The Fourth Film

Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the most violent movie I've seen since Saving Private Ryan, and that might be a toss up. It is very entertaining, and worth a look if you can stomach it. You can find Roger Ebert's top-notch review of the movie here.

Complex

I took my RA, Ilene Gold, to see Blue Man Group at the Kohl Center last night. The show was part of The Complex Rock Tour, and it was spectacular. The opening acts were Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum, both of which were quite impressive, although Venus Hum's lead singer Annette Strean was so visually distracting that the best method to appreciating the music involved closing ones eyes.

There was an intermission, and then Blue Man Group performed. It was a spectacular show, that blended unique music with humor and thoughtful messages. Both of the opening acts appeared as guests during the show, although (thankfully) Bonham was present through much more than was Venus Hum. Ilene and I had seats 9 & 10 in Row 4 of section 002—practically the best seats in the house, and well worth $52.05 a seat (not that I don't resent the $8.05 "convenience charge"). We both got covered with streamers and sprinkled with water toward the end of the show. Thankfully, neither of us came into contact with any of the flying paint. I think they were especially careful to keep it on the stage for the Rock Tour. Good show!

Technical Difficulties

I reformatted my computer last night, and I'm reinstalling everything. The webcam works! Now I just can't check my email...

Where is my webcam? (concluded)

Status: Delivered
Delivered on: Oct 13, 2003 1:03 P.M.
Signed by: ROBB
Location: RECEIVER
Delivered to: MADISON, WI, US
Shipped or Billed on: Sep 30, 2003
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 1.80 Lbs
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 13, 2003==01:03 P.M.==Middleton, WI, US DELIVERY
Oct 13, 2003==08:28 A.M.==Middleton, WI, US OUT FOR DELIVERY
Oct 13, 2003==04:15 A.M.==Middleton, WI, US ARRIVAL SCAN

Now the bad news...it's not working! The new journey begins: Fighting Dell!

Where is my webcam? (continued)

Status: In Transit
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 11, 2003==12:13 A.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Oct 10, 2003==08:39 P.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US ARRIVAL SCAN
Oct 09, 2003==10:34 P.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US A LATE TRAIN CAUSED THIS DELAY

Something tells me that they aren't referring to the 8-day-and-counting delay that took my webcam across the enitre continent.

3 NT

My webcam is still no-show. On the plus side, the exams are over (save the combinatorics one next week), and I am using my late afternoon to learn Bridge. The American Contract Bridge League has a pretty cool set of tutorials that you can download for free. I'm still in the first one (for beginners), but I'm progressing quickly. The program is simple, clearly written, and has a sense of humor. It's also full of little tidbits to keep you thinking about more complicated senariios even when working with the basics. For example, I just came upon a screen that told me that "Unless your playing against real hotshot bridge players, it is safe to assume that when a finesse works one time, it will also work a second time." Thanks to David MacLeod for the link.

Where is my webcam?

Status: In Transit
Scheduled Delivery: Oct 3, 2003
Shippeded to: MADISON, WI, US
Shipped or Billed on: Sep 30, 2003
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: 1.80 Lbs
Package Progress:
DATE==========TIME========LOCATION/ACTIVITY
Oct 07, 2003==10:23 P.M.==Richmond, CA, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Oct 02, 2003==05:03 A.M.==Hodgkins, IL, US ARRIVAL SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==10:00 P.M.==Maspeth, NY, US DEPARTURE SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==07:47 P.M.==Maspeth, NY, US ORIGIN SCAN
Sep 30, 2003==06:31 P.M.==US BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I'm not qute sure when Californina became part of a direct land route between New York and Wisconsin, but I personally blame Arnold.

Victory

I did ODE Quiz 1 just now, and I destroyed. On to the combinatorics homework!

Friendly Faces

I had the pleasure of some very good company today. My mother and my sister drove all the way out to Madison just to see me. We had Lunch at The Great Dane, before I showed them State Street and Bascom hill. We rested here before dinner at the Potbelly in town. I've got many exams this coming week, so let the studying commence!

Boldly Going

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. I received my order of teas yesterday from Avalon's Tazo store. I got a free sampler that included some flavors I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. Last night I tried Calm, which is a chamomile tea. I can't say that I was terribly impressed, but it was worth a try. Tonight's new flavor is Earl Grey, the favorite tea of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I've not been so much into the black teas, but I'm giving anything and everything a go. It's finished steeping, and is cooling. [7:38:22 Update] The tea was quite good, and I enjoyed it while watching Friends, which was not so good. Way to much whining from Ross.

R&R

Today was a thoroughly relaxing day. I did a bit of Spanish work and a bit of botany. I took a nap, and I talked to Marget.

Travel Plans

I purchased tickets to Copenhagen, Denmark from Icelandair. I am departing from Minneapolis at 6:55 on Monday, 5 January 2004. I have a layover in Reykjavik, and I will arrive at noon on the next day. It's a while off, but lots of good stuff happens in the mean time. The Matrix Revolutions comes out. I'm home with my family and my honey for Thanksgiving. And I can't forget a Carribean cruise over my birthday.

I've been communicating with Marget using Eyeball Chat. Its good to see her again. I'll be getting my camera soon. I ordered some headphones as well in an effort to deal with the feedback from our speakers.