[2004.10.31 2352h]

   [music] makai senki disgaea original soundtrack \\ akai tsuki
   [tlvsn] firefly
   [vgame] final fantasy tactics [sony playstation]

i believe i was gypped when i bought a box of granola bars last month.  
although the box clearly stated that it contained six bars, if i remember
correctly, when i was about to take the second bar out, i noticed that
there were only four bars left in the box.  i'm pretty positive that i
didn't happen to eat one and totally forget about it.  since i didn't have
easy access to a trash can at the time, i saved my wrappers, and so was
able to count how many bars i had already eaten when i noticed the error.

however, i'm not irate on this matter or anything.  in fact, i find the
error quite amusing.  in addition, i also noticed that the company that
manufactured the bars offers an unconditional guarantee on their product.  
i'm not sure what would happen if i wrote them a letter stating that i
received only five granola bars in a box that claimed to contain six.

i find it interesting that, when people talk about rating something on a
scale of 1 to 10, a rating of 5 is usually considered to be an average
score, when, in fact, it is not the numerical midpoint of such a scale.  
technically, the score 5.5 would be the numerical midpoint, while the
score 5 would be the numerical midpoint of, say, a scale of 0 to 10.  for
some reason, this discrepancy bothered me significantly for a week or two.

i was able to catch the total lunar eclipse that happened four days ago.  
the moon wasn't as red as i had hoped, and the sky was somewhat cloudy,
but at least i could still see it from where i was.  the first time i was
able to see a total lunar eclipse was, i believe, nearly five years ago,
when i was in washington, dc for a math conference.  if i remember
correctly, i was on one of my random urban adventures, wandering the
streets at night trying to figure out where one building or another was,
because i didn't have the time to print out directions before my flight.  
i had written reminders about the eclipse all over my hand, so that i
wouldn't be totally absorbed with what i was doing and completely forget
about the eclipse.  i remember the moon was a beautiful red that night.

coincidentally, the song that i've listed above is entitled "akai tsuki",
which is japanese for "red moon".  i heard it first when i was playing
disgaea last month, and have loved it since.  the song is about
reincarnation under a red moon, and is the basis for a particularly moving
story about sympathy and sacrifice in the game.

the other day, i ran into someone that i haven't gotten the chance to sit
down and talk to in well over a year.  during this past year, among other
things, she's gotten married, which was rather surprising to me because i
had no idea she was ever engaged.