Captain's blog, stardate 2653.5...
Time for an amusing story. By which I mean amusing to people who are not me because I do not find this story amusing in the slightest.
So this evening I eventually decided to make myself some supper, which is Elizabeth-language for "spread hummus on a slice of pita bread and eat it". This was accomplished without much ado. However, when I went back to my room after finishing my "meal", a slight problem presented itself. As you might have already guessed from the title of this post, said problem was that my keys had vanished.
Now, I have two keys on my keyring. One opens the door to my room, which locks itself automatically when closed. The other opens the lock to my cupboard in the kitchen, where my utensils, plates/bowls/cups, and dry food is stored. So without my keys I can do pretty much nothing.
Understandably this was quite distressing to me so I ran around looking in all the places where I could concievably have left my keys while in the process of getting my food. Purse? No. Refrigerator? No. Countertop? No. Garbage Can Where I Threw Away One Small Piece Of Plastic? No. At this point the only place I could think of that I hadn't checked was inside the cupboard. Which I had already locked.
I then proceeded to do the following:
1) Try to cut the lock with scissors (this obviously failed)
2) Run downstairs and borrow the spare key to my room from the front desk
3) Desperately search my room (split infinitives! Yay!) for a spare key to the cupboard lock, which I seemed to recall having.
4) Fail to find the cupboard key and despondently return my room key.
5) Remember where I put the cupboard key, rush downstairs, borrow the room key again, and take the cupboard key out of my room.
6) Open the cupboard, only to discover...my keyring is not inside!
7) Pray desperately that I will remember someplace my keys could possibly be, since they're obviously not anywhere I could possibly have left them.
8) Search everywhere again, including desperately checking inside pots I never touched to see if someone could have hidden them.
9) Discover my keys! Where were they so cleverly hidden from sight?
...In my jeans pocket, of course. Where I had put my keys on several other occasions and never forgotten to look.
And thus I prove my complete and utter lack of common sense for the 2,718,281st time. I feel like I'm on some bad sitcom or something but am still not deriving any amusement out of this.
However, in good news, I'm listening to the Star Trek: The Motion Picture theme, which is definitely one of my favorite pieces of music ever written, and definitely the best part of the movie. (The second-best part of the movie was that it showed some very pretty shots of the Enterprise accompanied with the majestic music. The third best part of the movie was that it said "Star Trek" in the title. The fourth best part was that it ended.)
8.31.2010
8.30.2010
And A Few Days Later...
Captain's blog, stardate 8426.4....
I have somehow survived for several days without my parents being around to provide for my every need! Of course, the fact that there's plenty of free food during orientation week helps. As does the fact that my mom went grocery shopping with me before returning to the world of People Who Aren't In College. (It's kinda weird to walk around and see only people of my approximate age. There are adults working and stuff, but if I walk around I see about 50 college kids, maybe a couple adults, and no young children at all. It's slightly disorienting.)
Well, now that I've congratulated myself on my remarkable survival skills, I suppose I may as well talk about what it is I've been surviving, which is not a huge amount.
Let's see...when was the last time I blogged about anything...aha! On Friday! What have I done since then? Heck, I don't know, I'm ridiculously tired. Classes haven't started yet, in fact, registration hasn't started yet. Just orientation activities.
Speaking of orientation activities, on Thursday, when I arrived, I didn't know activities had already started, since not everyone was required to have checked in until Friday at noon. So I missed out on my favorite activity of all time: Nerdy Singalong! Basically, this is the coolest activity ever invented in the history of mankind. (In other news, I ADORE hyperbole. Or maybe you'd noticed?) When I visited MIT for the admitted students' weekend, it was the high point of the entire weekend. Why? Because 1) singing is awesome, 2) nerdy songs are twice as awesome as any other songs. But I missed it this time around.
However! On Friday evening, I was eating a free meal at one of the dorms and talking to this guy who was sitting across from me. (Yeah, I was being sociable! Crazy, huh?) Conversation approximately as follows:
Me: Yeah...I can't believe I missed Nerdy Singalong!
Him: What does one sing at a nerdy singalong?
Me: Oh, lots of stuff. Let's see...we did "White & Nerdy" of course, "I Will Derive", "Finite Simple Group of Order Two"...
Him: Finite Simple Group of Order Two?
Me: YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT??
Girl who lives in the dorm: YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT?? *pulls out computer and plays the YouTube video*
Me: *starts singing*
And thus began my own personal Nerdy Singalong, since I missed the real event. But the best part is yet to come! We were all having a great time and I was singing really enthusiastically, so this guy who lived in the dorm asked me if I wanted to join his a capella group which sings nerdy songs! So I gave him my email address and he told me he'd let me know when they were holding auditions! So maybe I'll get to sing those songs more often. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Did I do anything exciting on Sunday? Not all that much. I went to Random Hall, of course, because we're allowed into all the dorms during orientation (for activities) and Random is the best of all the dorms. They have fun activities every day and I try to go to as many as I can. After orientation, we're not allowed in dorms other than our own unless we're on the guest list of a resident, but a guy I met at the impromptu singalong said he'd put me and my friend who didn't know Finite Simple Group of Order Two on his guest list.
Oh right, I did do stuff on Sunday! There was Convocation and stuff. Convocation was basically us sitting around and listening to speeches about how we could change the world and we're supposed to make the most of our time at MIT etc. etc. etc. It was slightly boring. (I'm not averse to a bit of understatement at times, to go along with all the hyperbole. Say, if using hyperbole makes you hyperbolic, what does using understatement make you? Parabolic? Elliptical? No, wait, elliptical would be if you used too many ellipses. Heck, I don't know.) Also, we had to take a math diagnostic to help with placement for a physics class I'm not taking because I already placed out of it. But the test was mandatory.
And then today I took a placement test to try and get out of multivariate calculus, which I doubt I'll be getting out of but it was worth a try. I kind of made up all the space integrals because I couldn't remember how to do them. But I did wear a Captain Kirk shirt for luck, and he's pretty lucky, so we'll see.
Oh, and there was a TARDIS on the dome today.
I have somehow survived for several days without my parents being around to provide for my every need! Of course, the fact that there's plenty of free food during orientation week helps. As does the fact that my mom went grocery shopping with me before returning to the world of People Who Aren't In College. (It's kinda weird to walk around and see only people of my approximate age. There are adults working and stuff, but if I walk around I see about 50 college kids, maybe a couple adults, and no young children at all. It's slightly disorienting.)
Well, now that I've congratulated myself on my remarkable survival skills, I suppose I may as well talk about what it is I've been surviving, which is not a huge amount.
Let's see...when was the last time I blogged about anything...aha! On Friday! What have I done since then? Heck, I don't know, I'm ridiculously tired. Classes haven't started yet, in fact, registration hasn't started yet. Just orientation activities.
Speaking of orientation activities, on Thursday, when I arrived, I didn't know activities had already started, since not everyone was required to have checked in until Friday at noon. So I missed out on my favorite activity of all time: Nerdy Singalong! Basically, this is the coolest activity ever invented in the history of mankind. (In other news, I ADORE hyperbole. Or maybe you'd noticed?) When I visited MIT for the admitted students' weekend, it was the high point of the entire weekend. Why? Because 1) singing is awesome, 2) nerdy songs are twice as awesome as any other songs. But I missed it this time around.
However! On Friday evening, I was eating a free meal at one of the dorms and talking to this guy who was sitting across from me. (Yeah, I was being sociable! Crazy, huh?) Conversation approximately as follows:
Me: Yeah...I can't believe I missed Nerdy Singalong!
Him: What does one sing at a nerdy singalong?
Me: Oh, lots of stuff. Let's see...we did "White & Nerdy" of course, "I Will Derive", "Finite Simple Group of Order Two"...
Him: Finite Simple Group of Order Two?
Me: YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT??
Girl who lives in the dorm: YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT?? *pulls out computer and plays the YouTube video*
Me: *starts singing*
And thus began my own personal Nerdy Singalong, since I missed the real event. But the best part is yet to come! We were all having a great time and I was singing really enthusiastically, so this guy who lived in the dorm asked me if I wanted to join his a capella group which sings nerdy songs! So I gave him my email address and he told me he'd let me know when they were holding auditions! So maybe I'll get to sing those songs more often. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Did I do anything exciting on Sunday? Not all that much. I went to Random Hall, of course, because we're allowed into all the dorms during orientation (for activities) and Random is the best of all the dorms. They have fun activities every day and I try to go to as many as I can. After orientation, we're not allowed in dorms other than our own unless we're on the guest list of a resident, but a guy I met at the impromptu singalong said he'd put me and my friend who didn't know Finite Simple Group of Order Two on his guest list.
Oh right, I did do stuff on Sunday! There was Convocation and stuff. Convocation was basically us sitting around and listening to speeches about how we could change the world and we're supposed to make the most of our time at MIT etc. etc. etc. It was slightly boring. (I'm not averse to a bit of understatement at times, to go along with all the hyperbole. Say, if using hyperbole makes you hyperbolic, what does using understatement make you? Parabolic? Elliptical? No, wait, elliptical would be if you used too many ellipses. Heck, I don't know.) Also, we had to take a math diagnostic to help with placement for a physics class I'm not taking because I already placed out of it. But the test was mandatory.
And then today I took a placement test to try and get out of multivariate calculus, which I doubt I'll be getting out of but it was worth a try. I kind of made up all the space integrals because I couldn't remember how to do them. But I did wear a Captain Kirk shirt for luck, and he's pretty lucky, so we'll see.
Oh, and there was a TARDIS on the dome today.
8.27.2010
Family, This One's For You
Captain's blog, stardate 7284.3...
It's quiet here in my dorm. Very quiet. And I like it, for right now, but I'm going to miss you. And I know (or at least my inflated ego makes me think) that you'll miss me too.
So I'm going to say why I'll miss you.
Stephen: You are always adorable, even when you're yelling at me. I love your invention book and all the creative things you come up with. I love your smiles and all the funny things you say (even if you get mad on occasion when I laugh at them). I love how you're always coming up with new ideas. And I love to hug you on the occasions when you let me.
Maggie: You always look up to me and try to get in on whatever I do. I shouldn't get so annoyed about that. You're always so sweet, so cheerful, and so generous. I love the times when we're being silly together and come up with a really funny song or a great idea for a project to do. I love working on comic books with you, even if you never do get yours done and I can't draw to save my life. I love the little presents you make for people at just the right times. I love how you are always around for me when I need you. And I love your enthusiasm and the way you're so kind to everyone.
Mary: Oh, Mary. How I wish you didn't have ballet preventing you from coming to Boston with me. You're one of the best friends I have. I have so many memories of playing Harry Potter and Star Trek with you, and even occasionally Star Wars, even though you hate it. I have the picture of the Enterprise you drew for me on my dorm room wall, and the certificate promoting me to Admiral in my desk drawer. I love how we can have so much fun together whatever we do. I love the fact that if I listed our inside jokes, the list would fill pages upon pages. I love your bright, cheery smile and your laugh. I love how you come up with things ten times funnier than anything I've ever though of, on a regular basis. I love how we're rivals in Trekkieness and could keep chatting till the cows come home. I have been, and always will be, your friend. Live long and prosper. (Spock, Wrath of Khan...but of course you already knew that.)
John: It's been so much fun playing D&D with you, these past few weeks. I love how you tell me everything at your school which could be interpreted in a remotely geeky way, and how we laugh about it together. I love how you let me act like a two-year-old and don't care. I love how we used to have lightsaber fights, and how ridiculous we made the Star Wars characters when we played. I love you, even when you frustrate me, and even when I think you're disgusting. And nothing can make me stop.
Dad: You and your UFOs. Half the time I think we have nothing in common, and the other half I think we have everything in common. I love how you valiantly tried to learn math so that you could talk to me about that. I love how you listen to me blather on and on about eigenvalues, even when you don't understand a word of it. I love how you used to tell me a story every night, and how now you read to the little kids before bedtime. I love the conversations we had on the way back from choir, before I slipped into taciturn adolescence. I love how you've read everything I've ever heard of and then some. And, naturally, I love that you introduced us to Star Trek! That's always important.
Mom: I saved you for last. You are always there for me, always. Whenever I'm upset or confused, you're the one I turn to. You've helped me so much over the years, with everything from writing to socializing to doing the laundry. I love the nights out we used to take, whether down the street to Starbucks or off to watch a show we bought High 5 tickets to. I love how you've always found me the resources I needed, and how you've solved problems I never even imagined could be surmounted. I love your patience and practicality when I'm frustrated and in a panic. I can never thank you enough for all the things you have done for me. I remember when I was in fifth grade and practicing essays for some standardized test. You gave me the topic to write about someone I found inspirational, and I wrote about you. If I had that assignment now, I'd write the same thing again.
I love you all, with all my heart. And I am certainly going to miss you.
All right. Enough with my sentimental prose. I'll see you all again.
It's quiet here in my dorm. Very quiet. And I like it, for right now, but I'm going to miss you. And I know (or at least my inflated ego makes me think) that you'll miss me too.
So I'm going to say why I'll miss you.
Stephen: You are always adorable, even when you're yelling at me. I love your invention book and all the creative things you come up with. I love your smiles and all the funny things you say (even if you get mad on occasion when I laugh at them). I love how you're always coming up with new ideas. And I love to hug you on the occasions when you let me.
Maggie: You always look up to me and try to get in on whatever I do. I shouldn't get so annoyed about that. You're always so sweet, so cheerful, and so generous. I love the times when we're being silly together and come up with a really funny song or a great idea for a project to do. I love working on comic books with you, even if you never do get yours done and I can't draw to save my life. I love the little presents you make for people at just the right times. I love how you are always around for me when I need you. And I love your enthusiasm and the way you're so kind to everyone.
Mary: Oh, Mary. How I wish you didn't have ballet preventing you from coming to Boston with me. You're one of the best friends I have. I have so many memories of playing Harry Potter and Star Trek with you, and even occasionally Star Wars, even though you hate it. I have the picture of the Enterprise you drew for me on my dorm room wall, and the certificate promoting me to Admiral in my desk drawer. I love how we can have so much fun together whatever we do. I love the fact that if I listed our inside jokes, the list would fill pages upon pages. I love your bright, cheery smile and your laugh. I love how you come up with things ten times funnier than anything I've ever though of, on a regular basis. I love how we're rivals in Trekkieness and could keep chatting till the cows come home. I have been, and always will be, your friend. Live long and prosper. (Spock, Wrath of Khan...but of course you already knew that.)
John: It's been so much fun playing D&D with you, these past few weeks. I love how you tell me everything at your school which could be interpreted in a remotely geeky way, and how we laugh about it together. I love how you let me act like a two-year-old and don't care. I love how we used to have lightsaber fights, and how ridiculous we made the Star Wars characters when we played. I love you, even when you frustrate me, and even when I think you're disgusting. And nothing can make me stop.
Dad: You and your UFOs. Half the time I think we have nothing in common, and the other half I think we have everything in common. I love how you valiantly tried to learn math so that you could talk to me about that. I love how you listen to me blather on and on about eigenvalues, even when you don't understand a word of it. I love how you used to tell me a story every night, and how now you read to the little kids before bedtime. I love the conversations we had on the way back from choir, before I slipped into taciturn adolescence. I love how you've read everything I've ever heard of and then some. And, naturally, I love that you introduced us to Star Trek! That's always important.
Mom: I saved you for last. You are always there for me, always. Whenever I'm upset or confused, you're the one I turn to. You've helped me so much over the years, with everything from writing to socializing to doing the laundry. I love the nights out we used to take, whether down the street to Starbucks or off to watch a show we bought High 5 tickets to. I love how you've always found me the resources I needed, and how you've solved problems I never even imagined could be surmounted. I love your patience and practicality when I'm frustrated and in a panic. I can never thank you enough for all the things you have done for me. I remember when I was in fifth grade and practicing essays for some standardized test. You gave me the topic to write about someone I found inspirational, and I wrote about you. If I had that assignment now, I'd write the same thing again.
I love you all, with all my heart. And I am certainly going to miss you.
All right. Enough with my sentimental prose. I'll see you all again.
These Wonderful Past Few Days
Captain's blog, stardate 2856.4....
I was going to finish that last post on the bus, but I didn't have time.
Now I have time. (I AM AT COLLEGE NOW PEOPLE) So prepare yourselves. This won't be too detailed, hopefully.
After I got back from Six Flags, I...
I was going to finish that last post on the bus, but I didn't have time.
Now I have time. (I AM AT COLLEGE NOW PEOPLE) So prepare yourselves. This won't be too detailed, hopefully.
After I got back from Six Flags, I...
- played D&D with John and (supposedly) Maggie, but I ended up being her character for most of the game.
- saved copies of our character sheets on my laptop so we could play D&D when I come back for Christmas break.
- Had a readthrough of our Star Trek musical (which I finally finished) with all the kids. It features 6 episodes from the original series (two from each season) and all the movies (with the exception of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in which nothing happens for two hours while awesome music plays. They later used the theme from that movie for the Next Generation credits.)
- Set off with mom, Maggie, and Stephen for Boston, bidding fond farewells to the remaining members of the family.
- With Maggie, made up a song about "The Bridge Crew Who Don't Do Anything", which features characters from TNG. (Sorry TNG. *pats Picard on his shiny bald head and is told to get off the bridge*)
- Decorated some stickers on the bus. I wanted to put a picture of them, but I forgot to take one and don't feel like doing it now. Suffice it to say they leaned towards the nerdy side.
- Saw a truck which said "Rand-Whitney" on it. Why is this something you should care about? Because Yeoman Rand, a character in several early episodes of Star Trek, was played by a woman named Grace Lee Whitney. After a quick Internet search, I can report that the company Rand-Whitney was founded before Star Trek came out, so this is merely an amazing coincidence.
- Stayed with my mom's friend for the night. Maggie and I shared a room and tried our best to gossip about boyfriends.
- (Today) Went to the Boston Children's Museum, where I acted like a little kid for a couple of hours. It was extremely fun.
- Was given a smooth rock by Maggie and named it William Gladstone.
- Checked into my dorm at MIT, where I am at the moment. I have a room all to myself! My Star Wars poster is hanging proudly on the wall as I write.
Six Flags
Captain's blog, stardate...uh...3251.8. (Completely random numbers now.)
I'm on the bus to Boston and noticed that I have been quite remiss in my blogging duties. I plead with you to have mercy on me.
At any rate, are you ready to hear about Six Flags? No? Too bad.
I went to Six Flags on Tuesday with my dear homeschool friends Rachel and Erin. It was supposed to rain, so the park was nearly empty and we got to go on almost all the rides we wanted to. I say "almost" because it did rain resulting in all the rides being closed for quite some time. By the way, if you ride a roller coaster in the rain, it's kind of fun sometimes, but if you're going fast enough the rain really hurts your face, as we learned the hard way. But it was a great day. We rode Kingda Ka twice (Erin, being more patient, got to go three times), and it was quite exhilarating. (I was going to say that "exhilarating" is a word which should be used more often, but that would make it less meaningful when it was really needed. Kind of like inflation, but with words instead of money.)
While it rained, the three of us played those games where you shoot the target to win a prize. Only three people were needed to play, and there were three of us, so we got a prize every time. Erin got a stuffed whale (she's obsessed with whales) but I got something much better.
A PLUSHY KIRK!!!!!!
HE'S SO SOFT!
HE'S SO PLUSHY!
HE'S SO ADORABLE IN EVERY WAY!
And they even put the right braid on his sleeves! I checked!
I'm on the bus to Boston and noticed that I have been quite remiss in my blogging duties. I plead with you to have mercy on me.
At any rate, are you ready to hear about Six Flags? No? Too bad.
I went to Six Flags on Tuesday with my dear homeschool friends Rachel and Erin. It was supposed to rain, so the park was nearly empty and we got to go on almost all the rides we wanted to. I say "almost" because it did rain resulting in all the rides being closed for quite some time. By the way, if you ride a roller coaster in the rain, it's kind of fun sometimes, but if you're going fast enough the rain really hurts your face, as we learned the hard way. But it was a great day. We rode Kingda Ka twice (Erin, being more patient, got to go three times), and it was quite exhilarating. (I was going to say that "exhilarating" is a word which should be used more often, but that would make it less meaningful when it was really needed. Kind of like inflation, but with words instead of money.)
While it rained, the three of us played those games where you shoot the target to win a prize. Only three people were needed to play, and there were three of us, so we got a prize every time. Erin got a stuffed whale (she's obsessed with whales) but I got something much better.
A PLUSHY KIRK!!!!!!
HE'S SO SOFT!
HE'S SO PLUSHY!
HE'S SO ADORABLE IN EVERY WAY!
And they even put the right braid on his sleeves! I checked!
8.21.2010
Something to Blog About
Captain's blog, stardate 1618.0...
I need to keep in the habit of blogging so that I'll be able to do it for when I'm at college.
However, not much is happening! How to resolve this dilemma?
My options:
1) Blog about something none of you really care about, thereby practicing my blogging skills but alienating all of you guys.
2) Don't blog about anything, thereby getting in the habit of not blogging and alienating all of you guys. It would, however, give me a chance to do math homework or work on my Star Trek musical.
3) Post a link to something cool, which is done on other people's blogs occasionally, thereby not practicing my blogging skills, but still making it seem like I wrote something. But I don't have a link to something cool. Perhaps one of you will think this is a cool link. (My mom is gonna be confused.)
I doubt that got me out of my blogging duties, so let's see if I have any other options.
4) Blog about what is happening in my life right now, which is nothing super-exciting until I leave for college on the 26th. However, trying to make something funny which is actually quite mundane could be a good exercise in writing.
5) Find some way to crash everyone's computer until I come up with a good topic for a post, so that they won't notice I didn't post in the meantime. (I'm grasping at straws here.)
6) Post a bunch of links to addictive websites (TvTropes, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) so that you will be sufficiently distracted to not think about whether or not I've posted. This has the advantage of not being illegal like #5.
7) Find something cool to do, then do it, then blog about it. (I'm going to Six Flags on Tuesday!)
8) Discover the secrets of the Long-Distance Jedi Mind Trick and convince all of you that I have, in fact, posted something interesting and informative. (I just rolled a Bluff check on an online die-rolling simulator and got a 20...so that might have actually worked...)
9) Come up with a convincing sob story to explain my lack of posts, thereby getting out of posting for a while without alienating you. Alternatively, pretend that I will be without Internet access for a while due to circumstances beyond my control.
10) Come up with a long list of options, explained in a hopefully humorous tone, and pass it off as a blog post!
Ooh, let's see if I can come up with a Limerick Summation!
There's nothing cool for me to say
Because nothing cool happened today
Instead I'll explain
Which choices remain
And end up with a post anyway!
I need to keep in the habit of blogging so that I'll be able to do it for when I'm at college.
However, not much is happening! How to resolve this dilemma?
My options:
1) Blog about something none of you really care about, thereby practicing my blogging skills but alienating all of you guys.
2) Don't blog about anything, thereby getting in the habit of not blogging and alienating all of you guys. It would, however, give me a chance to do math homework or work on my Star Trek musical.
3) Post a link to something cool, which is done on other people's blogs occasionally, thereby not practicing my blogging skills, but still making it seem like I wrote something. But I don't have a link to something cool. Perhaps one of you will think this is a cool link. (My mom is gonna be confused.)
I doubt that got me out of my blogging duties, so let's see if I have any other options.
4) Blog about what is happening in my life right now, which is nothing super-exciting until I leave for college on the 26th. However, trying to make something funny which is actually quite mundane could be a good exercise in writing.
5) Find some way to crash everyone's computer until I come up with a good topic for a post, so that they won't notice I didn't post in the meantime. (I'm grasping at straws here.)
6) Post a bunch of links to addictive websites (TvTropes, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) so that you will be sufficiently distracted to not think about whether or not I've posted. This has the advantage of not being illegal like #5.
7) Find something cool to do, then do it, then blog about it. (I'm going to Six Flags on Tuesday!)
8) Discover the secrets of the Long-Distance Jedi Mind Trick and convince all of you that I have, in fact, posted something interesting and informative. (I just rolled a Bluff check on an online die-rolling simulator and got a 20...so that might have actually worked...)
9) Come up with a convincing sob story to explain my lack of posts, thereby getting out of posting for a while without alienating you. Alternatively, pretend that I will be without Internet access for a while due to circumstances beyond my control.
10) Come up with a long list of options, explained in a hopefully humorous tone, and pass it off as a blog post!
Ooh, let's see if I can come up with a Limerick Summation!
There's nothing cool for me to say
Because nothing cool happened today
Instead I'll explain
Which choices remain
And end up with a post anyway!
8.18.2010
D&D
Captain's blog, stardate 2718.2...
(Yes, it's a smaller number than the previous stardate, but that happens in Star Trek all the time. They just used random numbers.)
Anyway, back on topic...what's the topic again? Right, Dungeons and Dragons. I like to play D&D, but I was just looking over the rules and noticed something kinda weird.
Your average guy on the street has a walking speed of 6 squares. Each square is the equivalent of 5 feet according to the player's handbook, so that's 30 feet.
Nothing weird so far, but hang in there.
The player's handbook also says that one round of battle, which can include two move actions, takes approximately six seconds. A typical combat encounter includes five player characters and an equal number of monsters, each of whom gets a turn every round.
Let's see just how fast your average guy can walk, shall we?
Six seconds divided by 10 gives us the length of one character's turn: .6 seconds. This is equivalent to .00016666 hours.
If our average guy takes two move actions, which is completely permissible, and walks his maximum speed on both of them, he goes 60 feet, which is .011364 miles.
So, he's walking at a speed of 68.18 mph. (And still has time for a minor action, like drinking a potion, before his turn ends!)
If he's wearing 40 pounds of armor, his speed goes down to 5 squares, so he can only walk 56.82 mph.
And of course should he decide to run, he can move at his normal speed+2. So with his armor on, he can run 79.55 mph. Without it, he can run 90.91 mph!
So...yeah...
But it's a really fun game anyway. Hopefully I'll get to play (with John and Maggie) this afternoon.
This wasn't really news, but I thought it was cool.
Oh, and since I'm still in the mood to write limericks, I'll sum up this post:
Who says D&D isn't fun?
Just look at how fast you can run!
90 miles per hour's
Incredible power
Too bad your attack rolled a 1.
(Yes, it's a smaller number than the previous stardate, but that happens in Star Trek all the time. They just used random numbers.)
Anyway, back on topic...what's the topic again? Right, Dungeons and Dragons. I like to play D&D, but I was just looking over the rules and noticed something kinda weird.
Your average guy on the street has a walking speed of 6 squares. Each square is the equivalent of 5 feet according to the player's handbook, so that's 30 feet.
Nothing weird so far, but hang in there.
The player's handbook also says that one round of battle, which can include two move actions, takes approximately six seconds. A typical combat encounter includes five player characters and an equal number of monsters, each of whom gets a turn every round.
Let's see just how fast your average guy can walk, shall we?
Six seconds divided by 10 gives us the length of one character's turn: .6 seconds. This is equivalent to .00016666 hours.
If our average guy takes two move actions, which is completely permissible, and walks his maximum speed on both of them, he goes 60 feet, which is .011364 miles.
So, he's walking at a speed of 68.18 mph. (And still has time for a minor action, like drinking a potion, before his turn ends!)
If he's wearing 40 pounds of armor, his speed goes down to 5 squares, so he can only walk 56.82 mph.
And of course should he decide to run, he can move at his normal speed+2. So with his armor on, he can run 79.55 mph. Without it, he can run 90.91 mph!
So...yeah...
But it's a really fun game anyway. Hopefully I'll get to play (with John and Maggie) this afternoon.
This wasn't really news, but I thought it was cool.
Oh, and since I'm still in the mood to write limericks, I'll sum up this post:
Who says D&D isn't fun?
Just look at how fast you can run!
90 miles per hour's
Incredible power
Too bad your attack rolled a 1.
8.17.2010
Hailing Frequencies Open
Captain's blog, stardate 3141.5...
The main point of this blog is so that my friends and family can have some idea of what I'm up to while I'm away at college. (Hence the "four year mission" mentioned at the top of the blog page. Yes, I know it's really a five-year (TOS) or ongoing (TNG) mission.)
But what the heck, why not start a little early and get some practice in? This way I'll be in the habit of blogging before I get super-busy with college. Plus I enjoy doing this, and hopefully you folks will too.
Besides, this is a good time to start because I'm super-old now. In other words, it's my birthday, as Facebook has already informed those of you who check Facebook on a regular basis.
It was a pretty cool day, overall. I got about a trillion Facebook messages saying variants on "Happy Birthday! May the Force be with you!" which is a very nice message to get on one's birthday. Moreover, I got a Star Wars blanket from my grandparents, to take with me to college, and a Star Wars T-shirt. And my brother got a Star Wars trivia book (on my birthday. I know, weird.) with 2500 questions in it. I did 100 and only got 57 right.
So that disappointed me, actually. because I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable. But then again, most of the questions were about stuff that's never mentioned in the movies. (Who cares what Jar Jar did when he was a kid? I spend enough time trying to ignore him in the movie without having to deal with expanded universe-ness! And so what if I don't know Luke's height in meters...)
But the best is yet to come. You know how, in the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it's Kirk's birthday? Well, the very beginning is Lt. Saavik taking the Kobayashi Maru, but then you find out it's Kirk's birthday. So anyway, Spock comes up to Kirk, wishes him a happy birthday, and gives him A Tale of Two Cities as a present. Then McCoy comes over and gives Kirk some reading glasses and a bottle of Romulan ale.
Well, guess what my two sisters gave me for my birthday?
Our copy of A Tale of Two Cities from my sister Mary (who always plays Spock in our Star Trek games) and my glasses and a bottle of "Romulan Ale" from my sister Maggie (who's always McCoy).
The Romulan ale is really water with lime juice and blue food coloring. It tastes quite good.
I did the label on the bottle.
You can click the pictures to make them bigger.
Oh, one unrelated note: The screen name "Captain Quirk" is probably something to explain. I came up with it when my mom and I agreed I was a "quirky kid". So I'm Captain James T. Quirk for now.
Sorry TNG fans, but "Picard" just doesn't lend itself to puns as easily. You can comfort yourself with the thought that "Kirk" also rhymes with "Jerk". I'm sure the unflattering limericks will come rolling in now.
Here are a couple for you:
There once was a captain named Kirk
Whose plans never quite seemed to work
"He's really quite dim,
That fellow called Jim,"
His officers said with a smirk.
That was surprisingly easy, especially considering that I actually like Kirk...I guess I'd better be mean to Picard now, huh?
There once was a guy named Picard
Who didn't try awfully hard
He let Wesley go
Take over the show
And so TNG became marred.
If you want me to insult anyone else, I'd be glad to.
The main point of this blog is so that my friends and family can have some idea of what I'm up to while I'm away at college. (Hence the "four year mission" mentioned at the top of the blog page. Yes, I know it's really a five-year (TOS) or ongoing (TNG) mission.)
But what the heck, why not start a little early and get some practice in? This way I'll be in the habit of blogging before I get super-busy with college. Plus I enjoy doing this, and hopefully you folks will too.
Besides, this is a good time to start because I'm super-old now. In other words, it's my birthday, as Facebook has already informed those of you who check Facebook on a regular basis.
It was a pretty cool day, overall. I got about a trillion Facebook messages saying variants on "Happy Birthday! May the Force be with you!" which is a very nice message to get on one's birthday. Moreover, I got a Star Wars blanket from my grandparents, to take with me to college, and a Star Wars T-shirt. And my brother got a Star Wars trivia book (on my birthday. I know, weird.) with 2500 questions in it. I did 100 and only got 57 right.
So that disappointed me, actually. because I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable. But then again, most of the questions were about stuff that's never mentioned in the movies. (Who cares what Jar Jar did when he was a kid? I spend enough time trying to ignore him in the movie without having to deal with expanded universe-ness! And so what if I don't know Luke's height in meters...)
But the best is yet to come. You know how, in the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it's Kirk's birthday? Well, the very beginning is Lt. Saavik taking the Kobayashi Maru, but then you find out it's Kirk's birthday. So anyway, Spock comes up to Kirk, wishes him a happy birthday, and gives him A Tale of Two Cities as a present. Then McCoy comes over and gives Kirk some reading glasses and a bottle of Romulan ale.
Well, guess what my two sisters gave me for my birthday?
Our copy of A Tale of Two Cities from my sister Mary (who always plays Spock in our Star Trek games) and my glasses and a bottle of "Romulan Ale" from my sister Maggie (who's always McCoy).
The Romulan ale is really water with lime juice and blue food coloring. It tastes quite good.
You can click the pictures to make them bigger.
Oh, one unrelated note: The screen name "Captain Quirk" is probably something to explain. I came up with it when my mom and I agreed I was a "quirky kid". So I'm Captain James T. Quirk for now.
Sorry TNG fans, but "Picard" just doesn't lend itself to puns as easily. You can comfort yourself with the thought that "Kirk" also rhymes with "Jerk". I'm sure the unflattering limericks will come rolling in now.
Here are a couple for you:
There once was a captain named Kirk
Whose plans never quite seemed to work
"He's really quite dim,
That fellow called Jim,"
His officers said with a smirk.
That was surprisingly easy, especially considering that I actually like Kirk...I guess I'd better be mean to Picard now, huh?
There once was a guy named Picard
Who didn't try awfully hard
He let Wesley go
Take over the show
And so TNG became marred.
If you want me to insult anyone else, I'd be glad to.
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