I will rock your face off

Hello. Abby here.

Well, as I am the person writing the OAIA articles and the back page of The Overachiever, I should really contribute to the site. Agh, I was so scared of doing it, I thought I was so unfunny. I'm still kinda in shock that Josh let me help run his special site . . .

However, since entering junior year, I have noticed a positively graph-able increase in my funniness, which hopefully will continue so this site doesn't die from my punny lameness.

Anyways . . . hi! I'm a junior girl at IA's central campus. Most of you will see my name on the back page of the school newspaper as the back page editor and contributor. Other than my work on The O, you won't hear about me much. I do love writing, so hopefully I'll be OK at it for the site. And yes, I'm trying to be funny when I post, but I'm just not very funny - unless I'm wicked tired, then I'm as funny as a YouTube "crack" video . . . and that's still not funny enough! :D

Ah, what else . . . I love languages (third year German, first year French, fourth year amateur Japanese), but I'm not much of a linguist. I'm a huge anime/manga nerd, or a general Japanese culture nerd. I wear glasses (big surprise). I sometimes show up in the quotes section, but that's when I'm tired, really. Seeing as I'm tired a lot more this year (oh IB . . . ) maybe I'll show up more. Oh, and I have very little confidence, so if I talk like this a lot, trust me, it's a regular day.

Despite being an IA nerd, I am not as nerdy as many people: I'm really bad at science, and struggle to keep my grade at A- in math. I prefer artistic or philosophical work, and prefer to work alone, though I like people. I read a lot, I write lots of amateur stories, and if you see me in the halls, I look kinda stern and masculine. My voice is pretty low too . . . Ah, and I talk a lot, and I mean A LOT. Look at how long this intro is!

Well, I've got some stuff bugging me already, so I can't wait to post more stuff! I'll try to make it a more regular process - after all, we can't let this site die! It'd be dishonorable to Josh. :D See y'all around the interwebs!

... I like peanut butter.

Hi. I'm Simone, I'm a sophomore, and I'm really tempted to write in all caps right now.

SO I THINK I WILL.

There, I feel better now.

Yeah, I may seem a bit hyper right now (and a lot of other times, to be honest), but that's because I'm avoiding my work. Because I know I won't be able to when I'm a junior. So I'm savoring what little social life I have now.

Although this website is meant to -- let's face it -- extrapolate the nerdiness that is IA and put it all into one fun little web-sized package, I plan on bringing... a slightly less nerdy point of view.

Yeah, that sounds good.

And yes, I am the same Simone that is in the "Arguably Inappropriate" section of that venn diagram of types of quotes you've seen on our facebook page. So if that doesn't give you any indication of what I'm gonna write about... I don't know what to say. (If you haven't seen the fb page yet, you should go on it. And then like it. Don't you love my abilities to plug our other site in this one? SOMUCHFUN!)

I may have only been around for a few weeks, but I already have loads of ideas and stories. So I hope you enjoy all of the crazy crap I write about. :)

--Simone S.

P.S. Floccinaucinihilipilification.

... That's an awesome word, isn't it?

ACCIO READERS!

Hi there! I'm Brie (or Bri, or Brizzi, or Brijonai, etc.)! I like to think that I'll be bringing a bit of randomness and energy to OAIA.  I'm a junior this year and am very very nervous about the IB, so if I post anything it'll most likely be quotes from the other fear-stricken juniors about IOPS or CAS or maybe even the upcoming Orchestra concert on October 12.  I'm a fan of crude humor, so for our younger readers I probably won't post many things besides "that's what she said" jokes.  Let's see....what else. I'm not a formal writer, so prepare yourself for awkwardly phrased sentences, horrible grammar, and a general sense of confusion whenever you see my name.

    I'm a huge believer in all things Harvey, and I WILL go on and on about the guy, so I'm not going to approach the topic of Harveyism (we'll save that for the other authors that AREN'T obsessed with him).  I love OAIA and I hope that this year we'll see both returning readers and some new blood coming to the site.  Keep an eye out for us, because once things start rolling we'll probably be making our way to the back of the Overacheiver! 

Introduction

Well, now that school's in not only for us IAers but the rest of the state, I guess I probably shouldn't put this off anymore. I've been meaning to do this sooner, but it just hasn't really worked out until now (procrastination- it happens to the best of us). ANYWAYS, I'm doing this post at Josh's (sorry, I haven't figured out how to put umlauts up here yet) suggestion, to introduce myself to the readers on onlyatia.com.

Okay, so here goes nothing!

My name is Caitlin Mayer, and I'm a senior this year. Other common names for me include "blue", "that mermaid obsessive" (don't ask unless you want a REALLY long explanation), and "weirdo hiccuping girl" (if you hear any strange, almost squealish noises and I'm in the vicinity, I'm probably the cause...). My favorite color is blue (as nickname #1 implies), and I'm an avid reader of books, mangas, comics, and pretty much anything else with writing on it. I've made a few other appearances on Onlyatia.com, both as the provider of a few of the out of context quotes, and the creator of a treasure map that featured last year. Last year I was known for creeping on freshmen, but this year I've moved on to bigger and better things- creeping on sophomores!

Anyways, if you see anything on this website that says it was posted by Caitlin, it probably means that it was posted by me, and not some random hacker by the same name.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XLIII

"You think I'm mean now, wait 'til you see me without food."
-Mr. Giromini on the 30 Hour Famine

"I can't remember my childhood anymore."
-David G. on time at IA going slowly

"Oh! She wants to be a teacher instead of a parachute!"
-Bri J. on a mistranslation of German

"You realize that my purpose in life is to entertain others with my stupidity, right?"
-Marie N.

"I just made a gesture without talking!"
-Kelsi C. on nonverbal communication

"I've gotten my best ACT and SAT scores on two hours of sleep."
-Anthony G.

"My best ACT section was the one I fell asleep on."
-Mr. Lyons on the above

"I'm getting more and more out of date as I age!"
-Abby S. on the 90s being two decades ago

"You mean, like, ghosts, and communism?"
-Kevin M. on the subjunctive being for talking about things that aren't real

"Brian! Sound intensity!"
-Ms. Priest on Brian's loudly making fun of Joel

"When I think I fail, I get a six."
-Lucy D. on the philosophy behind Math HL

"What are you, the Borg?"
-Miss Davey on judges' simultaneous, unanimous decisions

As far as you know

There are several words and phrases that can serve as a response to absolutely any statement, question, exclamation or other utterance. It can be kind of fun to try to find them and use them in various situations (just be careful to avoid being that guy.) The idea is not to say the same thing over and over again, but to have an arsenal of things to say when most other responses would be inappropriate or impossible. There are two categories into which such words and phrases can fall. The first is the confusion-based group, which includes such favorites as "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz" and "Are your gastrointestinal problems getting worse?." The idea here is that the phrase does not have to make any sense at all in the context of a conversation. This group is put to good use in situations like this one.

The second category is my favorite of the two: the ToK-based group. These are the generic responses which ask the recipient to consider the deeper implications of what he or she has just said, tell him or her to "prove it," etc. My favorite of these is "Arguably," as it turns out that in fact every statement you hear on a daily basis is - at some level - arguable. The favorite of our good friend Harvey is the title, "As far as you know." I encourage to try these out for yourself, and leave a comment if you come up with any of your own. It's especially fun to get friends to try to come up with an utterance which cannot be answered with a ToK-based generic response; I often play this Game in the lunch line, and it is indeed quite entertaining. May the mass times acceleration be with you.

Poll: The seniors are gone.

I posted this just after the seniors' last day. Here are the results:

Yay! More space for us!
17%

Aww, we'll miss you!
70%

(Seniors only) Finally!
5%

(Seniors only) Oh no! Not already!
5%

I guess we're pretty popular:)

By the way, sorry for the infrequent posting lately. You'll start hearing more from the other Task Force members soon: I've asked them each to write a post introducing his/herself, and as soon as school starts back up you'll hear from them more. Not that we have to think about that yet, of course. Besides, I've still got a few posts in the making myself, so keep checking back!

IAtionary: Physicstubby

Phys-ics-tub-by [FIZ-iks-tuhb-bee] n.

1. A physics teacher, especially one using a video and/or other non-personal medium to instruct students; I was wondering why certain pipes can only support odd numbered harmonics, but once I watched the Physicstubbies I understood.
2. An alternate method of physics instruction based on the idea of leaving a child to watch a screen until he or she understands a concept

Alternate spelling: Fisixtubby

Mr. Giromini came into fisix class to make fun of Mr. Lyons for a picture he sent him of a guy wearing an iPad as a necklace. I believe the word they used was "bling." This wasn't the picture, but I think it's close enough:


Mr. Giromini said the real reason he was making fun of Mr. Lyons was not that he sent him the picture, but that he included the statement that if he had an iPad, this is what he would do with it. He said that he could have all sorts of cool stuff like music videos playing whenever he wanted. The discussion quickly turned to the possibility of recording lectures, then standing in front of the class to play it back. Like the Physicstubbies.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes Part XLII

Facebook Status: "Homework Sleepovers- the epitome of nerd-dom."
Reply: "I think skipping school to finish homework might be slightly worse xD"
-IA student facebooks on the great lengths taken to get homework done

"Hey, don't tell people class starts in two minutes when it doesn't!" - Lizzy on everyone being afraid of being late to Mr. Wolf's class
"But it DUD!" - Nilam on class starting in two minutes
"...I mean did..."- Nilan on self-correction

Pictures 'n' Stuff, Part VI

Some fun pictures in here, I think. And I really want that T-shirt.

I was hanging around The Cheezburger Network today, specifically Graph Jam, So Much Pun and Failbook. The first was introduced to me by Mr. Lyons, and the second reminded me of him. The third I just found for myself. The next four are a few personal favorites.









So true.




A friend linked to this on Facebook:

To what extent is calling an award the "Xerox Creativity Award" ironic? A conversation entirely in IBan

I finished my last ever IB exam yesterday, so I'm feeling somewhat reminiscent. When I think about it, I believe Mr. IB and I would get along very well, as counterintuitive as that sounds. I'll gladly say that I love the IB program, and I think it has had a profound impact on my thinking. I could go on nostalgically for quite some time but I think I'll skip ahead to today's topic, as nostalgia really isn't what it used to be.

My friend Brian B. (2011) recently posted as his Facebook status, "To what extent is calling an award the 'Xerox Creativity Award' ironic?" Apparently the award is presented to competitors in robotics competitions for unusual strategies and such. As I said, I was in an IB mood, so I decided to respond in IBan:

To the greatest extent possible, created by the possible excessive use of capital letters, the use of a brand name, and the clear contrast between the initial and penultimate words.

I must warn you that I am fluent in IBan.

Brian responded simply, "IBan sounds a lot like BS. It's just BS with IB words." Not about to give up, I countered with

It appears, given the limited length of the retort authored by [Brian's last name], that he is unaware of the full nature of the IBan language. This dramatic irony- created by the fact that most readers of said retort will have seen http://www.onlyatia.com/2008/05/iationary-eyebeean.html - is essential to the development of his message. This message is, (not to beg the question,) that he disagrees with the principles of the language.

The reader is then inclined to wonder how he would feel about Orwell's classic 1984, in which the opposite approach to language is employed. This juxtaposition of the simplified and and the complicated is key to [Brian's last name]'s disapproval, and only by understand [sic] these devices and [sic] a reader fully appreciate his intent.

Still not quite showing his full potential for writing in IBan, Brian said, "LMFAO. That just made my day. So IB...," to which I responded with two consecutive comments:

The author of this comment finds it necessary to clarify that the aforementioned point, "So IB..." ([Brian's last name] 2), is in fact the entire purpose of the language in question. He also must cite from his original comment that "I am fluent in IBan," ([My last name] 1) emphasizing that this point may be more potent after the previous demonstration.

followed by

He also, embarrassingly, must clarify that the concluding sentence in the second of his comments, above, was incorrectly rendered, and was meant to read, "...and only by understanding these devices can a reader fully appreciate his intent," ([My last name] 2).

Finally getting into it, Brian said:

The author of this comment agrees with [My last name]'s point in the previous comment that his claim of fluency in IBan "may be more potent after the previous demonstration" ([My last name] 3). He moves to admit [My last name] as [sic] fluent in IBan.

Me:

Upon closer inspection, this comment's purpose can be seen as twofold. On the one hand, it aims to thank the other participant in the current conversation for his appreciation of its author's proficiency in IBan while congratulating him on his own successful attempt thereof. This effect is created by his appreciative diction: he employs words such as "thank" ([My last name] 5) and "appreciative diction" ([My last name] 5).

On the other hand, the purpose of the comment can also be seen by the reader as a request for permission to publish the conversation of which it is a part on Only At IA, albeit with last names removed. This is evident in the author's sudden transition to a more inquiring diction, with phrases such as "request for permission" ([My last name] 5) and "inquiring diction" ([My last name] 5). Either way the reader chooses to interpret the comment's intent, its author does a masterful job of crafting his work, effectively conveying a multitude of messages while leaving only a slight trace of arrogance.

And finally Brian:

This comment's purpose can - like the comment to which it is a direct response - be seen as twofold. One function is to grant the request in [My last name]'s previous comment (to which this comment is a direct response) regarding the publishing of the conversation of which this comment and [My last name]'s comment are a part ([My last name] 5).

Another, equally important, function of this comment is to commend the extent to which [My last name] has successfully developed himself as self-centered and lacking humility through his tendency to quote himself even within a single sentence ([My last name] 5) and his precise diction, with which he provides himself opportunities to quote himself and thus develop himself as self-centered and lacking humility. [My last name]'s character development is quite masterful.

However the intent of this comment is interpreted, its author effectively conveys multiple messages in the language of IBan, which is an impressive achievement, as the author (at the time of the comment) is still learning IBan in the course IB IBan (a group 2 subject).

I decided to leave it at that for several reasons. The most prominent of these were that I wanted to get this post written in time to go to sleep at a semi-reasonable hour and that I was laughing too hard to think straight. Besides, I would inevitably get the last word in, as I get to write the post. I must say that I am impressed with Brian's analysis of my self-citations; it took me a couple of drafts to get the same-sentence self-references to work out just right. After an experience like this one - seeing how far we've both come - I find it much more believable that one must spend only four adult years in China to learn all the Chinese characters.

IAtionary: Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgaben-übertragungsgesetz

Rind-fleisch-e-ti-ket-tier-ungs-ü-ber-wach-ungs-auf-gab-en-ü-ber-trag-ungs-ge-setz [RINT-flaysh-eh-tih-keht-TEER-uhngz-oo*-behr-VACK**-uhngz-OUF-gah-behn-OO*-behr-trag-uhngz-geh-ZETS]*** n.

1. The German for "Cattle marking and beef labeling supervision duties delegation law," a law about cattle marking and beef labeling supervision duties delegation
2. Absolute, concrete proof that the German language is the single coolest sounding thing on the planet; A: I think German sounds kind of ugly.
B: It's not ugly, it's just guttural. I mean, Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.
A: Wow, you're so right! Teach me more!

See also: Sind deine Verdaungsprobleme schlimmer geworden?

*English doesn't quite have the vowel ü (or else this wouldn't be funny), so click here for a better idea of how to pronounce it- try the sound sample.
**Please, don't actually say K. Click here if you're confused, and again, the sound sample is your friend.
***You can listen to the entire word here.

Sudheer dx

This was a teaser I posted on Only At IA's Facebook page a while ago. I found it on Mr. Majask's whiteboard. "What?" you ask. "Who's Fudheer?" Actually, poor, misinformed reader, the integral sign comes from the long S, which has all but disappeared but for its remnants found in the German ligature ß, which comes from the pairing ſʒ, ʒ being related to the modern letter s. Fire up.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XLI

I have no real witty comment at five thirty in the morning, so since the next quote to appear over there <--- will have to do with Star Trek, live long and prosper. Oh and for the record, Zefram Cochraine High School has nothing on IA. Now go read the new quote(s)...erm, I mean "Make it so, Number One."

"Since I tend to say stupid things it only seems logical for me to start listening for other people's stupidity."
-Marie N. on my invitation to join the OAIA task force

"I was conscious that entire class!"
-Anthony G. on misremembering fisix

"'Cause nothing says 'we care' like photocopies."
-Anthony G. on Kiss-A-Senior-Goodbye-Grams

"Monday we'll have a party."
-Mr. Stibitz on Friday being my last day

"Probably because you observed it."
-Mr. Lyons on Kavya's not understanding a college quantum physics course

"I give you three weeks."
-Mrs. Parliament on my resolution never to learn Klingon

"...Pregnant pause. Haha, don't say pregnant."
-Sra. on meaningful silences

"It gets kinda competitive. Like Survivor."
-SHS leader on college apps

"I don't want much, I just want the world."
-Sra. on being dedicated to SHS leadership

"Important, important, important. I'll look at all this important stuff later."
-Natalie K. on procrastination

Plans for the Future

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I think I've come up with a solution what will work for everyone. I won't be at IA next year, but I'd like Only At IA to continue. I considered passing it on to one person, but I know no one else will be willing to donate as much time as it takes to run the site alone. I considered keeping it and expanding the subject matter, but I think that would ruin the essential IA-ness that makes the site what it is. I also considered all sorts of other options, and I've finally picked one.

I'm going to pass it on to a carefully chosen task force that will have the job of maintaining the site and supplying it with new material. I'll still post occasionally, but most of the writing will be done by them. See where it says "Posted by Jösh" below this post? If not, then I'm still working on fixing that. If technology agrees, you'll be able to see who posted what in case it's not obvious. I've asked eight people to be on the team and so far I've heard back from three, all interested. I just sent the email yesterday, so I'm optimistic about the rest. Here's the list of people who've agreed so far (I'll update it as more people sign on):

*Change of plans: check the sidebar for the most recent version of this list*

I chose people whose unique senses of humor I appreciate and who have a certain connection to OAIA already. Special thanks to everyone who's opted to join, and also to all the readers for making the site enough fun to be worth continuing. As soon as I post this I'm going to start granting permissions, so if you're seeing it then the plan is already in action. I've also asked the task force to keep itself populated as its members graduate by finding replacements, so OAIA ought to go on for quite sometime to come. It really has been a wonderful part of my IA experience, and I hope it continues to grow in the coming years. I do plan on reading everything that appears here, and I'll probably comment pretty often. Thanks again to everyone seeing this, and let the invitations begin!

I hate blog posts about controversial topics almost as much as I love irony

First let me say that I seriously considered writing this entire post in the color of the background so you would have to highlight it to see it. Instead I decided text was silent enough already...consider yourself lucky. This past Friday, I and many other IA students participated in the annual Day of Silence. Please read the aforelinked Wikipedia article if you don't know what that means. It was a great experience and for a great cause; I encourage you to participate next year if you get the chance. IA's GSWA (Gay-Straight-Whatever Alliance) handed out stickers to wear, advising others that one was participating. Sadly they ran out of them before I arrived, but Marie got there in time to get one. As you may remember, Marie is a fairly religious person. Her entire church, however, participates in the Day of Silence; they even have a silent service that evening. In her own note-passing, "Not all Christians are confused." Anyway, she happened to have a copy of the bible in her backpack, which she decided would be an excellent place to keep the DoS sticker.


I decided to take another picture, as the sticker in the first one wasn't straight. At the time, the pun was totally not intended.

Hang a left at Annotation Isle

Quite a while ago, Caitlin M. showed me an assignment she had to do in math. According to her, "The assignment was to create a treasure map for math that would have a coordinate system, and give clues so that the person who is given your map can find the treasure, we were told to 'be creative,' which mostly resulted in maps that had pictures of pirates or were supposed to look like authentic pirate maps... except mine :)" I asked her to send it to me, and she kindly agreed to do so. After months of friendly reminders, I have the map (sans grid, but we don't need that anyway) and am ready to share it with you. Take a look (click to embiggen):

Well done, Caitlin! I'm a little curious about the two unnamed Sleepless Nights' Islands (and just a bit annoyed with the erroneous apostrophe), and I recommend that for safely reasons we keep Mr. Giromini away from the Ocean of Tears.

Poll: How many of the mouseovers in SFAOOCQ XXXIX did you find before reading this?

I do mouseovers quite often, as I find them to be a very useful way to insert additional comments and thoughts without disrupting the flow of a post or other text. (This sounds familiar...almost like I've said it before?) I was wondering how many people find them, as the idea is for most of you to, not just an elite few. Unfortunately, the poll results leaned toward the "elite few" model:

"Wait, you do mouseovers?" got an entire quarter of you.

"None, but I often find others" gathered 16%.

"Just one," fittingly got just one vote: 8%.

Another quarter went to "A resounding two."

No one picked "Three...getting better."

"Four, decent" got another 8%.

"Five, not bad!" got 16%.

Finally, not a single person said, "All Six! Go me!" Good.

You see, in addition to investigating how many people found the mouseovers, I also tried a little mind game. Take a look at this video we watched in ToK2. I find the whole thing fascinating, but it's pretty lengthy, so if you don't have the time just stick to 4:20 to 6:30.


The basic idea is that when given the chance to cheat, a lot of people will cheat a little bit. They won't try to get away with as much as possible, but rather increase their "score" by a small enough amount so as not to tamper with their idea of being a righteous person. SFAOOCQ XXXIX had only four mouseovers, and true to the theory no one cheated as much as possible, preferring when they did cheat to do so in smaller increments. Congratulations Mr. Ariely, you got us this time.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XL

You know, there are certain numbers that just make you step back and say, "Whoa, that's a lot of quotes." XL is one of those numbers. In fact, I really want to know just how many there are...so I think I'll count. It's not like I have anything better to do. Hang on a sec.

Almost exactly 15 minutes later: 391. Wow. That's including this post, obviously not re-counting the New Year's posts, and counting "This is a classroom copy" only once. If anyone would like to verify, that would be appreciated but not expected. Thanks to Bridget S., I have several new ones to put up; take a look:)

"When irrational people rationalize things, their rationalizations tend to seem irrational to rational people."
-Marie

"It's either this or dum-dums."
-Miss Davey on handing out Smarties before English orals

"Now I know what it feels like to take drugs, so I don't need to do it in real life."
-Tanmay S. on bumper cars

"I feel awkward not being stressed about something."
-Jamie

"Oh wait, history internal assessment."
-Jamie on the above

"Ewww are those brains?"
-Caitlin M. on Ming C.'s Chinese food

"Yeah, yours."
-Ming C. on the above

"Yeah, that would explain a lot."
-Katerina M. on the above

"If homework is like a woman, then turnitin.com is the pimp."
-Anonymous

"Quiz! Take out your brain!"
-Mr. Woods

"We can't do that..."
-Students on the above

"Don't hang around because we start eating students."
-Mr. Woods on staying after school on half days

A A A Handbag?

We just read The Importance of Being Earnest in English class, a play which I quite enjoyed, albeit not as much as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The play makes fun of the upper classes of Victorian England, an idea with which I identify having spent so much time making fun of the upper classes of education. In fact, among my favorite lines is, "The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes" (Wilde I-don't-have-the-page-number). Oscar Wilde (see also: Oscar Wilde) has a wonderful sense of humor. Today we had planned to have a tea party in honor of the play (although I don't think we had any cucumber sandwiches, as Algernon had eaten all of the ones we made, despite Lane having gone to check twice). I brought lemonade, which as we all know is essential to any and all tea parties. Before we got started, Mrs. Fuelling announced that she had a song to play for us first. You see, one of the characters in the play, Jack, does not know who his parents are. He was found in a handbag in a closet at a railway station as an infant, and that's all he knows about his heritage. This presents a problem when he needs Lady Bracknell's approval to ask his love to marry him, as "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness" (Lady Bracknell). Take a look at the video Mrs. Fuelling played for us:

Se Busca

A while ago I wrote a post about Sra.'s missing fácil button. Remember? The sign that said "It is looked for"? This is a follow-up to that; I have some new information I'd like to share. No, it still hasn't been found. (If you have information, please contact myself or Sra. Riggs immediately.) However, I did find this on her desk some time ago:


Yay! It's back! Well hang on a minute, let's take a closer look:


Upon seeing this attempt to remake Sra.'s desk into the fácil button-inhabited paradise it had once been, I asked Mr. Stibitz to explain how it got there. He said that he had wanted to try to restore the button, so he taped a printout of a picture of it to the lid from a coffee cup. However, after (I imagine) taking a look at it from a similar angle to that of the second picture above, he commented, "It's kinda like Disney world, it's everything just...artificial."

A few days later, I returned and found this:


It was also made by Mr. Stibitz, and this time he added, "I made it in the spirit of finals week." I guess that gives away how long I've been meaning to write this post. Oops.

"As they say in Mexico, 'Dos vi danya.' Down there that's two vi danyas."

(Don't recognize the quote? No worries, just check out 5:21 of this clip from one of my favorite TV shows. Or, if you're feeling adventurous after reading this particular post, try 5:21 from this other clip.)

Free Flip Video Cameras!

Even though many of you already received the message with the title in the subject line, I think it's clever enough to be immortalized on Only At IA. Said message went out to all Central students from Mrs. Miner, our technology coordinator. The content of the message was as follows:

NOT REALLY- but some students might think they are... if you borrowed one to use on a project and FORGOT to return it, please bring it back immediately. It is not worth the rotten karma that will be heaped on you if you forget to return it.

When I asked, she said that it would at least get people to open it. Well, it worked on me.

Atheists don't solve exponential equations because they don't believe in higher powers

This past Sunday while looking for a pun for this month's Back Page I came across the title and liked it enough to make it my Facebook status. As expected I got a "lol" or two, but somewhat less expectedly Brian B. commented, "That isn't even close to being true..." Intrigued, I decided to defend my claim, challenging myself to use a pun in each comment. 41 comments later I had had quite the conversation, mainly involving myself and Okma juniors Brian B. and Nick L. I'll let you see for yourself:


Brian: That isn't even close to being true...

Brian: It's not even funny...

Me: What part of it isn't true? Careful, you might make me mad during my magic act; I've been known to pull my hare out!

Brian: Lots of atheists solve exponential equations. Therefore, it isn't true.

Me: Do atheists believe in Santa? What about his helpers, the subordinate clauses?

Brian: Very few people over the age of 10 believe in Santa. Subordinate clauses have nothing to do with Santa.

Me: Hey! Are you calling my jokes average? How could you be so mean...

Nick: In Soviet Russia, equation differentiate you!

Me: I really don't think you should use Russian Reversal in a discussion of mathematics; it's a weapon of math disruption.

Brian: Your jokes are below average.

Nick: In Soviet Russia (and in IB 1 Physics A2), Brian annoy YOU.

Brian: lmfao at IB1 Physics A2 = Soviet Russia

Me: Really, Brian, I don't mind your insults. It's not the students of IA that bother me, it's just the principal of it.

Me: And Nick, we know the Russians can never accomplish anything, especially after WWII then they kept Stalin around.

Brian: Wait, Ms. Gibson bothers you?

Nick: In Soviet Russia, josh's post doesn't understand you....

Brian: What was I supposed to understand that I didn't? Principal is the person.

Me: Why do you have to read so much into it? Geez, I give you guys an inch and you think you're rulers.

Nick: In Soviet Russia, ruler measures YOU (and amount of produce Stalin give you).

Me: "Principal" can be spelled another way and therefore has two meanings. It's kinda like when I broke up with that tennis player; love meant nothing to her.

Brian: "Principle" is the other spelling. It's meanings are not included in "principal."
And do you ever run out of these?

Me: Whoa whoa whoa, are you trying to calculate how long I can keep this up? Please don't, I'm so bad at math. Even a simple equation like 2n + 2n is 4n to me.

Brian: That's not an equation, but you definitely got it right.

Me: I told you, I'm bad at math. I finished my last trig test right in the nick of time, with not a secant to spare.
I'm so excited about laser tag on senior skip day tomorrow! It's too bad about that group that planned to skip to go bungee jumping though; I hear they got suspended.

Me: It's also kinda scary about the group that went shopping at The Gap during the hold-up; there were lots of casual Ts.

Brian: Wow...just wow...where are you getting these?

Me: There's a book in the store where they sell paper. I like going there, especially when they're saying an earthquake is on its way. No matter what, it's always a stationary store.

Me: They also sell envelopes. Not really good for peaceful resistance though: no matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationary.

Me: Like I said, I'm pretty excited about SSD tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about going to sleep though, because whenever I'm excited I always dream of having written Lord of the Rings. Every single time, my mom wakes me up and says I'd been Tolkien in my sleep.

Me: As soon as I'm awake, she reminds me yet again not to run with Caesars. Then again, that's what Brutus' mother always told him, and he didn't listen.

Brian: Where did you find these?

Me: Sorry for the delay, my computer is so slow it hertz. Anyway, I got them all from a pregnant bovine. Don't say anything; if she finds out I told you she'll have a cow.

Me: OK...I got a few of them from my CO2 delivery guy. Although I can never talk with him for too long...he gives me gas.

Me: You should try to answer with a pun; they have their own rewords.

Me: To start off, try the one about the ceiling! Oh wait never mind, that's over you're head anyway.

Me: Hello? I feel like I'm having this conversation all by myself here! Just like that time I got sick at the airport; no one would come near me because they all thought I had a terminal illness.

Me: All right if you're not there I'll be going to bed...I never do get tired of sleeping.

Me: Sorry, I need to go back to school to learn the difference between "your" and "you're." Just like the manicurist who went back to school to become a veterinarian; she really knew how to give a pet a cure!
Unrelatedly, permission to OAIA this? I just hope my Internet connection doesn't die while posting it...that would be a net loss.

My non-IA friend Natalie: You are more brilliant than I will willingly give you credit for. Or you use google. Either or.


As it happens, I got most of them from the same site. A few I already knew or came up with myself. The hardest part was trying to work them into the conversation...it sure was fun though!

DISCLAIMER: The content of the posts is not necessarily true, some of it is just there to make a good pun. All the Brians of the world: I'm talking to you.

IAtionary: Symbolic Symbol

Sym-bol-ic Sym-bol [sim-BOL-ik sim-buhl] n.

1. An object, thing or idea that represents, depicts and/or reminds one of another, different, not similar object, thing or idea for the purpose and end of conveying and communicating something about or related to a particular, certain or specific aspect, element, part, property and/or piece of the object, thing or idea being or becoming represented and/or depicted; Mr. Majask: In Cuba, the dove that landed on Castro's shoulder was a symbolic symbol.

Language of Origin: Majaskean

In history class, we were talking about the rise to power of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. When he was giving a speech in front of a large crowd of Cubans while trying to gain their support, a single white dove landed on his shoulder. In a sentence paraphrasedly similar to the above sample sentence, Mr. Majask gave us an interesting new term (word, phrase, utterance, expression, idiom, saying, articulation, verbalization...)

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXXIX

A very happy Pi Day to all! It's too bad it's on a Sunday, but much like last year's ITLAPD, I plan on celebrating tomorrow. Check out the new quotes; there ought to be quite a few.

"You took the time to say 'whom' and you still ended with a preposition?"
-Mr. Giromini on my asking him whom he was hiding from

"I'm gonna take The Game and beat you with it."
-Mr. Majask on (non-The-Game-related) rebuttal

"That was the...not...right...emotional response."
-Sra. Riggs on laughing at students

"One of the many uses of keys: making CDs into ninja stars."
-Kenny

"So, when you get really big, can I rub your belly?"
-Anonymous on Sra. Riggs' pregnancy

"Um, no."
-Sra. Riggs on the above

"Don't worry, it's only concentrated acid."
-Kenny on chem labs

"The later mouse gets the cheese."
-Kenny on procrastination

"In physics there is a conservation of strangeness, which means somewhere out there in the universe, to balance out this place, there has to be a very normal school."
-Mr. Lyons

"Optical illusions are a gateway drug. They get you into ToK."
-Mr. Wolf on optical illusions

"Let me copy that down- I need something to do during this class."
-Jon D. on a complex-looking integral

"See, sometimes my brain functions normally. Very rarely, but on occasion."
-Marie on the simple past tense

"Touché, or as it is pronounced, Touchy."
-Mr. Wolf on rebuttals.

IAtionary: Racial Test

Ra-cial Test [REY-shuhl test] n.

1. A manner of determining the convergence or divergence of an infinite series based solely on its outermost appearance, including the color of the ink with which it was written; IB test: Discuss the convergence or divergence of the series Σ1/n. IB student: It's written in white, so by the Racial Test it must be convergent.

In HL math, we spent an insane amount of time covering infinite series. The basic idea is that you have an infinitely long list of numbers like the example above: the harmonic series, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 ... 1/n. When you add all the numbers together, sometimes they will add up to a certain number and sometimes they won't. The harmonic series is divergent, meaning it will never settle on a single number, but a series like 1, 1/2, 1/4 1/8 ... (1/2)^n is convergent; it adds up to 2. We had to learn an unhealthy amount of tests to determine this property of any series Mr. IB could throw at us. It starts off calmly enough, then before you know it you're taking the integral of a series which (as you'd never notice) happens to be similar to the arctan formula, then asking if it's continuous, positive, and decreasing, then trying to evaluate said definite integral from here to infinity. Ouch. Anyway, one of the tests we learned was called the Ratio Test, and it was misheard this way at least once.

A Strange Game

A short time ago I watched the movie WarGames with my dad. It's about a kid who accidentally hacks into the government's supercomputer and starts a nuclear war simulation which the computer interprets as real and he has to try to stop. My dad told me I would like it, and it turns out I did. I thought it was a bit unrealistic at times, i.e. when the FBI just shows up and next thing you know he's locked up; it seemed to jump around a bit. However, the idea behind the movie was pretty cool, and for the most part it was well done for its time.

Interestingly, we happen to be talking about the Cold War in history, and the movie is a great representation of how people felt at the time as well as of how on the way to destruction we were. The next class I actually understood a good portion of what Mr. Majask was saying due to my having seen the movie, which is quite a rare occurrence for me; history isn't exactly my strong point. Since then I've been trying to convince him to let us watch it in class, as it would help with our understanding of the public's mindset and the propaganda of the time period. I think it would help, as it has indeed helped me.

Today I decided to write a paraphrased version of *SPOILER* that scene from WarGames on the whiteboard to see if he'd notice. It's not all from that same scene, more loosely based on the scene but with lines from other parts as well. Crossing out "professor" was my anonymous friend's idea. And by the way he did notice, but mostly because he came in right as I was finishing writing. I wonder what would have happened otherwise...oh well:)


See also xkcd.com/601 and xkcd.com/696.

Submissions, Part II

Irayo! Tute fpìmeie' oe-ru hiyìk-a lapo: nìn po-ti! In other news, I'm learning Na'vi. Anyone else want in? It's super fun, not terribly difficult, and it'll make one heck of a secret code!

Today at lunch I was marking my Bible with chalk for my weekly religious lesson readings. The people at my table, after realizing what I was doing, continued an ongoing theological debate about my religion and whether or not its name, Christian Science, was a misnomer. OAIA.
-Abby S.

Today, I saw a license plate that said 'ESCAPAY' on in. In Spanish we were talking about finding Nemo. IMMD.
-Bridget S.

Only at IA when a lit teacher gives you the full hour to read and annotate 5 chapters worth of information, do students actually gasp and clap their hands in happiness.
-Bridget S.

Today, I was talking with a group of friends in the hall when Mr. E. approached. He said that it seemed the same people meet there to confer each day, and that he wondered what we could be plotting. He hypothesized the taking over of the world, but I said that we planned to start smaller, with the IA, from there the IBO, and from there the world. He suggested that when we take over the IBO, we should ask them to give us credit in the "Risk-Takers" category for taking the risk to overthrow them. OAIA.
-Me:)

Today, the library didn't open until after everyone had to go to class. Nobody knew what to do with themselves. OAIA
-Caitlin M.

Over Christmas break I went on vacation with my boyfriend, only to find myself spending hours burning myself with hot glue and traveling to and from the public library for internet so we could complete our physics extra credit electric house project. OAIA
-Julia K.

Today in IB2 Physics, my seat partner and I were balancing pens on their tips. When the Oakland Press came into class to do their story, we claimed the pens represented the emission spectrum of an electron. OAIA
-Kyle S.

Mr. Lyons' IA Fight Stories

This post has been a long time in the making. And by that of course I mean I've been meaning to write it since December. But that's beside the point; I took notes so as not to forget stuff, so nothing but time has been lost. On that note, let's get started.

In mid-December in fisix class a student asked Mr. Lyons if he had ever taught math before. He responded with a story about how he had indeed taught math at his old school, but then he thought to ask himself why he enjoyed math. His answer to himself was "to do fisix," so after that he because a fisix teacher. He continued to say that at his old school, as at many normal non-IA schools, it was quite common for fights to break out in the hallways. In fact, it was so common that it became second nature for him to scan for signs of potential fights so he could go break them up as soon as they started.

"Wait," you ask, "doesn't this sound familiar?" Yes, it should. But not to worry, they are different stories entirely from this point on. Well, save for the next sentence.

It was Mr. Lyons' first year at IA, and he hadn't quite learned the IA way yet. Actually, hang on a moment. He told us this story first, but let's save it for the end. Meanwhile...

The second fight story he told us was about two French students (from France, not that take Francias). He said that he entered a room to find that one student had pushed another into a whiteboard. Why? The pusher believed that the pushee was being disrespectful to his (the pushee's) girlfriend and wanted to defend her honor. I really want to know what exactly was said, but alas I do not.

OK, back to my favorite one. In fact, it was not just his first year but his first two days at IA. While walking in the hallway he heard two boys start to raise their voices. Accustomed to his old school, he automatically went over to them to begin to break up the coming fight. However, true to IA form, the exchange contained no physical violence whatsoever and the dialogue was as follows:

A: You know, when you said that to me, that really hurt my feelings!

B: I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to take it that way! *Looks at watch* We're gonna be late! We gotta get to class!

And they both went their separate ways. The end.

And to conclude, I apologize for all the sentences in this post that begin with conjunctions. This situation is well known as tung and the meaning of this in English is "allow" and it is spelled a-l-l-o-w.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXXVIII

I will post more this week, don't worry. I have several mental posts that simply need to be digitized, I've just been in either vacation mode or Careers in Medicine mode this week. Meanwhile, here are some quotes:

"Teachers were not amused by me. I was amused by myself."
-Sra. Riggs on her educational experience

"Oh that's...biblical."
-Sra. Riggs on the number 666

"It's a curse, not a skill."
-Mr. Lyons on being punny

"The spindle fibers are chomped like Pacman."
-Ms. Sturt on Mitosis

"¿En serio, chicos? ¿En serio?" *raises eyebrow*
-Srta. Fernández on stupidity.

"Don't blame me, I'm perfection."
-Sra. Riggs

"I am going to randomly replace one fact in your brain with this one: protons taste like chocolate."
-Mr. Lyons on test preparation

"Really? You're gonna say that?"
-Mrs. Hessler on That's What She Said

"Look at what I have: a CD, but it's old!"
-Sudheer on a cassette tape

"We have a little bit of unnaturally high expectations."
-Sra. Riggs on IA's language B program

The Official Only At IA Screensaver

About a week or so ago I figured out how to make custom screensavers. Actually I wanted a The Office one but there were only desktop wallpapers available on the website, so I decided to learn how to put them together into my own screensaver. Once I had done so I realized that it would be pretty fun to design a screensaver for Only At IA, and I decided to give it a shot. The animation took a long time - it was all done in Flash, which is awesome but can be painfully slow - but it was really fun to do and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Here's what it looks like:



It has 45 different quotes, IAtionary entries, OAIA stories and logos that it displays randomly. It nearly always starts with my all-time favorite quote, then continues however it pleases.

If you like it, click here to download and install. Installation is pretty straightforward: just download and run the *.exe file and follow the on-screen instructions. The screensaver will automatically adapt to fill your screen size. Please let me know what you think- I'd love to hear from you!

In a ToK 1 class...

Mr Wolf: So, the other two areas of knowledge are....the natural sciences....and...?

Student: The unnatural sciences?

Mr. Wolf: No, the human sciences.

Student: Wait, so humans are unnatural?

Special thanks to Bridget S. for this one:)

To Read or Not To Read

We just finished reading Hamlet in English class. It was good, but I liked Much Ado better. Anyway we did a lot of the reading in small groups. We formed groups of 4 or 5 at the start of the play and read in the hallway with those same people throughout it. Somewhere around Act II (of V) I think, I was trying to encourage my group members to focus - quite unsuccessfully, I might add - and someone suggested I read a page out loud as all of the characters. I declined, but they asked me again the next class. And the next class. And the next. Somewhere in there it turned into a whole scene, and eventually a whole act, with everyone else claiming that it had been that way all along. One day I gave in and read a page out loud, telling them that that was what they had said originally and it would have to do. One group member was absent that day, but it was the only day I imagined I would feel like reading as all the characters, and I wanted to get it over with. I did, and it went rather well, so I figured my debt (for what, I know not) was paid, but alas it was not.

The next class I was reminded that one group member had missed it, and that it was supposed to be much more than a page, and that I needed to pick a part with more characters, and that I needed more enthusiasm...etc. This continued for a while, until finally the very last reading assignment arrived. I decided that I would go for it, seeing as they were so intent on listening to my pitiful excuse for acting, and I told them that I would try again. I meant with the small group out in the hallway, so I headed that way, but Mrs. Fuelling called me back inside. She had been informed that I would be performing for the entire class. I decided to go for it, and ended up reading as three different characters and using different places on the "stage" to represent my multiple identities. There were only about ten minutes left of class by this point, so I didn't read for very long, but I must say it was really fun. I navigated the obsolete words fairly well, having had months to get used to them, and I ended up quite glad I did it. And that was the end of the faux complaints from my group, so there.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXXVII

A few gems this time- particularly...well on second thought, I'll let you decide for yourself. Or you can read the mouseovers.

"If you pull the fish out of his hat you become the next king of England."
-Jon D. on my dad's fish hat

"I'm so sarcastic I think I'm rubbing off on you."
-Mr. Giromini

"Do you know how dangerous it is to taste the rainbow?"
-Mr. Lyons on Skittles

"It looks as awkward as it sounds."
-Ms. Sturt on cleavage furrows

"That's sort of a weird thing just to make up your own endings for tenses."
-Anonymous in the alternate form of the past subjunctive

"I remember when we were little, when Friday night came around it would be like, 'Yay! Friday night! I can stay up late!' but now it's 'Yay! Friday night! I can sleep some more!'
-Kenny W.

"The matrices are attacking! Good thing we know scalar multiplication!"
-Aaron on the seniors' Olympics shirts

"It's like killing off all the skinny people by decreasing the heat to a point where they can't survive."
-Anthony G. on using radiation to kill cancer cells

"I have to sing a song in my head to write my last name."
-Hania on being Polish

"You should try harder to be bothersome."
-Mr. Stibitz on his rewarding the juniors' nagging with paella

"Most people have life styles; I have a styled life."
-Mr. Stibitz

Irony

An interesting little anecdote for you today: I was in German class the other day and Marie said she had a story for me. She was at home and her mom had given her a huge pile of laundry to put away. She was in her closet sorting through it while talking on the phone to her youth pastor. They were discussing Proverbs chapter 31 - which is about being a good Christian woman - when Marie's mom entered the room and told Marie to "come out of the closet already!" Marie started laughing, asked her youth pastor if she had heard and told her what happened when she said she hadn't. While telling me the story she drew this artistic representation of the situation which she gave me permission to publish:

I even let her borrow my Stabilos. Which, by the way, I now have a bunch more of after going to the only store in the state that I have been able to find that carries them! Woo!

How will you probably pronounce "2010" most often?

I was curious and wanted to find out. I started by asking random people at school what year it was. They would look at me wondering if I had gone insane then answer either "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten," with the occasional "duh" tacked on. I found that a few more people said "twenty ten," but the more influential people (teachers, administrators, etc.) tended to say "two thousand (and) ten." So I asked you guys, and was surprised by how many votes I got; thanks:) Here are the results:

"Twenty ten" was the overall winner with 40% of the vote.

"Two thousand ten" was a very close second, with 37%; this mirrors pretty well the ratio between these two responses when asking people in person.

"Two thousand and ten" had only 14%, predictably; as that extra syllable is so much more work!

"Oh ten" was the penultimate response, with 5%. This is a personal favorite, nostalgic of freshman year when the IA contained the classes of oh seven, oh eight, oh nine, and ten. Not quite right.

"Ten" had only 2%. Easiest to say, but still not quite right.

Personally I'm going for the most part with "twenty ten." It's easiest to say without leaving too much ambiguity. Although if I ever need to sound fancy, I'll know how to do it.

Congratulations

Recently in Spanish class, I found out from a friend that a senior whose name I don't have permission to use (if it's you and you don't mind, email me) had managed to take over Mr. Majask's computer during class as a prank. Curious, I asked how such a feat had been accomplished, but my friend didn't know; he could say only that the senior had found a way to control the cursor from his seat for a while without Mr. Majask noticing. He suggested that maybe it had had something to do with the Pizarra Estúpida.

I had history with Mr. Majask next, so I decided to ask about it. At the start of class I asked Mr. Majask if it was true that a student had hijacked his computer, and he confirmed the story. It was not, however, SMARTboard-related; apparently the student had brought a wireless mouse with him and snuck the USB connector into the back of the computer when Mr. Majask wasn't looking. He then waited for a good time during the lecture to close the PowerPoint presentation on the screen and open Minesweeper. Brilliant. Anonymous senior, you have my congratulations.

IAtionary: End of the Year Party Test

End of the Year Par-ty Test [end uhv thuh yeer PAHR-tee test] n.

1. A test or exam taken at the end of a school year to celebrate the onset of summer
2. A way of showing demonstrating to students how useful and productive the year has been through festive use of every concept learned during the year at once; OK class, remember, your end of the year party test is next week so look over all your materials and bring some confetti to add to the celebration!

Language of Origin: Westese

In the Moodle forum "You know you're in the IA when," Central student John D. submitted "when people call the midterms and final exams the celebration of learning." West student Sarah W. responded in the following way: "lol last year my friends and i called the final exams the 'end of the year party tests.' It just makes it sound more fun...," a statement with which I agree wholeheartedly. Please people, let's bring this into common usage; how awesome would it be to start hearing people actually say things like the sample sentence?!

You know you're in the IA when...

Sometime near the beginning of this school year, everyone at IA was automatically enrolled in a Moodle course called Tri Campus Unity. The point is to get students from the different campi to interact with each other a bit and stop thinking of the IA as three separate schools. One student posted a thread in the forum with the same title as this post and asked others to weigh in with their own ways of completing the sentence. It's really fun to read and comment on, so if you have access to Moodle please go check it out. I'll share some of my favorites here, but you should definitely still go read some more. (I won't mention submitters' names here without permission, but you can see who submitted what in the thread.)

-you prefer block dude to most video games

~it's a beautiful day out and your first thought is 'Yes! I can study outside today!'

~you spend more time on moodle and zangle then you do facebook.

-you take it to the chess board to solve a fight instead of into the street

~the first thing you notice about a presentor's slideshow is that his sources are older than you

~calculator accessories suddenly become more important than fashion (btw, purple, pink and mismatched cases are soooo in!)

~you make a graph on your graphing calculator that you think is "cool"

~you sit at the computer wondering if you are really at the IA because of that TOK class that you took

-it's easier to count 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 than 1,2,3,4,5,6

~your parents schedule family trips around no-homework weekends

~you have inside jokes with your friends... and those jokes are in your foreign language

-you have a warranty on your calculator, but not your iPod

~you argue over which is better, Runescape or WoW, and factor in cost of membership, benefits of free play, graphics, quests, events, and all sorts of things.

~over 25% of your friends' statuses on facebook are in a foreign language

There's even a Facebook group dedicated to the subject now. I'm pretty sure you can see it without a Facebook account, so I won't share highlights; go see for yourself!

BTW, the ones with a tilde (~) are the ones that actually apply/have applied to me speciffically. Sad? Or not? I'll go with not.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXXVI

So there are quite a few this time...mostly because I haven't gotten to transferring them in way too long. I think there are some gems in here though, so it turned out OK in the end:)

"The French built that wall...that was supposed to keep the Germans out...but the Germans went around the wall..."
-Mr. Lyons on animosity between France and Germany

"It takes a lot of effort to be this stupid."
-Mr. Lyons on his making careless errors

"I show up at school with a ukulele and you're still asking 'why'?"
-Duke on my questioning the motives behind his having a ukulele at school

"With all the creative arts students we have at this school, that could be a lot cooler."
-Julia on the hexagon

"When you took your midterm last year you had a soul."
-Mr. Lyons on IB Fisix

"Not if you don't look at it."
-Mr. Lyons on whether or not there will be questions about quantum mechanics on the midterm

"Shoot for the Z, Amanda!"
Mr. Newell (West) on Amanda's grade.

"I was once dared to shout 'Happy pumpkins!' in the hallway."
-Veronica B. (West) on Physics.

"There's a donut here. It's green. It has sprinkles."
-Ms. Sturt trying to convince the West Science Olympiad team to eat the
last of the donuts at the Tri-campus event.

"Ooh, an antelope!"
-Ms. Fleury on World Literature random-ities.

"Why is it upside down?"
-Kyra on an emission spectrum diagram, which is supposed to be drawn differently from an absorbtion spectrum diagram

"An IA student is more likely to die from stress from finals."
-An anonymous senior on tornado drills

IAtionary: Big Boom Bomb

Big Boom Bomb [big boom BOM] n.

1. Any nuclear weapon; Many argue that it was wrong to drop big boom bombs on Japan, but every mushroom cloud has a silver lining: look at all the lives it saved!

Language of Origin: Majaskean

A while ago in history, we were talking about the Potsdam conference where Truman told Stalin about the atomic bomb. Stalin was not very surprised to hear the news, as he had spies in the Manhattan Project, and Truman thought that he did not react because he had not understood the implications of the new weapon. Mr. Majask did an impression of the conversation, basically consisting of exaggerated mushroom cloud hand motions and saying to himself, "It goes boom! Yes, I know. No, it goes BOOM! Yes, I understand. No, I mean it goes BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" It was entertaining, but according to Wikipedia the exact words Truman used were that it was "a new weapon of unusually destructive force." Bo-ring. Anyway, this alliterative phrase came about a bit later, and I believe Kyra might have been involved in its suggestion, but I can't be sure of that. I like it and I plan on using it in history class from now on. Anyone else care to try?

Crossword: Answers

OK, time's up! Here are the answers to the crossword I drew on the whiteboard in fisix before break. If you haven't had a chance to try to solve it yet, click here and don't read on! Sadly, no one managed to email me all the answers correctly, so there is no hall of fame:) Anyway, here they are:) (Click to enlarge)


I had more spare time in fisix today and tried to draw a word search, but it turns out you need a grid to do that; you can't cheat with half boxes and such as easily. I'll try to think of something else for next time.

IAtionary: Ultraviolet Catastrophe

Ul-tra-vi-o-let Ca-tas-tro-phe [uhl-truh-VAHY-uh-lit kuh-TAS-truh-fee] n.

1. A sudden and widespread disaster often pertaining to relatively high-energy electromagnetic radiation; We were learning about waves in physics class and all the freshpeople kept actually doing the wave...it was an ultraviolet catastrophe!
2. A paradox or other seemingly impossible situation; I thought that sin(90) coming out as a weird decimal was an ultraviolet catastrophe, but then I realized that my calculator was in radian mode.

Language of Origin: Lyonese

In IB2 Fisix we were discussing black body radiation. This concept came up, which for those without the patience to read an entire Wikipedia article is a problem that scientists in the early 20th century faced. They knew that a black body (i.e. something that absorbs all radiation that hits it) should give off certain amounts of radiation of its own in different colors, but the theoretical model predicted that pretty much any random object should give off more and more intense radiation as the frequency of the wave increases. An object should give off more orange light than red, more yellow than orange, etc. The problem was that it kept increasing, and the object should give off an infinite amount of ultraviolet light. Clearly, this doesn't really happen. The problem was solved when we realized that electrons could only exist in discrete energy levels...click the link if you want more on that. Anyway, when Mr. Lyons introduced the concept, he explained the problem and then said that it had pretty much the most awesome name ever. And you've gotta admit, it sounds kinda cool.