Western Center for Agricultural Equipment (BMWTD #2)

For my second building to visit at UC Davis, I decided to go to the Western Center for Agricultural Equipment (WCAE). This building is where many courses on Applied Biological Systems Technology are taught.

So all of the 258 buildings I am going to visit, excluding those in Cuarto, are supposed to be within the UC Davis limits, but apparently, the WCAE is not on campus because when I returned, I saw the sign above.

Anyway, I continued my journey off-campus. I actually had to go across the highway to get to where the building was located, on Hills Drive. Although I was sort of lost, I took a nice picture of the sunset.

When I was almost to the WCAE, the road was blocked by a fence with a menacing red diamond, so I maneuvered my bike around the fence, parked it, then went back around the fence to take a picture.

I was slightly worried that I wasn't supposed to go past the menacing red diamond, so I didn't go far after going around it. I did see the building, but from a distance. In the picture above, it's the big warehouse-looking building.

I did see one example of the Agricultural Equipment mentioned, but I must say, it wasn't in the best of conditions.

I took a picture of myself with the WCAE in the background, and this time, no guy on a bike was looking at me funny, so I actually allowed myself to smile.

Though seeing the building and the menacing red diamond was fun, the highlight of the trip by far was seeing the great big pile of tumble weeds by the side of the road across from the building, so I took a picture of them, then made my way back to campus.

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Human Resources Administration Building (BMWTD #1)

Hello, friends. I am currently attending the University of California, Davis. If you didn't know, UC Davis has the largest campus of any University of California, and on the UC Davis map, there are 258 buildings that are listed. I, being the crazy person that I am, have decided to visit every single one of those buildings and blog about them. I hope you enjoy.

Human Resources Administration Building

Today I went to the Human Resources Administration Building, which is where you go to get a job at UC Davis. You go there to get information on the different positions, salaries, and benefits at UC Davis. 

This building is on Orchard Road next to the Health and Wellness Center and across the street from several fraternities and sororities. 

To catch rain, the building used those strange drain pipes with the chains running down the side of the building, so at first glance, the building looked slightly like a old fashion prison that you could enter but never leave.

The funny thing, though, was that I wasn't sure if I could even enter the building at all because each door had a little sign on it telling you to enter through another door. I know the sign above says to use the main entrance, but even the main entrance had one of these signs on it.

Even if the signs weren't there, the building was all locked up and seemed to be deserted, probably because it was a weekend, but there were also some bikes inside, so I was a little confused.

I took a picture of myself in front of the building. I look all angry in the picture because some guy on a bike was looking at me funny, so I had to look like I was doing something serious so he wouldn't be too suspicious.

Even though I wasn't able to go into the building, I think that my visit, as a whole, was a success, because in the end, I saw some turkeys in the parking lot and chased them around for a while.

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Going Bovine (BR #15)

By Libba Bray

Going Bovine takes place in the southern United States, beginning in Texas and ending in Florida. It is set in modern-day America.

Summary

In Going Bovine, Cameron Smith is an social outcast from a family that is rapidly falling apart when he starts having hallucinations about an angel, fire giants, and a dark figure. He discovers that he has Mad Cow Disease and that there is no known cure for the disease. As Cameron gets weaker, one of his hallucinations, an angel named Dulcie, starts talking to him. She says that his hallucinations are not hallucinations, but creatures leaking over from another universe. She says that Cameron must go find a mysterious Dr. X who has the ability to send the fire giants back to their universe and cure Cameron of his disease. With the help of Dulcie, a dwarf named Gonzo, and a lawn gnome claiming to be the Norse God Balder, Cameron makes his way to Florida to save the universe and himself.

Characters

Cameron Smith

Cameron isn't the most likeable of main characters. Yes, I understand that he is dying of an incurable disease, but he still isn't that likeable. At the beginning, Cameron is a character with no motivation or drive. He sort of drifts through life, smoking pot and being rather useless. Later on, he reminds me of Frodo in the movie version of The Return of the King. He keeps having what I tend to refer to as 'Frodo Moments.' Frodo Moments are when the character is in the most dangerous situation imagineable, but the character is either incapable of fighting/standing or he just faints altogether. This sort of character annoys me, but I realize that it is Cameron's development of strength as he weakens that makes the reader really want Cameron to succeed.

Gonzo

Gonzo is a dwarf who attends Cameron's school. Gonzo is very much into video games, but is deathly afraid of the real world. Gonzo believes that he has almost every allergy, disease, and virus imaginable and thinks that almost everything in the real world is unsafe. Gonzo's paranoia is a quite annoying characteristic, but like Cameron, I think the reader's not supposed to like Gonzo in the beginning and that it is the development of the character that makes the reader want to root him.

Dulcie

Dulice is the angel who gives Cameron his quest. Although she claims to be 'only the messenger', Dulcie is the one who helps Cameron on his journey and points Cameron in the right direction. Dulcie also has an insatiable craving for sugary products. She is one of the most likeable characters in the entire book, but she shows up the least. Again, that's probably the way the book was written. The perfect representation of happiness, joy, and hope is the most unobtainable. The hope that Dulcie brings is what gives Cameron the strength to continue.

Balder

Balder is a lawn gnome who was freed from his inanimate state by Cameron. He says that he is an invincible Norse God trapped in his lawn gnome body by Loki, the trickster. His story is pretty convincing, given that he can survive getting stabbed, strangled, and shot. For freeing him, Balder swore that he would follow Cameron on his mission. Balder believes that Cameron is his guide so that Balder can get back to his ship and to his home. Balder is a likeable character and lives in eternal hope of getting back to his ship that may or may not exist. Balder's hope might seem childish, but I like it that Balder lives in an eternal hope. He's a good guy.

Conclusion

Going Bovine is a good book which is both humorous and tragic. In many ways, it resembles The Odyssey, the epic journey through the strange to return to normality. The book was slow to begin with and the characters developed slowly as well, but overall, the book was good. I give it 6.5 waffles out of 11.

The Knife of Never Letting Go (BR #14)

By Patrick Ness

Setting

The Knife of Never Letting Go takes place in the colonial town of Prentisstown on the planet called New World. On New World, there is an alien race known as the Spackle. The Spackle went to war with the human colonists, and though they were wiped out, the Spackle released a germ that allowed animals to talk and another that allowed everybody to read everybody else's mind. These thoughts that people can hear is call 'The Noise.' The Noise was responsible for killing all of the women in Prentisstown. Prentisstown is now a slowly-decaying town so loud with Noise that it is almost unbearable.

Summary

Todd Hewitt is a boy in Prentisstown whose parents died. He lives with Cillian and Ben, both friends of his parents. Todd is the youngest kid in Prentisstown and was born shortly before all the women in the town died. When Todd and his dog Manchee find a spot without Noise in the swamp outside the town, his life changes. After he tells Ben and Cillian about the Silence, Todd has to go on the run, being chased by the men of Prentisstown. As he runs, Todd finds something he never expected: a girl. Together the girl, named Viola, Manchee, and Todd run for their lives from the men of Prentisstown, and Todd begins to realize that the life he has known has all been a lie.

Characters

Todd Hewitt

Todd is a boy from Prentisstown. In one month, he will become a man at the age of 13. Todd is an interesting character because of his ideas of becoming a man. Throughout the story, Todd tries to come to terms with the new truths in his life and tries to find out how this changes his definition of manhood.

Viola Eade

Viola is a girl from a crashed scout ship for a fleet of colonists who are coming to New World. She is very shy with Todd at first, but the two later make a good team and she keeps Todd from doing stupid decisions throughout the book. She is a very interesting character and I think she has the most realistic personality out of all the characters.

Aaron

Aaron is the crazy religious leader of Prentisstown. For some reason, he held Viola hostage at the beginning of the book and later chases both Viola and Todd through the New World. Throughout the book, you think he is just a madman, but you find out about his reason, even if they are still completely insane.

Manchee

Manchee is Todd's talking dog. He doesn't say much, but he is one of the most likable characters in the entire book.

Ben Moore

Ben is one of Todd's adopted parents. He is probably Todd's favorite person in the entire world and he helps to save Todd's life multiple times in the book.

Conclusion

The book is very interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The ending was so good, though I hated it so much. This book deserves to be read by everyone. 9.8 out of 11 waffles.

Mortal Engines (BR #13)

By Philip Reeve

Setting

Mortal Engines takes place on Earth several hundred years in the future. The world was destroyed in a nuclear holocaust known as the Sixty Minute War. This war led to a loss of technology along with several types of natural disasters, so traction cities, or cities on wheels, were made to escape these natural disasters. These cities would eat smaller cities. The idea of Municipal Darwinism came about, stating that large cities should eat smaller cities, and smaller cities should eat towns, and towns should eat stationary settlements. The main opposition to the traction cities and to Municipal Darwinism is the Anti-Traction League, which protects itself from the large traction cities with a mixture of natural and man-made barriers. In this world, archaeologists dig up pieces of Old Tech, or technology from before the Sixty Minute War, which they sell to cities for historical or technological purposes. The book takes place when traction cities are running out and cities are looking for new sources of prey.

Summary

In the book, the narrator follows Tom Natsworthy, a teenage boy from the city of London. He is an apprentice in the Guild of Historians in London (There are four guilds in London: Navigators, Engineers, Historians, and Merchants). His life is pretty normal until he tries to stop a girl, Hester Shaw, from killing Thaddeus Valentine, the head of the Guild of Historians. After Hester Shaw falls off of London, Valentine pushes Tom out of the city as well. As Tom and Hester try to make their way back to London, Katherine, Valentine's daughter, works with a young engineer named Bevis Pod to uncover the mysteries surrounding London, Valentine, and the Lord Mayor of London, Magnus Crome.

Characters

Tom Natsworthy

Tom was an orphaned child from London working as an apprentice for the Guild of Historians. He dreamed of adventure until he found his way into one when he is pushed out of London by Thaddeus Valentine. In the world outside of London, Tom is very inexperienced and just wants to get back home, but overall, Tom is a very interesting character who's life and attitude changes over the course of the book.

Hester Shaw

Hester Shaw is a girl who witnessed Thaddeus Valentine kill her parents over a piece of Old Tech. Valentine also cut Shaw's face, disfiguring it horribly, before Shaw was able to escape. She is completely bent on taking her revenge on Valentine. Shaw is also very interesting and is easy to relate too.

Katherine Valentine

Katherine is the daughter of Thaddeus Valentine, and she completely adores her father, but when Tom 'fell' out of London after saving Thaddeus from Hester Shaw, she begins to get suspicious of her father and of Magnus Crome, the Lord Mayor of London. She takes it upon herself to investigate what really is happening in London.

Thaddeus Valentine

Valentine is one of the most powerful men in London. He used to be an archaeologist, but something that he gave to Lord Mayor Crome led to his promotion to the Head of the Guild of Historians. Valentine's past is mysterious and he does whatever Crome asks of him. He acts as one of the main antagonists of the story.

Anne Fang

Anne Fang is an aviatrix, or pilot. Though airplanes are lost technology, pilots still fly blimps and balloons. Fang is also a spy for the Anti-Traction League. She, like Katherine, is trying to understand the mysteries of London. She is a likable character, but is not very dynamic within the book.

Bevis Pod

Bevis is an apprentice engineer in London. He knows some of the terrible things that are going on beneath the surface in London. He tries to help Katherine to find out what is happening in London, and later on, he helps her to stop what London is about to do.

Magnus Crome

Magnus Crome is the main antagonist of the story. He is the Lord Mayor of London as well as the head of the Guild of Engineers. He has plans to make London greater than any other traction city on Earth, though much of his plan is shrouded in mystery.

Shrike (Grike)

Shrike (or Grike in North America) is a stalker. Stalkers are metal men with human brains who were made before the Sixty Minute War. They cannot die unless killed. Shrike helped to raise Hester Shaw after her parents were killed, and later, under the orders of Magnus Crome, goes after her and Tom to kill them.

Conclusion

The book is very well written and develops its main characters well. The ending of the book is completely unpredictable and makes you sad, happy, and shocked all at the same time. I truly enjoyed this book. 9.5 waffles our of 11.

Brain Spill Movie Review #9

We Bought A Zoo

Setting

The story mainly takes place in a city and in the zoo some ways outside of said city. This movie takes place in the present day.

Summary

Benjamin Mee, the father of two children and who's wife recently died, decides to move from his old house. The house he thinks is perfect turns out to be a zoo. Benjamin and his two children, Dylan and Rosie, come to the rundown zoo, hoping to repair it. With the help of the small zoo staff and his children, Benjamin Mee works to fix the zoo and find a way to pay for it before the zoo's opening day. In the process, Benjamin learns more about himself, his kids, and learns to move on from his wife.

Characters

Benjamin Mee

Benjamin is the main character of the story. He is the father who decides to buy the zoo. Throughout the story, he struggles with his relationship with his son. Mee also struggles to make ends meet while trying to fix up the zoo. His feeling are really made clear by all the emotional highs and lows Benjamin has.

Kelly Foster

Kelly Foster is the lead zookeeper. She is also one of the most devoted to getting the zoo back into its previous glory. She is the staff member who trusts that Benjamin will make it through the most. She also serves as a love interest for Benjamin.

Dylan Mee

Dylan is the oldest child of Benjamin. He is still saddened by the death of his mom, and his relationship with his father has grown more and more tense, especially after Dylan was expelled from school. He hates that his family moved to the zoo and that none of his friends came to visit him. He also is so wrapped up in trying to get back home that he is completely oblivious to that fact that his longing for his old home is breaking up his friendship with Lily.

Rosie Mee

Rosie Mee is the youngest child of Benjamin and is also the one who convinced him to buy the zoo. She does not play much else in terms of plot significance other than a constant source of comic relief.

Duncan Mee

Duncan is Benjamin's older brother. Duncan serves as Benjamin's call back down to Earth. He tries to get Benjamin to get over his wife and later to get over the zoo. Benjamin ignores both of those bits of advice, but Duncan plays the ever important voice of reality.

Lily Miska

Lily is Kelly's 13-year old sister who is home-schooled and works at the zoo. She does not play a major role in the film other than having a few key lines and as a love interest for Dylan.

Walter Ferris

Walter Ferris is the closest thing to an antagonist in the film. He is the zoo inspector who is very arrogant and strict. The zoo must meet Ferris's standards if they want to get the zoo opened at all.

Peter MacCreedy

Peter is the zoo's carpenter who created many innovative ideas for the enclosures in the zoo. He believes that many of his ideas were stolen by Walter Ferris. The first time Walter comes to inspect the zoo, Peter says he will kill Ferris and is locked in the bathroom to keep him under control. The second time Ferris comes, MacCreedy gets himself drunk in order to get the zoo passed the inspection. This is a great addition to the movie, and it shows how dedicated these people are to the zoo.

Conclusion

The movie was a feel good movie, and it was good at it. The movie made me all warm and fuzzy, even if some of the scenes were a bit annoying. I rate this movie 8.5 out of 11 penguins.h

Brain Spill Book Review #12

The Gatekeepers

By Jacques Steinberg

Setting

The Gatekeepers is a nonfiction book that takes place in the late 20th Century and the early 21st Century. The story is focused around the Wesleyan University.

Summary

The book follows Ralph Figueroa, an admissions officer at Wesleyan, as he advertises Wesleyan and as he decides whether or not to admit certain applicants or not.

Characters

Ralph Figueroa

Ralph was an admissions officer at Wesleyan at the time when the book took place. Ralph comes from a Hispanic family from southern California, and he feels connected to the students from bad backgrounds that apply to Wesleyan.

Julianna Bentes

Julianna is a prospective Wesleyan student who attended Harvard-Westlake school on scholarship. Being that she is ethnically Brazilian, African, and Caucasian, she dances, and she has good grades, she is one of the top students in the United States. 

Migizi Pensoneau

Migizi is a Native American attending a prep school. Although he had below-average grades before attending the prep school, Migizi's ethnicity and SAT scores make him attractive to quite a few schools, including Wesleyan.

Jordan Goldman

Jordan is a student from Staten Island who is an aspiring writer. Although told not to, Jordan wants to send samples of his writing with is application. He also  is best friends with Devin, a boy who cannot stand on his own. His friendship with Devin is what he writes about in one of his college essays.

Becca Jannol

Becca is the president of  Harvard-Westlake. She has average grades and SAT scores and she once accepted a marijuana-laced brownie. When the student who brought the brownies to school was caught, Becca was the only student to admit that she accepted a brownie. After Becca decides to write about this in her admissions essay, the reactions from colleges vary, though Ralph wants to get Becca into Wesleyan.

Aggie Ramirez

Aggie is from a Hispanic background. She attends a private school and is school president. She, unfortunately, has low SAT and senior year grades. The rest of her grades are fine, though. She also says that her bad senior grades are due to her overload of extracurricular activities. She is, though, a prospective student at Wesleyan.

Tiffany Wang

Tiffany is a northern Californian Asian-American. Tiffany had average grades and was active in extracurricular activities, but she fails to expand on them in her essay. She does have a chance at getting accepted at Wesleyan, though.

Conclusion

The book was very interesting and really gets the reader connected with the characters. The book does go off on several rabbit trails, though, but I liked it. 7 waffles out of 11.