News You Can Bruise for 2000 May 21

Past the impasse that stymied me last night. I just fixed yet another bug in my scanner. It didn't recognize the modulus operator. How did I get this far with that kind of bug? That probably cost me 5% off the last project.

I realize that my struggles with the semantic checker do not make for thrilling reading. But such is my life.

There is someone in the building across from my building who has two techno albums. They've been playing both of these albums every day since the start of school. The intervening distance and walls cut out most of the treble and midrange, making the songs sound even more like each other than your average techno song sounds like your average other techno song. I think that sometimes they repeat a track they really like, but I'm not sure. It might be a different song.

I swiped Dan's headphones (he's asleep) and put on the Mass in B Minor, but I can still hear that annoying techno drum machine. I curse the guy who invented the drum machine (forgot his name). It doesn't take much skill to play the drums (I speak from experience), but even the modicum of talent required to do so would be enough of a barrier to entry to prevent much techno music from being produced. Jumping frogs? I must avoid this technology!

Jake is going to come to the defense of the drum machine in an impassioned plea, I just know it. Celeste too, probably.

On reflection, I have decided that cursing the drum machine is not the answer. The answer is cursing people who play loud music without headphones, especially when they keep playing the same two albums for months on end.

Also, the phone always rings at around this time, it's always someone different, it's always for Dan, and Dan is always asleep when it happens. I don't understand it (I do understand Dan being asleep, since he goes to sleep at 6 AM).