>_< Somethree to Type About

Perhaps as this little mini blog series goes on, these title puns will become increasingly horrendous, and maybe I'll just give up entirely when it goes above a certain number that no longer can be considered "pun-able." The commute to work was fine, I spent a good portion of it excited for the, but as I type, I can already feel that sensation to nap overcoming me. I'm not sure I have much to talk about this time around... but I'll find something. I always do, so let's get started!

(7:49AM) There was a talk about promise rings on the local radio show and a mojority of opinions I heard really supported the idea of one. Someday I'm going to call in and see if I can put my two cents in. Either way, the majority agrees that a promise ring is a "not now but later" type committment for couples not financially ready for an engagement ring. This is coming off news that recently a 24 year old woman was given one, and people were skeptical as to why she would receive one at such a later age (as the general consensus was that promis rings are usually seen on younger couples in high school/college). My two cents? I would love the oppurtunity to give a promise ring to a significant other, becasue I believe its an optional step in the relationship ladder a couple can choose to take if they really wanted to be committed to each other. Is it necessary? Of course not, but it does provide an extra layer of trust and love, which is a great foundation for a future engagement. The sad part in all this radio talk mostly lies in the cynical part in all of it. An argument arose stating that promise rings are more of a "here just take it and shut up" type thing. Also, promise rings are a great way to get into her pants. They even went as far to say that a promise rings symbolizes that stage that says "I'm here to keep you around until I find someone better." All I have to say to any of those opionions is that I'm sorry that you've been hurt enough times in your life that you can't take a promise ring for what it is. A promise. Though I'm not really the one to talk about promises, I believe that it's realyl unfair that some guys with good intentions get the coldest shoulder because soceity is outrun by douchebags that are looking to hurt. The message overall was clear: promise rings and what they symbolize are directly reflected on the guy that gives it to them. It doesn't matter what age you receive one in, as long as you both know that the real thing is coming one day.

(9:54AM) There's an odd phenomenon observed in today's adult world. The interest in the artwork of small children. I guess I shouldn't have gone so far as odd, but the interest that adults take in the artwork of kids is quite astonishing. There are a few safety posters outside the elevator on my floor, all made by children still in the single digits. Some good, some not so good, but all with good intentions and messages for the employees here at BASF. This isn't really my point though. There was always something I did ever since high school when looking at artwork done by students or children at the wall. Whenever I found a painting or drawing that was really good, so good that it stood out when surrounded by all the other works, I always checked the name of who created it. Low and behold 95% of the time, it was an Asian. Let's not try to make this about racism, but it's not a coincidence that the better artworks hung up by children nowadays come from an asian child. When you see stick figures and oval bodies, you can be sure its a white kid drawing. When it actually attempts to look like a person, it's probably an asian kid. I guess generally... GENERALLY (as in there are many exceptions) asians tend to be more artistic in that sense, probably due to all the anime manga art they're exposed to at a young age. I mean when all you see growing up is DBZ or anything like that, of course that's how we're going to emulate people through our drawings. Itstead of dots for eyes, asians may actually give the almond shape... with pupils! Either way it was always something I thought was interesting to me, how you (or I) could always pick out from a wall full of art, which ones were made by an asian.

(1:05PM) Let's get into racism. There's a story floating around about a black kid being gunned down by a fellow neighborhood watch person who had thought that he was being suspicious. I guess up until now he hasn't been charged with anything, I don't really know all the details but I can tell many people probably want this guy locked up, as do I. Not because theres any racism involved in this case, it's because he's a murderer. Now the media will portray this story in anyway they seem fit, but I stand by my opinion that no matter what the race, this neighborhood watch guy is a murderer, and should be charged as such. The big story lies in the question whether or not it mattered that the kid was black. By my standards, no... but to the media and society, a big HELL YEA. Because you know if this kid was white, this guy would instantly be put in jail. The people are kinda made to believe that since the kid was black, there may have been some justification to shoot him down. Apparently he was talking on the phone with his girlfriend who he informed that someone was following him. She told him to put his hood up and keep walking (which in the long run was probably not the best idea). I didn't want to get too into this becasue theres another thing to cover as I type while my instrumetn cools down. I just think he should be locked up, I don't even know why this is an issue. He shot and killed a man for doing nothing wrong. Looking suspicious? Until he pulls out a weapon he isn't bothering anyone. The guy was the one who was following him. HE was the suspicious one, HE pulled the gun out, HE shot, and HE killed. Ugh, I'm heated now. So let's go to the other spectrum of things. Theres a video that went viral a couple days ago about this black chick gettin her weave in a bunch in a college class on evolution. She asked the professor "why does evolution kill black people?" That right there is ridiculous. Everything was handled calmly (except her) and she threw the blackest fit ever. We wonder why racism and stereotyping exists. If so many people didn't fit into what we perceive them to be, it wouldn't be such an issue. To the black chick flipping out, you aren't helping your race. You are not a strong powerful black woman. You're trash and should be treated as such. I need to calm down a bit. It's a big issue. On the one hand you have a story defending the black race, and on the other you shine a light exactly on what everyone hates about black people. (but oh my gawsh you should have seen the way she be whippin her hair back an fo') The world is confused as to how to view your race.

(2:54PM) Napping is a great thing. Some might even argue that napping is an esential thing. Here at work, napping can be both, but also very dangerous. For instance, I was just taking a midday nap by accident woke up a bit later than previously expected. My higher up leaves her office for the day at 2:30 (supposedly). She walks through my office in order to leave. I "napped" from 2:15 to about 2:45. I do recall someone walking in and out of my office, but I don't think that was her. So here's hoping that my higher up didn't just walk out of her office while staring at my head tilted back eyes closed, mouth agape, and drool sliding down my face. As I was trying to calm my self down, I stumbled upon a quote which I found hilariously true. "If it's illegal for athletes to take steroids, shouldn't it be illegal for models to use photoshop?" Which I think is exactly what that industry needs right now. Real men and women that other real men and women can look up to. Not something they can paint themselves to be. Serioulsy though, best nap ever kind of.

(3:31PM) ta ta kids

>_< Tattoo Taboos

Who's that? Donny. What's he got? A tattoo. You know what else? I'm probably going to get the same exact one (except upside down ans smaller on my wrist). Also, I might change what's written on the bottom there (That's Hylian for those who don't recognize it... new Hylian Script I think). Now growing up I was always hinted by my parents that I shouldn't get a tattoo. It would lead to regret and something scarring towards the end of my life. I used to buy into it- and I still do sometimes - but my perspective on tattoos have certainly changed over the last decade. I'm sure it goes the same for some other people as well. So here's my understanding of what tattoos were like when I was a kid.

Whenever I saw someone with a tattoo I'd automatically think (regardless of what the tattoo was of) that the person had been in prison. It doesn't help that some of the tattoo culture played themselves out to be a bunch of thugs and bikers. It also really didn't help that when I actually did examine what the tattoo would be of, it'd be something off putting like a skull with snakes through the eye sockets, something on fire, gravestones, chains, etc. It probably goes back to a time where members of gangs would share the same mark on their body as a sign of loyalty, or something like that. All around it was a bad experience.

Nowadays it's completely different. Much of the world is very tolerant of tattoos and those who have them. It's become something of an art form, a permanent accessory. Those who can afford one, can have one, of anything they deem fit. I agree that you have to keep it on a somewhat professional level and cover up in a business setting (depending on the business of course), but that's only because there are still people out there who aren't so open about that kind of thing. Other then that, people have taken tattoos on a whole different level and i'm sure you've seen how extreme they can be. Let's get into what I think about tattoos today.

Personally, I think if you're going to get a tattoo, it should come with meaning, or a really really great story. I'm not gonna sit/stand here and listen to how drunk you were when you decided to put kermit the frog on your butt. Though humorous, not exactly the story I want to hear. Also, if you're gong to get a tattoo, don't ever regret it. Others don't take tattoos too seriously and they tend to color themselves like a paint by number, and that's their decision to make. For me or anyone close to me, if you're going to get one don't spend even a second regretting it. Make sure when you do get it, the process is sterile, you've talked to your artist about it, and really finalize everything you need. It's almost like buying a car. You hesitate which car to buy because of the price you're about to spend on it. You need to make sure the car you're going to get is exactly the car you want. You go through the process of a test drive (but you can't really test drive a tattoo, other then drawing on yourself?) and consulting you're agent and anyone else you feel the need to consult. A tattoo you hesitate not on the price really, but becasue of the permanant-tivity... yes that's a word. Bottomline - just don't regret it. I don't judge anyone by their tattoos. As previously stated, anyone but those who are close to me can do whatever they want.

So this'll be why I want to get a tattoo like the one above. I take a lot of pride growing up in a somewhat golden age of video games. Even moreso, Nintendo. I believe that whole company is responsible for a good portion of who I am today: the music I listen to, the TV shows I watch, the morals I carry. I'm not one to brand the Nintendo logo somewhere on my body, I find it dangerous to have words as tattoos, so I chose the triforce from the Legend of Zelda series. I believe its a good tribute to both Nintendo and my favorite/best series, IMO, that Nintendo has to offer. It also carries a good trio of values that I abide by - wisdom, power, and courage. This triforce that I will get on my wrist will not only symbolize thoes values, but most importantly will remind me that I will always be a child at heart. Nintedo did that for me, it kept me from turning into a CoD, Halo, Gears of War, etc. junkee. I'm proud to stick by the company, no matter how great or poorly they do in the market. It would be an honor to mark that symbol onto my body.

A part of me knows I just wrote that whole rant to convince myself further that this tattoo needs to happen. Remember, no regrets right? I still do have a lot more thinking and convincing to do. I'm really like 85-90% going to go through with it. I guess I just need to go with good friends who also know tattoos to be in the right environment. I don't know if I would get more, I never really thought about getting more than this one. It would require a whole lot more thinking thats for sure.

ta ta kids

>_< Something 2 Type About

See what I did there with the title? So just like last week, I'm going to spend most of this casual Friday with my thoughts on certain things that come up when I have the time (complete with timestamp)! Just a little warning, I might be leaving early from work today since I stayed a little extra yesterday so I might be cut short. Also, I'm having a terrible morning so we'll see how that goes. In keeping with casual Friday I'm going to try my best to sound prefessional as possible... but dont be surprised if i start typing like this cuz i really wanna keep it super casual. Hopefully that won't be the case. So let's get going shall we?

(8:10AM) People in the morning suck. I feel like the way your morning commute turns out, will mostly shape up the rest of your day. Since I had a rather unpleasant one today, I feel like I'm just going to be in a bad mood. I'm pretty good at sucking it up though. I just don't understand the need to want to cut someone off in a 25mph zone at 6:30 in the morning just to be one car ahead? It's absolutlely ridiculous and all it does is allow me to ride your ass so hard the girls in the club are creeped out. Also diarrhea. I wish it upon you. Also the terrible driver from this morning. I hope you're car is upside down somewhere. With you still in it. That is all.

(1:14PM) It got really busy all of a sudden, and my higher up is running around borderline insane becasue she has a lot on her plate. May or may not have been from the incidents that occurred yesterday. Its a pretty safe bet though. With all these things going on though, there isn't really that much time to ponder about useless things. In fact, things have started calming down around here as I'm about to start scrubbing the lab down. Hopefully my mind can wander off about nothing and I can actually get back with something important. With that being said, however, I realized that checklists OTHER people make for you are 100% more effective than cheklists made for yourself. I guess it all depends on your personal drive to do things, but I feel that when I'm presented with a checklist, it's more my responsibility to complete the tasks, rather than my own checklist which I can always edit or push off. No punishment. I mean this checklist has gotten my lazy but moving - I mean free of thought for 4+ hours? Insanity. NO. Just a good hard worker.

(2:07PM) I wonder about artificial flavors and fragrances. I actually almost went into a carreer in that kind of chemistry (and I also kind of want to). Besdies that, I'm always so intrigueds how some things smell exactly like what they're supposed to, and how others are so far off. (2:24PM) Different time, same thought. Like lemon. I know what real lemons smell like. It's refreshing. But when you take a big whiff of Pledge or Lysol or something you get the lemon aspect, but you also get the slight sting (or minor high) of the chemicals. That's not really too much of a problem. Where it becomes a stretch is towards the flavoring area. When things are artificially flavored, some may get it right, some get it dead wrong. Cherry, watermelon, sometimes orange, lemon, are the first couple of flavors that come to mind as those who get it right. The one flavor that really irks me is grape. There are others flavors that get it wrong, but grape is the absolute worst. You know how no one but the weird kid took the grape flavored lollipop? Or how no one ate the grape bubblegum or took the grape tooth cleaner at the dentist? It's because artificially it tastes absolutely terrible! I've had grapes. I LOVE grapes. Grapes, however, do NOT taste like that - yes I'm talking to you artificial flavor makers. Get your sh!t together on that grape flavor, kids everywhere hate it.

(3:09PM) I'm not leaving early. However, I did get a chance to read an article about the new start-stop (or was it stop-start) system on the new BMW 3 models. Eventually as the technology gets better, it'll probably become a standard on all cars, but it'll be within a decade or two. Basically, the car will stop your engine at pro-longed stops, like red lights and left turns. The engine will just simply shut off, and with a rev of the gas pedal it'll turn on again and you're off. I'm on the fence on this one. I'm all about feul economy, but as long as the stransitions between stop and start are smooth and practically invisible, I'll love it. But itf it's like turning on and off your car in the morning, I'll probably hate it. Maybe a test drive in one would probably do well in forming an opinion. I'm really curious though.

ta ta kids

>_< Something to Type About

With it being Friday and all, the workplace becomes a very chill place to relax. Perhaps this may become a Friday thing from now on, but I want to try something where I don't talk about anything specific, but I'll leave my blog on all day during work and if I have the free time I'll jot some things down and see the weird stuff I come up with. I'll also do you guys the courtesy of time-stamping the events at work so you'll see just how much "free" time I have. (8:06AM) by the way.

(8:08AM) I've been thinking a lot about time management lately and how on the surface I seem really good at it. During work hours when I have an agenda and things to do, my time management is flawless. Outside of work, with life, including errands and other erroneous things, I'm not so great. I tend to put things off, and I suppose its mainly contributed to the full time hours knocking me out (though my body should be caught up by now). Either way, I would just come right out with a few pointers on how to manage time but theres really only a few things you need to know: prioritize, and get off your butt and do it. Technology these days allows us to organize and plan out our lives days at a time (even hours at a time for all the really busy people). So that's what it really all comes down to: plan and do.

(8:26AM) So I really wanted to get into this whole KONY 2012 thing in a nother post, but I don't feel like writing too much about it. This is because I don't like how this whole issue is being advertised. Whoever came up with the name is terrible. It sounds like we support Kony and are merely steps away from putting him in office, or something. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the effort and the success that media awareness has made, but I just feel like theres a better way to bring the issue to light than some misleading catchphrase. I also think there are bigger issues at hand in the world right now, and I know this may only be a "baby step" in terms of awareness (becasue quite honeslty we can't fix everything at once) but as stated earlier, there are better ways. I get the feeling that people just blurt out KONY 2012 and don't even know everything behin the meaning... just the mainstream thing to do. Gosh I do hate the mainstream world... but again... that's a whole 'nother post.

(10:03AM) So I had some time to myself since the higher ups had a teleconference. I used this time to do some browsing, catch up on the news especially the odd news which I enjoy. Just a brief aside for a moment, there was an article about how a huge amount of spiders migrated up to a town in Australia to escape a flood. There were pictures of fields and trees bound together in spider web. Creepy. But the locals say that they helped down the population of mosquitos, which is always a positve. Mosquitos are terrible. End of story. Another article I found was entitled "the real reason why people quit their jobs." The reason? They're underappreciated. After some numbers and statistics I thought to myself why I enjoy what I do right now. Sure some of the information is a little over my head, but I guess the fact is I've been told a numerous amount of times that they appreciate what I've done for the group and continuously praise me even though I'm guilty (or at least I feel the most guilty) for being a somewhat lazy employee. Don't get me wrong though I am one of the best they've ever had, but like everyone we all have ou flaws. And mine is taking mid shift naps (note the plural on naps). So I guess there is some truth to the article, and I could potentially see myself staying at this company as long as they continue to treat me the way they do.

(11:30AM) So I had a quick chat with a co-worker about how yesterday was National Women Appreciation Day? Or something of that nature (it's not that I dont care I just really don't remember the exact words for it). She went on about how back in the day, during this "holiday" (I need to put it in quotes because... well... eh) the girls would get off from school and the boys would have to go to school. She joked about how she wasn't going to show up to work yesterday and we shared a laugh. We made a brief comparison as to why it doesn't happen here and we both aggreed that it was becasue of the equality you ladies fought so hard for. Not that anyone is complaining about it, but I pictured in my head a handful of women wishing for a day off becasue of this holiday. Then I revisited the whole "fighting for equality" thing. Simply put, bitch you fought for your rights and now you want to be appreciated and take the day off while the men go to work? Without getting to heated I remind myself of that double standard women carry with them all the time - especially you feminists out there How you expect to be treated like a princess or how chivalry is dead and how men are misogynous pigs? Hun, you gave those privelages away when your XX chromosed ancestors complained enough to get society to listen. Just having that holiday alone is a highlight to your hypocracy, and if soceity finally gets its head on straight, they'll rid of that "holiday" for good.

(12:58pm) I took a walk over to the cafeteria to get my lunch and I noticed that theres a distinct difference in apparel and it really distinguishes where you stand within the company. I mean it all makes sense, but it's fun to see and compare the idea firsthand. For example, I'm pretty much a lab rat, doing all the things in the lab, running instrumentation and whatnot. I don't have a problem with it at all, but since I'm doing all those things I'm not really required to abide by any dress code. I wear timbs, jeans, and a different shirt everyday, something tasteful but not at all professional. The higher ups, researchers, Senior members, are in their dress pants and shoes with a button up. I just thought it was interesting to see the more "serious" your job is, the more "serious" you become. I get that one must look presentable in terms of business meetings and the like (I dress up when I know there are meetings), but as long as you're doing your job and doing it well, it shouldn't matter what you come to work in. Also, I had sent some urgent data to a customer who requesteed a priority on his samples this morning, and he thanked me and appreciated the effort and timing on the data. Great feeling.

(2:53PM) So I just realised the first word after every timestamp is "So."

(2:54PM) Now I'm not one to talk since I don't have a facebook, but the concept of facebook friends is slowly starting to seep into my real life. Just like in facebook a conversation between 2 past aquaintences goes always has the obligatory "we should totally hang out sometime" and of course it never happens. Recently, and now that I look back at it this has been happening to me in real life. I'm not entirely sure whose fault this is or if its just anyones fault at all, but I guess I'm slowly starting to realize that maybe I did a pretty terrible job choosing my friends in life. I always thought and convinced myself that I was a great judge in character, but since the theft of items in my car, backstabbers, and a whole lot of let downs, it's really funny how people can change and go to great lengths to avoid contact. Since then, I've tried to let in a new group of friends, but my judgement in people is so skewed that it's hard to let even the kind hearted into my personal bubble. I guess that just means that all the friends I have now are the ones that are really worth keeping.

ta ta kids

>_< Liquid Argon/Nitrogen

So I came into work by myself this morning, and as I was finishing up running all the experiements, the oh-so-favorite part of post set-up was here. This meaning, after the instrument is set up, you need to fill some things with ice, and some things with some liquid Argon and Nitrogen for the experiement to go smoothly or more quickly. After all the Ice nonsense I came over to the liquid Argon and slowly started filling my container. That's when I started thinking about all the properties of liquid Argon and Nitrogen. How it cool it was that the "steam" coming out of it sank to the floor, all that fun stuff. So I guess here's some information (and maybe fun?) for you all.

I'm gonna start off with LN2 and then do some comparison with LAr if I can drum up anything useful. So Nitrogen in itself is a pure element. It's got a pretty high boiling point, which is why the most common way we see it is right in front of our face... and everyone else's face too. That is, pure nitrogen occurs as a gas and makes up about 78% of our atmosphere. Both liquid and gas forms are clear and odorless, but LN2 is dangerous as it experiences some extremely cold properties. Without getting into too much detail, the way we make LN2 is a process known as condensation, and I know you've probably heard of it. Basically, an air compressor takes air from the atmosphere and well... compresses it. So much so that eventually molecules are forced together so close that weak bonds start to occur among them. When enough of these bonds form, liquid droplets form.

LN2 is used in a lot of ways, but the COOLEST (cwutididthar) way I ever experienced was to make ice cream. There are a lot of LN2 ice cream stores popping around in the world, and if you can find one, by all means take advantage. It may not be the best ice cream you've ever had, but the experience that goes along with it is worth it.

Liquid Ar (LAr) is different only in a few ways. First off, it only makes up about 1% of our atmosphere. In the thermal lab here, we use LAr for its inert properties, LN2 is regarded as an "inert gas" but in actuality can react with some metals at high temperatures. LAr is purely inert and will not react with anything at all (although there are extreme cases where it will bond with flourine). We can store both liquids in cryogenic containers or in large Dewars diesgined to store LN2 and LAr. Like most things, LN2 becomes cheaper as you order more (about 50 cents a liter). Obviously since Argon is rare, it isn't as cheap.

Ever wonder what would happen if you came into contact with LN2? Well, anythiing more than a second could probably do some damage. It'll feel like you got burned with a blow torch, and then you get frostbite. If one were to actually go so far as to dip their finger into a container of LN2, ther results aren't really that shocking. You'd freeze it. Although since you've got living cells in your skin, when frozen you're finger will expand a little bit and kill the cell walls surrounding it. It'll disrupt blood flow and may cause gangrene (you might want to look that one up).

That's really all the information I could think of for now. This was fun.

ta ta kids