in loving memory of my nana, who passed away on tuesday...

ahem...an actual problem from my physics book:

A person weighs a fish of mass m on a spring scale attached to the ceiling of an elevator. Show that if the elevator accelerates in either direction, the spring scale gives a reading different from the true weight of the fish.

...

first of all, *why* would there be a spring scale hanging from an elevator? and if there was, *why* would you weigh a fish on it? ("hey! look! a scale in the elevator! now i can weigh that fish i've been carrying around with me, on the off chance that i'd find a spring scale in an elevator!"). and third of all, if you absolutely *had* to weigh your stupid, stinky fish on said scale, why would you do it while the elevator was accelerating?

ugh. there is no reasoning with these people.

i just failed my first physics exam...

i go to class. i do the homework. i studied my ass off. i talked to the professor. and i still failed. there were 4 questions on the exam, and i was able to fully answer 1. that sucks. this is the hardest class i have ever taken in my life. harder than chemistry, and that's saying volumes. even when i think i get it...i just don't. and can't drop it b/c a) i need it to graduate in may, and b) even if i got permission to take it over the summer, i'd still have to deal w/ the issue that dropping it would make me no longer a full time student, and then i'd owe uconn money that i don't have. garrrrrrrr.
i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate physics.

i have *finally* gotten around to posting some patagonia pictures, for anyone who would like to peruse...there a lot more (ummm...10 more rolls) where that came from, but weeding through and scanning them is going to take a while. maybe spring break i'll get it done...

i hope everyone had a lurvely valentines day...mike and i stayed in and ate a yummy dinner that i'd been planning all week, and (oooh...ahhhh...) carvel cake with heart shaped brownies. and i got pretty pretty roses and gummy worms, which is exactly what i wanted :) sometimes low-budget holidays are the best kind...

i have a ton of homework that i need to get done today, but i wanted to get some web updating done as well...i've been slacking. there just aren't enought hours in the day. at any rate, i really need to get my tuckus away from the computer so that i don't spend countless (more) hours at jeep.com playing with the "build a wrangler" function...

go to the "dead jeep" photo album to view the wreckage...

who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? on friday, i taught my 1990 jeep cherokee how to roll over and play dead...

i was driving to school in the snow, and started fishtailing at the top of a hill. i took my feet off the pedals to let the car straighten out, but it didn't straighten out at all...it went head first into a telephone pole, then rolled onto the passenger side, then the roof, and then finally stopped with the driver's side down on the pavement. the triangle window on the driver door busted out, the windshield was cracked up, the rear window popped out, the muffler tore half off, the transmission heaved up the shifter right out of the console...not to mention the fact at i left the grill and headlights up the bushes by the telephone pole and cruched the remainder of the front end right up to the wheel wells. it was compeltely, painfully, irrevocably totaled. i gave the title over the body shop and paid them $50 to junk it for me after i crawled in and kicked out the doors so mike could retrieve my speakers. what a mess. thanfully, i (as always) had my seatbelt on, and wasn't hurt too badly. a lump on the head, some bruises, and a whole lot of muscle pain...but i literally walked out of that car. granted, it was along the drivers side windows and out the gapig hole in the rear hatch where the window used to be, but i walked out.

so for now, i'm driving mike's civic, and his parents graciously loaned him their second car.

MORAL: wear your seatbelts. you know who you are.

well, the girl from friday was in class today, so i guess she must be fine...that's good news.

i just finished my GIS lab, and i wish i could be happy about it, but i know that i have another one assigned tomorrow, and i also know that i have to go home and do my physics homework and my physics lab for tomorrow. i thought that the homework problems were due on wednesday, but unfortunately, they were due today (surprise!). so i'm not looking forward to a fun-filled night with my least favorite book, but...it's only for a few more months (blah). then i have calc over the summer to look forward to, and (hopefully) grad school in the fall. a little part of me is asking why i want to put myself through two more years of school, but i know that's just my hate of physics and math talking. so that's that.

my dad pointed out to me that people are getting antsy about my getting patagonia photos up on my website, so i'll have to that soon, too. i only have 3 of 13 rolls developed right now, and i don't know when i'm going to have the time to scan photos, but oh well. i'll fit it in somewhere...

i'm going to go be worthless for the next 20 minutes before my natural resources seminar...