• The World According to Clarke

    Friday, August 25, 2006

    The Vanishing Planet


    Back in school, I learned the order of the planets through the acronym "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas." That acronym no longer works, because I just was enlightened by a 5th grader at the bus stop that Pluto is no longer considered a planet. After hearing this, I had to go home and check it out and it turns out to be true! The International Astronomical Union has stripped Pluto of its status as a planet. Click here for details.

    The acronym for the 21st century..."My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nothing!"

    Wednesday, August 23, 2006

    Survivor again


    Like a car wreck on the other side of the highway, I know I shouldn't watch but I can't help myself--Survivor is coming back (season 13) on September 14th! The twist for this season: there are four tribes and they are divided by race--white, black, Asian, Hispanic. No Cincinnatians this time, so I don't know who I'll root for just yet. Glancing through the names and occupations, Pavarti (the waitress/boxer) sounds interesting. There is also a heavy metal guitarist, which could prove interesting.

    Monday, August 21, 2006

    Personal DNA

    Although I don't always agree with the results, I enjoy tests like the Myers-Briggs that attempt to categorize people's personalities. For example, my Myers-Briggs type is ISFJ--and after reading the personality type descriptions, this seems pretty accurate. This morning I read a post on Earl's blog about another personality test and had to check it out. I was a little surprised by my results on the aesthetic/functional category (but not at all shocked by my low marks for imagination). I like how they show the results in a color bar. Mine are below (with my low score for 'openness'--4 out of 100--I'm surprised I'm sharing these). Click here for a more detailed report.



    Update:
    Proof that opposites attract, here are Annette's results...

    Tuesday, August 15, 2006

    Chillin' with Carson


    While inching our way up I-71 on the way home from work Monday evening, Erin (with whom I carpool) says, "Hey, that looks like the ugly hat Carson Palmer was wearing at the game last night." As we get a little closer, we realize that it's not just the same hat--it's the same guy. I'm a big Carson Palmer fan--and his choice of cars (unlike his chioce of hats) only increased my appreciation of him. Most NFL players I've seen drive big blingy Escalades with neon and spinners. Carson was driving a simple, conservate (but very nice) Audi sedan--a tasteful, classy car to go along with a classy guy.

    This event reminded me of something that happened on Sunday. Maria and I were at the swimming pool, and her soccer coach went walking by. Maria was very shocked and excited to see her soccer coach somewhere besides the soccer field. In the mind of a little kid, she assumes that he just lives at the soccer field never goes anywhere else. It was the same way back when I was a teacher and would run into a student at the mall or a movie--they were always shocked that I actually had a life outside of school. It can be weird seeing someone who you are used to seeing in one specific element. I felt a little like this on Monday seeing the Bengals' quarterback stuck in a traffic jam. Wow, he drives to and from work just like me. Who'd have thought?!

    Wednesday, August 09, 2006

    King of Karaoke

    I recently scored my first diamond single (better than gold or platinum) on Karaoke Revolution with my rendition of Kansas' "Dust in the Wind". A diamond rating means that you get a rating of "perfect" on every single note in the song. I'm proud to say I'm the first and only one in the family to earn a diamond rating so far. I'd like to thank my older brothers, without whom I would probably have never heard over and over and over again the classic rock hits that have taken me to this level of karaoke prestige.

    The funny part is that I probably have the least pleasant singing voice of anyone in my family. Annette and Ben are both very talented singers--I evidently hit the right notes, but I sure don't sound good doing it. I'll enjoy the bragging rights while I've got them, though. If you have an XBox (or PS2 or GameCube) I highly recommend Karaoke Revolution Party--it's a really fun game.