Last night, Shannon and I watched "The Importance of Being Earnest" with an intermission for Eli Stone. I had seen Earnest before, and it was still fabulous. The movie (originally a play by Oscar Wilde) is simply so full of great lines that you can't possibly remember them all from one viewing to the next.* The cast is likewise terrific.

*It turns out that if you watch the movie a few hundred times you can memorize the whole thing. Joy and Chelsea were excellent examples of this.

Quartz

The wikipedia article on quartz indicates that the luster of quartz is "vitreous/glossy". Do you see a problem there? If not, keep reading. The word "vitreus" in Latin means glass. (You could have seen that coming if you knew that glass translates as vidrio in Spanish, or vidro in Portuguese.) (Other languages show similarities, no doubt.) And what is glass? Well, there are many types of glass such as soda-lime glass, and Pyrex, but glass all has the same fundamental ingredient: silicon dioxide, SiO2. Now, if we took pure Si02 and grew it into a big single crystal and stuck it somewhere, say in a rock, and let you find it on the ground, you know what we would call it? That's right, quartz. So, wikipedia is offering the very insightful description that quartz, which is essentially naturally occurring glass, has a vitreous or glassy luster. Brilliant.

August Rush

You should go see August Rush.

My parents liked it enough to buy a copy for at least the majority of their kids. (I guess my little sister living at home didn't need a separate copy.) I liked it enough that I am now telling you that you should see it. And I'm not going to qualify it with "If you like Keri Russell . . . " or "If you are musically inclined . . ." or "If you think Irish accents are hot . . ." or anything like that. No matter what kind of movies you normally like, you should go see August Rush.

I liked it, anyway.

Use Turn Signal

I recently finished "A Left-hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery And Meaning of All Things Southpaw" by David Wolman. The best way I can think do describe this book is that it's like Bill Bryson, but about lefties. (If you don't know who Bill Bryson is, go visit the library.) In Brysonesque fashion (I can just imagine Bill being thrilled that that word has officially been invented now) David Wolman's book is one part travelogue, one part history lesson, one part humor and one part technical information for laymen. I've read past lefty books (particularly "The Left-Hander Syndrome") which were full of stats and figures and numbers. And if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for stats and figures and numbers. It could be a book about cork, but if there were enough graphs, I'd be hooked. In this book, however, it is much more about the author and his adventures than just the topic. He takes a trip to Japan for a left-handed golf tournament and visits France to look at brains in a jar. He visits palm readers and handwriting analysis believers and monkey researchers and visits with all of them. The grand point of the book: we don't know why people are left handed. Maybe language specialization caused it. Or vice versa. Maybe we should study strongly handed people vs mixed handed people. Maybe it's chance. Maybe it's hormones in the womb. (Think lefty, Shannon!) Maybe it's none of those things. But the book is an interesting, if not riveting read.

It's all Greek to me

So I discovered at work today that whenever I attempt to forward email from my boss, my computer translates it into Greek, but then when I send it, it gets sent in English. I can't figure out why outlook would be doing this to me, or why it happens with one person and not another. But somehow the forward button has the power to turn "We have revised" to "Ωε ηαωε ρεωισεδ".

Pi day!

Today is Pi day (3-14)! Also, it is Einsteins birthday. For people like Shannon, this means we'll be eating pie, one of her favorite foods. But for the nerds, this fantastic intersection of events has led the nerds of the world to declare today Talk Like a Physicist Day. So today is the day to bust out all those words and phrases you've been neglecting for the rest of the year.

• Use "orthogonal" to refer to things that are mutually-exclusive or can't coincide. "We keep playing phone tag -- I think our schedules must be orthogonal"
• "About" becomes "to a first-order approximation"
• A situation isn't "bad," it's "sub-optimal."
• "Finite" can mean either "really big, but not infinite," or "really small, but not zero."
• Something that moves from one state to another slowly-- say, a highway driver who takes a mile and a half to move from one lane into the other-- does so "adiabatically."
• Difficult problems are "nontrivial."

Here are more suggestions of those weren't enough.

Everyone thinks I am a nerd. And I'm ok with that. Because I am a nerd. But there is one entity out there that actually over-estimates my nerditude. Amazon.com insists that I am actually the biggest nerd imaginable. Whenever I go there, it has suggestions for what I should buy. I divided the 15 books into 5 basic categories:

• Quantum Mechanics Textbooks, 2
• Math Textbooks, 3
• Thermal Physics/Thermodynamics Textbooks, 4
• Classical Mechanics Textbooks, 2
• Other Physics Textbooks, 4

Apparently the only thing I've ever purchased from Amazon is physics textbooks, so it naturally assumes that I must want 15 more. Let this be a reminder to everyone about the false picture of reality that we can develop when we only have 3 or 4 data points.

Tagging

On Feb 7th, I was tagged by Shannon, who said: "I'll tag Clark (because I don't expect him to ever be tagged anywhere else [and I have even lower hopes for him actually doing this])". (I do appreciate her use of nested parentheses, though. She apparently didn't realize that I had previous been tagged by Alex on Nov. 10th of last year. I now choose to answer those tags, and to tag no one in return.

Alex first:
6 things about me.
1. I love statistics. Not the class you take in college, but the simple percentages and averages of just about everything.
2. I love sports, and will watch even the stupid ones. Ping pong, poker, pool, and even stuff that doesn't start w/ 'p'. I think it's that I'm hoping they'll put a stat on the screen. I was explaining to Shannon last night the seeding for our stake basketball tournament, and she was nice enough to let me say it all, though she really didn't care. But it was procedures, sports, and win/loss records all rolled into one. It's like heaven for me.
3. I hate earwigs and myriapods. I don't particularly love bugs in general, but something about earwigs and things with a myriad of legs (centipedes, millipedes) particularly gives me the willies.
4. I've got 27 teeth. Generally people have 32, but get their wisdom teeth pulled leaving them with 28. I had 1 other permanent tooth pulled, so my top jaw is asymmetrical. I still haven't forgiven the orthodontist for this.
5. I bite my fingernails, and I really don't see that it's a problem. Actually, more than biting, I trim my fingernails using my other fingernails to get the job done. Sometimes that leaves me with 9 short nails and one that I can't do anything with.
6. Even when cold, my feet sweat. There, isn't your life better now that you know that.

Now for the second tag, from Shannon, which she received via Alex:
10 Years Ago
I was 16, a Junior in HS and getting ready for the state academic decathlon competition in St. George. I was unemployed and not dating anyone.

Snacks I Enjoy
Trail mix, peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, cookie dough, ice cream, chex mix, loads of stuff.

5 Things on my To-Do List
Take the big box at home out to the trash
Learn to use the program JMP.
Find the missing Ge.
Learn the choir song for Easter.
Prepare YM lesson on the Fall.

Things I would do if I were suddenly a Billionaire
I think I've made promises to various people that I would buy them grand pianos if I ever had that much money.
Take Shannon to many foreign countries.
Pay tithing. (My excuse for this being 3rd is that it is just a given.)
Buy a home.

3 of my Bad Habits
I'm always late for everything.
I have a tendency to not be serious at times when I should be.
Responding to tags months after the fact.

5 Places I have Lived
Sandy, UT
Provo, UT
St. George, UT
São Paulo, Brasil
Santa Maria, Brasil

(some) Jobs I have had
Various things at Target
Dishwasher for BYU
Engineering Intern for Williams International
Teaching Assistant for BYU
Physicist/Systems Engineer for Sylarus

Things People Don't Know about Me
My arms don't lock. I really don't like when people hide and jump out at me.

Movies

Edit: Sabrina and Shannon have pointed out that I didn't do a perfect job in filling out the list the first time through. A few movies have been added.

This comes via Suzanne. It may be important to remember that I tend to have a very broad "liked" category. More so than most people. Shannon is very apt to "love" a movie, but I am more reserved. In a similar fashion, I won't list a movie as one that I didn't like unless I really have strong feelings about it. Obviously, this a list of "classic" movies, and is likely to have lots more movies that I loved than that I didn't like.

The rules are simple:
Bold movies you have watched and liked.
Turn red movies you have watched and loved.
Italicize movies you saw and didn’t like.
Leave as is movies you haven’t seen.


* The Godfather (1972)
* The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
* The Godfather: Part II (1974)
* The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
* Pulp Fiction (1994)
* Schindler’s List (1993)
* Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
* One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
* Casablanca (1942)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
* Star Wars (1977)
* 12 Angry Men (1957)
* Rear Window (1954)
* No Country for Old Men (2007)
* Goodfellas (1990)
* Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
* City of God (2002)
* Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
* The Usual Suspects (1995)
* Psycho (1960)
* Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
* Citizen Kane (1941)
* The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
* North by Northwest (1959)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
* Fight Club (1999)
* Memento (2000)
* Sunset Blvd. (1950)
* Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
* It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
* The Matrix (1999)
* Taxi Driver (1976)
* Se7en (1995)
* Apocalypse Now (1979)
* American Beauty (1999)
* Vertigo (1958)
* Amélie (2001)
* The Departed (2006)
* Paths of Glory (1957)
* American History X (1998)
* To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
* Chinatown (1974)
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
* The Third Man (1949)
* A Clockwork Orange (1971)
* Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
* The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
* Alien (1979)
* The Pianist (2002)
* The Shining (1980)
* Double Indemnity (1944)
* L.A. Confidential (1997)
* Leben der Anderen, Das [The Lives of Others] (2006)
* The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
* Boot, Das (1981)
* The Maltese Falcon (1941)
* Saving Private Ryan (1998)
* Reservoir Dogs (1992)
* Forrest Gump (1994)
* Metropolis (1927)
* Aliens (1986)
* Raging Bull (1980)
* Rashômon (1950)
* Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
* Rebecca (1940)
* Hotel Rwanda (2004)
* Sin City (2005)
* Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
* All About Eve (1950)
* Modern Times (1936)
* Some Like It Hot (1959)
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
* The Seventh Seal (1957)
* The Great Escape (1963)
* Amadeus (1984)
* On the Waterfront (1954)
* Touch of Evil (1958)
* The Elephant Man (1980)
* The Prestige (2006)
* Vita è bella, La [Life Is Beautiful] (1997)
* Jaws (1975)
* The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
* The Sting (1973)
* Strangers on a Train (1951)
* Full Metal Jacket (1987)
* The Apartment (1960)
* City Lights (1931)
* Braveheart (1995)
* Cinema Paradiso (1988)
* Batman Begins (2005)
* The Big Sleep (1946)
* Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
* Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
* Blade Runner (1982)
* The Great Dictator (1940)
* The Wizard of Oz (1939)
* Notorious (1946)
* Salaire de la peur, Le [The Wages of Fear](1953)
* High Noon (1952)
* Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
* Fargo (1996)
* The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
* Unforgiven (1992)
* Back to the Future (1985)
* Ran (1985)
* Oldboy (2003)
* Million Dollar Baby (2004)
* Cool Hand Luke (1967)
* Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
* Donnie Darko (2001)
* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
* The Green Mile (1999)
* Annie Hall (1977)
* Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
* Gladiator (2000)
* The Sixth Sense (1999)
* Diaboliques, Les [The Devils] (1955)
* Ben-Hur (1959)
* It Happened One Night (1934)
* The Deer Hunter (1978)
* Life of Brian (1979)
* Die Hard (1988)
* The General (1927)
* American Gangster (2007)
* Platoon (1986)
* V for Vendetta (2005)
* Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
* The Graduate (1967)
* The Princess Bride (1987)
* Crash (2004/I)
* The Wild Bunch (1969)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
* Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
* Heat (1995)
* Gandhi (1982)
* Harvey (1950)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* The African Queen (1951)
* Stand by Me (1986)
* Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
* Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
* The Big Lebowski (1998)
* The Conversation (1974)
* Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
* Wo hu cang long [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ] (2000)
* The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
* Gone with the Wind (1939)
* 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
* Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das [The Cabinet of Dr Caligari] (1920)
* The Thing (1982)
* Groundhog Day (1993)
* The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
* Sleuth (1972)
* Patton (1970)
* Toy Story (1995)
* Glory (1989)
* Out of the Past (1947)
* Twelve Monkeys (1995)
* Ed Wood (1994)
* Spartacus (1960)
* The Terminator (1984)
* In the Heat of the Night (1967)
* The Philadelphia Story (1940)
* The Exorcist (1973)
* Frankenstein (1931)
* Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
* The Hustler (1961)
* Toy Story 2 (1999)
* The Lion King (1994)
* Big Fish (2003)
* Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
* Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
* Young Frankenstein (1974)
* Magnolia (1999)
* A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
* In Cold Blood (1967)
* Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
* Dial M for Murder (1954)
* All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
* Roman Holiday (1953)
* A Christmas Story (1983)
* Casino (1995)
* Manhattan (1979)
* Ying xiong [Hero] (2002)
* Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
* Rope (1948)
* Cinderella Man (2005)
* The Searchers (1956)
* Finding Neverland (2004)
* Inherit the Wind (1960)
* His Girl Friday (1940)
* A Man for All Seasons (1966)
* Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
* The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Winners

Our YM won a basketball game! Their last game of the season was their first win since . . . before we lived in the ward. (Not counting any forfeits.) And all it took was us playing the other undefeated team in the stake, having all of our best players there, and having a 17-year-old move into the ward just days beforehand. The other team really had 2 players who were good, and not a whole lot else, but those two players really worked us for stretches of the game. We stayed in it, though, and never let them get a lead of more than a half dozen points, and managed to do it without getting many outside shots to fall. The end of regulation left us with the score tied, and we headed to overtime.

The other team scored first in the 1 minute extra period. Kyle countered with a leaner, and we got the ball back for the last possession of the game with the score tied. Bryan went to the hoop and got fouled with :03 left. He hit both free throws. The other team inbounded the ball, and their guard raced to the other end of the court where he pulled up at the 3 point line, fired off a shot, and got clobbered by one of our players. The only problem was, there were still 3 seconds left on the clock when he shot the ball. So we had 1 team wanting 3 free throws to win the game, where the other team was wanting the shot called off because he couldn't possibly have gone down court that quickly. Once we got the players away from the scorers table, they decided to have a do-over. I think it's the first do-over I've ever seen in a basketball game. They re-inbounded the ball, but never really got a good shot off, and we won.

For the second consecutive season, we won't lose anyone to HS graduation. We won't be the best team in the stake next year, as we still don't have loads of talent, but rather than being really small and having mediocre talent, next year we'll be decent sized and with mediocre talent. It very well could be a 2 win season next year.