barry burton

New Things

I can’t sleep on account of the nagging infection which makes my mouth and upper respiratory system a dry place, where itching and coughing abounds. Sleeping ‘til noon (which itself was preciptated by the return of the allnighter) may have some part in this, as well. And thus, a list:

• Speaking of sickness, my tonsils are greatly enlarged, inflammed, and generally upset with the world. I saw an ENT who wants to yank them out, but I like them.
• I am now a resident of New York state. (It is a common misconception, but upstate New York has absolutely nothing to do NYC. So stop thinking that. Now. It will make me jealous.)
• The coolest part of living in New York is that Geico sent me a Canada Non-Resident Inter-Province Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Card. I guess I need that to drive in Canada. I guess they expect that I might.
• The second coolest part is how flat New York state driver’s licenses are. Like half as thick as normal driver’s licenses. So kind of flimsy floppy but in conjunction with other wallet reajustments (namely, the removal of the hostel key that I had somehow inserted in a strange, never-used compartment, late some midsummer night) I experienced a 50% reduction in wallet thickness. Or something. Nonetheless, I’m sitting a lot more comfortably.
• In what I think is the first entree making experience I’ve had since Auburn, I made a quiche florentine. It was marginal. Completely inconsistent, terrible texture.
• The other day I lost my Moleskine. It took me about 10 minutes to realize where it probably was, and those were the most frightful 10 minutes of my recollection. After another trepidatious 50 minutes the notebook was safely back in my custody.
• My walk to campus is now level (perhaps slightly downhill, even). This is a huge improvement over a completely uphill walk to campus. Seriously. Alright, I’m stupid, but I really thought it wouldn’t make a difference when choosing my residence last year.
• I have a new research project involving key distribution for a highly scalable group based multicast protocol. Yeah, I know, I’m pretty stoked! :) No, but seriously, for the first time, I’m excited.
• I found a small shopping center really close by. It has a smaller drug store and grocery store (which is open 24 hrs.). It feels nice in a small, manageable, neighborhood sort of way. I am also sad to admit that I realize that this means that not everything about suburbs is nasty, though I prefer to think of it as a small town attribute. In reality, it is a hybrid.
• On the way to said shopping center, I drive over Maple Hill, which has a nice view off into the distance on one side of the road, and a spectacular view of Maple Hill Cemetary on the other. It really is the direct translation of Pine Hill Cemetary. Amazing.