Had an odd conversation the other day. We were talking about what the most awesome superhero power would be. Here's one we came up with.

Probability Man

This superhero has the power of being able to make the improbable probable at his discretion. Say your arch enemy pushed you off a building. You would surely splat on the sidewalk below, right? Not probability man. Suddenly an open truck filled with pillows and mattresses passes on the road below. You land in it unharmed. I mean what's the probability of that happening? That's your power! Get it? I mean that would be pretty cool. You'd catch random kids falling out of trees, a bus would come everytime you arrive at the bus stop, the cops would never catch you speeding. Bad guys couldn't compete. Say you're standing in a room surrounded by evil henchmen and you are unarmed. What are the chances that all the randomly floating molecules of metal would somehow come together and form a machine gun in your hands? Not very likely. What are the chances all of the bad guys suddenly have a massive heart attack and fall over dead at the same time? Not very good. But you're Probability Man and both situation are equally likely! It would rock. Crime wouldn't stand a chance.

However you wouldn't be without a weakness. See ... you're power is the ability to flip probabilities. Make something with low probability have a high probability. This corresponds to taking the recipical of a small number less than one, you get a big number out. Take the recipical of a large number less than one, and you *also* get a larger number. *So* you would only have the ability to make things more probable, not less probable. So things that would probably happen still will probably happen. Some evil super genius could turn this against you by constructing some trap that has a very high probability of working. You would be powerless to stop him. But in the meantime you'd be materializing guns and watching your enemies drop like flies from random heart attacks and the occasional freak killer bee attack. Probability Man.

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Sleep is coming. Right after I write this entry. See, I didn't sleep last night because I was leaving to go on a hiking trip this morning at 4:30 am. I didn't feel like waking up that early (partially because I knew I never would) so I just stayed up the whole night. We were leaving to go to the Shanandoah National Park, I think, but more specifically to a place called Humpback Rock. It's this big rock overlooking this huge valley. We got there early about 5:15 am or so, after the lead car in out varitable motorcade took a mindboggling 6 wrong turns in the span of like 10 minutes which put us in serious jeopardy of getting to the top before sunrise, which was the goal. I jokingly called her "the mole" for the rest of the day, it was pretty funny. Anyway, we got there and started climbing this mountain. Everyone else took the marked trail, but me and a few other people thought we'd take a shortcut. So treking through the woods, we saw this huge rock above us and figured it was Humpback Rock. So we climbed up to it just as the sun was coming over the trees, it was so beautiful. So we're up there on top of the rock wondering where everyone else is. Then we see this other rock all the way across the valley and there's a group of people standing on it. Turns out *that* was Humpback Rock. We had gone to the wrong one. Haha. It was still cool though, we nicknamed it the "Lion King Rock" because it looked exactly like that rock at the beginning of the Lion King where Simba is being held up by the baboon. So we finally hike over to the other rock, the real Humpback Rock, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Trees and mountains as far as you could see all around you. The sun had just come up and the blue ridge mountains were in the distance with this soft pinkish orange glow from the sun. It had to have been one of the most awesome and beautiful things I've ever seen. Follow this link to see some of the pictures I took while I was there. Let me tell you though those pictures do even come close to capturing what it was like. Amazing scene.

So we climbed back down, it seemed so much easier to climb down than to climb up. Then stopped at Aunt Sarah's for breakfast. Banana Nut pancakes. Mmm. My favorite. When I finally got back to my room is was like 11:00 am and I decided to take a nap. Less than 2 hours in I get waken up for something, and then had to study for the physics final. So sleep tonight is looking real good. `-)

Later.

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What happened today. Well I found out late about some robotics thing they were having here so I got there at the very end. Apparently it was the final exam for this one Computer Science class on robotics. They had to get their robot through a little obstacle course and a maze. The robots themselves were cool. Pretty small, maybe 2 feet by 2 feet and 1 foot tall. All were powered by a laptop that sat on top of each bot controlling the motors and sensors and whatever else the robot had on it. Only got to see one robot make it through. Looked pretty fun. Remind me to take that course in a few years.

Later I went to a show by the Whethermen. They are an improv comedy group (sort of like Whose Line Is It Anyway). I've heard good things about them, but never seen them before. So this being their last show of the year I decided to check them out. Omg! It was sooo funny. I felt a tear at one point I was laughing so hard. Good stuff.

After that I didn't do too much else. Studied a little for exams which are coming up far too quickly. But after they're over I get to home and see my family and friends who I miss. It will definitely be nice to see them again.

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Today marked the final day of classes! Good in the sense ofno more classes, but bad in the fact that it means finals are coming, but good because the year is ending. More good than bad. I think it may just be a college thing, but at the end of the final class for a course everyone stands up and claps. Mostly to applaud the instructor, but I'm sure a little happiness the class is over. Funny, it happened in every course I have, but physics. No one likes our physics prof. All you other college go-ers, does this happen at your school? Clapping at the end of courses? Just wondering.

Got my astronomy test back that I took last week. Did pretty good on it, A+, go me. Anyway, there was a big fiasco, hoopla if you will, about one particular question. It doesn't have anything to do with astronomy, but with genetics and DNA. (Don't ask me why it was on the test, who knows) Here's the question in question:

23) The DNA molecule can be altered
   (a) by chance mismatching of base pairs
   (b) by damage from exposure to radioactivity
   (c) if the host cell is intelligent and determines that an alteration would help it survive
   (d) all of the above
   (e) none of the above

What would you say the answer was? Think about it. Let's logically go through the possible answers. (a) chance mismatching of base pairs *can* happen, in fact I think it happens about once every replication, i think, correct me if I'm wrong. So (a) is true. (b) damage from exposure to radioactivity *can* happen as well, so (b) is also true. (c) the cell decided to change it is clearly wrong, false. So now comes the dilemma. (a) and (b) are both true, so you look for an option that says "Both (a) and (b)" which as you can see is not an option. (e) is obviously not true because both (a) and (b) are. But, (d) can not be true because (c) is false. Now you have two correct answers and only room to bubble in one circle. What do you do? I picked (a) because I had at least heard of that before from genetics class. I believe that is the reason of existence for ATPase I, II, and III. To correct errors during replication. Right? (Again if I'm wrong may those smarter than me in genetics speak up.) I thought (a) was the "best answer". Well. Turns out the correct answer on the answer key was (e). What!? How can it possibly be (e)? (a) and (b) are clearly true. Saying that none of the above are correct? That makes no sense. If any answer was going to be right it certainly wasn't going to be (e). (a) and (b) would both be alright answers. I could even see a good arguement for (c) because since (a) and (b) were both true and since there was no "both a and b" option, the "all of the above" choice should be true because at least two are true, even though (c) is clearly not true. (e)? I don't get it, neither did the class. I've never heard so much talking in that class all semester, it was kind of funny. In reality it wouldn't have changed anyone's grade if he decided to remove the question or just give everyone credit This is because everyone's grades would have shifted by the same amount. This would shift the curve the same amount and everyone's grade would virtually remain unchanged, so ... but its the principle of the thing! I hate ambiguous questions.

Then my computer science lab let out really early due to it being the last day of classes. I guess they felt pity on us, heh. So I was able to head out to this party that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to go to. It was pretty fun. Had a good time. Then I got back to my room, wrote this entry, congratulates Jess for getting 69, and smiles at the fact I don't have to set my alarm clock for tomorrow.


By the way I got another fortune cookie today and it had this message in it:

Love is a present that can be given every single day that you live.

If it looks familiar its because I got that *exact* same fortune a few days ago. Weird. I've never ever gotten the same fortune twice, even stranger that it happened on consecutive fortune cookies and only a day or so apart. Wonder if it means anything.

Later.

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Economics is over! Its over! Hooray! Just got back from the exam, I'd say it went as well as could be expected. A few tricky questions, but I think I figured them out. Phew ... *wipes sweat off face and takes some weight off my shoulders*

Oh, and its not like it really matters to you, but I got a care package today from my grandmother. Sugar cookies and brownies! =) Mmm. Home cooked food tastes soo good.

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Hmm, today started at 2:30 pm when a loud buzzing like noise woke me up. I look outside my window and there are like 100 people standing right outside my window. Talking, eating, gathering. So I get up and walk over to the fridge to get some water and someone knocks on my door. Rob was there and he says, "Where were you Chris?" "I just woke up," I said. "Oh, well I guess you didn't go to the picnic." Well that would be a "no" seeing as how I just woke up. Apparently mine and another dorm had a picnic. The other dorm is named Balz and my dorm is named Hancock. So it turned out to be the Hancock and Balz picnic. (More than a little innuendo) The rest of the day was fairly uneventful.

Oh, I did make one of those BudLight talking pictures, click to see it. More innuendo, heh.

And last night, man ... I don't know "when's the last time" I heard so much innuendo!

Finally on a random note:
Eye reef ewes two spa hell core heck Lee Intel fine halls arrow fair!

Later

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