Thursday Morning Thoughts

My Quantum Mechanics TA said something very interesting this morning: “Almost every equation in quantum mechanics uses imaginary numbers.” I think I learned about i, the square root of -1 (such that i² = -1), in Mrs. Schwalm's Algebra II class. That would have been 1984-1985. Now, twenty years later, I’m finally going to be using it. That's good to know.

I went into the Student Services building today and paid my tuition. For the Very. Last. Time. Mere words cannot begin to describe how good that felt. Immense gratitude goes out to Mom and Dad for the help.

I was in the break room at work for a minute last night, and I caught just a moment or two of The Simpsons. The local Fox affiliate was showing the episode where Springfield gets hit by a hurricane. Given events of the past few days, I thought the timing was in rather poor taste. I thought about writing the station an e-mail to complain, but ultimately decided against it. They’d probably think I was some nutcase who gets all worked up looking for molehills to turn into mountains—kind of like the NCAA.

Speaking of the NCAA, I can’t help but notice their lack of action in the wake of the recent disaster. By now, I would have expected someone in the NCAA to call for the University of Miami (FL) and the University of Tulsa to change their mascots (the Hurricanes and the Golden Hurricane, respectively). I can only conclude that the NCAA doesn’t mind if people die or lose their homes, as long as they’re not offended by Native American nicknames in the process.

I'm listening to Kansas' breakthrough album Leftoverture as I compose this entry. "Carry On Wayward Son" is a classic, and "Magnum Opus" is one of the better (mostly) intrumental rock songs ever. How could anyone not love this band?

Those of us who are used to watching sports are used to seeing stories of athletes behaving badly. Now, a breath of fresh air. The National Football League and the New York Yankees are each donating $1 million to relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And they’re not the only ones. Other athletes involved in donating and/or raising money include Titans quarterback Steve McNair and Packers quarterback Brett Favre, tennis stars Serena Williams and John McEnroe, Chicago Bulls guard Chris Duhon and Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, the Houston Astros, and the University of Florida football team. It’s nice to see some of the money generated by sports being used to help people.

And now I’m off to The Gateway for a bit of lunch with Nancy before heading to Ogden for the afternoon. Later, faithful reader(s).