May. 29, 2009 The V-shaped State
I asked Mom a question the other day about the location of something. I can't remember what the question was now, but anyway, she said, "Oh, it's in Minnesota." And I said, "Oh, yeah!" in this voice that meant "I know all there is to know about Minnesota." But after weighing the alternatives, I decided that my curiousity outweighed my desire to seem competent in geography and said, "So, where is Minnesota?" Of course I realize that it's a state, but you know, the USA is pretty large...
Anyway, then Mom asked me just how many states I could identify. And you know, I can do quite a few, actually. I know the places where I've lived and the states nearby them WA, CA, OR, CT, NY, GA, TN, and I could probably get NC and SC. And states with weird shapes: Nevada--that "V" shaped one, Texas, and Florida. So, yeah that's 12 states. Hey, 12 out of 50, not bad, right?
Actually, about 2 years ago I did Geography and I passed with an "A" (Of course I got an "A"; I'm homeschooled. If I didn't get an "A" I'd have to redo. In fact, I had to take the Geography Final 3 times because I missed a few of the names of the mountain ranges and Mom wanted me to get a 100%. I never did get the 100%; I think Mom ended up deciding to be satisfied with a 96 or 98% since it was now summertime; I can't remember which score it was.) I guess I've forgotten most of what I "learned" in Geography, though. But I passed, and that's what's important. Now I'm free to forget, and it's OK because I can always ask Mom, "Hey, where's Atlanta?" |
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May. 13, 2009 Snoring, Oh Yeah!
I'm getting my pieces ready for Luke and my senior recital. Among these is the second movement (the "Adagio" part) of Mozart's Concerto No. 3 in G. Honestly, I think the Adagio movement of Mozart's Concerto in G trumps all other Adagio movements ever written. Trumps it how? In difficulty? No. In showiness? No. In beauty? No. In the sheer boredom it produces in the listener--well, in the player too, actually.
When my violin teacher gave me the CD of the Mozart Concerto I was playing to listen to, I was very excited. I was going to learn a new piece. It was going to be fun and hard. And I managed to listen to all of the first movement of Mozart, and about two minutes of the second, before I died of boredom. Well, OK, I didn't die of boredom. I mean, if I had, I wouldn't be writing this. So obviously I'm not dead. But, you get the point.
Several weeks later I played the "Adagio movement" of Mozart for the first time in my lesson. I had been practicing it quite a bit at home so that my teacher wouldn't even realize I hadn't listened to the CD. I was even sort of counting a little bit, maybe. And I knew it was an Adagio movement so it was going to be slow. So, I picked up my violin and started playing the movement at a much slower pace than I'd been practicing at home, just to be safe. Almost immediately I was interrupted with, "Ariel, did you listen to the CD I gave you?"
Me: Rats, I thought I was doing a swell imitation of I-really-did-listen-to-the-CD-you-made-me-borrow. "Not really."
My Teacher: "What a waste of your time."
Me: Whoa, I guess there's supposed to be a point to listening to sheer utter boredom. "Oh."
MT: "You need to listen to that CD."
Me: *Sheepish Grin*
MT: "You're starting this movement three times too fast!"
Me: I didn't think it was possible to play it any slower. It's like the whole point of this Adagio movement is to see how slowly you can play. So, I guess it's a compliment if, when you perform it, you hear lots of snoring? "Oh, oops."
Anyway, I have learned to play the Adagio movement excruciatingly slowly. The other day, I wanted to show Dad how insanely slow and boring that part is, so I played it for him. When I finished, I said, "See? Isn't that awful? I feel bad for everybody coming to our senior recital because they have to sit through that!"
And Dad said, "Oh, I liked that. I even liked it better than a lot of the faster parts."
Ok, so no understanding sympathy from Dad, but maybe Mom will get it, right? Wrong. She too likes the "Adagio Movement" of the Mozart piece. What is wrong with my parents?!
So, anyway, if you're coming to my senior recital you have my sympathy in advance for the second movement of Mozart. It's a good thing my violin teacher doesn't know about or read this blog, because I'd be in serious trouble if he knew how boring I find the "Adagio" part. |
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Apr. 27, 2009 Suddenly It Makes Sense
I re-listened to the song "Defying Gravity" from the musical Wicked. The lyrics make so much more sense after having had Calculus. For example:
When Elphie says that it's time to start "defying gravity," what she's really saying is that it's time to start "defining gravity," by which she means finding the center of mass of some gravitational force.
Then, Galinda says, "You're having delusions of grandeur," which is, of course, a veiled reference to limits involving infinity.
Elphie responds to that with, "I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so." Obviously Elphie's teacher didn't go over the proofs for limits in class.
And then Elphie continues to express her intentions of defining gravity and how no one can "bring her down." I guess she's got her heart set on that center of mass equation.
See? Calculus applies to everything--even interpreting the lyrics of a song from a Broadway musical! |
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Apr. 13, 2009 So, Skip It!
Does anybody else read the 39 Clues series? No? I wouldn't either, but we're reading it as a family so I can't really get out of it.
However, if you do read this series, I suggest you skip book 3 The Sword Thief. I can sum it up for you if you like, so that you won't miss anything.
Summary of The Sword Thief:
Amy and Dan team up with Uncle Alistair and fly to Japan where they decide to team up with their formerly arch-enemies Ian and Natalie Kabra. Whilst occasionally making monumental discoveries, Amy and Ian are discovering that they no longer hate each other.
In fact, as Amy stands around meditating on how much she hates Ian, he kisses her and, instead of slapping him, (I mean, really, the girl's 14 and now the guy whose guts she hates kisses her, and she's not mad?) she decides she really doesn't hate him after all. Then she stands around meditating on how the quality of her life has improved since her realization that she no longer hates Ian.
She walks around with Dan and thinks about Ian. She talks to Uncle Alistair and thinks about Ian. She finds the next clue and thinks about Ian. (Do you spot a theme in this book?) And if you still can't figure out why this book isn't worth reading, I'll summarize what she's thinking. Most of the time, she's thinking something along the lines of, "I'm supposed to hate him. Why do I like him now?" (And really, I don't know, that's the whole point. This series would no longer work if Amy and Dan had no arch-nemesis. Not that this series ever worked very well anyway... And really, how original. Can you say "cliché"?) And then Amy thinks, "Oh, yeah, he kissed me, that's right. So I decided that I don't hate him." And on top of all that, Nellie seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. Apparently she's hanging out with them all, but the book hasn't even mentioned her name since probably chapter 4. Supposedly, the only thing that matters in the book right now is Amy's realization that Ian isn't heinous. (Although, I beg to differ.)
*Sigh.* The one good thing about this series is that they have a different author for each book, so maybe someone can fix the mess that Peter Lerangis will undoubtedly leave behind. |
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"Monday" and
"Music Lessons"
Yes, I have my violin lessons on Monday! The problem with having music lessons on a Monday is that I usually haven't practiced over the weekend. Obviously, I don't practice on Sunday. Saturday is clean house day, and Friday is "Random Fun" (usually). So, weekends are bad for practicing, which means that Monday is bad for music lessons.
My first teacher, Mrs. Lunin, was a Russian Jew who immigrated as an adult. She was a great teacher!! And she didn't speak good English. A "bad lesson" with her usually included being yelled at in multiple languages. Well, actually I guess that was just a typical lesson with her. And you know what, I discovered something with her. I perform best under duress. I guess it's the emotional "Russian style" or whatever, but I always played best for her when she made me angry. And she knew it. So, I guess that explains the yelling. (All my potential teachers could learn something about effectively teaching me from her.) She used to yell things like, "Why you play wrong note? You like make mistakes? Most people not like make mistakes. But you do!" Which would make me angry, and then I'd try very hard to play the music correctly just so I could prove her wrong. I learned a lot from her.
My next teacher Ms. Vendsel was a sweet, quiet American lady. She used to say things like, "Hmm, you should practice more maybe," and "Let's do better next time." Phrases like that don't do much for me. Especially when immediately followed by, "OK, great lesson! See you later." Certainly not after Mrs. Lunin.
In fact, if I practiced for five or ten minutes before the lesson, even if I hadn't practiced all week, I'd have a great lesson. In such cases, the "lesson conversation" would be something like this:
Ms. Vendsel: "Wow, Ariel. I can tell you've practiced a lot this week!"
I would think, ok, looks like she's expecting me to say something. So, I'd say: "Erm, yeah."
Ms. Vendsel: "You know a teacher can always tell if her students have practiced or not,"--my breath would stop, does she know?--"And, obviously, you did a lot of work this week. Good job."
I would breathe a sigh of relief and think, ha, I only practiced five minutes this morning and barely enough to mention the rest of the week but just say, "Thanks!!"
And then, my amazing lesson would be over, and I could go home.
Well, that teacher moved away, and I found a new and really awesome, demanding teacher. He's a very good teacher. And he's very different from my old teacher; he actually can tell if I've practiced or not. If I'd had him last year, things might have worked better.--I had more time last year.--Now I'm trying to get college/scholarship stuff in order, study for Calculus 2, and catch up in Biology class and Health class. I don't have time to practice three hours of violin a day! And Monday is a bad day for music lessons. Plus, because I'm pressed for time, I don't usually practice exercises at all. Only, at my last lesson he decided that he wanted to spend almost my whole lesson going over exercises. *sigh* If I'd known that, I could have practiced exercises all week instead of working on my piece. Or, if he could just yell at me during my lesson, I would get it all right without all the extra work. Oh, well, I guess I should end this post so I can go practice.
BTW, just in case anyone cares, the answer to the calculus problem in the previous post was 64,680 Joules of work. And, by the by, I got 115% on that boring and unrealistic homework paper. Maybe I don't mind applications of integration to physics and engineering quite as much as I thought. |
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Mar. 30, 2009 Applications to... What? Physics!! Why?!!
Well,our latest assignments in Calculus 2 have been on applications of integration to physics and engineering. But none of the problems are very realistic. For example: A 12-kg bucket is used to lift 70 kg of water from the bottom of a well that is 50m deep to the top of the well. The bucket is pulled up using a 50m cable whose total mass is 100kg. Find the work done in raising the water and the bucket up to the top of the well...
That's all "well" and good; I expect we are meant to assume that the bucket is not leaky. But, what about spilled water? I sincerely doubt that it is feasible to draw water from a well without spilling some. And how would we in a real life situation know the weight of the rope? I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't walk around with a scale, weighing everything I come into contact with. All the information you're given in a problem is great, but in real life you wouldn't know half that. I'd like to calculate the work done to find all the information given so that you can even begin the problem. For example, how much work is done to get the weight of the rope. Carrying the scale out to the well, picking up the rope, balancing the rope on the scale, putting the rope back, carrying the scale back, etc. Someone would have to be pretty obssessed to do that. Don't get me wrong, I love calculus! But what nutcase came up with the idea of ruining calculus by applying it to physics? Science ruins everything!!
~Ariel |
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Mar. 26, 2009 Driving with Pixar
 Well, so far my family has managed to survive "driving with Ariel." That's not my fault, though. And I think my brothers know that. At least, they seem to be vaguely aware of it --they kiss the asphalt driveway whenever we get home after I've driven them anywhere. And I guess I don't blame them. I mean, I have been known to mix up the gas and break pedals. And, actually, I made a right turn into opposing traffic once on the way home from my music lesson, but it was OK 'cause Mom was there. Oh, yeah, the other day when I was driving to music lessons, I was stopped at a red light, but I was looking at the wrong light. And the light I was looking at turned green, but the light I was at didn't. But, it was OK 'cause Mom was there. Poor Mom.
Thankfully, I have managed to avoid any accidents so far. But that's not my fault either, and Mom knows it. Thanks, Mom! So, never, ever drive with your mother? I guess I'll have to modify that phrase: I could never drive without her. (Sorry, Mom, looks like you're stuck with me.)
That's why, when I eventually do take my driver's test, I'm going to take it in Jasper (that's a small town near where I live--I hear they don't even make you parallel park in your test)! And maybe if I scare the tester, he'll pass me just because he doesn't want to have to get in the car with me ever again. Hmm...I'd better practice my "scaring tactics." Time to watch Monsters Inc?
~Ariel |
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Mar. 16, 2009 51 Utterly Pointless and Untinteresting Facts About...Me!
I decided to do an utterly pointless and uninteresting post: a tag!
So, here goes:
1: What time did you get up this morning?: 8:00…yeah, I wasn’t working this morning so I got to sleep!!!!
2:Diamonds or Pearls?: neither! Well, actually I do kinda like fresh water pearls.
3: What was the last film you saw in cinema: Inkheart; It was really good.
4: What is your favorite TV show: NCIS
5: What do you usually have for breakfast?: I like bagels for breakfast…when we have cream cheese.
6: What is your middle name?: Grace
7: What food do you dislike: hot dogs, American cheese, boloney, pizza.
8: What is your favorite CD at the moment?: The Joshua Tree by U2
9: What kind of car do you drive?: A silver minivan
10: Favorite sandwich: chicken salad
11: What characteristic do you despise?: pride
12: Favorite item of clothing?: shoes, esp. heels
13: If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would it be?: Ireland or England; we have friends there and I’d love to go visit them.
14: Favorite brand of clothing?: GAP
15: Where will you retire to?: huh?! Retire? Me?!! *shrug*
16: What is your most recent memorable birthday: I tend to forget birthdays pretty quickly…I barely remember my last one.
17: Favorite sport to watch: please, no sports!!!
18: When is your birthday?: April 9th
19: Are you a morning person or a night person: Absolutely Night Owl!
20: What is your shoe size?: 7 1/2 or 8
21: Pets?: one dog three hamsters and a bird
22: Any exciting news you'd like to share with us?: Um, no, things are pretty boring right now I guess.
23: What did you want to be when you were little: I didn’t really care too much, although, when I was two I told everybody I was going to be “A fighter-fighter’s wife.” (I meant firefighter, but I couldn’t say it properly.)
24: How are you today?: fine…bored.
25: What is your favorite candy: chocolate!!!
26: What is your favorite flower: daisy.
27: What is a day on your calendar that you are looking forward to?: Well. On Saturday we’re leaving for Florida.
28: What are you listening to right now?: peaceful quiet!!—my brothers have finished practicing piano, and obviously I’m not practicing right now either.
29: What is the last thing you ate?: a Dutch mint…they’re called “Kings”
30: Do you wish on stars? no...
31: If you were a crayon, what color would you be?: green!
32: How is the weather right now?: warm and sunny.
33: First person you spoke to on the phone today?: my grandfather
34: Favorite soft drink?: I don’t really like those…I much prefer juice.
35: Favorite restaurant?: The Southern Star
36: Real hair color?: light brown (if you asked my brothers, they’d say blonde, but that’s only because they like to make blonde jokes)
37: What was your favorite toy as a child?: a legless stuffed bunny called “Buh.” Yup, I was a really original kid…who would’ve thought of calling their bunny Buh?
38: Summer or winter: spring.
39: Hugs or kisses: hugs
40: Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate!
41: Coffee or tea: both!
42: When was the last time you cried?: I’m not sure…
43: What is under your bed?: I have a pull-out trundle bed under it.
44: What did you do last night?: read!
45: What are you afraid of?: spiders!!!!
46: Salt or sweet?: sweet.
47: How many keys are on your key ring?: one. It’s bright red, and it’s to our old house.
48:favorite sound: beautifully sad music
49: Your hero?: um…
50: How many towns have you lived in?: three
51: Do you make friends easily?: I'm not sure...
So there it is. 51 pointless and unteresting facts about my life. Hopefully I didn't bore you to death :)
Anyone who wants to do this tag is welcome to!
~Ariel |
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Feb. 26, 2009 Traits Cause Genes, Right?
Yes, I'm behind in Biology. OK, now everyone knows it; actually, everyone probably already knew. But, still, if you didn't, you know now. But I'm catching up. In fact, I just crammed several weeks' worth of Mendelian genetics into one day! Yup. I read, studied, and took the test for the module on Mendelian genetics, and all it took was a few hours this morning. And I did really well on the test. Well, unless you count confusing the words trait and gene. But, I mean really, they're essentially the same! Trait, gene, whatever. Genes cause traits, so pretty much in terms of what we actually see (the phenotype) they might as well be the same thing. Of course, Mom, having worked as a cytogenetic technician in college, didn't agree with we (can you believe it?!!).
Oh, well, I got a good grade anyway; most of the times that the test asked questions about genes and/or traits it used the desired word, and so I didn't have the opportunity to get it wrong. See? Cramming two weeks' worth of work into one day really does work. Mendelian genetics? That's all that stuff on genes and traits, right? Yeah, I did that. Yesterday.
~Ariel
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Feb. 25, 2009 Ron's Bouncy Ball Experience--Haiku vs. Limerick
OK, more stupid poetry assignments. When will this class be over?!!! This assignment was to write a Haiku. For those who don't know, a Haiku is an unrhymed mumbo jumbo of present-tense sentences (which are about a single image) shoved into the following format: 5 beats for the first line, 7 beats for the second line, 5 beats for the third line. However, according to our poetry book, modern poets are dumping the syllabic requirements of the Haiku, and so the only real requirements for a Haiku are present tense and a single image.
.
So, anyway, here's my horrible Haiku:
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Ron and the small blue ball
~
The rather small ball
That Ron picks up off the ground
Is actually blue.
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Limericks are much more interesting. They have hame a rhyme sceme and specific beat requirements, and are long enough that you can say more than three random present-tense statements.
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My lame Limerick sequel to Lord Voldemort and the Bouncy Ball Mishap (this probably won't make sense if you haven't read LVBBM, so if you haven't, read it here):
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Ron and The Bouncy Red Ball
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There was a big bouncy red ball
Ron Weaseley found in the hall.
And when he did try,
Put the lights on high,
He saw something'd broken them all
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And the Limerick form of:
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Ron and the Small Blue Ball
~
Ron grabbed the small ball off the ground;
It really was rather quite round.
He noticed its hue
Was actually blue
Unlike the red ball he'd last found.
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What do you think, Haiku or Limerick? Or none at all? (Wouldn't that be wonderful?!)
.
~Ariel
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Feb. 19, 2009 Do I Look Like Chopped Suey To You?
Well, Jez has this habit of biting/chewing/eating my arms and hands. I'm not really sure why. I don't look like dog food; nor do I smell like carrots (which is the only food other than dog food that she's allowed to eat). And I really doubt that my fingers taste very good--unless you like the way sparkly green nail polish tastes. Of course, this is the dog who likes to eat hamster food out of the bag; obviously, there is no comprehending her tastes. In fact, she chews her own tail, so I suppose there doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason to what she chews. Not only does she chew up my arms, but she doesn't do that to anybody else! Maybe I'm just special. Or maybe Jez has a thing for sparkly green nail polish. I should try painting her nails and see if she starts on her paws...
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Me and Jez:
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Jez prior to another arm-snacking onslaught:
~Ariel |
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