i see a red jeep and i want to paint it black

Since we last spoke, there has been some excitement. Live-band karaoke San Diego-style was finally achieved, a visiting friend procured some pine nuts for me, and a camping trip to the Cleveland National Forest (near beautiful Lake Elsinore) was enjoyed by several cognitive science students.  Here's a picture of just one of the small impacts our camping had on the site:

I would place the primary fault of the lack of more recent blog updates on the sheer number of words I've been writing for the "core" / philosophical foundations of cognitive science course this term.  We read something like 100-300 pp a week (in theory, of course) and I believe have had something like four papers due over the last two weeks (including two within the last two days).  I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how engaged in the material everyone remains -- so unlike previous courses like it that I've taken.  I think this makes my 9th (sheesh) year enrolled in some sort of cognitive science program... you'd think I'd have figured out a little more than I do now.

Other efforts have been driven toward obtaining a digital piano, to no avail.  In theory, another couple of grad students and I are supposed to be forming a small music group.  There has been a trip to the library to investigate the music book situation (yielding thus far a nice "real" "fake" book and a James Taylor anthology (though not THE James Taylor Anthology which I played some stuff out of this past summer)); one effort to actually play music together, which included renditions of songs from Clapton to "Rainbow Connection"; and multiple karaoke ventures, including the live-band version referred to above.  Currently I am becoming obsessed with the Dresden Dolls -- funny that I should do so in southern California and not in Boston.  Some of the piano from their self-titled album reminds me of ... Natalie Merchant I think.  In particular, the driving piano beat from "Gravity" reminds me strongly of that of "Thick of Thieves" -- except it might actually be better accomplished by Amanda Palmer.  Just as I wrote that the thought crossed my mind that women seem to kill on piano in rock music, moreso than men -- and then I remembered Matt and Kim, who I _just_ saw live at House of Blues, where Kim kills on drums (she literally does seem to be trying to kill the drums sometimes, jumping all over them with a can of either Coke or the King of Beers in her back pocket), and Matt is one with the synth / keyboard.