ok, this is SO hilarious! well, perhaps less so to all the non-physicists, but *i* thought is was fabulous!
today in physics we asked the question of how much fuel it would take to accelerate a 1kg mass to the speed of light (c). later, professor morris sent us the following, via e-mail:

Lets scale back our ambitions about boosting a kilogram to the speed of
light c. Instead, lets go for a final velocity of c/30 = 10^7 m/s.
This is slow enough that the classical rocket formula certainly applies.
Use a roughly double Saturn V ish propellant velocity of 10^4 m/s. Then

log(m) = (10^7)/(10^4) = 1000.

m = exp(1000) kilograms.

m = 10^(1000/log 10) = 10^(1000/2.3) = 10^434 kilograms.

Just for reference, the mass of the sun is about 10^30 kg, the mass of
the milky way galaxy is about 10^11 solar masses, or 10^42 kg --- hmmm
we seem to be short by a *factor* of 10^392 ... more galaxies!

BOO!

everything you every wanted to know about halloween.... in german!

also, recipes for the world's greatest food ever.
and, pictures of said food.

happy halloween!

Ecstacy by VAST

Addicted to poison
The poison is a cure sometimes
I have a secret
A secret written in the skies
I need to go there (slow?)
I need to get up to the stars
I have a secret

Baby baby baby, you're my ecstacy
Baby baby baby, that's because I am on it
Baby baby baby (my little baby)
I'm gonna take some innocence from you (ooh)

i can't take this. i'm not cut out for university. i failed my algebra midterm (worse than i thought i would, that is) and i'm gonna fail my other two midterms. this is all too much...
i have a lab due in a few hours. i should have done it last night. i didn't. i just don't have it in me. i don't understand it, i don't have time, i don't have the energy to make time.

i honestly think i'm gonna fail first year.

you'll all be overjoyed, i'm sure, to hear that both my family and love life were doing roller-coaster things for the past few days. it was like WHOO-whee-ahh-hooo-noooooo!-wAHoo-AAAAHHHHHHH-eeep! then there was one of those corkscrew deals, followed by not one, not two, but THREE loop-dee-loops.
it's all better now though.

also, here's a fun tidbit: i told my dad that i'm with josh again. vit went through quite the roller-coaster himself when o told him:
the uphill - "you did what?"
the sudden down - "didn't he drop out?"
the loop-dee-loop - "well, i'm kinda glad. after all, you don't want to be like me, going through life alone."
the corkscrew - "tell him if he's not enrolled in university by january 31, you'll never see him again!"
the sudden end - 'i need to drink."