July 3, 2005 Archives

Another day has passed, and, besides a record five weblog entries, I haven't achieved much. I have a ten-page, fourteen-source essay due Tuesday at 11:15, and, as usual, I'm leaving most of the work for the last day. Tomorrow I'm getting up at nine or so so I can go to the Austrian National Library to get some book sources so that not all my sources are from full-text journal entries via the Syracuse University Library website. I also have to buy paper and a new black ink cartridge.

I have definitely learned a valuable lesson this summer: Never take a summer class... EVER! I'm taking one class here at Webster University Vienna, and even that seems like to much work. I just want to do nothing... Absolutely nothing... Sort of like I'm doing right now... But I hate the guilty feeling I get that I'm doing nothing when I have an essay due in 35 hours.

In other news, nightlife is still crap. I often reminisce about the better days in Vienna (See Vienna Trip I and Vienna Trip II).

In terms of my body, I am an old man. Granted, I can still run to the neighboring Mauer neighborhood in ten minutes, but otherwise everything is busted. My reoccurring ribcage problem, which has existed for over two years, has been horrible this week. I'm popping Target-brand Aleve tablets and rubbing on Wal-Mart-brand BENGAY all day.

I think I'm going blind. My left eyesight has receded and I can officially say Focus Daily Contact Lenses are horrible. They stick to my eyes like glue. While taking one out last night I accidentally plucked the entire eye ball. Yum.

My right eyelid is still all messed up. To counter this problem I widen my eyes like crazy in photos.

I haven't played soccer in years, but I'm pretty sure if I did my left leg would strike, as I basically permanently messed it up ten years ago.

My pinky fingers are still deformed from playing football with the "big boys" many years ago.

Luckily a dentist here told me my teeth are actually doing pretty good. My last physical last August found everything important, like my blood, all right too.

Throughout past few weeks my dad's apartment has been continually entered by wasps. At first I thought it was just because the windows were open. But over the past fews it has been pretty cool outside, and I haven't opened the windows at all. Yesterday afternoon it became apparent to me that wasps were somehow getting into my apartment using other entryways. The peculiar thing was that besides the kitchen, which has a window, wasps were appearing in the bathroom and the toilet room, which have no windows. At one point yesterday night, it was dead quiet for an hour while I was sitting near the kitchen at the computer, when suddenly there was humming in the kitchen.

The first couple times I was pretty humane, using a glass and a piece of cardboard to remove them alive, but once I was getting four a day I whipped out the disinfectant spray, as I don't have any insect-killing spray.

My initial fear was that perhaps there was a nest behind the microwave, but then I realized what was going on... There are two air vents in the kitchen, and one each in the bathroom and the toilet room. The one in the bathroom had a cord to close it, but the other ones are permanently open. I closed the bathroom one, and then began covering the others. In the kitchen I used thick envelops, and in the toilet room I used a paper towel, figuring this solution would let air in, but no wasps.

None of the covers are really that great because they're not very tight. Nevertheless, no wasp has entered since, and it has been about eighteen hours.

If you'd like some advice on how to get rid of wasps that are already inside, check out this procedural guide I stumbled upon today: Kill Wasp, Vol. 1 Hah, I just realized that both I and that person made references to movies in our titles.

There has never been a significant problem in the past, so I think one of screens on the roof covering the air ducts must have torn.

Newkai.com was used more this past month than any other month this year. In fact, there were 145,730 page
views, significantly more than the first five months combined! In terms of bandwidth, more was used last month than the first three months of this year combined.

These great results are mostly due to the success of the "1000-Image Summer" project, which now has over 700 photos.

I was pulled over last night for the first time ever, here in Vienna, or anywhere else. It was right by the Volksgarten, where there's a 30 km/h (19 mph) speed limit, and it was a cop with a "lightsaber," standing on the street. He just checked my papers, and the whole thing took less than a minute. I was surprised he didn't have me take a breathalyzer test, but I guess after years of pulling people over, they're pretty good at telling who has drank anything or not. And no, he didn't have one of those high-power flashlights cops in the States have to detect vapors. I'm just always glad that I don't drink anything when I drive, because then I don't have anything to worry about.

If your mass is less than or equal to 60 kg (132 lbs), this can get you to or above the 0.5‰ (0.05%) limit that's in place throughout much of Europe. Granted, I'm about 90 kg (198 lbs), so it would be a little more.