Not much to add today. Can't wait for baseball, though. Watch both of these to prepare.

It's the 25th anniversary of the first Zelda game this year! To celebrate I provide:

EarthBound Segment 3: Twoson, because we weren't first
A new town full of strange people, new adventures and shiny things! After walking to town, Ness first rested a spell at Twoson's sleek and modern hotel (complete with upscale music) to recuperate from his travels. Journeying out into the town, we rented a bike, got a secret pizza delivery number, and made an astounding amount of cash by cornering the town's egg/chicken market. Ness also found out that Paula, the girl who had been sending him physic messages, has been kidnapped and taken to the Peaceful Rest Valley. That doesn't sound so bad; kind of relaxing actually. After investing in a few of Twoson's local, fruit-based inventors using his recently chicken-padded wallet, Ness decided to do some last minute shopping at the local market before enjoying what will no-doubt be a blissful journey to rescue a damsel in distress. Ah, to be a hero!

By and large, it was a peaceful and pleasant day for Ness. Well, aside from beating up that mob boss at Burglin Park. Meet today's villain, the head of Twoson's meager but oft-underestimated crime syndicate: Everdred.

He's slick, he's sly and he'll swindle you for all you're worth! Everdred runs the darker side of sunny Twoson, controlling its center of economy, Burglin Park. With his trademark polka-dotted pants, floral shirt and jazz-critic shades/hat combo, few dare oppose his tyrannical but generally good-natured regime. In battle he has no scruples, preferring to bite, steal and knit his brow to victory. After Ness knocks some sense into him, Everdred helps out in the search for Paula, and will be of even greater use to the party later. In the end, Everdred's the scoundrel that cares. I hear he's fond of haikus and is currently trying to get his hands on the mysterious treasure of Lair X. Aggerate...*ominous sound effect*

What? Three days in a row? You bet your beauteous buttons, Batman.

After briefly pondering the underlying linguistics, I've concluded that:
-a foamentous decision involves brazenly pouring the entire bottle of bubble bath into the tub--consequences be damned
-a gnomentous moment involves a lot of bickering shortish creatures who are generally pretty clever
-a loamentous field is great for crops and easy to excavate
-and that a tomentous library contains only the most ancient and unwieldy of books

I recently finished reading Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings, the first book in his new series. Overall I found it an enjoyable and quick read with much of the creativity and unique worldbuilding that I have come to expect from reading several of his previous books. The entire continent on which the story takes place has the feel of a rocky tidal pool; there are retracting plants, crustaceans of all sorts and intermittent periods of diluvian danger. His signature strategy of building up to a thrilling emotional and intellectual conclusion also reared its famous head, though I might complain that he left a bit too much for the end. My other, and perhaps more damning, grievance is that I'm afraid I must accuse Sanderson of being a mediocre writer. He writes action and battles (both of which he is fond of) quite clearly and well, but often a chapter will go by with very little substance excepting plot advancement. It's as if I would have gotten just as much out of the section if I had just been told that characters A and B talked about X and Y and came to conclusion Z. Though, to be fair, the last novel I read was by one of the better pure writers in fantasy, Mr. Rothfuss. Still though, I'd say Sanderson's capacity for creative design and immersive mystery-style plotlines makes up for this weakness. And after the highstorm of revelations offered by the last 100 or so pages, I'll be sure to pick up the next installment.

Earthbound Segment #2: Of Ants and Officers
Being a hero isn't easy; saving the world ain't a piece of cake. As it so happens, Ness had to beat up a lot of things today. Some of those things were people, and some of those people were police officers. But don't judge! They were asking for it! Ness also managed to peruse the public library, enjoy the calming fluttering of a magic butterfly, purchase an unseemly amount of hamburgers (100% beef), and talk to the happiest trumpeter in the world. In other news Liar X Aggerate actually managed to unearth something this time...something sinister.
Anyway, Frank's defeat put the mayor on our side so after bashing his way through hordes of slugs, rats and antoids on the outskirts of town, Ness managed to defeat the fiendish Titanic Ant and gain access to Giant Step. There he learned the first part of some sort of melody, the inklings of which he can only begin to inkle!
Yet not all was well in Onett-ville, for upon returning to civilization Ness was accosted by an irate cop, who demanded that he appear at the local police station. After spending the night at home and receiving a strange dream calling for him to travel to Twoson (a neighboring town) our hero realized that he had no choice but to confront the roadblock-happy men in blue that compose Onett's finest.

After bashing this way through a handful of henchmen, Ness came face to face with our second featured EarthBound villain: Captain Strong.

Captain Strong is a suburban police force legend. Overseeing the peace and quiet in the sparsely populated, law-abiding Onett for years, while at the same time maintaining the roadblock labyrinth that put his town on the map, nothing gets by his super-keen constabulary senses! In combat he is lethal; Captain Strong prefers to rely on devastating submission holds, but when taxed he will unleash his Super-Ultra Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot Martial Arts, at which point law-breaking becomes impossible and bone-breaking becomes certain. Luckily he befriends Ness after being impressed by his bat-wielding prowess and determination and agrees to let our hero journey to Twoson.

The first day of classes went pretty well. It looks like I'll be waking up early a lot this quarter, but that does mean I'll be done with most time-sensitive things by 4ish or earlier each day, meaning I will have evenings to watch Orioles games and do homework. In other news, I'm teaching Physics 7C again, so magnets and birefringence ahoy!

But the best news is that none of the Sushi crew teach on Monday nights! Hence, tonight will be delicious.

What? Mathematics? Yes, yes. Here it is. The cosine and sine of an angle theta can be defined respectively as the x and y components of a vector (oriented an angle theta above the horizontal) from the origin to the unit circle centered at the origin. That might sound complicated, but you might recall that it's as simple as drawing a triangle and finding the blue and red distances in the diagram below.

Note that the total distance (in yellow) from the origin to the circle is always 1 since the radius of the unit circle is one by definition. This, when combined with the pythagorean theorem, gives rise to the famous trigonometric identity cos^2 + sin^2 = 1.

This simple definition led me to think: why a circle? My next thought was, "why can't I define functions in the same way with different shapes," and that is when the madness began. For you see, the cosine and sine functions are so nice due to the beautiful uniformity of the circle. My functions will have none of this niceness, and will require several additional stipulations in their definitions. 

I now define the Poly_n and Gon_n functions of theta as the x and y components respectively of the vector (with an angle theta above the x axis) going from the origin to the regular n-gon centered at the origin whose side length is such that the distance to any vertex from the origin is one. Another caveat to this definition is that I mandate that all polygons be oriented such that below the x-axis a side of the polygon be parallel to that same axis. To make this more clear, let's check out what Poly₃ and Gon₃ look like:

Since a regular 3-gon is more commonly referred to as an equilateral triangle, you'll note that creating this diagram from my definition was pretty simple; Poly₃ has taken the place of cosine and Gon₃ has taken the place of sine. Note however that we lose the ability to label the yellow distance as one; in fact, it will only be one at the vertices. In addition, the Poly and Gon functions will be piecewise because of the sharp edges. Let's quickly take a look at the the Poly₄ and Gon₄ functions:

Though my simple colored lines look similar, you'll note that these functions will have a completely different form to them than those before. In fact, I hesitate to do more at the moment because they're just so darn ugly. Plotting the functions themselves would be terrible thanks to the jagged shape of polygons, in fact anything I do with them would have to start from basic geometry or with the niceness of sine and cosine. Possible future directions for this include finding the yellow distance and naming it something, finding the form of a few of the piecewise functions using geometry and writing them as a Fourier series of sines and cosines and ultimately finding the power series expansions for them. This could lead to finding some "useful" identities and maybe even derivative relations. Sadly, I can think of absolutely no use for this formulation. The one nice thing I can say about the Poly_n and Gon_n functions is that in the limit as n goes to infinity, they blessedly become cosine and sine! That's it for this adventure into strange maths: join us next time when I discuss approximations in all their vague glory.

EarthBound Segment #1: I'm Onett!
My playthrough of EarthBound has begun! I had planned on posting some of my favorite quotes from each segment, however after eagerly cataloguing each of the game's first dozen or so lines, I realized the futility involved. EarthBound's script is simply one of the most beautiful ever crafted. Each sentence uttered, each sign read delights the mind with its marvelous oddity. It really must be experienced directly.
Anyway, let's dive right in! After learning of Giygas's threat to the universe from Buzz Buzz (who was quickly and tragically smote by the fiendish Larda Minch), Ness realized that he needs to gather the Earth's Eight Melodies, as well as three comrades in order to save the world! Based in Onett, he's told that the first melody is nearby, at the location known only as Giant Step. After a new day dawned Ness's first steps were to:
-Explore Onett and its penchant for roadblocks (they're going for the world record!), mayoral propaganda (by the esteemed B.H. Pirkle) and social revolutions (the Fresh Breeze Movement wants to clean up the town!)
-Talk to local billboardsmen, treasure hunter and vagabond Liar X. Aggerate who survived a meteor impact because he eats lots of garlic. Apparently he has something he wants to show Ness later...but only when he's alone...
-Purchase some handy equipment and grab the Mr. Baseball hat from the secret hideout
-Get his first smash attack and revel in the bone-crushing 16-bit sound effect
-Be ambushed by an eccentric, but mysteriously wise photographer in front of his house

I stopped playing today after defeating EarthBound's first real villain (Starman Jr....well, he just doesn't quite cut it as far as villainy goes), Frank Fly.

First of all you'll need his battle music. Got that funky beat playing? Alright, now you're grovin' to Frank's style. Frank is the leader of the Sharks, Onett's local ruffian gang. Ness finds that if he can defeat Frank, thus quelling the hoodlums on the streets, the mayor of Onett will give him the access to Giant Step that he desires. Frank fights dirty: he uses knives against a kid (then again, Ness does have a baseball bat), talks trash and retreats to his robot, Frankenstien Mark II when things are looking dangerous. Once conquered though, Frank acknowledges Ness's strength, and will support his struggles for the rest of the game! Frank Fly, as it turns out, is one cool guy.

We'll it's been a while. And (but?) for good reason. Last week was finals, yet I'll say no more on such a subject since few reading this have the patience or physical background necessary to care or understand what I would have to say on the matter.

Let us instead discuss how I spent my week off from physics: by camping. Perhaps as eager as I to get away from Davis for a few days, I enlisted the aid of a few of my friends to journey with me to Jedidiath Smith Campground, located in the far north of California's Redwood Park. I'll try to find some pictures, but for now I will have to use English to convey my description of our adventures. The drive was pleasant and scenic: on the way up we had sun and our eyes feasted on titanic redwoods, quaint towns and calm waters, but on the way down we were assaulted by snow, furious seas and mist-shrouded peaks reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. The stay itself will certainly be one to be remembered. In short we drove though a tree, were attacked by the ocean, skipped rocks at a riverside, huddled around some smoldering logs that could occasionally have been classified as a fire, opposed the wind (Greg) himself to gain purchase on a lighthouse's rocky outcropping, told tales, ate foods and played a game of discovery, settlement and trade while cowering within our flimsy canvas stronghold from the sky's incessant and bone-chilling assault on our lives. I can't wait to go again.

I've decided just this morning to start playing EarthBound, king of games. I think I'll update the blog frequently with my progress and with EarthBound villains. Given that this coming week is but the first of the term, and that homeworks won't be due until much later, I think I should be able to entirely ensconce myself within the game's enchantingly eccentric embrace before reality attempts to pry me loose with its petty needs and cruel demands. To whet your whistles I give you now its awesome (and I do mean it in the literal, awe-inducing sense) title screen:

And now for a random assortment of announcements. First, at the request of a certain Dr. Science, I will be providing Strange Maths in the next post. Second, I find myself really wanting to try steak tartare; it seems quite tasty. Third, I will be, yet again, postponing my fantasy novel reviews. I've now consumed Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, but will speak of it at a later date.

I've watched quite a few movies lately, but only one has a villain who is both worthy of being included on the blog and whose label as a evil force doesn't completely spoil the plot of the film. So I bid you now to cower beneath the sleazy, conniving power of Gordon Gekko's smile!

Before I even begin talking about what a great villain this guy is, let's just take a moment to look at him. Look at his slicked-back, sinister hair enhancing the reptilian image created by the name Gekko. Look at his shifty, plotting eyes that never quite seem to look at your own. But most of all look at that grin. That malevolent, bemused smirk that wants nothing more than to bite the head off of anything that gets in its way. This my friends is the face of a villain. Antagonist of the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko is a ludicrously wealthy but morally bankrupt investor who will stop at nothing to increase his fortune. During his speech at a shareholder's meeting midway through the film you would swear greed personified walks the earth in his exorbitantly priced, black shoes. He seeks to bring those around him into his corrupt fold, chews them up and spits them back out once he has what he needs. This man is truly villainous.

Greetings! How fares the real world? Much the same as usual I'd imagine, but if anything particularly startling or magnificent happens, I'd love to hear about it.

I'll hold off on writing anything about the Wise Man's Fear just a bit longer. I finished it over the course of a weekend and a day, but I'm still in the reflection stage, which happily involves me re-reading the first book in the series.

Sushi was of course delectable this past Monday, as I'm sure it will be in a few days. Of particular note was that the chefs' familiarity with us has risen to prescient levels. This requires a bit of backstory: On the way over we remarked that we would begin the evening with Crazy Monkey and Lion King rolls galore. These require time to fry though, so in the mean time we'd satiate ourselves on succulent salmon sashimi. Having whet our respective whistles we'd then really turn up the heat and dive into several Hawaii rolls. Here's what happened the moment we entered the restaurant and took our sacred places at the bar:
-We were immediately greeted and offered salmon sashimi
-We were asked exactly how many Crazy Monkey and Lion King rolls we would like
-We were assured that a Hawaii roll for each of us was in the works
How extraordinary! Without uttering a single order, asking for a single thing, all our dreams ad been arrayed before us, glistening with deliciousness.

You know what else is fantastic about Sushi Nobu? They leave you the pitcher of water. It's such a simple gesture, but a rare and powerful one. I have no idea why most places refuse to do this; it's infuriating for waiter and customer alike when the latter is parched and the former tires of hauling liquids to and fro all night long.

While I'm complaining, I'd like to direct my wrath in the direction of TED talks. I don't like them. This wouldn't be a problem if multiple people hadn't told me about how great and interesting they are. I've even heard the words, "There should be a class in college where people listen to TED talks." Other people who were in the room for this particular comment agreed; yes that would be great they said, we would learn so much more. Now a few days after hearing this I needed to produce a large amount of pasta sauce (for obvious reasons), and in doing so I of course needed to mince an exceptionally odiferous amount of garlic. This takes a while, so I decided to enlighten myself with the knowledge that TED talks have to provide. I booted up the site, listened to perhaps 5 or so talks while I cooked and came to the following conclusion: the vast majority of them are useless. They speak to the heart and not the the mind. Some contain more glittering generalities than the average campaign speech. Even the supposedly "scientific" talks are meandering sermons devoid of fact and instead filled with flashy images, desperate entreaties and bold claims.

I watched the Princess Bride with sounds friends last night, and so I present to you now it's villain: a man among men, Prince Humperdinck!

Humperdinck is a man whose name, gaudy lavender cloak and pompous upturned chin almost, but don't quite, describe the depth of his pretentiousness. He purports to be the world's greatest hunter, has constructed a Zoo of Death to house beasts worthy of being his prey and has been known to begin sentences, "unless I am wrong, and I am never wrong." Unfortunately the movie version of Humperdinck is quite distinct from the Prince in the novel The Princess Bride, but in any case, he is surely a vile and evil man. He hunts because he enjoys the suffering of this prey, and seeks to ruin the life of the story's heroine, Buttercup. I shan't say more, for any word of mine you read is one you could have been reading in William Goldman's excellent fantasy/historical/mock-parody.

March has arrived! In this most middling of months I hope to accomplish the following things: survive finals, camp it up during break, play Okamiden, read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, read Gardens of the Moon, read Wise Man's Fear and enjoy more of Starcraft II. I suspect that one, maybe two of these things will actually pan out. But, like it or not (I do), I'm going to learn a lot of Physics.

I hope to get through this one this weekend!

A quick status update on where we stand in my Physics classes: In Quantum Mechanic we are studying Scattering theory, in Electricity and Magnetism we just started Magnetostatics, and in Math Methods we are working on some Group theory. To break it down, I am learning about how things bounce off other things, stationary magnets and collections of objects with a binary operation. Sounds simple, no? No indeed.

I've had little enough time for videogames of late, but the highlight of my Starcrafting so far was a game of I played on a team with a friend of mine. We played as the bug-like alien race christened the Zerg and other than resource gatherers we produced only the most rudimentary and peaceful unit that these intergalactic hellspawn have to offer: the Queen. A couple of notes: the Queen is not meant for attacking, does minimal damage, fares poorly in hordes and her speed maxes out at about .3 (repeating of course) miles per hour. And yet somehow, against two opponents trying with all the combined might of their ancient warrior races and high technologies, we emerged victorious. I quote one of our opponents when I say that it was "the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!"

Last week the First Year Physics Students Movies of Choice, or FYPSMC for short, were Amelie and Aliens; a stranger combination has yet to be found. This week it seems as though we may watch the legendary Akira Kurosawa's postwar Japan noir Stray Dog. I recommend it as I recommend all his movies--with great gusto! I'll have to do a list of my favorites at some point...

The weather is fine (60ish and sunny), and the sushi on Monday was finer. I just realized that our schedules might not align to allow for easy dining on the first day of the week next quarter...and that would be a true tragedy. It might be for the best though if we truly intend to be able to move up and down a soccer field in the Spring.

I've got another great manga villain for you: Yujiro Hanma!

Truly a ludicrously over-the-top character, he is known to most as "The Ogre", and in the world of Baki the Grappler he is considered the most powerful creature and the strongest force on earth. A martial arts genius, Yujiro was thrown into the Vietnamese jungles at the age of 16 with only his hands to keep himself alive. Fighting against the American military and the Vietcong at the same time he managed to survive the confrontation, but at a high cost to the world. At some point during the incessant fighting and bloodshed he stopped killing to survive and started to enjoy it. He now roams the world uncontested by any power, doing as he pleases, when he pleases. He's mastered every style of martial arts known to man, can run faster than any vehicle, can destroy buildings and tanks with his bare hands, has been struck by lightening multiple times, and his back muscles form the face of an enraged demon. Oh, and he also stopped an earthquake by punching it. Yeah. The Ogre's son, Baki is the main character of the series and for all his life he has been learning and training with the goal of defeating his father. Who will emerge victorious in this final confrontation: the vicious and diabolical Ogre or the only man who has even the slightest chance of standing against Yujiro, his son Baki?