There is no such thing as a free lunch

Today's title is a phrase commonly used in economics classes. This phrase comments on how nothing involving physical resources is free. If someone has a "free" lunch consisting of an apple, a PB&J sandwich, and a bag of chips, they must have come from somewhere. It took soil, sun, water, and a lot of time to grow the tree and produce the apple. This is the same case with the grapes to make the jelly. I won't even try to go through the wheat of the bread, the meat, or the potato chips. The point is, resources, time included, are constantly being expended for something "free".
     I bring this up because coldstone had "free" icecream today. The way it was set up, you received a small scoop of their icecream, the flavor of which was chosen by them. There was a guy accepting donations at the front door. He looked somewhat like a bouncer for a club and did not let a soul through until the donation of at least a dollar was made.
     Right now, free scarfs are being given to all UIC students who attend the soccer game tonight. Once admitted to the game, students are given a wristband and will not be given their scarf until the end of the game.

Free Music that isn't also illegal

      I am proud to say that I do not own nor have I ever owned any illegal music. So, there must be an alternative. I frequently visit Youtube for particular songs and constantly listen to Pandora. Most people know what Youtube is at this point. Pandora is an online customizable radio station. You just choose, an artist, a song, or even a genre, and Pandora will begin to play songs based around that selection. Pandora has always had ads to support themselves and to pay off copyrights to their respective artists. The ads and their frequency are beginning to increase, but Pandora is still a great source for free music radio.
     Recently (about 5 hours ago), I have been turned on to a new legal website called Jamendo. The idea is rather new and the website has less than 1 million members. It is so new to the point that spellcheck on my blog is getting upset when I write Jamendo. Jamendo is a free music downloading/ radio website that is free and legal. The only downside is that you probably haven't heard of any of the artists of the 20,000 albums on this website because it mostly new artists that want to spread their music without having to pay a fortune onto the record companies. Jac, at hearing this, said that this was really just another upside. Jamendo allows a new outlet for indie artists to disburse their music. It's rather exciting.

Major Change

I am currently a Chemistry Major. I will soon be a Chemical Engineer Major with a Computer Engineer Minor. Did you know that UIC has a Chemical Engineering Building? I didn't either. It's at the corner of Polk and Clinton and is a good ten minute walk off campus since polk does not run through the Interstate. The staff at the building were very nice, and they are helping me make this transition much easier.
     A chemical engineer is a person who can be brought into almost any line of industry. They can possibly make pharmaceuticals, new paint mixtures, designs for new packaging, or even the food and snack industry. The main goal of any chemical engineer is to take the particular product at hand and redesign it to make it be the highest possible quality for the lowest possible cost.
     This efficiency, which may save as little as one cent per item, makes a big difference. This would essentially mean that for every one million items of said product sold, the company will save around ten thousand dollars. For example, look at a blue M&M. The color of it is slightly lighter in color than the cartoon counterpart. They used to be the same color until the candy was recently made less dark. Whether a new type of dye is being used or there is simply a higher dilution of the same dye, I do not know. What I do know is that a small change of paying ever so slightly less for dye makes a huge difference in the company's bottom line. Of course, this slight loss of color does not cause a loss in quality for the consumer. It is the best of both world's. It's what a chemical engineer does.

Phone Trouble

     My phone is in an interesting state right now; it will only charge when the phone is off. Add this to the fact that after charging for awhile, it will turn itself on and begin to deplete its battery, and it's easy to see my dilemma. oh, and service is not so great in my room or even existent most of the time.
     Some other interesting phone stories include:

> a phone falling down an elevator shaft. Especially since that person doesn't even live in the residence hall it happened in.

> watching a phone separate the front, back, and battery in mid-air after being hit out of someone's hand by a hat that was thrown 15 feet away.

> one doofus left their charger at home after visiting for the weekend and had to get it mailed to them.

YouTube

     A highly accessible source of free entertainment comes from YouTube. Yesterday I saw a sea lion doing sit ups to the Rocky Theme Song. I am presently watching a mock news channel. We were watching stand up comedy and I soon realized that one of the people was a guy from across the hall. These videos contain content of all the random things that occur in the lives of everyone. Well, maybe not carol of the bells played on water bottles, but little babies biting their older siblings definitely happen.
     Parodies are wonderfully hilarious. Almost every song nowadays has an alternate version to it. Song mockery and comedy is no longer limited to just the discretion  of Weird Al Yankovich. I have seen the video Ich bin dein Gummibar (I am your Gummy Bear) many times in several languages. Thanks to YouTube I know how to catch a duck, properly react to rainbows, and that california girls play candyland too much.

Jim's

     There is a wonderful food establishment named Jim's that is less than 100 feet from JST. They pride themselves of being the best polish hotdog place in all of Chicago. I honestly have not had it yet. I still order their  delicious burgers.
     Because Jim's gives a discount to students, I get a cheese burger, fries, and a drink for $2.40. Jim's is open 24/7. I have had Jim's in the afternoon as well as three in the morning. There are all types of people at Jim's at all times of the day. In one hour, it is safe to say that there will be college students, business men, policemen, drug junkies, hipsters, limo drivers, and any other social group imaginable. Jim's is truly an icon of Chicago

Penguin

     So, for those of you who read this blog, you are aware that one of the options that I have for emotional reactions is penguin. I want to hear your opinions on what the definition of the emotion penguin means to you. Please invite anyone you know to leave a comment on what they think it might mean.
  
thanks guys (and gals),
     Jeff

P.S.
For the one person in Canada who reads my blog day after day, you are awesome. thank you.

Assassin

     A game that I now know as Assassin was introduced to me earlier this week. No, this is not the Assassin that involves water and randomly attacking people with it. This is a game that is a combination of Mafia and MMA fighting; it's the best general description I can think of. Playing cards are passed out to each player, one of the cards is an Ace. This is the Assassin. The cards are collected, and the game soon begins.
     Before any gameplay starts, all windows and other light sources are covered except one light that is controlled by a light switch. When the assassin has been chosen and the light is switched off, the battle begins. People become rather violent with eachother when they can only see outlines of shadows and assumes that everyone is out to get them. This can result in kicking, shoving, pushing, tripping, wrestling, and occasionally lifting people up only to drop them. Murder by the assassin, however, occurs only when a hand is felt across the victim's throat, modeling the slaughter of livestock and the like. When a "dead body" is discovered, the lights are turned on, and a vote is taken on who the assassin is. This process continues until the assassin is voted out or the assassin kills off everyone.
     Classic strategies include:
.Multiple kills
.Get near someone, ask if they are alive, then kill them
.Kill the person heading for the light switch
.Hide on the sink
.Pick up the couch, crawl under, and hide

     Things that should not occur:
.Dead bodies should not be singing
.Don't let a potential kill get away
.Don't have your next victim in a headlock when the lights turn on
.The same person should not be killed first everytime, but it is rather comical

Laundry

     What can I say? I will admit that I was one of those very fortunate (and grateful) children who didn't have to do their own laundry for the first 18 years of my life. That has changed recently, of course.
     I will be honest, I have no idea how to measure out the right amount of detergent and softener. I use (product placement alert! Although not really since they aren't paying me, but they should) Purex three-in-one laundry sheets. It is a thick sheet that has the right amount of detergent and softener already built in. Then, after the soap has been dissolved in the washer, the sheet then becomes the same sheet for the dryer. It is a wonderful thing for college kids, people in a hurry, senior citizens  who have arthritis and cannot otherwise do laundry due to not being able twist off the lids of heavy detergent bottles, and individuals who are prone to spilling the contents of containers everywhere.
     In addition, I have not actually had to fold my laundry as of this point. Milie, who is awesome, likes folding laundry and has folded all of my laundry (excluding boxers) in exchange for thank you notes. This concept is starting to catch on with the other residents of my cluster.

Consumer Culture

     These two words best describeAmerica in its current state. Between posters, billboards, commercials, and ads on websites like Facebook (yes, even this site),  everyone is constantly bombarded by media to purchase things. I am not saying that this is a horrible thing; what I am saying is that people need to be able to not get caught up in buying things just because it is right in front of them. The ability to actually click on an ad, read about the product, and then log off without buying it, requires some self-control (or maybe just the lack of money), but I have faith in you.
     We are reading a book in my English class called Remix. In this book, the issues of music, copyrighting, and our consumer culture in general are discussed. The author talks about how at one point America was based upon making and creating culture but has now become a consumer, what he call read-only, culture.
     I believe that the media has an important place in our culture. "Place" being the key word. I do not believe the media should be "The" culture of America. We, as unique individuals, should be able to invent our own way to contribute to culture and make it our own. So, start a new group at school, invent something, write a song, write a book; Do something that will make a difference. Even the smallest thing can make a huge change in our world.

Mario's

     Mario's Italian Ice is located on Taylor Street in the middle of Little Italy. They sell one item: Italian Ice, as the name might suggest. Mario has flavors ranging from lemon, to blue raspberry, to chocolate. It is always wonderfully delicious. Yesterday, Kory visited, and we made it a point to go to Mario's.
     Yesterday was the last official day of the year that Mario's will be open. They will, however, be open until midweek. This occurs because they do not want to waste their ice, so they sell until the last bit is gone. This results in most flavors disappearing instantly, while other flavors, like grape, will last until the end. After this, Mario's will open next summer, around the time of Memorial Day.

Ed Debevic's

     Last night we went to Ed Debevic's to celebrate Kimi's 13th birthday. Kimi turns 19 this upcoming May. Ed's is a wonderful place where they openly tell you that they want you eat and then get the heck out. They will openly mock you and others while you dine. Because humans enjoy ridicule for some sadistic reason, Ed's is an enjoyable place to be. Ed's also prides themselves of a special treat: the world's smallest hot fudge sundae. Kimi's 14th birthday was later celebrated at a place called Hashbrown's this morning while I was at church.

Community

There is a certain liveliness among the residents. I like to think of it as a type of family. Sam has bought  enough bacon for ten people to have a meal out of it (the bagels and eggs didn't hurt either, thanks buddy). Sam, as well as many others, basically live in our cluster. He really only leaves when he goes to sleep. Kimi, on the other hand, sleeps on our couch more than she sleeps in her own bed. As I write this, in fact, Kimi is sleeping with an extra blanket of mine and a pillow belonging to Victor.

    Mike has had friends over in our cluster without any of us actually being there. I think it's cool that he feels comfortable in our cluster. One day I walked into my cluster to see seven or so people just hanging out with several more doing homework. The funny thing is, I only knew 3 of them at the time, and none of them actually lived there. 

     Last night, we had Jim's around midnight and went back to Milie's room; We then preceded in watching every single short film ever created by Pixar: from the 80s to the present. Before that, we watched the movie The Rock. It was decently awesome. We soon found ourselves playing one of Milie's video games. It was some crazy, messed up japanese game where the main character rolls a ball that has gravity on it. It picks up small things, but will eventually devour houses. It also had trippy color, designs, and strange cartoon shorts that were supposed to explain the storyline. As you might guess, the storyline movies have nothing to do with the game.

     Families, however, will always have fights. Although we have not had an issue yet, we are prepared. Earlier in the week we had to sign cluster agreement forms. This form describes how issues like cleanliness and disagreements will be handled. For cleanliness, one of the members of our room will clean it all by himself with a vacuum. He may have been partially distracted at the time I asked him to sign the form, and I don't think he reads this blog. All arguments, we decided, will be settled by the official UFC rules.

Free Speech

     In America, we are given the freedom of speech. This can be considered a horrible crime in many other countries, and we are lucky to have this freedom here. As a result, many opinions are expressed all of the time. Some of these opinions are put in print for the world to see. In the city, there are always signs, banners, and posters posted everywhere. Today, I saw a banner pulled by an airplane advertising hot air balloon rides.
     For more outgoing advocates of free speech, a news paper or article is printed for that organization's cause. Several of these are put on by members of the school. They can involve political cartoons, articles about employment, or announcements of upcoming events. Some publications, however, may be completely different. I was given an article yesterday supported by the Marxist organization of America. The symbol of the hammer and sickle were displayed in the upper right corner. They were being passed out in the middle of campus by a 70 year old woman in a wheel chair. The article insulted the president while at the same time demanding him to end aid to Israel and support Palestine. I'll let you form your own opinion on that instead of adding my own.
     This blog is my particular expression of free speech. Thank you very much to all of you who actually take the time out of your day to read this. It is greatly appreciated. I don't know why you find this interesting, but thanks for always reading.

Friday

     On Friday, Kimi brought a friend to visit UIC and to spend the night. They decided to have a sleepover in our cluster. Sam, who lives down the hall and constantly nags me when I forget to make a post, gave her permission. It wasn't until after all plans were made that anyone in our cluster actually learned about this plot.
     One person from down the hall had brownie mix. So, as rational people, we went to Seven Eleven at 10:30 pm to get eggs so that we could make our brownies. We made our brownies in the lounge while watching Kill Bill. They were delicious and completely un-nutritous.
     Later we watched Rocky Horror picture show. During this time, we had several people leave to go to sleep and a few more just fell asleep where they were. In the morning, Sam and Nicole made bacon, eggs, and bagels. I grabbed a blueberry muffin and a fried bagel on my way to the train.

Portillos, Pot, and Palm Tree

     I came in from class today and started heading to my room. Justin intercepted me and said that we were going to portillo's. We took the CTA bus route 18, rode the red line, and walked four additional blocks to make it to Portillo's. It was worth it. After that, we walked the distance back, took the redline, and then transferred to the blue line.
     Leaving the Blue line, we went to Harrison field and saw Kid Cudi in concert. The air was permeated with the smell of pot, and we were glad to have fresh air when we left. The concert itself was good, and we received free soda.
     The palm tree in our room has yet another function: greeting people. It was left near the doorway and would play its music as people entered. One person tried to kick it across the room out of annoyance. This was well after the frisbee was thrown down the hallway.

The Quad

     The Quad is a magical place that signifies the center of East Campus. It is also where the UIC fun fair took place today. Every organization on campus was there to promote their club. I was invited to join the African student council, I found out that we have a mechanical engineering fraternity, and I saw kid get booted off of a mechanical bull.
     I waited in line for free funnel cake for about 15 minutes, but it was worth the wait. I was invited to three christian groups, a Jewish group, and given a muslim newspaper. I lost the newspaper and the laffy taffy I got from the UIC housing table. There were also sno cones and people with temporally blue stained mouths.
     The Quad contains several lecture centers. One of them is my Calculus 2 class. The professor is a crazy brilliant person, so he often diverges from the lesson at hand. We were discussing the area of a circle, but soon found ourselves copying down the algorithm for solving the value of pi. We were told to look into this more on a computer. I didn't realize that computer programming knowledge would be useful for my calc class. Oh well, that's life.