The Perfect Day... sort of

Today was a Perfect Day in baseball. The Yankees won - Joba got his first save. The Mets won (barely). The Red Sox lost. The Phillies lost. The Indians clinched the American League Central and celebrated with champagne.

Yes. I am so happy.

I am also very sick. It started last Friday at school. I felt horrible. I feel better today but I'm gonna stay home tomorrow. I'll go in at lunch to take a bio test, though. This time I'll notify the office about that. Heh.

My mom got me hooked on a new show called Survivorman. This Canadian guy, Les Stroud, brings cameras with him out to various places and attempts to survive for a week with no food or water. He has a few items, like a knife or rope, but that's it. So far I've seen him go to the Kalahari Desert, the African plains, Alaska (where he ran into a couple of black bears), and the Amazon (where he ran into a jaguar). I've also seen him lost at sea, where he washed up on a tiny island. He eats stuff like fruit, scorpions, sea snails, birds, and a bit of meat he stole from his sled dogs in Labrador, Canada. His water supply comes mainly from rain. He always tries to catch fish, but is never successful - he did eat the remains of a bald eagle's salmon dinner, though. He can start a fire from just about anything, too. Today the Discovery Channel is playing a Survivorman marathon. He'll be going to the South Pacific, Costa Rica, the Canadian Rockies, and the Sonoran Desert. Pretty cool.

Ok, I can't do physics. I need a tutor, so I'm gonna look into that. I just draw random pictures and write down random numbers on my homework. I still get credit for it, though. I thought physics would be like my two previous required science classes - biology and chemistry were both really easy (and interesting) for me. But I was wrong. Well, my teacher sucks at explaining things. He mumbles when he talks. "Ok, so do that, and, anyway, yeah... ok?" Whatever. I don't really know anyone in my class who can help me, and the ones I do know don't get it either. Argh.

Calculus, believe it or not, is not impossible. I actually understand it much more than basic physics. It's kind of ironic, because the two are essentially the same thing - you solve the same kinds of problems. It helps that I have a terrific teacher, one of my favorites, if not the best I've ever had. I'm gonna ask him for a college recommendation when the time comes. I know he likes me, too. I was in his class last year for pre-calculus and I got all A's, so he must be the secret to understanding conceptual math.

An example problem from physics: An airplane flies due west at 185 km/h with respect to the air. There is a wind blowing at 85 km/h to the northeast relative to the ground. What is the plane's speed relative to the ground? Sounds simple, right? Yeah, not for me.

An example problem from calculus: Find the limit of f(x)= 2x + 3/ sinx -4 as x approaches infinity. Sounds a lot more complicated, but is actually much easier to do (again, for me).

Makes no sense.

Well, the Giants are winning their game against the Reds. They could add icing to the Perfect Day cake. I can't believe they fired Barry Bonds. They want to go in a "new direction." What the heck does that mean?? And where the heck is Barry supposed to go (he still wants to play)? Sigh. No other team's fans are gonna want him. Well, I think he should retire on the high note that he is on, as a Giant. But, no, he still wants a World Series ring. Jeez, Barry, you're killing me.

Oh, dear. I am so tired, so I'm gonna go sit in front of the TV like I have been doing all weekend.

Later!