In public restrooms, why do so many people not flush? It takes a mere second to do; it doesn’t cause you any pain to do it. And, it’s polite - no one wants to come in to a restroom to see someone else’s.. well, whatever. Furthermore, I would hope such an act would be deeply ingrained in most people - use the restroom, flush when done. But it would seem that’s not the case. In all my visits to the university restrooms over the past few years, I think I’ve seen two or three “all flushed” restrooms.

I initially thought it might just be an American thing, but Nils confirmed that it goes on in his region of Europe, too. Maybe it’s just a guy thing, then. Would any of the ladies reading like to chime in? Are your restrooms typically nice and clean, or do some women routinely refuse to flush, too?

Hmm… nope. Didn’t work. I kept it short, and that was still pretty peculiar.

I am, however, a big Indiana Jones fan. I grew up on the movies, and for a time in my younger years (say, 9 to 11), I yearned to be him; I had a brown aviator’s jacket that looked vaguely like Indiana’s jacket, and I consistently asked for an Indiana Jones hat. Thankfully my parents never got me one; I’m sure I would have been pummeled the first time I wore it to school, and my fighting skills would surely have not been up to Indy’s standards. But I digress…

So, being an Indiana Jones fan, when I learned that it had came out on DVD, it was high time for me to watch it. We rented it a few nights ago, and… well, I was rather disappointed. If you’ve not seen the film yet, it is now time for you to bail out, as spoilers will be running rampant in roughly four sentences. Anyone left? Excellent. Moving along:

The beginning of the film had me captivated. They touched on all of the right things from the old movies, tying it all together. The warehouse was wonderful, and they had the right music to go with it, too. Ford, while obviously bit (okay, a lot) older, fell into the Jones role admirably, I thought. He crashed into the Soviet truck so well, I could have easily been tricked into thinking I was watching one of the original movies. However… as the movie went on, it lost me completely. Come on - Indiana Jones and aliens?

I suppose it’s fair to argue that all of the other movies were way over the top, too. Let’s see - we had the Ark of the Covenant that melted Nazis; a religious cult that ritually ripped out folks’ hearts, only for them to continue living so they could be burnt up in a massive lava pit; and the Holy Grail, which could heal a grievous gunshot wound, and which was, incidentally, guarded by a knight who had been alive since the Crusades. Way over the top, I know.

But there weren’t aliens. I can’t really put my finger on it, but at least for me, Indiana Jones and aliens don’t mix well. I think part of the reason is that they pull the Jones films away from the era I know them to be in - the World War 2 years. Moving forward in time to deal with Ford’s age is fine; replace the Nazis with Soviets, and move along. But throwing aliens into the bargain was too much for me. That’s not to imply you couldn’t have aliens show up in the World War 2 era; I suppose they could. But as the original films were, being set in the era they were in, they had a certain feel to them. The aliens messed that feel up for me. I had fun watching the movie, as it was nice to get in touch with some childhood memories, but I think it could have been a lot better.

Having ordered it from Newegg, it arrived fairly quickly. When I first opened it, I was concerned that it wasn’t going to fit inside the case; the thing is massive. I actually ended up having to remove the exhaust port tube from the interior of my case - the black pastic thing on the right panel:

Not a problem, not a problem, I had a fan I wanted to mount there anyway…

After removing the tube, I fought with the monstrosity for 20 minutes or so to get it mounted on the CPU. For those who have never mounted a heat sink and fan on a CPU, it can be a real pain in the butt. The instructions make it sound easy - just slip the clips over one side, then the other side, then pull the lever, done! - but it’s actually much more troublesome than that. It’s easy to get the clips over one side, but when you start moving the heatsink around to get the clips down over the other side, guess what happens? The first clips you mounted slide off. D’oh.

Anyroad - after a bit of frustration and a few choice words aimed at the heatsink, it was mounted and plugged into the motherboard. Upon powering up, the computer nor my desk melted; success. Kind of, anyway. Bet you saw that coming, didn’t you?

I went through the usual routine then, installing Windows, installing programs, etc. The computer worked (and continues to work!) fine. Recently, however, I ran into a few issues, though. Namely, after running a system intensive game for a while, I’d get the very occasional system reboot, or the graphics would mess up and then the system would reboot. Ruh roh; sounds like it’s getting too hot in my case.

I downloaded a nifty little application called SpeedFan, which, along with telling you the RPMs of your fans, also displays the various temperature readings of your hardware: CPU, CPU ambient, GPU, etc. While the temperatures were a little warm for my likings, what really shocked me was the RPM of my CPU fan: 800! Having bought this thing, I expected to see a minimum of 900, and a maximum of 2200. Not only was it running 100RPM below specifications, it was also never going any higher, even when I configured SpeedFan to speed the fan up at a lower temperature reading.

I thought that perhaps the fan didn’t like SpeedFan, or vice versa, so I installed the software that came with my motherboard, EasyTune Pro 5, to see if it could control the fan. I was unable to figure the program out, as it’s utter junk, but what it did do was provide an important piece of the puzzle. When I looked at its hardware monitoring display, it showed that my SYSTEM fan was running at 800RPM, and next to the CPU fan reading, there was… well, a red, blinking exclamation point. Ummm… that doesn’t sound good, now does it?

It then occurred to me that the software was just reporting what the hardware was telling it, so something was obviously wrong on the hardware side. I popped the case open, and after referring to my motherboard manual again, I discovered the problem. Apparently, the plugs on the motherboard labeled CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN are identical. Except one is labeled CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN, of course (oops). They both provide the same amount of base juice, so, for example, plugging your CPU fan into the SYS_FAN plug won’t make anything blow up. It’ll just make your CPU fan unable to increase its RPM as it’s supposed to.

May I repeat a word from above? Oops. After plugging the CPU fan in where it was supposed to be plugged in, amazingly, it started to function correctly. When launching a system intensive application, the RPMs would jump up to not 2200 but 2300.

Apparently, one needs to not only RTFM, but also pay attention to what it’s telling you. Be gentle in the comments.

Girl 1: So, did you finish your response for ethics?
Girl 2: Yeah, finally. It was such a pain in the ass.
Girl 1: Yeah, I know. I don’t get why the professor wanted it typed.
Girl 2: I know. I didn’t type mine up, though. I had my mom do it.

… She had her mom do it. The girl is in her twenties, in college, and her mother is typing her work for her.

I must admit - I briefly considered tackling her, but then thought that such an act would probably be taken badly by the campus administration, particularly the security branch thereof.

Then again, I don’t know why I was surprised. These are the same girls who never take notes, instead opting to text in class, and then act shocked when they get Cs and Ds on their exams. Oh really? I never would have imagined such a thing would happen.

Me? Bitter? No, not at all.

I have my reasons, though. Why is spelling the first step in becoming a Satanist? Well, I figure if you’re going to be a Satanist, you’ll want to occasionally let people know that Satan lives by tagging things with spraypaint. And you wouldn’t want to do what a fellow in my town did. Observe:

If you’re having trouble reading it due to the poor quality (my apologies - cellphone camera), it reads: Satin Lives. When spelled wrong, it loses something, don’t you think? I believe Johnny’s project next week is to tag the school building with “Polyester Lives.”

So, if you’re still around, I thank you for your patience, and ask you to bear with me. Cheers!

I received a chunk of change from the college this semester, money left over from my grants and my loan. I decided I would use some of this to put together a new computer for myself, as my current one, while nice, is showing its age - particularly with newer games. I thought that upgrading my video card would fix matters, but while it did help, things still chug along occasionally. Bioshock is playable, as is Company of Heroes; but in both, the framerate dives frequently. I can’t play Call of Duty 4 at all, which I’d like to give a go.

So, a new computer it was to be. I spent a week or so adding things to my wishlist at Newegg, removing things, shuffling things, trying to find the best deal for a good gaming computer. I finally decided I had it all laid out as I wanted - an AMD dual core 5400+ processor, a PNY GeForce 8800GT video card, 2GB of RAM. Reading reviews at Newegg, it was clear such a machine would run Bioshock and my other games amazingly well.

I submitted my order Tuesday. In Newegg fashion, my stuff was shipped out that day. I dutifully refreshed the tracking page frequently, obsessing over the current location of my techno goodies only as a true geek could. This morning, the tracking information showed what I’d been wanting to see: out for delivery.

Things took a turn for the worse, however. No, the UPS driver wasn’t in an accident, thank goodness; no, what happened was, I discovered a flaw in my build. While perusing further reviews for the processor I’d bought, I saw something that threw fear into my heart: “like the fact that it doesn’t come with any heat sink or fan, so I can buy the one I want.”

No heat sink or fan? No heat sink or fan? But I thought it had one! It’s retail, just like the last AMD processor I bought, and that one came with a heat sink and fan!

Alas, no; I checked the specifications for the processor, and lo’ and behold, at the bottom of the page: no heat sink and fan. For those who aren’t geeks, this is bad. Why? Because without a heat sink and fan for your processor, you can’t even turn the computer on - you’d burn the processor up in a matter of seconds.

After getting off work, I called around town, checking with all of the local computer shops for a heat sink and fan combo. None of the shops had any. Shortly after I gave up calling around town, I ordered one from Newegg. Shortly after that, my computer parts showed up: a new case, power supply, motherboard, processor, memory, massive hard drive, and awesome video card. All good for absolutely nothing until my heat sink and fan arrive, which won’t be until at least Monday.

I went ahead and put it all together tonight, so now the new (unusable) computer tower is sitting my room. Unlit. Unpowered. Dead, even. Fresh electronic parts, all hooked up to each other, ready to go - and I can’t turn it on.

Geek agony, lemme’ tell ya’. Next time, I’ll double check such things. Until then, maybe I could set it up in our big chest freezer…

I dreamt this morning that I was at a massive shopping area; it seemed like it was a flea market or some such, but it was in something akin to a warehouse; very tall ceilings. We were at a used book place, except rather than browsing the shelves, you stood in line, and people “took your order”, as it were. The counter was piled with books, so while waiting, I picked up a book with a blue cover, and, lo’ and behold! It was a copy of Russian without Toil, printed in the 70s. Having the German version of the book, I obviously wanted (but didn’t need) the corresponding English version. They also only wanted $1.16 for it. No, I don’t know why it was a dollar and sixteen cents in my dream.

I’m not sure why we were at a flea market-ish place without any cash, but we were. I asked them if they took debit or credit, and the lady said yes. So, I reached to my back pocket, only to discover that I didn’t have a back pocket for my wallet, as I was wearing my boxers. Okay, then! I’m not sure what exactly happened, but in the next part of my dream, I found myself at home with the book.

By the time I got home, however, the title had changed - literally. When I looked at the cover of the book, it was for a completely different language. In my dream, it was something like “Yeradov ohne Mühe”; I remember not knowing what language that was, so I googled it, and discovered on Wikipedia that it was the Russian word for Hungarian. And yes, the base language of the book had morphed as well - from English to German. Fiddlesticks, the base being English was why I wanted it to begin with! I recall being a bit bummed that it had changed to Hungarian, but decided that I’d probably want to have a go at it later, so it joined all of my other books on the shelf.

I think such a dream is worth at least 50 Geekery points. Maybe 75.

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

No, not really. Basically, as far back as my memory goes, I remember reading. As I’ve gotten older, the obsession love has grown. The idea of not reading baffles me.

What are some books you read as a child?

I recall reading lots and lots of those horrible Goosebump books by R. L. Stein. They were all pretty much the same, and the writing was truly terrible. I remember I read one of my mom’s Mary Higgins Clark books when I was 8 or 9, and only then realized how very pathetic Goosebump books were. But hey, they got a lot of kids reading, so…

What is your favourite genre?

What, I have to choose one? History, then. But fantasy and science fiction come in at a close second and third. And, generally, I like to cast my net wide, and see what I catch. While I do stay away from romance novels, if it has words on a printed page, I’ll usually read it.

Do you have a favourite novel?

Lord of the Rings, as it ended up shaping my character a great deal. It led to my interest in history, languages, as well as (obviously) the fantasy genre.

Where do you usually read?

Anywhere and everywhere. Regardless of where I am, I typically have a book on hand. I read in bed, sitting around the house, in classrooms before my classes start, at the library reference desk where I work, waiting in line at the post office… Like I said, just about anywhere.

When do you usually read?

Pretty much anytime I can. I don’t really have any set times for when I read, but I do have a few time slots that are fairly regular: before bed, and before classes. I’m quite weird about making sure I’m early for classes, often half an hour or so early; I typically use that time to read.

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

Not “usually”, but always. I’ve accepted that I’m incapable of sticking to one book at a time. This leads to it taking me months to finish some books, but that’s fine by me. If someone offers me prize money for getting through books more quickly, I’ll consider changing my reading habits. Until then: the more the merrier, I say.

Do you read non-fiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

I don’t read it in a different place, but I do read it a bit differently. With fiction books, I can lay them down at any time, knowing that I can pick it up hours or days later, and be able to pick up the thread quickly. I’m unable to do this with a lot of my non-fiction books, particularly history. There’s just too many strands, names, dates, concepts etc. in the text for me to be able to stop mid-paragraph. When reading non-fiction (especially history), I really prefer to stop at breaks in the text which the author has inserted.

I also will occasionally take notes while reading non-fiction, something I don’t do very often at all with fiction.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

A mix of the first, last, and one other path: book mooching. I’ll buy books or mooch them, but usually only after I’ve checked them out from the library to see if I really want my own copy. I’d say at this point in my life, the balance is tipping towards “library”; by using OhioLINK through my school, I can get pretty much whatever I want for free. Throw in 4 renewals, and I can keep books for months on end if I want.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

Most of them, yes. Due to how I go about deciding on what books I’m going to purchase, I don’t really end up owning a lot of books that I don’t want. Those that do fit that description, though, end up going to Bookmooch.

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

Due to his interests, most of the books I’ve read to my son have involved bulldozers, tractors, and other such things. I still have a few books from my childhood, though, that I read to him: one is a compilation of 3 stories: 1 about firemen, 1 about cars and other vehicles, and Scruffy the Tugboat. (Yes, the first two have titles, I just can’t remember them off the top of my head.)

He’s also fallen in love with a book I got for him from the library, Take Care, Good Knight.

What are you reading now?

• The Third Reich in Power by Richard J. Evans
• The Middle Ages by Morris Bishop
• Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154 by Christopher Brooke
• A bunch of foreign language books - Assimil’s French with Ease, Assimil’s Russisch ohne Mühe (Russian without Toil in German), New Penguin Russian Course
• The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography (for a class)
• A compilation of literature from the beginning of history to the Renaissance period (also for a class)

Do you keep a “To Be Read” list?

Nope, not in any concrete form. I’ve tried to keep them in the past, but they just grew to be monstrous in size, and ultimately unhelpful. I decide I’m going to read when I’m reading to start something new.

What’s next to be read?

I don’t know. I’m not ready to start something new yet.

What books would you like to reread?

Most of my history books; Lord of the Rings, which I reread every few years. Other than Lord of the Rings, though, it probably won’t happen. I tend to not reread many things, as there are too many books that I want to read that I’ve not yet read.

Who are your favourite authors?

Tolkien; Terry Pratchett; Iain Banks; Antony Beevor; Stephen King.

One was from a guy who apparently thinks that those of us at the reference desk are omniscient. He walked up to me and said, “Hey man, I need the book for my English class.” I looked at him and waited for some elaboration, such as what class he was in, or perhaps even the title of the book. He just stared at me. “Can you get that for me?” he asks. “Well, I need to know the title of the book to look for it. Do you have that?” “Well, um.. no, hang on. It’s for class.. uh, the intro English class, yeah.” “I’m sorry, we don’t keep a list of all of the textbooks that professors use.” More staring. “So you can’t get me the book?” “Not without the title, no.”

At this point he sighed, and started digging through his backpack. A few moments later, out came a crumpled piece of paper - success! It was a syllabus. He reeled off the course title and course number to me. I repeated the fact that we don’t keep a list of textbooks in use for each class. More staring… “Um, it says on here, something about it.. he said it was supposed to be like.. on hold.. or something.” “Ohh, okay. You mean it’s supposed to be on reserve?” “Yeah, that’s it. How do I get it?” “Come over here to circulation with me, they can get it for you.”

I walked him over and asked him who the professor was. After a bit more staring, he gave it to me, which I then passed along to the circulation person. They got the book off the shelf for him, and informed him that it could only be used in the library. At that point, he said he didn’t want it, and left. Sigh…

The second fellow wasn’t “difficult”, just humorous. He needed some help finding a book on the shelf, which I was glad to help him with. He acted, however, like I was doing him a wonderful favor - he kept thanking me over and over. And then he thanked me some more, and apologized for being such a bother. I told him to relax, that it wasn’t a big deal at all - most people don’t understand the LC system when they first come to the school, because they’re used to the Dewey decimal system. I also told him that it was my job, after all, to help him. He just kept saying he was sorry, and thanking me.

As we were walking back upstairs, he said, “So, you’re a, um, um.. you’re a… senior?” The way he said “senior” made it sound as if he was addressing some ancient god from Rome or something. I laughed and told him I was a junior. He said “Oh, okay, well thank you again, so much!” - and then he shook my hand. He shook my hand for helping him find a book. It was really quite peculiar, but it made me smile nonetheless. The guy certainly needed to relax a bit, and to stop treating upper classmen like gods, but it made me happy that he was genuinely appreciative of my help. Would you believe that we get a lot of people that ask for help, and then show no appreciation whatsoever? Shocking, I know…