maths…
So, did you have to sit an entrance exam for university?
I didn’t, my year 12 marks and a couple of forms filled out got me in. I don’t want to do a maths degree (just being forced to a couple of classes for computer science)
So it’s a good thing that I didn’t have to sit a test with a question like this on it- though I wouldn’t mind the second question at that link.
That’s a pretty steep difference between the two questions- almost approaching humour. I don’t think you can draw simple conclusions from this though, as you need to look at the different university models setting the tests.
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black out at monash
There was a power out at Monash University (Clayton Campus) today. I arrived around 2 o’clock, and noticed that there were a lot of people around. “Hmmm… lunch must be dragging on long today” I thought. I needed cash so I went to the ATMs at the Campus Centre. Black screen- the next one was also off. I tried the other bank’s ATM, it was off as well. How odd. I walked into the Campus Centre, to find that everything was dim and dark, with a few emergency lights flickering softly overhead. The shops were all closed or closing. However, there was still some light around, it wasn’t completely black, so I wasn’t too worried about using the bathrooms. I was sitting there, minding my own business, when the already weak light flickered and went out, leaving me in complete and utter pitch-black darkness.
Darn.
I fumbled around, and managed to reach out and grab the lock and let myself out of the cubicle (unlike some other people I talked to later, who were stuck, desperately feeling around!) I took some steps, and when I thought I was about level with the sinks, turned.
WHAM.
Considering the odds of hitting a (2cm thick) cubicle wall, it was a pretty good effort, I feel. Ouch. I was saved by someone coming in and opening the door, bringing with them some welcome light from outside. It could have been MSA president Zoe Edwards, I really don’t know. You can’t see much in the dark.
I walked outside to the Menzies Lawn, and saw a huge crowd of people standing around, unable to go to class. I met up with some of my friends, and watched the crowd. The queer-week people had set up a ghetto sound system, powered by a car battery. My friends conspiracy-theorised that the black-out was a deliberate ploy to get more people out on to the lawns!
It was the first of many conspiracy theories I heard- bomb threats, traffic accidents, power company issues, general incompetence, etc. I wandered around to Wholefoods to see if anyone knew what was going on- no one did. But there was one piece of news being gleefully passed on: that all classes were cancelled. I managed to get evacuated out of the building (again) and decided to go home. I caught the bus, and it crawled in 3-lanes-to-1 traffic around the pole which had caught fire and caused the whole incident, apparently.
I am kicking myself for not getting pictures. The thought did cross my mind, but I dismissed it with “it’s not worth taking pictures of darkness.” Especially after coming home and looking out for news on the web- little news and no pictures. I did find (via Google news) this news.com.au article which explained that two electricians had been injured and taken to hospital, with non-fatal burns to their faces and arms as they tried to find the cause of the pole fire and black-out.
Monash, however, wasn’t letting on that it knew anything. None of the staff I talked to at uni had any idea what was going on, not even the information services people. An email was sent around this afternoon, announcing that classes were cancelled for the rest of Monday, and possibly Tuesday, as they had no idea what had caused the outage. They have now got their act together and put up a web page about it. Apparently all classes are cancelled on Tuesday (17th April) due to the outage- they can’t provide “essential services” and thus all buildings were evacuated- “essential services” means even the emergency lighting was failing.
So I have a day off- which is good if you are a procrastinator like me. I have also resolved to be the annoying journalist/blogger in the future, I carry a camera, I should use it!
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briefly: got gmail?
Gmail is no longer the exclusive invites only club that it once was- now you can sign up with out an invite. Go to googlemail.com to sign up. Really though, invite only isn’t really that exclusive- each account came with 100 invites to give away. Use one of those to invite yourself and *shazam* 100 more invites. I think that the invite thing was a marketing ploy- not another email service, but one where you had to try and get in. Keep people out and they’ll want to get in. Now that gmail’s space and simple service are well known, those who don’t have invites can get gmail.
I guess the rules of the game are: use something as long as it’s useful, and as soon as it begins to hinder you, get rid of it.
This is probably old news, but oh well. 
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procrastination!
Today, I had homework to do. I did, in fact, manage to beat the procrastination and do some work, but here is what I have done today, which could in fact be classed as procrastination.
- read the travel section in the paper.
- ate some easter chocolate.
- walked around the room.
- made a motivational display- “HUZZAH! DONE” and “To Do” with movable items, ie questions of assignments.
- ate a choc-chip biscuit.
- decided to ideologically switch to Camino as a browser. (though, with out the spell check…)
- thought about blogging about procrastination.
- lay down in the passage way.
- had some more chocolate. Mmm… chocolate…
- practiced holding my breath.
- went and filled my mug- water.
- thought about writing a piece of accountability software that would stop you from using your computer until you had finished the task you had set yourself. includes “are you lying to me?” screen.
- phoned a friend.
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asked the audience and used the fifty-fifty - had a look at a friend’s blog.
- realized that Camino doesn’t have live bookmarks.
- opened something else I have to do and left it on the floor.
- looked at car licensing requirements online
- looked at car rego requirements online
- went to the garage and checked that I hadn’t left anything in the car.
- started the car. just to see if it was still working.
- posted about my dream around the world trip on Lonely Planet’s ThornTree forum.
- looked online for a job.
- washed my face.
- watched a fragment of a TV show (passing back through from the car visit.)
- thought about fun things to blow up- that is, make very large photos of.
- stared at the ceiling.
On top of all that, I managed to field several phone calls, get dressed, eat three meals, complete the first of four maths questions, attempt the second and third (tough!) maths questions, complete a databases question and start the second, and listen to an hours worth of a lecture about poetry.
Oh, and I knocked off at 9pm or so, hence “blogging” is only on the list in the “thought of” way, not the “actually sat down and wrote it” way. After 9 is my time. I have also looked at cars to buy (oh for a sub 2 grand roadworthy car!) and spoken to my family over gtalk. A very full day!
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chocolate: lent reflections
Mmm… Chocolate is good. Occasional bites, sweet goodness melting over the tongue. Yes, Lent is over and I’m back to enjoying sweet things. It was an interesting time, with out sugar induced highs and happiness. I was able to think about God a bit more, but in the end, realized that it was not a huge “God experience” – I’ve since learned that these come when God wants them to, not on demand.
The discipline I learned in giving up desert is something that I’d like to apply to other parts of my life, but it is a negative (don’t do) discipline, not a positive (do this) discipline. To motivate myself to do something on a regular basis- prayer would be a good one to start with- that is my goal.
At the end of the whole experience, I feel like I’ve grown a little more than just following the passage of time. And I have a new found appreciation for chocolate.
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the incredible grocery bean
![[the incredible grocery bean stands, muscular arms, green gloved hands on hips with a green cape flowing behind.]](beanCropped.jpg)
I’m now a cartoonist! This is the concept sketch, I’ve put Grocery Bean into a comic strip, but left it at uni. Grocery Bean is a key character in publicity for the organic student run Grocery.