So, I am writing this entry in advance (August 8th), but for somewhat obvious reasons, I am delaying its publication until August 17th at midnight, once all the blogger apps should be in.
Okay, so, for those of you who somehow are unaware, one of the major reasons this blog exists is because I really want to be an admissions blogger for MIT (along with my general, long-held desire to keep a journal of some sort). This process is highly competitive, particularly this year. As with MIT Admissions in general, however, there is a bit of a philosophy that, just because it is important and competitive that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. As a result, in addition to the various more serious/mundane requirements of the blogger app, there is the following short essay:
Short answer #2 (please choose one of the following).
Option A: In a paragraph or two, describe to us a YouTube video, and why it is the single most important piece of art ever created. (Please include its URL)
Option B: Create and submit MIT Admissions blog-related Lolcats (or Lolbeavers, or Lolsnivelys, or…). Submit a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4.
As you may have figured out by now, I decided on option B. I got a little carried away, however, and actually made 9 different designs. Choosing only four was incredibly difficult; I tried to survey many MIT prefrosh and students, but I had trouble finding ones that weren’t also applying to be bloggers. Finally after much deliberation, I settled on the following four which, while not necessarily my favorites, are probably the most directly relevant to Admissions (while also funny). They also happen to include at least one lolcat, one lolbeaver, and one lolsnively… I thought it was good completion. Anyway, without further ado, my four main selections:
This one is actually a recreation of one I earlier posted to the Facebook group. Since it was a good idea then, I still considered it a good idea for this application. Since its old hat to me, I don’t think its that funny any more, but hopefully it is still funny to the people to whom it’s new, like the blogger committee.
This is my incarnation of a lolbeaver. I believe the picture is from Battle of the Bands, CPW 2006. I forget where exactly I found it. Still .. its a true story. (Also clearly lolbeavers have slightly better grammar than lolcats).
I think this one should gain me points for being a simultaneous lolsnively and LoTR reference. It was also incidentally taken by Laura, who is on the blogger selection committee. I hope she will like the caption. I find it hilarious.
With the knowledge that Joey C. is also applying for blogger-ship, I hope he doesn’t mind terribly that I stole his picture. This is also not technically a lolthing, but I thought the motivational poster motif was a better format for this particular caption. Personally, of the ones I submitted this is probably my favorite (though the people I asked didn’t really agree). I just love it cause its a great caption for the picture, but is also relevant because with the blogs, and two-way comments.. it really is pretty interactive.
So, that is it for the ones I submitted, but as I said, I got a little bit overzealous and made 5 more than the four I submitted. Some of them I actually find funnier, but they are also less relevant to Admissions or are otherwise less appropriate. I present them in (my opinion’s) order from least funny to most funny:
This is a great picture, and by Lulu, but it doesn’t really work with the caption because the cat doesn’t actually look all that happy. It is also too specific. I showed it to a friend on 1E, saying they could steal it for hall rush or something, if they wanted. Sadly, it was deemed not ammusing enough for this purpose and it isn’t really.
This is the first one I did. It is a bit too obvious to really be particularly funny. Still, its a decent application of lolcat dynamics to Snively– an early test in lolsnively technology, if you will.
This is a relatively entertaining picture all by itself. The caption doesn’t really add that much and all told, an implication of bribery (which would obviously be patently false) wouldn’t reallly be appropriate. Still, some of the people I surveryed liked it alot. Again, I think its just the picture. Matt, that is an amazing float.
I’m sorry. I find this one ABSOLUTELY hillarious, both for the original picture (by Lulu) and for my own caption (</vanity>). Nevertheless, I feared this would be a bit too controversial for official submission. I don’t actually think that (all) people on west campus hate kitties.
This is quite clearly the best one ever. It also has little to nothing to do with anything. Still, it is a great picture and I was proud of myself for the irony.
Anyway, I guess if this is published, I am en route to MIT … that is scary .. but also amazingly exciting. It also means that the blogger selection committee is probably in their selction process. Thank you for making such a tough decision. Regardless of if they include me, I hope you pick awesome bloggers to represnt our class for posterity! ^_^
See you all at orientation.. some of you tommorow! :-O
For the last hour and 4 minutes, it has been my last day at home. My last. day. at home. You know what though, I am tired of whining about leaving… I will, in fact, miss many people, but I’m about to meet a lot of other cool people. I’ve now seen pretty much everyone I know for the last time for a long time. I am about to see a lot of people for the first time that I will see often. It’s time to become an optimist. (This reminds me of a terrible joke:
A pessimist, an optimist, and an engineer walked up to a table where they observed a glass at half capacity. “That glass is half full!” exclaimed the optimist cheerfully. “That glass is hald empty,” said the pessimist gloomily. The engineer just got extremely frustrated and said nothing. After awhile, the optimist and pessimist noticed the engineer’s condition. The optimist, always one to try and cheer people up, finally turned to the engineer and said “What’s wrong?” “CLEARLY THE GLASS IS TWICE AS BIG AS NECCESARY!”
)
Anyway, today is all about preperation for leaving for MIT tommorow. ( I have packed substantially less than I ought to have). No more focus on the past. No forgetting it either, but it is time to think futureward. On the not of the future, I found out today that my HASS-D result is for 24.900 ^_^. Other than being at 9:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this is awesome.
To MIT, see you in 2 days!!
~Donald Guy
P.S. The Blogger App is due today, so you can expect a pre-written/scheduled post of my lol-things tommorow morning.
In 1513, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote Il Principe. In it he famously wrote a message (though not the words) that “The ends justify the means.” Here, in 2008, by a gross turn of phrase I am facing down a different reality: I am realizing that the meaning justifies “the End”s. While admitting that was a terrible pun, it is a terribly true statment … In recent days, I have been facing down a lot of ends. This evening, for example, I had my last RSD class. On the one hand, I am glad to be free of the various injuries and arguments it seemed to lead to; on the other, its odd to not be doing it after 6 months, to say nothing of just not seeing the people, even if they weren’t my favorite people in the world.
Much more affective is the other end of the spectrum—the people that are essentially my favorite in the world, my friends and family. I realize this sort of post becomes redundant at a point, but its still crazy.. The parties also are coming to an end. Seeing my friends at all is coming to an end. Granted, I already have new friends who I am looking forward to seeing more. Its a weird trade off though. My new friends will be neither better nor worse than my current friends, and yet they will, in a manner, usurp their position (Machiavelli would appreciate this). I truly hope to and plan to keep in touch with a lot of people here, some specific people especially .. and yet, it shall inevitably change.
At the same time, as I said, there is a meaning in all these ends, it means that I am really, truly headed off to college, headed off to MIT. And as I should be, I am excited. In 3 days, probably about 67 hours, I will be in Cambridge, MA. Things are falling into place for a new beginning in the midst of the ends. And I know that before long the number of beginnings will GREATLY overshadow the number and scope of the ends and ultimately I shall be fine. And yet, all the other lives shall go on without me.. shall progress, develop, hopefully prosper. It’s very strange.. I can’t focus on just my own progress.. I’m just not Maciavellian enough.
So, to all my friends that I am leaving here in Virginia Beach, to all of those off to Blacksburg, Baltimore, Fairfax, Charlottesville, or wherever, I wish truly wish you all the best. Lets us do our best to keep in touch!
~Donald
P.S. In other news: I saw my Freshman Advising Seminar assignement today: FASAP. ^_^.
So, as I contemplate the encrouching liveline (deadline is inappropriately negative) of college (ZOMG <11 days!), there are about a thousand things on my mind. Since I can’t discuss a thousand things on my blog I will pick an overarching theme that I think sums it all up pretty well: Quantum Mechanics.
Now, before you go running away screaming AHH PHYSICS, NO!! I promise I am interpreting the theme in a way free of equations or word problems (at least ones you have to solve). In fact, its probably a way that will make actual physicists angry. Basically, I’m thinking of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. While the literal statment is about the fact that its ” physically impossible to measure [both] the position and momentum of a particle,” and I am clearly not a particle, I also feel like while my position is relatively clear, my “momentum” is immeasurable at this point.
I haven’t actually yet observed my role, my wavefunction has not collapsed; I am Schrödinger’s prefrosh.
To dispense with the abstraction and nerdiness, I am basically saying what I said before: I still feel like my possibilities at MIT are limitless. Therefore I have no idea where I am heading and what my role will end up being.
Let us consider some specific examples. One point that has been confusing me is what I shall do for a math class. I have a 5 on AP Calc BC, so 18.01 is right out. I feel fairly competent with it, so 18.01/02A is also eliminated. This leaves “only”: 18.014, 18.02, 18.022, and 18.023. (To my non-MIT friends who are now lost, here is the catalog of math classes with normal titles/descriptions: http://student.mit.edu/catalog/m18a.html ). This would be a complicated enough decision (the main conflict being between taking 18.02 on the strength of Aroux’s reputation and 18.022, since I already have a good familiarity with Multivariable Calc from a class last year), but it is further complicated by the fact that, out of boredom I have been reading a calc book I won from a competition and, as a result, feel that I might actually be able to pass the 18.02 ASE. This would leave me deciding between 18.03 or 18.06 then .03 or .034 in the spring. If I wanted to go really crazy, I could try to go straight for 18.100B.. but thats highly unlikely.
Anyway, I have whined about math class choice long and hard elsewhere, and while I still appreciate advice if you have it, this is not really the point of this post, I simply mean it to be illustrative of my class choice uncertainty. I have similar conflicts between 8.02/8.022 and 3.091/5.111/5.112, anyway.
Alas, my indecision does not end with classes; extracirriculars are also a source of uncertainty. I really want to audition for an a capella group, as I love them, but I’m not even sure if I’d rather be a member of the Logs or Resonance (I may even audition for others, but I’m pretty sure these are my top 2). On top of this, I know what kind of comitment these groups are. Meanwhile, my mind wants to hatch plans about Roadkill Buffet, Musical Theater Guild, and even UA. All of these plans are of very time consuming things and all together are not possible. At some point, I WILL have to make a decision, and the wavefunction WILL collapse. And I am really curious about what I will pick and how I will make these decisions.
But of course, a huge part of the aforementioned uncertainty principle is the so-called “observer effect,” the fact that to observe somthing is to change it. Even in writing this blog entry, I may be changing my future (perhaps even by becoming an admissions blogger ^_^). Certainly when I have to make these decisions final, it will change what other decisions I can make.
Still, its so odd to think that at this point my college life is essentially a (metaphoric) wavefunction, all of the possibilities coexist in some sense. Even things that I am relatively certain of (my inteded major: VI, my intended dorm: EC) could easily be different. If I have a great time at some Senior Haus event during REX, I could live there and end up being significantly different than in relatively similar EC. In more extreme variation, I could even end up living in Baker :-O!! With all this talk of Physics, I could switch from VI to 8.. anything could happen!
And then of course there are even more remote possibilities. For example, a timely allusion is the activation of the Large Hadron Collider 21 hours, 4 minutes, and odd seconds from the time of this writing. As has been well-established by press and lawsuits, there is an incalcuably small chance that the LHC could produce micro-black holes or a “strangelet” that could devour the Earth or even the entire universe. While I personally expect neither, I can concede that until they don’t occour, they are still technically possible.
Perhaps my college career is of less importance than the LHC activation, perhaps it is more. Point of fact, both are possible. And in both, there are so many possibilities.
As with the LHC’s physicists, however, my plan is to accept the minor catastrophic potential, swallow the facts of the unlimited possibilities, and forge forword. I doubt it’ll be the Higgs Boson, but I am certainly excited to see what the reality of my college experience shall bring… ^_^
Until Next Time (assuming the LHC doesn’t kill us all),
~Donald Guy
P.S. Monday’s Penny-Arcade is totally relevant, and totally hillarious, but I felt it wouldn’t fit in the mostly serious entry above. Still .. check it out: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/8/4/
It has been an interesting aspect of my life that, despite the best intentions, I have always wanted to, and usually failed to keep some sort of journal. One could say that it comes from a need to be remembered, a need to record my history; I think these are a crock. My desire to keep a journal is probably most easily traceable to Doug. I think that practically every day I heard him say Dear Journal and then have great adventures, so I thought keeping a journal was awesome.
Granted I know now that it probably had a lot more to do with being a convenient frame for story telling. It has been used in television and film many times since (e.g. As Told By Ginger, examples that are less lame because they aren’t children’s shows -_-). Regardless, I think that truthfully Doug is the origin.
My attempts at journal writing have been many and varied. The most successful was probably a compulsory one I wrote in a composition book, every day in 4th grade. In 5th grade I acquired a white book with a hot air balloon on it, and in middle school I bought a gold book with the Chinese for “Imagination” on the cover. Both of these were intended to be used as daily journals. I believe each garnered about 3 entries.
With the advent of the “web log” craze .. (we don’t use the w, e, or space anymore), I saw the fusion of my desire to keep a journal and my love for/proficiency with computers. Since then I have made severalvaliantattempts at getting a blog off the ground. Usually only to see them grind to a halt not long after.
You now stare at the current incarnation of these attempts, created unashamedly in hopes of providing a suitable “portfolio” for the great people over at http://www.mitadmissions.org. Like my other attempts it has also gotten off to a rough start for various reasons (varying from sheer laziness to indecision between Wordpress and Movable Type). But now it has existed for awhile and yet still it sits, largely bare of content.
Why?! I suppose it has a bit to do with laziness, a bit to do with overthinking and oververbosity in my expression, and a bit to do with not being sure anyone will care. Maybe, its just the fact then other times I’ve started a journal or blog, I’ve never ended up meeting the Beets at Honkerburger or become Quailman -_-!
But its reached the point where no more excuses shall do. It is time to try to blog legitimately, if I can. The blogger app on MIT Admissions, and I really do quite want to be one. I know that I have many, manytalentedcompetitors and frankly I expect their success over mine, but I’ve decided that I do want to do it, so I really ought to at least try.
So .. here goes, consider my lame attempts below part of the old blog. This was supposed to be the first entry in my blog, and I never got around to writing it in full form. The real attempt starts now, this is when we have that “Better Blog To Follow…”
Well, we all heard the Chorollaries’ beautiful renditions of the Engineers Drinking Song, but there is another traditional MIT song (this one in the Logs standard repertoire) that (at least in bits) more accurately expresses a lot of prefrosh’s current feelings.
This is quite seriously how I am feeling at the moment. Like a lot of prefrosh, I am dealing with a lot of senioritis (yes, there is a wikipedia article on it) and I’m ready to head back to the ‘tvte. Though I have some great friends here at home (many whom I will miss dearly), I feel like I have friend’s at (and soon to be at) MIT who I already miss.
Since this is ostensibly a CPW entry, I guess I should talk about my CPW. Overall, my CPW was pretty tame. Keep in mind this is saying tame for CPW- this is a lot like saying west campus people are normal (they are, for MIT).
In any case, for a trip to my new favorite place, the beginning was less than glorious. It can be summed up well in one picture
yea -_- Due to nice fog, my plane to Boston never touched down, so I went to Boston from Virgina Beach… by way of Atlanta. While displacment is a vector, time is a scalar, so I caught the shuttle
and arrived on campus a lot latter than intended (noonish rather than nineish).
Over the weekend, the rest of my schedule has been covered by a lot of the other entrants:
I was, at times, in the chat group with Omar (in the picture of the cameras, mine is the orange camera phone)
I went to the CSAIL presentation, 6.02 class, and EECS open house, Ball Drop and many other things where Karen could be found. (In general, her longer blog here closely follows my CPW experience (especially thursday, friday), though somehow I never actually met her)
Like lots of people, I was there for the Icebreakers, festival, Meet the Bloggers etc.
Though I didn’t play Underground CTF, I did play BC’s CTF on Thursday night
So, I won’t bore you with too much redundant recounting. Quickly here are some pictures/videos I have to add (in roughly chronological order):
the housing/dining info session
The real beauty of CPW
4th East (Slugfest)’s Iron Curtain music visulization project
The poor orientation hosts who were in charge of running “ice breakers” on the chat group (and the one poor guy in the group who wasn’t a chat person)
The obligatory picture from the roof of Baker (before the party)
A nearly empty infinite corridor at 2am on Thursday (Random Standard Time)
Our hard-hatted tour group at the new grad dorm where the so-called Phoenix/W1 Incubator group will live for two years. Will U, Kimberly S ‘12 and I were the only prefrosh to go on the tour of the dorm. It was a really nice (albeit under construction) facility and really will afford the people who go for it great opportunities to jump-start the culture of the former-Ashdown house. That said, I’m not sure if I can handle living one place 2 years (WAAY off campus) and another 2 years some place else, both new. For those of you who are adventurous, its definitely worth looking into.
6.02 Lecture on Variable Length Encoding. Very interesting and I actually understood it and learned a lot.
Some (anti-)VI propaganda handed out at the EECS open house. (Note: free shirts that Omar didn’t get!)
The sounds (and almost sights) of the Ball Drop
Snively + Me + Colbert’s “my ______ friend” pose = AMAZING PICTURE! (if only camera didn’t ruin it)
Random Hall’s flying cow. You can hear part of a Random Hall tour in the background
As even these few meager pictures show, I had an awesome time at CPW. Keep in mind also that during some of the most awesome times, I was too busy (or forbidden hint) to be taking pictures.
For example, during the GBIS A cappella concert, I was literally too awed by the awesome groups (several of which I’d love to be a part of), to snap a picture. During the Roadkill Buffet performance (which I forewent Battle of the Bands for), I was much too busy laughing. By far the funniest moment to me, although it may not translate well to text, was during a game in which they had to interject phrases the audience wrote before the show into a scene,
Actor 1: *pulls phrase from pocket* GERANIUM URANIUM! Actor 2: Yea, I remember man. Thats what we called you in high school. Everyone was afraid of the Geranium Uranium. I remember they called me *pulls phrase* Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! Actor 1: yep, we used to call you LTBOM for short
.. I laughed to the point of tears (I think you had to be there).
Overall, however, I find myself wanting more. Not more from CPW, but more from MIT- I need more of MIT… soon.
This is partially my fault. I enrolled before CPW, so I wasn’t running to make sure it was all for me and I feel like I left some things undone. I never saw Simmons nor Senior Haus; I hung out with the chat group a lot and, in doing so, didn’t meet that many completely new people (though I actually probably am now best friends with some of the chat people I knew least before the weekend), and I feel like I probably slept too late.
The larger cause of this yearning, however, lies squarely in the nature of CPW. CPW was MIT in super-condensed form and, as much as we tried, one simply couldn’t experience it all. This isn’t really a problem, but it does have a serious side effect: MIT Addiction. I want to go back ASAP. I realize that real MIT life involves a lot of tooling, but I’m ready to face that for the rest of it (plus I actually love learning, so maybe psets won’t always be torture) (one can hope).
I feel ready to learn, ready to tool, ready to punt, ready to hack (if the occasion arises).
And yet orientation is 4 months and 3 days away.
Being the smart one I am (I got into MIT!), I know that there is still a LOT of fun to enjoy here in my senior year. I will continue to keep that in mind, but like a lot of prefrosh, I find myself singing “Take Me Back to Tech”.
