About naming

So now that I have two blogs with virtually identical content (see the WordPress version here), I thought I might touch on one of the differences between the blogs...the name.

The name of this blog on WordPress is Terra Nova, which, as you can see from a Google search, is not an incredibly original name.  However, I think that it is a bit more original than the title of this version.  But this isn't a big issue, because both names are temporary (as is one of these blogs).  I named the WordPress version "Terra Nova", because WordPress was new terrain for me and I felt like I should have a name that was better than "Ben Main's Blog", which I have here.

One of the reasons that I have not settled on a permanent name for the blog is because I don't really have a planned aim with this blog.  I'll probably comment on Sci/Tech news and talk a bit about myself to start, but I don't think there's a defining characteristic I could use for a good permanent name.

Another difference in naming is the url for the blogs.  Beyond the obvious "blogspot" vs. "wordpress" difference, there is the first part.  In this blog it is "alethiareg" while on WordPress, it is "mengbomin".  To just about anyone, both are meaningless unless explained, so I'll do that now.

Alethiareg is a user name I've used for largely for second accounts, second email addresses, and as an otherwise throwaway login name.  I believe I came up with it a short time after reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which I would recommend as good reading material.  The "golden compass" for which the American version of the first book is named has the more technical-sounding name of "alethiometer", which according to Pullman in the book, comes from the Greek word for truth "aletheia".  I misspelled that and added reg, which I believe was short for "regular" to make "alethiareg".  The reason I continue to use it in many places is that it is now very easy to remember and it is very unique.  I doubt that anyone else will ever come up with it independently.

As for "mengbomin", this is my name in Chinese class.  In Chinese characters it is 孟柏民 (pinyin: Mèng Bómín).  I thought that this would be a better username for the future as it actually means something to me and is probably nearly as unique as "alethiareg".

If anyone wants to comment on my current names or give a suggestion for a future name for this blog you are more than welcome to do so. 

My mp3 player issues

In February, I bought a SanDisk Sansa e260 mp3 player at the Grinnell Super Wal-Mart. It was the first mp3 player I have ever bought and I really liked it. It's a flash player, like an iPod nano, except it has more features and a cheaper price tag. There are some minor gripes I have with it, like the lack of support for Asian characters in the English interface (I have a few songs that have some Chinese characters...if I had more, this would be an issue for me). However, overall, I was more than satisfied.

But, last week, I hit a snag. Like the iPod, the Sansa transfers songs from the computer and charges via a USB cable. One day, I was plugging in the player as usual when instead of plugging in smoothly, there was resistance. I unplugged it to find that two of the wires within the port had separated from the plastic ridge in the middle, leaving it looking like this:

I ended up contacting SanDisk via their support site. After a few exchanges they asked for some pictures of the player, which is why I have the picture above. They decided that they would replace the player. They gave me a three day delivery UPS shipping label to print out and use to send them back the player on June 12. I sent it that day. They received it on the 15th and sent the replacement on the 19th and I will be receiving it today and will update this post when it comes.

Update: I got my mp3 player today as expected. They sent a completely new mp3 player, which has some benefits and some downsides. The benefit is that it's new and shiny and is in really good shape. There were a few nicks on my old player, as you can see from the above picture. As well, I have a new pair of cheap headphones. I probably won't use them as I have a better pair of headphones from Sony (nothing noise canceling, but with better sound and better fit to my ear).

The downside is that I have to add all my songs back onto the player. This isn't a total disaster...it means that I can go back and look at what music I want on and what music I don't. Of course, I could go back what I had on my old player, since I do have it backed up on my external hard drive. However, that would take only a little less time, and I want to make sure some things are cleaned out.

Now, as for what I got. The new player had different packaging that went along with their "Lil' Monsta" marketing campaign. Here's a picture of the new packaging:

Contrast it with the old packaging:

Overall, I am happy to have an mp3 player again that is functional. I may say more later, but for now, I have to go to work.

Now for that personal rambling

I thought that since I haven't posted anything since last year, I'd start by updating how things are going for me. I finished my sophomore year at Grinnell College this past year. My second semester was less than stellar, but I am looking forward to a better Junior year.

This summer, I am working third shift (6:45-4:45 Sundays and 9:15-4:45 Monday through Thursday) at School Specialty in Greenville, WI. I perform a few different jobs in the warehouse there, which is full of (surprise!) school supplies. It's not a terribly stimulating job, but it will help me earn a bit more money for school and hopefully for a summer in China next year.

Another thing that I'm doing this summer is learning Japanese. I've taken upon myself the rather ambitious project of getting through the first year なかま (Nakama) textbook, which is used by Grinnell College in its first year Japanese course, by the end of break. This is going to be tricky because, for one thing, I don't really have anyone around to practice Japanese with. Having someone to speak to in a foreign language makes learning the language quite a bit easier. We'll see how it goes.

As for my online life, I've completely quit out of the Online Debate Network, where I was a moderator for a while. It was fun while it lasted, but my interests have changed. I now like to read a few science blogs and tech blogs. It's nice to delve into subjects that interest me instead of constantly coming back to stagnated debates over religion, evolution, or politics. Over the next few days I will be updating this site so that it better aligns with my interests.

Also, if you happen to be one of the few people to chance upon this blog and read through, I am open to suggestions about how to improve my blogging.