Around the World

My dad headed home on Saturday (wicked early, so I didn't see him before he left). It was nice to have him here. We got to go see some cool stuff this week. Thursday, we took the train down to Kilkenny. My dad really wasn't too interested in seeing the inside of the castle, so we went around the town for a bit. I decided to bring a frisbee along in case we found a field to throw. Sure enough, behind the castle, there was a HUGE field. We got to throw around for a little while and I was happy. After, we wandered around the castle and then the town. Friday, we went to Howth. It was a much nicer day than when we were there for orientation. We went down by the water and walked around. While we were down there, I saw this girl and thought "Interesting, that looks like my friend Charlotte." Then I realized "Hey, that is my friend Charlotte." I haven't seen her in at least 3 years. We talked for a few minutes. She is working in France and happen to be visiting a friend in Dublin, who was in class all day. We both happen to be there on the same day at the same time. Small world ain't it? After we parted way, my dad and I walked around the trail. It was much nicer than when I walked it before. That night, we went out to dinner and then I went back to my room. I got a message that he got home safe. My mom will be visiting in a few weeks. Besides that, nothing else to report.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

Maiden Voyage

The big news here is that my dad arrived on Sunday. This is his first time in Ireland. Now I don't feel weird about doing "touristy" type things. Sunday, I showed him around the academic center, we went out to dinner, and chilled out in his hotel room for a bit. He didn't get much sleep the night before on the flight over (sound like a certain blogger a bit over a month ago?). Today, I had my Critical Thinking class and my science class. Luckily, they were early and back-to-back. After, we got some lunch and took a tour on one of the tour buses. These are the ones that you can get on or off at stops. We got off at the Guinness factory and took a tour there. It was nice. Seeing the process was reasonably interesting but it was nice to spend some time with my dad. After we went up to the Gravity Bar up on the top floor. We got our free pint and sat by the window. It was a nice time. My dad took a few pictures while we were hanging out. I will try to download them and share one or two. We missed the last bus after we got out, so we just took a cab back. We enjoyed some dinner here in the room. Matt cooked some good soup tonight. After, I went back and chilled out in my dads' hotel room and planned what we would be doing the next few days. Overall, it's been a fun two days having him here. Hopefully, we will have some more fun adventures (which I will blog about).

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality."
-James Joyce

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

All is well here. The tea/orange juice method of keeping me healthy seems to be working. I happen to be on Youtube looking at some of my account settings and I happen to stumble upon stats on views and locations. I don't know exactly where people are (as in city or town), but it shows the country. There are some that seem obvious (highest percentage of views in the U.S., a good percentage of views here in Ireland that corresponds to me posting videos here) but then there are some stats that surprised me. The most surprising bit is not the number of views, but the location. Some of the countries that show up are China, Spain, France, Portugal, and less so Canada. Champlain has a study abroad location in Montreal, but the others, where did those come from? Did anyone go on any cool trips recently that I didn't know about (mainly China, Spain, France, or Portugal)? Got to love new technology and the tracking that goes along with it. Don't worry, I don't really care where you are. Al readers welcome on this bog.
In science today, we were tracking number on the flow of rivers. It was interesting that in something like data collection, numbers can lie. There are rivers that have dams on them. There is a noticeable and sharp change in the volume of the flow in the river. Just remember, there is a stat to support almost everything. We take numbers to be the truth. No crap, no B.S., just truth.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Down with Disease

Well, I'm not really too sick, but I want to keep it that way. A week or so ago, two roommates (John and Matt) were sick. I was determined not to get sick. I went into "Scott isn't going to get sick mode" which entails drinking a lot of orange juice and tea. It has seemed to work yet again.
We have finished our 4th week of classes. Part of me can't believe that we are already through 4 weeks and the rest of me is thinking that it's only week 4. It was a busy 4 weeks at that. Let's break down what I have done:
4 or 5 quizzes
1 test (Art class today actually)
6 or 7 field trips
2 presentation (both for the same class)
For my science class (Enviormental Earth Science) and my history (Modern Irish Social History), I have already selected my topics for my final essay. It really looks like a busy time, doing all this work, but I have been able to head out to pubs to enjoy a few pints (Guinness mostly).
On a program note, we have a trip to Northern Ireland February 28-March 1. I will be sure to have at least a post about that along with, hopefully, a few videos.
Here in the apartment, we have a little system set up where one person will cook dinner one night (I'm usually Tuesday night). Anyway, we had to trade around nights this week, so I cooked up Penne with Pesto sauce. It was suggested by Lilly that I should put chicken or something of the sort in. I think the pesto would have been just fine, but I went for beef. Put some salt and pepper on it. All in all, it was a great meal (Thanks for the advice Lilly! Got to give credit where credit is due). It's actually a great thing to have going since 4 nights a week (Monday through Thursday) dinner is cooked for. Honestly, I would have put my room as last as setting something like this up. It's good fun. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

P.S.- For those Boston Red Sox fan readers, Happy Truck Day! For those who have no idea what I'm talking about here is a link to look at from the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/02/truck_day_is_he.html

Mom and Pop Art

It would be hard to leave Ireland without hearing some good old fashion Irish music. Considering I have a video camera, I would have to post it. The TradFest was this weekend. My friend Kira, my roommate John and I went down to the Temple Bar and wandered around. I saw this group of students playing some traditional Irish music. I got some video and posted it (see below). Afterward, we went to get some Gelato. Gelato is an Italian ice cream that is much lighter than ice cream in America. It was very good, comparable to the Gelato in Italy when I was there in 2005.
We got some snow here in Dublin. It is considered a big deal here in Dublin. We don't get feet upon feet of snow stuff that I am hearing about back in Burlington.

With Peace and Love,
Scott