Omar Abu

I thought you readers might enjoy this video. I sure did. Happy New Year!!!

Over the break, I've been reading "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die..." This is a really awesome book about why some ideas are just picked up and spread around quickly while others are extremely boring. It is basically a recipe for making anything you do from simple class projects to product advertisements interesting. A perfect example of sticky ideas are Aesop's fables. Those stories have survived millennia and are still being told (the authors explain why). So if you want your ideas to survive and draw an audience (maybe not for millennia), I suggest checking out this book. By the way, if you liked "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell, then you will definitely like this book.

Ohh MIT. Below is a really funny exchange between a prospective MIT student and MIT a while back. It's a good thing MIT has changed their recruiting tactics since then.


April 18, 1994
Mr. John T. Mongan
123 Main Street
Smalltown, California 94123-4567

Dear John:

You've got the grades. You've certainly got the PSAT scores. And now you've got a letter from MIT. Maybe you're surprised. Most students would be.

But you're not most students. And that's exactly why I urge you to consider carefully one of the most selective universities in America.

The level of potential reflected in your performance is a powerful indicator that you might well be an excellent candidate for MIT. It certainly got my attention!

Engineering's not for you? No problem. It may surprise you to learn we offer more than 40 major fields of study, from architecture to brain and cognitive sciences, from economics (perhaps the best program in the country) to writing.

What? Of course, you don't want to be bored. Who does? Life here is tough and demanding, but it's also fun. MIT students are imaginative and creative - inside and outside the classroom.

You're interested in athletics? Great! MIT has more varsity teams - 39 - than almost any other university, and a tremendous intramural program so everybody can participate.

You think we're too expensive? Don't be too sure. We've got surprises for you there, too.

Why not send the enclosed Information Request to find out more about this unique institution? Why not do it right now?

Sincerely,

Michael C. Benhke

Director of Admissions

P.S. If you'd like a copy of a fun-filled, fact-filled brochure, "Insight," just check the appropriate box on the form.




And here is his awesome reply!


May 5, 1994
Michael C. Behnke
MIT Director of Admissions
Office of Admissions, Room 3-108
Cambridge MA 02139-4307

Dear Michael:

You've got the reputation. You've certainly got the pomposity. And now you've got a letter from John Mongan. Maybe you're surprised. Most universities would be.

But you're not most universities. And that's exactly why I urge you to carefully consider one of the most selective students in America, so selective that he will choose only one of the thousands of accredited universities in the country.

The level of pomposity and lack of tact reflected in your letter is a powerful indicator that your august institution might well be a possibility for John Mongan's future education. It certainly got my attention!

Don't want Bio-Chem students? No problem. It may surprise you to learn that my interests cover over 400 fields of study, from semantics to limnology, from object-oriented programming (perhaps one of the youngest professionals in the country) to classical piano.

What? Of course you don't want egotistical jerks. Who does? I am self indulgent and over confident, but I'm also amusing. John Mongan is funny and amusing - whether you're laughing with him or at him.

You're interested in athletes? Great! John Mongan has played more sports - 47 - than almost any other student, including oddball favorites such as Orienteering.

You think I can pay for your school? Don't be too sure. I've got surprises for you there, too.

Why not send a guaranteed admission and full scholarship to increase your chance of being selected by John Mongan? Why not do it right now?

Sincerely,

John Mongan

P.S. If you'd like a copy of a fun-filled, fact-filled brochure, "John Mongan: What a Guy!" just ask.

Yes, this is an old video. I know, but w/e :-)

Yo, check out these pics from playing Rock Band a couple nights ago. This game is an absolute blast. I suggest you go and buy this game right away if you own an Xbox 360. If you do not own one, I suggest you go and buy an Xbox 360 (or PS3) and this game right away!

About a year ago, I watched an incredible video of the first man to ever fly independently. This guy, Yves Rossy from Switzerland, developed a set of wings that allow him to manuever in the air like a bird. The video posted below is of him flying above the Swiss Alps. Don't you wish you could do that? To learn more about him go here.

Last night, I was eating dinner at a nice sushi restaurant with my father when my cell rang. I did not recognize the phone number, but I thought that perhaps it was an important call so I picked up. It turned out to be my tennis coach...

So a couple of week ago my coach sent out an email about how the school wants to recognize the tennis team for winning states last season. I never responded because I did not feel like attending and so that was that. Eventually, I ended up having plans anyway. Yesterday, coach calls me and basically pressures me into going, denying every one of my excuses. He left me with absolutely no choice other than to go. So now I have to stand up in front of a bunch of people I do not know and be applauded for something that happened 6 months ago. Greeaat.

Unfortunately, I had plans, since in eight minutes all of my friends will be at this holiday party. Instead of being there, I will have to be at the school basketball game where at half time my team will be recognized (O.O I should have left 10 minutes ago). After the shindig is done, I will then head to the party to which I will be 2 hours late for (there goes my present >.<). Anyway those are my unsatisfactory and undesired plans for tonight.

Happy Holidays!

Even though I got some bad news a number of days ago, things are still going good for me. I already have A's in half my classes and my semester is not even done yet! My university classes ended and grades just came out a full 5 weeks before my high school semester ends.

University classes are very awesome by the way. I did not have to take my linear algebra final since I was guaranteed an A because of all the points I had earned. I got an awesome A on my 12 page paper for Shakespeare earning me another A. I also nailed the final in my Latin class, earning me another big star! I know A's are really not everything (as that piece of bad news confirms), but it still feels good to be almost done with my seventh semester of high school.

Tomorrow I get to interact with alumni at my school as instead of classes we have sessions with alumni who talk about their college experiences. They have quite a lot to say as they come from all over (there's also going to be some great food at the reception yay!). I'll be sure to take pictures.

Now I get to spend winter break looking forward to my differential equations class next semester and a three month wait before hearing from colleges. At least I just got a Wii and Rock Band, which will definitely keep me busy (another post on these soon)!

A while back I received an email from somebody with some very funny pictures of clever ways to solve math problems. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Be warned, however. They are funny!




















And here's my favorite one of all:




So now you know what to do next time you're in trouble on a test!

I walked into AP Bio today and the tables were all cluttered with tubs filled with water and teared pieces of paper, towels, and bunch of other stuff that I need to CREATE PAPER!

The most amusing thing we got to use today was the deckle, but not because it was fun to use. It's because of the name. Come one, say it to yourself a couple of times. Deckle, Deckle, DECKLE! You could even do a your-mom joke: I be-deckled your mother! Sorry, I do not know what that means and am also sorry to those who do not like your mom jokes and who do not appreciate The Office (that's what she said...sorry again). Anyway, so my teacher was reviewing the steps of how to make paper with us when our other biology/biochem/orgo teacher comes storming in, says, "I like deckles", and then storms out randomly. It was by far the most random thing to happen to me for a couple months and gave us all a good laugh. So back to the papermaking part! Pictured below is a deckle (along with my partner's hands):



Here is a weird piece of paper someone had made earlier:



After you fill your deckle with paper pulp, you then have to squeeze on it with a sponge for ten minutes. My hands were killing me!!! They are still soar...



Once your hands are properly in pain, you know it is time to stop squeezing. This is what happens to pulp when you kill your hands trying to soak all the water out of it...it looks like paper!



Because the paper was still wet and I had lost function in my hands, the sort-of-like paper had to be pressed in order to completely dry it out. Luckily, we had created plant presses a while ago (during a looong project to make a herbarium, a glorified gallery of dried out plants). This device was just the thing to press the plants. Since we had received points for design on the plant press, the plant presses were creatively decorated, especially mine. Note the pretty flowers that are hand painted! (No I am not gay...don't send me emails.)




Oh and here is my awesome lab partner!



By the end of the period, the crazy artistic girls had made some wild, multi-colored paper that I just could not get enough of.



Once a few days have passed, I will be able to open up my plant press to find awesome, quality paper (I wish). Fortunately for me, my teacher claims he will give the class extra credit if we turn our paper into a holiday greeting card and mail it to him. I intend to take him up on his offer and make him pay up the points! So this ends a wonderful day of papermaking. Now I must go study for a quiz that I have in this class tomorrow. Good night!

This is a great video that makes fun of one of the easiest shows to make fun of: 24!!! Enjoy the unaired 1994 pilot of 24. AOL 3.0 rocks (totally sarcastic).

Alright...I got deferred from MIT. It's a very tough applicant pool, but I hope to hear good news in March. 

I just got back from "I Am Legend." I was going out with my friends who had just received word from Yale and wanted to enjoy themselves (one of them got in woot!). While it was a great escape from reality and the "big day" tomorrow, I'm still jittery from the movie. It was excellent, but quite suspenseful and had my adrenaline pumping non-stop. So instead of just having to worry about MIT, now I have this anxious feeling in my gut left over from the movie. Just great!

I found this music video on a friend's blog and I was absolutely amazed by it. You just have to watch the entire video. Yes, it is slow in the beginning, but it becomes so fascinating towards the end. I'm referring to the part where he starts putting pictures on the wall. Just watch it all and you'll know what I'm talking about. The song isn't that bad either. I urge you to watch all of it! By the way, one of you readers should actually do this at home. Be sure to send me a video of it!

Lately, I've become addicted to yet another game. This game, however, is not one of those flashy shooters or one where Mario hops around looking for mushrooms. Rather, it requires a great deal of concentration and some intellect and it goes by the name of Funny Farm. Please do not judge it by its title because it is truly a fun game that you will become addicted to (no joke). Basically, you start out with the word "farm" staring you in the face and you must type in words that relate to it. If you find one such word, then it is revealed on the screen. Eventually you can unlock other areas with different themes and can navigate through them on a map. It is highly suggested to this with friends as it'll be quite difficult on your own. Without further ado, click here for Funny Farm. I must also add that I find this game an excellent escape from the reality of having to wait for college decisions (like the MIT one this Saturday!!!). Enjoy the game!

Over at The Escapist, a magazine primarily about video games, is a guy who does very unorthodox reviews. Every time I see one I continuously laugh throughout the video because he accurately describes a game in the funniest way possible. His latest review takes on Guitar Hero III, which he dislikes because of the ridiculous difficulty. He then proceeds to claim that anyone who can beat the game on expert is a freak (I agree). Anyway, I thought the video embedded below was sooo funny that I just had to post it here. I'll try to not post about video games as much anymore. You just have to see this though. 

There goes Harvard again trying to be the cool kids on the block, trying to be the best in everything, and trying to steal the best of the best from wherever they can. Just a couple days ago, Harvard announced its new and amazing financial aid plan that alleviates the tuition that must be payed for families with incomes up to 180,000 dollars. In fact, "alleviates" is too soft of a word to describe this new arrangement, as Harvard is only requiring these families to pay up to ten percent of their income. In other words, a family with an income of 180,000 dollars will only have to pay a tuition of 18,000 dollars. Yes, completely amazing. Once again Harvard is the trend setter for all. What will come next? Well, Yale, within hours of Harvard's announcement, gave a promise to have their own special financial aid announcement in the Spring. So for all the expensive universities out there, if you want us talented folks, you better lower your tuitions or you just might force us to attend Harvard. Check out the exciting news at The Harvard University Gazette.

If other universities end up following Harvard then we're all going to have to find other ways to use our saved money. Paper origami, anyone!?

Boy do I have a treat in store for you. The acclaimed software development company Ubisoft has just released its first trailer for the new game Rainbow Six Vegas 2. The first Rainbow Six Vegas was an excellent game, but because of the new trailer they released, I have lost most respect for the company. Most critics who have seen this trailer think it is horrible and I wholeheartedly agree with them, as it is the most ridiculous video game advertisement I have ever seen. Even if this trailer, with the cliche announcer voice and all, were for a movie, it still would not appeal to me. I just cannot stop thinking how silly this crappy trailer is and could not keep a straight face while watching it. Please enjoy mediocrity at its best.

Well it's about time. Five long days from now I will either be banging my head into the wall wishing that life was not so cruel or I will be burning all my homework for the weekend and going partying partying partying (or just rejoice and have a nice dinner). The former will most likely be happening because for some reason I cannot fathom getting into MIT early. I thought I had a great chance, but as the clock keeps ticking down, that flicker of hope is dying away. At least MIT admissions has finally come through and posted the release date. For about a week, I have been visiting their admissions site, scanning it for some indication of a release date and finally it's out! This coming saturday, while I play my part in preventing the death of sick people at my local hospital, I will be desperately refreshing the decisions website on my iPhone. Let's just hope someone's life does not depend on me as I read it and find out bad news. The time has come folks... my first major decision is coming (except for my UMichigan acceptance, but that was easy). I hope that MIT has good news for me. 

When a couple months ago TV-links (www.tv-links.co.uk) owner  was arrested by FACT and the Gloucestershire police for merely posting links (something they called piracy) to popular tv shows (Guardian article), many were disappointed by the loss of an excellent website. This website, which did not host any tv shows, provided links to other websites that hosted uploaded tv shows. The list of links was exhaustive and updated frequently, making TV-links the best "tv links" website out there. After it shut down, however, there were not any other well-known options (aside from downloading), but luckily one user posted a great list of other "tv links" websites out there. It's amazing how the police waste their time with a person who sits at his computer posting website links, rather than catching criminals...who harm people! So now, when you feel bored on a rainy afternoon and do not feel like watching those suspenseful day soaps (you know you want to though), you can sit down at your computer and watch Grey's (or my favorite, Gossip Girl).

I found this jewel on youtube a while back and decided I should post it. This video is a hilarious reenactment of how Lincoln died and is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. Enjoy!

I think a little piece of me died today as Comp USA, famous electronics retailer, has been sold to Gordon Brothers, an investment firm that is planning to shut down the chain. Apparently, Comp USA has been underperforming because frankly they just cannot compete with the geek squad. So you better hurry to your nearest Comp USA store, which is most likely 500 miles away, and buy some goods as they are only remaining open through the holidays. If you want to read the official scoop, then click here because Reuters is all over this tragic event.  I think I am going to go cry myself to sleep now. Excuse me and good night. 

Are you looking for that perfect gift for your loved one/friend/special someone/random guy on the street? Well, look no further because I've got the perfect guide to help you choose something in the price range you want for the person you want. This guide lists all the hot got-to-have gadgets this year that even someone who loathes electronics would be cheerful to receive. So do yourself and whoever you're buying for a favor and click here to jump to engadget.com's own holiday gift guide! You'll find yourself on an introductory page, so just click towards the top on the type of person you are buying for (son, daughter, him, her) and you will be on your way to losing your life savings. And before you begin to panic, engadget will be adding more guides for people like dad and mom every few days so keep checking. If you really want to do your someone a favor, though, buy them the gift that never stops giving: a pink taser! Isn't your someone's safety all that counts?

So despite the internet's best efforts, we were able to deliver our winter issue of our school's literary magazine on time. The name of the magazine is 84 Steps and while this may seem like an odd name, it is actually quite related to our school, which is located on the fourth floor of the old central building 84 steps from the bottom (yes, someone counted). This magazine represents the efforts of many students over the past month and is a jewel (yeah riiight) of our school. It has serious articles in the beginning, funny articles halfway through, and creative pieces at the end. Take a look at it by clicking here, I insist! Oh and let me know what you think of it. 

Noam Chomsky, a renowned Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is, among many things, a linguist, political activist, and author. He is so highly regarded that students wish to study linguistics at MIT just because of him. While he is supposedly retired, he still hangs around MIT giving lectures and interacting with students. In fact, just recently he gave a lecture entitled "Rights and Responsobilities: The University Connection" at MIT as part of the Amnesty International's lecture series. Some of his notable contributions to society include generative grammar and the cognitive theory of Psychology. 

In the past week, this website has had a record five people on at one time!! Amazing stuff for such a young and sprouting blogger. I almost see the future, a future of hundreds of visits, many comments, and... ice cream. Anyway, the main reason I am doing this post is because of a imminent coming of a momentous event for this blog.  If you glance to the right of the homepage of this blog, you would see a small, yet important, counter. At the moment, it reads 95. Now for those math geeks out there, if you would take out your calculator and chug and plug, I believe you would conclude that I need 5 more visits to reach 100 (100-95 = 5). Only five more visits and my site will be rolling in the triple digits! Who knows with the help of you readers, I am sure we can make this happen today!!! So visit, visit, and when you are done, visit some more.

In about two hours, I will be leaning over a tiny desk and staring at tiny sheet of paper with five math problems, and they are not of the kind 2x + 3 = 5. If you have ever taken the AMC, then you would know exactly what I am talking about because this is my state's version of it. To be accurate, this part that I'll be taking today resembles the AIME, while the first part that I passed with somewhat flying colors a while back resembles the AMC. Regardless, these are going to be some tough math problems that make you think hard about why you are here in the first place. Despite achieving my school's high score on the previous exam, I really do not have the mathwiz mindset for these sort of exams, especially compared to those math savants, who will undoubtedly find this exam easy. For me, though, and most others, I guess we'll just have to eat our Wheaties and hope that with some luck, there'll be some easy problems like last year. And for those who are skeptical about what I HAVE TO SAY, then click here for some previous tests and see for yourself just how craaaazy some of the questions are.

It's that time again. That time of magic, that time of wonder. That time when you become amazed by what I have to say and worship me. That time of hope, a time that opens a window to the future. Yes, it's that time again.

The research front is fraught with discoveries this week, but one in particular intrigues me and allows me to see past the silly notion of cars running on water or electricity. Because, like, come on...ALGAE is the next big thing!!! 

For the past few hours, the internet has been really aggravating my friend and me. I HATE YOU INTERNET!!! My friend and I have been working on our latest issue of our school's literary magazine and as such, we take turns editing and working on it. So what does that mean? It means were are brutally forced to use the internet by means of email to exchange our spread files. Are you still wondering what this means??? It means I HATE THE INTERNET!!!

Ok so the file we are working on has reached 56 mb since it is a magazine spread after all. Obviously email services refuse to handle this (because of the internet and how it works) so we must compress and split the file and send multiple emails. Having to do this is not too demanding, but it is annoying nonetheless. This system of compressing and splitting has worked for the past day, but now it has failed... failed I say! My friend has the latest revision and has been for the past few hours attempting to send it to me. He did so this morning in three emails, each with a 10 mb segment of the file. Parts 2 and 3 worked fine. What happened to part 1?? The INTERNET ATE IT (figuratively I mean)!!!

I cannot fathom how this happened but yahoo flagged the file as having a virus!! Parts 2 and 3 were fine, but part 1 had a virus. How does that make sense?? Anyone??? Yahoo, being the control freak it is, proceeded on to tell me that it was in my best interest to not download it. You would think that after saying something like that it would then give you the option to download it, but as I just stated, Yahoo is a control freak. Once the file is flagged, it is imprisoned in the lonely dungeons within Yahoo, never to see the light of day again. From there things pretty much went downhill.

From that point on, we have not been able to exchange emails properly. My friend's internet has begun randomly coming in and out and refused to send any emails to me with the attached files. Either he finds himself with an annoying error message or the email never finds its way to my cozy inbox. So basically for the past few hours we have been attempting to find ways to send the attached files. We have unearthed old emails and tried file uploading sites, but it is as if the internet has cursed our blessed file and it is never to touch the internet again. I HATE YOU INTERNET!!!

Still, as I write, we have been unsuccessful in sending this file. The worst part is the tight deadline. The printshop will most likely have no staff next week as it is part of our local university, which has finals next week and is then on break. As a result, it is now or nothing and because of the internet, it will be nothing!

The internet just makes me want to through my laptop against the wall. But what good would that do? The internet would then owe me 3000 dollars. And we all know it won't pay up, right?

Every year, my high schools holds special functions for its seniors. The latest one of these events, known deceptively as the "Senior Tea," finished just a few hours ago. This event is so old that tea is not even served here any more, something I was extremely disappointed to learn about. Because it was served here many, many years ago, however, when the event was in its blooming years, the name has stuck and has come to anger a whole class of students every year.

Despite the lack of tea, this event serves to give us students a chance to recognize the most influential person in our education. I chose my research mentor, someone who I greatly admire and who has taught me the value of research. He is responsible for making me even more interested in my potential career path and will always have a special place in my heart.

Anyway, the event was awesome, especially because of the delicious food present. Being the great photographer I am, I snapped some pictures of the food - and some random people.

I've been scrambling the past few days trying to improve my performances on some pieces I have to play for a recital in two weeks. I guess my piano teacher wasn't too happy with me when I made the exact same mistake two weeks in a row because I didn't use a metronome (whoops :D). Anyway, I think I've practiced enough now so that just maybe I won't get yelled out =). Now, if only my duet partner would call me. I don't have her number and she has yet to call me. We haven't practiced at all! At least my teacher can't yell at me for that!

As I'm sure you're dying to know, I'm playing Chopin's "Waltz in B minor," Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," and Brahm's "Hungarian Dance no. 5," which are all great pieces in my opinion. I've been watching performances of the Hungarian Dance online and I came across this one in particular that I just wanted to show to everybody below. I just liked the feel of the entire video (you'll see what I'm talking about). So, anyone care to discuss what their favorite music pieces are or describe funny recital mishaps? Just leave some comments!