusades, the Islam empire did not go down.

But you know, that event smells familiar.

Hope you had a happy Halloween and a happy Dia de los Muertos too.

Too bad I can't celebrate Halloween cuz of my mom, one more reason I  MUST move to a dorm,  but my mom is too overprotective to let me.


Anyway, anyone here a math guru? I could use some serious help on my Trig.

Oh and something I have always been wondering about:

I've never seen an emo before, I don't know what the hell people are talking about when I keep hearing about these "thick glasses wearing, hair covering their face, tight pants wearing, showing off their cuts in MySpace, bad taste in music, writing dark poetry, and complaining about a little stain in their shirt and crying about it for attention." people, yet I have never ever ever seen one.  In the schools and colleges I have gone too I see preps, gangstas, jocks, geeks, and metal\vampire goths...but no emos.

And I saw a profile of someone on Youtube who claimed to be an emo, and he's...this happy guy >> who says he likes entertaining people.  And on DragonRealms there is someone who is often accused of being emo though he's not because of the music he listens too.

Dassy told me there were people in her art class that dress like emos, but in no way do they act like emos. And many of the people who write dark poetry on DA don't fit the fashion criteria or have real problems.

So, do emos really exist? Or are they some fabrication to beat up on goths, people with issues, writers, and people who listen to "bad" music?

If there is something that, despite how right you think you are, makes you look like a fool...well maybe not in some forum full of 12 year olds, but at least in a real competitive debate it is the following lines,

"I just don't get...these people are dumb!"
"I can't even understand how..."
"I can't believe that there are people who even..."
"These people suck because I say so."
"I hate this because (insert personal reason that only matters to you and you only)."
"You fail to realize that (insert some art style, music style, rock band, etc.) is inferior because it simply sucks and I don't like it."

The world DOES NOT revolve around you, or your own ethnocentric tightly held cultural values, or your own way of understanding things, and simply because you cannot comprehend the other side doesn't invalidate them automatically.

In real debating, each side gets what the other side is saying AND THEN those statements are countered.  And mere personal opinions STAY AS OPINIONS. 

Thank you.

As you may know, here in SoCal there is a massive set of fires that stretch all the way from the mountains up North of LA, to the mountains in the East that border LA all the way down to San Diego. ><

I live in the coastal area of Southern California, about a 10 minute drive from the beach and far down South of LA.

The light here, even at noon is a bright reddish color, which looks nice but is rather creepy considering why it's there, and therefore a tad on the dreary side.

There is also a lot of smoke in the sky, which turns it from bright blue to a dull grayish blue. It was advised for everyone in my area to stay indoors as much as possible due to the severe air pollution.

Southern California, is in general a very very dry place year around. The last time we had rain, it was late summer and only lasted for a couple of days, and the time before that it was early spring and didn't last long either. The

At least I don't live anywhere near the danger zone there, but unfortunately I know that doesn't apply to those effected. We can only hope for the best when it comes to these people, especially due to the conditions such as dry brush and the Santa Ana winds which are dry and carry the fire and make everywhere else around, including down here hot and dry, even when it comes in winter!

To those of you who know I live in SoCal, just letting you know I'm okay here other than the smoke.